Filling the Binder With 2 x 3 Heroes!

Time passes so quickly in life and in collecting… That sounds cliché, but I have a point… As collectors we are always working on sets, but we are always waiting for the newest product to hit the shelves. When it does there is a month long period of feverishly buying, ripping and trading, and then when the dust settles, if you haven’t finished the set yet, it goes to the back burner. In life I guess you could equate that to that diet you go on, or the new workout regimine… You watch what you eat and exercise like its beast mode for a couple of weeks and then you start mixing in burgers and spending the afternoon on the couch – those two tie in, right?

Anyhoo, on the collecting tip - I am notorious for fudging up my want lists… I cross cards off before I get them. Worse, I get them, forget to put them in the binder and assume they are dupes and trade them away… I totally did that with 2010 Topps. I declared all 3 Series completed and then, about a year later I picked up the binder to thumb through and see which Rays were in the set that year and I realized that I was missing a total of FIFTY freaking cards!!!! Some of the cards I was missing I had even posted after I got them, then I guess I traded them away, probably put them in team stacks and shipped them off to folks who didn’t even need them, ha!

On the topic of 2010 Topps – I got some of them in the mail today – from 4 different people. How weird is that? I went months without trading, without getting a package from anyone. I also went months without adding a single card to the 2010 binder and then today, I got FOUR packages from FOUR different people! Three were complete surprises and the 4th was a planned surprise… Last weekend, while riding the high of seeing the Rays live in Port Charlotte and enjoying a cocktail or twelve (ha!) I got an email from a new blogger, a dude who was not yet on my radar who, it turns out, is VERY new at blogging, but off to a very good start… You can find his blog HERE. It is called Two By Three Heroes…

Jeff, the author behind 2 X 3 Heroes is a White Sox fan, I think he lives in Chicago… This fascinated me because one of the very first three blogs that I started reading and got me hooked back into the hobby again after a long hiatus was also about the White Sox – of course I am referring this awesome blog.

Anyhow, out of nowhere, he wrote to me and offered to nearly complete my 2010 base set, plus send some Yo Mama cards and Vintage Legends. Nice!

I will show off the Vintage Legends cards in a different post a little later on… For now, I am glad to have this set so close, again. I am one card away from retiring this want list. Who has card #458? Send it to me please so I can put this set out of its misery…

Oh, speaking of misery. Ever get cards from your wantlist and think. Fudge. Man, I HAVE that card!

Well, turns out this sweet BJ Upton was one of the last cards on my want list. At least 10 copies of this card have passed through my collection. Dumbass Troll. The other cards, not so much. All Yankees, Phillies and crap… The retired Red Sox captain was the only card in the pile that I would consider putting on my page…

Oh, before I sign off and speaking of my stupidity… I was wondering why no one has sent me any 2007 or 2008 Topps cards and I noticed that I don’t have lists posted. What? I then grabbed the binder for 2007 and found that it ends halfway through Series 2. I just don’t know… I made a list for cards 1 - 431... Yer Troll is a mess…

Thanks for trading Jeff! Please go check out his page and support new bloggers!

Go Rays! Troll out.

Gettin' The Hook Up! A Long Overdue Post of Thanks and Awesomeness!!! AKA Pee Wee is Mine!

A few weeks ago, or maybe months, actually it was April, so four months ago I got a HUGE package of goodies from Ted from the Crinkly Wrappers blog. I was in the midst of a mini blog hiatus and I never posted the cards. They were long put away into the binder so I can’t post them now, but I do remember he sent me a stack of 2011 Topps Series 1 base cards along with THIRTY-SIX, YES 36 Kimball Champions minis!!!

I had made a want list before I even had 10 cards from that 50 card set and since most everyone else was collecting it too, I figured I had a REALLY long road ahead of me. Well, I did before Ted sent me 36 cards out of the 50 card set; yep he knocked out over 70% of the set in one shot… After his super-generous package several other bloggers helped me knock out a card at a time and got me to within needing only 3 more minis to finish off series 1. A week ago I needed cards KC21 of Sin Soo Choo, #KC25 of Vlad Guerrero and #KC43 of Pee Wee Reese. I want to finish the set, obviously, but I wanted that Pee Wee card BADLY!

