Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Anyone Wanna Trade.

















Only cards unavailable are the Giants, Tony already has those, the Rays cards and the Jackie Robinson are mine and Pujols is on E Bay.




Friday, August 27, 2010

Shields Mail Day.

First up we have some nice mini's purchased from COMC, I didn't have a single mini in my Shields pc so I thought it was time to rectify that. I have mini cards from Allen & Ginter 2009,2008,2009 Black Border a Piedmont mini from t206 and a Goodwin Champions mini. Also in this lot are four Garza mini's and a Jeff Niemann mini. Funny how over time your opinion will change, I used to hate mini cards now I love them. Very happy with the price of these all less than a dollar each. Nice additions to the old PC.
In this picture we have the regular size Shields cards that arrived yesterday. The Ultimate Jumbo Jersey Auto is from E Bay the others were from COMC. I have been after the Jumbo jersey auto since that set came out last year, I was finally lucky enough to find one on E Bay that wasn't buy it now. Got this beauty for $5 which to my mind is a real bargin. Along with the auto we have a Allen & Ginter 2010 This Day in History card,2006 Bowman Gold,2006
Topps '52 Chrome,2009 O Pee Chee Black and 2007 Heritage Rainbow Foil. COMC has become a bit of a God send for me, this is because I was shying away from buying Shields base cards as the shipping for lesser cards is alot on E Bay. COMC shipping is high but it still works out cheaper to buy 15 cards there than it does to buy 15 cards from 15 different sellers on E Bay. The Shields PC is getting bigger all the time and with luck will continue to grow. I have a couple more nice Shields incoming. I will post them as they arrive. Thanks for looking Guys/Gals.

More Mail.

First up we have a Curtis Granderson Piedmont Auto form last years t206 set. Not really a fan of these framed style cards, but this one is a nice looking card of a decent player.
The second card we have is an Ernie Banks game used jersey from the 2009 Legendary Cuts set, this one is numbered 53/75. Always nice to have a real legend land on the door mat.

Next up we have a Blake Smith Blue Aspirations Auto from last years Donruss EEE. Smith is a 22 year old in the Dodgers farm system. This year he is hitting .280 with 18 homers and 73 rbi's, so a nice looking season for young mr Smith.


Finally we have a Diamond Kings 2008 Rick Porcello Auto Dual Jersey card 12/25. Last year this card had a BV of $100+, I guess the value is not as high due to Rick having a difficult second season. Hopefully this will appeal to all you Tiger fans out there.



Tuesday, August 24, 2010

It Had To Be Kaz.

When you are a fan of a team that stinks you need something good to latch onto,this is why I deceided my first player to collect would be Scott Kazmir. Kazmir was one of the only good things about the Rays during the mid 2000's. Kaz gave a poor team a chance to win everytime he went to the mound, the same cannot be said of Seth McClung or Casey Fossum. When your team sucks you need a straw to clutch onto. Sadly for Kaz after the wonderful 2008 season when the Rays went all the way his stuff started to go downhill, he had a high ERA, lost velocity,more walks and all of a sudden the writing was on the wall. Then he was gone, traded away to the Angels for Sean Rodriguez and two more prospects. I remember feeling very sad that he had gone, but also hopeful that he could turn around his career with the Angels. Sadly this is not happening, last night (Tuesday) Kaz faced off against the Rays and lost 4-3, his record now stands at 8-11 with an ERA over 6. It looks as if Kaz may be finished, I hope he can sort out his career, he was my first player PC and one of my favorite player. In tribute here are a couple of his cards. A nice UD Black and a Sweet Spot Signatures. Both cards are favorites of mine.





Sunday, August 22, 2010

My First Mail From COMC.

Here is my first ever card from COMC.com. Yes it's another James Shields card, this time we have a 2007 Exquisite Futures 8/20. As stated in a previous post I love these cards the quality is second to none. This brings my Shields Exquisite cards up to four with another in the mail from SCF.
As stated this was my first try at using COMC, I shall be using that site a lot more often now I know it will be delivered to the correct address, the reason I was a tad worried was that my address on gthe site only had UK instead of United Kingdom and I was worried it would be sent to the University of Kentucky. I have already placed another order for 16 cards including a handful of Shields minis and refractors. The prices are way below E Bay on the lesser cards, the postage is a little high for the weight of the cards, but on the plus side if I bought 16 cards from ten different buyers on E Bay the shipping would be way high. A big thanks to Tony for putting me onto this site.

