Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Mailbox Happiness Times Two

Hello Buffet readers. I am back with a couple of mailbox goodies from a trade and from an E-bay score. First a few finds on E-bay.




The search for Dwight Gooden yielded this 2004 Donruss Elite Career Best Doc Gooden #CB~12 Game Used Bat sn’d 094/200. I have a few of the parallels from the base set of this card and love the design, colors and refractive qualities of them so when I saw this bat card I had to jump on it. I waited it out and won it for a very reasonable price. The seller had cheap combined shipping so I had to find a few other cards to make it worthwhile, right. Next win is a 2009 Upper Deck Ballpark Collections Teammate Timelines Quad Jerseys Rios, Halladay, Delgado, and Glaus sn’d 064/500. I like the four swatches but the picture of all four players in Jays uniforms while the card lists their current (at the time) teams is really annoying to me. This is a pet peeve of mine like some people hate sticker autos. For example Delgado is a Mets player as it states on front and back but it shows him in a Jays uniform. I know they used to be teammates but not anymore. What team is the swatch from? I like to think Mets but who really knows. Anyway my pet peeves should be another post another day. The card is pretty nice looking and is a great combo of players.



Next I won a 2009 Ballpark Collection Gary Sheffield sn’d 652/699. There aren’t many Sheffs out there as a Met so this was a cool find. I found this Carlos Beltran 2002 Donruss Studio “Spirit of the Game” Game Worn Hat sn’d 096/100. I love the “odd” relic like a hat, shoe, glove, etc. They should do more of them.



Finally I grabbed these two on the cheap at the end of my bidding list. 2008 Donruss Threads #142 Greg Halman silver rookie sn’d 26/50. 2009 Upper Deck Dan Uggla Game Used Jersey. I figured they are nice cards but I could trade them also.  Not a bad bunch of cards.

Now I have a trade with Justin from Tampa Bay Sports Wasteland. He had a bunch of football cards he was thinning out of his collection so I asked for his Jets, Saints, and Giants (the 3 teams I collect). The Jets were gone but he said the Saints and Giants were mine. Last Saturday a long box appeared in my mailbox, well hanging out of my mailbox since it was too big. I opened it up and a little more than three quarters of it was full of the Saints and Giants cards. Way cool as my football collection is a bit lacking in the base and insert department so this is what the doctor ordered for my Saints and Giants collections. Then there was the rest of the space in the box filled with cards I thought were more football and to my surprise it was Mets stuff. Here are just a few of the highlights of an excellent trade.
First up is a couple of 2003 Topps Gallery



Jose Reyes and Aaron Heilman. These cards look so great in person. I wish the camera did them justice.


Next up a couple of 2009 A & G minis



2 John Maine minis. I figured a duplicate til I flipped them over.



A regular and an A&G back. Nice!

Now we have an oddball and an Invincible



A 1986 Drakes Doc Gooden and a 2000 Invincible Robin Ventura. Gotta love the oddball food product cards. They really take you back to your youth. The Ventura is half transparent with a sky background, pretty neat looking.

Then we have a redemption and bat card.



2008 Topps David Wright Highlights Game Used Bat and 2008 Topps Red Hot Rookies redemption Nick Evens. You can never go wrong with a David Wright card, especially a game used and I really liked the 08 Red Hot Rookies. Being a chrome fan, these really stand out with the orange background.

There are just a few of the highlights from a great trade. Thanks Justin! I look forward to trading again in the future.

 
Thanks for Reading!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

2010 Topps Opening Day Blaster Break

Welcome back to the Buffet! Tonight we have a serving of 2010 Topps Opening Day blaster style.

I don't usually do blasters because it is generally less cards then if you buy loose packs but this one had 10 packs with 7 cards for 10 dollars (the same as loose packs) plus a bonus pack of Attax cards so I jumped on it.

Lets remove the cover and see what's inside.
Here are a few base cards just in case you forgot what they look like. 2 superstars in Pujols and Longoria and hopefully a breakout season for Murphy.
I got several more for the base set and am down to needing 7 more to knock it out. 7, 51, 82, 95, 108, 124, 194.

Now for the Inserts


Blue Bordered
Wade Davis 0942/2010
Brian McCann 1028/2010
I had a wade blue Davis from my box break a while back and traded it and out pops another one.

2 "Shiny" Attax. Greinke and Markakis

I already have these two so no help here.


ToppsTown Upton 2, Lincecum 24, Teixeira 19, Ichiro 25
2 more of my list.

                            
Superstar Celebrations #1 Braun.
 Where'd You Go Bazooka Joe #8 Chipper.

Needed Superstar but not the Joe.

                          
Mascots Nats, Royals, and Mr. Met.

I needed the Royals and Mr. Met. Still need one more Met for the team collection but is good to get first one.

                               
Sizemore, Buehrle, Rolen, Bay
The bonus pack of Attax. Bay goes into Mets book.