I made offers to everyone who posted one on their blog, I claimed a few, but for one reason or another it fell through. Well I want Pee Wee no longer! Ted sent me a SURPRISE package last week, totally unexpected, and it included the Reese card!!! That means Ted has sent me 37 cards (74%) from that set!!! Oh, and I STILL haven’t sent him anything in return. Oops, bad Troll! I really need to do something about that. Anyway, Crinkly Wrappers totally hooked me up on the Kimball Champions mini quest, but he didn’t stop there… Check out what else he included in this awesome surprise package.

He knocked a couple more cards off of my 2011 Topps Series list, including the very first card in the set – card #331 of Carlos Guillen. When you have the first card in the set you feel a whole bunch better about your chances of finishing off the set… My 2011 Topps want list is up to date, by the way, if you are so inclined to check it out… I am two cards away from finishing Kimball Champions from Series 1, but I still need 40 more minis from Series 2. In keeping with the mini theme, Ted sent me my very first Rays mini from 2011 Allen and Ginter. A Ginter ad back mini, card #222 of Big Game James Shields, one of the Rays 2011 All Star starters and the current AL leader in complete games with 9 and shutouts with 4.

The most unexpected portion of this totally unexpected package was the inclusion of 2009 Topps Heritage High Numbers from my want list. I had all but given up on this set, I hadn’t updated my list in nearly a year and no one has offered me anything in a LONG time.

He sent me some really cool base cards including card #558 of the Braves other catcher, power hitting, 10-year-veteran David Ross. More impressive he sent me a short print, card #709 of Cards slugger Matt Holliday. These SPs are HARD to come by and I am psyched to add this one to my binder.
Oh, I can't forget that he sent me a bunch of inserts from 2010 Topps!!! I must admit that I regret deciding to collect ALL of these insert sets, but I am AND I REALLY want to finish them someday.
When Series 1 first hit the shelves I fell in love with the Yo Mama insert set and like every other year before, Turkey Red is classic and very cool. I am somewhat close to finishing off the Series 1 sets, further away with Series 2 and pretty darn far from finishing U and H, but I WILL finish these. I have an entire binder devoted exclusively to the 2010 Topps inserts sets and thanks to Crinkly Ted, I filled 11 slots in said binder. He helped me out with 7 different Peak Performance inserts from Series2 and 3 including card PP73 celebrating Big Donkey getting his 300th career homerun. I was actually a quiet Adam Dunn fan. The dude has SOOO much power. When he was with the Reds I got to watch him take BP in spring training and he could launch 'em for sure. I know his .165 batting average is a joke, but this is the same guy who hit 40+ homers for 5 straight years. 64 more CMT cards He reminds me of Pat Burrell right now. A good, solid power hitter in the NL who went to the American League and couldn't hit for sh... I was pretty shocked that he wasn't dealt at the trading deadline. I really think (thought) that the team in the NL Central or West that takes a risk on Dunn could-go-all-the-way! Other 2010 Topps inserts now in the binder include card #TR131 of Vernon Wells (very cool to get a Blue Jays card from a Blue Jays fan!) and a trio of Cards Your Mother Threw Out. All of them are much needed Series 3 cards - starting with 1952 Eddie Mathews on CMT117. Even though it is a reprint, this card is awesome. 1952 Topps, where it all began, is a freaking beautiful set! The last 2 cards I will show off sit in the binder next to each other, right in a row. CMT 165 showing Barry Zito and Ben Sheets on 2000 Topps and #CMT166 of Vlad Guerrero on 2001 Topps. Sweet! With these 3 added to the binder I only need to finish that set which means that I am at 64% completion, woo hoo! My super long lists of needs for these inserts are up-to-date, please check 'em out.
I owe a HUGE thanks to Ted from Crinkly Wrappers for this awesome, SURPRISE package! I promise I will pay ya back soon Ted! Nothing brightens your day quite like finding a padded envelope in your mailbox and this one totally made my day, actually my whole week. Muchas gracias! Every single card was on my want list, but is now in my binder, most importantly the pint-sized Pee Wee. Thanks for reading and looking Trollites! If you want a dead-on take on 2012 Topps, check out one of Ted's latest posts right here.

