Happy Opening Day!

Hopefully the crappy weather in the Northeast holds off and we get some baseball today. Unfortunately I'm out of town and won't be able to watch my Yanks.

Best of luck to all of your respective teams (except Boston). Let's have a great season!

Cards from Night Owl

Before I left on my business trip, Greg the Night Owl sent me a nice package of Yanks. I definitely owe him some nice Dodgers in return.

My favorite card in the group is the 2011 Heritage Chrome Teixeira. I was not expecting this! It looks great and is definitely my first #'d Teixeira card. He also sent the Joba and Jeter base cards, so I'm on my way to collecting all the Heritage Yanks. Also included were a few Opening Day cards - Jeter base and spot the error, as well as Pettitte base and Superstar Celebrations insert.

There was also a nice assortment of other Yankee cards, including a 1973 Topps Bernie Allen. At the time, I needed this to send for my Topps Yankees Project, but have since gotten two returns from the 1973 set. Since Greg was nice enough to send this, I'm still going to send the TTM requets to Allen in hopes of getting his auto.

Thanks again, Greg! I'll be sending you some Dodgers in the next few weeks!

1954 and 1956 Andy Carey - Topps recycled!

I know that everyone likes to call out Topps for recycling photos. It's fun to pick on them. I've noticed it a few times, but never really overly cared. Anyways, I just picked up a 1956 Topps Andy Carey card, and I already had a 1954. Lo and behold, look what I noticed! I'm not too bummed and don't really care, but I thought it was interesting that Topps reused a picture two years later. I guess back then it's a bit more forgivable than it is now.

TTM Success: Scott Kamieniecki for my project

I have been having a tough time filling 1995 for my Topps Yankees Project. A few of the players sign, but I have them taking up other years, such as Randy Velarde or Jimmy Key. I finally was able to cross 1995 off the list when Scott Kamieniecki returned my card signed. It's not the great shot...wiping sweat, but it'll do. I got greedy and added in a 1995 Ultra as well, wich I was fortunate to get returned signed. I have like 12 Kamieniecki cards for whatever reason, but I thought the Ultra would look good signed, and it does!

With this success, I now only have nine years to go! I'd love to finish this up in the next few weeks. Stay tuned!

Out of town - blog on autopilot

I'll be traveling for work Tues-Fri. As a Yankee fan, I'll be in a city that is not appealing to me at all, especially with Opening Day on Thursday. I'll give you three guess as to which Northeast city I'll be in.

Anyways, I'll still be trying to keep up with everyone's blogs, but my blog will be mostly on autopilot unless I find some down time to write a post. If we have a trade in the works or I owe you cards, apologies for the delay while I'm gone. I promise I haven't forgotten about you.

Trade Review: Baseball Daddy Mack

Baseball Dad (Jack) of All Tribe Baseball sent me a note about swapping some Yanks for Indians. I'm always down for a team trade, and the Indians are one of the teams I'm not currently depleted of, so we agreed to a swap. I had some newer stuff, as well as some Indians from the late 1990s and early 2000's. I also had a few Pinnacle Inside cards that Jack collects. Overall, nothing too special, but still some cool cards from some forgotten sets.

In return, Jack sent me a huge lot of Yanks - over 50 cards, including 7 Tino's - 5 of which I definitely needed. My favorite one was the 1998 Metal Universe. First off, I have no idea how I didn't have this one. I have almost every Tino Yankees base card. Upon closer inspection, this card has a picture of St. Patrick's Cathedral in the background. How freakin' cool is that?! Also there were a few cards from the lost years - Tino's time with the Cards and Rays.

Jack, hopefully we can trade again soon. Thanks!

My Fantasy Squad

I had my fantasy draft last night, and overall I'm feeling OK. I missed my first five picks because I was at the movies with the girl, but rushed home and finished it out. By the time I got there, I didn't have any pitchers five rounds in, so my next few picks were all pitchers. Here is my line-up. Let me know what you think.

League format is head to head, with 14(!) teams.

