Saturday, December 28, 2013

PWEs, viewed musically

So who has been fortunate enough to receive a PWE from John over at Johnny's Trading Spot? Yeah, yeah - the page shows the names as "My First Blog", but I think John is just so busy with his PWEs that he doesn't have the time to get into the blog settings and update the header. That's the reason, right John?

I'm not distracting you more, am I? Ooops.

If you have been graced by an envelope from John, you have experienced his unique shipping style.


Look close - that is a cut row from a 9 pocket page. John then stuffs 3 cards per slot, and sends one or two in a #10 envelope. DAMN - I wish I thought this up. Over the past few weeks, John has sent me a few envelopes of joy. I have two left to showcase - 2 sleeves per envelope - for a total of 36 cards. I am going to pick the best per slot, per row. So the best three cards in each sleeve. Then, as I am want to do (it's my blog - I set the rules), a little YouTube search to honor the best card of the three. It'll make sense when I start posting.

Need me to distract them some more while you figure this out?

No - that's okay future wife of mine. I can handle this. Alright, on with the scans.


Since you see the same Big Hurt, this is the sleeve from the top of the page. An all ChiSox sleeve. I always like seeing Kenny Williams as a player. I forget that about him when he GMs. Good old Dave Martinez. Ya know - the last guy to wear 14 before a certain potential HOFer. Dave wins the sleeve and the tune.


On to sleeve #2.


There's the #14 we know and love. More ChiSox in this sleeve, and mostly at the plate. Love seeing Valdez and best card winner Lee watching their moonshots.


Moving along to sleeve #3.


Something really simple about a "common checklist". Seems like really out of place wording. Great double play card of Bret Boone. Ultra had some great images. Including best card winner of Singleton tracking a ball in center. You can see him just about to pull it in.


And now, the final sleeve of twelve cards.


I know many bemoan '92 Fleer, and I will agree the design stinks. But that is a perfectly framed picture of Alex. He had a good career ahead of him but good ol' arm trouble changed that path. Another needed DP, this time from Counsell. And the best of the bunch is Ray searching for a pop up in the sun. Nice picture, and a great dirty jersey.


Thanks for playing and listening. And thank again to John for some great pieces of cardboard.

Friday, December 27, 2013

Tis the Season: Last chance!

If you have not yet signed up for the great card dump, I will be closing it out this Sunday, the 29th. Free cards - does it get any better than that? So far I have 31 people signed up. I've got over 5k in cards I am looking to send out. I quick glance at the responses - there are three teams that, to my eyes, have not been selected: the Diamondbacks, the Rockies and the Brewers. So let me tease a card from each team that will be going out to someone if they pick that team.


Can't promise you will get that card. I can promise those cards will be going out to someone randomly if they choose the team.

Sign up with the form: You can click these words to go to it.

Please use the form, for it will make my life far easier in the mailing. If you have commented on the post, get your tail over to the form. Don't make me hunt you down.

Imagine you're a blogger. You just uploaded a picture, you put your lips on a cool glass of water.....and BAM!!!

I'll do it.

 

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Throwback Thursdays - 12.26.2013

Every Thursday, I post a card showing a ballplayer wearing a throwback uniform from my collection. Hopefully, he will be wearing it well, with proper pants blousing. I'll try not to duplicate a uniform. The picture may be from the front of the card, or the back. Enjoy the uniforms from years past.

Shin-Soo Choo - 2011 Topps Town - Cleveland Indians

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Merry Christmas every one of us!

I'll be watching the blogroll to see all the cards everyone received this Christmas season. Me? Nadda. Nothing. No one in my family gave me any cards. And that's ok, cuz where they fail, the blogging community steps in a fills the void. I have three envelopes that qualify as gifts this year, so let's see what Internet Santa brought me.

Let's start with former trade partner Zippy Zappy:



ZZ sent a few Christmas envelopes out, all with this card. He claims it's my name and blog title in Japanese, but considering I don't know the difference between J-pop and K-pop, it's possible he is calling me an uneducated warthog. And frankly, he has every right. Yet, the envelope he sent was wonderful. Here's some quick highlights.


