USA! USA!

Abby Wambach leads USA to the Women's World Cup Finals!

Picture credit: stolen from eBay

Trade Review: Trading with the "enemy" (Shane)

Usually the Yankees and Sox don't make trades. I think the last deal was in 1997...the Yankees reacquired Mike Stanley for the stretch run. In return, the Yanks sent the Red Sox Tony Armas Jr, who later was shipped to Montreal in the Pedro deal. Oy. Anyhow, luckily the stakes aren't as high with inter-blog trading as opposed to inter-division trading. Therefore, Shane of Off The Wall and I felt comfortable about making a swap. Just as the Sox have done to the Yanks this year, Shane kicked my butt in this trade.

First and foremost, he send this awesome Jorge Posada dual relic. See those two Pinstripes? Yeah, me too. Just a gorgeous card.

There was then a whole box of Yankee goodness.

I've highlighted a few of my favorites, but I enjoyed the whole box. There were so many unique cards and ones I didn't have...minor leaguers and oddballs and stars. It was a lot of fun to sort through. First off, a few oddballs. Did you know Robin Roberts pitched for the Yankees? Well, sort of. He was acquired after the 1961 season and spent the spring with the Yanks, but never pitched in a regular season game. He came in and just didn't throw well without explanation. I bet it was similar to what Phil Hughes went through earlier this season...showed up at Spring Training and his velocity was missing. The Yanks released a devastated Roberts on April 23, before the season had started. He signed on with the Orioles in May and pitched fairly well for the the next few seasons. I wish I had this card a few years ago and was able to get Roberts to sign it TTM, as he was a great signer before he passed. Still cool to have a card of him in a Yankee uniform.

Up next, an awesome John Elway Yankees card. I wonder how good at baseball he could have been? All Star? I bet. I scanned this Carl Evertt card just to show that he has always been a punk. Just look at him. I'll always hate him for breaking up Mike Mussina's perfect game at Fenway. Not so much for breaking it up, but coming back to the dugout like he was Joe Carter and had just hit a World Series clinching homer. He was a d-bag.

Some sweet Red Diamond Yanks! I believe these are the Target exclusive version. I didn't have any of these cards, and I really like them. I have a purple Cano I believe.

Last but not least, a really cool Alfonso Soriano die cut. I've always loves die cuts and I think this one is a beauty!

Shane, thanks for an awesome trade. I definitely owe you more Red Sox and I'll certainly set my next batch aside for you.

Jeter Fleer Club 3000 Custom

I've always liked the Fleer Club 3000 set. It honors both hitters and pitchers who have achieved 3,000 hits and strikeouts, respectively. Since Fleer is no longer around, I took it upon myself to make the Jeter version.

I'm not very good at Photoshop, but I think it turned out ok.

Robinson Cano - HR Derby Champ

Last night, I sent a text to one of my friends about how much I used to love the HR Derby, and now how much it blows. I remember how exciting it was as a kid...we'd have a sleepover and devour candy and ice cream and watch the Derby. When my favorite player, Tino Martinez, won in 1997 it literally was one of the greatest moments of my life. I still have it on VHS tape.

Back in 2008, I had the fortunate experience of attending the Derby at Yankee Stadium and saw Josh Hamilton put on a show. The last few years have been sort of boring though. Last night, I admit, was fairly fun to watch though. Sure, a Yankee winning helped. However, these guys were hitting absolute bombs...no doubters. It was fun to see that power between Cano, Adrien, Prince Fielder and T-Rex Ortiz.

Congrats to Cano on becoming the third Yankee to win the Derby. Afterward, he participated in a Smile Derby and won that too.

TTM Failure: Mason Williams

I figured I'd do something different and post a TTM failure. It's easy to post the successes, but with every TTM request I send, there is always the risk of failure. Many times, there is no response and the card is lost forever. Other times, the card is returned unsigned with a price list. In this instance, my card was returned unsigned with no explanation.

I sent this request to Mason Williams in care of the Staten Island Yanks. Mason was a 2010 fourth rounder and is a good outfield prospect. I was excited to try to add his autograph on a nice 2011 Bowman Chrome.

My self address stamped envelope was returned, so I was excited that I possibly had a new Yankee autograph of a Yankees prospect. However, once opened, I found my card and letter both returned, unsigned. I was disappointed, but at least I got the card back.

I'm not sure what to think. A few reasons for the failure may be:

1. He signed some Bowman cards for a 2011 insert set, so maybe he is contractually obligated not to sign this card.
2. With the fake sigs on the Bowman cards, maybe he thought he already signed it.
3. It was an accident. These guys get a lot of mail, and maybe he simply forgot to sign the card.
4. He doesn't sign fan mail and a clubhouse attendant returned the card.

I'm still a Mason Williams fan and wish him well. Maybe I'll have the chance to get his auto down the road.

David Ortiz has T-Rex arms

It was hilarious watching David Ortiz charge the mound on Saturday. The first pitch that he got upset about was actually over the plate, but no one is allowed to throw the ball on the inner half to him. It's the rule. The second was certainly a purpose pitch too far inside, but Ortiz's cat-like reflexes allowed him to get out of the way. Then he hit the lazy pop up, didn't run (because he never does - it's not just this instance), and then Kevin Gregg started mouthing off. That's when Ortiz charged the mound in hilarious fashion. His arms stayed surprisingly close to his body and he made a few weak swipes in Gregg's direction. It was awkward city.

While flipping through the channels on Saturday night, I saw Jurassic Park on ABC Family. And then it him me. Ortiz has T-Rex arms.

Congrats to David Robertson, AL All-Star

I was excited to hear that Yankees reliever David Roberston was named to the AL All-Star team yesterday. While it seems that there are 100 All-Stars from each league because of injuries and replacements and Sunday starters who can't pitch, Robertson has been deserving from the get-go. I actually think he should have made it off the bat, and is possibly even more deserving this year than Mariano Rivera. He was a casualty of bigger names and the fact that the Yanks already had six All-Stars. Understandable.

In a season in which three key members of the Yankees' bullpen are injured (Joba, Soriano, Feliciano), Robertson has assumed the 8th inning roll and has been brilliant. He reminds me a lot of John Wetteland in the fact that he always comes in, gets himself into a jam, and Houdini's his way out of it. He has 56 Ks in just over 35 innings, good for a league-leading 14.26 K/9. He has also pitched to a 1.27 ERA.

I got these cards signed by Robertson TTM c/o spring training a few years ago.