2011 Bowman for Trade--A.L. West Edition

Here is the list of 2011 Bowman I have for trade. I'm going to post in groups by League and Division. I would prefer to trade the whole team lot as opposed to breaking it up. I'm also looking for Rangers from 2011 Bowman first, but other Rangers will do in a pinch. My wantlist on the sidebar is seriously outdated. You can find an updated Bowman wantlist here.

FIRST PERSON TO CLAIM A TEAM GETS IT

Los Angeles Angels--claimed by the Angels in Order @ the Angels in Order
Base:
#158 Jered Weaver
#187 Vernon Wells
#193 Mark Trumbo RC
#219 Hank Conger RC

Gold
#89 Kendry Morales

Bowman Prospect
BP 76 Tyson Auer

Oakland Athletics
Base:
#51 Brett Anderson
#53 David DeJesus

Topps 100
TP 26 Grant Green

Topps of the Class
TC 25 Michael Spina

Bowman Prospect
BP 30 Michael Spina

Bowman Chrome
BCP 3 Jeremy Barfield
BCP 30 Michael Spina

Seattle Mariners--Claimed by Bud @ First Day Issue
Base:
#198 Greg Halman RC

Bowman Prospects
BP 14 Anthony Vasquez

Bowman Chrome Prospects
BCP 14 Anthony Vasquez
BCP 73 Kevin Rivers

Bowmans Best
BBP 3 Nick Franklin

2011 Bowman for Trade--A.L. Central Edition

Here is the list of 2011 Bowman I have for trade. I'm going to post in groups by League and Division. I would prefer to trade the whole team lot as opposed to breaking it up. I'm also looking for Rangers from 2011 Bowman first, but other Rangers will do in a pinch. My wantlist on the sidebar is seriously outdated. You can find an updated Bowman wantlist on the sidebar.

FIRST PERSON TO CLAIM A TEAM GETS IT

Chicago White Sox
Base:
#3 Edwin Jackson
#81 Alex Rios (x2)
#123 John Danks
#182 Adam Dunn
#196 Brent Morel RC
#211 Gregory Infante RC

Gold
#3 Edwin Jackson
#123 John Danks

Bowman Prospects
BP 6 Anthony Carter
BP 38 Eduardo Escobar

Bowman Chrome Prospects
BCP 6 Anthony Carter
BCP 38 Eduardo Escobar

Cleveland Indians--claimed by baseball dad @ All Tribe Baseball
Base:
#41 Shin-Soo Choo (x2)

Gold
#7 Carlos Santana
#41 Shin-Soo Choo

Bowman Prospect
BP 26 Chun-Hsiu Chen

Detroit Tigers--Claimed by Greg Holstege @ Wolverine Musings
Base:
#48 Justin Verlander (x3)

Gold
#85 Magglio Ordonez

Finest Futures
FF 16 Austin Jackson

Bowman Prospects
BP 43 Corey Jones

Bowman Chrome Prospects
BCP 72 Avisail Garcia

Kansas City Royals
Base:
#113 Billy Butler
#195 Jeremy Jeffress RC

Gold
#113 Billy Butler

Topps 100
TP 89 Mike Moustakas

Bowman Chrome Prospect
BCP 9 Carlo Testa
BCP 20 Everett Teaford
BCP 103 Brian Fletcher

Minnesota Twins
Base:
#152 Danny Valencia
#176 Justin Morneau
#177 Denard Span
#202 Ben Revere RC

Gold
#202 Ben Revere RC

Bowman Chrome Prospects
BP 28 Oswaldo Arcia

Bowman Chrome Prospects
BCP 28 Oswaldo Arcia

2011 Bowman for Trade--A.L. East Edition

Here is the list of 2011 Bowman I have for trade. I'm going to post in groups by League and Division. I would prefer to trade the whole team lot as opposed to breaking it up. I'm also looking for Rangers from 2011 Bowman first, but other Rangers will do in a pinch. My wantlist on the sidebar is seriously outdated. You can find an updated Bowman wantlist on the sidebar.

FIRST PERSON TO CLAIM A TEAM GETS IT

Baltimore Orioles--claimed by Ryan @ O No! Another Orioles Blog
Base:
#93 Mark Reynolds
#138 Koji Uehara
#167 Vladimir Guererro
#171 Nick Markakis

Bowman Prospects
BP 25 Jonathan Schoop
BP Ronnie Welty

Bowman Chrome
BCP 67 Dan Klein

New York Yankees--claimed by BA Benny @ BA Benny's Baseball Card Buffet
Base:
#30 Mark Teixeira
#61 CC Sabathia
#145 Derek Jeter
#170 Alex Rodriguez

Gold
#30 Mark Teixeira

Bowman Prospect
BP 21 Jose Pirela
BP 48 Adam Warren
BP 85 Mason Williams
BP 104 Ben Gamel

Bowman Chrome Prospects
BCP 48 Adam Warren
BCP 85 Mason Williams (x2)

Tampa Bay Rays
Base:
#16 Jeff Niemann
#109 Evan Longoria

Bowman Prospects
BP 18 Tyler Bortnick
BP 41 Ty Morrison

Bowman Chrome Purple Refractor
BCP 41 Ty Morrison #317/700

Toronto Blue Jays
Base:
#88 Aaron Hill
#157 Brandon Morrow

Finest Futures
FF 17 J.P. Arencibia

Bowman Prospects
BP 22 Joel Carreno
BP 102 Eric Thames

Bowman Chrome Prospect
BCP 22 Joel Carreno
BCP 102 Eric Thames

Remembering Brian

Memorial Day is one of those days that I think about Brian R.

He was the only guy I served with who didn't come back home the way the rest of us did.

I hope his family knows the rest of haven't forgotten him.

