TTM - Bill Long

I still cannot believe these former players do not own sharpee's. Then again this guy played for the White Sox so what do you expect? Just kidding Steve, don't worry. Just so you know I do have one of these on its way to you. Merry belated Christmas! You'll also be receiving another autograph card which I will be highlighting next week. And now on to Mr. Bill Long.

Bill Long was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 2nd round of the 1981 amateur draft. Before the 1985 season he was traded to the Chicago White Sox with Ozzie Guillen, Luis Salazar and Tim Lollar for former Cy Young pitcher Lamarr Hoyt. Bill would make his Major League debut with the White Sox later that year on July 21, 1985. In his debut he pitched 5 innings giving up 3 ER on 7 hits and 1 BB with 5 K's. Long was traded to the cross-town Cubs in 1990. The following year in 1991 he signed with the Montreal Expos pitching just 1 2/3 innings before calling it a career. Bill Long finished his 6 year career with a record of 27-27 with a 4.37 ERA and 9 saves in 159 games, 52 as a starter.

Even more 2008 Topps Updates and Highlights

Bought another blaster for the 2008 Topps Updates and Highlights and I gotta say I'm not a big fan. The cards are just boring. Which is really funny because unlike most of you I liked the 2008 Topps set. Between the 2 blasters I bought I only got 5 doubles so thats a good thing. Just thought I would take the time to voice my displeasure with the set. However at this point i have a decent amount of the set and I gotta finish it now. So here's a want list for the remainder of the cards I need.

11, 27, 52, 62, 73, 114, 125, 126, 129, 160, 180, 216, 233, 237, 240, 275, 282, 289, 294, 306, 312, 324

**UPDATE**

Steve over at White Sox Cards just sent me 74 cards towards this set. I have to send a HUGE thank you out to him for the help. I have updated the above list to reflect the remaining cards needed for this set. He also sent me a ton of other cards for other sets which I will repost here as well. I will put up a post on his entire package once I finish posting the updated want lists.

**Update**

Big thanks go out to Scott over at Hand Collated. Just got a stack towards this set. List has been updated

**Update**

I'm reposting this again due to a nice chunk I got from fellow Mets fan Mark over at Stats on the Back and also some that I got for Christmas. I'm so close now I can almost taste it. Thank you very much Mark for your help.

TTM - Mark Leiter

Mark was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the fourth round of the 1983 draft from Ramapo College of New Jersey. He made his major league debut for the New York Yankees on July 24th 1990 pitching 1 1/3 innings giving up 1 hit and 1 walk with no k's or allowing any runs. Mark was the definition of a journeyman who played for many teams throughout his professional career. He has played for the New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, California Angels, San Francisco Giants, Montreal Expos, Philadelphia Phillies, Seattle Mariners and the Milwaukee Brewers. Definitely not as strong a pitcher as his brother Al, he did however, enjoy an 11 year career in the big leagues, finishing his career with a 65-73 record and a 4.57 ERA. Mark had the dubious honor of leading the National League in losses in 1997 with 17.

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays

I haven't been around for a while but I'm back and wanted to wish all my readers a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Thank you all again for all the help you have given me since I started this site last month.

Trade with Night Owl

I am slightly behind with these posts and I do apologize for that. I received a package from Night Owl a couple days ago as well. I got a great chunk of cards towards many sets I am working on. Here's just a little bit of what I got here.



First I received four 2008 Goudey's toward my set. I have chosen the David Eckstein card because I believe he is very under-rated. I think he is a much better player than everyone makes him out to be and is also a great presence in the clubhouse. I would still rather have him playing 2nd base for the Mets than Castillo. There were rumors of this last offseason but they failed to happen.

Next we have a 2008 Topps Heritage Eric Chavez. I received seven 08 Heritage cards towards this set. Once a very good player, Eric has seen his numbers plummet in the past few years and has only played in 113 games the past two seasons and only has 430 AB over that time frame. He never really hit for average but did hit for power. Here's hoping he can turn it around.

Next we have 2008 Topps Updates and Highlights Evan Longoria. I got 15 cards from this set. The Rays could not have made their historic run this year without the help of third baseman Evan Longoria. It really is a shame they fell just short of winning it all. Not only because that means they lost to the Phil's, rrrrr frickin Phils, but also with the additions that the Yankees have already made and the possible additions in Boston its going to hard for the Rays to repeat their "Miracle" year.

Lastly we have a 1986 Topps Pete Rose. Good ol' Charlie Hustle. This guy deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Everything he has done on the field for the sport of baseball far outweighs anything he's done off it!!! Thats all I have to say about that.

In addition to the cards mentioned above. Night owl also sent me some 89 Donruss and 89 Fleer. Again all lists have been updated. I want to say thank you again to Night Owl and let him know that I have some more 2008 Topps Heritage that he needs and they will be out to him shortly.

