Trade: Too Many Verlanders

Dennis from Too Many Verlanders recently completed a great contest in which you claimed cards he was trying to get rid of as part of his spring cleaning.  Each time you claimed a lot you were entered to win great prizes.  How cool is that! You get awesome cards as the contest entry and could win more awesome cards. Well I didn't win any prizes, but along with the lots I claimed Dennis sent me some great Pirates and WVU cards.  I think we have gotten to the point where we just send each other our respective teams without even asking now.  Blind trades are the best.  Check out some of the great cards.....

The 2007 Topps Co-Signers set was one of my all time favorite sets for Pirate autos.  It was one of the first mid 2000 sets to feature a wide variety of Pirate autos.  I featured a Joe Mauer/Freddy Sanchez on the blog a few months back.

 I love this Mazeroski manu card!

Just like Dennis is a huge fan of Michigan, I love my alma mater WVU.  This is a nice auto of Keith Tandy who plays for Tampa Bay.   Extra bonus points for him being in his WVU uniform.

WVU alum Jedd Gyorko.  I'm hoping that Jedd balances back after his DL stint.  He had been struggling big time this year along with the rest of the Padre offense.

 I got bipped Jarrett Brown style!

Nice selection of Aramis Ramirez cards.  One of the worst trades in franchise history was letting Aram go for Bobby Hill of the Cubs.  Ugh

 Young Moises Alou!

This is a sweet Mclouth ticket stub/two color jersey.

Thanks for the great cards Dennis.  I'm sure I will pull more Tigers for you shortly.  Please make sure to try and trade with Dennis as you won't be disappointed.  He is one of the more generous bloggers out there.  

Thanks for checking out the blog!

Thank You!

Just wanted to thank everybody for their nice messages over the past few days. My hope was to be able to respond to everybody while I was in hospital but an odd iv placement and having my blood sugar checked 10 times a day made typing close to impossible.  Either way it is great to be home. I'll be pretty limited over the next few weeks but should have plenty of computer time!  Look forward to catching up on some reading.

Big thanks to my buddy Micah who kept the blog active while I was out.  If you guys ever see something you like that he posts just let me know and I can help facilitate the trade.  That Rivera he pulled is pretty sweet!

As for Micah's ideal Homerun Derby post, here is my list.....

Mike Stanton
Adam Dunn
Jose Abreu
Juan Encarnacion
Evan Gattis
Mike Trout
Puig
Chris Davis

Home Run Derby

Hello all, I am happy to report that Matt is out of the hospital and is now convalescing at home.  But, I am going to continue to fill in until he is feeling up to making his return. 

The MLB All Star Game right around the corner, and this week the Home Run Derby Captains were named.  Troy Tulowitzki will be representing the NL and Jose Bautista will be captaining the AL squad.  While it's always interesting to see who the captains select, I'm not a big fan of the new team captain format MLB has been using the past couple of years.  The fans vote on the actual teams so why not the derby contestants?  It's not like the home run derby determines who has home field advantage for the World Series.  Earlier this week, Matt and I were discussing this very subject and it led to us debating who we would want to see in the derby if we did have a vote.  We decided that we could vote for any 8 players, not just those selected to the respective rosters, and here is what I came up with...

 

1. Jose Bautista

2. Edwin Encarnacion

3. Miguel Cabrera

4. Jose Abreu

5. Giancarlo Stanton

6. Chris Davis

7. Yasiel Puig

8. Mike Trout

 

There it is, my dream Home Run Derby lineup for the 2014 season.  I have been a huge fan of the derby since I was a kid, and I think it's still a great attraction to this day.  And, no matter who is selected, I'm sure it will be a great show.  Does anyone else share our wish for a derby fan vote?  Let us know what you think, and thanks for reading today!





Beginner's Luck

As I have mentioned before when filling in for Matt, I am not a huge collector these days.  Until last December when Matt suggested we break open a couple of hobby boxes for fun, I hadn't opened anything more than a couple of retail packs in years.  Our first in what would end up becoming a monthly box break was 2013 Topps Update.  I had no expectations going in so I was pretty excited about this pull...



Rivera Pennant Chase Steel Coin

It was definitely the big find of the night, and I broke the odds with my first box break in close to a decade.  The funny thing is, this card still remains my best pull in the 7 months that we have been opening.  At the time, I figured I would sell it and reinvest, but now I think it might just stay in the collection as a reminder of my beginner's luck.  Does anyone else out there have a cool beginner's luck story?

Happy Friday!  And thanks for checking out the blog today.   

