Card of the Day - 2013 Bowman Platinum : Matt Magill Autograph Base

Working my Magill rainbow set and finally got my hands on the base card that has been a tad elusive for me.

Already had the blue and green version with basically just the base and gold ones left to get. There is a red version but that is so limited it might be awhile if ever until I can acquire it but with Matt not on the big league club right now and when he was he wasn't doing that great so it might be easier to get than I think.

Seller had this card up with a starting bid of 99 cents and with the blue and green purchases at a low amount I was hoping to score this at no more than $4. Anything over that I wasn't going to be bidding on it. The card ended up having 4 different bids but I came out on top with a whopping $2.33 delivered. Not too shabby. Anything under $5 is pretty much acceptable on authentic on card autographs but under $3 is just like stealing candy from a baby. I now have the base, blue and green with the gold version in my cross hairs.

Card of the Day - 2013 Bowman Platinum : Matt Magill Autograph Blue Variant ( 155 / 199 )

Back again to my rainbow collection of this year's Platinum edition of Matt Magill. I already acquired the green version as seen HERE for $2.25 and that has a print run of 399. I'm still on the lookout for the regular version when I came across this blue version. With a print run of 199 which makes it twice as "hard" to acquire I assumed I would have to pay a little more especially since every other one has closed for at least $5 with a high of $10.50. No way was I going to pay $10 plus but realized I would probably have to accept something in the $5 range.

The seller had the auction start at 99 cents so I put it on my watch list and waited until the final day and when it arrived there was not a single bid yet on the card. Minutes ticked down and with 10 seconds left still no action. Put my bid in for a tad over $4 to see if I could snag it at a low ball price. Mission accomplished as I was the only bidder and I won the card for the scant price of 99 cents and with shipping it was just a little under $3 delivered to me. I know he isn't the best pitcher in the system but I didn't think I would score a card from a new product with that low of a print run for pennies. I picked the right card on the right day to purchase. Blue and green checked off the list and now to find the others.

Just love blue variants. This one is 155 of 199.

Card of the Day - 2012-13 Panini Anthology : Jonathan Quick Elite Inscriptions Autograph

Went back to our neighbor up north and finally picked up the heart and soul of the 2011-12 Stanley Cup Champions, one Jonathan Quick.

No matter what country the cards have been originating from I have had the worst luck on acquiring an autograph card of our goaltender. I literally have been outbid on at least 20 auctions as even though I knew he would be the priciest I was determined not to go over a certain threshold I had set for myself. There were a few lower priced cards but they were adorned mostly in gold which I did not like the look of.

Saw yet another one of these Panini cards and it was revealed that there was a print of at least 26 but no more than 99. Though not numbered individually that still made them hard to find and acquire. The seller had this card with a starting bid of $10 and I hoped that it wouldn't go into the 30 dollar range like others have. Decent amount of action on the auction as it ended with 15 bids. My ceiling for the card was in the mid 20's and I put my bid in with less than a minute left and hoped for the best as I couldn't watch it at that moment. The auction ended and later in the evening even though there was a bid at the last minute my high bid held and I won the card for a tad under $23 delivered. Finally obtained the hard to get Quick and it is a great looking card. Couldn't be happier and cant wait for the team to return to the finals in 2014. Go Kings Go!!!

Less than 99 in the world.

Card of the Day - 2011 Finest : Jerry Sands Green Variant Autograph ( 5 / 199 )

After a few hits on the Dee list for the "rainbow" set I was able to obtain another card for the Jerry Sands "rainbow" set in the form of this green variant.

As with the other lower serial numbered cards in the set this green one and its print run of only 199 was hard to track down even though it only holds a $12 book value. Haven't seen many up for grabs online and then one day a seller had this one for sale at $5 with shipping at $2. $7 seemed fair to me but I had to wait it out as this was of the traditional auction variety. As the auction winded down there were still no bids on the card and with a few seconds left I put in my bid and won it at the original asking price. Card was delivered to my doorstep in great condition at just $7. Money-wise it wasn't a great value but the true value is that I was able to acquire another card on my hit list and for that I am happy with this transaction.

5 of only 199

Card of the Day - 2011 Finest : Dee Gordon Gold Variant Autograph ( 46 / 75 )

Even though I won this card prior to the die cut one from yesterday this one arrived second.

This card books at $25 and there hasn't been that many on the bay to chose from until this one popped up at a buy it now for $8. I don't know why I waited but I did for a good whole week to finally pull the trigger on buying the card. I think I was holding out for a lower price but when it is already 66% percent less than book I should have just bought it that first day I saw it. Came back to it one day and noticed that were two other watchers so if I didn't want to lose out on this I had to buy it then and there which I did. Not a bad looking card and now I am over half way done with Dee's "rainbow" collection from this set.

Card of the Day - 2011 Finest : Dee Gordon Autograph Mosiac Die Cut Refractor ( 10 / 10 )

Back to my "rainbow" set of the 2011 Finest Dee Gordon and I got my hands on one of the hardest ones to obtain.

Green, Orange, Gold etc are relatively easy to acquire due to Dee not doing well in the big leagues and there are multiple copies of the card to chase after so the market is full enough of them to pick and chose from. But this card is a very hard on to get your hands on due to only 10 numbered copies of them in existence.

