Behind the Scenes Action

Working on some behind the scenes stuff today...scanning cards, getting posts ready. Hopefully updating wantlists...

Clear off the shelves, Grandma finally kicked the bucket!

Be forewarned -- this has nothing to do with baseball, cards, or anything related.

This is bizarre and morbid, yet oddly intriguing all at the same time. Furniture that doubles as burial equipment (or should that be the other way around?). Apparently this is a concept that the funeral industry is marketing as a way to lessen the high cost of a funeral. I almost have no words for this. (Photo courtesy of Casketfurniture.com)

Recent TTM Successes, part 2

My first TTM successes post was all OPC-centric. Today let's focus on some good ole' 2009 Topps cards. Again, clean design, nice photography; these cards are much glossier than the OPC and required a rubdown before being sent out. I prefer the baby powder method as it has rarely failed me in the past. (Yes, I am that anal retentive about cards I send out to get signed)

For the most part this batch of signatures were fairly legible, so I will try to keep my penmanship comments to a minimum.

Jake Westbrook c/o Indians
Jake returned this card to me in exactly 2 weeks. Ok, I can't help myself...it looks to me like he wrote "Tulu Wuthl". Does anyone else see this?

Koji Uehara c/o OriolesAnd 4 days later saw the return of Koji. I feel like he should put at least 1 exclamation point after his signature. I also like that he only signs his first name. Like Cher. Or Maddona. Koji!

Matt Harrison c/o RangersThe same day as Koji!, Mr. Harrison also appeared in my mailbox. I have no snide comments for Matt. It's a decent, readable signature and looks nice on the card. Color me commentless.

Jered Weaver c/o AngelsHmmm, while the photograph defies the laws of gravity, the signature defies the laws of chirography. Ponder on that for awhile.

And so ends another installment of my recent TTM successes. Overall, 2009 Topps looks pretty nice signed, especially in blue, but that's just my personal preference. Stay tuned for more to come.

Card O' The Day: 2004 Bowman Chrome Draft #77 J.A. Happ

J.A. Happ is having one hell of a season. Currently 7-0 with a 2.86 ERA for the season, he is 5-0 with a 2.74 ERA as a starter. A few more good starts and he could be a contender for ROY. He could also become a Blue Jay, but that's just random speculation which I don't like to do. Bleh.

Anyway, enjoy this gem of a rookie card. And in case you were wondering, his name is pronounced "Jay." Random bits of information...it's what I'm best at.

Recent TTM Successes, part 1

You may or may not know that I also collect TTM autographs. I am very sporadic in this pursuit though. I usually start out the season strong and by this point I hardly send out anything. I've recently sent a few things out here and there and a few older items have been trickling in. I've been a lazy blogger and haven't been posting, so get ready for a couple post dedicated to recent TTM successes I've received.

When I first saw the 2009 OPC cards, I thought how nice they would be for TTM requests -- not only are they non-glossy and cleanly designed, they feature a wide array of players not always seen in other sets. I sent off a bunch and have gotten 4 back so far.

(While I always appreciate a card being returned to me -- I understand that players are busy and they don't have to sign anything -- but, if I may, suggest a manditory MLB penmanship course.)

Cla Meredith c/o San Diego PadresCla's signature is not unattractive, it just looks nothing like his actual name. Here's what I see: "lu M+W". Although, to make up for it, Cla returned this card very speedily -- a little under 2 weeks.

Dan Wheeler c/o Tampa Bay RaysI'm pretty sure this is some sort of code. I see: "a music note W 8 8".

Jon Garland c/o Arizona DiamondbacksOk, this resembles a name. I am pretty impressed; I see: "J Gld". Those are all letters in his name -- way to go, Jon!

Joe Inglett c/o Las Vegas 51s
Joe doodled on my card, I think. That symbol at the end looks to me like a heart with an arrow through it.

Well, no matter what the signature looks like, in general the OPC cards look great signed and I'm super happy to get them back at all.

