Archer Turkey Red

I picked up this 2013 Topps Turkey Red Chris Archer card for $7.00 shipped, and am very pleased with it. I actually forgot about this card until I won it, because I submitted my bid over a week ago! I have wanted this card for sometime, and I think I found it at the right time. I have watched it go for much higher and much less, so a middle ground price is fine by me. This card is #'d out of 699, and I had to be the one person to get the one that is 666/699. A little freaky, but I just wont pay attention to it. Scary number aside, I am very pleased to be adding this. This is my second Archer auto (1st is 2013 GQ). He is loaded in all of the 2013 releases so chances are I will pick up a few more.

Card from Moe (Albie Lopez)

A few weeks ago, I heard that former Devil Rays/D-Backs pitcher Albie Lopez was doing a signing at the Game 7 Grill next to Chase Field. The problem was that I was unable to make it because I found out about it while it was happening. I was a bit bummed just because he was an Inagural Devil Rays player, but thankfully Moe was there to save the day. Moe is from the blog "My 2008 Topps Set", and knows that I am an avid Rays fan.

Albie was a fan favorite for me as a kid, mainly because he was fun to watch. He started as a relief pitcher and then rolled into a starter role because the rest of the pitchers were terrible. Albie was the opening day starter in 2001, and then was traded to the D-Backs in the summer of '01. It was neat because I moved to Phoenix from Tampa in June 2001, so having Albie here was a little bit of home.

Thank you Moe! I appreciate it very much!

Cobb Auto

 Over the last few weeks, I have eased back into the card game, and it feels great. I have given up on finding Longoria autos at a good price, so I am going to start looking for any and all cards that are Archer and Cobb. This week I stalked eBay for the newest Tier One Alex Cobb auto, and was pleased when I got the card for $3.50 shipped. It is my 3rd Cobb auto, and goes well with the one that Dan from It's like having my own card shop gave me earlier this year. Cobb is having a good year, and has become a favorite of mine. Hopefully he can help guide this team to some wins as the playoff chances dwindle.

2011 Topps Tier One- This is not my exact card.

2013 Topps Tier One- #'d 118/399.

Moore and more (auto)

Since my birthday (Aug 22), most everyone has had some sort of poor luck. The details are not important, but it really seems that being 27 has started in a way that I hope is not a sign of things to come. Anyways, today picked me up quite a bit. It was crazy, but follow along...


After work, I had to run to get a dress shirt for a funeral tomorrow. It turns out that the only color shirt that I do not have is white, so I figured I would just run into the mall. So JCPenny is my go-to place when it comes to work clothes because they usually have good sales on clothes that can hold up in both washer care, and dry cleaning. Anyways, I find the shirt that I wanted, and I began to leave the store. The price tag was $35 dollars, but for some reason, it would ring up as $1.94. I made sure that it was the correct price, purchased it (just incase), and then decided that maybe I would stock up. I ended up buying about 8 different shirts, and spent only a total of $18. Right place, right time.

Here is my receipt just to show the total for the first shirt. I even searched for ugly shirts at that price!

    

So I figure that since I saved on the shirt, I could use some of the extra cash on something that I actually will enjoy. I have not been to an actual LCS in almost a year, so I thought I would take a trip. Currently, I am searching for anything Archer, Myers, or Cobb, so I thought I would check it out. I see their stuff going on eBay, but I am always more apt to spend more if it is in front of me. So right away, my card guy remembers me and shows me what he just pulled. He had no Myers, Archer, or Cobb, but he did have a 2013 Tier One Matt Moore auto. Moore is a solid player, card was beautiful, but at the initial price, it was hard for me to say that it was worth it. I really wanted to pick up Bowman Platinum cards, but he did not have any singles at all. Platinum was running $8 a pack, but I can't find any at local retailers. After much deliberating, he offered me the Moore Tier One card, and 2 packs of Bowman Platinum for $30. More than I wanted to spend, but that essentially means that I got the Moore card for $14, and I think I am ok with that. I took that offer, and I really think that I won.

This Moore card is #'ed 86/99 and is very thick. It does not crack my favorite card, but it is up there. 

So once I got over that I could have spent that money on a Myers card, or Archer/Cobb, I opened up the packs. The top two cards on the first pack could not have been better base....

*I took these photo's from eBay because my phone is now dead. Wil Myers at the top, Longo Blue Sapphire at the bottom

These two cards are nothing extremely rare or special, but I honestly did not even care what was in the next pack. I was so sick of seeing the Myers card for for $2 with $4 shipping, so this was worth it to me. Plus, I can never have too many Longo cards. Once I got done being excited about these cards, I opened pack 2.....

First card that I pulled was.....

George Springer Jumbo Auto/Relic #'d 38/199. 

I do not know much about other teams beside Rays & Dbacks, but I do know that George Springer is a beast in the Astro's system. He has been in AA and AAA, but his numbers are outrageous. Here is a bit of info that I pulled up on him. 

