Cards found on the side of the road...

...well not really. Today I got three packages, er..down the road. The one which I will showcase tonight is a solid package from Duane at Democratic Roadkill. I want to thank you, Duane, quickly, before I get to the loot. Duane came to me saying he had a good amount of cards from my '07 Fleer Ultra want list, and some '06 Fleer Traditions. Without giving him a rundown of a return package, he sent these awesome cards my way. Don't worry Duance, I'll cook something good up for you, though it may take a while.

First up, one of the greatest players of all time from one of the greatest sets of all time:
What a great card. He sent a bunch of these, all Jays save for the Junior Griffey, including the flowing golden locks of a one Kelly Gruber:
Awesome. Gruber is letting everyone in Major League Baseball know right then and there, who finished first in 1992. And will again in 1993. And 2014.
Currently the oldest Jays card in my collection. Boomer's 6'5"/218 frame dominates his panel. He might be average by today's standards.

I juxtaposed these on purpose. Why? A couple reasons. One, The pose is very similar. I'm assuming Topps did not do this on purpose, because they hate the Blue Jays, but also because these cards are 200 apart in the set.

The real reason they are juxtaposed for me is that this way, we can symbolize the passing of the torch. My favorite Blue Jays traded away for some baby birdies, the ringing in of the new ace and my favorite player, as well as my #1 Personal Collection player. Dusty, it's time to be a man.

Now for some more '08 Allen & Ginter's (I need to get a want list up for these) of Mr. Joe Baseball himself:
Love the state cards, pissed that my state is represented by a complete shithead.
'08 Ultimate Collection Joe Baseball. Didn't think much of these from randoms I have seen on eBay, but these are pretty solid for high-end (limited to /350) base cards.
As I mentioned above, got some '07 Ultras in this package. This was the one that stood out most, only because of that hat. I really dislike the Padres, but that hate is awesome. WANT.
Weee. Another Soria, for my paltry Soria collection. I haven't heard of anyone else who collects him, but someone mentioned it on their blog recently. I dig this card. Someone else sent me a Seth Smith of the same variety. I really like how UD did this set.

Well, thanks for the awesome cards, Duane. I will get a package out to you soon. I hope you'll be as pleased with it as I am with my half. Awesome.

Go check out the trader's blog, Democratic Roadkill.

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.

What Bothers Me About Topps Unique

This.
Here we have the Joakim Soria "Game Used Button!" relic, serialed to only /6. My first thought, of course, was: "I can haz button shirt cardz?". At the time, it was affordable. I am probably watching it, but lost faith in the card after some good thought.

First off, this is anything but Unique. Why? The usual reasons: Sticker Auto, bland Topps design. Of course, Joakim could sign a cantaloupe and I would throw down some bills for it. [By the way, Google Image Search "Hits until porn" game revealed pornography on the first page of images. Beware, kids.]

Also, a button is part of a uniform. Why completely remove the button from the jersey and make them two different cards? Thickness, obviously, is one concern. This card would probably be 3x as thick and a regular relic card. The only other reason I can think would be that they never thought to use the buttons until this year, and for some reason, besides the reason that Joakim "Blue Flame" Soria wore them, so they were kept.

On a side note...anyone who was ever a hard-nosed player in high school or American Legion baseball will realize buttons are readily losable when diving. When you think of how many jersey cards are out there, or at least when I do, I think 'why so many'? I figured it's probably because of instances like losing buttons, or ripping the ass out of the back right leg of your uniform stealing second. One of the fiercest competitors I ever had the pleasure of sharing a uniform (not literally, we were teammates for 2-3 years) with would go through 4-5 pairs of pants in a season - which brings me to my next though. So many cards say "game-used/worn Uniform" on them...some say "jersey", and rarely do they ever say "pants". Why not? Jersey implies a top, pants is explanatory, but "uniform", I believe, is intentionally left vague.

Tangent number #18 for this post: New Idea for Topps Unique.





Game used pants zippers. Eh?

2010 Collection Goals

Tired of seeing this posts yet? I don't care. These are my goals for collecting this year. Most are petty, selfish goals, but whatever. Cards make me happy, and so does accomplishment. So I intend to accomplish the following:

• $ave money on collecting (see what I did there?) Kinda sick of paying $4.50 on ebay shipping charges, so through other sources such as CheckOutMyCards, SportsLots, and hopefully a few one-on-one trades, I'll be able to do so. Also, read blaster boxes more carefully before I end up purchasing another box of 2008 UD First Edition.
• Finish the 2007 Ultra Baseball Set
• Finish 2006-2007 Ultra hockey set.
• Finish 2000 Skybox Skylines insert set (2/10 so far...not a good start)
• Accomplish trades with fellow bloggers and/or followers of A Paper Chase. I'm anxious to get a good trade under my belt sooner or later.
• Join some modestly priced box breaks throughout the "blogosphere". Someone mentioned a new phrase to replace that term, and I am for it. Also, possibly hold some box breaks or pack breaks of my own.
• Start busting boxes and packs via video blog. Hopefully I will get the nards to do this eventually, still afraid of the wrong people getting a hold of videos of myself. Of course, Oh, Snap! (my brief foray into directing...) has been out there for 3 years now. [I removed the YouTube link. Very bad video involving poorly faked drug usage, awful acting, and me falling out of a clothes dryer and one off a pool table. Fun!]
  
• 30 Followers. Whoo hoo! 10%!
• Post my rosters of fantasy teams...in baseball card form. Get used to Jayson Werth!
• Double my Ken Griffey, Jr.; Carlos Delgado, Joakim Soria and Roy Halladay collections (what, like it's hard?)
• Pull an autograph. Seriously, getting sick of lame ass John Lackey and Fred Lewis relics.
• Start legit Blue Jays and Rockies team collections.
• Attain These: