Good Friday Fellow Bloggers

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?

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!)

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'

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!

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)

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

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

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

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)

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

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.

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

For any bloggers who don’t know Wicked… you better get with the friggin program. This guy is simply put one of the best bloggers out there. He is an excellent trader, collector, and friend. I encourage everybody to check out his blog, My Past Time… I Love It! not only to see Wicked’s awesome memorabilia and card collection, but for its excellent writing (especially from its guest writers, wink wink).

Whoever has had the opportunity to receive a package from Wicked knows how generous he is. When I received the large package in the mail from Florida, I know I had something epic in my hands. Sure enough, when I ripped open the package I was stunned to say the least. Here I sent Wicked three measly cards, but he rewards me with four team bags LOADED with awesome Yanks. Now, I received this package about a month ago, and this trade post is long overdue. However, I’m going to honor this heroic trade by breaking it up into four, yes, four, parts. Tonight’s episode: team sets. Wicked sent over a hefty stack of Yanks for about four products spread throughout the years; these sets are now done or pretty close to it.

Simply put, 1996 Emotion X-L is a weird set. The cards are bordered and look nice, but the adjectives they place on the cards to describe the player seems more appropriate for a Calvin Klein ad.

Tenacious.

Flashing.

Flourish.

Passion. Calvin Klein.

No trade from Wicked would be complete without any shiny cards. Here’s the face(s) of the franchise from 2003 Topps Chrome.

Can Mo replicate his success from the past few seasons? Or will age catch up with him?

Will Jeter succumb to another subpar season? Or will he rise to the top as a prominent player once again? And most importantly, will he get the girl?!

Um, yes. It’s Derek Jeter.

The shiny motif continues with some 2000 Upper Deck Ultimate Victory cards featuring superstar Derek Jeter…

and…

Screw you, Nick Johnson. Screw you. Johnson signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians early in Spring Training, and I’m not sure if he made the club or not. Probably broke his arm getting a cup of water.

Last but not least, Wicked sent over about twenty cards from the 2002 Upper Deck Victory set. I’m a big fan of this set; creative design, awesome photography, and the fact that it’s from 2002. This means all the “Postseason Scrapbook” subset cards are gonna feature… yup, Yankees.

It’s nice seeing fan favorites like Tino reappear in your collection. It’s not nice, however, seeing fan favorites like Tino attempt to color commentate. Speaking of which, I am not looking forward to another year of John Sterling and Michael Kay. Ugh.

An example of that nice photography. Although I’m pretty sure Jorge hasn’t sniffed catcher’s gear in eight months.

Look how uninterested they are. I mean, c’mon guys, I know your team wins a lot but seriously? Show some emotion!

“Oh yippe, we won again.” “I’m hungry, what’s the postmeal like tonight?” “Crap, there’s my ex, I better wave so I don’t get the stink eye from her parents.”

That concludes part one of the Epic Trade Post from Wicked. Stay tuned to see some of the nicer stuff he sent over!

I See Red!

It’s not secret how much I love the red refractors from 2007 Topps Chrome. After pulling some nice names from the two boxes I busted, I decided on trying to complete the set. Easier said than done, considering their all numbered to 99, come as box toppers, and are friggin’ gorgeous. However, I struck a pretty good deal over at the Blowout forum, and for six bucks I got…

Not one.

Not two.

Not three.

Not four.

Not five.

Not six.

Not seven.

But eight red refractors all numbered to 99.

Okay, so not the biggest names in the set, but they’re all important in their own right.  Man I’m sounding like my mother.

Spring of Content?

Yes, I’m still alive everybody. Just like the Owl, I too have a very busy March and that has shown from the lack of life around here. Everything looks to be clear and I can finally start blogging again on a regular basis. And if things pop up… thank God for auto-post. I’ll admit I haven’t really been following the Yanks too much this spring training. Sure, I know the starting rotation battles going on between Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia, I know about what prospects are making a splash, and I know that A-Rod is smacking the crap out of the ball.

Let’s start with A-Rod. Last year wasn’t a typical “A-Rod season”; his home run totals, batting average, OBP, and SLG % was way down compared to his previous few years. However, he did drive in 125 RBIs, the most in a year since his monster 2007 season. Any Yankee fans (or A-Rod fans if they exist) that are worried about his numbers declining once again should have no fear; quite frankly, he is DOMINATING with his bat right now.

Yesterday, A-Rod hit his sixth homerun of spring training, a two-run shot that cleared the black in centerfield against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Yanks went on to win the game 4-2. He also has at least one RBI in nine of his last ten games. The man is on fire and hopefully it carries over into the regular season, where the lineup will need every hit from his bat while notorious slow-starters like Mark Teixeira take a few months to warm up.

