He was a Pirate? Thank You Edition

Yesterday I attended the Blue Jays vs. Phillies game with one of my coworkers. He's a season ticket holder for the Phils and hooks me up with tickets when the Bucs or Jays come to town. In case you didn't see the highlights from that game look up Josh Donaldson's 2nd deck mammoth HR. It was one of the most impressive home runs I've seen in person.

While we were at the game I kept looking to the scoreboard to see how the Bucs were doing against the DBacks and also the Giants and Cardinals. The Bucs after getting an 8-3 lead in the 8th inning would go on to win the game in the bottom of the 15th.

Meanwhile the Cardinals actually lost a game.  It was mainly because of this former Bucco, Ryan VogelSong.  The former All-Star pitched a gem to shut down the Cardinals offense, allowing only 2 hits over 6 shutout innings.

Thanks to his prior struggles, I finally added a copy of his certified Bowman auto for $15. I've been chasing this card for a few years.

Arizona Fall League Kicks off today....

The Pirates had two stories today with the Arizona Fall league kicking off.  One story was Josh Bell, a 2011 2nd round draft pick, making his first professional start at 1st Base.  Bell went 0-4 in the game, striking out from both sides of the plate and grounding out once from each side of the plate.

The other story was super pitching prospect Tyler Glasnow who didn't even get out of the first inning while throwing only 29 pitches.  He struck a batter out, walked 3 batters, allowed a run to score on a throwing error on his behalf.  This pink parallel sticker auto ran me $13 delivered many many many months ago.  I grabbed another (with a different picture) that I will show off in the future.

Glasnow will likely begin his season in AA for 2015 and will likely be up in Pittsburgh come 2016 when he turns 22.

Jameson Taillon: One Pitch at a Time

At this point in the Pirates season, I was really hoping that I would be talking about how Jameson Taillon came up mid June and helped to solidify the Pirates rotation.  It's hard to believe that the Pirates used a 5 man rotation consisting of Brandon Cumpton, Vance Worley, Edinson Volquez, Charlie Morton, and Jeff Locke at long stretches of the season and are with only a few weeks left in the season only 2.5 games out of first place.

I recently picked up this 2009 Team USA 17 under inscription of the former 1st round pick for $20 delivered.  With the season coming to a close soon, it's important that if the Pirates are going to push for another playoff run, they will have to do it "One Pitch at a Time".

Let's Go Bucs!!!!

My Favorite Morton (one of them at least) and a life altering story

Anyone remember that TV show My Favorite Martian?

Well today, I'm going to show off (one of) my favorite Mortons.

I purchased this card a long time ago, probably close to 3 years ago right after Lineage had come out, but just never got around to posting it because that's when I was really struggling with family issues, health issues, relationship issues, and power outages.  I don't remember exactly how much it was, but I think it ran me close to $40.

There's that famous saying that if these walls could talk, well I've also heard people throw around the term, if this card could tell a story....

This card does tell a story.  I missed the opportunity to buy the first one that I saw, but was able to grab the second.  It not only represents how I was able to overcome all that adversity, but also how the player depicted was able to change his performance on the field from being one of the worse seasons historically by a Pirates pitcher in 2010 (-2.3 WAR, 7.57ERA, 2-12 record) to being a valuable part of the Pirates pitching staff for years to come (1.9 WAR in 2011, 3.26ERA in 2013).   It shows that no matter what life throws you, you can shine on (like a canary diamond or whatever silly parallel this is).

I got into a major car accident Monday (hence why there was no McCutchen Monday this week) and am fortunate that I am able to walk, albeit with a limp.

But like this card, my life has given me a second chance and I'm gonna shine bright like this card.

McCutchen Monday: IT'S JUMBO SIZED!!!

It's Jumbo Sized!!!!

Yeah that's what she said....

For my 71st certified autograph of Cutch I recently picked up off ebay a 2013 Topps Museum Jumbo Jersey swatch and auto.  The low numbering (6/10) helps offset the sticker auto in my opinion.