2008 Phillies Wantlist

Putting this list together made me realize that card companies must have had too much time on their hands in 2008 because the amount of cards produced is ridiculous! That being said, here's the list of base cards I need for 2008, I'm also looking for parallels and inserts. Contact me if you want to trade at phightinphils5@verizon.net.

Cards in bold are pending.

BOWMAN CHROME
12 Cole Hamels
59 Pat Burrell
67 Jimmy Rollins
121 Chase Utley
173 Brett Myers
190 Ryan Howard
196 Brad Harman RC

BOWMAN CHROME DRAFT PROSPECTS
BDPP66 Carlos Carrasco FG
BDPP73 Greg Golson FG
BDPP85 Jason Donald FG
BDPP94 Lou Marson FG
BDPP117 Anthony Hewitt AU

BOWMAN CHROME PROSPECTS
BCP21 Chance Chapman
BCP87 Matt Rizzotti
BCP99 Brad Harman
BCP135 Carlos Monasterios
BCP199 Dominic Brown

BOWMAN DRAFT PROSPECTS
BDPP66 Carlos Carrasco FG
BDPP73 Greg Golson FG
BDPP85 Jason Donald FG
BDPP94 Lou Marson FG

BOWMAN PROSPECTS
BP21 Chance Chapman
BP87 Matt Rizzotti
BP99 Brad Harman

BOWMAN STERLING
CH Cole Hamels Jsy
CU Chase Utley Jsy
JR Jimmy Rollins Jsy
RH Ryan Howard Jsy

BOWMAN STERLING PROSPECTS
AH Anthony Hewitt AU
CC Carlos Carrasco Jsy AU
JD Jason Donald Jsy AU
MR Matt Rizzotti

DONRUSS ELITE EXTRA EDITION
31 Tyson Brummett
47 Jeremy Hamilton
104 Anthony Hewitt AU
121 Dominic Brown AU
130 Jason Knapp AU
148 Michael Taylor AU
170 Zach Collier AU
172 Anthony Gose AU
176 Vance Worley AU
195 Mike Cisco AU

DONRUSS SPORTS LEGENDS
63 Pete Rose
120 Mike Schmidt

DONRUSS THREADS
38 Mike Schmidt
39 Steve Carlton
85 Carlos Corrasco
94 Lou Marson
135 Dominic Brown AU
184 Zach Collier AU

PLAYOFF CONTENDERS
21 Dominic Brown
27 Jason Knapp
39 Mike Cisco
49 Vance Worley
58 Anthony Hewitt AU
105 Michael Taylor AU
129 Zach Collier AU

PRIME CUTS
62 Mike Schmidt
69 Pete Rose
75 Richie Ashburn
113 Anthony Hewitt AU
118 Zach Collier AU
130 Michael Taylor AU
140 Jason Knapp AU
148 Anthony Gose AU

SP AUTHENTIC
27 Chase Utley
28 Jimmy Rollins
39 Ryan Howard
49 Cole Hamels
163 Brad Harman AU

SPx
71 Cole Hamels
72 Jimmy Rollins
73 Ryan Howard
74 Chase Utley

STADIUM CLUB
1 Chase Utley
69 Cole Hamels
75 Ryan Howard
87 Jimmy Rollins

SWEET SPOT
24 Chase Utley
28 Cole Hamels
54 Jimmy Rollins
56 Joe Blanton
90 Ryan Howard
105 Brad Harman AU

TOPPS
35 Cole Hamels
58 Holliday/Howard/Cabrera
298 Fielder/Howard/Dunn
573 Tom Gordon

TOPPS ALLEN AND GINTER
49 Shane Victorino
110 Chase Utley
140 Jimmy Rollins
216 Brett Myers
255 Cole Hamels
286 Pat Burrell
293 Pedro Feliz
300 Ryan Howard
302 Brad Lidge SP
317 Geoff Jenkins SP

