Featured autograph - Gordon Beckham

From a f/s listing in a Facebook group I belong to, this was 1 of 3 IP/TTM autograph cards I picked up for $2 each - while I made sure to get a certified autograph of Beckham early in his pro career, he did not seem like he was an easy player to get an autograph from IP/TTM.

Coming out of college, I thought Beckham was going to be a big league star, but despite sticking around for 12 years - he was more of an up-and-down disappointment than a player to build around.

Featured autograph - Huston Street

It's amazing how the Angels bullpen has been revamped from early in the season - it wasn't that long ago that duds like Ernesto Frieri, Nick Maronde, Yoslan Herrera, Rich Hill, Wade LeBlanc, Josh Wall, et al were trotted out to pitch in Angels games.

I don't expect the Angels' bullpen to be perfect for the rest of the year but they seem more competent right now - general manager Jerry Dipoto really did an about-face and tried to flush as many of the turds down the toilet to upgrade the Halos relief squad.

In addition to Joe Smith, the resurgence of Kevin Jepsen and the promotion of relief prospect Mike Morin - the acquisitions of Jason Grilli, Joe Thatcher and Street have made the Angels' bullpen a strength.

Featured autograph - Adrian Beltre

Looks like he's playing his way into some serious Hall of Fame consideration - though he still an active player and will probably need to duplicate what he has done on a year-to-year basis for the next three or four seasons.

It's kind of interesting how his career evolved into his 30's - after being a good but kind of mediocre player after his big season with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2004.

I was able to get my 2010 Topps Allen and Ginter signed by Beltre before a Texas Rangers vs. Angels game in Anaheim - he's been pretty good about signing over the years when given the opportunity to sign, though at times it is obvious he doesn't want to deal with the hassle of people trying to shove things in his face.

Featured autograph - Pablo Sandoval

I was able to get a 2010 Topps Allen and Ginter Bobby Abreu card autographed for an acquaintance and from his list of extras - I picked out a 2010 Topps Allen and Ginter autographed card of Giants slugger Pablo Sandoval, which I received after I'd mailed out the Abreu card.

Featured autograph - Joel Pineiro

After getting Jered Weaver's autograph at Angels FanFest, I decided to jump in one last line when I saw it was Joel Pineiro signing - there was security guard holding up a sign that there would be no guaranteed autographs beyond a certain point; the security guy moved with the line so at any time they can stop the signing or whatever.

I was able to reach the table where Pineiro was signing and got him to sign a 2010 Topps Allen and Ginter - he isn't an impossible autograph to get by any means, but another guy who maybe trickier to worry about getting during the regular season.

Relief pitcher Kevin Jepsen was signing with Pineiro and I got a card signed for my friend - it looks like Jepsen busted out a full signature instead of just the 'quick' autograph he typically signs, so I probably should have a card for myself to get signed.

That was pretty much it for autographs at the Angels FanFest - various fans got various things signed and they got to walk up to weary Angels players looking to finally start 2011 regular season.

Featured autographs - Maicer Izturis and Howard Kendrick

My friend and I ended up at the Rich Thompson / Matt Palmer line at the Angels FanFest - I think all I had for Palmer was a 2010 Topps Target retro, which I guess I should get signed sooner than later, even though he is generally a good signer.

My friend and I were almost close to reaching the table with Thompson and Palmer before the players switched off - the new signers were Maicer Izturis and Howard Kendrick, which was actually a good thing since getting those guys can be tricky to get during the season.

Hopefully Izturis stays relatively healthy for the entire year while Kendrick sort of builds upon what he has done in the Major Leagues so far - he has shown the ability to be a good Major League player, but I think he can get a little better.

Featured autographs - Chris Petit and Andrew Romine