A PWE in the Night

Changing it up from the burgeoning string of sketch card posts, I got a PWE from surefire first ballot Hall of Fame card blogger, real life sports journalist, and 1975 Topps Mini enthusiast Night Owl during those 10 dark days I went without a functioning computer.  I claimed these four cards from his lone pack of Topps Update, and here they be.

George Springer hot pack!

Some great looking cards there.  Outside of a very nice run of Donruss Series 2 fat packs I ought to post about if I’m back from outer space to stay for awhile, I bought precious little current stuff this year.  The little bit of 2014 Topps to cross through my collection was actually rather nice though.  Here we have a Springer RC and one of those rad ’89 Topps Remix minis, King Felix yucking it up with MLB Network (I’m going with Intentional Talk as my guess as to who is on the other end of the tin can and string), and Topps meanspiritedly calling Jose Abreu a turd.

I keed, I keed… The back says on April 25th, 2014 against the Tampa Bay Rays, he became only the second rookie ever to hit a walk-off grand slam in the month of April, following in the footsteps of Ron Lolich of the Cleveland Indians in 1973.

 Ting!

Diamond Gallery #2: The Diamond Die-Cuts

As mentioned last time, my first Diamond Giveaway order (of four full 25-card orders total) arrived last Friday.  It was the free one, and contained most of my Diamond Die-Cuts. So here they are now.  Enjoy.

Shin-Soo Choo..

They are nice & shiny all over.  The only thing that could make them better is if they were in the much prettier blue or purple Walmart or Toys B Fun versions. They are great as is, but red doesn’t do it for me.  Give me the darker, cooler colors any day.

Andrew McCutchen..

The  diamond in the background glows almost as much as it shines.  This is especially true of the black diamond.  But we’ll get to that in due time.

Big Papi..

I ended up with most of what I was after, but I never was able to land Ernie Banks, and I’m still a little tweaked by that.

Dave Winfield..

There were way too damn many Yankees in this set, but it’s hard to argue with most of them.  Only Swisher and Teixeira are really debatable, and the latter only because he’s sucked in 2012.  Still, I’d have taken out both of them and either Maris or Munson and a few of the lesser Braves and added Johnny Bench, Joey Votto, and Matt Kemp, amongst others.

CarGo..

I’m not sure what I’m going to do with CarGo and the others that aren’t players I specifically collect or are otherwise spoken for.  Ya better bring it if you want one though.

Longo..

I’d like one of the few of these I still want or need in return (Ernie Banks, Carlos Marmol, Tyler Colvin, Jackie Robinson, and Reggie Jackson, amongst others I potentially accept).  In lieu of that, make a specific offer of something pretty darn nice.  I sunk way too much time into this and I’m not just going to accept any ol’ thang for these bad mamma-jammas.

Chris Sale..

Alexei..

These are the two White Sox I picked up for my dad’s little collection of things I pull or pick up cheap.  I miiiiiiiight be able to let one go if you have the ammo to deal, but I’m not moving both.

Adrian Beltre..

2012 All-Star starter, future Hall of Famer?  After the unspectacular-yet-steady early years and lone monster contract season with the Dodgers and somewhat awful stretch with the Marinerds, he’s really turned it on since leaving the M’s and seems to be getting better with age.  The numbers are starting to look Hall of Fame quality for 3B.

Aramis..

Speaking of guys closing in on Hall of Fame numbers at the hot corner.  Aramis maybe isn’t aging quite as gracefully (or perhaps it’s just the Brewers relative irrelevance when not in the playoff hunt), but he’s still playing fairly decent up there in Milwaukee.  And if the Brew Crew completely fall out of playoff picture, look for Aramis to catch fire and look and make people take notice of his offensive prowess again.  It’s what he does, kinda.

Ichiro Suzuki..

To hell with that one name BS.  It doesn’t matter if how amazing someone is, this ain’t soccer!  And “Fred” ruined it for soccer anyway.

King Felix..

And now the pitching half of what was a two man team for most of the last few years, King Felix.

Vlad..

