A Sigh of Relief from Spring Training!

Hey guys, Drew back here! After a bit of a delay, Spring Training got a little bit better for me. I received two TTM successes on Monday, both from two above average relief pitchers; the first of which used to play for my favorite team!

Boone Logan: 2/2 in 37 Days (Received March 16th)

I just recently chose Logan as my left handed specialist in my All Yankees team bullpen, and it was ironic that these came back the day after I published my choices for the pitching staff. Boone was a huge part of our bullpen success for 4 years before he fled for the Rockies last year. He was originally part of a trade that sent Javier Vazquez to the Yankees for his second stint and Melky Cabrera to the Braves. Little did we know, Logan would be the more important piece of the deal than Vazquez. 

Boone signed 2 2014 Topps cards for my collection, one from Series 1 and the other from the Update Series. The Update Series card is one of the red parallels, which I pulled from a blaster box last Christmas. Both cards came out great signed in blue sharpie!

Koji Uehara: 2/2 in 328 Days (Received March 16th) 

If you've been really paying attention (it's okay, I don't expect you to), you may remember I mentioned getting an RTS already this Spring from Koji. I sent to the wrong Red Sox address, which appeared to be an issue for several forum members I know of. This success was from a request I sent last year to the right address, one that I had already written off. The moral of the story is to never write off any of your TTM requests. He was becoming my TTM White Whale, because I believe I sent to him three times without a success. Anyone who knows about through the mail successes in baseball know that Uehara has been one of the most consistent signers in the game for years.

Finally, I have my 2009 Topps and 2011 Topps signed nicely in blue with his number inscribed! From what I've seen, he signs his full name on certified autographs, rather than just the first name he exhibits on his TTM signatures, but that's perfectly okay with me. Uehara has been one of the better closers in baseball for the Red Sox, which is impressive considering he started his MLB career at the age of 34. Last season he was named to the All Star Team, finishing the season 6-5 with a 2.52 ERA and 26 saves. I may end up targeting him in my fantasy baseball draft tonight; who knows.

I was recently able to create a page on my blog that links directly to a Flickr account I've set up. Flickr seems to be a great service for uploading pictures, offering 1 TB of free space that I've barely even used so far. If you would like to check out some galleries of signed baseball cards, football cards, baseball pictures, signed baseballs, you name it; give it a look! 

Thanks Boone and Koji! See Ya!

TTM Tuesday!

Hey guys, Drew back here! First and foremost, I want to thank everyone who commented on my previous post advising my recent college decision. Regardless, I am planning on coming home next semester, and I want to say that its more than just that I'm homesick. Being lonely has played into my decision quite a bit, however I also feel uncomfortable on my campus and since it's a big sports school, a majority of the students have a really scummy attitude. I've made one friend on campus, and he and I agree that we're misfits at this school, and after a few of my old friends came to visit a few weeks ago, I realized I couldn't defend why I came to this school in the first place, so I decided that coming home would be the right decision for me. It's one of the first real life decisions I've had to make, but I feel relieved having made a decision and am looking forward to returning home and commuting to a great local private school while getting to see some old friends, my girlfriend, and my family.

Anyway, personal life aside, I've gotten four TTM successes since my most recent autograph post, and here are the first three of them! Enjoy:

Adam Kennedy: 2/2 in 22 Days (Received September 9th)

Adam Kennedy was a staple of my childhood watching baseball. He was always around, and I never knew much about him, but prior to sending off a few of my cards of his, I looked up his lifetime stats and saw that he actually was a fairly solid player. In 2009, he led a career resurgence in which he batted .289 with the A's, swatting 11 home runs, driving in 61 runs, and stealing 20 bases. Mr. Kennedy is now retired, and signed a 2008 Allen & Ginter as well as a 2010 Topps card for my collection; both of which look fantastic signed boldly in blue.

Austin Meadows: 1/1 in 127 Days (Received September 15th)

Last year, I sent 2013 Pirates #1 draft pick Austin Meadows this same card, only to get a response from his mother, which you can see here. Luckily, I retried Meadows earlier this season and got him back this past month, signed beautifully in blue. I've heard great things about him thus far into his minor league career and I really hope to see him succeed for the Bucs down the road!

David Murphy: 2/2 in 35 Days (Received September 25th)

David Murphy has had his moments so far into his 9 year career. He has been known as an average player often times, but he did offer a lot to Rangers fans; maybe to a little bit lesser extent than Nick Swisher gave the Yankees in his time. Now, they both play together in Cleveland, and neither of them had very good years in 2014. However, Murphy has shown that he could turn it around, and I'll definitely be rooting for him after he signed my 2009 Topps and 2012 Gypsy Queen cards in black with bible verses! I remember reading Night Owl Cards' posts about how much he liked that Murphy card, so when I saw it I knew I should try to have him sign it. Sure enough, he came through!

Thank you so much to these three players for signing my stuff, and again to my Dad for opening everything for me while I've been gone! But, I'll be home soon! 

See Ya!

Does Topps Hate the Padres or Adrian Gonzalez?

Hey guys, Drew back here, I almost forgot about this whole thing until I saw Brian at Play at the Plate get one in a trade. Judging by 2 2009 Topps Adrian Gonzalez cards, Topps must have something against A) Adrian Gonzalez, B) The Padres, or C) Adrian Gonzalez collectors. Do any of us like these gimmicks?

What the heck is wrong with Topps?

