Finding Lots on an eBay Kick

I have not been going to card shows lately, so I've spent a little time here and there on eBay looking for potential bargains. I've been lucky enough to find a few, so here's the result of my shopping binges.

I'm in the mood for some new music, so let's take a look at what's on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart. Let's start with what I envision might be the very essence of a Heatseeker album: an album by an under-30 millennial guy with a man-bun.

I'm guessing that Avriel & The Sequoias are so high on the chart because Avriel is the soon-to-be-former member of the a cappella band Pentatonix. The song "Sweet Adeline" is the most upbeat song on the EP called Sage And Stone. It's not a bad song. It is a folksy sound -- very much along the whole "Americana" sound championed (ironically) by Mumford & Sons, among others. 

Apropos of nothing, here's four Ryan Braun cards I picked up. The Silver 2016 Archives parallel is serial numbered 13 of 199 and the 2017 Topps Gypsy Queen Green Fortune Teller Parallel Insert is numbered 40 of 99. 

I started talking last time I posted about how I created rules for my player collections that have been a bit difficult to live up to. It's okay that they are, to be fair -- I mean, what's the fun in making the chase simple? But I'm not in any hurry to come up with a new player to collect of this current bunch of new talent. 

Part of me really likes Brett Phillips because he's just a cool, laid-back kid. The downside there is that he is just as likely to end up traded as he is on the Brewers. I've considered Orlando Arcia as well. He might have a career based around his glove alone if recent evidence is anything to rely on. 

But the real point here is that everyone on the current team other than Braun and Jimmy Nelson have barely spent much time on the Brewers. To wit: of position players, the most appearances after Braun's 1384 games over 11 seasons belongs to Hernán Pérez, who has appeared in 280 games in his Milwaukee Career. The pitcher with the most appearances on the team is Wily Peralta with 130, followed by Corey Knebel with 120, and the starter with the most appearances is Nelson with 94. 

So, again, I'm in no hurry for that very reason -- there are the cautionary tales of both Jean Segura and Wily Peralta -- and, frankly, I kind of like being able to cross a set off my list after getting a single team set.

The Number 2 album on the Heatseekers chart is from a Canadian band that's hardly a new artist. The band is called The Birthday Massacre, and they have been around since 1999. They were formed in London, Ontario, and are now based in Toronto. According to their Wikipedia page, they have "utilized the internet throughout their career and are an example of a musical group that has evolved alongside file sharing, and advancements in audio streaming capabilities."

Their whole story is pretty interesting. They even refer to themselves as the "black sheep" of the Canadian music scene. Their music is pretty cool. It's got a goth feel to it. I get a lot of a feel from the music that is similar to New Order or Depeche Mode, but only if they had a female singer and added more of an industrial feel to the music. 

I like it.

 

The Braun 2016 Bowman's Best above came in a four-card lot of 2016 Bowman's Best that included these three cards: Josh Hader a/k/a Haderade, Corey Ray, and Orlando Arcia. These are all guys I could see becoming possible PCs down the road. Ray made the Southern League (High-A) All-Star team as a Carolina Mudcat, along with Isan Diaz, Jake Gatewood, Nate Griep, Freddy Peralta, and Cody Ponce. Of that group, only Diaz (trade with the D-backs) and Peralta (trade with Seattle for Adam Lind) came over in trades. 

Number 3 on the Heatseekers chart comes from a pair of sisters from Muscle Shoals, Alabama called The Secret Sisters. While some sources compare them to the Everly Brothers, their sound to me -- the way they harmonize in particular and especially in this song -- reminds me more of old school sound like The Andrews Sisters rather than anything more recent. 

Other songs on this album, such as "Mississippi," sound much more like a demo tape for Miranda Lambert. By this, I mean there is an earthier sound than on "Tennessee River," but it never reaches that overproduced sound common in Nashville these days. I prefer this sound to the first song. Definitely.

These two cards are enough for tonight. On the left, I was able to find a really good price on the short-print photo variation of Jonathan Lucroy's 2016 Topps card, so I snapped it up for my team collection. On the right, we have Robin Yount in his Dodgers' softball uniform in the 1983 Donruss-style cards. At least Panini got the size of the "D" right this year. I still can't stand how discolored they have to make the cards to avoid getting sued, though.

