Conspiracy

Something's going on.

I don't quite know what it is yet, but something is going on.

Are you all up to some nefarious antics? Did each and every one of you meet up through a secret Google hangout, or via Skype to discuss your plans? Coordinate the actions? And then get a branch of the US government involved?

Never use a bookmark - it causes infertility.

Whatever it is, I can tell you I am on to you all. You will NOT get away with this. Let me pause my video of the Zapruder film. Before I explain, let me get a couple smaller mailings out of the way. But wait - even as I think about these, I have a feeling they might be a part of this as well.

First off - a plain white envelope from Brian at Golden Rainbow Cards. Why so plain, Brian? Trying to sneak it in. And look - it's only two cards. But two cards that I needed for my 2015 White Sox team set. HOW DID YOU KNOW I NEEDED THEM?!?!? Are there cameras posted in my room? Did you search my Sox box and see what I was missing? I'm watching you, Brian.

Next comes a larger, but still plain white package, from Adam. Adam doesn't blog - he's just a reader. Whatcha hiding, "Adam" - if that is really even your name! Look at these cards of people bunting. I have made it pretty clear I am a ChiSox fan. Not one Sox player in the group. And yet, they are all posed the same way. Is this some secret signal, informing the Illuminati of the date AND time to strike. Adam?

Adam did include White Sox of Frank Thomas. And ONLY Frank Thomas - the leader of your band, I'm guessing. But all the cards of Thomas are oddball releases. Look at these. Not a brand name to be seen. Probably produced by the KGB to flood the market and disrupt the financial system so a new single world monetary can be formed in its place.

Just what is going on here??? And what does "Power Surge" mean? Look at the back of that card.

How - from the chemtrails left by commercial airlines? You made the list, Adam.

Looking over those two packages, I can see how they fit with the other four that first alerted me to something happening. Some sinister goings on the card collectors have against me. Here - here is the image that first raised my suspicions...

Four packages received over 4 days - each larger than the previous. Mailings from Rob at Texas Rangers Cards, Jim at GCRL, Brian at HSCA and Adam from Infield Fly Rule. YOU ARE ALL IN CAHOOTS! What's left - a bombing from Wes at JayBarkerFan?

(note to Wes - please no.)

We shall explore these packages in the coming week or so. And by "we", I mean myself, Elvis, Tupac, Amelia Erhart and Jim Morrison.

On a platter

I took part in Gint-A-Cuffs again this year. And yet again, I had a REALLY horrible score, but somehow, someone was even worse than me and walked away with a prize. That's not to say I wasn't happy with my box. I pulled the three guaranteed hits that consisted of a relic, mini autograph, and a mini printing plate.

Luckily, the plate was of Michael Pineda and AJ from The Lost Collector is a super collector of the pitcher, so it was great to get the hunk of metal into a well loved household. I received AJ's return package a few days ago, and I'm not quite sure how he thinks the cards he sent is equal in value to that printing plate.

I have learned that residents of NJ must not understand math, because there is no frigging way he got the better end of this trade.

NO.
WAY.

Do you see all of that amazing cardboard? Let me break some of it down.

Every so often I catch sight of these Christmas ornaments from Pacific and think I should find one someday. Then I forget to add one to my Ebay watch list to help remind me. This thing is awesome. Everyone should own one. Feel free to select a player of your choice.

Super duper shiny! The gold Beckham Platinum on the right is very thick. Like 4 cards thick.

I can tell AJ took a look at my Zistle collection as anything he sent for a player collection was a card I did not own. That Crusade looks far better in hand, and without that stupid line in it from my scanner. I need to fix or replace that.

Here comes the start of the crazy. Two PC relics...

...along with another PC relic in quad format. Plus a swatch from Ordonez via the All Star game, and a manu-relic of future star Rodon. Most, including me, would think AJ has more than made up for that plate at this point. Everyone but AJ, it seems.

Purple refractor auto of Micah Johnson. Oh - it's just numbered to /250. And somewhere, back in the noggin of AJ, he goes "nope - still needs more".

Dueling autos of PC Joe Crede. That Boys of Summer is actually a dupe. AJ only sent it because I never added it to Zistle. And the Topps Finest is a little faded - that is not the scan. But it's still extremely legible. Also, it's getting tucked in a binder, so if the sun faded it, it won't have a chance to do any more damage.

So there you have it. In the mind of a Jersey boy, one mini printing plate is > or = to eight hits plus a dozen or so cards. AJ, I like your math! :) Thanks for helping me turn that A&G hit into way more than I ever expected - I owe you for this flip.

