the Replacements, pt. 1

I've had the idea for this post in my head for quite some time now.  But I wanted more than one card to show off before putting my fingers to the keyboard and spelling out the details.

Many of you have been following faithfully the travails of my serial numbered insanity set.  There are some out there such as Pat from Hot Corner Cards who take every opportunity to hook me up with the latest and greatest that they pull (Pat, I received your latest PWE, thank you again!!!!). 

With a recent trade completed with faithful blog reader Steve D., I now have a 2nd card to use as a replacement to start evening out the distribution of cards between teams.  If you're not sure what I'm talking about, let me explain.

I keep a huge spreadsheet with the details of each card that comes in for the SNI set.  I document the set name, player name, team name and the name of the blogger/other source that sent me the particular card.   I also have a 2nd sheet on that same file that looks like this....

American League
East
Baltimore Orioles:		20
Boston Red Sox:		34
New York Yankees:		45
Tampa Bay Rays:		39
Toronto Blue Jays:		42
Central
Chicago White Sox:		30
Cleveland Indians:		38
Detroit Tigers:		27
Kansas City Royals:		31
Minnesota Twins:		30
West
Houston Astros		25
Los Angeles Angels:		44
Oakland A's:		43
Seattle Mariners:		28
Texas Rangers:		44
National League
East
Atlanta Braves:		37
Miami Marlins:		30
New York Mets:		45
Philadelphia Phillies:		31
Washington Nationals:		43
Central
Chicago Cubs:		33
Cincinnati Reds:		35
Milwaukee Brewers:		30
Pittsburgh Pirates:		34
St. Louis Cardinals:		41
West
Arizona Diamondbacks:		32
Colorado Rockies:		25
Los Angeles Dodgers:		30
San Diego Padres:		40
San Francisco Giants:		29

As you can see, the distribution of the cards among the 30 MLB clubs is quite skewed, with teams such as the Orioles, Rockies and Astros being in the lower half of the 20's, while several teams are well into the 40's.   (these totals are current as of this post BTW). 

Posts like this one will help to smooth out the "injustice", and start to balance the teams a bit.  Now I don't expect anyone out there to go rushing to their card boxes and hunt for cards to help me out with this, because it's kind of hit and miss for everyone to go and look at a particular serial number that I already have (1106 for example) and find out that they have a card of one of the teams that is lower on the totem pole (Giants possibly) to replace the card #1106 that I have (the Mets Bobby Parnell is in this spot).

Hopefully my long winded explanation was readable...

Now, here's the two examples that I do have...the first was a card that I showed off a few weeks ago, a great "donation" from Brian at the Play at the Plate blog.

The A Gone yellow printing, naturally serial numbered 1.  What is this replacing?

A 2007 Bowman Chrome Gold refractor of Javier Vazquez (man that name is tough to type), #'d 1 out of 50.  Now the Padres really didn't need any boosting of their numbers, because the Gonzalez card is now the 40th out of 50, and removing the Vazquez drops the White Sox to 30 out of 50.  But in this case, the switch just had to be made, you know what I mean??  Maybe Jedi Jeff could use the Vazquez...

Now, the 2nd "replacement" card comes courtesy of the trade I made this week with reader Steve D.  He proposed this card below as part of a bigger trade...

David Carpenter of the Astros, serial numbered 1010.  I was definitely interested because the Astros were so short on cards, but I didn't want to take away from another team with a lower number of cards.  So I looked up 1010 on the spreadsheet and voila!!

Mike Adams of the Texas Rangers was already in that slot.  With the Rangers having 45 cards already, I was happy to make that swap, so now they are down to 44, and the Astros have hit the halfway mark of 25.  Maybe Brian at PATP would be in need of the Adams card....

Give yourself a gold star if you've read this far in the post, because this was a very long winded attempt at explaining the "replacement" card idea. 

Thanks to both Brian and Steve for the replacement cards, and possibly the start of an idea to create a little more balance to the SNI set.

Thanks for reading, Robert

Another complete Blue Jays team set

I've pretty much been down for the count the last 2 days.  It's rare when I book off sick from work for 2 consecutive days, but this damn cold has gotten the best of me.  Now that I'm upright and slightly mobile (at least for the time being), I've started trying to catch up on the pile of Blue Jays cards that I've accumulated over the past few weeks (or is that months?)

