Card-Sketch-Cards

When it’s nice out, I walk to the mall to draw in center court every once in a great while.  Since I don’t have a computer with me when I do this, I have to buy a pack of cards and use a good player for reference.  Here’s the couple I have side-by-side views of the sketch card and the regular card of…

First up, Stephen Strasburg..

It was a good thing I pulled this card, because it was probably the only one in the pack that was worthy of being drawn.

Tulo, with background color..

The watercolor pencils gave it a nice touch.  I suppose I should do the other four like that one of these days.  Speaking of which, here are the three I didn’t to get side-by-side scans with.

Albert Pujols..

Jackie Bradley Jr.

Evan Gattis..

The latter trio came from series two.  Pujols got a weird ding on the back from me carrying them around in my arting backpack a bunch.  It also occurs to me I’m missing the Jurickson Profar I did based off his U&H card… It doesn’t look like I ever scanned it.  Weird.  It is in the box with all the rest, so I will try to remember to scan it and post it whenever I have another batch of art to post up.

But anyway, I will close by saying these are all available for sale or trade.  Do keep them out of harm’s way if you are interested though.  I do not have fixative, nor do I really know how to use it.  Erasers and direct sunlight are big no-no’s.

That’s all I got.  Hit me up if interested.  Stroking my ego with compliments on my otherworldly skillz is also nice. 😛

And now to watch an episode or two of Fairy Tail (the anime resolution is going well thanks to this and the glorious insanity that is Space Dandy) and then hit the hay.  Stay tuned next time for my first trade post in just short of for forever.  Thanks for stopping by!

Me make pretty…

Card Draft II Countdown Part 1: 25-16 + Extras

Lovely parting gifts..

With Scott Crawford on Cards‘ Trade Bait Draft III probably happening tonight (If you got $20 or a good trade to offer him, and an hour or two free, hit him up!), I thought it was way past time to start showing off my stuff from my first go-round in his draft’s second iteration.  With the five bonus rounds and five extra throw-ins, I ended up with a total of 30 cards, but I’m only going to count down the drafted cards.  The extras are at the top of the post.  And now, without further adieu, let’s count ’em down.  In my opinion, here are 25-16:

#25

2011 Bowman Mike Moustakas Bowman’s Best Prospects..

A late-round set need pick for a set I’m waffling pretty hard on whether or not I want to finish.  My love of Bowman’s Best stems from 1996-1999, not from the product’s first year, which this set is aping.  Keeper (for now I guess).

#24

1974 Topps Goose Gossage..

Chosen entirely for the sake of “Hall of Famer in a White Sox uniform”.  I don’t even particularly like Goose, because his opinions on baseball invariably annoy me on the mercifully rare occasions he voices them.  Available for trade, because I don’t want to look at Goose every time I pass the shelves the White Sox cards I give my dad are on when I’m at the parents’ place.

#23

BowChro Jameson Taillon die-cut..

I like Taillon and think he is going to be very good.  The only reason this one is so low on the countdown is the card itself.  Topps has gone crazy with the die-cuts the since 2011, but these are one of the very few that don’t really do it for me.  Available for trade.

#22

Kurt Suzuki Heritage Chrome Green Refractor..

Although I like that the refractor color matches the player’s team, Suzuki is pure trade bait, most likely for Shot Not Taken if he needs it.  He has no less than a dozen hits I have varying degrees of interest in, and three I absolutely have to get whenever we trade again.  Plus he always seems to pull a few wrestlers I like when he busts pro graps cards, so it’s no wonder we trade so often.

#21

1969 Topps Johnny Podres..

It’s a cool card, no doubt, but mostly a case of picking the best card still remaining on my draft board.  Available for trade, especially if you have a fairly equivalent Cub from the around that time.

#20

Laser Emmitt Smith Sample..

Even though I don’t actively collect samples and promos anymore (or think that highly of Emmitt Smith as a football player), I can’t say no to a little blinged out ’90s greatness.  Available for trade.

19

1974 Topps All-Star Catchers Fisk/Bench..

Chosen for the Carlton Fiskiness of it all.  Goose started it off, and here is the second appearance in a long run of ’74 Hall of Famers (and one all-time what could have been) in varying degrees of rough condition.  Many more to come.  Reluctantly available for trade.

#18

1986-87 Fleer Maurice Cheeks..

