Monday, August 31, 2009

Trundles end season with a win

Last week's final round of regular season play in the CardBlog Yahoo! Fantasy League saw the Tribecards Trundles edge out Heartbreaking Cards 6-4 to end the season on a positive note. And, believe me, the Trundles needed one.

Overall, the Trundles went 56-144-10 on the season. They ended up 30 games behind their closest competitor, Heartbreaking Cards, and 68 games out of first place. Perhaps if they had another 200 games, they might have pulled out of last place, but the odds are in their favor. And, it's a moot point anyhow.

So now, the playoffs begin and the first round of fantasy baseball action looks like this:

Quarterfinal
(1) Pintadores de P.R.
(8) tastelikedirt

(4) Grabowski Shuffle
(5) Thoughts and Sox

(3) The Nennth Inning
(6) Chingones

(2) Roadrunners
(7) Jacobmrley's Chain

As mentioned previously, the Trundles plan on watching the playoffs from the bleachers, eating all the free hot dogs they can stand. Any home run balls hit their way will be collected and autographed then thrown back onto the field. The Trundles plan to spend the off season trying to figure out what their players' names are and just who will be returning next season at all - IF they return.

Of course, --David has been asked if he plans to manage a fantasy football team, but he has not made any public comment about such ventures as of yet. Perhaps for now, he is simply enjoying one of the few victories his team has had this season.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Tribestuff from Tiro (Ohio, that is)

Tim H and I are FaceBook buds. We chat pretty often and regularly, plus email back forth about the Tribe, trading, life in general. Not long ago, he mentioned that he was going to the Indians game at The Jake (I refuse to call it Progressive Soup, er, Field). He asked if there was something I had been wanting so that he could pick up for me while there. I told him a few pictures would be cool. He wrote back after the game to say that he was sending some pictures and a surprise. He was right!

The Batter Up! "Rock 'n Blast" edition is very cool. The back lists the songs that spectators could sing along to. there were THIRTY-FIVE songs on the list! WOW! The songs spanned genres and ages: "Don't Stop Believing," "Stairway to Heaven," "Friends in Low Places (unfortunately appropriate)," "Lady Marmalade," "Billie Jean," "Cleveland Rocks," and many others. This makes me want to build my own iPod list of "Rock-n-Blast" songs!

The next item was the surprise, and it is WAAAAY cool!

This is an uncut sheet of 2009 UD Series 1 Indians Cards with a Wahoo card in the middle. I go nuts for uncuts! I don't know why, but I have always thought uncut sheets were one of the coolest collectibles one could own. I don;t believe I have ever told anyone, so this came as a wonderful surprise!

And then, there were these:

Several pictures from either AWESOME seats or from a KILLER camera or BOTH! These are great shots, mostly of Choo since he was obviously the closest player to Tim's seating, but also a great shot of Carmona with Willis.

THANK YOU, Tim! This was a wonderful treat and I got some great items to add to my Tribecards collection!!

Saturday, August 29, 2009

I got a package from... Myself!?

It's not often that I get a "warning" about a package coming to me in the mail. Sure, some folks let me know when they've sent something, but rarely is it accompanied by the likes of "I just finished taping up your package... And I really mean YOUR package..." Just what in heaven's name is THAT supposed to mean?!

Well, my first clue came when I pulled the bubbleope out of the mailbox:


Yes, it is TO me and FROM me! Holy cow! Did I mail a package of cards to myself and forgot? No, no, what tipped me off was the post office of origin. Sandusky, Ohio. Now, I fully admit that I never once turned the thing over. In fact, the first time I even saw the BACK was when I put it on the scanner for this post. Yes, sometimes, I really am this stupid... The back reads, "From: Baseball Dad, Open Carefully! Thanks for Participating!"

Upon opening the package, I found this first:


This is the Indians Hall of Fame Induction program! That is awesome!

And then, I saw Chief Wahoo with a secret message:


A lost card? Ultra-rare? B&W version? What on earth was going on here? And, then I spotted it...


Now, if you read my previous post about Bo's package of cards, the image should look familiar! Except this time, the card is an O-Pee-Chee version - AND it is the B&W version, which evidently comes with some assembly required and on what appears to be copy paper...

