Astros CAREavan Stops By

If you're an Astros fan you know that February means two things; spring training starts in a few weeks and the Astros will be driving around Texas and Oklahoma interacting with fans in different cities. I love the annual Astros Winter CAREavan because it gives fans the chance to meet players and coaches.

Depending on who is signing that day the lines can be 75 deep or 200+ deep if someone like Bagwell or Biggio is signing. Luckily yesterday the line was only about 100 deep and I got the chance to go back through the line a second time. Two of my favorite young Astros (Brian Bogusevic and J.D. Martinez) were there and I was stoked to meet them.

 Jim Deshaies

Jim Deshaies is a former Astros pitcher and current broadcaster for the Astros on FOXSports. It's always fun meeting broadcasters and recognizing their voice while you're standing in line. Make you even more excited for the season to start.

 

 Brad Mills

This was my first time to meet Mills and he was a really nice guy. We didn't talk much but I told him good luck this season. He said "Thanks" and "Thanks for coming out tonight."

Jose Cruz

Cruz has been with the Astros for what seems like forever. I'm too young to know much of his playing days but I remember always seeing him outside the foul lines as the first base coach. I love how he signed the "Cheo" nickname on the 1977 Topps card I gave him. He even included his #25 which was retired by the Astros a nearly 20 years ago.

J.D. Martinez 

J.D. Martinez was the main reason I went to the CAREavan stop last night (also because it was only a 10 minute drive from my house). He's my favorite current Astro and I'm hoping for big things out of him this season. He was actually a lot nicer than people told me he'd be so that was good.

Brian Bogusevic (brim) and Jason Bourgeois (side)

Bogusevic is another guy I really like for the Astros and I think he's finally hitting his stride as an outfielder. He was drafted as a pitcher and the Astros took too long before deciding to switch him to offense. That's the reason he's had slower progress than you'd want but it looks like patience may be paying off.

Jason Bourgeois is a local boy from Houston who'll be competing for a starting position this year. I honestly think he's a better option in CF than Jordan Schafer but we'll see how it plays out. He's got super quick speed and range in CF. He's also a pretty active Tweeter and likes to interact with fans.

J.D. Martinez (right), Brian Bogusevic (bottom left) and Jason Bourgeois (top left)

The second time I went through the line I decided to get the guys to sign my 59/50 Authentic cap. I was hoping they'd still have some of their cards they brought to sign (so I could trade a few) but they were out so I settled on getting the cap signed.

I'll be in Katy tomorrow hoping to meet Jason Castro, Jed Lowrie and Brett Wallace. I'll take more pictures tomorrow and hopefully come back with some more fun loot.

Group Break Pickups from Nachos

I've finally scanned my Astros pickups from Nachos Grande's last group break. The cards have been sitting on my desk for about a week just begging to be scanned and organized. Or maybe it was my girlfriend begging me to scan and organize them. Either way here are the pretty awesome results...

I really wish my scanner would show how nice this J.R. Richard card looks in person. It's chrome like but you can't really tell that from the scan. This card comes from the UD Decades 1970's set which came out in 2001. Great little card to add to my Astros PC.

A couple of future Hall of Famer's from the 2000 Fleer Gamers set. Luckily I didn't own any cards from the boxes Nachos busted so these are all new PC additions. I don't really like the texture of these cards but luckily they'll be going in binder pages so I won't have to touch them.

I love this Bagwell from 2000 Fleer Tradition even though it only books for $0.50. Maybe it's cause I love the old blue and gold uniforms of my childhood or because it shows Biggio and Bagwell on the same card, a 2-for-1 if you will. Whatever the reason I'm happy to have pulled this card.

Pulling these two serial numbered cards was awesome. Once again we get to see the blue and gold that I love AND the card is serial numbered. I'm not a big Caminiti fan but it's still a nice card. I like seeing Biggio's Sunshine Kids pin on his cap, he wore that thing everywhere. The card looks elegant in person and lucky for me I pulled 2!

This is just a page full of Astros cards I pulled from the 2000 Fleer Tradition set. I'm actually a big fan of this card design and its simplicity. Of course there are tons of retro sets out there right now that I like but the pops of color set this one apart for me. 

