Trading with Noah from NY

As I sit here late Monday night watching my tape of the Yankees/Angels ALCS game 3, I thought I'd tackle another package I received recently. This one is a Mets for Cardinals swap - the kind of deal I like. Even though this is officially my 70th trade post according to my tags, there are still quite a few teams out there whose fans I've never traded with. (I'm looking at you, Oakland fans.) Reader Noah sent along a couple hundred cards, including several from the 2005 Topps Rookie Cup set that I only recently learned about from JayBee's always informative Topps-centric blog.

I had to go to Wikipedia to have a "Where Are They Now?" moment with Preston Wilson. His knee injury that he suffered with the Cards in early 2007 proved to be his official undoing as a major league player. I thought he might catch on somewhere after awhile because he had such an explosive bat, but apparently he'd had enough.

I'm glad to see all of the Turkey Red and Allen & Ginter cards that I've been seeing in trades lately because I have not been able to afford to go back and buy the older, harder to find stuff. I want to collect all of those sets someday (and Heritage, too.) I was surprised that Jeff Weaver was removed from the Dodgers playoff roster for the NLCS. It seems like they could have really used him given the success he's had recently (not to mention the postseason experience), especially in game 3 before things really got out of hand.

This is a really nice framed parallel card of the Wizard, even though the picture is tiny and maybe a little strange.

Uh oh, here's another Larry Walker card for Erin to steal. Apparently it was important to capture the change in Larry's facial hair over the years.

I bought a ton of these 2007 Heritage cards recently, but this is one I didn't have. I'm not sure why the team is listed as "St. Louis Cards" here when it's "Cardinals" on every other card (or in Ronnie Belliard's case, the "Carinals".) It's a much coveted SP card.

This is an orange serial numbered parallel Willie McGee card from the Rookie Cup set. Willie's always got something written underneath his bill.

I don't see the need for chrome Heritage cards, nor did I think it was a good idea for Turkey Red. It completely removes the bumpy surface of the Turkey Red cards, which I think is one of its most appealing aspects. However, it's still Turkey Red. Unfortunately, these cards don't scan well at all.

GRUDGE MATCH!! This card is pretty awesome. Edmonds stopped by the broadcast booth during one of the Cardinals last regular season games this year and mentioned that after becoming his teammate, Zambrano apologized a hundred times to him. Still, he's the type of dude who has no qualms with attacking his own teammates. I'm fairly surprised he hasn't punched Lou Piniella in the face.

Apparently Mark McGwire has died and is now playing baseball somewhere just above the skyline in some ethereal heaven-like state.

And finally, here's Chad Hutchinson, former Cowboys quarterback. Remember him? No? That's okay. He had a lifetime 69.1 QB rating and a 24.75 career MLB ERA.

Thanks again to Noah. Let me know if you have a blog or some sort of link to promote, because I like to do that.