2012 Triple Threads Unity (and the return of the scanner)

So I picked up these two Met Triple Threads Cards off Ebay, each for a reasonable price (you have to love the sellers who offer free shipping!).

I have to say despite not usually buying into the higher priced products, last year I fell in love with the unity design of Triple Threads.  I successfully put together a three piece unity set of the Mets which depicted Citi Field in the background.  I even had two versions of the set since I had two different right sides of Citi.

This year, however, I'm not even sure why they term the cards "unity."  There is no interesting way in which they combine like they did last year.  I am still glad topps put out the set since it allows me to obtain relatively inexpensive autos of young Mets I like such as Duda and Tejada, but it is nowhere near as interesting to me as it was last year.  Couldn't topps have figured out some other way to make them work together?  It could have just been the team logo or name in the background, it did not even need to be excessively creative.  Oh well, at least now I don't need to go out and get a third Met from the set.

What does everyone else think of Triple Threads, especially this year compared to last?

Mets Triple Threads Unity Completed (Two Versions)

I know it has been a while, but I am sparked to post again by a couple of posts by fellow bloggers, one over at Crinkly Wrappers and to a lesser extent the series of posts over at Tomahawk Chopping.

I am still here!  There have been a few reasons for the lack of posts, one of the big ones being that I no longer have a working scanner to scan my cards.  I know many of you know how annoying that can be.  Also, though since I don't partake of the high end stuff much I have not gotten too many cards in the last few months.

However, while it took me several months, I did finally complete a Triple Threads Unity three card set depicting Citi Field in the background.  I'm not sure why the Triple Threads Unity "gimmick" sparked my interest, but it did.  Anyone else get dragged into completing a unity of their own?

Here are my results (I know they aren't a perfect color match, but hey I'll take it)

Version 1: Thole, Reyes, Niese

Version 2: Santana, Reyes, Niese

I'm a fan, I like the way they look next to one another, especially in my binder.

So, anyway, I am still here and interested in Mets cards, and am quite excited about the start of the 2012 baseball card season despite the fact that I am not thrilled with the flagship set's design.  But, hey, maybe it'll grow on me.

Finally, I am kind of interested in putting together a Cubs unity set.  I already have the right most card, and am looking for a center and left most card.  Or if anyone has another center Met to trade, I'd be interested in that as well since Reyes is now gone.  If anyone has some to trade, let me know.

Rain Out Theater: World Series Edition

I've been away for a while taking care of my new baby boy and already doing my best to raise him a Mets fan despite living in the northwest suburbs of Chicago (the Mets won the first game I had him watch with me against the Cubs).

Well, I decided yesterday since there was not going to be any baseball on I'd stop at the local card shop and see if I could add anything interesting to the 2011 baseball card collection I am working on for my son.

I found two cool adds.

First, is this Ike Davis Allen and Ginter relic.  I've mentioned before that the Allen and Ginter relics are my favorite, and I went into the card shop hoping they would have this one for cheap and they did!

Davis was far exceeding my expectations in 2011 before his collision with David Wright.  I am hoping desperately that the ankle injury he suffered is not something that lingers throughout his career and stops what Mets fans are hoping is a stellar homegrown player from staying on the field and productive.

The second 2011 Met card I picked up was this 2011 Triple Threads numbered to 75 of catcher Josh Thole.

Now most of the Mets sources I've read indicate that Thole had a disappointing season, and I too admit that I had higher hopes for him.  However, he did show a bit of promise.  I think he is worth starting again next season.  I don't expect McCann numbers from him, but I think he can be as good as Jason Kendall was in his prime.  His upside comes from the potential for a high batting average (.280 against Righties last year) and OBP (.349 against righties).  Now obviously he'd have to improve on last year's numbers, but those numbers are a good start and his K/BB ratio is solid.  The big question is whether a platoon is necessary with him, and it might be (though he only has 74 MLB ABs against in his career so it is hard to say).  However, the Mets also have youngster Mike Nickeas that could offer that right handed complimentary hitter to Thole.  Anyway, I picked this up because I still have hopes for Thole and did not think his 2011 season was that terrible.  Plus, maybe the lefty friendly new dimensions at Citi Field next year net him another HR or two and he is only 24.

Into the New Year...

I picked up this card yesterday at the local shop, and it had me thinking about the Phillies and Braves making significant improvements and how the Mets have not.

This might not be a bad thing, because it seems to me that most of the joy that comes from the Mets next year will involve the success of young players.  In fact, the two players I will be rooting hardest for to have true breakout seasons next year are Ike Davis and Jon Niese.

Of course, I will also be excited to see how some older and younger players do.  Mike Pelfrey's continued development will be exciting as well as seeing how Jenrry Mejia fares as a starter in the big leagues.

Happily, I have autographs of both of all three young pitchers!  (Here is my Niese auto from an earlier post.)


Having three homegrown young pitchers that are successful, even if they are not all superstars, is fun to watch so that is what I'll be hoping for this season along with good performances from young hitters.

How about you other bloggers which young players on your team are you excited about seeing this season?

Mets Sweep and New Background Pic

Big Pelf did it again, the Mets sweep, and I finally figured out how to use my own background image. Nice!

In celebration here is another of those autographed cards of mine I found a while back.

Franco was one of my favorite Mets and is underrated as an all time closer in my opinion, I was disappointed when Armando Benitez was awarded the closer's role over him. I was overjoyed for him that he could save a playoff win after Benitez blew the save earlier in the game.


As for the background image, much like my header it contains some old and some new. Enjoy!

