Oscar Sends Some Holiday Cheer

I'm still experimenting with some phone scanner apps to get me by until I buy a new desktop computer. So I apologize for bad cropping.  

Right before Christmas I had a nice surprise PWE from my pal Oscar.  I think he hit everyone up in a huge wave of three mass shipments.  That is a great way to spread some holiday cheer.  Nothing beats a cardboard Christmas! 

Both Harrison and Cole have a ton of trade rumors surrounding them.  As an outsider looking in it is easy to understand why.  Harrison signed a multi year deal a couple of years back.  He had a terrible year right after signing it and it looked like the deal was going to be under water.  Thankfully Harrison balanced back last year and had a nice 3 WAR season.  I'm sure the Pirates don't want to risk the possibility of him falling back again and looking to get the deal off the books. 

As a fan the Cole trade rumors are a little harder to swallow.  In order for the Pirates to be good next year they will need Cole on the hill and Cutch in the outfield.  Cole has had some extreme variance the last three years in performance.  In 2015 he was a bona fide ace, 2016 he was hurt most of the year and 2017 he was plagued by the long ball.  With only two years of control the Pirates have to weigh keeping him on the roster or cashing in for minor league assets.  My gut says he will be gone before Spring Training.

Such a great card.  While he was a good player for the Pirates he is probably more remembered being part of the deal that netted Van Slyke for the Buccos.

Smith and Smiley were both key arms in the early 90's playoff teams.

Man, do the Buccos ever need Glasnow to tap into his potential.  He was a train wreck at the MLB level last year. 

Thanks for the nice holiday surprise Oscar.  Happy Holidays my friend.

Thanks for reading.

Free Agent

Oscar recently ran the Lucky 13 contest on his blog ATBATT.  I had one of the last picks so as an experienced Big Fun Game player I knew whatever I picked was going to stay with me. 

My pick revealed a big lot of NBA cards.  Oscar was worried I wouldn't like the cards I received, but rest assured they were greatly appreciated.  

I'm a big college basketball fan and have been a season ticket holder to WVU ever since I got out of college in 2005. As far as the NBA goes I consider myself a free agent fan.  Until my Alma Mater produces a high end NBA player I just don't have a rooting interest. Like most people in my age bracket I grew up a huge fan of Jordan and Magic and a little later on, Shaq.  I just had trouble latching on to the stars of today's game.  

I enjoy collecting NBA cards, but rarely get to pick up as the guys I collect were NBA busts like Joe Alexander and Devin Ebanks.  Jerry West is the only WVU guy that continues to get new cards. 

With all that being said lets see the winnings! 

Vince Carter was sooooo fun to watch when he came into the league.  Back when Sportscenter was watchable, young Vince Carter pretty much had a permanent spot on top plays during the NBA season. That 2000 season Slam Dunk Contest was so awesome!

The big hit from my winnings was this relic from Carter's Nets days.

I had heard that Seattle was gaining some traction on getting a franchise back.  I need to find my Shawn Kemp jersey I had as a kid.

Round Mound of Rebounds!

Worm cards are so cool!

Oscar also threw in some extra Buccos!

Cervelli had a great first season with the Pirates, but has had trouble staying on the field ever since. He broke a bone in his hand last year and is dealing with concussion issues this year.

The Pops/Altuve card is my favorite with the Cutch coming in a close second.

I'm a sucker for team cards. I think Josh Harrison has been in the center of every Pirate one the last 3 years.

Finishing things off with a nice GQ rookie card of Pirate first baseman Josh Bell.

Thanks for hosting the Lucky 13 Oscar! It was a lot of fun.

Thanks for reading.

Veale the Hipster

The Pirates are my team so I would collect them no matter what, but it is nice to have some cardboard legends to chase down.  The likes of Tekulve, Parker, Madlock and Times Man of the Year Bob Walk makes things more exciting. Last week my pal Oscar from All Trade Bait, All the Time sent me a reminder of another great cardboard hero.

 Mr. Bob Veale! Just look at those glasses.  I can almost picture Bob sitting down drinking a PBR and listening to indie music.  Bob Clemente, Bob Moose, Bob Veale, Bob Walk......The Pirates bred Bob greatness.

 Pendleton and Hoak are linked by trade.  It was a deal full of sweet nicknames.  The Pirates sent Whammy Douglas, Pendleton, The original Frank Thomas and John Powers to the Reds for Harvey Haddix, Smokey Burgess and Don Hoak.