Trade with White Sox Cards

Got a package in the mail from White Sox cards the other day with a TON of stuff that i needed. Got some old stuff and a lot of new stuff. I gotta send a big thank you out to Steve for all these cards. I got a huge chunk of 2008 Topps Updates and Highlights. Over 70 cards so we'll start there:

I had to start with this card. Josh Hamilton is an inspiration. After everything he has gone through in his life to be able to return to baseball is nothing short of a miracle. His performance in the Home Run Derby this year was phenomonal. If I was Justin Morneau I can honestly say I would not have accepted the trophy. I would've handed it right to Josh Hamilton. He had more home runs in his first round than Morneau did for the entire Derby.

Next I received a good amount of 2008 Topps Heritage towards my set. I chose this one to show because of the significance of the play. An unassisted triple play is definitely not something you see everyday. Hell its not even something we see every year. Kudos to Troy for pulling it off. Plus he did it against the hated Atlanta Braves so he earns some brownie points for that one.

I also received some 2008 Goudey's towards my set. I of course had to choose Johan Santana out of this set. One of the best pitchers to ever put on a Mets uniform. He could've been a 20 game winner last year if it wasn't for our horrible bullpen. But with the additions of Putz and K-Rod, Mr. Santana should definitely see some more W's in the win column in 2009.


I also got some great old cards. Here we have a 1989 Fleer Roger Clemens. Got a few of these cards but I had to show the Clemens card due to everything that we have heard about him this past year. I have never been a big fan of Roger but when the steroid scandal started for some reason I believed him. I don't know why but I did. However the more time passes the more I realize that he, along with many of the heroes I had when I grew up watching this great sport, was on the juice. Sad but true.


Lastly we have a 1987 Kirby Puckett Allstar. When I was a kid I always liked Kirby Puckett. In 1991 the Mets were not off to a good start. Both my best friend Lenny and I were big Mets fans but we had enough of the constant losing. So we decided to choose other teams. Give us a break, I was 11 and he was 10, we were fickle. Anyway, the funny part is I chose the Twins and he chose the Braves. And wouldn't you know it the Twins beat the Braves in the World Series in 7 games that year. I always thought it was funny we just happened to pick those teams. However even after our great picks that year in 1992 we were back rooting for our hometown Mets.

Again I want to send a very big thank you out to Steve over at White Sox Cards for all the cards he sent me. I have updated all of my want lists so any help you can provide to finish these and the rest of my sets is always appreciated. Just so you know Steve, I have some more cards set aside for you already and they should be coming out to you shortly. Tune in tomorrow for my post on my trade with Night Owl.

2008 Goudey Want List

Alright with the blaster challenge finished I will now post a want list for this set. I planned on posting it yesterday but Steve over at The Easy Life was nice enough to share some of his doubles with me today so I decided to wait. I'm just working on the base set here. Sure it would be nice to have the whole set but there are WAY to many sp's in this set. I do have a few doubles left over for trade, not many but a few and I will keep my eyes peeled for whoever needs them. My list is as follows:

4, 11, 18, 19, 28, 31, 43, 58, 60, 61, 74, 102, 115, 116, 119, 121, 122, 126, 135, 138, 140, 142, 144, 152, 162, 163, 165, 171, 173, 186, 191, 200, 201, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230

Any help will be appreciated. I have a couple packages set to go out after the holiday and will be checking other want lists over it.

**Update**

Just got 13 cards from, yup you guessed it Steve over at White Sox Cards. This will be the last repost I promise!!! Thanks again Steve

**Update**

Just received four more cards towards this set from Greg over at Night Owl. I will make a full post on this package as well as Steve's on Wednesday. Thanks Greg

2008 Topps Heritage

I love this set. Back when I first started collecting we had nothing like this. That makes me sound old. Anyway, I like the old time look and the reflector and refractor cards are great. Unfortunately there are so many SP's it drives me insane. Here is a list of what I still need for the following set:

Green Back:

5, 11, 13, 14, 19, 23, 26, 32, 35, 42, 45, 57, 60, 64, 65, 67, 69, 78, 81, 82, 83, 84, 92, 116, 122, 129, 155, 159, 173, 186, 187, 195, 211, 231, 239, 256, 263, 267, 277, 279, 281, 283, 285, 297, 298, 301, 315, 321, 324, 330, 332, 334, 337, 347, 381, 415, 426, 427, 429, 430, 431, 433, 436, 441, 443, 444, 447, 449, 451, 452, 453, 454, 455, 456, 459, 461, 462, 463, 464, 465, 466, 467, 468, 469, 470, 472, 475, 477, 479, 480, 482, 483, 484, 486, 488, 489, 490, 491, 492, 493, 495, 496, 497, 498, 499, 500

Black Back:

13, 14, 22, 23, 28, 35, 52, 62, 65, 82, 83, 90, 122, 135, 176, 177, 186, 196, 263, 267, 291, 325, 334, 335, 338, 371,

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have a bunch of doubles as well as some refractors/reflectors/autographs i've got from this set I'd be will to trade. Please let me know. Thank you

**Update**

Got 19 cards yesterday towards this set from Steve over at White Sox Cards. Once again thank you and I will create a separate post on the whole package in the next couple days once I get a chance to do some scanning. For now I have updated my list above

