Christmas Packages from Community Gum, Cardboard Habit, and More

My mail box was full of packages on Christmas Eve.  Since I do not expect any cards on Christmas, these were kind of like my presents:

Up first is a smaller trade that I worked out on the forums for some odds and ends:

1.  2012 Bowman Blue Kevin Youkilis.  Youkilis recently signed a contract with the Rakutan Golden Eagles of Japan.  I always liked Youk and this card has a good closeup of his unusual batting stance.

2.  2012 Bowman International David Ortiz.  What group of Red Sox cards is complete without Big Papi?  If he has another couple of good seasons in him, I think his Hall of Fame chances will increase dramatically.

3.  2013 Topps 1971 Mini Nomar Garciaparra.  It is probably not surprising that Nomar was my favorite player starting in 1997.  He was an incredible talent and could do just about anything on the field.  Unfortunately injuries decimated his career.  I still think he should be considered for the Hall of Fame, he was one of the best players in the game from 1997 to 2003.

4.  2013 Bowman Chrome Jacoby Ellsbury.  He's a Yankee now.  I still get his Red Sox cards, but I am disappointed he went to the Yankees of all teams.  I will always remember his 2011 season, his straight steal of home against the Yankees and his 70 stolen base season of 2009.

5.  2013 Bowman Chrome Sapphire Rookie Reprint Ted Williams.  Finally a Red Sox card from this ongoing insert set.  The art left something to be desired.  But hey, it's the Splendid Splinter, the greatest Redd Sox player of all time.

I have been picking up the occasional card off of Ebay lately still: 

6.  2013 Bowman Draft Picks Silver Ice Jackie Bradley Jr. RC.  Most of my Ebay buys have been Jackie Bradley Jr.

Up next is my first trade with Community Gum.  He had a tradebait post awhile back and showed off a couple of Red Sox cards from the 2012 Topps Golden Giveaway Die Cut set.  These were only available through the online Golden Giveaway codes.  I used a lot of these codes, but only ever got the stupid online coins.  I always wanted one of the cards but never managed to get one.  Now I have two.  I traded a bunch of cards for his player collections for these:

7.  2012 Topps Golden Giveaway Die Cut Jon Lester.  Boston needs to lock him up for the long term.  His postseason numbers are incredible.

8.  2012 Topps Golden Giveaway Die Cut Dustin Pedroia.  If his career keeps going the way it has, he will be a Hall of Famer as well.

Thanks Jon!  You helped me knock off one of my big wants.

Next is another Ebay item:

9.  2013 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks Silver Wave Refractor Jackie Bradley Jr. RC.  So far, the rarest card in my mini Bradley player collection, numbered out of 25.

Next is another terrific trade I made with Cardboard Habit.  I noticed on a tradebait post a couple of cards that I really wanted and set something up.  I still owe him some cards which will be sent out very soon:

10.  2013 Topps Allen & Ginter Autograph Felix Doubront.  This is the major card I wanted.  Doubront is one of my favorite current players and this is a great-looking card.

11.  2013 Topps Manufactured Reprint Ted Williams.  This is the 1956 card, I had the 1955.  Another great-looking Williams card to add to my collection.

12.  2013 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks Blue Refractor.  This one was unexpected, but I am thrilled that it is here.

Thanks Judson!  Your cards will be on the way soon.

Finally, another Ebay win:

13.  2013 Panini Prizm Red Pulsar Jackie Bradley Jr. RC.  I actually like the 2013 Prizm set, mostly because of the color parallels.  I still wish they had an MLB license, but this looks pretty nice.  I actually got a lot of six of these, the Bradley is the one I bought it for.

Merry Christmas everyone!

A Big Mailday Post, and a Zippy Zapping

Monday morning saw my post office box overflowing.  And not all of that was letters from other attorneys, police reports for cases, or the other usual crap I get as an attorney.  It held several packages of baseball cards.  My favorite kind of mailday.