The first small batch that I grabbed contained what turns out to be the complete 2000 Skybox Dominion Blue Jays team set, 10 cards total.

I don't know if it's just me, or does anyone else think that this set is kind of drab?  The gold background on the prospects cards is kind of nice, but other than that, the cards kind of do nothing for me.

No matter, that's another team set I can knock off the want list.  The next goal for me is to get caught up with the pile of Jays cards, and also get the Blue Jays want list back up on the blog. 

We'll see how that goes.

Thanks for reading, Robert

The dirty dozen

I am rusty.  It's been over a week since I've had to write a "normal" post, without the use of any serial numbered parallel cards.

In this case, I get to use another type of post, extolling the virtues of blogger generosity.  I received an unexpected but very welcome package from Max at the Starting Nine blog mid week, and as usual he hits my basic collecting needs right on. 

No set needs in this envelope, which is fine by me.  1/4 of the envelope's 12 cards satisfied my hockey wants.

I have never bought one pack of the Goodwin Champions line of cards from UD, but own a hodgepodge assortment thanks to the generosity of the blogosphere.  The Joe Sakic card on the left is the first Goodwin Champion card for that particular PC. 

The Peter Zezel card in the middle brought back a lot of memories, especially of the early 90's Leafs teams and especially the run in the 92-93 playoffs.  Sadly, Zezel died back in 2009 at the very young age of 44.

Alexander Steen is showing the point per game potential that a lot of people thought he had when the Leafs drafted him in the 1st round in 2002.  His 17 goals so far this year is 2nd only to Ovechkin's 19. 

Baseball cards are what's left in the package, and I bet Max planned it this way, because there's 9 of them. 

Let's start with the "old"

Not the greatest scan ever, but five members of the Jays from their hey days in the late 80's and early 90's.  The Robbie Alomar card is actually from a recent release, it's a Panini Hometown Heroes insert from this past year.  I decided to lump it in with the older cards, well just because Robbie was part of that generation.

I like the Chrome cards more this year for some reason.  I know that the technology is pretty much the same this year as it has been in the past, but the cards seem to "pop" more for me this year than past years.  I don't know, maybe it's my brain playing tricks on me.  I like the Spring Fever insert of Jose Bautista as well, the blue background really complements the blue that the Jays wear.  I don't recall having seen a Swing for the Fences insert in the past on the blogs, but I'm so far behind on my reading that I could have easily missed it.  The card is pretty cool, and it has kind of an acetate feel to it.

The incoming cards only reminded me that I have to get in the swing of updating the Blue Jays collection, and try to get the master list back on the blog sometime soon. 

Max, thank you for the envelope, it is greatly appreciated!!

Thanks for reading, Robert

Serial Insanity cards 1031-1035

Believe it or not, this is the final post for the SNI set this week (try to hold the cheering down please).  After this post, I only have 2 cards on my desk that haven't been documented, so I guess you could say I'm caught up.

These 5 cards bring the set to 69% complete, and I'm quite happy that I have been able to proceed this far in the set.  With another trade proposed to me today, the goal of 1100 by the end of the year still has a small chance of being completed.

With all that being said, here's the last 5 cards of my mini "marathon".   Enjoy.

Card # 1031:  Richard Hidalgo

Serial Number:  251
45th card out of 50 for the Mets

There has been a lot of Mets cards on the SNI posts for the past week.  Remember the 2000 season of Richard Hidalgo?  44 HRs, 122 RBI, .314 average for the Astros.  This card shows him during his only season as a Met, one in which he hit homers in 5 consecutive games.  Hard to believe that he was out of the major leagues by age 30.

Card # 1032:  Grady Sizemore

Serial Number:  598
38th card out of 50 for the Indians

Injuries cut this very talented outfielder's time in Cleveland down, but I just read an article here that states the Phillies may be interested in signing Sizemore as an extra outfielder.  This guy is too talented to have his career end the way it did in Cleveland, so I'd really enjoy see him getting a chance to play somewhere with a fresh start.

Card # 1033:  Ryan Perry & Rick Porcello

Serial Number:  1438
27th card out of 50 for the Tigers

It's been a long time since I had a multi player card come into the set.  Porcello has been a mainstay of the Tigers rotation since his rookie year of '09, and '13 was his best season for K's (142) and WHIP (1.282).  Perry has had a bit of a rough time after his first two seasons, 2011 and 2012 were not good statistically, and 2013 was spent in the minors between AAA & AA.  At 26, he's got some time to get it back together and find his way back to the majors...

