Congrats Rangers

A little late, but CONGRATS to the Texas Rangers! The Rays had some bright spots and they definitely over achieved just being there, but the better team won...
I am loving the playoffs and rooting hard for the Tigers, Cards and Brewers... I am officially a Rangers fan from here on out, but if the Tigers knock out the Yanks its gonna be hard not to back Detroit...
Go Rays! troll out.
PS. I have recieved a number of amazing trade packs this week and I intend to post them all!!! Thanks everyone - want lists are up to date. Check em out...

Howdy...

Trying to watch the game on my friend Matt's phone, it aint easy, but we are up 3-0... Wednesday night was the best night of baseball I can remember... The one bright spot of staying at the Mother-In-Laws is she has the full MLB package so we got to flip between the awesome Orioles game, the Cards game and of course the Rays game. Awesome. I am at work tonight, but I get to work with some fellow Rays fans, plus the wife and her Mom are watching the game and texting me updates... Go Rays! troll out...

Out of the Loop...

So, my wife had her surgery on Thursday... All went well, she has a fully rebuilt knee and should be better than new in 2 months...

Since we live on the third floor we decided that we would stay at her Mom's house for a week. It has been a nice vacation, but there is one problem - she doesn't have an internet connection and and none of her neighbors do either... I stopped at home to check the mail and figured I would sneak on for a second... My 2011 Ginter want list is up to date. I have been lucky to do several trades and the binder is getting more and more full...


I hope to be home by the weekend. I have a TON to post... If you have posted a trade from me, I probably haven't seen it and I apologize... Please email me the link as I will be behind 2 weeks in checking everyone's blogs. I am totally up for trading - just be patient if you send me a message... I am going to go after 2006 and 2007 Allen and Ginter as my next set quests. I have about 20 cards from each year so far, so if anyone has a starter lot - I would gladly take em off of your hands...


Oh, I recieved my winnings from the Play at the Plate 1,000,000th post contest - a box of Lineage. Ripping it was pretty awesome, I will leave y'all with a taste of shiny Roy Campanella. If you are chasing Lineage, drop me a line, I might be able to help ya out.

Oh, one last thing... I have trade packages ready to go for RGB Cards and Pirates Treasure Room. They have a little dust on them and I would REALLY like to get them out, SO if you are from one of those blogs OR if you know their addy, please let me know... Also, I have shipped a number of packages this past month, but I haven't heard from many of you. I like to know when y'all recieve stuff, so lemme know please... Okay, I'm done for real.


Cheers! GO RAYS!!!!!!!!!! troll out.

My Allen and Ginter Wantlist, Not Gonna Sleep Till It Is Done...

I haven't slept much this week... My main job asked me to change shifts starting Monday. Instead of working nights I would now go in at 5 AM. Quite a switch... My other job, the part time one where I work 2 - 3 shifts per week asked me to go full-time temporalily while a co-worked recovers from an illness. Coincendantly they wanted me to work nights - 6 of them. My main job is really busy and they decided to increase our shifts to ten hours a day and have us work 6 days a week. Cool. I like overtime because I like money. Just saying, it is taking its toll. Since Monday I have worked from 5 AM everday until 4 PM, THEN changed clothes and worked from 4:30 till 1:30 AM. Every day, every night from 5 AM till 1:30 AM for 6 days in a row. Tonight is the 6th. Tomorrow I will probably crash and sleep ALL DAY. I need to get back to work, but I wanted to take a second and explain why I haven't been answering emails and such... Oh and I do have a wantlist for 2011 Allen and Ginter now, check it out!

Does Anyone Have These Cards from 2011 Allen and Ginter??? or Its a Plaid Plaid World and We're Trying to Improve It!

