Volume 3: Attack of the Minis (War with JBF )

Wes is fighting dirty now. He hit with a priority mail box on Saturday and on Monday I get a bubble mailer. This theme is centered on small weapons. Since the note got a little ripped in transit I'll type it out. Wes has a way with words.

Great Scott,

Sometimes the smallest opponents seem the least threatening. Allow your forces to drop their defenses and your army will find itself out of time. Tread Lightly!  #3/7 #WarwithWalk #smallweapons. 

Wes delivered on his threat. The mailer was small in stature but big on punch. The gold minis that are below are /63 and the pink /25.  All are from 2014 Topps mini.  WOW!

Gaby had a rough season in Pittsburgh last year and signed with a Japanese team over the winter. He is looking to follow the recent trend of guys having success regaining their value in Asia. Gaby doesn't have much in way of Pirate releases so this card is greatly appreciated.

I was happy to see the Pirates get Liriano back on a 3 year deal. The Pirates can't afford big time free agent pitchers like Jon Lester so they have to be creative in finding good arms. Liriano has been hit with the injury bug a lot during his career, but when right he has ace like stuff.

It is looking like Locke will be the odd man out in the rotation if Charlie Morton breaks camp healthy. Locke has shown flashes of being a good pitcher, but command issues has hurt him early in his career. Since he is out of options and may make him a trade candidate.

It looks like Andrew Lambo is going to finally make the opening day roster for the Buccos. The trade of Travis Snider opened the door as the Pirates will need a left handed bat off the bench.

 Volquez resurrected his career last year with the Bucs and signed with the Royals as a free agent.

One of my favorite Buccos and a huge key to the Pirates success this year. Cole has a very high ceiling so if he can take the next step and become the ace that the Pirates envisioned when drafting him the sky is the limit.

The Pirates have had great success dumpster diving for relievers and then having them blossom into stars. Such was the case of Jason Grilli. He signed with Wes's Braves over the winter.

 Morton is another guy who flashes great stuff every year, but health limits his production.

 I have a good start on the Lambo rainbow.

It took a while for Jordy to get his opportunity, but he has turned himself into a valuable player. 

This was the real showstopper of the mini army that Wes sent my way. While it is a little hard to see this is a Murad Cigarettes College Series card from 1909-1910. The set featured 150 cards issued in 6 sets of 25. I've seen a couple of these online before, but never in person. This is a great piece of WVU history and one of my favorite pieces in my collection.

You cease to amaze me my friend. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw all those parallel minis and then that WVU card popped out. Maybe I need to search for a white flag....

Thanks for reading.

JBF's Seven Spoils of War Part 2 (Deceit and Sneak Attacks)

I would be a terrible commander during wartime. In my ongoing struggle with JBF I've only fired when fired upon. I should know better that Wes does not follow normal rules of engagement. This weekend he hit me with another huge priority mail box. It was very fitting as this one had a sneak attack theme.

What did JBF have waiting for me this time......

 What seems like a cool yet normal notebook...

Has a game used Brian Giles card taped to the inside.

Here is a visual of the volume of cards Wes sent. Two boxes were full of Buccos and one was full of 2015 Series 1. I'm sure it is more than enough to complete the set and have a good start on most of the inserts.

But.....wait a second. While sorting the Topps a card appears on the bottom.

This is a glossy 1/1 from Just Minors that was strategically placed at the bottom of the box. The 2015 Series 1 was just an elaborate ploy to hide a 1/1. Crazy stuff.

A nice beer bottle holder. I was paranoid going through this part of the package. I figured a Honus Wagner was taped to the inside. Wes is in my head.

 Wes didn't abide by the no weapons allowed inside.

Teke!

Within the three boxes of cards was a whole slew of crazy nice cards. Check these out.

 Not everyday you get Clemente's thrown at you. Love the card!

 Authentic stadium seat from Forbes Field.

 A beautiful Maz from one of my all time favorite sets. SP Legendary Cuts was loaded.

 The gold Harrison from 2015 Series 1.


Now for the vintage portion of the program. Wes has really been loading me up.  These were cool too that they were heavily protected in screwdowns.

So much cool stuff.

I'm going to have to go back through the three boxes because I fill like you probably hid something else in there that I haven't found yet.

I don't know how you do it Wes. You leave me speechless every time. I mean who hides a one of one at the bottom of a box! You are a mad man.

Also, today I received Volume 3 in the mail. The Wes blitzkrieg has Bob Walk the Plank running for the hills. Looks like I need to regroup fast.

With that being said I have something on the way that will knock your socks off.  My hope is that it will be here soon so I can ship it out your way before the holiday. I refuse to raise the white flag.....

A Weird Result

I've mentioned several times that my favorite card from Series 1 is the Pirates team card. While I have no desire to chase the rainbow I was looking to add a few parallels.

Part of me wishes Starling Marte was in this shot, but Harrison makes for a unique combination with Cutch and Polanco. This picture must be from when Marte was on the DL before the All Star break. Either way it is a cool end of game celebration.

My initial search was to find the silver framed parallel /20, but the price was just too high. So I browsed eBay aimlessly to see if something else would pop up that caught my eye.

2015 Topps Series 1 Yellow Printing Plate

This card popped up on eBay a couple weeks back and when it was all said and done I won it for about $22. Go figure, cheaper than the silver framed. A very welcomed addition to the collection. I'll still keep my eye out for the silver framed, but I'm content having the plate. 

