March Group Break - Four Boxes - Sign Ups Are FULL!!!

Ok, I'm a liar, I said I wasn't going toz post this until tomorrow, but I've got a busy day tomorrow and I want to go ahead and get this posted. Plus, the faster it fills, the faster the boxes get here!

Sign Ups for the March Group Break are now open. The four boxes again are:

2003 Topps T-205 Series 1
2004 UD Diamond Collection Pro Sigs
2003 UD Standing O
2003 Playoff Portraits

A few ground rules:
1) Leave a comment on THIS post to claim your team. If your screen name does not link to a valid profile w/ e-mail address, please contact me at samuelpair@yahoo.com with your contact information.
2) There will be 15 slots in this break. Each slot is $15 including shipping.
3) Payment can be sent to the paypal e-mail address samuelpair@yahoo.com. Please send as Personal - GIFT.
4) All multiple-team cards will be randomized amongst all teams represented. If a T-205 buyback is pulled, the team represented (or where it has moved in the years since) will get the card. If the team no longer exists in any form, it will be randomized among all slots.
5) Once 15 teams have been selected, all other teams will be randomized. Trading of 2nd teams will be allowed up until I pack for shipping.
6) No limit on slots per person.

Teams:
Arizona Diamondbacks
Atlanta Braves - The Dutch Card Guy - PAID
Baltimore Orioles - Ryan H - PAID
Boston Red Sox - jaybarkerfan
Chicago Cubs
Chicago White Sox - Jeff Laws - PAID
Cincinnati Reds - jaybarkerfan
Cleveland Indians - BASEBALL DAD - PAID
Colorado Rockies - Hiflew - PAID
Detroit Tigers
Florida Marlins
Houston Astros - Dimwit - PAID
Kansas City Royals
Los Angeles Dodgers - Stealing Home - PAID
Los Angeles Angels
Milwaukee Brewers
Minnesota Twins
New York Yankees - The Lost Collector - PAID
New York Mets - ...Joe - PAID
Oakland Athletics
Pittsburgh Pirates
Philadelphia Phillies - daddyohoho - PAID
San Diego Padres
San Fransisco Giants - arpsmith - PAID
Seattle Mariners
St. Louis Cardinals - PlayAtThePlate - PAYMENT PENDING
Texas Rangers - PlayAtThePlate - PAYMENT PENDING
Toronto Blue Jays
Tampa Rays
Washington Nationals

Trade With Jason from Hobbs' Knights and Final Group Break Tease

Jason from Hobbs' Knights (great blog name, LOVE that movie) posted a while back that he was giving away his Golden Giveaway code cards. I figured, "What the heck" and managed to pick up two more real cards (4 total: Car-Go, Frank Robinson, Felix Hernandez and Mariano Rivera... I apparently am VERY lucky with the codes since I've managed to unlock 4 in 16 codes). In return I sent Jason a handful of Kimball Mini's since I decided to break up my very incomplete set... He also sent along some Astros:

I absolutely love peeling the protective film off Topps Finest cards and he sent three I was able to peel. Thanks Jason, really appreciate the cards!

Well, here's the final box of the group break... sign-ups will go live tomorrow... wait for the announcement post and claim your team...

That's a hobby box of 2003 Topps T-205. 2 hits per box, 20 packs at 6 cards per pack!

I hope those 4 boxes entice you enough to join the break. It will be $15 per slot and each slot will get two teams (one you choose, the second randomly assigned). In recap, the 4 boxes are:
2003 Playoff Portraits
2003 Topps T-205
2004 UD Diamond Collection Pro Sigs
2003 UD Standing O!

I didn't realize I was doing almost all 2003 products until I listed them out like that, I guess subconsciously I was going for years when the Astros had at least a half decent squad! Haha! Anyways, it should be a great break and has the potential for some great hits! Should get at least 8 hits across all 4 products.

Cards From The Dutch

Many of you have started getting comments, trade requests and group break participation from Jeroen over at The Dutch Card Guy. It's great to have a blogger from Holland and even greater that he's actively trading from a continent away. He recently saw my 2012 Topps Series 1 need list and knocked out what was remaining all at once, and then threw in some extra Astros as well. In the end, all he asked was that I throw in some extra Yankees in the next group break package I send his way!