A quick shout out to Fuji for being the most patient man on the planet. Thanks for being a Gent Fuji.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

A Little PC For Me.

Over the last few weeks I have neglected my James Shields PC in favor of buying some Rays prospect cards. I have decided it's time to pick up a few more Shields cards. First up we have a 2006 Sweet Spot Rookie Bat Barrel auto. I love Sweet Spot cards, and have been trying to find a Shields bat barrel for a long time. Most of the ones I found have been way to expensive for my wallet. I decided to post a thread on SCF asking for Shields cards and the first response was a guy offering me this beauty. A wee bit of negotiating later it was mine and I am really happy to have this in my PC. Stay tuned for Shields sweetness.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Goodbye Mr Thomson.

He is not a Hall of Famer. He is not a member of the 500 HR club or the 3000 hit club, but Bobby Thomson holds a special place in baseball history. He hit one of the most famous home runs in baseball. 1951 3rd games of the National League playoff between the Dodgers and Giants Bobby Thomson hit the three run homer that took the Giants to the World Series. In recent times there has been controversey about weather the Giants stole the signs from the Dodger catcher (see the Echoing Green by Josh Prager). At the end of the day it does not matter, Bobby Thomson became a legend with one swing of the bat that October afternoon.
Bobby Thomson passed away on Monday afternoon at age 86. Another baseball icon gone to the big diamond in the sky. I didn't know Bobby Thomson, I never saw Bobby Thomson play, hell I don't even live in the same country as Bobby Thomson, but I know the story of Bobby Thomson and Ralph Branca. When I became interested in baseball the 51 playoff was one of the first things that caught my interest. Rest in peace Mr Thomson.

.270 avg 1705 hits 903 runs 264 hrs 1026 rbi.

Goodbye Mr Thomson. Gone but never forgotten.
Bobby Thomson
Oct 25 1923- Aug 16 2010.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Stop! Wait a Minute Mr Postman.

Ohhhhhhhhh!!!! Look at all the pretty colors. I actually forgot I had this incoming as it had taken so long to arrive. This is for trade or sale if anyone is interested.
My first David Price Auto,this is a Sweet Spot Sweet Beginnings 188/299. Price broke the Rays single season win record this past week with his 15th win. Cy Young possibility.

First up from todays mail is this little beauty. Donruss Elite Extra Throwback Threads Todd Glaesmann Auto/Jersey 43/250. Todd was the Rays 3rd round draft pick last year. Currently he is in rookie league with the Princeton Rays. .216 4hr 20 rbi in 46 games so far this year.
Also picked up a nice card for Tony (should be on its way) I will let him show it off to you all.




Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Real Men in Real Pants.

This is a 1957 Topps Carl Furillo. Check out those pants, how the hell did these guys play so hard in such gigantic pants? Could any of us imagine chasing down a fly ball wearing such pants? Steal a base? Only if I had a following wind. The question many ask is who are better,todays players or the players of years past. My answer is this, if todays players could play in such gigantic pants then and only then could they be considered great. Only when Pujols et al have smoked a carton of Chesterfields and then play nine innings can they be called greats.

Fed up.

Since 2003 I have been an avid fan of the Tampa Bay (Devil)Rays, I took in a game when on vacation and have been hooked ever since. Anyone who knows about baseball will know that the Rays were bad back then and had been a bottom feeder for the first 10 years of their life. Up until 2008 they had only won 70 games once and only finished fourth of five in the AL East once. In 2008 something magical happened the Rays won and won alot, so much in fact they went all the way to the World Series. Last year they won, but not as many and this time missed the play offs. This year they have the second best record in the majors behind the Yankees. So you would think everything in Rays fandom should be sunny and rosy right? If you were thinking yes you would be wrong. I frequent a few Rays Forums, I don't post very often due to the fact I can't watch the games live except on MLB Gameday, my connection is too slow to get MLB TV. Anyway reading these forums you would think the Rays were the worst team in the MLB. I understand it's every fans right to bitch and moan about their teams performance, Thor knows I have done it often enough myself. The point I am trying to make is this, I am really pissed off at some fans reactions to a bump in the road. Last week James Shields pitched a gem against the Yankees and won, A few days ago James Shields gave up SIX homers against the Blue Jays, same pitcher different results. Hey he's only human right, even the best had bad days. Shields gets killed on the boards, trade him the shout,piece of crap pitcher etc etc. The Rays lose five in a row against a good Twins team and a better than expected Jays team, is this taken as a bump in the road? Nope, fire Maddon is the cry, bring up player X demote player Y to the GCL. This kind of reaction pisses me off to the max. Have fans forgotten how bad we used to be? Do they now believe they have the right to win every game? Is this what happens when your team all of a sudden becomes half decent? 162 games is a long season to lose five in a row is a blip not a disaster. To all fans of all teams I say this, love your team for what they are, human. No one is perfect (unless they are pitching against the Rays), don't take a defeat so hard, don't gloat too hard when your team wins. Rant over.

