Trading with Beardy, and a poll... Fun!

First off, I am soooooo behind in my trade posts... I'll catch up, I promise.
anyways, awhile back I posted my doubles list for '09 A&G and Beardy was one of the first to respond. I had a SP he needed, and he happened to have two SP's that I needed. Done. Simple.
No? As usual, it went a little further. I sent him some crap (Orioles) and he sent me some awesome cards! (Braves) Both extras that the other didn't know about.
But while we were chatting online, I mentioned I had an '09 Ginter auto of Rich Hill (Orioles) I told him I'd throw it in for any auto, no matter the team. I could always trade that to someone else.
After some thought (this IS Beardy we're talking about) He remembered he had an auto of someone who plays for Atlanta.

Yes. Ryan Church. In a Mets uni. *sigh* Sure dude. Done deal. A little more chatter, and the bearded one says, "wow. do you think there ever was a more craptastic trade?"
Let me see... the weakest hitting outfielder in the National League wearing a Mets uni, traded to a Braves fan for..... well...... Rich Freakin' Hill.
No. Never has there been a worse trade of more useless crap.

I'm going to be away for a couple of days... (don't get any ideas, I have my attack kitty standing guard) so I'll leave you with this.

Who got the crappier end of the trade?

Me? - Ryan Church in a Mets uni
Beardy? - Rich Freakin' Hill

thoughts and comments please

Pack break

It's been a very long time since I bought anything new to bust. I've got some boxes on the way (Goodwin Champions, '09 UD Football, '09 Topps Chrome, etc...) but only the gods know when they'll arrive.
Unlike our neighbours to the south, Walmarts here carry squat. And the only Targets are on deer and moose this time of year.
Our local Wally world has two blasters of '07/'08 Upper Deck Victory Hockey for $29, around thirty packs of something called Bella Sera, and that's it. Until yesterday. When they put out around a dozen fatpacks of '09/10 Fleer Ultra Hockey. 32 cards per pack, my wife grabbed me two packs.
I won't drone on about all 64 cards.... let's just do a quick review.

Some base cards.
Carey Price
Big Joe Thornton

King Marty Brodeur

Jose Theodore

a nice design, but not great. The photos just lack something that Upper Deck usually captures.

The silver foil name up the side is okay, but the grey gradient imposes on a lot of the photos.

The backs are well done. Full career stats, clean lines, easy to read and the number is located up top for easy sorting.
The drawback is for the players that haven't played for awhile, the back is awfully bare due to the lack of stats.

Another strike against is the number of players I pulled who changed teams a LONG time ago, but are still listed with their old teams. Were these cards printed last February??? If not, no excuse. Saku here, is an example of that.

The obligatory one per pack gold parallel looks like this.

Does EVERY set need a gold parallel? No. The answer is no.

Also found one per pack are the Rookie Sensations subset. Again with the gold border. I don't know any women who still wear yellow gold jewellry. It's left for the Gramma's of the world. What makes card companies think that yellow gold borders and subsets would still be all the rage?

Looks like an okay set of cards. 200 card base set. 50 Ultra Rookies for cards 201-250. Who know's how many packs it'll take to find one of those.

I'll give it 3/5

Game of the week

Indianapolis at Arizona ..... Prime Time!
The Colts make their first appearance in Phoenix in 19 years. The Indy defence is banged up with starters Bob Sanders (S) Gary Brackett (MLB) and Kelvin Heydon (CB) all missing the game.
That should give Kurt Warner the opportunity he needs to keep the Cardinals in it. But then again, Peyton Manning might play defence tonight.
Why not? He does everything else.

Indy holds a 7-6 lead all time in head to head regular season matchups.

some catching up

in my desperate attempt to get caught up on the recent (and not so recent) mail days, I give you a double header.
First up Greg from Lake Effect Baseball Cards sent me a few National Prides for my attempt at the '09 Ginter set. But he also included this beauty.
the last card I needed to complete the 1991 Score set. Well, the first 800 cards anyways....

and I also received a package from Sean at Condition Poor, a new blog to me, but I quickly found, an excellent one.
Sean also sent a few Ginters in exchange for the same. He included with them a couple of Dale Murphys to try and cushion the blow at the fool voters who did not, and have not voted Dale Murphy into the Hall of Fame. Neither in Cooperstown or at Collective Troll's Bloggers Hall of Fame.
Thanks guys!!!

the latest...

I haven't had any luck in finding anyone who collects a lot of players I have.
Finally, I have found Alfredo, of My Past Time... and he was willing to take Mr Miller off of my hands. What do I get in return??? Wait and see kids... wait and see....

