Reciprocation.

I have ended a long fallow period of blogging and declared this month the one where I settle all draft folder business so I can move on anew without dozens of unfinished posts hanging over my head.  This past week, I have concentrated on trade posts that for whatever reason, did not get completed. 

       In one week of August 2014, I received not one but two packages in return for my sending out unsolicited cards.  The first bunch is a perfect little pile from everyone's favorite chronicler, Fuji.  Apparently, I had sent him a little something in a fit of mass mailing and these are the cards he came back with:

I must say, two game used cards and two autographs is tough to beat.  I especially love the Jorge Toca, one of my favorite Mets prospects that never panned out.  He was supposed to be the Cuban savior and he wasn't even as good as a Cuban sandwich.  Plus, it is hard to beat a shiny Dickey and an even shinier David Wright.  Allow me to extend a 遅ればせながら ありがとう to Fuji for these great cards I know I can use.

The other package that arrived in the dog days was one from Robert of $30 a Week Habit.  I had sent him a stack of gold numbered parallels I had found in a dime box over the summer for his Insanity Set.  Finding cards for this project of his has been one of my favorite altruistic distractions and he always returns the favor in kind.  This time, he outdid himself:

First of all, more than anyone, Robert looks at and follows my want lists.  He sent me a half dozen 1983-84 OPC hockey cards for one of my pages.  And then, not to be out done, he sent a low numbered camo Mets card from 2013 and a Johan Santana game used Heritage jersey card.  Johan will always be a hero to us Mets fan, so this piece of cloth was greatly appreciated.

I always refer to how endlessly polite Robert is, and his friendly note that was included in the package is no different.  Thank you, Robert.

Everything But The Verlanders.

This month, I settle all draft folder business.  This week in particular, I am clearing out all the trade posts that I began but for whatever reason, did not finish. 

This one is not so much a trade post as it is a contest winning post, but hey, stuff came in the mail from someone else, so it counts.  This pile of goodness came in June of 2014 from Dennis of Too Many Verlanders (née Too Many Grandersons, who currently patrols right field for my Mets).  Thanks to the magic of randomization, I came in 6th in his spring cleaning sweepstakes and got to choose from an array of prizes.  He was also just flat out giving away stuff and I chose a couple of lots from that booty as well. 

Given that the best cards were gone, I decided to try my luck: behold a 100 card Super Value (re)Pack.  The lots I got were one of Mark McGwire (because why not) and the creative batch of "what's news" football cards: New York, New England, and New Orleans. 

Here are what I thought were the best cards from the first pocket of the repack:

Most of these speak for themselves.  There is a Met, a trade line, a nifty photo, some vague 80s Fleer, The Penguin, a 1970's Expo, and a couple of Tigers, the last no doubt chosen because of the originator of the pack. 

I remember opening this repack vividly because of the second pocket of cards:

Yup, someone down in repack central thought this collation was a good idea.  Dinged corners aside, this means some Big Topps oddballs are coming!

This repack was obviously meant for a Tigers fan because of the mass quantity of bengals there in.  There is also a nice Daniel Murphy in there too. 

 Before there was such a glut of faux-vintage nostalgia cards everywhere, there was Big Topps.  They made the cards in the slightly larger size of 1950s cards and included funny little cartoons on the back.  They were so ahead of their time.  They produced these for three years to a very bemused and uncaring public.  They should bring these back.  Oh wait, they've done Heritage for 15 years now, never mind.

The McGwire lot included some wonderful shiny stuff.

I think we all have a soft spot in our hearts for Big Mac.  I know I do.  I liked those late 80s A's teams against my better judgment and very few will say they hated the 1998 season at the time.  Unless you always hated Mark McGwire, I see very little reason hating him now.  The difference between McGwire and Barry Bonds is I always hated Barry Bonds from moment one; PEDs don't even come into either discussion.

There were some big cards in the package as well, bigger than even the Big Topps.  Dennis took special care to make sure I didn't think that sandwich of cardboard had cards in it and was not a spacer.  How nice. 

Oh yeah, and that 1978 Expo was not just an old card, it was an O-Pee-Chee.  I cannot recall ever getting vintage Canadian goodness in a repack.  Just a great package all around.

Dennis also included a nice little note congratulating me on my win:

Thank you, Dennis!  Your obsessive player collecting is an inspiration to us all.

Habits and Views.

       While I have been on my vacation dog sitting for my brother, I thought maybe a change of scenery would recharge my interest in blogging a little.  Instead I have been kind of unplugged from the world and just mostly chilling out with the dog.  If anything, it has recharged my love of cooking as they have an amazing kitchen that I have taken full advantage of.  But this is a baseball card blog, not a foodie blog, so let's see if there is some unfinished drafts I can share with you.  Before I left last week I received in the mail two packages from fellow bloggers and I scanned their contents, so we'll take a look at those. 

One is a most venerable partner, Robert from $30 a Week Habit.  I had sent him two small piles in the last month or so and to reciprocate, he actually emailed me on his way to a show saying he was going to pick some stuff up for me from my want lists.  As I have pointed out before, he is an amazingly polite individual.

The two cards that are most appreciated, as they are from that aforementioned want list, are the Bautista and the Posey as they finish off player pages that had been sitting at eight for a while.  That Posey is just the regular Walmart blue card but it looks so vibrant in the scan, it almost looks like a refractor, especially when compared to the D'Arnaud, which is also Walmart Blue.  Also here are some recent inserts with Wright and Harvey that I didn't have, plus a couple of prospects from this year's Bowman - which is wonderful since I have purchased exactly zero Bowman this year.  Saving the best for last is the Tom Seaver UD Masterpiece red frame parallel, which is just a glorious looking card.  Upper Deck did a lot wrong at the end, those sets were not one of them.

He also included some miscut 1971 Topps cards I had asked him to set aside for me. 

I asked for two of them, he included six.  That definitely meets my approval. These will find their way to a spot of honor amongst my miscut collection.  Thanks Robert!

On the other end of the trade spectrum was a first time trade with Chris from View From the Skybox.  From a quick little post I did a little while ago, Chris commented and emailed me that he loves blue parallel cards and would love to trade if I had any extras.  I found some blue Walmart cards from the last few years and a couple of the shiny blue Opening Day parallels and sent them to him.  Chris got me back with a nice bunch of Mets:

I didn't have the shiny version of the Seaver or Wright Chasing History nor did I have the WBC Wright card, which seems unthinkable.  He also included a nifty liquorfractor I didn't have, I almost have a page of these for the Mets, I will have to update my want lists to finish this off.  Then he finished me off with some blue parallels.  This seems a little counter-intuitive, but hey, I'll take it, especially that Murphy from this year.  What a stupendous photo that is.

Chris included a nice little note with his stuff...and believe me, I know from how shipping costs have gotten out of hand.  As you can see, they arrived safely.

Chris collects a wide variety of things and has a great Ginter Relic Exchange program on his blog, so this may be the first trade we've done but it definitely won't be the last.  Thanks Chris!

As for the rest of my weekend?  Why, I am gonna watch soccer of course, but probably not the kind you are thinking of...

Look at how happy she is with that thing?  We should all be that happy.  Woof!