Brian R., and all the rest who made the ultimate sacrifice so the rest of us can enjoy the freedom to enjoy our lives, our families and our hobbies, I thank you and say I will never forget you.

2011 Bowman for Trade--N.L. West Edition

Here is the list of 2011 Bowman I have for trade. I'm going to post in groups by League and Division. I would prefer to trade the whole team lot as opposed to breaking it up. I'm also looking for Rangers from 2011 Bowman first, but other Rangers will do in a pinch. My wantlist on the sidebar is seriously outdated. The Bowman Wantlist on the sidebar is up to date as of 5/30/11.

FIRST PERSON TO CLAIM A TEAM ON THIS POST GETS IT

Arizona Diamondbacks
Base:
#4 Miguel Montero
#135 Chris Young

Gold
#102 Daniel Hudson

Topps of the Class
TC 5 Paul Goldschmidt
TC 12 Brandon Allen

Bowman Prospects
BP 88 Wagner Mateo

Colorado Rockies--claimed by hiflew @ Cards from the Quarry
Base:
#142 Todd Helton

Finest Futures
FF 14 Ubaldo Jimenez

Bowman Prospect
BP 34 Ben Paulsen

Bowman Chrome Prospect
BCP 34 Ben Paulsen

San Diego Padres
Base:
#105 Will Venable (x2)

Finest Futures
FF 20 Mat Latos

Bowman Prospects
BP 10 Erik Davis
BP 101 Rymer Liriano

Bowman Chrome
BCP 4 Nate Freiman
BCP 35 Jason Hagerty
BCP 83 Jedd Gyorko
BCP 101 Rymer Liriano

San Francisco Giants
Base:
#54 Jonathan Sanchez
#141 Tim Lincecum

Bowman Chrome
BP 93 Brandon Belt

2011 Bowman for Trade--N.L. Central Edition

Here is the list of 2011 Bowman I have for trade. I'm going to post in groups by League and Division. I would prefer to trade the whole team lot as opposed to breaking it up. I'm also looking for Rangers from 2011 Bowman first, but other Rangers will do in a pinch. My wantlist on the sidebar is seriously outdated. The Bowman list is updated as of 5/30/11.

FIRST PERSON TO CLAIM A TEAM GETS IT

Chicago Cubs
Base:
#9 Marlon Byrd
#67 Kosuke Fukudome (x2)
#98 Starlin Castro
#161 Alfonso Soriano

Cincinnati Reds--claimed by DW @ Potch Wheeler and the Cardboard Heroes
Base:
#19 Brandon Phillips
#166 Edinson Volquez
#210 Yonder Alonso RC

Gold
#112 Johnny Cueto

Bowman Prospect
BP 77 Matt Klinker

Bowman Chrome Prospect
BCP 64 Cody Puckett
BCP 77 Matt Klinker

Houston Astros--claimed by Sam @ the Daily Dimwit
Base:
#20 Michael Bourn
#134 Jason Castro
209 Brian Bogusevic RC

Bowman's Brightest
BBR 9 Jay Austin

Orange Parallel
#27 Chris Johnson 58/250

Milwaukee Brewers--claimed by Derek @ Tomahawk Chopping
Base:
#104 Rickie Weeks
#173 Prince Fielder

Gold
#208 Mark Rogers RC

International
#175 Ryan Braun

Bowman Prospect
#27 Amaury Rivas (x2)

Bowman Chrome Prospect
BCP 27 Amaury Rivas

Pittsburgh Pirates
Base:
#56 Neil Walker
#59 Andrew McCutchen

Bowman Chrome Prospects
BP 39 Aaron Baker
BP 55 David Rubinstein
BP 60 Jarek Cunningham
BP 84 Matt Hague

Bowman Chrome
BCP 31 Kyle McPherson
BCP 60 Jarek Cunningham

St. Louis Cardinals--claimed by Kerry @ Cards on Cards
Base:
#122 Matt Holliday
#215 Daniel Descalso RC

Bowman Prospects
BP 13 Alex Castellanos (x2)
BP 66 Matt Carpenter
BP 90 Adron Chambers (x2)

Bowman Chrome Prospects
BCP 40 Deryk Hooker
BCP 66 Matt Carpenter
BCP 90 Adron Chambers

Where did my posts go?

Well, my Bowman N.L. East for trade post showed up as scheduled. The N.L. Central version should have posted last hour, but it didn't. I checked and all the other divisional posts, including the A.L. ones, are gone. They were scheduled, but they aren't in the queue.

Anybody else having similar issues?

I guess I'll rewrite those and post them next week unless they show up.

2011 Bowman for Trade--N.L. East Edition

Here is the list of 2011 Bowman I have for trade. I'm going to post in groups by League and Division. I would prefer to trade the whole team lot as opposed to breaking it up. I'm also looking for Rangers from 2011 Bowman first, but other Rangers will do in a pinch. My wantlist on the sidebar is seriously outdated. You can find an updated Bowman wantlist here.