Ginter mail and updates

Many thanks to Drew, Nachos Grande, and Jim from Sixty Feet Six Inches, (great blogs, all three of 'em.. ) my Ginter list is slowly waning. Thanks for the trades guys! I'd post what they sent, but even the Hermit Penguins of Southern Antarctica have seen them a hundred times already.

So if you can, please check my remaining wantlists HERE, and I'll post my traders below.

Hit me up for any trades... I'm not the fastest trader in the West, but it'll get done.

My Ginter doubles....

#'s 5, 6, 7, 9, 14, 18, 20, 21, 24, 26, 27, 28, 34, 42, 48, 52, 56, 57, 59, 62, 65, 68, 70, 71, 72, 72, 73, 74, 75, 77, 78, 83, 83, 84, 85, 86, 94, 96, 98,

100, 103, 105, 107, 108, 110, 110, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 120, 121, 126, 130, 133, 134, 138, 139, 142, 144, 150, 151, 153, 158, 161, 165, 176, 177, 179, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 192, 195, 196,

200, 205, 206, 210, 223, 227, 234, 235, 237, 243, 243, 247, 248, 251. 259, 262, 264, 270, 277, 278, 288, 291, 293, 298,

315,

National Pride #'s 3, 16, 17

Sketch #'s AGHS7, AGSH8

so what is this?

so through our series thus far, we've had the afro, the anti-fro, and the helmet look. All fairly straightforward.
But that begs the question, what the heck is this???
awesome.

Sunday Night Spectacular

No, not Abigail..
the opening night of Jerry Jones' new Cowboy's Stadium. LINK

Dallas against the hated Giants, a team that only has more fans than Philadelphia. Should be a great one.

Who's gonna get the first touchdown?

who needs a helmet?

You know under that uniform are several gold chains...
John rocks the ladies.

The Anti-Fro

Hall of Famer and All Pro Cliff Harris
demonstrating if you can't grow it up top, grow it somewhere else. Rockin' 'stache!

for Night Owl

the first of many to come....
Hall of Fame afro....

awesome.

the latest shiny

A few posts ago, I voiced a displeasure with modern baseball cards. It was the A&G that pushed me over the edge, though blame cannot fall directly on it's shoulders.
Did I stop collecting? Hell no. I just went a few different directions. I'll show you one of those compass points today.
Football is big in my house. I've said it before boys, the second you find a young, hot blonde who knows the difference between a Tampa 2 and a two deep zone, marry her. That's what I did.
Happiness is....
But I digress, back to football. It's football season. Kinda like Wabbitt season, but without the gunfire. (now that Plaxico is behind bars)
This is the only card collecting that my wife takes any interest in. Thus, the 5 boxes of new, shiny wax on the way, due to arrive shortly... but she focuses on the last 3-4 years. I, have an appreciation for the Vintage. Capital V.
Behold my latest acquisition;
Nice, sharp corners, bright colours, nice sheen to it. Only the slight off center detracts from perfection. Or does it?

Petty, insecure, classless...

No, I'm not talking about Dan Snyder and the Washington Redskins.... I'm talking about the best basketball player of our generation. Michael Jordan. He was inducted into the basketball Hall of Fame over the weekend.
At a time when all athletes pause, reflect, and humbly give thanks for enshrinment into their sports highest honour, we see Michael show his true colours to the general public.
Long known in basketball circles for being self centered, petty, he showed the public a little taste.
Well done sir. Way to show all those kids who spent the money from their dad's second job on Air Nikes trying desperatley to Be Like Mike, what a real hero you are. I hope not too many fans were watching. Maybe some of them still think you are great.
I know most don't. You are pathetic sir. Good day.


one of many LINKS to the story....

Random thoughts at the end of the weekend

Dallas Cowboys - Tony Romo 16/27 353 yards 3 TD's 0 INT - a career high... T.O. who?

Denver Broncos - Josh McDaniel is single handidly tearing apart a proud franchise. One of the biggest fluke plays to pull one out against the Bungles. It's going to get worse.

St Louis Rams - Shoulda just stayed home.

Arizona Cardinals - do you have the new # for Todd Haley in Kansas City? wow.

Minnesota Vikings - ugly. A.P. saved you against one of the worst defences in the nation.

Baltimore Ravens defence - 24 points from the 3rd string QB of the Chiefs?? Maybe Todd Haley was the righ tman for the job.

New York Jets - Mark Sanchez, not bad kid, not bad. Can you do it again next week?

