Blyleven and Goose GU:

Not sure how to embed these in a PM over at the Bench, so here they are!

Trade Post: Thanks Wicked

These cards come courtesy of Traded of the Year Wicked Ortega. This Gomes Pristine is actually a sweet bonus card Wicked threw in. I'm not a big fan of cards where the design overtakes the photography but I have to give it up. 2003 Topps Pristine is pretty nice. Gotta keep a look out for the CC.

And then we've got the object of the trade, a Justin Ruggiano auto.

Ruggiano was one of my favorite Bulls. I've posted a lot about him elsewhere, but I'll add this. Having been to a number of minor league games, I don't have much of an idealized picture of the minor leagues or the interaction between the players and the fans. Things today might be a lot more "fan friendly" with in between inning activities designed to keep everyone amused in every down moment, but I remember a lot more interaction when I was a kid on all levels. I remember sitting down next to the dugout talking baseball with the players. Nelson Liriano even signed a ball and tossed it to me in the middle of a game once. Who knows why? He just did it.

Ruggiano might not do stuff like that, but he's that kind of player. A few years ago I was in the RF stands in Durham and the guys in the first row kept trying to make conversation with him while he kept loose throwing while the pitcher warmed up. Not talking trash, just talking baseball. After an inning or so Ruggi warmed up and they spent the rest of the afternoon hamming it up. I wasn't in on it, but every baseball outing should be that awesome: summer afternoon, full beers, a bunch of guys chatting up the RF about a double he'd hit the night before, the RF responding with the typical baseball answers that belie his sh!t-eating grin. He had a down year last year, but he's a major-league player. If not for the Rays then for someone, and soon.

7 Cards I Will Acquire before 2011

These cards are on my hit list for the new year, in no particular order. I know, the list ain't that ambitious, but these are cards I want of guys I dig. If you have any of these drop me a line and let's set up a trade!

*Update* I've got the first two cards on this list! Thanks Ed and Daniel!

1 & 2) 2008 Stadium Club Elliot Johnson, base and auto
I posted on these two cards here. They are awesome. I gotta get them. Here's the auto, just in case you missed it the first time:

Incredible card.

3) 2009 Turkey Red Insert Carl Crawford
Everybody digs the Turkeys. Guess I'm no different.

4) 2009 Topps UDH Jonny Gomes
Sadly, it's Gomes' first non-Rays issue. Still, it's a badass card of one of my favorite players.

5) 2009 Topps Heritage Jonny Gomes
I was lucky enough to grab a t206 mini Gomes in Iowa, so this one will complete my mini "Gomes update" set.

6) 2005 UD Origins Jeff Niemann
This neovintage set is WAY underrated. Done to look like the old Play Ball cards, it actually contains some decent photography paired with a classic design.

7) 1991 Topps Brien Taylor Gold
Classic card, great prospect, non-existent career.

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

Trading Post: Canadian Blue

A while back I'd gotten news of a mid-70's 3D Vida Blue being available...after some correspondence with Captain Canuck over at Waxaholic, the card has arrived. Check this out:

This card is one of the straight up gems of my Blue collection, which I'll try to get up ASAP. The scan of the card completely flattens out the technology here, so you're not going to get a good sense of what this looks like in person. For starters, the background is awesome, a really well done, interesting shot of the stadium behind Blue. There's no one else there, and the park is empty. We get the foul pole marking the distance out towards where there's a break in the out bowl and we get nothing but sky beyond, all of which conspires to make Blue loom that much larger in the foreground. And let's not forget: back in the day, Blue was HUGE. Even though his career was derailed by drug abuse, he was an effective pitcher until he retired.

Other Blues: a 1986 Topps.

It's almost like an update of the card above, but without the other half of the stadium behind him on the right the card doesn't have the same imposing feel as the one above. Here Blue's coming off and 8-8, 4.47 ERA season, which is nowhere near as imposing as the kind of nasty stuff he brought in the early-mid 1970's. However, seems like a 4.47 ERA these days will get you CY Young consideration in the AL, so I guess it's not that bad. Still, even the man himself isn't quite as intense. Blue at twilight.

But then the following year we had this:

No glove, no other accouterments of baseball, just Blue in his Giants uni, arms crossed, looking rather self-satisfied. And why not? In '86 he went 10-10 with a 3.27 ERA, a nice bounce back season after the previous year. I read that he went into retirement only because he'd tested positive for drug use, and rather than face a suspension and the disgrace that goes with such things decided to go away quietly. Now, coming off a year like he had in '86 it's obvious that he still had something left in the tank. Compared to some of the users out there today....make of that what you will.

Then we have a Fleer sticker of Msr. Blue:

This card is awesome. It screams 1980s, big hair, and sweatbands the size of one's forearms. It make the glove look almost like a giant, oversized plastic prop, or something off of photoshop disasters.