The one main thing I like about this variant is that the card is different than the others in the "rainbow" as they are just color differences while this one is die cut. With only 10 in the world I personally have seen only one other on eBay for sale the past 7 months and Beckett doesn't have a price on it due to its scarcity. Even though Dee is not as popular as other Dodgers I knew people would still be trying to acquire this card to complete their own sets. I assumed it would be a dog fight to acquire this one and I wasn't wrong. Though prices didn't jump too much on the auction in the end it still ended up with 16 bids and thankfully the last one I put in won me the card. Card came in and looks flawless.

10 of 10

Card of the Day - 2010 Topps Tribute : Manny Ramirez Triple Relic Autograph ( 69 / 75 )

It looks like Manny Ramirez has reached the end of the road of his long career as he was released by the Rangers this year and couldn't handle the Asia league and I can't think of another team that needs him as he is basically just a DH at this point in his life. Oh but back in 2008 he brought electricity to Los Angeles when he was traded here in late July.

Since Manny was only on our team a couple years there are just not that many autograph cards that show him in Dodger blue and the ones that do are usually at a very high price. I didn't know if I would ever get my hands on one of Manny as I was not going to overspend just to have a card of him depicted in blue.

Refreshing eBay one day and this card came up and was only live on eBay for a total of 4 minutes so it looked like I was the first viewer. The seller had it strictly at a buy it now for a little under one Jackson. Back in the day that would have been a major bargain but with the card only booking at a little over $30 I debated if I should buy it just to have it or wait it out and see if something else came up. It is also has a sticker autograph which has become more undesirable in my collection but in the end I decided to pull the trigger and pick it up at the seller's price. Not a great bargain but I finally have an autographed card of Manny in Dodger blue and that is all I wanted and needed.

Card of the Day - 2013 Topps Tribute : Adrian Gonzalez Autograph ( 56 / 99 )

Ocho

That is a great number in any language when you can acquire an on card autograph of a star player in a current year's set and that's just what I did with this card. I only have one autographed card of Adrian seen HERE and that has a sticker autograph so I have been on the constant lookout for an on card version of Adrian and after countless lost auctions I finally was able to get my paws on one.

This card books for $25 and have seen it close for as high as $20 and even have seen it at Frank and Sons for close to that but I didn't want to spend that much. Yet again I saw another copy of this card up for bid and surprisingly there was minimal action on it up until the final day and still there were only 2 bids on it to bring the total up to $3. Don't know why that is but I held out hope to win it and with my bid at the last minute I won it for a measly eight dollars. That is a great buy. People missed the boat on it and I was lucky enough to pick it up. I was worried that it would come in damaged or something else would be wrong with it but it is in great condition and I couldn't be happier. A great addition to my collection.

56 of 99

Movie Review : Thor

Thor ( Chris Hemsworth ) is back in the second entry of the franchise. Thor has been away from Midgard ( Earth ) since the New York Alien invasion ( Avengers film ) fighting on various worlds to have peace on all of the realms under Asgard's rule. Jane ( Natalie Portman ) is on Earth still pining away after Thor and is London researching some odder than normal energy readings. Loki ( Tom Hiddleston ) is locked in Asgard jail for the remainder of his existence for his actions during the Alien invasion.

Jane finds the source of the energy and while investigating it she is infected by it. Thor comes back to Earth to find her as she has fallen off the Asgard gird so to speak. They are reunited and find out that the energy known as Aether was trapped away from a long ago thought dead race known as the Dark Elves. Odin's ( Anthony Hopkins ) father had fought them and defeated them many eons ago. With Aether back in the picture the leader of the Elves, Malekith ( Christopher Eccleston ) is awaken from a deep sleep and is back in pursuit of the energy. Once every 5000 years when all 9 realms are aligned the Aether can cast all into a state of darkness. Asgard is attacked and with it's back against the wall Thor reluctantly releases Loki to assist him and his group against the Dark Elves. While the plan is to relieve Jane of the energy and destroy it the brothers are only able to do the former not the latter. Malekith steps in and takes control of the Aether.

The battle is fought on different worlds till it makes itself to Earth, London to be exact as that is the spot where Malekith intends to unleash the darkness since the alignment is centered there. Thor with the help and scientific knowledge of Jane and her colleagues are able to defeat Malekith.

VERDICT : The first half of the film drags in a lot of spots. While I understand that there needed to be setup there just doesn't seem to be that charm that other Marvel movies have shown. In the second half with Loki on the screen the movie gets a boost in fun. Chris does better as Thor in this film but unlike Iron Man, Thor doesn't seem to be able to hold a franchise by himself. I liked Thor in the Avengers film more. Thor for me falls into the Hulk category. Great character but better as a supporting one rather than a featured one. If not for the second half and this film being part of the  bigger Marvel vision I would say you could pass on it. If you are a Thor fan and if you are a Marvel fan you probably should and will see this but if not I think you will be bored. For me its a take it or leave it verdict. Not a thumbs up or down. Do though stay post movie for 2 bonus scenes with the first being important for the Marvel film universe. Other than Loki, I found the bonus scene more entertaining than most of the feature film. Never a good sign.  

Signed Ball of the Day : Pedro Guerrero ( ROMLB Techinically Sweet Spot )

My favorite player back in the 1990's was this man, Pedro, and now that I am older I have been able to look behind the curtain of this man. Pedro had/has some issues. While on the field for the most part was an above average player that had glimpses of super stardom but his ego and work ethic stopped him from reaching higher goals. He helped the Dodgers win the World Series in 1981 but in the midst of their magical 1988 run to the crown he was traded as enough was enough in the eyes of the team. He went on to play for the Cardinals for a few more years and retired in 1993 as no team offered him a contract.

