Mismatched Mac

I was happy to see that Topps inked Mark McGwire to appear in their 2014 products.  Sure, Topps will inevitably overproduce Big Mac cards and kill off half of their value, but I could use a few new McGwire cards.  I know a few other Cardinals and A's collectors who feel the same way.  So far McGwire has made an appearance in Tribute, Museum Collection, Archives, and Tier One.   I was really surprised that Topps included autographs and high end jumbo relics of the slugging first baseman in their flagship set.

Don't get me wrong, I love the Topps base set, but it's not the usual place where you find a lot of high end stuff.  McGwire has both an autograph and jumbo patch in the Topps Series 2 set.  I busted a Jumbo box a few weeks ago, did not pull anything McGwire, so I started trying to find a patch or an autograph.  The autographs were more than $100, but were sticker graphs.  I moved on to the patches which were an odd mix between A's and Cardinals patches.  However, the cards have McGwire in a Cardinals uniform regardless of the patch color.

I lost about half a dozen of these auctions during the past two weeks, but finally managed to snipe on elf these out at the last moment.

This would be an A's patch on a Cardinals card, but it is still cool as hell to own a jumbo patch off of a Big Mac Jersey.  The Cardinals patches seem to have a slight premium over the A's pieces, but I would be willing to spend it if I knew I could land one for sure.  The Cardinals patches also seem to be a little bit harder to come by.  Clearly Topps made 100 jumbo patch McGwire cards, but they are clearly from different jerseys.  It would have been cool if Topps had serial numbered the Cardinals cards and A's cards separately.  I am complaining about trivial things though.  Great card and not even my best Mac card I landed during the past week.  More tomorrow.

Unique Upton

I have so many directions that I could go on cards this morning.  It's my second day off after a long school year and I am going to need a good week to get caught up on all the cards that are sitting on my desk ready to be typed up, scanned, and shared.  This morning I am going with an old favorite player.

I know BJ is an outfielder with the Braves, but my best memories of him will always be as an infielder with the Durham Bulls.  My best memory of Upton will always be him hitting a walk off grand slam to lead the Bulls to a win on Opening Day in 2006, but I cannot find a video of the hit anywhere online.  BJ only lasted part of that summer in Durham posting a .269/.374/.394 line with 8 home runs and 18 doubles in 106 games before he was called up to Tampa.  That's right, BJ Upton could take a pitch or two in Triple A, just not the Majors.

I still check in on BJ, but I know enough Braves fans who are pained by his presence on the teams roster, that if I do not check I still kind of know that he's not doing well.  And besides, Rays fans all know that when players come up for free agency there is a really good chance that they are going to walk.  It was good to see BJ get his pay day.  It was cool that he landed in the same outfield as his brother.  Not cool that he's hitting .200 with almost 100 strikeouts already.

I like to remember BJ like this:

Everyone see John Jaso in that video?  Sweet.  

Anyway, I also still check in on some BJ Upton cards.  Honestly, I have a bunch and will look on occasion.  There are still some people who believe that BJ has some star power and price his accordingly, but there are also some really cool pieces that come up and every once in awhile I snap into action.  One came up last week.

I have done a few things on the Topps Unique set on my blog since I have started writing here, but should probably do a little bit more.  Like patch cards?  This is the set.  It does have some nice autographs, but there are some incredible relics in this set.  This BJ Upton card is serial numbered to just 15 copies and features the top of the R from the RAYS script on the front of the Tampa jerseys.  A really cool piece for $20 considering that the only other copy on the internet is currently listed for the ridiculous price of $320.  

Out On A Limb For A Leaf

I am not a huge vintage person.  I am not a huge vintage person if I can put my own two eyes on the card in person.  The best way to quickly summarize my collection of vintage cards is that it is almost exclusively Cardinals cards and there is nothing that is too over the top.  I have been writing on The Snorting Bull for three years and almost everything on here is modern.  Usually when I make a post about an older card, I am talking about something from the 80s or 90s, not 40s, 50s, or 60s.   I tossed out a few of those rules two weeks ago and took a bit of a gamble on a vintage card that looked really good.

