Predictions

Just a quick post tonight while I have a free moment from work. Well I received an email from Matt over at Bob Walk the Plank about its time for  predictions. As you'll see below the predictions he was referring too is in regards to baseball with my picks. 

AL Rookie of the Year Rusney Castillo

NL Rookie of the Year Jorge Soler (Prob another Cubbie if not him) Was just going to put down one of the Cubbies

AL MVP Mike Trout

NL MVP Paul Goldschmit

AL Cy Young Felix Hernandez

NL Cy Young Max Scherzer

AL Homerun champion Jose Abreu

NL Homerun champion Bryce Harper

AL WAR Leader Mike Trout

NL WAR Leader Cutch

Pirates Overal Record 90-72

All Division and Wild Card Winners.

NL East Nationals

  NL Central Cardnials
  NL West Dodgers
   Wildcard Pirates Mets(I'm too optimistic still Prob a year away. More than likely Cubs but I'll stick with Mets on a prayer)

   AL East Red Sox
   AL Central Tigers
   AL West Angels
   Wildcard Mariners White Sox

Playoff Results

Angels over Nationals

A Bit of an Optimist and Need Your Help

Well I cant help but be a bit of an optimist this spring as the Mets are doing quite well and suprisingly hitting the ball well too. They have a surplus of young arms for the starting rotation but not in the bullpen. 

They addressed that concern today by acquiring Jerry Blevins from the Nationals and sent Matt den Dekker in return. I just acquired an auto of his an showed it off the post before last. They also acquired Alex Torres from the Padres for Corey Mazzoni. Here's the card I picked up of den Dekker. 

I still look for the Mets to part with Dillon Gee due to their backlog of young arms at Triple A sometime in the next month or so. 

Now for your help. I'm going to have a contest and will have some set auto prize(s) for sure but was seeing if anyone has an interest in base or Minis as part of the prize. More particularly 2009 Ginter have a bunch of minis an black border minis. Let me know

Mannatawket Minis

Awhile back I took part in Nachos Grande group break of High Tek and Stadium Club along with the goods from those boxes he threw in some extras. 

Some of those extras were customs minis from his buddy Ryan that I showed off on the post of the goods received. I also commented on Raz's blog about these minis. Ryan reached out to me and sent me some of his crafty custom handy work of the following Mannataket Minis. I plan on trying to acquire this set so if anyone has any extras to trade please let me know. I do know that the set is 90 cards with 14 of those cards numbered. There is also a five card insert set of What Could've Been Had They Gone The Other Way featuring players in unrecgonizable uniforms. Hopefully some of you guys have some extras to trade. 

First up is a pretty cool Santa auto that my youngest loved but the card that really peaked his interest and he kept on wanting to get his hands on was and is the Spiderman card. 

Next up is the creator himself of these wonderful beauties on the top right. 

A little Dirk dressed up in the hometown baseball uni. And some JK Rowling too for all you Potter heads out there. 

Here are some doubles that I've received between the two of them that are available for trade. I may send one of the Kevin James off for an auto if time allows. 

The jewel of the envelope was this beauty numbered to 25. I don't have to explain or describe this beauty. I'll just let the card do the talking. 

Well if your still reading and not drooling congrats and what is wrong with you these cards are amazing. 

LETS GO MOUNTAINEERS

and 

LETS GO METS

eBay Pickup(s)

While I have some time (ie work break) I've decided to bang out another post.  

This one is a short an sweet as of the moment unless I come back later and add to it. 

QUICK UPDATE EDIT WHATEVER YOU WANNA CALL IT. 

Well the Mountaineers are in the Sweet 16 and have the task of knocking off the supposedly unbeatable Kentucky Wildcats just like they did back in 2010 when they reached the Final 4. Plus I just picked up Five Star relic card below what I figured it would go for. 

And now back to our regularly schedule post

Here are two cards I added to my collection from the same seller for about 20 bucks. 

First up is a Five Star David Wright auto /99 in silver. Hopefully he is fully healthy and that nagging shoulder issue is behind him this year. It looks like he is swinging the bat pretty well in spring training and lets hope that continues into the regular season. I'm kind of curious to see if he can stay healthy being he consulted with Mike Barwis exWVU Strength and Conditioning coach and founder of Barwis Methods and the ex TV show American Muscle on strength and conditioning and eating healthier. We shall see. 