C - Arencibia (my very last pick) - wasn't much available
1B - Miguel Cabrera
2B - Neil Walker
3B - Infante (he qualifies at 2B, 3B, OF) - I like his versatility, but would you rather have Edwin Encarnacion? Chipper Jones?
SS - Rollins
OF - Josh Hamilton
OF - Choo
OF - Rios (Computer took him in the 5th round. I wouldn't have drafted him)
Util - Manny Ramirez - got him really late. I like it.
Bench - Colvin

SP- Tommy Hanson
SP - Carpenter
RP - Axford
RP - Lyon
P- Phil Hughes
P - Wandy Rodriguez
P - Jaime Garcia
BN- Brian Matusz
BN - Anibel Sanchez
BN - James McDonald

A lot of pitchers with high upside. Hope it pays off!

TTM Success: Casey Cox

A quick TTM success to share. On Saturday, I received a return from Casey Cox on a 1973 Topps. It was one of the years I was missing for my project - until this week, when I got both Cox and Fritz Peterson. The Cox looks nice signed in blue, and since Fritz is signed in pen, I might use the Cox in my project.

My Disappointing Heritage Blaster

On my way home from work on Thursday, I stopped my Modell’s really quickly to see if they had 2011 Topps Heritage yet. They have a puny card display that is usually pretty empty. Lo and behold, they had Heritage - blasters, loose packs, and packs that came in cardboard packaging…but had the same number of cards as the loose packs (9). I don’t really get it. Based on other bloggers' reviews of the blasters, I should have just gotten a pack to see the cards, and been done with it. But I got greedy and bought a blaster. I know I’m due for a good hit soon…a relic or an auto, so I figured this would be it. Not true. Should have trusted my gut.

Now, I must say I really like the base cards. The card stock is great. The design from 1962 is cool, and the packaging is awesome. Love the green wrappers (1987 Topps anyone?), and I love the feel of the cards. Cardboard is good. The problem is, it’s boring opening these packs. Nothing shiny or off-colored sticks out. It really did feel like I was opening a pack of 1987’s with the 1962 design. It was just that boring. I guess I like inserts/parallels more than I thought I did. Have you ever bought a box or blaster, and about two packs in you know it wasn’t a good idea? That’s how this was. I did get some nice base cards, and I’ve highlighted each pack below. The odds of SPs are 1:3, and I got three (woohoo, beat the odds) but they don’t feel very special. I did manage to get two inserts – a Harmon Killebrew Flashback and a Ramon Hernandez Chrome #'d to 1962. Both are completely available for trade.

On a side note - is this set sponsored by Nike? I feel like every other player has the swoosh in a very prominent place.

I also managed to get three Yankees and a couple Babe Ruths. The Yanks I got were Teixeira, Pettitte, and Hughes. I’d like to get the rest of them (especially the Russell Martin – I like cards of new acquisitions), but probably won’t be buying any more packs.

Pack 1:
340 Billinglsy (did a double take, he looks like Kevin Brown in this pic)
421 K Rod
83 Carpenter
229 Ciriaco
486 Prado SP (really? Prado is an SP?)
384 A's Team
98 Twins Team
223 Theriot
222 Franklin Gutierrez

Pack 2:
42 N Cruz
308 Bay
60 NL Strikeout Leaders
162 Alex Gordon
133 Torres
408 Coghlan
138 Babe Ruth The Famous Slugger
506 Colvin
158 Braves
5 of 6 Checklist

Snoozefest so far. This box was a bad idea.

Pack 3:
299 Descalso
240 Nady
181 Gee
473 Sporting News All Star Joe Mauer SP
257 Kazmir
199 Aroldis Chapman
15 Carmona
267 BJ Upton
34 Bieber Kinsler

Pack 4:
316 Mauer Sends One Into Orbit
19 McGee
392 Sporting News All Star Ryan Zimmerman
152 Riggleman
260 Cain
188 Freddy Sanchez
271 Jeffress
234 Josh Hamilton Rangers Retaliate
205 Rolen

Pack 5:
201 Beckett (someone take this from me)
400 Teixeira (woohoo!)
273 Chris Perez
61 Brewers
50 Pujols
491 Torii Hunter SP
355 Matusz
275 Butler
4 Zobrist