Why is this guy not in the majors right now?!  He had his worst season last and still hit .290!

David Wright..

One of two die-cuts likely bound for Long Fly Ball.  Don’t worry though Wright fans, because I have another on the way.  For the same reason I couldn’t get Ernie, I’m a little tweaked to still have the second David Wright.  I tried EVERYTHING to deal the second Wright for Ernie, but no matter how ridiculously lopsided in whoever the offers were going to’s favor, I got jack and diddly to show for it.

RickyRo Black Diamond #’ed 48/60

Check the black diamond’s dark, ominous glow.  This is what made this order free, and the other die-cut most likely bound for Long Fly Ball.

Starlin Castro..

Goin’ bigtime with the last two.  2011’s NL Hit (and error) King, Starlin Castro!

Ryno!

Finally, one of the only two die-cuts I actually hit myself (though I guess I only unlocked 34-ish cards total), Ryne Sandberg!  Although, come to think of it, I hit this and the Black Diamond Gaby Sanchez that eventually became RickyRo in just 30-some shots, so I actually did incredibly well, I guess.

That’s it for this one, sports fans.  The Diamond Giveaway (which I keep wanting to hash tag and not space…) is over, so please make your final selections and proceed to checkout.  Thank you for shopping your local Diamond Giveaway.

Until our next…

Discount Blaster Keepers

And now for the stuff I’m keeping from those 40%-off 2011 Topps Series Two blasters.

Hawk & The Hurt, coming this fall to CBS..

I needed all four I pulled..

Just base, but a couple might end up in my various frankensets..

I’ve been keeping a few Heywards & Chapmans around. I do like Sale & Uggla too. Feel free to make an off on either though. I might be willing to deal..

Like the Posadas, I pulled two of these as well. Just keeping the one though..

Darwin Barney base and Blackout RCs. They go nice with the Diamond parallel I already had..

And finally, a couple nice King Felix parallels..

I am not entirely displeased with these blasters.  Got a nice stack of things I needed & tons of inserty trade bait.  Base Topps blasters offer so much more random fun crap than probably just about any others out there.  Granted, at least half is always pretty forgettable, but it’s there at least.

Well, that’s all for now I guess.  I’ve got a decent-sized, and growing, queue of complete, or close to it, posts, so I’ll be around quite a bit for the next month or so.  Thanks for stopping by today!

*glomp*

New Title, Same Mediocre Blog Reading Experience

I’ve been meaning to change the name of my blog for awhile now, and as luck would have it, today I finally figured out how. No more silly pseudo-pretentious song title name for a blog that always has been and remains mostly about the cards. What was I thinking? “Life and Baseball Cards” fits much better, I think.  And to celebrate, here’s a pack off topps Stickers!

King Felix is mine, Mitch Moreland is spoken for, and the rest are available for trade.

Also check out what name the stats are under.  I just found out I could change that too.  It’s not quite having an actual Shawon-O-Meter to display it, but it’ll do. Look for other lil tweaks and updates here & there as well.  Guess that’s all for now.  Seeya.

Until our next…

I’ll Get Back to Baseball Cards Eventually…

They are really boring me right now though, Diamond Giveaway site aside.  The only cards I’ve purchased this month that I’ve really enjoyed were the blasters of Panini Americana.  Everything else I should’ve left on the shelf.  The first Americana blaster has been scanned and will be posted up in the near future, but today feels like a sketch card dump post kinda day.  So sit back, relax, and get ready to enjoy some serviceable art!

Goku!

Batwoman!

King Felix! On a decoy card.

Green Lantern John Stewart!

Vampirella!

Ricky Romero! Also on a decoy, but one with a non-slick side, so I was able to use my normal lighter pencil on it. Hopefully you can see it somewhat okay.

Dani Moonstar! (X-Men)

Supergirl!

Starfire!

Rukia! (Bleach)

Well, there ya go.  Most of it is for sale or trade.  Inquire within.  Thanks for stopping by.  Next time, a blaster’s worth Americana.

