Whodunit? Why, it was Bobby Parnell in the Buffet Room with the Dagger

That's right, Bobby Parnell killed Mr. Benny.  My proof.  You might be saying, but he posted something after that, so he can't be dead.  Think again!  It must be a cover up. I know this because why would a Mets fan leave his blog hanging with a Cardinal and an Expo? It just don't add up right!  In the post that killed BA Benny, he mentioned that Parnell would take over as closer with the departure of K-Rod.  Three blown saves later, the dagger has been thrust into Benny's back.  One of those came against the Nationals...or as they once were known...the Expos.  Coincidence? I think not.  BA Benny is more absent from blog posting than the Mets are from the playoff relevance. 

I'm just thankful that, as part of his final wishes, I received this trade package.

  It's fairly obvious this was a cry for help.  I mean, he sent some Nationals (Expos) and some Mets (the team that killed him) and and imploring BJ Upton who is desperately hoping we "catch" the killer.  The clues are all there, people. 

The Nationals (Expos) relic in the middle appears blood-soaked. 

I will not stop until Bobby Parnell is brought to justice! In the name of BA Benny, I will carry on! Wait, there's something else in the package...



I take back everything I said.  BA Benny, you suck. 

Group Break results: BA Benny's massive group break.

So I bought in to BA Benny ridiculously huge group break (my first group break), because it just looked like fun.  I chose the Nats/Expos since there weren't many teams left and I figured at worst I'd snag a couple Zimmermans I didn't have, and at best I might land the Strasburg auto that would pay off my house.  Anyway, I got a fairly large stack of Nats and a decent stack of Expos.  Speaking of Expos, the highlights of those were Vladimir Guerrero:

I especially like the T-96 Old Judge card.  Gotta love a mini-ish card from the '90s of a guy who actually made it.  I didn't land any massive Strasburgs, but did pick up these:

I did pick up quite a few Zims for the PC:

I especially like the Expos one.  Did I mention I also had the Eagles.  What's that? You say there are no Eagles in the MLB?  I agree, but this group break was massive, so naturally it had football as well.  I didn't get any dogfighters, but I did get a couple other nice Eagles QB cards:

BA Benny also randomed off the USA, non-sport, and multi-team cards, of which I scored the only hit I got:

Trevor Bauer currently plays at UCLA (did you know that Plaschke?).  How awesome would this card be if he ended up on the Rays.  I mean...Trevor Bauer...TB...Tampa Bay...get it?  BA Benny also sent along the trappings from our most recent trade, but I'll save that for another post.

In summary, I ended up with around 150 cards of Nats, Expos, and Eagles, winding down to a grand total of 8 keepers (the Zimmermans).   

8 keepers, 2 broken pitchers, and 1 decent trade bait card: $25
Total value of the those cards: $7
Watching several hours of videos of BA Benny opening 4 boxes, 6 blasters, and 298 loose packs, all while narrating with a thick New York accent and butchering names: PRICELESS!

Thanks again BA Benny, I thoroughly enjoyed the group break.  Should you ever attempt something so incredible again, count me in (though maybe for a different team...).

 

Trade with BA Benny

I recently posted my group break goodness from BA Benny's super-crazy group break.  I made a joke at the bottom about listening to his New York accent, and it seems karma has found it's way to my doorstep...er...well...my neighbor's doorstep.  A retired New York police officer just moved in next door to me. I poke fun, but I really enjoyed the group break and looked forward to the trade cards he was sending as well. After all, BA Benny is the man, but I don't need to tell y'all that (BA Benny, "y'all" = "youse guys" in the south). The highlight of the trade is the sweet bumper sticker at the top of this post.  It's not going on my truck, though, because nothing goes on my baby. Instead, it will find a nice home on one of my collecting boxes alongside a couple Burdick stickers. 

BA Benny sent along some set needs for 2008 UD A Piece of History as well as 2007 UD Future Stars.  As for my player collections, he added some Verlanders, Wrights, and Justin Uptons, such as:

He threw in some great Mark Reynolds cards:

and some Zimmermans:

and the best was a nice BJ Upton Jersey:

It always amazes me how great the cards are that he sends.  Being a player collector, my tastes are far more specific than his being a team collector. But, he always find great stuff to send.  Thanks, again, BA Benny!

