Happy Roberto Clemente Day

just a few more ebay pickups

Today's theme is autographed cards of pitchers using the bat. 
We haven't seen much offense from Pirates pitchers this year.  To be perfectly honest, we haven't seen much in terms of pitching from these guys either.

Evan Meek had a breakout season last year as he was selected as a 2010 All Star and was one of the best setup men in baseball.  Due to injuries and a loss in velocity, this year has not been so kind to Super Meek.  He has only pitched in 15.1 innings despite appearing in 18 games.  Compare that to 2010 when he appeared in 70 games with 70 strikeout in 80 IP and a WHIP of 1.05.  Evan is back after a lengthy stay on the DL and pitched a scoreless inning in his return last night.  This 2011 Bowman Platinum (460/1166) features an autograph and jersey swatch.  It also shows Evan and his 1.000 average and 2.000 OPS swinging the bat.  Evan has only had 2 plate appearances in the majors and is 1 for 1.

 Justin Wilson has yet to make the majors, but I suspect he may be a mid-season callup next year if he continues to improve as a prospect.  Justin performed superbly earlier in the season at AAA Indy before running into some trouble mid season.  He regained form and finished the season strong.  It was reported that his fastball touched 97 towards the end of the season which is really incredible for a LHP.  He had 94 Ks in 124 IP at the AAA level.  Unlike the other autographed cards of pitchers swinging the bat, Justin actually performed well with the stick.  He batted .231 with 2 RBI in 13 AB.  He also had 2 doubles.  Pictured above is his 2010 Bowman Sterling AUTO

2009 Tristar Pursuit Zach Von Rosenberg 16/199 Autograph.  Of the three of these guys Zach Von Rosenberg performed the worst statistically.  Zach was signed as a big draft bonus baby out of high school in 2009.  He has a very projectable frame at 6ft5 and is still only 20 years old.  His K/9 is still very good and he lowered his walk rate, but he needs to continue to make progress on keeping the ball in the park.  He had a 8.2K/9 and lowered his BB to 1.6/9 in 2011.  He's still looking for his 1st professional hit in the minors. 

BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER!!!

A couple days ago I thought I was going to be celebrating my 30th birthday in the dark, because I was still without power for the 8th day thanks to Hurricane Irene.  My girlfriend told me that because our post office was closed for a couple days I may not have my birthday gift for a couple more days.  No big deal.  Shortly after that, the power came back on and all seemed right with the world.

Well today I got the present I was hinted about.  It was in a tiny box so I suspected some kind of random cards of Cutch or Doumit for my PC.  Boy was I pleasantly surprised when I opened up and saw this.

My reaction was "Are you f&*#ing kidding me?" I was stunned.  Jameson Taillon autos go for quite a bit of money, but a dual auto with Bryce Harper. HOLY SHIT! This card is so awesome, I had to show the back too.

BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER!

I also got these 2 Bat relic cards of Dave Parker & Bill Madlock

Trade post with Ryan's Memorabilia Blog

Mike at Ryan's Memorabilia Blog had seen the Jim Palmer/Brian Matusz dual auto I had up for trade and sent me a plethora of Pirates & Steelers cards in exchange.  He saw that I was searching for more Ryan Doumit cards to add to my collection and sent me 2 Autos, a 2011 Topps Silk Collection (48/5), 2011 Diamond Anniversary, and 2 Bowman numbered parallels.  As an added bonus he also included a Willie Stargell Triple Threads, and a very cool Dave Parker/Willie Stargell bat rack card.  I really like that Fleer Bat Rack card.  I had never seen that before and am very glad to add the card to my collection.

He also included 8 Steelers cards including 2 Roethlisberger, 2 Hines Wards, and a Maurkice Pouncey rookie.  Sweet additions to the treasure room.

Maz Monday: Celebrating the greatest defensive 2nd Baseman of all time

What a wild and crazy week I had.  It took the electric company 8 days to restore my power due to the massive flooding, broken poles, and uprooted trees from Hurricane Irene.  Fortunately, all I lost was power and there was very minimal flooding in the basement.  When the power came back on yesterday, it was the best birthday present I could have asked fore as it restored life as I knew it "back to normal".  The aftermath of Irene truly made me appreciate how much I take for granted everyday.  Without phone service, electricity, and having to take many detours on my road just to get into town to work I am truly more grateful for all that life has blessed me.  Thank you to those that sent messages and wished me well during the week.