1993 Studio

Just like the 1991 Studio I posted a couple days ago I also got what I have from this set out of a lot of cards. I figure I put up the 91 want list so I may as well through up a 93 want list as well. This set looks nicer than the 91's. Maybe its the phony autographs on them but they just look nice. Please help with this one as well. Thanks all

4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 15, 22, 25, 27, 31, 39, 40, 41, 47, 48, 52, 57, 60, 61, 65, 70, 71, 78, 80, 84, 87, 89, 90, 93, 95, 96, 97, 102, 103, 105, 109, 110, 118, 121, 122, 124, 127, 132, 134, 139, 140, 141, 145, 146, 147, 151, 152, 154, 155, 156, 157, 159, 160, 168, 173, 174, 177, 178, 182, 184, 186, 193, 196, 197, 201, 206, 207, 210, 213, 214, 215, 217, 218,

As you can see I am much closer on this one than the 1991. I'd like to finish off both. Please help if you can.

**Update**

Steve over at The Easy Life was able to help me out with some of this set. I got 7 more cards from him towards it. Thanks buddy. I've updated the above list.

TTM - Mark Knudson

This is another of the recent autographs I have received through the mail. And Mr Knudson actually owns a sharpie so theres a plus right off the bat. Mark is a former major league pitcher. He was drafted by the Houston Astros in 1982 from Colorado State University. He made his Major League debut on July 8, 1985 with a horrible performance where he went 7 innings, giving up 14 hits and 7 runs with 1 walk and only 1 strike out. On August 15th 1986 (My sixth birthday by the way) Knudson along with Don August were traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for Danny Darwin. Both of which I also have TTM autographs for. He pitched sporadically for Milwaukee over the next two seasons, and in 1989 compiled an 8-5 record with a 3.35 ERA. At the beginning of the 1991 season he came down with a virus that severely affected his performance for the rest of his career. He only pitched 35 innings that year and did not pitch at all in 1992. In 1993 he tried to become a broadcaster for the then expansion Colorado Rockies. He would actually wind up pitching for them. After just 4 games and posting a horrible 22.24 ERA he retired from the sport. He finished his career with a 24-29 record and a 4.72 ERA

1991 Studio

This was another set that got started out of a big lot box. I like the concept of these cards. They aren't the best looking things but I like that they are just normal head shots of the players. Something different at a time when all cards were pretty much the same. So my challenge to you, help me finish this one off. Dig through those doubles you have hiding away and see what you can find. Remaining cards needed:

3, 11, 12, 13, 15, 21, 25, 30, 31, 32, 35, 40, 41, 43, 45, 51, 54, 61, 63, 71, 72, 75, 76, 81, 83, 84, 85, 92, 94, 95, 99, 101, 102, 103, 108, 109, 114, 115, 118, 121, 123, 127, 128, 131, 132, 135, 136, 143, 146, 150, 152, 154, 155, 160, 161, 165, 172, 173, 175, 179, 182, 184, 185, 188, 191, 192, 195, 197, 202, 204, 205, 206, 212, 213, 215, 220, 222, 223, 224, 229, 231, 233, 235, 239, 244, 251, 254, 255, 257, 262, 264

As you can tell I am missing a good chunk of this set. But I like it and I want to collect the whole thing. I don't have any doubles for it but I have plenty of other stuff for trade. Please help me work to finish this one off. Thank you

**Update**

Big thank you goes out to My Buddy Steve over at The Easy Life. He just gave me a HUGE chunk toward this set. The above list has been updated. Appreciate it Steve thanks again

My first package

I have to send a big thank you out to Paul over at Paul's Random Stuff. I received my first package in the mail, a couple days ago, since I started this blog and it was about fifty 89 Fleer that I needed towards my set. I got a bunch of great cards in here. Just to mention a couple good ones.

First we have:
Good old Nails! Look at that stance. He looks like he's about to take one right out of the park. Dykstra was always one of my favorite Mets as a kid. It's a shame he wound up with those evil Philadelphia Phillies.


I had to throw this one on. First of all it was obviously poorly cut. But seriously, I didn't know Aguilera was a cone head. I mean look how high he's wearing his hat. That just looks weird. I think he has a jar of Vaseline under there.......for help with his pitches! Pervs!!!


Putting this one up for a couple reasons. 1. For Steve at Whitesox Cards, I'm sure he'll appreciate it. and 2. Don Pall was nice enough to sign 6 cards for me. Steve is now the proud owner of one of them.



Lastly we have Ricky Henderson. Seriously does he know how to smile. He looks like he's about to charge the camera guy and beat the crap out of him with the bat. This is a challenge to all. I cannot find a card where this guy smiles. I don't think there are any. Someone prove me wrong!

Again, big thanks to Paul. The cards will definitely help towards finishing the set. To everyone else, the want list is still up, check it out.