There you have the final 10 cards I needed to wrap my 2012 Series 1 set.

And the Astros cards he sent along. I wish Felipe had done better as an Astro but he's another in a long line of "meh" prospects put together by Tim Pupura and Ed Wade. I really like the gold bordered Biggio card, classic Biggio follow through on the swing. I bet that was a double... haha!

Thanks Jeroen!

March Group Break... Box Tease #2 and #3

Here's a couple more boxes to tease you all for the March Group Break... sign-ups will go live on Thursday!

That's 2004 Upper Deck Diamond Collection Pro Sigs and 2004 Upper Deck Standing O!

There will be one more box for this break, I'll announce that Wednesday!

Again, it'll be $15 for two teams! You better pay attention, I have a feeling this break is going to fill quickly...

Another Day... Another Card...

A bit of a throwback this morning... I give you a 1983 Topps base card which has been signed TTM-style by the one and only Joe Niekro.

Joe pitched for the Astros before I was old enough to have any remembrance of him as a player, however he is a beloved figure in Houston Astros history and had a solid 22 year major league career. He was the first Astro ever to have back-to-back 20 win seasons and was narrowly edged out of the Cy Young by Bruce Sutter in '79. He won a World Series Title in 1987 with the Twins and subsequently retired the next season. Sadly he passed away in 2006 after a brain aneurysm.

I picked up this card at a card shop in Houston for $3.00. Totally worth it.

Group Break, Trades and Random Act of Kindness Loot

So I got some packages in the mail yesterday...

First up, a Group Break package from Nachos Grande. He busted a bunch of boxes for his latest break and I grabbed the Astros and got the Marlins as my second randomized team. Well, I think everyone in the break basically subsidized the Yankees as they scored HUGE in this particular break, but I still got some cool cards from sets that came out while I wasn't collecting. Most importantly I added 10 cards to my Biggio and Bagwell collection and also got a hit!

Thanks Chris for another great break!!!! (If anyone is interested in this stack of Marlins cards, I'm game for any kind of trade you want to work out!)

Next up is a trade I made on Zistle.com. My first ever and it went pretty smoothly! He knocked off a few cards from my GQ and Masterpieces want lists and hooked me up with some cool Astros cards as well...

 He also included this card, which I had never seen ANYTHING like it before... it's actually metal!!!! It's freakin' cool.. it came with a protective cover and I quickly peeled that off!!! I may have to look into this set for a group break!

It doesn't scan all that well, but it's a sweet looking card, 1996 Leaf Steel.

Next up is a random act of kindness... Scott from Smeds Baseballcard Blog sent over a healthy stack of 2012 Topps Series 1 from my want list! If any of you know Scott, you know how generous he can be with his base cards! THANKS!

Finally, we have Oscar from All Trade Bait. We worked on one trade that just didn't come together, but then he posted some trade bait and we worked out a different deal for a card I knew I (and my wife of course) just had to have!!!

That's as big as blogger will allow me to expand it... AWESOME card! Thanks Oscar!!!!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Boy have I got some catching up to do...

Warning, this is going to one heck of a long post... grab some popcorn and enjoy...

First up, is blog reader Steve G. He offered up a trade a while back revolving around some Gypsy Queen cards and while we couldn't come to terms on a deal initially, we finally worked one out... here's my loot:

A few cards knocked off the Goodwins Champions need list, and then some GQ cards I definitely needed! Steve also sent along a few Hollywood Walk of Fame cards for my wife's collection! Thanks Steve!

Next up, is blog reader Jeffrey... he's spending his winter up in Dakota country finding me cool Astros stuff, and sent me a cool old Beckett from when I wasn't collecting:

2004 and 2005 with Clemens and Pettitte were two of the best years to be Astros fans, and this Beckett was a great reminder of that! Thanks Jeffrey!

Another blog reader, known to many around the blogosphere as "arpsmith" and actually named Adam, saw my 2012 Topps Series 1 want list and knocked out a BUNCH. I was already sending him a prize package so I included a bunch of Giants cards for him and got this nice stack in return!

