2011 Topps Chrome - A Pack A Day - Pack 6 of 24

We've hit the quarter-of-the-box point... a quick reminder, 17 teams still left in the Gypsy Queen break! Hurry, before yours gets claimed! Plenty of great teams left!

Here is today's pack of base:

A couple of decent rookies and a choker Red Sox pitcher. Hehe... I get to have a little bit of fun at someone else's expense now and again, I AM an Astros fan and we've been lambasted this year for our ineptitude... speaking of Red Sox...

Here's our first "vintage reprint". If you're going to do vintage, go back a little further than 1996? Just saying...

I will say, another great photo from Topps. In some sets, they have really used some great photography this year. If they aren't going to give us real "game-changers" they may as well give us great photography.

We're still a week away from our first auto... but it'll be worth the wait!

2011 Topps Chrome - A Pack A Day - Pack 5 of 24

Alright, go sign up, you know the deal... so I'll throw this deal out there... if you claim a $17 or $25 team, you FIRST additional $10 team is only $5. That enough of a deal to get additional entrants?!?!?!

Today's pack... base:

Of course we can't have a set from Topps without the Mick.

This is a refractor numbered out of /562. Don't know much about this kid, but hope he's the next Nolan if I end up holding onto this card!

Have a great Sunday everyone!

2011 Topps Chrome - A Pack A Day - Pack 4 of 24... and a trade...

Well, I had a question posed by jaybarkerfan, can multiple teams be claimed in the group break? Why certainly they can and I encourage you all to do so! Each team claimed beyond the first will be give you a discount. Once I'm ready to collect the cash, I'll let you know exactly how much you owe for your total claims, so go sign up and grab multiple teams!

Alright, here's today's pack of goodness... the base:

A couple of decent rookie cards and Mauer... for the sake of the Twins I hope he can bounce back. They've got a lot of money invested in him. I still have no clue what his exact injury is but he's gotta get back to his former self soon!

And now we have our first colored paralled! A black Nelson Cruz numbered 34/100! I am posting them in the order I opened them, so I was really hoping that I'd be able to post this as "World Series hero" Nelson Cruz, but alas those darned Cardinals found a way to win it... still this is an awesome card!

 I love the horizontal layout of the card, and a great photo.

There's the serial number. I still don't understand why the black parallels are numbered to 100 and the blue are numbered to 99. What's the big stinkin' difference? Whatever, I like low numbered parallels and at least this card isn't of some "Mr. 26th guy on the roster" filler.

Hope everyone is enjoying this box break. It has been very trying of my patience so far and we're only 4 packs in. Hopefully I can keep up this pace without driving myself insane.

I did go to Target last night and pick up a couple of blaster boxes and a rack pack. Nothing very exciting, but here are a few of the highlights... I didn't get any kind of good mojo, just some base filling and a few refractors...

The Miggy is a refractor 562 and then the purples are out of /499, any Rays collectors out there? Then there are the orange refractors, which I haven't decided if I like yet or not. They are odd... and unnumbered... I feel as apathetic towards them as I do the base refractors or xfractors.

Well, while I'm at it, I'm also going to throw in a trade post with Spankee over at My Cardboard Mistress. He recently busted a bunch of UD A Piece of History and I got the hits from the Astros and one of the Hollywood cards that my wife wanted... he also sent along some additional inserts and Astros cards, thanks Spankee!

 Paulino has had an up and down career and we traded him to Colorado a while back, can't remember what we got in return but it may have just been a prospect swap. I always forget to mention that I collect Clemens stuff, any hits and any Astros cards. I still think he had a great career, regardless of whether he used PED's or not, still a great player. Much like Bonds, I think they both would have been in the HOF without needing to use the PEDs.

 A Roy Oswalt card that I don't have already! Seriously, I have 3 pages in my binder of Roy stuff, so it's always nice to get one that isn't a duplicate! Which I have several of, so if any of you Roy fans out there want a jersey card, they can be had cheap!

Finally, a piece of "Mel's" pants from We Were Soldiers... not "Mel Gibson", but just "Mel". For some reason UD didn't go through the hoops to be able to use the names... whatever... still cool to get some Hollywood memorabilia for the wife!