Pack 6:
136 Babe Joins Yanks
368 Arencibia
46 Hamels
309 Alonso
104 Domonic Bfrown
49 Jordan Brown
331 Bronson Arroyo Mike Leake
254 Chris Carter
179 Latos

Pack 7:
287 Feliz
255 Edwin Jackson
204 Bogusevic
166 Slowey
394 Sporting News All Star Ryan Braun
Flashbacks Killebrew
156 Conger
310 Pettitte
102 Capps

Last pack:
173 Peralta
376 Huuuughes!
345 An Elf named Dustin
47 Fukudome
C47 - Chome Ramon Hernandez 654/1962. Meh.
361 Wolf
62 Inge
180 Thome
177 Happ

There it is. Overall, a massive waste of $21. Glad to trade any of these away, just let me know what you need!

TTM Success: Mark Spitz

I'm not sure how I acquired it, but somehow in a stack of cards I found a 2008 A&G Mark Spitz. Up until Michael Phelps came onto the scene, Spitz was the best swimmer in USA history. And he had a sweet porn 'stache. I sent the card to Mr. Spitz, and he returned it in about two weeks with his signature. It's definitely a different auto considering my collection is about 95% baseball, but diversifies my collection quite nicely.

Unfortunately there is a tiny smudge on the bottom of the autograph. However, any and all signatures look sweet on A&G's. I'll take it.

Tino die-cut sweetness

I picked up this sweet Tino Martinez die-cut on eBay for $1. It's from 1999 Crown Royale Opening Day and is numbered 44/72. It's also stamped June 27, 1999 - they day it was made I guess? Any time I can pick up a Tino numbered to less than 100 for a buck, count me in. And the fact that it's die cut is even cooler. These are really pretty cards. I miss awesome die cuts.

My second Slade Heathcott card

I recently picked up my second Slade Heathcott card, this time a 2010 Bowman Platinum rookie card. Heathcott was the Yankees 2009 1st round draft pick. He is a toolsy outfielder that projects well. As a 19 year old in A ball at Charleston, he hit .258 and swiped 15 bases. However, despite the low average and high strikeouts, he showed a great ability to get on base at a .359 clip. Not bad for a 19 year old in his first full pro season. I'd love to see him take a leap this year - pick up the BA and OPS while striking out less and showing a little more power. I assume he'll head back to Charleston to start the season, but he could definitely find his way to High A Tampa pretty quickly.

TTM Success: Gary "The Glove" Payton

I don't really send out basketball TTMs unless it's a player I was a big fan of and I know he has good signing habits. Recently, I've seen some quick returns from former SuperSonic (and Buck and Laker and Celtic and Heat) point guard Gary "The Glove" Payton. As a point guard myself growing up, I was always a huge fan, so I sent out a request.

Well, in just 6 days, Mr. Payton was nice enough to sign and return my old-school Skybox card. I don't know why, but I always loved this set. It was really different at the time - I was used to the ugly old Hoops cards, so as a 9-10 year old, the colors and the look were really appealing. This is a great addition to my collection!

Trade Review: Thoughts and Sox

Adam of Thoughts and Sox and I ignored the unwritten rule of trading within your division as we did a small Red Sox for Yanks swap. Granted, this was in baseball cards and not actual players. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the last actual Boston-NY trade was the Mike Stanley deal in 1997. Anyways, Adam claimed the 2011 Topps Opening Day Red Sox cards that I posted, and I threw in a few others. In turn, he sent me a few Yanks.

I really like the 2004 Donruss Classics cards he sent me. The Mariano Rivera is awesome...it would look great signed. He also sent a few shiny cards - some 2004 Donruss Elite Extra Editions and a 2005 Zenith Carl Pavano. Despite it being Pavano, it's a really nice looking card.

Thanks, Adam! I'll keep you in mind as I get more Red Sox cards in the future, as I'll want them out of my house immediately.

A&G relics are cool

I've wanted a Yankees framed A&G Relic for a long time, and I finally picked one up. I recently grabbed this Johnny Damon on eBay for $2.49 delivered. Great deal. Upon receiving the card, I even realized that there is a Pinstripe on it...you can barely see it, but it's there, mostly covered by the boarder. Pretty cool card!

