All Things New York Mets

All Things New York Mets

Monday, September 29, 2014

A BIG Post and a Contest Pimp!!!!

First off let me say I read the blogs daily and look at all your comments on my blog, but just may not respond due to not having much time working an odd hour shift and having a 2yr and 5yr old at home and a wife who is not feeling well the past few months.  So I apologize that I'm not commenting and posting more.

Hopefully you continue reading past this CONTEST PIMP from the Cynical Buddha over at Collectors Crack in picking the World Series and some other tie breakers. So what are you waiting for get clicking and picking.  I did


Well the Mets finished with a record of 79-83.  I was really hoping for .500, but knew that Sandy's goal of 90 wins was pretty much unobtainable this year.  They showed that they can compete with the talent they brought up and called up throughout the year.  They are in desperate need of another one or two power bats for the corner outfield spots.

It will be interesting to see what the Mets do this off season in regards to acquisitions, trades, and free agenecy.  Their starting rotation figures to be a notch or 2 better with the return of Harvey and all the young arms that they amassed over the past few seasons.  Their number one prospect is also a starting pitcher in Noah Syndergaard who never saw the bigs this year and stayed at Triple A Las Vegas almost all year.  Travis d'Arnaud is a free agent this year I believe and they have a few prospects at this position also so it should make for an eventful off-season.

The bullpen had its up and downs this year, but Familia and Mejiia were pretty much spot on all year.

Lucas Duda surprised me this year with his 30HRs for the season.

Well I'm thinking of doing a contest and giving away some black bordered '09 Ginter minis amongst some other things.  Anybody interested in the black minis as part of the prize?

Well here is a card that I've been waiting for Topps to send to me for a few months.  It comes from this years Museum Collection and it is the first auto in my collection of Mike Piazza.  The card I received is a 2014 Silver Framed Auto /10 that came slabbed from Topps.  Probably one of the greatest if not the greatest hitting catcher of all time.



LETS GO MOUNTAINEERS!!!!  BEAT KANSAS

and till next year

LETS GO METS and YA GOTTA BELIEVE!!!!   2015  MLB Playoffs or BUST!!!!!

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Food for Thought

Let me just start off by saying it is 3am yet again and I just got out of work about 30mins ago and figured I'd bust out a blog post before heading to sleep being I'll be awake probably by 8 due to the kids. Wait who am I kidding it's gameday.

 LETS GO MOUNTAINEERS

Well first let me start off by saying my wife had one of the coolest OB/GYNs that anyone could ask for. You're probably scratching your heads going yea right whatever. Well let me explain. The first visit with him while my wife was pregnant I had on a Mets hat or t-shirt and it came to be that he was a Mets fan also and grew up in NYC. So the first few minutes of every appointment that she had while she was pregnant he'd talk to me first about the Mets and baseball on general. My wife just chuckled and said she needed to find a new Dr.  This went on for both pregnancies. I know most guys dreaded going to the OB/GYN but I somehow lucked out I guess. Small world. Also found out some pretty neat things too from him, but that'll have to wait another day. 

Well our first son was born late 2009 and our second mid 2012. Neither of those seasons were to good for the Mets. One appoint we got talking about how frustrating it is to be a Mets fan as of late especially after two collapses in a row and one of those being a historic collapse. He got to explaining in his opinion how a baseball season is really only about 62 games that mean anything.   He said that the best teams only lose about 50 games and the worst teams win only about 50 games. So it really only comes down to about 62 games that mean anything. Cause he said you can pretty much automatically give everybody 50 wins and looses it's what they do with those other 62 games that matter.  Unless of course your the 62 Mets and go 40-120 and the 2003 Tigers and go 43-119.  Let's hear your thoughts and opinions on this?

Well the mets beat the Braves yesterday to get one game closer to the proverbial .500 mark and I believe they are only 7 wins away from achiving that mark. I'm hoping they can hit it this year and make a run next year with their pitching. 

