For Card's Sake

How Time Has Flown

2012-01-02T15:11:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone, I hope everything is going well. I am currently enjoying my Winter Break by doing absolutely nothing of value... quite refreshing I assure you. I successfully finished my first semester of college and am looking forward to finish the year.

I just wanted to comment on an eBay item that I've been watching for quite some time. Someone had collected the entire 2009 SP Authentic By the Letter Derek Jeter Auto Patch set (a whopping ten of them) and had the "1/1" item listed for $10,000. The item was last updated in October 2010 and has been sitting idle for some time, although I can't say I'm too surprised by this. We all know Jeter's fanbase, but dropping ten grand on ten cards? There's bills to be paid.

The item finally sold a few weeks ago for a cool $7,500. Not bad for the seller, although I feel that's still about 2k higher than I would have went if I had the money. Eh, as long as the buyer and seller are happy.

Hope everyone enjoyed their holidays!

Checking In

2011-10-03T13:35:00.001-04:00

Hello, friends. While I sit here bored out of my mind in U.S. Politics, I decided to check up on the baseball card world, and wow... I'm lost.

To start off with, what products have come out since August? I noticed Topps Chrome and Triple Threads are hot. How is Chrome this year compared to last year's disastrous effort? Triple Threads?

Hope everyone is doing well. Just got caught up on the latest from everybody, and all the blogs look great! Keep it up people.

Crossroads, Hiatus

2011-08-08T20:24:00.002-04:00

If you are not aware, I am leaving for college in a couple of weeks. Yes, it’s another big chapter in my life, and I’m eagerly looking forward to it. However, when you are attending a school that is four and a half hours away from your home, you are limited in what you can do. Like collect baseball cards and then blog about them. Since I will be away from all my sources, I’m afraid I’m left with no choice to but to put For Card’s Sake on a hiatus.

Now, don’t panic, you have two more weeks left. I’ll try to post as much as I can of all the stuff I have lying around, including a couple of packages from some great bloggers. I’m giving everyone a heads up just in case someone wants to do some last minute trading or anything of that sort. Hopefully I will be done organizing my entire collection and shipping off extra cards to a ton of bloggers.

This does not mean the end of Nick, however, or for For Card’s Sake. I will still be around, reading posts and commenting (and possibly telling you guys to hold some cards until I return home) and the such, making my presence known. I may post about general topics on the blog from time to time as well. But the maildays and the box breaks… well, they’ll have to wait for a while unfortunately. Probably during winter/spring breaks when I have a lot of time to write and scan.

So, as of right now, For Card’s Sake is commenced to shut down on August 27, 2011. I will have some goodies waiting for you that day as well. I will leave you with this humorous picture.

You Know It's 2007 When...

2011-07-26T21:00:00.000-04:00

… when team exclusive sets featured Johnny Damon and Chien-Ming Wang.

(Thanks to …Joe from The Sandlot for these blasts from the short past).

A Long-Awaited Standing Ovation

2011-07-25T17:55:00.001-04:00

Along with Smed’s Spring Cleaning from many moons ago, I have yet to show off my stack of cards I received from the Daily Dimwit’s group break a few months back. He busted an entire CASE of 2006 Upper Deck Ovation, and I quickly jumped in on the great price and the awesome amount of cards I could receive. Sure enough, I came out with an entire base set of the product, a lot of cool inserts, and these big hits. I had the Yankees and the Diamondbacks.

2006 Upper Deck Ovation Apparel OA-DJ: Derek Jeter

Yeah that All-Star break really helped out that .260 average…

2006 Upper Deck Ovation Center Stage Signatures CS-CW: Chien-Ming Wang (Numbered to 25)

Man if I were only selling this… this card is very, very rare. Now, it would make sense for this signature to be in Taiwanese, and it probably is, but there’s a slight possibility this might be in another Asian language. I can read some Chinese (yes, I’m serious), but I don’t recognize these characters.

2006 Upper Deck Ovation Gold Rookie Autographs #112: Stephen Drew (Numbered to 99)

This is a great card of For Card’s Sake favorite Stephen Drew. Unfortunately, the D-Backs put the young shortstop on the DL after breaking his right ankle. Tough break for a team that’s looking to make a run at the pennant in a weak NL West division.

Thanks to the Dimwit for the awesome group break and I can’t wait for the next one!

The Case of the Missing Team Bags (And Some News)

2011-07-24T10:47:00.001-04:00

My team bags disappeared. I have no idea where the hell they went. They’re not with my penny sleeves or toploaders, they’re not in a random drawer in my computer room… they are gone without a trace. I would blame the cleaning ladies (whom I blamed for my missing Chad Billingsley autographed card), but something tells me they wouldn’t be interested in that.

It’s quite eerie.

So, if I’m trading with you and I send you a nasty looking team bag, my apologies. I’ll probably pick some up at the next card show or order some online.

I’ll also be down the shore on and off for the next two weeks. If we try to work on a trade of some sort and I can only ship on select dates, that’s why. I’ll have posts scheduled so no worries about missing your dosage of For Card’s Sake.

Yay.

This Post Is Not from Any Specific Time, Year, or Blogger

2011-07-23T14:08:00.002-04:00

The debate of jersey/bat/relic cards have been made time and time again, and I won’t be you with another opinion. However, I will show you how pathetic it has become with evidence found right on Topps’s fingerprints.

You may remember these from yesterday as the two relic cards I received from Smed. Let’s take a look at the backs.

2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Relics GQR-JP: Jorge Posada

“You Just Received a Topps Certified Relic Card of Jorge Posada of the New York Yankees from 2010 Topps Gypsy Queen.”

You know, at least the acknowledge the fact that it’s from Jorge Posada. Too bad they forget what year Gypsy Queen was released.

(As a side note: have you seen the checklist for the Gypsy Queen Relic set? Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Cal Ripken Jr,, Ryan Braun, Robinson Cano, Jacoby Ellsbury… damn those are some impressive names. I know, I know, relic cards aren’t all that awesome anymore, but considering on a set of 20 cards and arguably the worst player is Jayson Werth, that’s a pretty good checklist.)

2011 Topps Heritage Clubhouse Collection Relics BG: Brett Gardner

First off, I love the cartoon.

But.

“The relic on this card is not from any specific game, event, or season.”

Jesus! Might as well say it’s from the batboy instead of Brett Gardner. Notice how small the font is? And how readable it barely is? That is truly pitiful. In fact, that’s straight up turrible.

But I love that cartoon.

Smed's Spring Cleaning... In the Middle of Summer

2011-07-22T19:30:00.014-04:00

I owe Smed a huge, huge, huge, huge, huge apology for taking this long to post all the fantastic stuff he sent over in his Spring Cleaning. But understand why it’s taking forever… there was so much awesome stuff I had no idea what to scan and show and how much. Should I break it up into a three-part post of the highlights? Should I make a video going through every card? These decisions, it torments a blogger endlessly.

I decided to post all the hits and “new” stuff Smed sent over, even though everything he shipped to New Jersey was fantastic and helped out this Yankees fan’s collection. A lot of his stuff will be used for future posts and for the team binder. Thanks man!

Smed gave me my first lick of 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen… and I can clearly see what the fuss was about. These cards are very nice, from the inserts to the on-card autographs. Yes, on-card autographs. Sweet.

I remember when everyone was blasting this set when Topps first released the product information. Now it’s considered one of the best products of the year. Collector’s these days… sheesh. Now the problem for Topps remains this: the only reason Gypsy Queen prices were high as a kite is because it was under-produced. Now that people want it, Topps will run the presses like it was producing Allen & Ginter. You’ll see either a) the popularity wane leaving a ton of product available for cheap or b) Gypsy Queen overcoming Ginter as the most sought out painted product Topps releases, putting the nail in the coffin for Ginter. It’s fun to think about.

Keeping with painted sets, here’s a C.C. relic from 2009 Topps Allen & Ginter.

He pitched a good game last night… unfortunately James Shields pitched a better one. So goes the life of an AL East team.

One final “retro” card, a Brett Gardner bat piece from 2011 Topps Heritage.

After a slow start, Brett Gardner is putting up a Brett Gardner-season; .290 AVG, .370 OPB, and is currently tied with Jose Reyes for second in the league in stolen bases with 30.