I have received several trade packages as the post office began delivering mail again and will highlight those in future posts.

Today though I wanted to do something a little different and highlight the birthday of Bill Mazeroski.  Being a young dude, I didn't get a chance to see Maz play obviously.  However, I have seen numerous videos, interviews, and read many articles/books about Maz.

Last year I made the trek from NJ to Pittsburgh to celebrate my birthday and see Bill Mazeroski's statue unveiled on September 5th.  It was an awesome weeked overall, even though the Pirates lost to the Nationals for both games I was out there.  Here's some of the highlights

SO HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAZ! AND HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO YOUR STATUE

Now for the cards

Above is the relic cards I have of Maz that I previously had not posted.  I really like that Topps Stadium Series Seat card with the iconic image of Maz rounding 3rd after hitting the walk-off homerun in the 1960 World Series.  And because this card is so damn awesome I have reposted the Three Rivers Stadium Seat with Maz, Parker, and Madlock.  I have added a Bill Mazeroski folder to my Picasa photopage. 

On another note I went to my local card store yesterday and picked up a bunch of randomness along with supplies and some Jerome Bettis cards for the PC.  If anyone is interested in anything below, let me know.

Battling the Aftermath of Hurricane Irene

I just wanted to let everyone that has a pending trade with me know that I haven't forgotten about you. Im dealing with this hurricane aftermath and still don't have power since Saturday night. Im typing this on my droid using my car to charge the phone. Oh Mother Nature, you can be so cruel sometimes.

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the most expensive Andrew McCutchen in my collection

I just received the most expensive baseball card I have ever bought.  It's a 2010 Bowman Platinum Andrew McCutchen AUTO/JERSEY numbered 2/10.  The card features part of the Jolly Rodger patch worn on the sleeves of all Pirates players.

Keeping with the Bowman Platinum theme is a Rudy Owens AUTO that I pulled in a pack and just haven't posted yet.  Rudy was on pace to be a midseason call up for the Pirates this year.  He had previously won the Pirates Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2009 and 2010.  He's currently on the DL and will most likely be out for the rest of the minor league season. 

Elvis has entered the building

Alex Presley aka Elvis is back in the big leagues.  Alex won Pittsburgh's Minor League Player of the Year in 2010.  He hit very well in AA & AAA last year before becoming a September call up and legging out a couple bases.  He continued being a hitting machine in AAA until being called up when Jose Tabata when on the DL in late June.  He was the most consistent hitter the Pirates had during their incredible July run to become leaders of the NL Central.  Shortly after Presley and Chase D'Arnaud went on the DL, the Pirates started to skid out of contention.

Now Alex is back in the lineup along with Jose Tabata and Andrew McCutchen in the outfield.  That's a lot of speed patrolling the outfield.  In addition Chase D'arnaud has rejoined the team.  The team's speed is back in the lineup and I suspect that they will start to get back on track and end the season at or very close to .500.

MASSIVE RELIC/AUTO UPDATE!

I have been busy trying to update everything to my Picasa webpage to show all my Pirate treasures, but lack of a fast quality scanner and lack of time has disabled that goal.  Here's some older ebay winnings from earlier in the year that didn't get posted until now.

First up a Paul Maholm silk card

a Freddy Sanchez 2006 Topps Update All Star Game Jersey

 Brian Giles Prime Patches SHOE JERSEY HAT

Chase D'arnaud Tristar AUTO

a dual relic of Willie Stargell & Dave Parker

2 game used bat relics & an auto of Al Oliver

an Oliver Perez AUTO

 Dave Parker Topps Archives BAT

an Andy Van Slyke jersey relic

A Maury Wills Jersey relic 44/350

a Pedro Alvarez manupatch and triple signature of the Vanderbilt stars (Mike Minor, Pedro Alvarez, Ryan Flaherty)

a Ross Ohlendorf UD Signature Stars AUTO

2 Zach Duke jersey patches

and a Joel Hanrahan 2010 Peak Performance AUTO


I currently have several trades in the works so expect updates on that soon.  Also my birthday is approaching so I will probably treat myself to some cards to celebrate.

I will add all my Dave Parker, Willie Stargell, Bill Mazeroski, Bill Madlock, and Jason Bay cards soon.  I promise.

On a completely different note, my favorite pitcher Charlie Morton is on the mound again tonight so LET'S GO BUCS!