Girardi announced the official rotation yesterday as well. In a battle for the fifth spot in the rotation, Freddy Garcia narrowly beat out Bartolo Colon, and Colon will now start the year in the bullpen in place of the injured Pedro Feliciano. While both players had solid springs, Colon did outpitch Garcia and that leaves some people in question. I assume Cashman and Girardi are not too keen on the idea of Colon pitching 150+ innings, considering the last full season he completed was in 2005 (the same year he won the Cy Young… doesn’t it seem like ages ago?). And it’s not like Garcia was a scrub last year; he went 12-6 last year with a very good WHIP and ERA. With the signing of Kevin Millwood to a minor league deal, the Yankees have very good depth for the last spot in the rotation. These are all veterans looking for that final shot on a Major League club… this is only going to help the Yanks. As long as Colon doesn’t steal all the hamburgers.

Even if you’re not a Yankees fan, I’m sure you’ve heard of Jesus Montero, superstar-in-the-making. However, he hasn’t really impressed this spring training. He’s batting in the low .200s and his defense is very subpar. He most likely will start the season in triple-A. However, I can tell you about one prospect that has a good shot at making the club in 2011.

Manuel Banuelos. Remember that name. He is going to be a monster. A 19-year-old left-handed pitcher signed from the Mexican League, Banuelos has a hard, tailing fastball, a nasty 12-6 curve, and a devastating change up, easily his best pitch and very Johan-esque. Banuelos has excellent command, poise, and confidence, and look for him to be a force in the coming years, if not this year.

All in all, after worrying about the Yanks all winter, I can safely say I feel more confident in this club. The rotation looks solid, the bats look ready to roll, and some rookies are going to make a big impact for the team. Opening Day is in five days, and I’m effin’ pumped!

Unintentionally Hilarious Cards #4

Why Does He Have a White Sox Prospect Featured on For Card's Sake

First off, happy St. Patrick’s Day to any Irish bloggers out there. You can bet the local Irish pub was jammed with people. Very loud people.

Whenever I look through my old Bowman cards, I usually check the players I don’t know to make sure they are still relevant to the sport/hobby. It’s always fun to research and see what player to hold and what player to trade away. Sometimes you find a guy or two that isn’t out of the league and is still kicking it in the minors, or doing very well in the minors and has potential to be an everyday MLB player. This is one of those guys

Now, I’m almost positive everyone but Steve hasn’t heard of this guy, and that’s okay. It would be almost creepy if you did. Jose Martinez is a prospect in the White Sox organization with potential to be a great power hitter. However, injuries have slowed him down and he’s still working his way up the system; he hasn’t made it higher than low Single-A. But hey, he’s only 22.

You may ask why I even bothered buying this card, let alone banking on it to be valuable in the future. I don’t necessarily think Martinez is going to make it to the majors, and if he does, he’ll be a typical power hitter with very little talent in other aspects of the game. However, I already owned a regular Chrome and a refractor of this card, and when I saw the blue refractor pop up on the bay; I figured “what the hell” and went for it.

The card books for 50 bucks. Yes, that’s right, 50 bucks.

I won it for $1.06.

We need to change the book. (Oh yeah, and it’s not for trade yet Steve).

"Tales from the Dugout" #4: Thurman Munson

Continuing with the “Tales from the Dugout” series, here’s an odd, albeit humorous, story about Yankee-great Thurman Munson and his obsession to beat his arch-rival, Carlton Fisk.

Marty Appel used to work as the public relations director for the New York Yankees. In that capacity, Appel was once taught a valuable lesson about baseball statistics by Thurman Munson, the hard-nosed, fiercely proud Yankees catcher who died in a tragic airplane crash in 1979.

“This started one day in the early 1970s,” says Appel, “when the players were sitting around the clubhouse after batting practice. Thurman was reading the day’s press notes, which as the team’s PR director it was my job to write up and distribute to the members of the media. Press notes are mostly statistics (updated daily), but I’d also include all sorts of tidbits, such as notes about Yankees players who were among the league leaders in various categories. Once a month or so The Sporting News would publish fielding stats, and their latest issue showed that Thurman was second in the league in assists among catchers, with 25. Carlton Fisk of the Boston Red Sox was leading the league with 27. Well, I had put this information in my press notes for that day, and Thurman saw it. The problem was that Thurman couldn’t stand Fisk, and he was so competitive he hated the idea that anybody would think Fisk was better than him.

“As I was walking through the clubhouse, Thurman waved me over to his locker.

“‘What’s the idea of showing me up like this?’ he said, pointing to the press notes.

“‘What are you talking about?’ I asked.

“‘This bullshit about me being behind Fisk in assists. Do you think for one minute he’s got a better arm than me? I can’t believe you’d use this! What a stupid statistic!’ Thurman was really mad about it, and he finished his little tirade by saying, ‘I’ll show you.’

“A short while later the game got under way, and I was sitting up in the press box in my usual location. When our pitcher struck out his first batter of the game, Thurman dropped the ball, but he picked it up and snapped a throw down to first. I didn’t look down at Thurman, but I immediately realized what the play meant: a putout for the first baseman and an assist for Thurman. In the next inning a second batter struck out, and again Thurman dropped the ball, picked it up, and threw to first to record the out. This time I did look down at home plate, and there was Thurman looking right back at me. He held up two fingers, as if to say, ‘That’s two assists.’ A third guy struck out, and Thurman did it all one more time, earning his third assist of the game to put him one ahead of Fisk. This time when I looked down and saw Thurman looking up, he had a big grin on his face.