For all those shiny lovers, we have a 2010 Bowman Chrome Draft Purple Refractor of Ivan Nova.

Yeah, it looks blue because of the scanner, but it is purple. Nova, since being sent back down because of Phil Hughes’s return, is pitching lights out in Triple-A and we should see him back in New York fairly soon.

Smed, thanks so much for all the cards, they were a great help for the collection!

Mmmmm.. Bread

2011-07-18T18:58:00.000-04:00

I made a lot of pickups the past week, but this was probably the best one.

Free pastry with registry. Hell yeah.

The Epic Repack Box Break: Upper Deck Sets

2011-07-17T23:49:00.002-04:00

How little did we know that Upper Deck would experience its last hoorah in 2010, leaving us with a smoldering of products to choose from through 2008 and 2009 in its absence. Some were big hits, and some were big misses. Yet, everyone had a taste of it and everyone can relate to the wonder of Upper Deck sets from those two glorious years. And they frequent the wantlists of a lot of bloggers. Winner, winner.

2009 Upper Deck Icons

#86: Roy Halladay

This is an unusual sight; Doc sporting a Blue Jays uniform. Do you think if the Jays realized that their offense was going to be filthy that they would have kept Halladay? Their pitching is young, and inexperienced at that. Having Halladay in that rotation would have catapulted Toronto to AL East favorites every year.

Upper Deck Icons Retail Red #20: Chase Utley

Apparently Utley only has two cards in the entire Icons set; this card and its base counterpart. Weird it has no other parallels. I’ll be looking to move this to a dirty Phillies fan.

2008 Upper Deck Heroes

Upper Deck Heroes Jersey Charcoal #34: Wade Boggs

You’re always guaranteed a jersey card in one of these repack boxes, even if it doesn’t say right on the box. It’s just one of those certainties in life. Of course it certainly was great I pulled a relic of a Hall-of-Famer instead of… Jose Guillen. Shudder. While searching for this card on Beckett, I stumbled on a bit of confusion. Charcoal was the only parallel that wasn’t serial-numbered, yet this color is nothing like the charcoal I’m used to being pulled out of retail. Ah, who cares anyway? It’s up for trade.

2008 Upper Deck Spectrum

Derek Jeter Retrospectrum DJ53: Derek Jeter

Nevermind that Upper Deck released 100 cards commemorating something in Jeter’s career on shiny card stock. Instead focus on the back of card #53:

“Jeter had already done so much in his tenure in the Major Leagues before 2001, but he’d never reached the five-hit mark in a game. That changed on 5/23/01 when the Yankees beat the Red Sox 7-3, and Jeter went 5-for-5 with a homer.”

Some stuff you just can’t make up.

2008 Upper Deck X

Upper Deck X Die-Cut #85: Aaron Rowand

Ew, ew, die-cuts! Someone please take this off my hands.

Upper Deck X Xpotential 3 AP: Albert Pujols

I very much dislike the Upper Deck X set, but like these inserts. Weird how they would save the great looking insert designs for such a boring set.

Along with these products, I had a couple of packs of some random Upper Deck sets and some Topps sets from 2008/09. All of the following cards are available.

2009 Upper Deck Icons

#8, #32, #34

2008 Upper Deck Heroes

#94, #133 (x2), #185

Black #61: Dontrelle Willis (x2)

2008 Upper Deck Spectrum

#16, #81

2008 Upper Deck Timeline

#4, #31, #49, #139

2008 Upper Deck X

#17, #31, #65

Along with these UD products, I received a couple of packs from 2008 and 2009 offerings Topps came out with.

2009 O-Pee-Chee

#77, #222, #351, #382, #589

Black #354: Manny Corpas

2008 Stadium Club

#46, #127, #148

Well, that is all from this chapter. I will leave you all now with a Bible quote.

Mark 3:18 “And the Lord said: Let there be Repack Boxes”

Oh Romero, Romero

2011-07-16T17:30:00.001-04:00

The Yankees have looked pathetic coming out of the All-Star break, and it doesn’t look to get any better because they are facing this guy today.

Ricky Romero is a very good pitcher. An 2011 All-Star (along with half of the league), he posted some good numbers in the first half; 3.09 ERA, a 130+ ERA, 101 Ks, and a 1.2 WHIP. They all sound like a recipe for a winning record!

Erm, not quite.

A 7-8 record is all poor Mr. Romero can show for it. And they say baseball isn’t a team sport.

A & G Thoughts

2011-07-15T16:19:00.001-04:00

While the entire card collecting community is drooling over Allen & Ginter for yet another year in a row, I’m stuck watching from the sidelines and seeing people pile up those highly-valuable framed relics (ha). However, this year’s offering does catch my eye for a few reasons.

1) The base design has drastically changed compared to the repeated layout from the past five years this product has been in existence. I’m not exactly a big fan of it, but it’s quite welcoming compared to last year’s design, which some people dubbed as the worst design in A & G history.

2) Alex Rodriguez has a relic card in this set, and by the looks of it, it seems pretty affordable. I’ll gladly take any of these off people’s hands.

3) The Uninvited Guests mini set is freaking awesome. I already made a post on Nachos asking about it and on various forums. If anyone has some extras or is just freaked out by the set, send me an e-mail and I’ll trade for them or buy them.

4) Aside from the big chase cards, the relic and auto checklist is once again an absolute joke for the price of a box. Very few can make money off of this product… not very good for the future of A & G if investors stop buying because they can’t turn a profit. Thank goodness for those great hobbyists who drop $80+ on a box with relic cards of Kendrys Morales, Melky Cabrera, and Tim Wakefield.

Well, get back to your Gint-a-Cuffs people, I’ll still be reading the updates.

The Epic Repack Box Break: Painted Sets Edition

2011-07-12T18:02:00.002-04:00

With Allen & Ginter’s much-anticipated 2011 release and Gypsy Queen’s enormous popularity, we still see an obsession with painted sets in the hobby. Me personally, I can take them or leave them. Some sets over the past few years have really wowed me (Goodwin Champions, Heritage) and have left a sour taste in my mouth (National Chicle, Ginter). Due to their big success, painted sets are going to be a mainstay in the hobby for a very long time, and that may cause some overpopulation issues. I mean, there are already a ton of sets to choose from, imagine if Topps and Upper Deck release painted set after painted set (yes UD can do this) then it could grow old. Who knows, we’ll see, but I can tell you 2011 Goodwin Champions is awful compared to 2009’s offering.

Thankfully, most bloggers collect one of two of these types of painted sets, and so when packs of Goudey and Heritage end up in my repack box… well it just serves as great trade bait. Let’s continue on with part two of this exciting segment.

2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions

#59: Evan Longoria

2009 Goodwin Champions is one of my favorite sets from the past five years. Stunning card design, beautiful on-card autos, and the artwork is phenomenal. And the funny thing is… I’ve never purchased a box. They have been out of my price range, but maybe if I’m smart enough to save up some money I can go and purchase a box or two.

Goodwin Champions Mini #223: Freddy Sanvhez (EXT)

Card #211-#231 are all extended minis, meaning these cards were only made minis. A nice little concept I suppose, but I could see where that would be irritating for a player collector.

2008 Upper Deck Goudey

#93: Jered Weaver

Weaver will be starting for the American League tonight in the 2011 MLB All-Star game, a well-deserved honor. He finishes the first half with an 11-4 record, 120 strikeouts, and a league-leading 1.86 ERA. Yes, that’s correct, a 1.86 ERA.

2009 Upper Deck Goudey

#210: Ryne Sandberg (SP)

While I’m not a big fan of the Goudey set, I do like these Sport Royalty cards. Very clean and very nice looking for such a simple design. While this is a great card, it is up for trade for a Yankee from the same subset.

2008 Topps Heritage

#368: Prince Fielder

Another case of “I love the set, but can’t afford it”. ‘08 and ‘07’s offering of Heritage is definitely some of the best work Topps has done with the line, in my opinion, and I was absolutely thrilled that there was a pack of this in the repack box. The Baseball Thrills subset look very pleasant as well.

Dick Perez HDP7: Mickey Mantle

Yes, I know the Mick has been beaten to death and I know the topic of the Mick being beaten to death has been beaten to death as well, but I just want to say this is a very nice card. Not to mention, it’s not a subset based entirely around the Mick. Now how about that?