George Springer, OF, Houston Astros

George Springer turned in an outstanding full-season debut last year, posting a .910 OPS with 24 home runs and 30 stolen bases in 127 games across two levels. However, due to his high strikeout rate and struggle to control the strike zone, many expected him to take a step back in 2013 against advanced competition.

That’s been anything but the case this season, as the 23-year-old has significantly improved his stock with a ridiculously good campaign at Double-A and Triple-A—arguably the best among all prospects.

Courtesy of MiLB.com

Having already achieved the first 30-30 season in the minor leagues since 2009 (Grant Desme), Springer now has his sights set on joining the very exclusive 40-40 club. At the time this article was published, the outfielder had 37 home runs and 43 stolen bases. With five games remaining in the regular season for Triple-A Oklahoma City, he'll need to catch fire to accomplish the feat.

The Astros have already said Springer will finish the season in the minor leagues, according to Brian McTaggart of MLBlogs.com, but it’s difficult to argue he’s not worthy of a September call-up. Either way, Springer’s combination of power and speed makes him a strong candidate to content for the 2014 AL Rookie of the Year award.

The rest of the cards were actually pretty terrible, but I left the shop with a huge smile. Could my initial purchase been a little more thought out? Yeah, but the overall experience was great.

Goldschmidt Bobbleheads

This past Saturday was the Paul Goldschmidt bobblehead SGA, and the crowd came out in a big way. This is the only giveaway during the 2013 season that had 25,000 units, and also a large number of ticket/giveaway guarantees. I really enjoyed how the promotion went, but apparently there were people sitting around at 10:00 AM (5:10 PM Game).

Anyways, I scored the gold one on Wednesday when they held a contest in the 7th inning. That was the inning that the Rays made a comeback, so that stretch of 30 minutes was great for me. I was just in the right place at the right time. This is my first "Limited" bobblehead, as these were only made up to 1000. They are not numbered, and there is not a marking that labels it as a limited exclusive or anything.

I was able to get two home jersey bobbles on Saturday. My girlfriend told me that we could not go super early because 1. She did not want to wait, and 2. I already had the gold one. I still talked her in to going a half hour before gates, but our plans would end up a little shifted. Once we got there, the line from the main rotunda was all the way down a street, and almost directly across from the basketball arena. We ended up walking back to our car, and we just listened to the Rays game on the radio. We ended up going to the game at 3:30, and sure enough they still had plenty of bobbleheads left!

Solid addition to my bobblehead collection, but I am looking for a Longoria retro bobblehead. If anyone knows of someone who has an extra, I'd be happy to swap one of my extra regular Goldschmidts.

Long Overdue...

The D-Backs and Rays started a 2 game series today, and I have waited what seems like a year for it to come. Over the past few weeks I have wondered where the Rays would be standings wise, and same goes for the D-Backs. Both teams need wins, so I am ok with the teams splitting the season (If the Rays win tomorrow).

So tonight, my girlfriend and I got to the ballpark as soon as the gates opened, in hopes of getting a few of my favorite Rays players to auto some of my photos and baseballs. The people that I was hoping to get were Longoria, Price, Rodney, Myers, Archer or Maddon. Realistically, I brought multiple cards to every player on the roster just incase, but I knew that I would have to pick my battles. Longo was standing directly next to the home plate fence, but he was talking to a few of his friends (I assume), and did not want to be bothered. He did sign, but only a couple of autographs. Although he mentioned he would sign again, there were people on the field who kept following him, so I think he just wanted to get away. While I was waiting for Longo, I saw Archer and Molina signing. I had to let those guys go just because the opportunity to get Longo was much more important (to me at least).

I went back to the Rays dugout bummed out, but then I saw a few players coming over. One of the players that walked to the dugout was Wil Myers, and he stopped to sign two autographs. I had two items for him, and I am happy to say that he signed one of them!

I have heard quite a few people complain about his signature, and I was not very impressed either. At the same time... It is Wil Myers! So excited about this, wish I could of gotten him my 8x10, but this is awesome. He did not sign on the sweet spot, but it is what it is. Someone said that he only does that for paid signings, but a lot of my friends back in Florida have said that he has not had any paid signings, and rarely signs for anyone.

Game Highlights:
Rays lost 6-1. Longoria hit an HR, but I was getting a drink.... I left when the D-Backs started batting, but it was a 1,2,3 inning.

Sean Rodriguez gave me two baseballs during the game. This was the first baseball that was given to me just before the first pitch.

I have never had a ball from batting practice or anything labeled as "practice" before. It was pretty neat because I was just sitting there, and he pointed at me and tossed it. I guess it was because I had my raise gear on. In the 6th inning, Sean tossed me another one! I made sure it was supposed to be for me, and he gave me a thumbs up. In the later innings, Myers tossed a ball to this young boy, but this big girl pushed him out of the way and grabbed the ball. They boy was very upset, and started crying. Since we ended up with two baseballs, we gave the boy one of them. He was still a bit unhappy because getting a ball from some guy with terrible facial hair is not nearly as good as a ROY candidate, but I am sure he will appreciate it some day. 

Anyway, I will be back at it for game 2 tomorrow! Hopefully they will split this series.