A Nitty Gritty Sighting...

2 posts in 2 days... The Nitty Gritty is back? Check it out!

Where I Been...

So, I have been super quiet this week. That doesn't mean I don't have a ton of cards to show off, it doesn't mean that there is no cool stuff going on at Tropicana Field and it doesn't mean that I am disappearing again... When my awesome wife bought me my new Jeep and new toolbox I had promised to fix my old Jeep so we could sell it. The broken hand bought me a few months, but now that I am healed up, I have been spending all my time in the garage... I will be back very soon!!! Go Rays! Troll out.

WARNING! 2011 A & G Post -- Seven out of Ten Portraits of Penultimacy Minis For Viewing or Trading...

I have been pretty lucky with Allen and Ginter so far this year (2011). I haven’t pulled anything, but I got together a local network of collectors to split 2 cases of the product. I did horrible on my box, but I have been getting dupes from everyone else, so set-wise I am doing pretty well… Of course no one has dupes of rip cards, autos, rare minis, etc., but pending delivery I think I have the base set (1-350) finished, plus many of the normal minis sets as well. I know that many bloggers and collectors hate this time of year with Ginter Overload and all. I admit that I get tired of it, too, but it doesn’t make me love this product less…

Honestly I get more excited if I get a 2008 mini that I need than I would if I got a great card from 2011, but whatever… As I get some dupes myself I will post them here to help out the rest of you trying to finish your mini sets. I am going to begin with the Portraits of Penultimacy mini set. Very cool word you don’t see too often. The first time I saw it in print was in reference to Scottie Pippen, the second fiddle on the Championship Bulls teams of the 1990s. I haven’t finished the set, nor have I scanned the checklist – I wonder if old Scottie Pippen is in this one. He would fit in perfectly.

Okay, everything here (other than Toto, for now) is up for trade. I have several copies of some of these. Anyway, as y’all now, I am still trying to finish off the regular Topps sets from 2007 – 2011, PLUS Rays gold cards, PLUS Rays Ginter minis, plus 2008 Upper Deck Documentary, PLUS 2010 Allen and Ginter, plus some Vintage sets. In other words, I am pretty easy to trade with…
Here we go! Starting with card # PP1 of unaccredited telephone innovator Antonio Meucci. Wow, I have nothing to say about him, how often does that happen?
Card number PP4 of deranged blacksmith and Dr. Frankenstein’s assistant, Igor. I’m gonna guess that Igor is even shorter than Tim Collins, so I guess that makes him pretty cool. I guess.
Card number PP5 is my favorite of the set so far… It features the hype machine known as the Hare. The unbeatable speedster who lost a race in one of the great upsets of all time…
Card #PP6 features the Lone Rangers faithful sidekick Tonto… I am quickly running out of time before I am expected to actually work while at work, so…
Card PP7 shows composer Antonio Salieri, while card PP8 features Sancho Panza, squire to Don Quixote… The final card I have is of a little dog… Card #PP10 of Dorothy’s pooch Toto.
Everything is up for trade… Get in touch and these minis could be yours... Oh, by the way, I dug out my checklist for 2011 Ginter and there is no Scottie Pippen card included. I am missing 3 cards to finish this one off... Thomas Dewey, Doctor Watson and Mike Gellner. If the last card is the Mike Gellner I think it is, I WANT IT!!! Cheers! Go Rays! Troll out.

It's Trading Time --- OR Justin's World Invades Troll Towne!!!