Early Weekend Cardshow Haul and Contest Winnings: Two Autographed Manufactured Patch Cards

In fact, these are my first two. The letter patches are probably my least favorite of the manufactured patch cards, though I do like the more original ones like this one. Yet, I do like the autographed letter patch cards especially when the letter is a meaningful one. Now, I agree that the autographs themselves can come out poorly, and that is an important negative.

Let's take a look at my first two autograph patch cards and examine the highlights and lowlights of each.

The first, which I received first, was a carryout from BA Benny's Baseball Card Buffet. Thanks very much to Mike for a fun, though grueling, contest. I was really excited to win and scored this wonderful Jemile Weeks card.


Jemile Weeks is posting a very respectable .859 OPS in AA this season so it would be awesome to see him make it to the majors eventually.

The cool thing about this card: the autograph is legible and nicely signed on two separate lines. Less cool is the fact that is an "S." Does anyone out there really collect each letter of an autographed patch? I can see the fun in collecting non autographed ones, that is doable and would look good in a binder, but five autographed patches seem like overkill to me.

So, let's take a look at the one I got at the card show today: a Jon Niese.


I like Niese. He is on the DL for the second time in two years, but it is not an arm issue. When he has pitched he has shown promise, and this Met fan hopes he can develop even further and perhaps top out as a good number two starter or great number three starter.

The cool part of this card is that it is an "N," this makes sense as it is the first letter in his name. What would I want with an "I" or an "S"? I wouldn't have bought it unless it was an "N." The not so cool part of this card is that the actual autograph is less than stellar (to be kind).

Despite the ups and downs of each card, I am really glad to have both in my collection. I'll be rooting hard for both players!

For those of you in the Illinois area I got the Niese card at a card show that ran from today through Sunday at the Hawthorne mall in Vernon Hills IL. I was a bit worried at first since there were only two underwhelming tables on the bottom floor, but the show got a lot better on the second floor. As luck would have it the last table I visited was the best. Michael, a White Sox fan, from Field of Cards in Richton Park IL and I had a fun talk about prospects and he gave me a sweet deal on some Mets Finest and Bowman stuff. He also gave me a couple of prospects' card to go after. He was awesome and ensured that I left the show with a smile.

Also, it is nice to go to a card show in a city other than the one your team plays in. I got several Mets cards for a good price that I wouldn't have been able to touch had the show been in New York. That includes the Niese which I scored for a very reasonable $5.

I'll probably get around to posting some of the others in the next few days.

Recovering A Stockpile of Autos (pun intended)

As you could see from my previous post, I was back in New York a couple weeks ago. While there I was able to find two binders full of my older Met cards (including all my Doc Gooden stuff) and early 90s stars (including my Griffey Jr and Frank Thomas collections). That was fun, and I am still working on recombining that stuff with my newer stuff.

However, I also found a bunch of autographed cards: some of which I remembered and others which I had totally forgotten. There are seven in all, and my plan is to feature each of them in a post over the next week and a half.

I thought I'd start with the only non-Met of the bunch: Duke Snider

The card is a bit of an odd ball, and to be honest I have no idea how I got it. If I had to guess I would say it was a mail away offer from Nabisco cookies. However, the card does come with a separate Certificate of Authenticity card, so that is always good.

I was a fan of the Duke of Flatbush as a kid, and I still am. You might have noticed from my screen name that I have strong connections to Brooklyn. I was born there and returned for my entire undergraduate and most of my graduate schooling. I also had my first adjunct professorship there. It is a great place, and the Brooklyn Dodgers perfectly symbolize the area. All that AND they broke the color barrier. It is hard not to be proud that the Dodgers played in Brooklyn, despite a lack of World Series victories to show for it.


So to round out this post, I thought I would include a picture of another oddball Duke Snider collectible I own. I saw this in a discount store across the street from my graduate school one day and knew I had to have it. It is numbered 13 of 275 on the bottom, but I am pretty sure more than 275 were produced. For those who are interested it is a '57 Chevy. Let me know what you think.

Card of the Week: John Maine Game Used + Autograph

2008 Ballpark Collection
John Main #SA-86

Construction: Cardstock, Game Used Jersey, Sticker Autograph

The Player:
As I mentioned at the bottom of an earlier post I have good reason to like John Maine. Actually, I forgot to write there that Maine also helped me win the first year of my current NL Only Fantasy League (2010 will be the league's fourth year). While I do not have him in this year's league, and he is on an opponent's roster, for the Mets' sake I hope he has another great year. This is no big news, but he an Ollie Perez will go a long way to determining how good the Mets are this year. I'll be rooting hard for both guys, but it is a bit easier to root for Maine who came up big down the stretch in 2007 by almost firing a no-hitter and has been inconsistent only because of injury problems rather than wildness. The nice thing about Maine is that his cards are inexpensive and yet he appears in some of the nicer sets, so it makes good looking cards like this one easy to add to my collection.

The Card: Now while I do believe that this is a sticker auto, it is way nicer than some of those silver foil ones from Topps. In fact, this sticker is barely noticeable unless one holds it up to the light at just the right angle. I think this type of sticker auto is not overly bad, especially since the card design has a specific spot for it. It just does not bother me and seems to fit well with the card design. While the jersey piece is a solid white, Maine's photo and the general layout of the card make up for the lack of a stripe. Needless to say I am a fan, though I bought it as a single rather than having this as my hit in an expensive purchase of UD Ballpark Collection, so maybe I am a bit biased.