Ramblin' man: the Travelin' Lee comes to town

I needed to get rid of some cards a while back. I sent some Mannys over to the Brooklyn Met at Clear Cut Cards and ended up with this guy:

Should I be offended? Scared? Overjoyed? Lee himself looks pretty pensive, like he's not sure either.

Anyway, Travelin' Lee is pretty awesome and make me wonder: whatever happened to Cy Seymour? Anyone seen him?

These Prices tagged along with Lee, making this a lefty-centri package:

Thanks again Met and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

Manny, Sammy, Andruw: 3 stacks available

Apparently a generous (!?) ebay seller recently dumped a some extra lots on me: Andruw Jones, Manny Ramirez (mostly Indians uni), and Sammy Sosa.

First come first serve, hit me back with CCs, Prices, Gomeses, Niemanns, mid-90s minor league cards, whatever.

Catching up: CCs from Joe

There are a few posts I owe people as a consequence of my "non-absent absence." While Youtube is waiting to upload videos (longer than usual even!) I'll go ahead and get started.

Joe and I had traded once before and he'd sent me some great stuff. This time he contacted me about a DK CC auto /10 and, because it was the summer and I was bouncing around a bit, things were kind of off and on. I didn't have anything right in his wheelhouse but I sent him a bunch of relics and he sent me the agreed upon CCs. Or so I thought. Right after he sent the package he dropped me a line and told me "to be sitting down when I opened it up." Glad I did.

In addition to the agreed upon DK auto there was this Turkey Red Cabinet card (inset card is for size.) This thing is AWESOME. I hadn't realized until just now the background is slightly different from the regular-sized card, either. Where the regular one is CC in an abandoned ball field the larger version is "CC fighting zombies in a post-industrial apocalyptic wasteland." Very cool.

And then, of course, the CC DK. Here its with the two DK jerseys I have, both courtesy of Joe.

Great additions to the collection, and needless to say I owe you, Joe! Thanks again.

Have a good one everybody and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

A Grand Card Comes to Town

I was able to score the vintage lot in the recent Grand Cards trade away. The entire lot was better than advertised, but what drew me in was this card:

I've seen this card of Squirrel Sievers on the 'bay but could never quite pull the trigger. Scoring it in a trade was awesome. I'm a big fan of the Squirrel and this card has an almost comic-book-hero feel to that you normally associate with Babe Ruth. You've got the slugger following through on a mighty swing perfectly framed by the borders of the design. Behind him lurking in the shadowy dugout his teammates spit sunflower seeds and look on. The fans above them lean in as if to see where the ball he hit is going, presumably far out to right.

And yet the composition is a little too perfect. The picture of Sievers has a painted look to it that contrasts sharply with the rest of the card. And the fans, why are they so much more excited than the players in the dugout? They almost seem to be watching different games. And then there's the looming office building just above the grandstand and the sunlight that seems to be pouring in from that direction without illuminating anything. 

I'm guessing (maybe incorrectly) that this is an early attempt to compose a single card out of various elements, to create drama that otherwise isn't/wasn't there. And I'll admit, the effect is startling for a card from that era. It shows that this sort of thing can go way beyond, say, photoshopping GWB into the stands or Mantle into the dugout. 

Thanks again for the trade GC!

Have a good one everybody and have a goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

Wicked Cards Part III: Things That Make Me Happy

The back story here is that I went to the PO today to send the last four of the group break packages, two that were overweight (damn you 13 oz rule!) and two going up to Canada. I ate my lunch in 10 minutes and headed out of the office only to arrive in line behind someone trying to mail a BIKE. While the good folks at the PO moved heaven and earth to accommodate this request the time went by and, wouldn't you know it, 40 minutes were gone, I had to get back to work, and the packages were STILL unmailed. I'm going BEFORE work tomorrow, bikes be damned.

Anyway, I wanted to get into some things from the mail that made my day, focusing first on more cards from Wicked Ortega. That way I can get over someone trying to mail a BIKE and forget about the PO trying to HELP them. On to the cards!

This is the 206 mini from 2003. I had the regular but NOT this one, which I'd wanted for a while. Good stuff and it came in the mail, so mail's not all bad. And CC's got this "wtf?!" face that sums up watching someone mailing a bicycle. 

This is another great card, a wacky die-cut number. Can't figure out what's going on here, though. I 'm guessing he's making a turn at 3rd. He looks like he's stepping on a base with his left foot, looking back at the action before proceeding, getting ready to turn it up.