Spankee, you're a good man! You cards will head out as soon as I make sure there aren't anymore Chrome cards I want to include!

2011 Topps Chrome - A Pack A Day - Pack 3 of 24

Group break... sign up... now... 2 Hobby Boxes of Gypsy Queen... starts at $10 per team... just do it...

Well, pack three today. This is going to take a while people... I'm just sayin', it's going to be a huge challenge for me to keep it at a pack a day and get through them all without doing like 2-3 packs a day... But I guess I'll get started with some base:

 Two decent pitchers and a guy who has caused me the most mixed emotions this year. Berkman, dang you! I want you to get a ring so badly, yet I can't stand seeing the Cardinals win. He was one strike from ending it all last night and came through with the game saving single. I really want the Rangers to win, but I do still have great memories and loyalty to the Big Puma...

And now for my great refractor...

Strasburg lives! I'm really hoping he does come back from the injury and has a great career. For the sake of baseball and for all the hobby members who have sunk thousands into his autos and RC's.

Have a great Fridy every one!

2011 Topps Chrome - A Pack A Day - Pack 2 of 24

Alright, here's pack number 2... but wait, there's a group break going on... sign up... Since these Chrome posts are going to push the group break post further and further down and eventually off my front page, get ready to have this reminder pretty much to open every post... ;)

By the way... on all these Chrome posts, the base cards are not for trade unless you notice it's a duplicate as I am putting the 220 card base set together. All refractors will be for trade as will both the auto's.

And here are the base...

Gio, who I only know because he signed about a billion Gypsy Queen cards this year... Colby I know because he was in our division and the Cards inexplicably traded him for bullpen help and then Pedro Strop, who is a big "who the heck is this guy?" A RC for a reliever, ho hum...

And the refractor in this pack, base refractor of Jose Reyes... I must say, on all 4 cards in this pack Topps has some nice photography. At least we have action shots instead of posed spring training photos...

Wow, for one pack of cards, that sure is a lot of typing... have a great day everyone!

2011 Topps Chrome - A Pack A Day - Pack 1 of 24

I got my box of 2011 Topps Chrome today... and I've decided to take a different approach to showing off this box than I usually do... no video break, no grand post with all of the hits, parallels, etc... I'm going to show off each any every card... one pack at a time for the next 24 days! Please, hold your applause...

And before I post this pack, a friendly reminder to go sign up for the current Dimwit Group Break, 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen - 2 Hobby Boxes.

Alright, here's the first pack... base cards:

 A very nice pack of base cards, can't argue with Heyward, Verlander and Hosmer!

And a base refractor in this pack:

The current strikeout king... or did Adam Dunn beat him this year for the title? Anyways, I like the shiny!!!

Stay tuned tomorrow for the next pack!

Gypsy Queen Group Break - 2 Boxes

Ok, so the sign ups for the Gypsy Queen case break are going pretty much exactly like I thought they would, non-existent. I'm not upset, I just know that each team is quite a hefty chunk of cash and I certainly don't blame anyone for shying away.

Here's what I propose instead... how about just a 2 Hobby Box break? I've broken the teams into three tiers to simplify pricing. Same as before, no need to pay right now, just claim your team. Once all thirty-one slots are claimed, I'll start collecting the dough. PLEASE, if you sign up with a non "google" account, please please please e-mail me so that I have a means of contacting you. (If I have no means of contacting you, I will not mark your team as claimed!)

Here is the tier structure:

TIER 1 $25

Yankees - The Dimwit

Red Sox - Matt Perry

TIER 2 $17

Cardinals - IkesCards

Giants - Jared

Braves - jaybarkerfan

Orioles- aj245

Reds

Dodgers - Stealing Home

Cubs

Phillies - daddyohoho

Tigers

Rangers - PlayAtThePlate

Rays

Mets

Twins

Marlins

TIER 3 $10

Nationals- jaybarkerfan5

White Sox

A's

Brewers - jaybarkerfan

Diamondbacks

Astros - Ben H (BaseballcardsRule)

Padres

Rockies

Mariners - PlayAtThePlate5

Pirates- jaybarkerfan

Royals

Angels

Blue Jays

Indians - Baseball Dad

GQ's & Royal Couple - The Dimwit

I need to sell all of these slots in order to make the case break work, so if you pimp this group break on your blog, you can take $1 off your price. I know it's not much, but that's about all I can offer as I kept the cost as low as possible for everyone.