This is a 1948-1949 Leaf Stan Musial card.  I have plenty of Stan cards, but have really been interested in going back and rounding out my collection with some nice vintage pieces.  Over the past year I have spent plenty of time looking, window shopping, and asking questions.  Vintage is a different world, not my collecting area of expertise, but I think I did pretty well with this card.  

My biggest concern with buying vintage is always the condition.  I love the 1971 Topps set, which is the only older set that I own a significant amount of non-Cardinals cards, but the shape and condition of the cards can sometimes be rough.  I have also had collectors send me cards which looked awesome in scans, but in person were less than desirable.  Things like, "Oh, I did not mention there was a gum stain on the back" or "Yes, I kept all my cards in mint condition, but I did write my name on the back of the card, sorry I did not think that was important"  I am a little skeptical.  

My newest Stan has four nice corners and is pretty well centered.  The card is off center slightly left to right and top to bottom, but not too badly.  The white frame around the card also has not yellowed badly which seems to be a problem with some of the cards in this set.  

Large Biscuit Combo, Please?

One of the coolest things about collecting cards of minor league players and teams is the fact that you can get some really cool cards at the fraction of the cost of Major League players.  Imagine if you found a jumbo patch of a Major League player in your favorite set and the card was numbered to just 5?  Imagine that the patch piece was a cool letter patch from an All-Star game.  Most collectors love adding cards like this to their collection, but the price of adding a relic card costing upwards of $100 causes most of them to pause.  My newest jumbo patch of a minor leaguer?  Just north of $20.

This piece of patch is from Rays prospect C.J. Riefenhauser who is currently pitching out of the bullpen in Triple A Durham.  Last season he split the year between Durham and the Rays Double A affiliate in Montgomery, the Biscuits.  Riefenhauser was one of the best relief pitchers in the Minors last season.  In 70 innings last year the left-handed deliver posted an ERA of 1.22, a WHIP of 0.82, and 70 strikeouts with just 19 walks.  The performance earned Riefenhauser a trip to the Futures Game at CitiField in NewYork.  Here's a picture from batting practice before the game:

The Futures Game format places all of the International All-Stars on a team and the American All-Stars on another team.  The patch piece from my card is the S from the USA logo in the middle of Riefenhauser's Future Game jersey.  A really sweet addition from a specific event.  The card is also limited to just five copies.....

 
To make this card a little bit sweeter, I also added a cool Tim Beckham card the same day as I added this cool Riefenhauser patch.  The Beckham card is serial numbered to 60 and is a die-cut from this year's Panini Prizm set.

Beckham is actually sitting out this season after suffering a season ending knee injury while training for the season before a single game was played.  He is also a former number one overall draft pick.  Sitting out the year, or not, I am still a fan of the Rays infielder.  Here's his first major league hit from last year.....

Jumbo Zorilla Patch or How Many Auctions Can I Lose In A Week?

I have had a rough few weeks trying to track down some of the jumbo pieces from Topps Series 2.  I picked up one piece from the jumbo line last week when I added a plain jumbo jersey of Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday.  I had a few other targets in the set, but I cannot win anything this week.  Yesterday's post detailed a pair of Acetate parallels I lost, today I will spare you the details of every jumbo auction I lost last week, but it's easily in the double digits.  At least half of the auction loses involve Mark McGwire.  

I left Big Mac alone for a few days and set my sights down a little bit to some Rays.  I still love the Rays, but being in last place eases the price and popularity of a players cards.  Being in last place and having an off season does even more.  Ladies and Gentleman, a Topps Jumbo I actually won without getting sniped at the last second:

The Zorilla is certainly having an off year and has been the subject of a lot of trade rumors lately.  He's a former Durham Bull and still one of my favorite players on the field, even if he's slowing down just a bit.  Through 66 games this year Zobrist is positing a .247/.332/.375 line which are all well below his career average.  