This card needs to explanation. Other than the spring training unis this is just pure awesome, from the fans to the ump to the 3rd baseman. 

And finally, a UD jersey /99:

In sum, great cards that came in the mail to make me forget about the mail (if that makes sense). Thanks again Wicked! I'm getting it together to get you back.

Have a good one everybody and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

Wicked Ortega Part 2: The mini-Jersey Post

Here are two more cards from the 8 pound stack I got courtesy of Wicked.

First we have this manupatch CC, which is actually a mini-AS jersey.

As a one-off I like it. A card commemorating the AS with a patch that is a jersey, a jersey that has patches on it. And so on, I guess, forever. Very, very cool concept. So cool, in fact, I'm giving it its own post. 

Did they make a ton of these for everyone in the AS game? Do they all look like this?

Have a good one everybody and have a good night Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

Breaking Bad: Group Break, Ebay Shenanigans, and Cards from Rod

First, go here and grab a team in the June CCC/SMG Break. Seriously. The May break was sweet and we're looking for more solid pulls next month. Cards from this month's break will start going out tomorrow. There are three teams (White Sox, Twins, Royals) left!


Second, no word yet back from the seller in this post. All I can say is ebay's been a bit disappointing lately and I'm taking a hard line on this one. In fact, I'm gonna go on a small shopping spree ($20) later before they close my account for being a non-paying bidder. 


And speaking of ebay, check out Matt G.'s post on a recent conterfeit he got off ebay. 


Finally, Rod over at Padrographs and I had been working on the acquisition of this card a while back but nothing came of it. I'm busy, he's busy, it's all good. Then I received this and many other Rays in the mail a few days ago.

I can't tell if it's the most ridiculous SB card ever or quite simply the BEST SB card ever. I mean, was CC even trying for this one or did he have it by that much? There's no drama here. Looks like he beat the throw by so much he had time to choreograph a fist pump into his slide and throw in a "Damn, I'm smooth" whistle for good measure. Great stuff. I even dig the raised seams on the card design. Thanks again Rod! Something will be coming your way soon!

Have a good one everybody and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

Weekend Cards for Trade Post & Don't forget the Group Break!

First, go here and grab a team in the June CCC/SMG Break. Seriously. The May break was sweet and we're looking for more solid pulls next month. Cards from this month's break will start going out tomorrow.


On to the cards for trade!

Drop me a comment, make me an offer if you see something you like!

Sometimes You Eat the Bear: Rays from Joe

First, don't forget the group break! Still a few teams left (Angels, A's, Pirates, Reds).
Joe over at Cobb and Hallady responded to my last trade post about some cards. In exchange he was offering a large stack (400+) of Rays. Since what I collect is pretty eclectic I was hesitant at first. What if I cut the cards loose and didn't get a single CC I needed in return? Moreover, what if I didn't get ANY cards I needed of ANY dudes I collected?
Well, since the trade with Ike's Cards had gone so well I though, "Why not?" and accepted the trade. Again, given how nutty things can be in the face-to-face world, the blogosphere does not fail to surprise with coolness. 
First up:

Surprise CC relic that wasn't mentioned in the original trade talk. The best thing about this is that, technically, I already had it. I got a copy through ebay (cheap!) but the card showed up in a pwe looking like it had been used as a prop in the latest production of Stomp. So I was pretty bummed. Getting this card as a "CC to be named later" in a trade like this more than makes up for some anonymous seller's douchebaggy shenanigans. 

But, of course, there was a TON more. 

And these are just a few of the literally 400+ awesome Rays I received. From the top left: my first cards of Wade Davis and Jacob Mcgee. Definitely cards I've been after. Another CC Heritage I needed. A Price I needed. Two awesome neo-vintage Delmons. (Did you see that non-highlight almost catch the other day for him at Target Field? Shake that off Delmon. When you get used to the new digs you'll be fine) Then we've got a Heritage Gomes, Chrome Delmon and Chrome Gomes. And that's nine out of a ton. Thanks for the awesome trade Joe!

Have a good one everybody and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

Juan from the Midwest from Ike's Cards

First up: remember the group break! Mass email with payment info going out Wednesday.

I'm finally back in action. Kinda. Until compa gets back tomorrow night, with Daddy D arriving shortly thereafter, and then I'm leaving the country on Friday. No causality there folks, I swear.