So, I have plans to be "back" very soon... Good things are happening in Troll Towne... Wifey is feeling way better and things are changing career wise, for the better I think... I have a buyer (finally) for my 1990 Jeep Cherokee, I just mowed my lawn and didn't die of heat stroke. Things aint bad... I will fill you all in on EVERYTHING very soon... I also plan on doing a little contest. There are 2 themes. First, I am closing in on 800 posts. Second, I really want to say "thank you" to everyone for their kindness and support last week. All the comments and e-mails for mind blowingly sweet and awesome and really made us feel great! The third reason is that I want to help promote a new blog that I think it is going to be pretty awesome, so stay tuned...

In the meantime, before I give away all of my potential trade bait in the contest, I wanted to check and see if anyone had a few cards from 2011 Ginter that they might want to trade... I finished off Step Right Up and P of P, but I am 2 cards away from both World's Most Mysterious and Uninvited Guests. If you have cards #WM9 or 10 OR UG6 or 8, please get in touch. I need a bunch of the animals minis, too many to list right now... I need 8 more to finish off the Ascent of Man set. I do have some dupes of these. I promised dayf first crack at them, but I don't know if he is still working on it, so... I need cards #ed AOM3,5,6,10,11,13,14 and 22. Am I the only one (by the way) who felt this should have been a 27 card set???

I am still far, far away from Minds That Made the Future, the boat cards and Hometown Heroes. I think I am halfway done with the base set and regular minis - well, I am just looking for awesome cards for the Frankenset. I somehow managed to pull 2 copies of short printed mini card #327 of David DeJesus in the same box. I also pulled the full sized version and 2 copies of his Hometown Heroes card. Bizarre...

The card I really want, more than any other card, is the one shown at the top of the post. I REALLY want this one folks! I wouldn't mind having multiple copies either. Def one of my fave cards of the year... Anyway, my contest will likely offer my Ginter hits as prizes, but if anyone wants to trade beforehand, I am ready! As far as the other "BRAYzer" relics... I think it is just Maddon, Upton and Pena. I have the Pena, need the Upton. The only other standard Rays relic I have is Johnny Damon. I would not mind having a few more... Thanks for reading! Get in touch with a Troll and stay tuned... Oh, as the flyer that acts as my blog header indicates, it is a roller derby weekend. Local folks come out! The beer is cold and free and the action is hot and well worth the 10 bucks (ticket cost) Go Rays! troll out.

GREAT NEWS!!!

My wonderful Wifey is HOME!!! Her doctor released her at 3:00 PM this afternoon and I was there when he told here, then I rushed home to tidy up and was generally giddy as I waited for her safe arrival. She is doing TONS better. She was able to make it up the 3 flights of our stairs to our "tree house" no problem... I am very relieved and very happy... The only bad news is that I had to go to work at 4 so I only got to see her for a few minutes... That is okay, it is a short night, I will be done and back home to her by 10:00Pm and I can't wait!!!

THANKS so much to everyone for all their thoughts, prayers, comments and well-wishes... My wife said that the post and all of the sweet comments made her cry (in a good way). Thanks to everyone!!! I love this hobby, I love our community, I love this baseball card blog-o-sphere!!!! Go Rays! troll out.

A Message to my Friends...

This isn’t a card post and unless you know me personally, I wouldn’t read this… I wanted to share this with my friends, but I didn’t have time to send a bunch of e-mails. I thought this might be a good platform to contact the Brian’s, Duane, The Richard’s, Alfredo, The David’s, Greg, the Matt’s, Mark and all of my friends all at once… I am not a happy camper. My lovely wife, who is my best friend and the all around coolest person on the planet is very ill and has been in the hospital. It’s funny, earlier this week I cut into “our time” in order to try and post my Gint-A-Cuffs packs, but since she has been in the hospital and I have all the time in the world, I have no urge to blog or post or really do anything…

Anyway, I am not checking my emails (well, I am, but not really responding) and although I have several packages ready to go, I won’t be shipping anything this week. I MAY do a post or two, I don’t know. I just wanted to let you guys, my friends, know where I was at.