All the cards scanned (excluding the Sandberg, which will be hard to move) are staying with me. Here are the following cards I pulled that are available:

2010 Allen and Ginter

#75, #140, #209, #232

This Day in History TDH59: Hunter Pence

World’s Biggest Mini WB18: Eastern lowland gorilla

2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions

#139, #153

2009 Upper Deck Goudey

#73, #80, #173, #179

Mini Blue Back #199: Lastings Milledge

2008 Upper Deck Goudey

#12, #41, #64, #142, #145, #171

2008 UD Masterpieces

#13, #31, #45, #77

2008 Topps Heritage

#24, #133, #160, #174, #248

The last and final chapter of this epic repack box break will feature something collector’s love and loathe at the same time… Upper Deck products from 2008 and 2009!

The Epic Repack Box Break: Bowman Edition

2011-07-11T10:00:00.024-04:00

You’re not a true collector if you haven’t bought a repack value box. These things can haunt you like Night Owl or they can bring some awesome stuff to your table like me.

A few weeks ago I was skimming the Wal-Mart card aisle when I came across the standard $20 repack box. It came with 15 packs. I was going to pass this up when I took a look at the packs stuffed into the box. 2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions? 2010 Topps Allen & Ginter? 2008 UD Masterpieces? 2008 Topps Heritage? Holy crap, these were nice sets! And sets that the blogosphere loved and collected. I decided that the 20 dollars would be a good investment to help my collection and to help other bloggers with their want lists. Besides, the 20 bucks probably would have gone to prostitutes that night anyway.

Here’s part one: the Bowman.

2009 Bowman

I may be the only person on the planet collecting this set, so I was kinda happy to see this in the box. I ended up using every card but two.

#165: Aubrey Huff

Looks like Mr. Huff isn't reproducing his magic from the 2010 season. General concern? I'd say so... he's 34 and things aren't looking any higher.

# 175: Greg Smith

I wonder if Greg Smith could sue Topps because they used such a creepy photo? Do they need his approval before they put his picture in a product? I mean Ryan Braun has had awful looking cards for years… surely they have no say in it or else players like Braun or Smith would have said something.

2008 Bowman

Another set collector’s aren’t necessarily fond of. 2008 Bowman Chrome was pretty popular during Heyward-mania towards the beginning of 2010, but now it has cooled. While the design and the checklist isn’t all that impressive, it’s always fun to bust a Bowman product. If you can find a box for under $35, go for it.

#147: Zack Greinke

Greinke has been very fortunate for the Brewers offensive this year; a 7-3 record with a 5.45 ERA.

Gold #123: Stephen Drew

Stephen Drew is becoming one of those “players I like receiving cards of and keeping them” for a very odd and unexplainable reason. I mean, how could I like a player related to J.D. Drew?

Bowman Prospects BP50: Austin Jackson

Scored this on the second to last card in the pack. Even though Austin Jackson has since dearly departed from the Yankees, I still like picking up his 2008 Bowman cards. The most humorous thing about this card is the back.

“SKILLS: Aggressive hitter, but will lay off bad pitches.”

Jackson is tied for third in the league in strikeouts with 100, after leading the league last year with 170.

If anyone needs any cards from 2008 Bowman, e-mail me. I’ll be back tomorrow with everyone’s favorite sets… painted!

I Have a Fever...

2011-07-10T14:13:00.001-04:00

… and the only prescription is more David DeJesus!

Slight Altercations

2011-07-02T13:44:00.004-04:00

You may have noticed some changes around here. Wantlists, new fonts… say what gives? Well, blogging was becoming a real pain in the ass. My old Internet Explorer was slow as molasses and Blogger was being its usual annoying self. I have since downloaded Firefox and installed 2010 Word on my computer, expanding my blogging features and styles.

Work has been hectic this week, as you could imagine. I had the pleasure of watching Phil Hughes make his second rehab start with the Trenton Thunder Wednesday. He was absolutely dominate; giving up five baserunners in 6.1 innings with one earned run and eight strikeouts. He was topping out at 94 MPH, a very good sign for a pitcher who could barely hit 90 at the beginning of the year. And as many Yankees fans probably have heard, Derek Jeter will be in town tonight and tomorrow for his rehab starts. Tickets have been sold out since Thursday morning for both of these games, and it’s going to be very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very crazy.

I’m also heading up to New York next week to visit family and for orientation, so I will schedule some posts in the meantime. Keep reading!

Yankees Wantlist

2011-06-28T16:48:00.011-04:00

Here is a wantlist of all Yankees cards that I need to complete team sets. Since I am anal with card condition, all cards traded must be in mint to near mint shape… great centering, great corners, surface, the whole nine yards. I will be adding cards from time to time and try to update the list as best as I can. You will be rewarded handsomely if you can knock off these numbers. Thank you and Godspeed.

2010 Topps Update

Base Set: #57. #91, #110, #158, #198, #214, #230, #276

Wal-Mart Black Border: Everything besides #110

2010 Topps 206

Base Set: #332, #340

Topps 206 Bronze: #42, #59, #82, #91, #94, #97, #111, #114, #144, #182, #185, #189, #248, #254

Any minis, any variation.

2010 Topps Heritage

Base Set: #28, #40, #42, #44, #46, #48, #56b, #60b, #61b, #92a, #116, #133, #142, #160, #215, #290, #325, #366a, #385, #401, #405, #406, #451, #463a, #469, #474, #483, #486, #499

2009 Topps 206

Base Set: #56, #73, #90a, #90b, #100, #104, #120a, #120b, #121, #137b, #150, #154a, #154b, #160a, #160b, #231a, #231b, #271a, #271b

2008 Yankees Topps Gift Set

Base Set: #53

2007 Yankees Topps

Base Set: NYY13

2006 Topps

Base Set: #1, #7, #81, #87, #142, #246, #262, #326, #346, #420, #427, #430, #460, #500, #587, #659

2005 Topps

Base Set: #1, #62, #122, #200, #286, #349, #524, #602, #615

Topps Gold: Everything besides #600

1988 Topps

Base Set: #109, #210, #235, #259, #283, #386, #387, #392, #411, #584, #611, #659, #663, #691, #711, #716, #766, #790

Topps Traded: ALL

Topps Glossy All-Stars: #2, #3, #8, #11 (Don Mattingly), #25, #42, #46

Topps UK Minis: #59

Topps Tiffany: Everything besides #60, #210, and #384

2009 UD A Piece of History

Base Set: #62

UD A Piece of History Blue: Everything besides #66

UD A Piece of History Cut from the Same Cloth: Everything besides #CSC-BC (Josh Beckett/Joba Chamberlain)

UD A Piece of History Gold: Everything besides #64

UD A Piece of History Green: Everything besides #111

Any UD A Piece of History Red

2008 Upper Deck Heroes

Base Set: #111, #112, #114, #115, #117, #118, #119, #120, #125, #126, #127, #178, #179, #188, #196, #197, #200

Any variations

2008 Upper Deck Timeline

Base Set: #62, #99, #276, #278, #279, #280, #341, #366

Any variations

2006 Upper Deck Ovation

Base Set: #123

Upper Deck Ovation Gold: Everything besides #83

Upper Deck Ovation Superstar Theater: #AR (Alex Rodriguez)

2005 UD All-Star Classics

Base Set: #2, #100

UD All-Star Classics Matchups: #10, #16

UD All-Star Classics Midsummer Classics: #13

2004 Upper Deck Vintage

Base Set: #43, #80, #169, #239, #256, #313, #319, #320, #321, #326, #351, #352, #353, #354, #355, #356, #357, #446, #451, #456, #459, #462, #476, #489

Any variations

2003 UD Patch Collection

Base Set: #70, #71, #74, #77, #125, #127, #137, #139, #141, #148

2003 Upper Deck Honor Roll

Base Set: #2, #6, #32, #54, #131, #132, #133

Any variations

2003 Upper Deck Victory

Base Set: #55, #57, #59, #60, #62, #103, #105, #133, #146, #149, #156, 3171, #191