Another auto that wasn't cheap to add to the PC, but needed a good home.  Please keep me in mind if you have any McCutchen cards in 2014. 

Silence the Naysayers

A lot of Pirates fans weren't very high on Bryan Morris during the offseason.  Many were saying that he should be the odd man out of the bullpen as there were 3 very effective pitchers last year (Jeanmar Gomez, Bryan Morris, and Vin Mazzarro) all without options and only with 2 open spots.  Clint and Neal saw a lot of movement in Bryan's pitching in Spring Training and decided to send him north and have Vin sent packing.  Surprisingly, Vin didn't get picked up off waivers and has 3 days to accept an assignment to AAA.  This shocked a lot of people, but clearly Neal Huntington has a plan and is executing it very well.

It's great that the Pirates were able to keep the depth in bullpen arms, but has Bryan been succesful at the major leagues last year?  Well in only 7 games in the young season, Bryan has pitched in 3 innings with 2Ks, 0 walks, and allowed only 2 hits without surrendering a run.  In two of his three appearances, he's finished the games with a 1-0 record.  I'd say the last piece of the 2008 Jason Bay trade is providing quite a bit of value to the Pirates young early success.  Let's hope he can keep it up.

The 2013 Select sticker auto numbered 25/750 was grabbed for $1.04 off ebay.  Not a bad price for a quality middle relief guy.

McCutchen Monday: 2008 Just Minors Black Edition

Welcome to the blog, number 70.

2008 Just Minors Black 19/25

The above Andrew McCutchen is my 70th certified autograph of Cutch.  I haven't been looking to add many certtified autographs of Cutch since my dual auto/dual patch with Gerrit Cole, but for $15, I couldn't pass this sticker auto Just Minors card up.

Opening day is just around the corner....Let's Go Bucs!!!!

Going to my 1st Indiana Pacers game

It's been 22 years since I attended my last basketball game.  Tonight I'm going watch the Indiana Pacers vs. the Philadelphia 76ers with my Lil Brudder.

2013-14 Prizm David West AUTO

Above is my latest auto to my Pacers PC.  It's a very low number David West from 2013-14 Prizm numbered 8/25.

McCutchen Monday: 500th Post!!!! THE ULTIMATE ANDREW McCUTCHEN AUTO ADDED!!!

On March 15, 2011 I created my first post.  I built this blog mainly to show off my card collection and so I could go back and remember how I felt about the direction of the Pirates organization.  There were several long periods of no posting as I battled through two hurricanes and several illnesses.  Through the nearly 3 years of having this blog though, I have made some good trading partners and learned a lot about the hobby through their wisdom.  It's been a fun ride so far.

I needed a major card to show off how much my collection has changed since I created this blog and that's why I'm showing off a sort of holy grail of McCutchen autos.  

2005 Topps Chrome printing plate cyan 1/1 AUTO!!!!

I was in talks with the owner of this card on the Blowout Card forums then he decided to let it go on ebay with a reasonable best offer price.
It goes well with these other 3 cards, don't you think?

Looking back over the past 3 years of posts, I realized how much money I have spent on this hobby.

2011 Andrew McCutchen totals

• 1 printing plate/proof 
• 2 manurelics
• 2 jersey relics
• 3 jerseys/autos
• 7 autos
• 0 silks
• 1 IP Auto
• 0 sketch

2013 Andrew McCutchen totals

• 15 printing plates/proofs
• 7 manurelics
• 47 jersey relics
• 19 jersey or bat/auto
• 48 autos
• 3 silks
• 3 IP Auto
• 2 sketch

As my collection continues to grow, I will continue to post more and more cards on the blog as long as you guys are still reading it.  Have a Happy New Year and be safe!!!

Have you ever heard of this prospect?

Tyler Glasnow

You better learn the name!

I got to meet Tyler during the summer last year and managed to get a ball signed by him which is now proudly displayed in my collection.