Thanks for stopping by to read this, and let me know what you think of these three heatseekers!

Breakdown a Trade Post

As I mentioned in my post about the "Big Fun Game" and my winning a 1953 Topps card of Hoyt Wilhelm, I planned almost immediately to trade the Wilhelm card away to a Hoyt collector. That Hoyt collector was Gavin from Baseball Card Breakdown, who reached out to me almost immediately after the game went final and asked whether I had planned to keep the Wilhelm.

I told him the truth -- "absolutely not" and mentioned that I knew he collected so I told him I'd send it to him. In return, he was kind enough to send me a great package of cards, including one that is really tough to find. Let's get into the cards. As usual, I can't just make it about cards, so let's dig into some of Gavin's favorite bands for some music.

The band Mercury Rev had a couple of albums that hit the Heatseekers Albums chart here in the US, and they had one album that was certified gold in the UK (1998's Deserter's Songs). This song, "Dark Is Rising," is very orchestral sounding -- very grand and grandiose at the same time. 

I think I need to listen to this band more. I vaguely recall a song or two of theirs from the mid-1990s time period. I was intrigued, though, when I read this description of the band from The Guardian's Music Blog: "a rarity in indie rock: a band who have continually evolved their sound, pushing at the boundaries of what rock music actually means over 25 years, borrowing from jazz, funk, doo-wop, techno, folk, and more along the way." 

I'll start with a somewhat elusive card set: the 2007 Topps Co-Signers set. This is such a strange set. When I'm looking for cards -- whether online or in person at shows -- I rarely see these and never think to look for them. So, getting one out of the blue was excellent. 

However, unlike Mercury Rev, I'm not all that intrigued by this card. It just looks like a mistake in coloration to have Hall all in red -- or it's an unappreciated gimmick. Hard pass on this, except for the ones I have to get.

On to something more familiar: The Toadies and their song, "Possum Kingdom." This is from the golden years of 1990s alternative -- 1994-1995, of course. I feel lucky, in a way, that I took a year off from school during that time (after graduating college and before starting law school) and that I could enjoy the music that was out that year. 

As one of the recent commenters on YouTube said, "I wanna go back to the 90s, wear a short sleeved shirt over a long sleeved one, grow my hair to my shoulders, listen to music like this, and watch Mallrats." 

Mid-1990s music was really good. Of course, I will also agree wholeheartedly with the fact that there is good music getting put out all the time. I find stuff from the 1970s that I haven't heard either in ages or ever that blows me away. I find stuff from last year that I haven't heard yet, and it really hits me in all the right places. 

I really love music.

Being busy drinking beer, chasing women, smoking too many cigarettes, sleeping in late on weekends, and spending money on beer, women, and music meant that I did not make time in the 1990s for baseball card collecting. Perhaps if I had been less interested in any one of those things, I might have made time for my collection. Probably not, though.

If I had, I would have loved grabbing these Action Packed cards that were issued in 1993 as a continuation of the first series from 1992. It does seem a bit strange to see Cecil Cooper in a set along with Honus Wagner, Mel Ott, and Walter Johnson, but it does not seem strange to see him in a checklist next to Ron Cey and Dave Parker. 

I like it.

Here's a nice couple of songs from a band called Three Mile Pilot. Three Mile Pilot is a San Diego band who did this show on a public radio station called KEXP in Seattle. In a nice little coincidence in light of the fact that Gavin likes this band, the DJ at the beginning even mentions that 3MP would be playing Portland the next night.

I wonder if Gavin went to that show.

This show is about 25 minutes long. To me, the lead singer sounds like a West Coast version of New Orleans legend Alex McMurtry. He has that rougher hewn voice -- reaching for notes, pushing his tone up to meet the pitch he is going for after starting perhaps a half-step (that's a music term) lower. In some respects, it turns what starts almost as a minor chord into a tonic/major chord. Or, I may just have forgotten all my music education from 23+ years ago.

That's possible too.

Matt LaPorta was supposed to be a stud -- the next one off the Brewers mid-2000s conveyer belt of advanced hitters to follow Ryan Braun. LaPorta was a Gator, and the Brewers drafted him after his senior year. LaPorta is now a mortgage loan officer in Tampa with SunTrust Bank. He left baseball thanks to two hip surgeries that gave him tons of pain to even walk. 

I wish him well, except for his whole Gator thing.

