The Alphie and Wink Show

When I was a kid I would get overly excited about cards  Adding Score Dream Team cards or a Pirates Denny's card was cause for celebration.  Bragging, Showing off and fighting with my brother were all common reactions throughout my youth.

As an adult I've become much more subdued.  I still get plenty of enjoyment out of cards, but I'm not one of these guys that have insane reactions over getting a "sick hit" that causes them to lose their mind. I still get tunnel vision when I see a card I want , but my excitement is more of a sense of accomplishment that manifests itself into a blog post.

One reaction that I rarely have with cards is laughter.  Julie to the rescue. 

 I mean come on....This is perfection.  Alphie Perdue!!!!!  I love the black and white look too.  Makes it look like it is a card from the early 1900's.  Doesn't old Alphie look like the love child of John Candelaria.

 It is the minor leagues so you better be good at multitasking. Alphie was the Bat Boy and Clubhouse Boy!

Holy crap that is a great card.  Maybe I should rename my blog after Alphie Perdue for a month to fully celebrate this.

Some more comedy to come....but here are a few "regular cards."

 Nothing too special about the Honus cards design wise, but I love the checklists.  Topps only focuses on Gerrit Cole (tear), Marte and Polanco.  I crave variety!

 Not everyday I get a 54 in a trade.  Pretty nice condition too!

 I shit you not this guys name is Wink Cole.  Thank you Carolina League.  I bet Randy Brandt has used the phrase "mustache ride."

Troy Polamalu is a favorite of mine.  Talk about an exciting guy to watch.  His cards are actually pretty expensive so getting them in trades is a nice bonus!

 Parallel and base rookies from Gold Label.

 Tekulve cards are so cool it really doesn't matter what team he is on.

 Ugh, Cutch (tear).

Julie has long been my main source of high end base. Over the last couple of years she has loaded me up with Buccos from sets I would never open like Triple Threads, Five Star etc.  High end base is underrated trade bait!

Thanks for giving me laugh with old Alphie and Wink (sounds like a bad radio morning show). I'll hit you back soon Julie.

Thanks for reading!

Mystery

This will go down as a breaking the ice trade, but I've been familiar with the blog known as Sport Card Collectors for a long time.  One thing I don't know is the name of the person running Sport Card Collectors.  Maybe that is his/her name....The return address even said SCC.  You my friend are a cardboard enigma....albeit a very generous one! Maybe we can make this a formal introduction.  My name is Matt and I totally dig the cards you sent.  

Check these out.  

Along with rediscovering Topps, I needed to rediscover Marvell Wynne.  The early to mid 80's was a transitional time for the Buccos as the 79 World Series team dissolved.  After glancing at baseball Reference it would seem that Wynne had a nondescript but in terms of length decent career. Most of his career was spent as a reserve outfielder that would be seen as replacement level in today's game.  Over his 8 years he accumulated around -3WAR...ouch. 

 I've been trying to accumulate some Baz cards as he is already starting to receive some prospect buzz after being selected by the Pirates in last years draft.  Thanks to SCC I'm off to a running start.

Keller has replaced Austin Meadows as the Pirates top prospect and one of the higher ranked right handed pitchers in all of baseball.

Will Craig has had a rough go of it so far professionally.  Lack of power and poor defense has plagued his first couple of years in professional ball.  While you can always regain your prospect status it will be a big year for the former first round pick.

 Minis! With the loss of Gerrit Cole, a lot of pressure to perform at a high level will be on Taillon.

 Another guy that I've seen play a good bit in Morgantown! If Newman has a nice start in AAA this year he could easily overtake Jordy Mercer's job in Pittsburgh.

The grand finale of the PWE was this awesome Taillon parallel from Gallery.  One of the first (and only)high end boxes I ever purchased was one of the early 2000's version of this set.  Always been a fan of portrait oriented sets.

Thanks for the cards SCC.  Are you actually Rodney Hampton?.....That would be cool.  Thanks for thinking of me and I'll try to find some cards that fit your collection in the near future.

Thanks for reading!

Diamond Cuts

I'm starting to get excited.  After a mishap by Dell, my new computer should be arriving Friday or Saturday. While I've been surviving with phone scanner apps and my laptop, I miss BWTP headquarters. I've been holding back some of the bigger trade packages I've received for my big scanner.  Looking forward to catching up.

Some new cards!

I've been picking up quite a few new cards lately, but they have been mostly WVU.  I may show them off at some point, but lets show my recent Bucco purchases. 

 2005 Diamond Kings Aramis Ramirez Auto/Bat/Jersey /100

2005 Diamond Kings Aramis Ramirez Auto/Bat /100

I'm a huge sucker for Diamond Kings as many of you know.  It was a rare Pirate heavy checklist with some hidden gems.  One of the bigger names in the set was Aramis Ramirez.  I'm pumped to add these two autos to the collection. Yeah, I know they are stickers....I'm just not as caught up on that as some. 