I pulled a few other Astros in the group break but didn't want to go too scan crazy. My randomized team from the group break was the Brewers and I'll be showing those cards off soon. Thanks again to Nachos Grande for making my first ever great group break  a great one. I can't wait to participate in another one this year.

Goodies from the Platter

Today's mail brought a beast package from Spiegel over at Nomo's Sushi Platter. I recently sent him some A&G minis and a random Matt Kemp card and he sent me this loot. It was way more than I expected and I love it. 

To most of you it's a plain old Brad Mills 2011 Heritage card. For me it's a blessing because I recently took this same card out of my Astros team set so I could get him to sign it when I meet him in a few weeks. Lucky for me I can add it back to the team set and use this card for the autograph. 

Two rookie cards of young Astros Altuve and Martinez. This may come as a surprise to some of you but I didn't previously own a J.D. Martinez base rookie from 2011 Topps. I had pulled/bought every other version of the card except for the base so I am happy to add this to my J.D. Martinez PC. The Altuve is a duplicate but that's a good thing again because I can use this one for TTM during ST. 

In the mail today I received two of these cards. One from this trade and a second one I bought on eBay. You guessed it though, I need both so I can have one in the Astros set and one in the J.D. Martinez PC. 

I was surprised to see a trio of vintage cards in the package (1981 is semi-vintage for me ha). Cedeno is an Astros legend, Rader and Reynolds are both names most Astros fans remember. These three additions are just the beginning of my goals to get more vintage into my PC.

If you read Nomo's recent post about Gonzo signing for him then you may have seen this card before. Truth be told I saw the post as well and when I read it was for a trade he had going I quietly hoped it was coming to me. Obviously I'm pumped to have this in my PC now because I grew up watching Gonzo play. He brings me back to the old days when the family and I would catch a game or two in the Astrodome.

It's funny how things work out sometimes. Sure I got some duplicates in the package but they were needed duplicates. Now I don't have to go searching my LCS or eBay for those cards. There were way more cards in the package but I didn't want to take up too much blog space showing off all the awesomeness. It's always hard to pick out the ones to post so please know the others will be just as loved. 

Thank you again Spiegel for the awesome trade and I hope to do some more trading throughout the year. 

Tomahawk Chopped

That will be my new phrase anytime I complete a trade with Derek from Tomahawk Chopping. After posting my Bowman Sterling results Derek showed interest in the Braves auto I pulled. After a few quick emails we agreed on a trade which sent Sean Gilmartin to Derek and brought Christopher Wallace down here to Texas.

2011 Bowman Sterling Christopher Wallace Auto #BSP-CW

Christopher Wallace was drafted by the Astros in 2010. He's a lifelong Astros fan from here in the Houston area and actually went to the University of Houston. I don't know if he'll ever be a fulltime guy in The Show but it's hard not to root for a hometown kid who is chasing his dreams of playing for the "good guys."

Thanks again Derek for the awesome and quick trade. I love trading with people here in the blogosphere and there's never a trade too small. I hope you enjoy the Gilmartin autograph because I know I love the Wallace. 

I hope everyone's had a great week so far and tomorrow is Friday so that's a plus.

Thanks for the Bagwell Santa!

Over at Sports Card Arena we had a secret Santa gift exchange this Christmas. The person who drew my name is someone I'd traded with before and they knew exactly what to get me to make my Christmas great. 

This Bagwell will be a great addition to my PC. I really need to step it up when it comes to collecting Bagwell GU and auto cards. I've been focusing on newer products and younger Astros a lot recently but in 2012 I'm going to make more of an effort on the Bagwell front. 

Thanks again to Wayne for the great Bagwell and to all the other guys there at SCA for making this such an awesome year for me. If it weren't for the guys over there and you fellow bloggers I don't know if I'd enjoy this hobby as much as I do.

I'll take that $2.99 bobble in the window please.

Ok so the bobble head wasn't really sitting in the window but it was only $2.99. I recently stopped by Goodwill trying to find a random/cheap gag gift for a party this Friday. I didn't find a gift for the party but I did find this pretty awesome Brett Myers bobble head. I don't have many bobble heads since I usually forget when they're giving them away at games so lucky for me I came across this one. 