Well here is one key bullpen piece in Jeurys Familia who has been pretty stellar in his setup role. And to follow suit is his 2013 Topps Chrome auto card. 

Well Goodnight and here's to a Mountaineer win

LETS GOOOO MOUNTAINEERS!!!!!

and 


LETS GO METS and YA GOTTA BELIEVE!!!!

Friday, September 19, 2014

Tavon's Night

Two years ago we got to witness what most Mountaineer fans recall as Tavons Night against Oklahoma. It saw him switch from flanker to RB and ammass 532 all purposes yards and 344 rushing yards. I can remember the frustration and perplexed looks on the OU sideline of not having a clue on how to try to slow him down or contain him. Tavon was a special player and hopefully he gets utilized by the Rams kind of like the Seahawks utilize Percy Harvin. He set multiple records that night and torched the Big 12 all purposes yards record by over a hundred yards. Too bad OU won that contest by a score of 50-49 when scoring a touchdown with only 24 seconds left in the 4th quarter. Hopefully this weekend we see someone else have a coming out party against OU and pull off the victory. I'm kinda like a kid at Christmas and can't wait for this game.

Here is a Topps Finest auto relic of the Tavon Austin. Sorry that it is a tad dark and for the glare.

Also here is a short video showing some highlights of Tavons night. 



I just wish I could fall asleep being it's 1:30 am and I'm wide awake while very one else is sound asleep in the house. I guess that's what happens when your used to working midnights cause earlier tonight I was dead tired and could have went to bed at 7 but that would have resulted in like a 3-4am wake up. 


LETS GO MOUNTAINEERS!!!!!!

and

LETS GO METS and YA GOTTA BELIEVE !!!!!

Thursday, September 18, 2014

'14 Triple Threads the First of Many......Hopefully

Lets turn some sour grapes from yesterdays post about eBay it to something good like wine or juice for those of you that don't drink.  Well as you all may know Triple Threads released last week and it is one of my favorites to collect.  A day or two after the release date I was going through my saved searches for 2014 TTT Mets and came across a BIN/BO on eBay for Zack Wheeler /50 auto relic.  I tend to shy away from release day and close to release day purchases due to the ultra premium that comes purchasing cards during that time.  Well the listing had a BIN/BO price of $19.95 plus shipping.  I threw out an offer of $6 bucks and was expecting to receive a decline/counter offer from the seller of around $12-$15 bucks.  Well, that didn't happen much to my surprise...the seller actually accepted my offer after about 24 hours.  I haven't checked out eBay in a few days to see what this cards is selling for at auction, but the last time I checked it was about $8 or more depending on the numbering of the card.  Maybe I got a good deal or maybe I didn't only time will tell.

So without further ado here is that beautiful card that I purchased.


Now onto something a little bit more interesting that I discovered with this card and some other cards from Topps.  You see that little blurb about game used memorabilia right above the relic on the right hand side.  Well when I flipped the card over there is another blurb of the relic contained on this card is not from any specific game, event, or season right above the trademark and copyright stuff. Which is it Topps?  Game used or not.  When I hear event I think like a signing, practice/warm-up, appearance, or something to that affect that does not involve a game.  Heck for all we know he could have worn this while sitting the bench and its still counts as game used.  Well Topps should use a blurb like this when the front says game used, the relic contained on this card is not from any specific game or season.  That way it takes out any question of being game used or not when you exclude the event part.  Any thoughts?


LETS GO MOUNTAINEERS!!!!!! 
BEAT OKLAHOMA gosh is their BOOMER SOONER song annoying or what.  Especially
 when it is played after every score or big play.  Hopefully they don't bring their band Saturday.

and

LETS GO METS and YA GOTTA BELIEVE!!!!!!

