A Group Break is Coming....

Tonight at 8pm EST, I'll be revealing the details of the November 2012 "O" No!!! Affordable Group Break. I think this break has the potential to be better than the last one and the buy in price is actually going to be cheaper!

Once again, look back here at 8pm tonight and see what boxes will broken and the sign ups!

All Upper Deck Group Break at Community Gum

The good guys over at the Community Gum blog are running a group break that includes a bunch of great Upper Deck boxes from the past 10 or so years.  There's a couple of teams left including the Red Sox, Tigers, and Giants!  Head on over and sign up for a slot right here.

You've got about one day left to claim your teams so don't delay!

Trade with Dennis of Too Many Verlanders

My latest trade with Dennis of Too Many Grandersons Verlanders was born out of my group break that I ran back at the beginning of the month.  I really enjoyed the couple of Mosaic inserts that came out of the Pinnacle Zenith box and was jealous of the teams that got one.  Dennis was not in the group break but he happened to read that specific post and said that he had the Orioles version of the insert.  We were able to strike up some trade talk since I got randomed the Tigers as my second team.  Strange how that worked out right?.  Here's the crown jewel of the trade right here:

I really like this card, I has 3 of my favorite O's on in and plus its shiny!  Why aren't there more of these type of inserts these days?

Dennis went above and beyond the call of duty and included several team bags full of Orioles cards I needed.  I think there were about 25 Mike Mussina cards in the package, many of which go straight into my Moose PC binder.

John Maine was a highly regarded prospect when he was in the Orioles farm system.  So highly regarded that we sent him to the Mets for Kris Benson.  It's hard to say who got the better of that trade.  What do Mets fans think about the trade?  This card is going into my One Card of Every Oriole book, which I'm slowly but surely chipping away at.  Check out my  wantlist and see if you can help me out!

Dennis also included 2 TTMs that he sent "back in the day" .  This Chris Hoiles is his Fleer Update rookie card from 1990.  I think 1990 Fleer is underated but that doesn't mean I'm going to be putting this set together anytime soon!

Here's the other TTM of Ryan Minor.  I've been meaning to send him one myself since he's the manager of the Orioles single A affiliate the Delmarva Shorebirds.  I guess I'll be saving 2 stamps now!  I also think that 1999 Topps is underated too, and this would have been the card I'd send to Ryan to have him sign.

Thanks Dennis for the awesome trade package that you sent.  I really enjoyed the cards!

Card Show Report: CSA October 2012

     I went to a card show this past weekend.  It's the one I normally attend at the Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, Virginia.  It happens 3 times a year so luckily there is enough time for me to save up enough money to make going there worthwhile.  I usually go on Saturday or Friday afternoon but I had prior commitments this time that prevented me from going either of those 2 days.  I had to go on Sunday once before  and the crowd was not as large but everything seemed to be picked over.  This time was no different.  The crowd was small, dealers started packing up at noon, and everything seemed to be picked clean. I did get some good deals but I'll try my hardest to make it on Friday or Saturday next time.
     I had a plan that I formulated in the car that I was going to try to knock out a bunch of sets that were on my wantlist, pick up a bunch of Orioles cards for my team sets, and buy some much needed boxes and 9-pocket pages.  Once I walked thru the doors, I think I forgot why I was there.  I got some cards from my set wantlists, almost totally struck out on my team sets, but thankfully restocked my supply of storage boxes and binder sheets.  One and a half out of three isn't too bad.
     The show wasn't a total loss though.  I picked up a bunch of cards for sets I'm beginning to build like 2011 Allen & Ginter, 1980 and 1979 Topps.  I knocked some wantlists down to next to nothing including 2012 Topps series 2, 2012 Allen & Ginter, and 2012 Bowman Chrome Prospects.
     I also picked up a bunch of great cards out of the bargain bins including those starter sets.  I didn't see any nickel bins but there were plenty of dime bins.  Here's a few that I picked out of the dime bins:

Yeah, a 1982 Donruss Jim Palmer does not belong in the dime bin.  It belongs in my Palmer binder!  Can't beat this one for a dime!

Not minis but great rookie cards of awesome players.  Pudge and the Big Hurt will end up in Cooperstown one day and Kid K's career has been great so far.  If he keeps it up, he might soon be mentioned in the same breath as Koufax, Drysdale, Valenzuela, and Hershiser.  Each of these cards set me back a dime!

Whoever put this in the discount bin must have known I was coming to take a look see.  Davis has really grown on me during this past season.  He mashed 30 home runs and they all seemed to come in bunches.  Unfortunately for Birdland, he didn't hit any in the playoffs.  Instead he spent most of his time flailing at pitches in the dirt.  If he ever learns some plate discipline, he could hit over 40 bombs!  I still need a ton of Topps Chrome Orioles from 2012 including baseb card, regular refractors, Xfractors, Purple, and Orange.  Even if you have just one of them, please contact me.