Until our next…

Diamond Giveaway Update

Since I haven’t mentioned in awhile and it’s all I’ve got handy, here is where I currently stand in the Diamond Giveaway.  I’ve managed to score several Diamond Die-Cuts via random vintage trading, and have finally landed a few keepers.  Behold, for I now have a screen grabber!

Vlad, via Carlos Santana..

Shin-Soo Choo, via Ricky Romero..

Big Papi, via David Price..

King Felix, via Roger Maris..

Aramis, via '66 Bolin, '75 Bumbry, '78 Pentz, Dierker, & McClure, '82 Cey, and '85 Ozzie Smith..

Not bad.  And if you’re wondering how I have 46 cards, I let go of the second Carlos Santana for 14 vintage cards because I was about out of trade bait.  A few of those netted me a Brian McCann Die-Cut which shortly thereafter landed me 31(!) more cards from 1973-1985, including several stars (one keeper- ’76 Dick Allen) and a Cub.

See?

I peaked at 52 cards, but seven of them landed Aramis over the weekend.  So despite all the randomness, there is a method to my madness, and these are the rest of the Diamond Die-Cuts I’m after:

Ernie Banks

Starlin Castro

Tyler Colvin

Dave Winfield

Ichiro Suzuki

Adrian Beltre

I also have a secondary list of players I’d like to pick up any of (for various reasons) if possible.  These would be my main priority from the secondary list:

Mark Buehrle (for my dad)

Carlos Santana (3rd time’s a charm, right?)

Hanley Ramirez (still flirting with the idea of collecting him on occasion)

Andrew McCutchen (ditto)

I’m not sure I have anything anyone wants, but if you’ve got any of the above on the site (or any others really, whatevs, I’m not too picky or in a hurry or anything) and want to swing a deal for my random, mostly ’70s nonsense, and if you can find me… maybe you can hire– Wait, ha.  I’m game.

So that was a pretty boring post, but at least I had some pictures this time right?  Right??  Anyway, next time, a “Look for Vintage” Fairfield pack that didn’t suck.

‘Til the crossroads…

Blaster Stuffs Part 1

Awhile back (mid-November I think) I picked up some blasters at Shopko.  All $20 ones were on sale for $14.99, and I had a thing for $10 off a $40 or more purchase, so that knocked an extra $2.50 off each of the four I picked up, making them $12.50 apiece.  They were all 2010, topps206, topps Heritage, topps Chrome (all baseball), and Bowman Platinum (football).  So here’s a look at what I pulled from 206 and Heritage.  We’ll do the Chrome and Platinum another day.

My only two probable keepers from the 206 blaster..

A few of the better bronze parallels. Might keep Cueto due to the epic hair on display.

A mini penny and a history card that’s actually baseball related.

The backs of the Historical Events cards for those that care..

The regular backed minis.

See? Regular backs.

Finally, the mini parallels.

The Baseball Caramels (Pettitte/Feliz) backs are 1:4 packs I guess. The Old Mill (Volquez) is something like 1:20 or 1:22.

Not a great blaster, but the the price being 37.5%-off helped.  Oh yeah, there was a King Felix base card that I’m too lazy to finish editing down to size that I’m keeping.  Also not pictured, Mike Leake RC, and hat SPs of Ryan Braun and Mantle.

Now then, onto the topps Heritage.

First up, some Baseball Thrills. Might keep a couple of these (Hornsby is going to Cards on Cards) unless someone else wants them.

Lots of star power on this one, and a keeper on account of the Ichiro-ness.

My other keeper. Then & Now Whitey & The King.

The shortprints..

Finally, the big hit of the blaster, a Jeets Chrome #’ed to /1961.

Not the greatest blaster, but much better than the 206, for the better keepers from more important personal collections and a better best pull at least.

Seeya next time, when I either get back to the Check Out My Cards stuff, do a trade post, or the second part this with the shinier blasters.  Maybe I’ll even do my best pulls of 2010 list, but probably not.

