TJ Surgery strikes again

Man, this stinks. The Tommy John Surgery bug has struck top Yankees pitching prospect James Kaprielian.

It’s sad. He’s got so much talent, and he’s basically going to lose a year and a half of development. Considering he lost all of last year as well, this is not good. It feels like Ty Hensley all over again.

Will Kaprielian make it back? Time will tell. I’d rather he arrive late than never, but who knows. His makeup is off the charts, so I know he’ll try his best. I’ll also tell ya, the Cubs strategy of focusing on position players in the draft versus pitchers sure sounds good.

In a recent COMC order, I did pick up a few Kaprielians. I expected his cards to shoot up this year, but I’m guessing they will be pretty easy to come by due to the injury.

Repack domination

Ok, domination might be a strong word. However, in my last two repacks from Walgreen's, I've had some solid success, as far as repacks go.

First off, they are usually $4.99. However, through April 28, they are marked down to $3.99. I'm not sure if that is the case at all Walgreen's, or just in my neck of the woods. I won't lie, that extra dollar off makes purchasing these a bit easier to stomach when you remember most of the cards are junk wax and a pack of Triple Play (also junk wax).

The odds of a hit, usually an autograph because it would be easy to spot a jersey card, are 1:4. I did a bit better than that.

Repack #1 was purchased about two weeks ago on a random errand to Walgreen's. I snagged this one, as this was the best card being displayed in the front window of the package. Of course, the corner was dinged, but still a cool card.

Here are a few fun cards from the pack:

And then boom, a HIT! Ok, ok. Brandom Moss. Current Big Leaguer and 2015 All-Star. That's really not a horrible pull, minus the fact that he was in the Boston organization at the time of this card.

I flipped through a few more cards that were separated by the Triple Play pack, and in those cards?

ANOTHER AUTOGRAPH! What are the odds of two in one pack?

Interestingly enough, another Red Sox prospect, Jon Egan, who played a couple of years in their organization.

This repack was also packed with 2015 Topps. Not unusual. Until I flipped them over:

18 team-issued versions. Technically, 17 because Billy Hamilton is from the NL set. But that's kind of cool, right?

So a very good repack. Probably the best I've ever gotten.

A few days later, I was back again. We have a lot of errands we run, and it's the most convenient place for milk or whatever it might be. I snagged another, this time with a Jackie Robinson tribute card on the front. Unfortunately, the portion of the card I couldn't see was mangled.

So I was flipping through, then WHAM! Another autograph.

This will end up with Tom over at Angels in Order at some point, I assume. But still, my third autograph in two repacks.

Here are the best of the rest. The Kohl Steward is kind of cool, as he's actually a good prospect.

And two HOFers for Joey's binder.

All in all, very fun repacks, and perhaps I'll test my hot hand again in the coming days.

On The Cutting Edge

One of Napkin Doon's favorite sets of all-time is Topps HD. They were high-quality cards with a very premium-feeling, smooth card stock.

Recently, Chris from The (Pedestrian) Collector posted a few cards for trade, and when I saw this Derek Jeter Topps HD The Cutting Edge insert. When I saw it, I had to have it. I love finding Jeter inserts that don't pop up often, and this fit that category.

I expected the card to be a little brighter. It's kind of dark. But it does have that ultra smooth finish, and some very delicate, razor-sharp, diecut, Harry Potter-lightning bolt edges.

I sent Chris a few 2017 Heritage SPs in return for this awesome Jeter.

Chris was kind enough to send along nine HOF cards for my son's binder. Very much appreciated, Chris!

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.

TTM Success: Aaron Nola

As you guys know, most of the time I really focus on Yankees for my TTM requests. However, I've been sending a few out to some other players, as the Yankees TTM well is starting to dry up, as it's getting harder and harder to find guys who sign that I haven't tried yet.

One player from another team I admire and think has a promising career ahead of him is Phillies' youngster Aaron Nola, a first round pick in 2014 out of LSU. He won national pitcher of the year in college, and zoomed through the minors in one season. Last year, he struck out 121 batters in 111 innings, and certainly is a guy to keep an eye on over the next few years. He could blossom into a a solid, top-of-the-rotation starter.

Nola is a reliable TTM signer, and was kind enough to sign two cards for me.

eBay Enchiladas

eBay is a weird place. Just when you think you've seen it all, something else comes up.

I recently found a Tino card I needed, and was happy to pick it up for the minimum bid. Great!

It arrived yesterday, and I expected it to come in a bubble mailer. Nope! Here's how the card arrived:

In an enchiladas box!

So, so, so bizarre. It was for one card! I must say, the card arrived safely, and did not smell like Mexican food. But still, so odd.

The seller also threw in two Cardinals cards, because sometimes when I buy Tino Cardinals cards, it's assumed I'm a Cards fan. I'll just add them to my pile for Kerry.

You know what John Sterling always says: You just can't predict eBay, Suzyn.

I have a Tino dealer named John

My good bud John from Johnny’s Trading Spot sent a nice contest package recently. John has an awesome knack for finding Tinos I don’t have. Outside of eBay, John has become my best Tino source.

I didn’t have either of these ones. I hadn’t even seen 2000 Topps Stars baseball. In fact, the blue is a parallel #’d to 299. I was so miffed by not knowing about this card, I immediately added the base card to a COMC order I was about to place. The second card is from the confusing UD Ionix set and is one of the Reciprocal cards. While I love ‘90s cards, I agree with many who say they can be quite confusing.

I found this card to be quite cool too, mostly because I remember participating in this contest to try and get my card design on a UD Choice card. I have to say, mine was better than this. Sorry, Alexandra.

I’m not sure what this Bernie Williams stamp card is, but I definitely hadn’t seen it. It’s from The Merrick Mint. Interesting.

There was no shortage of shiny cards either.

This was unique! John tucked a couple of old newspaper photos between a few cards.

One of my favorite inserts ever, but soooo easy to damage.

Giambi pre-production card!

And perhaps my favorite set ever, UD Masterpieces. This set is so great. If Upper Deck ever makes it’s way back to baseball, I’d love to see it bring back Collector’s Choice, Masterpieces, and a Heritage-like 1989 set.

John, always love our card packages. Thanks!