TOPPS HERITAGE
8 Philadelphia Phillies GB SP
57 Brad Lidge SP
75 Cole Hamels
85 Jayson Werth
101 Carlos Ruiz
108 Pat Burrell
203 So Taguchi
227 Shane Victorino GB SP
254 Freddy Garcia
289 Brett Myers
300 Chase Utley
350 Jimmy Rollins GB SP
372 Ryan Howard BT GB SP
380 Ryan Howard
385 Geoff Jenkins
408 Utley/Rollins
421 Jamie Moyer
462 Kyle Kendrick SP
499 Cole Hamels AS SP
625 Greg Dobbs
703 Matt Stairs SP

MOMENTS AND MILESTONES
Any and all.

TOPPS STERLING
154 Mike Schmidt
155 Mike Schmidt
156 Mike Schmidt
157 Mike Schmidt
158 Mike Schmidt
159 Mike Schmidt
160 Mike Schmidt
161 Mike Schmidt
162 Mike Schmidt
163 Mike Schmidt
164 Mike Schmidt

TOPPS TRIPLE THREADS
22 Steve Carlton
24 Chase Utley
56 Jimmy Rollins
69 Mike Schmidt
75 Pat Burrell
106 Robin Roberts
123 Ryan Howard
133 Tom Gordon
199 Cole Hamels Jsy AU

TOPPS UPDATE
63 Eric Bruntlett
158 Chad Durbin
184 Chase Utley HRD
228 Joe Blanton
236 Chris Snelling
241 Chase Utley AS
250 Pedro Feliz
278 So Taguchi
304 Brad Lidge AS

UD A PIECE OF HISTORY
72 Cole Hamels
73 Ryan Howard
74 Jimmy Rollins
75 Chase Utley

UD MASTERPIECES
69 Chase Utley
70 Jimmy Rollins
71 Ryan Howard
112 Mike Schmidt SP
113 Steve Carlton SP

ULTIMATE COLLECTION
10 Cole Hamels
11 Ryan Howard
12 Jimmy Rollins
13 Chase Utley

UPPER DECK
191 Jamie Moyer
192 Kyle Kendrick
193 Kyle Lohse
194 Antonio Alfonseca
196 Chris Coste
197 Chase Utley
198 Tadahito Iguchi
199 Aaron Rowand
200 Shane Victorino
604 Ryan Howard
605 Jimmy Rollins
606 Pedro Feliz
607 Adam Eaton
608 Brad Lidge
609 Brett Myers
610 Pat Burrell
611 So Taguchi
612 Geoff Jenkins
613 Tom Gordon
742 Jimmy Rollins SH

UPPER DECK BALLPARK COLLECTION
72 73 74 75 163 167 179 225 227 237 240 246 251 270 272 274 275 278 296 301 314 317 319 320 324 334

UPPER DECK DOCUMENTARY
201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 801 802 803 804 805 806 807 808 809 810 1101 1102 1103 1104 1105 1106 1107 1108 1109 1110 1401 1402 1403 1404 1405 1406 1407 1408 1409 1410 1701 1702 1703 1704 1705 1706 1707 1708 1709 1710 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2301 2302 2303 2304 2305 2306 2307 2308 2309 2310 2601 2602 2603 2604 2605 2606 2607 2608 2609 2610 2901 2902 2903 2904 2905 2906 2907 2908 2909 2910 3061 3062 3063 3151 3152 3153 321 3242 3243 3331 3332 3333 3421 3422 3423 3511 3512 3513 3601 3602 3603 3691 3692 3693 3781 3782 3783 3871 3872 3873 3961 3962 3963 4051 4052 4053 4141 4142 4143 4231 4232 4233 4321 4322 4323 4411 4412 4413 4501 4502 4503 4591 4592 4593 4681 4682 4683 4771 4772 4773 4861 4862 4863 4917 4918 4919 4920 4940 4941 4942 4943 4944 4950 4951 4952 4953 4954