Trading has been SPORADIC for me in 2011… I have made a number of trades with readers, but months pass in between blogger deals and then I make a whole bunch all at once… I am knee deep in a trading frenzy right now and I am gonna try really hard to not get all behind in posting these… I had 5 envelopes in my mailbox today and everything was super awesome stuff I needed. I am going to start the Troll’s Trade Train off with a deal I made with Justin’s World. He bit on a couple of trade bait cards that I had posted and we worked out a deal quickly that whittled my 2011 Topps need list down. Both big cards and little ones… He sent over a dozen or so full sized cards from my list. My favorite is this one, card #471 of KC Royals reliever Tim Collins. Collins is a really great story. He went undrafted, but was signed by the Blue Jays at age 17 and started pitching for their rookie league team in the hot Florida sun right away… The Jays traded him to the Braves who sent him to the Royals. At just 21 years old he had 4 years of minor league experience and made the big club in KC and is one of their most used pitchers. So far this year he is 4-4 with a 3.50 ERA out of the bullpen. His 43 appearances ranks him 8th in the American League and he has fanned 40 in 46 innings. Oh and he is FIVE-FOOT-SEVEN!!!
And speaking of minis… (another perfect segue) Justin also sent me 3 really cool looking 2011 Topps Series 2 Kimball Champion minis that I needed. It seemed in Series 1 that it was mainly current players, but all of the Series 2 minis are of legendary Hall of Famers, well most of ‘em are in the Hall... Check out card # KC59 of hitting machine Tony Gwynn in San Diego brown. Also included is card # KC91 of 2-time MVP, but not HOFer, Dale Murphy. The last legendary mini he sent is card #KC53 of Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk, shown in Boston red. If you want to be like Justin and hook me up with some sweet Kimball minis, check out my wantlist and get in touch… With Tim Collins safe in the binder I need just FIVE MORE cards to finish off Topps Series 2… They are 388,523,574,582 and 639 and I will gladly accept them from you, just get in touch… Thanks again Justin! Its always great to trade with you! Oh... As an endnote... I have posted my 2011 Topps BLACK parallel of Blake DeWitt far too many times and have had ZERO trade offers. Justin's World has offered to take it off my hands. I REALLY don't want to post this card again. Is someone out there willing to trade me for it? OR should I just give the darn card to Justin? Whaddya think??? 5 foot seven inch people RULE!!! Go Rays! Troll out.

View My Accomplishment... My FIRST Completed Page from 1963 Topps Baseball, Oh the Joy!!!!! Plus a Shout-Out to Captain Canuck, Hell May Have Frozen..

...over. Apparently blogger limits the number of letters in a title. I can't believe I didn't figure this out sooner... The 1963 Tribe trade-bait cards I promised are being pushed back a day because of this breaking news... I finished a PAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My very first completed page of 1963 Topps!!! Cards numbered 46-54 are safe in the binder… It’s funny (to me) because my first page includes my first 1963 Topps card, #46 of Tommie Aaron. Although I have posted this one and said I wished it was a card of ANOTHER Aaron, I really like this card and this is the one that made me fall in love with the design of this set. I have of this card now, too if there is any interest in the other Aaron brother…

The second card I owned from 1963 is also on this page. It was the 10th card in my mini-super-collector Billy Pierce collection. Bill Pierce is my favorite pitcher from the 1950’s and somewhere along the line I decided to become a Billy Pierce collector. Maybe it’s because he ended his career with 1,999 strikeouts, maybe cuz I liked the blog that sponsors his BR page, maybe he was just an amazing pitcher…

Unlike the Tommie Aaron card that made me love this set, the Pierce card is my least favorite BP card ever. I can’t put my finger on it, but there is something I don’t like about this card. Anyway, like it or not it sets smack dab in the center of my first completed page! Also included in this page are card #47 of Senators outfielder Don Lock, #48 of Indians manager Birdie Tebbets, a card which I have a dupe of, and card #49 of Cardinals shortstop Dal Maxvill. Card 50 of Pierce comes next, followed by card #51 of George “Two Bats” Alusik, Boston second baseman Chuck Schilling (I have a dupe of this one, too) and card #53 of Dodgers pitcher Joe Moeller. The last card in the binder is number 54 of the Rookie Parade. It features Cubs outfielder Nelson Mathews, Cards pitcher Harry “Never Heard of Him” Fanok, Yankees pitcher Jack Cullen and White Sox pitcher and 2 sport star Dave DeBususschere. So there ya have it, my very first completed page!!!
My '63 Topps list is up-to-date, check it out! I have amassed about 20 duplicates from this set and I am looking for another ’63 Topps chaser to trade with, so get in touch with a Troll. I love this hobby! Vintage RULES! Oh, as an end note – should you glance out the window and see a pig fly by, don’t be afraid… After making him wait for two (yes 2!) YEARS, I am FINALLY shipping out a package to Captain Canuck, the King of the Great White North… The package isn’t sealed yet, just in case there are any vintage Braves he wants to add to the pile. With the Captain in mind I added a couple of cards to this post… A short printed team card, #509 featuring the Milwaukee Braves, card #46 of Tommie “Not Henry” Aaron and card #414 of Ty “I Misplaced My Hat” Cline. Ty Cline spent 5 seasons with the Braves; he played in 348 games and hit 1 home run for them. This is the same Ty Cline immortalized in the '71 Topps set for scoring the winning run in the NLCS for the Reds... Now like I said earlier, the Captain gets first dibs, then dayf, then it is a Braves free-for-all! Oh, just for the heck of it I am ending this post with a 2010 Topps card (WME-1) of a FORMER Brave, Mr. Babe Ruth. To the Captain… I know it is VERY hard to believe, BUT the package is somewhat ready, I bought the Canadian flat-rate-priority stamp and it is READY to go… I just feel like it needs a few more vintage cards in it…Captain, if you are reading this post, let me know if there are ANY cards I can add for you... If you are not the Captain, but are reading this post and somehow aren’t familiar with the Waxaholic, you can find him right here! His site is the official blog for insanely hot soccer chicks, need I say more? Oh, while I am pimping other blogs, you MUST read Play at the Plate tonight (and every night)!!! Less hot soccer chicks, but word on the street is that he has some pretty nice vintage cards posted up, so check it out and tell him the Troll sent ya... A huge thanks goes out to any and all who helped me out with cards to go towards this set and towards my first complete page! I REALLY love this hobby!!! Go Rays! Troll out.