Daddyohoho and Jaybarkerfan, since you both put a claim in on the case break, I'll carry over your claim for this break unless I get an e-mail/comment from you otherwise. 

I guess I've been sending out good karma lately...???

So, due to the group break and other factors, I haven't been able to post trades and random stuff I've gotten... I'll start with the highlights from a bunch of free cards that Jaybarkerfan sent my way. I'm not sure what I did in life to deserve such kindness but I got a HUGE packages of Astros cards... here are some that I was extra happy to see:

 A nice selection of past (first six) and current/future Astros... That one on the bottom middle is actually Wandy Rodriguez, yea he stole some younger kid's identity in order to appear younger, what's new... hopefully the bottom three are mainstays in the line-up for years to come but I have a feeling Wandy is going to get traded this off-season if Ed Wade stays around... Thanks Wes! Your generosity is noted... if there is ever anything you see on my blog that interests you, please speak up!

Next up is a trade with Kevin over at The Diamond King. I THOUGHT we were doing a 1-for-1 relic card swap, as I sent him a Tony Gwynn relic card, and what do I get? The awesome Bagwell relic shown and about 20 random Astros and Nolan Ryan cards! I'm not complaining, but I just continued to be amazed by the blogging community. I guarantee you that a lop-sided trade like this would never happen within the physical walls of a card shop and I LOVE that about our group of friends here online. We look out for each other and if we have something that someone else will value more, we just send it and know that it'll come back from someone else along the way. Thanks Kevin, for reminding me that there ARE good people in this world (too bad they are all baseball card bloggers and not politcians...)

 The Bagwell relic is just sick, as are the base and serial numbered cards Kevin included! Awesome!

Speaking of generosity, I'd be remiss to not include my good buddy Andrew. I don't remember exactly how we got connected online, maybe it was FanBro.com... but regardless I got an e-mail the other day that simply asked to verify my physical address, that he had some cards for me. I was thinking, "Sweet, some random Astros and maybe a few cards from my want list!" Well, I was more than amazed when I opened the package to find some GREAT cards!

 Nice vintage Astros... those rookie stars never panned out, but then again we're talking Astros baseball, what's new?

A SWEET Joe Morgan ORANGE SWATCH!!! WOW! Ok, everyone should know by now that I'm not fan of Mr. Morgan, his views on baseball or his claims of racism in the Astros organization, but that's a pretty card! The Pence is a refractor numbered to 499 and I am definitely a fan of the Martinez auto. I think he's got a nice career ahead of him!

A finally he send along some Gypsy Queen from my want lists! If anyone isn't aware, I'm trying to collect the mini's set as well as the base! I'm getting closer and closer on each! Andrew, you're a good man, I do appreciate it! I hope you can get in on one of my group breaks soon as well (he sent a note saying he hopes to get in on one). Thanks again friend!

Next up, some cards from the good guys over at Community Gum. I sat in on them busting a bunch of Topps Finest boxes and kept prodding them to pull a Brett Wallace auto... well, in the end I got pretty much a team set of the base plus what I was hoping for! Thanks guys!

 One Pence is a base, the ohter is a refractor... I think the one on the right is the base...

 Brett's A.D.D inspired autograph. The guy is just too busy to write out his full name I guess... who knows, but I have wanted one of his auto's and finally got one! Sweet!