Post baseball career brought more problems for Pedro as he was arrested for trying to buy cocaine. He continuously tried to get back into baseball on some level. Instructor, coach etc. but there were no takers. He was recently a manager in a league but was relieved of the job due to new ownership. Maybe someday a major league team will take a flyer on Pedro and he can get back and get on the straight and narrow.

2011 Frank and Sons held a World Series reunion of the 1981 team and though I had most of the team or no interest in the ones I didn't, Pedro was scheduled to appear and up to that time I have never seen him out here in California to do a signing. I jumped at the opportunity to finally get an IP autograph of my favorite player during my childhood. Arrived at Frank and Sons early as I did want a couple of other autographs and with Pedro's scheduled time later in the day I thought that would help me get in front of the line. Pedro ended up being almost 45 minutes late ( the only player that was more than 5 minutes late ) and once he sat down he looked aloof. People were excited to see Pedro but it seemed, to me at least, that the feeling wasn't overly mutual. Got up to the table and said hello with no response back. Asked him for the sweet spot and he sort of sweet spot/side paneled his signature. Said thank you to be polite but still no response. Maybe it was a bad day for him but the more and more I read about his baseball history I think it is his personality. It is what it is. I am happy that I was able to add his autograph but wish there was better placement on the ball.

Nice "sweet spot" huh?

Eyes a little bloodshot there buddy...

Remembering Our Veterans

 

Memorial Day 2013

 

 

As our country as been divided for years now please take a moment to remember our veterans today.

Whether you are a liberal or a conservative, left or right, pro choice or pro life, the members of our armed forces have put their lives on the line day in and day out for years and continue to do so to this day. They fight for our freedom to allow us the right to debate all the little and big things in our lives. Without them our world would be a totally different place today.

 

To the past, current and future soldiers of our great country I say thank you for your service and appreciate what you have and continue to do for me and everyone in our great country. God Bless you and all of your love ones and may God guide and look over you while you do your hard job.

 

 



Card of the Day - 2013 Bowman Platinum : Matt Kemp Cutting Edge Relic Insert ( 1 / 50 )

Back to the sparkly platinum set and I found myself another great Matt Kemp card.

A few of the Dodgers are including in this years insert set but only one has a relic card and that is Matt Kemp. I haven't seen many copies of this card on eBay and don't expect too many of them to pop up as there are only 50 numbered of each card. A seller had one of those copies on eBay for sale with a starting bid of $10. I wanted the card but was not get into a bidding war on this one. Towards the end of the auction there was one bid in so I knew it would cost me at least $10.50 to win this card and that is exactly what I had to pay as I put my bid in with a few seconds left and that raised the winning price to $10.50. It may or may not be worth that much but I am happy that I was able to add this to my collection. Great looking die cut design.

Card of the Day - 2012 Topps Five Star : Andre Ethier Autograph ( 9 / 25 )

An autograph card that I was not looking for nor needed but it looks so damn pretty on its thick cardboard self I just had to get it if I could.

This card only has a print run of 25 so with that low of a number there is no official book value assigned to the card. With that said I just had to go with what I was willing to pay for and the seller had this with a starting asking price of $15. Other Ethier cards from this set with a print run of 50 are priced at $25. So if I could have this card for $15 then I would try to acquire it but if it went for a penny more I was not going to get into a bidding war for it. No action on the auction with a minute left and thought I might actually win this limited edition card and with 10 seconds left I put my bid in for exactly $15 and won it for that amount. Again, no book value for this card but I think that the beauty and scarcity of this card is worth the $15 I dished out for it. Another autographed card of Captain Clutch has been added to my collection.

9 of only 25 in the world.

Card of the Day - *** FINAL UPDATE *** 2013 Bowman Inception : Yasiel Puig Silver Signings Autograph ( 25 / 25 ) BGS 9.5

The journey is finally over. A great and satisfying one at that.

Step one seen HERE
Step two seen HERE
Step three seen HERE
Step four seen HERE
Step five seen HERE

1 of freaking 1 in the world.

All of that leads to this. My initial "$10" purchase has turned into this BGS graded 9.5 gem mint encased silver signings card of Yasiel Puig. As of today this is the ONLY graded card of the silver signings version of Yasiel. So at least for one day I can say I have a one of one in the world. With a print run of only 25 that means there is only so many chances to be had to have a gem mint grade for this card. That's if all the redemptions are found and turned in and then possibly grading out at gem mint. I have only seen two other redeemed silver signings Puig card on eBay so I know they do exist.

Finally encased.

Great photo coupled with a nice silver signature.

Again, other than the Bowman Chrome blue variant I think this is the best looking autograph card of Puig out there. Love the silver ink with the different photo from the base set. The card speaks for itself but I am happy that I still have a decent eye to see that the first card would probably grade out well for me to start this journey and happy that I was lucky enough to get this card in the mail undamaged so it could grade out as well to gem mint.

Mmm . . . Minty

10 out of 10.

