This is by no means a comprehensive posting of my collection of Zimmerman GU & Autos, just to let you know up front. These are all treasured pieces to my collection, so I thought I’d start collecting them all into a series of ongoing posts. I think I’ll do one for Jordan Zimmermann soon, as well.
2004 SP National Honors
2006 Topps Chrome Blue
2006 eTopps
2006 Upper Deck Special F/ X Materials
2007 Upper Deck Artifacts
2007 Upper Deck Exquisite
2010 Triple Threads
2010 Topps Tribute
Filed under Ryan Zimmerman
Missed yesterday, obviously. Just could not make it with having a half-day of work and so much to do.
Lots going on on the Nationals front. Looks like the Nats have had discussions with Jorge De La Rosa and Carl Pavano. I’d love to have Pavano return, even if just for the whole Expos/career coming full circle thing. It’s also unlikely that Josh Willingham is going to get an extension, and I’m a little annoyed about that one. Josh is one of my favorite Nationals, and I’m not sure I see many more outfielders coming up through the system that would take his place. It’s also likely to piss Ryan Zimmerman off even more, as he already cannot be happy with losing Dunn. How do you make the cornerstone of the team question their commitment to win? Well, this is a good way to do it. I guess the good news is that Jesus Flores is finally healthy. Yay! I had hoped for such an event.
I’ll be damned if I understand the deal with trying to trade Justin Upton. What are the Diamondbacks thinking on this one? You have a 23-year-old future superstar who’s cost-controlled…why? It’s like the Mariners trading Ken Griffey Jr. in 1991. I don’t get it.
Anybody want a 1977 Bill Buckner? I scored it in the Million Card Giveaway and am looking to move it for any like player from the Expos from 76-79. I’m crimnos, if you’re looking.
Music Friday!
Okay, let’s see what other folks were talking about yesterday…
Have a great weekend all!
Filed under Blog Roundup
Apologies guys for combining both trades into one post, but I’ve run late on this one long enough. My first trade was with Rhubarb Runner from e Reyhahn, Reyhahn, a blog I’ve enjoyed for quite awhile now. He contacted me with a trade proposal, and we worked something out, with an eye toward a future, larger trade, I hope (the holiday season is just kicking me around timewise). Here’s a sample of what he sent!
2009 Topps Traded Gold
Very cool, goes straight into the Zim collection. I dig it.
2009 Topps Gold
And then here’s that OTHER Zim. I’m always happy to get Jordan’s cards, and I like this one a lot – I feel the photo works a lot better with the gold borders than the white ones.
2010 Topps Opening Day Blue
I think this was my first Opening Day blue card for this year, and I like it a lot. I may try to collect the entire team set.
And the centerpiece of the trade on my end. Everts never really panned out to be much, but I’ve been trying to get his autograph and GU for awhile now; I like obtaining stuff like this from obscure players almost as much as the All Stars, and it’s a nice addition to the collection. Thanks, David! I still plan to dig through that
Okay, now to Mike’s trade. Mike, of course, runs BA Benny’s Baseball Card Buffet and Pack Rip Cafe, both of which are great blogs worth checking out. This was actually our second trade, a follow-up to our previous trade. This began when I saw he had broken a box of 2010 Topps Update and scored some Nationals and Senators that I wanted. Let’s look at the targets first:
2010 Topps Traded Gold
Well, duh. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to part with this one, but I appreciate that he did. It’s definitely going to occupy a cherished spot in my collection, especially as it has both Stras and Zim on the same card. Very cool.
That coloring job is horrific, but I will always ALWAYS want a card with The Big Train on it. Walter Johnson was the man.
Original Back
I’ll also always want cards with Killebrew as a National/Senator. He was in Washington for such a brief time that these cards, even reprints, are always a treat.
There were a few other update cards, but that was the core of what I wanted. Of course, it wouldn’t be a trade without a few throw-ins, and he threw in a LOT of cards. My favorite, and what turned out to be my favorite of the package even ahead of the Strasburg, is this:
Detwiler will likely not become much, but this is cool because I have the non-gold edition of this card…putting the gold next to the regular is incredibly sweet. Like I said, sometimes it’s not about the player’s star power; there are lots of other factors.
1999 Bowman Chrome International
The 98 and 99 Bowman Chrome International cards are AWESOME, and this one is no exception.
2006 Topps Own the Game
2006 Topps Stars
A couple of cool 06 Topps inserts.
2006 Topps Trading Places
Another insert that seemed highly appropriate next to Soriano.
2007 Bowman Heritage Refractor/Rainbow
Are these refractors or rainbow cards? I’m never quite sure. Either way, love the set, and I like Jesus Flores. I keep holding out hope he’s not injured again.
There was a lot more stuff, but this is all I really have room for. Thanks a lot, guys! I hope you enjoy what I sent your way.
Filed under Mail Call
Or, well, new cube. Alas, I have been forced from my old place and thrust into a cold new world, but I will survive.
