2013 trade package #24: PTSiA is my Blue Brie Buddy For Life

I received what will likely be my final trade package of 2013 late last week, and this one happens to come from blog favorite Greg Z. of Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle.  Greg was one of a few traders who took me up on my offer to pick up stuff on COMC and trade it, and he posted about what I sent him here.  As is often the case, I split up my haul into a post here and another over on TMV, so don't forget to enjoy that one too!  Ok, enough talk, on with the goods:

Here's the address label from the envelope, confirming that it indeed hails from my Brie Buddy 4 Life.  Greg, that earns you a hearty AB thumbs up!

And now, the actual contents of the envelope:

This Michigan card, displaying my state's motto--"If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you"--appears to hail from a company called Helmar Turkish Cigarettes, and was created in the early 1900s, predating even my grandparents!  Greg showed off a few such acquisitions here as well as here.  It's a very cool and unique piece to add to my collection, even if I don't know where exactly it fits.  Those bucks and eagle are here to tell you, "MICHIGAN!  FUCK YEAH!"

On to pictures of men who play American sports.  Greg threw me a new Jim Abbott, an Allen & Ginter that's my first from any 2013 set.  I got my MMMM post on him put up just in time to add this 41st card to his PC!

And then there's the hits!:

Alan Branch 2007 Ultimate Collection Ultimate Signatures auto

Greg did a great job picking out this auto of Branch, just my second of him in his college uni, and a clear upgrade on the Press Pass I already had.  And now, my favorite part of posts that feature Mr. Branch:

ALAN BRANCH KILLS QBs

Ok, as you were.  That's football hit #759, by the way, and Branch #14 (all autos) in my collection.

And now we head north to celebrate the sport of hosers:

Andrew Ebbett 2008-09 SP Game Used Rookie Exclusive auto (#073/100)

Cool, it's Andrew "Frownyface McNoteeth" Ebbett!  He actually reminds me a bit of Pavel Datsyuk there.  It's been a few years since the kid was with Anaheim, which surely made the card easier for Greg to part with, and I now have my fourth auto and fifth overall hit of the center.

Jack Johnson 2008-09 Upper Deck Trilogy Young Star Scripts auto

Jack MF Johnson!  Boy that kid sure has a pretty signature, and that reminds me that I really should try to add more of him whenever I can.  As it stands, I have eight JJ hits, only two of which feature autos.  There's something to work on in 2014.

Marty Turco 2008-09 Upper Deck Trilogy Superstar Scripts auto

And finally we have my favorite all-time Michigan icer, goalie Marty Turco, on this lovely horizontal auto that hits all the right notes for me.  Turco still leads my hockey PC, now with 22 hits including this, my ninth auto.

And thanks to those three hockey adds, my new total for that sport is a spiffy 112, and I've long since passed my goal I set at the beginning of this year.

Thanks again for a great deal, Mr. Z., let's get another one going before 2014 gets too old.  Readers, please pay homage to Nick Offerman and check out Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle tonight!

And on that note, we here at TMM (a.k.a., me, I guess) wish all of you a Merry Christmas and happy new year.  Catch the holiday spirit, y'all!

COMC haul #11: as good as it Getz

(Note:  all COMC haul posts can be accessed here)

Ok, Greg--you post Getz, I post Getz too!

Today's subject is former Michigan 2B Chris Getz, who was drafted by the White Sox, then flipped to the division-rival Royals back in 2009.  Since I had a scanner-friendly nine total cards of Getz in this package, I decided to show of all of them at once.  And here they are:

Chris Getz 2008 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Refractor

Chris Getz 2010 Topps 206 Bronze

Chris Getz 2010 Topps 206 Mini Framed American Caramel auto

Chris Getz 2010 Topps 206 Mini Piedmont

Chris Getz 2010 Topps Gold Border (#1433/2010)

Chris Getz 2011 Topps Cognac Diamond Anniversary

Chris Getz 2011 Topps Diamond Anniversary Factory Set Limited Edition

Chris Getz 2011 Topps Diamond Anniversary

Chris Getz 2012 Topps Target Red Border

Well, that there is a pretty decent variety of cards, even if they each hail from Topps products.  My favorites are the BowChro Refractor (probably BA Benny's and Jeff's as well) and the autograph (no surprise), and the only real duds for me are the T206 Bronze (just boring in general) and Topps Target (one of several stupid and useless retail-specific parallels collectors now have to chase).  Everything is is pretty cool, especially some fun parallels, and I even liked the mini, if you can believe it.

Overall, nothing huge here, but I did hit my sixth hit of Getz, which is also my sixth auto of him.  His PC now stands at 18 cards, out of 80 non-1/1s that I know of.  I'm not exactly looking forward to trying to pin down some of his tougher stuff, especially his brand-new Heritage High Numbers issues--his Red version has gone for about $70 and another may end up near that as well.  Then again, you never know what kind of deals you might find, especially when you least expect them.  I may become more motivated as I continue chipping away at Getz's checklist, which is actually fairly light compared to some of the other players I'm PCing.