Alright, so Saturday morning I made it over to the LCS, BigHitSportscards and did some set searching to find Goodwin, Gypsy Queen and mini's. I managed to knock about 35 cards off my need lists which made it productive in and of itself. However, after busting the 2 boxes of Chrome in the last break, I've decided to collect the set because I like the look of the cards. Anyways, I made a trade deal to get a box but they had to order it (so I'll be busting my own box of it either early this week or Saturday), meanwhile they had a handful of packs still on the shelf so I snagged them up. Amazingly, I got both of the remaining autos that were in the box, plus a sweet printing plate:

 That's Jake McGee of the Rays. Eduardo Nunez may be an auto to hold to see if he has future value, as he's a nicely hyped Yankees prospect. The Aaron Crow card is just sick. Numbered /50 and just a sweet looking autograph! Any Rays collectors? Anyone got a Cubs plate of any kind to swap for this one? I ask this because while I was in the shop, a guy was busting about 20 boxes of Bowman Chrome (I'm not exaggerating, he throws serious cash on cards) and he pulled a Brett Wallace black plate and said he'd trade it to me for a Cubs plate if I could find one... well, I'm putting out the call, if you'll trade me a Cubs plate of any sort, I'll greatly appreciate it!

Finally, a package arrived Friday that I'd been waiting for since April from Topps... my Gypsy Queen auto redemption from Frank Robinson...

An AWESOME auto from an AWESOME set... Gypsy Queen, to me, is the cream of the crop from 2011 Topps' offerings. I love it. I wish it wasn't so scarce right now. I buy whatever I can whenever I see it. It's borderline addiction level right now. I'm even considering having my card budget for next year key in on Gypsy Queen only in my attempt to complete the sets I'm working to complete.

On that note, I am going to throw this idea out there... on the poll I put up, the most votes were for a case break of 2011 Gypsy Queen. Now, I've broken down the complete set by team. A case currently runs about $1900 for 10 boxes. I've weighed the teams by total cards available and possible hits... I would need to sell all 30 teams + there will be a slot dedicated to the Gypsy Queens & Will & Kate possibility. I would probably buy this slot myself as I'm trying to collect them all. I need to know specifically how many people would be interested in this. The top range of prices would be around $130 for a few select teams and as low as $28 for the Indians. Anyways, if you'd be interested in this style of break let me know. Thanks everyone!

Group Break - Collegiate Autos Randomization

So Brian over at Play At The Plate did the randomization... click his name there for the video... but there is the order of the 5 of us who will get the autos from the pack in this order:
1) The Dimwit
2) Spiegel83
3) Ryan H
4) Matt Perry
5) Robert M.

So, there you go everyone, as soon as I get the pack in the mail, I'll do a complete video showing the opening of the package and subsequent pack of autos.

Have a great weekend everyone! I'll have a post some time in the next day or two with some overdue trades, stuff I got in the mail and some other cards... hope everyone enjoyed the group break!

Group Break - Box #4 - Topps Lineage Box #2

Well, here we have the 4th and final box... make sure you click through and read the entire post, as I'll explain at the end how the randomization will go and who all will be involved; as well as my wrinkle added for anyone not interested in the collegiate autos. But for now, here's the video:

Group Break - Box # 3 - Topps Lineage #1

Well we are on a roll now... here is box number 3 of the break, our first box of Topps Lineage!

Group Break - Box #2 - Topps Chrome Box 2

First of all, a bit of housekeeping... the majority has ruled... I will redeem the Collegiate National Team auto redemption card, and randomize the 5 cards among any people who did not get hits. Further details will emerge (including a wrinkle I'm going to throw in out of my own good will) to ensure that all participants get a hit out of this break regardless (except maybe for myself depending on how the randomization spits out). The randomization will be held by a fellow blogger (since I am in it, yes there's the broken suspense, I did not get a hit out of the 4 boxes) once all 4 videos have been posted to avoid it looking like I rigged the randomization or whatever. Again, more specific details later... but for now, here's the second video!

So The Group Break Begins!!!! 1st Box!

Since I only got one vote... 2011 Topps Chrome it is! Here's the video, I'll put a "page break" in after the video, then the scans with all the inserts and hits... we'll have a bit of a conundrum at the end and I need EVERYONE in the break to vote on how to sort this out so please scroll all the way down and vote...

So I found Zistle...

