Buying From Brent

Tomorrow, thankfully, the election in my House of Representatives District -- the now infamous GA-06 about which every national political commentator suddenly has become an expert regarding demographics, voting tendencies, geography, and restaurants -- will come to a close. At least I hope so. It would be a terrible trick if the Russian hackers decided to intervene in the election and create a recount of some sort.

Just thinking about it makes me angry and think of punk rock. And yes, the Problem is You!

Perhaps it is funny, and perhaps it is appropriate, that I've only mentioned The Sex Pistols twice on this blog -- and the most recent of them was to highlight my purchase of 2016 Heritage from Brent Williams of Brent & Becca. I've taken the tack this year of finding more team sets on eBay to avoid some of the problems of putting together team sets through random finding at card shows. 

This time around, I'm going to show the result of a couple of purchase packages from Brent. Let's start with 2017 Finest:

While this looks like I bought two of everything, rest assured that the top three cards are the base cards and the bottom three cards are Refractors. I like the use of the gold on the card, but man -- these look like they were infected with that JPEG disease that haunts the base set this year: that Topps had its designers aim for something that would look good on the Bunt App and if it translates to physical cards, well, so be it.  

As an aside, if you would have told me when the season started that (a) Ryan Braun would have played 30 games by June 19; and, (b) Jonathan Villar would also be on the DL as of June 19 and be slashing .213/.283/.342 in 250 plate appearances, I would have guessed that the Brewers would be somewhere around Phillies territory. It's really been a great ride already for the team. Here's hoping that the ride can continue for a while.

Appropriately for showing Topps Finest, here's a song by The Boo Radleys called "The Finest Kiss." The Boo Radleys were definitely in that "shoegazing" thing that was popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s in England. Their best known song in the US is probably "There She Goes," which is actually a cover of a song by The La's but which the Radleys covered for the introduction to the movie So I Married An Axe Murder.

Earlier this year, I also bought a master set (probably) from Brent of Topps Bunt. Actually, I bought a little extra because, after all, I have to have two Brauns. I have been trying to place where I have seen that photo of Yount and have been unable to do it. I know I've seen it somewhere though.

When I got back into collecting in 2013/2014, I decided to have bunches of player collections to represent all the different years of the Brewers franchise. As part of that, I made the rule for myself that I needed two of each card -- one for the PC, one for the team set. As I have collected longer, I have started to realize what a fool's errand creating my collection that way is. I mean, it's not easy to find one card serial numbered to 250 from 2002 -- not to mention two. I'm starting to reconsider more and more that position. I may end up scaling it back just to base sets. 

That, or I may just decide that I want to collect all the cards from the 1980s. That appeals to me too. That would be a fun pursuit.

Needing music, I put "Bunt" into the search bar at YouTube and found this band called BUNT. (song is called "Coming Home") that sounds a lot like the song "Wake Me Up" by Avicii to me. There are definitely sound qualities within the song's bridge that strike me as very similar. So, if you are into a danceable sound like Avicii, you might like this song.

Next up: Archives. The Brewers pretty much are getting the same three players in all the sets these days: Ryan Braun, Orlando Arcia, and Jonathan Villar. I get it, of course -- the Brewers were not very good last year, turned over half their roster, and traded away any/all the mainstays that might otherwise engender being included in a set. 

Since the beginning of the season, of course, several players have emerged. For instance, there is former Korean Baseball star Eric Thames -- who is a hell of a lot more chill than I am about all the times he has been tested for drugs/steroids -- whose numbers here are pretty damn impressive: .265/.399/.607 for an OPS of 1.007. There is the Mayor of Ding Dong City, Travis Shaw, about whom I was cautious in light of his .251/.312/.442 slash line in Boston. It's still early days for him, but he, too, has looked fairly good and has learned to take advantage of the hitters' park that is Miller Park. 

Throw in pretty good performances from Hernan Perez, Keon Broxton, Domingo Santana, and the completely out-of-character run that Eric Sogard has been on, along with Manny Pina's play behind the plate and Jesus Aguilar's ability to play first while Thames is in the outfield, and you can see the real issue here is simply the fact that no one has heard of these guys. Now if only the firestarters in the bullpen would put down the torches, the team would be in even better shape.