I'm waiting for one more trade package (can't remember who it's from thought... eeks...) and my 2012 Topps Series 1 set will be complete! Thanks Adam!

An unexpected package showed up this week from Trey over at Rants, Reviews and Fandom. He apparently has been stalking following the Astros Winter "CAREavans" around Texas this winter and hooked me up with some autographs!

I met Deshaies and Cruz at the recent TriStar show and it's cool to get Mills and Brown's signatures as well. These are postcard sized cards, so they'll look good in a binder if I can find the right sized pages! Trey, you're an awesome guy, keep stalking those Astros and hookin' a blogger up!!!!!

Finally, Ben over at Baseball Cards Rule was droolin' over my Mike Schmidt Retired Ring, and after a deal didn't work out with another blogger, Ben was able to come up with these AWESOME cards in return for the Schmidt:

First up, a Sweet Spot Sweet Swatch (say that 5 times fast) of Berkman. I really like the design of the Sweep Spot product line. Next up, two great Bagwells:

I love framed mini relics of any sort. T205 are no exception! Great cards! I love the borders on both!

Thanks everyone for the packages, trades, random unexpected stuff and all the cards we share. It really makes blogging worth doing!

Finally, an announcement: recently, there's been quite a few "trade bait drafts". However, I have no where near the trade bait necessary to host one myself. HOWEVER, I did pick up a sponsor for a trade bait draft. Big Hits Sports Cards is going to be pulling 80 hits for me to use in a trade bait draft. There will be 10 slots at $25 per person. I will not participate unless I have to. In addition to the 8 rounds of relics, I'll be adding in at least 7 rounds of inserts/parallels/mini's from my own collection for a total of 15 rounds of picks. I will be posting sign ups and teaser scans as soon as Nathan over at Big Hits gets the cards pulled for me. Just wanted to give you all a heads up... stay tuned...

As for the March Group Break... I'll tease it with this photo:

That's just one of the three boxes to be involved...

Even the small deals deserve a post! Thanks Potch!

Darren from Potch Wheeler and the Cardboard Heroes (great blog name by the way) saw my want list from 2012 Topps, and after others had done major damage, it came down to only 1 card available for the two of us to trade... simple, easy 1 card deals are fun mainly because there's so little negotiation and hassle in trying to come to an agreement! Thanks Darren for the card!

TGIF! Ready for the weekend!

Contest Plug - New Blog!

Hey, thanks to a bunch of other people's contest plugs, I've gained another blog in my reader list! Cards Over Oceans is a new one for me and I'm glad I've joined the fun, as they are giving away a sweeeeeeet Duke Snider auto/relic... check out the details here.

This is some kind of Trifecta... right???

I read a lot of guys going after "trifectas" of their favorite player or players... most of the time it's Rookie Card, Jersey & Auto... well, I have a bit of an odd ball trifecta that I realized I had once I started looking for a card to post this morning... it actually involved two of my favorite players from all-time... if only I could get a dual auto card to add to this bunch...

 Game Used Base...

 Game Used Jerseys...

Game Used Bats...

How sweet is that?!?!?! Like I said, the only thing that could push this over the top is to add a dual auto (which I'm not sure if they exist for these two, I'm sure I'm wrong... if anyone would like to prove me wrong by offering one for trade, I'll gladly admit my mistake!!!!!) Anyways, I'm excited to have these cards in my collection. I showed off the base card recently as loot from a trade, but the bats and jerseys cards are also spoils from my many trades with you awesome readers and fellow bloggers!

Thanks for stopping by everyone!

Another Day... Another Card...

Good morning everyone... I forgot to post a card yesterday and I know you all must be depressed and sad not to have heard from me. So, I give you a truly awesome card today in return...

I'm not sure what started the "silk card" craze, but I'm glad someone got that ball rolling. Add in the fact that it's an awesome looking 2009 Allen and Ginter card and it's hard to beat. It's numbered out of 10 and I just love the way Topps framed these cards, as well as the mini autos/relics. I picked this card up for about $10-15 from my LCS back in Houston and I'm glad I did, it's an awesome addition to my now massive and growing Lance Berkman collection.

Have a great day everyone!

