2007 SP Rookie Edition

There is not much to say about this set, except that, again, Upper Deck had a pretty good concept. With so many "small-ish" sets that UD came out with during this time period, it seems like a desperate attempt to keep up with Topps and Fleer, for that matter.

Topps kept the designs coming with Allen & Ginter, Turkey Red, Heritage, Co-Signers, etc. Fleer even had its base and Ultra, as well as the decent sized insert sets from both.

Rookie Edition wasn't even my favorite SP set of the mid-2000s. I, personally, loved the SPx sets, especially the 2002 design.

But I digress. I have some big names up for grabs here.

Here's what I've got:

31 Jose Reyes

34 Cole Hamels

35 Jimmy Rollins

43 Matt Cain

44 Barry Zito

67 Justin Verlander

75 Francisco Rodriguez

88 Felix Hernandez

91 Carl Crawford

2001 Topps Fusion

This set confused me a bit after buying a pack from the clearance box at Target a few years ago. "Why does this pack have different cards from different sets?" I thought to myself. As I started to catalog them, I noticed the numbers on the back did not match who should be that card number. Apparently, I did not notice the "Topps Fusion" label in the bottom left corner of the card.

Topps came up with the name "Fusion" because Bowman's Best, Finest, Gallery, Gold Label and Stadium Club are all fused into one set. (Thank you Baseballcardpedia.com!)

I like the idea, but one pack did not get me hooked. So have at it, my friends. Chipper and Biggio are the only big names, but all are cool cards.

Here's what I've got:
30 Chipper Jones
52 Dean Palmer
58 Craig Biggio
81 Geoff Jenkins
124 Jeff Segar

2013 Topps Help...Please?

Ok, guys. I'm looking for help with my 2013 Topps set. I've been buying just a few packs and hanger boxes since the debut of this year's flagship. Unfortunately, Christmas bills have kept me from buying more. Like a lot, if not all, of you, I have a budget for cardboard spending, and most of that budget is allocated to PCs and finishing older sets.

 My readers and fellow bloggers have been very helpful in the completion of plenty of my unfinished sets already, so I'm asking for your help. Any extras, unneeded or unwanted base and insert cards are welcome at the Home of the Toddfather. Parallels of my PCs in any color are also on the taken. The Helton Silver Slugger patch would be AMAZING!!!

Obviously, you'd be looking for something in return. No problem! While I don't have many extras from 2013, I'm sure I can drudge up something of your liking. If you have some you are willing to trade me, sent an email my way, and let's get the party started.

Hopefully, next month I can reallocate some money in the 2013 department.

Thanks, friends.

Obligatory DUI Post

Well, friends. We all make mistakes, right? I just hurts a little more when those you've looked up to for several years is the one making the pretty big mistake.

If you haven't heard by now, the Namesake was arrested at 2:30 this morning for drunken driving and careless driving. Don't believe me? Read the ESPN.com article.

Needless to say, we here (namely me) don't condone the actions of Todd nor agree with his lack of judgement. Obviously, I have no affiliation with the Rockies or Todd, but that doesn't mean it didn't hurt a little inside after reading the article.

Helton has left such a big imprint on the Denver area during his time there; thus, this does not change my opinion of him and the fact that he is my favorite player of All-Time.

Sure wish this hadn't happened, though.

Saturday Goodies & Trade Bait

The final installment of "Cards I Got on Saturday" has arrived. Through the snow and wind, I trekked to  my nearest flea market in search of some set building material and cards I though I couldn't live without. Unfortunately, my favorite seller did not brave the winter storm and left me looking elsewhere for my fix. After some looking around, I came out pretty good. Without any further ado, let me introduce you to my finds.

If you read my "vintage" post, you know that I recently decided to start collecting more pre-80s cards that are reasonably priced. Two of the cards I ordered to start this venture were 1977 Topps Mark Fidrych and Dock Ellis. As you can see, I came across some pretty big names from that '77 set, which was the only set I built on this day. Eck, Nettles, Perez and Catfish, with the most expensive being just $2.50 (Eck). Go me!!!

I was able to work on some Player Collections Longo, Kimbrel, Uggla and Freeman. I was shocked that I didn't already have the 2011 Gypsy Queen Uggla. Guess I need to pay better attention.

Arenado and Beachy were kinda random for me. I had saw the Arenado Bowman on eBay and liked the card but didn't pull the trigger. Second time is a charm for me, I guess. Ok, I lied, '77 Topps was not the only set I worked on. I'm slowly trying to complete the '11 Lineage Rookies set. I'm missing about have the set, and Beachy was one of them.

I know that Doug over at Sportscards from the Dollar Store is going to love these. 2010 Topps WWE Legends and a couple Heritage Chrome of Kane. I've watched wrestling on and off my whole life, so I gravitated to these rather quickly, especially the 2010 WWE.

Finally, I'll end with the two pieces of trade bait I picked up. Both were marked half-off, so I figured someone out there could use one of these really nice cards. First, a 2011 Topps 60 Shin-Soo Choo auto. The other a 2011 Update Leather Nameplate Zach Britton. I really like the Namplate. Simple yet extremely cool. Hit me up if you'd like one or the other...or both! Doesn't matter to me.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading. Any thoughts on my pick-ups from the weekend?

It Can't Wait Til Next Year

So as I was saying, I got two huge packages Saturday after returning from a foray into town, which I will document tomorrow. The second of the packages came from Tom over at Waiting Til Next Year. Tom sent me a huge stack of the 2012 Triple Play I needed. Did I mention it was a huge stack? So huge, in fact, that I only picked out the non-puzzle cards to scan.

Not only did Tom send the Triple Play. He has now put my just two cards away on another set I've been trying to finish for years. It's easy to find the factory complete sets of these 1986 Fleer Baseball's Best Sluggers/Pitchers. It's nice to get a set down to the nitty gritty.

My first trade with Tom...Well, I'd consider it a success. Thanks for the great trade, Tom. If you haven't talked with Tom, just click on over there. You won't regret it. Trust me.

Ryan Offered Me a Pitch

I'm rolling in the cards today, my friends. Two trade packages and some purchases for my Saturday escapades. Let's start with my trade with Ryan at Ryan's Pitch. I contacts Ryan about trading his 2012 Update extras for my 2012 Series 1 and 2 extras and inserts. Reviewing the goodies in 3...2...1...

Some of the nicer non-All-Star/Home Run Derby cards in the stack. Love the pic of Maicer hurdling Jonny Gomes, who ironically is another card Ryan sent.

Then, there are the ASG and HRD cards. As you may have notice in a previous post, I'm a big Mark Trumbo fan. I love the power. I love the willingness to play other positions to help his team and get in the lineup. That's something you just don't see everyday. Take Ian Kinsler, for example. No shot-taking here. I like Kinsler, but if he didn't want to play first, he should have just came out and told the brass no to begin with. Regardless, Trumbo is a prime member of the Home of the Toddfather.

Finally, Ryan had these sweet 2011 Allen & Ginter Relics at his disposal. Both of which I did not own...until now. Ryan came through big time for me with some great cards to help me toward completing two different sets. Thanks Ryan!!! Already looking forward to the next trade.