 They had two and I almost picked up the second one as I thought maybe The Daily Dimwit might enjoy it but someone beat me to it while I was browsing the aisles. Better luck next time I guess.

From one 'Stros fan to another

I recently mentioned that I still needed the Brett Wallace DDC from this years Topps Giveaway and Sam from The Daily Dimwit decided to help me out. He had a duplicate so I traded him my 2011 Brett Wallace A&G auto for the shiny DDC.

I now have all 3 Astros DDC's from Series 1 meaning I only need the Walmart black bordered Astros to finish off my 2011 Series 1 Astros collection. I also need the Pence black leather nameplate but I am fine putting that one off for awhile.

Thank you again Sam and hopefully we can work something out in the future for those Astros dupes. 

Took a Gamble and "Won"

I recently took a gamble on eBay for a card I've been after all year. My Brian Bogusevic PC is slowly growing and since 2011 Topps Series 1 came out this year I've been looking for a black bordered Bogusevic #'d/60. I've seen a few with BIN for $15 but I kept the faith and pressed on hoping to find one for less than $10.

Last week I searched eBay and found an auction for the card I'd been searching for. The only problem was there was no picture of the card, not even a stock photo. I'm always hesitant to bid on or purchase cards without a picture but I contacted the seller to make sure the card was indeed the one I was after. After a few quick responses I felt comfortable enough to take the chance and put in my bid at the last minute.

$5.76 and 4 days later I receive this beauty in the mail...

I am so happy to have found this card for so cheap and I'm glad the gamble paid off. Out of the entire 2011 Topps S1-2-Update I'd have to say the black bordered cards are my favorite. In person they look so crisp. I'm one black border shy of completing the Series 1 Astros set but I'm in no rush as I've gotten all the players I was hoping for.

1/3 of a Beckett Trade

Recently I pulled a Manny Banuelos auto from a 2011 Bowman Chrome blaster. I had a lot of interest in the card and finally decided to trade it to a member on Beckett. The trade went smoothly except for a slight hiccup involving two of the three cards I would receive in the trade. Hopefully in a week or so I can post the rest of this trade as those two cards are the ones I'm most excited about. Not that I'm not excited for this Wandy Diamond Die-cut.

2011 Topps Wandy Rodriguez DDC

I've always been a big Wandy Rodriguez fan. He's not the best pitcher in the league but I really think he can hold his own with some of those better pitchers. He's one of the better pieces the Astros will be able to trade this year which is bittersweet. He's been in Houston for many years now so it's going to be sad to see him go but hopefully he'll return one or two good prospects to an organization that needs all the help it can get.

Now that I've got the both the Pence and Wandy die-cuts I just need the Brett Wallace ddc to finish the trio. I'm not really looking too hard for the Brett Wallace as I haven't really gotten too excited about him as an Astro.

TTM Success Courtesy of Wesley Wright

I love receiving TTM's during the offseason cause I've usually forgotten about them by now. It adds even more excitement when I see a SASE not remembering who I sent to. 

Today's success comes from the young Astros pitcher Wesley Wright. I mailed this one off in April c/o The Oklahoma City Redhawks, the new Triple-A club of the Astros.Wright is a decent pitcher when he can keep everything under control. I hope to see him in Houston more this season.

This one smudged a bit even after I "primed" it for signing. It's all good though cause it still looks pretty good. 

This one looks much better except the scan is super crooked. 

Thank you to Wesley Wright for responding and signing. Also, thank you to my sister for scanning these cards and emailing them to me.

Yesterday was an awesome mailday for me as I got in two new autos from some young Astros. Both of them came from eBay and cost me less than a blaster would have. 

2011 Bowman Chrome Brian Bogusevic RC auto

I love this card cause it's a nice clean auto and it's on card. I apologize about the glare but you can still see the beauty in it. I really hope Boggy keeps up the good work this coming season, it'd be good to have one constant on this young Astros roster.

2011 Tristar OMLB signed by Jason Castro

I got this ball for cheaper than an OMLB costs by itself, not autographed. I've never tried any of the mystery ball Tri-star products but I'm sure glad I won this auction. I think it'd be a fun product to try in the future.The Tri-star holograph sticker is on the other side of the ball. 

Contest Winnings Galore!!!