2002 Upper Deck Vintage

Base Set: #116, #119, #124, #275, #277, #282, #290

2011 Bowman

Base Set: #30, #61, #116

Bowman Gold: #30, #55, #71, #145, #170

Bowman Prospects: #BP17, #BP21, #BP44, #BP85, #BP104

Bowman Chrome Prospects: #BP17, #BP21, #BP44, #BP48, #BP85

Any variations

2010 Bowman Chrome

Base Set: #11, #14, #73, #115, #131, #147, #166, #175

Bowman Chrome Refractors: Everything besides #118 and #147

Bowman Chrome Prospects: #BCP2, #BCP 49, #BCP 60, #BCP 95, #BCP 96, #BCP 118, #BCP 156, #BCP 216

1997 Collector’s Choice

Base Set: #176, #180, #331, #403, #404, #405, #406

All inserts except The Big Show

2005 Donruss

Base Set: #16, #17, #32, #53, #257, #264, #267, #268, #269, #277, #280, #390

1996 Emotion-XL

Base Set: #87, #89, #91, #92, #93, #94, #96, #97

2009 SP Authentic

Base Set: #13, #62, #68, #121, #176, #182, #188

Any variations

2009 SPx

Base Set: #13, #16, #40, #55, #76, #78, #94

SPx Joe DiMaggio Career Highlights: Everything besides #JD11 and #JD95

2004 Sweet Spot Classics

Base Set: #4, #6, #19, #23, #48, #56, #59, #64, #82, #100, #104, #108, #118, #121, #125, #127, #128, #160, #161

2006 Ultra

Base Set: #136, #174, #176, #179, #208

All variations and inserts

2000 Ultimate Victory

Base Set: #40

You Are About to Enter a Dimension of Expensive Outfielders

2011-06-27T13:57:00.001-04:00

A tale of two players, connected by more than their enormous contracts. Consider this; both have had a considerable lower body injury (strained quad and pulled hamstring) that has landed them time on the DL, both have had notable slumps during the season (one batted .107 for the second half of May and one didn’t bat .200 until the team’s 11^th series of the season), and both are x-factors in determining if their respected teams make the playoffs. Coincidence? Perhaps. Or maybe they are just entering…

the Twilight Zone.

David DeJesus

2011-06-22T20:59:00.006-04:00

David DeJesus. He’s a career .280 hitter, he plays pedestrian defense, and he doesn’t particular stand out on or off the field. He is literally the most average baseball player in the league. But dammit I like him. And his cards are very cheap.

2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Autographs DD

In most of the products DeJesus is in, his autos are on stickers. His signature works best without any space restrictions which you can clearly see here on this year’s Gypsy Queen on-card auto. It’s beautiful, that’s for sure.

2006 Bowman Chrome X-Fractors #61

Anything Chrome is always a good time.

Is this the start to a potential supercollection?

What, are you kidding me? It’s freakin’ David DeJesus.

Are You Mental?

2011-06-20T20:45:00.000-04:00

Sometimes you stumble upon stuff that is just too funny to ignore. Case in point.

I ordered a couple of t-shirts a few weeks ago and this was the town it was shipped from.

I received a bubble mailer today from this man.

Coincidence?

Cheh, as if.

Fleer Tradition, In Order

2011-06-20T17:52:00.003-04:00

To begin with, I am officially a high school graduate. My time in high school was full of ups and downs, but I can safely say I had the time of my life and I’m going to miss it so much. In a few short months, I’ll be leaving for Ithaca College to work on the next chapter of my life. Now that I have a lot of free time (no summer work or football), I’ll try to squeeze as many posts as I can. Beginning with this.

Long-time readers should note that I’ve had the same wantlist up for the past year and a half for one set: 2004 Fleer Tradition. I usually don’t receive cards from this set in trades so I rarely mark off numbers. When Tom from The Angels,In Order contacted me saying he had a large stack of FT, I immediately told him to send ‘em over. Here are some of the highlights.

#4 World Series: Miguel Cabrera

Miguel looks a little fitter here. This is before he negotiated half his contract be paid out with Little Caesar’s Pizza.

#256: Jacque Jones

#384: Brad Radke

Jacque Jones and Brad Radke? This is so 2004. I remember playing with these guys along with the likes of Christian Guzman, Luis Rivas, and Eric Milton on 2003 MVP Baseball. I’m not particularly sure why I always picked the Twins; their pitching staff was awful (Johan Santana was rated considerably low in the game) and they didn’t have a particular superstar I liked (Torii Hunter was their best player). Eh, some things shall remain a nostalgic mystery.

#499: Gerald Laird/Rosman Garcia/Ramon Nivar

Okay, for the record, Gerald Laird is now backing up Yadier Molina in St. Louis and the other two never panned out (what a surprise).

Cards 401-500 (including all the prospect cards) are short printed. Yes, that’s right, nearly 1/5 of the set are short prints.

Why?

Diamond Tributes #13: Todd Helton

Diamond Tributes #14: Richie Sexson

Diamond Tributes, one of the few insert sets in FT, are very well done. Nice design, colorful, and glossy... just the way I like my women (yes, I’ve used this joke before, but I know you like it).

As usual, if you have anymore 2004 Fleer Tradition, hit me up. Thanks to Tom from The Angels, In Order for sending this over. Please check out his blog (even if you’re a Rangers fan), it’s a very cool cardboard and team retrospective of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Give Me a Week, Alright?

2011-06-12T11:21:00.002-04:00

Man I am an awful blogger.

I’m gonna tell you straight up, I’m busy. Very busy. I graduate high school this Friday and there is a lot to be done before hand (and a lot of partying to do after hand). I have so many trades to post, some other trades to send out (sorry Derek, they will be out first thing Monday), and just a bunch of cards to show.

I shall be back Monday, the first weekday of a (hopefully) awesome summer and with plenty of time to scan and write.

That’s all folks.

Bowman's Best

2011-06-07T21:08:00.001-04:00

(For Card’s Sake would like to apologize for the lack of posts this week. Blogger experienced some technically difficulties regarding Firefox and some cache and cookie problems. We now return to our scheduled program).

While 2011 Bowman feels much like another dud (despite what some prospectors say), they do have some highlights. One of these is the Bowman’s Best insert. Widely popular with collectors, this subset gives a nod to the 1994 set of the same name, with a colorful design and a checklist featuring the best stars and rookies the game has to offer. When I saw a whole stack of these at a card show, I fished around long enough to complete the Yankees team set (minus prospects) and grab a couple of youngins on the For Card’s Sake radar.

You Know What I Hate?

2011-06-01T21:37:00.002-04:00

Ordering some nice Ultra Pro premium toploaders from Blowout, paying a ridiculous price for shipping, and waiting forever for them to get to my door. All the while, I’ve had three packs sitting in my closet.

Sigh.

Happy June everybody.

All Aboard the Bowman Express

2011-05-30T20:08:00.001-04:00

When I was browsing around at the card show last weekend, I came across a familiar site… an opened box of 2011 Bowman. However, this box seemed oddly different than the others. There were about sixteen packs left inside, scattered around, flipped over; a complete mess. However, one pack stood out among the rest. It was leaning on the top of the box, it’s wrapper staring right into my eyes, begging me.

“Nick… come on… try it. Everyone else is…”

I caved into pressure. Four bucks later, I was looking at a pack of complete crap.

#102: Daniel Hudson

Ah, Danny Hudson. The only player I pulled that I actually like. Interestingly enough, all the regular base cards I received in this pack were all horizontal.

#36: Johan Santana

#165: Jaime Garcia

#204: Brandon Beachy

Bowman Chrome Prospects #110: Jonathan Villar

Yup, you guessed it, a player I’ve never heard before. This was common theme for pretty much every prospect in the pack.

Bowman Chrome Prospect #33: Joseph Wieland

Bowman Gold #211: Gregory Infante

Bowman Orange #187: Vernon Wells (Numbered to 250)

The only card of significant value and it’s dinged. Thanks Topps.

Bowman Prospects #66: Matt Carpenter

Bowman Prospects #3: Jeremy Barfield

Yes, son of Jesse and brother of Josh, Jeremy looks to add a little bit more to the Barfield legacy. Hopefully he’s better off than his brother, who’s still kicking around without having a breakout season.