I'll be taking tomorrow off to enjoy the holiday, but rest assured I'll be back this weekend with more good stuff, not to mention some talk about the upcoming game against Ohio.  GO BLUE!

PTSIA's trade package makes it great to Brie a Michigan Wolverine!

As I covered in yesterday's TMV post, I received yet another great trade package from Greg over at PTSIA.  There you got to see some sweet Tigers pickups, plus a little more eye candy in the form of patron saint of sports card blogs and hotness Alison Brie (at Greg's request and my mutual interest!).

Like this, and such as.  Found over here, if you're interested.

The even better part of that package will be the subject of today's post on this here blog:

A couple Hoops Wolverines.  Wonder if I could pull off the Loy Vaught haircut?

Chris Webber 2010-11 Classics Membership jersey (#477/499)

Obviously I'm like every other Michigan fan in that I have a love/hate relationship with Webber.  Regardless, I now have three C-Webb relics in my basketball PC.  And that is a pretty sweet purple swatch!

And now here's where things got especially fun!:

Hmmm, rip party, you say?...

AW YEAH, you're getting RIPPED, Scott Skiles!

Hey!  Where's my rip cards?  Shouldn't I be pulling a red autograph #d /10?  Oh, wait, these aren't Topps cards, and why would anybody expect anything from a Spartan anyway?

Here's the aftermath.  I love Skiles' floating head at the bottom of the pile!

Then things went from fun to fun AND useful:

Jake Long 2008 Absolute Memorabilia Stargazing Jersey Prime patch (#39/50)

Now THAT's a purdy patch!  Also, since it's from Greg it's officially Patchtastic®.  That goes beautifully with my jersey/auto from the same set, though I dare say that I like this patch even more than that combination because, I mean, that's a NICE patch!  And hey, while Long's 55th(!) card still lags behind Rich Hill's total count (at least for now), that's a milestone-ish 575 football PC hits!

But that wasn't the only very useful PC card he sent my way:

J.J. Putz 2012 Topps Allen and Ginter Mini

You damn kids and your "minis" and "Gangnams" and "Twooters."  This is my first Putz mini, and it required some research on my part to ultimately determine that it's a "regular" mini and note one of the 80 other variations (I think).  This is my 15th "in-hand-and-scanned" card of Double-J, and that's also sort of milestone-worthy.

And then there's THIS guy,

Rich Hill 2009 UD Ballpark Collection Six Swatch Memorabilia 6x jersey (#082/200)

So big and fancy it needs its own separate COA!

This is the card I've wanted from Greg for a while since we rekindled trade talks.  While it's an absolute mess in terms of the players and which teams they're actually on (it's supposed to be three Red Sox and Orioles, as you can see on the COA), the pictures and/or swatches comprise no fewer than FIVE teams!  But that doesn't matter because this double-sided six-swatch card is sweet!  There's a really nice variety of swatches there, including a few different colors, and two pinstripes--including the guy who matters the most. That card puts me at a still-PC-leading 57 hits and 103 in-hand-and-scanned overall.

So thanks again, Greg, for an awesome trade, and I hope we can do it again soon!

COMC haul #8: battleground plates, or, vote Republicannie's boobs

(Note:  all COMC haul posts can be accessed here)

I went with the cutesy title in recognition of the fact that today is Election Day (and why it's not a national holiday is still beyond me), and for the fact that two of the players in the post are on teams from Ohio, the derpiest battleground state this side of the Mason-Dixon line.  That's as much political commentary as you'll get from me today.  One with the cards!

So this post is dedicated to Greg, with whom I'm engaged in a race to see who can compile the most PC 1/1s.  To clarify, I'm racing Greg and he's standing miles down the road laughing at me since he has so many more.  All the same, I decided to create an album that just includes all my various 1/1s, including printing plates, White Whales, and anything else that meets that description.  Today was a good deal for the big reveal of that since this post will show off all three 1/1s I picked up in my recent COMC haul:

Braylon Edwards 2009 Topps Mayo Mini Printing Plates Magenta (1/1)

Along with the cards in my first COMC haul post, this Braylon plate was part of my first COMC purchase of the second half of 2012.  I'd been wanting some sort of Bray-Bray 1/1 for a while, so this was an ideal pickup for me.  It just happens to be a plus that since it's Mayo, it's also a mini in one of Topps' cool holders for that sort of thing.  This, by the way, is my only football (or any non-baseball sport for that matter) 1/1 besides this Brandon Graham.  Make it 43 Edwards hits, too.

Rich Hill 2007 UD Masterpieces Stroke of Genius Signatures Printing Plates Cyan (1/1)

I don't think I can go more than a post or two on this blog without posting something of ol' Rich.  Still, since he's probably the PC player I'm most focused on, I try not to let any of his 1/1s and other rarities fall by the wayside.  While this guy set me back more than pretty much anything else I picked up from COMC this time, it's totally worth having a plate version of a card whose regular auto and Windsor Green (also 1/1!) autos I already own.  Hill jumps to 56 hits, still leading Jake Long, and also moves up to 102 in his PC, including a crazy (for me) seven 1/1s!