Today was a great mailday for me as I received my winnings from two blog contests. The first cards come courtesy of The Card Hobbyist who ran a contest where you could win multiple cards throughout the month. I received a number of cards from the contest but here are just two of them, both of them pretty awesome.

Jason Bay Topps Chrome Refractor

Early Doucet Game Day Gear

The second winnings were from Things Are Funner Here. I was the closest to guessing the amount of cards in a box, however I went OVER the correct amount and that's no bueno. Luckily I got a consolation prize of Astros cards. Once again I'm just showing a couple of cards.

2011 Bowman Jack Shuck base

2011 Topps Chrome Anuery Rodriguez RC

Thanks again to The Card Hobbyist and Things Are Funner Here for the awesome contests!!

Two More Additions to the J.D. Martinez PC

As you know from previous posts on this blog, I'm now focusing on the younger Astros including J.D. Martinez who made his MLB debut this past season. I think he has a bright future ahead and hopefully he'll be a long-time Astros outfielder. 

2011 Topps Update Black #'d/60

2011 Bowman Chrome Base Auto

I'm adding to his collections slowly but surely. It's an exciting time to be an Astros collector as we get so many new players to watch.

Long time!!!

As many of you may know I'm currently splitting my time between Deer Park and The Woodlands. Living in two different places has caused me to lose focus on the blog front and I apologize for that. There's no excuse for slacking on the blog and I've done it more than once so I need to step my game up. I have a few ideas in the works to keep me posting during this time so keep an eye out for those.

I haven't received many cards lately (another reason I need to brainstorm posting ideas) but I recently picked up this beauty off eBay using my eBay bucks from the last earning period. This Bogusevic card set me back $1.25 in eBay bucks (including shipping). 

This is a 2006 Bowman Signs of the Future auto from Houston Astros OF Brian Bogusevic. If you're wondering why Bogusevic looks like a pitcher in this photo it's because he was a pitcher then. The Astros moved him to OF a little after drafting him which is why it took him a few years longer to finally make the big league roster. Now I'm no fan of sticker auto's so I deduct a point but I really love this card. 

As I may have said before, I plan on focusing a lot more on the younger guys (which is basically the entire team minus Carlos Lee) for my PC. Bogusevic, J.D. Martinez, Jordan Lyles, Bud Norris and Jason Castro just to name a few. 

Once again sorry for the delay in posting and I hope you're all doing well!

Two Autos and a Plate

The cards featured below are probably some of my nicer cards I've received this year. Two of them came via eBay and one was from a trade over at my favorite forum, Sports Card Arena. 

I really like the look of these 2011 A&G autos. I picked this one up awhile back for less than $4.00 shipped so I think it was a pretty good bargain. I hope Wallace improves during the off-season and comes back next year ready to take over 1st.

I am in love with this 2010 Bowman Platinum auto from my new PC guy (taking the place of Pence. Bagwell is still #1 with J.D. coming in 5th behind Biggio, Berkman and Ensberg). I looked at these autos in January and I could have paid $5.00 or so for it but I waited and now I had to pay $12.00 shipped once he got called up and got on a hot streak. Since I don't plan on flipping this card for a profit I'm okay with that investment.

This is my first printing plate and my first ASTROS 1/1. Awhile back I was fortunate enough to pull a sick 1/1 patch auto of Don Maynard from 2008 Leaf Certified but I've never owned a 1/1 for my PC until now. This was the card I traded for on SCA and I think it was pretty fair. I traded a handful of 2010 Topps Chrome refractors and a Strasburg rookie for Mr. Manzella here. 

I hope you enjoyed the read and I'll be back soon with a few Bagwell PC items to show off.

Trade with Section 36

I recently traded with Ron over at Section 36 after he posted some trade bait. I have a couple of Oswalt GU already but I couldn't pass up the chance to get this nice looking 2008 A&G GU. 

This is where being fairly new to card collection has an advantage. I think collecting for less than a year now I haven't become fully jaded to all the overproduction of jersey and bat cards. I still get excited getting a one color Astros/Texans jersey from trade or eBay. Heck even when I have a mail day of mostly common or insert cards I get excited. I hope to keep this excitement towards the "little things" for quite some time but I know a time may come when I lose that feeling, but for now I'll cherish it.