And finally, a 1980 BK card.

Gotta score the regular Topps for comparison, but I'll start by saying that if BK still did old school baseball cards they'd get more of my money. As in, I'd eat there, which is something I haven't done since...well...about 1980. This has to be a spring training portrait, but it looks like he's in CO or something with huge, rolling hills in the background. All in all a solid card, especially for a collaboration between burger people and Topps. And nothing like BK's later efforts, which are a sad, pale rendition of what could have been.

Thanks again for the Blues, Captain! Hope you enjoyed the Braves I sent.

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

Trading Post: Halloween Cards from the Wicked One

Not Satan but Ortega, Wicked Ortega.

Between work and working in the yard, blogging about baseball cards has taken a momentary backseat. But I'm back, at least until compa wants my butt outside again.

A few trades have come in in the past few days, and multiple shout outs are in order. First up: some CCs and assorted Rays from Wicked Ortega.

Since the Rays are coming off of back-to-back winning seasons, I really dig this card. How bad were they only a few years ago? 518-775 bad, as in Little League mercy rule bad. As in terrible. Carl, however, looks like he knows something we don't in this photo. Maybe it's that the brick and ivy backdrop is ridiculous given that the Rays play in an ultramodern dome? Or better, that the Rays would be ruling the division the following year.

I'm digging the UD Masterpieces, albeit about 18 months late. This particular card might have been better done sideways to get a full body shot of the slide, the catcher, the ball coming in, etc., to give a fuller sense of the drama unfolding here, but who am I to complain? It's a solid B in a world full of F- cards, so I'll take it. And how does everyone feel about the parallels? We have a red frame and a black frame, but they are essentially the same card.

Mario over at Wax Heaven did a hatchet job a while back on UD X if I remember correctly, and I kind of get it. The "X" is a design, but I'm not sure how it's been sustained over multiple years. The formula seems to be "Player plus x equals new design." Next year: rinse, repeat. Love the die cuts, like the idea and the design...just not maybe every year. This is a well-done, solid card....but would I want the same basic card design next year?

Finally, wicked sent over some Peñas. I've gone into some depth about the compa's Peña-love, and these cards only added fuel to the fire. Thanks wicked. I guess. That said, check these out:

The compa laughed out loud at these. "He looks like he's dancing!" When I think of all the goofy baseball action shots out there, this card is definitely near the top, and leads me to believe that there simply aren't enough goofy action shots on baseball cards. Sure, Peña's not putting on the most heroic of moves, and this catch is beyond awkward, but it's a solid reminder that he's a GG first baseman. It takes A LOT of talent to look that crazy making a catch that difficult.

Thanks again for the CCs and Rays, Wicked!

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

Trading Post: Epic Part II: Freds Thanks to Great Sports Name HOF

First, we have a Cy sighting over at Mark's Ephemera. Go check it out!

Also, a great contest over at Play at the Plate.

So, having declared myself a Fred McGriff player collector, I got an email from Great Sports Name Hall of Fame. I've already had great experiences with other player collectors like Troll and Chris OK and our pursuit of CCs, and HOF was pretty stoked to meet another McGriff collector. Surprisingly there are very few out there. He sent me a link to his Crime Dogs, and only asked for me to send him any thing I had not on the list. Between my recent acquisitions from Chris OK and Play at the Plate I had about 5 I could send (including that sweet '87 Fleer Glossy) plus another 5 I have from my original old-school collection, 10 in all. To send or not to send?

I mulled it over, but ultimately bowed to the awesome thoroughness of that list and decided to cut my Crime Dogs loose. In return, HOF hooked me up with a whopping 39 (!) Crime Dogs I'd never seen before. Keeping it simple, these are the highlights.

Fred being fan friendly. Nice card, nice shot, nice guy, pretty much how I have always imagined him: a fan-accessible HOFer.

This is actually a 92 UD that my scanner decided didn't need a white border and would look much better cropped, photo-to-border, like Stadium Club. Nice call cheap scanner! Love the ump, love the crowd, the ball and the baserunner arriving at the bag at the same moment. People remember Crime Dog for his offense, but he was also a defensive whiz at 1st. Dude here says Eddie Murray is the only HOFer with a high fielding percentage, and yet Fred never won a Gold Glove. Go figure...

Here we have photographic evidence that Derek Jeter is not the only player to have ever chased a ball into or towards the stands in the last 20 years, much less in the history of baseball. Fred's chasing one into the camera well gives this card a pretty cool, mis en abyme feel to it. Cameras at both ends, infinite Freds and the meaningless of it all in between...nice touch. Don't worry, the one guy in the stand with his hands on his head is also just a spectator, miscomprehending like the rest of us.