Quick question: For the March Group Break, I have narrowed my box selections down. It's going to be about $15 for two team. One of the boxes I'm sure of, the other I was thinking of doing a Hobby Jumbo box of 2012 Topps. Would you all rather do the Topps Jumbo or 2 less expensive boxes of mid 2000's cards? I need opinions! Flood me with comments!!!!!

Trade Bait Draft Pimpage

Trade bait draft signups coming to a near end! Friday Deadline

Hey everyone, I am in this trade bait draft and I would love for you to join. Only 5 spots left!

2012 Topps Hobby Jumbo Box Recap

Wow, so in the past 24 hours I bought 9/10 of a jumbo box (one jumbo was already bought but the shop owner was nice enough to tell me that the one that was bought didn't contain a hit... so yay me...), found that I only needed 50 cards for the complete set, and in the matter of 3 trades, managed to complete the 2012 Topps Series 1 base set. Ok, yes I was not a fan of the gimmicky nature of the set... I lambasted Topps for it, and still do to a point. I'm still not a fan of the overall product, but I'm a baseball fan and having the set does mean something to me. I redeemed my code cards and while I mostly unlocked worthless rings, I did unlock two of the cards they're giving away...

Can't complain about either of those two guys. Very tradable I do believe. Maybe I can get the Nolan Ryan version if there is one. In fact, I've posted a trade Rivera for Nolan, we'll see what happens... I don't foresee getting more code cards, and there aren't any Astros "unlocked" currently, although I doubt there are any in this set, as our team currently sucks.

As for the three hits in my hobby jumbo box, they will have to wait... you need to see another card I picked up... for just $5.00... it was one of the "big" cards I still needed for 1978 Topps...

There you go, Mr. Eddie Murray's RC.  No, it's not a horribly mis-cut card... it's just the fact that I can't figure out the Mac's scanning software to allow for it to scan the whole card... Ok, on to the hits from the box...

 Chris Sale and Daniel Descalso... meh and meh... Any Sox or Cards collectors interested?

And for the manufactured relic....

Apparently I have a penchant for pulling Phillies manu-relics as I pulled this and the Hamels pin card so far this year. I have to say once again, you knocked it out of the park Topps on the manufactured relics. Quality subjects, quality cards, 10x better than the leather nameplates. Heck, even the wool nameplates this year are better than the past few years. Again, this one is for trade, if I don't get an offer soon I'll throw it up on eBay. However, Julie from Things Are Funner Here claimed the Hamels, she may not be too far behind in claiming the Schmidt... ;)

So, you know those hobby shop redemption cards... well so far my shop owner has 5 of the 10 cards that are part of the program... he gave me 3 sets of what he has to give away on my blog... so since this is so far down in the post, I'm guessing many of you who just look at the pictures wont read it, so I'll hide a giveaway... I'm going to give away the three sets, one each to the first three commenters who answer this question correctly: How many no-hitters did Nolan Ryan throw? If you comment, please make sure I have a means of getting a hold of you via e-mail. ***UPDATE: I HAVE THREE WINNERS, THANKS EVERYONE***

Finally, I have a list of inserts available if anyone is wanting to trade for them...

87 Mini's: 4, 5, 9, 21, 22, 25, 28, 30, 38, 39 CLAIMED
Timeless Talents: 6, 17, 17, 22
Gold Standard: 4, 4, 11, 13, 14, 21
Classic Walk-Off: 10, 11, 12, 13
Golden Greats: 47, 72
Gold Futures: 1, 2, 8, 10, 12, 17, 20, 23
Golden Moments: 34, 40
Golden Parallels: 23, 33, 51, 94, 191, 196, 207, 250, 274, 307

Thanks everyone... hope you're all having a great weekend.

2012 Topps Series 1 Want List

Series 1 is DONE!

Anyone Got Jumbo Wrappers?

I don't want to talk about it. I majorly fell off the wagon... I need 5 jumbo wrappers... ***UPDATE: MAKE THAT 2 JUMBO WRAPPERS THANKS TO OFFY!!!!***

Anyone have some to spare?

I'll get some posts up shortly with what I have... all will be for trade I do believe...

Contest Winners Announced!!!!

