Half-A-Mega-Trade Part 5

First, I'm gonna say thank you, yet again, to Dominic for sending me so many great cards. (And, thank you to everyone so far who has traded with me to date.) 129 cards, all needed to finish sets or my single-card samples for the 2009 Upper Deck release. You've seen some of the 126 I am not showing today - base cards, USA cards, insert cards, crazy-super-large-2500-card-set cards, buyback cards, and now, a few hits in the bag:

All the hits are Team USA cards. I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do with these three - I could actually collect the jersey set now that I have a good start. You see Matt den Dekker and Mike Leake above and below, respectively. Matt posted on his Twitter account that he's starting this season in the Hi-A Florida State League - he was drafted last year by the Mets.

Mike Leake went straight from the draft to the majors with the Reds last year - the first time someone's done that since 2000, and went 8-4 with a 4.23 ERA in 24 games before injury. He's supposed to have had his season debut yesterday. I don't know what the results are since I wrote this post Monday night. Oops!

Last, this autographed card of Chris Hernandez. He signed with Boston last year, after doing well for Miami as a junior. He only pitched two innings for Lowell last year. It looks like he's playing for the Salem Red Sox this year.

Now, you've seen everything he sent. 129 cards - most of them inserts, with two jerseys and an autograph! A great package to open. 

So, what did I send to Dominic in return for all these fantastic cards? Absolutely nothing! Yet. This was one of those player-to-be-named-later trades. Which is why I titled this half-a-mega-trade. We're only halfway done. He's a Reds fan - I guess he's not a Leake fan! I'll have to find him some really good stuff for all this awesomeness. So, again, thanks to Dominic!

This is not the end, by the way. I have a small back-log of pack busts, eBay grabs, and two more trades (including one even bigger than this) to tell you about. All in due time, though!

Half-A-Mega-Trade Part 4

What do a large phallic object, recycled cardboard, and dancing have in common? They're all featured on the inserts Dominic of Buckeye State sent in trade! This is part four in a series of five, and the post format will change ever so slightly.

First, I'll show you these generally-unloved cards featuring some of the great accomplishments of 2008. Put it in Allen & Ginter as a mini, and collectors want them. Stick them in Upper Deck and they're worthless. Granted, giving a card to the guy who finished the Yankee Stadium Legacy set basically killed the set - that's gotta be the ugliest trading card in the world. (And now that I say that, he's probably going to hunt me down and break my leg or stab me or something. But honestly, dude, just get a haircut.)

Oh, but it gets worse! The Predictors featured outlandish possibilities. Bigfoot? Gas back down to a dollar? Yeah, right. But these five cards almost finish both sets. I believe I need two more from the Firsts set.

These 2008 USA inserts look better than the 2009s - overall 2008 was a better card design. You know your card photo was taken during a photo shoot when you're catching and there's no umpire.

Purple Common completes my StarQuest rainbow. Not of Jake Peavy, just in general. I think there were about 10 variations in 2009.

I'm not really that big of a fan of buybacks. What does the foil stamp prove? Are these cards ever really worth more than their original counterparts? But I needed one anyway! Dominic sent two. Nice crotch shot, by the way, Erik Hanson. I don't think you need the Big Gulp cup. You can try the Dixie size sometime. I'm sure you'd be fine.

These two cards are the only non-Upper Deck cards Dominic sent, both from the 2010 Turkey Red insert set. amazingly, I've ended up with several of these cards over the past week - some of the series one set and a complete series three set.

Aaron Cunningham's Rookie Debut insert. He was traded to the Padres before the 2010 season and did well that year, batting .288 in 53 games. No superstar, but those are good numbers. Apparently, his only home run last year was a grand slam, in his first at bat as a Padre.

And a couple more USA cards. I like this set because it tells you how the team did, instead of just showcasing tons of USA players as rookie speculation cards.

That's it - later today I'll bring you the last post from this great trade, and explain the title. Until then, happy collecting!

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