Best in Show

Shame on each and every one of you that have never seen the movie of the same name as this post's subject. Best in Show is a brilliant film about oddballs at a regional dog show, loaded with TV comedy stars from the 80's, like Christopher Guest, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Jane Lynch, Jennifer Coolidge, Parker Posey.....I could go on. If you have NEVER seen it, you are required to watch it before the end of the year. I will know if you haven't. It's a movie where there are plenty of subtle jokes that have become standards in my house. The depth of the characters is fantastic, and it remains funny with each viewing.

This.....is a fish!

I bring up Best in Show because of a post from Fuji. Today, Fuji was talking about the best find he ever had from a card show. He talked about it because of a post by Tony where he started a contest of people talking about the best card from a show. And Tony's post and contest started because of Sooz's Twitter questions:

Q6 What is your best ever card show find? #CardChat

— Sooz (@yanxchick) October 12, 2015

I could stand to talk about some of my favorite cards, so from Sooz, through Tony, via Fuji, here is my three best finds, because to scan and show off only one is not something I want to do. Com'on - you like to look at cards anyway!

I have been trying to get back to the National for the past 2 years. When the National was he in 2013, it was my first ever visit. I live is a very good area of the country. I have weekly shows at numerous locations and plenty of card shops. For me, it's still the late 80's, if not for the prices. The largest show I had ever attended was 70 tables, so the moment I walked in, I was overwhelmed. There was so much to see and look at. I don't think I ever really got to all I wanted, but I recall one vendor with tons of vintage and really amazing prices. While I still kick myself over passing on the '50 Bowman Stengel, I pulled this gorgeous 1959 Maz from the same deeply discounted box. It cost me all of $1. Besides the little brown at the bottom, which looks like a burn mark, the shape of this card is perfect.

The show I attend the most occurs biweekly in Orland Park. It's the same 70 table show I mentioned above. There are regular vendors there, but since I attend infrequently, none of them remember me, though I am used to who will be spread out where. In the back left corner of the room is a vintage only seller with binders loaded from 49s up until the mid 70s, along with a couple glass cases of nicer cards. I don't buy from him often, as his prices seem high to me, though what do I know. But I will dig through from time to time, and I found this Topps tattoo in one of the 9 pagers. You couldn't ask for a more perfect miscut, and while I am sure I overpaid for it (I think it was $3), to me, this is one of the highlights of my miscut binder.

Only recently, has another vendor been showing up at the Orland show. Sure, I don't attend much, but one day, he was there. And the next time I went, he was there again. Another vintage guy, he also has a lot of older sports magazine, photos, newspapers and more. One of the prime spots on his table, though, is a cardboard box with super cheap vintage cards. I found my first Play Ball in that box, along with a well loved '54 Preacher Roe. However, the moment I saw this card, I had to buy it. I think it set me back $2.50. No way I could pass up a 1953 Mother's Cookies card from their PCL release. Each crease makes me love it more and more. Bragan had an ok career with the Phillies and Dodgers. After he left the bigs in 1948, he was a player manager in the minors in Ft. Worth, Hollywood and Spokane.

So there you have it. I could easily scan and post another 9 dozen cards. That's what makes shows such fun.

Way down I-55

From my house, if I jump on I-55, I can be at my wife's alma mater in about 90 minutes. Go another hour and a half and I would show up at one of the many hometowns of the Simpsons, the capital of Illinois Springfield. Three more hours down 55 (six hours total) and I arrive in St. Louis.

I'm sure the Cubs didn't bus or train their way there last week when somehow they got past the Cardinals and are currently facing the Mets. The fact now that I have to hear nothing but Cubs this and Cubs that on the news and the radio I place squarely on Kerry from Cards on Cards. I know you are thinking "but how can a blogger be at fault"? Trust me - I had someone run the numbers and I was equally surprised at the result, but you cannot fault science fact.

Here is Cruz's inability to hit the slider.

I am hoping the Mets do their due diligence or this will make for a long winter for this Sox fan. Thankfully, Kerry dropped some cards on me a while back, and for that fact, I have them running the numbers again to see if there is some other fault. Until then, here's some of what Kerry sent over.

Some fine amount of glorious junk wax in that package, which is always welcome here. There is so much out there, and my Sox box can really be lacking in the years. The Pacific Durham and Fleer McCaskill were welcome additions to the respective years.

Along with knuckleballer Hough and Radinsky. I forget how old the current uniform set is for the White Sox that Hough wore it.

Both of these are of the super shiny junk wax, with Flair and its heavy gloss on the thick cards, and Williams being the Tiffany Score, or whatever term they use for the high glossed set.