Trade with BA Benny

Those of you familiar with BA Benny saw his recent post about our trade.  He gave me a little more credit than I was due though, as the TTM's and the Brad Smith AU weren't from me.  However, I wanted to make sure to get the trade cards he sent me up quickly since it was a very satisfying trade.  I don't have a specific team I collect, so BA Benny went the extra mile to find me some great cards of the players I do collect.  I couldn't be happier.

First, he sent a Justin Verlander FY Bowman Chrome Refractor along with some Verlander base cards for my collection.  And, the FY Refractor happens to be my 100th Verlander, so what a great card to reach that milestone.

Also in the trade were several base cards of David Wright, BJ Upton, Justin Upton, Michael Cuddyer, and Ryan Zimmerman and a nice David Wright Jersey

Also on the baseball side of things was a few needs for some sets I want to finish.  A 2008 UD X Die Cut Carlos Quentin and a 2008 UD Masterpieces Ryan Braun were much appreciated.  Of course, I can't forget the stack of 2009 A Piece of History base cards that the trade started with.

On the football side, BA Benny came through big time with some awesome VT Hokies, including some base cards of Eddie Royal and Xavier Adibi.  In addition to the base, he also sent an Eddie Royal Jersey and a sweet Eddie Royal RC Refractor.














The highlight of the trade, for me, was a 2006 Leaf Limited Monikers Kevin Jones Autograph #19/34.  He is one of my all-time favorite Hokies, and I got the chance to watch him my freshman year at Tech. 

This is what trading is all about.  Start off small with some base cards and work up to an awesome trade with a wide range of players and sports.  I am very satisfied with this trade and look forward to trading with BA Benny in the future. 

BA Benny and the Topps Million Giveaway

So I decided to drop by my Topps Million Card Giveaway portfolio today because I hadn't checked it in a long time.  I was looking at the trade offers, and I had 35.  Of those 35, 28 were for my 1986 Pete Rose MGR #741.  Of the 28 offers, I noticed that I currently had 20 offers from the same user, markhuff.   He made the offers to me of cards from '76, '77, '79, '80, '82, '87, and '89.   I was just kind of impressed by the number of offers.  As I got to the end of his list of offers, I came to an offer from a familiar name, BA Benny.  I'm pretty sure BA Benny has no idea that I am drum2livv, holder of one of the 845 copies of that card. 

Well, BA Benny, I'd be more than happy to grant you this card, as long as you can provide me with a decent reason for wanting it.  In fact, if you don't want to part with the Seaver and you give me a decent reason, I'll trade you the Pete Rose for any card in your collection.

Group Break: Mets

Team: Mets
Buyer: BA Benny

"If you're not first, you're last!" - Ricky Bobby

Blue Refractor #03/99 and Red #212/250

This quote certainly holds true here.  You see, to say BA Benny was the winner of the break is an understatement.  He won by such a big margin, that it appears everyone else finished in last place.  We already saw his 3 Mariners relics (including an Ichiro), which were good enough.  Mike wasn't done there, though.  In addition to the fourth-most total cards of any team, we also saw him pull a Piazza relic from an Artifacts box:

We then saw him land a Pedro Martinez relic with a sweet pinstripe:

In case that wasn't enough, he also hit an Auto in the same box...a perfect game winner, no less:

At this point, we knew Mike was happy.  He's going to be happier:

Ike came out of the last pack in the Heritage blaster.  Definitely a nice surprise. 


But, the real reason that BA Benny wins the break is because of this:

This came out of a pack of 2012 Topps Pro Debut that I have no idea why I bought.  I was in the LCS, and I just randomly picked a few things, including 2 packs of PD.  This is the first printing plate I've ever seen and held.  It beats my previous "lowest number pulled" (#/10).  As for Matt Den Dekker, he's a guy who seems to be doing pretty well in the minors, but hasn't fully put it together in AAA-ball this year.  I would imagine he's due for a solid AAA season next year.

I would imagine BA Benny will be quite satisfied with this break.  Between the Mariners and the Mets, he hit 6 relics, 1 auto, and a printing plate.  It cost him about a blaster and a half, too, so it didn't exactly break the bank.