The card features a blue patch piece from a Rays home jersey along with a piece of white patch outline and a second piece of the outline on the right side of the circle.  The card is numbered to 99, which is really high for a jumbo jersey piece, but it is clear from the other cards in this set, that this is another case of Topps leftovers.  

An Acetate Archer

One of my favorite parts of the 2014 Topps set is the inclusion of the new acetate parallels.  The cards are serial numbered to just 10 and have a great look about them.  I picked up two of these cards from Series 1 and was eager to add a few more when Series 2 dropped a few weeks ago.  I originally had three targets on Ebay.  I missed two of my targets.  Tim Beckham:

I can blame this one on ADD.  I knew the cards was ending, I planned on bidding, and the price was obviously right.  What was I doing when this card went off?  Something other than bidding on this affordable card.  Bummer.  My other target was Jon Jay.  ADD?

Nope.  Just simply outbid on the item.  I tried hard, but it's hard to spend more than $25 on Jon Jay.  Especially when two other copies of the card are currently floating around on Ebay and are both under $10 at the moment.  Please don't bid me up!  Which left me with my third target.  Some say it's the charm.....

 
This is a great card and I am a huge fan of Chris Archer.  He's a former Durham Bull.  He's from Raleigh.  I met him last year at the USA Baseball complex in Cary, North Carolina.  He's an awesome hard throwing pitcher and I have added a lot of his cards over the last two or three years.  This Acetate card is a great addition.

My favorite part of the Acetate cards is the back.  I love the reverse picture and also really like the translucent look with the black frame.  I am not sure that the scan does this card enough justice.

Money Player

I like Edgar Renteria.  He was one of my favorite 90s/early 2000s Cardinals players.  I never understood why he bounced around so many times after he left the Cardinals.  There was a year in Boston, two in Atlanta, a year in Detroit, two in San Francisco, and a really miserable last year as a Red.  He was a five time All-Star, three time Silver Slugger, two time Gold Glove winner, and a World Series MVP.  There was this moment:

and a few years later this was this hit:

Edgar is not a Hall of Famer, but still a really good player who is generally really under appreciated.  I have to admit that I spend plenty of time searching out cards of my favorite Cardinals players from yesteryear, but always seem to forget him.  I cross paths with Renteria cards every once in awhile, but really have much success in actually landing any of them.  

Last week I actually found a really cool card at a really low cost from the 2003 Topps Gallery set.  Here's a look at the card:

Currency cards have become pretty popular over the last couple of years with the coin cards that Topps has put into their Gypsy Queen products.  However, the Topps Gallery cards were a really cool forerunner for the current run of Gypsy Queen cards.  The coins in the cards were time specific to the players or place specific.  In Renteria's case the coin comes from his home country of Columbia.  The backs of the Gallery cards were really cool and had a very similar design as current Gypsy Queen cards with the other side of the coin showing through on the backside of the card.    

  

The biggest difference between the Topps Gallery Currency and Topps Gypsy Queen Currency cards is the price.  Most of the price difference is created by the fact that the Gypsy Queen cards are just serial numbered to a print run of 5.  However, the Gallery cards basically look the same and cost a fraction of the Gypsy Queen.  This Renteria card cost me less than $5 shipped and most of the Gypsy Queens cost more than $50.  

Nice Things....

I missed having a working computer and scanner earlier in the month.  I had a bunch of cards that I just took pictures of and posted.  I probably did not do some of these cards justice.  My two favorites:

Really nice.  Also this one:

Two really great looking cards and I must say that I love scanners.  Not that cameras are bad, but I feel like I have done these two cards justice.  