 Pretty much one of the coolest uniforms ever.

 Gene Freese had a couple stints as a Pirate and was born in West Virginia.

 Always fun to have a dual card in which both guys had nice careers.

I will never have enough Bay cards. He is my most frequently looked at auctions. Thanks to Oscar I have one less to look for!

Thanks for the wonderful vintage surprise Oscar!

Thanks for reading.

A New Kind of Trade

When you constantly talk to other bloggers you begin to learn about other interests beyond cardboard.  Just off the top of my head I know we have artists, music lovers, literature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts. While we all can talk about the intricacies of 90 Donruss with ease, it is easy to see we are all much more than just cards.

Beyond cards and live sporting events it is travel and craft beer for yours truly these days.  Before my daughter was born I was knocking out books and hunting new music all the time, but certain hobbies had to be prioritized. Today if I'm not talking sports, I'm talking travel and beer. To me nothing beats exploring a new area and the food and drink it offers.  When I travel I often accumulate local beers for my tasting group in Morgantown.  It has been a fun venture that has yielded some great brews.  We call it beer evangelism.

A couple weeks back I was having two separate conversations with fellow bloggers Oscar of All Trade Bait, All the Time and Peter from Baseball Every Night. Oscar and I have talked beer for a couple of years now.  Recently he was at his local brewery and sent me a picture of the tap list. He told me to pick a couple and he would send some samples my way.  I was so excited.  It reminded me of looking at the old JCPenney catalog to make my Christmas list.  Here is what arrived at my door a few days later.

The picture is probably not doing the size of these cans justice.  The brewery calls these bad boys Grumblers. They are 32 ounces of adult beverage goodness.

 The first one up to bat was a gose named Santa Muerte.  For those not familiar with gose beers they are best described as crisp and a tad bit salty.  While it sounds weird they are often very refreshing and make for great summer beers.  This one was outstanding!

 I was most excited for this beer as "Fat Henry" is a barrel aged imperial stout.  This one was aged in a Jack Daniels barrel. The bourbon taste was prominent but not overpowering. The finish was quite smooth.

Thanks so much for the beer trade Oscar.  I look forward to sending you a well curated selection!

Next up is my pal Peter.  Both Peter and I are frequent users of the Untappd phone app that tracks all the different beer you consume. We often comment on each others beer choices.   A couple weeks back Peter and I were emailing back and forth discussing some breweries.  One such brewery was Trillium that happens to be in Peters backyard. Long story short Peter volunteered to send me a sample.

 Here is the haul from Peter!

My daughter appreciated all the bubble wrap.

 Trillium's specialty is the NE style ipa that is super hazy and utilizes a ton of hops.  The taste was very citrus forward.  It was delicious.

 Scaled up kind of looks like urine, but it tastes delicious.

Saison's are a unique in that they taste a tad bit peppery.  I like them, but they are very much an acquired taste.

The only one I have left to try is a Boston style stout.  Looking forward to it!

Big thanks to Oscar and Peter for sending me a taste of LA and Boston.  Such a fun treat to sample these small local breweries.  Keep an eye guys because I have some fun stuff in store for each of you.

Thanks for reading!

Stealing Home Helps Me Bring in the New Year.

Hope everyone had a nice New Years.  Pretty uneventful my way, but that was what I was looking for after the hustle and bustle of Christmas. New Years Eve is actually my anniversary as well so my wife and I just hung out with some immediate family at our house.  We plan to celebrate more formally tonight with some friends.  

I'm still getting caught up on all the trade packages received over the holidays. Not complaining though, as the influx of envelopes has created a cardboard Christmas of sorts today as I open package after package. Merry Cardboard Christmas to me! First to the plate is my good pal Oscar

I received this great package from Oscar (aka Stealing Home) of All Trade Bait, All the Time fame right before Christmas.  Oscar and I are kindred spirits as we both love cards, beer and poker. My monthly game is kind of funny as I'm the only non police officer in the group.  It is really turning into a fun game as my brother and I have been introducing all kinds of craft beers.  The Morgantown police department will soon be the most hipster force in the US before long.

Enough rambling....on to cards.