Two prospects from Panini Prizm. I am not big on the whole pre-rookie thing, but I am big on the White Sox thing, so these are great. And then it got even better.


Vintage Sox team cards? Oh yeah! All three are lacking in my collection, or I should really say "were" since I now have them. Thanks a ton, Zippy!

Next up, Jim from GCRL dropped a small envelope on me. Cool stuff like this was inside.


Man, the more I see the 2003 Donruss, the more I like. But the real highlight in the group was this:


I know there are a couple of these floating in the tubes of the net, and one finally showed up on the stoop of 2x3 Heroes. Basically, if you get this, you pay it forward by dropping something really nice on someone just cuz. The card also states the person in possession of the card on 12/31/13 has to get it back to Capt Kirk. I, however, already have a destination in mind, so the next person that gets the RAC card will be sending it to the Captain. So, how did GCRL show cardness?


BOOM!!! That is some mighty fine vintage. I have been contemplating the direction I will go when the Pierce Project is complete, and I am considering a Fox Project.

The last, and most amazing, gift came from Pat at Hot Corner Cards. We chat back and forth in Twitter DMs, and I think he was trying to get some idea from me about that very subject - the Pierce Project. He made sure that I will have to decide pretty quick what player is next.


COMPLETE!

Technically, there are 3 white whales out there of Billy. Being white whales, though, they were never considered part of the Pierce Project. Finding a Swift Meats, Robert Gould, or Salada Junket at a price I could afford make them pretty impossible. I left them off and as such, I have reached my goal. I cannot thank you enough, Pat, for these last two cards. Now I have to find some way to get you back.

Alright - to you and yours, readers, a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza or whatever you celebrate. And if you don't go any of those routes, I hope you have a safe time this part of the year and just help spread the fact that it's really about caring for your fellow man and woman. Show some love - that's really what it's all about.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Throwback Thursdays - 12.19.2013

Every Thursday, I post a card showing a ballplayer wearing a throwback uniform from my collection. Hopefully, he will be wearing it well, with proper pants blousing. I'll try not to duplicate a uniform. The picture may be from the front of the card, or the back. Enjoy the uniforms from years past.

John Burkett - 1992 Topps Stadium Club - New York Giants

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Tis the Season: Take my dupes, please.

To this point in the 2nd annual Tis the Season giveaway, I have made you dust off your powers of ESP and try to guess the serial number on a given card. I can tell you - there will be no winning as easy as today. See this image:


Let me help you understand the lettering system:

UPDATE: And they are all claimed, folks!!!

A = 2010/11/12 Allen and Ginter base and inserts (Wilson)
B = 2006/07/08 Topps flagship (Michael Chase)
C = 2012/13 Panini Cooperstown (GCRL)
D = 2012/13 Topps Gypsy Queen (Geno)
E = 2013 Topps Flagship (Brian Conrad)
F = 2013 Topps Heritage (Swing and a Pop Up)
G = 2013 Panini Hometown Heroes (MetalAttorney)
H = 2013/14 Score Hockey (smallest stack of the bunch - maybe 120 cards or so) (Commishbob)

How simple is today's "contest"? Make a comment. Pick a stack (just ONE stack) and it's yours. First come/first served. When all 7 are picked then there are no more. Basically, these are dupes of stuff I bought or obtained during the year. You can see how much space I lose by keeping them all. If you are looking to complete a set, or get a good jump on one, here is your chance. Enjoy this type of giving, because I will be making a big cutback on retail in 2014 and hopefully focus on having a super duper tiny trade box. Until then....

Monday, December 16, 2013

Tis the Season: out goes the stuff I don't collect

I know I commented I would announce the winner earlier than today. Just been busy, and less with the passing of my mom than with plain old life. In fact, I am a little beat down right now and I am forcing myself to post right now, so if the lack of humor is missing, forgive me.

You keep using that word humor. 

So I was clearing out the football and basketball cards I have received in pack wars. After all the guessing was done, let's see who can expect some goodies.



The Blanton for the basketball stack was #1081, making the winner Arpsmith with a guess of 1111. The Falcon card matched up with the football stack and with a number of #859 that makes the winning guess going to Geno. 