Card # 1034:  Chris Narveson

 
Serial Number:  610
29th card out of 50 for the Brewers

Narveson is the first card from the '13 Update set that I've shown off here, courtesy of Pat from the Hot Corner Cards blog.  Narveson pitched in only 2 games for the Brewers in 2013, before being sent to the minors where he spent the remainder of the season in AAA.  At only 31, and being a lefty, I'm sure he'll end up somewhere in 2014.

Card # 1035:  Kyle Lohse

Serial Number:  509
30th card out of 50 for the Brewers

Would love to know what he learned to turn his career around.  In his first 10 big league seasons, he only had only one season with an ERA below 4, and 4 other seasons his ERA was above 5.  The last 3 years, he's won 41 games, his combined ERA is 3.19 and WHIP is 1.140.  What changed?  You'd also think that with a turnaround like his, he wouldn't have had to wait until a week before the '13 season started before landing a contract.

Thanks for reading, Robert

Another completed insanity page

The Scott Downs card on last night's post finished off another page in my quest.  The set now has 15 complete pages out of the 166 + that the set is going to use.

This page you see here is #25, cards 217 through 225...

As always I need to give credit where credit is due.  This time, only 4 cards came from the blogosphere:

#220:  Corey Koskie came from Dennis at Too Many Grandersons/Verlanders
#221:  Scott Downs came from Jeroen at The Dutch Card Guy
#223:  Omar Beltre came from Ryan at the Great Orioles Autograph Project
#224:  Neftali Soto came from Ted at the retired Crinkly Wrappers blog (you'll see that a lot in the future)

To those who keep reading these posts, I do want to say thank you.  Your support is appreciated.

Thanks for reading, Robert

Serial Insanity cards 1026-1030

I skipped posting last night, well, because I was too damn tired.  

But I'm back with a vengeance (if you could call it that) and have 5 more cards for your perusal.

Only 470 to go....

Card # 1026:  Tony Wolters

Serial Number:  266
37th card out of 50 for the Indians

Moving along slowly in the Indians system, but he's just 21 and has 2 full years of high A ball to his credit.  Has hit a combined .266 with 11 homers over the past 2 years, and while his card lists him as a SS, he's played 2nd and catcher as well.

Card # 1027:  Adrian Beltre

Serial Number:  596
45th card out of 50 for the Rangers.

The Rangers join the Yankees as the only 2 teams in the SNI set to reach the 90% complete plateau.  I don't do predictions very often (because I'm bad at them), but I believe that Adrian by the time he is done with playing baseball he will be in the top 10 all time in games played.  He is only 34, and has 2276 games played.  150 games in each of the next 5 seasons will give him 3026, which would sit him tied for 6th with Eddie Murray and Stan the Man.

Card # 1028:  Scott Downs

Serial Number:  221
44th card out of 50 for the Halos

I guess you could say he's been around for awhile.   Downs has been traded for Mike Morgan, Rondell White and Cory Rasmus in 3 separate deals.  Have a little fun, click on the Mike Morgan link and see all the different teams he played for during his 22 year career.

Card # 1029:  Placido Polanco

Serial Number:  1290
26th card out of 50 for el Tigres.

His is a name that is just fun to say.  I never would have believed that he has over 2100 hits in his career, or has been in the majors for 16 seasons.  The 00's were very good to him, the lowest batting average he had in any season in that decade was .285 and he hit .341 in 2007.  Also a pretty good contact hitter, his highest strikeout total for any season is only 47.  I can admire that...

Card # 1030:  Brant Colamarino

Serial Number:  247
43rd card out of 50 for the Athletics

I like the serial numbering on the '04 Topps cards, it's big and easy to read.  Colamarino is a Pittsburgh boy, but unfortunately never got past AAA, and only had one sniff at that level, in 2005.  I'm curious as to why he never got more of a look at AAA, his career numbers in the minors were decent, especially over two levels in 2005 when he hit .274/21/92.

Thanks for reading, Robert

the SNI set now has 14 complete pages

Last night's post showed off card #71 in the set. That card finished off page 8, serial numbers 64 through 72.

Chamberlain might be the only card in the set in which you can't see the players face.