 

Throwback Box Break

I'm happy to report that everyone's favorite card collecting fanatic and captain of the Bob Walk The Plank ship, Matt, is on the road to recovery.  But, while he is out of action, I am going to do my best to keep things running for him, and after his crack about my '87 Topps post, I figured I should try to keep things a bit more current.

Last weekend, Matt and I decided to bust a couple of boxes before his looming trip to the disabled list.  Our choice was 2012 Topps Archives.  Archives is a favorite of mine because of the nostalgia factory, and I am a sucker for the fan favorite autos.  Here are the highlights...

 

Cleon Jones and Ray Lankford Fan Favorite Autos

 

1977 Cloth sticker inserts

 



 

1969 Deckle Edge

 

 

1968 3D Inserts

 

2012 Gold Parallels

 



1967 Sticker Inserts

 

 

Nothing too exciting, but it's always fun to break open some cardboard.  If you see anything you like feel free to shoot Matt a message.  Thanks, as always, for checking out the blog.

 

 

 



Heading to the DL

A couple months back I started experiencing some pretty sharp leg pains.  I ignored it for a while thinking it was just a strained muscle, but soon the pain was enough that I sought some medical attention.  The doc told me that he thought I was having some nerve inflammation and prescribed a steroid to calm everything down. The pain persisted and I was prescribed more anti-inflammatory drugs which proved no help as well.  After noticing some swelling, my wife told me to seek a specialist.  An orthopedist immediately ordered xrays and an MRI and sure enough I had a large tumor in my left thigh.  Needless to say I wasn't expecting that.

The doctor is pretty sure it is not cancerous but he expedited the surgery just as a precaution.  I go under the knife bright in early tomorrow morning.  I'll probably be in the hospital a few days and off work 4-6 weeks, although if all goes well I'll probably start working from home a little after the 4th of July.  Obviously it is not an ideal situation, but I'm a glass half full type of guy.  I'm just glad they found it and I'm getting out.  Just think of all that time I have to focus on cards!  I just may need a little help getting from point A to B.

My buddy Micah who is 1/3 of the box opening gang may keep the blog running with posts depending on his schedule.  He'll probably get all nostalgic over a 1987 Topps card.  

I'm sure I'll be commenting on all the blogs from the hospital room.  If I try trading my Pirates collection for 1990 Donruss sets please ignore as that will be the drugs talking.  :)

Mr. Glasnow

2013 Bowman Chrome Tyler Glasnow Auto

With the graduation of Polanco to the big leagues and the season ending surgery to Jameson Taillon, Tyler Glasnow is the Pirates top prospect.  The big 6'7 righty has dominated the minor leagues ever since he entered the Pirates system.  If all goes well he will end up in AA soon and maybe have his major league debut late next season or possibly break camp in 2016.

The Pirates are officially over .500!!!! Seems like a million years ago when they started off the season hot and looking like they hadn't skipped a beat from last year.  Poor pitching put us in a hole early, but thankfully that seems to be getting a little better.  The Pirates have a ton of games against last place teams before the All Star break so some serious ground could be made up.

Quad Buccos

2014 Topps Museum Collection Quad Jersey/Patch /99

A couple months back I was looking for some WVU cards on COMC and randomly searched some Pirates.  This card popped up with a price of $16 so I pounced on it.  The Marte patch is a nice three color and the Alvarez looks to be from the holiday camouflage jersey.  Pretty nice card for less than $20 bucks. I guess I will need to pay more attention to Pirate stuff on COMC.  

The Pirates climbed back to .500 with a win over the Rays.  Now is the time to put a nice run together as the Pirates have several series in a row against last place teams.  For any type of sustainable success my thought is the Pirates will need to get one more starting pitcher.  Gerrit Cole is about ready to come of the DL, but the thought of relying on Jeff Locke, Brandon Cumpton and Vance Worley for the rest of the season doesn't sound very appealing.  I always thought Ian Kennedy would be a good fit for the Pirates.  The Padres seem like they are going to clean house so maybe we can strike a deal.  

I Pulled a Pirate

Today was my daughters first birthday and baptism so all weekend was a mad rush getting things ready for a big family get together.  Yesterday I was up at Target looking for a fun birthday gift and decided to also buy a blaster of Series 2.  Here was the highlight....

Nothing too special, but it was cool to finally pull something that belongs in my collection.  

Time for me to go pass out......

Hope everybody has a good week.

Trade: Jaybarkerfan's Junk

Last week Wes from Jaybarkerfan's Junk shot me a message stating he had some Pirates for me.  Just a couple days later I had a bubble envelope filled with just about every type of Pirate card imaginable.  It was awesome!  I'll let all the pictures do the talking as he blew me away.

 !!!!! Cutch

 Sweet Triple Threads Gorzelanny

 The Chrome Mclouth is a short print /60.

