Bombs Away Part 1

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In a weeks span I received these four boxes from the Hazel Green madman Wes of Jaybarker fame. I spent a good part of this past weekend cleaning up my cardboard messes in anticipation of opening these. Last night I finally broke into the first two and lets just say I was surprised......

 Randomness will be the theme. Less cardboard and more oddball items. When I first saw the above album I thought it said supertraders.  Wes's antics have populated my mind so much I start to see things that are not there.

I'm not sure if random is even the right word to describe the items I received.  Yes, that is a GI Joe circa 1992.  My brother was more of a GI Joe collector.  I'm sure he'll get a kick out of this once I show him. 

 Our war is getting so insane that actual weapons are getting sent in the mail. I didn't recognize any of the wrestlers on the cover of the DVD. I laughed pretty hard when I pulled these items out of the box.

The gigantic Jim Palmer jersey card was cool.  I think Wes has sent me a handful of Starting Lineups over the years.  I'm always torn on what to do with them.  I have hundreds still in the box.  I've been thinking about just cracking them open and displaying them. 

An aerial shot of the damage.

 Of all the items, I think this was my favorite. I don't watch wrestling anymore, but when I did Jim Ross was actively involved. I watched wrestling all time time as a kid during the early Hogan years and picked back up again during the Attitude/NWO era.

 The Dudley's were super popular when I was an active viewer. So cool to have a dual auto.

 Some randomness here including an Alex Rodriguez bear.

 The Ultimate Warrior was an icon in the early 90's.  Is that a Buddha Homer Simpson?

 Some random team sets and a UFC chip of Quinton Jackson. I have several friends who love the UFC, but I just can't get into it.

 Wes sent a ton of random packs.  This one caught my eye for obvious reasons.  This is probably a BGS 10!!!!

 I've never really collected NBA cards other than a few random WVU players that had some releases. The big exception was this Skybox set.  I remember everyone at school having these.

 Wes even kicked in some supplies.  I'm pretty sure Wes robbed a card shop.

 So many packs.......

 I think I've been sent about 10 of these Topps Giant cards over the years.  They make for fun pack rips. Nice card of Will the Thrill at the bottom right.

The last part of the package was a box full of cards, but I'll give them their own post in the next day or two.

Thanks Wes! I think that was the most eclectic group you've ever sent.  The Jim Ross is going in a frame this week.  Baw Gawd, stop the match!

Thanks for reading.

Zippy Zapped

Fellow NY Penn League enthusiast Zippy recently sent me an envelope full of Pirate/Black Bear goodness. My Black Bears were just average this year which was a pleasant surprise. I was expecting them to be god awful as they graduated about 90% of the team.  Thankfully a couple of the international guys turned out to be really good and salvaged the season.

Deep down inside I think Zippy is a closet Black Bear/Pirate fan.  Just look at this former list of Yankee catchers that would go on and play for the Pirates.

Russell Martin
Chris Stewart
Francisco Cervelli
Luis Torrens (Soon to be Pirate, est arrival 2021)

Don't fight it Kenny, I'll be happy to send you some Black Bear/Pirate swag.

 Here is a nice custom of future Pirates all star Luis Torrens.

 This is the New Era Cutch card. I like that we are seeing some more oddball releases like this.

 Kevin Newman is climbing the list of top Pirates prospects.  Many experts thought the Pirates were reaching when they took him in the first round, but he has been solid pretty much from the get go. He will likely be in AAA most of next year and even has an outside chance of being in Pittsburgh if he hits well.  Tip of the cap to Keith Law who was about the only big time evaluator who liked Newman.

 Brault got his first taste of the big leagues this year after the Pirates made a line change on their rotation after the All Star break. His command was pretty shaky, but I'm sure the Pirates will be patient.

 Kramer hit the ground running for the Black Bears just like Newman.

 Nova was fantastic for the Pirates and will likely get paid a boat load of money in free agency. The Pirates supposedly made an offer, but the free agent class is so weak that Nova's agent said you better test the market. A lot of people like to give credit to the Pirates for turning these pitchers around, but a lot of the credit needs to go to PNC park.  You don't have to be afraid to pitch to contact because pop ups are not homers in that park.

 I've been trying to hoard Keller cards as he is moving up the prospects lists faster than just about anyone in baseball.  Happy to see this card in the Zippy Zapping.

 Erich Weiss was an 11th round pick out of Texas.  He doesn't have a ton of power, but the obp is high which always is a good thing in the Pirates system.  He finished the year at AA Altoona.