To sum it up…

…uh…

… that was not worth four bucks. Sorry Bowman lovers.

(And everything besides the Barfield is for trade).

Blogger Troubles

2011-05-29T20:38:00.000-04:00

Maybe it's just me and my computer, but it seems my scans and pictures aren't centered in the middle of the post anymore. Even after marking "center" for the photo and having it centered in the draft, it still ends up being published to the left. This started after I switched over to the new post publishing format. While I like this ten times better than the previous format, I still have issues, notably the picture thing. Also, it seems everything is crammed together, and there are unnecessary spaces between the scan and words, making for a jumbled read. If anyone else is bothered by this, let me know and I can see what I can do.

A Hoot of a Trade

2011-05-29T11:04:00.003-04:00

I know when a package from Night Owl has arrived in my mailbox… the mailbox just jitters with excitement. No literally, it jitters. I should get that checked out. Anyway, enough “hooting” around (I’m here till Thursday folks), here are the highlights of the trade.

2011 Topps Opening Day #172: Jorge Posada

Raise your hand if you want someone to pay you 13 million dollars to hit .180 and ride the bench. Oh wow, a lot of takers.

2008 TRISTAR Prospects Plus #99: Jack Rye

Rye played a couple of games for the Thunder earlier in the season, but I believe he was released toward the end of April. He wasn’t exactly a stellar prospect… plus.

2010 Topps Update More Tales of the Game MTOG-6: Intracity Sweep

I like the photo, not a fan of the concept. C’mon, a season sweep is not exactly an eye-popping event these days. If Topps was using the 2003 Yankees seasons sweep over the Mets as a unique “tales of the game”, then perhaps they should have left that insert concept out of their Update series.

2011 Topps Value Box Chrome Refractors MBC2 and MCB3: Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth

These two beautiful cards sealed the trade. After being disappointed in 2011 Finest’s offering this year, having these Value Box Chrome cards be the design for Finest in the near future is not a bad idea.

Thanks Greg, your Dodgers were delivered to the post office yesterday and they should be arriving soon!

A Mini Proposal

2011-05-22T20:16:00.001-04:00

For the record, I dislike minis. They are OVERRATED. They are hard to see and read, they are a pain in the ass to store and protect, and those variations! Guh! People sometimes pay twice the amount of a card solely because it is a mini variation or a mini different-back variation. Don’t give me the “base has variation too” crap… we all know people pay more a premium for a mini. But why? What’s the attraction? Minis sucks, simple as that.

But.

But, if done correctly, they can be awesome. Case in point: this year’s Kimball Championship mini insert found in this year’s Topps flagship brand. The cards featured a nicely-painted player on top of a picturesque baseball scene. The art on these cards, especially the bottom, remind me of a simpler time, both in the sport and in art. It’s a nice nostalgic looking baseball set, harkening back to the old 206s of last century. In this case, I do like minis.

Here’s my theory, idea, whatever you would like to call it. A complete set of baseball cards… made entirely out of minis.

Yeah, you have tobacco cards from years gone by, but who gives a crap? They are old, torn apart, and out of a lot of collector’s price range. Yeah, you have the 1975 Topps mini set, but that’s just the regular set in smaller form. I’m talking full-blown here, something completely new and never seen before. I want a complete set of cards, 300 to 500 cards, made entirely out of minis to highlight the best players in the game and the rising stars of tomorrow. I want this set to be totally original artwork, no copying off another established set. I want all the inserts made out of minis. I want all the redemptions made out of minis. I want the damn wrappers out of minis. Minis, minis, minis!

I like the sound of that.

Now, if I, an established mini hater, would buy this set… who wouldn’t? It would appeal to a huge group of people. I think any retro collectors or fans of Allen and Ginter minis would absolutely love it. I think any set builders would love it because of its size. I think prospectors would like it because of the rookies and prospects thrown into the product. I think any collector fed up with the same horse crap Topps feeds us every year and wants a change in the sets released would love it.

And then again, does Topps necessarily have to make this set?

Think about it. It’s a painted set. Upper Deck could easily do this without worrying about licensing. Sure, you’d see a lot of players without hats, but the upside UD brings would outweigh miniscule things like that. I can picture it now… Upper Deck, destined for redemption on Topps, comes out with a revolutionary set with awesome artwork, sick hits, and a marketing ploy that blows anything Topps offers out of the water. Man… fan-tastic.

Now, with every brilliant idea, comes several disadvantages. First off, the hits. Sure, it could be possible… have the player hand sign on a bunch of mini cards and insert them into packs. UD might do this if they want to make a big comeback, but you think Topps has the time and effort to do this when they can’t even get the biggest prospect in the past twenty years to sign cards in time for their retail release? I don’t think so.

Now you obviously can’t stick framed relics and autographs into a specific-mini set, that would look stupid and create a nightmare for packaging. So the issue is basically, the set would have to come with redemptions (mini redemptions though) or a hand-signed autograph might be inserted maybe every two to three boxes, depending on how many cards Topps or UD can get a player to sign.

Oh my goodness… no guaranteed auto in every box?!

Believe it or not people, at one time, not every set or box guaranteed a hit.

Now, I probably shouldn’t waste my breath. The chances of this happening are slim to none. This is just another collector ranting about a silly idea, nothing out of the ordinary about that.

But.

But one can dream right?

Prospect Watch: Moises Sierra

2011-05-21T15:30:00.001-04:00

Being able to work for the Trenton Thunder brings unique opportunities, one of which is to watch the biggest prospects in baseball play on a regular basis. I’ve been watching the best players in the Yankees organization all season and it’s awesome to see how well they are developing (or sucking in some cases). It’s also a treat to see some prospects on other teams. Whenever I do electronic scoreboard, I have the privilege to sit in the press box with all the team beat writers. They know their stuff and won’t hesitate to sprout off how well a certain player is doing, how likely their chances to make it to the big leagues are, and the such. When the New Hampshire Fisher Cats were in town (Toronto Blue Jays Double A affiliate), one writer commented on a simple fact.

“Moises Sierra is one hell of a hitter.”

Never heard of him? That makes sense. He’s not big into the baseball card world… yet. The only cards of him available are in 2009 Bowman, like the one pictured above. He’s the right fielder for the Fisher Cats and is listed at 6 foot, 225 pounds. When I worked manual scoreboard the previous night, Sierra was walking right by the board. When he passed my open square, all I could think was “this guy is huge.”

Sure enough, when I was up in the press box the next game and he was batting third, I wasn’t too surprised. The guy has a lot of talent in the batter’s box, but he still needs to work on his game. In 36 games in 2011, Sierra is batting .286 with seven homeruns and 31 RBI’s. He has 25 runs scored and a .806 OPS. Those are fairly solid numbers in an early season. His defense is average as well, nothing to write home about. His baserunning, surprisingly, has been fairly decent for a man given his size; 46 stolen bases in 4 years. But his true claim to fame is his bat, no doubt.

While Sierra hasn’t produced the best numbers in the minors for his career (a .258/33/181 line), I believe he has the raw power and skills to go far with his bat, which makes him officially on my Prospect Watch.

A Platter of Cards from Nomo's Sushi Platter

2011-05-19T17:18:00.001-04:00

I’m not a fan of seafood. The way it looks, the way it tastes, and that smell… egh, I don’t even want to sniff about it. However, I do like sushi. How is that possible? As long as the sushi comes from Nomo’s Sushi Platter! Haha, get it?

No seriously, I do hate sushi.

But I do like trades from Michael, writer of Nomo’s Sushi Platter. He contacted me about a trade a few weeks ago and we got the ball rolling. I received his end about two weeks ago and it’s taking me this long to post about it. Yeah, I’m a slacker. Should transfer greatly in college. Here’s the highlights of all the nice stuff he sent.

A pair of gun slingers in shiny, warped 2010 Topps Chrome form.

While Weaver has cooled (more on this below), Johnson has continued his torching start. Scanning 2010 Topps Chrome is no easy task, but I think I’ve scanned enough to finally know how to work with it. Practice makes perfect.

2007 Topps Co-Signers #2: Jered Weaver

Michael sent me a nice stack of cards to add to the growing Jered Weaver collection. While his record is at a decent 6-4, Weaver still has a solid ERA (2.45), an impressive WHIP (.976) and incredible strikeout totals (65 in 69.2 innings). I wouldn’t hop off the Weaver train just yet.

