A PWE from the Shoebox Legend

The Brewers finished their work on the pre-waiver deadline by sending Gerardo Parra to the Orioles for pitcher Zach Davies, a guy who was drafted out of high school by the Orioles in 2011 and suddenly developed into a real prospect.  He's slight of build -- 6' tall but just 160 pounds -- but he's a 22-year-old who has had good success in Triple-A already this year as a starter.  In their other trade of the day, the team sent Jonathan Broxton to the Cardinals -- meaning that he'll probably turn into the reincarnation of Bruce Sutter thanks to the power of the dark side of the Force -- in exchange for Malik Collymore, a raw athlete built like a linebacker who is still in Rookie ball.

After all that trading, it feels almost cathartic as a Brewers fan to get back to card collecting and hoping that next year will be a little bit better.  A great pick-me-up can in the mail this week from Shane of Shoebox Legends.  He and I have sent cards back and forth several times now, and I was really happy to see a PWE from him in my mailbox this week.

What did Shane send my way? 8 great cards.  Let's count them down:

#8: 2009 Upper Deck Todd Coffey

Coffee spent parts of three seasons in Milwaukee. His BB/K ratio always seemed to indicate that he should have better results than he did, but he was plagued by giving up too many home runs. He's still at it, though -- pitching in relief for Los Diablos Rojos del Mexico (a/k/a the Mexico City Red Devils).

#7: 2014 Panini Prizm Jimmy Nelson

Maybe this card should be #8, since everyone knows my aversion to the no-logo cards and because Nelson looks like he's a member of the airbrushed away Yankees with that gray and blue-turned-to-black that Panini went with here.  He pitched well two nights ago only to watch the bullpen blow the game. I hope Jimmy gets used to being on a bad team for a couple of years.

#6: 2004 Fleer Platinum Name Plates Richie Sexson

It's tough to rate a 4-color patch piece serial numbered to 420 this low. But this card is a mess. A piece of a uniform of a guy traded after the 2003 season, shown with the Brewers in a really unattractive photo but listed on the Diamondbacks thanks to the trade. Why is this a mess? The photo is cropped poorly. The D-backs name looks like no font that should ever show its face outside of a disco album from 1978.  And, well, if it's a Brewers uniform that's cut up, then just don't worry about the trade and just list him as a Brewer.  Ugh.

#5: 1986 Sportflics Teddy Higuera

It's not that there's anything wrong with this card. It's just not as nice as the other cards Shane sent.

#4: 2015 Bowman (Chrome) Prospect Parallel Tyler Wagner

Please pardon the cat hair that makes its debut on Tyler Wagner's first Bowman card. After all the trades that the Brewers made, I fully expect Bowman Chrome or Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects will have about 8 or 10 Brewers farmhands in it.

Ha. Who am I kidding? We'll see the Yankees' 50th best prospect in those two sets before we'll see 10 Brewers.

#3: 2011 Topps Lineage Mini Relic Yovani Gallardo

I'm torn on ranking this card as highly as I have in large part because I already have it in my Gallardo player collection and, then, partly because it's just a piece of white fabric that causes this to be a relic.

#2: 2015 Stadium Club Wily Peralta Gold Foil Parallel

So, this is the first 2015 Stadium Club card I have in my collection, and it's a gold parallel. If Peralta were a player collection for me, it might have ranked #1 overall. It's a good photo, cropped well. My only complaint is not having a background behind Peralta to look at. But that's a minor problem.

I'm hoping that when I go to my local card show tomorrow, I'll be able to pick up the Series 2 Brewers, the Stadium Club Brewers, and whatever other recent releases there have been. With all the turbulence in my work life this year, it's been tough to keep up.

#1: 2015 Stadium Club Contact Sheet Insert Carlos Gomez

A Carlos Gomez Stadium Club insert seems an appropriate way to bring this post to a close. It's a new addition to my Gomez player collection, which is greatly appreciated, just as Gomez's joy in playing the game of baseball was greatly appreciated over his 5-1/2 years in Milwaukee.

Shane, thank you very much for the great cards and the midweek lift that your PWE brought me!