Mets Totals:
Base: 115
Parallel: 4
Insert: 6
Hits: 3 Relics, 1 Auto, and 1 Printing Plate

BA Benny strikes again!

My wife called me at work the other day to tell me a hefty mailer from NY had just arrived in the mail, and that likely meant cards from BA Benny.  When I got home that afternoon I was excited to see what he had sent me this time.  He certainly didn't dissappoint with a package that started out with a few VT Hokies, including some great 2010 Eddie Royals:

Eddie was so fun to watch in person at Tech.  It's a shame we had Sean "Happy Feet" Glennon at QB for so long.  Also in the package were a few David Wright cards I needed:









As many cards as I have from those three sets, I was amazed I didn't have any of those.  Of course he didn't forget to add to some of my other player collections.






 

The Generation Now Zimmerman is a White Refractor #/200.  I liked the Generation Now set from Topps Base, and thought it was okay that they translated it to chrome, but I'm not sure why they took that set to the refractor level, much less multiple colored refractors.  Nevertheless, that card has a great home in my PC binder now.  BA Benny also included some great numbered goodies of Justin Upton:

The Opening Day card is #/2199 (not sure why they chose that...) and the 2009 Topps is #/58, and is my first Topps black parallel.   The big hitters he sent my way were simply awesome:

A 2008 Topps Highlights David Wright Bat card and a 2009 Topps Update All-Star Stitches Justin Upton Jersey card.  I've wanted that Wright card for quite some time, so I was ecstatic to see it.  I hadn't seen the Upton card before, but I love the All-Star Stitches cards.

BA Benny, your cards are coming soon.  Thanks again for the sweet cards!

And the winner is...

Congratulations to Mark at Mark's Ephemera! 

If you entered and do not see your name above, you didn't get them all right.  As for a recap of the questions and answers:

1) What famous sports card name did I come across in Hollywood Cemetery in July?
Lewis Ginter - This answer could be found in my very first post.  I'm considering an on-location pack break of 2011 A&G...but I am bit unsure if that would be breaking some kind of moral or ethical boundary. Any thoughts?

2) What two A&G Celestial Stars minis did I pull from rack packs this year?
Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder - These answers could be found here and here.  I traded the Pujols to Wicked Ortega for the David Wright CS, but I still have the Fielder if anyone is interested.

3) Who were the two subjects on the custom Masterpieces card Beardy made for me?
The Situation and David Wright - Check it out here. Definitely watch the video, because it is priceless.  If you haven't seen Beardy's 2010 Masterpieces collection, go check it out. Wicked Ortega called him "The Sitch"...I love it.

4) What was my 100th David Wright card?
2010 Topps Heritage All-Star SP - This answer was awfully difficult to find, since it was in a post titled, "100th David Wright Card". 

5) Who traded me my 100th Justin Verlander Card?
BA Benny - There were actually two correct answers to this.  Most people answered "BA Benny", though one fellow, BA Benny, answered "Me!". Both were accepted.  This was a slightly tricky question since it asked who traded it to me, not what card it was.  Sneaky, sneaky, sir.

6) What player was featured on the custom "Blacklist" card I made?
"Shoeless" Joe Jackson - This was found in my custom Charlie Hustle collection.  Of all those cards, I was actually happiest with the "Blacklist" insert idea. 

7) When is my birthday?
October 3 - This one was slightly tricky since I posted on October 2 that "tomorrow is my birthday".  I expected someone to reply October 2.  Yeah, I didn't fool anyone.

8) Who did I say Vic Power's 1956 Topps card looked like?
Benjamin Buford Blue, aka "Bubba" - It's sad that Bubba is now all I think about whenever I see Power. See the comparison here.

9) What are the three oldest cards I own?
1971 Topps Dick Such, 1971 Topps Elliott Maddox, 1973 Topps Phil Hennigan - These cards came in a trade that I posted about here.  The Hennigan is headed to BA Benny, since he will give it a nice Mets home where it can run around and play with other Mets.

10) What three teams did I go see Virginia Tech play this year?
James Madison (JMU), Central Michigan (CMU), and Florida State (FSU) - While I would love to forget about the JMU game, it did happen.  I am just glad we whooped up on FSU in the ACC Championship

Thanks for participating.  I should have a post coming soon with a look at what to expect in the next 100 posts.