I'm starting to think that there is a band with a name to match about anything I can think of at this point. This band is called Archive. Perhaps not surprisingly, they, too, are in the trip hop/shoegaze arena of music. To be fair, I had never heard of them before my searching today, but I feel like I should have. Their songs are well written and are driven by lyrics. That's a sure way to get my attention.

The final cards I got from Brent were randomly dispersed amongst various sets. We have the "Fortune Teller" tallboy insert from Gypsy Queen as well as the printing-mistake-made-parallel blackless version of Braun's GQ card. There's the Mauricio Dubon autograph from Topps Pro Debut in 2017 at the top, and then the Isan Diaz "Bowman Scouts' Top 100" insert from Bowman.

I'm still looking for a bunch of those "Top 100" inserts, if you might be willing to trade those to me.

Since, thankfully, there is not a song to go with "Pro Debut", I figured I'd go with "Fortune Teller" by The Rolling Stones. 

And I will not let an opportunity to post a Van Morrison song go past me, with his song "Gypsy Queen" popping up. Again, let's be fair: a song called "Bowman Scouts' Top 100" would suck.

Brent is a good guy to do business with, and I'll probably buy more from him in the future. If only he wouldn't save all the good Brewers cards for someone else, I'd buy much more from him.

Trade Baiting Me

The World of Blogging really does not seem to be too different from the world off the computer. There are always some people -- whether you know them well or not -- to whom you feel a bit stronger of an affinity than perhaps other people. Whether there is a reason for it or not, that tie is there.

Now, I don't even know if this is true for him, but I have always felt that affinity for my pal Stealing Home of the blog All Trade Bait, All The Time. SH was one of the first people that I traded with a couple of years ago when I first started blogging and getting involved in this incredibly cool world. 

Today's post is a thank you to him for a current trade, but it's also a thank you for the times we have traded in the past.

First, a current card:

That's a Prince Fielder Die-Cut Upper Deck X. I think that one goes in my "inserts" binder, which I have yet to get a real start on.

So, when SH and I first worked out a trade two years ago in March, I still had a bit of trepidation about trades -- I was very concerned about "fairness" and "value" and also with making sure I didn't get "ripped off." I was certain that someone would comment quickly about a trade that I got ripped off and make fun of me for that. I'm not sure why that was -- I don't think I've ever seen anyone post like that anywhere. So when SH and I traded for the first time, I was overjoyed with how generous he was. 

B.J. Surhoff 1995 Score Gold Rush

People like him helped me feel comfortable with loading up envelopes and mailing stuff to people I have never met in person before (for the most part...I have traded with three fellow bloggers who live in the Atlanta area) and not being all that concerned with being absolutely positive about "getting fair value" or "not getting ripped off."

I celebrated that first trade with SH back in April of 2014 with one of my first true music/card posts. The positive response to that post also encouraged me to continue abusing all of y'all's ears with music I like or find.

Greg Vaughn 1994 Donruss Triple Play

Thankfully, SH has good taste in music. I didn't have to put up any 98 Degrees or NKOTB or Justin Bieber or Simply Red. It was good stuff.

Really good stuff.

It is difficult to go wrong with Social Distortion -- a band I first heard during my freshman year at college a little more than 25 years ago. As this song says -- and as SH's trading reminded me -- you only wanna do what you think is right, but close your eyes and it's past...the story of my life.

Dave Nilsson 1995 Leaf Limited

Life really does go by so fast. The great thing is that people like SH exist in our little blog world, passing along cards we need, reminding us of music we love (or introducing us to music we may learn to love), and maybe even introducing us to beers we need to try. It's all about making life good, enjoyable, treating others well, and hoping that we have a positive impact on the world around us.

1988 Topps UK Mini of Paul Molitor

That feeling of connectedness with our fellow bloggers -- that is really what this is all about to me. It makes me happy to be a part of such a generous group of people. It genuinely upsets me when something that has positive intentions is made to look negative by others -- whether because they are not a part of the positive side of things or because, well, all they have in their life is darkness.

I used to be a much more negative person -- very pessimistic, seemingly always finding that black cloud for the silver lining I'd been shown. I don't know when that changed for me exactly, but it did change. I sometimes have to kickstart my brain to get out of the negative to find a positive spin on things. But, when all is said and done, this hobby is a reminder of the fact that most of the time we can trust the positive.

This Robin Yount relic from 2001 started this whole trade out between SH and me. It is a photo of Yount in the late 1990s Brewers uniform -- probably after he retired.