This is a great card, and it only fell this far down the list right before I started writing the post.  It was #12 when I got the list back out to start this up.  Oddly, I’ve only ever owned three cards from the legendary ’86-87 Fleer set, and all three of them have been 76ers (Dr. J and Moses Malone were the others).  Reluctantly available for trade.

#17

2013 Topps Yu Darvish ’72 Mini..

YU!  I dunno about these mini sets of sets that were never mini in the first place.  I think Topps may be scraping the bottom of the barrel of their endless nostalgia crazed wankfest.  Yeah, wankfest.  They are clearly in love with themselves and their history, despite how INCREDIBLY MEDIOCRE that history is.  Yeah you never made a bad set from 1971-1985, but a lot of what came before is only well thought of because it’s old, and you’re still spotty as hell and losing ground in modern times.  You NEVER even innovated a damn thing in 25 years of relatively uncontested ruling over baseball cards, and really cards in general.  So, I think you and your history kinda suck!  And I will never, EVER stop resenting you for your current exclusive deal, or MLB for giving it to you.

What can I say I’m a Paul Heyman Upper Deck Panini anyone willing to put up a decent alternative to Topps guy.

But I’ll take a YU! every chance I get.  This, despite my rant, is a reluctant keeper.  At least until I finish and can start upgrading my Yu Darvish page.

#16

2011 Score Colin Kaepernick RC

What a thrill to watch last year.  Even Kaep’s early struggles were of the rather epic variety (the infamous halfback toss to nowhere that, iirc, eventually cost the Niners that game).  Can’t wait to see what he can do over a full and hopefully healthy season.  I’ve never seen a running QB with such deadly timing on designed runs.  Just unreal what he can do.  It is never a good idea to anoint a team, but the 49ers are built to compete for championships for years on end, and it will be a huge disappointment if they don’t get at least one.

That’s it for the first of what will most likely be three of these countdown posts.  If Card Draft III does end up being tonight, I will hopefully be able to get the countdown done before the next bunch of cards arrive.  Thanks for stopping by!

Until our next…

2 40%-off 2011 Topps Series 2 Blasters

From Walmart:

Blackout!

They look awesome, but it sucks how ridiculously condition sensitive these things are.

And the last of the non-keeper Blackouts.

Get ur shine on..

Duos & 60s. Not much to say about these..

The lone gold. Not that it matters much. Let’s have gold parallels look like 2012’s Gold Sparkles from now on please..

Perhaps you like kicking it old school (or hair on the edge of your scan)..

The only original back I pulled. You’d think I would’ve remembered to scan the back, but no. This one is reluctantly available..

Tradercracks claimed these already..

Tradercracks also claimed this..

McCutchen is available though. But be forewarned that the patch is slightly loose on it..

That is all.  Everything not claimed by Tradercracks is available.  Thanks for stopping by!

Spin the wheel, make the deal…

I Like Ticket to Stardom

It’s true.  I’m serious.  I bought two fat packs at Walmart, and there is just something about it.  Getting a retail hit helped, but regardless, I can confidently say I would have enjoyed them anyway.  These cards have a certain charm about them I can’t deny.  Maybe I am just a sucker for ticket themed cards; I have always thought highly of it.  Maybe it’s because everyone else seems to hate them with a passion.  Maybe it’s because the base cards look out-freakin’-standing.  Maybe it’s these admittedly pointless, yet absurdly awesome, parallels with perforated looking top(p)s and bottoms that subtly and excellently further the ticket theme (the very definition of a Hidden Highlight).

I dunno if it’s any one thing.  It might well be all of the above.  No matter what it is, if nobody else will give topps any dap for this great set, I absolutely will.  The relic, and especially dual relic, tickets may be wonkily designed (though I happen to find how they look endearing, in a Wrestlecraptastic Pirate Paul Burchill kinda way), and tickets may come from meaningless games or don’t match the blurb on the back, but those are the only flaws we’re dealing with here.  When the base cards and auto/jerseys are so nice looking, the flaws aren’t fatal.

The worst I can call it is a Jeckyll & Hyde-type set, where the good is great and the bad really blows.  To me, the highs at the very least equal the lows (and most the lows I find quirky and endearing), so to call this set a mess or total failure is bullsh*t to me.  It may have it’s problems, but there are plenty of redeeming qualities too.  Seeing all sides of a situation and the positive side of things is kinda my specialty though, so if your mileage may varies, I understand.

Alright, enough jibba-jabba.  Let’s get to the packs, shall we?  Second pack first (because the hit was in the first pack).