So I came across this site called Zistle through another blogger... anyways, I figured I'd give it a shot. I am LOVIIN' it! Easy to catalog your cards, easy to put all the cards you have, want and want to trade into a spreadsheet-type interface without having to do hours of typing (that is, along as someone else has already entered the set and subsets your're working on). But even if the card you're trying to enter isn't already in the system, it's extremely easy to add your card into the library. I've offered up my first trade, just to see how it goes as well.

I put all of my 2011 Gypsy Queen "available for trade" cards into the site, including all hits, relics, most mini's and inserts. We'll see if I find some traders or if Zistle just becomes another way to put cards into a database. I really like the simplicity of it all for sure though.

Have a great Sunday everyone... hopefully we have some group-breaking box busting fun tomorrow!

Mail day... random pick-ups...

So it was a heck of a mail day today... we'll start with this:

 That's the top of my complete set for getting 45 individual rings in the diamond giveaway. I haven't broken the cellophane on the box, don't know if I'm going to or not... any suggestions?

Next up, I was lucky  (I got a tip from a a guy at the LCS) to find two blasters of Gypsy Queen at a local store (just in case any Mobile-ians are reading, I don't want to give it away) and the two best cards I got are below (and both for trade). Although I am amassing quite a Felix Hernandez player collection, I may have to rethink whether I want to trade these away, however in the mean time, they are in the trade binder and on the trade list!

 Next up is some loot from a trade with Ryan L. I can't recall if he has a blog or not, but I cleared out a bunch of set needs for him and he sent these beauts my way... including our pot-smoking CF, Jordan Schafer... nice auto though...

 Finally, I got a package from Julie over at Things Are Funner Here. I sent her a quad relic including Roy Halladay, and I got this awesomeness (amongst other cards) in return! That Paredes kid is hopefully going to be great, and we snagged him from the Yanks in the Berkman trade, thanks Mr. Cashman. The Nolan Ryan is freakin' sweet!!! I put the Ausmus back up (don't worry, hopefully the last Ausmus card I'll ever post) because it is an e-bay 1/1... numbered 1/100!!! Sweet!!! I'm not too sure what the "season stat line" thing is, because on Roger Clemens' card back, it says "Career Stat Line: 541 RBI". There is no way on earth Roger drove in 541 runs in his career... don't know where they pulled that number from...but that card is numbered 199/328! Always love some low serial numbered cards! And the Berkman relic, I love it! Classic Berkman batting stance in the photo too. That brings my Berkman auto/jersey/hit count to about 30, that's a lot of hits for one player, although I'm still lacking great patches or autos from Lance, would love to get a Triple Threads of Lance from his Astros days... (hint, hint, for anyone holding one of those!!!!) Thanks Julie, keep up the great work over there at your blog!!!!!

And so the group break begins... with a bonus blaster!

Well everyone, I started the group break a bit early with a bonus blaster... hope this doesn't influence anyone to not swap 2nd teams, but there wasn't anything really spectacular pulled, so enjoy! The boxes will be here Monday so hopefully I'll have the first box posted Monday night... leave a comment here if you have a preference on what the first box to open should be, Lineage or Chrome!


Winner of this blaster... I believe it's PlayAtThePlate with the Rangers... or maybe Ryan with the Yankees....

Group Break Randomization!!!!!! Here's your second teams...

Alright, I stuck the 15 remaining teams in the randomization machine... the order they come out will match up with the order of sign up... here's the list:

So here's the updated list of teams:

1) Astros & Mariners- The Dimwit --- Traded with Nathan
2) Cubs & Royals - Matt Pederson
3) Red Sox & Tigers - Matt Perry
4) Braves & Rockies - Chris Mays
5) Giants & Pirates- Jared
6) Phillies & Padres- daddyohoho
7) Yankees & Marlins - Ryan G
8) Mets & Brewers- ...Joe
9) Dodgers & Rays- Speigel83
10) Rangers & Nationals - PlayAtThePlate
11) Orioles & White Sox - Ryan H
12) Cardinals & Reds - IkesCards
13) Indians & Twins- Jason
14) Blue Jays & Athletics- Robert M.
15) Diamondbacks & Angels - Nathan ---- Traded with TheDimwit


Until the first of the 4-box videos are posted (ignore any "bonus" boxes or packs), feel free to trade teams as much as you want, just make sure both of participants get with me either via e-mail or comment so I know you both agree to the swap! Thanks everyone for joining in! Can't wait to get this break started!