Not everything came from the dime boxes but I did get great deals on these cards

I paid a buck for this sweet Nick Markakis from 2009 Topps Heritage Chrome.  I really think that if Nick wasn't out with a broken thumb (thanks a lot F.F. Sabathia), our playoff outcome could have been better.  Nick is the best pure hitter on the team and he's the most clutch out of anyone on the roster.  I'm pretty sure he could have come up with that key hit we needed.   That's baseball though, there's always next year.

There's no way I could resist this classy looking relic card of Jonesy.  It's numbered 28/35 which is pretty cool (right below his forearm).  I can't afford buying expensive boxes  like the ones that relics like this pop out of, so I let the suckers bust those boxes and capitalize buy buying the singles as they desperately try to recoup their loses.  I win every time because I only paid 6 bucks for this card.

I bought this card from the same dealer that sold me the Markakis Chrome above.  He had just traded a guy for it while I was walking up to his table so I got this card for 3 bucks.  WIN AGAIN!

I'm going to close here with another Ripken game used card.  I picked this one up for a measly 4 bucks!  I'm going to focus on the darkside of Cal's face.  I think that's the side of his face that likes the Yankees.  He sure had plenty of praise for the pinstripers during the TBS broadcasts of the ALDS and not much to say about the O's.  I understand that he's just doing his job but I think it not only broke my heart to hear him praise Arod and Jeter but it probably hurt a lot of Orioles fan's perception of him.  He probably felt he had to compensate because people that aren't normally baseball fan is a Yankee fan come playoff time (well except they don't show up to the park!) and he didn't want to sound like a "homer" .  He ended up over-compensating and .angering his fanbase instead.  It's OK to piss of the Evil Empire, Cal!  You're still my favorite all-time player though.  I'm sure he could win some of that fanbase back by doing some MASN broadcasts next year.  (GET ON IT MASN, SERIOUSLY!!!).

So, overall I had a decent time.  I think the crowd was small because football is in full swing and the O's and Nats had just lost on Friday night.  While not the best CSA show I've been to, but I still got some great cards!

Trade with Michael of Nomo's Sushi Platter

Michael of Nomo's Sushi Platter and I have become pretty good trade partners over the past few years.  I think out of everyone here on the blogs, I have traded with him the most times.  Every trade seems to get better too.  Here's just a few of the cards he sent me this time:

 Since Mark could become a free agent if his option isn't picked up, I think the Orioles should keep him one way or another.  I'd rather have another year of Mark playing 1st base than say James Loney or Carlos Pena.

 I'm not sure what the Orioles plans at second base are at the moment.  Ryan Adams is definitely not one of the top options right now.  He was outrighted to the minors late in the season after battling injuries and somewhat disappointing play.  Maybe he can play his way back into the future of the O's but he has Robert Andino and Ryan Flaherty blocking his return to the majors.

Mike also sent over a bunch of late 70's Topps cards of Dodgers for my growing set building project.  I'm still just gathering any and all so if you have any you'd like to send my way, don't hesitate to contact me.

Thanks for the cards Michael,  I really enjoyed them all!

Trade with Joe of The Sandlot

Since the offseason is upon most of us, I think there's going to be a lot more time for me to trade some cards around the blogosphere.  Joe from the Sandlot emailed me a little while back offering me a bunch of cards from my wantlist.  I couldn't resist and all he asked for was some Mets cards.  Here's a few of my favorites from the trade:

Eric Davis is one of my player collections that I recently started paying more attention to.  I really liked him as an Oriole and his bout with cancer while he was in Baltimore is truly inspirational.  How many people do you know that have had chemo one day and hit a home run in the ALDS the next day?  2 Eric Davis and Raul Ibanez!

 I read the back of this card of Mike Timlin and it said he had a great second half of 1999.  All I seem to remember of him is the gas can that he normally brought to the mound during his pitching appearances.

I barely remember Manny Alexander.  He was a crappy player and is partly responsible for the steriods probe of the early 2000's.  I read it on the Mitchell Report.  I haven't finished reading the whole thing but it has given me a little more clarity on the whole issue.

Thanks for the great cards Joe!

The Countdown to Opening Day 2013 begins...

Well, now that baseball season has officially ended, I'm already looking forward to the Orioles storybook run to winning the World Series next year.

I don't think I'll ever eat another avocado because "That's bush league, Bro"

I will not buy a Samsung S3 because I'm an Apple guy.

I will not be eating at Red Robin at least until their Oktoberfest promo ends.

Also, Cal Ripken and John Smoltz will not be able to insult my baseball intelligence anymore.  They both suck at calling games and who the fuck is Ernie Johnson.

Eat my balls TBS.  Your coverage of baseball has sucked since you stopped carrying all the Braves games.  We should be seeing reruns of Big Bang Theory and NCIS on your family of stations, not live baseball.


I will be headed to the ABC Store right now to get a bottle of Captain Morgan Black Spiced Rum to help dull the thought of a Yankees/Nationals WS.  At least TBS had one good sponsor.

"O" No's 1st Group Break: Round 6

So we've arrived at the last round of packs.  We'll get to those in a second but one last word for our sponsor.  Thanks to Baseball Card Exchange for sponsoring my break.  Check them out if you haven't done so yet.