A Complete Over-Analysis of My Fantasy Baseball Season

The 2011 MLB regular season is now wrapped up and the finish was incredible.  Congrats to the Rays and Cardinals for allowing the Braves and Red Sox to suck so hard in September.  While I don't have an MLB team that I avidly follow, I did have a fantasy team to live vicariously through.  Mike, of BA Benny notoriety, arranged a league for some card bloggers, and I opted in.  I hadn't done fantasy baseball in more than 10 years, so I really had no idea what I was getting into.  I was fortunate, however, to land the top pick in the draft, AKA Albert Pujols.  What follows here is a complete over-analysis of the season. 

First, here are my results from the draft.  It was a snake draft, so I started with the first and 20th picks.  A benefit to being first, is that you get to pick two-in-a-row each time.

#     Player
1     Albert Pujols, StL 1B
20   Ryan Zimmerman, Was 3B
21   Josh Hamilton, Tex OF
40   Tommy Hanson, Atl SP
41   Chris Carpenter, StL SP
60   Jimmy Rollins, Phi SS
61   Mike Stanton, Fla OF
80   Brian Wilson, SF RP
81   Jay Bruce, Cin OF
100 Aaron Hill, Ari 2B
101 Max Scherzer, Det SP
120 Miguel Montero, Ari C
121 Vernon Wells, LAA OF
140 Nick Markakis, Bal OF
141 Jeremy Hellickson, TB SP
160 Ike Davis, NYM 1B
161 Vladimir Guerrero, Bal DH
180 Erick Aybar, LAA SS
181 Matt Thornton, CWS RP
200 Drew Storen, Was RP
201 Bronson Arroyo, Cin SP
220 Kevin Gregg, Bal RP
221 James Loney, LAD 1B
240 Jim Thome, Cle DH
241 Jake Peavy, CWS SP

Overall, I was ecstatic to pick up Pujols, Zimmerman, and Hamilton as the core of my team.  I went somewhat light on pitching, though.  By the end of the season, after several transactions and injuries, my draft class amounted to 64.3% of my total season score.  That averages out to around 2.6% per player.  The breakdown of scoring for position players and pitchers I drafted is shown below:

Draft class position players were clearly the top performers, producing 39.9% of my total season points.  That was good for 2.7% per player, which was above average.  The breakdown of draft class performance compared to all players is shown below:

While position player and relief pitcher points mostly came from the draft, starting pitcher points came largely from acquisitions.  In retrospect, that seems to be expected, especially with spot-starting pitchers for certain matchups.  The pie chart for the full season shows that starting pitching also took a bigger role in season points:

I started the season pretty poorly as I really didn't know what I was doing.  My wins and losses are shown below:

At the halfway point (10) I finally hit a groove and reached .500, but my team had some injuries, including Zimmerman and Hamilton.  With my DL and bench full, I was forced to start a couple of injured guys.  As a result, I dropped my next two matchups.  After that, I went 5-1 to finish the regular season.  My final record of 12-8 was good for third place behind BA Benny (15-5) and Dennis (18-2) from Too Many Grandersons.   My team got hot at the right time of the year, and almost all of my spot-starts produced big numbers as I took out BA Benny in the semifinals.  That led to a matchup with Dennis, who at 18-2 seemed untouchable (though I can lay claim to one of those regular season losses).  Again, my team stayed hot and my pitching was insanely good.  I was able to pull off the unlikely victory and take home the fantasy baseball title.  As for proof of my progression as the season passed, I've shown my points-per-day for each matchup below, as well as lines of my playoff performances.

The light blue line shows my season performances while the dark blue line is a regression showing my improvement throughout the year.  As hoped, my semifinal performance was on par with some of my best performances of the season, and my finals performance was well above what I had done before.  I should note that my finals numbers are inflated because I used all of my remaining acquisitions in the last two days after the victory was in hand.  Dennis and I both felt like the number of finals acquisitions allowed was quite high, so I wanted to put it to the test.  As a result, I was able to start 6 pitchers on each of the last two days.  All in all, I'm proud of myself for figuring this fantasy baseball thing out and hitting a groove to finish the year. 