Trade Review: Justin's World

A while back I sent Justin from Justin's World a few cards from his 2011 Topps want list. In return, he sent me some nice Yanks cards. My favorite card in the package is a Jeter 2011 Topps Diamond Anniversary card. It was a printing error, it's missing some foil in the Diamond Anniversary logo. I don't mind though! I didn't have any shiny Yankees, so I'm really digging this. Justin also sent me some random Yanks from the last few years, and a few were actually of lesser known guys who didn't spend much time with the team, such as Nick Green and Matt Lawton. I love having these types of cards to remind me of some of the random players that spent time on the team in the mid 2000's.

Justin - thanks for the trade!

Trade Review: No Relics Pulled (I have the same problem)

A few weeks back, Dustin from No Relics Pulled reached out about a trade. He collects a few different players/teams which makes him a very easy trading partner. He has a Johnny Damon PC, so he figured as a Yankee collector I might have some Damon dupes laying around. I wish I did! While looking through my collection, I was surprised by how few Damon cards I had at all, let alone dupes! In a recent trade, I had just received a Damon Bowman foil, and while I liked the card a lot, I figured someone who collects Damon would like it even more. So I sent that Dustin, along with a King Felix 2010 Bowman Chrome Refractor and a few Tigers I had laying around.

Dustin sent me a really nice assortment of Yanks, including a Robinson Cano 2011 Topps Purple Diamond card. This is my first of any of the Diamond cards - red, blue, or purple! It's a really cool card, and I believe it was exclusive to Toys R Us. He also sent me a Teixeria and Whitey Ford '09 Goodwin Champs, and a few other Yanks. I'm glad to get the 2010 Topps Michael Dunn RC again, as the only other one I had I used for TTM, although it did come back signed. The Swisher Upper Deck card is pretty cool as well, as this was after UD lost their license. They did a good job hiding the logos in this card, although overall it's something they struggled with. The Jeter and Mo checklist in the picture clearing shows the interlocking NY on their caps.

Dustin - thanks for the trade! Looking forward to trading again.

Purchase Review: My first CC relic

I really like the 2011 Topps 60 Relics. It started when I pulled the Cano from a Jumbo pack. Since then, I've been trying to acquire the other Yankees in this set (minus Babe Ruth, Gerhig, etc). Outside of the useless foil print which doesn't pop against the background at all, I think they are nice cards and I love where the relic is placed. I picked up my fourth Yankee in this set, grabbing a CC Sabathia on the cheap.

It's my first CC relic of any kind, so I'm pretty happy with it. I'd love to grab a CC relic with a pinstripe, but for now, I'm loving this card.

Trade Review: Plaschke (who couldn't be nearly as bad as TJ Simers)

From what I hear and have seen of Bill Plaschke, I can't imagine he is nearly as bad as TJ Simers. I just read a piece where Simers completely and unfairly tore apart Marcus Thames for no reason. It was, in my mind, unprofessional and has no place in sports journalism. And this is coming from a reader of the NY Post! Anyways...Greg over at Plaschke Thy Sweater is Argyle reached out following my 2011 Topps Opening Day Blaster post and claimed my Dodgers cards. I was also able to send him an assortment of a few other Dodgers, including a Dodger card of new Yankee Russell Martin for his PC.

Greg had a Tino that I didn't have - a 1993 Topps Gold. For whatever reason, I never picked up this card in any of the Tino lots I have bought, so it's a welcome addition. He also sent me a few Yanks which is always appreciated!

Thanks for the trade, Greg! Looking forward to trading again soon!

Purchase Review: Elston Howard Game Used Jersey

Right now I don't have any real collecting goals. There are a few insert sets I'm trying to collect, as well as keeping up with my TTMs and my project. Since my want list is minimal, I'll always ask for Yankee cards in a trade. Love getting them. Lately while surfing eBay, I've been gravitating toward Yankee relics and vintage Yankee cards. My newest acquisition is a bit of both.