UPPER DECK FIRST EDITION
158 Jamie Moyer
159 Kyle Kendrick
160 Kyle Lohse
161 Antonio Alfonseca
162 Chris Coste
163 Chase Utley
164 Tadahito Iguchi
165 Shane Victorino
435 Jimmy Rollins
436 Pedro Feliz
437 Adam Eaton
438 Brad Lidge
439 Brett Myers
441 Geoff Jenkins

UPPER DECK GOUDEY
140 Ryan Howard
143 Shane Victorino
144 Cole Hamels
145 Richie Ashburn
224 Mike Schmidt SP
225 Steve Carlton SP
255 Chase Utley 36 BW SP
269 Ryan Howard 36 BW SP
280 Mike Schmidt SR SP
291 Chase Utley SP SP

UPPER DECK HEROES
133 Ryan Howard
134 Jimmy Rollins
135 Chase Utley
136 Cole Hamels
137 Pat Burrell
138 Mike Schmidt
139 Steve Carlton
183 Steve Carlton/Santana
191 Chase Utley/Ryan Howard/Jimmy Rollins
195 Mike Schmidt/Banks/Robinson

UPPER DECK PREMIER
21 Chase Utley
22 Cole Hamels
23 Jimmy Rollins
24 Shane Victorino
25 Ryan Howard
26 Pat Burrell
27 Aaron Rowand
183 Jim Bunning
194 Mike Schmidt

UPPER DECK SPECTRUM
71 Jimmy Rollins
73 Cole Hamels

UPPER DECK TIMELINE
10 Chase Utley
148 Chase Utley 94 ATH
159 Jimmy Rollins 94 ATH
170 Ryan Howard 94 ATH
284 Cole Hamels 04 TT
286 Ryan Howard 04 TT
287 Jimmy Rollins 04 TT

UPPER DECK X
74 Cole Hamels
76 Ryan Howard
77 Chase Utley

Weekend Pack Break Blowout! (pt. 1)

The title may be a bit much, sure, but when have I had the opportunity to open a bunch of packs just for the sake of opening them? I'm hoping to make this a weekly feature and will try to save all my pack busting for the weekend.

First up is a few non-baseball packs I picked up at Target today. I don't get a chance to frequent Target much, but when I'm there I usually try to pick up a couple packs. I love the "discount" bin they have, but rarely find anything there that I want to buy. Today was no different -- I had no desire to walk away from Target with nothing but some 2003 and 2005 Topps, so I looked to the newer fare. I ended up buying 3 packs of UD Legends Masterpieces Hockey and a pack of Indiana Jones Masterpieces. Interesting...

2008 UD Legends Masterpieces is a great looking set. These are retail packs, so 4 cards each. I don't follow hockey and know virtually nothing about the sport. My 7 year old daughter, on the other hand, played her first season of ice hockey over the winter and loves it. She especially likes being a goalie. So I usually pick up a pack here and there looking for Penguins cards (her favorite) and cards of goalies (her second favorite). Lets see what luck we had.

Pack #1
38 Wayne Gretsky
34 Bobby Orr
39 Luc Robitaille
12 Mario Lemieux (Score!)

Pack #2
20 Wayne Gretsky
22 Cam Neely
49 Brian Leetch
9 Richard Brodeur (Goalie!)

Pack #3
63 Steve Shutt
20 Wayne Gretsky (again?)
7 Patrick Roy (this makes up for it -- another goalie)
85 Mr. Hockey

No big "hits", but a card in each pack that will make Abby happy, so that's alright with me.

Next is a pack of Topps Indiana Jones Masterpieces cards. I am a huge Indiana Jones fan and if I had had access to these cards sooner I probably would have a ton of them by now. That being said I think I may buy a box and put together the set because these cards are freakin' sweet. This is an all-art set encompassing comic art, posters, cover art, production paintings, etc. Very cool stuff, indeed. Here are a few of my favorite ones from this 7 card pack.
Stay tuned...there's more to come!