New Orleans Saints/Drew Brees - 358 yards 6 TD's
Detroit Lions/Matt Stafford - 205 yards 3 Interceptions... hang in there kid. It's a long ride.


and to my beloved Braves.... how can you sweep Philly, the Dodgers, and the Cardinals, yet have your ass handed to you by the lowly Reds and Astros in between????
Anyone??? Bueller???

September 11

all that I could say, is said here, with the emotions that I am not talented enough to convey with words...

no matter the current administration, do not forget these feelings. Ever. Remember. Always.

Ginter Update

So after the first few flurry of trades, here's where my doubles list stands. (no lying down on this job)

#'s 7, 9, 14, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28, 42, 50, 52, 56, 57, 59, 68, 70, 71, 72 (x2), 75, 77, 78, 83 (x2), 84, 85, 86, 94, 98, 100, 103, 105, 107, 108, 110 (x2), 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 120, 121, 126, 130, 133, 134, 138, 139, 142, 144, 150, 151, 153, 158, 159, 161, 165, 170, 176, 177, 179, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 192, 195, 196, 200, 205, 206, 209, 210, 214, 223, 227, 234, 235, 237, 243 (x2), 247, 248, 249, 251, 259, 262, 264, 270, 277, 278, 288, 291, 293, 298, 315

AGHS5, AGHS7 (x2), AGHS8,

NP3

Those are all available, I'd like to get the Chipper sketch, but that's the only one I want.

My Ginter wants are as follows;

3, 11, 15, 19, 66, 79, 93, 104, 106, 131, 132, 135, 136, 154, 156, 180, 202, 220, 224, 225, 244, 250, 297

301, 303, 306, 307, 309, 311, 313, 314, 316, 318, 321, 322, 324, 325, 326, 329, 331, 333, 334, 339, 342, 343, 345, 347, 349,

NP 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 31, 33, 34, 35, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65

A big thanks to all those I've swung trades with already...

Record Setting Appearance

With Tuesdays appearance against the Houston Astros Braves pitcher Peter Moylan set a Braves All Time record for most consecutive games pitched without allowing a home run.
Peter has thrown in 73 (now 74 ) straight games without surrendering a homer, breaking former Brave John Smoltz's record of 72.
Peter is a rather odd sort. But what do you expect from an Australian side armer?

Please check this out.... I've been wanting to do this for awhile now...

I wish I could find some video of his band... I'll have to save that for another post.

Welcome to TNF

That's right, Thursday Night Football. Doesn't quite have the same ring to it, but maybe in 25 years it will.
The 2009 NFL season is upon us, with th eopening matchup featuring the defending Super Bowl Champion (Boo! Arizona got robbed) Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the Tennessee Titans live from Pittsburgh.
That means several things. First, you won't be seeing any of this:
She is still in Tennessee. But you won't be seeing any of the Steeler variety either. I've never been to Pittsburgh so I'm not sure, but maybe there aren't any young, hot girls who can dance?
Maybe they're all working in the steel mill... a quick google images search (btw, DO NOT google image search Steeler Cheerleaders... you'll be scarred for life) shows that there are, in fact, Pittsburgh Cheerleaders that will come to your Steeler event. But they are in Tampa, Florida.

Doesn't say much for Pittsburgh, does it?

But back to the game. Since the NFL went to this opening thursday night format, the home team has won 6 of the 7 times. Advantage: Pittsburgh. The last time these two teams played last year, a couple of Titans took to stomping on the Steelers beloved Terrible Towel. Like the fans need a reason to get pumped up. Advantage: Steelers.

Final score tonight: Pittsburgh 27 Titans 17

The rich get richer

Wow. This ranks right up there with Doyle Alexander for John Smoltz.
In all their wisdom, the "brain trust" of the Oakland Raiders have traded their 2010 1st round pick (likely, top 2 in the league, if not 1st overall) to the New England Patriots for over-the-hill defensive end Richard Seymour. LINK HERE

How do the Patriots do it? This reminds me of the Montreal Canadiens of the late '60's early '70's trading aged vets to expansion teams for their 1st rounders.

Highway robbery.

I wonder if Dallas can get in on this. Maybe Oakland would like to bookend Seymour with Bob Lilly???

Goodwin Champions case break

got your attention, didn't I?

Go HERE, and sign up. Should be a great break. Plus someone will walk away with one of those fancy fossil dna hair used tissue relics the kids are talking about.

Doubles anyone?

if you came here looking for tennis, move along. Nothing to see here.

If you came here hoping to at long last find my 2009 Allen & Ginter super duper list of duplicates... pull up a chair. This may take awhile....