Sorry everyone for not getting this posted last night... we had a bit of a family emergency, the dog went to the vet and due to the conditions he lived in before he was adopted, had to get all but 2 of his teeth extracted. So, our dog named "Chewy" is ironically unable to chew... anyways, that wasn't a fun vet bill...

Onto the contest results. Here is the randomization video, for as hard as I tried to make a distinct winner, you people had to go and make ties... The-Price-Is-Right-rules were used and 3 people tied for the Base Card Contest, and then 3 people got the Insert contest right as well... after the video, I'll scan in the winning groups of cards...

3 Packages of Awesome

Good morning everyone... one SportLots.com package and 2 eBay packages came yesterday... here's the loot!

First up, from SportsLots, I knocked out 30 commons from my 1978 Topps need list. I'm down to just 16 cards I need for the set!!!! Woo hoo!!! Eddie Murray, your RC will be mine at a decent price, oh yea, it will be mine...

The auto detect on my scanner REALLY doesn't like 1978 Topps' borders, just pretends they aren't there at all. Those aren't all mis-cut cards, I swear. Topps really went with the posed shots in 78, so I put the Lee Randle in just because it was a rare action shot. In the bottom row are two future managers, and I took a look at Bobby Valentine's stat lines and wow, how did he stay employed???? The guy sat well below the Mendoza line most of his career. These days, he'd have never seen AAA, let alone the majors! Anyways, some nice cards for my 1978 Topps binder nonetheless!

Next up, a package from eBay with the ONLY Astros jersey relic in the 2012 Topps set:

Good ol' Brett Wallace. He better start hitting this year, or I fear the Astros will run out of patience with him. They've even talked about moving him back to 3B if needed. Even as an Astros fan, he seems like a busted prospect. Too many holes in his swing and his power has all but disappeared, and that's not good for a "power prospect". As for the card, I like the design but I don't love it. But it was $.99 shipped and I'll take that any day for a jersey relic with a pinstripe.

Finally today, I finish off my 2012 relic collection with this beauty of a card. I've shown off my Angels Nolan Ryan Retired Ring, now I present my Astros Nolan Ryan Retired Ring:

Ahhhh.... so awesome... I love the old school Astros logos on either side of the ring. Just a freakin' cool card!

There is only one card from the 2012 Topps flagship set that I want, but don't think I'll get. It's the /34 numbered Nolan Ryan coin. If any of you awesome bloggers pull one of these coin cards, I'll trade cards and cash for it and will make it worth your while. Please keep me in mind!!!!

Have a great day everyone... it's FRIDAY!!!!!

A Couple of Purchase Packages Arrive

Another 2 of my online purchases arrived last night...

First up is a selection of Gypsy Queen from SportLots.com...

A couple of bronze borders and a handful of mini's. The Ruth is a steal, as someone had it listed at $0.18 and most people want a couple bucks or so for it.

Next up is a lot I got from eBay with free shipping for $0.99!!!! It's a team set (with some duplicates) of the gold insert parallels of my beloved Astros. Any Astros collectors out there, I've got duplicates of Altuve, Melancon, Wallace and Myers if you're interested, just let me know.

One more day to enter my contests.... LOTS of entries so far... I've started to whittle them down in my inbox to those who have at least one answer right or close!

Ebay Package!

Got another package from eBay yesterday... another step in my quest to get all the Astros/Nolan Ryan cards from 2012 Topps without heavy investment... here's the loot!

Another couple of SWEEEET manu-patches which are going straight into my keeper binder. I'm waiting for one more package with the last manu-patch. If only I knew someone who pulled one of those coins and would take a deal from me that didn't involve $100 in cash. Anyways, nice cards and I rally like the way they did the Historical Stiches. I'm not AS MUCH of a fan of the retired numbers, but still a nice looking card.

Only a couple more days to enter my contest. I won't link it, I'll make you go to my blog and find it since apparently you haven't entered yet, so go work for it!!! Hahaha!

Trade and Purchase... don't forget my contest...

So I got two packages in the mail yesterday... first up, is a trade with Brian from the blog Pirates Treasure Room. There aren't a lot of Pirates bloggers out there and Brian's is a good read, make sure he's on your blogroll or Google Reader Feed. Here's what he sent my way...