Up first is three packages full of Jackie Bradley Jr. cards:

1.  2013 Bowman Top 100 Jackie Bradley Jr.  This one spent a brief time on my Ten Most Wanted list before being picked up for cheap on Ebay.

The next two came in a forum trade in which I gave up some Red Sox doubles.

2.  2013 Pinnacle Jackie Bradley Jr. RC.  This was the last card I needed to complete this team set.

3.  2013 Finest Refractor Jackie Bradley Jr. RC. 

The final two came in a lot on Ebay.

4.  2013 Bowman Chrome Refractor Jackie Bradley Jr. RC.

5.  2013 Bowman Chrome Xfractor Jackie Bradley Jr. RC.

The next package was a large trade package from Mark who has been commenting on here sporadically, chock full of vintage Red Sox.  Mark, I really appreciate the package.  I am working on some goodies for you to be sent out here soon.

1.  1989 Baseball Card Magazine Roger Clemens.  Heritage before Heritage.

2.  1990 Baseball Card Magazine Roger Clemens.  Same here.

3.  1984 Ralston/Purina Wade Boggs.  I love oddball cards.  Food issues are my favorites.  This one is pet food but it still qualifies.  The Milk Bone cards in 1992 were some other good ones.  Boggs looks kind of grumpy here.

4.  1975 Topps Mini Tommy Harper.  Hey my first 75 mini.  These are held in particularly high regard by Night Owl.  His fanaticism with them has lead me to want one.

5.  1975 Hostess Bill Lee.  Ah here we go with a food issue.  I would love to get the George Scott from 1977 as well.

6.  1975 Topps Tommy Harper.  Boston's single season stolen base record holder until Jacoby Ellsbury shattered it in 2009.

7.  1973 Topps Rogelio Moret.  An underrated arm for the Red Sox in the early 1970's.  He was 13-2 in 1973 and 14-3 in 1975.

8.  1973 Topps Marty Pattin. Pattin was another decent starter for the Red Sox in the early 1970's.  He was a 17 game winner in 1972.

9.  1972 Topps Sonny Siebert.  Siebert was Boston's leader in WAR in 1971.  Kind of an unusual stat, particularly on a team with Reggie Smith and Carl Yastrzemski.

10.  Unknown Mike Nagy card.  Any help identifying this would be appreciated.  Nagy was terrific in 1969 as a rookie, going 12-2 but struggled after that.

11.  1967 Topps Don McMahon.  Acquired in the trade that sent fan favorite Dick Radatz to Cleveland, McMahon was effective in a partial season in the back end of the Boston bullpen.

12.  1967 Topps Dave Morehead.  Morehead had his 15 minutes of fame in 1965 when he threw a no hitter.  Unfortunately his career never really got off the ground.

13.  1966 Topps Chuck Schilling.  No relation to Curt.  Chuck was a terrific defensive second baseman who could not hit to save his life.  He did have a little pop occasionally though.

14.  1965 Topps Chuck Schilling.

15.  1965 Topps Earl Wilson.  Wilson was the second African American to play for Boston.  He eventually became a reliable starter, throwing a no hitter in 1962.  He also had a lot of power for a pitcher, hitting 35 home runs in his career.

Thanks Mark!

I love the silk collection partial parallel.  I try to pick a few of these up once in awhile but they are in high demand, so it is difficult some times.  I managed to add one recently though:

16.  2010 Topps Silk Collection Victor Martinez.  Martinez was very successful as a Red Sox player in his brief year-and-a-half stint.  Unfortunately his future was not behind the plate so Boston did not keep him around.

Bowman Draft presents a quandary for me.  I love adding Red Sox cards, but I am kind of ambivalent towards adding a bunch of cards of players who will likely never make the Majors.  So I do not usually go out of my way to get cards.  But if I can get them in a trade without giving much up, it works for me:

17.  2013 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks Drake Britton RC.  I am okay with this one because Britton appeared for the Red Sox and had moderate success at times.  Nice tattoos.

18.  2013 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks Prospects Joseph Monge.  Just drafted this year out of high school.  He is likely a long way away.

