One More Down...

2000 Metal Base Shredders
NNO Todd Helton
$2.50 Shipped

Still need Tony Gwynn, Vladimir Guerrero, Erubiel Durazo, Eric Munson...maybe more.

Here are the ones I have so far.
Mo Vaughn/Todd Helton
Troy Glaus/Matt Williams

Base Shredders were seeded 1:288 packs back in the day, so they were more than a case hit. Four Base Shredders would have taken 1152 packs. Not a whole lot of staying power in the price/card range. None of these has cost more than $4 off of eBay, though I can usually only get one every month or so.

Plain Beautiful Cards: Volume 12 - 1993 Score Jor Girardi #419

Disclaimer: Joe Girardi is an awful manager. I didn't care for him as a player and his managerial style (which is basically putting his team in position for walk offs) makes my lunch curdle in my stomach and rise up my throat. However, this card is excellent. Why? The Rockies in the background.

So to you, Joe Girardi - you're lucky I do not have a scan of the Garrett Atkins '09 Goodwin Champs card.

Cards from Fans of Red Teams

That's right. Fans of the blasted Red Sox and the "who knows how they'll be this year" Reds. Seriously, how the Reds will fair one year to the next is always a mystery to me.

Anyways, let's start with some goodies from fanofReds over at Nachos Grande. Sadly, no nachos were included. I flipped him a Gallardo relic for a near-impossible task of putting together the '09 A&G relic set, along with some Larkins, and he was kind enough to send these my way.

First up is a V-Dub spectrum jersey:
Nice, healthy card. Spectrums do not scan well, but they're a treat to look at. Also the jersey cards seem pretty common, I am currently sitting on a Brandon Webb who will probably go visit someone's pseudo-card shop in Arizona in the future.

Chris sent some Jays to boot:
Greatest Blue Jay of All Time, Roy Halladay with painted-on eyes...
Gruber!
And something else...
...this makes me happy. Apparently I wasn't the only one who spent $.99 of 16 of these suckers back in '00. (This card is 10 years old...yikes.)

Thanks for the cards Chris, they're good ones.

Next up, Adam at Thoughts and Sox. I contacted him a week or so back (this package got here quiiiick), and proposed Jays-for-Sox. Unfortunately, he had sent all but a few Jays to another blogger. Aww shucks, but I collect Rockies too! Well, add another blogger to the list that cannot wait to drop his Rockies off on another. Adam sent a 100-count box over here to NY, filled with mostly Rox, but a few, very quality Jays mixed in.

First: some Baby Jays:
These are beauties. You can probably pull my fingerprint from the Aaron Cibia if you feel like incriminating me. Hopefully the Jays won't give up on these guys.
'08 SPx Halladay die-cut. Are these all die-cuts or is this a parallel? Either was, I cannot believe it scanned so well. Adam also sent a Todd Helton. Fellow bloggers have been exceptionally generous in sending me Heltons. Adam sent 15. Wow.
Adam - when you were putting this package together did you know this would be my favorite? Probably not, but Dusty Lambchops is my favorite Jay now that Shawn Green, Carlos Delgado, Orland Hudson and Brandon League are gone. I am actually thinking of starting a Dustin McGowan collecting blog, as other have for Carl Crawford, Brian Roberts, and other players.

Here's the bad news for Adam, though. I haven't even started putting the package together yet! I apologize deeply for this, but things have been a bit hectic lately, and I'm out of packages. I'll put the cards together tonight, so hopefully you can expect them by the end of next week. Once again, sorry for the delay.

On to an eBay score...

This is the best deal I have ever received on eBay. Two autographs, a Tejada pants relic, and an Ichiro SSP from '09 Topps 206.
I'm leading myself to believe that the seller had no idea that he was sitting on an Ichiro short print. This is one of my favourite cards ever, at least in my Ichiro collection. What a great card.

Also, for $.25, Miguel Tejada's pants!:
I picked this up since shipping was cheap past the first card. For two autos, Miggy's pants and the SP, the order cost $4.75 or something. STEAL.