Thanks dayf!!!

Everyone's favorite Junkie has been hooking me up left and right... Apparantly he "found" a bunch of vintage cards in his basement and he drew a masterpiece to capture the moment. I will post said masterpiece when I can scan it. The wife says it is suitable for framing...
Aside from that he has offered up a little pile of "worthless cards" from 2011 Topps. This will whittle my want list down to just 5 cards. They are cards numbered 388,523,574,582 and 639... I also now have 56 Kimball Champions minis, so I need only 44 more to finish that too. I certainly wouldn't mind if you offered any of these up to me... I MAY have ripped my box of Allen and Ginter and I MAY post the results soon... I have also realized that I now have 20 dupes from 1963 Topps. Is anyone else collecting this set??? About a dozen of them happen to be Cleveland Indians. I think I will post them all as bait tomorrow. Stay tuned. For now everyone must suffer along with me. I am gonna keep posting lil Blake DeWitt until a Cubs fan steps up and offers to take it...

Go Rays! troll out.

Rolling Out the Hits - 2011 Topps Series 2, Everything MUST GO To Make Room for Allen and Ginter! Come and Get 'Em!!!

Okay, I posted a bunch of my parallel hits from 2011 Topps Series 2. Some have been claimed, but a bunch are still available… I am a little surprised. Nobody wants King Felix in gold? Emerald City? Anyone?
I am not going to repost all of the gold cards. You can find them here. I have only had 4 trades from these cards. I think there is def another trade in there, so get in touch, okay?
I still have a few more hits to post. I actually saved the best 2 hits for this post. Honestly I thought the Blake DeWitt black parallel, number 13/60, was the big hit of the box. I may have been incorrect.
Leading up to the best of the best is a Diamond Sparkle card of former Rays pitcher Mitch Talbot. Talbot is shown as an Indian and I believe he still resides in Cleveland. He won 10 games for the Tribe last year, but he sits at 2-6 this year. I think he is saving it all for the Postseason…
I am at work right now and am working with a kid named Blake. He has no idea who Blake DeWitt is, but thinks guys named Blake need some love, too…
Okay, here is a biggy… I have thirteen (yes, 13!!!) Diamond Giveaway Cards. Normally I redeem these the SECOND I pull them. I don’t know how I have had so much restraint with these, but they are not yet redeemed. I don’t know yet what to do with these. I will take offers. Maybe I will redeem them; maybe they will become a contest perk. Whadd ya’ll think??? I open to suggestions…
Back to the big hits… I was REALLY psyched to pull this ORIGINAL back card of Yogi Berra, 1952 Topps… This is as close as I am to a 1952 Topps card of any kind, especially a HOFer, so... Good stuff and def up for trade…
I do need just a dozen more cards to finish off Series 1 and 2. My want list is up to date and you can find it here. I bought 1 retail pack while at Target yesterday and I pulled a card I needed!!! I got a Kimball mini, too. It was 2 bucks well spent… The card I needed, by the way, is current Rays DH Johnny Damon. I got a bat card of Damon while a Red Sox, in a trade last week. I am ready to re-trade it if anyone is interested. It is from Topps T205. No scan available just yet. For the record, I am a fan of Damon as long as he is with the Rays, but I am not collecting any non-Rays cards of him…
Okay, I have been here at work for over an hour and I haven’t done a damn thing yet. I SHOULD get to work… The BIG HIT of the box is this. A short print, Diamond SPARKLEY card of Giants Hall of Fame pitcher Juan Marichal. I love looking at his career starts on the back. This dude had all the magic numbers. He won 20 games 6 times. He had an ERA under 3 9 times. He completed 20 or more games 5 times and he had 200+ strikeouts 6 times. He won 243 games against only 142 losses over his 16 year career. Yeah, this dude ruled AND this card is super sparkly. Who wants it? Y’all know the rules. Claim in comments and send me an offer in an e-mail. Once again, my 2011 Topps Needs list is HERE!!! Oh, this isn't my last 2011 Topps post... I have a few cards I REALLY like from this series... I plan a post of guys with their GAME FACE ON! Like Mr. Walden here. He is READDY! Go Rays! Troll out.