Sandwiched between the pieces of the ultra-rare card, was this nugget (it's like my very own Zenith Inside!):


Of course, the package was filled with all kinds of Indians cards!


Some of them I have and others I have never even seen before! I love it when that happens!


And then, there is the revelation behind "YOUR package" so ominously uttered in my "warning" message... You have to take a good, close look.... Don't worry, it's not one of those things you get in your email that suddenly jumps out and screams at you... Really. It's not.


Did you see them? The two cards at the bottom? Go ahead, click on the picture and look at it in fuller size. I'll wait..... See? There! My own baseball cards. You see, not long ago, BaseballDad discovered my MLB past and showed everyone my cards from long ago. Little did I realize that he did not simply combine images in Paint or Photoshop, nay nay. He went old-school cut-and-paste! And then he threw the cards into my package for me to keep! Wahoo!! I believe I may the recipient of the first-ever BaseballDad custom baseball cards! Man, had I known, I would have had him sign them...


The fun does not stop there, folks! You see, the "real" reason he sent me the bubbleope, er my own bubbleope, was because he did a very cool old-school O-Pee-Chee multi-box break recently.


I don't know how many cards other people received, but let me tell you, I got a BUNCH!! I've got a lot of Indians cards, but not many are O-Pee-Chee, so I cannot wait to check these against my collection!!


THANK YOU very much, BaseballDad!! This was full of cool cards, laughs, and surprises! And for never having attended an Indians game in Cleveland, I am building quite a collection of "Batter Up!" programs!

You see, I received yet ANOTHER package in the mail... More on that one tomorrow!

Bo Knows... Tribe cards!

I had a package in the mail from Lynbrook! That means one thing: Bo knows Tribe cards. I love getting cards in the mail, and where there not just "cards," it's even more fun.


Bo sent a variety of cards in his bubbleope, including some Topps Big and various UD brands, but he also included stickers and sticker backs. Well, okay, the sticker backs still have the stickers on the other side (Sorry Kevin and dayf, but you will not be getting them since there are Tribers on the backs!), but the backs include Cy Young and Tris Speaker! I wonder if UD will do something like these since they no longer have their MLB license...

Now, before I go, I want you to take a look at the Manny Ramirez card. It's a Topps. Just keep that card in mind... Mainly the image on the card. You'll understand why in my next post.

In the meantime, THANK YOU very much, Bo!! This is a great variety of Indians cards!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

At last we meet again for the first time for the last time

If you are at all familiar with the quote used for the title of this post, then you've already got a pretty good idea as to who sent me some Tribecards! If you have no idea, keep reading... Well, keep reading anyway - it's a good habit.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the bubbleope was the "Certificate of Authenticity" which means "AUTO!" The next card was an auto'd card of Junior Noboa (who honestly sounds like a character from the movie from which the title comes). But, in addition to that, there are other goodies in here, too. I am not sure I have ever seen one of the "old school" Topps cards (Lee horizontal card). If I have, then I apologize to the person that sent it/them, because I don't remember. In any case, they look just like '09 Topps but with much heavier stock and an old-school cardboard card back. The UD purple refractor-like card of Hafner is also very cool. And serial numbered. :-) As you can see, lots of others in here, too:


I have a couple of the 'bronze' type Starquest cards (marked 'rare' on the back), like the Sabathia below, that I recently received from other bloggers/traders/friends, but I have not checked my reference guides or database to see if this is a separate set or part of the regular set. Either way, great cards to have!


THANK YOU very much for these cards!! And if you have no idea who sent them.... It was Lonestarr! And now, I have a hankerin' to watch some "Spaceballs."

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Trundles Secure Place in Playoff Picture

The Tribecards Trundles, participating in PunkRockPaint's Yahoo! fantasy baseball league, have effectively secured their place in this year's playoffs. And that place? The bleachers. As of August 25, 2009, the Trundles are 73 games out of first place and 32 games behind their nearest competitor. The question on fans' minds is whether or not the Trundles will be back next season.

Tribecards GM, --David, recently shuffled the team, following their real-life counterparts, hoping it might spark the fantasy team into a surge in scoring. So far, however, the move has done nothing to lift the Trundles from one of the worst fantasy league records in recent memory.