The purchase actually included one more card, but it was 1/1!!! I'll show it in the next few days. 

Thanks for reading!

The Inevitable

Baseball fandom can be a cruel bitch sometimes. I'm a glass half full type of guy, but that doesn't mean I'm void of emotion.  The Andrew McCutchen trade is a bitter pill to swallow even if the writing was on the wall. 

McCutchen's debut was a catalyst for respectable baseball in Pittsburgh. He would blossom into a legit superstar and from all accounts an even better human being. He made baseball fun again in Pittsburgh.  You would be hard pressed to find a bad word about him minus a few shock jocks in the local media.  The guy named his kid Steel. He loved being a Pirate.

I could ramble on forever about trade value and give personal opinions, but ultimately the Pirates continued with normal operating procedures by trading Cutch. That reality is what makes this sting.

The culprit with the Pirates is the shoestring budget/ownership.  In a perfect world Cutch would be a Pirate for life, but the Pirates have zero track record of signing players to long term deals post arbitration.  Basically the main argument is whether you think the Pirates should have traded him now, at the deadline or qualifying offer/comp pick next season.  The Pirates played it safe and chose now.  We can vent about this until we are blue in the face, but it is done.  Now what?.....

I'm not revoking my Pirate fan card.  All I can do is hope that the Pirates develop the next Cutch.  Life is too short to be bitter over billionaires disrespecting millionaires.  As always I will be optimistic during opening day and let the season play out.  It is just going to be really weird not seeing #22 in the outfield.  Goodbye Cutch.  Thanks for giving me so many great memories.

JBF Plays Possum

Arch rival and professional Twitter troll JBF recently declared that he was calling off his bombardment of my mailbox.  Obviously this was a ploy to keep me off guard as he enlisted my pal Peter to join the dark side.   While I do joke (and will get my revenge), Peter's cardboard generosity was greatly appreciated.  He knocked off three hard to get cards in one swoop.  

The JBF installment of the trade package was typical JBF.  Tons of great cards that hit numerous collections of mine. 

 While the package was more hit based, it was this Keller card that drew my attention.  Keller is the Pirates top prospect and it was one of the few Pirate minor leaguers right now showcasing top of the heap potential.  He will likely make his debut in 2019 at which time he could be a consensus top 5 overall prospect.

 Adam Laroche's Pirates tenure was one that left you wanting more.  His overall numbers were probably a tad above average, but he was a notorious slow starter who accumulated a lot of meaningless counting stats.

 Triple Thread relics are always nice additions.  I have a feeling Jhay is going to go dealt at some point.

 Another rising prospect in the Pirates system is Cole Tucker.  His career progression has been very similar to Pirate first baseman Josh Bell.  Highly touted in the draft, but injuries have stunted development.  Last year was his most complete year and the hope is that he can make a push to the upper levels of the minors this year.   The shortstop position in Pittsburgh is up for grabs as Jordy Mercer will likely be out after this year.

 Bucco vest jersey appearance!

 I fear Cutch will be dealt at some point too.

 Sigh....

 I believe this was pack pulled by JBF if I recall correctly!

 Another Keller rookie stands out in a nice crop of Bowman cards.

 I don't actively add Steelers cards, but I think I might be close to becoming a Dri Archer super collector! I swear JBF has sent me 25 different ones.  Very much appreciated as all Steeler cards are welcomed. I want to collect more football, but that collection got slowed down after marriage.

 Dreaded Cutch!

Thanks for all the great cards Wes.  You are a madman.

Thanks for reading!

The Cole Train Heads to Houston

Gerrit Cole was finally traded to the Astros tonight.  Nothing shocking about this as it was falsely reported as being finalized a couple of days back.  The two teams were able to get things wrapped tonight with the Pirates receiving four players from the Astros. 

I'm sure some Pirate fans will be disappointed in the return as the Astros were able to keep their top prospects.  With the Pirates accepting the deal it likely means that neither the Yankees or Astros were willing to deal their top names away. Some huge names were being reported the last few weeks, but either this was wrong or the Pirates weren't willing to do one for one type of deals.

While the guys coming over from Houston lack the big name pedigree, three of the four will likely be on an opening day roster. So I guess that is something. 

For Houston this was a great deal.  They hold onto their best prospects and add a pitcher who has top of the rotation stuff, but will slide into the middle of the rotation.  The big question for Houston is which Gerrit Cole will they get.  In 2015 Cole was an ace, 2016 he was injured and last season his numbers regressed with the longball being a huge issue.

I'll miss watching Cole pitch and his absence will leave a gaping hole in the rotation.  You have to think that Cutch and Harrison will likely be moved if the right deal comes up.  Being a fan of a small market team can be rough.  You just hope the next crop of young guys can repeat the success Cole saw with the Pirates.  Time will tell.