2011 Topps Kimball Champions KC42: Mariano Rivera

As much as I don’t like minis, I don’t see these cards working as well as they do if they were regular sized. I would have preferred this be an insert in a painted set and not plopped right in with the modernized Topps flagship brand. Hell, maybe a whole set of these cards wouldn’t be a bad idea. Would anyone be opposed to an entire set based on minis?

2007 Upper Deck #165: Robinson Cano

A Sporting News article a few months ago boldly proclaimed that Robinson Cano was the best player on the Yankees. I don’t see how it is a bold claim.

Here’s a person I like.

Here’s people I don’t like.

2009 Sweet Spot Swatches JW: Jered Weaver

This “sweet” card of Weaver initiated the trade. I was a big fan of the relic cards from 2007 and 2008 Sweet Spot, but 09’s effort is very lackluster and nothing too special. This is my first memorabilia card of Weaver.

Thanks Michael for the trade and sorry it took forever to post... remember that coma I slipped into?

A Standing Ovation For These Pickups

2011-05-17T20:12:00.000-04:00

2006 Upper Deck Ovation is a product I’m surprised more bloggers aren’t busting. The product looks nice, there are good names on the rookie checklist, it’s cheap, and it guarantees a relic and an autograph per box. Sounds like the perfect combination for any mildly-budgeted collector to me.

I don’t practice what I preach; I have yet to purchase a box of Ovation. This is due to the fact that I am literally poorer than dirt and can only afford one or two cards from this product that I’m sure will be busted by my hands in the near future. Whew, that was lengthy.

These Ovation Rookies are numbered to 999 and fall one every box. I picked up arguably the biggest name in the set and another solid player for about a buck each. Not too shabby.

Okay, I’m kind of in between on this. I do like the design and David DeJesus, but I’m not feeling the only thing that matters… the autograph. Look at it. It’s so bare and bulgy. And no, I am not talking about DeJesus’s autograph (which also sucks), but the giant rectangle cutout UD has to desperately include. Why couldn’t they just make the rectangle smaller? Did it really need to be that big? Look at all that white. It’s whiter than…

…you know what, I’m above that.

No I’m not.

The Sleeping Dogs Wake

2011-05-16T19:37:00.000-04:00

… beep …

“Oh doctor, what happened?”

“You fell into a work coma for two weeks Nick. You’ve been working so much that your high school-boy body couldn’t handle the load and you slipped into a coma where you could only eat, sleep, go to school, and work.”

“Damn those seven-game homestands.”

“You seem to be alright now though, you have only three games left to work for the rest of May.”

“So does this mean I can post on my blog about the cool pickups and trades that have been going on?”

“Of course, if you get your lazy ass over to the computer.”

Ah, so you’ve read the transcript. I probably shouldn’t waste anytime explaining the horrors I suffered of juggling school and work and trying to get a good night’s sleep and get right with it. I have a lot of crap to show you.

To ease back into things, I’m gonna show off a couple of nice relic pickups I got over at the Blowout Card Forums. If you haven’t tried this place yet, check it out. It’s a great place to buy, trade, and sell cards without the annoyance of eBay.

2010 Topps Allen and Ginter Relics JJ: Josh Johnson

For Card’s Sake still has a crush on Josh Johnson. Have you checked his numbers lately? Unlike other For Card’s Sake loverboy (Jered Weaver), Johnson is still tearing it up. In 55.1 innings pitched this year, he has given up 12 runs. 12 runs.

2009 SP Legendary Cuts Destination Stardom DSM-DS: Denard Span

I’m a big fan of the 2009 SP Legendary Cuts design. Very well executed. But, why doesn’t this card excite me as much as it should? Am I really this bored with plain ol’ swatches?

I have plenty of maildays and trades to showcase, so stay tuned.

Play at the Mailbox

2011-05-07T16:30:00.004-04:00

Homestands suck. The Thunder just finished up a seven game stand, including a thrilling walk-off walk in the last game against the Portland Sea Dogs. After the weekend, another eight game stand begins. And guess who’s working every game? It’s been a brutal schedule as of late, simply put. However, being the devoted blogger I am, I’ll take every minute of free time I have this weekend to post and schedule posts that will hopefully fill up the week. Like I mentioned previously, I picked up a lot of stuff that I’m dying to show off.

Today we have a trade from the notorious Brian over at Play at the Plate. His speciality? Plays at the plate… and Rangers, I guess. I’ve always had some Texas stuff lying around, but never pulled the trigger on a trade, perhaps it was his Yankee hating ways strayed me away. I eventually caved in after he offered to take all the 2007 Bowman Heritage I had lying around off my hands. In return, he sent me a nice stack of 2000 Bowman Chrome cards. Now, if you’re a true reader of For Card’s Sake, you know that I’ve been busting box after box trying to complete this set, and so far it’s not working. I welcome any and all Chromey goodness from the turn of the century with open arms. Fortunately, every 2000 BC card Brian had, I needed.

Receiving older cards is always a treat. It’s been eleven years since 2000 Bowman Chrome was produced and the players and teams have changed significantly. Out of the thirteen cards I received, seven of the players are out of the league. The six that were still playing are not playing for the same team they’re pictured with. So that’s a big fat 0-for-13 in players that are still playing for the same team.

2000 Bowman Chrome #1: Vladimir Guerrero

Let’s ignore the fact that the team Vladdy is playing for doesn’t exist anymore, and let’s focus on the fact that in three boxes, I never pulled the first card of the set. That’s turrible.

2000 Bowman Chrome #109: Mo Vaughn

Well, they still exist, albeit not in Anaheim form. How come I laugh everytime I receive Mo Vaugh cards?

Along with these guys, the early 2000’s Oakland A’s also featured Mark Mulder, Barry Zito, Eric Chavez, Jermaine Dye, Billy Koch, and Mark Ellis. How they did not win a World Series, I’m not sure.

Thanks Brian and I’m looking forward to more trades!

Mailday Epidemic

2011-05-01T10:39:00.005-04:00

I cannot possible described a slower mail week than the one I just witnessed. Literally NOTHING of interest came. No packages, no letters, no magazines, nothing… just boring crap.

Noting this, I quickly made a few purchases of baseball card-relatedness which should arrive next week. In my fit for cards, I probably should have checked to see how much I spent on these things...

...

...

...

...

... yikes. Poor Paypal account.

Happy May everybody.

Pop Goes the Refractor

2011-04-28T20:53:00.001-04:00

I love cards that pop. Who doesn’t? It’s just a matter of nailing down the right definition of the term. A card that pops is something that calls for your undivided attention, something that makes your eyes explode, something epically awesome. Over the years, we can sight many specific brands that have introduced the hobby to cards that pop, and Bowman Chrome definitely leads the charge. While colored refractors and the newest autos of the hottest prospects are pretty cool to look at, I’m going back to old school Chrome, when there were inserts.

Bowman Chrome had inserts? Cha, more than you would think. 2010 Bowman brought back the inserts I love so much, but for a while there Topps had enough with adding any interesting subsets to their Bowman line and it was basically straight up base, chrome, and all their refractor counterparts. But back in the late 90s/early 2000s, Bowman had some nicely done inserts. For example:

Well themed and crafted. But, eh, not too much pizzazz. But, as I quote Luke 3:14:

“And the Lord said: ‘Let there be refractors!’”

Pop.

A Hot Package from Thoughts and Sox

2011-04-26T17:36:00.000-04:00

Who would have thought the man I’ve traded with the most would be a Sox fan? Adam from Thoughts and Sox and I just completed our third trade, and this one had a nice stack of goodies spanning every corner of my collecting interest. Shall we start with the some of the hottest players in baseball?

2007 Bowman Chrome #4: Jered Weaver

Weaver had another impressive start last night, pitching a complete game shutout with ten strikeouts and just one walk. He’s now 6-0 on the season with a .99 ERA, a 0.788 WHIP, and 49 strikeouts. Can I get a holy crap?

2008 SPx #47: Jered Weaver

As expected, Weaver’s cards are becoming more expensive by the day. Any hopes of getting some nice autos are getting slimmer and slimmer. Sigh. But at least I have this shiny die-cut.