--David dismisses the speculations as rumor. "There is no reason I would not bring the team back next year, if we're invited," he said during a recent interview. "This is our first outing, and as I've said before, I am standing on the principles that founded the team in the first place - the Trundles are modeled after their real-life Indians counterparts. I'm just not as good at (setting the lineups) as Wedge," he added with his trademark smirk and a shrug.

At this point in the season, the team is just waiting out the end of the regular season. According to one player, the team has already secured their "Bleacher Bum" seats in anticipation of the post-season games.

Five teams have secured their place in the playoffs thus far:
*1. Pintadores de P.R.
*2. The Nennth Inning
*3. Roadrunners
*4. Grabowski Shuffle
*5. Thoughts and Sox

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Tribe or No Tribe #4, I think

It has been quite a while since playing "TonT," and since I recently bought a 16-pack re-pack box, I thought this was a good time to try my hand. And, this will be a multi-pack version since we rarely even get 10 cards in a pack anymore.

This round will be based on a pack of 2008 UD Timeline (6 cards), 2009 UD Goudey (8 cards), and 2007 Topps Series 2 (6 cards).

It's been a while, so here are my rules:

+0.5 points for each card in the pack not falling into the following:
+2.0 points for relic, auto, serial (only +1.0 if card is a trap)
+1.0 point for any Thome card in non-Tribe uni
+2.0 points for any Triber card (pictured in Tribe uni, otherwise normal scoring)
-1.0 point for each trap (Braves or Reds are traps for my game)
-0.5 points if card features more than one team or no team at all

I am doing the breaks "live" and will post pics after I'm done. I know you don't know that, but for the sake of honesty, there it is.

2008 UD Timeline:

Felix Hernandez (Mariners) = +0.5, total 0.5 points
Pedro Martinez (Mets) = +0.5, total 1.0 point
Manny Ramirez (Dodgers) = +0.5, total 1.5 points
Max Scherzer (DBacks) = +0.5, total 2.0 points
Frank Thomas (A's) = +0.5, total 2.5 points
Joey Votto (reds - TRAP!) = -1.0, total 1.5 points

Pack total: +1.5 points. Man, I got rooked right at the end!

2009 UD Goudey:

Kelly Johnson (Braves - TRAP!) = -1.0, total -1.0
Scott Elbert (Dodgers) = +0.5, total -0.5
Jim Thome (White Sox - THOME!) = +1.0, total +0.5
Joakim Soria (Royals) = +0.5, total +1.0
Lance Berkman (Astros Heads Up) = +0.5, total +1.5
Yovani Gallardo (Brewers) = +0.5, total +2.0
Travis Snider (Blue Jays) = +0.5, total +2.5
Rick Ankiel (Cardinals) = +0.5, total +3.0

Man, starting off with the trap was not good, but I avoided any others and pulled a Thome out of the deal! Nice!

Pack total: +3.0 points, break total +4.5 points

2007 Topps Series 2:

Hideki Okajima (Red Sox) = +0.5, total +0.5
Orlando Cabrera (Angels) = +0.5, total +1.0
Norris Hopper (Reds - TRAP!) = -1.0, total 0.0
Frank Catalanotto (Blue Jays/Rangers Trading Places) = -0.5, total -0.5
Dodgers/Brewers Opening Day = -0.5, total -1.0
Students Work Hard, Get Cards = -0.5, total -1.5
Taylor Tankersley (Marlins) = +0.5, total -1.0

UGH, another trap with TWO multi-team cards AND a no-team card. Not a good pack at all!

Pack total: -1.0 points, break total +3.5 points

Well, the only thing that save the whole thing was the fact I did three packs in one post. That is little consolation, considering it is a per-pack game, however.

Here are some of the highlights (and lowlights) of the TonT games:



Saturday, August 22, 2009

Mail Call! Cards from GregP and BrianS!

It's almost always a good sign when the postal carrier drives his pickup truck around my in-laws house, down the hill/driveway that leads to our house and hand delivers the daily arrivals. Why almost always? Because that usually means TRIBE CARDS! And today was no exception!*

The first bubbleope had some real cool goodies! How about that Adam Miller Auto card? And, I had recently posted about having never seen '09 UD Spectrum cards before I busted a pack for APAD and APTBNL, and low and behold - Pronk on a purple Spectrum card! There are also more than a few '53 Archives Indians and a smattering of Fleer '90 Tribers, too. Add to that a handful of other brands and "models" and Greg sent me a very nice package of Indians! THANK YOU!!