Much like my reasons for not getting a Bowman Chrome AUTO of Gerrit Cole upon initial release, I've held off on grabbing a Tyler Glasnow auto for the same reason.  When 2013 Bowman Chrome initially hit, the base autos of Tyler were reaching as high as $30 a pop.  With several months of patience, I was finally able to grab one for under $12.

Though Tyler was only 19 for most of last year, he put up incredible numbers in A ball.
Here's his minor league career stats
Innings Pitched: 149.2
Strikeouts: 208 (12.5K/9)
Hits: 77 (4.6H/9)
Walks:: 78 (4.8BB/9)
WHIP: 1.036
ERA: 2.10

Assuming that Tyler will play in A+ ball to start the 2014 season and get promoted to AA mid season, if Tyler can cut down on the walk rate over the next two seasons in A+, AA, and AAA he will be a dominating arm to have at the back of the rotation for the Pirates entering 2016.  He's currently ranked #97 on MLB's top 100 prospects.

My latest auto of HOFer Ralph Kiner

I said I wanted to add 5 new Ralph Kiner autos to my collection this year.  As much as I like adding more of the HOF leftfielder's autograph to my collection, I don't like spending a lot of money to do it.

I picked up another low print run of HOFer Ralph Kiner on ebay earlier this year.  This 2005 Upper Deck HOF Baseball Bat Relic and AUTO ran me just shy of $30.  The card features a piece of his bat which has been marked with 1949 HR Leader.  The card is numbered 6/15.

How do you guys feel about getting a bat relic then having it burnt to resemble a team logo or date or stat on the relic?

He was a Pirate?

Back in April 2013, I showed off my Benito Santiago bat relic.  Many people forget that Benito played for the Steel City during the dreadful 20 year losing streak.  It's hard to imagine why though?  He did play 6 games as the backstop for the Bucs.  Not only did he barely play for the Pirates, but he also managed to get 2 bat relics and an autographed card featured in a Bucs uniform.  Good job Topps!  Good job!!!  You can't aknowledge your redemptions, but you can manage to put out autograph and relic cards of players that played 6 games for a team?

2005 Topps Traded and Rookies Signature Moves

This 2005 Topps Traded and Rookies Signature Moves recognizes the Pirates trade for Benito from the Kansas City Royals on December 16th, 2004.  The on card auto of the 5x All-Star and 3 time Gold Glover ran me $5 delivered.

Small Business Saturday

Today marks the "official" day of Small Business Saturday.  Every year, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, consumers are encouraged to support small businesses that offer great products instead of buying through major franchises.  Topps currently owns a monopoly for licensed baseball cards.

Panini has been producing some great unlicensed cards over the past 2 years.  I've had these waiting to be added to the Treasure Room for almost a year now.

Each card features a sticker auto of Cutch and all are numbered to less than 100 copies.

2012 Panini Signature Series Signature Stars AUTO 5/25

2012 Panini Signature Series AUTO 26/99

2012 Panini National Treasures Signature Materials (AUTO/Patch)  10/25

I really love the design of each of these cards with the Signature Series being my favorite.  It's just a close up shot of the player's face with a white surface for an autograph.  It looks like Bowman had a stepchild that got neglected.  Sure it would have been nicer if all the autos were on card, but I'm not going to complain about adding 3 more autos of the 2013 MVP to the Treasure Room blog.  I'm thinking I might get to 75 certified autos of Cutch before Opening Day next year.  That's Crazy sauce with a captail C!!!!

Nick Kingham Goodwin Champions AUTO

Nick Kingham was a 4th round pick of the Pirates in 2010, the same year the Pirates grabbed Jameson Taillon and Stetson Allie.  Kingham was a highschooler when he was drafted and reached the AA level in 2013 during his age 21 season.

In 2013, Kingham's line was very solid in AA Altoona where he pitched to a 3-3 record with a 2.70 ERA over 73 innings.  His command got a little worse than what he had been doing through the rest of his career as he increased his BB/9 rate to 3.7.

If all goes well for the Pirates, Kingham will likely start the 2014 season in AA and recive a callup to AAA mid season when Jameson Taillon gets called up to the majors.