 Cutch!!!!!

 Some guy named Clemente.

 A nice silk of Tabata /50.

 cash or credit....These Studio cards were so weird.  I love it

Wes really wowed me with everything.  I love all the McCutchen's and the Donruss Kendall which is /100. I will be building you a nice return package now that I have an idea of what you like.  Thanks again and I look forward to swapping tons of cards with you down the road.

Another Redemption

2014 Panini Donruss Starling Marte Auto

A few months back I was able to pick a few lots of Donruss autographs on the cheap.  Included in the lot was a Starling Marte redemption.  Marte must have got his commitment to Panini out of the way as this is the second redemption I've received this week. 

Marte had been in a terrible funk at the plate up until the promotion of Gregory Polanco.  Now all three outfielders are hitting their stride together.  McCutchen even won NL player of the week.  If Marte learns to cut down on the strikeouts the sky is the limit.  Already a plus defender and baserunner, a more consistent approach at the plate could launch Marte into an All Star caliber player.  It should be an exciting outfield to watch for the next handful of years.  

Here is the pic from my seat at PNC on Wednesday.  I took a couple days off from work this week and decided to treat myself to a game.  The Pirates got crushed by the Reds, but I always enjoy an evening at the stadium.

Thanks for checking out the blog!

Trade: The Chronicles of Fuji (Awesome 8x10)

I've swapped cardboard with Fuji several times since I started Bob Walk the Plank. His wide variety of pcs make it easy to find something to send his way.  Yesterday as I was walking out the door to head to Pittsburgh for the Pirates/Reds game I received a large envelope.  Here is what Fuji sent me....

Check out this awesome 8x10 of Kent Tekulve.  This was such an awesome surprise.  I've showcased several Teke autos on the blog, but this is now my favorite piece.  My basement is decorated with a wide variety of 8 x 10 autos of Pirates so this will fit nicely.  

Nice selection of Donruss Buccos.  One more price drop on Donruss and I may have to open a box.  When it was first released there was a strong backlash from case breakers as the cards were not collated very well. Lots of stories of people pulling 4 or 5 autos of the same guy.  I only want to open one box so it shouldn't matter for me.

 Love the Jack Wilson action shot.  Always appreciate the Cutch cards as well!

The namesake!

Thanks again for the awesome picture and cards Fuji!  I always enjoy swapping cards with you.  Soon enough I should have another envelope for you.  

Redeemed Round 2 and a Baseball Strategy Rant

2012 Playoff Prime Cuts Rated Rookie Starling Marte Auto /25

 

 

Late post tonight as I was watching a great game between the Pirates and Reds.  The Reds got the best of the Bucs tonight 6-5 as Jason Grilli gave up a 9th inning homer to Todd Frazier.   You would figure with all the advanced statistics that managers would get away from having defined roles for bullpen guys.  Grilli has struggled with command this year, yet we throw him out there in every high leverage situation.  I think it must be some combination of salary, loyalty and 30 years of managers doing it the same way.  I just hate that we have to use the "closer" guy in the 9th no matter what.  Managers will make 2 or 3 pitching changes in the 7th and 8th, but only one guys is allowed to pitch the 9th.  End of rant.

 

It has been a good couple of weeks for receiving redemption cards.  I posted about the Gerrit Cole I received from Topps last week, now Panini has come through.  I redeemed this card around 8 months back.  The card itself is pretty plain, but it is a nice low numbered auto so beggars can't be choosers.  This will go nice with the McCutchen auto I have from this set /25 as well.

 

Not sure if I'll get around to posting tomorrow as I'm heading to Pittsburgh for the game.  Hopefully we'll have some better results. 

 

Thanks for reading.

Trade: Dime Boxes

I contacted Nick from Dime Boxes fame a couple weeks back to let him know I could do some damage to some of his set needs. In return Nick sent me a wide variety of Pirate goodness.  The pictures I'm showing are some of my favorite and not everything that was sent.  Long story short he really loaded me up.  Take a look....

 Awesome Bay card!

I've seen a few of the Game Note jersey cards out of Bowman.  Kind of odd, but a welcome addition to the Pirates collection.

Tony Womack is a personal favorite of mine.  These will go nice with the cards Dennis from Too Many Verlanders sent me in our last trade.

POPS

As you can see the cards he sent me reads like a timeline of great players throughout the Pirates history.  I really love the great picture for the UD Jason Bay Card.  Also receiving the Parrot card was good timing as I just posted about obtaining the Parrot auto out of this years Opening Day.  

It was nice to finally trade with you Nick!  I've been following for a long time, but for some reason it took a while for us to make that initial deal.  Here's to many more!  Thanks again for all the great Pirate cards.