My wife has been sick for over a week. On Sunday night she started to feel immense pain. She has a severely wounded knee and is scheduled for surgery on that next Thursday, but the pain in her chest was bad enough that she barely noticed the knee pain. She couldn’t eat and the pain got worse and worse. Without eating you really can’t take pain relievers either… Neither of us are “hospital folks”. Things have to be BAD to see a doctor. Things got REALLY bad on Tuesday night and she finally went to our doctor. They recognized right away that she had a severely infected kidney. She got some shots and antibiotics and was sent home and told if the pain didn’t subside to see a specific specialist the next day.

Of course the pain only got worse and she saw the specialist. After an ultrasound they said she needed to be admitted to the hospital immediately… She has been there since. They are keeping her hydrated, monitored and comfortable. It is a good thing, but it makes for a lonely Troll. A lonely puppy, too. Our dog, Emma, normally sleeps at the foot of our bed. She spent last night sleeping at the front door waiting for Mommy to come home…

Anyway, Heather AKA my Wifey AKA Esther Gin N Juice will be at the hospital for at least one more night… All they know for certain is that her kidneys are enlarged and badly infected. They need to treat the infection before they can determine anything more. They took cultures and biopsies and things of that nature. She is in the “Cancer Wing” at the hospital, but they assure me that her location doesn’t indicate that they think she has cancer. Still, I am super nervous, stressed, lonely, scared, bummed, worried and feeling generally helpless. The hospital she is at, Blake Hospital is VERY good. It is ranked as one of the top 100 hospitals in the country. We have 3 hospitals in this county and 1 is much closer to us, but has a bad reputation, so I am pleased that she has been able to get into Blake. When I was there visiting last night after work (at 2 AM) she had an RN check in on her like 3 times in an hour. It was reassuring.

Anyway, I wanted to let you guys know where I was at… I am still reading, just probably not commenting. I did want to remark and say CONGRATS to my good friend Brian who just made post #1000 on his blog Play at the Plate. Brian and I were trading buddies before he got into blogging and I remember encouraging him to start a blog back then. I recall how excited I was when he started a blog and I remember how moving so many of his posts have been to me. He hits home. We have all shared so many of the same experiences and it is comforting reading about someone else dealing with the same issues, good and bad. Brian has grown into a fantastic writer with a “must read” on a daily basis blog and I am so proud and honored to know him long before post #1 and on through #1,000.

I am heading over to the hospital now. Gonna get a hug and a kiss from the Wifey before I go to work tonight… I WISH I could be by her side 24/7, but we agreed that maintaining at least one income would reduce stress and would be more valuable than companionship right now… I am happy to do my part in that way, but damn, I miss my Wifey!!!

Thanks for letting me get this off my chest. I will be posting good news soon, I hope… I will make a post in the next day or two. It will be a contest, not to the degree of Play at the Plate's, but a little one for a little fun with the intention of promoting a new blog. Another trading buddy who has taken the plunge... Take care mi amigos! Troll out.

Lucky 13 aka My Time Is Running Out..

Today, while reading the 2011 Gint-A-Cuffs RULES page, which I read on a daily basis, I noticed that today is the deadline to post your point total to the website. With only 12 packs ripped and 90 points I am not even close. I know I don’t qualify anymore, but I am committed to post these packs and I will continue.

Here is pack #13, which was a great one, for points…
I started off by finally pulling a card of my FAVORITE PLAYER!!! Card #61 of Brian Roberts, good for 4 points. I had a tinge of regret for choosing BR as my favorite player immediately after I typed it, but I really wasn't sure if Jonny Gomes, Ben Zobrist or Wade Davis would have cards. For the record, my TRUE favorite player wasn't in this set, but does make an appearance on my blog header... Yes, I am being sappy. IF my wife read my blog this might score me some points (with her) ha.

Either way, I am glad I pulled a card of my 2011 GAC favorite player. I really hope BR is healthy for 2012 and can start hitting 50 doubles a year again. Still, I get me 4 points, count ‘em!

Up next is a nice horizontal card, #48 of Twins hurler Francisco Liriano. The lefty was the AL Comeback Player of the Year in 2010 when he topped 200 strikeouts for the first time in his career and he pitched a no-hitter this May...