Gettin Milestoned

It took me about an hour (half of the second period, the 2nd intermission, and the first 5:03 of the third period of Maple Leafs @ Devils game), but I have recorded, collated and scanned the THREE trade packages I received today. The first, and girthy-est of the packages came form Dinged Corners. Now, I don't precisely remember what I did to earn this package, some sort of contest I think, but nonetheless, there it was, and here I am smiling about it.

Inside was a total of (I think) five loaded team bags, and in this case, aptly named team bags. I know when I throw team bags into a trade, it usually involves about forty cards of mixed players and teams with absolutely no pattern, unless there's a relic, and in that case I make sure it's sandwiched warmly between commons and, if necessary, a bip blanket...

On to the cards.

DC sent me loads of Blue Jays and Rockies, included a load of Moments and Milestones. Hence the post title.

Text, from here on, will only involve the cards. No more mindless scientist chatter.
Dave Stieb Diamond Kings. Very cool. I believe I used to own this, but if I did, it is nowhere to be found. This is probably my favorite DK set, aside from that one year that the cards had a canvas/UD Masterpieces feel to them.
Shaun Marcums: Always welcomed here at the Paper Chase. Or A Paper Chase. I don't even know, I don't like the title, and hey, it might even change eventually.
First CarGo card. I'm not an '09 Topps homer like so many others out there. It's a good set, but hey, I loved 2008 and everyone seems to hate them.
DC really kicked my Halladay collection in the ass, and with some good ones, too. This is a Bowman Heritage from 2007. It's shinier than the side of a rainbow trout (I didn't know there would be fish jokes...) and I dig it. Is this a parallel? I don't know anything about 07 Bowman Heritage, and the three she sent me like this, were all rainbow-trout foil board. (That's going to be my new thing. Rainbow Trout cards...)
Rarely do I have trades without Tulos. However, the next two I will post have no Tulos, but that's just fine. This is a nice one. There was a healthy amount of these M&M cards, which 've never purchased, but seem like the biggest pain in the ass to collect. Ever. But I was sent two which were #'ed/25, which are now tied with my Mauer Jersey card for for lowest numbered cards.

That's all I'll post for this package. Much thanks to Dinged Corners. If you've never check them out, please do so. They were one of the first card blogs I discovered, and have been a constant source of cardawesomeness these past two months (really...I've only been here since December...)

CarGo Custom

Ultimate Wish List Card #1

2009 Bowman Sterling
Black Refractor
Dexter Fowler /25

Trade with Reader Jon (And, "It Was Bound to Happen")

So the mail came in today, and I saw what every collector loves, the beautiful goldenrod packet which can mean one thing (well, it can mean many things, but these "things" are much better than other "things".) New cards! I noticed right away that the package was from reader Jon, and ripped in. (The only other pieces of mail was a credit card app from Chase and a W-2. Those were quickly ignored.)

Right away, I noticed a note in the bag...and knew exactly what it was going to say. Protecting the inner contents sandwiched between two top loaders were what could only be late-80's brown-edged Topps. You know, h said he had some '88 Jays minis to send...but these cards are standard sized....Hmm.... A Cubs player to boot...I don't have any Cubs on my "Want" lists...uh...uh....oh no.

No.

Say it ain't so, Jon!

I open the note...

"Roy, Hope you enjoy the cards. I also Bipped you..."

This is where the embarrassment sets in. Doug Dascenzo. Bipped. Descenzo'd. Chicago Cubs. I had to look this guy up. It's kind of funny. With all the '89er Topps I have, no Dascenzos. I've never seen this card nor even heard of the player in my life. And I know wayyyy too many players.

So Dascenzo facts (KNOW YOUR BIPPINGS!):

Career AVG of .234
5 HR, 90 RBI and an OBP of .293 (who the hell walked this guy?!)

Kind of sounds like 3 average Gregggggg Zaun seasons rolled into one career.