Brian took a look through my want list and found a stack of cards to send my way! He said some were on the list and some he didn't see, so he opted to send them along for the ride. That always works for me!

The Fleer Brilliants Nagy is a gorgeous card. The Thome Hipnotized makes my eyes go all buggy :-). Did you See the Russel Branyan bat card? Nice! Man, this stack has HOFers, future HOFers, silver signatures, and more!


I had to break the scan into two because there were plenty of cards to go 'round. We're talking game-used ball card, Paramount Double Vision, Hands of Gold, a bronze "Youth Movement" card I have never heard of (that I can recall), Chrome and more! THANK YOU!!




Wow, thank you BOTH very, very much for some excellent examples of Indians cardboard! I'm not even going to wait to get these into the database! That's my 'mini-project' for the afternoon!!

*For those who want to know why the "almost" is in there - I wanted to say "always," which applies to life so far, but sure as I would say "always" there, he'd be bringing some big ol' package of bad news, and I find it's better to be safe than sorry. So, it's "almost." BTW, my Aunt once asked me how it is that I can even keep up with myself (meaning my random, often-veering thoughts). My reply: I'm not sure I do keep up with myself.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Collective Troll HOF contest

There's a contest over at collective troll, and you want to enter it. Trust me. Well, actually, if you don't enter, I have a beter chance of winning, but really, I'm all about ANYONE getting and/or giving cards, so head on over! All ya gotta do is Follow him and pick 5 players for the HOF. Oh, and tell a little about yourself. Oh, and give a pint of blood. Well, not really the blood thing...

Thursday, August 20, 2009

One drawback of TheCardCollector

The pre-populated database that comes with TheCardCollector software is very handy when it comes to finding/discovering the cards you need. But, sometimes, the people that handle that don't really know which team the player is pictured in on the card.

This means that some of the cards on my want list are not actually in Indians uniforms. UGH! Since I don't have the card, I'm never sure if they are in Tribe unis or not, but they are marked as "Cleveland" so I select them for my needs list.

Now, most of you know me enough to know that I'll take any cards you send and if they are not in Indians uniforms, they go into the boxes for giveaways. But, generally, if they're not in Indians uniforms, I don't collect them. The main exception to that is Jim Thome (as far as former Tribers that still play go).

I want to thank Bo for bringing the fact that I have non-Tribers on my list to my attention. I realize that makes helping me out a bit harder than it needs to be, and for that I apologize. For my part, I will try to clean up the list as I am made aware of non-Tribers on the list.

Two things to remember about my wants/needs list:
--1-- I will ALWAYS gladly accept any cards (Tribecards or otherwise)!! They do not have to be on my list.
--2-- The list is there for folks that like to use it, and I appreciate the effort taken to cull through the list and pull cards to help me complete team sets!

The card collecting/trading community is truly fantastic. I never would have guessed that when I started writing this little blog about Indians baseball cards, it would have ever turned into a great way to make friends and build my collection.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

I Punk'd myself!


Travis, over at PunkRockPaint, has sold out to the man, and is now offering very COOL PRP t-shirts with his "UD-style" logo!

As soon as I saw the post, I ordered one and it arrived today! I have to say it is SWEET, though the 1/2-length sleeves take a bit of getting used to. :-)

If I ever decide on an actual logo for this site, I'd love to do the same thing he did.

Now the question is: Do I send it to him for a TTM auto on it? :-)

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

I got my group break cards today (a parody)


Using your imagination, sing along to the tune of "If today was your last day" by Nickelback. Or just read along and look at the pictures. That's what I'm doing...


A good friend gave me some great advice
He said there's a group break and it's all right
You pick your team, gather up a lot of dimes
And then you go and visit joecollector's site
There's a risk you take, but its worth the ride


I got my group break cards today and I just gotta say
The cards are cool and really great
I got nice cards from all the packs
With great pictures on the wax
I can't believe the luck I had, I got my group break cards today.
I got, I got, I got my group pack cards today.