Zach Putnam 2008 Razor Letterman 1-of-1 N patch auto (1/1)

Would you believe I already have three 1/1s of Putnam?  All three of them are from '08 Razor Letterman, as well, including a plate and another letter (an "M").  I managed to snag this letter for much less than the original 1/1 letter I found on Blowout a while back, and it's fun having 1/3 of that nameplate, even though I'm pretty unlikely to complete it.  What's strange is that I've seen (and purchased) two 1/1s from this set but I've only encountered two of the /5 cards in all my searching, and both sellers wanted more for them than I paid for these!  Regardless, this third rare Putnam gives me 22 cards in his growing PC!

And now for a quick faux milestone:  I now have 756 Michigan all-sport hits, breaking the Hank Aaron mark, if there's such a thing in collecting.  Whatever, it's my blog, I can do whatever I want.

And speaking of doing whatever I want, and dedicating this post to Greg, who's got more Plates & Patches than Panini®, here's some more eye candy of the patron saint of Too Many Argyle Sweaterhams (which, incidentally, is a startlingly appropriate name here):

Just Putzin' around on eBay

Before we begin, this is just a friendly reminder that brunette hottie Alison Brie is the patron saint of "Too Many Brunettes" week here on TMM. (not to mention Greg Z's's blog as well)

So, although I'm eager to continue posting my COMC loot, I have a few more eBay pickups to throw in the mix, and this one fits perfectly for me today:

J.J. Putz 2008 Topps Silk Collection (#31/50)

Why is this card so apropos today, you might ask?  Well, as of this writing I actually AM putzing around on eBay waiting for a PC item auction to finish in about 15 minutes.  While I'm at it, the card does fit my theme of trying to spend less this month after a few weeks of heavy spending, especially on COMC.  How much did I pay for this beauty?  Try $0.99 with $2.50 shipping.  Silk cards seem to go for about $10 or more pretty regularly, so this was clearly a steal.  The timing of this post is also pretty good since the D-Backs recently picked up his 2013 option, meaning he'll likely be back closing games for them as he plays for a new contract in what's sure to be a great season for the former All-Star.

Today's Putz card puts me at 16 in-hand and scanned, and plenty more to come whenever I feel like it.  For now, please feel free to check out his PC album here or view the other Michigan baseball inserts I've scanned so far.

EDIT, 8 pm:  I ended up winning that auction (barely!), and while I was at it, over on TMV I threw up a post showing off the last five Bill Freehans I needed to own each of his vintage Topps cards from his playing career, so check that out!

A very Freehan weekend

(Note:  as this post pertains to both of my major collections, you'll find it here and over on Too Many Verlanders as well!)

Several cool but separate events conspired to produce a pretty great weekend of collecting for me.  It started off with receiving a card I had nabbed on eBay:

This is Bill Freehan's 1968 Topps (#470).  It was the only one I couldn't find on COMC and I didn't care for the prices or condition of the ones on SportLots, so eBay did the trick for me this time.  That leaves me needing just four of his regular issue Topps cards spanning his playing career as of this post.

Next, on Sunday morning, knowing I'd be meeting Jeff in-person as he'd be bringing his family to the Michigan Kid's Day (formerly known as "Fan Day") to get some autographs of Team 133, I was flipping through some boxes in my basement to pull some larger White Sox stuff I knew I had somewhere, including some 8x10s from various 90s sets back when they did that stuff.  Anyway, as I was flipping through an old photo album in which I had stored some cooler, older opened packs and some other lower-end pictures and autographs, I finally dug up something I'd been searching for for a while:

This is an autographed black-and-white photo of Bill Freehan that was given to me by someone years ago--coincidentally named Dennis, if you can believe it, which totally worked out for me!  Obviously since new autographs of his have dried up as he no longer signs, having something like this is a boon to my collection, and a thrill to own.  Freehan is the epitome of a "fan favorite" that sets like Topps' version did a good job of celebrating.  So now I'll be able to proudly display this somewhere instead of letting it stay hidden in some old album.

Speaking of Jeff, we have our usual ongoing trade thing going, and he surprised me by bringing something he had recently picked up for me:

Here we have a Bill Freehan 2005 SP Legendary Cuts Classic Careers jersey.  Although old Bill has a decent number of modern cards around, it's still difficult to find one I don't have, either in-person or sitting in my COMC portfolio waiting to be shipped.  Even better, this is my first Freehan relic, which puts me 80% of the way towards a Greg Z.-approved Freehan pentafecta!

Despite these three sweet additions (or rediscoveries, as it were) to my collection, I can always use more stuff of Bill.  After all, my blog isn't named "Too Many Freehans," now, is it?