Tradeable Vagueness

Excuse the title. I'm working on perfecting the awkward headline.

I've been getting my trade groove on this week and enjoying getting back in the swing.

So, this is a blatant fishing expedition to see if anyone has a want list for 2012 Heritage (including a couple of SPs), 2013 Heritage (including an SP or three) and 2013 Archives. I have quite a bit - especially of the first and the last - for trade.

I'm desperately prowling for Heritage 2011 SPs.

I really need to hold my SPs back for SPs, as I'm sure you can understand why.

If you have needs from the sets mentioned above, please direct me to your want lists. I'm basically seeking Reds, Tigers and Cubs from those three sets but I still need to work up my own want lists.

This is all so very scattershot, so my apologies. Just hoping to get a trade dialogue started.

Meanwhile, because I dislike posting sans art, here's an auto I pulled from 2011 Heritage. RED SOX LEGEND Ted Wil....er, Ted Wills.

I'm looking to trade this for a Heritage 2011 auto from a team I collect.

Heritage Design Trade Flashback Needs

Yeah, you know you're getting lazy about headlines when you just go with keywords. 
 
Many collectors have turned their attention to Gypsy Queen in the past week or so - either furiously chasing it or disparaging it - so I wanted to take a few minutes to briefly look again at our old friend Heritage 2012. I have some needs. I have some dupes. Read on!

While I'm not collecting the full Heritage set, focusing instead on completing the wonderful Heritage of 2011, I am gathering the 2012 inserts as well as select favorite players - and Reds, Tigers, Cubs and White Sox. I received a nice assist with those efforts recently after Ross at Design on Deck contacted me. Ross took a look at my want list and I'm very grateful for that. 

I'm a particular fan of Flashbacks. I believe Ross sent me five. Here are two of them.

Here is a sampling of some of the other fine cards Ross sent along.

Probably a top five current player of mine.

Still amused by pitchers named Homer, I am.

Berkman has long been a favorite of mine, admittedly from his glory years where he led my fantasy juggernaut. Also, his resemblance to my cousin is uncanny and an ongoing source of family amusement. I pick up Berkman cards whenever I can but still need a good auto.

Before I continue with various lists, I just want to say that I truly enjoy Design on Deck. It's unique and I really love his card designs. I don't believe I've actually ever told him that but I wanted to be sure to say something here. I wish he could print and issue his cards.

I wish I had the graphic design talents. They're sorely needed.

Meanwhile, Ross, your cards are coming soon. I was waiting to pick up a few more packs and hit more of your needs and I did manage to add a couple of extras. I wish I had more but I'm sending the diamond parallels and all the Heritage extras I had from your wants. I think it unfortunately doesn't total any more than the number of cards you sent.

For everyone else, are you collecting Heritage? If so, here are some cards I have for trade:

13, 19, 23, 27, 32, 36, 37, 38, 42, 45, 47, 47, 47, 60, 69, 69, 69, 75, 82, 85, 89, 93, 103, 108, 110, 110, 112, 115, 115, 121, 124, 126, 128, 130, 132, 132, 137, 137, 157, 180, 192, 197, 204, 217, 221, 224, 224, 228, 241, 243, 255, 267, 271, 277, 297, 315, 328, 332, 342, 342, 347, 351, 360, 363, 363, 372, 378, 388, 388, 395, 395, 400, 400, 400, 401, 402, 408, 408, 413, BF-SK, NF-JKE, NAP-TL, Checklist 5

Please indulge me as I present my wants:

BF-EW, BF-JM
NF-JK, NF-PP, NF-PS, NF-UA, NF-UC
NAP-MC, NAP-MK, NAP-RB

14 Justin Masterson
35 Chris Sale
51 Alex Gordon
53 Dee Gordon
79 Detroit Tigers
87 Andrew McCutchen
90 Joey Votto
95 Kerry Wood
100 Paul Konerko
138 Ryan Braun/Prince Fielder (Pride of NL)
140 Max Scherzer
160 Mark Buehrle
186 Joe Mauer
193 Starlin Castro
194 Francisco Cordero
207 Mike Trout
211 Freddie Freeman
218 Justin Verlander/Jose Valverde
222 Chicago Cubs
223 Addison Reed
246 Felix Hernandez 
276 Ryan Braun
278 Jhonny Peralta
279 Matt Kemp
285 Adrian Gonzalez
320 Zack Greinke
327 Rick Porcello 
365 Jose Valverde
366 Dustin Ackley
393 Brandon Beachy
406 Al Alburquerque
422 Dusty Baker
476 Prince Fielder

2012: Needs/Availables (boringest headline ever!) "Boringest?"

Is anyone out there still chasing existing 2012 cards? If so, I have quite a list of available cards below. Sorry for the oh-so-boring post, but I wanted to be sure to direct anyone in need to my lists.