Bowman's Best Utley, Reyes, and Mauer
Zimmerman, Gorkys, and an auto Kyle
There's a Derrek Lee, Sizemore's quite a guy
And the Roger Clemens card looks nice
Why'd they scan so blue on my device?


I got my group break cards today and I just gotta say
The cards are cool and really great
I got nice cards from all the packs
With great pictures on the wax
I can't believe the luck I had


And then I got some A and G
Zimmerman bat card and three
Custer, Martis - one's mini
Six of these cards are showing gloves
And I'm thanking God above
for Squares of cardboard I do love in the group break cards today


I got my group break cards today
Peralta, Hafner game-used and a Scott Lewis
Martinez it's too late, here's Crowe's card
Berg is stacking his own cards


Shoppach's at the plate
Shin-Soo Choo and Grady Pride
Cliff, Travis, Jhonny
Sizemore steals another base with a slide


I got my group break cards today and I just gotta say
The cards are cool and really great
I got nice cards from all the packs
With great pictures on the wax
I can't believe the luck I had


I am left with cards, these three
Shin-Soo Choo smilin back at me
Tunnicliffe sails the seven seas
Carmona's wearing a white glove
And I'm thanking God above
JoeCollector's havin' fun
I got my group break cards today


I got my group break cards today and I just gotta say
The cards are cool and really great
I got nice cards from all the packs
With great pictures on the wax
I can't believe the luck I had, I got my group break cards today.
I got, I got, I got my group pack cards today.


A couple notes:
-- I did this in about 30 minutes, so if you enjoyed it, then you can marvel that I kicked it out so quickly. And if you thought it stunk, just remember I din't spend *too* much time on it (see, it works both ways).
-- I took the liberty of adding the chorus one more time at the end because, well, I had more scan than the song allowed. It's a parody. It's fun. It's a fun time.
-- *THANK YOU* to Jeff over at IamJoeCollector for holding these great monthly (and bonus) breaks!
-- Does every single box of A&G come with a guaranteed Tunnicliffe!?

Okay, technically, this is more than a couple notes. This officially counts as "some" notes, as two is a couple, three is a few, and four is some. I think if you have five or more, you just rework it into an additional paragraph. So, with that, and the fact I do not wish to add a whole other paragraph even though this single note alone qualifies as one, I hope you had fun!

Update:
In case following the lyrics was too hard with the pictures in the way, here is the whole song. Why? I don't know, he's on third and I don't give a darn!

I got my group break cards today (a parody)

A good friend gave me some great advice
He said there's a group break and it's all right
You pick your team, gather up a lot of dimes
And then you go and visit joecollector's site
There's a risk you take, but its worth the ride

I got my group break cards today and I just gotta say
The cards are cool and really great
I got nice cards from all the packs
With great pictures on the wax
I can't believe the luck I had, I got my group break cards today.
I got, I got, I got my group pack cards today.

Bowman's Best Utley, Reyes, and Mauer
Zimmerman, Gorkys, and an auto Kyle
There's a Derrek Lee, Sizemore's quite a guy
And the Roger Clemens card looks nice
Why'd they scan so blue on my device?

I got my group break cards today and I just gotta say
The cards are cool and really great
I got nice cards from all the packs
With great pictures on the wax
I can't believe the luck I had

And then I got some A and G
Zimmerman bat card and three
Custer, Martis - one's mini
Six of these cards are showing gloves
And I'm thanking God above
Squares of cardboard I do love in the group break cards today

I got my group break cards today
Peralta, Hafner game-used and a Scott Lewis
Martinez it's too late, here's Crowe card
Berg is stacking his own cards

Shoppach's at the plate
Shin-Soo Choo and Grady Pride
Cliff, Travis, Jhonny
Sizemore steals another base with a slide

I got my group break cards today and I just gotta say
The cards are cool and really great
I got nice cards from all the packs
With great pictures on the wax
I can't believe the luck I had

I am left with cards, these three
Shin-Soo Choo smilin back at me
Tunnicliffe sails the seven seas
Carmona's wearing a white glove
And I'm thanking God above
JoeCollector's havin' fun
I got my broup break cards today

Sunday, August 16, 2009

A Mark Mini Inundation (without the water)

Mark, over at Stats-on-the-Back, held his own giveaway. He basically said, "Hey, I have these Score mini Magic Motion cards. If you want them, ask." So, I did. And Mark followed through with a set of 1991 Score Magic Motion World Series Trivia cards.