The following is a list of my DOUBLES... posting a list of my needs would take too damn long.

#'s 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28, 32, 42, 46, 50, 52, 56, 57, 59, 68, 70, 71, 72 (x2), 75, 77, 78, 83 (x2), 84, 85, 86, 87, 94, 98, 100, 103, 105, 107, 108, 110 (x2), 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 120, 121, 126, 130, 133, 134, 137, 138, 139, 140, 142, 144, 150, 151, 153, 158, 159, 160, 161, 164, 165, 170, 173, 176, 177, 179, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 192, 195, 196, 200, 203, 205, 206, 209, 210, 214, 219, 223, 227, 234, 235, 237, 243 (x2), 247, 248, 249, 251, 259, 262, 264, 266, 270, 273, 277, 278, 287, 288, 290, 291, 292, 293, 295, 298, 310, 315

AGHS1, AGHS2, AGHS3, AGHS5, AGHS6, AGHS7 (x2), AGHS8, AGHS25,

NP3

for the sketch cards, I'm looking for any Braves sketches, or a couple of National Prides that I don't have...

let the frenzy begin... card #'s in RED are traded...

where to go from here

some of you may have noticed a little less posting on my behalf lately. Okay, a lot less. Many reasons for that. Real life can tend to get in the way sometimes. Boredom. Burnout. Other distractions. Shiny things. And by the way, that game you see advertised everywhere in the banner ads? Evony? DO NOT click on those banners. That game is damn addictive. Alarmingly so.

Anyways.

It's september now. Time to get the yard ready for winter. The leaves are changing colours. The smell of Gint-A-Cuffs is in the air.
Actually, A&G is one of the reasons I haven't been posting as much. I was so looking forward to this year's version. Gint-A-Cuffs came along and I jumped at the chance to compete with other bloggers. Now, located where I am, I ended up getting my two boxes a lot later than most everyone else. The blogs were filled with the sights and sounds of Ginter madness.

A lot happened in the hobby between then and now. Not really for the better either. I guess baseball cards soiled on me a little. Too much business, too much bs counterfeits, too much greed from athletes, manufacturers, retailers. Just too much.

You couldn't escape Ginter if you tried. It was everywhere. When I received my boxes I eagerly tore open the first box. And had already seen every card in there. No surprises.
I then slowly opened my second box. I could not believe the amount of duplicates in that second box. I was pissed. But then after sorting the two boxes together, I realized that I did not have that many duplicates at all..... I had just already seen all of the cards already.
Now, I'm not blaming Gint-A-Cuffs at all. It was a great idea, and I almost won. 333 to Beardy's 347. Close, but no cigar. Not that I smoke anyways.
I dreaded sitting down at the computer because I knew I had to scan in all of the Ginter. It was like an albatross around my neck. So I just didn't scan anything. Now the contest is over. And I don't have to scan everything, and I'm glad I didn't win. Congrats to whomever is crowned Gint-A-Cuffs champion. Well done.

Now, about that box that scored 333. It had four hits in it, don't ya know? That's right. Four. But here's the kicker. The fourth hit may be why I didn't beat Beardy's score. Confused? You won't be after the next episode of...... sorry, mind wandered a bit.
Let's take a look at that pack, shall we?

First card outta the pack
CC Sabathia - Yankee -1 pt
Johnny Damon - Yankee -1 pt

Chien-Ming Wang - Yankee -1 pt AWW C'MON!!!!!

Carl Crawford - Rays no points

HIT!!!

CC Sabathia Jersey - Yankee - 8 pts/2 = 4 pts Motherfu*%$#!

Brian McCann mini!!!!!! Woot! 4pts

Carlos Zambrano National Pride. = Lame.

A pack with a hit and I only get 5 pts. Now the thing is, and here's where it gets tricky, is that I got the EXACT SAME PACK in my other, lower scoring box. (244 pts for the record)

EXCEPT, I got a Tim Lincecum jersey instead of fat ole Captain Cheeseburger. For those of you scoring at home, a Lincecum is worth 40 pts!!! Instead of the 4 pts, that would be an additional 36 pts to 333, for a total of 369!!! I woulda won! If only the packs had been reversed. *sigh*

I still can't believe I got the EXACT SAME PACK in two boxes though.

So anyways, enough rambling, it's not my style. My posts are usually picture heavy. And thanks for all of you who sent caring emails saying it was okay to stop posting, as long as there were pics of cheerleaders every few days.

Your kindness will not go unrewarded.

Look for a post later today (I hope) on where I will go from here.....