The New and Improved Group Break - Hobby Lineage & Chrome

Well everyone, I'll chalk up the Bowman Platinum as a learning experience! I consulted with quite a few of my fellow bloggers and well, I came up with a better break! We're going to bust 2 hobby boxes of Topps Lineage and 2 hobby boxes of 2011 Topps Chrome! This will be at least 10 hits, if not more should I find some blasters to throw in as well. This will be a two team-er! You'll get 2 teams (one picked by you, the other by the great technological marvel known as RANDOM.ORG!) all for only $20 per slot! I'm going to be claiming the Astros of course, so go ahead and leave a comment with the team you would like to claim! First come, first serve! Leave a comment with the team you'd like to select. If you'd like to claim a second team, it's only $18 for each team after the first.

Once I get to 15 slots sold, I'll randomize the remaining teams! Send $20 to paypal address samuelpair(at)yahoo.com - please send as gift, don't include any other info, as apparently paypal is cracking down on gifts lately. Thanks everyone!

1) Astros - The Dimwit - Paid
2) Cubs - Matt Pederson - Paid
3) Red Sox - Matt Perry - Paid
4) Braves - Chris Mays - Paid
5) Giants - Jared - Paid
6) Phillies - daddyohoho - Paid
7) Yankees - Ryan G - Paid
8) Mets - ...Joe - Paid
9) Dodgers - Speigel83 - Paid
10) Rangers - PlayAtThePlate - Payment in the mail
11) Orioles - Ryan H - Paid
12) Cardinals - IkesCards - Paid
13) Indians - Jason - Paid
14) Blue Jays - Robert M. - Paid
15) Diamondbacks - Nathan - Payment arranged.
Break is closed. Randomization tonight. Payment due by noon tomorrow please!

Group Break Cancelled

Due to a lack of teams being claimed and not being able to carry the break without more participants, I am cancelling the 6 box break of Bowman Platinum. Refunds are in progress...

So, to turn this frustration into a positive... please, give me ideas... what product or products would you like to bust? What is your preferred price point? Do you prefer 2 teams (one picked, one random) or do you want to claim just your one team? What made this break unattractive? Any ideas would be helpful! Thanks!

I've added a poll with some ideas for a next group break. I would like to do a case, but I want to make sure it's a product a lot of people would like to bust. If you have an "other" choice, please leave a comment on this post to say what product you'd be interested in! Thanks!

GROUP BREAK CANCELLED - REFUNDS IN PROGRESS

CANCELLED

Well folks... I've gotten the itch again. Time for another Dimwit Group Break, this one sponsored by Atlanta Sports Cards! This time I am just about out of Upper Deck products to bust so I will go back just 1 year for a 6-box case of 2010 Bowman Platinum. It has a GREAT autograph checklist and this will allow for at least 24 hits as each box guarantees 3 plus a late addition redemption program. There will be 24 slots with some teams grouped to try and guarantee sales of those teams. All Collegiate National Team cards will be given to the team who the player CURRENTLY (as of the day of the break) plays for, I will use BaseballReference.com and milb.com to verify team designations. If the player is out of baseball then the card will be randomized among all teams. Cards with multiple players will be randomized among the teams on the card.

There will be a total of 24 hits from the boxes. Additionally, provided that there is a complete 100-card base set available beyond everyone getting a team set of their slot team(s), I will pull a complete set and randomize that off amongst all participants (EXCLUDING MYSELF).

If any SLOT happens to not get a hit AND you did not get the complete set, I will provide a list of QUALITY hits from my personal collection to select a hit from. You WILL get a hit from this break, I personally guarantee it!

Big name autos in this product: Jesus Montero, Strasburg, Heyward, Trout, Ackley, Drabek, Chapman, Howard and tons more... here is a full checklist.

