The prior season Iwamura was the Rays starting third baseman, but moved to second to create an opening for Evan Longoria. Aki adapted instantly and he and Jason Bartlett formed a defensive force up the middle. 
Tampa Bay bid Aki farewell after last season. 
Last night Pittsburgh bid farewell to the infielder as well. 
I expect to see Aki back on top very soon, I just hope it isn't in New York! Your still number 1 with me.
Good luck! Go Rays! troll out.
It is tri-fold card from 1993 Upper Deck. It is styled after the 1912 T 202 cards. I think these came from 1993 Baseball Heroes, but this is honestly the first one I have EVER seen. I really love this card. It is a pain to store yes, but it is the ideal size for a blog header and this one features 4 of my favorite players of All Time who also happen to be majorly historically significant. It shows Larry Doby and Minnie Minoso on the sides, but the center picture shows Minoso, Joe Black, Doby and Monte Irvin. It’s awesome. 
The T202 header card didn’t arrive alone. He sent a fairly well stuffed envelope of goodies. This arrived well I had the poll up for the next player I should select. Matt picked Larry Doby as many of you did. The poll ended in a tie between Doby, Bill Mazeroski and Bill Madlock. I have yet to think of a tie breaker, but I certainly don’t mind picking up cards of any of those guys and Matt hooked it up with some great Doby cards to add to the binder. 
These first two had post its attached to them asking if they count as Doby cards. 
The answer is Yes! It does seem a little bit selfish of Gene Mauch to be SO much bigger than everyone else, but managers can be glory hounds. The Expos were my original childhood favorite team and these cards are super special to me. 
My true favorite Doby card in the bunch (other than the T202) is this one. It is a 2002 Topps Archives version of Doby’s 1954 Topps card which I don’t have YET. 
Of course I would rather have the original, but this card is all shiny and chromed out and pretty darn awesome in its own right. Next up are a trio of cards of former Devil Rays, Rays and Swallows infielder Akinori Iwamura. Aki is currently holding down second base for the Pittsburgh Pirates who got off to a surprisingly good start this year. Reality is setting in for the Bucs who have dropped to 7-8 after a humiliating 20-0 loss to the Brew Crew last night. 
Aki is holding down the leadoff spot for the young Bucs and is still waiting for his bat to wake up this season. The first card to show is this GOLD version of his 2008 Topps card, #243. I am obsessively trying to replace my lost GOLD cards and also trying to fill the Rays team sets in gold. This card gives me 9 (a full page!) for 2008. 
Also from ’08 Topps is this WBC card, #WBC4 of Aki representing Japan. The last Aki card comes from 2009 Goodwins and has a little swatch o’ jersey in the shape of an M at the base. 
From one former D-Rays leadoff hitter to another, this is a 1998 Pacific Paramount card #98 of Quinton McCracken. 
The D-Rays grabbed McCracken from the Rockies and he was the sparkplug of their Inaugural squad. I have been organizing my PC in my spare time this week and I have my Longoria binder straightened out and free of dupes. The dupes that are sorted out aren’t very fancy, but are up for trade if you are interested. 
Anyway, this one has a spot in the binder waiting for it. It is a 1st Issue stamped version of card #108 from 2008 Stadium Club. In person Longo is a super signer and I like the kids in background. I do feel bad for the beheaded girl in the back. The last card I will show from this awesome surprise package is from 2007 Fleer Ultra. 
Matt seems to be a magnet for Jonny Gomes cards. I think this is the 3rd auto or relic he has pulled and sent me. It is from the Dual Materials series and is serial numbered 136/160 and shows two bits of white jersey. I don’t know if you can tell from the scan, but there is dirt on the swatches. Awesome! Thanks so much Matt! Happy Birthday a few days early! I sent you a package, but you will probably get it a few days late, so it all evens out. Go Rays! Troll out.
Y’all have been hooking me up with gold Rays like crazy. I lost about 100 of them, but they have been replaced with a whole bunch and the GOLD collection has more variety than ever before. Thanks blog-o-sphere!!! Another Aki card he sent that somehow has avoided me is this 1952 Topps rookie card of Iwamura, number 1 in the set. 
I love it when a card is the same number as a player. AWESOME! Moving back to 2001 and a couple of cards that I was lacking, but lack no longer… Starting with 2001 Topps Chrome. He sent a few, but I want to show off card #T253 of Joe Kennedy. 
I had teased the idea that I might be collecting Joe Kennedy after I finish off the Jared Sandberg PC. That is still the plan and since I mentioned that my collection of the Patriarch has improved from about 3 cards to over 20 and it seems to grow every week. Another 2001 card he sent was the Topps GOLD card of the legendary Toe Nash. 