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

PREMIER Stories from the eBay

This past weekend I was perusing eBay to see if any deals could be found.  Along the way I found a few that I decided to make offers on, but not before checking some previously sold values of the same items that just sold.  The item I was interested in was from this years Triple Threads release of the All Star relics numbered to 9.  The card sold at auction from right around $45.00 and there were to separate listings of BIN/BO which were $99.99 and $129.99.

I put offers on for that were below the sales price of the auction, but were respectable to get the process started of a little haggling back and forth.  None the less that didn't happen with either listing.  The seller of the $99 listing responded back "WOW IS THIS ALL AT ONCE OR IN PAYMENTS" and countered with $99.98.  I upped my counter and got a decline.  The second one didn't even counter my offer and just declined with "DO NOT NOW OR EVER PLACE ANOTHER BID ON MY SITE!!!!!!!"  I just love sellers on eBay.  I will probably place another offer on the last guy in a few days to see what happens and I'll keep you posted.

How about rookie Jacob DeGrom for the Mets last night striking out the first 8 batters of the game to tie the MLB modern day record.  His stats are 8-6 134K's 2.68 ERA 1.14WHIP and .230BAA.  Pretty impressive for a rookie.  Hopefully hes in discussion for rookie of the year with a line like that.

Now before we get to a card I finally got one of my redemption's from Topps today.  I'll have to make a post all by itself cause its a awesome card.  I also have to showcase another card that I've had for awhile.  Just now to find the time to do it and come up with some goody's for a CONTEST.

Whats a post without a card.  How about a 2008 UD Premier Steve Slaton rookie auto card /5.  I've had this card for awhile and probably paid more than what its worth today, but I plan on keeping it being its a WVU guy.  Slaton had a phenomenal rookie season rushing for almost 1300 yards and 9 touchdowns.  Too bad the injury bug bit him his second year in the league cause he never recovered or preformed like he did his rookie year.  I believe he his playing currently for the Tornoto Argonauts in the CFL.




LETS GO MOUNTAINEERS!!!!

and

LETS GO METS and YA GOTTA BELIEVE!!!

Monday, September 15, 2014

TRADE: It's Like Having My Own Cardshop

A little awhile ago I reached out to Daniel over at It's Like Having My Own Cardshop about a possible trade of some Diamondbacks cards I pulled from some breaks I did.  Of course he was interested in the cards being they were a mini printing plate of Brandon Webb and 2 autos of Brandon McCarthy along with some other cards I happened to have.  He emailed me back saying to give him some time to find something he could offer in return and he reached out with what you will see below which I was thrilled to receive.  I didn't have either of these cards nor did I ever look to see if I could obtain either of them, but was glad to receive them and add them to my collection.

The first card here is a 2002 Topps Pristine David Wright Rookie Card which is absolutely beautiful and the picture just doesn't do it enough of justice.  This is the first rookie card I've owned of Mr. Wright and hopefully he heals up and this season was just a hiccup in his stellar career.

The next card I received from Daniel was a 2009 Topps Unique Dual Distinction Relic of David Wright and Jose Reyes numbered /99.  I'm just a little puzzled as to what jerseys these pieces are actually from.  I haven't done any research nor have I looked at the back of the card to see if it says anything.  I'm guessing either WBC or All Star.  Let me know if you have any ideas where they are from.


He also sent a nice ginter mini of David Wright and nice Bobby Parnell Rookie Card.


















Thanks again Daniel can't wait to our next trade.

Well this weekend is a big home game for the Mountaineers as #3 Oklahoma comes for a Saturday night visit to Mountaineer Field.  Last time they visited it was a scorefest coming down to the last possession of 50-49 contest which saw the Sooners win.  The past few years Mountaineer Field hasn't had quite the intimidating fans as it once had years ago so hopefully that will all change this weekend and the Mountaineers can pull the upset.  It seems the fans are more into the team this year than the past few years.  I'd like to see Mountaineer Field Saturday night all fired up like it was in 2003 when we beat good all #3 Virginia Tech 28-7 and in the second half they cHOKIES never crossed midfield.  Lets hope for the same type of atmosphere and outcome of this game.