I like this. Five stacks of cards up for grabs and five different winners. Spreading the wealth around. I am getting some incoming mail, so to keep my desk low (plus get these two into the safety of a binder page), check out these two pick ups that ran me $6.50 shipped.


I was originally after the Keller, but with a flat rate shipping with no card limit, I picked up the Jones as well. Nice on card autos of two quality players in the history of US soccer. 

Alright, the next Tis the Season will be on Wednesday. I will have a giveaway posted at 7pm Central time that is a first come, first pick. More stacks of cards. Claim your stack in the comments at it's yours.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Tis the Season: minis have new homes

Sorry - I meant to get this up yesterday, but I got side tracked. I'm sure you all understand. And in that line, thank you for your kind words on the passing of my mom. As you read this, we as have a service for her. She will be missed, but never forgotten. And me giving away things is the best way to honor her.

So, let's not wait any longer. The numbers have been tallied and we have winners. In the first giveaway for the 2nd annual Tis the Season here at 2x3 Heroes, we had three stacks of minis. Guess the serial number of the related card to the stack with the closest taking the pile. Here's the back of those three cards.




And we focus on the important parts of each card:


Yeah - I put them in the wrong order. D'oh! Anyway, Frieri is #659, Neshek is # 168 and Smith is #1267. The winners? Jafronius takes the 71/75/87 stack with a guess of 623. Uncle Moe has the middle stack of Ginter/Kimball and stuff with a guess of 200 (good competition for that pile). And Dhoff takes the far right stack of minis with a guess of 1286. So if you three just want to shoot me an email, we'll work out getting the cards. If you signed up for the Big Card Dump, just let me know so I'll get it in with that pile.

If you haven't signed up for the card dump, DO IT!!! And if you left a comment for the dump, you need to fill out the form. It makes it easy for me to package and mail quickly. Here, I'll make the form link simple to find.

CLICK ON THESE WORDS TO GO TO THE GREAT CARD DUMP REQUEST FORM.

Alright, we good? Currently running a giveaway for the football and basketball cards I have obtained this year. You can find that post here. Again - guess the number and win free cards. I forgot to mention when it would end. Let's say you can guess until Sunday, Dec 15th at 2pm. Sound like a good plan?

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

TIs the Season: who collects this crap?

Just under 24 hours left to get in your guesses in the mini card giveaway. I will say this: no one has guessed ANY of the cards exactly, so you still have a chance to swoop in and steal a stack from the current leaders.

Ok - I said I would run these giveaways whenever I felt, so let's start another before I close the first. For those that know, care, or haven't fallen asleep yet reading this, I collect baseball and hockey. Otherwise, I pass on those other big sports.

'Cept I like me them de Cambo SSP rookie cards!

The only reason I have newer football or basketball cards in my boxes are from my LCSs pack wars. Oh, and a few from those $1 repacks at the dollar store. I really don't care who is in there unless I pull a hit, and I try to pawn those off as soon as I can. So, who wants some stacks of cardboard?


Yeah, that's a Blanton on the stack of basketball cards. I didn't pull any serialed cards to use for this contest, so I figured I drum up an easy 163 guesses from all you Dodger bloggers on that stack alone. Same as usual - guess the serial on the back and win the stack. If you look close at the football stack, there is some Lion card numbered to 99 right on top. Plus there's a Cutler - you take the good with the bad folks. Hit up the comments and list Blanton and/or Falcons and then the number. Closest takes them home. Someday, I'll dig through the shoe boxes of early 90s basketball and football and see who wants any. Someday I'll also finish that dissertation about the potential energy of the sun. 

 

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Two losses

(editor note: it's a long post, but I hope you read it through. -JW)

When Nelson Mandela passed away a couple days ago, I had planned to make some mention about him in a blog post. With a recent event more personal to home, I decided to start with Mandela and transition into what else I have to say.

