This & That 2- Freddy's Revenge

Ah sequels.

As you all may have noticed, I usually post my blogs between Friday and Sunday. I will not be posting blogs this weekend, as I have worked my way toward getting a hotel and tickets for 2 O's games against the Red Sox. I seriously didn't think I would be able to get there this year with money being tight and the house still being on the market.

I plan on blogging qutie a bit after the trip, and definitely including some pictures of the trip, and of Christopher at Camden Yards. This will be his second trip to Baltimore, and his 4th and 5th baseball games... He went to a Warthogs-Keys game in April 2008, and July 2009, then an Os game also in July 2009.

Also, my birthday is coming up (September 14). Just to set anyone's (and my Wife's) mind at ease, I will not be purchasing anything off my 'needs' lists in case she or anyone else were going to use that as a guide for what to get me... I'm not asking anyone for anything, but I figured i would assure you all that I am definitely not buying myself anything for a while (so I can pay for this trip) and make it easier for people to figure out what to get me. I have been told that I am impossible to buy for (even though, I thought I was pretty easy to buy for- Os stuff, cards, etc).

Anyway, enough self-promoting. Reason I posted above is that I have had some people ask what to get me, and my needs list is a good place to start ;)

Finally, my 100th blog entry is fast approaching. Anyone have any ideas on what it should be about? I wish it had coincided with me completing my 1955 set... but I havent knocked anything off of it since i had a few (several) beers and bid on that Rizzuto (and won). Oops.

Thanks guys, talk to you after we get back!!!

BRADY... no not Tom Brady... but BRADY!!!

Yep. BRADY. Can't say it enough. Lets put all the steroid controversy aside for a minute and reflect back on that 1996 season. Ok, lets not reflect too much because I may want to pick up a shovel and hit a 12-year old Yankee fan with it. Ugggh. Just got chills. No, lets talk about BRADY.

Everyone that knows me, knows that Cal Ripken was my favorite player growing up. THey also know that I liked other players, such as Kirby Puckett, Nolan Ryan, Etc etc. What some may not know is that aside from Cal Ripken, Brady Anderson was my favorite other Oriole back then.

In 1996, Brady hit 50 home runs (an Oriole record), had 110 RBIs, 21 stolen bases and a 0.297 average. Very nice numbers. Now, he would never even come close to those numbers again, but for that one season, Brady was a super star. The Orioles rode that season to a wild card finish and ended up against the Yankees in the 1996 ALCS. This would definitely be a dream matchup for me, as you all know that I have a severe dislike for the Bronx Bums... er I mean Bombers.

So, my brother John told me he came upon a foot locker full of cards this weekend, and when he told me he found a Toys R Us Brady Anderson RC, I had to have it. Not bad at all! I wish Brady had been able to sustain better career numbers, but injuries kept him from doing so. We can speculate on why this was so, but lets not and say we did. Allow me to keep one of my idols I had as a kid, since some of the others have soiled their names...

Yet another productive saturday at the shop...

I didn't want to blow up the computer this week. The tournament (although long and SLOW) went off without too many issues... I also got a few cards, especially since I am conserving cash for my trip next weekend. Here is a little bit of what I got...

First, I bought a pack of Piece of History, mainly cause I was bored, but after I opened it, I was pretty glad I did:

Got a really nice Brian McCann patch (part of the tomahawk) 3/25. Not bad!!

Then Jeremy cane in with a good stack of Orioles cards here are two of the highlights:

I really like these. Thanks Jeremy.

Finally, P.A. got a pack of Gouday and pulled this, which was immediately surrendered to me:

NICK THE STICK!!! Woo Hoo. Not too bad a trip this week. I have noticed that since the economy has 'supposedly' started to improve, I am seeing fewer people bring in colections to sell. I do enjoy seeing the old stuff come in, but sometimes, you feel sad to see people have to part with their cards...

In the mail from Drew:

Thanks to Drew at: http://drewsbbcards.blogspot.com/ for this nice Masterpieces GU Jersey card of Brian Roberts. Today is also Drew's birthday, so stop on over to his page and wish him a happy birthday. I traded him a Moments & Milestones Robinson Cano auto for this card. Swapping two second basemen straight up!!

This and That...