A Double Hit of Mr. Double

I picked up a pair of Shelby Miller autographs last weekend and duplicated the feat with a pair of Matt Carpenter bat relic cards too.  The pair of bat relics come from the 2014 Topps Series 2 set and is one of the first relics of the Cardinals infielder.  Up until this year the 2013 All-Star had only one autographed card.  This year he has picked up the pace on signing certified autographs and has also finally has a few relics cards too.  I believe that this is his third.

Carp can also be found in last year's Topps Update as an All-Star jersey and also in as a jersey card in this year's Topps set.  I am still working on the jersey card, but plan on adding the card soon.  I am a big fan of Mr. Double.  Let's revisit the time he broke Clayton Kershaw.  

Golden Riefenhauser

I have really enjoyed watching C.J. Riefenhasuer pitch the last year in Durham.  The left handed relief pitcher has been great in the high minor over the past year and managed to even make an appearance in the Futures Game last year at the All-Star break.  Appearing in the Futures Game means an almost certain appearance in the Bowman Draft set as a relic card and also in the next year's Pro Debut set.  A year after appearing in the Futures Game Riefenhauser has already appeared in the Bowman Draft set as a relic card and now....

A relic card in the Pro Debut set.  Topps cannot let a jersey hangout as a leftover.  This card is a gold parallel of the base relic and is serial numbered out of 50.  In fact this card is 50/50, not that I am into the Ebay 1/1 thing.  I am hoping that Riefenhauser might make an All-Star Game appearance this year again, but he has been hopping back an forth between Durham and Tampa.  His time in Tampa has been a little bit rough so far, but his time in the Majors has been pretty rough.  There was a good outing or two....

2014 Topps Series 2- A Few More Thoughts

I opened a jumbo box of 2014 Topps Series 2 a week or so ago at my favorite local card shop Big D's Cards in Raleigh, North Carolina.  I really enjoyed the box and had a few favorite cards that I pulled from the box.  I posted a video, but no scans.  Here's my run down with the scans along with a little something extra:

First off my jumbo box was very Joe Morgan heavy.  Two of my big hits featured the Hall of Fame second baseman.  I pulled this awesome Gold Label insert out of the box.  The card is a duplicate design of the old Gold Label sets from the late 90s, early 2000s.  The card has a metal frame and is numbered out of just 99.  Really cool pull.

My second Morgan card was a copy of his ring card.  I picked up a few of these from Series 1 and was happy to see Topps put them back into Series 2.  There are some really good names in this set that I am going to have to add to my collection.  The biggest two would have to be Mark McGwire and Ozzie Smith.  Although, the Morgan will have to stay considering he was one of the best players in the history of the Durham Bulls.

I was also happy to see Topps continue the 1989 minis set.  I pulled a few of these out of my box including an Albert Pujols and Mark McGwire.  I have the first set in Series 1 almost put together, so the new group of cards will be a good challenge.  Topps also continued over a few other cards from Series 1 with a cool twist:

This Chris Sale card is a Series 1 card that I pulled out of my Series 2 box.  The card was inserted into the packs of Series 2 as a variation with the Sabermetrics stats on the back.  Like this:

I think this is a pretty good variation and they have been pretty popular amongst collectors.  They are pretty affordable too and a little bit easier to spot than the sparkle card variations Topps has been using the last few years.  My other two hit cards from the box:

and this one.....

Which leads me to my bonus item.  There have been a few cards from the Series 2 set which I have been trying really hard to track down.  My biggest challenge has been trying to find some of the jumbo jersey and patch pieces in the set.  Really cool looking cards.  There are jumbo jersey and patch cards of Mark McGwire, Shelby Miller, and a few other Cardinals.  This was my first one I landed.

A few more are going to show up here in the next few weeks.....

