Bowman Platinum Lot

For a total of 12 cents, I picked up a pair of 2010 Bowman Platinum cards on eBay.  The foil didn’t really scan well.  The first card is Chris Coghlan and the second is Kyle Drabek.  Coghlan has always been kind of a spare part.  But Drabek was a decent prospect.  I accumulated a few of his cards a few years ago.  He has been plagued by injury.  He should be decent if he can stay healthy. 

Matt Cain Card or Checklist?

I picked up a lot of 5 2012 Topps Update cards of Matt Cain on eBay.  Somehow, I only paid 16 cents shipped for the entire lot.  This is a checklist card that features Cain’s perfect game.  I typically don’t like checklist cards.  Checklists have a segregated binder away from my “real” cards.  However, these cards are only half-checklists, so they will earn a spot in my Giants binder. 

Pack Break: 2007 Topps Series 2

I would like to be on the record as saying that 2007 was probably the worst Topps design of all time.  For some reason, I seem to have a lot of the product.  And the product continues to find me.  This pack of Series 2 came to me as part of a repack.  There were only 6 cards.  Here they are:

Jon Lester
Francisco Rodriguez (above)
Mark Teixeira (above)
Juan Morillo
Jason Michaels/Travis Hafner
Brian Giles

I Got a Second Chance

I picked up this 2010 Bowman Chrome rookie card of Ike Davis on eBay recently.  I actually got this card on a second chance offer.  On the few occasions when I have gotten a second chance offer, I always feel like I am getting some kind of bonus.  Of course, it’s just as likely that the seller had multiples of the item and wanted to sell both.  Davis had a downright awful 2013 that included a trip to AAA Las Vegas.  He finished 2013 batting only a few points above the Mendoza line.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day everyone.  In honor of this man-made pseudo-holiday, I have posted Bobby Valentine's 1992 Topps card.  As an added bonus, here is an article about how Valentine was name Director of Public Safety in Stamford, CT.  I'm not kidding. 

The Gypsy Princess

I picked up a pair of 2012 Gypsy Queen minis on eBay.  They should be called Gypsy Princess.  ( Ha Ha)  I paid less than a dime for each one.  The cards feature Nelson Cruz and Ricky Nolasco.  Nolasco recently went to the Twins.  Cruz is a free agent.  I have always liked the Gypsy Queen cards.  But, these mini cards are starting to grow on me. 

Pack Break: 2009 Topps Chrome

I found an errant pack of 2009 Topps Chrome and figured it would be a decent pack to open on a cold winter day.  This pack originally was purchased as part of a repack.  I only get 7 cards, so let’s make them count.

5 Brad Lidge – former excellent and terrible pitcher depending on the vintage
122 Carlos Lee – also a recent retiree
W42 Ruben Tejada (WBC) – Star in Panama, Role player in the states

11 Erick Aybar (XFractor) – Not a big name, but definitely the pull of the pack
143 Adrian Gonzalez - meh
1 Alex Rodriguez – great pull in 2009 and I’m still happy to get it
124 Joe Nathan – new Tigers closer and a local product

I have certainly opened worse packs than this.  I got a parallel, an insert, and an ARod card.  That’s a decent pack. 

Mat Latos Times 8

I picked up 8 cards of Mat Latos on eBay recently.  It was a pretty good haul and it set me back less than 50 cents.  There was a good representation of Bowman product including a Bowman Gold card.  The lot contains both Padres cards and the newer Reds cards.  As an aside, doesn’t it seem like the Padres and Reds swap players a lot?

White Sox Potpourri

I picked up 6 2012 Topps White Sox cards on Listia for only 27 credits.  The Chris Sale card is an Opening Day but the rest are from the base set.  I tried to win the Yankee lot but it didn’t work out.  According to the Listia/Dollar exchange rate (not a real thing), I paid less than a dime for the whole lot.  For that money, I couldn’t resist.