1983 Topps

The bulk of what I have so far towards this set is thanks to a 5000 card lot I bought at the local card shop. I had a couple strays from this set but now I have a good chunk so I have to finish it. Thats where you all come in. Please help me put another check mark in the complete set column. Cards I still need:

2, 10, 15, 20, 30, 35, 36, 40, 41, 42, 49, 55, 60, 61, 63, 65, 70, 71, 80, 82, 83, 100, 101, 103, 105, 112, 118, 121, 123, 126, 127, 129, 137, 140, 145, 146, 150, 155, 156, 163, 168, 177, 191, 198, 203, 216, 217, 220, 229, 230, 240, 241, 249, 250, 255, 256, 257, 258, 270, 273, 285, 289, 300, 305, 306, 307, 312, 313, 322, 325, 332, 338, 346, 350, 358, 360, 361, 364, 367, 368, 370, 372, 375, 383, 386, 388, 389, 390, 391, 393, 397, 398, 399, 401, 406, 407, 410, 417, 420, 425, 428, 437, 459, 463, 471, 472, 474, 482, 491, 498, 500, 501, 505, 507, 508, 520, 525, 527, 534, 535, 536, 544, 555, 570, 572, 576, 578, 579, 580, 585, 589, 593, 600, 602, 603, 608, 610, 612, 615, 619, 626, 630, 642, 645, 652, 660, 661, 665, 685, 688, 693, 697, 700, 710, 715, 720, 721, 734, 735, 740, 743, 748, 765, 766, 769, 770, 782, 787, 792

As usual any help will be greatly appreciated and I will certainly get something back to you for it.

TTM - Scott Livingstone

Got some more autographs through the mail recently. We'll start first with Scott Livingstone. First let me start by saying damn you Scott and damn the invention of the ballpoint pen. Ahh, now that thats out of the way. Scott was a third baseman drafted out of Texas A&M in 1988 by the Detroit Tigers. He made his Major League debut on July 19, 1991 going 3 for 5 with an rbi. During his career he played for the Detroit Tigers, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals and the Montreal Expos. He played his final game on September 26, 1998. Never a power bat but he did finish his 8 seasons in the bigs with a respectable .281 batting average and struck out only 189 times in 1533 career at bats. Word of advise Scott, invest in a damn sharpie!!!!

K-Rod to the M-E-T-S

I know I haven't posted in a while and this is slightly old news but i've been sick. I'm back now and have to start with the big news on the NY Mets front. K-Rod has signed with the Mets. I have to say I'm shocked by this deal for a number of different reasons. To start with I can't believe this deal happened so quickly. I thought this was gonna be a long drawn out thing like the Sabathia deal. Also his deal was no where near what everyone was expecting. All the chatter was he wanted 4 or 5 guaranteed years. In the end he settled for 3 years and 37 million with a vested option for a 4th. I bet this pissed Brian Fuentes off. He was probably looking at at least that if K-Rod got what he was supposedly asking for. Now that we have arguably the best closer in the game lets work on getting him some more bullpen help. Whatdya say Omar?










Take that all you 86 Topps haters!!!

1989 Fleer

Going back to the 80's for this one. This is another set I started back when I was a kid and of course is not finished. Just like all my other sets. Anyway thought I'd through a list up for some help, here goes

90, 407, 468

**Update**

Got a great stack of cards here from Paul over at Paul's Random Stuff. If you have not checked out his blog you should definitely do so. Great site. And a great stack here. Thanks a lot man. I'll do a more in depth post at a later time. I would go into further detail now but I use Steve over at The Easy Life for his scanner and he's probably busy with his wife right now. Just kidding buddy. Much love, Happy Birthday!!! For now I have updated my want list. Please help me finish this one off. Thanks all!

**Update**

Just got 8 more cards towards this set from Steve over at White Sox Cards. Thanks again Steve. Gonna look for some more stuff for ya soon. See what else I got for ya. The list above has been updated.

**Update**

2 More cards towards this set. Big thanks go out to Marks at Stats on the Back.

1987 Topps

I have to send a very big THANKYOU to My Buddy Steve over at The Easy Life. We had a flood a couple years back and I lost a big chunk of this set to the flood. Steve gave me close to 400 cards to get me very close to completing this set. Here's a list of the remaining cards need to finish up this set.

200, 393, 522

Steve loves this set. Says he just likes the wood grain look. This was the first year I actually started collecting cards and I am somewhat partial to this set as well for that reason. I'm so close. Please help me finish this one off.

**Update**

Just got three more cards towards this set from Steve over at White Sox cards. I've updated the list above. Big thank you for the help. I'm so close to finishing this one off now I can taste it. Tastes like woodgrain. Mmmm Woodgrain!

**Update**

Got a bunch more cards for this set. Thank yous go out Steve and Ben. I'm soooo close. Just 9 cards to go!!!

