Trading Post: A Load of Thanks!

Winters in Portland, OR can be a bear. They are dark and grey, and wet, and sometimes snowy, which can shut down the entire city. I wake up to the darkness and drive to work in the rain, and pretty much come home in the same conditions. They say that the days are getting longer, but I suspect that the clouds are getting thicker to block out those extra few minutes of daylight.

However, nothing beats the winter blues in Portland better then receiving some bright, yellow envelopes in the mailbox. Of course this time of year I am pretty much feeling around a dark box and stumbling on the familiar fluffy packages. Seriously, you could put a mousetrap in the mailbox and I would find out the hard way.

I was very fortunate to receive several packages in the last couple of days and would love to share the highlights with you!

The first package comes from Ed at Roll out the Barrel. I have a particular fondness for Ed as he was the one who sent me one of my first packages ever since beginning collecting last May, and those cards helped me complete my first set, Topps 2009. I always love checking in on Ed and his blog, which is dedicated to everything Milwaukee Brewers. I think that the Brewers are a pretty kick-ass team to cheer for, they have a mighty vegan, an all-star outfielder, phenom favorite Yovani Gallardo, and Bob Uecker. Nothing beats watching the sausage races or the Brewer mascot go down the slide after a home run. Its just good fun, and Ed displays a lot of that in his writing. Definitely worth checking out. Here are the highlights.
Three Red Sox and King Felix. I love the Pedroia Propaganda card and the three pitching greats.

Keeping with the pitching phenom theme, Ed sent over Dice-K, a tri-card, and probably phenom fave #2 behind Tommy Hanson, Mr Tim Lincecum. I am looking forward to seeing if Tim Lincecum can win a third straight Cy Young award (can you tell I am ready for some baseball)?

Ed also kindly heeded my call for Topps Heritage 2009, and sent over a healthy number to subtract from my quest to reach 1-720. THANK YOU. I want to knock that baby out and be done with it. It's 2010 for Pete's sake! Again, please send some Brewer love to Roll out the Barrel!

Package number two comes from Dan in Arizona. Dan participated recently in my "pick a team" promotion and I gladly sent some Diamondbacks down Arizona way. Dan graciously contributed six great Heritage high numbers to the cause, one of those being a short print of Aaron Hill. Those SP's are a bear, so I thank you a ton for getting me a step closer! Let me know if you ever need more DBacks.

This beauty is courtesy of the notorious PAB from A player to be named later. Also a participant in the "pick any team" promo, Rangers were the order of the day. I sent out Rangers, and magically it came back as Red Sox! I mentioned in previous posts how I thought that the relics in SP Legendary Cuts were some of the nicest I have seen all year. This one is fantastic as it is of one of my favorite players and it is pair with the historic Yaz. Thanks so much for this sweet addition to both my Red Sox and historic players wing (hmm, which do I file it under). There was another great card in this set, a dual relic of Varitek and Fisk. It has thus far eluded me but hopefully it pops up on the Bay again at some point.

Last, but certainly not least I received a great package from Mr Scott at Mr Scotts Baseball Cards. I learned of Mr Scott through his contributions at Wax Heaven. Mr Scott busts a lot of product, and always does some fine review posts. Without a doubt Mr Scott puts a lot of effort and thought into his posts and it is definitely worth looking into. The contents of this package were three-fold. Mr Scott sent me a healthy bunch of Topps Heritage, and also chipped in several of my beloved, but impossible to complete, Goodwin Champions. Also included in the package was a nice little surprise nugget shown above, a very classy and fantastic Captured On Canvas King Felix relic from Masterpieces 2008. Seriously, was their any cooler product out their in 2007 and 2008? I really hope this product makes a comeback on of these days.

Mr. Scott, you went above and beyond and I owe you some Yankees. Though a bit thin on them at the moment, I am a bit of a Yankee magnet, and I promise to send you something soon. Thanks again.

And thank you to everybody for helping me knock out my Heritage and Goodwin sets. Every card helps!