At this point, we've reached the Team Awards part of the show:

Cy Young: Drew Storen, Was RP - Storen amassed 437 points in just 75.1 innings.  He also delivered heavily in the late-season matchups and playoffs.  His 437 points was the second highest total on the team.

MVP: Albert Pujols, StL 1B - Who else? Pujols put up a ridiculous 529 points 147 games.  The 147 games played was second only to Jay Bruce's 157. 

Rookie of the Year: Jeremy Hellickson, TB SP - Hellickson was my third-highest point man behind the Cy Young and MVP winners above.  I picked him 141st in the draft based on a hunch, and it sure paid off. 

Comeback Player of the Year: Stephen Strasburg, Was SP - He only made a few starts with most of them pretty limited on pitch count, but he was quite dominant while he was in.  His season ending 6 IP 1 H 0 ER line was great. 

Late Acquisition of the Year: Doug Fister, Det SP - This guy was just plain electric.  I picked him up at the start of the playoffs to fill in for an injured Tommy Hanson, and he was fantastic. He averaged 4.4 points per inning pitched. 

Semifinals MVP: Doug Fister, Det SP - He put up 23, 40, and 31 in three starts.  The 31 points was on the final day of the matchup to help seal up the win.  His 94 points was 33 more than the next closest.  His stat line for those 3 starts: 2-0, 22.2 IP, 11 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 24 K. Nasty.

Finals Co-MVPs: Matt Garza, ChC SP and Ted Lilly, LAD - Garza put up 86 points in three starts while Lilly added 96 points in four starts.  Lilly's 4-point blunder to start the playoff kept him from running away with the award, despite following it with 30, 30, and 32 points in his next three starts.  Garza showed good numbers with 18 and 28 points in his first and last starts, but the middle start was a gem.  Dennis was starting Randy Wolf (who had been with my team for quite a while in the regular season), Garza's opposing pitcher.  The Cubs rose to the occasion with Garza delivering 40 points to Wolf's -5. 

Game of the Year: Matchup 20 (Last regular season game) - My entry into the playoffs was much like the ones that happened last night in the MLB.   I came in to the matchup holding an 11-8 record in third place.  My opponent had a 10-9 record and was tied for fourth place.  If I lost, we would have identical records and I would have lost the tiebreaker with him for third place.  I always would lose the tiebreaker with the other 11-9 team, knocking me to 5th place and out of the playoffs.  I led after day 1, but quickly dropped off, trailing by 57 points going into the last day.  I had used up all of my acquisitions just to stay close, but I could feel it slipping away.  I only had one starting pitcher for the day, so I had low expectations.  Ivan Nova did put up 23 which helped a ton.  My opponent started Brandon Morrow and Jered Weaver.  Morrow ended up at -3, so that helped, too.  Weaver, however, had been rolling recently and looked to be my demise.  What I didn't see coming, was the Rangers taking Weaver to the woodshed giving my opponent -11.  To top it off, Josh Hamilton put up 12 points against Weaver.  I ended up storming back to pull off an impossibly close 5-point victory.  Check out the scoring progression below:

  I still can't believe that I eked that game out and went on to win the whole shebang. 

Hats off to everyone in the league for a great season. 

Congrats to Dennis for winning the regular season crown in dominating fashion.
Congrats to AdamE for winning the third-place game. 
Thanks, Mike, for running the league.

There you have it: I have overanalyzed the crap out of my results.  At least I refrained from posting the full points breakdown for every player I had throughout the year. Just for the record, that "points per day" plot is a bad-ass plot.

Another Trade with BA Benny

I'm always amazed that BA Benny can find stuff for me.  As a player collector, I accept the fact aht I will liekly have more to send than there will be to receive, especially when trading with someone who collects multiple baseball teams, multiple football teams, and multiple players. BA Benny, however, always seems to fill a bubble mailer to the brim with goodies.  I usually have a pile going for him at all times, and when it reaches a reasonable size, or when I'm sending out other packages, I pack it up and ship it out.  He hit on my David Wright, Ryan Zimmerman, BJ Upton, and Justin Upton player collections.  Here are the highlights from a team bag-full:

 There were also a couple of former Hokie footballers, including one with a VT uni:

Oh yeah, can't forget the gem of the trade:

 Thanks, again, Mike!

