There's Always Room For Pie

This is my400th post and I would like to announce a new focus of my collecting: Felix Pie.

The reason is obvious isn't it?...There always room for pie...or Felix Pie for that matter. [Please don't leave comments that it's pronounced PEE-ay...it will always be Pie in my book].

Felix was shipped from the Cubs to the Orioles a few weeks ago and I hope he has better luck in left field in Baltimore than the platooning he was doing in Chicago.

Show & Tell #2: Some More Xponential Inserts

Here are three more Xponentials to the 2nd power to add to my collection...

If anyone is holding some unwanted Xponential inserts just let me know and we can work out a trade...

Heartbreaking Pack: 2006-07 Fleer Hot Prospects

Here's a pack of Fleer HOT Prospects...four cards and the chance at an Autographed Rookie Patch card...

#12 Thomas Vanek

#60 Rick DiPietro

What a great looking card. I've always liked the royal blue and orange of the Islanders.


I have to admit I was completely fooled by this decoy card...It is so thick that I thought I had lucked out and got one of the patch cards...

#68 Dany Heatley

#88 Brad Richards

Heartbreaking Pack: 1987 Donruss

Mark from Stats on the Back sent me some Mariners cards [that I show and tell about later] and a random pack of 1987 Donruss a.k.a. The Tire Tread Set...


#299 Franklin Lee Stubbs
#415 Michael Josheph Bielecki
#19 Kirby Puckett Diamond King

#282 Jay Lindsey Tibbs
#92 Jim Edward Rice

#140 Thomas Mitchell Herr
#357 Kenneth Grant Dayley III
#489 Harold Craig Reynolds


#225 Lonnie Smith
#575 David Joseph Magadan
#310 Ronald Dean Robinson
#301 Steven Michael Farr
#6 Jose Canseco Diamond King


#416 Frank Michael Dipino
#283 Richard Craig Schofield
Roberto Clemente Puzzle Pieces #34, 35, & 36


I could not be happier with this pack...a brand new Hall of Famer and two Diamond Kings that I don't think I have...Thanks Mark!

Heartbreaking Pack: Press Pass 2008

Am I the only person who thinks this past weekend is the worst weekend in sports of the whole year? A weekend of nothing before a week of greatness. To fill the void, I bought some football cards.

I've never opened a pack of this stuff...and I was surprised to pull four cards in which I knew all the players.

As a Packer fan, pulling a Brian Brohm Louisville card is about the best thing I could hope for...short of a Matt Flynn card.


The Oakland curse...what could he be doing today if he had been drafted by anyone but the Raiders?


Eli Manning's back up's back up...

Jason Campbell's backup:

Are Fans Of Mark Lemke Called Lemmings?

One great thing about blogging and paying attention to other people's blogs is that cards I would have otherwise ignored now jump out at me larger than life. A few weeks ago I would have just passed this one by but now that I know about dayf's Lemkepalooza Mark's cards seem to be everywhere I look.

I'd Collect That

I've never been a fan of movie-based card sets since the Return of the Jedi cards of the 80's...but one set I would buy would be a set based on the new Sherlock Holmes movie, staring Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes, that is coming this November.

I'm thinking a nice Allen & Ginter/Mayo set with some nice cut signatures of Sir Arthur Cnan Doyle, Jeremy Brett, Basil Rathbone, and Nigel Bruce. Sign me up.

The New York Times article about the film goes out of the way to mention that it's going to be different...a little like Batman Begins...more gritty than the 1940's films. Yet the article ends with this frightening quote:

"Another question, since the movie is meant for a family audience — or as Mr. Ritchie put it, is “deliberately designed so I can watch it with my family and friends without any embarrassment.”

Drugs?

No, Mr. Wigram said, speaking of Holmes. “He doesn’t do cocaine in our movie.”"

This is possibly a bad sign for fans hoping for "a true to the Conan Doyle version" of Sherlock Holmes. I'm afraid the film will pick and choose the characteristics Holmes should have rather than sticking with the original stories. A great example of this is in Holmes most famous phrase, "Elementary My Dear Watson." Holmes never actually says this line in any of the novels/short stories yet because of the popular movies of the 30's and 40's it has entered the cultural consciousness as the central Holmes quote. If they uses it in the movie, I will lose my shit.

Let me stop here otherwise I will surpasses the legal amount of nerd whining allowed in a single blog post.

More Topps Redemption Trouble

The continuing saga in trying to get my Topps Red Hot Rookie #12 took a turn for the worse this weekend. I received this email today from Topps...well at least I think it is from Topps...it has that sort of weird feeling a Nigerian spam email has...an elaborate explanation of a problem and why I need to call a number...at least they didn't ask for my bank account information.

"Online Redemption Change of Address

Due to a temporary glitch in our new redemption system, any codes placed within the redemption system before November 6th, 2008 will retain the original address submitted despite any alterations made to the address online after November 6th. If you have submitted codes before November 6th AND altered your address in the system after November 6th, you will need to contact consumer relations to change your address manually.

Any address changes submitted online after November 6th, 2008 will appropriately update any of your current or future redemptions, and calling consumer relations will be unecessary. Any redemptions mailed directly to Topps will continue to require a manual change of address request by phone or email.

If you require a manual address alteration to your account, please call our customer service number at 1800 489 9149 from 8:30am to 4:30pm EST or send an email to support@etopps.com. We will verify your mailing address for your outstanding redemptions and make manual changes to any incorrect information that may exist in our database."

Heartbreaking Packs: Upper Deck 2008 Documentary

I thought I had heard that Upper Deck Documentary would only be available at Hobby shops so I was surprised to find these at Target.  I'll try anything once or in baseball card lingo: "I'll buy two packs of anything."

The collation of these packs was a little weird...out of twenty cards I pulled in a set of nearly 5,000 cards I received five cards for the final game of the season [Game 162]...The "highlight," if you can call it that, was getting a card for a Hurricane Ike canceled game between the Astros & Cubs. 

Game 40

Game 525

Game 534

Game 535

Game 544

Game 919

Game 1238

Game 1902

Game 1903

Game 1912

Game 1942

Game 2746

Game 4580

Game 4618

Game 4838 [Canceled Game]

Game 4841

Game 4844

Game 4865

Game 4868

Game 4871

Show & Tell #1 : Trade With Chuck Z.

In honor of Night Owl's point that we baseball card bloggers are engaged in a grown-up version to Show and Tell, I've decided to change the title of my trade posts from "Mail Call" to "Show & Tell."

Here's the first entry which is a trade with Chuck's Used Cards...I sent him some soccer cards and he sent me a mix of Royals and some of the other groups I collect including some Jamie Moyer and horseshoe mustaches.

Some highlights:

This awesome card pulls the facial hair trifecta...horseshoe, handlebar, and soup strainer:


Three's a crowd:

1981 Topps:


Some Ranger's era Jamie Moyer: