Off We Go

My first TCDB trade was with a familiar face, so to speak. 

 

I wanted to thank everyone for their feedback on my topic about trading on TCDB, both on Twitter and through the blog. I've barely scratched the surface as far as what all I need to enter into the database for wants and haves, but I'm already three trades deep. The first cards arrived this afternoon from Mr. Haverkamp, who is a friend of the blog and frequent contest entrant.

I picked up a couple of Mickey Mantle cards to fill out some set needs. Mantle went from overexposed with his Topps deal to underutilized with his Panini deal. I wonder how long that Panini contract runs for, because I don't know if they're going to continue to make baseball cards in any capacity beyond this year.

This is my first Roman Emperors mini from the 2007 Allen & Ginter set. I wasn't even aware of Allen & Ginter until this blog started in 2008, so I have quite a few needs from the first two revival sets.

A couple of the old Fleer/Laughlin World Series cards were thrown in as a bonus. These weren't officially on my want list but they were definitely needed. I think there's at least a few different printings of this set. These ones are from the 1971 "black back" version.

I probably won't post about every TCDB trade I complete (I admire those of you who can find the time to do that), but I plan to keep at it as long as it makes sense to. I'm still going to be trading through the blog as well. If you do use the site, you can check out my profile here.

Trading with a Fanatic

Carlos Beltran is ready for the playoffs. Are you ready?

For at least the third time, I received a large package of set building cards from fellow set builder The Topps Baseball Fanatic. His blog primarily consists of wantlists of cards from Topps sets, but if you find something he needs and work out a deal with him I'm sure you're mailbox will be stuffed with cards that you need.

In addition to a few cards from the 2008 Topps 50th Anniversary All-Rookie Team insert set, I also got a healthy amount of needs from the 2007 Bowman Heritage. This short printed Ichiro "no signature" variation is a nice get. I don't exactly like that so many cards in this set have variations, but it's better that than no Bowman Heritage at all, which is the case these days.

Here's a shiny Miguel Cabrera. I don't really know what to say about Miggy, a guy who has put up video game-like numbers for the second straight year. I don't know, it could be that he's really good at the baseball game. I have a ton of these rainbow foil cards, but I need a ton more.

This package also continued where the previous package I received from The Fanatic left off, with a bunch more 2013 Heritage cards to add to my collection. Lance Lynn has been tabbed to start game 2 of the upcoming NLDS series with the Pirates right behind Adam Wainwright. Lynn was roughed up in a few relief appearances in last year's divisional series with the Nats and didn't fare much better in two brief starts versus the Giants in the NLCS. Hopefully he has learned something from his past playoff experiences and can turn that around.

I'm still chipping away at the 2006 Bazooka set, which was once upon a time a repack staple. I like all of the inserts and parallels, and I picked up a few of those in this package.

Well, it's the, uh... rarely seen Larry Bigbie. The right side of this card could tear apart the bozos on the left. That's all I'm saying.

Finally, this is a tough to find (for me) short printed team card from the 2007 Topps Heritage set. On a night where we saw the Reds season end, I had to wonder how long they'll keep Dusty Baker around, especially after he sent an ill-prepared Johnny Cueto to the mound with the season on the line. I guess it was technically the postseason, but it doesn't really feel like it. Much of the country was rooting for the "underdog" story Pirates to come out on top, and I was as well, though for a much different reason. I think the Cardinals, despite the regular season head-to-head records, will have better success against Pittsburgh than I did against Cincinnati. A couple of the Reds not-so-secret weapons (Chapman and Billy Hamilton) had me a bit concerned with the way they can affect a close game.

Better Than a Blaster: Bazooka Blasts

I'm trying to make a conscious effort in 2012 to reallocate what I feel I would normally spend on a blaster on something I'm a little more interested in. Now that Heritage is apparently out, I'm sure I will spend some cash on that set, but there isn't much else being released this year that I'm truly excited about. I've only purchased a grand total of 5 base 2012 Topps packs this year and I did break down and buy some Opening Day cards.

As mentioned earlier on this blog, I bought some loose hobby packs of 2006 Bazooka online - 10 to be exact. I went back to the same seller and picked up 10 more. This time I will spare everyone the gory details and just post a few images here and there rather than the blow-by-blow account.