I'm not here to say that Mandela had a huge influence on me. I know as much about him as we learned when he was first released from prison. Until that time, South Africa was nothing remotely on my radar as a child. And now, all I really know about him I have gained from stories on the news and the internet - his 27 years in prison, his compassion after release, his goal to unite black and whites in South Africa, his messages of peace in his travels. These basic facts I know. But I know that Mandela is a great man, because I see the videos, the press releases, the tweets from the famous and the known about who he was and what he did, and I understand that this was a once in a lifetime man. Mandela came along and made change happen. First a few people, then a few more. He changed a country, and followed that by changing the world. Fifty years from now, in whatever will pass as text books, children will learn about Nelson Mandela.

Fifty years from now, you will count on your hands the number of people that know Elizabeth Wilk. She won't be in books or movies. About the only mention of her you will find in six months will be a few search returns that point to her obituary. No words of praise associated to Bono. No press release attributed to Muhammad Ali. No tweet from President Obama. She lived her life simple. She was a daughter, a wife, a mother and a grand mother. She worked and she played. She laughed, cried, yelled, smiled and loved. I hope she changed the world of others, but I know she changed my world by being my mother.

I received a call last Thursday about an apartment in a senior living complex. My mom was on a list should there be openings. Calls sometimes came to me because either she turned off her phone or the call didn't ring through to her home. I figured the wiring inside was damaged, but it wasn't a big concern. She would be out of the house soon, and me taking the initial call and relaying the message worked fine. My mom "retired" a couple years ago. It wasn't that she wanted to, but companies don't hire people of her age. When she was downsized out of her job at 70, there wasn't much else to do but retire. She didn't have much to live on and had put herself in a hole on the money side. The house was too much and while it pained her, she needed to give it up. The plan was to come to my house until an apartment became available. It would only be for a few months. Not ideal, mind you. Not for anyone involved. But it was what was best, and what was right, so it was decided.

Some days I would stop by and visit, see how things were going and invite her to my house for a night or two. "Come see the kids" or "come over for dinner and just stay the night". Any offer to get her to come out, visit, eat a good home cooked meal and spend time with us. She was over recently as my son was in town from Denver and it was her first chance to see him in over two years. While here, talks included plans for organizing the house and her personal items that we needed to move, among other standard discussions. Nothing spoken would rank as great, enlightening, or revealing. It was my mom, my wife, my son, my daughter and myself, talking whenever the conversation started. I can't say I remember anything heartfelt in what would be our last words to each other. I believe she thanked me for letting her stay and for the meals. She reminded me to let her know if I hear anything about the apartments, gave me a hug and said "love you". I said "love you" back and told her to drive safely.

I had Friday off. One of those "use them or lose them" vacation days. Since she wasn't answering her phone, I would swing by and have her contact the director for an appointment to see the apartment. Knocks at the back door went unanswered, along with attempts the front. The days of mail left in her box raised my concern, which was unfortunately answered when I finally broke in through a known, unlocked window. There she was in her chair, some movie channel on the television. She looked peaceful but I knew she wasn't just sleeping heavy. I knew.

Years back I had an idea for a t-shirt company. The first shirt I created had an image silk screened on the front of one of those "Hello, my name is" tags. And on it is written the name "PRIDE". But this tag would not look new and fresh. In my design, the tag appears old and peeling. Maybe a corner or two is torn, and it would look at if it had fallen to the ground a few times, dirtied, faded and scuffed, with a shoe print over it. I came up with that design because too often, that's me. I have been knocked down, beat up and crushed. The moment I thought up that idea, years ago, I thought of my mom, cuz that description fits her as well. She lived not worrying how other thought about her. Never worry about who you are. Maybe you are not wealthy or talented or famous. But dammit, there is nothing wrong with who you are. When you are knocked down, you pick yourself up, hold your head up high and you keep going. My mom was knocked down a lot, but she never quit. She never let anyone make her believe there was anything wrong with who she was. She always wore her badge of PRIDE with honor, no matter the worn out condition it was in.

