Spotlight Stealers

I've been much more proactive trying to locate cards I want out of this years Update. Usually I let the market cool off, but the checklist was very appealing so I wanted to see if I could snag a few of the rarer cards.  The good thing is most of the desired cards are from the more obscure bench/reliever type of players like the Arquimedes Caminero and Joe Blanton that I showed off last week. Plates for these guys usually fall around the $10 range.

Now with that being said I knew if certain cards popped up on eBay I would most likely overpay to acquire.  Such as this one.....

2015 Update A.J. Burnett Yellow Printing Plate

Over the years I haven't made it a point to chase plates for more established players. The ones that are in my collection are more of the Joe Blanton types than Andrew McCutchen. My usual thought process is I would rather have an auto of said player than a plate. It's not that I don't enjoy them, but their is only so much money to spread around. 

A.J. Burnett is kind of a unique case, but I was torn on whether I wanted to chase this card. He kind of fits the mold of a Joe Blanton in the sense that he doesn't have a certified Pirates auto. Cards like printing plates are about as high end as your going to get. The reason I was torn is that I'm not the biggest A.J. Burnett fan.  He was very good for the Pirates, but something about him just leaves something to be desired. I'm sure most Yankee fans agree....

For me the deciding factor is subject matter. I love that the background is PNC park and that it features two of my favorites in Gerrit Cole and Cutch. Just like antiques, subject matter can drive a the price a little higher than normal. This card ran me about $25 shipped. In the grand scheme of things not too bad, but much more than I'm use to spending on printing plates. 

By the way if you noticed I try to always type out the price I spend on cards. Kind of a virtual check and balance in my head to keep me from overpaying. 

Here is the base card of the Burnett for a more colorful reference.

Thanks for reading! 

Also, if you like free cards enter my contest.

Ice

I don't mess around much with Bowman parallels other than some refractor autos I have in my collection. While I'm not as much against parallel cards in general as some, I do think too many exist. Since so many exist I base my purchases on which parallels I find the most visually appealing. My favorites are the Topps acetates/clear cards that are numbered to 10 and the silver frames /20.

With that being said I will pull the trigger if the price is right. Such was the case with this AJ Burnett.

AJ Burnett 2013 Bowman Purple Ice /10

AJ still doesn't have a ton of Pirate cards. This makes finding some of his more limited releases tough as prices can be high. Thankfully I ended up spending more on shipping than the actual card itself ($2.25 + $2.99 shipping). Seemed like a reasonable price to pay for a card numbered to 10.

On a personal note I'm not the biggest AJ fan. He has been great for the Pirates, but something about him rubs me the wrong way. Must be his demonstrative style on the mound. He has an ultra competitive personality that sometimes can go a bit overboard when you can tell he is pissed at one of his teammates for not making a play. He is in the same mold as a John Lackey and Chris Carpenter. They just seem like miserable pricks on the mound.

I don't really let this personal bias effect my collection. The Pirates have had some well documented assholes over the years with the likes of Brian Giles and Jason Kendall coming to mind. Both are well represented in my collection.  For all I know Cutch and Gerrit Cole could be huge assholes. I don't know these guys personally all my opinions are based on what I see on the field.

Mixing and Matching

I'm well aware of what most of the blogosphere thinks of Donruss, but I will continue to troll all of you! At least I'm not showing the base cards, right! Maybe all of you can put a trashcan beside your computer in case you have to throw up. I guess I just equate the set too much to my childhood.

The patch cards in Donruss were extremely tough pulls. They are all numbered to /15 and fell about 1 a case. While scouring for some AJ Burnett cards I came across this weird card. I guess Donruss had a leftover Marlins jersey.

I normally don't buy cards of Pirate players if they are void of the Bucco uniform, but the price was right since I also added this patch of Justin Wilson.

Justin Wilson had a great 2013 with the Pirates, but regressed in 2014. During the offseason the Pirates traded Wilson to the Yankee for Francisco Cervelli. The trade has worked out pretty well for both teams so far, but I'm in the camp that a position player trumps just about any reliever. I'm praying that Cervelli can have a full year without missing time due to injury.

On a side note I've been hoarding a bunch of cards for trades lately. Mailbox assault will be commencing very soon.

Thanks for reading.