Disorganized crime

You gotta stick with what works.  I've said many times on the blog that I really don't care for my organizational skills.  The piles of cards on my desk (which have decreased), the 3 row shoe box of Blue Jays cards that are still to be put in pages, etc etc. 

So while spending some time looking through the binders of Jays cards that are actually somewhat organized, I actually found one team set that is complete and together in the binder. 

Behold the completed '85 Donruss Blue Jays team set.

1985, what a great season for the Jays.  It was the first time that they made the playoffs, finishing with a 99-62 record.  They accomplished this without a 30 HR guy, nobody had 100 RBI's, and none of their regulars hit at least .300 (only Garth Iorg finished with a .300 average, but he had only  288 ABs).  Dave Collins & Alfredo Griffin didn't appear for the Jays in '85, they were in Oakland as part of the trade that brought closer Bill Caudill to the Jays. 

The pitching staff was the team's backbone, with a combined ERA of 3.31, four different pitchers with more than 10 wins, and 3 relievers with more than 10 saves (Henke, Caudill and Acker).  With all the stops that  Doyle Alexander had during his 19 year career, he won more games for the Blue Jays (46) than any other team. 

It's very weird to look at the Jim Clancy card, because I can't recall if I have ever seen another card (or any picture for that matter) where big Jim doesn't have a mustache. 

Jim Gott didn't even throw a pitch for the Jays in 1985, he played for the Giants.  Roy Lee Jackson also didn't throw a pitch for the Jays that year, he played in San Diego.  There were other semi-famous players that the Jays used during the '85 season that didn't appear here, such as Al Oliver, Buck Martinez and Cecil Fielder.

The crime in all this?  I don't have my Jays collection organized well enough to show off more team sets such as this. 

Maybe with the wife out of town for the next couple of days I may get some time to work on that little problem.....maybe

Thanks for reading, Robert 

Serial Insanity cards 971-975

The march to 1500 goes on, these 5 cards bring the completion rate to an even 65%.  The pile on the desk is starting to shrink...

Card # 971:  Jon Rauch

 

Serial Number:  830
Team:  New York Mets, card # 38/50

Of all the players that I've written about for the SNI, I don't recall a pitcher that has appeared in 80+ games in a season two years in a row.  Rauch did that for the Nats in '06 & '07, pitching in 85 and 88 games those seasons.   Pitcher got a rubber arm...

Card # 972:  Jed Lowrie

Serial Number: 761
Team:  Houston Astros, card # 22/50

65% into the set, and Houston is still one of 3 teams that is not at least 50% complete (Baltimore and Colorado are the others).  Jed has finally received a chance to play every day this year, and has responded quite well for the A's.  168 hits, 71 RBI's and a .288 average.

Card  # 973:  Jorge Cantu

Serial Number:  944
Team:  Texas Rangers, card # 42/50

Seems to have found his power stroke again in the Mexican League this season, hitting 31 HR.  I had wondered what happened to him, because I remember quite a few decent seasons in the mid to late '00s, and then he just kind of fell off the map.  Who knows, at 31 he may find another MLB job yet...

Card # 974:  Josh Tomlin

Serial Number:  879
Team:  Cleveland Indians, card # 32/50

Pitched his first major league game on 9/12 after coming back from Tommy John surgery.  We'll see if his Indians can hang on to the wild card spot, they're currently 1.5 games ahead of Texas in a great race in the AL.

Card # 975:  Bronson Arroyo

Serial Number:  1325
Team:  Cincinnati Reds, card # 33/50

Durable would be the word to describe Bronson, has pitched 200+ innings in every season but one since 2005.  The one that he missed?  2011, he pitched 199 innings.  It also looks as if he'll be in the postseason again this year, this will be his 6th time going after a World Series ring (he has one, 2004, Boston). 

Thanks for reading, Robert

The pages just keep coming

Yes, this has been a little bit of overkill with the completed insanity set pages lately, but this is what happens when a lazy blogger starts getting his crap together and putting things away.