Four a couple bucks, I picked up this 2005 Donruss Greats Elston Howard Clippings jersey card. I love getting older Yankee relics. This jersey was worn in the '50s or '60s! Cool, right? It's road gray, and it's a pretty dark gray. The picture isn't great - it's darker than it looks. I'll have to compare it to the current road jerseys, but I think it's quite a bit darker. It's not quite as cool as the cream-colored home jerseys, like the Mize I have, but it's a great swatch of a Yankee great.

Second Holy Grail card - Whitey Ford Topps card

As I mentioned in a previous post, I picked up a second card on my Holy Grail list. This time, I grabbed a really nice 1967 Topps Whitey Ford off of eBay for less than $4 - shipped! I believe it’s Whitey’s last year of being included in the Topps base set before he retired, so it’s got a long, long list of stats on the back. And well, he was really good.

I wanted to add a card of his for several reasons. There are a bunch of guys who played for the Yanks prior to 1970 who fall within a certain group…Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Maris, Berra, Rizzuto, etc. I think most Yankee fans would put Whitey in this category, so owning his card is pretty special for me. Plus, he pitched for my hometown Binghamton Triplets (now the Mets) while in the minors.

Outside of light corner wear and off-centering, this card is in great condition. After adding the 1960 Berra, this card is definitely one of my new favorites. Two down, seven to go! I do want to eventually replace these cards on my list and always keep a Top 10 most wanted. I’m thinking that the next two might be a 1949 Bowman (or some other older card) and a Billy Martin Topps Yankees base card (as a player).

TTM Success: Fritz Peterson for my project

In the last two days, I have gotten about 10 packages from trades or purchases. However, eluding me were my little white SASEs. Today I found one in my mailbox, and it was a good one for my Topps Yankees Project.

Former Yankee lefty Fritz Peterson signed my two cards - a 1973 Topps for my project and a 1968 Topps that I had laying around. I was starting to get worried about 1973, so I'm happy to get this back. Peterson also answered my questions and wrote on my envelope "Buy my book on amazon.com - Fritz." The answers to my questions:

Favorite baseball moment: winning 20 games in 1970
Favorite teammate: Mel Stottlemyre
Current pitchers who reminds him of himself: Was Andy Pettitte (cool answer)

I wish the cards were signed in Sharpie, but beggers can't be choosers. Still a cool success!

Proud owner of a Yogi Berra 1960 Topps

On the right hand side of my blog, there are nine cards that are part of my Collecting Holy Grail. Some are a lot more realistic than others. Some are more vague – a Mickey Mantle base card for example, while some are more precise, like a 1993 Topps Finest All Star Don Mattingly.

For a few of the older cards, the best way is to find cards that are in poor condition, and hope that I can acquire them on eBay or via trade. That’s exactly what happened with this card, as I am now the owner of a 1960 Topps Yogi Berra! I got this for a few bucks on eBay – I paid less than $6 shipped for this card. The condition is rough, but I don’t mind…it’s what enabled me to buy the card. A few wrinkles won’t make me love it less.

I’m thrilled to add an actual Yogi Berra Topps base card to my Yankees collection. I’ll keep it right next to my 1955 Rizzuto. I’m still chasing a Mantle, but for the time being, I’ll try and knock a few cards off my grail. For now, instead of replacing it on my list, I’m just going to cross it off.

Stay tuned, as I picked up a second card off of my Holy Grail…and no, it’s not a Mantle.

Trade Review: San Jose Fuji

A week or so ago, I posted some game used trade bait. San Jose Fuji saw two cards to his liking - a Trevor Cahill 2011 Topps manupatch and a Dale Murphy jersey card. In return, Fuji sent me two Yanks game-used cards - a Randy Johnson (swatch is actually Diamondbacks) and a Bernie Williams. I had a Bernie bat relic, but not a jersey, so this was a very welcome addition.

In addition, Fuji also sent me a sweet auto...of himself! This 2008 Topps was sandwiched between the two game used cards. Hopefully next time we make a deal, I'll get a Fuji game-used card!

Thanks again, Fuji!