**Update**

And then there were 3. Almost there

C.C. Sabathia

Last year all the talk was about a trade for Johan Santana. This year its all about the #1 free agent pitcher on the market, C.C. Sabathia. C.C. started last year with the Cleveland Indians but he did not get off to a good start. Before being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers he started the year with a poor 6-8 record with a 3.83 ERA. However once he got to the National League his year turned completely around. An 11-2 record along with only a 1.65 ERA had him in the running for National League Cy Young without even pitching in the league for the whole season. The Yankees have already offered him more money than Johan with a contract offer of six years at 140 million. This would make him the highest paid pitcher in baseball. C.C. however has not accepted this deal. The Yankees have recently stated this deal will not be on the table forever but that doesn't mean the deal will be pulled any time soon. This is the only official offer that we know of but there are other teams that would certainly love to add Sabathia to their rotation. First and foremost we have the Milwaukee Brewers. They would certainly love to have him back after his phenominal second half performance from last year but they don't have the cash to match this deal. Honestly nobody really does and Sabathia knows this, so why hasn't he taken this deal yet? From what we hear he wants to play on the west coast. That also brings a couple more teams into the mix. The Giants name has been thrown around, but with all the money they have invested in the under-achieving Barry Zito can they really afford a deal close to the Yankees? The Angels name is another one we hear a lot about and as much as I believe they would love to have him it seems like they are just using C.C. to help bring down Mark Teixiera's asking price. Tex is currently looking for a 10 year deal. Could any team, even the Yankees, actually afford to sign both? When we break this down it almost seems like Sabathia will be signing with the Yankees out of necessity. He certainly does not want to play there or else he would've taken the deal by now. But how close to the Yankees price can these other teams come? Will he be willing to sacrifice that much money to play elsewhere? Only time will tell. Personally I believe if he can receive an offer even in the 130 million range, possibly even lower from another team he will take it but the question is where will this offer come from? What do you think? Where will C.C. sign this offseason? My money is on the Yankees even though its not his first choice. Or is it?

I'm sorry

Just wanted to take a moment and apoligize to everyone who I told will be getting packages from me. I said they would be mailed out by Monday but I lied. I can assure you though they were mailed on Tuesday so they are on their way. I mailed out approximately 250 cards total including some ttm autographs so there should some happy people out there in a couple days. Starting later today I'm gonna try and get some better/more informative posts on this site so the few readers I have please continue to read and please pass the word along to others. I'd like to get some more readers/commenters on here. Please help make this a great blog. I promise to post more than want lists, really I swear though I'm sure I'll have plenty more of them but I also want to get some more movie and baseball posts. Not just cards but actual baseball posts. Check back later today where I will start discussing the current free agent market starting with possibly the biggest name out there right now C.C. Sabathia.

Not Just a one trick pony

Lately it seems I have only been posting want lists and I feel bad about that. While working on these sets is my main objective behind this site theres more to this guy than just cards. Aside from cards my other love is horror movies. Old, new, foreign, silent, I love them all. I've actually set up what I am calling Horrorfest 2009. January 5 through January 10th I will be hosting a showing of nothing but horror movies from 10AM to midnight every single day. I will be making a schedule and it will be a come and go as you please affair. Should be a blast! I will be showing movies as far back as the silent film Nosferatu all the way up to, hopefully, Quarantine. (As long as its out on DVD before the fest) I plan on making further posts about some of my favorite and my not so favorite horror movies. Any other horror fans out there. What are some of your favorite movies? I have enough to fill the entire fest already but that doesn't mean I can't add some new films.

Here's a trailer for one of, if not, the best horror films of all time




Its also a great book which I recommend to all.

You've Got Mail

Ok I know I've been telling some of you I would be getting packages out to you but with the holiday I have been a little busy. Just wanted to let you know I have a bunch set to go in the mail on the earliest as of tomorrow or at the latest on Monday. The following people can expect an early Christmas gift in their mailbox shortly. White Sox Cards, Trader Cracks, and Night Owl. I also have packages for Stale Gum, Cardboard Icons, House of Cardboard and the Cardboard Junkie as soon as I get their mailing addresses. I will be posting more want lists as time goes by so please feel free to get back to me with whatever you can. Thank you all.

Happy Thanksgiving

Just wanted to wish all my readers a Happy Turkey Day!!!

2008 Topps Updates and Highlights

Picked up a blaster the other day. For the most part it was fairly disappointing. I did however get two cards that made me really happy. We'll start first with a Tim Lincecum All Star Gold.


This was in one of the first packs open so I was thinking this was gonna be a great blaster but aside from that the only other great card, at lease in my mind, was the Ray Knight Ring of Honor. I like the look of these cards and the fact that its Ray Knight just makes it that much better. Ray was a major part of one of my first baseball memories, the 86 World Series. Here is the card and a scene from the good ol days of the NY Mets






Also while searching for this great scene above I came across this great video. Any Met fan no check that any baseball fan should get a kick out of this.

TTM - Kent Anderson

Just got another autograph back in the mail. This time its Kent Anderson. No matter how many searches I do for this guy I cannot find any information on his career other than this. Kent made his major league debut with the California Angels on 4/15/89 and played his final game on 9/6/90 also with the Angels. Thats it. If anyone has any information about this guy feel free to comment becuz I certainly couldn't find any but its another autograph to add to the collection.

