January 2009
M T W T F S S
« Dec    
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  
Subscribe to RSS Feed

2008 Tristar Prospects Plus blaster box

on January 2nd, 2009 by Laurens

2008 Tristar Prospects Plus blaster box [$19.99 each] - I was looking at the trading card section the second time [I was bored and spending time at Walmart is fun] and this blaster ‘popped up.’ The first time I was at thr trading card section, I only s…

Continue reading about 2008 Tristar Prospects Plus blaster box »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

The star of the first day of the MLB Network - Don Larsen

on January 1st, 2009 by Laurens

Don Larsen signed my card [on the back] for $7 - he also responded to my letter asking about his off-season conditioning with a note of his own. His 1956 World Series perfect game is the showcase of the MLB Network’s first day broadcast - I was sort of…

Continue reading about The star of the first day of the MLB Network - Don Larsen »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Featured autograph: Garret Anderson

on January 1st, 2009 by Laurens

I really haven’t blogged about anything autograph related, though I see myself as more of an autograph hound - rather than merely just a baseball card collector.One of my ideas was to do a dayf style blog about autographs - however, I feel like I wante…

Continue reading about Featured autograph: Garret Anderson »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Featured card: 2007 Topps Heritage All-Star subset Brian Fuentes #494

on January 1st, 2009 by Laurens

The Angels have signed Brian Fuentes and it obviously gives the end of the bullpen a different look - with a decidedly different type of guy. To be honest, the typical Angels’ fans are likely thinking Fuentes still isn’t Troy Percival, but at least he …

Continue reading about Featured card: 2007 Topps Heritage All-Star subset Brian Fuentes #494 »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Featured cards: 1992 Topps Stadium Club

on December 31st, 2008 by Laurens

Topps’ sophomore effort may have as impressive and/or better images than their first release in 1991 - the problem for me was Topps turned Stadium Club into a bloated 900 card set, issued in three series of 300 cards. It was the first Stadium Club pro…

Continue reading about Featured cards: 1992 Topps Stadium Club »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Featured card: 1983 Fleer Rick Rhoden #318

on December 31st, 2008 by Laurens

I like this card because the subject looks like an inmate in some jail [or a super fan] showing off his cell [or a 'man room'] - with an unhealthy fascination for a Major League pitcher [look at the multiple jerseys, look the subject wearing a pinstrip…

Continue reading about Featured card: 1983 Fleer Rick Rhoden #318 »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Dinged Corners new year’s baseball card questions

on December 30th, 2008 by Laurens

I haven’t gotten involved in one of these blog question and answer posts - but I’m trying to do something in involve myself in the hobby. One of those ways is answering questions to give you a chance to reflect and share a little about what makes you a…

Continue reading about Dinged Corners new year’s baseball card questions »

Category: Card Buzz, Dinged Corners | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Featured cards: rookie cards of three 1980s minor stars

on December 29th, 2008 by Laurens

1984 Fleer Kevin McReynolds #307 - when I started following baseball through baseball cards in the early 1990s, McReynolds always struck me as a very pedestrian, mediocre player. He was winding down his career and there was nothing impressive about his…

Continue reading about Featured cards: rookie cards of three 1980s minor stars »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Fairfield repack break

on December 27th, 2008 by Laurens

15 count repack box from Fairfield [$9.99 each at a Target] - I’m not going to be suckered into a repack box of any kind, but a clear 150 count plastic box labeled ‘Fire Sale - 15 baseball packs’ caught my eye. I could probably get the box for a buck, …

Continue reading about Fairfield repack break »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Featured card: 1982 Topps Mike Witt #744

on December 26th, 2008 by Laurens

Witt was the workhorse ace for the California Angels in the 1980s until all the innings he pitched took a toll - and his arm was burnt out right as he hit 30. Witt finished his career with the New York Yankees in 1993 after being traded for eventual Ha…

Continue reading about Featured card: 1982 Topps Mike Witt #744 »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Thanks for the memories

on December 25th, 2008 by Laurens

Too bad your ugly mug won’t be playing in Anaheim for the next eight years - for half a season, you gave the Angels a shot in the arm. Besides your offensive contributions in the second half of the 2008 season, one thing that impressed me was your athl…