 For whatever reason Jason Kendall has some of the best cards of any Pirate in the last 25 years. Being a catcher gives you an unfair advantage, but even his non catching cards are top notch.  Look at this great running to first shot in Upper Deck.  I cringe a little bit as Kendall suffered one of the worst leg injuries I've seen on a baseball field running out a grounder.

 It is hard to see in the scan but the seal of the US Virgin Islands is in the background of this UD Global Impact insert of Midre Cummings. Midre was another hyped up player in the late 90's early 00's that never panned out.  Card wise he has plenty of cool stuff to choose from since the era he played in had so many sets.

 Looks like Aramis just struck out in this card.

 The rarity of a non smiling Manny Sanguillen card.  Oscar made sure to have a substitute smiler in Willie Montanez.

 Probably the most unique thing about mid 90's Stadium Club is the cardbacks.

See what I mean........lots going on here.  I like the triple picture of Lieber.

 Jose Chico Lind was quite the acrobat!

Boom!

Thanks Oscar for sending such a nice suprise.  Happy New Year my friend.

Thanks for reading.

Trade: Stealing Home

Fellow craft beer enthusiast and all around nice guy Oscar of All Trade Bait, All the Time recently hooked me up with an envelope of Pirate goodness. One of these days Oscar we will need to figure out beer trading! For now lets look at some cards.

Getting a Clemente card in the mail is always a good day. This is one of the commemorative cards from 97 Topps.

2007 Topps is interesting.... I'm not one to get too caught up on aesthetics. At least it is different, right?

The 2007 season for the Bucs actually started with some excitement. Lots of young talent and by Pirate standards a blockbuster trade when the acquired Adam Laroche. Obviously it was a smoke screen as the Pirates would go on to be terrible.

 Melancon has been his own special kind of dominant ever since becoming a Pirate. He only throws in the low 90's, but the cutter is so hard to square up. Helps when Mariano Rivera is the guy that taught you!

Nice look at the camo jersey on Marte.

 If I were to do a least favorite Pirate list Jeff Locke would be near the top. The guy truly has 9 lives. Every year through some weird chain of events he manages to stay in the rotation. I'm not sure if his evil magic will survive the Glasnow/Taillon call ups.

 Some new Topps including newly signed Francisco Cervelli. Happy the Pirates secured him for 3 more years.  While the Pirates have 2 nice catching prospects, it is such a hard position to get stability in that it warranted the deal.

 Always loved this McKenry card.

Always end with a bang. No better way than 21!

Thanks for all the great cards Oscar. I'll be hitting you back in the near future.

Thanks for reading!

Oscar Sends Skinny Bonds

Late post tonight as I was cheering on my Mountaineers to a victory over Eastern Kentucky. It was the final tune up before conference play starts.

My good buddy and fellow craft beer enthusiast Oscar from All Trade Bait, All The Time hit me up with a Christmas card full of goodies. I'm trying hard to get all the cards posted before Xmas, but I'm running out of days. It is a good problem to have!

Speaking of beer, do you know anybody that trades beer. I have some friends that do it. It is not the easiest venture because of shipping costs, but they have it down to a science. I would love to do it, but WV is not a good beer state. Our selection is getting better, but still bring up the rear when it comes to choices. Fortunately I'm less than 10 miles from the Pennsylvania border and about 30 miles from Maryland who have much better selection. Plus, I have two friends who hook me up with stuff as one is from the DC area and the other grew up in New Jersey.

Enough beer rambling. On to cards!

Milner had a nice long career, but is probably most known for his involvement in the cocaine issues that plagued the Pirates in the last 70's early 80's. He even had to testify in court. 

 In case you didn't know this was a Gold Leaf Rookie they made sure to place it in big black font in the background. I'm loving all the mid 90's cards I've been receiving lately.  The 90's cardboard is making a comeback. Invest all your life's savings...../don't do that.

 It is kind of cool to see Bonds back in baseball as the hitting instructor for the Marlins. How long to all of them are suspended....I kid, I kid.  Seriously though, could you imagine Giancarlo Stanton on juice.

 I have a sneaking suspicion that the Pirates are going to trade Melancon.  He is going to make almost 10 mil dollars. The Pirates have a long history of letting relievers walk when a payday is coming.

Manager cards are awesome!

Thanks for the nice Xmas note and cards Oscar. I put something in the mail for you on Saturday so I hope it gets there before Friday, but the mail seems to be moving slow.

Thanks for reading!