2009 topps Ticket to Stardom fat pack (14 cards)

Pack 2

190 Andy Sonnanstine (Rays)

34 Rich Harden (Cubs)- Keeper!

141 Jeremy Sowers (Indians)

10 David DeJesus (Royals)

177 Alexei Ramirez (White Sox)

109 Gary Sheffield (Mets)

155 Jered Weaver parallel (Angels)- I don’t know what these things are called, but they are awesome.  The top and bottom of the card are cut to make it look more like a ticket.  Ya know, they say that it’s the little things that make something great, and this otherwise meaningless thing that would normally be a bother (if I were a set builder) goes a long way towards doing that for me.  It’s the best kind of genius: subtle.  Not everyone will appreciate it, but the ones that do will think it’s fantastic.

TTS-1 David Price (Rays) Ticket to Stardom- 1:4 fat packs

188 Adam Jones (Orioles)

139 Andy Pettitte (Yankees)

95 Ryan Doumit (Pirates)

151 Derek Lowe (Braves)

83 Vernon Wells (Blue Jays)- Reminds me of the autograph of him I pulled back in the day from one of the two packs 2005 topps Pack Wars I ever busted.  Also reminds me to let you know that I have five more packs on the way that I hope attempt a youtube break on.  Even if I can’t figure out how to do that, I’m sure there will be some nice new trade bait to offer up. 😉 /cheap plug

148 Akinori Iwamura (Rays)

Three evenly spaced Rays in that one.  Cool beans on a chilly night.  Might there be a certain Troll who could use them?  NEXT PACK!

Pack 1

126 Jason Varitek (Red Sox)- Someone jacked most of the contents of the huge trade package I sent to JD’s Daddy somewhere along the way to him, so this will probably go into a new one.

162 (hehe) Conor Jackson (Diamondbacks)

197 Ian Kinsler (Rangers)

165 Vladimir Guerrero (Angels)- Keeper!

62 Cameron Maybin parallel (Marlins)- I’ve pulled several Cabreras and Maybins (including a Goodwin mini of Maybin tonight) ever since I sent out the trade to Wicked Ortega.  Guess I might need to get another package ready.

I guess these cards count as die-cuts?  That’s how to find ’em on eBay anyway.

TS-9 Albert Pujols Ticket Stub #’ed 065/110- Hi Marie. 😉

Image yoinked from eBay...

That isn’t mine.  I’m plenty lazy on my own, but even still, my chances to scan stuff are… severely limited (which is why I have so many trades that haven’t been blogged about yet).  You can click on the pic to get to the auction it from wence it came.

For the record, mine has a different pic if Pujols in the corner.  The ticket in mine comes from April 6th, 2008.  Pujols went 0 for 2 with two walks and a stolen base on April 6th, 2008 in a 3-0 win over the Washington Nationals.  Nothing special for Albert, but at least it was a win for his team, and the stolen base is nice.  Also, the ticket in mine is better positioned, with Baseball Heaven being fully visible right below the top.  I will make sure I scan mine soon so y’all can see if you think the ticket position makes it look as cool as I think it does.

#’ed Ticket Stubs fall at pretty nice odds in fat packs (1:11 packs).  It looks like they may be the only hit available in retail packs.

111 Carlos Beltran (Mets)

155 Jered Weaver (Angels)

100 Adrian Beltre (Mariners)- Maybe a keeper, I’m waffling on whether or not I want to collect him.

107 Bobby Abreu (Angels)

115 Mark Buehrle (White Sox)- Do you need either of the Sox I pulled, Steve?  I’m still trying to put something together for you for all that cool stuff you sent awhile back.

44 Mat Latos RC (Padres)

Checklist 1 of 2

Like I said, I really like these cards.  To some, I may have overhyped them up top, but that’s how I roll.  Gotta give some love to the things I like as passionately as I can, since I’m so often misaligned with what the general public likes, or dislikes, in this case.  Eh, what do they know anyway? 😛

Oh, here’s the pack of Goodwin Champions I also picked up tonight.

125 Chris Johnson- Tennessee Titans star running back, in his collect uni.  Ayyy, there be a pirate on the back.  Yarrr, I guess it be East Carolina’s logo.

190 Alex Hinshaw SP (Giants)- Cool, this is an SP.  I finally just now got around to looking at a checklist, lol.

234 Cameron Maybin Mini (Marlins)- Ohh, so this is a Mini Exclusive.  That’s cool.  I’m doing quite well with Goodwin minis.  DiMaggio, Lebron, Steve Carlton, a near triple crown racehorse, and this.