Continue reading about Thanks for the memories »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Featured card: 2006 Upper Deck Lance Berkman #213

on December 23rd, 2008 by Laurens

‘Fat Elvis’ does his best Jumpman logo impression - while trying to make the catch at the wall. This card just reaffirms my belief 2006 Upper Deck as probably the most attractive, no-frills, no cards worth $$, base set in this decade. I’d like to displ…

Continue reading about Featured card: 2006 Upper Deck Lance Berkman #213 »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Featured cards: Andre Dawson trio

on December 22nd, 2008 by Laurens

I found this card in a nickel box at a place where I get random cards - unlike many other Dawson baseball cards, where he is grimacing and/or is seemingly in a serious mood, he is actually looking at someone and smiling. Dawson is in the prime of his c…

Continue reading about Featured cards: Andre Dawson trio »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Featured card: 2000 Topps Brian Giles #62

on December 18th, 2008 by Laurens

I don’t pass judgement on anyone [like athletes in a sport I'm a fan of] other than the fact - San Diego Padres outfielder Brian Giles was caught on tape [grabbing his girlfriend and throwing her to the ground] and it looks like ‘it is what it is.’Now…

Continue reading about Featured card: 2000 Topps Brian Giles #62 »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

A package in the mail with goodies

on December 11th, 2008 by Laurens

When I got home [on Monday], I saw there was a box - I knew it a box of cards for me, all for free. I really haven’t been a beneficiary of all sorts of goodies [random or not] through the world of baseball card blogging, but I was able to happen to st…

Continue reading about A package in the mail with goodies »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

K-Rod is a goner

on December 9th, 2008 by Laurens

Angels fans knew how this was going to turn out and instead of being a pariah in Anaheim the [animosity over a signing long-term deal, mound/celebration antics, 'nervous save' moments] - Francisco Rodriguez can have a fresh start in New York [providing…

Continue reading about K-Rod is a goner »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Obligatory Greg Maddux retirement post

on December 9th, 2008 by Laurens

Greg Maddux signed this autograph in-person when he was still with the San Diego Padres a couple of years back - his autograph has never been much, but I was glad to get him anyway. In the last part 10 years of his career Maddux has seemed to be under …

Continue reading about Obligatory Greg Maddux retirement post »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Featured pick up: 2008 Topps Triple Threads Ryan Zimmerman triple relic

on December 7th, 2008 by Laurens

I was looking through stacks of cards at a twice a week card show and saw a 2008 topps Triple Threads autograph/patch/bat [serial #'d 18/50] of Ryan Zimmerman - it was $15 and I wasn’t going to pick up, though I thought the patch pieces popped out.One …

Continue reading about Featured pick up: 2008 Topps Triple Threads Ryan Zimmerman triple relic »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Trading card commandments: Blacklist Cards by Paul Green

on December 1st, 2008 by Laurens

These are basically the basic messages I gleamed from the pages of this book - I was so eager to jot them down somewhere, before returning the book to the library [edit: about 10 years ago].I think Green passed away several years ago [and may have been…

Continue reading about Trading card commandments: Blacklist Cards by Paul Green »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Featured card: 2001 Topps Fusion Jeff Cirillo #115

on December 1st, 2008 by Laurens

The first thing sticking out is Cirillo’s behind - his face is also obscured, which may or may not detract from some card’s appeal [see how Tony Gwynn feels about his 1983 Topps card]. On the other hand the card shows Cirillo swinging away at the pitch…

Continue reading about Featured card: 2001 Topps Fusion Jeff Cirillo #115 »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Late season update sets

on November 28th, 2008 by Laurens

2008 Donruss Elite Extra Edition and 2008 Bowman Draft are out and I think these are the most established products - and where smart collectors put their money in as far as finding cards of their teams’ future stars. I’m trying to get some cards from t…

Continue reading about Late season update sets »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Featured pack break: 2008 Topps Update ‘fat pack’ or the Mark Teixeira Angels card of horrors

on November 22nd, 2008 by Laurens

2008 Topps Update ‘fat pack’ [$4.99 each] - Target had a ’super fat pack’ with 80 cards [$9.99], though I’ll go with the 36 cards.’Blister one’UH 271 Brad Thompson - redundantly mehUH 55 Cesar Izturis - redundantly mehUH 13 Geoff Blum - redundantly meh…