Trivia time.

In 1903 in a game between Benson and Willmar something happened that will never be repeated. In the bottom of the 10th with Benson one run in front the Willmar pitcher hit a single, the next batter hit the ball past the centre fielder, can you guess what happened next?

Thursday, August 5, 2010

A Little Mail.

Alexander Colome Tristar Pursuit of the Majors Gold Auto 68/80(have 3 and 1 #/25)
Joseph Cruz Bowman 2010 Blue Refractor 65/250

Kyle Lobstein Razor Auto /199


Luke Bailey Donruss EEE TOTC Auto 66/100



Kyeong Kang 2009 Bowman Sterling Gold Refractor 5/50




Jake McGee Bowman 2008 Auto /500 got two of these.





Alexander Torres Blue Refractor /250






Alexander Torres Gold Refractor 40/50.







David Price pie in the face. Cost $20. This one is already on E Bay.
So all in all not a bad week or so of mail,the Torres pc races on only need an orange refractor,red refractor and printing plate for the rainbow,we will scrub the Superfractor as its already sold for over $500.
















Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Hurry Up Already.

I don't know about anyone else, but I wish Alex Rodriguez would hurry up and hit his damn homer. Is anyone else fed up with all the coverage it's getting?

Sweet Auto.

Here we have a Tristar Signa Cut auto of Ralph Branca. What I love about this auto apart from it being a Brooklyn Dodger is how clear and crisp it is. Branca has such a beautiful signature,this comes from his mother telling him to always make it look good. (Always listen to your mother people). Modern players need to take a lesson from the old school guys about signing, how many of us own auto cards and cannot make out the auto. For example without the picture on the card would we really know it was Tim Lincecums auto,come on guys keep those autos crisp and clear.

This auto is posted in response to Tony's Bobby Thomson auto,now you have seen both guys involved in one of baseball most dramatic moments.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Topps Tribute Rays Style.



Both are numbered to 50. I prefer the look of 2009 to the new set that's just come out. Longoria goes in the PC,I think Crawford heads to E Bay or in trade.

Just a Little Shopping.

So with my birthday paypal and some e bay sales paypal burning a virtual hole in my virtual pocket I decided to do a spot of shopping. These are the results of my little spree.

First is a nice lot from a guy on Blowout Cards Forum price $28 dlvd.
Rick Porcello Diamond Kings Auto/Dual Jersey BV $80-$120 (probably less now)
Blake Smith Donruss EEE Auto /100
Curtis Grandeson Topps T206 Auto
Tim Lincecum 2007 A&G Rookie
Tim Lincecum Topps 2007 Rookie (Guy said this was a SP action shot)

Next came 2 Jake McGee Autos 2008 Bowman.$10 dlvd,one for the collection one for the bay.
A David Price pie in the face card $20 dlvd,these are selling on the bay for an average of $35.

From SCF
Evan Longoria 2009 Topps Tribute Black Bat Card 14/50
Carl Crawford 2009 Topps Tribute Black Auto/Bat Card /50
David Price Sweet Beginnings Auto #/299
The two Tribute cards $16. The Price $20

From E Bay
Todd Glaesmann Donruss EEE Throwback Threads Auto/Jersey
Alexander Colome Tristar Pursuit Auto /80
Kyle Lobstein 2008 Razor Black Auto /199.
That's it for now,but with more cards selling on E Bay and still paypal left I think there will be more to come.