After the long list of available base cards and inserts is a much shorter list of cards I'm searching for. I hope we can work out a deal.

And, if you instead are searching for Heritage 2012, please direct me to your want list. I have plenty of Heritage but haven't cataloged them yet. I do however have a list of cards I need.

Thanks.

And, now, the base set...

Base Set Available
1 - Ryan Braun
1 - Ryan Braun
4 - Jeremy Guthrie
7 - Mickey Mantle
15 - Melky Cabrera
19 - Yonder Alonso
21 - Chris Iannetta
22 - Alfredo Simon
24 - Ike Davis
29 - NL Win Leaders
30 - Derek Jeter
32 - Detroit Tigers
41 - Devin Mesoraco
43 - Brett Wallace
51 - Alcides Escobar
56 - Geovany Soto
57 - Yuniesky Betancourt
66 - Nyjer Morgan
66 - Nyjer Morgan
71 - Jeff Karstens
74 - Kevin Correia
81 - Liam Hendricks
82 - Rick Porcello
84 - Brian Matusz
89 - Dontrelle Willis
89 - Dontrelle Willis
91 - AL Home Run Leaders
93 - Skip Schumaker
94 - Logan Forsythe
95 - Chris Parmalee
99 - Michael McKenry
99 - Michael McKenry
102 - Chase d'Arnaud
107 - Luke Scott
110 - Mark Teixeira
114 - Matt Garza
114 - Matt Garza
114 - Matt Garza
121 - Josh Bell
124 - NL batting average
125 - Adam Jones
125 - Adam Jones
125 - Adam Jones
130 - Asdrubal Cabrera
133 - Ivan Nova
135 - Johnny Cueto
135 - Johnny Cueto
135 - Johnny Cueto
136 - Casey McGehee
141 - Brandon Belt
142 - Travis Wood
142 - Travis Wood
142 - Travis Wood 
142 - Travis Wood
143 - George Kottaras
144 - Marlon Byrd
146 - Carlos Gomez
148 - Chris Getz
151 - Chris Davis
151 - Chris Davis
166 - Brennan Boesch
169 - Brett Myers
171 - Koji Uehara
174 - Yadier Molina
175 - Jared Hughes
176 - Nolan Reimold
176 - Nolan Reimold
179 - Denard Span
187 - Jose Altuve
191 - Angel Pagan
195 - Ben Zobrist
196 - Matt Joyce
197 - Brendan Ryan
200 - Miguel Cabrera
201 - Doug Fister
202 - Andre Carignan
205 - Justin Masterson
208 - Mark Reynolds
210 - Zack Greinke
211 - Kelvin Herrera
213 - Alex Avila
218 - Kyle Hudson
218 - Kyle Hudson
220 - Jay Bruce
220 - Jay Bruce
220 - Jay Bruce
222 - Chris Coghlan
223 - Joe Saunders
226 - Ryan Hanigan
228 - Brent Lillibridge
235 - Joe Benson
239 - AL batting average
241 - James McDonald
245 - Adam Lind
245 - Adam Lind
246 - Bud Norris
247 - Clay Buchholz
249 - Trevor Plouffe
255 - Scott Rolen
255 - Scott Rolen
255 - Scott Rolen 
256 - Mat Latos
262 - Shaun Marcum
265 - Aroldis Chapman
265 - Aroldis Chapman
268 - Miguel Cairo
268 - Miguel Cairo
268 - Miguel Cairo
270 - Starlin Castro
272 - Nyjer Morgan
272 - Nyjer Morgan
274 - Alex Liddi
277 - Jeremy Moore
282 - Ryan Raburn
282 - Ryan Raburn
292 - Ben Revere
294 - John Axford
299 - Mitch Moreland
302 - AL Home Run Leaders
308 - Mike Leake
326 - Kevin Gregg
327 - Mark Kotsay

Gold Parallels
211 - Kelvin Herrera
272 - Nyjer Morgan

Classic Walk-Offs
CW3 - Johnny Bench
CW5 - Jay Bruce
CW15 - Derek Jeter

Golden Greats
GG33 - Mickey Mantle
GG41 - Cal Ripken
GG42 - Cal Ripken

Gold Futures
GF8 - Aroldis Chapman

Timeless Talents
TT1 - Molitor/Braun
TT13 - Larkin/Cabrera

Golden Moments
GM18 - Barry Larkin
GM28 - George Foster
GM31 - CC Sabathia

Gold Standard
GS7 - Frank Robinson
GS10 - Reggie Jackson
GS10 - Reggie Jackson
GS11 - Tom Seaver
GS11 - Tom Seaver
GS14 - Frank Thomas
GS22 - Nolan Ryan