He was called the “Greatest Little Leaguer ever”, but didn’t quite translate that into adulthood. I think his legend has prevented most people from parting with his cards and up till last month I had a total of none of his cards. Now I have a few, but this is easily the best. It is GOLD and serial numbered 1378/2001. Moving up to 2007, here is another card #1, this time from Tri Star Prospects Plus featuring first round pick David Price. 
I’m not sure I really like the DMV style photo or the airbrushed cap, but I don’t mind adding another ’07 Price card to the binder. When I opened the package, this card was on top. 
I was worried that RG had sent me someone else’s package because Jeter cards are normally not welcome in Trollville. That is unless they are for a set that I am desperately trying to finish, then they are VERY welcome. This is an SP from 2009 Topps Heritage, card #487. I wonder if I will ever finish this one… 
At least I am one step closer. Speaking of short prints and speaking of Jeter… This is the final card I needed to finish off the Rays team set of 2008 Goudey, #200 of Evan Longoria. Wait, I said speaking of Jeter… 
I am sorry, it looked like Jeter, but it is actually Ken Griffey Jr. wearing a Yankees hat and a stoopid grin. I need to go back and look at my other cards and see often they showed Griff looking like this. Anyway, I owe a huge thank you to the Roof God! These cards are awesome!!! I wish I had more time, but I must get back to work… I am taking Tuesday night off to enjoy Opening Day at the Trop and then Saturday off for the Charlotte Stone Crabs home opener. This means I will be working every other minute of the next two weeks… MANY more awesome blogger kindness, trades and PC addition posts to come. Go Rays! Troll out.
Gomes has 4 homers and 10 RBI through 10 spring training games to lead the Reds in both categories. Speaking of Reds... This card looks GREAT in red! He included a few more Gomes cards, but time is limited, so I am gonna limit this post to just 4 cards. Next up is a 2004 Donruss card of former Devil Rays pitcher Joe Kennedy. 
Joe was a huge favorite of mine and he is missed every day. 
I do plan on starting a Joe Kennedy player collection one of these days. For now I will never be disappointed getting one of his cards. 
Next up is an oldie but goodie, from 1998 Fleer Metal, card #107 of top expansion draft pick Tony Saunders. 
TS is still shown in his Marlins gear. Saunders was 9-18 in 2 seasons in Tampa Bay before throwing out his arm. 
The final card that I am going to show off is from 2008 UD Masterpieces, a dark green framed Masterpiece of Akinori Iwamura. I LOVE this card. 
I am a little worried though-if Iwamura is the key to the Rays future, where are they without him?Thanks so much for the note and thoughtful gift. I Hope to trade with you soon! For now, go check out the Brooklyn Mets great new blog, Clear Cut Cards. Also, be sure to check out my other blog, the Nitty Gritty, there is a little contest going on. Tomorrow night the player collection poll will be done and replaced with a CONTEST! Thanks to the Brooklyn Met. Go Rays! Troll out.
In continuing on the theme of the kindness of other bloggers, this early evening post comes courtesy of B.A. Benny’s Baseball Card Buffet. BA Benny is a Mets fan and a somewhat new blogger. I have been blogging about cards for about 10 months now and the more great new blogs that pop up, the more I feel like a veteran blogger. Anyway, the Card Buffet opened for business about 2 months ago and already he is posting at a torrid pace, has a ton of followers and a bunch of happy trade partners. As yet, I am not one of them, but I may have a few Mets up my sleeve… Anyway, BA Benny came through for me with a sweet 8-card (course) offering of great Rays cards. First up is a pair of 2009 Scott Kazmir Topps Chromes. I am pretty sure I have posted the base before, so I skipped that, but I know I have never posted the blue refractor, as this is the first one of these I have ever seen. I am a lover of refractors, I definitely have a soft spot for them, but colored refractors are even better. I wasn’t able to get a great scan of this one, but I will. 
One of the things that I love about refractors is that if you take the time to set them on the scanner just right, they look GREAT scanned. I will def rescan and repost this one soon. Probably with the other 2009 Topps Chrome blue refractors I have. So far I have collected this Kazmir along with Shields, Pena, Burrell and Aki. I know I still need the Garza and the Longoria, but I don’t remember who else is in that set. I know that Mets fans have a weird love/hate relationship with Kazmir as New York shipped him to Tampa Bay for a song (and Victor Zambrano) and a bag of balls while he was still a prospect. I guess Rays fans are in the same boat now that Kaz is an X-Ray, but I think that Tampa Bay got a better deal in return… Anyway, BA Benny also sent a Gold (another favorite Topps parallel of mine) Scott Kazmir from 2008 Topps. 