Trade Review: Tim's Baseball Cards

I had a few 2011 Topps Yankees dupes, so Tim of Tim's Baseball Cards took them off my hands. In exchange, Tim sent me three cool Yanks I didn't have - an UD All-Time Legends Thurman Munson, a Red Ruffing Yankees Classics, and an UD Ballparks Yankee Stadium. I think they could have picked a more flattering shot of the new Stadium as opposed to half the card being taken up by a cement wall. Anyhow, still a nice card for the collection. Thanks, Tim!

Johnny Mize Game Used - oh yes!

A few days ago I came across a Johnny Mize game-used card on eBay. It looked awesome - a nice, cream colored jersey swatch from a Yankee great from the '40s and '50s. The card is from 2002 Topps Tribute Milestone Materials. I put in a pretty low bid and somehow won the card for only a few bucks. Check out how sweet this is:

The picture does no do it justice. It is SHINY! When I say shiny, I mean shiiiiiiiny. It's gorgeous and may quite well be my new favorite card. The only thing I wish it had was a pinstripe, but I'll live. It amazes me how the old Yankees home uniforms were cream-colored and not the current white. It seems like it just got gradually lighter until it was its current-day white.

Anyways, I'm in love with this card. It was a solid, solid addition to my Yankees game used PC that is rapidly growing!

TTM Success: Another one for my Topps Yankees Project

Apologies for my lack of posting over the weekend. I was not only out of town, but consumed by college basketball. As I get ready for my Syracuse game tonight, I wanted to share a quick TTM success that I received once I got home. Bert Campaneris signed my 1984 Topps card for my project, so now I am down to 11 more years to go! Signature looks great.

I have a couple of trades and purchases to review in the next few days, so stop on back. Have a great night...GO 'CUSE!

Help me complete my Topps Yankees Project

With a few recent successes, I'd like to share the progress of my Topps Yankees Project. Check out my original post HERE. I'm getting close to completing my goal, but there are still a few years that are alluding me. Twelve to be exact. Each of the remaining years are out in the mail, so now it's a waiting game. I've also developed a contingency plan for each year, as I've been in this long enough to know that no one is a sure thing.

This is where you come in. I could use a little help acquiring a few more cards to send out for the years I am missing. If you have any cards (unsigned!) from the following Topps sets that you would be willing to part with, please let me know and hopefully we can work out a trade

1966 - Al Downing, Bob Friend
1970 - Lindy McDaniel, Pete Ward, Bill Burbach
1973 - Lindy McDaniel, Hal Lanier, Fred Beene, Bernie Allen, Steve Kline
1978 - Ken Holtzman
1984 - Andre Robertson
1995 - Randy Velarde
2000 - Chili Davis
2005 - Tony Clark

Thanks for any help that you can provide!

Showing off a few more TTM autos

Earlier this week, I posted a few pictures of some TTM autos I had gotten over the years. I got a pretty nice response, and since that was only a small sampling of what I have, I figured I'd share a few more successes I've had over the years.

By the way, this my my 100th blog post, so there's a mini-milestone! Enjoy the tourney this weekend!

Trade packages on the way!

This morning I mailed out seven brown-padded envelopes and two PWEs. Apologies if some of you have been expecting cards from me - they should be on the way!

Another Heartbreaking relic

For the third time in as many weeks, Matt from Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius sent me a relic. This sweet Tino is from 2005 Prime Patches #'d 69/100. I already had a quad-relic (2 jersey/2 bat pieces) from this set, and this is a welcome addition, as there are many variations in this set. Check out the card - it's just itching for Tino's signature below the bat!

I am definitely in debt to Matt, and have a small package going out to him today. I still owe him, but it'll be a start. Matt - thanks again my friend!

Happy March Madness/St. Patrick's Day!

Happy First Day Of The NCAA Tournament and St. Patrick's Day! Wow, what a day! As you may or nay not know, I am as big of a college hoops fan as I am a baseball fan. I went to Syracuse and was there for the National Championship in 2003. To me, there is nothing better than the first four days of March Madness. Even though Syracuse doesn't play until 10pm on Friday (pure torture), I believe my co-workers and I are heading to a bar early this afternoon to have a few adult beverages and watch endless games. Best. Day. Ever.