LETS GO MOUNTAINEERS!!!!

and

LETS GO METS and YA GOTTA BELIEVE

Friday, September 12, 2014

Trade: Too Many Verlanders

I reached out to Dennis being I pulled a Verlander relic out of a blaster box of 13 Archives to see if he was interested, which he was.  This was my first time trading with Dennis over at Too Many Verlanders and hopefully the first of many.

Here is just a few of the Giants cards he sent me.  I like the pink Cruz and the Refractor of the lineman.  Too bad Nicks got away because when he was healthy he was a huge upside in our passing game.  I think this may be a long long season for Eli and Victor unfortunately.

Here is a Jedd Gyorko out of 499 that I didn't have in my collection and was happy to add it.
Thanks again Dennis for the trade

After a crazy and wild game between the Mountaineers and Terps the Mountaineers decided to walk off in style and kick a game winner as time experience. Bring on the Sooners. 

LETS GO MOUNTAINEERS!!!!

and

LETS GO METS  and YA GOTTA BELIEVE!!!!

PWE from 2 by 3 Heroes

First off hope there is no serious injury to Stanton that just looked gruesome and awful.

Secondly I was able to snag a 2014 Triple Threads relic auto for dirt cheap that I thought I stood no chance of getting on a best offer, but more on that another day in another post.

This post is all about the PWE.

I apologize I am about a week behind on my mailing posts that I received via trade baits or just good old PWEs.  This post is courtesy of Jeff over at 2 by 3 Heroes.  He surprised me yet again with a BIG stack of random Mets cards spanning from the 80's to 2000's and beyond.  I was shocked by the assortment being some of the cards I probably still have at my moms packed away somewhere that I forgot about being I collected some of these cards back in the day.  Thanks Jeff for rekindling some childhood memories.

Below is the stack I received minus the few cards below that I took pictures of.  Gotta love the good old Fleer and the stirrups of Sid Fernandez.


Here is a card I probably never had as a kid being my mom wouldn't allow us to eat Sugary cereal as kids growing up.  I'm currently envisioning a new saying in the upper left corner of Cap'n Cokehead, but little did I know as a kid.  Gotta love Dr. K

 Here is a product I shied away from since busting a few boxes of 2009 Ginter.  Next up on my quest for autos is an auto of Tom Terrific.
 Here is a card that brought back some child hood memories of the 1986 All Star Darryl Strawberry.  I'm sure that I have some of his teammates lurking back at my moms being I collected these like crazy.

 Here are some sweet sweet mini's that I didn't have
And last but not least is this beauty of a heartbreak card from the 2006 NLCS.  I can remember watching this game and being on an emotional high in the 6th inning I believe when Endy made that catch to rob Scot Rolen of a home run.  Then the sails deflated when Yadier hit his home run, but the biggest blow was Carlos Beltran taking a strike 3 looking from a Wainwright curve with bases loaded 2 outs bottom of the 9th.

Thanks Jeff for the cards.


LETS GO MOUNTAINEERS!!!!

and

LETS GO METS and YA GOTTA BELIEVE!!!!

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Triple Threads Release Day

Today saw the release of '14 Triple Threads which is probably my favorite Topps product.  The only issue is the cost of the boxes.  I have opened two boxes in the past, but will probably pick up singles as they hit eBay do to the Mets don't have too many in this years release.  I will one day bust a case of this some stuff  somehow by myself.  I would like to chase one or both of the All Star Game cards of Harvey and Wright, but that may take awhile.

My only gripe for Triple Threads is the sticker autos on a high end product.

Hopefully with David Wright shutdown for the year he can sign some cards and get my redemption done that I've been waiting for a few months from a product that came out last year.

Well here is a Kirk Nieuwenhuis /10 that I picked up for cheap.  Sorry for the dark and crummy picture.  I guess I need to retake this one too. 