2008 Goudy Day 2 Part 2 - The Finals

And we're down to the final 4. We have a tie going right now so lets see whats gonna happen with these final 4 packs

Pack 5

Austin Kearns
Carl Crawford
Jack Morris
Nick Markakis
Felix Hernandez
Justin Morneau
Brad Hawpe
Janet Evans Sport Royalty

Score: 0. Theres the first 0. I would give the pack a point or 2 for Morneau but who gives a damn about Janet Evans. Lame

Pack 6

Bill Mazeroski
Chad Billingsley
Johnny Bench
Goudy Presidents John Adams Mini
Phil Niekro
Alex Rios
Billy Butler
Yankee Stadium Legacy George Pipgras

Score: 0. Wow two 0's in a row. A president and a stupid yankee stadium card in one pack? Its lucky its not in the negatives. Double Lame!

Pack 7

Phil Rizzuto
Clayton Kershaw (Rookie)
Manny Ramirez
Jay Bruce (Rookie)
BJ Upton
Magglio Ordonez
Nolan Ryan
Misty May Treanor Sport Royalty

Score: 0. To quote PTI "TRIPLE SQUADUSH" Now don't get me wrong there's some quality cards here but Misty May??? Come on. Plus I just wanted to mis-spell Squadush!

Pack 8

Russell Martin
Tony Perez
Scott Kazmir
Tim Lincecum
Jeremy Guthrie
Ralph Kiner
Andruw Jones
Sparky anderson

Score: 3. There are some good cards here but they're almost all doubles so no love second time around.

Ok this brings us to a tie with blaster 1 pack 8 and blaster 2 pack 4. Blaster one was by far the better box and therefore it takes the win. Regardless of that stupid Rollins card! Damn you Jimmy Rollins........DAMN YOUUUU!!!!!!!!!

2008 Goudey Day 2 Part 1

Here we go again. Day 2 of my Goudey experience. The first blaster box was great. Lets see what box 2 has in store.

Pack 1

Larry Doby
Brandon Webb
Jorge Posada
Ian Kinsler
Hideki Matsui
Prince Fielder
Michael Young
Goudey Presidents James Buchanan

Score: 1. Well this box didn't start off to good. One point for Prince Fielder and minus a million for these stupid president cards. What is it about all these card sets doing President cards?

Pack 2

Joe Blanton
Roy Oswalt
Jonathan Papelbon
Magic Johnson Mini
Graig Nettles
Jeremy Hermida
Bobby Doerr
Yankee Stadium Legacy Urban Shocker

Score: 7. Gets points for top top heavy pitching and the Magic Johnson Mini. But the real reason this gets a 7 has got to be Urban Shocker. Wow thats a name. Who the hell names their kid Urban Shocker?!?!?

Pack 3

Ben Sheets
Aaron Harang
James Shields
Bob Gibson Mini
Trevor Hoffman
Brandon Phillips
Adrian Gonzalez
David Wright B&W SP

Score: 7. The David Wright card is really sweet and I like the Bob Gibson mini, more good pitching but still cant go higher

Pack 4

Derek Jeter
Hanley Ramirez
Andruw Jones Game used bat
Ken Griffey Jr
Randy Johnson
Hank Blaylock
Don Larsen

Score: 8. This pack has a potential 300 game winner in Randy Johnson, potential hall of famer Derek Jeter, Don Larsen and a man who if it wasn't for injuries we could be talking about having the homerun record in Ken Griffey Jr. Heck the only reason its not higher is because Andruw Jones forgot how to play baseball.

So right now we have a tie. Pack 8 from blaster 1 and pack 4 from blaster 2. 4 more packs to go. Which pack will prevail? Tune in tonight to find out.

1986 Topps

I recently read a post at Night Owl Cards that said these cards were ugly. This is one of my favorite sets. I do have to admit I am slightly biased. This was not only the last time the Mets won the World Series but I was 6 years old at the time and these were the first baseball cards I ever saw. The funny thing is, even as a kid I never owned any. I didn't actually start collecting until 87. But these cards always held a soft spot in my heart. (Tear) Anyway, earlier this year I bought about 20, if I remember correctly, rack packs for $1 each. I got really close to the set, however I also ended up with tons of doubles and triples. I will be sending a bunch over to Night Owl but I still need a few more. Please help if you can.

3, 5, 6, 51, 53, 171, 267, 270, 300, 305, 350, 377, 389, 390, 455, 485, 506, 580, 610, 683, 790

So what do you all think? Are these cards ugly?
**Update**

Got a Christmas gift today in the form of 1 card off this list. It was Darryl Strawberry, a man with one of the most fluid swings i've ever seen. Big thanks to Mark at Stats on the Back for the help. Almost there.

2008 Goudey Day 1 Part 2

Ok we're back for the second half of blaster #1.

Pack 5

David Wright
Troy Tulowitzki
Tom Glavine
Shane Victorino
Chone Figgins
Mark Buehrle
Wladimir Balentien (Rookie)
Sport Royalty Jackie Joyner-Kersee

Score: 5. I really wanted to give this pack a higher score. Really! I mean with David Wright and Tom Glavine, as well as Mark Buehrle. (Got the White Sox on the Brain. Been working on some cards for White Sox Cards for a trade) But Jackie Joyner???? Come on I just cant give a pack with her a good score. Sorry.