An awesome bat card from Berkman, some Nolan Ryan cards as an Angel & Ranger that I didn't have from 2012 Topps and then some random Astros, I only scanned the Bagwells. Thanks Brian!


Next up is a card of epic proportions... AWESOMENESS encapsulated in cardboard... behold, the 6 relic card!!!!!!

Yes, that's batting glove, jersey, bat, shoe, fielding glove and hat. The last piece, the hat, looks like it was from a hat Berkman wore for a while too, all dirty and sweaty. It's an AWESOME CARD!!!! Got it for a steal of a deal on the eBay. Couldn't be happier!!!

Here's the back, it's numbered 10/25!!! Freakin' SWEEEEEEEEET!!!!!!

Alright, make sure you enter my contest, it's free and you win cards... what else could you want????

It's CONTEST TIME... I fell off the wagon, and you win!

I fell off the "not buying 2012 Topps" wagon. We stopped by Target on the way home... I saw a blaster of Topps 2012 looking all lonely on the shelf and figured, what the hell... what's the harm??? Well, the wife was an enabler (we'll be having a serious discussion about this later)... and I have decided that the only way to purge myself of this piece of karma is to give the cards away! So, here's what I'm going to do... there will be three winners. The first winner will get all the base cards. The second winner will get all the insert/parallel cards. The third winner will win the Golden Giveaway card that I pulled from the box...

The commemorative card, that's mine... I have to win something from this blaster, right?!?!?! Well, here's what I got for my commemorative patch card:

Yea, a freakin' SWEEEEEET patch... Topps, I have to hand it to you, again... you knocked it out of the park with the manu-patches this year.

Alright, onto the contest... here's how you win. Your entry will consist of three answers:

1) Team name with the most BASE cards from my blaster and guess how many cards were pulled of that team? (Hint: no cards were pulled for the Royals, Red Sox, Padres or Braves... so that leaves 26 other possible teams.) Any multi-team card will go with the team on the far left of the card. (Winner gets all the base cards)
2) Team name with the most INSERT and PARALLEL cards in the blaster, and how many cards were pulled of that team? (Winner gets all the Inserts and Parallels)
3) What is the first letter of the code from the Golden Giveaway card and what player is on the front of the code card? (Winner gets the code card)

If your comment "name" doesn't link back to either an e-mail or profile where I can get in touch with you, please also include an e-mail address with your comment.

If no one guesses the correct team for questions 1 and 2, I'll randomize all entrants for each and the #1 and #2 name listed will win the corresponding prize. The second part of each question will be used to determine a winner in case of a tie. Whoever is closest without going over (The Price Is Right rules) will win the tie-breaker. For question three, if no one guesses the correct letter, I'll randomize the entrants as well and #2 will get the code card. On question three, if two people guess the winning letter, and there is a tie that cannot be broken, I'll give both people a code card as I have a second one from my jumbo pack I bought last week. If more than two, I'll randomize the one card among all correct letter guesses.

Ok, I think that covers all likely scenarios...

Friday, after I get home from work, I'll determine a winner for each category.

Another Monday...

Ug... just not feeling it at all today... going to be a long day...

I put all my extra Gypsy Queen on Sportlots.com last night, hoping to sell off extras to fund future pickups. If anyone wants to make some purchases to fill in their set needs, my seller name is Dimwit80. Almost all the base is at .20 per card. I didn't realize at the time it was .18 minimum, so I may go back and change it to .18 for most of them if they aren't selling. Anyways, lots of commons and mini's if anyone is interested.

Sorry for the brief post, I should have some more exciting stuff to post later in the week.

Sportslots and eBay... we may have a problem here...

So I got two packages in today... one from Sportslots and one from eBay...

The problem I speak of in the title of this post is that Sportslots is an awesome site. Very reasonably priced Gypsy Queen commons (and even SP's! $0.18 for a GQ SP??? Heck ya! Sign me up!) Anyways, this was my first experience on the site and I'm tempted to put some cards up myself, it was a blast! The first of two packages arrived today...