It was kind of cool to log in this morning and see the post counter sitting at an even 700. Did some math last night…even though I’ve had this blog since something like April of 09, I took a long period off from last October to this June, so I’ve been actively writing on this site for a little over a year. I think it comes out to something like 12 posts a week, in that ballpark. I’ve been more prolific than I thought I had. Very, very cool.
Mike Rizzo went on Sirius XM yesterday. These would be the highlights:
We love Adam Dunn, he’s had two terrific years here, he’s a great guy in the clubhouse, he’s a guy that drives in big runs for us, and he’s a big part of our offense, protects Ryan Zimmerman and all that, we recognize that and we’ve certainly had interest throughout the year and he’s a guy that we continue to have communications with.”
“I’d be a fool if I didn’t like Cliff Lee or want Cliff Lee on our club. He’s the prize pitching guy in this year’s free agent market. But I’m not going to delude myself to the fact that we have a great chance of landing Cliff Lee. He’s going to have enough takers and enough competition for us to pick and choose whatever ballclub he wants to go to. So, suffice it to say, I love Cliff Lee, I’d love to have him on the club. He’s a number one starter in the major leagues. We have contacted his agent and begun discussions with him, but I’m certainly not going to all my eggs in the Cliff Lee basket cause I think the chances of Cliff wanting to come to the Washington Nationals at this time in our franchise is small.”
He keeps harping on in the interview about signing Adam Dunn, but it’s pretty clear to me that it’s probably not going to happen. I guess Wilson Ramos is expected to contend for a Major league shot this year? Yay!
Oh, Ryan Zimmerman won a silver slugger this year, too. Pretty cool, and I think this one was dead-on…Zim was #7 in OPS+ for all NL players this year. There were no third basemen ahead of him, so I applaud the choice and can enjoy it.
Oh, hey, it’s music Friday!
Now let’s see what else was going on yesterday.
And that’s it. Have a great weekend!
Filed under Blog Roundup
Remember that David Wright card I listed? Well I had a few people interested, and Joe from The Sandlot had some cards that intrigued me, so we pulled the trigger on the trade. His end arrived yesterday, and the Wright card should be in his hands either today or tomorrow. What did I manage to land? Let’s take a look…
2006 Flair Showcase Showcase Signatures /35
Nice one. I have a few Cordero autos in my collection, but I couldn’t turn down one that was numbered this low.
2000 Fleer Fresh Ink
Another Jose Vidro auto to add to my collection.
2007 Topps Co-Signers "Blue" #/250
Always happy to add another numbered Zimmerman card to my collection.
2007 Topps Chrome White Refractor
I’m a refractor junkie, and I really like the white chrome design from 2007. In addition, I think Hughes has a bright future, so even if he is a Yankee, I wanted.
The wear on this and the vidro are from the cases.
A sweet little gray swatch of a Hall of Famer. It has stitching, too! I like to pick up HOF stuff when it’s possible, so, again, this was a no-brainer.
So thanks, Joe! I hope you like your card.
Filed under Mail Call
Okay, so the guy I was worried about came through after all, even if I have some quibbles over the delivery method. Let’s start, however, with another arrival:
2010 Topps Tribute
There, now I have a Ryan Zimmerman from each of the 2010 high-end Topps issues. I may try to score a GU/Auto from Triple Threads, but I’m generally not a huge fan of this stuff. I mean, for God’s sake, the sticker is on crooked. Ah, well.
The last thing that I was waiting for was an assortment of cards from a seller on eBay. Most of these ran between 2008 and 2010, base cards from a guy who probably broke some boxes, with a patch auto included. For the price, it was a good buy. Here’s the patch auto:
2009 Donruss Elite Extra Edition
I had actually never heard of Holder until I saw this card for sale, but I did a little research on him and learned that he was a surprise Nationals pick. I don’t know if he’ll ever make the majors, but I dig the hell out of this card. I like the collegiate patches concept a lot, and it’s a nice auto.
Of course, there was also a lot of base and some parallels. Like this:
2009 Donruss Elite Extra Edition
Yep, guy obviously broke at least one box of Elite. I got a couple of the Storens, and I was happy to receive them.
2010 National Chicle
The lot also included a near-complete team set of National Chicle. Score! It also included this sweet Walter Johnson:
2010 National Chicle
But that’s not all! He also included this sweet 2010 Bowman Blue Cristian Guzman:
2010 Bowman
And the last Bowman Chrome prospect I needed from the 2008 issue:
2008 Bowman Chrome
As well as a 2009 Unique Adam Dunn (I’d never heard of this set before):
2009 Topps Unique
He also completed my 2010 A&G Team set (minus the minis):
2010 Allen & Ginter
And, finally, a mess of Topps Finest:
2010 Topps Finest
So, yeah, overall, I’m pretty pleased, and it was a nice week of pick-ups. I’m definitely going to focus more on singles than packs from here on out.