Live Blog Fail and Wil Myers Durham Bulls Bobblehead

I tried to live blog a Durham Bulls game last night and guessed wrong on the night to make my first run at spontaneous blogging.  I had planned on doing a pre-game post outside the stadium, inside the stadium, and then several posts throughout the game.  The first inning went great and the score was 1-1.  During the second inning the Syracuse Chiefs managed 11 runs and were batting for 45 minutes.  By the time the Bulls ninth place hitter, Ray Olmedo, came up for the first time, the Chiefs first place hitter had batted four times.

The logistics of blogging from the ballpark worked great, the event just did not cooperate.  We will try again at the Triple A Home Run Derby and Triple A All-Star game.  Certainly a few Durham Bulls will appear, likely Mike Montgomery, and also a few of the Chiefs players I saw last night should be there too.  Steven Sousa was really impressive Nats fans.  Really, really talented player.

I made it through a few posts of my live blogging efforts, but was slightly depressed after the big second inning and never revealed what was in the box I posted during my pre-game post.

So, if you took time to read the post then it is pretty obvious that the box contained a Will Myers bobble head.  The Bulls usually do one bobble head, or statute type giveaway every year.  Last year there was Chipper Jones.  This year Myers gets the nod after the North Carolina native walked away with the American League Rookie of the Year after starting the year playing with the Durham Bulls.  I cashed in my second giveaway ticket for this bobble head after using my first one on the Bulls Championship ring.

 

Here's a look at the bobble:

Overall a really cool item and a welcome addition to my shelf of bobble heads.

Live Blog: Durham Bulls vs Syracuse Chiefs

Did I mention that I went to a Durham Bulls game earlier this year and saw a no-hitter? 

Alex Colome had a rough 2nd inning along with Doug Mathis. 

Live Blog: Durham Bulls vs Syracuse Chiefs

It's a pretty spectacular night for a game. The Bulls have Alex Colome throwing against a stout Syracuse line up which currently has them sitting on top of the International League standings. Tonight's lineup features Steven Sousa, hitting .349, Tyler Moore, and Brock Peterson. 

As mentioned before the Bulls are wearing pink jerseys. 

The Chiefs got Wil Ryhmes on base to lead off the game and he came around to score in the bottom of the first. The Bulls countered in the bottom of the first with a Hak Ju Lee single, groundout, stolen base, and Mikie Mahtook sac fly. 

Here's Mikie Mahtook right before the sac fly. More later...

Live Blog: Durham Bulls vs Syracuse Chiefs

The gates have opened and I am inside the park. There is always so much to do before games. I decided to eat and find my seats quickly tonight because there is a Boy Scouts event happening tonight. Nothing says busy concession stands like a few hundred Boys Scouts. I prefer the non-red hot dogs and a Pepsi. 

Hot dog with ketchup and mustard. No spicy mustard, just regular yellow. 

My house also uses Durham Bulls stadium cups during all fine dinners and holiday events. You cannot have enough. Still have no lineup for the Chiefs, but let's just say the can hit. Jason Simmons is making his Triple A start for the Nationals minor league affiliate. He did not fair well in his first outing against Norfolk. The Bulls are wearing pink jerseys and I got a giveaway...

I wonder what it could be.... 

Live Blog: Durham Bulls vs Syracuse Chiefs

A little warm up for something later on this summer...I am live blogging a baseball game tonight between the Durham Bulls and Syracuse Chiefs.  It's about 15 minutes until the gates open and I am chilling out in the American Tobacco campus across the street from the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. 

The Bulls enter tonight's game on the heels of a blowout loss last night, but have Alex Colome throwing tonight. In four Triple A starts this year, Colome is undefeated, 2-0, and the Bulls have won his last three starts. Colome also has a WHIP of 0.97 and a K/9 of 8.4. Colome never makes any of those top prospects lists, but I love the way he pitches. 

The rest of the Bulls line up: 

Outside of Colome, we have the slick fielding Hak Ju Lee batting lead off. I am also looking forward to seeing Mikie Mahtook. He's done well in his first half season in Triple A. Should get some love for the All-Star game next month. I will have more including the Chiefs lineup inside the park. 