$3.00 shipped. Can't beat that with a stick! Well, you could but then you'd damage the card, so just enjoy the fact that you got it for $3, right? Sportslots, I'll be back to you soon to find cheap commons and relics!

Next up, I've got a purchase from eBay that is THIS close to making want to start buying hobby jumbo packs of 2012 Topps.

Um.... *drool*... this card is epically AWESOME!!! I will collect anything with Nolan plastered on it of course, but Topps hit one out of the park with these ring cards. These things are about 15 cards thick and are going to be nearly impossible to store/display. Anyone found a solution yet? I just put mine in a hard case, there's room in there for it to move around a bit, but I don't plan on jostling it around too much anyways. What a great looking card, the ring part has a great design and again they mount it on the faux felt that just makes it look like some kind of museum presentation. Anyways, a great picture of Nolan as an Angel as well.

In the past 4 days, I've managed to snatch up all but two card that I'm looking for from 2012 Topps Series one: The /34 Nolan Ryan Coin card (Never getting this one, it just isn't going to happen...) and the Brett Wallace jersey card. I've got my eye on several auctions at 0.99 out there and I can't believe there are enough Brett Wallace fans out there to keep me from getting one for $0.99 + shipping. Anyways, if anyone has one for trade just let me know, I'd love to trade for it if I can!

eBay Purchase #1 - Topps 2012 Astros

So, I saw that Brent & Becca (I'm sure most or all of you know who they are) busted 60 JUMBO CASES (ridiculous) of 2012 Topps flagship. Well, they busted my share... so I checked out their eBay store and stalked a few items. First one to get to my door is my 2012 Astros Teams set (including all inserts). I wasn't sure what all inserts the Astros had in this set, and it turns out there were a lot fewer than I thought there would be... only 5. Sad times for Astros fans everywhere, we can't even get a decent insert of a modern player. Here are the base cards:

We got all vertical shots in series 1. It's odd they included Corporan as he only appeared in 52 games and is only back on a minor league contract this year. Quintero would seem like a more logical choice if you ask me considering he's on the MLB roster and all. Melancon is already on another team (Boston). Meanwhile, the rest are still with the squad. I'm excited to see how Altuve does in his first full year at the major league level, hopefully he hits well and keeps his OPS up to where it was in the minors. There is talk of Brett Wallace moving to 3B,  which would be great to fill a defensive hole, but if he still doesn't hit the ball it doesn't matter. Onto the inserts:

Here are ALL the inserts the Astros have in series one. Seriously Topps, with all the insert sets, you couldn't find a way to throw an Astro on any of them. Jordan Lyles is our hot pitching prospect... nothing? Eh, ok... I understand. Not to diminish the look of these Nolan inserts! I love the rainbow uniforms!!! I know there are bloggers who turn green and want to puke when they see them, but I just absolutely think they are the best uniforms we ever had. The opening day Colt 45's jerseys are a close second. Anyway, classic Nolan pitching shots on all 5.

All this for only $2.01 auction. For my collecting goals this year, this is a win. Much better than buying a box... although I really want to bust some wax!!!!!

Cards from Blog Reader Tom

Tom contacted me a couple weeks ago before I did some major damage to my 1978 want list with a couple trades, and after I got it whittled down to my actual needs he said he had a handful of cards to send my way, even if I couldn't round up something for him. Well, he sent some great cards and I'll definitely be sending back some cards for him as soon as I get a chance!

Here's the '78s he sent my way:

I'm down below 50 cards needed in total for my 1978 set!!!!! Thanks a bunch Tom!

So, I sold my error autograph recently of Dominic Ficociello/Nolan Fontana and used the funds to make some purchases of the few cards I actually wanted from 2012 Topps and a couple of other cards. As soon as they arrive, I'll be letting you all see the awesomeness that I turned these cards into!

Have a great Thursday everyone!!!

A Call for 2011 Gypsy Queen

As many of you know, I'm working on quite a collection of 2011 Gypsy Queen cards. I wanted to put out a call for any cards you may have lying around or that you once pulled together but now realize that you aren't going to finish off a certain collection...

Here's where I stand on certain collections within Gypsy Queen, and you can see specific cards I need in the Gypsy Queen link on the sidebar or here.