She was moving out of her home because she could no long afford in financially. Along with being proud of who I am, the other main gift my mother gave me was her “wonderful” money management. Be sure to read "wonderful" with a strong sarcastic tone. When it comes to money, my mom and I don't handle it well. She liked to shop way too much and there are still boxes that need opening in her house today. She spent herself into a corner, I believe, to deal with some unresolved emotions. And yet, one amazing gift she gave me was her wonderful money management. My mom was willing to give anything she had to someone else. I can't think of a time I ever left her house without something in hand. And the rare times I did, it wasn't until after numerous statements of "I'm good" or "I won't use it" or "you need it more than me" - that last one being a total lie, cuz whatever it was, I know for a fact she didn't need it. My mom bailed me out on many occasions when I put myself is a tough situations. I am sure she really didn't have it, but she would insist to cover this bill or that, and while you can stop her from giving you some National Cranberry Day commemorative serving tray she bought on QVC, she was going to cover that past due amount.

So while Nelson Mandela is praised throughout the world by dignitaries and world leaders, I don't think any higher praise for my mom will come from anyone but me. But maybe, in a sense, I can let the US government have the last word in the life of Elizabeth Wilk. See, when I was at the house, and the authorities were doing what they needed to do, the mailman was making his rounds. Since he couldn't approach the house, he handed my mom's mail to the officer, who brought it to me. In the mail that day were two envelopes that spoke to both sides of her financial savvy. One was a notification of a sale on a small piece of trailer park property that was her "summer retreat", with a camper on it and everything. She had long failed to pay for it as she couldn't afford it on social security earnings. It was now owned by the co-op and would be sold off. The other letter was from Advocate Christ hospital, thanking her for her $25 donation they received two weeks prior. It is quite possible this is the last check she wrote. I am sure she had little in her bank account and that money should have been used somewhere else. I bet Peter is looking to get back the money she took and gave to Paul. But to her, everyone but her came first.

I can't think of a better time to remember her each year than now - Christmas. There is both a new and an old feeling for the season, and both will always make me think of her. The new thought about Christmas is to shop. We are bombarded over and over with reasons to spend. Go out and buy this or that as a gift to lil' Tommy. Don't stop buying until Christmas Eve, and then come back the following day and buy some more. My mom loved to shop. And while much of it was for decorating ideas that never transpired, much of it was given to someone else to showed that she thought of them. And that is the old, but real meaning of Christmas: giving. Give not to get. Give not to gain favor. Give to love. In that, my mom loved a lot of people with her whole heart.

So here at 2x3 Heroes, Tis the Season will not stop, nor will it pause. My mom was about giving, and I hope that comes through with each trade and PWE I make. Her passing won't change how I live and how I give. It's the best way I can honor her.

When my mom would eat with us, she would always comment how she was full after the meal. We would always ask if she wanted more and her response, every single time was "oh no - that was just the perfect amount". I like to think St. Peter greeted her and asked "would you like to go back down and have some more time?"

I'm sure he was told "Oh no....that was just the perfect amount."

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Tis the Season: Would you take my friggin' minis already!?

OK, before we get to the first giveaway of the season, I forgot a couple things on my Black Friday post yesterday. Yes, I did get a full base set out of the Masterpieces. I did a breakdown of the two boxes. Box 1 had a total of 94 cards, 6 were dupes within the box. I had the one brown frame Clemente numbered 35/100 and the Reyes relic. The box also had one damaged pack with 5 cards. Fortunately, all the damaged cards were duped in box 2. Box 2 has a total of 91 cards, 4 were dupes within the box. I had three color frames - red Gwynn, black Bruan, and blue Reyes numbered  24/50, plus the Ramirez relic. When I combined the boxes, I came out with a full set of the 90 card base. Of the 30 short prints, I received 10, leaving me to find 20 SPs. I also has a stack of dupes which I will probably throw in with the card dump, so sign up.

Ok - on to the business at hand. If you have been coming here for a while, you recall the "Take My Minis" link at the top. It's gone, right? So is the "Take My Parallels". The parallels are going to go out in packages with the card dump as well (see - you REALLY should sign up).  For you noobs and those with a short memory, I bought almost a thousand minis from my LCS a while back. I have been slowly trading off what I can, and frankly, let's just dump the rest. So I took what was left and separated it into to piles.