87 Minis
TM-31 Brandon Phillips
TM-31 Brandon Phillips
TM-50 Curtis Granderson


WANTED CARDS

Colorful parallels of Reds and Tigers

Gold Standard
GS-2 Stan Musial
GS-15 Ty Cobb
GS-16 John Smoltz
GS-19 Andre Dawson
GS-23 Tom Seaver
GS-25 Willie Mays

Golden Moments
GM-1 Tom Seaver

GM-42 Al Kaline

87 Minis
I need almost all so please let me know what you have available and I'll get with you fast.

Heritage 2012: I Have Some

This is just a quick notice for anyone who needs Heritage 2012. I have a few dozen for trade. I'll get a list up soon but first wanted to ask those looking for some to feel free to direct me to your want list and I'll look to see what I have right away.

For now, Heritage cards that I want are posted here.

Oh, and I also have a Clubhouse Collection Josh Hamilton bat relic and James Shields jersey relic. For those, I'm seeking any CC jersey relic of the players below. Thanks.

CCR-AC Aroldis Chapman
CCR-AM Andrew McCutchen
CCR-BPH Brandon Phillips
CCR-FH Felix Hernandez
CCR-JBR Jay Bruce
CCR-JM Joe Mauer
CCR-JV Justin Verlander
CCR-MC Miguel Cabrera
CCR-MK Matt Kemp
CCR-MR Mariano Rivera
CCR-PF Prince Fielder
CCR-SC Starlin Castro
CCR-TT Troy Tulowitzki

Heritage 2012: A Quick Heads-Up

I just wanted to get the word out that I'll have some Heritage for trade. If you have a want list, let me know and I'll take a look and see what I might have for you.

I don't think I'll go for this year's set after all. I like it overall but I just want to focus almost all Heritage-related attention on finishing 2011. I had thought I'd go for Heritage every year but I'm thinking it might be more fun to mix it up - for this year at least. I'll see how GQ grabs me.

That said, I think I'd love to complete the Baseball Flashbacks and News Flashbacks inserts - along with collecting all Reds, Tigers and Cubs.

I'll attempt to get my "available cards" list up in the next day or two - along with any needed cards from BF, NF, Reds, Tigers and Cubs. Meantime, don't forget to direct me to your Heritage needs.

Hope you all had a tremendous hump day.

Potch

Collect what makes you happy.

I Have Only Just Begun To Blog!

My wife, daughter and I have been living much like gypsies since June when our Chicagoland house sold and we headed back home to Indiana.

Well, hopefully before Christmas we'll be in our house and, soon after that, my efforts to trade, blog more consistently, and so on will be much easier.

For now, we're still holed up with my Grandpa in a fairly confined space. We can't complain too much. We moved because our jobs became work-from-home flexible and we wanted our daughter closer to family.

As for baseball cards, there are a few things I'd like to do between now and mid-December.

1. Complete 1976 Topps.
2. Make significant headway on Heritage 2011.
3. Make significant headway on Kimball Champions. I need #96 and most everything from #101-150 (but check first as I have a couple of them heading my way, I believe).

Down on the List: Pick up some more 1978s and, speaking of being gypsies, Gypsy Queens and, what the heck, '11 Topps Chrome.

On my home page, I have wants and cards available listed for various sets. If you're having trouble scrolling about and finding what you need, please send me a note.

Too bad TV never showed this guy during the World Series.

Oh, and one more thing: I plan to get back to before the move, the contest I mentioned last month. Far too much work travel popped up since then but I've made detailed notes on who gets entered into ye olde randomizer. Also, I'll offer up another chance to enter before I get things started.

Heritage Collection: Minor Points

My attempt to build the 2011 Topps Heritage set continues but it won't extend to the Minor League Heritage cards. That said, I do enjoy seeing some of the minor league players on this card stock/design and so I went ahead and turned to ebay to pick up a few from the Reds, Tigers and Cubs.

(By the way, click here for a look at my Heritage needs and available cards.)

I'll start with the prospect Tigers. I'm guessing the pink involved a special promo night of some sort. Kind of cool to see on cards. I have high hopes for Jacob Turner.

Here are some more prospect Tigers. I had picked up a Nick Castellanos jersey relic a few months ago in a Crinkly Wrappers group break draft. I have high hopes for him.

Next are the prospect Reds that I snagged, including a couple of catchers. Take a look here, immediately after this sentence.

And some other young, possibly future, Reds.

And, finally, here are the prospect Cubs. I feel like I've been hearing about Josh Vitters for years, yet he just turned 22!

I admit I don't follow the Cubs' farm teams like I do the Reds and Tigers but I've heard a lot about Jackson. He finished the year with the AAA Iowa Cubs.

Is he the most prospecty of the Cub prospects? Could be.