I had to steal a blog title from Roch Kubatko (read his blog at http://www.masnsports.com/) for a RARE 'during the week' blog. Here are a few items of note:

• I hate the Yankees. You all know that. O's were swept by them this week, but I am not as sad-faced as I could be seeing as they hung in every game instead of mailing it in...
• There's a strong possibility we are going to have an offer on our house. If so, hopefully this long, dark chapter on my life will be over. Man this whole thing has been a pain.
• Because of the house selling and worrying about how I'm going to pay for a place to live come September, I was really worried I wouldn't be able to go anywhere this year for vacation. My 5th anniversary is August 1, and I was really afraid that we'd have to postpone any kind of 'getaway'. Turns out, my wife may be the devil, but damn, she can plan a trip. She got us the hookup on a hotel in Baltimore, and I bought tickets, and Yes, she, Christopher and I ARE going to 2 O's games!!!! Freaking awesome! I was really scared I'd miss going there for the first time since 2004.
• Once all the dust settles from my mini vacation,and this house selling mess, I am going to jump back into my 1955 and 1970 sets, while I knock out 2003 and 2009 Allen and Ginter. I doubt I will start any new sets until all of these are complete and I have an idea where I will be living. I will keep everyone posted, but the way it looks, I think I and my family will be just fine!!!

Today at the card shop Part 2 the sequel...

Along with dealing with a bunch of Yu Gi Oh kids and wanting to blow up Konami's new computer system designed to drive me crazy and teach the kids new cuss words... I opened a pack of SP Legendary Cuts and got this cool cut sig from a former Brooklyn Dodger...

I'm pretty happy with it, although, it would be nice to have a photo of the player. Max, you ever heard of this dude? It is a pretty cool card though.

Today at the card shop...

I opened a pack of UD Icons (wasn't all that impressed) and pulled two Orioles, so now I won't have to open any more, haha... I got a Brian Roberts...



I also got a sweet Ripken... I can add this to the 400+ Ripkens i have... Its hard for me now to know what I have of him and don't have, so pulling one from a newer pack is always a plus...

Redemption Day!!!

I'm glad I wasn't holding my breath, I finally got some Topps Redemptions in today! I got my 3 WBC redemptions, Jung Bong, Dice-K and Yu Darvish.

I like the way these cards look. I heard a lot about Darvish, he was pretty dang good during the WBC.

Next is a pretty sweet Miguel Tejada that a customer from the shop gave me (he gave me the redemption card). Its nice. Miggy did ok when he played for the O's, but I will always remember him as a rally killer and asking to be traded a few times. He put up the numbers, but they felt kind of hollow...

Finally is a SWEET Nick the STICK auto. I have no clue who the other dude is, maybe the guy who signed him? I dunno. Maybe Jim can tell me... Anyway it is SWEET! Leave me some comments haha.

My Two Biggest Hits From Allen & Ginter

I sat on my boxes of Allen & Ginter from Friday to Sunday, mostly due to wanting to keep a promise to Max that I would wait to crack them with him, and pretty much because I really didn't have a whole lot of time to bust them until Sunday anyway...

It was well worth the wait. I do have to say that I am disappointed that I bought 4 boxes and STILL need 36 cards to complete my set, but that just makes it more of a challenge, which is fine by me. I was also very disappointed to see that a lot of the cards came with a line going down the middle from the printing process... Uncool, Topps!!!

Those are the only complaints and I'm far over them. Max and I had a good time as always busting wax. It has become a nice little ritual between the two of us. I'll let him blog about what he pulled. I will display my two biggest hits (in my opinion).

An 'on card' autograph of former Negro Leaguer Clyde Parris (never heard of him, but still cool nonetheless).




My first GU Jersey of TIM LINCECUM!!! Freaking awesome! I read the other day that he was taken by the Giants with the 8th pick in the 2006 draft...
The Orioles chose Billy Rowell with the 7th pick. I reeeeally don't like Rowell anymore... fml.

Got another 09 Topps Short Print Legends...

I now have Brooks and Jim Palmer. Anyone got the Ripken they're willing to trade? I am about 30 minutes away from busting my 4 boxes of A&G... might have more to post later :)

Actual results of the infamous 1988 Topps box break with Max...

After scanning and cropping the cards I planned on featuring in this blog post, it was beginning to look like the Ripken family christmas... So here goes, the highlights of the box break, aside from cracking our teeth on OLD gum....

Here, we have Cal, Sr. tipping his cap to all the Oriole fans out there. All 4 of us.