It's the two you see on the middle and right of that picture. I did my best to not have dupes in the piles, so you should get a nice mix of Ginter, Ginter inserts, Ginter borders and backs, Kimballs and some Golden Age. And no, the mini of McCutchen is not there for show, he and his partners in the bag are also going to bigger and better places. In that bag is a stack of 30 or so of the 87/71/75 minis Topps has put in their recent releases. I liked them, but it's way too daunting a task to collect the sets. I think there are just two of the 71s in there and the rest is a mix of the 75 and 87s.

Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to pick a number. Not just any number, mind you.


Here are three gold parallels. The Frieri is for the McCutchen, Neshak for the middle stack and Smith for the far right. You can guess on ALL THREE! Simply comment with the player's last name and the serial number of the card. Closest to the actual number wins the stack.  It's that simple. Yes, you may win all three if your guessing skills are amazing. And before you hunt for a cached version of the parallels page - these three cards were never listed, so close that tab and use your telepathic skills. I will let this giveaway run until Dec 11th at 5pm CST. I'll announce the winner that evening.

One quick update about Tis the Season - I will ship when all the giveaways end and the card dump signup closes. So if you win something, just hang tight. I'll get all the cards out to everyone in January or February. Maybe March....who really knows. Besides my wallet.

So, is that last number a 9? Maybe 4?

Friday, December 6, 2013

And Black Friday is over.

Well, Black Friday came and went this year. The only thing left was to collect the loot I had purchased. Thankfully, my Blowout Cards purchase and my COMC purchase came in on consecutive days. If you recall, I picked up two boxes of 2008 UD Masterpieces (retail) from Blowout at $15 a box, and I made a 40 card purchase from COMC for $27. First....COMC.

Via their free shipping, I picked up a lot of set needs. Like these three for the '08 A&G set.


Always sucks when a set need is some high priced rookie card. Even worse when 50% of the bloggers follow the team but never seem to make an offer to trade you one. THANKS A LOT! Just kidding, guys. But these three leave me one card short of the 2008 set. I had actually bought it via Sportslots, but the seller forgot to include it. Got the refund, but wish I had gotten the card. Oh well - reorder.


Three cheap short prints for the 2013 GQ set. Still have a way to go with that one, though.


This is the only card I picked for my Petrick PC. It's even shinier than the scan. I completed 3 A&G mini sets through COMC: 2010's National Animals (I'm not going to scan all 50 cards - use the innerwebs if you want to see them all), 2012's Giants of the Deep...


...and 2012's Man's Best Friend.


I like these two sets a lot, so it's great they are complete. The biggest part of the COMC purchase started with this card.


That is the final base card I needed to complete the 2001 UD Hall of Famers set, the first want list I put on this blog. I didn't stop with the base set.


I completed all the inserts as well, including the Class of '36 set,


So nice having this one off the list. I will slowly work on all the relics in the set. Key word: slowly.

And not to get too much of an intro, here are videos of the two boxes of Masterpieces from Blowout Cards. Special off camera cameo by my wife in video #2.




Here's the scans of all the hits.

 


All but the Clemente are available for trade. 

That was a good Black Friday for me. Definitely will be watching for more box prices to get some ripping in. If only I could find a box of 2008 UD Goudey at a good price. 

Don't forget about my Tis the Season giveaways. Sign up for the card dump at this link. And keep watching for giveaways (one coming tomorrow) that only require a comment and an educated guess.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Throwback Thursdays - 12.05.2013

Every Thursday, I post a card showing a ballplayer wearing a throwback uniform from my collection. Hopefully, he will be wearing it well, with proper pants blousing. I'll try not to duplicate a uniform. The picture may be from the front of the card, or the back. Enjoy the uniforms from years past.

Troy O'Leary - 1998 Fleer Tradition - Boston Red Sox

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

'Tis the Season: the great card dump

It's that time of year, folks - 'Tis the Season ver. 2.0. For those that were around last year and forgot, or for you noobs that missed last year, "Tis the Season" is the time of the year that we here at Fort 2x3 give back to the readers of the blog. It's a chance for you to get free stuff, and all you have to do it read and comment. And maybe do a dance - I am not sure about that part. Basically, it's my chance to free up some space in my boxes by quickly giving away cards. This is a giveaway that will happen thru the month of December. You can tell when I blog about a giveaway, whether to announce a winner or start a new giveaway - the post will have the subject "Tis the Season". See it up there?