Next up is an Immaculate auto /99 of Matt den Dekker. The card is pretty thick with an acetate front an back and beautiful looking in person it's just missing that MLB license but still a beaut none the less. He played college ball for the Florida Gators and was originally drafted by the Pirates in the 16th round of the 2009 draft but elected to return for his Senior season and then was drafted in the 5th round and signed with the Mets. He'll be another future corner outfielder when his time comes as I don't think he'll unseat Juan Lagares anytime soon at CF. 

TRADE: Fantastic Catch

I hope everyone is enjoying March Madness so far this year. I'm sure a few brackets really went up in a blaze when Villanova lost. Lets pencil in Virginia here too adding a bunch a fuel to the fire. I had them making the sweet 16 but not going past their. Hopefully this is the start of the ACC dropping some teams out of this years tourney. Here's to the Mountsineers beating the Terps and making a run to the Sweet 16 to knock off the Kentucky Wildcats.  Unfortunately I'll be at work and forced to listen to it on the radio. 

Now back to our regularly scheduled post

Wes from over at Fantastic Catch reached out to me about the Kolten Wong auto I pulled from last years Stadium Club. A few quick emails and a trade was easily made. 

I received this package about 2 weeks ago and now am just getting a chance to show it off. I'm using my break from work to type this on my phone. Below you will see some of the cards that he sent in a Pitchers heavy package. 

First up is some color. 

A nice gold Harvey. Hopefully he can pick up where he left off prior to TJ surgery. I still have to try an get my hands on an auto of his. I'm sure he'll be on some sort of innings cap this year.  I heard talks of limiting his innings mid year or shutting him down few weeks just incase they are in contention for a playoff spot so they don't have what happened with the Nationals and Strausburg his first year back. Next up is a Dice-K red who is now back in Japan pitching after a 2 yr stint with the Mets. Next up his Johan who pitched the first No-No for the Mets and is currently with the Blue Jays on a minor league deal I believe. Maybe Harvey has a No No in him. Last of this group is a blue Miller Diaz. Don't know too much about him other than he is at the single A level and is projected as a middle reliever if he can hone in some control issues. 

Up next is the Captain himself Mr Wright followed by an UD mini of The Kid. Some more gold with RA Dickey and Brandon Nimmo who his trying to crack the big leagues.  Many teams passed on Nimmo as he is from Wyoming and didn't play as much ball as the kids from the South. He was a first round pick back in 2011 and would probably fit in to one of the corner outfield spots if he would make it to the big leagues. 

Last card of the package is none other than a 77 Tom Terrific or The Franchise. I wonder if this was from his last game pitched as a Met before the Midnight Massacre that sent him to the Reds.  

Thanks Wes for the great trade. 

LETS GO MOUNTAINEERS!!!!!

and 

LETS GO METS!!!!!

 

It's the Best Time of the Year

This time of the year is the best.  

The weather is breaking an becoming nicer for some of us. Opening Day is right around the corner and March Madness is going on to hold us over till then. 

I haven't caught much of the Tourney so far being work is keeping me busy to the tune of 60 plus hours a week. Add on top of that most of those hours are between 5:30pm and 6:00am. So it's basically go home sleep get up spend a little bit of time with the wife an kids and off to work I go. 

I was able to catch the end of the WVU game. Thankfully they won after the black eyes the Big 12 took yesterday with Baylor and Iowa State going down. Currently debating if I'm going in tonight or tomorrow sometime for work. May take the night off an spend it with the family and try to catch some of the Madness. Well my one bracket has gone down the shitter as I picked Iowa State to  go pretty far an we all know how that worked out. 

Wondering who this years Cinderella team will be. 

Well in honor of March Madness and the WVU win here is Bob Huggins or Huggy Bear UD auto out of 60. 

LETS GO MOUNTAINEERS!!!

and

LETS GO METS!!!

Looks like the Mets are hitting in spring training hopefully that continues into the regular season. And hopefully they can find an arm to replace Wheeler. 

