A manageble Zapping

Around Christmas, I got a large, large zapping from Zippy Zappy. I still haven't scanned it all to post about it. But I will.

Well, yesterday a PWE from the Luis Torrens Fan Club arrived, with a nice, moderate 3 cards. These are the kind of zappings that are right up my alley. A nice, non-stress inducing zapping.

The first card was this very attractive Aaron Judge from Panini Titan. Have you ever heard of Panini Titan? I didn't think so. It's so bizarre to me that Panini basically puts out as many sets as Topps. Where the heck to they sell them?

But let that fact not detract from the fact that it's a very, very cool card. There are shiny planets in the background. That is definitely good enough for me.

The next card is fairly trippy as well, featuring even more nebulae of sorts. Giancarlo Stanton also makes an outer space-like appearance. I always like Inception, although don't come across it or find it much.

The last card was a ZZ special, a card of Indiana Pacer Victor Oladipo. I best remember Oladipo as a member of the Indiana Hoosiers team that got absolutely swallowed by Syracuse's 2-3 zone in the Sweet 16 in 2013. He shriveled in the moment and I loved it. Outside of that, Oladipo is pretty cool and has proven himself to be a star in the NBA.

I couldn't remember if I made a comment about Oladipo or something, but ZZ sent it because he's a great player, and he was trying to coax me into a TTM attempt. Maybe I'll comply.

Thanks for the three card PWE, ZZ! One of these days I'll show the bombing from Christmas.

Bloggers with a Habit

Recently, two bloggers I tend to get along very well with sent me some great Yankee cards. Not only do these two gentlemen send awesome cards, but both of their blog names include “Habit.” I’m talking about Robert from $30A Week Habit and Judson from My Cardboard Habit.

I think I’ve gotten to a point with both of these guys where we just kind of send each other cards back and forth and know that it’ll all even out in the end, although I always feel like what I send pales in comparison to what they send.

First up, here are a few goodies from Robert. Him and I have both gone through the difficult process of moving card collections over the last few months. It’s not easy! While mine are moved, they are still very boxed up and unorganized. I don’t love the feeling. Moving also makes you realizes how many damn pieces of cardboard you have. And let me tell ya, cards are heavy!

Robert happened to stumble upon this Michael Pineda 2016 Opening Day Blue Foil and asked if I needed it. Indeed, I did! I did not have this Pineda yet. It is #147 in my Big Mike PC. Pineda had a tough 2016, although he did become the first Yankees right hander to record 200 Ks in a season since Roger Clemens and Mike Mussina both did it in 2001. That was hard to believe.

Man, last year Luis Severino cards were H-O-T. This year, not so much. He had a pretty miserable year amidst some lofty expectations. I still think he’s too young to give up on and move to the ‘pen, although his stuff did play up well there. Hopefully he comes to spring training and wins a starting job. I’d also like to note that these blue-framed 2016 Gypsy Queen parallels were some of the nicest of the year.

I gotta say, I forgot how nice these were. I really came back into collecting in 2011, so these Diamond Anniversary parallels were pretty popular. But after not really thinking of them too much over the last few years, it’s nice to be reminded how striking they are.

The last card Robert sent was a Ty Hensley. I always appreciate you guys keeping an eye out for Hensleys for me!

Moving onto the man with a cardboard habit (don’t we all have one?!), Judson reached out about wanting to send me a few Dillon Tate autos after the Yankees acquired him in the Carlos Beltran trade. I thought that was super nice of him. Take a look at these beauties from Inception!

Other than the serial numbers and some purplish/blue hues, I’m not positive what the difference is. However, I like them and was thrilled to add some Tate autos. Inception cards always look a bit trippy (as was the movie), but I always end up liking them. I love the surface of the card, which is great for autographs. Overall, I think it's just a cool set, and the auto checklist is usually quite strong.

I love the gamble the Yankees took on Tate, the 4^th overall pick in the 2015 Draft. Although the Yankees had him work exclusively out of the bullpen after the trade, he seemed to pitch better than he did prior to the trade. I look forward to seeing if he can bounce back to being a top prospect.