= )

Movie Review : About Time

Rachel McAdams seems to be the de facto leader in time travelling, tear jerking, love stories. She is back at it again here as she plays wife Mary to husband Tim ( Domhnall Gleeson ) who after his 21st birthday is informed from his father ( Bill Nighly ) that the males in their family can travel back in time. Obviously Tim figures his dad for a loon until he tries to prove him wrong and travels back and relives an awkward moment from the previous New Year's Eve party.  

Tim moves to London to pursue his career as a lawyer and meets Mary one night at a restaurant. They make plans to further the courtship but Tim tries to help out his playwright flat mate Harry ( Tom Hollander ) and travels back in time to do so but by doing that he wipes out his meeting with Mary. One problem fixed but another one created. Tim figures a way to meet up with her again but with this now being a different "timeline" he has to win her over again. With his foot in the door again he relives certain times until he feels that he gets it right with Mary.

They end up married and living happily until a tragedy hits and while trying to figure a way around it Tim is informed from his father that there are certain things that can and can not be done with the time travelling ability they both have. While Tim helps his sister Kit Kat ( Lydia Wilson ) with her own  issues Tim learns he must make a decision on what to do with the past, present and future with him only being able to do one of the three. His heart is torn and drawn in separate directions and knowing that whatever decision he makes it will close a door forever. The final lesson Tim learns from his father is that all the time travelling in the world can't change certain outcomes and you should live each day to the fullest with no regrets.

VERDICT : Rachel with her pretty smile can still light up a room. Domhnall plays the perfect "geek" that makes good and gets the pretty girl. The real glue to the story though in my opinion is the one between Tim and his father. Bill plays it with a twinkle in his eye and is fun to watch just as he does  in all of the director's other films that Bill has appeared in most notably Love Actually. The love story is genuine and sweet between Mary and Tim. The supporting cast does their job with Harry being the standout as the grumpy old playwright. The crass humor out of him is great. While the love story is played out well by Rachel and Domhnall it doesn't break new ground. Not an all time great movie but an enjoyable one that you won't get bored watching either. A THUMBS UP from me.

Card of the Day - 2005 Bowman Heritage : Scott Elbert Autograph

I think I am becoming the master of the $3 purchase of autographed cards on eBay. Yet another pick up at that price this past week on the bay in the form of Scott Elbert.

Being a reliever and on the 60 DL will drive any high cost on your cards down. Scott won't be playing ball with the big league Dodgers anytime soon but I hope he does make it back someday. Thought he was becoming an important part of the bullpen prior to getting injured. This card books at $8 which even during his good days seems to be a lot for him but at the $3 that I paid for the card I am more than happy to add him to my collection once more. I wanted this card as it is an on card variety instead of the sticker autographs that have become more commonplace in recent years. A minor addition to my collection but a nice one at that.

Upcoming Appearance / Signing : Xavier Henry @ Harry's Dugout

 

Baseball season is over ( boo hoo ) but Harry's is still doing in store autograph events with new Laker Xavier Henry making an appearance on Saturday November 16th from 3 to 4:30 in the afternoon.

 

• Basketball Card : $20
• Flats up to 11x14 : $25
• Basketballs, Large Flats and Figurines : $30
• Jerseys, Artwork and Equipment : $40
• Inscriptions : $5

 

Harry's as always strives to keep prices at a minimum and this event is no different. Get there early as autographs will be limited to only 120.

Card of the Day - 2008 Sweet Spot : Matt Kemp Silver Ink Glove Autograph ( 200 / 245 )

This card has instantly became one of my favorite autographed cards of Matt when I won the auction.

First it is from the Sweet Spot brand which I have always loved, second it is the black glove variety which is rarer and thirdly accompanied with the black glove is the great offset of a silver autograph. Silver autographs are unique and great by themselves but coupled with it being on a black background just makes them pop and look better. I have won rarer cards of Kemp that went for more on eBay but most of those are of the "sticker" autographs while this one is an on "card" one.

I expected to be in a slight bidding war on this one and I was ready for it. Book value has these at $80 which is pricey and even though I wasn't going to spend anywhere near that price I was giving myself a little more leeway as I sold a few items to compensate for the expected price of the card. I watched this card for a week and saw the bids escalating the price until it was my turn to enter the fray and with 5 seconds left I put my bid in and with just 1 second left someone else bidded on it as well but thankfully I put my bid high enough as I didn't lose out.

With 245 in the world surprisingly there haven't been many on eBay to purchase from. At the present moment there are none for sale and this one was the only one that closed in the last month or so. In the end I won the card for a nice small amount of just $26. That is after 15 bids too. So for just a tad over 25% of book I won this great looking card of Kemp and couldn't be happier.

200 of 245.

Card(s) of the Day - 2013 Bowman : Silver Ice, State and Hometown Haul

It was time to head back to the 2013 Bowman set and fill out some holes in my silver ice and state and hometown parallel set that I still needed to complete. Found my seller that I have been buying a lot of this year's cards from and he once again had a lot that I could chose from so I busted out my list and just picked what I still needed. They were all buy it now's with a best offer option and since I have bought from him before he always seems to accept my offers so I ended up with these 8 cards that I needed for a little over a dollar a card delivered to the door. Still have work to finish the set but getting these at this price is just a great deal consider the Silver Ice Ryu alone books for $9. A good day on eBay indeed.

