2010 Bowman Chrome on Sale

While I was at Walmart picking up that second A&G blaster I saw that 2010 Bowman Chrome was on sale for $12. I didn't start collecting until the Spring of 2011 so I missed out on the original release of  2010 Bowman Chrome. Having never busted packs of the product I took my chances and bought the cheap blaster. I did ok but here are the better cards of the box.

2010 Bowman Chrome Rajai Davis Refractor

2010 Bowman Chrome Austin Jackson RC Refractor

I think the card gods want me to start an Austin Jackson PC because I have pulled so many refractors of him this year. Let's see how 2012 plays out because I do have a decent headstart if I decide to PC him.

2010 Bowman Chrome Eric Young Jr. RC Blue Refractor 108/150

 I was really surprised and excited to pull a blue refractor out of a discounted blaster. I know they aren't crazy rare since there are 150 of each blue refractor but still it's a nice pull. I actually like what I've seen from Eric Young Jr. so that's an added bonus.

If you haven't already and want a cheap but fun blaster break you should check out your local Walmart to see if they have any of these 2010 Bowman Chromes on sale.

Discounted Blasters are Addicting...

I couldn't resist and decided to buy the other discounted blaster of 2011 A&G. I did alright on this blaster and I promise it's my last A&G blaster of 2011. I just couldn't resist when I saw it sitting there all alone.

 

 SPs:

318 Brett Wallace

330 CC Sabathia

336 Kevin Kouzmanoff

342 Mike Pelfrey

Hometown Heroes:

HH1   Buster Posey

HH29 Rick Porcello

HH33 Austin Jackson

HH73 Mark Teixeira

HH87 Jeremy Hellickson

HH89 Todd Helton

Minds That Made the Future:

MMF13 Carl Linnaeus

Floating Fortresses:

FF18 HMS Devastation

Ascent of Man:

AOM14 Haplorrhini

Baseball Highlight Sketches:

BHS-5 Albert Pujols

Minis:

26 Edwin Jackson (A&G Back)

82 Scott Rolen

124 Chad Billingsley (Black bordered)

223 Chuck Woolery

327 David DeJesus

AP-25 Black-footed Ferret

UG5 Amityville Haunting

SRU7 Snake Charming

Once again I got a "hit" out of the A&G blaster. Luckily this time it's a PC item due to the recent trade between the Astros and Red Sox. 

The relic looks a little dirty too so that's always cool. I'm really hoping Lowrie can stay healthy and hit his stride with the Astros. We all know they could use a good SS during this rebuilding phase.

Also, I promise I'll be buying a new scanner soon and I'll try to scan more when I'm visiting my mom's house where my old scanner is. Any suggestions for a cheap scanner would be welcome, don't want to spend too much on one.

Discounted 2011 A&G Blaster

I was at Walmart and decided to check out the card aisle for any recently reduced blasters. I saw a couple of 2011 A&G for $15 so I bought one. I did alright but nothing earth shattering. Here are the cards worth noting.

SPs:

304 Madison Bumgarner

305 Justin Morneau

311 Ian Stewart

319 Jon Niese

Hometown Heroes:

HH14 Carl Pavano

HH16 Dan Uggla

HH21 Jon Lester

HH52 Ian Kinsler

HH60 Alex Rodriguez

HH88 Roy Oswalt

Minds That Made the Future:

MMF34 Archimedes

Floating Fortresses:

FF15 USS Cairo

Ascent of Man:

AOM24 Homo Sapiens

Baseball Highlight Sketches:

BHS-25 Ichiro

Minis:

63 Neil Walker

82 Scott Rolen (A&G Back)

89 John Axford

108 Roy Oswalt

343 Drew Stubbs

AP-23 Red Wolf

UG3 Waverly Hills Sanatorium

SRU2 Fire Breathing

The best card in the blaster was....

I always love getting autos in blasters and this David DeJesus is no exception. I know this may not be an amazing auto to pull but I really like his signature. Plus the A&G framed autos always look really nice. Not a bad box for only $15. Now I must fight the urge to go back and buy that last blaster on the shelf. 

If you need anything I listed or any base let me know and I'll see what I can do.

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.

Trading with the Nap

A couple of weeks ago I contacted Napkin Doon about helping him inch closer to finishing his Gypsy Queen set. I sent him a handful of set needs and he told me he'd be sending a Jed Lowrie GU. When I received the package I was excited to see that I got a lot more than a Jed Lowrie GU.

I don't have many Joe Morgan cards but I think I'll be picking up a few more this next year. Obviously in 'Stros uniforms only.

