Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Pre-Vacation Mailday

Howdy y’all, just wanted to show off a quick mailday before I leave for vacation tomorrow. We’re going up to New York to visit the relatives, like we always do at the end of December since God knows when. Due to the normal holiday snail’s pace the mail runs at, I got picked up these cards a while ago and now they finally arrived in my mailbox.


2010 Topps Tribute Blue #53: Alex Rodriguez (Numbered to 399)
You know what I hate? When people bust expensive products like Topps Tribute and just throw the base cards and colored parallels aside like they’re nothing. Well screw you high-end box buster! Thanks to you, I can snag these beautiful cards (that look better than the hits, by the way) for 90% less of what the average cost of a box. Ha.


Along with that sweet eBay pickup, I scored a nice $5 lot off the Blowout cards forums. Included in that 8 player lot was some trade bait and these Yanks.

2006 Bowman Chrome Draft Refractors #5: Melky Cabrera
Oh, Melky, what are you doing now? The Royals? Oh my, your teams just keep getting progressively worse and worse.

2010 Topps Chrome Wal Mart Exclusive Refractors WME1: Babe Ruth
I honestly can’t recall the last time I’ve stepped into a Wal Mart. That place kinda gives me nightmares.


All in all, not a bad mailday to most likely end the year. I should have a package or two waiting for me when I get back home. I hope everyone enjoys the rest of 2010 and the New Year’s festivities that go along with it, and I look forward to seeing you all in 2011. However, if you can’t survive a whole five days without me, I’ll be posting some more stuff over at My Past Time.

By the way, January 3rd will be the official one-year birthday of For Card’s Sake! Woo! Expect some big stuff, and it will be fun. I’ll remind everyone again when it gets closer to the date. Thanks!

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Christmas Haul

Merry belated Christmas everybody. I wanted to check in and showcase my haul this year. Along with a brand new Mac Book Pro (holla!) and iPod Touch (holla again!), I received a lot of CDs, DVDs, clothes, and all that good stuff. No baseball cards, believe it or not, but I did pick up quite a bit of baseball related presents Let’s take a look with some pictures taken on my new flip camera (holla thrice!)


Ryan Howard ornament to add to the “At the Ballpark” ornament series. This is the 15th and last ornament their making, so it adds an end to an era. It sure was fun collecting most of them, and now I gotta go find the rest to complete the set.

Nice A-Rod standup.

Thick book on one of my favorite pitchers of all-time, Mike Mussina, and Tom Glavine and their adventures in the 2007 season. Should make for a good read

A beautiful custom-made plaque my sister got for me from one of the school’s craft shows. It fits in quite nicely with the A-Rod corner in my baseball room (future post warning, future post warning)

And last but not least…
Yup, a Yogi Berra signed ball. He signed this a few years ago on a nice 2003 100th-Year Anniversary ball. A very nice addition to the collection of autographed balls I own (which will be a post for tomorrow on My Past Time)


I would like to thank my family for picking out this great stuff to get me; they always know how to please! It was a very great Christmas and I hope everyone else enjoyed theirs as well. And before I forget, here are my two favorite non-baseball related presents.

Boy Meets World Season One and a Betty White calendar. Somebody pinch me.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Shopping for a Christmas Baseball Card

Throughout the many, many, many years of baseball cards, we’ve seen many, many, many players, many, many, many designs, and many, many, many, many, many, many, many different photos. However, I don’t think I’m ever come across a Christmas-related baseball card. Sure, baseball and Christmas are about as opposite as you can get, but it surprises me that I’ve yet to see a player wearing a Santa cap, or a player with one of their bats wrapped up as a present, or something cheesy that you’d find in 1990 Score.

I’m presenting a challenge to everyone out in the blogosphere. Be my Star of Bethlehem tonight; show me the way to a Christmas-themed baseball card. A link, a picture, anything. I’m just dying to see one. Here’s your reward when you do.

Mrs. Claus, meow.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Tomahawk Trading

Salutations one and all. I received a package from Derek over at the Tomahawk Chop a few days ago and wanted to show some of the highlights. Derek just got back into the hobby, and I helped him out by sending him some Braves to add to his growing collection. You should do the same.


2005 Flair #16: Hideki Matsui
Godzilla! He signed with the A’s for one year at 4.25 million dollars. He will serve mostly as a DH and actually might play the outfield.

2008 UD A Piece of History #63: Alex Rodriguez
You didn’t think I’d go a trade post without mentioning A-Rod did you?

2010 Topps Turkey Red TR120: Curtis Granderson
I haven’t seen a saturation of inserts this bad in my years of collecting. Why in God’s name would people want 120 cards of an insert? If that’s the case, maybe you should have kept the Turkey Red set you morons.

2001 Topps Archives #10: Gil McDougald
A nice card of the recently-deceased McDougald, who was a 5-time World Series winner and a one-time Rookie of the Year.


Thanks Derek for the nice Yanks!