Pack 6

Ryan Braun
Eric Byrnes
Jarrod Saltalamacchia
Ian Kennedy (Rookie)
Pedro Martinez
Matt Holliday
Dmitri Young
Yankee Stadium Legacy Tony Lazzeri

Score: 7. Looks like we have a tie going so far. This pack gets points for Braun, just cuz he's Braun. Gotta give points for the regular Pedro and I have Matt Holliday on my fantasy team. Also we have the six syllable wonder Saltalamacchia so he gets points but it falls just short of taking the lead because of the Yankee Stadium Legacy card. F*ck the Pinstripes, I bleed Orange and Blue!!!!

Pack 7

Josh Willingham
Clay Buchholz (Rookie)
Khalil Greene
Edwin Encarnacion
Justin Verlander
Chad Cordero
Jason Bay
Ken Griffey Jr B&W Sp

Score: 5. I like the Buchholz rookie, Bay and the Griffey sp but this pack loses points because I had Verlander on my fantasy team this year and he pissed me off.

Pack 8

Jimmy Rollins
Aramis Ramirez
JJ Putz
Tom Seaver (Mini)
Torii Hunter
Paul Konerko
Scott Rolen
Billy Wagner

Score: 8. I hate to do it I REALLY hate to do it, but this pack will take the lead for multiple reasons. First and foremost not only do I get Tom Seaver, possibly the best pitcher in Mets history but its a Mini, that make me want to give this pack a 10 right there. I also had Hunter and Ramirez on my fantasy team, and even though Wagner was somewhat of a disappointment for the Mets he's still a Met, well sorta. The only reason this pack loses points is because of Jimmy F'n Rollins. I absolutely hate this guy. I hope he gets abducted by aliens and is repeatedly sodomized with anal probe after anal probe. Jackass!!!

And on that note, I will leave you with that image dancing in your heads. So far Pack 8 blaster 1 is in the lead, regardless of that stupid Rollins. Dick!

Be back tomorrow with Blaster #2.

Goudey Trifecta

To be honest when I first saw these cards I was not a big fan. I like the way the 08 Goudey's look but I do not like the Derek Jeter/Ken Griffey Jr says at the bottoms of the cards. However I recently picked up 2 blaster boxes for this set. After much deliberation I decided with My Buddy Steve over at The Easy Life collecting them we could help each other out with the set so what the heck. I will run through blaster #1 today, blaster #2 tomorrow and have a want list for the remaining cards up on Tuesday. I will score each pack as I see fit. I do this because I can. Mwahaha!!!

Pack 1

Johnny Bench
Phil Rizzuto
Clayton Kershaw (Rookie)
Manny Ramirez
Brad Hawpe
Phil Niekro
Alex Rios
Sport Royalty Emmitt Smith

Score: 4. Not much I really care for here but I will give it points for the old guys and the Emmitt Smith w/o the stupid Griffey/Jeter says

Pack 2

Jay Bruce (Rookie)
Russell Martin
Tony Perez
Scott Kazmir
Billy Butler
BJ Upton
Magglio Ordonez
Jeremy Guthrie
Yankee Stadium Legacy Babe Ruth

Score: 2. I give this pack points for the Babe. Other than that it loses points because of the Kazmir. Just reminds me of one of the stupidest trades in NY Mets History!!!

Pack 3

Tim Lincecum
Larry Doby
Brandon Webb
Jake Peavy (Mini)
Ralph Kiner
Andruw Jones
Sparky Anderson
Vladimir Guerrero Black & White SP

Score: 7. I like this pack. Pitcher heavy at the top with some great pitchers. Love the Peavy Mini. I love mini cards! We got Ralph Kiner, as a Mets fan need I say more? Sparky Anderson. I got a TTM autograph from him so that helps and I like these B&W SP's.

Pack 4

Hideki Matsui
Prince Fielder
Michael Young
Pedro Martinez Game Used Jersey
Craig Nettles
Jorge Posada
Ian Kinsler

Score: 10. I hate to say it but we already have a winner Ladies and Gents! For me to not give this pack a 10 would be crazy. Pedro game used......please wait while I change my shorts. Ok i'm back and while I was gone I decided this pack will be disqualified. Score: 0. I cannot in good conscience include this pack it just would not be fair. (Don't worry it knows in its mind it really won. And isn't that what matters?)




Ok, thats all for now. Will post the second half of this blaster later today. So far in the lead we have Pack 3

Fleer 1986

Ok back to the important stuff. Cards. Thought I'd throw on another old set that I need to complete. Fleer 1986. These cards are horrible looking but 1986 was one hell of a year. Lets Go Mets!!! I bought a box of 5000 cards from a local shop and got quite a bit of this set as well as the Fleer 1986 Updates so now I gotta finish it. Once again any help would be greatly appreciated. Here's the run down:

31, 46, 75, 77, 78, 80, 96, 97, 108, 113, 145, 175, 191, 226, 238, 241, 284, 291, 297, 310, 323, 340, 341, 345, 350, 401, 408, 438, 450, 453, 465, 467, 490, 495, 499, 520, 535, 536, 566, 586, 626, 627, 628, 633, 634, 636, 637, 638, 639, 641, 649, 653

Fleer 1986 Updates

14, 15, 20, 25, 76, 105

Even Rickey Henderson looks pissed to be on this card.