2008 Upper Deck Goudey #252: Alex Rodriguez SP

Love him or hate him (okay, mostly everybody hates him), A-Rod is having a monster season and hit his 22nd grand slam of his career the other night, putting him one behind Lou Gehrig for the all time record. Say, wasn’t there a blogger that predicted he would have a great season?

2007 Topps 52 #78: Josh Johnson (RC)

Johnson, one of my new favorite fetishes, has now gone into the 6th inning with a no-hitter for the second time this year. While in contrast, Phil Hughes hasn’t made it into the 6th inning this season at all.

The start of this trade was thanks to the A-Rod SP and these two SPs from the 2008 Goudey set.

Two amazing athletes spanning multiple sports. Coincidence they’re two SPs?

And Adam for good measure sent some Heritage Royals

2009 Topps Heritage #308: Zack Greinke

Hmmm, playing pickup basketball probably wasn’t the best idea in the world.

2008 Topps Heritage #627: Team Checklist

That, that’s a group of winners.

Once again, a big thanks to Adam from Thoughts and Sox for the hottest trade package I’ve received yet!

Something Wicked This Way Comes (Epic Trade Post Part Four)

2011-04-23T18:29:00.000-04:00

Looks like we maaaaddeee ittttttt…

Oh, sorry. Here is the conclusion of the Epic Trade Post from the awesome Wicked Ortega, author of the very well known My Past Time… I Love It! After some adventurous posts (check out Part Three here, which will give you links to parts one and two), we have Part Four, containing the always-exciting part about any trade… the hits.

2005 SP Legendary Cuts Legendary Lineage SL: Sparky Lyle

Game used pants? Well, you take what UD gives you (must take a lot of crap huh?). Sparky Lyle is one of the lesser known Yankee greats, but his impact with the team in the late 70s could never be matched.

2005 Just Stars Phil Hughes

Now that... that’s nice. To say the least, this card was completely unexpected and absolutely awesome! I believe Wicked got this in person or through the mail, considering there’s no certification on the card and Big W is notorious for receiving autographs in person. It’s definitely cooler this way.

And of course, Wicked had to throw in something oddball.

2003 Fleer 3-D #?: Derek Jeter

Beckett’s f*ckery with their book is leaving me absolutely clueless about this card, but who cares? It’s a punchout Fleer card of the Captain, and that’s good enough for me. Here’s the final look after everything’s put together.

Not exactly the Coliseum, but it’s still a cool little thing to look at. Until it’s lost under the coffee table and never seen again.

Once again, a huge, gigantic thanks to Wicked for the fantastic trade package. I honestly cannot wait to trade with you again to see what else you have in store. To quote the great one himself… For Card’s Sake, out!

Good Friday Fellow Bloggers

2011-04-22T14:19:00.002-04:00

Hello everybody. Sorry for the week of non-posting; with work and my Senior Trip, I’ve been pretty busy. The trip was a blast and I had a ton of fun… but it was very exhausting. I’m definitely still feeling lag from walking around all day. The first homestand of the season wrapped up Thursday night and everything went pretty smoothly. My job isn’t all that laborious (except cleaning up at the end) and I’m essentially getting paid to watch baseball. Aw yeah!

I’ll ease back into things with a cool pickup to aid my 2007 Topps Chrome Red Refractor set I’m working on.

2007 Topps Chrome Red Refractor #1: Nick Swisher (Numbered to 99)

This is a very nice card, even if I wasn’t collecting the set. One of my favorite players, numbered to 99, beautiful card… can I get another aw yeah? Aw yeah!

Does Anyone Want These?

2011-04-15T09:11:00.000-04:00

I know 2007 Bowman Heritage is pretty popular among collectors in the blogosphere, so I’m offering up a lot of the cards for trade. I stopped collecting this set a while ago… it just didn’t really appeal to me. I pulled any Yankees or players I liked out and this is all I have left. There’s 18 base cards (no SPs I believe), 6 prospect cards, and 7 rainbow foil cards. They’re all in pretty good condition; some centering issues on a few. Looking to get rid of this as a whole lot. If I can’t, I’ll check into wantlists and pull individual cards for people.

The Times They Are A-Changin' (Thanks to Build-A-Sign!)

2011-04-14T06:57:00.000-04:00

If you hadn’t noticed, there have been a few changes made around the site, most specifically the new banner. That comes courtesy of the website Build-A-Sign, who sent me some free “swag products” to help promote the blog. They sent me some pretty cool stickers featuring the same design as the banner. These will be going out to various bloggers through trades and such.

This company is fantastic, simply put. They make event banners, bumper stickers, event signs, car window decals, and the whole nine yards… anything you want. It’s all customizable so you can put your own logo or words on it. The site and the design tool for making your custom signs is really easy to follow and use. The staff for Build-A-Sign is top notch as well; they helped me every step of the way and answered all my questions, and we all know how big of a pain in the ass I can be. If you like the banner or the products, please don’t hesitate to check out Build-A-Sign’s site. For Card’s Sake formally approves of this company, and that’s sayin’ a whole damn lot!

Some other news as well. The home opener for the Trenton Thunder is tonight and a lengthy homestand follows that. I’m absolutely pumped for the season to start… it should be fun! However, as much as I try to post ahead of time, there will probably be some stretches of three to four days where I won’t post. Hopefully that doesn’t bother anyone (if anyone even reads this blog). To add insult to injury, I’ll be on my senior trip to Walt Disney World from Saturday to Tuesday, so if someone plans on sending me an e-mail about something, I won’t be able to get back to them until Wednesday.

Have a great Thursday everybody!

Young Gun Lovin'

2011-04-13T17:23:00.000-04:00

As collectors, we all have certain players we like but can’t collect due to a number of reasons. They’re cards are too pricey, want to focus on your other player collections, don’t have time to start another PC, that player already has a large following, yadda, yadda, yadda. For instance, I would love to have some more Justin Verlander, Joe Mauer, and Billy Butler cards, but they have huge followings and their prices are out of my reach, especially Mauer. Why spend money on players I don’t collect when I barely have any money to spend on nice cards for players I do collect?

But, that’s beside the point. My natural instinct of getting everything I want gets in the way sometimes and if I see a good deal on a player I like, dammit I’m gonna take it. Per-se:

2010 Bowman Platinum was loaded with sick cards from veterans to rookies alike. This is a pretty sweet card that I’m pretty happy with, both with the look and the price.

Oh right, maybe I should explain why I like Josh Johnson. This should be enough. He is explosive, poised, and rapidly becoming one of the best pitchers in baseball. Best part is? He’s actually content with playing for the Florida Marlins until 2014. If that’s not a dedicated player, I don’t know what is.

It's Mailtime!

2011-04-11T17:00:00.000-04:00

Ah, maildays. Don’t we all love ‘em?

2008 Topps Chrome Blue Refractor #149: Ronnie Belliard

This lone blue refractor comes courtesy of Nachos Grande from his infamous Trade Stack. I love Chrome, and I love blue refractors, so it couldn’t hurt to snag this up at the expense of one lone insert card of a set I could care less about. Maybe it will turn into something worth while.

2005 Bowman Chrome A-Rod Throwback Set

If you were away from eBay last weekend, you might not know about the awesome $15 gift card for $7 deal they were running. I took advantage and used it to get this snazzy Chrome insert set I’ve been eyeing up for a while. This four-card set features A-Rod’s Bowman cards from 1994 to 1997, all in shiny form! Can’t go wrong with that.

I’m hoping to make one more purchase with the remainder of my gift card, in addition to loose change I hope will hit the ol’ Paypal account in a few days. I’ve had my goals set on acquire a very nice card at a good price for the PC, so hopefully it can get done at the end of the week!

Something Wicked This Way Comes (Epic Trade Post Part Three)

2011-04-09T14:36:00.001-04:00

We once again return to the Epic Trade Post sponsored by the Notorious B.L.O.G.G.E.R., Wicked Ortega of My Past Time... I Love It! fame. And what a beautiful day to showcase the next stack of cards he sent! Hopefully this weather picks up for the rest of the month so I can finally pack up my North Face.

