TTM Success: Adam Warren

One of the best part of the Aroldis Chapman-to-the-Cubs trade was bringing back old friend Adam Warren. He is one of those guys who has always been very valuable to the Yankees as a guy who can start or relieve; a harder-throwing Ramiro Mendoza type.

Warren never really got going with the Cubs, so when he was the last piece in the Chapman trade, the Yankees were banking on the fact that bringing him back to more familiar surroundings would help. And it definitely did.

He pitched much better in NY, and this year he's tossed six innings without allowing a hit over three appearances. It's maddening the way Girardi has been using him. I actually wouldn't mind seeing him slot into the rotation, as it's a rare occurrence that a Yankee starter goes more than five innings.

I sent Warren a few cards to spring training, and he was kind enough to return them signed.

Cleaning out the scanned folder

I found each of these cards in my scanned folder, and don't have a ton to say about any of them, so I figured I'd just throw them in a post instead of discarding them completely. Most are from some random eBay wins of the last few months.

These two are from the "minimum bid was $.01 with free shipping, so place a bid and see if I win" collection. Once in a while I'll search for Yankees by lowest price and free shipping. I don't do it much, but it can be fun. More often than not, I don't win, but in these two instances, I believe I got each of these cards for less than $.15 shipped. It's always interesting to see how some sellers send these cards. PWE is expected, but I've had some where a card is completely unprotected, and others where the card comes in a top loader.

Relics of guys I collect! These aren't dupes, I needed both of them. I have a few of the Tino ones like this, although this is the copper #'d to 99.

I liked this Pineda too because of the two Pinstripes on the jersey swatch. You're lucky if you get one, but two is a nice bonus.

Lastly, this Tino Martinez Stadium Club Triumvirates is a dupe, but it's a cool diecut and the card doesn't pop up often, so I snagged a second copy.

There you have it. Five cards without much of a story, but my scanned folder is a little lighter.

A Jedi Jersey

A few days ago, I got a PWE in the mail from Jedi Jeff of 2x3 Heroes. I figured it was one of Jeff’s usual PWE mailings, but this one contained just one card:

Sweet, a jersey card of Yankees starting pitcher Adam Warren! The note attached said that at some point long ago, I made a comment about this card on Jeff’s blog. I don’t remember doing it, but Jeff is a Jedi and if he says it happened, it happened. I must’ve inquired but never followed up. Jeff was nice enough to remember and sent it my way, and I’m happy to have it!

It hails from Panini America's Pastime. I like the look of the card, overall. I think Panini did a nice job with the design, given that they can't show logos and all. I like these RC logos more than the official MLB one, actually. The jersey swatch is gray, but it's a nice size. plus, Warren is shown in road gray. I like it when the picture matches the jersey color. The card is numbered to 125 as well.

I wish I scanned the back. It's quite funny. Panini calls the Yankees the "popular team that plays in the Bronx." Just funny to see them work around calling them the "Yankees."

Thanks, Jeff!

A Zipp-ity Zapp-ity doo dah trade

A few weeks ago, reader Kenny aka Zippy Zappy reached out about a possible trade. Zippy Zappy has been a frequent commenter on my blog, so I was all for it. As seen in many of his comments, he too is a Yankee fan. He mentioned he had some prospect cards and other goodies, and that he collects Cervelli, Posada, and Cano. I figured I had enough dupes around that I could help him out, and a trade was born.

Kenny’s package arrived first, as I was a slacker and took forever to send out my portion. Kenny exceeded any expectations I had by a longshot. He sent some sweet autos, a relic, and an overall large stack of awesome Yankee cards. I had been missing out by not trading with him sooner!

I’ll start with the autos. When he was my favorite Yankee prospect, I always coveted a Jesus Montero autograph. I was about 0 for 12 with him TTM. Although he’s no longer a Yankee, I’m thrilled that Kenny sent this:

These 2008 TriStar Projection cards were always a favorite of mine. I love the white, and signatures stick them very well. Kenny sent me a stack of the base cards and the foil parallels.