If you don't already follow/read Section 36 you really should. It's a very enlightening and entertaining blog that I try to keep up with daily. Today's post about giving away free tickets to games is a good one. Thank you Ron for the trade and hopefully we can do another one sometime soon.

2005 Astros WS TTM Success

At the beginning of the season I sent out TTM requests to numerous baseball players. The majority of those were current and former Houston Astros. I have an ongoing project to collect as many IP/TTM auto's from the 2005 Astros World Series roster. 

This weekend I took another step towards completing that goal when I received the following cards. I was surprised to see a SASE in my mailbox as it's been months since my last send out. I'm pleased with the results though.

I'm lazy so I scanned them at the same time. Two autographs from Mike Lamb who played IF during the Astros WS run. I sent to Mike courtesy of the Camden Riversharks which was his Atlantic League club this year. 

Thanks for taking a look and I apologize for being MIA lately. I haven't been buying/trading as much lately so not much to post about. I will be increasing my post load now that the Texans are starting up soon, DC comics is releasing their "new" titles and I've been trading/buying some more. So be excited ha.

eBay and a Nacho Mail Day(s)

Here's another great mail day courtesy of eBay and Chris over at Nachos Grande. I bought the eBay items using a gift card my girlfriends mother gave me for my birthday. Whenever I have a gift card I'll always buy something I've been putting off. Most of these cards are from the past week but once I got Chris' card in today I decided to finally post.

We'll start off with Hunter Pence 2011 A&G that Chris sent over in exchange for a 2011 Topps Diamond Parallel. A&G and Bowman Platinum may be my last sets I grab Pence cards from (unless Topps Marquee has some good ones with him in an Astros uniform).

I still love the old school look of A&G even if this years set has disappointed many.

Now for the eBay cards...

 

2011 Bowman Platinum Ruby Hunter Pence. I like the design of Bowman Platinum much more this year than I did last year.

 Jimmy Paredes has looked pretty good so far this season with the Astros. They're a team filled with mostly young guys and I'm excited to see how he and the rest progress throughout the years.

Delino is fast and can hit the ball well but I haven't seen enough about him to make my mind up on what kind of player he will be. I figure for $3.00 you can't go wrong with getting a young Astro with plenty of upside.

My favorite eBay pick up would have to be this 2008 Bud Norris auto. I love Norris and he seems to have a bright future in the organization. He likes to strike guys out and he isn't afraid to come at even the bigger guys. 

Thanks again to Chris over at Nachos Grande for hooking me up with the Pence. Thanks to you guys for taking the time to read this and hopefully soon I'll have a few J.D. Martinez auto's to show off for you. He seems to be one of the guys I'll be focusing on collecting now. Have a great one!!!

Big Fun Game Winnings from Napkin Doon

A few weeks ago there was a Big Fun Game over at Adventures of Napkin Doon. I stole the card below from a fellow blogger and lucky for me nobody stole it from me.

This 1967 Joe Morgan is now the oldest card in my collection and I love it. I wasn't alive when Joe Morgan was playing but having a vintage HOF card sounds good to me.

Thank you so much to Napkin for having the game and giving such great prizes. This is a beautiful card.

Saying Bye to a Fan Favorite

As many of you know by now Hunter Pence was traded from the Astros to the Phillies. I'm sad that he is leaving as he was my favorite current Astros player but I am happy to see him go to a contender. He deserves to be on a winning team and I hope for his sake the Phillies bring home a championship while he is there. I'm not going to break down the trade right now as I'll let emotions settle before I do. The Phillies just got a great RF who works hard everyday and never takes a play off. 

Now I have to decide what I am going to do about collecting Hunter Pence from this day forward. Should I continue seeking out his Astros cards even if he isn't on the team? Should I continue collecting his cards even if he appears in a new uniform? Maybe I'll just finish my 2010 Topps Chrome rainbow and then quit collecting his cards. Honestly I have no idea at this point but I'm sure I'll continue to collect him in an Astros uniform since I still have lots of cards to go. 

What would you do? I'm sure you've been in this situation before so I'd love to hear your opinions, just leave me a comment if you want. I'll leave you now with a scene from the dugout courtesy of SBNation.

Hunter saying goodbye to his teammates during the 5th inning.