Monday, December 20, 2010

A Damaged Follow Up

Wanted to do a quick follow up on the box of 2008 Upper Deck First Edition. In the first few packs, there was an abundance of damaged cards. About ten cards or so had considerable damage on the surface and edges.




Now that’s a bit ridiculous. I wasn’t really too pissed because I received dupes later on and they weren’t all that valuable, but I certainly would have if these cards came damaged right out of the pack in a more high-end product. While all of us miss Upper Deck, they were far from perfect.

By the way, this is my 100th post, but who gives a crap about that? It’s all about the one year anniversary baby, and it’s looking like one hell of a celebration. More details to follow.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

A Star Quest... Quest

The Upper Deck Star Quest insert is extremely fun to collect. The parallels can piss some people off, but some enjoy collecting and searching for the different variations. While we won’t be blessed with any new Star Quest sets in the foreseeable future (how’re people enjoying the new monopoly? Wish there was another company to go to when one keeps putting out miscut cards and missing hits!), we have sets from 2008 and 2009 to savor. I picked up a box of 2008 Upper Deck First Edition on the cheap because I liked the photography of the set and it’s relatively easiness to complete. Instead of posting yet another boring box break, let’s have fun! The 2008 First Edition Star Quest set has no parallels. Let’s see if we can complete the entire set within one box. Are we all ready?


SQ-8: Ryan Howard
Good start, although I’m not a big fan of Howard. Living in the Philadelphia area, I’m subjected to hearing how Howard is one of the best players in the league at least twice a week. But hey Philly, only 7 more years of backwards Ks to go!

SQ-11: Carlos Lee
We seem to be progressing worse and worse as we move along. This year, Carlos batted .246 with an awful .291 OBP.

SQ-21: Johan Santana
What do Johan Santana and Barry Zito have in common? They’re both lefties! And both have ridiculous contracts neither of them have lived up to. Zito is a joke, period. Santana has put up good numbers when pitching, and that’s a big when. He’s been hit with the injury bug the past two years with the Mets, the biggest being surgery on his shoulder at the end of the 2010 season.

SQ-8: Ryan Howard
A dupe already? Crap. Well, at least we have some breathing room with about 31 more packs to go.

SQ-20: Alex Rodriguez
Another year of 30 homers. I’m not sure how he pulled it out of his butt like that, but hey, I’ll take it.

SQ-19: Jose Reyes
I hate this guy.

SQ-14: David Ortiz
I hate this guy, too.

SQ-26: Jim Thome
Had a little comeback year with the Twins, batting .283 while popping 25 homers and getting on base at a nice .412 clip. With those 25 bombs, he moved up to eighth place all-time on the homerun list.

SQ-28: Brandon Webb
Here’s a name I haven’t heard in a while. Apparently the D-Backs didn’t pick up his option and now he’ll hit the free agent market. There are rumors going around that the Yanks have an interest in signing him to a “low risk-high reward” deal that worked oh-so-well for the Red Sox in 2009.

SQ-29: David Wright
I respect Wright not for just his baseball skills, but for being the only white infielder on the Mets for about four years, maybe longer. Mets fans should be thanking the baseball gods for firing Omar Minaya.

SQ-19: Jose Reyes

SQ-4: Ken Griffey Jr.
We should do a study to see how many people collect Junior. I think he may be the most collected player in the past two decades.

SQ-26: Jim Thome

SQ-30: Michael Young
I’ve always liked Michael Young and was glad that he made the postseason this year. Although his numbers were subpar (only 5 hits with no homers or RBIs), it’s good that he finally got on a big stage.

SQ-13: Magglio Ordonez
Ordonez has been another player hit with the injury bug the past few years. He re-signed with the Tigers for one year at 10 million buckaroos.

SQ-24: Mark Teixeira
This doesn’t look right… something about it… what the hell is that A on his cap?

SQ-6: Travis Hafner
I’ve already insulted Travis Hafner once on this blog, so the poor man gets a pass.

SQ-3: Prince Fielder
Narrowly missed playing in 162 games for two seasons in a row. His numbers were down across the board in 2010, coming nowhere close to his 2009 production in homers, RBIs, SLG, or OPS.

SQ-3: Prince Fielder
No one should be subjected to seeing Prince Fielder twice in a row.

SQ-29: David Wright

SQ-1: Ichiro Suzuki
Another great season from Ichiro. We’re probably looking at the first Asian player to be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Oh wait, I forgot the immortal Kei Igawa.

SQ-7: Matt Holliday
Holliday produced another solid season this year, posting his usually numbers in all the major offensive categories.

SQ-9: Derek Jeter
I’ve already ranted about Jeter being a little jerk in the whole contract issue. Let’s just marvel at the cover boy’s grace and poise on this card.

Okay, I’ve had enough, let’s move on.

SQ-20: Alex Rodriguez
You can never OD on A-Rod.