Gint-A-Cuffs ---- I AM IN!!!!

I started blogging in 2009, my first post was around this time of year, when just about every blog was filled with images of Allen and Ginter. By the time I figured out what it was and where to buy it, Gint-A-Cuffs was winding down. Last year I was poised and ready to be a part of it. I signed up, I trash-talked, I bought a new binder and pages and dreamed of pulling rip cards. THEN I realized how broke I was and I never got a box. Hell, I still haven't even finished last years set...

This year, 2011, I am IN!!!!! I stopped by the LCS today. He had picked up a case from his supplier this morning. Within an hour of opening up his case was sold and I GOT A BOX!!! It seems that I always join the party late, but today I was right on time. Of course it is time to go to work so I have to wait till after midnight to get to ripping, but for now I am just thrilled to show off this picture of MY BOX in my HAND!!! 2011 Gint-A-Cuffs Champion, Troll out!!!!!!

Off to My LCS With a Lot of Lists and a Little Cash!!!

So it has been a GREAT way for trading and collecting for your friend the Troll... I got my cast off, I ripped a whole bunch of 2011 Topps Series 2, I created some new want lists and made some new trading buddies. Thanks to BA Benny and Justins World I need just 12 cards to finish off 2011 Topps Series 1 and 2... Specifically those cards that I need are: 331,333,343,388,523,541,554,574,582,618 and 639... Please get in touch if you can help a Troll out...
Sticking a fork in 2011 Topps is a top priority right now, but vintage will ALWAYS BE KING in the Casa de Troll... Everybody's favorite Junkie, Senor dayf got the vintage ball rolling with a surprise package and my local buddy Frank came back from a card show in South Florida with 23 1965 Topps cards for me! Thanks to them I need just 159 more cards to finish this off!!! I am sitting at 73.4% completion!!! Now that is a GREAT feeling. My '65 list is up to date once again, check it out here. If you have a spare copy of card #350 I have a cool Blake DeWitt card that I could send your way...
Anyway, I have oodles of cards to post, but now I am racing off to the LCS with Gint-A-Cuffs on my mind... Wish me luck... Go Rays!!! troll out.

Doesn't ANYBODY Like Blake DeWitt??? Plus MORE Trade Bait!

Thanks to BA Benny my list has been trimmed down to just 22 cards! The 2011 Topps list is up-to-date right HERE. The person I split the 2 hobby boxes with was a Rays fan, too, and he took ALL of the Tampa Bay Rays base. Many of the cards on my needs list are Rays, but on the list or not I still need a copy of ALL the Series 2 Rays for my team sets…

I just finished putting everything into their binder – what a way to spend the morning, seriously, I LOVE putting a set into a binder! I have complained about Topps collation before, but after 2 hobby boxes I had 90% of the base set. That isn’t too bad… I hope I have the same luck when I crack open my piggy bank so I can crack open a box of Allen and Ginter.