2009 Card Product Awards!!!!

Hey guys, so far, so good, here are your winners for the best products and cards of the year:

Card Company of the Year: Topps

Baseball Product of the Year: Topps Allen & Ginter

Football Product of the Year: Topps Mayo

Baseball Insert Set of the Year: Topps Propaganda Posters

Football Insert Set of the Year: SPX Shadow Box

Baseball Autographed Insert of the Year:

Allen & Ginter Framed Autos

Football Autographed Insert of the Year:

UD Philadelphia On Card Autos

Yeah, that was mine

Well, voting is officially over and I'm kinda glad, that was pretty brutal. The winners for the blog awards will posted at least starting at like 10:00, blog of the year will be announced at midnight! Alright, later! Happy New Year!

Couple packs from Target

Hey guys, finishing yesterday's stuff with a couple packs I got from Target before the movie. So, I got a pack of Updates & Highlights, SP Authentic, Ticket to Stardom & O-Pee-Chee, here's the results:

2009 O-Pee-Chee:
- Randy Winn
- Jhonny Peralta
- Jacoby Ellsbury
- Josh Willingham Black Border
- 2008 NL Home Run Leaders (Howard/Dunn/Delgado)
- Miguel Cabrera
- Josh Bard

Thoughts: Now I have the black border and regular stinkin Josh Bard mugshot card. Want it? All for trade, no intentions of building the set.

2009 Topps Updates & Highlights:
- Guillermo Quiroz
- Ivan Rodriguez
- Lance Broadway
- Ichiro All Star
- Ted Lilly All Star
- Matt Cain All Star
- Michael Young All Star
- Daisuke Matsuzaka Turkey Red
- Zach Greinke Topps Town
- Ken Griffey Jr. Season Highlights
- Ryan Hanigan
- Javier Vazquez

Thoughts: Not bad, I hate Dice-K after drafting him as my ace in fantasy last year, and he sucked, man, if I didn't have Cliff Lee & Justin Verlander. The Greinke is decent but the insert is not, the Ivan Rodriguez is nice, the Ichiro & Griffeys are cool too.

2009 Topps Ticket to Stardom:
- Hunter Pence
- Carlos Delgado
- Alex Gordon
- Andy Sonnanstine Perforated
- Alex Rodriguez Seasoned Veterans
- Jorge Posada
- Hanley Ramirez
- Felix Hernandez

Thoughts: Awesome pack, likin Ticket to Stardom so far. The funny thing is before I left to go to the movies, I was working on my wantlist, and I just put on the Posada & A-Rod seasoned veterans when I left. The A-Rod is nice, cool insert, but the only flaw in this is the stupid perforated cards. If this is a ticket brand then every card should have a ticket feel, not just one card per pack. I like the perforated's a little more because of that, but every card should be like that. Nice pack though

2009 SP Authentic:
- Matt Holliday
- Ryan Zimmerman
- Kevin Slowey SP Authentic Signatures Autograph!!! :)
- Tim Lincecum
- Alex Rodriguez

Thoughts: This was some steroid usin/free agent/pot smokin/horrible team good player pack! And an autograph! The A-Rod is cool to have, and the Slowey is an awesome pull, although it probably only sells from 5-10 bucks. It doesn't say the odds on autographs on the Upper Deck packs, so that stinks, but it isn't too easy to pull an autograph in retail!

Overall a pretty good purchase, happy with the results, I opened them in the movie theater. For $10 or so it was a steal. I beat the packsearcher!

Drew: 1
Packsearcher: 0

Lastly, you know the Topps complete sets they sell at Target with the Mickey Mantle memorabilia card staring at you in front of very thin plastic? Well, some idiots stole them all at my Target! I don't buy full sets but you must be kinda desperate if you're stealing baseball cards. Arg! See Ya!

*click to enlarge, sorry for bad pic*

All For trade except Yanks

While I was gone

drewscards ***BREAKING NEWS*** I just ordered my 09 Allen & Ginter Box off Blowout! Can't Wait!!!

I got a blaster box of 2009 Topps Baseball Series 1. I got some cards I needed, including an A-Rod, Mariano, and Carl Pavano base card for the Yankees PC. I also pulled a bunch of rookie cards, including the David Price rookie card that I already owned. My numbered gold card was a Postseason Highlights Matt Stairs Card (#ed 478/2009):

I also pulled a Christy Matthewson Legends of the Game insert, a Garrett Atkins Turkey Red, and many Toppstowns including a gold Alex Gordon. I also got a lot of base, let me know if you need anything. I have a good amount, but I don't have everything. My one per box Commemorative Retired Legend patch card was this one:

LPR-46 Nolan Ryan Commemorative 1985 All Star Game Patch!

I sort of wish I got one of the thirteen Yankee patches, but this guy makes an exception. This is truly an awesome card that I bet pays for the box. For now, this card is not for trade or sale, but could be in the future. I never knew how cool these are in person!

Sports Card Info and I recently noticed this about Topps' 09 boxes:

WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD- Small parts:
Not for children under 6 yrs.

This doesn't make any sense what so ever. If anyone knows why the heck baseball cards are hazardous to kids, feel free to let me know. But this just doesn't make any sense!

Lastly, thanks to the person on Blowout Forums for the trade we made. I got my card the day before I left for my trip. Very nice, I hope you liked mine. I'm still waiting for the Mojo Hand's stuff, hopefully it comes soon. See Ya!