Wicked, being the generous trader he is, sent some parallels and serial numbered cards to the mailbox in addition to the other cool cards he sent. Let’s dive in!

First up, a charcoal parallel to the popular 2008 Upper Deck Heroes featuring Donnie Baseball and Wade Boggs.

Unlike most parallels in this product, the charcoals are not numbered. I believe these were inserted into retail, but I’m not 100% positive.

A pair of Yankees icons (literally), both numbered to 999.

And finally, a 2008 Bowman Gold parallel of Phil Hughes

Hughes is becoming the number one enemy in Yankees Universe… a 16.50 ERA in two starts. Girardi says he will not pull Hughes from the rotation, even though his fastball is as straight as the cast of Jersey Shore and his arm is as dead as Dakota Fanning’s career (damn, squeezed two pop culture references into one sentence, check the record books). And looking at the depth the Yanks have (Freddy Garcia, Kevin Millwood) and the way Colon has been pitching out of the pen, sending Hughes down to the minors to work out his stuff doesn’t seem like a bad idea.

Well, the only thing left to show are the awesome hits. Excited? I know you are. Keep reading. (Oh, and if you’ve missed the first two parts of the trade, click here and here.)

Domo Arigato, Mr. Seller

2011-04-07T20:41:00.000-04:00

Remember that neat 1998 Donruss Preferred tin I got a while ago? Thanks to my nifty eBay gift card, I picked up the green variation and it just arrived in my mailbox.

Unlike the silver one, this one isn’t numbered. Not sure if this is just an unnumbered parallel or the regular variation.

However, the tin wasn’t the coolest part of the package. Check out what the seller protected it with.

Yup, a page from a Japanese newspaper. The seller is from California, so it’s possible that there could be a Japanese newspaper out there. It’s still a rarity and pretty cool to see.

Domo arigato, Mr. Seller. Mata au hi made.

A-Rod Smash

2011-04-05T16:40:00.000-04:00

Poor Chad Curtis… he wasn’t even trying and he gets smacked in the face.

Speaking of smacks in the face, who remembers Curtis’s on-air snub of Jim Gray following his Game 3 walk-off homerun in the ’99 World Series? I wasn’t old enough to remember (or if I even watched), but I have seen the video. And I’m totally with Curtis.

Look, I understand the media. They’re jobs are simple; get the news to us in any way, no matter how ridiculous it is. And I understand that since it was a hot topic, Jim Gray was going to ask Pete Rose a question about gambling on baseball. However, the aggressiveness and relentlessness Gray showed was very disrespectful and demeaning, especially on the night the All-Century Team was announced and celebrated. I’m glad Rose told him off then, and I’m glad Curtis told him off a few nights later.

By the way, Jim Gray is now working for Westwood One radio network, the Golf Channel, and the Sacramento Kings. That’s a winner’s lineup if I ever saw one.

A Mournful Farewell

2011-04-03T10:00:00.003-04:00

When I was getting back into the hobby, one of the first cards I ever bought was a 2008 UD A Piece of History Stadium Scenes Silver Jimmy Rollins relic numbered out of 25 for three bucks. The main reason I bought it? To hang it up in my baseball room in the basement.

Yup, a mere three or four years ago, all the relic cards I received from packs or blasters I opened would be slipped into a nice golden sleeve and then pinned up on the wall with a thumbtack, blending in quite nicely with the other posters and pictures. I didn’t think nothing of it, in fact I bought cards like the Jimmy Rollins swatch for the sole purpose of sticking it on my wall to be admired. When I realized that these relic cards were in fact valuable and could be sold or traded, I quickly tore every single card down. I damaged about three or four cards. They weren’t entirely big names (I think the most prominent guy was Manny, who deserved a hole in his cards), but I was still bummed.

The Rollins card maybe lasted a month on the wall. I took it down, slipped it into a toploader, and didn’t pay attention to it for two years. Until I discovered the magic of the Beckett forums, Blowout Cards forums, and blogging and how easily a nice card numbered to 25 could be traded or sold.

I can’t tell you how many trades/sales that card has been the cornerstone to. I’ve seen plenty of Phillies fans come and go, not interested in poor Mr. Rollins. Until a nice Phillies fan on Beckett caved in and took it from my hands. For that card that’s been with me for roughly three years, it netted me this.

2007 Ultra Rookie Autographs #219a: Brandon Morrow (Numbered to 299)

A rookie auto of the pitcher whom I have a strange fascination for. Who would have thought a card I picked up for three bucks in my early stages of collecting would have gotten me a potential money bomb? This hobby sure is weird.

But this post isn’t particularly about Mr. Morrow. No it’s about the 2008 UD A Piece of History Stadium Scenes Silver Jimmy Rollins relic numbered out of 25 that has been with me through monster trades and bad deals, through those long stretches of commentless posts and the contests that were miraculously won. Although I hate Jimmy Rollins, his card will always have a special place in my heart.

God speed.

Something Wicked This Way Comes (Epic Trade Post Part Two)

2011-04-02T16:48:00.002-04:00

In continuation of the Epic Trade Post from Wicked, we’ll take a look at the shiny s*it the notorious blogger sent up to grand ol’ New Jersey. We here at For Card’s Sake are huge fans of chrome and shimmering cards and we’ll accept them in any trade with open arms.

2009 Topps Chrome World Baseball Classic W13: Alex Rodriguez

I’m not a fan of the World Baseball Classic cards Topps shoved down collector’s throats in 2009, but I do like the look of this card. Maybe it’s the chrome, or maybe cause A-Rod’s on it.

1995 Topps Embossed #115: Don Mattingly

Jeez, a parallel from a 90s set. I’m shocked.

2007 Bowman’s Best #2: Derek Jeter

Bowman’s Best and Bowman Sterling is like that hot senior in high school who was incredibly pretty but incredibly egotistical, and went with the high rollers instead of the poor guys who could only afford low-end products.

2001 Topps Chrome Traded T108: Lou Piniella

In 2001, Topps released a crapload of Chrome inserts, both in their Chrome products and their regular Chrome-deprived products. Some of these inserts sounded pretty cool, like “What Could Have Been”, “Before There Was Topps”, and “King of Kings”. This particular card was from the 2001 Topps Traded set, and these Chrome parallels were seeded two in every pack.

1996 Finest #340: Ruben Rivera

Here’s something you might have not known; Ruben Rivera is the cousin of Mariano Rivera. Here’s something you did know; Ruben Rivera sucked. And stole Derek Jeter’s glove and bat and then sold them to a sports memorabilia dealer.

Shiny is always appreciated at For Card’s Sake. Thanks Wicked, and stay tuned for Part Three. And if you missed it, check out Part One of Wicked's awesome trade.

Friday News and Thoughts

2011-04-01T16:02:00.000-04:00

Here’s what’s up.

• There are so, so, so, so many positives to take from the Yanks’ win yesterday. For starters, Teixeira didn’t take two months to hit his first homer of the year, and looked pretty locked in at the plate yesterday, smacking some balls pretty hard, although straight at people. Hopefully he continues this. A-Rod also looked good at the plate with an impressive drive to deep center yesterday for a double. Not to mention he had a couple of good plays at third as well. Sabathia had a solid outing but nothing too impressive; perhaps it was the weather. I can tell you what the weather didn’t affect though... the bullpen. Joba, Soriano, and Rivera were lights out. Great innings from all three, especially Mo and Soriano. Textbook win.

• I failed to mention the fact that I got a job working with the Trenton Thunder. The Thunder is the Double-A affiliation of the New York Yankees and are a pretty big hit around the Central Jersey area. I’ve been going to games for years and I finally got a job with the organization. My official title? Manual Scoreboard Operator. Awesome, right? Not only that, but thanks to my extensive background in video production, the Production director said he would be using me for camera and video scoreboard work. It’s a great opportunity and I look forward to the start of the season.

• Yikes, the start of the season is less than two weeks away.

• And don’t ask about autographs… employees are terminated immediately if they fraternize with the players.

• I would totally trade more often if it weren’t for the simple fact I have nothing to trade.

• I’m still not buying 2011 Topps.

• Even though I have the strong urge to run out to Wal-Mart and buy a couple of those blasters and rack packs.

• I spent nearly an hour today watching NBA fights on Youtube. Check this compilation out. Damn.