Whenever a song's YouTube introduction reads: "The story is a common one. The son of a Portuguese fisherman rediscovers punk rock and rock & roll and moves to Tijuana in order to find musicians whose instincts haven't been replaced by the sedate notion of what it takes to be successful in the world of professional music making."

Of course. That happens all the time. 

I feel like Rocket from the Crypt made a few appearances in Athens while I was in law school there. I have nothing to back that feeling up other than knowing that their band name sounds familiar, but the song "On a Rope" does not.

This Ryan Braun Bowman from 2016 is similar. It's a parallel, maybe. Or maybe not. I can't tell sometimes with Bowman what is a parallel and what isn't. In fact, it's becoming more and more difficult to discern between base and parallels these days. At least it feels like it is to me. 

At least Braun's bulging eye look isn't as prominent on this card as on others.

I loved this song in 1995/1996. I could sing all the lyrics without any problem, and I actively sought this song out. In fact, as I type this, I'm rocking back and forth in my chair almost involuntarily. 

This song was Hum's biggest hit, reaching #11 on the Modern Rock charts in 1995 and #28 on the Mainstream charts. See -- there it is again...the fact that 1995 has yet another great song.

If you have never heard of Hum, they are from Champaign, Illinois -- where the University of Illinois is located. According to Hum's Wikipedia page, the band has reunited and broken up regularly since 2000 -- coming back together for one-off shows in various places around the country including in Chicago and Atlanta.

A song this good deserves an excellent card, as does the last card of the post. This is a Topps Heritage Color Swap variation from the 2015 set. To tell you how difficult these are to find is easy: there is not a single one for sale on eBay at the present time and, in fact, there aren't even any recent sales for the card.

Gavin, thank you so much for the great trade. I hope that the cards I sent to you were enough to match this great package.

COMC Black Friday #5: Jonathan Lucroy

It's been one week since I wrote on here. That's thanks to my five-day sojourn to Palm Desert, California, and back for a work convention. I went out there on Tuesday because of having meetings all day Wednesday, and I didn't make it back to Georgia until Saturday due to having seminars on Thursday and Friday. 



It wasn't a bad place to be for five days.

I thought about posting yesterday, but I just did not have the energy for it until much later in the day -- after reacclimating to the time difference and all that -- and that would have put the post in the midst of the Super Bowl. After watching that game, I think most people now understand truly how terrible it is to be a fan of teams in Georgia. I only picked up a Georgia Bulldog affliction, and even that is terribly bad for my mental health. I can't imagine what it's like to be a lifelong Falcons fan at this point, though.

At any rate, now that the Super Bowl is over, baseball is just around the corner. Pitchers and catchers report across MLB next week, and the World Baseball Classic isn't far behind. The WBC roster for the United States features two catchers -- Leesburg, Georgia's own Buster Posey and the pride of Eustis/Umatilla, Florida, Jonathan Lucroy. That is an excuse to me to post my Jonathan Lucroy cards from my COMC Black Friday haul. 

Let's start logoless:

I pay very little attention to Panini products, and that is probably a little unfair. Actually, it's not unfair -- it's just how I think. I don't think of Panini when I think of cards. I'm starting to think that I should eschew buying any Panini except for my player collections. Not having logos hurts its products badly. Having to recolor jerseys makes things worse. 

Then, suddenly, I get to the end of a year and realize that there is a chrome Donruss product. I literally have no idea when this Optic product came out, what it's composed of, what Brewers are in it, what stupid overwrought parallels there are, and whether I should even care as to what the answers to those questions are. 

But, I do care a little bit. Enough to buy them if I see them cheap.

Speaking of overwrought parallels, I bring you King Bowman of the Parallels. I picked up a green parallel serial numbered to 150, a refractor serial numbered to 500, and a bubbles refractor serial numbered to 99. And yes, I had to look that up on my Lucroy collection page. Almost to 200 now -- ringing in at 196. Gotta love all those parallels fattening up the Lucroy Collection.

What? There are more parallels?

Of course, and this will not be the end of them. I think one of these is the Topps Limited Parallel, one is a mini, and one is the Chrome "Prism Refractor." By the way, did I miss out on hearing that Topps failed to label its refractors in the 2015 Chrome set? I'm pretty sure I have one, but I can't tell for sure because I don't think it's labeled.