There it is. Not a bad blaster.
Sorry for the boring post but been a long, wet, rainy day at work and much running around after so I tried. 

                                                    

Thanks for Reading!

Monday, March 29, 2010

A Stop At Baseball Dad's Trading Post

I stopped by   Baseball Dad's Trading Post a little while back and Jack sent me this nice little package in exchange for some Indians cards I had for him. As I overstate time after time, I am a big Mets fan but I am not a Yankee hater, I just dont like most Yankee fans as they tend to be arrogant. Before I get hate mail this is just a generalization and I have many Yankee fan friends who are not anoying but there are many out there who think they are the greatest thing since sliced bread and look down on we Mets fans. That's just a fans life here in NYC. It makes for fun "subway series" games though. Anyway it's all in good fun. The point of this little offshoot is the card I got in this trade.

09 Upper Deck Ballpark Collection Quad Swatch sn'd 066/400
Teammate Timeline
Jason Varitek
Josh Beckett
Jorge Posada
Chien Ming Wang


I think it's kind of rude for Upper deck to put Yankees and Red Sox on the same card. I think it funny to tourture Yankees fans to have to look at 2 Red Sox swatches and Sox fans must love to look at Yanks swatches. All I can say is I am glad it isn't Braves or Phillies. All in all I think it's a great card.
The Dad also hooked me up with some surprise Mets to help me foget about the Sox on the quad. Here are just a few from the dozen or so.

My first 2010 Heritage, A fan fav in Leiter, and an Alomar Classic.

A Jeff Kent (why did they ever let him go!), one of the classiest in Olerud, and a Doc.

Thanks for some great cards Jack, I'm saving up some Indians and hope to trade again soon.


I am behind on trade posts but I will get to them as soon as time permits. Been busy with work and family stuff.

Thanks for Reading!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Great Contest over at Troll's place.

The Collective Troll has some kick ass cards he is contesting away so check out one of the best blogs out there and take a swing at winning.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

2 Packs Topps Pristine Go Head To Head.

Hey Buffet readers. Today I have 2 packs of Topps Pristine 2004 Edition and I decided to have a little fun and have them compete side by side for your vote of the better pack. Check out all the cards and vote for your favorite. Feel free to be bias toward your team, player, card color, or anything else that catches your eye. Lets get started. As usuall there are several layers to get through.


The outer shells
Lets peel the first inner layer........................

The two uncirculated refractor cards and another pack each. A closer look............

Akinori Otsuka #155 refractor sn'd 799/999
vs
Connor Jackson #132 refractor sn'd 015/399

For me I have to go with the Connor Jackson in this battle. A better player, I like the D-backs a little more then the Padres, and the lower serial number run seals it.
From here on each pack will be based on these cards.

Score:
Team Otsuka ~ 0
Team Jackson ~ 1

Next layers up

A game used in each. Both from the Fantasy Favorites subset. A closer look................

Mark Grudzielanek #FF-MG
vs
Rafael Furcal #FF-RF

Two nice looking cards of players I have no favortism towards. Grudzielanek played 14 seasons to Furcal's 10 with a little better career numbers. Furcal has won a couple more awards and is still playing. I give this a draw. A point for each.

Score:
Team Otsuka ~ 1
Team Jackson ~ 2

On to the next layers



Six cards in each, five base and one sn'd first year. A closer look......................
Team Otsuka
Bobby Brownlie #113
Paul Maholm #136 rare first year sn'd 494/499
Mark Prior#17

Team Otsuka
Sammy Sosa #20
Miguel Cabrera #14
Brett Boone #42


Team Jackson
Jim Edmonds #63
Lastings Milledge #139 rare first year sn'd 409/499
Connor Jackson #131

Team Jackson
Larry Walker #15
Mike Mussina #85
Billy Wagner #7

Here are the matchups:
First year Milledge vs Maholm. No contest, Mets will win 99% of the time. I do like the design on these cards. As is the case most of the time, my camera skills don't do any of these cards justice but I gotta work with what I have.

Score:
Team Otsuka ~ 1
Team Jackson ~ 3

The rest of these matchups come purely from my personal opinion and have very little statistical backing. Your feelings may be quite different and that is what makes this such a great hobby.

Larry Walker vs Brett Boone. up to this point in 04 Boone was a good offensive second baseman but Walker's power numbers just over power him. Walker wins.

 Score:
Team Otsuka ~ 1
Team Jackson ~ 4

Sammy Sosa vs Jim Edmonds. Jim Edmonds is another classic power hitter with more then just home runs on his resume and quite frankly I just do not like Sosa at all.  No contest for Edmonds.

Score:

Team Otsuka ~ 1
Team Jackson ~ 5

Mark Prior vs Billy Wagner. Prior showed so much promise early on and had sucess with the Cubs while Wagner showed signs of greatness as a closer but then went quietly into the tank plus he annoyed   me greatly in his time with the Mets. Prior wins.