FIRST PERSON TO CLAIM A TEAM GETS IT

Atlanta Braves--Claimed by derek @ Tomahawk Chopping
Base:
#72 Tim Hudson
#132 Mike Minor
#149 Martin Prado

Gold
#83 Tommy Hanson

Bowman Chrome
BCP 62 Willie Cabrera

Green
#21 Jason Heyward #69/450

Florida Marlins--claimed by Wicked Ortega @ My Past Time...I Love It
Base:
#37 Logan Morrison

Finest Futures Mike Stanton

Bowman Prospect
BP 69 Elih Villanueva

Bowman Chrome
BCP 24 Tom Koehler
BCP 69 Elih Villanueva

New York Mets--Claimed by the Brooklyn Met @ Clear Cut Cards
Base:
#24 Mike Pelfrey
#29 Jason Bay

Gold
#36 Johan Santana

Bowman's Brightest
BBR 17 Wilmer Flores

Bowman Prospects
BP 68 Sean Ratliff
BP 81 Blake Forsythe

Bowman Chrome
BCP 68 Sean Ratliff

Philadelphia Phillies--claimed by Julie @ Things Are Funner Here
Base:
#33 Ryan Howard
#99 Roy Halladay
#168 Cliff Lee (X2)
#172 Cole Hamels

Gold
#80 Jimmy Rollins
#168 Cliff Lee

Finest Futures
Domonic Brown

Bowman Chrome Prospect
BCP 87 Jarred Cosart

Washington Nationals--claimed by Derek @ Tomahawk Chopping
Base:
#179 Stephen Strasburg

Finest Futures
Stephen Strasburg

Bowman Chrome Prospects
BP5 Tyler Moore (X2)
BP 106 Sammy Solis

Bowman Chrome
BCP 5 Tyler Moore

2011 Bowman Want List

I'm only interested in the Rangers from 2011 Bowman. And Joe Mauer.

Here is the wantlist, which I'll try to update as quickly as possible.

RED indicates a pending trade.

Base Cards

38 C.J. Wilson


International

11 Josh Hamilton
34 Adrian Beltre
35 Joe Mauer
38 C.J. Wilson
40 Ian Kinsler
97 Mitch Moreland
148 Nelson Cruz
159 Michael Young

Printing Plates/Red 1/1s
Yea, right.

Orange Parallels #/250

11 Josh Hamilton
34 Adrian Beltre
35 Joe Mauer
38 C.J. Wilson
40 Ian Kinsler
97 Mitch Moreland
148 Nelson Cruz
159 Michael Young
178 Elvis Andrus

Blue Parallels #/500

34 Adrian Beltre
35 Joe Mauer
38 C.J. Wilson
40 Ian Kinsler
97 Mitch Moreland
148 Nelson Cruz
159 Michael Young
178 Elvis Andrus

Green Parallel #/450

11 Josh Hamilton
34 Adrian Beltre
35 Joe Mauer
38 C.J. Wilson
148 Nelson Cruz
159 Michael Young


Gold Parallels Not numbered

11 Josh Hamilton
35 Joe Mauer
159 Michael Young
178 Elvis Andrus

IN ADDITION to the regular versions of all the cards below, I'll be looking for the various colored refractors.

Prospects

Bowman Chrome Prospects

Topps 100
TP72 Robbie Erlin
TP95 Jake Skole

Bowman's Brightest

Bowman's Best
BB22 Joe Mauer

Bowman Chrome Autographed Rookie Cards
BCP82 Jurickson Profar

USA BB Retro Patch Relic
RPR-12 Tommy Hunter Collegiate National Team
RPR-20 Joe Mauer 18u National Team

These are COLORED Refractors that I have:

Purple Jurickson Profar #679/700

Double Time

So, the Mavericks beat the Thunder to make it to the NBA Finals. That's good.

Then I see the ESPN highlights of this nasty play at the plate.




Ouch. I do not like the Giants, but I don't want to see anyone get hurt.

I was going to post the list of the 201 Bowman I have available, but I'm wiped out. As this is posting, I'm driving home from working a double shift. I will get those cards posted tomorrow. Some teams have already been claimed. Feel free to do that on this post.

Thanks.

Let's Trade

Remember that 2011 Bowman Blaster I opened?

Well, Adam won the Red Sox, but almost everything else is up for grabs.

I've since opened an additional 10 loose packs and have an assortment of cards, but very, very few Rangers.

Tonight (if I get time) or tomorrow morning, I'll list what I've got for trade and you can make your claims.

As of right now, it looks like the Dodgers and Mariners have been claimed.

I'm looking for similar Rangers from 2011 Bowman in exchange for the refractors or colored parallels. It's not required of course, just a preference.

Free 2011 Bowman--Packs 7 and 8, A colorful finale

I know I stretched it out until Tuesday, but I'm time-challenged this week. You know, work and all.

Let's get to a rather colorful finale, shall we?

Pack 7

Alex Castellanos, 1st BC--Cardinals (finally on the board)

Tyler Moore, 1st BC--Nationals

Mark Teixeira--Yankees

Will Venable--Padres

Tim Lincecum--Giants (also on the board for the first time)

Daniel Descalso RC--Cardinals

Stephen Strasburg Finest Futures, Nationals

Rymer Liriano, 1st BC Chrome--Padres

Oswaldo Arcia, 1st BC Chrome--Twins

Tommy Hanson gold parallel--Braves (yet another first timer)

Pack 8

Jose Pirela, 1st BC--Yankees

Tyson Auer, 1st BC--Angels

Aaron Hill--Blue Jays

Jeff Niemann--Rays

Martin Prado--Braves

Jason Heyward green parallel #69/450--Braves

Chris Johnson orange parallel #58/250--Astros

Jarek Cunningham, 1st BC Chrome--Pirates

Eduardo Escobar, 1st BC Chrome--White Sox

Kendry(s) Morales gold parallel--Angels

Not a bad way to finish out the blaster. Two colored parallels to wrap things up is better than pulling only one purple refractor in the whole blaster.

The Final Card Count Leaderboard

White Sox--7
Dodgers--5
Pirates--5
Blue Jays--4
Padres-4
Reds--4
Yankees--4
Angels--3
Athletics--3
Braves--3
Diamondbacks--3
Mariners--3
Mets--3
Nationals-3
Tigers--3
Twins-3
Astros--2
Indians--2
Cardinals--2
Orioles-2
Phillies--2
Rays--2
Red Sox--2
Royals--2
Brewers--1
Cubs--1
Giants--1
Marlins--1
Rangers--1

So, after 8 packs and 81 cards, only the poor Colorado Rockies went unrepresented.