Here Is a Jedd Gyorko /10 also from Triple Threads

LETS GO MOUNTAINEERS!!!!

and

LETS GO METS and YA GOTTA BELIEVE!!!!

Friday, September 5, 2014

LETS GO MOUNTAINEERS!!!

Here we are on the eve of Mountaineer football opening against Towson in a night game at Mountaineer Field. Night games are pretty crazy here, but we shall see being it's not a big time opponent how crazy it will be. I can still remember how packed it was when LSU came to town a few years ago. 

Well here is 2013 Playbook auto /25 by Bruce Irvin a Legion of Boom member with the Super Bowl Champs Seahawks.  He was a top 15 draft pick by Pete Carrol a few years ago. I expected him to be drafted, but not that high. I guess when you were recruited by him to go to USC he must have known something. 


BRUUUUUUUUCE

LETS GO MOUNTAINEERS!!!!!

and


LETS GO METS and YA GOTTA BELIEVE!!!!!!

Just Random Thoughts

First off I'd like to thanks Jeff over at 2 by 3 Heroes for sending me another stack of Mets cards that I need to find some time to post about.  I also need to go through a trade package that I received from Dennis at Too Many Verlanders a few days ago.  Sorry Dennis for taking so long to get your package out; it is going out today(Friday).

Well I finally found the time to sort another set I'm chasing and will post my needs another day.  The set I'm chasing is 2012 Archives and I will probably go after base and SPs except for the one super SP.

Well after watching bits and pieces of the NFL game the Seahawks look nasty again on D and looks like the could repeat as champs.  Unfortunately for me I had Rodgers and Lacy on my fantasy and that didn't pan out so well, but I did have Harvin and Hauschka for Seattle.  Hopefully, some of my other players can step up Sunday and offset the Rodgers and Lacy performance.

Another hobby or thing I enjoy is craft beer.  Well here in WV the choices are pretty sparse, but luckily for me when I travel to see my family in NJ the selection is plentiful so I usually stock up and bring some back.  As I'm typing this post I am actually enjoying a nice Sixpoint The Crisp from Brooklyn.  I enjoy their other brews too especially one they call Resin which is a lovely hoppy beer.



Well lets bring this back to cards, sports, or both shall we.  I'm going to post a little tease of a card that I will be showing off sometime in the future. 


LETS GO MOUNTAINEERS!!!!

and

LETS GO METS and YA GOTTA BELIEVE!!!!

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Sorry for the DELAY!!

Just a quick post.

Real quick did anyone else having issues with eBay?  Looks like I was one of the unlucky ones where my account went missing earlier today.  

I have multiple trades pending/ready to go out, but with two sick little ones it's been kind of hard to find some free time to do one last check through the cards and get them in the mail.  Hopefully I can get one trade package out tomorrow or Friday for sure.

Well the Mets won't hit their goal of 90 wins this year, but hopefully they can at least finish .500 or better.  It's nice to see some of the prospects get called up and produce.  It will make the off season interesting on what they do for some positional players.

It looks like the Mountaineers played Alabama pretty tough/close, but their is no such thing as a moral victory.  As a fan I'm a bit more optimistic on how they'll do this season, but still see some struggles along the way.  I didn't get to see much of the game except the last 5 minutes being I was at a wedding for my wife's cousin.  I ended up recording it, but have yet to actually watch any of the game.

WVU's home opener is this Saturday night against Towson and I cannot wait to go.  The wife and I have season tickets and it is kinda of our little get away for a few hours from our little guys for now.  What's a post without a picture of a card.  Well being I've been talking mostly about football in this post lets show off a 2014 Topps Inception auto of Charles Sims from the Buccaneers.  He was only a Mountaineer one season after graduating from the University of Houston and can't wait to see what he does in the NFL.  This one cost me around 5.00 bucks shipped.


LETS GO MOUNTAINEERS!!!!!



LETS GO METS and YA GOTTA BELIEVE!!!!