Not to say the package was all mid 90's wax. Plenty of current was to be had as well. I could start a pretty decent Micah Johnson collection with all the cards sent to me, but I don't expect him to be with the club too much longer. He'll probably get traded as a throw in player somewhere.

No trade envelope from Kerry would be complete without an autograph. I seem to pull a lot of Cardinals (like the package that just when out a couple weeks back) and Kerry has a line on ChiSox scribbles. Coats is currently in AAA ball for the Sox, slowly working his way up the pipe since being drafted a couple years back. We'll see if he cracks the roster in 2016.

Thanks for the package Kerry. The numbers just came back and you weren't accountable. Turns out the professor carried a 2 when he should have carried a 3. Appropriate steps have been taken.

Alright - game 3 between the Mets and Cubs starts soon. Keith, I hope I don't have to put the blame on you.

Throwback Thursday - 10.15.2015

Every Thursday, I post a card showing a ballplayer wearing a throwback uniform from my collection. Hopefully, he will be wearing it well, with proper pants blousing. I'll try not to duplicate a uniform. The picture may be from the front of the card, or the back. Enjoy the uniforms from years past.

Brian Giles - 2001 Fleer Premium - Homestead Grays

What I've been buying

I really just have one trade package to post, and my brain isn't too witty today. Instead, I made a recent purchase off Sportlots for some set fillers, and to pad out the envelope for shipping costs, filled the order to each seller with some PC cards. I went to Sportlots mainly becuase I wanted two cards to knock out the 2012 Panini Golden Age base set, and I would have spent over $4 for the two cards with shipping via COMC. I knew I could do better elsewhere. JustCommons didn't have what I needed, but a few sellers on Sportlots did the trick. So the '12 Golden Age is done. I miss that set - do wish there was a 2015 version, but oh well.

I focused on three of my player collections - Crede, Rowand and Petrick. When all was said and done, added 10 new Joes, 5 new Bens and 9 new Aarons.

Here's 4 of the 5 Petricks. I am still behind Arpsmith in regard to my Ben Petrick collection. You would have thought that UD base card would be easy to stumble across, but nope. I am a huge fan of Gold Label. That set was far too short lived for the quality of the cards. My Petrick collection sits at 88 cards.

Crede pickups were across the board. I have the autographed version of the Boys of Summer, but not the base, until now.

More Gold Label! I like the framing of the Authentix - less of a ticket and more of a mini matted photograph.

There's the last Petrick. That is not the base Topps, but a "limited edition", according the the foil near the bottom. Not sure what that means, except that I needed the cars. The Team Heroes in the center is one bizarre format. Kind of an upside down '15 Gypsy Queen look to it. No justice to the Certified Cuts scan card at the lower right. Much nicer in hand. Crede collection now at 143 cards.

Couple Phillie cards in the Rowand pile. I wish the Turkey Red wasn't of a softball jersey, though. Could have been much nicer if it was the road grays.

Last of the mailings for Rowand. I forget that he wore 44 in the first two years he was in the bigs on the south side, moving to the more familiar 33 in 2003. The Chrome at the lower right is the most interesting card. And not because of the front.

It took me two seconds of looking at that to realize that is not Rowand on the back. That's Konerko. Rowand's base Topps card for that year has the same incorrect back. Uncorrected error. I'M RICH! My Rowand collection is the lowest of these three at just 53 cards.

JustCommons order goes out soon to add more for each of these players.

Unembellished achromic wrapper

Thank goodness we don't go with the subject phrase, because even UAW doesn't flow off the tongue as well as PWE does. Some Ebay sellers don't seem to understand that charging $2.50 shipping on a vintage card means a PWE is a safe way to ship a purchase. I recently had it out with a seller that I'm sure was upset his '52 Lollar Bowman only garnered him only $3.50 so he dropped it in a PWE, though that was probably his initial plan anyway. And his excuse "Well, it got there safe - what are you upset about" was not a valid argument. No feedback for you!

PWEs are for those shipments that you hope make it, but if they don't, it's not a huge loss. Many of you should be receiving some PWEs from me right now. In fact, anyone that is a member of Club PWE will be receiving a mailing from me. I went through the entire list the past few days and mailed to everyone. The last 10 went out today (cuz I ran out of stamps earlier in the week). I mailed to everyone for two main reasons. First and foremost, I have been lacking in my mailings to the group. Shame on me. Second, I have a column on my spread sheet for the last day I mailed. I wanted those dates to all be equal, and now there are.