Here are a few more Montero and other prospects that Kenny included: 

Kenny also included two other autos of Yankee farmhands – Austin Romine and Daniel Brewer. Romine just got called back up to the Yankees to replace Frankie Cervelli. 

The Brewer is really interesting. His autographed card says “Danny Brewer”, but the base card says “Daniel Brewer.” I found that to be quite odd. 

Here is the relic that Kenny sent. I didn’t have any from 2012 A&G. 

Check out this sweet Sabathia. I have NO IDEA where this is from. It’s issued by Topps, but also co-branded with Sega. The back is in Japanese as well, and the stats appear to be some sort of rating system. It’s a very, very cool card. CC’s gut looks completely massive in this photo. For all you Dodger fans, Kenny also included a Matt Kemp Sega card. 

Here are some shiny inserts that really caught my eye. That Montero die cut is actually gold and #’d 03/25. I didn’t know there was a gold parallel for these. I couldn’t get it to scan well, but the gold is really cool…almost like a diagonal rain. 

 

Finally, Kenny added a few cards to my son’s HOF binder.

Kenny, this was a great, great trade. Thanks for being a loyal reader, and I hope to trade again soon.

Welcome to the show, Adam Warren

Tonight, RHP Adam Warren makes his MLB debut. With two starters suddenly on the DL, the Yanks have been forced to call up reinforcements from AAA Scanton-Wilkes Barre. Unfortunately, Manny Banuelos is out with a sore elbow, so Adam Warren gets the call.

Warren is a big righty out of UNC who projects as a back of the rotation starter. I'd love to see him come in and have a few solid starts and give the team a boost.

I've gotten Warren twice TTM, so that makes me like him even more. Good luck tonight, Adam!

TTM Success: Five in one day

Two Thursdays ago, I had a really nice TTM day. I arrived home from work to find five SASE’s. I’m nearly certain five in one day is a record for me.

The card featured in the first envelope has already been shown in a blog post. Austin Romine signed my 2012 Topps card. I hadn’t been able to get a success from Romine in a few attempts while he was in the minors, so this was very welcome. 

Next up, Brandon Laird signed three cards for me. I’ve gotten him in the past, and I actually asked him to keep two of the three cards I sent. He signed all three. The Obak looks nice. 

Third, we have Kyle Higashioka, a catching prospect. He signed my Bowman Chrome and Topps Heritage Minors cards.

Next, Adam Warren signed two cards. He is a good prospect who would fit in nicely in the back end of most pitching rotations in the league. If the Yanks need a spot start, he’ll probably get called on ahead of both Dellin Betances and Manny Banuelos.

Last, pitching prospect Graham Stoneburner signed my Bowman Chrome. He has one of the most badass names in baseball. Look for him in the Yanks bullpen in the next few years.

So no huge names here, but all great successes.

Yankees Heritage Minors Team Set

I went on eBay to find the 10-card team set of Yankees prospects from 2011 Topps Heritage Minors (not including the SPs or inserts). I couldn't find anything cheaper than $6 or $7. I turned to SportsLots and bought all the cards as singles from the same seller and paid less than $4, including shipping. That's called beating the system. I like these cards and I'll probably pick up another team set for some TTM requests next spring.

Cards from Indianaland Jones

Earlier this week, I got a package in the mail from D of Potch Wheeler’s Cardboard Heroes slash Indianaland Cards. We hadn’t been working on a deal, so I was curious to see what was inside.

D sent me a few awesome Yankee cards. My favorite of the bunch is easily this 2011 Bowman Platinum Purple of Yankees RHP prospect Adam Warren. He is one of my top five favorite pitching prospects in the system, and he should be next in line to make a start if the Yanks need to call someone up. He’s definitely going to be a September call-up. I was sort of pissed earlier this year when the Yanks signed some random dude, Brian Gordon, and gave him two starts instead of turning to Warren. The comparison to Zack Greinke on the back of the card is outrageous. However, I have no doubt that Warren could be a good #3 starter in the NL or a decent #4/5 in the AL.