That makes this a pretty awesome pull... Does anyone know why there is a TC in the team logo corner?
He is followed by another horizontal card of another pitcher, a short print of a pretty popular dude, the 2X Favorite Player Jon Lester on card #320.

I get 2 points for pulling an SP and ANOTHER 2 points for pulling a FAVE PLAYER. Awesome! I feel as though I should get double the FP bonus since Lester is the FP of two bloggers. That would be more awesome...

Next up we have a trio of basecards with no point value…

Card #37 of Fausto Carmona, #100 of Albert Pujols and #189 of Dexter Fowler… I'm somewhat surprised that Pujols didn't make the FP cut, but hey, at least he doesn't wear pinstripes…

My 7th card is one of my non-official favorite players and fellow Floridian and springtime neighbor Andrew McCutchen on card #HH12.

Another point for the Hometown Heroes insert.

The last card in the pack is a mini, a black bordered mini, card #198 of Mr. Freddie Freeman. Good for 3 points for black bordered mini and hopefully good as some trade bait… I have been told folks are plunking down ten dollar bills for this card. Crazy.

Anyway, my lucky 13th pack yields me a total of 12 points and I get to break the century mark, so I am pretty happy about that. I have a total of 102 points, an average of 8 points a pack… If you follow averages, after 24 packs I would likely have 188 points. We will see. Like I said, whether I qualify or not, I am loving the Gint-A-Cuffs and I intend to keep on posting… Thanks for reading. The Freeman is up for offers…

Since no one has yet to claim the FREE, NO STRINGS ATTACHED short print of Orlando Hudson, card #323, it is still up for grabs.

Follow the rules in yellow or orange at the end of the previous post and it will go in a top-loader and into a PWE and head to your address... Please someone claim it, I am getting depressed that I don't have enough readers to give away a FREE short print...

More Gint-A-Cuffs funsies to come! Spoiler alert - I may have a HIT in the next pack... Stay tuned. Go Rays! Troll out.

A Dozen Packs Down and This One is Completely Mutant...

I have 81 points up to this point and I am ready to rip pack #12, aka the halfway point in this 2011 Gint-A-Cuffs box. This pack was pretty crazy, mutant really. I have never heard of a short print hot pack, but if such a thing exists, this is it… Anyway, here is my 12th pack…

I will start with a favorite player of mine, not my “Favorite Player”, but a fave nonetheless… I’m talking about card #138 of Cubs pitcher Matt Garza. This dude pitched the first and only no-hitter in Tampa Bay Rays history and they traded him the very next season. Thanks to the WGN Superstation, I have got to see Garza pitch quite a bit this year. I think he is a better pitcher than his 6-8 record indicates. The Cubs are giving Garza even less run support than the Rays did… Garza currently has a career LOW 3.68 ERA and 157 strikeouts in 151 innings. No points, but I ain’t worried…

The next 3 cards didn’t yield me any points either, but just you wait… Featured here are card #94 of Josh Rodriguez, #84 of Gregory Infante and card #167 of Adam LaRoche.
Things start to get a little odd with the next few cards. The 5th card out of the pack is card #330 of Yankees Ace CC Sabathia. I lose a point because CC is a stupid Yankee, but I gain 2 points cuz it is a short print. I still get 1 point total from this card and I am not done with the short print goodness.
Next up is card #345 of current Brewers Ace Zack Greinke. Another freaking short print and they came back to back! I don’t get the Yankees penalty on this one, just 2 points for being a short print. Not too shabby…
I am still in shock that I got 2 short prints consecutively… One of a current Brew Crew hurler, one of a past… But wait, there is more!
A Home Town Heroes card of EVERYONE’S Favorite Player Jon Lester. Like Raymond, everybody loves Jon Lester and I get a total of 3 points for this piece of cardboard and I am not finished cuz there is one mini left in the pack…
This particular mini is card #327 of David DeJesus. Another freakin’ short print, but this one is an even tougher pull… The regular short prints are 1 in two packs and I got two in one, but the mini SP is 1 in 13 packs, so this could be my one and only in this box…. Plus 3 points for the Troll, woo hoo!
Even losing a point for CC being a stupid Yankee I still come away with 9 points for this pack… Everything except for the SP base cards are up for trade…

