Holiday Breakdown

Wrapping up some envelopes received over the holidays.

Fellow Portland-based blog Baseball Card Breakdown dropped some surprise holiday greetings in my box of the Cardinals variety. Many of these were shiny and/or numbered, which makes things extra fancy. Extra fancy like the Sepia toned Lance Berkman mini (76/99) from his Redbird days.

Austin Gomber is an exciting young prospect from the 2014. His numbers last year at single-A were eye-popping. This is another numbered parallel (75/100) from the 2014 Panini Prizm Perennial Draft Picks set.

Incidentally, I didn't know there was another Prizm set beyond just the, y'know, Prizm set. Weaver is another pitching prospect from that same draft. Bright futures all around!

Gavin also set a couple of Cardinals from the 2010 Topps Pro Debut set. I had to look up Jason Stidham. Let's just say it's not a great sign that he wasn't even the first Jason Stidham to come up in Google's search results. Also, he's not to be confused with Jason Statham.

Well, this is certainly colorful! This numbered (90/99) parallel insert (or is that insert parallel?) is headed for Erin's collection... for now!

Up For Grabs Cardinalpalooza: Lance Berkman

Lance Berkman only really spent a full season with the Cardinals, while barely able to find his way on to the field in the second year of his two year contract. History will probably remember his Cardinals tenure as much more lengthy than it was, and Berkman was a fan favorite as he has been wherever his career has taken him, outside of New York I suppose. The list of his available cards follows at the end of the post.

I wish these cards didn't appear to be fading away at the bottom.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Berkman's run with St. Louis, aside from his being a key contributor to a championship winning team, is the fact that very late in his career he was sent to patrol the outfield regularly after having primarily been a first baseman for years. Nutty.

The list:

2011 Bowman #45 [3 available]
2011 Bowman Gold #45
2011 Topps Update (All-Star) #US52 [4 available]
2011 Topps Lineage #47 [5 available]
2011 Topps Opening Day #69 [3 available]
2012 Bowman #36
2012 Bowman Platinum #15
2012 Topps #466 [2 available]
2012 Topps Golden Moments #GM-27
2012 Topps Gypsy Queen #185
2012 Topps Opening Day #128 [3 available]

What Just Happened?

Did this... really happen? I was enjoying the on-field festivities of the Ducks winning the Civil War and locking up their spot in the BCS National Championship game (an unlikely event in and of itself given their program's overall history) when a brief news blurb flashed up on one of the few screens not tuned to Oregon/Oregon State. Lance Berkman... THE Lance Berkman... a Cardinal? Sure, I'd seen his name attached to the Cards on mlbtraderumors.com, but nearly every free agent and rumored-to-be available player usually has a dozen or more teams mentioned in his news bit. Miguel Tejada has been headed to St. Louis for about 7 straight years now.

For now, at least for the next year, a former nemesis who hasn't played the outfield regularly in about 7 seasons will be taking flyballs and hopefully not getting hit by all of them. Fat Elvis (and no, I really don't expect the Big Puma moniker to catch on) is really taking his act to St. Louis. Crazy.

Speaking of crazy, does anyone else get random unsolicited emails that appear to be loosely related to their blog from time to time? My humble blog has, once again, made it on the Top (insert number here) list of blogs that might have something to do with sports cards. Check out the winning endorsement above. That's Cards on Cards... your leading authority on 108 - Doug Mientkiewicz!

Meanwhile, I will continue to be highly suspicious of any emails from unrecognized senders that aren't immediately promising me specific trading cards and/or unclaimed sums from the family of a high ranking official in a country I've never been to. Anyone want my credit card number?