State and Hometown of Hanley Ramirez, Josh Beckett, Paco Rodriguez, Zach Bird and Jeremy Moore

Silver Ice of Paco Rodriguez, Adrian Gonzalez, Andre Ethier and Hyun-Jin Ryu

Signed Ball of the Day : Wes Parker ( ROMLB Sweet Spot )

Wes was never the most prominent player on the Dodgers nor did he put up the biggest statistics as at the end of his career he amassed a good if not an eye popping total of a little over 1000 hits. His value to the club was his gold glove as he won that award 6 out of the 9 years he was on the team. What he didn't bring to the plate he doubled down with on the field and he was highly successful at it. He played his entire MLB career with the Dodgers and was lucky enough to play in 2 World Series with them winning one of them in 1965.

Wes made an appearance at Frank in Sons back in 2011 and as I had missed him a few times prior I made sure I didn't this time. Back in 2011 the Dodgers were in disarray and the public demand for their time and autographs was at a low point. So I assumed for a past non superstar player there would be minimal people for the signing and I was right. Didn't pre purchase a ticket and when I arrived I knew I didn't have to as there was hardly anybody there for Wes. Bought my ticket and jumped in line behind a few people and soon I was in front of Wes. Asked him to sign on the sweet spot which he gladly did. Not too talkative but he was pleasant with me and fellow attendees. Said my thanks and left. Glad to finally add this autograph to my collection.

Card of the Day - 2000 SPx : Eric Gagne Autograph ( 1327 / 1500 )

Another card I owned back in the day has made is back into my hands. Unlike now as I am solely looking for Dodger cards back then I wanted all the limited or hard to get cards and I remember the SPx cards were one of my favorites to rip packs of in the hunt for these type of autograph cads of young stars. I had Gagne then and sold it but like other past stars I was back in the market to reacquire this card and after losing a few auctions I finally was able to get my hands on one.

With 1500 in world I thought it would somewhat easy to get my hands on a copy but it was harder than I thought. Book value is set at $25 and that to me is just too damn high for this card in today's market. Every time I bid on an auction it sold for over $10 which was my breaking point. So for weeks I saw card after card sell at over that price until this one came up and I won it for a little under $10 as no else bid on it. Finally reacquired the electric Dodger closer from the mid 2000's.

As a foot note the day after I won the card another auction ended that I had on my watch list closed at just over $4. Damn, that would have been a steal but you can't always get the great bargain.

Card of the Day - 2005 Upper Deck : Brad Penny Artifacts Autograph ( 455 / 599 )

A new day and I was back on eBay looking for some deals. I had a few bucks and decided to trade them for a penny, a Brad Penny to be exact.

Brad is another ex-Dodger that I didn't have an on card autograph in my collection and browsing through eBay found out that for the most part it left me wanting. There just wasn't many Penny autographs out there let alone of him in Dodger blue. I did find this one that was adequate enough. Not a fan of the gold borders/accents but it was the only decent looking one of Brad and the seller only wanted $3 for the card so I couldn't pass on a deal and went ahead and purchased it. Not a bad swap of a few dollars for a Penny.

Nice crisp signature. 455 of 599

Card of the Day - 2013 Bowman Chrome : Zach Bird Purple Refractor ( 145 / 199 )

To be quite honest I didn't and still don't much about this Dodger prospect that goes by the name Zach Bird. The one thing I knew was that he is sporting Dodger blue and is in this year's Bowman set so that meant I had to acquire him and this nice and shiny purple refractor he was portrayed on. I did not expect any other bids and I wasn't disappointed as I won this card for just $1.50. He may never make it to the Dodgers but I am more than happy to add this short printed card at a nice low price.

It's a purple Bird. 145 / 199

Being Thankful

The calendar page has turned from October to November. One month closer to the end of the year. Thanksgiving is marked for the fourth Thursday of the month every year and while that is always a good thing I think we all need to be thankful all year around for what we have and not be resentful for what we don't have. I can and have fallen into that mentality at times in my life.

While this year has been trying for me at times I try to remember all the good that is has brought me and what I do have. I have the ability and capacity to write and blog this very entry which some people are not able to. I have my health, a good paying job and people I believe care about me. I have a lot going for me and have to look at my haves and not my have nots.

I'm sorry if this comes off as a tad preachy to some people but I just felt that I needed to start off this new month with a little positive energy. So whether you agree with me or not just remember if are reading this your life is not all that bad as you don't need to take your time to read blogs but you choose to as your life situation gives you that opportunity. God Bless to all and have a great month.

Card of the Day - 2002 Sweet Spot : Steve Garvey Autograph

Picked up my second autographed card of Steve Garvey this past week and this one is the better of the two I think. Again, I just love the Sweet Spot series and once I saw this up for sale I for sure wanted to at least try to get my hands on it and it so happens I did with minimal effort.

With book value being $25 for this card and the seller having the starting bid set at $15 it was going to be one and done on the bid front if I was to acquire the card. Haven't seen many of these for sale but at the same time I wasn't going to over spend for it even though I have seen a few closing between $12-15. I was willing to spend the $15 just to add it to my collection. Not surprisingly I was the only bidder and won the card for the original asking price. A slight overpay compared to other eBay auctions but worth it for me to have the card.

Signed Ball of the Day : David Ross ( ROMLB Sweet Spot )

David Ross was barely a Dodger and I didn't remember that fact until I was scouring through past Dodger players to see if I could acquire a signed ball of a former player. David came up to the Dodgers in 2002 but was gone by 2004 and has bounced around a few teams since then. He currently is a Red Sox player and this is his second go around with them as he was on the team back in 2008.