#64:  Skip Schumaker courtesy of Kyle over at the retired JABO blog.
#65:  Joba Chamberlain courtesy of Brian at Play at the Plate
#66:  Jayson Werth courtesy of Michael over at Nomo's Sushi Platter
#67:  John Buck courtesy of Erik at Sandlot Cards
#68:  Huroki Kuroda courtesy of Ted at the retired Crinkly Wrappers blog
#69:  Stephen Drew is the only card from this page that I pulled on my own
#70:  Garrett Mock courtesy of Jeff at 2x3 heroes
#71:  C.C. Sabathia courtesy of Kevin at the Diamond King blog
#72:  Ryan Ludwick courtesy of Erik at Sandlot Cards

Thanks to all who contributed to this page, as well as to the set in general.  Only 475 cards to go!!  Five more are coming tonight...

Thanks for reading, Robert

Serial Insanity cards 1021-1025

I often have wondered if I would tire of this project.  I didn't realize when I first thought of this idea a couple of years ago the massive undertaking that the SNI project would be.

Now that I'm over 1000 cards, I think that this is where the project is going to start getting more interesting for me (and hopefully for you).

There are several teams in the 40+ card range, and as they hit the 50 mark and "drop off" the serial numbers will get that much harder to fill.  (Hint Hint, Astros, Tigers, Rockies and Orioles are in desperate need of your help!)

Enjoy the next 5...

Card # 1021:  Mark Teixeira

 
Serial Number:  1359
45th card out of 50 for the Bronx Bombers

You may or may not have seen this card recently on the blog.   I actually chose to use the copy I received from Jeff over at the Cards from the Attic blog (don't ask me why).  Chances are if Mark gets a hit off of Bruce Chen, it's for extra bases.  Teixeira has 11 hits against the lefty, 2 doubles and 7 homers giving him a SLG pct. of 1.545.   Not bad...

Card # 1022:  Carlos Beltran

 
Serial Number:  947
41st card out of 50 for the Cardinals

I'm sure that Carlos is going to get one more contract at good money, probably for 2 years, and my guess would be it will be in the AL so he can DH and help the wear and tear on his body.  I think 3000 hits may be out of reach, with Carlos needing 772 more to reach that milestone. 

Card # 1023:  C.C. Sabathia

Serial Number:  71
36th card out of 50 for the Indians

I don't think until I started building the insanity set that I saw a Topps Co-Signers card ever before.  This is now one of my favorite releases, largely because of the 2 player front with the "prominent" player being in color in the foreground.  C.C. won 14 games despite career worst stats in ERA, WHIP and runs allowed.  The hits allowed in 2013 was the 3rd most in his career.  205 career wins at age 33, anyone want to guess how old he'll be when he hits 300 wins?

Card # 1024:  Darin Erstad

Serial Number:  953
43rd card out of 50 for the Angels

As valuable a player as the Angels had in the 2002 World Series championship, Darin hit .352 (25/71) and scored 14 runs in wins over the Yankees, Twins and Giants.  Hands up if you remember him winning the Gold Glove at 1B in 2004....

Card # 1025:  Yonder Alonso

Serial Number:  1050
35th card out of 50 for the Reds

I'm not trying to be a smart ass, but Yonder is probably my favorite first name in all of baseball.  The jury is still out on the trade that brought him to San Diego, but it still is looking like the Reds have gotten the better of the deal so far.  One of the players (Volquez) was released by the Padres over the summer, Brad Boxberger has pitched fairly well in limited action over 2 seasons, and Yasmani Grandal took a step backwards last year, numbers wise.  The 3 players the Padres have left are all still young, so time may change how that deal looks down the road....

Shh...don't repeat this, but this is my 900th post...

Thanks for reading, Robert

Serial Insanity cards 1016-1020

A full house if you will of cards today.

3 Topps 2010 gold cards over 2 Bowman Chrome purple parallels.

I've decided since I've fallen behind again on the insanity posts, I'm going to use the next few days to catch up.   Less stress on me during my busy season at work, and since there's likely not going to be any new cards coming into the house over the next couple of weeks (at least via my wallet), I'm going to do my best to get it all on the blog and update the want list.

Enjoy the next 5!