Losing all of the Topps Gold Rays that I had been hoarding for so long was pretty difficult, but thanks to blogger kindness, some good trades and a few online purchases, I am getting back on track with my Gold Rays. I have noticed that I don’t have any before 2001. Does anyone know when Topps started the gold parallel? I remember black gold in 1993, but I have stopped and started collecting so many times I don’t remember when gold became a regular thing. I know they had those in 2007 cuz BA Benny also sent this 2007 Topps Gold card of former D-Rays pitching prospect Juan Salas, #628. 
He went older school than that with this 2006 Gold card from Topps Updates and Highlights, card #UH114 of former D-Rays catcher Josh Paul. 
Sticking with the Topps theme, BA Benny also sent this 
2007 Topps REDBACK rookie card of Akinori Iwamura. 
Another 2007 Aki card that he included is this foil card of the infielder, #233 from ’07 Bowman Heritage. He rounded out the package with a jersey card from 2009 Upper Deck SPX of Rays centerfielder BJ Upton. 
Now that is a Rays buffet! Thanks so much for the cards and note BA Benny! Muchas gracias Mike G! They are very much appreciated. I think you have the early lead for best new blog of 2010, so keep up the good work! For all things Mets, baseball, sports cards and occasionally whatever else, go check out BA Benny’s Baseball Card Buffet, tell him the Troll sent ya! Before I go, I have a totally unrelated end question... Can anyone recommend some free software? I don't have any type of photo editing software on my laptop. I need something. Basic is fine, just enough to be able to crop scans. Any advice? Thanks! Go Rays! Troll out.
The ice cream trucks in my neighborhood sold cards. They didn’t have baseball cards, but over the years I bought Pac Man, ET, WWF wrestling, Garbage Pail Kids and even Donkey Kong cards. It was pretty awesome. It was more awesome that I actually won the contest. Along with the Donkey Kong related prizes, the winner (me!) was able to choose their favorite team and receive bonuses related to said team. 
I got greedy and picked the Rays, the Pirates and the Orioles. Well, this weekend I received my prize pack from Project 1962 and Gritz76 hooked it up beyond my wildest dreams. The hits just kept on coming. I am honestly in disbelief that he shared so much great stuff with me. Rays cards, Pirates cards, autographs, inserts and vintage, oh my goodness wait till you see the VINTAGE! I am working on limited time, so I will just post a few of the current cards for now. This includes inserts I needed for the 2010 Topps set, cool cards for my PCs and random Rays awesomeness. This is just a small sample of the goodies he sent… I will start off with the final card I needed for my Rays team set from 2009 Topps T206, card #253. 
I didn’t like these cards at all when I first saw them, they have seriously grown on me and now I love this years and really loving Topps attempt from 2002. 
The fun fact on the back of Aki’s card mentions that Aki had a framed Carl Crawford jersey at his home in Tokyo years before they became teammates. That is cool. Finishing off another team set is also cool. 
Some rad cards I needed for 2010 Topps include a Yo Mamma card of Steve Carlton, a Peak Performances card of Lefty. 
These were especially because Lefty Carlton was my favorite player back in the days when I was buying Donkey Kong Cards off the ice cream truck. 
Another card I needed that he included was card #TOG-7, the Tales of the Game card of one of my favorite moments in sports history, Bill Mazeroski’s walk off World Series homerun. I have updated my needs list for this set. 
A few other cards he included from 2010 Topps are this serial numbered Gold card of Pirates All Star starter Zach Duke and a black variation of Akinori Iwamura. 
The true gem of the package, the card that seriously made me cry is coming up next… I mentioned last week that the wife and I had celebrated our 4-year wedding anniversary. I didn’t go into much more detail, but when we got married we did it in Lake Wales, Florida. Lake Wales is a small town in Polk County; it has a population of about 10,000 people. It is the home of former MLB catcher Pat Borders. In 2004 the town was hit by hurricanes Charley, Frances and Jean. Much of the town was destroyed. We chose this town as our wedding site because we had our first date at the Florida Skydiving Center in Lake Wales and we spent a ton of time there. The Skydiving Center and much of the town and places we visited were destroyed by the hurricane. Going back afterwards was really emotional for both of us as there was a ton of destruction. 
I got off track a bit, but I mentioned that because Pat Borders in no longer the only player from Lake Wales to make the Major Leagues. He has been joined by Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Wade Davis who struck out 9 batters in his MLB debut last September against Detroit. I have wanted to add Davis to my collecting radar because of his hometown, I just didn’t think I would be able to afford too many of his cards right now. I am now the proud owner of a beautiful autographed card of Mr. Davis from 2010 Topps Peak Performance, thanks to Gritz76 and Project 1962. 
Thanks so much Gritz! You blew me away with this one!!! Words cannot express my appreciation or how happy I was with this package! Stay tuned for all of the vintage awesomeness that was included in the package. Stay tuned tomorrow for plenty more posting and the conclusion to this one. Go Rays! Troll out.
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