Each slot will be $20, any additional slots will be $18 each:
Atlanta - Claimed and paid by Derek
Baltimore
Boston
Cincinnati
Cleveland - Claimed and paid by Jason
Detroit
Houston - Claimed and paid by The Dimwit
Arizona/Colorado
Chicago Cubs & White Sox - Claimed and payment arranged by Matt Pederson
Kansas City/Oakland/Angels
Florida - Claimed and payment arranged by WickedOrtega
Los Angeles Dodgers - Claimed and paid by Spiegel83
Minnesota
Milwaukee
New York Yankees - Claimed and paid by Jared
New York Mets
Philadelphia - Claimed and paid by daddyoho
Pittsburgh/Toronto
Seattle
San Diego/San Fransisco - Claimed and payment arranged by Matt Pederson
Tampa
St. Louis - Claimed and paid by IkesCards
Texas
Washington - Claimed and paid by daddyoho

Payment can be sent to samuelpair(at)yahoo.com via Paypal; please leave me your mailing address in the comments within Paypal. If you need to pay via snail mail please contact me via e-mail and we can make arrangements. Leave a comment on this post to claim your team. First come first serve. If I do not have your payment or have arrangements made within a week of you claiming your team, I will re-open the team to others who may be interested. Thanks everyone!

Adding More Cards To The Collection... and Trade Bait

Well, I don't even know where to start today... I have lots of stuff to post about...

First, I guess I'll go with the highlights from Cards from the Quarry's July group break. July? Really? Well, let me explain... the package got sent to my Houston address. Postmarked 8/18/2011. I moved of course in early August so it got re-routed and forwarded... but the post office decided to hold onto it for, oh, about a month. The "forward request" label is marked 9/26/2011, and in the process knocked around the package enough to but an annoying "ding" in the bottom corner of almost all the cards. Thanks a lot USPS, you continue to lower my expectations...

The Berkman jersey is just plain sweet. Got a couple of Hunter Pence rookies. I love that Biggio insert as well, and since it didn't have a true corner, no DING! Thanks Johnny for another great group break. I hope life settles down a bit for you and we get to see you blogging again.

Next up, I have some contest winnings from Cam at Cardboard Heaven. He ran a contest to name the teams used for the fonts of his page redesign. Anyways, I got a consolation prize which included some Astros and a couple hits:

Next up, well, this'll take some explaining... BigHit Sportscards over in Spanish Fort, AL is absolutely the best card shop I've EVER been to, hands down. Many many reasons, but for the purposes of this post, TRADE NIGHT is freakin' sweet. Basically, a bunch of collectors come together, watch football on tv, trade cards and the shop does a bunch of pack wars, door prizes, trivia contests and a grand prize. Well, there were 2 pack wars for baseball this month: Heritage Minor Leagues (boo, not a fan) and Lineage. Since I am on a tight budget right now and I only needed three cards from the set, I only bought 5 packs of Lineage this month. Well, I did very well. The pack war was for the highest numbered Lineage Venezuela card, which Jose Bautista (#TV22) won for me! I was going to try and scan what I won, but it's hard to scan a baseball.... but I won a Hank Aaron autographed baseball!!!! (with COA). Anyways, needless to say, I was super excited. Oh yea, I also scored this SWEEEEEEEET card from my Lineage packs:

$40 BV? I'll take it! Haha! Great awesome auto... anyways, it's up for trade...

Then there was a trade I actually made with another guy there. He's got lots of autos and jerseys cards... so I picked out a few I liked and we put together a nice trade, here's my loot:

 Another nice addition to my Eddie Mathews collection...

 Man, if Mier can get his swing down, we've got a nice SS prospect in the system, a bit of a gamble but I thought it was a nice looking card.

And some trade bait... this one will get some offers I do believe!

Finally, Nathan, from BigHits, had some stuff set aside for me to look through... a bunch of Nolan Ryan stuff... well, here's the highlight for me: a commemorative program from the 7th No-Hitter:

There were a couple of Beckett's from the early 90's and then a couple of the Classic brand card game packs. The wife and I might bust those open and see if we can actually play them... and a Nolan Ryan Starting Lineup Figurine. Very awesome. Thanks Nathan!