19.  2013 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks Top Prospects Matt Barnes.  Barnes is no longer Boston's highest rated pitching prospect, which goes to show how deep Boston's minor league system has become.

20.  2013 Bowman Draft Picks Drake Britton RC.  Another Britton.  I am disappointed Brandon Workman did not make an appearance in this set.

21.  2013 Bowman Draft Picks Prospects Bryan Hudson.  Another draft pick from this year and another long shot to make it.

22.   2013 Bowman Draft Picks Top Prospects Matt Barnes.

23.  2013 Bowman Draft Picks Top Prospects Xander Bogaerts.  I am really excited to see Bogaerts in the Majors next season.  He performed well in the postseason.

24.  2013 Topps Allen & Ginter Mini Bill Buckner.  Nice Buckner card.  He appeared a lot this year for some reason.

Next is a trade I made for a card off my wantlist:

25.  2013 Topps Manufactured Rookie Patch Wade Boggs.  Oddly Boggs is listed as a first baseman on this card.  Carney Lansford was still on the team when Boggs came up and Boston wanted to get his bat in the lineup regularly.  I like this card a lot.

Finally, one of my favorite trade partners sent me an unsolicited package of cards with some great stuff included:

I have been Zippy Zapped.

26.  1970 Topps Tony Conigliaro.  Incredible.  I love this card.  Conigliaro is such a tragic story.  This card was issued after his successful comeback.  Unfortunately it would not last.

27.  2013 Panini Prizm Perennial Draft Picks Green Mookie Betts.  Remember this name.  Betts had an incredible season in the minors.  Unfortunately if he is to make it in Boston, he will have to find another position.

28.  1998 Topps Tek Pedro Martinez.  I need to go back and find one player to try for the entire spectrum of Tek patterns.

29.  2013 Bowman Draft Picks Breakouts Garin Cecchini.  Another young player to watch.  Cecchini could find himself the new third baseman if Middlebrooks continues to falter.

Thanks a ton Kenny!  I will have to pay you back some day soon.

One Card Mailday

But it's a good one:

2013 Bowman Chrome Green Refractor Jackie Bradley Jr. RC.  I have been reading a lot of articles and comments about the Red Sox center field situation.  The front office seems content with Bradley, although there is consideration about adding a bench player in case he falters.  Most notably Boston has moved on from attempting to trade for Matt Kemp.  Good move, in my opinion.  Kemp is expensive and has had a lot of injury problems over the last couple of years, several of which could be nagging injuries.  Commenters are not as positive.  Many just look at the small sample size of his numbers last year at the major league level and would prefer he continue playing at Triple A until he is ready.  The problem with that theory is that players need to advance to continue honing their skills.  Bradley had a decent season in Pawtucket.  Not great, but certainly good enough.  He should be given the chance to play at the Major League level.  He is ready.

Still Going....

I know I have not been posting much.  I am currently set for a number of jury trials and finding the time to post is becoming difficult.  On top of that there is the usual holiday matters to attend to, which Christmas Party to go to, going shopping, decorating the house, blah blah blah.  So yeah, my time is limited lately.  

I figured I would show off the most recent additions to my collection quick.

1.  2013 Topps Heritage Clay Buchholz SP.  I am down to needing just one short print to complete the team set.  I still need Dustin Pedroia, if anyone has that.

2.  2013 Topps Camo Jackie Bradley Jr. RC.  This is what I was referring to in the title.  I really wanted one of the camo parallels and came across this on sale with three other Bradley parallels.

3.  2013 Topps Orange Jackie Bradley Jr. RC.  I didn't even know there were orange parallels.

4.  2013 Topps Black Jackie Bradley Jr. RC.  And the last one is the rarest, though the camo is my favorite.

Slooooow Offseason

With the new season still several months away, and very few new sets coming out during the offseason, it is harder and harder to find new baseball cards.  My next batch all came from Ebay.