I found the above 2012 Goodwin Champions for a lowbid of .99 with $2 shipped.

Cobra in my mailbox: 2004 UD Memorable Moments AUTO

Everytime I get a Dave "The Cobra" Parker in my mailbox I tend to call it a Cobra in my Mailbox.

Dave Parker was one of the best talents the game had seen in the late 70s early 80s.  In 1978 he won the MVP and the following year, he helped lead Pittsburgh to the 1979 World Series.

The above card celebrates Parker's memorable moment in 1979 when he helped the Pirates to the 1979 World Series Championship.  The on card autograph ran me $11.21 shipped.

Oh how I miss competion in the card market, especially you Upper Deck.

Grilli from Italy

For $6 shipped, I managed to grab myself the final Pittsburgh Pirate to have an autograph in the 2013 WBC Topps Tribute set.

2013 Topps Tribute WBC Jason Grilli 25/50 AUTO

Here's the Jameson Taillon
Here's the Wandy Rodriguez

Starling Marte Returns!

It's exciting to know that Starling Marte is back.  The Pirates sure have missed him being the table setter for the Pirates offense.

2013 Topps Heritage Red Ink AUTO 34/64

I went way over my price limit on this card, but I just wanted it so bad that I couldn't stop myself from putting in a bid.  For $37 I grabbed the above low numbered red ink auto of Starling Marte.  These autographs were redemptions so it's questionable if 64 will actually make it's way to the public.  Marte is still being used sparingly since returning, but he's stealing bases and making some nice catches in left again.

McCutchen Monday: 2007 USA Baseball AUTO

My current favorite player in baseball today is Andrew McCutchen.  Quite honestly, he might be my favorite player I've ever gotten a chance to see play. I currently own almost 300 unique cards of Cutch and hope to get that number closer to 400 by the end of the year.  Amongst my cardboard collection of Cutch are many autographs, over a dozen 1/1s, and almost enough jersey material to put his jersey back together.  Back in 2011, I created Morton Mondays, but with the lack of Charlie Morton cards available, I changed it to McCutchen Mondays so each Monday I will show off one new card from my Cutch collection.

To see all my Andrew McCutchen relics, autos, printing plates, manupatches, etc ... check out this link.

A lot of 1st round talents play for Team USA during their amateur years.  In recent years, the Pirates have had several 1st rounders play for the 18 and under team including Austin Meadows, Reese McGuire, Jameson Taillon and Gerrit Cole.  

I recently did a post of some of those players autogrpahs on Team USA cards.  

When Panini released the 2013 USA card set, several star players were highlighted with autographs in the set.  I tried on 4 different cards to acquire the 2013 TEAM USA auto of Cutch numbered /25 but lost every auction.  However, not to be discouraged I kept my eye (and ebay saved searches) for Cutch USA autographs open.

2007 USA Baseball Alumni Autographs 44/475 AUTO

I've seen this card in the past, but it often sells for much more than I would like to pay for a Cutch auto.  Even though the centering of the auto is way off and the "A" in Andrew is mostly missing, I'm happy I was able to add this for less than $40.  It brings me to 67 certified autos of Cutch.  

My Reverse Box: Topps Tribute edition

I decided to steal an idea from Plain Gray Swatch and make a reverse 2013 Topps Tribute box.
Boxes fetch between $250-$275 and I wanted to make it more budget oriented, so I went with the $250 approach.
Here's what I plundered.  Take this Topps!!!!