This Biggio card is so much more awesome in person. The scanner doesn't do it justice and I kind of want to track down the other versions too.

This was the only card I thought I'd be receiving and had that been the case I'd still be satisfied. Lowrie is a new acquisition for the Astros and I hope he makes himself at home here in Houston. I know we could use some help from him during this rebuilding phase.

Finally the card that put this trade WAY over the top...

Once again the scan doesn't do it justice but this card is beautiful. I have no experience with eTopps but this card makes me want to try it out. It's serial numbered and awesomely shiny. 

I can't thank Napkin Doon enough for this awesome trade and I hope to complete many more trades with Nap in 2012. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas with their families!!

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.

Sometimes it's hard to say goodbye...

About a week ago you may have seen my recent acquisition of a Wandy Rodriguez DDC. That card was part of a trade that would send a Manny Banuelos auto in exchange for 2 Astros auto refractors and the Wandy DDC. Unfortunately there was some confusion and the Astros refractors were never found so the trade was cancelled. Banuelos will be headed back here to Texas while the Wandy DDC is already back in Kansas. 

It was a great week having Wandy in my collection with all his diamond die cut glory but it just wasn't meant to be. I wish you all the best and hope you find a good home Wandy DDC. Maybe you'll come back to me in another trade, this time for good. 

PS: Hunter Pence DDC and Brett Wallace DDC send you their love.

The Diamond King is ending the year in style

The Diamond King is running a contest to commemorate the end of 2011. I'm a bit late on jumping into the contest but the prizes, 7 different ones to choose from, are pretty awesome. Follow the link for complete rules and good luck to everyone that enters. 

*Photo Courtesy of The Diamond Kings Header*

Diamond King End of Year Contest!!!!

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. 

AFC South Champions

Forgive me for my tardiness but I needed a couple of days to settle down from the excitement, ha. I grew up here in the Houston area and have supported Houston teams my entire life. I supported the Oilers while they were here and when the news broke that Houston would be getting a new franchise I became a Texans supporter instantly. After 10 years of sub-par football the Texans have finally clinched a playoff spot and division title.

Houston is one of those cities where teams are consistently mediocre with spurts of success here and there. We may not be as "cursed" as the Cubs, the City of Cleveland or Detroit but we have had more than our fair share of heartbreak. The Oilers and Astros both had success here and there but always found a way to break our hearts when it mattered most. The Rockets had two championships and Houston will forever be grateful for those. The Dynamo, Aeros and the now defunct Comets have had great success here so at least we have that to hang our hats on. 

Don't take any of what I just said as bitching and moaning. I was just giving a brief history of Houston sports and why fans were so excited when the Houston Texans brought home a division title. The way they clinched the AFC South Sunday was fitting for where this team is headed. In years past they would have either come up short driving down the field or they'd have been on the other side giving up a lead and losing. Not this year, this team has really bought into the "next-man-up" mentality and it's making them a dangerous team to play. 

I'm excited for what's coming next for the Texans and I'm hoping they can at least win a playoff game or two. Here are a few photos from the impromptu celebration outside Reliant Stadium Sunday night.

*All photos courtesy of the Houston Texans Blog*

J.J. Watt saying hello to the fans.

T.J. Yates, Jacoby Jones and DeMeco Ryans

Connor Barwin pumping up the crowd.

Texans faithful going crazy!

Congrats again to the 2011 AFC South Champion Houston Texans!! Which reminds me, I need to run to Academy and see if they've got any of the division champion shirts in stock.

Getting more J.D. from The L.C.

Recently AJ from The Lost Collector let me know he had a J.D. Martinez card I may be interested in. I did actually need the card so we set up a trade with me sending a Manny Banuelos throwback in exchange for the Diamond Anniversary J.D. Martinez. Luckily we don't need David Stern to approve our trades in the blogoshpere.

2011 Topps Update Diamond Anniversary

AJ also threw in a handful of other Astros, here are a few of the ones that stood out.

I liked some of what I saw with Anuery Rodriguez last season and I'm hoping to see even more from him in 2012. I like the look of these Cognac parallels they look really "elegant" compared to a lot of cards out there right now.

Here's another guy we got to see a little of last season. I don't have much to say about Shuck right now but he's another young player that us Astros fans have to look forward to.

Taking it back old school with this card here. Hidalgo takes me back to my early memories of the Astros. I was born in 1987 so I came of age when Bagwell and Biggio were just starting off. I have vivid memories of going to Astroworld in the morning then heading across 610 to the Astrodome and seeing Bagwell, Biggio and Hidalgo play.

Thanks again to The Lost Collector for the awesome Astros cards, they'll be well loved here.

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!!