The part I like to do at this time is just give. I expect nothing in return. I will give away cards I just don't like, my dupes, specials - lot's of fun stuff. And all you need to do is comment. If you follow me - great. Thank you. But it's not required. You do not have to promote any of my posts. If you want to - thanks again. But I try to do everything here as a simple contest. Most of the giveaways will be a simple "guess the serial number" on a card. Closest wins. I am thinking of doing one giveaway where I will use Random.org. The union is still is discussions about that. The best part about Tis the Season is that everyone wins. Even if you don't win a contest, you will get cards from me this year. And yes - even you readers that are not in the States. Last year, I did a PWE of cards to everyone that selected. And in fact, instead of putting that at the end, we will start the giveaway with the gift to everyone: The Great Card Dump.


For the record, that image is NOT SHOPPED! That is a real display in a real mall in Europe. Seriously, Jereon, what is up with you people? That guy is called the Caganer, and he is part of nativity scenes in France, Spain, Portugal and France. I....er.....shit you not.

Anyway, for Club PWE, I have a huge box loaded with cards. Quite often, I skip over cards to send nicer things in the envelopes. I would really like to clean out that box of all the stuff I skip over. If you want some free cards, here is your chance. Yes, some may be junk wax, or other "not so interesting" sets. However, if you would love a bunch of cards from your favorite team(s), all you need to do is fill out this form. I have you selecting up to three teams just in case I can't get you a lot for one. Let's be honest - I know of about 20 Dodger collectors. You guys are like roaches. And I have a finite amount of Dodgers. So give me some 2nd and third choices. Someone pick the Marlins for goodness sake!

Ok - so we are off with the 2nd annual Tis the Season. Rock on!

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Making desk space

The past few days here at cave 2x3 have been quiet, in regard to mailings. That's not so horrible, in one sense, as I will get the time here to post a coupling mailings that sit on my desk. See, while I may mark off cards received from want lists or post those cards on my Zistle collections, I need to keep the cards in a pile so I don't forget to show them off and give the proper recognition to the sender. In a different sense, lack of mailings stinks cuz I'm not getting any cards.

If you know the words, sing along, crybaby.

Two piles to show. Let's start with a couple of stuffed PWEs from John at  Johnny's Trading Spot. The man knows how to mail a lot of cards in a #10 envelope. I won't reveal his secret. You are just going to have to start trading with him and find out for yourself. John hit my usual needs with a lot of Sox from years I seem to possess few of. He also hit binder collections like...


Bunts. Not one but two pitchers at the plate, Nick. 


Double plays. The Manrique was part of the dang near whole ChiSox team set for that year. I'll have to get a second for the team set. The best of the bunch was this beauty. 


Fleer EX. These suckers are thick. Well, in regard to what was out 12 years ago. Thanks as always, John.

The other stack is from Doug at Sportscards from the Dollar Store. The man loves him a good repack, so there's one of the many reasons to check out his blog. Plus, he sure knows how to send a packed envelope. I don't think this was a trade package but more a "here - have some stuff". Talk about stuff. Tons of White Sox.


Just a sample of the 50 or so in the package. Doug is a hockey man too, so my Hawks showed up.


That Byf must be an early call up photo. The WWW patch is from 2007 and Dustin was more known for wearing 33 here. Then the cards got serious.


I have a couple of those Zeniths from a dime box, so it's nice to have one featuring the Big Hurt. More 2007 images of Blackhawks. The final card, though, kicked serious up about 100 notches.


DAMN. You do not just drop a Topps Tribute on a guy out of the blue like that, Doug. I had to go to the doctor for whiplash X-rays (negative, by the way). The scan does little justice to the look of this card. I cannot thank you enough for something this amazing. 

Ok - so now I have room on my desk. Come back tomorrow - I may have a special December announcement you'll want to hear.