Seeing how until recently the Dodgers haven't had a good catcher let alone two decent ones it was typical Dodger mentality to ship out David and go all in with the "proven" veterans and over pay for their services. Brent Mayne or Koyle Hill anyone? Not saying that David would have been light years better than those two and other players but I would rather give a young player a chance than a veteran that you can tell is over the hill. Nonetheless, David has gone on to greener pastures but since he was a Dodger at one time I decided I needed to acquire a signed ball.

Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, then I'm the dumb ass. That is basically how I felt with this purchase. I bought a signed ball of Skip Schumaker awhile ago from a seller on eBay as it was a great deal but it came in so bad that I never even made a blog entry about it. Thankfully I was able to pick up Skip at the stadium prior to the end of the season. I ended up getting a refund but I tossed the ball in the trash. Well there are not many authenticated signed balls of David out there and once again that particular seller had one with a starting bid of 99 cents for a PSA certified sweet spot baseball. Told myself that I couldn't possible have another bad transaction with the same seller again could I? Yup I did. I ended up winning the ball for $12 shipped to me. A great bargain but I guess that is why it was a bargain. You might not be able to see it in the pic but the signature is already bleeding out when the ball arrived. Nowhere near as bad as the Skip ball but not what I like to see on my purchases. It is good enough for my collection just not up to par with the ones I normally acquire. Either way I learned my lesson to never buy from that seller again but I guess I got what I paid for. Reluctantly, welcome to the collection David.

Card(s) of the Day - 2013 Topps Heritage : Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw and Andre Ethier High Numbered Black Bordered SP

It's been awhile since I attempted to buy a card or two to complete my 2013 Topps Heritage set of the Dodgers but I potentially found a great deal on some of the SP's from the set if I could just secure them at a reasonable price.

I wanted to focus on the black bordered SP's and found these three being sold by a seller where the auction ended at 10:30 at night on a Tuesday. Not the optimal time in my opinion for a seller but from a buyer's prospective a potential edge if people are asleep. Seller had the shipping at $1.25 but free after the first purchase. The Kemp one ended first and there was already a bid and I could tell that the other bidder had the same idea as me as he was also on all three auctions. I put my bid in higher than I normally would so I could see where the other guy had set his ceiling. I won the card for $1.25 so I knew what his limit was and my assumption was right as I won the other two at the same price. So for a grand total of just $5 I won all three shipped to my house. Love these late night wins.

Kemp, Kershaw and Ethier Black Goodness.

Card of the Day - 2013 Topps : Paco Rodriguez Chasing History Insert Autograph . . . Redemption Card

For someone that hates redemptions I seem to be really doing my best in acquiring more and more of them. This is my fourth one in the past few months but this was bought due to it being a deal in comparison to the other option.

I wanted another Paco autograph and saw that he had an entry in this year's series two from Topps. I have seem them pop up on eBay and selling for over $5 as I have lost on a few of those auctions. Didn't feel that this autograph warranted that much but always kept an eye out for a bargain. Well this card came up but it is a redemption of the same card that was inserted into packs. Guess Topps couldn't get all of them out in time for the release.

I guess people didn't want to wait for their card when they could get the actual card from other sellers at a faster pace. I am in no hurry to get the card and with the auction nearing it's end there was no action on it so I put my bid in and won the "card" for a total of just $3. Granted that is only $2 or so less than the other auctions that I lost out on but that is $2 I can use on another card. So that is now four redeemed cards I am waiting for. I am a patient man so it's all good.

Paco . . . Redeemed and waiting.

Card of the Day - 1999 Topps : Raul Mondesi Autograph

Reached back to the 90's to get an autograph of the player our current Yasiel Puig reminds people of a little. The five tool player known as Raul Mondesi was like a little bull in a china shop back in the day and was known for what Puig brings to the plate everyday in the present. They both have an air of cockiness around them and seem to have a chip on their shoulder and play at times with reckless abandon. Hopefully Puig's star doesn't deem as Raul's did in his time in the big leagues.

I always enjoyed watching Raul on the field and thought he could have been so much more but it wasn't meant to be. I am still looking to acquire a signed ball of him but until that time comes I have been on look out for an autographed card of his. Started my search and found that there was just not that much to chose from. This card came up for auction one day and luckily even though this was the first time I bid on a Raul card I won it as since the close I have yet to see another one eBay that deserved my attention. In the end there were actually two other bids prior to mine so I wasn't the only one that wanted to get my hands on it but I prevailed with my winning bid being a tad over $6. Seemed a bit pricey for Raul but considering I won't be looking for another one of Raul I am good with it.

State of the Dodgers : Brian Wilson. Resign ? Closer ?



Even though it was close to two months on the team the above picture still looks a little odd to me. Seeing Brian in Dodger blue after years of watching him wear punk ass orange just didn't seem right to me. Now with this season over and looking ahead to next year I want to see more of the bearded one in blue.

When the Dodgers took a flyer on Wilson I wasn't expecting much. Low expectations can yield the best results and he happened to do that. He rehabbed in the minors after signing with the team and was back in the majors at the end of August. All he did was pitch 13.2 innings with an ERA of .66 with a WHIP of .88 while giving up just one earned run. I know this is a small sample size but he did impress. To top that off he was lights out in the post season with him giving up only 4 hits in 6 innings. To me it looks like he is back to his dominant self and it would be great to have back on the Dodgers. But is there a place to be had on it?