**Update**

2 more cards to add to the list. Thanks go out to Mark at Stats on the Back for his help with this and many other want lists i have up. And I know theres a lot. Unfortunately I have a lot more where that came from.

And now for something completely different

Alright to be honest I can't believe I am typing this, but that is the exact reason that I am typing this. Ok, here goes. Tonight I was convinced to go see Twilight with a couple female co-workers of mine. Now I know this is a teeny-bopper chick flick but 3 women all asking me to go to movie, how could i turn that down. Anyway I went there expecting the absolute worst. I was going straight from work, after working a 10 hour day thinking I would fall asleep. But here it is. The movie was fantastic. I don't want to ruin anything but I will say this Vampire baseball rocks!!! I do recommend this movie to everyone. That brings me to a question for the few readers I have. This, to me anyway, was a very enjoyable chick flick. What other chick flicks are there out there that you hate to admit you enjoy? Come on guys suck up the pride and admit it. Hell if I can do a whole post about it you can admit to a movie you liked. Man, I feel so dirty.

What type of collector are you?

Its a very interesting question. There are those who collect for fun. There are those who collect for money. People who collect single teams, whole sets, autographs, people with 6 sylable last names. It goes on and on. Alright so I made that last one up. I'm sure if it were true it would make Jarrod Saltalamacchia really happy. But its a very good question. What type of collector are you?

I love buying blasters and boxes of cards. Just going through the packs, organizing them, writing out checklists, it's just so much fun. Don't get me wrong I have more partial sets than I can count but thats all part of the fun, completing them. Sure some of them i've had for 20 years and I haven't completed but I'm working on them. I can't resist buying a box from the late 80's where I pay more for the box than the entire set is worth. To sit down and break em open just gets me going.

Now this does not mean thats all I collect. I am constantly mailing my doubles off to both former and current players for autographs. I just started doing this a couple months ago but I have a pretty good collection going at this point. After I get those blasters and boxes we all love so very much we are constantly left with more doubles and triples than we can imagine. What do we do with them? I send mine off and if I'm lucky i get em back with a nice sharpie signature on them. If I don't oh well I didn't really need that extra Keith Atherton anyway. Though Keith was nice enough to sign for me, You da man Keith.

I'm a die hard New York Mets fan. Have been since birth. Thats no lie. I have pictures of me in a high chair with a "lil Mets Fan" bib on. I've been to Shea Stadium more times than I can count. I hate to see it go but I guess it is time for a new one. And like my mother, who took me to Shea a million times hopefully I will be lucky enough to take my kids to Citi-Field someday. Or whatever they happen to be calling it by then. Because of this I am always trying to get as many Mets cards as I can, past and present. Just recently I pulled a Pedro Martinez game used from a 2008 Goudey blaster and I had to change my shorts.

So, what type of a collector am I? It's really a hard question to answer. Personally I can't decide. I just started collecting again after a long absence from the hobby. And right now I have my sets I collect, my autographs I cherish and my team and I know I wouldn't "trade" any of them for the world!

TTM - Frank Castillo

My latest acquisition through the mail is Frank Castillo. Frank made his MLB debut in 1991 for the Chicago Cubs. He has also played for the Rockies, Tigers, Blue Jays, Red Sox and the Marlins. After getting these back I was shocked to learn that he is still pitching. He pitched last year for the York Revolution of the Atlantic League. Live the dream

buddy.

Old Stuff

As I said previously I have a lot of older sets that I have that I'm trying to complete. I thought I'd start off with one of them. We'll start with 1989 Donruss since I'm fairly close to finishing this one. I don't know how many cheap boxes i've bought to get this $5 set completed but the fun of going through them is definitely worth it. Here's what I still need:

26, 96, 101, 232, 238, 245, 250, 408, 458, 590

Any help would be greatly appreciated and I have plenty for trade. Let me know what you need and I will be more than happy to help.

**Update**

I received the 2 remaining 1990 Donruss I need so that set is now complete. A big thank you goes out to Jim over at Taste Like Dirt for finishing that one off for me.

**Update**

Got a Christmas gift from Mark at Stats on the Back, 2 more cards towards the 89 Donruss set. Thanks again Mark. Lets Go Mets!!!

My turn

Well now its my turn. You may have seen me mentioned a couple times on The Easy Life as Steve's buddy Joe. We've been known to trade autographs and help build each others sets. Now that I am noticing there are even more of us out there I decided to join up and help some other people out there and just maybe get a little help myself along the way. Steve and I started collecting again at pretty much the same time. And I have him to thank for it. Its a great hobby and my wallet is the proof. Currently I'm working on some new sets but I am constantly finding myself buying boxes from when I was a kid. I have so many partial sets its driving me crazy. And a ton of doubles to go along with them. I will be posting some of my want lists as time goes by and I will keep my eyes open for others that I can help as well. I will also post my autograph cards as they come back to me. So think of this as Steve's site but unfortunately not nearly as funny. But hey, I try.