See, this is the problem with being both a completist and too busy to pay attention to everything. I miss news from like 18 months ago and look like a moron here asking about it.

But seriously, any help on this?

Then, we have the purple chrome things from Heritage. I really feel like Chrome in Heritage makes little sense. I can understand the desire to have old cards with that new card shine and all, but why make it an insert in the regular Heritage set? I'd prefer it as a standalone product, to be honest, because that way I can choose whether I want Heritage Chrome. 

Plus, purple cards look dumb to me. It's way too much like 1990s sports logos for my tastes, and 1990s sports logos tended to be very dumb.

More Parallels! This time, from 2015 Finest, including the Refractor, the Purple Refractor serial numbered to 250 (there's that damn purple again!) and the Prism Refractor. This card is nice and all, but the only thing that differentiates it from Panini is the fact that (a) the Brewers logo is in the lower left corner, and (b) the colors are right.

I actually like some of the parallels in Topps Triple Threads. I do. But the "amethyst" parallel on the left is just another purple. It is. It's serial numbered to 354, and this "amber" is serial numbered to 125.  

My brain immediately scanned my mental playlist and out comes a song by a band I've never really liked but which has kind of catchy songs. 

My problem with 311 is that the songs are repetitive and nearly all of their songs sound the same. Seriously. Now, it's not terrible music -- at least this one isn't, thanks to being all chill and beachy and all that -- but stuff like "Down" or "All Mixed Up" or "Beautiful Disaster" suck. It's the same damn chord progression with nearly the same rhythms.  At least that is the way it strikes me.

I like A&G X because of it being black. Of course, because it went well in year one (the card above, of course), Topps brought it back for another year despite the fact that it really was A&G XI.  

Apropos of nothing, let's listen to Len.

For whatever reason, one of the comments on YouTube made me laugh: "you can tell it's the 90's because no one is sleeved out with tattoos."

Hilariously true. 

Okay, the final cards may be parallels, may be base cards, but there are six left and I'm quickly running out of what little inspiration I had today. Still sleep deprived, I think.



So, scan dump of Jonathan Lucroy. That Topps Tribute from 2015 is very busy. All those swirls and weird lines trying to make it look high end only succeeds in making it look contrived.

On the other hand, Lucroy in a Wal-Mart parallel makes sense, somehow. Luc's a catcher. There aren't flashy catchers. Even the ones with some flair -- say, Tony Peña -- had plenty of substance and got run over more times than they could remember. That might have been the concussions, though.

The middle row features a Bowman silver parallel and a chrome rookie card for Lucroy. His ascent to the majors was so quick in 2010 that he featured both in the Draft set and the regular Bowman Chrome set -- but not in the base Bowman package.  

Finally, on the bottom row, we have a 2016 Stadium Club and a 2016 A&G Mini with an A&G back. Well, it might not be the A&G back, but back parallels are the most worthless and pointless of parallels, so let's just say it is. 

We need to close with a song, right? 

Speaking of overwrought and the 1990s, it's Scott Stapp and Creed, "With Arms Wide Open." Why would I subject myself and you to this? Because Jonathan Lucroy grew up in Umatilla, Florida. Umatilla also counts among its "notable residents" one Jaclyn Nesheiwat Stapp. Jaclyn was Miss New York USA in 2004 and Mrs. Florida America in 2008 -- after she married Creed frontman, Scott Stapp.

Thanks for rumbling through!

That New Cardboard Smell

Atlanta weather in the winter is about as bipolar as it gets. Now, in the summer, it's very consistent -- between 85 and 95, a bit humid, sometimes some thunderstorms. But in the winter, well, it's all over the place. In December alone, it was 75 degrees on Christmas Day but then, on New Year's Eve, it was a high of 45 degrees. Today, it might not even break 32.

All of this has conspired to give me one heck of a cold. I could only wish that I could smell the cardboard of the cards that Tim from I Love the Smell of Cardboard in the Morning. Tim sent me a packed mailer before Christmas, and it's taken me this long just to get it all scanned and sorted.  Let's break them down by player.

Ryan Braun

It's sort of funny that the Topps Ticket to Stardom set from 2009 called Braun a "Seasoned Veteran" considering that, in 2009, Braun had a grand total of 264 appearances in the major leagues. Of course, in those first two seasons, he hit 71 HRs, won the Rookie of the Year award, was named an All-Star, won a Silver Slugger Award, and led the NL in Slugging as a Rookie with a .634 SLG. 