Here's Michael Morse from his previous life as a Mariners organizational spare part.

It seems really weird to get Barry Bonds cards in packs now. This was at the most ridiculous point in Barry's career, where he apparently was so fatigued from being hulked up all the time that he couldn't bear to stand on his own.

Fausto is now known as the much less interesting Roberto Hernandez, and may or may not pitch again for the Tribe. I wonder if Bazooka Joe was sad to learn of the fate of one of his 220 favorite players.

It's equally as weird to get Clemens cards in this day and age. I wonder if and when Clemens will be welcomed back into baseball in some capacity.

Chipper Jones is one of the few players still around that was drafted when I was in high school. It looks like this season will be his last, which means he'll get to do that whole farewell tour thing that Bobby Cox did awhile back.

It's actually kind of frustrating that Roy Oswalt decided to play chicken with the Cardinals (and others) only to eventually settle on sitting out the first couple of months of the season. I'll just cross my fingers and hope that Lance Lynn is good and the rest of the back of the Cardinals rotation is not terrible while we wait on the end of Chris Carpenter's indefinite hiatus.

Stickers! On a card!

This is a pretty good "hit" as far as 2006 "hits" go. I could have easily ended up with Mark Prior or something. This makes two hits in the 20 packs I've purchased from this seller. It's nice to know that someone out there isn't searching their packs, not that there's probably much of a market for 2006 Bazooka memorabilia.

It's time to update the want list again.

5 on the 5: 2006 Bazooka (Part 2)

Last week, I posted about some 2006 Bazooka packs, the first five of ten hobby packs that I purchased in an effort to restart my efforts towards collecting the set. Here's the second bunch in another installation of "5 on the 5".

Pack 6:
96 - Edgar Renteria Blue Fortune
192 - Jon Garland Gold Chunk

20 of 55 - Francisco Rodriguez / Billy Wagner / Huston Street / Joe Nathan 4 in 1 (All relievers, three of which are still active.)
137 - Jim Edmonds (I think I may have this in triplicate, but I'm still always going to post images of Edmonds when I get his cards.)

48 - Cliff Floyd

80 - Jeff Francoeur

30 - Jason Kendall

101 - Troy Glaus (For some reason I expected Troy Glaus to give it another go at some point, but he hasn't played since 2010.)

Pack 7:

103 - Aramis Ramirez Blue Fortune

202 - Chuck James Gold Chunk

24 of 30 - Alfonso Soriano Stamp (I know I received a comment on my last post asking if I was collecting the stamp cards. Unfortunately, I'm collecting everything in this set aside from any relics and what have you.

204 - Darrell Rasner (I don't even remember who he is. I guess I was collecting in 2006, but not at anywhere near the extent I would be later.)

70 - Eric Chavez

187 - Omar Vizquel

68 - Jose Reyes (I have a feeling that the Miami Marlins are going to be my new least favorite NL team. They are just so awful to look at.)

102 - Aaron Rowand

Pack 8:

207 - Joe Saunders Blue Fortune

174 - Jose Vidro Gold Chunk

16 of 30 - Mickey Mantle Stamp (I'm always a little bit puzzled when I pull a Mantle card because in so many sets he's the only retired player. It just seems weird.)

61 - Luis Gonzalez

112 - Chris Capuano

93 - Joe Crede

40 - J.D. Drew (I think people will always view Drew as having had a disappointing career, but he certainly wasn't a bust.)

176 - Toby Hall

140 - Rafael Furcal

Pack 9:

29 - Mike Piazza Blue Fortune

BBA-DW - Dontrelle Willis Pitching Basics Jersey (Ah, the pinstripe is a nice touch. Any takers?)

49 of 55 - Richie Sexson / Paul Casey / Chad Tracy / Lyle Overbay (Ah, the stars of yesteryear. Well, maybe stars isn't quite the right word...)

12 - Magglio Ordonez

162 - Randy Winn

9 - Travis Hafner

97 - Roy Halladay (In 2006, Halladay was still vastly underrated and under-appreciated.)

8 - Adam Dunn (I'm sure Dunn would like to pretend 2011 never happened, as would a few White Sox fans.)

