Huge thank you to Crinkly Wrappers

A few weeks back I got a comment from Ted over at Crinkly Wrappers offering to send me over some baseball cards, gratis. I never ask for donations or free cards but I couldn't refuse an offer like this so I agreed. After sending him my address I got a nice package in the mail yesterday. 

I don't know the exact size of the box but it easily held 200+ cards. You might think that it consisted of numerous junk cards but in fact it was filled with some pretty awesome cards. Ted said he hoped some of the cards would inspire me to build a set I may not have seen before and after looking at all the cards there are a few sets I'm thinking of collecting. 

It's always hard for me to pick which cards to show and which to leave off. Please know that just because a card isn't pictured it doesn't mean I don't like it. I'm sure many of you understand that predicament. 

I'm going to catch some flack for this but I have a semi-man-crush on Joe Mauer. I think it's because he's not only a great baseball player but he's a hometown kid and he has that All-American charm all the time. I hate that he's been sidelined so long this season and I can't wait for him to get back out there.

Now this is my true baseball man-crush, Mr. Evan Longoria. Everything Longo does is cool in my book (except wearing a fedora) and my girlfriend can attest to that. He's the reason I rocked a mullet for a couple of weeks this year. He's the only reason I pay much attention to the A.L. East so hopefully he stays healthy and gets his bat rolling soon.

Who designed this card? There's nothing wrong with looking at Bagwell and Gonzo on the same card but I don't like the fact that the logos are meant for a vertical card when the picture is obviously horizontal. I love looking back on great players in their younger years because even superstars look goofy in their younger days.

I'm mainly showing this 2010 card of Junction Jack because I wanted to see which uniform you guys liked better. The 2011 Junction Jack will be in the next post so you can comment on there. I love JJ but I miss Orbit sometimes since he's the one I grew up with in the Astrodome. 

Blue bordered 2010 Topps Opening Day 1394/2010. I like these blue bordered cards a lot. I know some people hate all the color variations and I don't blame them but the blues are ones I can get behind.

Blue shine? Check. Sweet design? Check. Best Astro on the 2011 roster? Check. Card of a guy who will finish the season in a different uniform? Check back with me in a month and a half. I like this card because of it's design and it features Hunter Pence. I LOVE this card because that blue is beautiful. 

Many thanks again to Ted and I will try and repay him sometime in the future. You went above and beyond man and I can't thank you enough. These cards have found a loving home.

Cereal Box of 2011 Topps Series 2

I stopped by Wal Mart last night and noticed Topps Series 2 was on the shelf already so I decided to buy one of those $9.99 "cereal boxes." Overall I'm content with the box but I got ZERO Astros which kind of sucks but that's the way it goes sometimes. Out of the entire box I got no duplicates so that's always nice. I've scanned the inserts as I assume that's all anyone cares about.

All inserts are for trade and I'm looking to get as many Series 2 Astros cards as I can via trade. So if you see something you like and you're still waiting on your Series 2 to get in let me know and I'll hold the cards so we can work something out for any Astros inserts/base you pull.

 DD-25

I usually start with the more boring of the inserts pulled and this is no exception. Not in love with Diamond Duos and I don't care much for these two players.

 TT2-16

You'll see by the end of this post that this box was destined for a Cardinals fan. I pulled more base/inserts of Cardinals than any other team.

 60YOT-96

60 Years of Topps insert of Dale Murphy. Forgive me but I was too young to know much about Murphy but I'm sure there are some Braves fans out there who can enlighten me.

T60-65

Most Career Assists by a Yankee First Basemen??? Not a bad day of work when your name is ahead of Lou Gehrig's.

#337 Gold 300/2011

I don't have much to say other than I hope there is an Angels fan out there who wants to trade me a Gold Astro for this guy.

#564 Diamond Anniversary

 I get every NL Central team except for the Astros??? I like this guys last name and the fact that he has given up some good numbers to the Astros, that's about it.

 KC-76

Good old Lou Brock on a Kimball mini card. I really like the design of these cards and may one day collect them but it's just not high on my priority list at the moment. Of course I do want that Biggio Kimball mini.

DS-11

These new inserts are extremely shiny have a pretty cool design. I'm not a big fan of sparkly cards but I understand Topp wants to play this Diamond card as much as it can. Any card with Halladay on it is worth having.