On a funny note, he also included a card of Jordan Zimmermann.  Close...same team and almost same last name, but different position.  Oh well.  That's not the first time that has happened to me, either.  I frequently get Jordan Zimmermann cards and Grady Sizemore cards.  At least I have a monopoly on the Upton name...safe either way.  



Playoffs Contest

As of this morning I've gotten 7 1/2 entries for the Playoffs Contest.  (Tomsuzuki00723 needs to pick a different pitcher since Soriano was already taken.) 

Leave me a comment below or on the Playoffs Contest page to enter.

The players already selected are:

HR:
Evan Longoria (Dan)
Mark Teixeira (BA Benny)
Jorge Posada (mmosley)
Carl Crawford (wickedortega)
Ryan Howard (Steve D)
Placido Polanco (AdamE)
Jay Bruce (tomsuzuki00723)
Josh Hamilton (Play at the Plate)

SO:
Brad Lidge (Dan)
Mariano Rivera (BA Benny)
Ryan Madson (mmosley)
David Price (wickedortega)
Rafael Soriano (Steve D)
Kerry Wood (AdamE)
Neftali Feliz (Play at the Plate)

For those of you who haven't been tracking the playoff teams, here is the freshly set playoff schedule.  Since the first game is 1:37 pm on Wed. 10/6, that will be the close of entries.

Playoffs Contest Update: Giants and Rangers deal big blows

With the Braves and Rays dropping out, it should shorten the remaining field considerably:

The newest losers are:

HR:
Evan Longoria (Dan)
Carl Crawford (wickedortega)
Carlos Pena (dayf)
Jason Heyward (Dustin)

SO:
David Price (wickedortega)
Rafael Soriano (Steve D)
Tim Hudson (Mariner1)
Billy Wagner (dayf)
Grant Balfour (Ryan aka Orioles Magic)

So Dayf, Mariner1, WickedOrtega, and Dustin have all left the building.   The remaining picks are very Yankees/Phillies heavy with the exception of tomsuzuki picking Brain Wilson, and Play at the Plate picking a Rangers sweep.  Man, a Giants-Rangers World Series would totally rock this contest.  And seriously, how did no one pick Cliff Lee...


Still active (10/13 3:33 PM):

HR:
Mark Teixeira (BA Benny)
Jorge Posada (mmosley)
Ryan Howard (Steve D)
Placido Polanco (AdamE)
Josh Hamilton (Play at the Plate)
Chase Utley (cubsfan731)
Jayson Werth (Ryan aka Orioles Magic)
Shane Victorino (madding)
Robinson Cano (Bo)

SO:
Brad Lidge (Dan)
Mariano Rivera (BA Benny)
Ryan Madson (mmosley)
Kerry Wood (AdamE)
Brian Wilson (tomsuzuki00723)
Neftali Feliz (Play at the Plate)
CC Sabathia (cubsfan731)
David Robertson (madding)
Joba Chamberlain (Bo)

Playoffs Contest Update: Reds go home

Well, I have a huge backlog of posts to make, including some great trades, but for now I'll just update the contest with the Reds heading home.

The newest losers are:


HR:
Jay Bruce (tomsuzuki00723)

SO:
none (though dayf picked Billy Wagner whose career is pretty much over, but we'll keep him in the list anyway)

Well, only one Red was picked, so not too much damage yet, though the Rays-Rangers and Giants-Braves games look to really shake things up. Still no bonus prizes have been awarded, but we could see a dramatic game 5 moment tomorrow night.

Still active (10/11 2:43 PM):

HR:
Evan Longoria (Dan)
Mark Teixeira (BA Benny)
Jorge Posada (mmosley)
Carl Crawford (wickedortega)
Ryan Howard (Steve D)
Placido Polanco (AdamE)
Josh Hamilton (Play at the Plate)
Chase Utley (cubsfan731)
Carlos Pena (dayf)
Jayson Werth (Ryan aka Orioles Magic)
Jason Heyward (Dustin)
Shane Victorino (madding)
Robinson Cano (Bo)

SO:
Brad Lidge (Dan)
Mariano Rivera (BA Benny)
Ryan Madson (mmosley)
David Price (wickedortega)
Rafael Soriano (Steve D)
Kerry Wood (AdamE)
Brian Wilson (tomsuzuki00723)
Neftali Feliz (Play at the Plate)
CC Sabathia (cubsfan731)
Tim Hudson (Mariner1)
Billy Wagner (dayf)
Grant Balfour (Ryan aka Orioles Magic)
David Robertson (madding)
Joba Chamberlain (Bo)

Playoff Contest Update

Well, the Twins have been eliminated, so a few people have lost their bids for HR and SO player.