3 Autographs $54.49

2013 Topps Tribute Starling Marte Sepia AUTO 18/35

Starling Marte sepia
numbered 10/35
Cost $28.50 shipped

2013 Topps Tribute CJ Wilson AUTO 43/99

CJ Wilson
numbered 43/99
Cost $11 shipped

2013 Topps Tribute Gary Sheffield AUTO 22/24

Gary Sheffield stickered auto
numbered 22/24
Cost $14.99 shipped

4 Relics $69.79
My reverse box was a Pirates hot box. It even contained 4 relics

2013 Tribute Retired Remnants BAT 88/99

Roberto Clemente Retired Remnants
numbered 88/99
Cost $31.24

2013 Tribute Retired Remnants GOLD 10/15 Jersey Willie Stargell

Willie Stargell Retired Remnants Gold
numbered 10/15
Cost $20.41

2013 Tribute to the Stars 68/99

Andrew McCutchen Tribute to the Stars Jersey Relic
numbered 68/99
Cost $12.99

2013 Tribute to the Stars 31/99

Jose Bautista Tribute to the Stars
numbered 31/99
Cost $5.15

Base Cards

Andrew McCutchen $1.45

Willie Stargell $1.50

Rather than spending money for the actual base cards, I just estimated them at $1.50 a piece.
22x$1.50 = $33
So to recap
3 Autos (1 Sepia) $54.49
4 Relics (one gold) $69.79
$124.28
24 Base Cards $36 (estimate)
$150.28 for 4 hits that I actually wanted and 3 autographs of players I actually like.  This equated to $100 less than the price of the actual box.  Um....yeah, I think I'll stick to buying singles of high end products.

Team USA autographs: Future Aces, 5 Tool Player, Solid Backstop

I've been tracking down Pirates prospects wearing the Team USA uniform as of late and wanted to show off some of my recent additions to the Treasure Room.  3/4 of the cards were on card signatures and many were very cheap that I just couldn't pass them up.

2011 Bowman USA Blue Refractor Austin Meadows AUTO 18/99

Up first is the Pirates 2013 1st Round Draft Pick Austin Meadows.  The minute the Pirates drafted him, I looked on ebay for a nice refractor auto to grab.  While this card was quite pricy, if he pans out as expected this will be a steal of a deal.  It's from 2011 Bowman USA and is the blue refractor auto.

Meadows got off to a very slow start before finally turning it on.  His line is now a very solid .316/.409/.534 which gives him an OPS of .943 as a center fielder.  Many feel that Meadows has the skill set to remain a centerfielder as he continues to climb through the minors.  Some have even said that they wouldn't be surprised if he becomes the most talented player selected in the draft.

2013 Panini Team USA AUTO 63/349 Reese McGuire

From the same draft class is the player that the entire Pirates fan base thought would be their 9th overall selection and fellow 1st round talent Reese McGuire.  McGuire was linked to the Pirates days before the draft happened and many Pirates fans felt that McGuire should not be taken 9th overall.  Fortunately, Austin Meadows slipped to the Pirates and McGuire was still on the board 5 picks later when they selected 14th overall.  McGuire has had a pretty good start to his pro career, but has cooled off recently.  He began the year with a batting average over .500 for his first 10 games.  Since that time it's dipped to a .315/.375/.385 line.  McGuire has yet to show any kind of power at the plate (10 doubles of his 45 hits), but many see the power potential growing as he matures and fills out a bit more.  One thing about McGuire that will help him accelerate through the minors is his ability to recognize pitches.  He currently has a 15 SO to 13 BB ratio, showing clear judgement for the strike zone.  The most impressive thing about McGuire is the rate he's throwing runners out (41%).  To put that into perspective, many fans and scouts view Yadier Molina as the premier defensive backstop in the game today.  Molina was throwing runners out at 43% at the same level and slightly older.  I grabbed the above auto for $15 shipped.

2013 Panini USA Baseball Stars & Stripes Jameson Taillon AUTO 694/800

Next up is a Jameson Taillon USA Panini Stars and Stripes sticker auto that I grabbed for $7 shipped.  I don't understand why Taillon autos are so cheap.  I've talked an aweful lot about my excitement towards the future with Jameson Taillon so I don't really need to say anything further.

2010 Topps USA Gerrit Cole AUTO

Finally the Pirates future ace and current rookie flamethrower Gerrit Cole from 2010 Topps USA Baseball that I grabbed for $22.  Same as Taillon, I've expressed my thoughts on how good I think Gerrit Cole will be for years to come.