It's funny what a little focus can accomplish

Focus (v) - pay particular attention to

As I've aged, I've also gained the knowledge that focus is something that I've clearly lacked during my lifetime.  I'm a person that can easily shift from one task to another quickly, often leaving tasks half finished.

I can also describe my collecting habits as focus impaired.  Start one thing, work on it for a while, move on to something else that I find interesting, work on that for a while, and so on.

With the SNI set down to its final 100 cards, I've started working towards the finish line.  I'm using my weekly budget (or parts of it due to lower amounts of discretionary spending money) and chipping away at the remaining serial numbers needed.

The last 2 purchases from COMC.com knocked off 19 cards, 5 of which I showed off the other day.  The Goodbye Ohio post showed the final cards of the Cleveland and Cincinnati clubs, and today I'll show off three more teams that were finished recently.

Up until last week, the Cubs were down to just 2 cards to finish off their portion of the set.  Fukudome (#1047) and Gallagher (#1006) made the Cubs the 12th team to have all 50 cards in house.

The Dodgers became the 13th team to be completed when the sole remaining card arrived in the same order.  Delwyn Young (#1421) is the final piece of the Dodgers puzzle.  In case you were wondering, Young is still playing baseball, with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the independent Atlantic League.

Jake Peavy (#753) is the final part of the San Diego Padres portion of the set.  Peavy is probably not the same pitcher now as he was with the Padres many years ago, but I'm sure that the sting is lessened with two consecutive WS rings on his resume.   To get a third, he's probably going to have to be traded, because we all know that the Giants can only win in even #'d years...

Not only have I completed those teams with recent orders, I've added cards for other teams as well.

I only grabbed a couple of Phillies so that they would be over the 40 card mark.  Same with the Tigers below...

Little did I know that these two teams would be in the sights of another blogger, to be completely wiped out with one single order.   When they arrive, I'll be sure to show them off and give many thanks to the generous person.

Lastly, in what I can only call a moment of non-clarity, I ordered 4 Braves cards.

Nothing against the Braves of course, but for some reason I ordered just 4 when I needed 5 to finish them off.  Duh me.  I corrected this mistake in the order that I placed today.

Speaking of that order, along with the generosity of a fellow blogger I have a little more than a third of the final 100 cards headed my way.  With just under 6 weeks left until my blogoversary, there is a chance that I can finish this set before the start of my 5th year in the blog world.

Let's see if I can stay focused enough to do it...

thanks for reading, Robert

Goodbye Ohio

Over the past few weeks, the desire to finish one of my "bigger" set builds has intensified.  With money tighter than normal, the choice between chasing the more valuable cards to finish the '64 Topps set versus obtaining the remaining cards to finish off my serial numbered insanity set became much clearer.

The ability to purchase serial numbered cards off of COMC.com at a reasonable price won out, and so over the past couple of weeks I've placed two small orders on the site.  In addition to about a dozen cards for my 3 player PCs, I started knocking off some teams from the SNI set, which is making the task a little less daunting, at least in my eyes.

I decided for today's post to say goodbye to the Ohio based teams.   I only needed a handful of cards to finish off both teams, which made scanning the cards all that much easier.

In trying to complete the set, I've been trying to purchase cards from various sets to enjoy a little more variety.  Picking up a lot of Triple Threads cards had made the process somewhat stale, so finding a David Ross from 2007 Topps helped. 

I only needed two cards to complete the Indians portion of the set.  The Casey Kotchman was one of the lowest serial numbers that I still needed, #395.  Most of my focus on buying these cards has been on parallels with larger print runs, such as the gold parallels of Lou Manson on the right, but with only a few serial numbers left that are below 500, I was able to grab a Bowman blue parallel for some more variety.  I will probably do the same thing for the final 3 serial numbers below 500.

With the Indians and Reds complete, I now have over half the teams finished, 16 to be exact.  The Braves only need one more card, while the remainder of the teams have anywhere between 5 and 10 cards left.

Even better than all I've said so far is the fact that I only need 100 cards to finish the set.  I bet you thought this might go on forever....

So did I.

thanks for reading, Robert

I was surprised that I didn't have these cards

Taking time out from his married life, Gavin from the Baseball Card Breakdown blog was kind enough to search through the massive wilderness that is my Blue Jays want list, and sent me a few cards that I was surprised I didn't own.

Let's start with a couple of more recent Jays...

Rajai Davis had a decent run in Toronto during his 3 seasons there, 125 steals worth of running to be exact.  Reed Johnson was a player I would have like to have still in Toronto, as he's a pretty solid 4th outfielder.  Reed should record his 1000th career hit sometime in the not too distant future (he only needs 5 more).  I actually thought I already had Johnson's 2007 Topps card....guess not.

I don't recommend throwing baseballs, or doing a lot of other things from the position that A.J. Burnett is showing here on this 2007 UD series 2 card.  A.J. made his return to Pittsburgh last Sunday, and received a nice ovation from the fans, as well as a tribute on the scoreboard from the club.  A.J. showed his class and tipped his cap to the fans, as well as the Pirates dugout afterwards.

I looked at these two cards and thought to myself "yea, I already have them".   I check the list and find that they're still on there.  I also still need multiple cards from both '89 and '90 Donruss to complete the Jays team set.   What gives here?

Again, two more cards that I instantly thought I already had.  It turns out that these two cards are the final two I needed to complete the 1991 Topps Traded Jays set.  I guess looks can be deceiving.

Finally, I know that this card was not on any of my want lists, but to me it's pretty cool and I'm glad I now own it...

1995 Pacific Jays team logo card.  Love it.  I almost became obnoxious and turned the background of the blog into a picture of this card.   Almost....

Gavin, thank you for the great lot of cards, and reminding me that there is still a lot of uncharted territory that is the Blue Jays.   Congratulations on the wedding as well!!

By the way, there is still time to vote (if you haven't already) on this week's blowout match between 1960 Topps and 1979 Topps.  You might just learn a little something about a department store that sounds like a car!!

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