The newest losers are:

HR:
Joe Mauer (mariner1)
Delmon Young (mmmrhubarb)

SO:
Matt Capps (mmmrhubarb)


So it looks like mmmrhubarb didn't have the greatest luck in this contest.  Mariner1 still has hope for Tim Hudson to give him the last K, but who knows.  Too bad nobody picked Halladay, that no-no would have been grounds for a bonus prize.

Still active (10/10 1:53 PM):


HR:
Evan Longoria (Dan)
Mark Teixeira (BA Benny)
Jorge Posada (mmosley)
Carl Crawford (wickedortega)
Ryan Howard (Steve D)
Placido Polanco (AdamE)
Jay Bruce (tomsuzuki00723)
Josh Hamilton (Play at the Plate)
Chase Utley (cubsfan731)
Carlos Pena (dayf)
Jayson Werth (Ryan aka Orioles Magic)
Jason Heyward (Dustin)
Shane Victorino (madding)
Robinson Cano (Bo)

SO:
Brad Lidge (Dan)
Mariano Rivera (BA Benny)
Ryan Madson (mmosley)
David Price (wickedortega)
Rafael Soriano (Steve D)
Kerry Wood (AdamE)
Brian Wilson (tomsuzuki00723)
Neftali Feliz (Play at the Plate)
CC Sabathia (cubsfan731)
Tim Hudson (Mariner1)
Billy Wagner (dayf)
Grant Balfour (Ryan aka Orioles Magic)
David Robertson (madding)
Joba Chamberlain (Bo)

Trading with BA Benny again...Finally!

BA Benny finally came back, and we just finished our first trade since his absence.  Mike was my first blog trade, ever, so it's always special trading with him. Of course, when he shows off cards like this (on my birthday, no less), I start to lose faith that he has my best interests at heart.

He sent me some BJ Uptons:

And some Justin Uptons:

#/18...sick!

And some finally-in-the-playoffs Ryan Zimmermans:

At this point, I was trying to think back to what I sent him to see if it was even remotely close to what he sent, but I couldn't remember.

As has been the theme of several trades I've made, the best part was the great BJ:

This is my first buyback auto, and I must say I'm a fan.  I also like that he signed "BJ Upton" over top of the facsimile "Melvin E Upton Jr."

Thanks, Mike!

2010 Playoffs Contest: Last Call

As of this morning I've gotten 14 1/2 entries for the Playoffs Contest, with just a few hours left to enter (still waiting on Dustin to pick a different pitcher this morning). 

Since the first game is 1:37 pm today, that will be the close of entries.

I expected more Yankees hitters to have been taken at this point, but it appears that the Phillies seem to be the popular HR pick.  Not surprisingly, closers have been popular picks for the final SO, with 7 of 8 being taken already (Cordero for Cincy is still available). Some of the more popular starters have been chosen, along with a reliever or two.  There are still a ton of good players left - Votto, Jeter, Cano, A-Rod, Posey, Upton, Cruz, etc.  And of course, there are still some good pitchers out there, too.  Lincecum, anyone?

Leave me a comment below or on the Playoffs Contest page to enter.

Entries so far (10/6 7:37 AM):

HR:
Evan Longoria (Dan)
Mark Teixeira (BA Benny)
Jorge Posada (mmosley)
Carl Crawford (wickedortega)
Ryan Howard (Steve D)
Placido Polanco (AdamE)
Jay Bruce (tomsuzuki00723)
Josh Hamilton (Play at the Plate)
Chase Utley (cubsfan731)
Joe Mauer (Mariner1)
Delmon Young (mmmrhubarb)
Carlos Pena (dayf)
Jayson Werth (Ryan aka Orioles Magic)
Jason Heyward (Dustin)
Shane Victorino (madding)

SO:
Brad Lidge (Dan)
Mariano Rivera (BA Benny)
Ryan Madson (mmosley)
David Price (wickedortega)
Rafael Soriano (Steve D)
Kerry Wood (AdamE)
Brian Wilson (tomsuzuki00723)
Neftali Feliz (Play at the Plate)
CC Sabathia (cubsfan731)
Tim Hudson (Mariner1)
Matt Capps (mmmrhubarb)
Billy Wagner (dayf)
Grant Balfour (Ryan aka Orioles Magic)
David Robertson (madding)

For those of you who haven't been tracking the playoff teams, here is the freshly set playoff schedule. 

