Beach City Rockies

Outside of Helton, Tulowitzki, Carlos Gonzalez and maybe Larry Walker, it's difficult to find any other Rockies on this side of the country. Very few shops or even shows have a row, box or section dedicated to the boys of Denver.

Needless to say, if I find a Rockie I want, I snatch it up.

There were no rows, boxes or section at the card store or show in Myrtle Beach...but there was nickel, dime and quarter boxes that have a few hidden Mile High gems.

I'm not a huge fan of the 2011 Diamond and Cognac Sparkle cards. That doesn't mean I don't pull out every Rockie I see, though. They just seem to look better.

I like Rex Brothers as the Colorado closer of the future, but Walt Weiss is going to have to take the reigns off the big horse once he is 100% healthy, which I feel he hasn't reached yet. At least two of these six are fighting for the 2014 Playoffs (Hammel & Street).

Let's time-travel to 2013 with this group of Rox.

I'm just going to throw this out there: I can't stand Adam Ottovino or Matt Belisle (not pictured). Every time I watch them come into a game, the lead is gone! And leads are hard to come by in Denver this year, friends. Hopefully Friedrich and Chatwood will break out in 2015 and lead a full-out Rockies assault on the National League.

Speaking of...this guy might be able to help.

According to reports, Jon Gray has been honing his control in Double-A Tulsa this year, which ultimately brought down his velocity. Gray, a former Oklahoma Sooner, is another hard-throwing hoss that once he puts everything together could be Roy Oswalt 2.0.

Talk about young talent. This guy has a huge bright side. I like the tools Kyle Parker has. Hits for average, has some pop and drives in runs.

Got my first taste of Bowman Platinum thanks to South Carolina, too. Pretty simple design, but I like it.

Coming soon to a Rockies blog near you...I'll finally reveal my ever-growing Garrett Atkins and Brad Hawpe Rockies stash. Don't worry. I'll share eventually.

I even found some affordable Colorado Game-Used and Autos.

If only Chacin could stay healthy and put every thing mechanically together...As for the auto, it was pretty. That's about it.

Gotta get the Cuddies in this post.

Bowman Hometown and Emerald Update. Not a bad looking De La Rosa and Cook either. Remember the days of Cook and Jeff Francis atop the Rockies rotation? At least we knew they'd be there for their starts.

I was even able to grab some never-before-seen Rockies for my collection.

I'm actually working on something similar to a lot of other bloggers and getting at least one card of every Rockies player who appears on the card as a Rockie. Tricky, I know.

Finally, some odds and ends.

Got a numbered Heritage Chrome Huston Street and Gold Seth Smith along the left side. Ubaldo even sneaks into this post. I honestly couldn't believe I didn't have this RC already.

Vacation post number uno is complete. Didn't like any of these? Just stay tuned. They're not all Rockies...just mostly. 

Every Vacation Has to End

As you may have noticed, I took a short hiatus from blogging. This time, though, it was not due to negligence or lack of ideas; however, it was because Ashley and I went on vacation. No, we weren't gone for an entire three weeks, but we did have to plan and pack.

This year our destination was Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, one of the hottest vacation spots for East Tennesseans like myself to visit.

The good news is we were at the beach. The better news is there is a pretty nice card store. The best news, though...THERE WAS A CARD SHOW IN TOWN!!!

So over the next few days or weeks (probably weeks since I bought a lot!), I will be posting my treasures.

Getting excited, yet. I'm giddy with anticipation to show you. Be sure to tune in tomorrow to see the first of these diamonds in the sand...(beach reference, gotta love it).

Feels Like the First Time

WAs you all I'm sure are aware of, I'm normally a day late and a dollar short when it comes to new products. I've never pre-order or bought the day they are released. 

The tradition is continued with Finest and Donruss Series 2. 

A trip to the LCS for boxes proved to not be the only thing I had in hand upon exiting the establishment...and I didn't figure it would be. 

Wanna see?

I loved last years Finest as I've publicly stated. This year's? Even better!!! I love the colorful, techie designs! Too bad a box is way too rich for my blood. 

I've also shown my support of the resurrection of Donruss. It just do happens there were some singles laying around. 

Love the inserts! All those Rockies are going to the PC. 

I couldn't leave the shop without a pack of Series 2, though, could I?

Ok, so the Marte DK I bought as a single (on the cheap FYI). The rest are pack fresh. But that's not all...

McCuthen Elite and Solarte Stat Line. Not thrilled with the latter, but that's the luck of the draw. 

Overall, I'm very ecstatic about both sets. So much so that I have a box of Donruss Series 2 on the way! 

Um...if anyone has any Finest they don't need/want, I know someone that does. This guy!

(Posting from my phone. Video will be up soon.)

Change It Up

I would like to take this time to announce that I have finish reorganizing my keeper sets!!! (For now, of course.)

In accordance with such a joyous occasion, I've decided to change up a few things on the ole homepage. You will notice as you look to the right of this post a new list comprised of all the spreadsheets I've been working so diligently on these past weeks. Any card listed on those sheets are ones I need.

With the addition of the new box mentioned above, I have taken the liberty of deleting the wants tab from the top bar as all my set wants are listed in the nice box to the right.

