Quick Post: Do I owe you?

I've managed to confuse myself quite well this past week or two. I usually keep things fairly organized - I don't have room for much else -  but with cards and other things coming and going and the great weather beckoning me outside, I feel like I'm missing things. I keep having to go through my emails to be sure I didn't miss anything, and while checking on the stack of "pending trades" cards, I keep coming across this:

2011 Topps #309 Chicago Cubs.

If I traded with you recently or have a pending trade with you and you either asked for this card or I offered it, and it didn't come to you, please let me know. I hate seeing it sitting here all alone, when it was supposed to have a loving home.

Just drop me a note!

Ryan

Half-A-Mega-Trade Part 3

We're about half-way done with all the cards Dominic of Buckeye State sent last week in a trade. It just keeps getting better as we go on - this post, I'll show you some of the 20th Anniversary Retrospectives he sent.

Most people probably don't care at all for this set. I don't like it 100% - I have no problem with it being 2500 cards, but what does bother me is that there aren't 2500 different subjects. There are five cards for every "subject" so there really are only 500 subjects. And if you search for Ken Griffey Jr in the checklist, he comes up 60 times - 12 subjects. That is a complete insert set in itself! I would have rather had 2500 different cards, or (better yet) 500 different cards - one per subject. Anyway, on to the impossible set I'm insanely trying to complete:

Kenny Rogers' perfect game gets a treatment. He only had eight strikeouts, which means he had a good set of fielders behind him to get the perfect game. Incidentally, he does not have a single certified autograph, which sucks because he's on my autograph want list.

One of the sixty Griffey Jr. cards in the set.

Several of the cards focus on a single event - the MLB All-Century team. Ripken is featured here.

I like the set more for a look at the history over the past 20 years, including the technology subset.

I didn't think Nixon was president in 1989, and that the Vietnam War was still going on. Thank you, Upper Deck!

That's a touching picture of Torre.

One of my heroes as a child.

Jonas Brothers? Justin Bieber's older brothers? NSync? The card doesn't say who, exactly, this is.

The back of this card implies that Duke wasn't a winning team until 1991.

Freedom isn't free! It's relevant that the foil stamp on the left side says "Revolutions of 1989" - if Upper Deck was to release a retrospective set for this year, it could make a Middle East Revolutions of 2011 subset.

Frosty hair! Wayne Gretzky is not a pretty man. But if you photoshop a bottle of Axe or shampoo or deodorant, you've got yourself a commercial!

Michael Jordan. Enough said. I remember when everyone was paying like $10 for his cards from this set. Silly people.

Mike Schmidt looks like a used car salesman.

When you run out of images, use a picture of a ticket.

And we'll close with a Bush. Mentioning a bird. If you're under 30 years old you might not get the joke.

That's it for this post! The next one focuses solely on the inserts Dominic sent.

Half-A-Mega-Trade Part 2

One down, four to go! This post focuses on the USA Baseball cards that Dominic of Buckeye State Cards sent as part of a 129-card trade! If you are legally required to inform people about Megan's Law, you may want to skip this post, since there are a lot of 18U players in this lot!

Not in the 18U team, but apparently not doing much in the National Team games, is Hunter Morris. Otherwise, why is the best picture you have of him is when he's leaning on the outfield wall?

Maybe he's throwing the ball at a bird flying in the sky. Why else would he be looking up like that?

That's an ugly goat you got there on your chin.

It amazes me when pitchers look like they're not really trying. (Contrast this with the Kuroda card on the last post.) Now, trading card pictures could all be from warm-ups or photo shoots, but I was at a minor-league game a few years ago where the pitcher seemed to be throwing BP. I have video and sometime I might just post it.

Another ugly facial hair picture.

If you want to teach your kids fundamentals, don't show them this card. The video of this play may be better, but I see a glove pointed the wrong way and a fielder not in front of the ball, flat-footed and apparently off balance.

Now, see, he's trying. You can see it in his face. Too bad he's throwing in the bullpen.

Jacob Turner is trying, too, and he gets to pitch on the mound!

Oh yeah, baby! BP Texas-leaguer!

GRR! Tiger! Pitching in the bullpen! You think we don't notice the white lines and squared-off mound?

If Upper Deck was to do USA Heritage, this photo would work. He's standing in front of a concrete wall with water stains!

With hair like that, he could make the Giants. But he'd have to dye it red first, perhaps.

And that finishes the 2009 USA inserts from Upper Deck. Next post, I'll look at some of the 20th Anniversary cards Dominic sent! And thank you again, Dominic!