Fantasy Baseball Woes

You can tell that a fantasy team is in trouble when the owner is concerned about his backup outfielder.  My backup outfielder is Michael Brantley of the Indians.  It turns out Brantley is the latest victim of injuries on my team.  This year’s victims include Alex Rodriguez, Mariano Rivera, Drew Stubbs, Ryan Howard, and Brett Gardner.  This year’s disappointments include Roy Halladay, Albert Pujols, Frank Francisco, and Ervin Santana.  I actually traded Pujols for Clayton Kershaw.  That has worked out well.  My biggest positive surprise has been Edwin Encarnacion’s power surge.  I am currently 7th in the standings.  I have a shot at 3rd place, but it is a long shot.  There is always next year. 

Listia Mailbag: Miguel Olivo

My latest Listia purchase is a 2011 Topps Diamond Anniversary card of Miguel Olivo.  I think I paid a total of 21 credits for this.  I bought the card because it is a parallel.  Olivo has always been a starting catcher on a bad team or a backup catcher on a good team.  He has been a journeyman.  Since 2002, he has been on 6 different teams.  This year, he is a starting catcher on a bad Mariners team.  But the Mariners are always bad. 

Listia Mailbag: Jorge Posada & Andy Pettitte

My latest Listia purchase was a pair of Yankees cards from 2008 Upper Deck.  I received a Jorge Posada card and an Andy Pettitte card for only 12 credits.  Both photos were taken at Yankee home games.  You might notice the #10 patch on Posada sleeve for Phil Rizzuto.  As an added piece of unrelated trivia, I have exactly 16,000 page views.  Thank you blog-goers. 

My First Listia Purchase

Recently, Nachos Grande posted about Listia.  Listia is an alternative to those of us who are sick of paying ridiculous fees to sell on EBay.  Listia charges no fees to sellers.  Instead of getting money for your items, you get points which you can use to bid on other items.  I have been a member for a couple of weeks and am pretty happy so far.  This site seems to be best suited for selling low dollar cards rather than your prized 1952 Mantles.  I have sold a few unwanted cards so far.  I just made my first purchase.  It was a 2004 Fleer Ultra Rocco Baldelli jersey card numbered 283/399.  (Plug to tjscards)  Remember Rocco Baldelli?  I got 600 credits for signing up, and the card cost me 330 credits.  So it was really free.  I think.  Any opinions on EBay vs. Listia vs. COMC?

eBay Mailbag: 2002 Leaf

I recently picked up a lot of 2002 Leaf cards on eBay for about 3 bucks.  I actually had no 2002 Leaf cards in my collection.  All were brand name players.  At least they were at some point in their careers.  The Derek Jeter card was a nice addition.  Anyway, here is the loot. 

The Repack Blues

I purchased a repack pack of 20 cards for $1.  Believe it or not, I think I overpaid.  I scanned the highlights below.  The Dave Winfield Tribute card is probably the best card.  It is from 1992 Upper Deck.  Keep in mind these are the best cards in the pack.  The rest of the cards were pretty much junk wax.  

2012 Allen & Ginter Blaster Box

I picked up a 2012 A&G Blaster from Wal-Mart as an impulse buy.  I didn’t get any hits.  The best card in the box was probably the Brett Lawrie A&G back mini.  But the box was full of Yankees as you can see.  Out of the 7 Yankees cards, only 3 were present day Yankees.  Go figure. 

Andy Pettitte Lot

My latest eBay purchase was a lot of 17 Andy Pettitte cards.  I paid 99 cents shipped for the entire lot.  For some reason, I had very few Pettitte cards in my collection.  I never seem to pull his cards.  I have had the same problem with Craig Biggio.  Go figure.  Anyway, I wound up with some pretty cool looking cards.  Unfortunately, some of them are dinged on the upper left corner.  I guess I can’t complain for the price.  The card with the gold background is a 1995 Fleer Ultra Gold Medallion card.  I think it’s my favorite of the lot.  It’s a very early card of Pettitte, although not a true rookie card as the card claims.  I no longer have an Andy Pettitte hole in my collection.  

Trade With Chipp 'n' Dale

I recently acquired some new cards in a trade with Chipp ‘n’ Dale.  Actually, it really wasn’t that recent.  I’m just falling behind in posting.  I sent over a bunch of Braves cards.  In return, I received a bunch of Yankees cards.  I can always give a good home to cards of ARod and Derek Jeter.  There are even some Dave Winfield cards in there.  My favorite has to be the 1992 Classic Best Jeter card.  He looks really young in that photo.  It’s another successful trade.  Thanks for the cards. 

Detroit Tigers Cards from eBay

 

My latest eBay purchase was a lot of 20 Tigers cards for just 99 cents shipped.  I got a good share of parallels and various shiny cards.  I think my favorite card is the Curtis Granderson gold foil card.  I also received a nice rookie card of former Yankee prospect Austin Jackson who was traded for Granderson.  After seeing that Dontrelle Willis card, I felt compelled to find out what ever happened to him.  Apparently, he retired earlier this month.  Who knew?