 Next up, a cool Mark Teixeira. I think this was a Target-exclusive card, but I’m not totally sure.

Andy Pettitte, looking as bad ass in mini form as in standard form.

Lastly, a few other nice Yanks as well.

D, thanks again. You’ll be getting a return package in the near future.

I'm excited for 2011 Bowman! (seriously!)

Image stolen from eBay

I for one am pumped for 2011 Bowman because of a solid lot of Yankee prospects included in this set. Hopefully I’ll have more luck grabbing some Bowman Manny Banuelos cards than I have had getting my hands on 2010 Topps Pro Debut (I STILL NEED THIS CARD!). In addition to Banuelos, 2011 4^th rounder Mason Williams makes his baseball card debut, and Adam Warren and Hector Noesi are included as well.

I’m quite excited for these, so please keep me in mind as some of those awful, ugly, unwanted Yankee cards pop up in backs of your respective blasters. I’ll gladly take them off your hands.

TTM Success: A new Yankee and a prospect

I sent out about eight TTM requests to Yankees prospects last Monday, as most of the minor league clubs started on the road but returned home later this past week. I haven't ever really sent to minor leaguers, so I'm not sure what to expect success-wise.

Well, I got off to a great start today. In just four days, Yankee pitcher Hector Noesi signed my card in care of the Yankees. I was going to send to him in Triple A, but he got called up Wednesday when Luis Ayala went on the DL. I quickly sent his request to him c/o of the Yanks (it probably beat him there), and I got it back on Saturday...four day turnaround! Just awesome. I can honestly say that this may have been his first autograph as a member of the Yankees. I can't imagine anyone sent a request to him quicker than I did! I think he needs a new Sharpie, as this came out a little faded. Still cool! Hopefully Noesi gets in a game before he is optioned back down.

The second success was a bit longer of a turnaround...6 days! Pitching prospect Adam Warren signed my 2010 Topps Pro Debut in care of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yanks. I sent this on Monday and got it back Saturday. Warren was a fourth round pick in 2009 after a fantastic career at UNC. He is not projected as a top of the rotation guy, but most expect him to pitch in the majors and be a solid #4 or #5. Nothing wrong with that. I hope he pitches well and puts himself into a position for a promotion to the big leagues.

So far, I'm having fun with sending out to Yankees prospects. Hopefully I'll get a few more this coming week.

Purchase Review: A smattering of Yankees

I like that word. Smattering. Anyways, a few days ago I made a purchase on SportLots to for about 50 Yankee cards. If you don't know SportLots, it's a great resource for player collectors and set builders. Anyways, a lot of these are older cards that I am going to send out for my Topps Yankees Project. I also picked up a few Tinos for my personal collection, and a few Yankees prospects simply because I didn't have cards of these guys yet. I'm talking about you, Cito Culver, Adam Warren and Slade Heathcott.

Anyways, here are a few of the highlights from my lot. I won't list out every card, that would be boring. But a few cards stand out.

1973 Topps Fritz Peterson. I love this design. I actually think it's my first and only 1973 Topps card. It's a cool action shot of him having just finished delivering a pitch. He is wearing old school stirrups, and you can just tell that the field is so dusty. The grass looks like my old little league field. I like seeing old videos where the infields just aren't as well kept as they are today. The dirt was powdery and flew everywhere.

1981 Topps Bob Watson. Dwight Schrute called. He wants his glasses back.

1961 Topps Joe DeMaestri. Check out that collar under the jersey. Is that denim??

Otherwise, I got a bunch of old Yankees cards - assorted named like Hegan, Reniff, Downing, Womack. Some of the prospects I got include David Phelps, Hector Noesi, JR Murphy, and David Adams.

The Tinos I bought are all ones from his second and final stint with the Yankees: 2005 Topps #655, 2005 Topps Chrome #464, 2006 Topps Heritage #199 (sweet card), and 2006 Fleer #400 (I had never seen this set. Yuck.). I have a bunch of free time this weekend, so I'll do my best to update my Tino collection on this site.