Unfortunately, nobody picked the White Sox to be our winner.

I actually didn't expect that to happen and therefore didn't make a plan for it. I do however have a solution. I'm going to randomize everyone's name. I am going to give an extra entry to all everyone who guessed the right number of cards with 7.
Here is the randomization for the cards...




Congrats to adame of Thoughts and Sox!

Adam, please send me your address just to verify I have it correctly, and I'll get those cards out to you.

Free 2011 Bowman--Packs 5 and 6, Purple Edition

Welcome to the 3rd installment of Free 2011 Bowman. I guess I should have called it "Free 2011 Bowman if you guessed correctly". That just seems a bit wordy.

Let's get on with the show. I hope you like purple.

Pack 5

Matt Klinker, 1st BC--Reds

Anthony Vasquez, 1st BC--Mariners

Shin-Soo Choo--Indians

Mitch Moreland--Rangers (finally)

John Lindsey RC--Dodgers

Brent Morel RC--White Sox

Paul Goldschmidt, Topps of the Class--Diamondbacks

Jason Hagerty, 1st BC Chrome--Padres

Ty Morrison, 1st BC Chrome Purple Refractor #317/700--Rays

Miguel Cabrera gold parallel--Tigers

Pack 6

Michael Spina, 1st BC--Athletics

Matt Hague, 1st BC--Pirates

Ted Lilly--Dodgers

Alex Rios--White Sox

Yonder Alonso RC--Reds

Danny Valencia--Twins

Grant Green, Topps 100--Athletics

Tyler Moore, 1st BC Chrome--Nationals

Sean Ratliff, 1st BC Chrome--Mets

Mark Reynolds gold parallel--Orioles


The Card Count Leaderboard

White Sox--6
Dodgers--5
Pirates--4
Reds--4
Athletics--3
Blue Jays--3
Diamondbacks--3
Mariners--3
Mets--3
Tigers--3
Indians-2
Orioles-2
Padres-2
Phillies--2
Red Sox--2
Royals--2
Twins-2
Yankees--2
Angels--1
Astros--1
Brewers-1
Cubs-1
Marlins-1
Nationals-1
Rangers-1
Rays-1

We still have 4 teams with 0 cards through 6 packs.

Braves
Cardinals
Giants
Rockies

Both of these packs contained a Dodger followed immediately by a White Sox player. It's going to be a close finish with only two packs left.

I'll have the last two packs up in the morning.

Free 2011 Bowman--Packs 3 and 4

Alright, I know you've been sitting by your computer, hitting refresh over and over, just waiting for this post. Well, refresh no more, it's here. Oh yea, the first two packs were posted last night.

Pack 3

Oswaldo Arcia, 1st BC--Twins

Blake Smith, 1st BC--Dodgers

Neil Walker--Pirates

John Danks--White Sox

Nick Markakis--Orioles

Edinson Volquez--Reds

Jay Austin, Bowman's Brightest--Astros

Matt Klinker, 1st BC Chrome--Reds

Jameson Taillon, Bowmans Best--Pirates

Carlos Santana gold parallel--Indians


Pack 4

Joel Carreno, 1st BC--Blue Jays

Mason Williams, 1st BC--Yankees

David DeJesus--Athletics (I would not have been surpised if this had been an autographed Gypsy Queen DeJesus. That must be the most common auto ever.)

Billy Butler--Royals

Brandon Morrow--Blue Jays

Chris Young--DiamondBacks

Domonic Brown, Finest Futures--Phillies

Anthony Carter, 1st BC Chrome--Anthony Carter

Elih Villanueva, 1st BC Chrome--Marlins

Johan Santana gold parallel, Mets


Three of the players I've pulled have shown up in both 1st Bowman Card and 1st Bowman Card Chrome versions. Neither of these packs had a base card with the RC logo.

The Card Count Leaderboard (remember we got 1 extra card in a pack)

White Sox--4
Blue Jays--3
Dodgers--3
Pirates--3
Diamondbacks--2
Mariners--2
Mets--2
Phillies--2
Red Sox--2
Reds--2
Royals--2
Tigers--2
Yankees--2
Angels--1
Astros--1
Athletics--1
Brewers-1
Cubs-1
Indians-1
Marlins-1
Orioles-1
Padres-1
Twins-1

That leaves 7 teams with 0 cards through 4 packs.

Braves
Cardinals
Giants
Nationals
Rangers
Rays
Rockies

It figures that the Rangers would be on that list. I guess that means I'll be needing most, if not all, of the Rangers from this set via trade.

Free 2011 Bowman--Packs 1 and 2

This first post has no pics. I know, I suck.

I'll try to get at least one photo per pack the rest of the way.

Pack 1
Sean Ratliff, 1st Bowman Card--Mets

Jarek Cunningham, 1st BC--Pirates

David Ortiz (admiring his guns)--Red Sox

Justin Verlander--Tigers

Jacoby Ellsbury--Red Sox

Greg Halman RC--Mariners

Ryan Braun International--Brewers

Blake Smith, 1st BC Chrome--Dodgers

Joel Carreno, 1st BC Chrome--Blue Jays

Jimmy Rollins gold parallel--Phillies

Pack 2--This pack came with an extra card!

Eduardo Escobar, 1st BC--White Sox

Rymer Liriano, 1st BC--Padres

Kosuke Fukudome--Cubs

Andre Ethier--Dodgers

Mark Trumbo RC--Angels (Cool shot of the scoreboard at the Angels park. It looks like Trumbo is walking to the on-deck circle and the Angels' version of the dot race is on the scoreboard.)