So....whose in your Final Four? I'll gladly say that I have Syracuse, Duke, Purdue, and Pitt...two 1 seeds and two 3 seeds. Works for me. Leave me a comment with your Final Four, I'd love to hear!

I'll leave you with this little number that I added to my collection - $.18 on sportlots ooooh yeah. I think I'll send it to Jimmy B after the season and hopefully he'll sign it. Enjoy the games, and stay safe today you Irish hooligans!

My Collecting Holy Grail

On the right side of my blog, there is a little section that lists my collecting Holy Grail. Some cards are a lot more feasible than others. I did pick up one card on the list tonight on eBay and should have it in a few days. It was a deal I couldn't pass up.

What card do you think it is? Looking forward to revealing it when I have it in hand...

Showing off a few autos

I've been at the TTM thing a pretty long time - since I was a lot younger. Here is a quick snapshot at a few of the Yankees autos I've gotten through the mail.

Trade Review: Crinkly Wrappers

Ted from Crinkly Wrappers and I recently broke the baseball rule of not trading within your own division. Fortunately, the card rules are a bit easier to bend than the AL East rules. Raul Mondesi might beg to differ. Anyhow, I had a few 2011 Topps base cards that Ted needed, and I also put together an assortment of Blue Jays cards in exchange for a stack of Yankees. Ted sent some GREAT Yankees cards - a lot from sets I hasn't seen or been able to get my hands on yet.

My favorite cards were definitely the 2007 UD Masterpieces. These are just downright pretty cards, and they show great moments of each particular player, like ARod's walk-off homer against the O's or Matsui's HR in the rain against the Twins. Really cool. A close second was a few of the UD Icons base cards. I know Ted is a big fan of this set as well. I love the 2009 Goodwin Chien Ming Wang card - it would look great signed, and since he is a good TTM signer, maybe I'll send it out his way. Ted even threw in a Tino card - I always appreciate it when someone digs through their cards to find a Tino for me, as I know he tends to find a nice little home in the common box.

Ted, thanks for a great assortment of cards!

A few relics for trade - Braves, Cubs, Mets, Brewers, Pads, A's

As you may have seen in a few of my recent posts, I've gone on a little binge and acquired a few Yankees relics. What can I say, I really like them. I've also picked up a few others, and would be open for trading these for other Yankee relics. Since a lot of these are fairly common guys, I'm not expecting Jeter or anything in return.

The coolest card is probably the Dale Murphy 2004 SP Legendary Cuts Braves jersey. The Prior is cool as well because of the solid blue pinstripe. Always a fan of two colors. Let me know if you see anything that interests you!

2001 Pacific Private Stock Derek Bell (Mets)
2003 Topps Record Breakers Richie Sexson (Brewers)
2004 SP Legendy Cuts Dale Murphy (Braves)
2005 Upper Deck Mark Prior (Cubs)
2007 A&G Marcus Giles jersey (Padres) - in a pending deal
2011 Topps manu-patch 1968 A's Trevor Chahill (A's)

Purchase Review: another Tino relic

I need to slowwwww down. I keep finding Yankee relics I want, so I need to chill and stop pulling the trigger. Anyways, I picked up this card for a few bucks - a nice 2009 SP Legendary Cuts Tino jersey relic. Would I prefer a pinstripe? You bet. But this gem is numbered 35/50, so it's definitely cool and a great addition to the Tino PC.

TTM Success: A pair of Mark's - McGwire & Prior

I had a solid two successes yesterday - none of which were on a Yankees card. I was thrilled to get this first one back in what was a very quick turnaround. Former A's and Cards slugger Mark McGwire signed my card in about a week. As you can see in the pic, the black signature doesn't pop very well against the background. However, I am very happy to add this to my collection. I also received two signed Mark Prior cards c/o Yankees spring training. Both look great! Prior is a longshot to break camp with the team unless Joba's oblique injury lingers. However, he'll pitch for the club at some point this year, I'm certain. I'm really pulling for him.