Cards from the Dark Side...and Nebraska

Well, hey there, strangers! It's been awhile, but don't fret, I'm still here.

When I first started trading cards on the Internet many moons ago, I quickly found out that there are tons of amazing, generous traders out there in the world. When I started blogging about cards four-ish years ago, I found out that there is an even amazinger, generouser sub-group of people out there -- the card bloggers. Thanks to the Internet I've met some great traders and cool people. When I decided to reenter the blogosphere, part of the reason was because I missed interacting and trading with the other awesome bloggers.

One of the blogs I was super excited to see was still around is none other than that of Night Owl. He likes the Dodgers, but we can forgive him for that right? Anyway, I sent him a bunch of Dodgers I had laying around, including a manufactured Jackie Robinson patch card (seriously, though, I don't understand the purpose of the manu-patches, but that's a story for another day). And guess what!!! He sent me a nice stack of Phillies. So let's get to the show and tell...

2013 Triple Play #63 Ryan Howard

This is the very first Triple Play card I own. Well, outside of the ones from the early to mid-90's. I'm very happy to add it to my collection; however, I'm not sure how I feel about these cards. It's a nice looking card and a creative way to get around the lack of MLB licensing, it's just... It's hard for me to think of it as a "Ryan Howard card" since it doesn't really have him on it. I don't know, maybe I'm just weird. I did learn that he became the fastest player to reach 200 home runs. So there's that. Moving on...

2013 Topps Archives #47 Ryan Howard

2012 Topps Heritage #56 Cliff Lee

Have I ever told you how much I love retro cards? No? Well, I do. I absolutely adore this year's Archives set. So much that I decided to try to put the set together. Now, I am not a set collector by nature, so we'll see how far I actually get (again, a post for another day). Getting back on track, the addition of the Howard card above leaves me with 3 cards left to complete the team set: 28 Schmidt, 213 Samuel SP, and 240 Daulton SP. The 2012 Heritage set is another great looking set, in my opinion. Nice thick cardboard, too, which is always appreciated.

2012 Topps Opening Day #108 Roy Oswalt

2013 Topps Opening Day #57 Cliff Lee

I don't think I've bought a single pack of Opening Day since 2003. It's nice to get a couple every now and then to fill in the holes.

2013 Topps Chasing History #CH-39 Jim Thome

In addition to a bunch of 2013 Topps base that fit nicely into my team set, there was also this beautiful specimen commemorating Thome's left handed HR record. In 2003, he won the League HR title and also beat Chuck Klein's 1929 single season record for lefties by four.

2013 Topps Target Red Border #625 Dom Brown

Sometimes parallels work really well and sometimes they are really awful. Luckily the Target Red Border parallels that Topps have been doing work. At least for Phillies' cards I really love the look of the red borders.

2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces #69 Chase Utley

Upper Deck Masterpieces is another set that I've always admired. I mean, come on, that's a damn nice looking card.

 

More retro goodness! This time from 2004 Fan Favorites, another set near and dear to my heart. Thanks again Night Owl! And keep an eye on the mailbox; I may have found a couple more interesting items for you...

I recently set up a trade on Sports Card Forum with a user named Shadowking86. Well, it turns out he runs a blog called Red Sox Fan in Nebraska and he is, you guessed it, a Red Sox fan in Nebraska! (Another offense that can be forgiven since he sent me some Phillies cards)

2013 Topps Allen & Ginter Mini A & G Back #143 Mike Schmidt

The Man, the Myth, the Moustache. In mini format, no less. While my lack of Ginter love is pretty well know, even I have to admit that this is a pretty snazzy card.

2013 Topps Gypsy Queen #189 Cliff Lee

Gypsy Queen is a set I like considerably more than Allen & Ginter; however, I refuse to buy any more packs of it, since I've had terrible luck pulling Phillies cards out of it. Seriously, I think I've bought two blasters, a bunch of rack packs, and a ton of single packs and only pulled two Ryan Howard cards. Actually, I've had terrible Phillies pulling luck in general lately. Don't even get me started. 

Thanks again for the trade, Brad! Hopefully, we can do it again soon. Go check out his blog; I'm in a group break that he's doing right now, so fingers crossed I'll have some more sweet cards to show off soon.

Recently Acquired Phillies for Your Aesthetic Enjoyment

Sadly I sit here, all hope for the post season lost, sifting through cards. That's almost a lie; I couldn't tell you the exact moment I lost hope in a postseason, but it sure as heck wasn't too recent. Anyway, after two days of being sick, I think I've successfully infected every other person in the house. At this moment all other humans in the vicinity are taking a nap or watching cartoons, which means I should have about 15 minutes to update this poor excuse for a blog before someone needs something.

A few new cards have recently fallen into my possession. Really, you'd think it would be impossible to impulse buy via the internet. I mean, there is plenty of time with which to rethink a purchase. That being said, I am the Queen of internet impulse buying. That's how these cards came into my possession.

2013 Topps #26B Chase Utley SP

2013 Topps #6B Ryan Howard SP

Can I just say that I hate this "short print variation" garbage? As a collector on a budget, it usually means more cards that won't see the light of my collection as I typically don't have the money to buy a bajillion boxes and packs of cards. Sometimes I am lucky enough to find a person who is willing to trade these cards for one of my sad stacks of 1990 Donruss. Other times, I have to resort to trade sad stacks of money for these cards. That's what I did here, which means if anyone is still interested in 1990 Donruss, just let me know. On a lighter note, I love to see pictures of players signing for kids. It hits me right in the feels, ya know? Maybe because I know from my own kids how happy it makes them when someone takes the time to sign for them. Moving on.

2013 Topps Commemorative Patch 

Another fad I just don't understand is Commemorative Patches. Yeah, it's cool looking, I like the retro patch. But really, what's the point? Oh well, any Schmidt's a good Schmidt, as they say (I don't think anyone has ever really said that, but they should).

2012 Topps Black #259 Michael Stutes

I don't have the same disregard for serial numbered cards as I do for SPs and commemorative patches. I adore numbered cards. I can't explain it, really. Anyway, Stutes is one of the aforementioned players that signed stuff for my kids when he was with Reading back in 2009. If I remember I'll try to dig one of those things up and add it to my ever growing "To Scan" stack.

2012 Topps Tribute Tribute to the Stars #TSR-RHO 

2012 Topps Tier One Relic

The last two cards are fancy cards from fancy packs, i.e. packs I can't afford, so don't buy. I'll be honest with you for a minute -- even though "game-used" cards (and I use that term loosely) are over produced and a dime a dozen, I still get excited every time one falls into my possession. These two also happen to be low numbered, which makes me sqee a little inside. However, I don't understand why the Howard is encapsulated in 3 inches of plastic.

Oh yeah, and if anyone's interested, I guess I'll root for the Pirates. Because Pennsylvania and all that.