Pack 10:

9 - Travis Hafner Blue Fortune

40 - J.D. Drew Gold Chunk

21 of 55 - Melvin Mora / Morgan Ensberg / Scott Rolen / Eric Chavez (I'll have to check to see if I need this for my Cardinals collection.)

128 - Carlos Delgado

2 - Scott Podsednik

61 - Luis Gonzalez

137 - Jim Edmonds (Again.)

48 - Cliff Floyd

80 - Jeff Francoeur (This seems... familiar.)

My wants and trades will be updated shortly. I don't have a ton of Bazooka cards to spare, but if you can help out I may have some cards from other sets or teams that you like. Let's try, why not?

5 on the 5: 2006 Bazooka

The 2006 Bazooka set has just about everything I could ever ask for. Fun factor is high, cost is low, and the design is just on the side of interesting without being gaudy. I first got hooked on it as a throw-in in many purchased repacks several years ago. Now, I'm seeking the packs out on eBay and starting to work on completing a set. I picked up 10 hobby packs recently and here are the first 5.

Pack 1:

128 - Carlos Delgago Blue Fortune (Each pack leads off with a blue parallel "fortune" card, where the "fortune" is always the same. Buy some more cards, kids.)

175 - Alfonso Soriano Gold Chunk (Next up is always a "gold chunk" card, a parallel that doubles as a pack searcher deterrent. Soriano was less... unlikable as a Nat.)

3 of 24 - Trevor Hoffman Comic (The third card always seems to be an insert as well, but not always the same kind.)

85 - Shawn Chacon

46 - Coco Crisp

31 - Pat Burrell (Pat the Bat was probably an inspiration for Jason Sudekis's character on the latest season of Eastbound and Down, or so I imagine anyway.)

212 - Anderson Hernandez (Two last names!)

45 - Mariano Rivera (Is this his last season? I don't mind if it's not, but once he decides to retire he needs to retire. No Favre-ing it.)

Pack 2:

150 - Carlos Beltran Blue Fortune (It didn't take me long at all to get used to Lance Berkman as a Cardinal, but I have a feeling that I will never consciously realize that Beltran plays for St. Louis for some reason.)

5 - Derek Jeter Gold Chunk

54 of 55 - Ryan Garko / John Koronka / Chris Denorfia / Jeff Mathis 4 on 1 Stickers (I don't have many of these, yet. This is an interesting parallel because all 220 players in the base set are represented on 55 different sticker cards, seeded at 1:3 packs.)

161 - Orlando Hudson

176 - Toby Hall

73 - Trevor Hoffman (It's rather baffling that Hoffman was a shortstop at one point.)

140 - Rafael Furcal

122 - Bartolo Colon

Pack 3:

2 - Scott Podsednik Blue Fortune

39 - David DeJesus Gold Chunk

3 of 30 - Hank Blalock Stamp (Another insert.)

202 - Chuck James

42 - Joe Mauer (Still relevant?)

175 - Alfonso Soriano

39 - David DeJesus

98 - Eric Milton (Milton had a 6.47 ERA in 34 starts in 2005. 6.47!)

Pack 4:

88 - Austin Kearns Blue Fortune

104 - Nomar Garciaparra Gold Chunk (Nomar totally pulled a fast one on you guys!)

10 of 30 - Roy Halladay Stamp

184 - Kerry Wood

195 - Jaret Wright

60 - Derek Lowe

141 - Bobby Abreu

163 - Jimmy Rollins (The backs have a bit of a comic book feel, which is appropriate for the set, but lack actual cartoons for some reason.)

Pack 5:

95 - Andy Pettitte Blue Fortune

114 - Lew Ford Gold Chunk

11 of 30 - Tim Hudson Stamp (I'm pulling lots of "stamp" cards so far. Just so you know, these things are not functional stamps in any sense of the word.)

178 - Brian Giles

117 - Placido Polanco

106 - David Ortiz (I find it really, really difficult to stomach that someone making more than 14 million dollars to play baseball would gripe about playing first base on the odd occasion, instead of sitting out the defensive portions of his team's innings. That's just terrible. It can't be that hard. No one seems to be asking him to be good at it or anything.)

94 - Mark Prior

143 - B.J. Ryan