Museum Millers

I recently found a pretty cool seller on Ebay who lists things in pairs.  I am not sure how this person has two copies of so many cards, but I am not complaining since they often sell for the price of one of the item.  I bought two different pairs of Cardinals cards off of him during the past week.  First of the cards to arrive was a pair of Shelby Miller autographs from this year's Topps Museum Collection.

Both cards are serial numbered out of /399 and feature a really nice signature of the Cardinals hard throwing right handed pitcher.  In my opinion, Miller has a really nice autograph and he is always very consistent with his signature.  Little difference between the two cards, just the loop in the y.  

"Something about him reminds me of Joe Magrane"

Is that Rickey Horton with the awesome comparison between hard throng Kevin Seigrist and the soft tossing Joe Magrane?

There are so many things wrong there, but it is a little too early in the morning.  

Siegrist is one of the many young hard throwing arms on the Cardinals pitching staff.  Like Magrane was throughout his career, Siegrist is currently on the disabled list.  Hopefully it will not be as bad as Magrane.  

Did you know that Joe Magrane had a certified autographed card?  It's true, it's in the 1996 Leaf Signature set.  I own one, but do you really want to see that card?  

Did you know that Kevin Siegrist also has one certified autographed card?  It's true, it's in the 2014 Topps Series 2 set.  You get a picture too.....

I dig Siegrist, so hopefully the injury thing is just a short minor set back on his way to being a long-time productive Major Leaguer for the Cardinals.  Also I am hoping that maybe Siegrist would consider signing for another card set.  Although this is a sticker autograph, so I am sure he will appear somewhere else really soon, unlike Joe Magrane.  Although he is on the MLB network, he's obnoxious.  Watch the highlights, mute Magrane.  

New Cardinals Autographs

I am really going to post a little more on Topps 2.  I promise, but time has been tight this week with my school year winding down.  Report cards, End of Grade testing, teacher evaluations....it has been a really busy week.  However, I see the light at the end of the tunnel and am looking forward to my last week of this school year.  I will also be spending a little time catching up on cards this weekend, including a few good posts on the Topps Series 2 cards.  Promise.  

In the meantime I have two other cards I picked up last week on my trip in to Big D's Card Shop to pick up and open my box of series 2 cards.  Jimmy, the owner of the store, had been looking out for cool Cardinals cards for me and ran across two really cool autographed cards.  The first card I picked up from Big D's was a Carlos Martinez autograph from last year's Topps Chrome set.  

I have another copy of this card, but this is just a really cool autograph.  Could not turn down another copy at such a great price.  The card features an on-card autograph of the Cardinals hard throwing reliever/part time starter.  My second card:

Jimmy was pretty sure that I was going to have this card, but if you remember back in the day, I had a little bit of an issue with this set.  The airbrushing in this set was pretty outrageous, but a Wacha rookie autograph is a Wacha rookie autograph regardless of the quality of airbrushing.  

Super Cheap

I attended a Durham Bulls game about two weeks ago with Jimmy, the owner of Big D's Card Shop.  We had the chance to see the Bulls take on the Pawtucket Paw Sox in what was billed to be a prime time pitching match up between Enny Romero and Anthony Ranaudo.  While Ranaudo is no longer ranked as a Top 100 prospect I have seen him pitch several times and have been quite impressed by the tall right hander.  It was a nice night too.  Here's that Bull fellow.....

Unfortunately the game turned out to be not so great for the Bulls.  Anthony Ranaudo pitched great for Pawtucket pitching 7 innings of 2 hit ball with 7 strikeouts.  Enny Romero?  Not so great.  Three innings, 8 hits, and 6 runs.  Merrill Kelly pitched great in relief, but I hate watching the Bulls lose in a stadium full of Red Sox fans.  It's painful.  