There are about 75 or 76 cards in the whole set. So, it took several scans...


These will end up as inserts in various giveaways of my own.


As you can see, though, Mark also threw in a couple of Tribe cards! A 2009 Topps Chrome Kerry Wood and the previously-mentioned (in my other post) 2009 UD Icons Travis Hafner #'d card!! Excellent!


I hate to cheat fellow Indians collectors out of a chance for a Pronk serial card, but I am keeping them both (this one and the one Grant sent me). :-)

I wonder how many of the 299 of those Pronk cards I could end up owning... Prolly two. LOL!

dayf puts my Egyptian Hieroglyphics degree to the test

I received an envelope from Dayf the other day. In it was payment for his part of the A&G group break. Mostly. Turns out he said he was a buck short, and hoped that the cards he included would help smooth things over. Smooth things over!? Heck ya! I am seriously considering a future break be based on payments by check, Paypal or Tribe cards! I don't know why I hadn't thought of that to begin with. Well, actually, yeah, I do know why. Many of you have expressed your wish to send me cards but that you, like most of the card-collecting world, do not have a readily available stash of Indians cards laying about. No worries, though! I've always got some wild-eyed plan to give away cards... Where was I again?

Ah, yes, dayf and hieroglyphics. Well, let us first take a gander at the trio of cards he sent my way:


We've got a 1973 Topps Tom McCraw, a 1977 Topps Al Fitzmorris, and a 1984 Lary Sorensen. Very nice!

The note dayf included explained that he had miscalculated how much money he had. If it had been me, I would have had the five ones originally, but forgot why I had them in my pocket, then spent it on the vending machine at work. Of course, I am not in a favorable position to have offered up Braves cards as a "good faith effort,"* as dayf did.

But, the most intriguing part of the whole letter was the little note that read, "if you can read any of this you must have a degree in Egyptian Hieroglyphics..." which was followed by a hand-drawn Tribe logo with the words "Woo Tribe!" next to it!

Not many people know this, though that will change now I suppose, but I actually started out college life as a Pre-Med student. One of the reasons I was encouraged to take that route (and I am not kidding here) is that my handwriting, "is very much akin to that of a doctor." Direct quote from a High School counselor/teacher. There were other things like my aptitude in Biology and Chemistry that went along with that, but evidently my ability to write such that not many people can read my handwriting was the determining factor. Alas, I dumped Pre-Med after I lost the fight against Organic Chemistry.

How does this tie in to things here? While dayf's handwritten missive was perhaps not quite up to school standards (meaning his teachers would probably wrap him on the knuckles a time or two. Man, I always hated that. How was I supposed to write neatly if the teacher kept whacking me on the knuckles!? I digress, again.), his was no where near the chicken scratch that I am accustomed to deciphering after a week-long seminar in which I have to refer back to my own notes. Trust me, when one cannot read one's own handwriting, something is seriously amiss! And, why is it that I am suddenly using words like "amiss" and "missive!?" Get me out of here!

All the blabbering aside, THANK YOU, Dayf for the cards you sent!! I know it's hard to tell among all the rambling, but I greatly appreciate and approve of your "good faith effort!!"*

* I put those in quotes because that is how dayf wrote it in his letter.

And this is how you'll be remembered...

I've been spending the last few days cataloging the hundreds (if I were honest about it, I'd say at least 1000) of cards that I've received over the past few months. The process would go much faster if I would just do it when the cards came in, but with life going as it does, it is rarely convenient to do it then, so all the cards get stacked higher and higher and take over the home office.

While checking cards against my database, my eyes started to notice something a little strange. Some players have just about the worst possible pose on their baseball cards. What's worse, in my estimation, is the fact that card photographers take tons of pictures of the players, and out of those hundreds of photos, they chose THESE to go on the cards...