Score:
Team Otsuka ~ 2
Team Jackson ~ 5

Miguel Cabrera vs Connor Jackson. Jackso scores points for a cool card color and the fact that it goes with the uncirculated refractor but Cabrera's on field performances give him a slight edge. Cabrera by a nose.

Score:

Team Otsuka ~ 3
Team Jackson ~ 5

Bobby Brownlie vs Mike Mussina. Mussina had a borderline HOF career while Brownlie (who?) wasn't a blip on my radar. Mussina in a landslide.

Final Score:
Team Otsuka ~ 3
Team Jackson ~ 6


As you can see I liked the Team Walker pack better and quite honestly I tried to make the matchups even but 3 is all I could muster for team Otsuka. Let me know how you would score it and vote on your favorite pack on the side bar.




Thanks for Reading!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

2009 Topps Finest Mini Box Break

Hello all. I am back after a few days very busy days with a 2009 Topps Finest Mini Box Break post. I was working at a job location on the other side of town where I live and stumbled across a comic/card shop I didn't know about so I stopped in on my lunch break and took a look around.  My regular shop has a larger selection as he is focused on cards and action figures where this new shop has more comics, posters, and action figures as opposed to cards but there was still a decent bit of stuff to look through. After a few finds in the singles boxes and a few packs grabbed, I decided to go with the Finest as the bulk of my budget for the trip.

 The mini boxes come 2 in a regular box. Each mini has 6 packs with 5 cards per pack. This was the last of the 09 Finest they had so a mini it was.

First some of the base.
Pujols, Longoria, and Martin are among many stars in the checklist.

Now the good stuff.
Regular Refractors and a rookie Redemption.
Francisco Liriano refractor
Matt Holliday refractor
Rookie Redemption #4 (Julio Borbon)

Carlos Lee blue refractor 090/399
A.J. Burnett green refractor 06/99
Aubrey Huff blue refractor 101/399


Matt Gamel manu letter patch auto 255/285

All are for trade except the Gamel (already promissed to Ed at Roll out the Barrel) and the Burnett.
Send needs for the base if interested.


Thanks for Reading!

Friday, March 19, 2010

Look What I Got Back From Momma!

I decided to take a spin with the Topps Million GiveAway with my last code card I was saving for a rainy day. Well today was a 70+ degree perfect sunny day here in NYC and I decided to spin the wheel. Look what popped out!

1957 Juan Pizarro  - Pitcher - Milwaukee Braves

My oldest hit so far. Anybody want it I am looking for old Mets team cards. Check my older million giveaway posts for what I have already.



Thanks for Reading!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Mailbox Goodies

A quick rundown of a couple of packages in the mailbox today.
First I have a trade score from Drew from Drews Cards. I sent him some of his 2010 Topps needs and he hooked me up with a great Bobby Parnell auto.

2009 Icons Bobby Parnell #158 Auto 054/600

This is my first Parnell auto card. Real nice for a sticker.

Next up is some Ebay finds

Jose Reyes 2007 Bowman Heritage jersey
Bernie Williams 2002 Authentix jersey
Edgardo Alfonzo 2003 Topps Traded Transactions bat

I also won a Dontrelle Willis 04 Fleer Classic Clippings All Star Lineup jersey but it was missing from envelope. I have an e-mail in to seller and we'll see what happens.

That's all I have for now. Short and Sweet.



Thanks for Reading!


Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Boxes to be broken over at Nachos Grande.

Nachos Grande is hosting a 3+ box break over on his blog. Some great teams are left at a very reasonable price plus you can score a discount if you hit some cards on his want lists. Check it out.

Going Green For Paddy Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all. A great holiday where everyone can be Irish for a day. I see a bunch of other posts with green cards so I figured I will put my own spin. In honor of today we go green, Shawn Green that is.
Shawn green is one of those playeres that I am not sure why I started collecting him but I have ended up with several of his game used cards. I don't collect his base and inserts (Except Mets of course) Only game used, auto, and sn'd. Here's what I have on the game used front.

2008 Topps Heritage
2007 Bowman Heritage
The two NY Mets I have of him. Always looking for more. (How about that festive backgroung behind the cards)


2006 Ultra Fine Fabrics
2006 Ultra Feel The Game
2004 Leaf Certified Materials Fabricc Of The Game 22/42
The Feel the game was the first one I hit out of a box of Fleer Ultra. The rest just seemed to pop up in box hits, ebay, and card shop bargain bins.


2005 Throwback Threads Throwback Collection 028/500
2002 Donruss Originals Gamers 477/500
2004 Studio Game Day Souvenirs 059/300


2003 Studio Big League Challenge
2005 Cracker Jack mini Take Me Out To The Ball Game
2004 Upper Deck Etchings 105/250

I have to  show a couple of green jersey swatches also on a day like today.

2007 Topps Highlights Nick Swisher
2003 Flair Diamond Cuts Barry Zito

There you have it.
Happy St. Patricks Day




Thanks for Reading!

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