UPDATE: Can someone please tell me why the borders have gone all wonky in some of my recent posts.  It’s really annoying me. 😡

The new year begins…

Trading Day Pt. 2: The Search for Curly’s Gold

Here is the other package I received (last) Monday.  These are from Too Many Grandersons hisself.  Behold!

Suh-weet Walter Payton reprints, Gold Hester, base blue Manning parallel /500, Urlacher (foil and thus poorly scanned) insert from rookie year, and more Urlachers (have at that code)! How much better does that blue parallel look than the boring black borders that they've trotted out most of the last 10 or so years?? A set that looks that good I might actually consider collecting, as I once did the the '02 Gridiron Kings (even picked up about half the Legend SPs in a lot once upon a midnight's dreary).

More Bears! Greg Olsen, Bernard Barrien black parallel from one of the single greatest set designs in the history of cards, Cutler, some rookies, and my personal favorite, my first and Julius Peppers as a Bear.

Last of the Bears... The more I think about, the more I think Rex' dad was right about the Bears mismanagement of QBs, especially in the Super Bowl. Fortunately, in getting Martz, they seemed to have wised up to some degree. Not sure I like the total abandonment of the running game though. Somehow Bronko was the only card I already had amongst the Bears.

Moving on to baseball now…

Vladdy! I may have the Own the Game & one of ToppsTownies, but the rest are new to me, three I've never even seen before. The Diamond King is the gold parallel version #'ed to /2500.

Ichiro! Don't get a lot of him in trades. The '04 Own the Game in the middle just insane. And a rookie of the BEST catcher in baseball. Well, he's in that elite group with Mauer, McCann, and Victor Martinez (and maybe Posey in a year or two) at the very top anyway.

And a few of my favorite Cubs to finish it off. I really hope Big Z sticks around if it's between keeping him or Dempster. In fact, I think I'd just rather Dempster leave regardless. Something bothers me about him.

Thanks for the great cards!  I’ll get together something worthwhile to send in return… eventually. *sigh*

.::~Outtro~::.

Cards from Marie and Matt

I got my prize winnins from Cardboard Problem and a fresh trade from Heartbreaking Cards at the same time and scanned them at the same time, so I might as well post them at the same time.  Plus I’m not sure which came which on one of the scans.  I may have mixed them on it, I dunno.  Anyway, pretty pictures ahoy!

These be from Marie. It appears the Cubs drew the better artists in Chicle, judging by these three. All solid, and Ernie is outstanding! Love the scoreboard shot! And the Prince is cool cuz I used to have a small collection of the guy and clever cuz the ticket is against the Cubbies. The terrible, terrible Cubbies. *le sigh*

The *literally* big prize. Johnny Mize cabinet card. Though a Cardinal, it's one of the prettier looking cards in the entire set, in my rarely humble enough opinion. And three mini 206 Cubbies (only one still with the team) for scale and because I couldn't fit normal-sized cards on the scanner bed with giganto Mize. I mentioned something somewhere about this being my first contest win, but I actually won a contest at White Sox Cards awhile before. Slipped my mind due to how quick that one went down (half hour, give or take).

And the rest, maybe. But what nice filler it is. All-Star Classics is one of my absolute favorite sets of the entire past decade. Been wanting a box for eons.

Now it gets confusing, though it’s a perfect segue from Marie to Matt I guess.  I don’t know which one these all came from, though the more I think about it, I’m pretty sure there is some from both in this scan:

If there's a choice between keeping Big Z or Dempster, I'm keeping Big Z. Every. Single. Time. Also, I heart blue refractors. 🙂

Now it’s definitely on to the Heartbreaking part of this post.

The King Felix collection gets some rare lovin' thanks to Matt. Noice.

Even though the D-Lee collection was officially closed almost immediately after this (but well before he was actually traded), that mmiddle row is freakin' sweet. And a new Kosuke (the Documentary one)!

Finally, the two cards that keyed this trade in the first place, the blue Fukudome & Vlad parallels. Also a cool D-Lee segueing into his tenure with the Cubs.

Great awesome cards.  Marie and Matt should both be expecting something in the mail before too long.  And with that, I’m outta here.

Until our next…