First people I owe a trade post to: Ike's cards. This turned out to be one of those trades that was A LOT more than I had bargained for, which spurred me to make another trade that also went WAY better than I'd expected that I'll get to tomorrow. This was the initial lead:

Juan Marichal is officially team Captain of my Chingones fantasy baseball teams.On the one hand, he's a HOF pitcher who had an amazing career. Everyone knows the rest of the story. You just don't mess with this guy.

Then Ike's cards said they had a Rocco jersey, and was I interested. Sure.

What could have been, right? Great player derailed by illness. He can still hit, and I hope he catches on as a DH somewhere. 

And then this is just a smattering of the TON of Rays they threw in:

CC gold of one of my favorite cards and two Gomes I've been secretly coveting. And riddle me this: why does the Longoria Goudey have Jeter's pic but clearly state, "Ken Griffey says..."? Were the proofreaders at UD first to go?

Thanks again for the awesome trade!

Have a good one everybody and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

CC from the Brearded One

First, make sure to check out the group break. If your team isn't taken sign up!

With all the box breaking madness I haven't posted this CC courtesy of Beardy. 

This is another one that the scan doesn't do justice. It's actually a foiley, shiny, refractor type card, and looks great. Now I've gotta find the base version. I love the pre-game during the anthem shot. The national anthem is a part of the game a lot of folks (me included) take for granted. It's tradition, like beer and hot dogs, but shouldn't be a part of the wallpaper. This card really captures a great moment that goes unnoticed all too often.

Thanks again, Beardy!

Hat Trick: Cards from Our Friend under the Bridge

A while back I sent Troll a slabbed CC auto, and in his words "he'd been looking to get me back." After this package I'm in the position of looking to even up the score.

I know a lot of folks are ambivalent about the manu-patches, and in a lot of contexts I'm right there with them. That said, these hat patch logo cards are pretty sweet. I don't feel that the overall effect is quite as canned as with the letter patches, and the team logo is pretty badass. I even think the design is well-done given the amount of info they manage to get on the card in a limited amount of space. A+ and badass, great addition to the CC stash. Many thanks Troll!

Then we've got this SWEET Pumpsie Green. I know Green is a significant player for a lot of reasons, but my favorite this about him is that he and Gene Conley were partners in crime in one of the better modern baseball stories out there. Whatever the details of the actual story, I like the idea of Green and Conley wandering the earth, going from bar to bar trying to get to Jerusalem.

The card itself is everything you could ask for out of early '60s Topps. A recently traded player with no hat (Pumpsie moved from the Red Sox to the Mets), and a horribly airbrushed inset action shot. Speaking of hat logos, the "NY" on Pumpsies lid looks to weigh about 15 lbs or so.

And finally, a small selection of the other goodness Troll sent up my way:

Freds, Jeffs, and Jonnys, all new and going straight into the PC.

Many thanks again, Troll! Keep your eyes peeled tomorrow for a very special "Catchers Finding Jesus."

Have a good one everybody and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

Thank you dear Jesus: It's Spring Break

To celebrate, here's the CC I got from Nobour Aota's coworker two weeks ago.

She dropped a comment over on the original post, and apparently she's currently down at Twins spring training. I am very, very jealous! Thanks again for the CC jersey and I'm glad you like the program.

I am also very, very behind on trade posts, etc. and will be catching up starting today. Things up here are good, but I definitely backed into break. Now I'm looking to relax and recharge.

Calling the Captain: Cards from Our Canadian Friends

In case you've never been up in this neck of the woods (odds are you haven't) Canadians are very important to the economy of the northern plains. Businesses court Canadian customers, tour buses bring them in on the weekends, and signs saying "Welcome Canadian Friends" are everywhere. To my knowledge there are no towns on the southern border of the US rolling out the red carpet for our "Latin American Friends" but rather a mad rush to fence people out. 

These cards come from the Captain over at Waxaholic. And before anyone asks, yes, I enjoy filling out the customs forms when trading cardboards with the man up north. There's just something subversive about sending baseball cards abroad in an age where xenophobia is rampant and most U.S. citizens couldn't locate their own state on a map of the US, much less find Canada. Well, here's what I got in the latest:

This is the 3rd (Third!!!!) 3-D Vida Blue I've gotten, and the first in a Giants uni. A licensed card brought to you by Kellogg's! Clearly this was produced in the golden age of childhood cereal consumption. That makes two 3-D Blues from the Captain and one from Daddy D. I guess the ball's in your court old man, let's see what else you've got!