Card # 1016:  Elvis Andrus

Serial Number:  553
44th card out of 50 for the Rangers

This is another one of the guys who makes you scratch your head when you see that he's only 25 years old, but he already has 5 years of service in MLB.  If you had to complain about something, what would it be?  Maybe that a lot of the shortstops in today's game are sluggers or high average guys.   Elvis is neither, but I'd still take him on my team because his fielding is improving (career low 14 errors last year), he plays for the team (average of 16 sacrifice bunts over the past 4 years) and plays an average of 150 games a season.

Card # 1017:  Jeff Francoeur

Serial Number:  928
42nd card out of 50 for the Metropolitans

Doesn't it seem like Jeff has been around more than 9 seasons?  Didn't have the kind of season a player wants to have heading into free agency, hitting a combined .204 with 3 HRs in 2013.  At 29, I'm sure that there's someone out there who will probably invite him to spring training on a minor league tryout...

Card # 1018:  Daniel Murphy

Serial Number:  1449
43rd card out of 50 for the guys from Shea

I remembered writing a post about Mr. Murphy awhile back, and my remembrance was that he played 2nd base, even though his 2010 Topps card above lists him as a first baseman.  Turns out he did play 1st base back in 2009, and after missing all of 2010 and the last 2 months of 2011 with knee injuries, he has settled into the 2nd base position for the Mets, and is doing quite well offensively.

Card # 1019:  Josh Stinson

Serial Number:  749
44th card out of 50 for the Mets

This post accidentally turned out to be very Mets-centric.  Josh had quite the week between March 29th and April 4th of 2013, getting waived and selected twice in that same week!  Stinson wound up with the Orioles, and appeared in 11 games, posting an ERA of just over 3 and a WHIP below 0.8.  With those numbers you would think he'd get a long look in spring training this year...

Card # 1020:  Jon Pettibone

Serial Number:  688
31st card out of 50 for the Phillies

I wasn't sure if I remembered Pettibone, then I took a look at his stats and now I know.  Sort of a 5th starter for the Phillies for a portion of the 2013 season, Pettibone started 18 games, going 5-4 with a 4.04 ERA.  Jon also had as many hits (3) as he did walks as a hitter.  Denard Span is 3 for 3 against Pettibone, while at the other end, Travis Snider is 0 for 5 career wise.

Thanks for reading, Robert

Serial Insanity cards 1011-1015

Here's something that you don't see in a serial insanity post.

5 cards, 5 different sets.   A little variety for a change! 

Enjoy

Card # 1011:  Brett Myers

Serial Number:  437
31st card out of 50 for the Pale Hose

It'll be interesting to see if Myers lands with a team for the 2014 season.  The 2013 season wasn't a great one for Brett, only pitching in 4 games with the Indians, before going on the DL and eventually being released by the club late in August. 

Card # 1012:  Jason Phillips

Serial Number:  718
41st card out of 50 for the Mets

This card was released the year after he had his best season in the majors, hitting .298 with 11 HRs while splitting time at first and behind the dish.  I sure don't remember him as a part time player for the Jays in '06/'07.  The 1 HR in 80 games over 2 seasons is probably why.

Card # 1013:  Dan Wheeler

Serial Number:  1189
24th card out of 50 for the Astros

Keep those Astros cards coming guys!  Dan is the 2nd pitcher in this post to finish up recently with the Indians very poorly.  The 2012 season saw him pitch in just 12 games with an ERA of almost 9.  Dan spent the first part of the 2013 season with the Royals AAA club, but struggled and was released in May.

Card # 1014:  Brandon Phillips

Serial Number:  476
34th card out of 50 for the Redlegs

Drafted by the Montreal Expos (!) in the 2nd round, he was part of the Cliff Lee/Bartolo Colon trade in 2002.  After only one real shot to play the next 4 years in Cleveland (2003), he was traded to Cincinnati, and 4 gold gloves, 3 all star games and a silver slugger later, he is one of the best 2nd basemen in the game today.

Card # 1015:  Craig Wilson

Serial Number:  496
37th card out of 50 for the Braves

I knew this name sounded familiar, but I didn't remember that he was a Blue Jay draft pick (2nd rd, 1995) and was traded to the Pirates in 1996 as part of the big deal that brought the Jays Orlando Merced, Dan Plesac and Carlos Garcia. He was a solid utility player for the Pirates, and enjoyed a pretty good season in 2004, hitting 29 HRs and driving in 82.  Eventually traded to the Yankees in '06 and finally wound up his career with the Braves in '07 with only 58 ABs. 

thanks for reading, Robert

It's like throwing darts blindfolded

I admit it.  When I took down my Blue Jays want list, it made it difficult for people to figure out what I needed.  If you don't have something to reference, how do you know what to send?