For your viewing pleasure (hopefully), the 11th complete page of the set, page # 26

I'm not responsible for one single card on this page.  Every card has been sent to me by a fellow blogger.

Fantastic.

226:  Damian Miller from Josh at Royals and Randoms
227:  Dmitri Young from Dennis at Too Many Verlanders
228:  Chris George from Max at Starting Nine
229:  Carl Crawford from Dennis at Too Many Verlanders
230:  Kurt Suzuki from Dennis at Too Many Verlanders (anyone sensing a theme here?)
231:  Andrew Carpenter from Greg at Night Owl Cards
232:  Vicente Padilla  from Greg at Night Owl Cards
233:  Carlos Zambrano from Ted at Crinkly Wrappers
234:  Carlos Lee from Jim at GCRL

Only one team duplicated on this page (Cubs).  My favorite card on the page?  I'm a bit torn here, since I've professed my admiration for Carlos Lee, but I have to give the nod to the sliding Carl Crawford card from Stadium Club.

Keep them coming guys!!  Your help is really appreciated...

thanks for reading, Robert

Decisions, decisions

Last Monday, I received an email from Brian over at Play at the Plate.  It was as simple as this:

"I have a better #1 for you if you want to switch it out."

Brian was referring to the Serial Numbered Insanity set of course.   I was curious, because the #1 card I already had was one that I traded for, and kind of liked...

I don't have too many "rare" cards, so this Javier Vazquez #'d 1/50 from the 2007 Bowman Chrome set was a great card to have as #1. 

Now my curiosity was piqued.  I followed up with Brian with an email saying "Dare I ask?"  Brian replied back that he would just send me the card and let me decide.

Hmmmm....maybe the front will help me to decide

Who am I kidding?  There's no decision necessary.

Any White Sox fans out there looking for a 2007 Bowman Chrome Gold parallel of Javier Vazquez that's up for trade?

Gotta love those holy shit moments when you open an envelope.   Thank you very much Brian!!!

Thanks for reading, Robert

OK, so it wasn't too long

This is what happens when you start getting your shit together.  Pages get completed, and people get to see more cards.

Behold, the 10th completed page in the set, page # 24, cards 208-216

Unlike this morning's page, 7 out of the 9 cards featured here are from the great peeps in the blogosphere:

Starting from the upper left corner:

208:  Herbert Perry via Jeff at 2x3 Heroes
209:  Aaron Hill via Ted from the Crinkly Wrappers blog (currently in retirement)
210:  Carlos Quentin via ...Joe from the Sandlot
211:  Francisco Cordero via Mark at the Chronicles of Fuji
212:  Darin Mastroianni via Dennis at Too Many Detroit Players Grandersons Verlanders
213:  Carlos Santana via Tom at Waiting til Next year
214:  Tony Batista via Max at Starting Nine

Yes, this page suffers from Blue Jay overkill with 3 players on it.  It's random though, which is what I'm starting to appreciate more.  You never know what other bloggers are going to send, and not knowing what's headed my way is a big part of why I am enjoying this project.

My favorite card on this page?  The 2013 Opening Day blue of Carlos Santana.  I love those blues...

Thanks for reading, Robert

The joy of a completed insanity page...finally!

It's been a very long time since I've been able to show off a completed page for the insanity set.  I have quite a few pages currently that have 7 or 8 cards in them, just waiting for the final piece of the puzzle.

Take a look at page 31, the ninth completed page to date:

The Elvis Andrus in the lower right was the final card for this page.  This is also going to be one of the few pages that hasn't been primarily obtained from the blogosphere.  Only 3 of these cards came from outside sources, the rest I either picked up off of eBay, or at the National back in 2012. 

My favorite card on the page?  # 273, the Gerardo Parra sliding catch. 

Hopefully it won't be as long before I'm able to show off another completed page or 2...

Thanks for reading, Robert