I don't care for the online only Topps sets.  For the second year in a row, Topps saw fit to release an updated Heritage set only available in complete set form and only online.  With just four Red Sox cards, I did not want to shell out the $100.00 for the set and take a chance at a decent autograph, particularly since none of the autos were Red Sox.

1.  2013 Topps Heritage High Number Allen Webster RC.  Webster looks like he should be able to help next year.  They need to get something out of the Punto trade.

2.  2013 Topps Pro Debut Allen Webster.  This was a throw-in.

3.  2013 Topps Heritage High Number Koji Uehara.  This is one of the reasons I picked up this team set.  Hopefully next year there will be some more cards of Koji.

4.  2013 Topps Heritage High Number Jackie Bradley Jr. RC.  Another reason I wanted this lot.

5.  2013 Topps Heritage High Number Jose Iglesias.  I was surprised this card showed him in a Red Sox uniform.

6.  2013 Finest 93 Finest Jackie Bradley Jr.  Just an awesome-looking insert here.  The refractors are going for insane amounts.

7.  2013 Finest 93 Finest Mike Napoli.  A hit off of my Top 10 finally.

8.  2013 Pinnacle Museum Collection Jackie Bradley Jr. RC.  The JBJ kick is still going...



In news, Boston picked up Edward Mujica from the Cardinals as a free agent.  Mujica is a live right-handed arm out of the bullpen, relatively young, with impeccable control.  A possible Uehara-type in the pen with closing experience.  I like this move.

Wheelings and Dealings

The Hot Stove Season is getting under way and there is some big news.

First the pro-Boston news:
Boston acquires Burke Badenhop from Brewers.  Badenhop is a right-handed reliever that the Brewers under-used for some strange reason last season.  He had some decent numbers but almost all of them came in low-leverage situations.  I am not sure how to feel about this one, but all they gave up was a minor leaguer named Luis Ortega who is quite a ways away.

Boston signs A.J. Pierzynski.  Well they needed a catcher I suppose.  Pierzynski has frequently been labelled a clubhouse cancer though, so I am not sure of this one.  He has some pop and is durable, but will he hurt the chemistry?  I guess we will find out.

Now the bad stuff:
Jarrod Saltalamacchia signs with Marlins.  Probably the prelude to a trade to the Mets next year.  I liked Salty but he was not getting three years in Boston.  Particularly with Christian Vazquez and Blake Swihart coming on strong.

Jacoby Ellsbury signs with Yankees.  Seriously?  I came to grips with the likelihood of Ellsbury leaving.  Jackie Bradley Jr. will be the new center fielder, but the Yankees?  Really?  Also, this looks like a pretty likely contract the Yankees will be regretting in a few years.  Seven years with an option for an eighth.  Wow.  And $150 million.  Seems like a recipe for disaster.

Recent Pickups

I have not had much time to post lately.  I have been very busy with work.  Add to that the fact that there have not been a lot of packages coming in lately have made writing posts a bit of a chore.

Nevertheless, here is what I have gotten in lately:

I have one trade package where I got the following two cards:
1.  2013 Topps Chrome Orange Refractor Mike Napoli.  Hopefully Napoli returns next year.  Boston needs him.

2.  2013 Topps Emerald Jackie Bradley Jr.  Still going strong.

And then each of the following came from Ebay:
3.  2013 Bowman Chrome Blue Refractor Jackie Bradley Jr.

4.  2013 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks Jackie Bradley Jr.

5.  2013 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks Refractor Jackie Bradley Jr.

6.  2013 Bowman Chrome Draft Picks Black Wave Refractor Jackie Bradley Jr.  I love this card.  Just a great-looking parallel.

And next is a value pack break of 2013 Bowman Chrome:

7.  2013 Bowman Chrome Purple Refractor Jon Lester.  Numbered out of 199, this is just a great pack pull.  It has been a good year for me getting cards in packs.  This is another good one.

8.  2013 Bowman Chrome Prospects Henry Owens.  Boston's top pitching prospect now.  Owens has the ability to become a number one starter.