I'm sure that people know I love the Jays, but when they endeavor to send me a package like A.J. from The Lost Collector did recently, it has to be like throwing darts blindfolded.

Unless you're Phil Taylor, it's quite difficult to hit a dartboard when you can't see it.  A.J. did quite well though...

He sent out some Finest

Need em all

How about some 80's??

Always I before E when spelling Stieb

A power hitter and a pitcher with a power slider.

Need em both...

You really don't hear the word vintage associated with the Blue Jays, but these two cards are as close as you're going to get...

Need em both...

Finally, a manu relic with the Blue Jays logo and Joey Bats on it is quite all right in my eyes

Chances are if I were to end up in a bar with A.J., I'd do my best to steer clear of the dartboard.

Thank you for the envelope A.J, very much appreciated!!

Thanks for reading, Robert

2 points

For years, I have heard about the In the Game memorabilia points program, but had never participated.  I took a look at the back of this Joe Sakic card that I received from across the pond and realized that you need to accumulate 400 points in order to obtain a hand numbered memorabilia card (out of 20).

At one or 2 points a  card, that's an awful lot of pack busting, and I'm sure at the end of the day it cost a pretty penny to ship the 400 points to ITG.

At the end of the day, I think I'd rather just have this card for my Joe Sakic collection...

Yea, it looks like it has been at the bottom of a couple of packages in its time, but it doesn't matter to me.

It's gold, and it's now part of the Sakic PC, which is growing quite well lately.

Thank you again Jeroen!

Thanks for reading, Robert

A bakers dozen of serial numbered pages are in the books

As promised last night, here is the next completed page for the serial insanity set.  It is actually page #2, cards 10 through 18.

A pretty nice mix of sets and colors, and one of the few pages where I picked up more of the cards on my own than what the blogosphere sent me...

#10  Nathan Haynes courtesy of Max at the Starting Nine blog
#11  Ichiro
#12  Christian Friedrich courtesy of Kevin at the Diamond King blog
#13  Chipper Jones
#14  Johnny Mize I picked up at the 2012 National
#15  John Lindsey I picked up in a trade on the Bench website
#16  Kosuke Fukudome courtesy of Ted at the Crinkly Wrappers blog (retired)
#17  Dan Uggla I picked up at the 2012 National
#18  Brad Hawpe courtesy of Derek at the Tomahawk Chopping blog

The way that everyone keeps sending me cards, I may be showing more pages off sooner rather than later.

Here's hoping....

Thanks for reading, Robert

Serial Insanity cards 1006-1010

Starting to fall a little bit behind on these cards again.  It seems as if my goal of hitting 1100 by year's end is not totally out of reach, or so the blogosphere says.  I've received packages from Jeroen who runs The Dutch Card Guy blog (thank you Jeroen!) and from Dennis at the Too Many Verlanders blog (thank you Dennis!) in the past couple of days that have augmented my totals.

Here's the latest 5 card post, courtesy of Kevin at The Diamond King blog  (yes, it's blog promotion day...)


Enjoy.

Card # 1006:  B.J. Upton

 

Serial Number:  376
39th card out of 50 for the Rays

Interesting to note that when I looked up B.J.'s profile on baseball reference's website, they list him as a center fielder, third baseman and second baseman.  B.J. hasn't played 3rd base in the bigs since 2006, and he hasn't seen 2nd base since 2004.  That's kind of like saying when I leave a comment on your blog I've become one of the writers on your blog.  Please be sure to give me proper credit....

Card # 1007:  Frank Robinson

 
Serial Number:  340
43rd card out of 50 for the Nationals/Expos franchise.

If I recall correctly, this is only the 2nd card of an Expos player that I've used toward the Nationals totals (Andres Galarraga is the other that I remember...).  Frank was a real ball magnet in his day, he was hit 10 or more times in a season 11 times, and two other seasons led the league in HBP with totals of 9 and 8.  I guess 586 career HRs will make any pitcher do what they can to keep from being hit out of the yard.

Card # 1008:  Marshall McDougall

Serial Number:  673
43rd card out of 50 for the Rangers.