But here's what makes Dascenzo a gem of a bipping:

5.0 IP, 2 K, 2 BB and a zero ERA. This guy was LIGHTS OUT when it comes to relief pitching. Maybe he'll get a call this year from the lowly Cubbies.

Another fun fact, from Wiki, of course:
Dascenzo began his Major League career by playing in a then-National League record 241 consecutive games without making an error. The streak spanned from his debut in 1988 to the 1991 season when he committed his first error in a game on August 25. Very Nice.

Now, on to the object of the trade... Jon had a Tulo Jersey card to send me in return for an Adam Dunn jersey card. Sounds like a fair deal, my favorite for your's, and it went down smoothly.

Here's the Tulo:

Bonus Tulo! Triple Play Tulo!:

A Joakim Soria Piedmont Mini from '09 T206:

I'll get up to posting my Soria have list eventually, but the past three online trades have pumped my PC so much I'm totally lacking (Yes, I believe she said something like that...)

'88 Tom Henke Mini, but Bigger than the Soria:

And the Griffey '08 UDX:

This is by far the best looking card in this set. Something about the Red/White/Black (err...let's ignore that those are Nazi party colours for now) scheme makes this Griffey particulary eye-catching.

Thanks for the awesome cards, Jon. Your's will probably get into the mail Tomorrow morning (hopefully). You should have a healthy Adam Dunn boost soon enough. Other readers: I also have two more packets that will probably go out. A 500 Clubber caught in a Webb, and some Te-xas Rangers that I don't have a good pun for. Also, payment for Collective Troll's Group Break and Carl Crawfords "TBNLs" are still being put together, so remain patients, Rays fans.

And for those of you sick enough to want to see this:

Thanks Long Overdue

I've been a bad blogger. In the past 1+ week I have received two packages from Play at the Plate and Roll out the Barrel. Both packages were initiated by the others, really just looking for a place to unload some sexy Rockies cards and some pure kindness to help out with my 2007 Ultra set.

What both ended up sending the said Rockies and Ultras...but both went above and beyond, and just go to show how amazing the readers of A Paper Chase are.

We'll start with Brian from Play at the Plate's package.

First off, there was 10 or more great cards I needed from the Ultra set, including some rookies. Much thanks goes out there. Also included was a 30+ card 2007 Ultra fat pack...with a Gold Miguel Montero showing! This was a decent pack compared to what I have ripped most recently, and I added I believe 2-3 more cards from this pack including the Montero.

Also included, I am sure out of sheer kindness, was a Carlos Delgado SPx Relic and a Todd Helton jersey card as well.

Awesome. We gotta good man over there at Play at the Plate...go check him out.
________________________________________________________________________________

Next up was Ed from Roll Out the Barrel's astounding package of Rockies. After three team bags and multiple "holy shi....'s" later, I found myself the proud new owner of these beauties.

2009 Bowman Dexter Fowler

2007 Goudey Troy Tulowitzki MINI RC

2008 Stadium Club First Day Issue Troy Tulowitzki (Parallewitzki!)

2008(9?) Allen & Ginter's Jeff Francis Auto
Once again, extremely generous one here.

And:
2009 Topps Propaganda Posters Todd Helton

You know, I voted for these on Stale Gum's Insert Set of the Year without even holding one in my hands. I didn't make a mistake. These are amazing, and it's my first one. Best of all, I had never even seen it, so it was a complete surprise. Amazing card, amazing insert.

I was amazed at the loot that was waiting me in this package. Tons of nice Rockies cards, included one of my most wanteds:

An amazing amount fo thanks Gentleman. Please do not sit back and think these deeds will go unanswered. And if I mixed up who sent me what cards I apologize to the end of the Earth as I had six packages the day these came in and got myself good and confused writing it. I am putting together what I hope will be equal contributions to your respective collections...but it'll be hard to do. Thanks so much.

Back to my defense. I have been "busy" I guess. Work finally picked back up. Some visiting went on as well. My applications are sent in to Graduate school, so I have that to worry about. Still trying to get health insurance finalized. Have a letter of recommendation to write for my undergrad adviser and a life to plan. So I apologize if there is a slight lull in posting lately, but hey, sometimes life gets in the way.