“After the game I said to him, ‘I can’t believe you did that.’ He said, ‘Did what?’ He never would admit he dropped those third strikes on purpose, but he definitely made his point about catchers’ assists.”

One Tin at a Time

1998 Donruss Preferred! Major League official cards! Search for Precious Metals! Collect all 24 Tins! Who wouldn’t be all over this?

Apparently everyone. You can still find tins of this stuff for around four bucks.

This is a very interesting, and confusing, set. The tins you usually receive the cards in do not look like this. They look like this (if you’re interested in seeing what the cards look like, Drew busted two tins of this stuff over on his blog). So why does this tin look different, and why is it numbered?

And in all honesty, I do not have an answer. I tried researching this set but I have come up empty handed about this different tin variations. What I do know is that A-Rod is on this tin (which I believe is the silver variation) and that it’s numbered to 999. And that’s just damn well good enough for me.

Weekly Wrap

Is it really Thursday? Here I am, the jackass that told you guys I would be back Tuesday. I guess time flies when you’re busy with every single thing on earth. Where to start?

Friday was quite eventful. The first day of golf arrived, and it didn’t go according to plan. It was a crappy day (cold and windy) and I wasn’t feeling my driver or irons too well. The past few days of golf have been better though, I finally got my swing down and have been making solid contact with the ball. A few more rounds and I should have the game down pat. But is that enough to make the team? Last year, there were 6 kids on the club. This year, due to a flux of freshmen, there are 20 kids trying out. And some of those kids are GOOD. I most likely will get cut, but at least it was a valuable learning experience and I’m glad I got the free week of golf. I’m definitely going to pick up the sport.

The final recball game ever also happened on Friday too. Our team lost in the semifinals of the playoffs, and it was a very sad moment. I’ve been playing recreational basketball since the first grade and it has kept me involved with the sport for many years. Our high school rec team has had the same roster for all four years of school. It’s tough knowing that we won’t be playing with each other next year, but that’s the way things go. I’m sure there is some sort of recreational league in the college I’m attending next year, but it just won’t be the same.

The Mr. Northern pageant (which was exactly fifteen minutes after the recball game) went very well. I practiced my talent down to a tee (see previous post for link) and everybody loved it. Although the event was rigged (the winner was the most uninteresting kid of the evening, I think it had to do with the fact that everything he did was school appropriate). Either way, I had a lot of fun participating, and that’s all that matters.

Saturday was the day of my big party. No need to explain, just picture your typical high school party. Times ten.

Monday called for the big day… my birthday! The big gift was a nice 32 GB iPod Touch. My ever-expanding music collection called for a roomier iPod, and my parents delivered with a sweet gift. I also got some miscelleanous stuff including some golf balls and tees, oddball books, and Boy Meets World Season 4 (took my mother forever to find this, God bless her). I didn’t ask for any baseball card related materials on the account I have hundreds of cards overloading my computer desk. Once that’s cleared up I’ll go back to making useless purchases. Overall, it was a very successful birthday.

Now that we are all caught up, let’s get back to why the people read this blog. Okay, skim the boring words for the cool scans. Same difference. We’re gonna kick things off with a small package that came fresh from today’s mail… a pair of Topps Chrome Blue Refractors.


2009 Topps Chrome Blue Refractor #191: Ryan Perry (Numbered to 199)
Perry hasn’t really made an impact yet in the majors, but another year of experience can’t hurt the baby-faced pitcher.

2010 Topps Chrome Blue Refractor #196: Kevin Russo (Numbered to 199)
Sorry if the scan doesn’t look as shiny; the card was stuck in a toploader due to 2010 Topps Chrome’s “tunnel-bend” refractors. Kevin Russo hasn’t really been jumping off the radar during spring training this season, and the chances of him being a “cup-of-coffee” player are pretty high. He’s not gonna get much playing time behind the best infield in the league (that’s right I said it, and I dare you to find another infield has lethal as the Yankees’) and he isn’t that phenomenal with the bat.


I picked up these cards from last minute auctions from the same seller one lonely night. I believe they were about a buck for each. The seller, being a d-bag of course, refused to give me combined shipping so I was stuck paying about 3 bucks for the cards to be shipped. The total cost of shipping the package? $1.56. Thanks dude. By the way, the Perry is up for trade for any colored Chrome refractor of a Yankee or player I like.

I have a lot more to post including eBay pickups from weeks ago and an epic trade package that will take not one, not two, but three parts to tell. Stay thirsty, my friends.

Busy Bee, Bee Back Tuesday

Hey guys, so the busiest week of the year has arrived, and that means the blog will have to take a seat in the back for a little bit until the schedule clears up. I have a ton of school-related activities coming up, including NHS meetings, the Mr. Northern pageant (Miss America pageant for boys), so I have to practice my routine for that (click on this link to see what I’m doing), and golf tryouts. My birthday is rolling around the corner on Monday, and to celebrate I’ll be out partying with friends on Saturday. I’ve been spending all my spare time finishing up my Boy Meets World DVDs and adding new music to my iTunes library. It has been a busy beginning to the greatest month of the year.

I’ll be back after Monday to get back to posting.