Continue reading about Featured pack break: 2008 Topps Update ‘fat pack’ or the Mark Teixeira Angels card of horrors »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Card shop trip

on November 21st, 2008 by Laurens

Bonus babies or cameo cardsYou walk into a card shop and wish you can pick up unopened packs or boxes, maybe some singles - but then some times you get ’sticker shock’ and decide you’d better be thinking about picking up something else. Broken bat sh…

Continue reading about Card shop trip »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Taking account of it all with some perspective

on November 19th, 2008 by Laurens

I live in Orange County, California but was about 90 miles away in El Cajon - to attend one of baseball Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn’s public appearances at a car dealership on Nov. 15.I was pretty much isolated from the fires that burned through parts of …

Continue reading about Taking account of it all with some perspective »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Featured pickup: 2008 Topps Stadium Club Gary Sheffield Beam Team autograph BTA-GS

on November 9th, 2008 by Laurens

I probably didn’t need this card - but I had to prove to myself I could pick up one, lousy single from a recently released product for less than the current average pack price.I guess I’m a sucker for $10 singles and this card was something to put away…

Continue reading about Featured pickup: 2008 Topps Stadium Club Gary Sheffield Beam Team autograph BTA-GS »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Trying to keep things in play

on November 3rd, 2008 by Laurens

I’m organizing card images of collecting topics cards - either scanned or collected online. I figure I have a better idea of why I want a particular card, when I know what it looks like. I am also trying to create an informal wantlist of collecting t…

Continue reading about Trying to keep things in play »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Congratulations to the Phillie Phanatic

on October 29th, 2008 by Laurens

The Philadelphia Phillies and the Philly Phanatic will be doing a lot of partying the next week or so, after the Phanatic’s team captured the first World Series title for Philadelphia Phillies since 1980.

Continue reading about Congratulations to the Phillie Phanatic »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Collecting topics cards

on October 26th, 2008 by Laurens

Infamous - a tragic figure perhapsAwesome action - The Human Vacuum CleanerAwesome action - making a Web GemInking it up - obliging the fansAwesome action - dirt is the name of the gameCards like these is what makes up a bulk of my ‘active thinking’ co…

Continue reading about Collecting topics cards »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

2008 World Series

on October 21st, 2008 by Laurens

You hear all the chatter and the hype with top prospects like - ‘call-up Evan Longoria already, he is going to be a difference maker, he’s going to be better than so-and-so [insert name of established veteran here] right now’ or ‘David Price is going t…

Continue reading about 2008 World Series »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Featured card: Joe Maddon 2007 Topps #266

on October 21st, 2008 by Laurens

Joe Maddon doesn’t have the perception of a conventional manager - but doesn’t come off as a goofy, say-anything guy either. It seems like he has the ability to manage his team without the complications many sophisticated fans these days grumble about….

Continue reading about Featured card: Joe Maddon 2007 Topps #266 »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Cardboard meanderings

on October 15th, 2008 by Laurens

Sorting cards late at night - this is essentially what I did in the early through late 1990s, when I was getting a grasp of consciously collecting, whether or not what I collected was crap. I would be in my room, alone, just trying to sort cards here a…

Continue reading about Cardboard meanderings »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Card show purchases #3

on October 14th, 2008 by Laurens

Spent $14 on an assorted number of common cards - this was Part III of my purchase, but didn’t get to post it. Out of the three purchases posted, this cost the most [$10], though it was more about quantity than quality [it would seem].At the show I go …

Continue reading about Card show purchases #3 »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

It is all about the possibilities

on October 7th, 2008 by Laurens

With the Angels’ out of it, I’m not emotionally attached to any of the teams playing in the American League Championship Series - the Tampa Bay Rays have been getting too much hype and too much love since their break out season and maybe they need to b…

Continue reading about It is all about the possibilities »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

The season is over for the Angels

on October 7th, 2008 by Laurens

One run could have given the Angels the chance to win - despite another ’shut down’ outing by Boston’s Jon Lester in Game 4.The Angels lost, 3-2, to the Boston Red Sox in Game 4 of the American League Division Series - it means no prolonged in-person a…

Continue reading about The season is over for the Angels »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off
Subscribe to RSS Feed

Card show purchases #2

on October 6th, 2008 by Laurens

Spent $14 on an assorted number of common cards - I actually found a stack of random Projections Tristar minor league cards [I am sure these cards are from their 'high series']. They were in a box listed as ‘6 for $1′ and I jumped at a chance to pick a…

Continue reading about Card show purchases #2 »

Category: Card Buzz | Comments Off