If you are collecting the set I have noticed that I have a dupe of SP card #323 of Orlando Hudson. If anyone needs it, let me know… First reader to respond in the comments AND read this awesome post from everyone’s favorite nocturnal birdy blogger can have it – no strings attached… You should probably mention something about the Night Owl post in the comments to indicate that you read it… I am sure you did. If you wasted your time reading my silly posts and you aren’t reading the Night Owl on a daily basis, you aren’t making the best use of your time… Just saying…

Thanks for reading. After twelve packs I have 90 points. If I stay on this pace I will not be the 2011 Gint-A-Cuffs champion, BUT I think things will be getting better, so look out Nachos Grande, the Troll is coming!!! Go Rays! Troll out.

This Post May or May Not Involve Images of 2011 Allen and Ginter...

The weekend is over and even though I worked all weekend, there is something a little easier about my weekend work… Monday is here and that means long hours and HARD work and not as much time to post, BUT I still intend to maintain at least a pack a day habit…
I have 78 points and 14 more packs to rip and post and I remain confident that the 2011 Gint-A-Cuffs CROWN WILL BE MINE! Here is what I got in pack #11.
We start out with a horizontal (and really blurry) card, #289 of one of the most underrated and overlooked sluggers in all of baseball. White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko has topped 20 homers for the 9th straight season and 13th time overall. Oh, despite the horrible scan, this IS a Ginter Code card which nets me 3 points, ha ha!
Next up is card #191 of Matt Guy, the “King of Cornhole”. When the wife pulled this card she said “hey doesn’t that look like Billy C?” Billy is a mutual friend of ours who is OBSESSED with cornhole. Awesome. I HAD to scan the back of the card because I never thought the word cornhole would appear on my blog, especially not 6 times in one post…
Like Matt Guy, the next 2 cards are of folks who don’t play baseball… One of them brings me nothing, the other costs me, but the cards look really cool scanned next to each other. Both look really excited, as though they were a part of a 20-point pack… They are card #234 of Iron (wo)Man Chrissie Wellington and #40 of John McEnroe. Chrissie doesn’t bring me anything (points wise), but Johnny Mac costs me a point for being a jerk…After Konerko this pack had 4 consecutive non-baseball playing people… The next one is card #159 of Shawn Michaels. A quick glance at the front and I thought he was a country singer or perhaps a NASCAR driver, but it is actually Shawn Michaels the pro wrestler. The same Shawn Michaels who I watched as a kid when he was a member of the Midnight Rockers with Marty Jannetty. I don’t think Marty Jannety’s star burns that bright these days, but Shawn Michaels has made some serious money in the sports entertainment biz…
For my 5th straight non-baseball card from this pack of baseball cards we have card #MMF18 of psychoanalysist Sigmund Freud. I took a semester of Psych and Sociology in comm34 of Iron (wo)Man Chrissie Wellington and #40 of John McEnroe. Chrissie doesn’t bring me unity college, so of course I am an expert on all things Freud. More importantly I used to watch Cheers and later Frasier quite often and Kelsey Grammer’s character referenced Freud often. I guess you can say I am a student of Freud and have continued his research throughout my life… You can read the back of the card and become an expert just like me. Even though his expertise wasn’t in mathematics, I am aware that this card scores me 2 points, ha!
The 7th card in pack 11 actually has a baseball player on it. Not a great one, but it isn’t a Yankee, so I ain’t complaining… It is card #HH22 of White Sox starter John Danks. Danks is 6-9 for the ChiSox this season and he hails from the self-proclaimed “Sports Capital of Texas”, Round Rock. Hometown Heroes card = 1 more point!
The last card in this pack is of the miniature variety, card #13 of A’s starter Brett Anderson. I don't if Anderson has what it takes to replace the 2007 Eleanor Roosevelt in my Frankenset... BA is 3-6 in 13 starts for Oakland this season. Ironically he came to the A’s a few years back in exchange for Dan Haren… It is a normal, not a short print and he isn’t anyone’s fave player, so I get no points for Mr. Anderson. Oh well, I did score 5 points for this pack and I am up to 83 points after 11 packs. Much more Gint-A-Cuffs fun to come, stay tuned! As always, everything is up for trade. Thanks for reading. Go Rays! Troll out.