Really, Romero has had an up and down season this year.  During the month of May Enny Romero made five starts.  Three of the starts lasted less than 5 innings including an outing that lasted less than 2 innings where he gave up a grand total of six hits, three walks, and 8 runs.  The start against Pawtucket was bad, but it seems that it may have been a turning point in the season for the talented left handed starter.  

Since the start against Pawtucket Romero has posted two quality starts in a row both lasting six innings with Romero giving up a single run in each game.  It's a start.  I'm going to a few Bulls games in the next week and hope to see a good pitching performance by Romero.  

Meanwhile, it seems like collectors are still banking on the bad version of Romero, but I am counting on the talented pitcher to get a shot with the last place Rays sooner than later.  His autographed cards seem to still be floating near free.  Maybe more in the 99 cent range.  Too cheap.  

Romero has two new autographs out this year and I had neither one until last week when I picked up a copy of his Bowman autograph.  You cannot beat an autograph for less than a dollar (plus shipping) and it's really hard to find one of a guy who's in Triple A, left handed, and throws in the mid 90s.  Pretty good risk picking up a copy of some Romero cardboard.  I just a need a copy of his Prizm autograph and I am all caught up.  

The Greatest Mascot In Professional Sports In Patch Form

There are many people who will argue that mascots like The Gorilla, The Phillie Fanatic, or the San Diego Chicken are the greatest mascots in professional sports, but in my opinion nobody beats Wool E Bull, the mascot of the Durham Bulls.

We've discussed this before, but most people think the Durham Bulls mascot looks a little something like this guy from the Bull Durham movie:



and not this guy from the Durham Bulls Athletic Park and funny YouTube Videos:




Fortunately the good folks over at Topps recognize the awesomeness of Wool E Bull and have included the lovable mascot in their Pro Debut Mascot Patch set for a second year running.  Last week I was able to pick up a copy of the card off of Ebay.

I was actually able to get the gold version of the card which is limited to a print run of just 50 cards.  Wool E is rocking the camo jersey from the Military Appreciation Night the Bulls hosted at their park last year.  Of course, I will probably end up with the regular version of the card at some point too.

A Quick Look at 2014 Topps Series 2 Set...

A quick video I made a few days ago about Topps Series 2.  Picked up a Jumbo Box at Big D's Sports Cards in Raleigh, NC.  More on this book this evening.....

Ramblings on a Computer....

I try to make regular posts on my blog.  I feel like I am pretty reliable with posting something here almost everyday, but this month has been sort of a black cloud.  It started a few weeks back when my trusty IMac started to fritz out.  I had bought my IMac back in 2009 while I was in grad school at NC State.  I was definitely nervous to buy a Mac.  They are more expensive than IBM compatibles and I was not totally familiar with them entering school.  Five years later I can say that I sold on Macs.  I shopped other computers, but I would not buy anything else at this point.

While I was waiting on my new IMac I still had my work computer that I could have used for blogging, but sometimes when you spend your time working with nine and ten year olds things happen to computers.  Last week the power source on my work computer came loose making it impossible to charge.  It was kind of like I had a black cloud following me around.

My IMac finally arrived and it took a day or so to set up and pull files off of my cloud.  My printer/scanner from my previous computer died.  Don't buy a HP.  At long last, I have a computer.  Just in time to type report cards, finish my end of year summative review, and maybe sit down and catch up on baseball cards.

I understand that people still came and read my blog during the past week, despite the fact that the posts I made were typed on a phone and the pictures were snapped with an IPhone or IPad, not scanned.  There were more than a few cards I wish I could go back and scan, but I do not have that much time this week.  Instead, these were my three favorite pick ups of the past week with nice scans.  All belong to Durham Bulls pitcher Mike Montgomery.....

I was so incredibly happy to be able to complete the "rainbow" of Montgomery cards out of the 2014 Pro Debut set, but was not really big on my IPhone photo which squeezed all three cards into one picture.  It will take me a week or two to catch up with all of the cards, but I am excited to be back to blogging and very thankful for the new computer.