Then this:

Orange and numbered Bowman CC. Very, very cool!

Thanks again Captain!

Have a good one everybody and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

Bulls on Parade: Cards from Baseball Dad

I've used the title before, but it fits.

No doubt the main pieces of this trade with Baseball Dad were a couple of CCs for the collection, but when I saw these cards I fell over. Under "What I Collect" I listed "Durham Bulls cards," but let's face facts: at one point people were trying to distribute minor league cards on the level of the Major League baseball cards, but aside from last year's Obak that's just no longer the case. In all likelihood NO ONE has these cards and if they do they are buried in a forgotten shoebox of junk wax from the late '80s. Well, Baseball Dad went the extra mile and pulled out this Steve Avery. 

Now let's be straight: Avery had three AWESOME years for the Braves (91-93), during which time he posted ERAs of 3.38, 3.20, and 2.98. I've read more than a few articles that describe the cost of that success as being the health of the young pitcher's arm. After '93 Avery never started more than 29 games in a year. By comparison, from 91-93 he started 35 games a year. This is a great card of Steve in the minors back when things were simpler and the Bulls had been a Braves affiliate forever.

Next up, a much more recent Joey Gathright. 

Gathright has pretty much cemented his status as a AAAA player with amazing speed and a good glove. His problem is getting on base to use that speed. Now, this is in no way to denigrate Gathright. On the contrary, he was drafted in the 32nd Round of the amateur draft. In other words, he was originally projected to be the type of guy teams use as fodder for superstars in the making in low-A and who are pretty much let go at the end of their first contract. Gathright made the bigs. 

This is even a great card of Joey Gathright working on his bunting game. It was taken in Durham (home unis plus Bulls dugout on the 1B side) during the Bill Evers era. Evers was the ONLY AAA manager the Bulls had ever had until Charlie Montoyo came along in 2005. If you remember anything about that year, you'll see why management thought it was perhaps best to go in a new direction and fire THE ENTIRE AAA coaching staff.

Thanks again for the awesome cards Baseball Dad!

Have a good one everybody and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

Trading Post: Saints of the Cheap Seats

#1 Card Received from Saints of the Cheap Seats: 2010 David Price Gold
Seeing as how I completely whiffed on parallels last year I am STOKED to have gotten this one early. Strange, but in this photo that motion doesn't look nearly as smooth and easy. Hoping Price has a BIG year this year for the Rays. Otherwise CC will mostly likely be a Yanki or Red Sox by mid-season.

Thanks for the trade Dan!

First of the 2010s: Thanks to Nachos Grande and Chris

I've seen this card making the rounds on ebay and the 'sphere, and knew I'd get it eventually. Eventually, fortunately, has been the past few days.

The gold on the bottom is courtesy of Nachos Grande. I'd sent him a Larkin relic a while back, and when I saw he'd pulled the gold version of the 2010 CC he was cool to send it along.

The card on top comes from reader Chris. We'd been going back and forth and I kept dropping the email ball due to work-related stress (several MAJOR projects underway), and so I finally shipped off the Yaz relic to him for the 2010 CC base and the David Price base. In the land where you can't drop into the shop and pick those up for 25 cents a piece you do what you have to do, and I am stoked to get these.

The CC is a TREMENDOUS photo, and I really hope the photographer responsible gets some kind of raise. GREAT shot.

The Price is also really nice, though admittedly overshadowed by the CC.

He has a really easy motion, and hopefully things will come together for him this year!

Thanks again for the trades! Have a good one and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

Catching Paper: Cards from the Paper Chase

Roy from over at The Paper Chase dropped me a line about a Niemann auto he could part with and buried this deep in the package. 

I'm always stoked to get a CC I don't have because I have a good many of them and there are fewer and fewer I haven't seen. He'd mentioned in an email he might have one, but since it wasn't on top I wasn't even looking for it. Pretty cool to hide it, complete with note on the penny sleeve.

And then the Niemann:

I left it in the case with electrical tape for the scan because I'm always fascinated by different styles of packaging trades. For example, many ebay sellers are worse than traders although they are getting cash money to send the cards out safely. I usually pack cards in cardboard, packing tape, and a bubble mailer, which mostly likely means I'm overcautious and paranoid, eg a typical southerner. Electrical tape - that one's new to me. Maybe it has something to do with Geologists. At any rate it made extra sure no one messed with my cards in transit, which kicks ass!