Adam Dunn--White Sox

Mike Moustakas, Topps 100--Royals

Mason Williams, 1st BC Chrome--Yankees

Anthony Vasquez, 1st BC Chrome--Mariners

Magglio Ordonez gold parallel, Tigers

and the extra card is....

Daniel Hudson gold parallel, Diamondbacks


I feel certain that a Bryce Harper Prospect Autograph Blue Parallel is in this blaster. I mean they only fall 1:19,500 packs.

It could happen.

I'll have at least 4 more packs posted tomorrow, including a running total of the number of cards for each team.

After two packs we have a five way tie between the Dodger, Sox (Red and White), Mariners and Tigers. Of course they only have two cards each so it's still anyone's game.

Last call for free BOWMAN

I am going to post the first two packs tonight.

Go to my Friday post if you want to know what I'm talking about or use the link below.

http://playattheplatedude.blogspot.com/2011/05/who-wants-some-2011-bowmanfor-free.html

I'll close entries tonight just before I post the first two packs.

Who want's some 2011 Bowman...for FREE!

I mentioned in this morning's post that I received a 2011 Bowman Blaster. I won't rehash that post, but let's just say I'm primarily concerned with the Texas Rangers from this product.

I know you want to know how you can get some of these cards for free, so I'll just get to the point.

One person is going to get some free cards. There are 8 packs with 10 cards per pack. For the math challenged out there (kidding!), that's a total of 80 cards. If you're interested in getting the free cards, leave a comment with the team you think will have the most cards in this blaster AND the number of cards you think they'll have. For example, Texas Rangers-80 cards (I wish).

I'm going to keep any Rangers and any play at the plate cards. That means you should NOT pick the Rangers. In the highly unlikely event I pull a Bryce Harper auto, I'm keeping that too (to sell it.)

If no one guesses the exact number of cards for the team with the most cards, I'll randomize the winner from all the people who pick the correct team. The winner will get all the cards from the team he or she picks. All other cards will be up for trade.

I'll start posting the pack results as I'm able to and wrap this up on Monday or Tuesday.

A team may be picked more than once, but please try to pick a different number than someone else.

Good luck!

A little disappointing

If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you've seen posts about my mother-in-law. She will occasionally buy me cards on one of her frequent Wal-mart visits. Normally I don't make requests for certain cards, but rather just enjoy her generosity when it strikes. Due to my inability to find any Gypsy Queen, I did ask her to pick up a blaster for me if she saw any. Asking her to find Gypsy Queen is like asking me to pick out a certain player on the Rangers Single A team. Sure, I know they are ballplayers, but I don't know who is who.

Anyway, yesterday morning she showed up with a blaster. Yes! Finally, I was going to get to open my own GQ. Well, I may be the only person that would be disappointed in this, but it wasn't GQ. It was Bowman.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to pull a Bryce Harper and flip it for cash to fund other card collecting pursuits, but I'm just not into the Harpermania. I'm also very appreciative of my mother-in-laws contribution to my collection. I don't take that for granted.

My only real interest in Bowman is to further my Rangers collection. I'll be breaking that blaster open later today (I forgot it at home or it would already be open.) There will be a chance for you, dear reader, to obtain some of those cards. That post will be up around 5:30 this afternoon.

The other disappointing news of the day was that I ran across a packsearcher yesterday. I'm fairly sure it was a collector I know only through the interwebs. I didn't know he was a packsearcher. It's one thing for it to be the creepy old man or dude you know is flipping the crappy (and not so crappy) hits on EBay. It's another thing altogether to think it's someone you've dealt with before.

Check back later for a shot at some unwanted Bowman cards.

Two down...and 53 down

I've managed to get two Rangers Diamond Die Cuts through trading on the Diamond Giveaway site. There are 8 different Rangers available, not counting the black versions numbered to 60.

Someone offered me Nelson Cruz for my Colbey Rasmus die cut. I pulled the trigger on that one immediately. It was kind of nice to be offered a card I actually wanted.

I offered my Dan Haren die cut for every other Ranger die cut and the first offer that was accepted brought Neftali into my collection.

I've tried a variety of other offers for the other Rangers, but to no avail. No worries. We still have series two to go.

On the ring front, I'm up to 53 unique rings.



I have all the Legacy Team and Player rings. I'm only missing Arizona, Cleveland, Oakland, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Tampa Bay and Washington. I still haven't figured out a way to safely sell the Mantle ring so I guess when I get that 60th ring, I'll get the Topps ring.

Has anyone that has "dug" a package of 70's or 80's cards actually received their pack in the mail? I noticed one guy who received a pack of 1977 cards, but he didn't get anyone of note in his pack.

Dear Topps

Thank you for the 2011 Value Box.

It's been swell. I've pulled two hits from the Heritage packs and two from the Topps Series 1 packs. I've pulled lots of code cards, one of which I used to virtually "dig" a Mickey Mantle ring. On the other hand, thanks to the Value Boxes, I've got a stack of Series 1 dupes that is twice the size of the almost complete Series 1 set.

Now, I'd really love to open some Gypsy Queen packs, but I don't think you sent any to my neighborhood. Technically, I guess that's not your fault, but I still can't find any. I'll make you deal though. I'll forgive you if you'll put some Gypsy Queen packs in the 2011 Series 2 Value Boxes. I know you probably won't do that, what with GQ literally flying off shelves.

I just wanted to let you know that I won't be buying any Topps Series 2 when it comes out. Not until I see what kind of Value Boxes you put out. You see, I don't need all those dupes and I've got a feeling I'll buy enough Value Boxes to just about complete Series 2.

Thanks Topps,

Your "Valued" customer

Blogger's back!

My life is sad.

I actually missed Blogger while it was down. Actually, it was all the blogs more than blogger.