Another Severino! This time a nice Topps Chrome Refractor. I think 2016 Topps Chrome looked a lot better than the flagship (which I liked, for the record), and the Refractor and Refractor parallels looked terrific.

I love this Heritage Chrome Refractor of Masahiro Tanaka. That Topps All-Star Rookie Trophy is pretty rad. Tanaka is the undisputed ace of the Yankees, and still finds himself a bit underrated. He’s probably going to just miss out on the ERA title this year, unless he ends up pitching on Saturday, which I doubt he will. With the Yankees out of it, there’s really no reason to bring him back from injury. He had a Cy Young-caliber year, and although he won’t win, he sure was a rock for the Yankees. Plus, look at this smile!

This is definitely my first 65^th Anniversary buyback. And you know what, I can honestly say I don’t think I’ve ever even seen this Reggie Jackson 1982 Topps card – buyback or not. I just do not recognize it. It wouldn’t be that surprising, although it’s not like Jackson has a ton of Topps cards from the ‘70s and ‘80s either. Hmmm. Well, I’m happy to have it, foil stamp or not!

Thanks again, guys! I really appreciate you thinking of me, as always.

Let there be Justus

I’m not usually one for grabbing autographs of players featured in another team’s uniform, but with the influx of prospects into the Yankees system as the result of their trade deadline deals, I’ve softened my stance a little. I want to add a few signatures of these guys now, as I’m not sure when we’ll see them on Yankees cards.

The first auto from the July crop I’ve been fortunate enough to add is that of Justus Sheffield. Some have sad that he is Gary’s nephew, although that looks to a myth. So far, the lefty has been phenomenal with the Yankees, going 3-1 with a 1.73 ERA and 27 Ks in 26 innings. He was just bumped up from high-A Tampa to AA Trenton, where I assume he’ll begin next season. MLB.com has him as the Yankees top pitching prospect, which is certainly true while James Kaprielian is on the shelf with an injury.

Hopefully I can add autographs of Clint Frazier, Gleyber Torres, and Dillon Tate in the near future, but this will hold me over for now.

He arrives

Tonight, the Yankees' best pitching prospect, Luis Severino, will make his Major League debut. Like most Yankee fans, I'm very excited for it. I do have mixed emotions - one one hand, I'm not sure if he's ready, although he's done nothing to prove he isn't. On the other hand, I'm glad they are giving him a shot, realizing he is capable of giving them a better performance than Chris Capuano or the likes. Brian Cashman felt that that it wasn't worth acquiring a guy like Mike Leake (for example) at the deadline when they have someone equally capable in-house, albeit less experienced.

So how will it go? I'm not expecting a dominant performance. I'd be thrilled with it, but I'm expecting somewhere along the lines of 5 innings with 3 or 4 runs allowed. Keep in mind a guy like Jon Gray, a similarly ranked prospect and a few years older, debuted last night to a line of 4 IP and 2 ERs, with 4 Ks and a couple of walks. It's hard. It's the Majors. It's not just another game. Emotions are high. It's hot out. It's just not an easy task for a young kid who wants to prove he belongs.

Just keep the Yanks in the game with 5 good innings, and build on that.

Knowing that Severino was graduating to the Bigs, and not owning an autograph of his, I splurged on this guy. It wasn't too expensive, but if he lights the world on fire, it was going to be tougher to buy.

Good luck tonight, kid.

Inception!

I can't think of Bowman Inception without thinking of this:

Weird, crazy movie. However, if I keep getting cards like the one below, "Inception" may have a new meaning.

I picked up this gorgeous Gary Sanchez on-card auto from 2014 Bowman Inception, which constantly puts out some fantastic looking cards that end up being fairly affordable. I like the filter Topps uses on the photos (very Instagram-y), and the designs have a cool darkness to them.

While it's a set that doesn't get a lot of love, I've become a big fan of Bowman Inception, and look forward to its release (and subsequent eBay pickups) every year. Here are two I picked up from the 2013 Bowman Inception set. Nice cards. See what I mean?