Speaking of which, this card sums it up nicely, doesn't it? "A Tale of Two Players"...two potential HOFers, one guy who played his way out of every town he ever played in, including Atl., and a guy who showed up every day to the park, took his position out at first, and just played. Two players, indeed...you'd need staples like those in the middle of the card to pull together any coherent narrative comparing their careers, that's for sure...

And then we have some more excellent cards of Fred at the bat...

Can't get enough of that swing, even if it has apparently spawned a vortex that threatens to tear the universe asunder, with you, me and Fred in it. Wow.

This swing is pretty awkward, but check out what it says there on the front...yep, Fred's no longer with the Braves, as pictured on the card. Instead, he's now with the:

Devil?!? Man, someone really dropped the ball on that one. Unless, of course, Fred really DID sell his soul to the devil to squeeze in a few last years of ball and make a run at 500 HRs, in which case listing his team on the back of the card as "Devil" is entirely appropriate.

So there you have it, and those are just the highlights! Thanks again, HOF! Hope you enjoyed the Freds I sent over.

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

Trading Post: Nachos Grande

I'm behind the times. I know, you know it, it's just the nature of the beast. This year I've bought zero Ginter, zero Champions, zero Obak, zero Goudey. Like Blanche DuBois, I gotta depend on the kindness of others to get the cards I need. Well, Nachos needed some '85s and could hook me up with some much needed cards in return.

First up:

David Price Ginter sketch card: very nice. It's about his dominating the Sox in the playoffs last year. Now, I know that the shine has come off his star a bit for the casual fan because he didn't strikeout 300 batters and cure cancer this season. However, I like Price. He's still the man (as long as he gets the walks down!)

The CC was a total surprise. Artifacts?!? I'd never even heard of that series. It's got the old school D-Rays jersey, so I'm down. Next:

Goudeys are cool. I think it's one of the better done neo-vintage sets. And that Peña is not cut off--I have a ancient scanner powered by a hamster on a wheel. G-D hamster gave out and the scan got cropped. I still don't have the 2009 Goudey CC is anyone has an extra to spare!

And finally:

This card of Boss Man, Jr. is straight up boss. The catcher, the fans, the crazy leg that makes it look like BJ just came out of a horrible accident to take the field anyway....great card, and another total surprise.

Thanks, Nachos!

Have a good one.

Carrds for Clunkers: auto edition

Sorry to steal the title---others have gotten some mileage out of it.

So, Glavine gets his own shot:

It'd be hard for me to cut this one loose, but for a sweet deal involving a Craw auto or some relics or something it can be had. This dude wants major money for his, but we all know it ain't worth near that.

Now for the others:

That a '98 Doruss Millineum Marks Tejada, 2006 Aníbal Sánchez, Zito Diamond authentics, 2002 Fleer Sweet Sigs Mike Sweeney, 2002 Bowman Chrome Nate Field, 1997 Donruss Millenium Marks Luis Castillo, '99 Just Mark Mulder, and a '92 Leaf Gold insert Griffey Jr. (the gold in the border has faded a bit).

Have a great one!

Crawfords on Parade: For Trade

OK, I'll keep updating this post periodically with my Crawford doubles that are up for trade. Drop me a line if something sparks your interest! More to come later today.

First up: a smattering of neo-vintage.

Early Carls:

Carls that are still pretty early:

Drop me a line with an offer!

Crawford Doubles...

to trade! I have a few CC doubles I'll trade for other CC cards. If you are looking for anything in particular, let me know and I'll see if I have it. Check out my other cards for trade on here, here, and the Heritage lists on the right. Tomorrow: autos and relics.

A-rod, Jeter, Rivera, Oh My: Finest and Chromes for Trade

All the time. In honor of the game of the week, a helping of A-Rods, Jeters, etc.

The top three A-rods are from 2001 Topps Finest; then we have a 2000 Bowman Chrome Jeter, 2002 Bowman Chrome Jeter, 2001 Finest Jeter All-Star; 2002 Bowman Chrome A-Rod, and 2X2001 Finest Riveras.

If you need anything from 2001 Finest I have the complete base set, as well as most of the Sps, am willing to break things up!

Heritage Inserts on the Block

OK---updated interests are here. As I say there, if nothing matches up and you want something I post let me know---I'm pretty easy going about working out trades. First up: Heritage Chrome.

That's a 2003 Texiera (469/1954); 2006 Furcal (810/1957); 2007 Garcia (1350/1958); 2005 Jeremy West (599/1956); 2008 Soria (194/1959); 2008 Danks (1048/1959); 2009 Cueto (839/1960); and Delgado Refractor (373/560).

Leave a comment if you're interested in anything! Compa noticed what's on and has requested I go cut grass! More to come later.

Yanqis-Sox on Fox...

no matter who wins, we lose.

So, in honor of a game I'm only mildly interested in being on this afternoon, keep your eyes peeled for some trade bait I'll be throwing out there. I'll also expand/update my want lists to get things moving along.

Peace.