Heritage Collection: A Love That Grows

Topps released the Heritage '11 set months ago, yet my feelings for it are only now fully formed.

As a card hobbyist reborn earlier this year, Heritage '11 was my first exposure to this throwback set. Clearly the set is made tailored for guys like me - old schoolers at heart.

Still, I was indifferent about Heritage '11 when it first arrived. I'm not exactly sure why, I just know I sent scores of the cards out in trades, figuring I'd just go for the Reds, Tigers, Cubs and a few favorite players.

But as the year wore on, I found myself returning to my Heritage cards. I kept looking at them, appreciating them. Take a look at a sampling, if you would.

Any Frank Robinson as a Red is a great card to me. The inserts overall are quite nice.

I just love the pose and the black parallel Target works particularly well here. This one is up for all of the goths who seem to now be visiting my site. Hello Goths!

Wasn't in the card market for Strasburg mania last year but I do enjoy the classic pose here.

Wistful about his short print status, I'm guessing. Lucky son of a gun.

And so, like many others, I'm working to complete 2011 Heritage. I have needs, of course, and no doubt the short prints will be the bane of my grand set completion plans but I'm committed to staying the course.

Cy Verlander. A rare short print I managed to land in packs.

The All-Star cards look spectacular.

Hey, I think I just found my new collecting focus - alliterative cards!

So, I'll work eBay as needed to complete Heritage '11but consider this a request for help. My Heritage needs are updated - as are my other pages, I'm pretty sure.

Fondly.

A&G and Me: Next Steps

Editor's Note: A version of this post appeared Friday. Blogger hiccuped and it was lost to the ether.

I love baseball cards. That was probably obvious - this being a baseball card blog.

I tend to get caught up in the hullabaloo of the latest and greatest product release. I've enjoyed the various Topps releases this year. I think it was a good year to come back to the hobby after a 27-year hiatus.

Heritage grew on me to the point that I'm crazy about it and will make myself bats chasing the short prints. Gypsy Queen keeps calling my name, especially the lovely bronze- and green-framed papers.

On a related note, looking to deal this gem for the Al Kaline on-card version. Ha ha..but seriously. No? Oh well.

A&G was all fresh and new to me. I bought plenty and my collecting this year took yet another turn.

But now I've decided to wean myself off A&G. I mostly love the set, sure - minus the atrocious verticals - but I need to channel my collecting energies.

I'm not entirely off the product. I really, really want to complete Uninvited Guests, Minds That Made The Future and maybe Mysterious Figures. But beyond those inserts, my 2011 set focus boils down to:

1. Heritage.
2. Gypsy Queen. (Particularly bronze- and green-papers.)

Click here for Heritage needs/availables and here for Gypsy Queen needs/availables and here for the latest on the Kardashians, if that's your thing. And don't forget I have Lineage to barter, too.

Braun very well may be my favorite big-name non-Red, non-Tiger.

Some of the Lineage I have to deal.

My full list of A&Gs for trade appears below. You'll also find a few base set needs from teams I collect and a couple of players I like. I'll create a separate page in the next day or so for my A&Gs.

Enjoy the pursuit. 

Available

A&G Base
2, 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, 17, 18, 26, 31, 35, 51, 54, 58, 58, 61, 63, 73, 75, 77, 84, 91, 94, 94, 99, 102, 114, 116, 118, 131, 142, 143, 144, 146, 146, 150, 153, 157, 159, 162, 174, 182, 182, 184, 192, 199, 199, 202, 203, 212, 213, 222, 222, 224, 225, 229, 230, 237, 239, 241, 243, 246, 249, 249, 254, 258, 259, 260, 269, 269, 271, 273, 284, 285, 289, 291, 297, 298, 300, 312(SP), 312(SP), 317(SP), 322(SP), 331(SP), 341(SP), 342(SP)

A&G Minis Available
58 (black parallel), 94, 99, 279 (black parallel), 284 (black parallel), 310, 316, 321, 331

Hometown Heroes
3, 8, 19, 22, 36, 41, 46, 58, 74, 78, 89, 94, 97, 99

Floating Fortresses
2, 9, 17, 17

Step Right Up
6, 10

Portraits Penultimacy
5, 9, 9 


A&G Needs   

Uninvited Guests
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10   

Minds That Made The Future
1, 2, 4-9, 11, 13-16, 18-22, 24, 25, 28-33, 35, 36, 38, 39

Base Set
46, 68, 81, 82, 100, 140, 147, 164, 170, 194, 198, 223, 275, 293, 299, 308(SP), 324(SP), 325(SP), 343(SP)

World's Most Mysterious Figures
1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10

Hometown Heroes
8, 10, 25, 27, 29, 30, 53, 77, 93, 94