Reserve NOT Met...

...and it does not surprise me. While jumping around eBay a few minutes ago, I decided to see if any 2009 Topps 206 Carolina Brights had hit ebay within the past who knows when.

Well, one did. And it's a big one.

All the back of the card preludes to is a Mariners player, and card #129. Well here's the from, too:
Glorious. I'm not a big fan of foil on my 206's, but I haven't pulled a Carolina Brights, and , well, I don't plan on it I would love to acquire one eventually, hopefully a Halladay or Rookie Romero (life=complete), but finding that one person on the planet with that card, and then matching their price, I am sure is near impossible.

So if you're feeling frisky and want to blow a good amount of bills (I'm guessing this goes for $300 or so), give this guy a bid.

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.

Recent APC Trades

...and by recent, I mean within the past...ohhhh....three weeks or so. Mail has dried up recently but I am expecting about 10 cards from eBay and maybe some trade packages by Friday. Hopefully. Also, I may purchase (packs of) cards again on Friday. May.

First up, loot from the Great White North (Central), or, Carl Crawford Cards, if you prefer. Paul, the Niemann ink is on the way to the big ND. Hopefully you'll get it by this weekend, but you never know (postmarked 2/16).

This Ichiro is downright nuclear.
Hooray for the Soria boost. And chromed!
It's a rough looking swatch, but hey, I wouldn't believe a Pudge swatch was authentic without some wear.

That's some mighty fine cardboard (and fabric) Paul. Mighty fine.

On to a second package, also received weeks ago, from Dan at It's Like Having My Own Card Shop. He also sent some goody Ichiros, and this guy I needed:
Terrible scan, fantastic card.
On to the Honey-Nut Ichiros:
'04 Donruss Diamond Kings Season Stat Line. It looks light blue as that is how the scan refelcted the holofoil, but its' well done, and certainly not overdone. Great looking card, and #'ed to 159.
My first Turkey Red, of any sort. I kinda want more.
Ichiro, horizontal, on a dirty scanner. Nice.

Thanks guys. Dan - you've already got your package, and Paul, yours is on the way.

Yesterday I also sent one package to Collective Troll for the newest group box break, and to Chris over at Nachos Grande.

Want List - 2006 Fleer Tradition Baseball

Originally I thought I'd just bust a blaster of these, and if I liked them, I'd pick up a couple more. There were at least 5 in the store at that time. Anyways, after the one blaster and accumulating a few Jays and Rockies in trade, I wound up with 54% of the base set. Upon my return to the store, no more '06 Fleer Tradition blasters, so, I'll need your help. Here's who I am missing:

1, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 24, 25, 26, 30, 31, 32, 43, 48, 49, 50, 42, 54, 55, 56, 57, 60, 61, 62, 66, 67, 68, 72, 73, 74, 79, 85, 90, 91, 92, 96, 97, 98, 99, 102, 105, 106, 107, 108, 111, 112, 113, 117, 118, 119, 123, 124, 125, 126, 132, 138, 142, 144, 146, 148, 149, 150, 153, 154, 155, 159, 160, 161, 166, 167, 168, 173, 180, 184, 186, 189, 190, 191, 192, 195, 196, 197.

Thanks to Duane from Democratic Roadkill and Chris from On Card Autos for help with this set!

Plain Beautiful Cards: Volume 5 - 2004 Fleer Inscribed Ichiro #63

Perfect. This is a set I intend to collect eventually, but just never see it in anywhere anymore, whether it be in foil, box or single form. These guys were pure eye candy. The scan just doesn't do it justice. Speaking of Justice...look for David in this segment soon.