Since then, of course, he's had his ups and downs but seems to have rebounded to the point where teams are considering trading for him -- I've heard everyone from the Dodgers, the Giants and the Phillies to the Orioles and Blue Jays being possible landing spots. 

While everyone in the national media seems to believe that Braun being traded is a fait accompli, there is a significant portion of the Brewers fanbase that believes that Braun has shown that he could still be a part of the next winning Brewers team. Now, that could be homerism, certainly. The team could be worse this year than last. We'll see.

Prince Fielder

Big Prince. Fielder had to retire after his second spinal fusion surgery. What was going on for him was that he had a herniated disk which led to pressure on his spinal cord. That pressure led to weakness in his left arm, causing him to be unable to swing a bat properly. Prince is lucky. As Kevin Mitchell detailed in his appearance on The Hall of Very Good Podcast, he was suffering from the same issue without it being diagnosed -- leading to him dropping down to 145 pounds and being paralyzed for a while. Seriously.

Prince is still owed about $104 million by the Tigers and Rangers through the 2020 season so money is not an issue. Aren't the guaranteed contracts in baseball great? I mean that seriously. The contracts are great for the players. Contrast that with the NFL, where far less money and far fewer years are ever guaranteed in what is a far more difficult, far less certain, far more violent sport in which to play. 

Ben Sheets

That Prime Patches Quad Relic Autograph 😍  😻  🙌  🙅

I just noticed that I can now add emojis to my blog. My life is now complete. 🎷 ⚾ ⚾ ⚾

Yovani Gallardo

Yovani just was traded to the Mariners by the Orioles. Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto was quoted as saying that, "after examining the free agent and trade market, Yovani is the best fit for our club as we move forward this offseason." Was their analysis of the free agent market limited to the California Penal League?

Seriously, Gallardo had a bad, bad season last year in Baltimore, and it should not have been a surprised. His strikeout rate has declined every year since 2013 at the same time that the league's strikeout rate has increased. Gallardo also hit the DL last year for shoulder problems. It does beg the question of what analysis that Dipoto and his staff did. Wishcasting?

Carlos Gomez

Lots of Golden Gomez here, with the highlight being the 1983 wannabe Gomez from 2015 Topps Archives being a parallel serial numbered to 50.  

Talk about a guy with a good agent and all the promise in the world: Gomez was absolutely terrible in Houston -- a terribleness that it always appeared he had in him, seeing as his idea of patience at the plate is to wait to start eating until after his dinner companions take their first bite. He got released by Houston, which slashing at .221/.277/.342 over the course of 126 games pretty much deserves. He gets signed by Texas and his 33 games there convince the Rangers to sign him for one year at a raise of $2.5 million a year -- to $11.5 million.

It is very telling that his most similar comparable player for his career (and #3 through age 30) is Corey Patterson. Patterson struggled to identify pitches he could hit, he did not walk much, he had good speed on the bases and was a good defensive player. Patterson also crashed out of the major leagues after the 2011 season at the age of 31 (though he spent 2012 essentially serving as Gomez's backup by being the starting CF for the Nashville Sounds in the Brewers organization). 

It should be an interesting year for Gomez.

For the rest of this post, I'm going to show off a few parallels and inserts that Tim sent:

Look at all the pretty colors! That Wes Helms Gold Refractor is actually a damn good looking card in hand, as is the sepia refractor for Aramis Ramirez. 

On the other hand, that "bubbles" thing going on for Nick Ramirez...not so much. Speaking of Nick Ramirez, it appears that his career is stalling out in Double-A. He's spent three seasons there, and he has not exactly lit the world on fire -- .229/.323/.402 in nearly 1400 Double-A at bats is an established level of play. I have my doubts that anything will come of his career at this point, but we will see. I mean, he turns 28 this year on August 1. 

There is one last card that I do need to show off:

I still like Luc, and this card being numbered out of ten floored me. I'd forgotten about that parallel for A&G in 2015 -- probably lost amidst the mist of parallels that Topps has put out generally. It happens.

Many thanks to Tim for the great cards -- and I hope that he enjoyed my Secret Santa envelope to him.