That animal insert is cool too, although it’s a killer whale and not a panda.  Meh, they got the same color scheme.  Honest mistake. 😛

118 Bucky Dent- Pfft.

Okay, time to sketch some cards.  I’m falling behind already.  Later gators. 🙂

Albert Pujols Sketch Card

Here is my Albert Pujols sketch card for Marie of A Cardboard Problem:

ALBERT~!!

Will send everything as soon as I finish this and find out about the Robinson Canos, etc.  Another email to send… The hardest part of trading, methinks. *sigh*

I feel so dirty… I think I should’ve drawn a Derrek Lee first. 😦

To Do List~!

I intend to finish all these things before my box of 2009 Allen & Ginter comes, probably in the middle of next week, judging by the time my first box took.  These are in not listed by order of importance, by the way.  I’m just writing them as I think of them.

1.) Get all my baseball cards sorted by team (except for ’08 Allen & Ginter and a couple others that I have a bunch of that may be useful to set-builders). [Somewhere between 1/2 and 2/3 of the way done I think.  Unfortunately, my urge to do the Gambit sketch card is outweighing going any further, but I think I did pretty okay overall.]

2.) Send SASE to Mario at Wax Heaven for the ’09 Football Heroes inserts. [With the mighty Dayf’s valuable information, I might be able to send this as soon as the next time I’m out.]

3.) Figure out what a SASE entails, because I’ve never sent one before. [Done- Wow, Dayf really is the expert at doing the bubble mailer version!]

4.) Finish Marie & Sooz‘ sketch cards.  Albert Pujols for Marie, Kevin Kouzmanoff and oh, maybe Gabe Kapler for Sooz. [We’re all done… unless I add some color to Kouz, Kap, & Pujols.]

5.) Get the sketch cards, as well as the rest of Sooz’ trade ready to send. [Think I’m done, since I’ve only got about two cards that she’s after.  Working on another trade with Marie as well, since I found my Canos, Jobas, & Phil Hughes’.]

6.) Get a bigger bubble mailer for the cards I’m sending to Matt of Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius. [Done]

7.) Find the Bazooka Gold Chunk Aaron Rodgers rookie for what I’m sending to Matt, and then send the cards. [Yatta, I FOUND IT~!!  Always in the last place ya look. >.<  Also found a 2003 Donruss Elite Series Glavine #ed /2500 & some other stuff with it.  So, umm… w00t~!]

8.) SEND DINGED CORNERS THEIR FREAKING CARDS ALREADY~!!!!!!!!!!!  It’s only been what… 9 months, since you made that trade?  Good grief Lonestarr, send them something at least! [Asian players are packed up & ready to be sent.  Will send next time I’m out.]

Yes, I fail.

9.) Send Baseball Dad my pathetically small list of Sandberg cards. [Done- I had a few more Rynos than I thought!]

10.) Prepare some Indians to send to Baseball Dad. [Done]

11.) Get my Orioles cards organized to send to some people in the Orioles card blogger nation, just because. [Done.  Now when will I ever get around to contacting any of them?]

12.) Get my Washington Redskins cards in order because I want to make a trade with Chris from Sac Bunt because there are a bunch of cards on his trade list I’m interested in. [At least half done.  Will contact you soon about a trade, Chris.]

13.) This one I have to get done tomorrow.  Pay for the box of cards I picked up in the big sale at Dave & Adam’s. [Done]

14.) Get over wanting to call them Dave & Buster’s.  *stomach grumbles* [Done- Though now I’m doing the opposite! >.<]

15.) Get the UDX cards ready for McCann Can Triple. [Done, but need to to double-check them sometime.]

16.) Get some more White Sox Cards ready for Steve. [They are in order, but I’m not too sure I have anything he doesn’t.  Will have to check later.]

All that’s left that I can do before I bust my box is to finish organizing my cards, send an email or two, and check a couple of want lists.  Won’t be able to send any stuff out until next time I’m out.

I will not open my 2009 Allen & Ginter box until I get pretty much all of this done.  I will check things off the list as I get through them, so you can keep up with my progress, especially if you appear on the list.  Let me know if I’ve forgotten anyone or anything, or if you want to be added to the list too.  It’s gonna be a busy week. 🙂

It’s go time~!