As usual, if you can help me out with any of my wantlist needs, please get in touch with a Troll... I am DETERMINED to fill the empty spots in all of my binders and I am also in card liquidation mode. I don't have a whole lot left, but I really need to clear some space... Anyway, if we started trade discussions and I haven't gotten back to you PLEASE send me a reminder... Go Rays! Troll out.

You Should Click on my Blog Just (in) to See My Awesome Header Picture...

Even when I don't have time to post I still try and change up the picture on my header and update my wantlists and blogroll. There are 318 blogs on my blogroll right now. Some of them haven't been updated in a long, long time, but I keep them there in the event that they are updated cuz I wouldn't want to miss that. Occassions like that do occur... After a long absence one of my favorite blogs ever, Dinged Corners, returned this weekend. Thanks to blogroll magic I was on it!!! If you are a card blogger and are not on my roll, please send me an email with a link to your blog and I will correct the problem.

As for my wantlists, I also try and keep them up-to-date, especially the 2010 Topps AND 1965 Topps lists... With regards to 2010 Topps, my trade with RGB Cards is pretty much finalized, SO that means that I will have a list of dupes that I have to trade as well.

As for the blog header... I really like changing that up. If there is a card up there, I do NOT put a card header up if I don't own the card, so sometimes I use the header to show off a new card that I don't have time to post. Basically it is generally a showcase of my favorite horizontal cards... Occasionally awesome bloggers or readers make me custom cards. Mark from Mark's Ephemera is famous for doing this AND I have a couple customs from him that will become headers soon. The current header didn't come from Mark, but it is an AMAZINGLY SWEET CUSTOM from a very cool blogger and I am really loving it right now, hence this post to encourage the blog-o-sphere to check it out... To give credit where credit is due, the Jonny Gomes Sombrero Custom came courtesy of Justin from the Justin's World card blog. Jonny Gomes isn't the only custom he has made lately... Check out his blog for some more sweet 2011 customs!

While your there (in Justin's World) be sure to vote on his All-Time-Best polls... There are already quite a few votes and things look decent in terms of who is getting recognized as the best, but Carl Yastrzemski has more votes as best catcher of All Time than he has as an outfielder... Weird. Anyway, a huge thank you to Justin for hooking up the sweet J. Gomes sombrero custom! As an open letter to anyone: I love getting custom cards, but I really LOVE it when somberos are involved... Thanks again Justin! Oh, by the way, Fred Lewis isn't directly involved with this post (well, maybe its a good segue to my 2010 Topps needs list), Justin is a Cubs fan, not a Jays fan and I really don't care for Mr. Lewis, but there is something about this card that I love. Probably the retro Jays uni... Thanks for reading! Go Vintage! troll out.

2010 Updates and Highlights Needs List is Up...

My local Target finally got 2010 U and H and I picked up 8 packs this afternoon... A few of you have asked for a needs list and I just added them to the 2010 Topps Needs list. Thanks for looking... Go Rays! troll out.

2010 Topps - Getting Organized...

So, the super cipher breaker and code cracker Mike G from JDs Wild Cardz was the first to answer my want list call so my list of insert needs is a little smaller. I also went through everything I had from Series 2 and typed up a needs list. Feeling organized. Now if I can manage to not loose them all before I buy a binder I'll be doing great... Oh, I redeemed all of my remaining code cards... Nothing worth posting, but I don't intend to get them. There are 7 cards - 2 from the 70s and the rest are 80s or worse. Let me know if you want them... I collect the Rays and other stuff. I put up my top-21 in the side bar. Yup, I am super organized. Go Rays! Troll out.