Filed under Autographs, Game-Used, Nationals Autographs, Ryan Zimmerman
Woot, more cool stuff arrived yesterday in addition to what I already had, so let’s continue to look-see…
2010 Triple Threads
Another score from the Chrome replacement purchase. This is apparently a “sepia” parallel, according to the numbering scheme. I was struck by a few things, 1. how much smaller it was than I expected – not just the card itself, which is standard size, but the swatch and the photo of Zimmerman. I finally get why people complained about the pic size, 2. it’s a lot shinier than I expected. Definitely takes a hallowed place in my collection.
2005 Leaf Limited
I picked this one up as a “replacement hit” for a group break I signed up for with Thorzul back in September. I got a base Jose Guillen card out of that, so I thought I’d get a GU from that set. It’s actually part of a patch, which is kind of hard to tell here, but it’s made of a different material than a jersey swatch. Only one color, but still cool.
2005 Studio
Josh Karp is one of those weird guys who barely played for the inaugural team. I’m not even sure if a lot of them have autographed cards, and I thought that about Karp until I saw this. When I see this, though, I see a lost opportunity. Imagine an on-card auto with that background. How sweet would that be?
Speaking of on-card….
2007 Topps 52
Speigner has been one of those elusive autos, too, but no more! And look at this thing – the auto is in just the perfect place, on-card. I love it. Speigner may not have done much for the team, but it’s soo worth it. Oh, and it was sandwiched in between two ’08 Baseball Heroes cards, one of which was this:
Nice. Big thumbs-up for that.
Filed under Autographs, Game-Used, Mail Call, Nationals Autographs
Okay, so I Am Joe Collector’s 2010 Topps Chrome case break didn’t pan out. I considered buying a box of chrome to make up for it, but decided I’d rather go for some higher-quality cards instead. Here’s what I got…
A 2010 Topps Triple Threads Ryan Zimmerman 14-piece jersey /27
A Topps Chrome Drew Storen auto (mine isn’t smudged like that)
A Danny Espinosa autograph (with Orioles farmhand Mychal Givens).
All in all, I’m pretty happy with it. Two young Nats players that I think will just get better, and a new addition to my Zimmerman collection. I think that beats spending even more money to get a handful of Nats and maybe an auto I wouldn’t care about. I’ll scan these when they arrive, of course.
Filed under Current Events
I was feeling a bit out of sorts last night. Not sure why, but I suspected that opening a blaster of cards might cheer me up a bit. And I knew I wanted to bust some Topps Chrome, especially after learning that the retail version was different than the hobby version (of which I am already in on a group break). So, after some cajoling of my dearly beloved, we went to Target, and I was able to score the next-to-last blaster of Chrome. And what a blaster it turned out to be.
The base cards, of course, are great as always. I’ve been a chrome junkie since I returned to the hobby in ’03, and these may be my favorites in that time. I didn’t care for the 10 base design, but something about it works in Chrome.
Of course I got a Zimmerman.
Of course, the big question for me was the refractors, as I collect them. Thankfully, the published odds on the box seem to be crap, because I got a refractor or some variation of it in every pack. Like this Adam Dunn refractor:
Out of the 8 packs, I got an equal amount of xfractors and refractors. That means xfractors are a lot easier to pull, which is a little disappointing, but it’s still nice to get them, and I dig the early 80s video game vibe to this year’s design:
So that leaves me with two other refractor-type pulls from the box. The first was this gorgeous purple Nick Johnson refractor. It’s numbered, but I can’t remember the numbering. Maybe 299?
The next one’s really cool. It’s a blue Topps 206 Dan Haren refractor. I think the odds on this one were like 1:420 packs. It’s numbered to 199.
But I saved my absolute favorite card of the blaster for last.
That’s right, the first Stephen Strasburg I’ve pulled and it’s an xfractor. SO happy with that one. Overall, I’m ecstatic with the blaster. I’m definitely hoping to pick up a hobby box or hell even a retail box, as they’re just as much fun.And to me, that’s what this is really all about.
Filed under Wax Breaks
So Stan Kasten‘s leaving us. Not sure how I feel about it. I didn’t like Kasten during the Bowden era, but came to realize that the issue was more Bowden than Kasten, especially once Rizzo came on board. But there was clearly still some friction between Kasten and the Lerners, and I feel there’s a lot more going on here than meets the eye. Health? The culmination of bad blood? Or planned from the start? Who knows. I see it as a loss, though.
Heard the interview with Bryce Harper on 106.7 and boy…he’s kind of unlikable. Everything I feared about him turning out as some kind of head case seemed proven, though in this interview he seems a lot more down-to-earth. My guess is this is just the kind of stuff that will come out of someone so damn young being put in the media spotlight like this. I’m just going to calm down and wait to see how he progresses.
Ryan Zimmerman hurt his ribs and was out of the game last night. Might as well shut him down for the rest of the season…no need to aggravate it. It’s not that much farther to go.
Does anybody know of any Giants card blogs? My girlfriend is a Giants fan and I’m kind of warming up to them. I’m curious to see what’s out there.
Now for my favorite posts from the card-o-sphere:
Filed under Blog Roundup
NatsTown 