I lost a couple posts, but it's not a huge deal. I'm just glad I can read your blogs again.

My Mickey Mantle Ring

I had decided to sell my virtual Mickey Mantle ring on Ebay after seeing what that other ring was going for. That probably isn't going to happen now.

You know the story. Apparently there are only 60 of these rings available on the site. It is the one impossible, or nearly impossible, ring to dig in order to get all 60 rings necessary to get the Topps ring.

I couldn't find a verified completed auction even though about 3 or 4 of the Mantle rings had been listed for sale at one time. The Blowout forum revealed that Ebay was taking the auctions down, claiming virtual prizes could not be sold on the site due to copyright laws. I guess that means I'll be keeping the Mantle ring.

Unless I figure out another way to move it.

A full house beats a pair

If you watched the Daily Dimwits Gypsy Queen Break, you know how out of whack the collation was on the Bronze parallels, or paper border parallels, or whatever those things are called. If you didn't I submit, for your viewing please, a poker hand.

We have the Rangers vs. the Dodgers, the two teams I had in the break.

The Rangers pulled out an impressive pair of bronze parallels. Two Nolan Ryans. These were amazingly enough, sequential in number. Numbers 548 and 549 out of 999. Not a bad hand if you ask me and a real bonus for the Dimwit since he collects Ryan. He'll be getting one of these back.

Let's see if the Dodgers can come up with a better hand.


I hope the Dodgers went all in, because a full house beats a pair any day. We have Kershaws (918 and 919/999) over Kemps (3, 4 and 5/999). Getting multiples of one player is weird, but getting the sequential numbering is weirder. I guess it gives a little insight into how they packaged the cards, but hey fellas, how about putting different players in the boxes.

The Dimwit's contest to gather more Bronze borders will be earning him one each of the Kershaws and Kemps, and I'll be keeping the others until I decide how much I like the set. If I don't end up trying to collect all of them, I'll be offering them up.

Where would we be without you?

Everyone knows the story.

The Rangers sign Adrian Beltre, tell Michael Young they want him to DH and become a utility guy, and things turn ugly.

Michael initially wants to be traded. Nothing works out. So he's here and he's playing.

Every. Single. Day.

Thank God for that.

The Rangers are hurting without Josh Hamilton.

Since Josh Hamilton broke his arm, the Rangers are 9-16 and have lost 7 of 8 series. (The rubber game of the A's Series just started so I hope they can win and hold on to 2nd place.)

Michael is the main reason the Rangers have even managed to win 9 of the last 25 games. He's hitting .349 with 14 doubles and 28 RBIs. He's not just DH'ing either. He is one of only two Rangers to play in all 37 games this season, 25 at DH, 7 at second and 5 at first.

Last night, Michael hit in the cleanup spot for the first time in his career. All he did was go 3-4 with a walk, missed the cycle by a homerun and knocked in two.

The Rangers desperately need Josh Hamilton back. And a healthy Nelson Cruz. And the bullpen from last year. And...well, you get the point.

I'm just glad Michael didn't get traded before the season started. I have a feeling the Rangers would be looking up at the Angels, the A's and maybe even the Mariners.

By the way, I don't have the card pictured above. Yet.

A Wicked Nomination

I'm not a Navy Seal, but I'm not a sissy man either. I might have shed a tear when I got married, my sons were born, my father died and I got to take my son to see the Rangers play in the World Series. I stress the word might.

There is no way I would even get a little bit emotional about cards. Is there?

Actually, I might have done exactly that a couple of times recently. The second time was when I got some card "care" packages for my son after he broke his leg. I'll be posting those soon.

The first time was a little package of greatness from none other than Wicked Ortega, aka The Don, of My Past Time...I Love It!

He sent over a package with a few Rangers in it including this one.

This is a 2009 Derek Holland Blue Refractor #145/199. I know a certain Owl who thinks the Dodgers look good on blue refractors, but I think the Rangers do too. This card is a much appreciated addition to my collection.

However, it was the next card that got me. Or maybe I got dirt in my eye.


When the great Duke Snider passed away recently, I lamented the fact that I never got around to sending him a TTM request. That sounds a little cold, but I don't mean it that way.

Anyway, Wicked Ortega mailed me this awesome 2007 Topps Distinguished Veteran Duke Snider that he got TTM. The attached note said, "You said you never got the chance to get him TTM. Well here's the chance from me to you! Wicked!"

How awesome is that? Like many of us, I'm completely blown away by the generosity of the bloggers/traders out there, but Wicked Ortega takes it to a whole new level. This card definitely moves into a cherished spot in my collection and I thank Al so much for sending it.

I don't think he even knew I'm trying to start collecting cards that feature the U.S. Navy in any way.

Consider this the nomination for Wicked Ortega for Trader of the Year.

Again.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go get this dust out of my eye.

Going Postal...Again

So I'm headed into the post office today, preparing to mail a couple of packages, a group break payment and the May contest prize. What do I see when I walk in the PO? Fourteen people in line and one, yes one, postal employee working the counter.

I don't have all day to wait because I have to pick up the kiddos from school, but I really want to get these in the mail so thought I would give it a few minutes to see if anyone else came to assist the lone clerk. In the 5 minutes I was there, TWO different people came out from the back, stared at the line, and returned to the back room. They didn't pick up or drop off anything, they just saw the long line and retreated to the safety of the back room.

I walked out, disgusted, packages in hand, with three other people.

Don't get me wrong. I don't know why the two guys didn't help the one lady who was doing her best to get through the line. She was working pretty hard. I just wish there was a blogger or reader out there who could explain why those two people wouldn't jump in to help speed up the process for everyone.