Trade: The Underdog Card Collector

This has been quite a month for trades. Without looking this may be the most active month since I started the blog. From PWE's to crazy Jaybarker it has been a blast. This is what makes blogging fun so I'll try to keep the momentum going through April.

Earlier this week I received my second envelop from Zach, The Underdog Card Collector. Zach has been tearing it up lately spreading bubble mailers and pwe's throughout the blogosphere. I was one of the lucky recipients. 

I vented the other day about this league leader card as I was pissed that Walt Weiss sat Morneau the majority of the last week of the season. He was likely to win the title anyway as Harrison slumped, but seemed kind of low brow move. Tony Watson is one of my favorite Bucco's. I would love to find one of his silver parallels soon.

 Can go wrong with Cutch and that other guy was pretty good too. :)

Gaby is playing in Japan this year as he was having trouble finding a major league deal this offseason after his poor showing last year. Garrett Jones was a fan favorite in Pittsburgh during his tenure. I hope he has a big year for the Yankees utilizing that short porch in right.

Rene didn't do much for the Penguins, but was a key part of Colorado's Stanley Cup team in the mid 90's.

A sweet Lemiuex!

Thanks for the cards Zach. I'll be sure to hit you up again soon. 

Have a good weekend.

Trade: Baseball Card Breakdown

It's a big day if you are a Mountaineer fan. While it will be an uphill battle I'm hoping for a good game. Kentucky is a powerhouse, but hasn't faced much in the way of competition since December. Let's hope for a miracle.  My wife had my daughter all pumped up for the game tonight. Let's hope tonight is the ultimate bracket busting.

On to trade business.

Gavin and I swap often so I wasn't surprised to see an envelope from him. What was inside was the big surprise. Gavin is tackling the Topps Retired auto set which is tough task. So when I saw this beauty I figured Gavin came across a duplicate.

Part of me always wants to free these cards from their cage, but I never do it. What a sharp looking card of the Candy Man. Back in the day I opened a few packs of this stuff, but never hit a Pirate or a huge name. I vaguely remember one being George Foster. Thanks a ton for this card Gavin!

Gavin has started a cool trend of hooking me up with some Mountaineers too. Always nice to get some cards of Charles Sims. He only attended WVU one year, but it was very productive.

Bowman Buccos! This was around the time period where the wheels started to come off for the Buccos as a franchise. Player development was weak and the Pirates were going bankrupt. Players like Kris Benson were dubbed can't mess prospects, but injuries prevented him from being an ace. Also didn't help that his wife is bat shit crazy.

 Gerrit Cole inside the Matrix! Maybe these should be Matrix paralles or Neos.

Arpsmith delivered a high end Duke that I posted about yesterday and Gavin continues the theme. This is an sp rookie of Zach Duke. Back when Duke burst on the scene I remember this card going for crazy amounts of money. 

As usual Gavin you hit me with some great stuff. I'll work on hitting you back soon.  

Thanks for reading. 

Let's Go Mountaineers. Just Believe! 

Trade: Arpsmith Delivers a Superfractor

Adam form Arpsmith's Sportscard Obsession and I went big for this trade. A couple months back Adam commented on a box break of Donruss in which I pulled a Madison Bumgarner patch. This quickly got a trade brewing. The other big card in the mix was a Jason Schmidt patch card that had a good chunk of the MLB tag. This card had been in my possession for a couple of years since Schmidt was a former Pirate, but he was featured in the Giants uniform. Adam would provide a better home.

This past week I received the return envelope and boy was it loaded.

We start off with a bang. I believe this is the first Superfractor 1/1 that I've ever owned. Colton Cain was a highly touted prospect when he was drafted out of high school in 2009. That year the Pirates gave crazy bonuses to a bunch of higher draft picks to convince them to forgo their college commitments. The gamble proved to be unsuccessful as most of the guys drafted fizzled out in AA. Cain was traded to the Astros in the Wandy Rodriguez deal two years back. Nevertheless I'm very happy to own this card because these just down hit eBay very often and when they do they go for high $ amounts no matter the quality of the player. Adam was even nice enough to send it in a one touch magnetic. It is so sparkly!

I love to hoard Willie Stargell autos. He has to be one of the leaders in odd ball autographs. This Front Row card is a nice example.

Funny story about this Zach Duke patch. I've been slowly working on a list of cards that for some reason seem to avoid me when I try to win them on eBay. This just happens to be one of my white whales. This card has popped up on eBay a few times in the past couple of years and for some reason I never win it. I've always been attracted to this card for the red patch. So Adam little did you know you knocked off a big card for me.

Owen Schmitt is a legend in Morgantown. His physical running style made him a fan favorite from the first day he played a game. I love the Donruss Elite auto featuring the all gold Mountaineer uniform.

 This oddball is labeled on the back "Junior Watson Trophy Dinner 1983." Awesome card!

 More Front Row Stargells!

I was so pissed when Walt Weiss sat Morneau a good part of the last week of the season in order to help him win the batting title. Harrison's chances were slim, as he slumped a little the last two weeks, but it would have been nice if Morneau actually played his way to it. Freaking Rockies should worry about the product on the field rather than helping a veteran back end himself into an award.

I was really excited to see this Unique Unis card from Topps Unique. I have a few "hits" from this high end set, but don't have many of the inserts. Great addition to my Cutch collection.

Pirate legends!

Thanks for the great trade Adam! Looking forward to our next swap.

Thanks for reading.