I've also started another box for my "Other Wants". I'm not sure exactly what else will go into said box, but something else will eventually.

Finally, to the left of this post, you will see that I've added another email address as well as my Facebook profile url and twitter handle. Feel free to add or friend me on either...

unless you're a profile creeper.

Don't creep on my Facebook page, people! Haha!

Rockies Gone Wild

Good evening ladies and gents.

As you will recall (and if not scroll down a ways), I bought a blaster of Allen & Ginter a while back. In said blaster, I pulled a Mini Tim Lincecum hand-numbered /25.

My first thought after realizing what I had...email Adam at ARPSmith's Sportscard Obsession, who happens to be the biggest Giants fan I know.

After a few correspondences back and forth, I got this package in the mail.

Adam had a few extra 2014 Rockies Archives laying around and sent them my way. Overall, I'm on the fence for this installment. Just not much to get me to get into the set this year. That's not to say I won't still trade for/buy my players and other Rockies, though.

Along with the Rockies of the present, Adam dropped these in for me as well. I've heard some really good things about Kyle Parker. Here's to hoping we see him with September call ups. Rockies don't have much to lose. On the other hand, I'm not familiar with Tapia. Looks like I've got some research to do.

Finally, let's not forget this awesome Deckle Edge Tulo. I love the black and white photo. Great action shot, too.

Great mail day from out Californy way! Don't worry, Adam. I'll have yours out very, very soon.

By the way, if you don't know Adam, get over to his site ASAP. Great stuff and great guy.

I Remember You

You know, reorganizing my collection has been very tedious but not at all a bad thing.

One thing it has done is reinvigorate my love for the game. Looking back on these sets, I see players that I had long forgotten. Guys who have been part of my watching and collecting life. Gentlemen who I thought were the next big thing only to turn out to be busts. (I was young and impressionable!)

In this post, I've like to relive some of those long-lost players who've been uncovered once again.

As you can guess by my player collections, I have a soft-spot for mediocre second basemen (i.e. Dan Uggla and Freddy Sanchez). It doesn't stop there, though. In the early 2000s, the Braves brought up a young two-bagger by the name of Marcus Giles.

Giles, younger brother of Pirate and Padre great Brian, enjoyed an All-Star season at age 25 in 2003 and finished 18th and 26th in MVP voting in '03 and '05 respectively.

I remember Giles as a prototypical two-hole hitter. He could get on base, move runners, steal bases or drive in runners. Paired with Rafael Furcal, they were a dynamic duo at bat and in the field.

Unfortunately, Giles was not able to hang on to the majors long after signing with San Diego for the 2007 season.

Everyone has one person they love to use in a baseball video game that shouldn't really be that good. Let's turn back the clock to Hardball 95 for my Packard Bell home computer. That player for me was former Baltimore Oriole catcher Chris Hoiles.

For some reason, seemingly every hit to come off Hoiles bat in that game was out of Camden Yards. It was amazing.

Honestly, that's really my only memory of the durable backstop. Oh, I forgot to mention he finished 16th in MVP voting in 1993 when he batted .310 with 29 dingers and 82 RBI.

Ok, so I never really liked former Blue Jays and Dodgers outfielder Shawn Green, but that doesn't mean he wasn't any good.

Green, two-time All Star, is most famous for hitting four homers and a double adding up to 19 total bases breaking a 48-year-old record held by Joe Adcock (18). He went on to hit 42 home runs and drove in 114 runs.

After finishing top-10 in the MVP race in 1999, 2001 and 2002 and Rookie of the Year voting in 1995, Green hung up his spikes in 2013 after his Israeli World Baseball Classic team was eliminated in extra innings by Spain in the 2012 qualifiers. 

I'm sure if we all look back to our sets we can find players we've forgotten about long ago but still respect in one way or another. Who's yours?

Mama Were All Traded Now

Trade Deadline 2014 has come and gone friends. Some are winners, Red Sox, A's, Tigers. Some are losers, Rays, Dodgers.

Either way, there are a ton of new faces in new places.

The biggest, most shocking and lop-sized trade of the day saw the Rays trade ace David Price to the Tigers in a three-team deal with Seattle.

What did they get in return? Drew Smyly and Nick Franklin. And my question like many baseball fans is...WHY?

A year-and-a-half of team control left for the 2012 Cy Young winner and all you get in return is a middle of the rotation starter and a backup second baseman? Really???

Great deal for the Tigers, though. What a rotation! Three former Cy Youngs. Can someone say steal?

In other news, it looks as though I'll now be collecting a Boston Red Sock. Ben Cherrington sent Jon Lester and Jonny Gomes to Oakland for two-time Derby champ Yoenis Cespedes.

This deal shows that Billy Beane and the A's are in it to win it in 2014 going all-in on pitching to keep up with Detroit. The thing is it will be hard to score runs when you trade one of your power bats.

The Mariners (Austin Jackson), Braves (Bonafacio & Russell), Marlins (Zach Cosart), Nationals (Asdrubal Cabrera), Orioles (Andrew Miller) and Yankees (Prado & Drew) all improved their teams, if only slightly, while the Blue Jays, Dodgers and Phillies will look back at what could have been.

One thing's for sure. The stretch-run for the playoffs will be AMAZING!!!