I miss my old post office because it had one of those automated postal machines that you could weigh small packages on and pay and print your labels without waiting in line. It was a trader's dream.

Has anyone out there worked for the USPS? I need to know why a customer service oriented business doesn't care about customer service. At least in my limited experience.

Andrew Bynum is a Punk

If you didn't see what he just did to JJ Barea, you'll see it on all the highlight shows. Or should that be lowlights?

He should be fined and suspended ti start next season.

Go Mavs!

Is this for real?

I have to say, my obsession with the Topps Million Card Giveaway last year kind of wore on me, so I've been far less active on the Diamond Giveaway site. I've been fortunate I suppose, in that I've unlocked two of the Die-Cut cards. That would be a Colby Rasmus and a Dan Haren. I've been trying to trade them for a variety of the Rangers Die-Cut cards. I've only made a couple of regular card trades so far.

I've paid very little attention to the Ring side of the giveaway. I've been "digging" when I get to, but I've haven't paid much attention to what's turned up. I "dug" up a "vintage" pack of cards from the '70s or '80s, but I fully expect a resealed pack of 1988 Topps to be in that envelope. I do know I want to get to the 45 ring level so I can get that Diamond Set of cards. That's where this story takes an interesting turn.

As I was looking through my "ring" collection for doubles that I could trade to help me get to 45, I realized that I had over 4000 offers for my rings. Well, mostly for one ring.

Apparently, the ONE ring that is almost impossible to get is the Mickey Mantle ring. Honestly, I don't even remember "digging" it up, but I did and now everyone wants it. It seems that if you get 60 different rings, you can get a real Topps 60th Anniversary Ring. While I was investigating this, I ran across a Blowout forum thread that lead me to this Ebay Auction.

That's unbelievable, but apparently there are only 60 of these Mickey Mantle rings available on the site. I'm over using the word apparently, but apparently Topps values the Topps Rings at $200. My mind says it would be very cool to own one of these rings. My mind also says that $800+ would be really nice.

So, is this real or what?

What's in your trade kit--and the May Contest Winner

The May Contest led to some good comments about the items a card trader needs in his/her trade kit.

We had 38 entries and the answers broke down like this:

Team bags-7 guesses. Team bags are a very helpful component to keep the cards together.

Cards-6 guesses. Absolutely a must for any good trade.

Bubble mailers-5 guesses. Definitely the most common method of trade packaging.

Penny sleeves-4 guesses. A commonly used form of protection. For the cards...the cards I say!

Tape-4 guesses. Tape is important and blue painter's tape is the best. If you're not using it, you should be. It will free your soul, and your top loaders, from sticky residue. Not to mention it will garner you much respect and admiration from your fellow trade partners.

Toploaders-4 guesses. Serious protection for serious, and not so serious, cards.

9 pocket pages-2 guesses. I've never sent cards in them, but I've received them in a trade package on one occasion.

Binders-1 guess. An important part of any collection, but not something that is in my trade kit.

Writing instruments-1 guess. Pens and Sharpie markers are a must for your trade kit.

Thank you note-1 guess. Highly under-rated and I think another important part of any trade.

Address labels-1 guess. Anything that makes sending trade packages easier is a plus in my book.

Dummy cards-1 guess. Excellent packing material. I also use them to write notes on sometimes.

Address book-1 guess. A great tool...I need to get one so I can stop asking everyone for their address all the time. Or waste important time looking through old emails.

There you have it. Some great answers and a little food for thought.

I have a trade kit, which is really one drawer on one of those large rolling storage units. My trade kit has the following items in it:

1) Pens/Sharpies
2) Penny Sleeves
3) Top Loaders (many recycled, some with sticky residue from Scotch tape)
4) Team bags
5) New and used bubble mailers. I tape a sheet a paper over the old ones and tape them up to send a lot of my packages this way. It saves me money and it's good for the environment. And it saves me money. Did I mention it saves me money?
6) Dummy cards I pull from packs or receive in trades packages
7) Post-It notes
8) Blue painters tape--I've been guilty of using Scotch tape and it's horrible when it leaves that sticky residue all over the top loaders or ruins a good team bag. I'm going to try to keep a supply of the painter's tape at all times.
9) One thing I'm trying to use is a small note pad to keep up with trades in progress or cards I've claimed. I'm completely disorganized and I know I've claimed cards before that I've forgotten about.
10) Cards-I don't keep them in my trade kit, but they're everywhere and I try to put claimed cards in the box so I don't lose them. Ask Beardy who waited probably 8-10 months for me to find an Adam Jones card he claimed. I don't want to make people wait nearly that long if I can help it.

Now, for the 4 items in the May Contest box. The disclaimer is that I pulled these images from the Interwebnet so they aren't the actual items your going to get.

The first item in the box is the bubble mailer. The winner will be getting a new package of 5 of these beauties.

We had 5 people guess bubble mailers. Captain Canuck, cubsfan731, AdamE, The Diamond King and Tunguska.

The next item in the box is...the top loader. These aren't new, but they aren't the residue covered ones either.

Four people guessed top loaders and they were: Spiegel83, Greg Zakwin, Dhoff and Michael.

The third item to go in the box was a new roll of painter's tape. I don't know which brand or size it was, but it's new and amazing and leaves no residue.

The four people who guessed tape were Dan, Spankee, Night Owl and Darkship.

Last, but certainly not least, is cards. Two unopened pack of retail Heritage. You can't have a trade package without cards.


We had 6 people who guessed cards. Those intuitive people were BA Benny, I Don't Know...3rd Base, -d., Don, longlivethewho and Derek.

The other items named were great guesses, but just weren't in the prize box.

The randomization video is here...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MumdVgAxO1Q

I couldn't get it to load on the page.

Congrats go out to The Diamond King who was the winner of the May Contest!