I know I said stay tuned for a contest or giveaway. I'm leaning towards a giveaway with the crazy work hours an schedule but just don't know how fast I could get the winnings out being by the time I awake the post office is usually closed

Random Mumblings and Stay Tuned

Who knows where I should start?  Not even I know where I should start this post.  So let's just see where the rambling mumbling jumbling leads to shall we. I may even repeat myself a few times as of recently it seems everything is a blur as busy as I've been. Maybe I'll even include a card or two that I've added to my collection. 

Wel I've received a crap load of mail lately from the blog and ebay world over the past week or so.  Rest assured all the mail I received has been accounted for and I've reached out to the senders to say that I received the packages. I've even snapped the photos necessary to post bout what I received. Now it's just finding time to come up with posts and getting them typed up which will probably take awhile with the unseasonably warm temperatures we're having at the moment being the kids will want to be outside a bunch. Plus I working a crap ton of hours at work too. 

I also need to find time to send some mail out to a couple of bloggers. Unfortunately that may take some time due to the same reasons listed above and I apologize for that. 

I did complete a set recently via COMC that I will find time to post about and show off but still have to place those cards in their approriate pockets in said album.

Like I said I received multiple ebay packages and trade packages that I've taken pictures of. I'm just trying to find the time to post about them. 

Definitely busy at work and haven't had much time to post. I've been working on average 60 plus hours a week so that  has been cutting into my posting time but it also gives me extra cash to spend on ebay for my collection and or tradebait and potential prize giveaways for contests. 

Well before I wrap this post up I got some goods that I'll be giving away in the near future as part of a contest. Hopefully I'll be able to get it in the next week or so. As of now I've got some High Tek an Bowman Autos that will be used as a prize or prizes and who knows what else I'll find too. 

Here is a card I picked up on ebay of the Mets top pitching prospect in Noah  Syndergaard and Rafel Montero. Montero saw some time in the bigs last year as he was called up a few times to start a few games.  He has the potential to be a starter but with the log jam of arms the mets have at that position it'll be interesting to see what happens and if he ends up in the pen.  Syndergaard will start the year off in Triple A and probably get a call midsummer I'd imagine. 

Quick Update and I Need Your Help

Well guys and girls I've been busy working and acquiring trade bait and goodies. I've also been picking up some cards for my own personal collection too. 

The favor or help I need is who wants to come help me shovel some snow?  You'll be rewarded with beer and cards. You'll only have to help shovel about 8 inches that already has fallen and an additional 2-5 inches that will come today. 

Any takers??  I'm only kidding about helping

Guess it's time to purchase a snowblower or give the little guys a shovel an say get to work. 

The REAL help I need is contest ideas for some upcoming contests I plan on doing. I have some ideas of my own but would like your input too. And who knows maybe if I choose your idea or recommendation you'll be handsomely rewarded.  So thanks in advanced. 

Random Mumblings and State of the Blog address

Well yesterday was the last Saturday without any baseball games for the next 6 months. Just let that sink in for a moment or two. Our favorite pastime and sport will be upon us shortly as scrimmages have started up already and the first game is today between the Phillies and University of Tampa Spartans and then by midweek all teams will be in full swing.  The Mets kickoff their first spring training game against the Braves on Wednesaday March 4th with Harvey expected to take the rubber for the first time since Tommy John surgery on March 6th. 

Well the past year for the Blog was a blast. It was fun reading and posting and doing some trading and partaking in a group break. I hope to partake in a few more this year. I missed out on the series 1 from Nachos Grande but hope he hosts a few more that I can get in on. 

Hopefully this year I can post more as it seems I fizzled out their towards the end and struggled with some posts. 

Number one priority is to trade trade trade. I had some great trades in the past year but not nearly frequently enough. Isn't that what we blog for to trade.  

I also plan on commenting more than I have because that's one thing that I've lacked. I've read blogs and posts but just never commented. Why I don't know but that's about to change. 

CONTEST CONTEST CONTEST 

I will be doing a contest and/or contests in the near future so keep an eye to THE HOME RUN APPLE. Just haven't decided on the kind yet and what prizes to give away. But rest assured they will be worth it no matter how easy or hard the contest is. I do know that I will probably have some Ginter, High Tek, Chrome, Gypsy Queen, and some other goodies as giveaways.