Playoffs Contest: one more day to enter

As of this morning I've gotten 11 entries for the Playoffs Contest, with 29 hours left to enter.
Leave me a comment below or on the Playoffs Contest page to enter.

Entries so far (10/5 8:21 AM):

HR:
Evan Longoria (Dan)
Mark Teixeira (BA Benny)
Jorge Posada (mmosley)
Carl Crawford (wickedortega)
Ryan Howard (Steve D)
Placido Polanco (AdamE)
Jay Bruce (tomsuzuki00723)
Josh Hamilton (Play at the Plate)
Chase Utley (cubsfan731)
Joe Mauer (Mariner1)
Delmon Young (mmmrhubarb)

SO:
Brad Lidge (Dan)
Mariano Rivera (BA Benny)
Ryan Madson (mmosley)
David Price (wickedortega)
Rafael Soriano (Steve D)
Kerry Wood (AdamE)
Brian Wilson (tomsuzuki00723)
Neftali Feliz (Play at the Plate)
CC Sabathia (cubsfan731)
Tim Hudson (Mariner1)
Matt Capps (mmmrhubarb)

For those of you who haven't been tracking the playoff teams, here is the freshly set playoff schedule.  Since the first game is 1:37 pm on Wed. 10/6, that will be the close of entries.

The biggest bubble mailer I've ever gotten.

Steve, aka NY Hitman 23 of Sports 'n More Trading Cards recently contacted with some Hokies for trade.  He said he had a cool Jim Druckenmiller Auto, an Ed Wang Auto, and a graded Kevin Jones RC.  He later emailed me and said he found a few items from my want list to include.  The package arrived yesterday, and it was in the biggest bubble mailer I have ever seen:

That's it next to a standard size deck of Harry Potter Uno cards, and a box of Mike and Ike Jolly Joes.  The package was thick as heck, too.  I opened it only to reveal what looked like an entire roll of bubble wrap.  I unwound the bubble wrap, and guess what it revealed...

That's right, a nested bubble mailer.  Confused? Don't be.  There was something else in the bubble wrap.  The Jim Druckenmiller Auto he sent is a 1997 Leaf Signature 8x10, justifying the gigantic bubble mailer.

AWESOME!  Inside the inner bubble mailer was a collection of cards, including the Wang Auto he promised:

I already had this card, but once you go Wang, it becomes yo thang...am I right...anyone?  He also sent a graded Kevin Jones RC, something else that I have acquired recently. This one, though, is his 2004 Topps Chrome RC, and is graded 9 by Beckett.  It will go nicely with the other graded RC I linked to above.

If the Strasburg Superfractor is a 9 for centering, this should easily be 9.5.  Oh well. 

Now we get to the "few" items he found from my want lists.  Some cards to fill holes in my 2008 UD Heroes set, very nice:



 A couple of 2008 Masterpieces short prints, which are always greatly appreciated:

Even better, the last two cards I needed for my 2007 Masterpieces set:

That was more than enough cards from my want lists to make me happy, but being the sneaky guy he is, Steve didn't stop there. 



Ok, I think that takes us past "a few items from your want list".

Yeah, we're definitely past that point now.

Ok, Steve, you win.  Well played, sir.  I already had the Wright, courtesy of BA Benny in my first ever trade. The only thing is, my orginial version has neither a pinstripe nor dirt stain.  Again, let me say AWESOME!  Speaking of BA Benny, whatever happend to him.  I have piles of Mets that have been backing up for a while now. 

Anyway, Steve, you totally scored a win in my book.  Thanks!  A package for you will be going out very soon.  I even reused the inner bubble mailer for it.  Hopefully you will not be dissappointed.