Thanks again for the cards, Roy! I scanned a bunch of the other cool Rays you sent over, but my computer kept eating the scans (seems it doesn't have the multi-card thing down just yet!)

Have a good one everybody and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

CC Collection hits 300: Thanks Field of Cards!

FOC and I worked out a trade starting innocuously enough with this card.

I know: who the Hell is Sean Henn? Well, he's a guy with decent success in the minors that just hasn't translated to the majors. Yet. Several teams have given him a shot (Yankis, Padres, Twins, O's), but he hasn't set the world on fire. 2-9 career record, ERA of 7.56 and ERA+ of 58. But he's a lefty, so he'll be getting another shot with the Blue Jays this spring, continuing his journey through the AL East.

So we did "who," so now "why." Back at the Twins auto thing last summer there were two players NO ONE selling cards around there had cardboards of, one of which was Sean Henn.

(As an aside, while I was running around trying to find a Sean Henn card, I caught a dealer kind of being a prick to a kid about which Joe Crede the kid was going to buy, basically saying "Make up your mind and fork over $2 for my overpriced cardboard." The kid was kinda distraught and walked away, so I tapped him on the shoulder. "Here are 3 different Credes, kid, take your pick." He was pretty stoked, and when I turned around that guy was giving me a classic "$#%&%" look. Whatever, it's a hobby, man. I know adults should have been better to ME when I was a young collector, so hopefully that kid will pass it on.)

As for Henn, I had purchased a Twins hat the night before, just in case I didn't have cards of different dudes. Which now I didn't. So, I got in line to get Nathan's auto, and both Henn and Luis Ayala were signing with him. It was still about 10 minutes before the thing started, and I got to talking with the usher, an older grandmotherly type who had an obvious affection for the players. She asked me what I was going to get signed and I showed her the Nathan.

"Do you have anything for Sean or Luis?" she asked. I showed her the hat. "That's good," she responded, "you'd be surprised how many people just walk by the guys who aren't All Stars. I always feel bad for those boys." (She said boys).

It's not that I feel bad for any dude who's a ML ballplayer, something that I once aspired to be (who among us didn't?), but I'll tell you this: Sean Henn's no AS, but he's made it further than I ever did. He may be having a rough time of it, but he's also living out a dream few people ever realize and #$^& it that's worth something. Still, dude had to sign my hat because NONE of the dealers bothered to bring his cards.

So, when I saw this card posted over at Field of Cards I figured I'd try for a trade. Also were included were a number of CCs (post to come!) that put me over the 300 mark. Thanks again, FOC!

Have a good one and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

Trading Post: On Card Autos

So, an epic trade with On Card Autos. Around 75 Rays, numerous CCs, several Rays relics. Awesome.

Another copy of this AMAZING Gomes card. Man, I can't get enough of it. Jonny's defense takes a lot of crap on the message boards, and a bit unfairly I may add. He's not the fastest dude around, but he'll give you all-out effort. Check out this card depicting a defensive play at Fenway. Great stuff, and a great card.

I don't like to rip on anybody around these parts, so I'll say this: either as a DH or RF I want this man on the roster next year. For Jebus' sake.

And speaking of defense, one of the relics from the trade, an Aubrey Huff. Man, is there a position Huff didn't play for the Rays? He's definitely under appreciated, basically the face of the franchise pre-CC. Funny thing about this card is it showcases his defense but celebrates his two HR in a victory over the Yankis. Weird.

This is a great BJ Upton expression, like a Bart Simpson "Who, me?" BJ was an uber prospect for so long it's easy to forget he was born in 1984. Dude's young, and has only begun to tap his potential. One of those guys who's so talented, so athletic you think he's lazy or loafing but he's not----he just makes it look easy. Looking for a big comeback season this year after a down year last year, right Boss Man, Junior!

Compa says that here "CC looks like he's about to kick some a@@." Right on.

And finally, some trivia:

I have very few of the UD Documentary cards, and at some point need to get the ones from Sonny's CG shutout of the White Sox and the Rays/O's double header on September, the Rays games I got to in '08. So, who's on the front of this card? Kazmir. By extension, who was the young hurler who led the Rays to victory?

James Shields. Pretty lazy of UD to just throw any old Rays pitcher on the front as if most fans wouldn't know the difference. (And yes, sadly I'm sure very few did---aren't many Rays fans out there)

Thanks again On Cards Autos! Glad you dug the cards. Have a good one and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!