I am very appreciative of this great trade package from SH. Remembering the positives in our hobby is a great thing, and appreciating the incredibly positive folks like SH is even greater.

Thanks again, my friend!

Completed Trade with All Trade Bait, All The Time

Mr. Stealing Home from All Trade Bait All The Time posted a Ryan Braun insert about a month ago that I really liked.  I reached out to him, and we were able to work out a deal.  The Braun actually ended up being one of the lesser cards that Oscar sent.

Now, if you read his profile, you can see that S.H. is a Dodger fan, but he's been kind enough as well to fill us in on some of his favorite music.  He likes The Stones, The Clash, X, Roots reggae, the Cramps, and Social Distortion. So, let me pick some songs out of those catalogs -- massive though they may be, especially since roots reggae is like "grunge" rather than being a band -- and introduce some of the cards that he sent.

Hang Fire

One of the Stones most overtly political songs (Keith Richards said in a 1981 interview with Rolling Stone that he relates this song to English politicians who did nothing and caused the country's decline when times got tight) is also the only song to introduce a Prince Fielder insert from Upper Deck:

I remember that Stones song from being a kid -- it had a catchy hook to it, and something about the song did feel at least a little countercultural.  Fielder's Pure Heat card pales in comparison, but it's tough for cardboard to beat out music.

The Magnificent Seven

When I saw that SH liked the Clash, well, that is what inspired this entire post's theme.  To be fair, this theme is a bit better than, "Hey, look what I got y'all!"

I've loved The Clash since I heard Rock the Casbah as a 10-year-old.  Then, I went to college and had a good friend who was a huge Clash fan.  He gave me a dubbed version on cassette of London Calling, and I was totally hooked.

The Magnificent Seven clip above is from the Tom Snyder Show in 1981.  The song itself comes from the triple album Sandinista!, which Rolling Stone magazine ranked as #404 of the 500 best albums all time. I own it on CD.

This song is not that much of a stretch for introducing four-time Brewer All-Star Don Money who, you guessed it, wore the number 7 in the mid-to-late-70s and early 1980s.

That is some 1977 goodness right there; SH also sent me a 1979 Topps of Money.  Money's best year probably was 1977 -- he hit 25 homers, drove in 83 runs, was an all-star, and played 152 games split amongst second base, left field, third base, and designated hitter.  He was Tony Phillips before Tony Phillips was.  Money retired at the end of the 1983 season, and he is a guy who is one of my player collections I'm putting together.

We're Desperate (NSFW Lyrics)

The band X is not one I've listened to much, to be honest -- I should have by now because I do like punk, but I just haven't.  Anyway, when I saw this song and its title, I knew exactly which card had to accompany it -- the guy whose 2006 signing screamed "We're Desperate" to free agents everywhere...at least in my book:

The Brewers signed Suppan after the 2006 season from St. Louis.  Taking a page from the late Al Davis, the Brewers brass apparently believed Suppan's NLCS MVP Award meant that Suppan was primed to become an ace -- contrary, of course, to everything in his career otherwise.  To be fair, Suppan was coming off a 190 inning season with a 4.12 ERA and a ERA+ of 108.  Otherwise, Suppan's career screamed "MEDIOCRE INNINGS EATER."  By the time his albatross of a contract was nearing an end -- four long years later -- the Brewers had realized that you do not qualify as an innings eater if you only pitch 31 innings in 15 games...at a 7.84 ERA and just cut him.  Of course, Suppan caught on with St. Louis and pitched reasonably well for them.

Tear It Up

In honor of the year that he had in 1981, the only one who could be honored appropriately with "Tear It Up" by The Cramps -- the innovators of psychobilly (a subgenre that is alive and well, thankfully -- just stop at the Star Community Bar in Atlanta for that) -- is Rollie Fingers.  Now, I have had this card since it came out in the early 1980s, but, well, my card looks like it.  This one is a huge upgrade in condition for me:

 Ball And Chain

"Well it's been ten years and a thousand tears and look at the mess I'm in...."

In his tenth season with the Brewers organization and with a contract that, in fairness, may look like a bargain at some point but could easily end up an albatross, the only player who could be feted with Social Distortion is none other than Ryan Joseph Braun:

Both of these will work well in my team and player collection.  There were a number of other cards, but I worry that I will bury this theme if I go for another round!

Many thanks to Mr. Stealing Home for the trade, and I hope that both you and he enjoyed the musical interludes.