Congrats to Jeremy Hellickson!

The 2011 American League Rookie of the Year!!! He becomes the 2nd Rays player to win the honor after going 13-10 with a 2.95 ERA and helping Tampa Bay to win the AL Wild Card... A World Series ring would have been nicer, but I am feeling pretty proud as a Rays fan right now! Congrats again to Jeremy Hellickson!!! If you have any unwanted cards of JH, feel free to send them my way! Go Rays! troll out.

Is Anyone Else Working on 2011 Topps Updates???

I am... I put all of my cards in the binder and I have 240 out of 330 (73%). I would LOVE to finish this off... As it turns out I have more than 100 dupes to trade, I even have a few Kimball minis too. Everything is up to date on my 2011 Topps list, check it out and see if you can help me HERE. I will try and create a list of my dupes, but if you have a wantlist or a link to a wantlist, shoot me a message... Lets help each other out! Go Rays! troll out.

Creating a Monster OR Taking the Plunge and Building an Allen and Ginter Minis FRANKENSET!!!

So after years of hoarding every single mini I could get my mitts on I decided to take action and get them organized. I sorted through thousands and thousands of cards and yanked out all the minis I could find. I sorted them into boxes and now have sorted them out of their boxes and move them into a binder, in other words I decided to begin the task of building a monster that we call a FRANKENSET!

Before I began the process of bindering my random minis I counted them. I had just fewer than 400 minis. Cool. I figured with just 350 cards in the set I would be well on my way. I was wrong. I didn’t consider that I had 5 different cards numbered 13, 57, 67 and 91. Turns out there are more than 120 card numbers that I don’t have. So… I have devised a list of all the card numbers that I need. The goal will be to get at least 1 card for each number and then I begin the process of finding the best possible card or player to rep each number.

To help me along on this mission I have decided that I will be willing to part with some of the minis that I have hoarded and hidden over the years… Anyway, these are the card numbers that I need. Any year, any back, any border – I do not discriminate… Send me these card numbers please:

1, 7,8,11,14,16,17,19,20,21,35,36,37,39,41,44, 48,49,51,52,55,59,62,63,64,65,66,68,69,75, 76,78,79,80,82,85,86,87,88,90,93,95,99,
102,103,104,106,107,110,113,114,121,125,131, 139,141,142,144, 145,149,150,153,154, 157,158,164,165,167,171,173,174,176,177,
178,186,187,188, 193,197,199,200,201,202,204,209,211,215,
216,218,224,226,227,232,233,234,235,239,241,244,246,247,
248,254,256,257,258,260,262,268,270,271,274,277,283,284,
286,289,291,295,297,298,300,309,315,317,319,323,324,326,
328,335,339,340,345,346,348,349 and 350.

So to save you the tediousness of counting, there are 126 (give or take a few) cards listed above. The goal is to have every slot filled and THEN I can start the process of upgrading and have a PERFECT set of all of my favorite players and historical figures.

This is, of course, easier said than done… Anyone who has attempted this process knows this. Choosing which card gets the spot in the set ain’t easy. Sometimes it’s easier than others – like card #27 which is occupied by Brad Hawpe both in 2008 and 2010. Other numbers are much harder. Card #13 pits BJ Upton vs. Eleanor Roosevelt vs. Brett Anderson. Card #50 is home to Pat Neshek, Carl Crawford, Jason Bay and Albert Pujols. In each of those number cases I have ALL of those cards. Decisions, decisions… Set into the binder this Frankenset, so far, looks bizarre… Players like Ryan Freel, Matt Murton and Austin Kearns all have (temporary) spots in the binder while fav players of mine like Pat Neshek, Justin and BJ Upton, Carlos Pena, Delmon Young and Carl Crawford are all in the dupes for trade pile. Go Figure. It is a bizarro world when Austin Kearns is a keeper and either Upton Brother is tossed aside…

Anyway, I now have 100 minis up for trade, SPs, black borders, Ginter Ad Backs, stars, rookies and all. Just keep in mind I want specifically to trade minis for minis. I would be willing to trade these minis to fill holes in my Kimball Champions set, too. OR to trade for Rays Bazooka back minis OR Rays silks, relics, printing plates, autos, black borders, extended minis, etc. It isn’t easy for me to part with any mini period, so please be sure to only make serious offers and be gentle…

If you have spare copies of any of the card numbers listed above, please get in touch… In addition to my 100 Ginter minis I do have some cards that I would be willing to trade for any of these card numbers. I do prefer authors, historical figures, boxers, Rays, managers, Negro Leaguers, women, softball players or HOFers whenever possible.

I have 5 different pages with 20 cards each in them which I will be posting for trade bait... In most cases I want to trade mini for mini, SP mini for SP mini. There are a couple of fancy/rarer cards here, like a 2010 Jacoby Ellsbury NO# mini (limited to 50) and some 2007 Black Border No # minis, which are also limited to 50. Basically, if you have minis that I need, I WILL find you something awesome to trade ya…

Oh yeah, I’m almost back… I will try and post at least once per week over the next 2 weeks, but after that, it might be a daily thing, so stay tuned!

Also, ALL of my wantlists are up to date. A handful of generous folks have kept the trading pipeline pumping. Aside from the vintage (1963 and ’65) which are tops on my priority list, I am trying REALLY hard to finish off 2010 and 2011 Allen and Ginter, 2009-2011 Topps, the Kimball Champions minis set (1-150) from 2011 and I wanna start collecting 2006 Allen and Ginter. I would love to find a hobby box to rip, that would be AWESOME!

Anyway, I love this hobby, I really miss this… I scanned one of my pages, the one that is the closest to being full. I stopped using the 15-up Ultra Pro pages (for this set at least) and have begun using 20 pocket BCW pages. So far I am pretty happy with them.

Thanks for reading! Go Rays!!! Burn bright hot stove! I love this game, I love this hobby! Troll out.

(oh, BTW… I am posting this NOW, BUT I didn’t get the trade bait pages up yet. So, for now, search your dupes and see if you have anything I need… Within the next couple days I WILL post 5 pages filled with awesome minis that are up for grabs… SO – stay tuned Trollites!)

(and PPS... I have barely been online over the past month... If you have emailed me, offered me a trade, if I owe you a trade or owe you money, you should probably hit me up again... Send me an email HERE... Cheers!)

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.