Anyway, I had posted some 2011 Topps trade bait parallels. I had 1 short print variation – of Andre Dawson. I had no less than 11 e-mail offers for that card. Beyond that there wasn’t too much interest in anything. Seriously, doesn’t anybody like current Cubs second baseman Blake DeWitt? His black parallel, card 628 is numbered 13/60 AND it is still available. The former first round pick is batting .263 for the Cubbies this year…

Also available from 2011 Topps are these GOLD parallels…

Card #531 of Blue Jays outfielder Juan Rivera is numbered 1026/2011.
Card #359 of Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay shows Mr. Halladay about to receive the celebratory hug from Carlos Ruiz after tossing the first postseason no-hitter since 1956. Its #ed 0921/2011. (CLAIMED!)
More celebration Philadelphia style is on card #511, numbered 0329/2011. (CLAIMED!)
For more sparkly Roy Halladay, I also have his Diamond Stars insert, card #DS-11. (CLAIMED!)
For more gold team cards, I also have card 568 of Kansas City Royals, numbered 0563/2011.
Next up is gold card #403 of the 4th youngest pitcher to reach 1000 Ks, King Felix Hernandez, numbered 0256/2011.
Okay, my last series 2 gold card is number 395 of White Sox catcher Tyler Flowers, numbered 0205/2011. The card itself is very well centered, sorry bout the bad scan...
I have 1 gold card leftover from Series 1… Card #220 of Todd Helton.
I only have 3 random inserts left, if you want ‘em, I have 2 non sparkly cards, #RDT17 of CC and RDT29 of Josh Johnson. Also, I have 1 lone Diamond Duos card, #DD-14 of Werth and Zimmerman… (sorry, no scans)
I have a few parallels leftover from 2010, these are of the bronze variety…
Card #482 of Mike McCoy, #ed 210/399.
Card #468 of Delmon Young, #ed160/399 and card #577 of Jason Jaramillo, #ed 212/399. (CLAIMED!)
Finally, leftover from 2009 and with NO scans are card #556 of Brendan Ryan, #ed0670/2009 and card 537 of Anthony Reyes, #ed 0275/2009. That’s all for now… Thanks for reading! I look forward to finishing this set off BEFORE I begin 2011 Allen and Ginter. Oh, a reminder of the rules... If you want a card, it is first come, first serve. You MUST claim the card in the comments on this page, THEN send me an email with your address and what you are gonna give me... Thanks again! Go Rays! Troll out.

2011 Topps Series 2 Trade Bait, Golds and Black, Come and Get 'Em!!!

Greetings Trollites!!! Hope y’all are having a happy Monday… Mine sucks so far. Last week was great. I got my cast off on Wednesday and the first thing I did, after working a twelve hour shift and using every new tool that I could, was get my hands on some wax! By now I am sure that everybody is done with 2011 Topps Series 2, but not me. I hadn’t ripped a single pack or even held a card. That has ALL changed. I ripped 2 boxes of Series 2 hobby, but I split them with another collector. I got to do the ripping, but he took all the autos, relics, all the minis, most inserts, all the diamond parallels and code cards, BUT I kept all the base and I have about 80% of the set. I also took ALL of the gold parallels and a couple of other things. Most of them are up for trade now. Oh, the reason today sucks for me is that our air conditioner quit working last night and it is 100 degrees today and even hotter inside my house. I don’t wanna handle my cards with sweat all over my hands, so I haven’t put them in the binder yet and I don’t have a list… I did get some of the trade bait scanned and will post it right here. The Jonny Gomes card isn’t for trade, but there as a reminder that I want to collect ALL of the parallels of this card. Everything else is for trade. I will have a base list by tomorrow. The only insert set I am chasing is the minis and other than 2 cards (KC-85,98), I NEED the other 48. I am also still working on 2010 Topps and of course 1963 and 1965. If there is anything you want here, claim it in the comments and send a Troll an email. Thanks for looking! Oh, by the way, the Blake Dewitt is a black parallel, numbered 13/60It is the FIRST black parallel I have EVER pulled and I was sooo excited! I just wish it was someone else, no offense Blake... I won't be back home till after midnight, I sure hope the AC is fixed by then... In the meantime have a look at what I got and make me an offer I can't refuse!!! Go Rays!!! Go AL All Stars! Troll out.