Our Guy is Good Too

The Pirates and Cubs are set to square off tonight with both teams able to throw their best arms. Most of the build up for this game is centered around how Jake Arrieta has been lights out since the All Star break and that the Pirates have an uphill battle. The Pirates have already faced Arrieta a couple times in the past month and he was dominant. It is not the most pleasant scenario to be in, but this makes the third time we've played the Wild Card game in three years. I don't put much stock in playoff experience, but the facing a great pitcher in a one and done scenario is nothing new. We faced Johnny Cueto and Madison Bumgarner the last two seasons. If you like narrative, Cueto owned us his whole career and we were able to find a way.

As a Pirate fan my main hope is that our offense can put enough pressure on Arrieta to force Joe Maddon into tough decisions like I posed here. Most people commented that they would let the pitcher hit in these high leverage situations, but the Pirates and the Cubs are two of the more forward thinking teams out there. Plus, Joe Maddon has a tendency to do some outside the box type of moves. He once used 9 pitchers in a playoff game.

The other side of the coin is that Gerrit Cole is pitching for the Pirates and he is really good. While he is a notch below the big three of Kershaw, Grienke and Arrieta he is right there with the next wave. The Pirates got stuck having to pitch Cole before the wild card last year, but this year it was planned out that no matter what he will be available. I'm guessing the Cubs might be a small favorite, but essentially it will probably play as a coin flip.

My prediction is that one of the managers will be forced to remove their starter much earlier than expected to take advantage of a good offensive situation. Hopefully it is the Cubs! If we can get Arrieta out of the game in the 5th or 6th I like our chances.

2014 Topps Tribute Gerrit Cole Jersey /10

Surprisingly Cole cards haven't really taken off the way I thought they would. Whatever the reason it has allowed me to pick up some nice cards for low prices. This card cost around $10 shipped.

Let's Go Bucs

Contest Winnings From a Cracked Bat

Julie just finished up a big move to Michigan. As a result she is purging some unwanted cardboard. At the beginning of September she ran a contest for set of 2000 Topps and I won! Yay me. I can always use more cardboard. 

At least with box sets they don't take up much space. 

Julie didn't stop with just the set. Being the kind soul that she is a bunch of other Buccos were included!

 Sandlock was pretty much a career minor leaguer and only had a few at bats with the Pirates. Either way he was immortalized with cardboard. Great vintage!

 Bill Virdon was a long time Pirate and was part of the 1960 World Series winning team.

Always nice to receive these high end parallels in trade. I'm not sure if these have a fancy name in Triple Threads, but they are numbered out of 25.

A numbered insert from Playoff Absolute Memorabilia. A set that I actually opened a bunch back in the mid 2000's. This card is out of 100.

 I didn't realize they numbered the camo cards. This is out of 199. Obviously I love this card because I'm enamored with Polanco. I hope he turns into a star.

 Prospect Buccos including a couple of top ten guys in McGuire and Meadows.

 Some nice harder to find 90's cards. The Kevin Young is Topps Gold Label and a Jay Bell from Pacific.

Some more recent Buccos including all time favorite Jason Bay. I liked the Studio cards with PNC in the background.

 I think that Cole/Bell card is a dual auto as well. That would be an expensive card. Also, that is my first Sniffle Ball card :)

Thanks for the contest and all the great extras Julie. I'll be sure to ship more Tigers your way soon.

Thanks for reading!

Chicago and a Thwarted Kidnapping

My wife and I were invited by the WVU Children's Hospital to attend the Vermont Oxford Network conference in Chicago. The Vermont Oxford group is a collaboration to help improve neonatal care. Our daughter was born at 25 weeks, weighing only 14.5oz so it is a topic near and dear to both our hearts.

While in Chicago I was hoping to kidnap Jake Arrieta until after the Wild Card game, but he was away in Milwaukee. As disappointing as that was I still enjoyed my time in Chicago. It was nice to finally get some time to sight see as most of my time in Chicago had been airport layovers. Check out some pics....

Couple of views from our hotel room. The big shiny building is Trump tower.  If the building wasn't unique enough for you, TRUMP is plastered in huge reflecting letters on front of the building.  We were told that the city passed an ordinance that you are no longer allowed to place the name in such grandiose fashion.

 Cool night shot my wife took while we were walking around.

Some deep dish pizza. My wife likes NY style so she is not a convert, but still enjoyed it. I'm not a huge pizza fan to begin with so I'm not a good judge. It tasted good so that is all that matters. Maybe my wife would have liked it more if she was able to fold it. You need knife and fork to go at the crust.

Friday afternoon was our only significant down time from the conference so we made the most of it. The three pictures above were taken on a river architectural tour. It was very well done and lasted about 90 minutes. Plus the boat had a bar!

This is me with Satan eyes. My wife really should work for TMZ. As soon as I turn around she is ready for a shot. This was a taphouse attached to the Chicago Tribune building. I believe it had 115 beers on tap. Cool place that I wish I had more time. This picture was taken about 1230am so last call was coming. The bartenders were cool guys and gave us a good late night spot that was right next to our hotel.