Ripping Again, Gint-A-Cuffs Pack Number Ten

The Gint-A-Cuffs Commissioner has encouraged me to keep posting, so I can’t stop now! With his blessing/command/demand/encouragement/ threats I will continue on and post pack number 10.

I have 69 points thus far, which I feel is respectable. I have been trying to post these in the order in which they came out of the box and when you rip a whole bunch, you generally start slow, but I think it will get better. I mean BJ Upton can’t be the only Rays player in an entire box and I am pretty sure that Brian Roberts is in the set somewhere…

Anyway, onward to pack #10 in my Gint-A-Cuffs adventure!
Here is what I got:

The first card out is card #126 of Brave pitcher Jair Jurrjens. I say his name out loud every time I pull a card of his. Say it with me, Jair Jurrjens. It’s fun…

Plus Jurrjens is having a fantastic season - his 2.71 leads all starters on a very good Atlanta pitching staff.

Next up is yet another cool looking horizontal card, #150 of Rockies All Star, Gold Glove, Silver Slugging shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.

The same Troy Tulowitzki from the fabled Favorite Player list! This horizontal card nabs me 2 points!

Shifting back to the standard vertical orientation we have card #170 Timmy Lincecum.

I didn’t even check the Fave Player list because I know that no one would select a member of the Giants for that distinction.

Staying west of the Mississippi we have card #185 of D-Backs right fielder Justin Upton, BJ’s little bro… The younger Upton is having a heckuva good season so far - he has already established new career highs in runs scored and doubles and will probably do the same with homers and RBIs by the time the season is over.

No points, but I will never complain about pulling an Upton…

Heading back East for a moment we have card #110 of Rays pitcher Jake McGee.

Yep, I said Rays – my FAVORITE team!!! Add 1 point to that total! I saw McGee pitch for the Port Charlotte Stone Crabs in a game in 2009 and was left unimpressed, but he made it to the big leagues that same year. He has split time in the bullpen in 2011 between the Bulls and the Rays. I am pretty sure this is my first card of his. Awesome!

Speaking of awesome, the next card out of the pack is card #310 of the Bison, Matt Kemp.

Being a short print gives me plus 2, plus another extra 2 points for being on the favorite players list. 2 fave players in 1 pack, sweet! Kemp is blowing up this year and has a shot at the Triple Crown… He leads the NL with 31 homers, is second in RBI with 100 and is 4th in batting, plus he joined the 30-30 club and is having another Gold Glove type season.

If the season ended today, Kemp would get my vote for NL MVP. For now I am thrilled with the 4 points that I get for this card! Oh, and by the way, once I complete my Gint-A-Cuffs posts you can look forward to Matt Kemp being a CT Card of the Day because he meets two requirements - he has a cool nickname and he is the pride of Midwest City, Oklahoma...

I have 2 cards left, one small and one standard.

We will start with the standard sized card, #HH48 of Rays All Star third baseman Evan Longoria. By his standards Longo is having an off year, but I still thank my lucky stars that the Rays picked third in 2006 and we didn't end up with Luke Hochevar or Greg Reynolds...

Chalk up 2 more points for this one!

2 Rays in one pack and a whole bunch of scoring…
The final card in the pack is a mini, card #293 of 2 non sports, completely insignificant people. It was a great pack up to this point. Oh well. I still get 9 points for this pack. It brings my total up to 78. Not bad. Stay tuned, I will try and obey the Commissioner and continue to post… Gint-A-Cuffs rocks! Go Rays! Troll out.