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?

Gypsy Queen Blaster - More Gypsy Queen Up for Trade

So, I bought a Gypsy Queen Blaster today and finally posted my For Trade and Wants list from Gypsy Queen.  It is on the side bar, or you can just click here.  I need some base, some inserts, and a couple minis.  I did not put any of the hits on there, but I'd be interested in any Mets, Brooklyn Dodgers, or New York Giants hits as well.

Happily, I pulled a nice hit out of my Blaster.  This Ryan Braun jersey relic. 

It too is up for trade, but I'd probably want a Met Gypsy Queen relic in return.

I also pulled some retail exclusive inserts, two of which I am keeping.  First, a Hanley Ramirez Sticky Fingers.

Second, a Jason Heyward Wall Climbers.

I was kind of confused at first, because I did not see any of these in the video case break I was part of and because the base Carlos Beltran card is also a climbing the wall shot.

Then I realized it was a retail only insert along with the Sticky Fingers to capture a bug theme I guess.  But hey, they are kind of interesting.

Finally, the other nice card I got out of my blaster was a Tulo bronze frame.  All in all, I was happy with it (though I did not pull one Brooklyn Dodger card!!!!).

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.

First Completed Trade

Courtesy of BA Benny I got my first package of trade material in the mail today. He was very generous with me, especially considering the fact that we are both Met fans. I got some great game used cards and other Mets singles in return for the vast majority of my yankee collection including the one game-used card I have ever pulled (of course it would be a Bernie Williams card) and all my Jeters and Posadas. Thank you for taking them off my hands and sending me back some NL New York cards! I even got an Edgardo Alfonzo card that I did not already have.

First, my favorite game used from the bunch, a Turkey Red Pedro Jersey card. Yes, I am posting back-to-back Pedro game used cards, but I have always enjoyed Turkey Red and I love the texture on this card (which you can see from the scan) in addition to a black uniform piece that will compliment the white ones from the last post. I was looking at the statistics from Pedro's first season with the Mets, on the back of a Topps Opening Day card from the trade, and I had forgotten how good Pedro was that year: a 0.95 WHIP and almost 9K/9. That was one of the best years in Pedro's career.

My favorite completely cardboard card was the David Wright on the right. I like the return to classic card designs that the industry decided on several years ago. The bright colors on this card are awesome and contrast nicely with the black and white photo.

So thanks again BA Benny! I will let you know when I get some more Yankee cards worth trading.

I should be getting several other packages in the mail this week from trades and ebay, so I have some fun stuff to look forward to.

Tuesday Visit to the Card Shop

So I stopped by my local card store today and picked up some nice game used cards. I grabbed a Matt Cain, Adam Dunn, Johan Santana in a Twins uniform, and this Pedro (all but the Pedro would be available for the right offer).

I am a big fan of this card as I have been fortunate enough to see him in person at Fenway in his prime and at Shea (once each when it was his first home start of the season). Even after he was clearly past his prime with the Mets it was always an event to see him pitch.

As for the card itself, it is my first dual jersey. Jersey cards clearly are more than just cardboard, and I do not think that it is merely coincidence that game used cards started becoming more common at about the same time that card companies began experimenting with different card stocks.

While I am a huge fan of this card for sentimental personal experience reasons, I do wish that the two uniforms had been different colors. Why not one home and one away? The way it is makes it very easy for me to imagine that both pieces are from the same uniform, which would defeat the purpose of the card. And why do neither of the Pedro pictures show him in a white uniform when the two pieces of uniform are white?

Those are the kind of details that separate a good card like this one from a great card. On the bright side at least he has the jerry curls in one photo and not the other! Oh Pedro, I was rooting for you even when you pitched for the Phillies this past season. I wonder where you will end up this year.

PS: There is a seem in the top jersey piece, though that is not as exciting as a pinstripe.