 

 WHP28

Last but not least is Mr. Matt Holliday. I told you the Cardinals would overrun the box. I know some people may think the previous Halladay card was more impressive but I am a big fan of Holliday's and since this is one of those Wal Mart exclusive sapphire cards it surpasses the Halladay. 

As I mentioned at the beginning all these inserts are for trade and preferably for Series 2 Astros cards (both base and inserts). Thanks for reading!

Brandon Backe TTM Success

I sent a TTM request to Brandon Backe 2 months ago as I'm trying to get as many TTM/IP autographs of the Astros 2005 World Series team. Backe was a big part of the success the Astros had in that late season push. He pitched great in a number of important games for the Astros and there is no way they'd have gotten as far as they did without his arm that season.

Backe is a hometown guy and lives fairly close to me so it's weird the TTM took so long. I'm sure he's busy working at the baseball academy and doing work for his foundation. Here's a picture of the autographed card, I really think he has a great looking signature. 

Lars Anderson TTM Success

A few weeks ago I sent out a TTM request to Lars Anderson of the Boston Red Sox organization. I've been trying to hit up a few of the younger guys who have cards in 2011 Topps and Heritage. Anderson is currently on the Pawtucket Red Sox and that's where I sent the request. I sent 2 cards (one for him to keep) and he got it back to me fairly quickly with a fairly decent signature.

Overall a pretty nice addition to my other TTM successes this year. Not as good as my Hunter Pence or Brian Cushing TTM but I like getting younger guys who have potential to be good big leaguers.

Take some time out to do some good

A lot of you most likely already know about this but for those that don't here you go. Brian over at 30-Year Old Cardboard is organizing a get well soon package for the great Gary Carter. Carter just recently started his fight against newly discovered brain tumors. Now I wouldn't say I'm a Gary Carter fan since I was only 5 years old when he retired but I've seen footage of his playing days and he looked impressive. 

The mission is simple, go to Brian's blog and get the details. It won't take much out of your day and could bring a smile to a stand up player. I've already got my card in the mail.

Thanks for reading and hopefully we can help Brian get a huge package out to Gary.

Some publicity for Diamond King's contest.

The Diamond King is running a CONTEST and the winner's get the chance at some pretty awesome cards. Whoever takes the Twins relic will automatically be on my bad side. I kid, I kid. You should go over and check out the contest if you haven't already. 

Good Luck!!!

The Astros sweep the Cubs and Lyles shows promise

I apologize for not posting the past few days, I've been helping my girlfriend house sit so I'm not on my regular schedule. As I mentioned in the title, the Astros swept the Cubs today inching them closer and closer to leaving the bottom of the NL Central. I'm happy to see the Astros clicking some but the big story in this series was Jordan Lyles major league debut. I meant to post yesterday concerning Lyles first major league start but I didn't get a chance so I'll do it now.

This is the only card of Lyles I have as of now but I plan on getting more as he progresses through his career.

For those of you who don't know, Jordan Lyles is the Astros top pitching prospect and was part of ESPN's 2011 Top 100 prospects. He doesn't have an overpowering fastball but his change up and curve are pretty ridiculous. Last night's performance was great for his debut but the starts that matter more to me are 2-5 where I can get an average of his stuff. If last night was any indication of his future then Lyles will be the silver lining during the upcoming rebuilding era of the Astros. Below is Lyles' line from last night:

7.0 IP/5 H/2 R/2 ER/0 BB/4 K/2.57 ERA

Those are some pretty good numbers for a pitcher's MLB debut. Sure he is only making a couple of more starts until Wandy Rodriguez gets back from the DL but it will be nice to see how good this young guy can be in the majors. 

Did I mention he is 20 years old??? That's just absurd to think about for me. I know a lot of guys have debuted in the majors at that age but it's hard to think about a guy 3 years younger than me living the dream like that. Makes me a bit jealous, ha. Also, he got his debut at Wrigley Field which is something most kids only dream about. Not only did he get his first MLB debut but he also got his first hit in the majors. It's always fun to see a pitcher get a hit but even more so when it's in his first game.

This got me thinking, which prospects from your favorite team are you most excited to see? Leave a comment and let me know.