 Supak was part of the swap that sent Keon Broxton to Milwaukee for Jason Rogers. The deal looks to be a good one for the Brewers as Broxton broke out for the Brewers in the second half. A lot of Pirates fans were mad at the deal, but Broxton was out of options and would have likely been lost via the Rule 5 draft. The Pirates were handcuffed.

 When the Pirates were making their playoff push last year they traded Jones to the Tigers for Joakim Soria. Jones was always thought of as a boom or bust prospect.  He did make a few appearances for the Tigers in September. Not sure if he will see much time next year unless the Tigers go in sell mode.

 Cobra!

 One of the funnier Pirate cards in recent memory.  Looks like an awkward high school photo. The one on the left is a refractor /999.

 I was sad when Bay's Mets career was marred by injury.  He will forever be one of my all time favorite Pirates. He made those terrible mid 2000's teams watchable.

 Another Keller!

 Ke'Bryan Hayes is former big leaguers Charlie Hayes son. He was a supplemental pick last year.

 Josh Bell is going to be the starting first baseman next year in all likelihood. Nice to see these positional prospects getting a chance.

 I was sad to see Melancon get traded, but it was the right move to make.

Studio was just so classy when it came out. I'm hoping the Pirates finally non tender Jeff Locke. That guy has 9 lives. Every year it looks like he is going to be out of the rotation then nine different roster moves will happen and he finds his way back in.

Thanks for all the great cards Kenny.  Let me know when you are ready for a 2015 Black Bears Championship shirt. All the cool kids have one.

The Bliss of Nothing

I'm excited for this weekend because I have absolutely no plans whatsoever.  No work, travel or guests!  I love having things to do, but I just needed a weekend to recharge the batteries.  So the daylight hours will be family time and the evenings will be full of cardboard. 

The goal is to get out 20 packages on Monday morning.  It is a lofty goal, but I think it can be done. The timing should be perfect as I made a large purchase a few days back that had a lot of cards for some of my regular trade partners.  It is scheduled for delivery tomorrow!  

As we approach November I'm thinking about making it "No Purchase November." I have such a large backlog of cards and so much to sort that it will probably be a good idea just to get things in proper order. Also helps that the holidays are approaching so it will free up some cash.  

Hope everyone enjoys the game tonight! The Indians have to win a non Kluber start. 

Walk, Papoy, HSCA Collaboration #16 Plus Teke!!!!

How about we just go ahead and start out with the main course.

TEKE!!!!!!

 I started salivating when I heard this new Archives Signature set was going to have a whole bunch of Teke. This is about as Piratey as a Pirate autograph can get. The uniform, hat and card choice are all top notch. The card is # /26 and I want them all!

For the box break Kevin chose 2014 Bowman Chrome. I actually think this was done before Brian's break, but Kevin has this little thing called the Atlantic ocean so shipping sometimes can be a tad bit delayed and expensive. Plus I believe he was sipping wine and eating bread in Brittany for a month.  I'll assume you were a beret.

 As with the majority of our breaks I usually receive NL Central teams.  The risk with Chrome is that you pull a non prospect auto.  By the time this set came out Rosa was out of organized baseball.

 Syndergaard is a beast!

 Here are the Pirate first year cards. None of these guys are in the Pirates systems any more.

 Former WV Black Bear Kevin Kramer! I'm a big Elite fan as I'm a sucker for college uniforms.

 I like that the auto takes front and center here.

 The signature is actually noticeable on this one!  Many of these faded like Sweet Spot autos.

 Same picture, but two cool cards.  The Ginter caught a stripe on the jersey swatch. Kevin has been a big supplier of Josh Harrison cards for me.

 I have a weak spot for Craig Wilson.  He was one of those unsung guys that was way under appreciated. He would be a sought after commodity in the game today as he was a very high obp guy that had a ton of power.  He was also a great pinch hitter. Defensively he could play the corner outfield, first base and even catch.

This Fleer Legacy card was cool.  I don't remember this set when it came out.

 I've always happy to receive Aramis Ramirez cards.

Joe Bauserman was an interesting guy. He was a decent prospect, but quit to play quarterback at Ohio State. He served as backup to Terrell Pryor and eventually got the starting job his senior year.  It didn't last long though, as Braxton Miller took over after a couple of games.

Thanks for the break and all the cool extras Kevin. That Teke is wonderful!