Trade: Jaybarkerfan's Junk

I always get excited when I see an envelope from Wes from the blog Jaybarkerfan's Junk.  I've hooked him up with some Josh Willingham's a while back and he returned the favor with a jumbo assortment of auto/relic Pirate goodness.

I'm a huge Bay fan.  I have more game used/auto cards of Bay than anybody else in my collection. He helped make the Pirates somewhat watchable during some incredibly bad seasons in the mid 2000's.  

This card had a really nice clean look to it.  Jason Kendall was a fan favorite during his time in Pittsburgh. His unique blend of speed and high obp. made him a very valuable player.

Ian Snell showed flashes of brilliance early in his career, but command and immaturity got the best of him.  

Adam LaRoche is a perfect example of having a player at the wrong point of his career.  When the Pirates acquired LaRoche in a trade with the Braves I was pumped up.  Not everyday you get a young first baseman entering his prime.  While his numbers were decent, all his production came late in the second half when the Pirates were out of it.  It wasn't until he joined the Nationals that he found some consistency and put together more balanced seasons.  He is a perfect complimentary player now.  Pirate fans just expected to much.

 Nyjer Morgan is more famous for his time in Milwaukee.  Tony Plush!

Paul Maholm was a workhorse for the Pirates.  I felt bad for him when he suffered a terrible knee injury covering first base while playing for the Dodgers this year.  

 I've always liked the college patch cards from Elite.  I have a few in my collection.

Nice shot of the Pittsburgh skyline.

I'm happy to see Zach Duke revitalize his career as a reliever.  After a few disastrous years with the Pirates I really thought his career might be over.  Thankfully the Brewers saw something in him and sure enough he has turned himself into a pretty good reliever.

A lesser known McCutchen but still a nice framed auto.

Much like Ian Snell above, Jame McDonald showed flashes but never gained enough command.  The gold border Topps cards are a nice match with the Pirate players. 

Thanks again Wes! You always send such great stuff.  My turn to hook you up again!  

Thanks for reading.