Trade with Charlie of Lifetime Topps Project

I got a nice package of cards from Charlie over at the Lifetime Topps Project.  I was able to send him a good chunk of card he needed for his various sets.  I was happy to do so since I have already completed my Lifetime Topps sets.  His project is a little bit more ambitious than mine but I applaud him for that.  He's collecting the inserts he likes and the traded sets whereas I only have the plain jane base set from 1982 to the present.  So let's take look at what he sent me in return:

 These 2 Upper Deck SP cards complete the team sets I'm building.  It always feels good to complete one of them and 2 at the same time is doubly satisfying!

 Here's a nice candid of Brady stretching and sharing a laugh with a mystery player of camera.  Brady has not taken his retirement laying down though.  I remarked a few weeks ago that he looked in great shape at FanFest and that he could probably still play.  Well, I read on Roch Kobatko's blog yesterday (Orioles beat writer) that he has an unusual training routine for the O's players he worked with this winter.  It included handstands.  Brian Matusz who's more than 20 years younger than Brady can only handstand for only 10 seconds.  Brady is walking around on his hands doing pushups!

 Another Goldie off the list.  Fare the well in Colorado, Jeremy!

 This is a pretty interesting shot of Mike Devereaux. It looks like he's giving the cameraman a lens full of fist or showing him where his World Series ring would go the next year with Atlanta!

I'll close this post out with a classy looking SP Legendary Cuts card for Brooksie. The Marble frame paired with the red background really make the card stand out.

Thanks for the cards Charlie, and good luck on the rest of your project!

7-1-11: Baltimore Orioles at Atlanta Braves

A good friend and co worker of mine have been planning a trip down to Atlanta since the Braves played in Baltimore 2 years ago. He's a big Braves guy mostly because of his grandfather, and the triple-A Braves playing in Richmond.

From an Orioles fan's standpoint, it was a terrible game as Adam Jones produced the only O's hit. Jair Jurrjens held the Orioles offense in check for the entire game. We had great seats as we were sitting in the seats right beside the ball boy on the right field line. That lucky kid got to warm up Jason Heyward every inning! As luck would have it though, he didn't get one single foul ball the entire night!

So the game ended and I was going to try my luck at getting some autographs at the players entrance. This was the first time I had ever staked out the players entrance so I wasn't really sure what was going to happen.

I was able to get the tough-luck Orioles starter from that night Jeremy Guthrie on this 2009 Upper Deck card.

I also got Craig Tatum as he exited the stadium as well as Robert Andino and Jason Berken. Berken has been in the majors for 3 years and Topps hasn't produced a card other that this When They Were Young card. They could have taken one of Buster Posey's 3 regular Topps cards (ROY, Rookie Cup, or regular card) out of the set and given Jason a proper rookie card. That is why we need Topps Total!

I was also able to get Buck Showalter as he drove out in his rented Chevy SUV. He was nice and didn't seem to mind signing for an Orioles fan.

After the team bus left, I decided to head back to the hotel to get some sleep and get ready for day 2. Upon meeting up back at the hotel my friend actually got some Braves Autographs on some cards that I gave him. The most notable card he got that night was Jair Jurrjens on his 2008 Topps card. He was stoked!

Saturday was a big day so I can't wait to write about it... Stay Tuned!

Trade with the Daily Dimwit pt.2: Game Used Edition

Samuel and I have traded twice in the past month. He is the first trader on the blogs that I have been able to dump some Astros cards on. If you look back on my last few box breaks you can see why this is a good thing for Sam because it seems like I have some major Astros-jo going on. Anyways, on to the spoils:

2008 Upper Deck X Materials Jeremy Guthrie. This is my favorite (also only) Jeremy Guthrie Game used card I own. "Guts" as he has been nicknamed has been a lone constant in the Orioles rotation for the last 4 seasons now. The Elder Statesman if you will. I'm glad he had a bounce back season. He does a lot of charity work in Baltimore and he even signed a card TTM for me earlier this year!

2009 Upper Deck A Piece of History Box Score Memories Materials Melvin Mora. I can't say that I was a giant fan of Melvin while he was in Baltimore but he was a solid player for the O's for a long time and will by my estimation be enshrined in the Orioles Hall of Fame some day.

2006 Upper Deck Game Materials Corey Patterson. This is a really disfunctional Card if I ever saw one. We have an Orange and Black color scheme to the card, Corey wearing Cubs pinstripes, a blue pinstripe jersey swatch and the Orioles listed as his team. They can't all be winners but this is my first Patterson relic card.

Thanks again Sam, if I continue on my Astros hot streak I'll be sure to let you know!