Summer TTM Mailbag!

Hey everyone, Drew back here! After working the summer away, covering for everyone going on vacation, it is officially my turn to kick back and relax. While I'm gone, I figured I would take some time to catch up on all that I have yet to post. Believe it or not, I haven't done a TTM Mailbag post since May 24th. Unfortunately, I've only gotten 3 successes in that span, and while having an iPhone malfunction, my note detailing all of my TTM batches was lost. I don't know how long any of these returns took, but a success is a success nonetheless.

Tyson Ross: 2/2 (via San Diego Padres)

Ross has been a staple of many of my fantasy teams this year after posting phenomenally underrated numbers in 2014. He has recently been impressive, but this season has for the most part not been very kind to the young Padres stud. I was hoping he would be moved to a better offensive team at the Trade Deadline, but San Diego instead chose against selling their stars, which hurt teams such as my Yankees. He signed two cards for me in about two months, and the 2014 Topps looks better in person than in the scan. The Heritage card isn't my favorite shot, but any card from that product looks excellent signed in my book.

Eddie Butler: 1/1 (via Colorado Rockies)

The Rockies top prospect pitcher that isn't Jon Gray signed his rookie card for me after again, about a two-three month wait. Butler was highly regarded as a prospect, but his stints in the majors have not gone as planned. In 15 starts this year, he has gone 3-9 with a 5.50 ERA, and unsurprisingly, much of this is due to pitching over half of his starts at Coors Field; the worst pitcher's ballpark in baseball. I would like to see him traded so he could fulfill his potential, but a trade does not seem to be in the imminent future for the 24 year old.

Chris Chambliss: 1/1 (via Home Address)

Ever since I first saw this card of the Yankee playoff hero, I knew I would one day have a signed copy. Upper Deck Masterpieces is one of my all time favorite sets, and I'm almost glad that Upper Deck no longer makes them. I've grown a bit sick of Allen & Ginter, which has been one of my personal favorites as well for years, so I'm glad only two full Masterpieces sets were ever produced.

Chambliss is one of the few 1970's Yankees stars my Dad and I have yet to meet. He was recently announced as part of a card show lineup in October, so I may consider saving up to have him sign a photo chronicling his famous 1976 ALCS Home Run against the Royals. Outside of his home run, he was a big part of their championship seasons in 1977 and 1978. This card was signed in about a month's time!

Until more comes into the mailbox, that will do it for this edition of my TTM Mailbag. See Ya!

2015 National League West Preview + Predictions!

Hey guys, Drew back here! After a bit of a delay, we are back on track with my 2015 Baseball Preview! We have covered each of the first five divisions thus far in our series, and following this post I will conclude it with Playoff Predictions and Award Predictions! I may be completely wrong with this picks, but I like to have a little fun with my choices while making sure to look into each team's strengths and weaknesses.

If you've missed any of my prior rankings and wish to take a look, click on the links below:

AL East          NL East

AL Central          NL Central

AL West

Image Source

1 - Los Angeles Dodgers

X-Factors: Joc Pederson, Brett Anderson, Yasmani Grandal

The Dodgers have been the talk of baseball ever since Magic Johnson and Co. took over the reins in 2012. But with all the talk of the Washington Nationals super pitching staff, they have flown a bit under the radar going into 2015. This past offseason, they rebuilt their front office, hiring former Rays GM Andrew Friedman, and his impact was immediately felt. They rebuilt their middle infield, bringing in Jimmy Rollins and Howie Kendrick; two established veterans to improve their clubhouse environment. They also traded longtime Dodger Matt Kemp to the San Diego Padres, opening up the center field position to mega prospect Joc Pederson. Adrian Gonzalez and Yasiel Puig will remain the threats of the offense, but the real danger of the Dodgers is their lethal pitching staff. Clayton Kershaw is the best pitcher in baseball, and Zack Greinke is the best #2 starter in any pitching staff around. I don't see how this team misses the playoffs; how deep into the playoffs they'll get another story. (PS: Happy Birthday Kershaw!)

2 - San Francisco Giants

X-Factors: Casey McGehee, Matt Cain, Angel Pagan

Uh oh, it's an odd year season, which is about the worst thing the Giants could ask for. San Francisco has won each of the past three even year World Series, despite being overshadowed by the massive payroll and superstars with the Dodgers. They've got three reasons to feel better than the Dodgers, but in 2015 they're already off to a scary start. Hunter Pence fractured his forearm and will miss the start of the season. Casey McGehee will be replacing fan favorite Pablo Sandoval, who left the team not because of money considerations but of some sort of "disrespect". Madison Bumgarner hasn't looked great in Spring Training, and yes, I understand the "it's only Spring Training" thing. I expect last year's hero to have a good 2015, as long as he doesn't feel too much wear from the excessive amount of innings he pitched. The Giants have become my second favorite team after visiting San Francisco last season, and I'll be rooting for Joe Panik to build off his successful rookie season at second base. However, I see them just missing the playoffs, because so many teams have improved around them. But if anyone embraces negativity, it's this team, and if they can make the playoffs, perhaps they could conquer the odd year!

3 - San Diego Padres

X-Factors: Wil Myers, Jedd Gyorko

I will credit San Diego for their great overhaul this past winter. It was a lot of fun watching their new young GM AJ Preller completely start over with one of the more embarrassing franchises in recent history. He was able to add Matt Kemp, James Shields, Wil Myers, Justin Upton, and Derek Norris to a team in desperate need of leadership and star power. Shields will bolster the rotation into one of the National League's finest, as he will join Andrew Cashner and Tyson Ross; two extremely promising right handers. My biggest concern is chemistry. There hasn't been a team rebuild of this caliber that has worked since the 2009 Yankees, showing that it takes so much more than name value to create a winning team. Wil Myers has been traded twice now and is 24 years old. For a player with as much potential as he is said to have, it makes you wonder if there's something about his game that other teams don't want to bother with. He will be taking his talents to center field, where he has played 9 games in his career. And what's a baseball without worrying about Matt Kemp, who this time goes into the year with two arthritic hips. If they don't win this year, will they try to sign Justin Upton long term, or will this be a one year colossal failure? We have yet to see, and until we do, I can't say they'll be making the postseason.