Here is Cal, Jr., man of 1,001 stances with batting stance # 453.
Here we have Billy grinning because someone wrote something funny on his bat... I wonder what that would be. Or maybe he just watched that Earl Weaver video on Youtube....I think everyone has a cousin Eddie, and what Ripken family christmas would be complete without cousin Eddie!!! Eddie Murray that is...


We have Eddie and Cal discussing the proper way to grow a moustache. Eddie still looks like he wants to rip someones face off....
I think this card is one of the best in the set. Not much else to say about that.

Wouldn't it have been cool if it was Kumar Fisk, instead of Carlton? Then this card would be Harold and Kumar. I'll be here all week...My guess is that Bo knew someone's mom, thats why he got invited to this party...

Let's see P.A.'s wife top this...

So, go ahead and pause my playlist and play this video of what happens when two bored dudes bust a box of 1988 Topps and then dare each other to try the gum... Listen to the cracking as Max tries it... I hope you have a good dental plan buddy!


Not to be outdone, and feeling like I would be a bad friend if I didn't take the dare as well, Here I am trying it....

That's dedication... or stupidity, you decide. Needless to say, Max and I had a good time together as usual. Once I can get the actual box break video uploaded from my laptop, I will post it as well.

Its always a good day when...

You have Cal Ripken in your mailbox...

Thanks Max for pointing out this to me on ebay! It came today. Now, I need to get a top loader big enough for it, hahaha.

I wonder if you guys knew this...

I have been posting about baseball cards since January, and I believe I neglected to let something out..... If you go on Beckett.com and search for my last name, some cards come up... Here is an example:
That is correct. My dad is listen in Beckett Racing! This 19-year old card is one of two cards of him in the 1990 Checkered Flag IHRA set. He was also featured in the 1989, 1991, 1992 Checkered Flag issues, as well as 2 cards in the Advanced Images 1992 Quick Eight set. I have each card, but haven't gotten around to scanning them. This photo was actually lifted off of an ebay auction, I paid $0.50 to get my own Dad's card, haha. I had to. The ones I got when I was 10 (when this one came out) all got beat up. I had to get the 1989 one from Beckett because someone at the track way back in the day took the whole stack we were handing out. Lame. Anyway, when I think about it, I'll bring them back with me and scan the cards for you all to see.

Some more mail and a little housekeeping...

I received these two cards in the mail from Jay Bee as part of our deal for the Barack Obama 2009 Topps SP. Yes it was me who helped him complete his series 1 SP set. Max ended up with my Obama patch. Not that I have ANYTHING against Obama, I just figured those two would get much more out of them than I would. Anyway, I got these two Brian Roberts cards that I thought I had (and still may, but when you have been moving for 6 months, who knows where half your crap is). 2004 Topps Roberts, his first Topps base card, and 2006 Topps Gold.

HOUSEKEEPING: I would like to thank the 19 people who follow this blog, especially the main readers, my 'blog circle' which originated at All About Sports in Winston-Salem, and then included my buddy Max. Pete, P.A. Kim, it has been a year since we all really started talking cards (I look at the release of A&G as our 'anniversary'). If not for you guys, and now especially, Max, I don't know that I would be doing as much with my cards as I am. I have now worked 2 trades via my blog with dudes I had never met, and also sent a guy some via facebook. Usually those cards would just sit in a box in my closet or be assumed back into the cases of the shop., so thanks again guys, happy anniversary!

A few other notes, I finally figured out how to have my blog let me know when I get a comment, so, I should respond to them a lot better now. If I don't email you directly, check my blog often, as I usually respond as a comment of my own.

As you all may know, I have been in the process of selling my house and moving to Greenville since January. Our house STILL hasn't sold. If you know ANYONE who is talking about moving to the Charlotte, NC area, let me know. This crap (highway 42 - get THAT reference, haha) is getting old. It is this reason that I usually only file entries on Fridays through Sundays.

I had thought about blogging about the house selling experience, but by now, there would be too many cuss words and I would have to have an age disclaimer....

This came in the mail today....

This card came in the mail today, and man, it LOOKS GOOD!!! I am very happy with this year's offering of SP Legendary Cuts. As nice as it would have been to pull this out of a pack, I had to go ahead and snatch it off of ebay when I could. There is still a Brooks base card from this set that I want... I'll get it. As you all may know by now, I get what I want, hahaha.