SQ-23: Alfonso Soriano
Although I’m not a big fan of Soriano, I do like the photo they used on here. He had a very mediocre season with none of his numbers really standing out. However, his stolen base total does. Remember when he was stealing 40 bases a year with the Yankees? Yeah, he only stole 5 this year.

SQ-25: Frank Thomas
Boss. ’Nuff said.

SQ-6: Travis Hafner

SQ-12: Justin Morneau
Was hotter than Wendy Peffercorn before he went down with a concussion that sidelined him for the remainder of the season. He and Mauer bring their A-game every year it seems like and Twins fans should be very lucky to watch these two play every day.

SQ-22: Grady Sizemore
Are there any Sizemore super collectors out there? I know he has a massive following with the ladies and he’s essentially the face of the franchise, but I don’t think I’ve seen any major Grady Sizemore collections. Maybe because he’s been one of the most injured players in the league? He only played in 33 games this year due to microfracture surgery on his left knee.

SQ-16: Albert Pujols
All hail the king! Now, would he move to outfield when he plays for the Yanks in 2011, or will Teixeira have to give up his position?

SQ-3: Prince Fielder

SQ-11: Carlos Lee

SQ-16: Albert Pujols
It doesn’t hurt to see Al again.

SQ-10: Chipper Jones
So Chipper is coming back, right? He didn't exactly set the world on fire before he got hurt last year, matching his woeful '09 stats with a .265 BA and a .426 SLG. He did maintain a nice .381 on base percentage and walked more times than he struck out for the 11th season in 17 years.

SQ-14: David Ortiz

SQ-27: Chase Utley
While the Phils have one of the most dominate rotations in baseball in the past decade, their offense still needs another bat. If they do fail to sign someone to replace Werth, then Utley needs to have a hell of a season to make up for it.


Well, we came up three cards short in completing the entire set of Star Quest. I’m missing #2 (Ryan Braun), #5 (Vladimir Guerrero), and #17 (Hanley Ramirez). If anyone out there has these cards in mint condition, I’ll happily take them off your hands. We need to finish this insert and put 2008 Upper Deck First Edition to bed.

Wait, what?

There’s ANOTHER SET!?

Yes, apparently there is 2008 Upper Deck First Edition Update; a set of cards that are made up of subjects from Series 2 of UD’S flagship brand from the same year. Marvelous. This is where the rest of the Star Quest checklist (and Update checklist) can be found, so we aren’t even close to finishing this bad boy out. Good thing Update boxes are as cheap as their older sibling.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Give It Up for Our Special Guest

Hello faithful, just wanted to inform you about some things going with For Card’s Sake. I’ll be splitting posts with the blog and with My Past Time… I Love It!, the wonderful blog run by the man, the myth, the legend, Wicked Ortega. I’ve taken up the spot of guest writer over there while Wicked takes a break from the blogosphere. I won’t abandon this place completely, I’ll post any pickups or trades on here and maybe copy over a few posts from My Past Time as well. Thanks for cooperating ya’ll!

Now I leave you with this hilarious picture. Enjoy.

Monday, December 13, 2010

A-Rod's Revenge

People think A-Rod is a colossal tool and I really have no idea why. Well… okay, maybe I can understand a little bit why people hate his guts. Regardless of what he does off the field; it’s hard to dispute his consistency and ability on the field. Year in and year out, he’ll bring in runs by the droves and will guarantee you at least 20 homers, production a lot of teams would be lucky to get out of their third baseman. I believe he is a first ballot Hall of Famer even despite the steroid issue (which shouldn’t have even happened if the MLB and Selena Roberts weren’t retards, but that’s another story for another day). However, despite all the A-Rod haters out there, I love the big lug to death, so I pick up his cards whenever I can. That’s where Joe from the Sandlot comes in. He emailed me complaining about all these Alex Rodriguez cards that were taking up space in his trashcan, so I did the noble thing and took them off his hands. Let’s take a look at the highlights of the big package.


2000 Upper Deck Hitter’s Club On Target OT3
At first glance, I thought this was Own the Game, Topp’s famed insert. It’s nice to see UD putting some shine into their inserts too. More shiny inserts for Nick! Hoorah!

1996 Pacific Estrellas Latinas EL26
Oh… muy bueno.

1997 Donruss Preferred Staremaster #1 (Numbered to 1500)
This is the creepiest card I’ve ever seen. A-Rod laser beam activate!

1996 Zenith #99/Donruss Preferred #171
Some cards just look fantastic, plain and simple.

1997 UD3 #50UD3… what the hell is this? Apparently Upper Deck released an exclusive retail set called UD3. The set consisted of 60 cards, which were broken up into three 20-card subsets: Homerun Heroes, Pro-Motion, and Future Impact. Future Impact features Cel Chrome technology. Neat huh?!

And to top it all off, a pile of Road to 500 cards.


Some very nice additions to the A-Rod PC. Thanks Joe! Now where did my cone bra go?