Up until this year Brian has been a closer and he has earned that right to do so again in the future. Problem is that we have a closer in Kenley Jansen. To a point Kenley has been jerked around with his position on the pitching staff. He was given the closer job then taken away and then the Dodgers went and signed Brandon League to a bad contract and gave him the closer job until he proved he was incapable of closing and Kenley was given the job back. All he did was return to his dominant self and showed he deserves the role. Do we ask Kenley AGAIN to take a back seat so Brian can remain on the team to be a closer? They both deserve to close. We have ace one and one A in the form of Greinke and Kershaw but can that work at the back end of the bullpen?

Seeing the contract that Ned gave Brandon there is no way that Brian will give a discount to any team as he has proven in his short stay with the Dodgers that he has recovered from his Tommy John surgery and is ready to return to closing duties. The Dodgers will not give Brian a 3/30 contract which is what I think Brian will be seeking, or at least that is the minimum he will be looking for. If somehow the Dodgers can retain Brian and have him pitch the 8th and the occasional 9th on Kenley's days off it would make the game that much shorter for the other teams against the Dodgers. As the Dodgers are looking long term I think they need to go "all in" next year as well with certain players and I believe that Brian might be had for a 1 year special for a little over 10M and I think the Dodgers should and would pull that trigger. Now the flip side is that there are a lot of teams that are in need for a good closer and Brian fits that bill.

Brian enjoyed his time with the Dodgers and seems to fit in quite well with his quirks and all. If last year you asked me do I want him on our team I would have said hell no. Now I think he would be a very important puzzle piece for a championship caliber team and hope that he is on the Dodgers come Opening Day next year.

Just my two cents . . .

Card of the Day - 2012 Topps : Matt Kemp Golden Moments Insert Autograph

Another autographed Kemp card at another great price.

I've seen copies of this card for months now and though I have bid on a it here and there I wasn't overly pressed to acquire it as there are many other cards of Kemp that I have or wanted to get my hands on. But at the same time if a bargain price came along for this card I wasn't going to pass on it either.

The card books at $25 and considering the past year or so of his underperforming on the field I think that it is overpriced hence why I never won it as most of the auctions closed at over $20 for it. I still think next year will be a great rebound year for Mr. Kemp. It's been great picking up his cards for way under book until he rounds back into form. With that being said this card came up once again on auction and once again I put in my high bid but this time I actually won it. The end price came to a little under $13. I know this is a sticker autograph and that has become more and more annoying as I have expanded my collection but it is still an autograph of Matt so I didn't blink an eye at the sticker. Another card added to my ever growing Matt Kemp autograph collection.

Card of the Day - 2005-06 Upper Deck Trilogy : Luc Robitaille Autograph

This card will probably be the only duplicate of a player in my King's set. As stated in a previous post seen HERE I was not happy with the card that I previously won on eBay. It was entirely my fault as the card I received was exactly as described but just not the type of card I expected so off I went on another search for an autograph card of the great left winger Luc Robitaille.

I had to make sure that the card I received this time held up to my own personal standards but at the same time still find a deal which can be hard when it comes to Luc's cards. He is still very popular in the hobby and a lot of his cards can be pricey.

I found this little gem in my own backyard in Orange County, CA. Seller had it up for an opening asking price of just $10. This is one of those cards that is made entirely of hard plastic and clear. So I knew I would have no issue with this card if I could get my hands on it. It was a short auction with no action on it and I won it for the original asking price. Delivered within the week and now it sits next to my less desirable card of Luc. I am finally content on a card of Luc and can continue on my search for the other members on the team now.

Card of the Day - 2011 Bowman Chrome : Dee Gordon Base Autograph

How the "mighty" have fallen. I remember in late 2011 and early last year that this card was selling on eBay for well over $10 and this is the non refractor version. The refractor obviously went for much more. At the time I wasn't in the hobby so I just liked to keep an eye on prices just for kicks. Well now that I am back I wanted to acquire a copy of Dee's card and with his downward spiral in the organization his cards are now cheaper to acquire.

One day I went trolling on the bay to see what I could get real cheap and this card came up on an auction that ended the following day. The starting price was a mere $2. As expected no action on the auction up until the end and at that point I put my bid in and won the card for the seller's opening price. Never a bad thing when you spend only a couple dollars on an autographed card. Hopefully Dee can contribute somehow on the big league team in the future but I see him more as trade bait down the road.

State of the Dodgers : Don Mattingly

The picture says it all. The off season has barely begun and the tension is thick and the Don situation will need to be addressed within the next few days or it can and will get real ugly in a hurry.

With the Dodgers winning the NLDS Don's option for next season vested. Simple right? Nope. Don has now stated he is not sure if he is coming back and with multiple managerial openings out there Don will not have a problem landing another job. Don says he loves it here but can not and will not be a "lame duck" manager and wants his contract extended and not to be on a year to year situation.

While under Don's leadership the past 3 years the team has a had a winning record every year. This was the first year of the 3 where the team reached the postseason. With all the injuries it was amazing they got as far as they did. But at the end of the day results are what you are judged by and does Don have it in him to get to and win the World Series with the Dodgers. At this moment I think they can win it in spite of him not because of him and I don't think that is a bad thing.