With the NHL kicking off today, I plan on dropping more hockey cards on those that signed up for some at the start of last year's Cup final. Plus, I have PLENTY of teams that no one claimed. So if you like hockey, like free cards and want cards spanning the years from the early 90's until today, comment below with the team(s) you would like and I'll drop some cards on you. If you think I don't have your address, you can find my email on either of the Wants links above - send it to me.

Since we are talking PWEs, and hockey, and the Stanley Cup, I just received a mailing from Jeff over at Wish They Still Came With Bubblegum. Jeff is a big fan of the Hawks Cup opponents last season with the Lightning. He knows how to pack some cards in a PWE though when I pulled these gems from the envelope.

Couple nice Collector's Club cards with the Starquest Thomas and Robin throwing from the left field line. The Upper Deck SP at the bottom didn't scan as well as it looks in person. The gold center is recessed in the card like a medallion. And it's foil-sh. Find one for yourself.

I may as well build the rainbow of these two cards. The purple Floyd makes the 4th difference 2010 Chrome card of Gavin. I also have the base, the X-fractor and the regular refractor. And the Elite Buehrle? Along with this Turn of the Century serialed card, I have the base and stamped Extra Edition. Thanks for the mailing, Jeff.

So folks, watch your mailbox. And if you want to get in on the freebies, the link to Club PWE is above, and comment below for some hockey cards.

Two-fitty

If you haven't been on Listia lately, most of the sellers are still crazy, as are most of the buyers too. Also, inflation really hit the site hard. It used to be about 300 credits equals a buck. Now, a buck translates to almost 4100 credits. The economy took quite a hit.

Next I plan to fire all the web traffic controllers.

That being said, I still buy there when I can. I have even taken to listing stuff that I don't want to bother with on Ebay. It's so much better to list an item, that might go for a buck on the 'bay, and ship it in a PWE. You deal with the risks on Listia. Though, I do my best to put it in a hard card holder and tape the top with painter's tape.

I have a couple recent big purchases on the site. In doing the math, based on the current price if you bought credits, these two deals totaled just under $2.50 together. Let's see if I did well.

This is no ordinary '69 Topps as it's not a Topps at all.

It happens to be the OPC version of Aparicio's 1969 release. It has great corners. You can see the bit of paper loss and there is a crease that runs down the front right next the Luis' left eye, but otherwise I think it's a great pick up for 5605 credits, or about $1.37 shipped.

I think the opening bid scared people away from this group of three. Not me, though - three GORGEOUS miscuts as these make fine additions to the miscut binders. Can't say much for the career of Mickey Scott., but who would pass up adding a Barry Bonds and a Reggie card? I was the only bidder at 4567 credits, or $1.12 shipped.

I call that easy money

End of times

Just two more games left in the 2015 season for my south siders. I was announced that most of the coaching staff would return for 2016 - only bench coach Mark Parent got the axe. Not sure what Hahn sees in Robin, because while I love the guy, he is not doing a great job as manager. Barring an incredible start (and finish) to 2016, I don't see Robin managing here in 2017.

Let me rephrase that: I HOPE I don't see Robin managing here in 2017.

All that being said, on the north side, they get at least one extra game in October. And that means I get to break out some images I made the last time the Cubs made the post season.

I got more based on how far the Cubs go in October.

Someone excited about the post season near me is Tony at Wrigley Roster Jenga. Tony made it to more Sox games this year than I did (zero for me). He posted a coupon that is the size of a ball card and would be the perfect addition to a player collection. Luckily, Tony had a couple extra and was willing to mail one over along with some other cards of that team I care about, but he does not. It's a Chicago thing.

With that good a start, I should work on the rainbow of Adam Engel. First round pick a couple years back from Louisville. Currently ranked #17 with the Sox, we'll see if he shows up in the bigs in the next couple years. Could be a cheap rainbow to complete.

Couple golds in the envelope too. I really think Spanky could go far with the Sox in regard to being the replacement for Konerko in the hearts of the Sox fans. He plays hard each game and seems to have a fun time doing it. Jose had another solid year. If we do a small rebuild, these two make a good start to build around.

WHOA! That Bowman was completely unexpected. The Paulie on the right is what I asked about. It's actually a coupon for some food product, but it's a fine addition to the Konerko binder. That Willard is strange in that I didn't know I needed it. Oh - I need a lot of early Sox vintage. It's just that the team listing for 1954 Bowman White Sox failed to list Mr. Marshall. They put him on the Reds.

Thanks for the cards, Tony. I good luck to the Cubs. Should see them on the golf course by next weekend. Yeah - I'm a hater.