Thanks again, as always, to everyone for participating.

Tomorrow, tomorow...

I'll announce the winner of the May Contest...tomorrow.

It's only a day..a..way. I've written the post, but still need to do the randomization.

Brief side trip, I went to Target today looking for Gypsy Queen. They had nary a pack, a blaster nor even a spot on the shelves for any GQ. In my rage I purchased another Topps Value pack. I couldn't resist after the luck I had with my last one. You know, the one I posted about earlier today.

What's that? You didn't read that post? For goodness sakes, go read it right now. I'll wait.

Well, cardwise, the Value Pack didn't measure up. The powers that reign over the Diamond Giveaway site did smile on me with a 1968 card and my second Die-Cut card. I'll bet you want to see them.

Sorry, I've yet to sleep today and I'm whipped.

I'll post those pics tomorrow.

This card must be worth $21,080

Let me start by apologizing once again for the vertical horizontal card scan. I still don't know why blogger is doing this to me. Someone suggested it might be due to the post space being narrow, but I don't know if that's it. I just know it's annoying, but I had to show off these two cards.

The same Topps Value Box that gave up the Diamond Giveaway code that unlocked the Dan Haren Die-Cut card also plopped these cards into my hot little hand.

First up, out of the second pack of Heritage, I pulled this green tinted variation of one of the Babe Ruth Special cards.

Some people have said these are hard to spot, but I can say it was very obvious on this one. These fall 1:108 Hobby packs so it wasn't a bad start. It is for trade if anyone is interested. If there are any Ranger green variations, I'd like one of those, but I might be persuaded otherwise.

The shock of the pack was my best pull this year. At least odds wise. The last of the five Topps packs in the Value Whamadamadingdong contained this card.

It's a 60th Anniversary Relic Reprint Ernie Banks non-specific Game Used Relic card #52/60. According to the pack, these fall at a rate of 1:6500 packs.

The way I figure it, this card must be worth $21,080!!! I'm rich!! I'm figuring 1:6500 packs means 1:1300 Value Boxes. At $14.98 plus tax, that equals $21,080 give or take a few pennies. Show me the money!!!!!

Of course, I did a quick search on Ebay and found one for a BIN price of $75. I found a completed auction where one sold for around $23. So, I guess I'm not rich. Still, it's a nice hit and probably the best I'll have all year.

I'm going to hold on to this one for awhile, unless a certain someone who pulled a Nelson Cruz relic/auto from Gypsy Queen is interested in it. I haven't emailed him yet.

Last call for the May contest

This is your last chance to enter the May contest.

I'll do the randomization sometime later tonight or early in the morning.

As always, thanks for participating.

Who doesn't like Die-Cuts?

I know I do.

Especially now that the Transmogrifier 2.0 has given me one.

I bought another one of those Topps Value Packs and was glad I did.

I forgot to bring the two cards I want to show off, so I'll post them tomorrow.

One of the codes revealed this SUPER LIMITED, ONLY 90 IN THE WHOLE WORLD CARD!!!

Well, there were only 90 when I got mine. I'll be offering this one up for any Texas Ranger die-cut starting tonight. I don't know if I'll get any takers, but there has to be at least one Angels or Dan Haren fan out there with a Ranger die-cut.

The real May contest

The contest prize for May is already packed and ready to ship.
It's a box similar to this one. In it you will find 4 different items. Each of these items should be on a card traders list of "must-have" items. For example, one of the items could be a stamp for shipping a trade package (it's not a stamp). I know there are many items which fall into this category, but I have picked out these four and will be mailing them to the winner of the May contest.

"How do we enter Mr. PATP?"

Leave a comment guessing ONE of the items in the box. Everyone gets to guess ONE item. All the people who guess one of the items correctly will get randomized and that's how we'll get our winner.

I'm going to limit this contest to followers, non-followers, bloggers, non-bloggers, readers, men, women, children, Rangers fans, fans of other teams, people who pimp the contest on their blogs, people who don't pimp the contest on their blogs and people who leave a comment. I think that covers it.

Good luck!

Whoa...the news isn't that interesting

No, I'm not talking about Bin Laden.

In my post yesterday, I mentioned some news that might prove to be interesting. Captain Canuck guessed that "we" were pregnant. Several kind souls jumped in and started congratulating us, but let me assure you, my wife is NOT pregnant. If she ever gets pregnant again, I'm punching a certain doctor in his "Gypsy Queen" jewels.

The news is more hobby related. We were having our twice yearly yard sale this past weekend. On Saturday, a familiar gentleman came strolling up the driveway. He was at the last yard sale, but I didn't get a chance to speak to him.

He used to own two card shops. One was your typical card shop with new product, cases full of singles, etc. and his son ran it. The other was close to my house and the one I spent quite a bit of time and money. It was the one he worked out of and it was a rather small shop in one of those strip mall centers. It was full, and I mean full, of storage boxes. 800 count boxes. 3200 count boxes. All sizes and shapes, there were boxes in every nook and cranny. He bought cards from anyone who brought in their collections. He looked through the boxes as time permitted, but he would let you search through them and there were tons of great cards in those boxes. He gave great deals too.

We talked for a few minutes and he told me he retired several years ago. After retiring he moved out to my neck of the woods. The interesting part came when he invited me over to his house where he still keeps a fairly large inventory of cards in storage boxes for his former customers. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks, I can make time to go see exactly what he still has for sale.

This might work out for me as well as those of you who keep wantlists posted. I'll let you know how it turns out.

By the way, check back around 5PM central time and the May contest will be up.

The May contest is...

Well, it's delayed until May 2nd.

Just like some packages I need to mail, the contest must wait for my return to work.

Oh, I have some interesting news too, or at least it could be interesting.