4 - Colorado Rockies

X-Factors: Carlos Gonzalez, Young Pitching Staff

Will the Rockies ever solve their pitching conundrum? It is so rare to see a pitcher succeed at Coors Field, which is especially scary for big name prospects Eddie Butler and Jon Gray, who will be at an unfair advantage from the get-go. But luckily for them, they won't have to worry about run support, as this team is chock full of productive hitters. Last year brought Nolan Arenado, Corey Dickerson, and Charlie Blackmon to the forefront, and they should be expected to bring much of the same to the table in 2015. The key to the Rockies is the health of their two superstars, Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez. With big seasons from each of them, they could be a surprise team surviving the stretch run. Unfortunately, too much would have to go right for that prediction to make any sense.

5 - Arizona Diamondbacks

X-Factors: Yasmany Tomas, Archie Bradley, Jeremy Hellickson

A few years ago, this would not have been a last place team. The Diamondbacks have acquired some pieces over the years to help advance the rebuilding phase, yet they still are a little bit behind the rest of the West. A healthy season from one of baseball's best, Paul Goldschmidt, could catapult this time in a few years with other players stepping up alongside, but he appears as if he'll have to carry much of the load in 2015. Yasmany Tomas, the recent Cuban player to become part of Major League Baseball, does not seem to have an established position. It will be difficult for him to make strides at the plate until he is comfortable in the field, because frustration does carry over to different parts of the game. Overall though, the D-Backs are not yet relevant, but give it a few more seasons and I feel like they could contend once again.

Division MVP: Troy Tulowitzki

Division Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw

Playoff Teams: Los Angeles

The NL West has potential to be one of the more interesting divisions in 2015, but I feel like it will be a bit underwhelming. Can the Giants, and even the Padres make the playoffs? Probably, if things go their way more often that not. But instead, I chose the Marlins and Cardinals to beat out these teams as Wild Cards. My predicted division MVP was Tulowitzki, but it could easily be Paul Goldschmidt, Buster Posey, or even Kershaw as well. Tulo is one of the more fun players to watch when healthy, and I would love to see him make a run for NL MVP, although it will be hard to win on a poor Rockies team.

That will conclude the division by division previews for you all. I hope you enjoyed reading each blurb about your favorite team(s) and be sure to leave a comment with your thoughts on how I did with these and if you would like me to try to do them next year as well! Playoff and Award predictions are coming soon to drewscards, and I hope to see you all there!

See Ya!

Outstanding Gift From a Craigslist Dealer Part 2!

Hey guys, Drew back here. So, if you've read last nights post about the cards I got from Craigslist, you'd know that already we did pretty well with the inheritance of a man's collection. A lot of older sets and inserts and stuff made for some pretty cool pickups. However, that wasn't everything. Not even close. But before we get to the great stuff, we dig manage to dig up a few autographs!

First are these 6 Padres autographed pictures of Craig Lefferts, Andy Hawkins, Greg Booker, Ed Wojna, Dave Campbell, and 2010 World Series Champion Manager Bruce Bochy! I'm not all that sure how or why this guy got all these Padres autos, but my best ideas were maybe they were in a fan pack or he went to a Padres game in person and got them signed. They're definitely real though. My favorite is obviously Bochy but they're all pretty cool.

This Padres team picture also has many of the signatures shown on the photos above, from what I see, Bruce Bochy, Andy Hawkins, Craig Lefferts, and Greg Booker are left to right in the top right corner of the photo. I'm not too sure who the auto is of in the bottom left corner, because the first letter is obviously an R, and the only players on the team that's names start with an R are Rich "Goose" Gossage and bullpen coach Ron Oglesby. If any of you have any idea whose auto that is, please let me know!

Also I dug out this menu from a "Pioneer" restaurant, signed by someone, inscribed "To Marc, Lots of Luck, Your Friend, _____". I have absolutely no idea who this is, so any help again would be much appreciated. Pretty cool though, minus the old food stains.

Next was this plaque with 2 signatures from former Mets 2nd/3rd baseman Wayne Garrett! Garrett was a member of the 1969 Mets World Series Championship team, and also hit 2 home runs in that series. He was never an outstanding player but I must say this autographed baseball looks great. Unfortunately, instead of getting a card to go along with it, it looks like the guy printed a picture of Garrett and got it signed, and it doesn't look too fantastic. The plaque is also in really bad shape, so I might just take the pieces out and put the ball in a cube.

The final autograph we dug up was this Sid Fernandez signed 8x10 picture! I could've met Sid last summer for a ridiculous $35, but I passed on him due to that high price. Fernandez was a pretty good pitcher back in the 1980's for the Mets, and was a member of the 1986 World Series championship team. He was also a 2 time All Star, and had a career ERA of 3.36. I would now like to assume that the guy was a Yankees and Mets fan, because of the Mattingly binder and these Mets pieces. A New Yorker.

None of these pieces are authenticated, but I would assume most if not all are real because they were part of the guys collection. Also, with all the local card shows, I'm sure he went to them and met some of those guys. These are pretty nice, but the best is yet to come.

Hint:

You'll see.

See Ya!