This picture was taken inside the Signature Lounge which is on the 96th floor of the Hancock building. It is the ultimate tourist trap, but still cool nonetheless. The setup to get on top is much like that of the Empire State Building. Lots of waiting for a limited amount of elevator space. The cool thing is they have a fully functional restaurant and bar on top to go along with an observation deck. We chose to do the bar since the observation deck had a charge. View with drinks is always better than a view without....


As for my daughter here is a progression of photos that shows her progress.

 This is Luisa not long after being born.  As you can see my hand is bigger than her.

This is Luisa not long after we brought her home.  She was on oxygen for about 6 months after we got her home.

This is Luisa now! She is a tough little cookie. Knock on wood, but we are not showing any developmental issues. 

Thanks for reading! 

Hey Hey JHay!

2015 Immaculate Josh Harrison Auto /99

It took me forever to secure a Josh Harrison auto. Harrison wasn't much of a prospect so he had only one certified auto before his big breakout season last year. This created a perfect cardboard storm and sent prices skyrocketing. Finally, a couple weeks back I secured an auto for a shade under $10.

I wouldn't consider Harrison one of my favorite Pirates, but he is a very useful player. His 2014 breakout season will likely not be replicated, but the Pirates still signed him to an extension last offseason. The good thing is Harrison doesn't have to be an All Star caliber player for the deal to be good for both player and team. A lot of Harrison's value is in versatility. He can play 2nd, 3rd and the corner outfield positions. Every team needs a high end player like this, but this is especially true in the NL and the Pirates recognized it and signed him. Even if he doesn't have a defined player we should be able to find him 500 at bats if he is healthy.

Thanks for reading!

Pleasant Surprise

I don't show much of my WVU collection on here, but I'm just as active adding cards of Mountaineers than I am with Pirates. The big difference is that I'm much more cautious with my purchases. I rarely buy new releases of Mountaineers and single card purchases are made in a much more frugal manner.

One of my active searches on eBay is for Steve Slaton. By flaming out in the NFL relatively quickly I'm use to only seeing cards from 2008 or 2009. Needless to say I was pretty shocked to see this card.

2015 Upper Deck SSP Glossy Steve Slaton /10

A new Slaton card! I'm a sucker for any cards that actually show the WVU uniform. Slaton tends to be much cheaper than Pat White, but his cards still sell decent on eBay. This card ran me around $10. 

Let's go Mountaineers! 

Doug Delivers Flowers

Repack king Doug from Sportscards From The Dollar Store always hooks me up with great cards. I can always count on well rounded trade packages. Normally his trade packages center around WVU. This time was no different, but with the extra surprise of some great hockey cards.

 I actually sent a picture of this card to my brother because it was so cool. Tom Barasso was the goalie for the Pens during the early 90's cup teams. A certified crazy person, but well loved in the Burgh. Marc Andre has been breaking most of Barasso's team records the last few years. I feel like Fleury should be about 45 years old, as he has been with the team forever. /checks wikipedia....holy crap he is only 30!

I love nickname cards! What a sharp card of the Flower. Doug went all out with the goalie hit parade.

Not done with the Marc Andre onslaught yet. This is a nice relic of the powder blue alternate jersey of the Pens.

Tangradi never really developed with the Penguins. The deal that brought him to Pittsburgh also yielded Chris Kunitz who has been very productive playing wing alongside Sidney Crosby. Although Doug and I might put 20 goals a piece with Sid as our center.

 More goalie love!

 I like the crazy SPX cards!

 Always nice to get some Crosby cards.

Tavon needs to get the ball more. The Rams are starting to utilize more quick screens but his touches are still limited.

I may have to jump on some more Kevin White cards while he is on injured reserve. Of all the recent WVU draft picks he probably has the highest ceiling. He has great hands and size. In college he put up All American numbers while be double covered most of the time.

Also love seeing the Mario Alford. He doesn't have a ton of cardboard being a lower drafter pick.

Way to end with a bang Doug. 88 Donruss Bob Walk is the greatest card of all time.

Wow Doug! What a great bunch of cards. It was so cool to see all those Fleury hits. Thanks for everything.

Thanks for reading.

Trade: Waiting 'til Next Year

Tom and I are looking to become bitter blood rivals next week as our teams are on a collision course in the Wild Card game. In the meantime we've kept things civil the past couple weeks exchanging cardboard. A bubble mailer last week sent by Tom yielded some great Buccos.

I was hoping Marte would develop into a star this year. By no means did he have a bad year, but he seems to be the 3-4 WAR season type of player. That puts you maybe just a notch below All Star level, but still very valuable.

This is probably one of the cooler Marte autos out there. Starling is a good signer, but the majority of his cards are sticker. Stadium Club does everything right.

Legendary Cuts was awesome. The Pirates were always well represented in legends sets during the mid 2000's which was nice because the active club was a mess. Basically it was Jason Bay and a sprinkling of other guys every once in a while. Legends sets always had Maz, Kiner, Clemente and Stargell.

Cool IP auto of John Cangelosi. During his career he balanced around a ton, but Pittsburgh was his longest stop.

 POPS!

A lot of people hate Prizm, but I'm a fan. The inserts were always unique and the checklists were always better than any Topps set at the same price point. These badge cards are very cool. Seems like a 90's insert set. 

Thanks Tom for all the greats cards.  I hope Jake Arrieta forgets how to pitch on Wednesday. :)

Thanks for reading. Go Bucs!