Mail Day (aka Cleveland Rocks!!)

While working on the long overdue post about some generous mailers yesterday my wife came into the office with another packed envelope courtesy of Canada Post. When I finally got around to opening it this morning I was extremely excited.

A while ago I had been in contact with BaseballDad who is the proprietor of the blog 'All Tribe Baseball'. In one of our email exchanges he told me he would be sending a pile of the 2009 Topps Baseball needs I had listed on my want lists along with some 2002 Topps, if he could locate those. He had also mentioned that there would be some extra goodies to go along with the cards. Having done my due diligence (and some extensive reading of his blog) I had a sense of what the "extra" might be. When I opened the envelope I was pleased to see I was fortunate enough to be right.

I got this ;


I am currently on my third consecutive playing of track 8. I also will have to go through my old time radio archives but this CD may contain a variation of "Who's on first?" that I do not have. I definitely did not recognize it right away.

As luck would have it BaseballDad was able to find me some of the 2002 Topps "mustard" set that I needed and sent them along.




I can remember the time in Blue Jays history when Cruz Jr. had the expectations and potential to rival another Junior. Funny how things change, eh?
Along with these cards BaseballDad got me twelve cards closer to completion of my 2009 Topps Baseball set. I never get tired of looking at the photography on these cards, especially when I notice something I had not before.

This card of David Wright seemed familiar somehow,


Then after some thinking it hit me.....of course,photo recycling brought to you by Topps.


Some of the other nicer cards sent to me included these additions to my personal subset collection. Awesome bunting goodness,


and, like I said before I like to pour over these cards and sometimes discover something I never noticed before. This card got me to thinking about the guy on the cel phone. Forever immortalized on cardboard is his dedication to watching baseball in obviously chilly weather but his complete boredom with the game that he needed to talk to someone other than those he came to the game with. Priceless.


Thanks again to All Tribe Baseball for the cards and especially the CD. I am working on something special coming back your way in the next few weeks. By the way, I am now trying to find a way to cleanse the disturbing experience of Mel Allen rapping...lol....LOVE IT!!

Cheers,

Mail Day (aka Plain Ketchup)

So, having taken the time to look over the last few days it has been far too long since I dedicated some time to posting. I have been able to sporadically read some of the blogs I follow but when it comes to this one I am woefully ashamed. Other than two self-serving posts entering me into some great contests there has been nothing of significance from LFB2B.

Time to change that.

In the last three weeks there have been some generously over-stuffed envelopes that have come across my desk. Having taken some time off of work for relaxation purposes I am now forcing myself to send out some overdue gracious acknowledgements to some incredibly awesome fellow bloggers. One of the challenges I knew I had ahead of me when I decided to return to card collecting was filling in the gaps of the years I was away. Mostly gathering team sets and a few individual players did not seem like that big of a task at the start. However, once I saw just how much had been released in the ten years or so that I was away things seemed a bit more daunting. Thankfully there have been some kind souls who have come to my rescue and trading has become a once again enjoyable part of the hobby for me.

On with the Thank-yous.............

Handcollated

Scott and I had been sending a few hockey cards back and forth earlier on in the year and at some point things became confusing enough that neither of us were sure what was to be sent where. However, after some careful deduction and some diligent research things are balanced once again.

Waxaholic

Understanding the struggle of a fellow Canadian trying to collect baseball cards in a country that seems to predominantly worship hockey and then hibernate for five months has been my motivator for several trades with Brian. I think we need to develop some kind of Canuck Horsehide Appreciation Network or something. Hmmmmmm.........

Stats-on-the-Back

Along with another helpful pile of Jays and Cubs, Mark planted a little bug in the back of my mind that I am toying with. Thankfully Halladay did remain in T.O, Mark. Phew!!


Wax Heaven

Mario ran a contest giving away some autographed cards from 'UD Spectrum of Stars' and had the costs of shipping graciously underwritten by 1st and Goal. I received a pile of autograph cards from some awesome 'C' and 'D' list stars. Kitsch Rules!!!

JDs Wild Cardz

Capitalizing on an other's ill fortune I built my 2009 Topps Target Retro Cubs and Jays collection by 4 cards and also scored an auto of one half of the A&G Code Crackers for 2009. Once I get another ad card I will be bothering the other mastermind.

All totaled I have received over 125 cards towards filling in the missing years of my collection. I thank each and every generous one of you and pledge that from this point on, I will make a point of properly showcasing the treasures that make their way to me. And, never again will I falter in expressing the utmost of gratitude to my fellow traders.

Cheers,

Self-serving post II - The Empire Strikes Back

Rest assured I am currently working on an all-encompassing post regarding the last few weeks and some more than generous fellow bloggers.

As it stands right now I happened to be reading Waxaholic's site and saw a post regarding an AWESOMELY GENEROUS contest being held on Card Cache's site.

Anyone who has thought about possibly collecting Allen & Ginter this year or anyone who needs to build what they have should make their way as fast as possible to this contest.

While you are there check out his previous posts. There is some great stuff there!!!

Thanks Ryan!

Cheers,