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.

2011 Bowman Chrome Blaster

I was at Target yesterday when the blaster bug hit me. I haven't ripped any packs in a few months so I thought Bowman Chrome would be a great way to get back into things. I'm thankful I did as I got a pretty nice hit for the $20 it cost me.

I apologize for the picture quality as I'm currently without my scanner and can only use my iPhone. 

Manny Banuelos base auto!! I know people have been having luck with Bowman Chrome blasters so I shouldn't be surprised but this is still an awesome auto to pull. Yes, it is for trade.

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!