Don has a connection with the team that I don't think Mike Scioscia, Tony LaRussa or any of the other potential names that are being thrown out there as a replacement if Don would in fact leave. With that said the Dodgers need to handle this situation now. They can not drag this out as they need a manager in place going into the off season so current and potential free agents know who they can expect to see steering the ship. With the roster more than likely to stay intact with some adjustments here and there if someone new came along I think it would be in someway like starting from scratch. Would I give Don a 5+ year contract? No, but I would tear up the vesting year and give him a new 3 year contract with a club option for a fourth. In case the whole situation goes south the Dodgers would only have Don on the hook for 2 or so years and could cut ties easier if need be.

Can and should Don change some habits? Hell yeah. Bunting anyone? But I think there is a vision here that the players and Don shares and I think it would only be fair to all those involved to see it through in the next few years. When and if everyone is healthy next year then we would see what this team is really capable of accomplishing. This year's version was like a daily M.A.S.H. unit and never put out a fully healthy squad all year. Give Don and the team a chance to prove that they can get it done. Starting from scratch is a good thing sometimes but pertaining to the current one with Don I think it would be a mistake.

Just my two cents . . . 

Signed Ball of the Day - Player Appearance Recap : Stan Williams @ El Tepeyac Cafe ( ROMLB Sweet Spot )

Dodger season might be over but autograph hounding is year around hobby and former Dodger pitcher Stan Williams made an appearance yesterday at El Tepeyac Café.

Stan had a 14 year career where he played for 6 different teams but his best years where his first 5 in the league when he was on the Dodgers which included a championship run in 1959. The Dodgers first since moving west from Brooklyn. While he did well after being traded to the Yankees in 1962 and in subsequent years he statistically was best while on the Dodgers as he won 57 of his career 109 victories with them. He retired in 1972.

Prior to yesterday I haven't seen Stan do any public appearances around the L.A. area and that might be because I just didn't know about it. I love acquiring autographs from Dodger players during their glory years in Los Angeles which were 1959 through 1966 when they played in 4 World Series while winning 3 of them. Stan was scheduled to sign from 5p.m. to 7p.m. and the wife and I arrived early to have dinner as I didn't expect too much of a turn out. Once dinner was out of the way we made our way to the line that formed outside which was no more than 30 people which seemed about right. The line moved very slow and we were in it for almost a hour. A few people in front of us had loads of stuff getting signed ( cough dealers cough ) which caused the snail pace. Another reason was that Stan was talking to everyone which was nice to see. Chit chat is appreciated by this autograph collector. We got to the table where Stan was and proceeded to have him sign the ball I brought. A nice smooth signature. Asked if I could have a picture with him and he happily obliged. As a side note he asked if the young lady (wife) that was taking our picture was my daughter. Ha Ha. Told him no that was my wife and he said very beautiful and eventually told her as well. Love that even at 77 years old he has an eye for beauty. Thank you again for coming out Stan.

Stan and I

On the way out my wife noted a cardboard cutout of "The Most Interesting Man in the World" by the door of the restrauant. Since I was wearing my favorite anti Giants shirt she thought it would be funny to get a picture with the cutout. Dislike for the punk ass orange team from up north also never takes a break during the year.

Card of the Day - 2013 Bowman Chrome : Corey Seager Rising Thru The Ranks Mini Refractor Blue Variant ( 5 / 250 ) . . . AKA eBay Bucks Purchase Number 3.5

With the other purchase of the Seager cards I thought I was tapped out of eBay bucks but noticed I still had $5 left to use but couldn't really find something that was at that price. I was already going to purchase this card or at least attempt to and with the new found $5 to play with I had a little wiggle room.

With this being a numbered blue variant I knew this was going to go for more than $5 as every time I have gone after a Corey card that was not a base version I have had to enter a slight bidding war with someone. As expected there was a few bids on this card and as it was nearing the auction's end I put my bid in for a little higher than usual and won it for $8.07. A bit pricey for a newly released card but with the $5 certificate thrown in my total was a mere $3.07. Reasonable enough for me. So I guess this qualifies as a half eBay bucks purchase. Whatever I call it it's still a good purchase for me.

And that is the end of the eBay bucks for this quarter. Looking forward to January already as with Christmas shopping needs to be done that means more chances for me to earn more during the next quarter.

Blue Variant

5 / 250

Card of the Day - 2009 Bowman Chrome : Josh Lindblom Refractor Autograph ( 341 / 500 )

Another day and another low amount spent on eBay for a former Dodger.

Josh is currently on the Rangers team as a starting pitcher but up until last year before being traded he was an above average reliever for the Dodgers. He was traded in one of the multiple bad mid summer trades that Ned Colletti likes to do every year and he didn't disappoint last year in shipping out Josh. We could have used him last year and this year but Ned once again was going for a quick fix per se. Always did like Josh and he was always personable when approached. He did a lot of good in the community and continues to do so now in Texas. He was even nice enough to sign for me in New York when I was there last year as I told him I was a Dodger fan from L.A. I think it helped that I was the only one in the stadium that yelled out his first name while he was playing for the Phillies.

Didn't have an on card signature of Josh so I went to my favorite auction site and found a few and this one had a starting bid of $3 with free shipping. I didn't expect to pay too much for it but I also didn't expect to be the only bidder which ended up happening. So for a measly $3 I received this numbered rookie card delivered to my home. Just love the flow of the signature.

341 out of 500.