Here we go:

'96 Zenith
Pack #21
14 Tino Martinez - Yankees
35 Edgar Martinez - Mariners
100 Sammy Sosa - Cubs
99 Alex Rodriguez - Mariners
124 Chan Ho Park - Dodgers
117 Paul Wilson - Mets

Pack #22
96 David Cone - Yankees
93 Derek Jeter - Yankees
56 Brian Jordan Cardinals
47 Raul Mondesi - Dodgers
103 Chad Mottola - Reds
129 Terrell Wade - Braves

Pack #23
39 Tim Salmon - Angels
50 Henry Rodriguez - Expos
59 Melvin Nieves - Tigers
63 Reggie Sanders - Reds
144 Barry Bonds Honor Roll subset - Giants
120 Wilton Guerrero - Dodgers

Pack #24
53 Wally Joyner - Padres
44 Andre Dawson - Marlins
26 Jim Edmonds - Angels
19 Barry Larkin - Reds

132 Cal Ripken Jr. Honor Roll subset - Orioles
142 Manny Ramirez Honor Roll subset - Indians

That was a really solid pack to finish up the Zenith box.  We got an extra Mozaics insert which I'm pretty happy about.

'99 Sports Illustrated
Pack #21
24 Barry Bonds Season Highlights - Giants
29 Tony Clark Season Highlights - Tigers
16 Roger Clemens/ Greg Maddux - Blue Jays/Braves

HL-8 Cal Ripken Jr. Headliners - Orioles
WOW, I'm really happy to pull this card.  It's going straight to the PC binder!
126 Jason Kendall - Pirates
131 Jeff Kent - Giants

Pack #22
5 David Justice Postseason Review - Indians
98 Chipper Jones - Braves
33 Mark McGwire Season Highlights - Cardinals
165 Damion Easley - Tigers
111 John Smoltz - Braves
116 Edgar Reneria - Cardinals

Pack #23
4 Sterling Hitchcock Postseason Review - Padres
97 Ken Griffey Jr. - Mariners

FF-4 Greg Vaughn Fabulous Forties - Padres

I'm glad to see that we pulled another one of these inserts and that the Padres get a sweet insert card!

HL-16 Darin Erstad Headliners - Angels
Double inserts in this pack!  Nice looking card for the Angels...
119 Rondell White - Expos
129 Johnny Damon - Royals

Pack #24
10 Ken Griffey Jr/ Mark McGwire - Mariners/Cardinals
92 Todd Helton - Rockies
32 Dennis Eckersley Season Highlights - Red Sox
105 Jim Edmonds - Angels
133 Trevor Hoffman - Padres
114 Albert Belle - Orioles

That does it for the SI box.  The Fabulous 40's inserts overproduced for this box which I'm pretty happy about.  I enjoyed this box!  There's a nice stack of cards that will be randomed off that have multiple players on them along with the Rays and Diamondbacks cards.

'94 Finest
Pack #21
180 Charlie Hough - Marlins
178 Tony Phillips - Tigers
58 Danny Darwin - Red Sox
79 Pat Listach - Brewers
140 Pete Incaviglia - Phillies

211 Juan Gonzalez Refractor - Rangers
We've landed a 3rd refractor from the box!  All 3 are big name players (at the time) so you can't beat that!
21 Kevin Tapani - Twins

Pack #22
122 Jay Buhner - Mariners
27 Jeff Blauser - Braves
142 Darryl Hamilton - Brewers
85 Darren Lewis - Giants
32 Charlie Hayes - Rockies
211 Juan Gonzalez - Rangers
88 Rob Dibble - Reds

Pack #23
72 Joe Girardi - Rockies
146 Joey Cora - White Sox
25 Ken Hill - Expos
23 Jose Offerman - Dodgers
128 John Valentin - Red Sox
211 Juan Gonzalez - Rangers
112 Chili Davis - Angels

Pack #24
120 Pete Harnisch - Astros
134 Dave Stewart - Blue Jays
138 Jose Mesa - Indians
127 Don Slaught - Pirates
64 Tom Henke - Rangers
202 Robin Ventura - White Sox

And the last card is....

73 Eduardo Perez - Angels

Well that does it for the break.  I really hope everyone enjoyed it.  If you have any feedback on the break, I'd love to hear constructive criticism. I hope to have another break in November so keep it tuned here to the blog for an announcement later this month.

I hope to have Everybody's package was mailed within the next few business days. Columbus Day on Monday will prevent me from sending some until Tuesday since all the PO's will be closed in observance.   Let me know when you get yours and I hope you enjoy the cards that were pulled!

Here's the final card count:

Cubs - 24
Red Sox - 13
Yankees - 24
Brewers - 5
Pirates - 11
Blue Jays - 14
Marlins - 14
Astros - 16
Cardinals - 21
Braves - 31
Rangers - 21
Phillies - 14
Tigers - 16
Giants - 12
Mariners - 15
Rockies - 15
Padres - 11
Reds - 11
Expos - 13
White Sox - 14
A's - 18

Indians - 18
Mets - 13
Angels - 15
Twins - 9
Royals - 11
Dodgers - 17

Orioles - 22