Carlos Baerga ducks out of the way of an errant ball, and is immortalized in a pose that his mother wishes never happened:


Even Super Joe Charboneau got caught while he was evidently concentrating on a very tight pitch (at least from this angle):


As I started thinking more and more about these, there was one card that is forever burned into the retinas of my eyes. It is this card of Dennis Cook. Really? THIS is the picture you want on the back of your baseball card?


Felix Fermin shows off his best "Karate Kid" move and it is recorded then plastered on Pinnacle baseball cards for all-time. Wonderful.


While not quite as bad as some of the others, Jacoby clearly believes he is safe, safe by a mile. His contorted, angered face says it all...


The front of the next one shows Dennis Martinez taking batting practice. That's a safe picture. What is not safe is the picture on the BACK of the card. I don't know which is worse - Martinez or the woman cowering in fear in the background. She probably ducks in tunnels, too...


Even my favorite player, Jim Thome, cannot escape the humility of the camera lens. Here he is, sliding into base, and it is one of the ugliest pictures out there. Add in a little snow and one of those round sleds and you've got a poorly designed Currier and Ives...


The moral of the story here, kids, is that you should always be aware of what you're doing on or near the field. Because if you're doing something that causes you to look like an idiot, that will end up as your baseball card....

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Grant-ed some Tribecards!

Grant, over at Old School Breaks, took part in the A&G group break, and sent his payment along with some TRIBECARDS! Wahoo! I don't expect folks to send anything other than their payment, but it is a very cool surprise to get Indians cards - whatever the reason! :-)


There are Topps Finest, Upper Deck Icons, Topps, and A&G in there. Plus, one of the Icons is a Pronk #'d! That is very cool! I love the National Pride A&G cards. I think those some of the coolest of the designs this year. It was great getting A&G after having sent off A&G!

Thank you VERY much, Grant! I can't wait to add these to my collection.

Next, I'll be sharing cards I got from Mark over at Stats-on-the-Back, one of which is ALSO an Icon #'d Pronk card! Some great minds were thinking alike!

Baseball Dad bustin' Old School Group Break!

Baseball Dad has several boxes of old school wax, and he asked fellow collectors and blog readers if he should/what he should offer up a group break. I'm not sure what he thought the reaction was going to be, but I chimed in early with a resounding "Heck yeah!" Or something like that...

If you want in, head to All-Tribe Baseball, and sign up now! It's only $4.00 per team! And, there are TONS of cards to be busted, so there is a very good chance you are going to walk away with a stack of old school wax!!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Tribecards from JScott and my very own Randomly Random pack

JScott not only sent me his part of the $5 group break, he threw in a couple extra bucks for postage and a handful of Tribecards!

He hoped I might need some of these, and I'll know the definitive answer to that this weekend as I continue to catalog all the cards I've received over the past few months.

Here we have Aaron Boone and V-Mart! (It is still so hard to not think of him as one of ours...okay, I'm over it.)


C.C. in his heyday along with Trevor Crowe:


And, like Crowe, another 2009 Allen and Ginter - this time it's Fausto posing for his "National Pride" portrait:


These were a great surprise!! Thank you so much, JScott!! Well worth hosting a group break - LOL!


Next, I also received a package from Tim. He said, "A few Indians and some random. Hope you like em!"

Here is what I saw first in the plastic box:


Yeah, that's right, we're talking Mattingly and McWire(d)! Very cool coins!

Then, we have Gary DeMauro. You know him, right? Of course you do! It's Gary... You know Gary...right? I had no idea. Turns out this is from a 1990 set of "Classic Monster Truck Cards" according to the back of the card. He drives the "Towasaurus Wrex." Get it? TOW..WREX... Man, that kills me every time! Add to that John McNamara 1990 Topps Tiffany.


Next we have Joey Galloway. I'm sure I've heard of him, but the only thing that comes to mind is "My Cousin Vinny." I know, that was GALLOWS, but still... And Kenny Lofton!


Here are Chris James and Andy Allanson in this random pack, too.


Okay, maybe you didn't know Gary, but surely you know Doug, right? Doug Gilmour, you know, Blackhawks? That's hockey for those that are not so inclined. And, hold the phone! Jim "Holy crap was that guy young back then" Thome! Any random pack with Thome is a good pack.


Thank you very much, Tim! It was a great surprise getting my own random pack from ya. Some of these are going right into the 'other players I collect' boxes.