Oh, and I want to start writing a "Blook". "What's a blook?" you may ask. In my hopes it will be a blog/book combination. It will chronicle life working in an anonymous CNY amusement park during summer tourism written with blogger-type style. It'll be a fun project, and I'll let everyone know about updates. However, I must warn you - mature audiences only.

Plain Beautiful Cards: Volume 9 - 2008 Upper Deck First Edition Garrett Atkins #350

This one is great. I've been reluctant to post this one since I don't want to come off as a Rockies homer, as I am a Jays fan, 100%. But there are reasons why I collect Rockies:

• The Players - Atkins I do not collect but will always accept, Tulowitzki has been my man since his NCAA World Series showing, Carlos Gonzalez won me over by ripping every pitch the Phillies threw him in the 2009 NLDS, Dexter Fowler makes the game look easy and straight-up embarassed the game's best 2B, Ubaldo has an average fastball of 96.1 MPH (tops among MLB Starters) and Huston Street, Ian Stewart, and soon-to-be Jhoulys Chacin are all great talents.
• Coor's Field. Go through your cards at Coor's Field. Chances are, all the cards are sleek, and if there's a view of the fans, there's a sweet sea of purple as a backdrop.
• The Flair for the Dramatic. The 21 for 22 win streak. Matt Holliday's header.
• The smooooooking hot girl behind the first base dugout in 2007 playoffs (and possibly 2009). Sorry, I had to pay my respects to her.

Anyways, damn. Good lookin' Garrett Atkins card there. And yes, it was a Home Run. How could it not be in a shot like that?




How long to Spring Training?

UDX Blaster Turns into Fine PC Day

So for the past 3 months or so, I have walked past (read: labored in front of for 10-20 minutes) the local SprawlMart trading cards section and noticed one recurring, unselling blaster box. It is a box of 2008 Upper Deck X, marked down 40% to $11.48.

Every time I think about getting it. A plain black box with a sleek holofoil "X"...is tempting (I love holofoil, I'll admit it.) Today I picked it up, noting that before I had been discouraged by the fact that there was little writing, and that it doesn't state how many cards are in each pack (therefore box). But today, however, I noticed the message on the side: "One Memorobilia Card in EVERY Box, on average!"

So I bit. What's the worst that could happen? Pull a few die-cuts, some trippy Xponential inserts, knock off a good portion of a decent checklist, for $11.48. I could tell which pack had the hit once I got home and observed every pack. In fact, the hit:

GBOAT (Greatest Blue Jay of All Time) #2 Carlos Delgado, is actually equal in thickness to five base cards. I was pumped about this card, placing it at the bottom of the stack. Also, I was glad that it was a Jays relic, not a Mets one. However, the color in the background is Mets, the card says Mets, and Carlos has not played in Toronto since 2004, yet he has a Jays jersey on. More on this card in another post.

The best Xponential (X^3) I pulled was a very nice David Wright. Once I got back on to blogger this afternoon, I noticed Dinged Corners posted David Wright, Curtis Granderson and Barry Zito as players they wanted to trade for, so this guy will have a good home over at Dinged Corners. Enjoy it!

The Xponentials are really cool for X^2s I pulled David Ortiz (who has been haunting me since this fall) and Pedro.

Also added a Tulo to the PC:

Often when I buy cards, I like to mix it up. Buy one plaster, add a random foil. Today random foil was actually wax(ish), and was 2008 Topps Heritage. I really like these, and got none other than my main man Dusty Mc:

Also added David Eckstein in a Jays uni, and a Hanley Ramirez. Always noting that Topps like to play the short print game, i turned all the cards over and checked for irregularities. The Hideki Matsui was the only rogue, with a black background behind the number. I did a little research and found that short prints are inserted 1:3 to mimic the original '52 set. The black backs were not listed as a short print...so how knows.