Damn red parallels from 2006 Opening Day, why do I like you so?  By the way, this may rank as one of the best names in the set so far.  By the by, Mr. McDougall had a career total of 18 ABs in 2005, striking out 10 of the 18 times he stepped to the plate.  Marshall also played more positions (4) than he had hits (3).

Card # 1009:  Jim Edmonds

Serial Number:  478
40th card out of 50 for the Cardinals

The Cardinals become the first team in the NL Central to hit the 40 card mark.  I had to take a 2nd look at this card before I scanned it, because it seemed weird that there was no top border for the card.  Anyone recall any other sets out there that had 3 borders??

Card # 1010:  Christian Friedrich

Serial Number:  12 (!)
25th card out of 50 for the Rockies

Now that the Rockies have hit the 50% mark, there are only two teams remaining that haven't reached 25 cards (Astros, Orioles).  The Gold Bowman Chrome scanned quite well (better than I thought it would), and this card finally completes the 2nd page, which I'll show off tomorrow.

thanks for reading, Robert

Day 2 at the Expo: Sakics and Chevys

I really enjoyed myself on the 2nd day of the Expo, partly because I decided to free myself of the need to complete sets, and just go after stuff that I really wanted. 

Kind of similar to impulse shopping at the grocery store, but without the junk food making me fatter than I already am.

I saw one table that had piles of $1 cards, nothing of which I was really interested in.  Around the corner from those dollar cards were stacks of cards for $3, and when I saw a bunch of 50's and 60's Parkies, I was interested. 

I only plucked two of them for myself, because I was just getting started when I hit this table.  But at $3 apiece for a 57-58 and a 60-61 pair of Maple Leaf commons, I had to have them.  Gerry James didn't have a long and storied career with the Leafs, 149 games over parts of 5 seasons.  Ehman was also a part timer over his first few seasons in the NHL, but expansion gave him a chance to play full time for 4 years with the Golden Seals.   Ehman was also part of the Leafs Stanley Cup winning team in 63-64.

OK, enough of the history lessons.  You may or may not remember that I went to Toronto a few months ago hoping to get a "nice" addition for my Joe Sakic collection, but came away empty handed.  I lucked out yesterday, and picked up this nice 2 color jersey card of Joe...

I've never been a big proponent of paying larger sums of money for a jersey or autograph card.  A few dollars I can stomach, but when you get into the realms of the Cup or other "luxury" products that are on the market, I usually will pass.  This card is #'d 17/25 (the first hook for this sucker), and the nice blue stripe on the jersey swatch made the card too good to pass up, even for $20. 

The next table that I hit was a boon for my Sakic collection, as I picked up 15 cards at 50 cents apiece.  The funny thing about me hitting this table was that the Sakic cards weren't the first cards that I noticed in the 50 cent boxes.  I had noticed a stack of 95-96 Players Club parallels, which was great, until I opened my backpack.  Yes, the notebook was inside, but the want lists weren't.  

Pissed!!  You better believe it.  Instead of moping, I started digging through the boxes, finding the odd Sakic card here and there...

I was very happy to find a Post Pinnacle Sakic card, I don't think I had ever seen it before until yesterday.    By the time I arrived at this table, I had been walking for over an hour, and was getting a little weary.  This table actually gave me the time to rest, as I spent about half an hour sitting at these boxes going through them. It also allowed me to empty out my pockets of a bunch of change that I had been accumulating since I walked in.  Win-win indeed...

You're probably wondering what the Chevy portion of the title of this post is about.  It's really about another opportunity to laugh at myself, which I've already done twice while telling the story to people.

Friday, I had no problem recalling where I parked my truck, because it was near a bright yellow Penske rental truck.  Easy peasy.

Yesterday was a totally different story.  Usually when I park in bigger lots, I take the time to find some kind of landmark so I can remember where my vehicle is when I leave.   I failed to do this yesterday.   So I spent the better part of 20 minutes walking up and down the aisles, looking for a grey Chevy Equinox with PA plates.  What's even better, I pretty much ate crow 3 or 4 times while looking, because the place was so packed, that people were asking me if I was leaving.  Each time I said "as soon as I find my truck, I will be!!".

I couldn't believe how many people in Canada drive grey Chevys.

Another successful Expo in the books....

thanks for reading, Robert