1. Base Set - I have one complete base set. I am only a handful of SP's away from a second. Now, you may ask why I'm putting together a second base set, A) I had a BUNCH of duplicates and thought "What the hell?" and B) I wanted to sell the second complete set to re-coup some money and invest it in some of the harder mini-relics to pull (Ruth and Gehrig).
2. Mini Set - I am also within 15% or so of completing the mini base set - regular back. This set is really starting to look nice in my binder pages!!! Mostly SP mini's left and if you have some you can spare, please let me know.
3. Gypsy Queens - This is my area of greatest need. I would like to get the regular and tarot card back versions and I thought they'd be easy to track down since most people aren't collecting them. Let me know if you have any!
4. Bronze Border Parallels - I'm almost done with this one! I originally started a contest to get a complete set of these. I'm down to about the last 10 and if it comes down to having to buy them all (as I've bought about 30 on my own from COMC) then I am going to be reluctant to give away the grand prize. So please, if you have any of the remaining, get yourself an entry or 10 and have a chance at a great Brooks Robinson relic numbered 60/60.
5. Mini-Relic Set - I've got 18/24 of these. Ruth and Gehrig are going to be major investments, I don't foresee being able to trade for them, unless there is just an amazing benevolent person out there who just really loves me. Musial, Munson, Jeter and Ripken may all be purchases as well unless there are trade candidates. I'm down to the big hitters on this one.
6. Regular Relic Set - I've only got a handful of these (8 to be exact). Any help on these is appreciated. Again, I'd love to trade for these, and there are some names on the need list that are pretty tradable guys. I've already got the Ripken in this set so hopefully I can get the rest pretty easily. 

I thought hard about trying for the autograph set as well, but then I remembered there's Koufax and Aaron in that auto set and I have no hope whatsoever of ever owning those two cards. So I stand pat with what I've got up there...

So I'm calling out to all collectors who read this little corner of the blog-o-sphere!!! IF you have 2011 Gypsy Queen to spare, I'm a trading fool! Let me know what you have and I'll gladly make you a more than fair offer for it! 

Thanks everyone! 

A Hiflew-in' Trade

I made another deal with Hiflew (Johnny) over at Cards From The Quarry. He's the only Rockies collector that I know, so luckily for him he gets first dibs on all the sweet Rockies cards I tend to pull. Anyways, here's what Johnny sent my way this time!

 Wow, the Bagwell/Biggio relic is just sick and awesome. Bases. Yesterday I show you wall piece relics, today you get bases! An awesome card for sure! Hakeem... what can be said about The Dream that hasn't already been said. One of the top 5 centers of all time. Very cool to get his Goodwin relic, the only permanent basketball card in my collection... A nice GQ mini I needed... and oh, what's that Mr. Hidalgo? You have something to show us????

Nice! A jersey swatch #'ed out of 50! I'm going to have to see about getting a box of this Playoff Portraits 2003 for my next break. I love the artwork and the relics are just sweeeeeet! 

Have a great day everyone, and thanks Johnny!!!

Group Break Box #4

I guess I should post this since I know people started getting their cards today... dang, USPS, you finally did some work... I dropped off the packages after the front office closed on Saturday, apparently there were in the back offices sorting and sending, as people got packages today!

Scans after the page break...

Another Day, Another Card

Congrats to you Giants fans out there. That was a pretty good game last night, lots of drama in the 4th quarter and what a catch by Manningham. Anyways, it's time for another installment of a cool card out of my collection...

Ok, so anyone can put a piece of jersey or bat in a card, but in 2001 Donruss got a hold of a couple pieces of wall from the dismantled Three Rivers Stadium and figured, "Let's cut 'em up and put 'em in cards!" Well, I couldn't be happier that they did. This is just plain awesome. The card highlights a game on 9/29/00 where Lance had two hits and a run scored. What's even better, check out the back of the card:

It actually gives a picture of the piece of walls that the piece was cut from. I wasn't collecting in 2001, I wish I was because I would have bought a ton of Donruss Studio I think. Hey, I was in college and had a BUNCH of disposable income from playing poker... haha... 

Anyways, hope you enjoyed this one... will have the final group break post up tonight!