Ernesto Frieri - buh bye

It wasn't hard to predict the Angels were going cut bait on Frieri [sooner than later] and he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Jason Grilli - I hoped Frieri would have turned around, but the guy who was an effective pitcher for the Angels the past two seasons was toast.

The Angels, In Order $15 repack

I got a bunch of assorted cards to go through put together by Tom at The Angels, In Order - included was a set or two of newspaper inserts featuring the 1995 California Angels; I thought they'd be sort of actual cards, but they are printed on some kind of thin magazine stock, so they might not be sturdy enough to be autographed in-person.

1970 Topps Jay Johnstone #485
1976 Topps Traded Bobby Bonds #380T
1979 Topps Tony Solaita #18
1979 Topps Paul Hartzell #402
1979 Topps Terry Humphrey #503
1981 Topps Larry Harlow #121
1981 Topps Dave LaRoche #529
1981 Topps Joe Rudi #701
1981 Topps Jim Barr #717
1983 Topps Purina Reggie Jackson #19 of 33
1983 Topps Purina Rod Carew #17 of 33
1984 Topps Bob Grich #315
1984 Topps Mike Witt #499
1984 Topps Rod Carew #600
1984 Topps Fred Lynn #680
1984 Topps Andy Hassler #719
1986 Donruss Mark McLemore #35
1986 Sportsflics Doug DeCinces #173
1986 Sportsflics Don Sutton #175
1986 Topps Dick Schofield #311
1986 Topps Don Sutton #335
1986 Topps Al Holland #369
1986 Topps Urbano Lugo #373
1986 Topps Bobby Grich #486
1986 Topps Darrell Miller #524
1986 Topps Jerry Narron #543
1986 Topps Kirk McCaskill #628
1986 Topps Mini Leaders Gary Pettis #7
1987 Topps Mini Leaders Donnie Moore #46
1987 Topps Mini Leaders Gary Pettis #47
1987 Topps Mini Leaders Mike Witt #48
1988 Topps Mini Leaders DeWayne Buice #4
1988 Topps Mini Leaders Brian Downing #5
1988 Donruss Devon White #8
1988 Donruss DeWayne Buice #58
1988 Donruss Mike Witt #86
1988 Donruss Jack Lazorko #160
1988 Donruss Mark McLemore #181
1988 Donruss Gary Pettis #210
1988 Donruss Dick Schofield #233
1988 Donruss Brian Downing #258
1988 Donruss Jack Howell #333
1988 Donruss Gus Polidor #356
1988 Donruss Kirk McCaskill #381
1988 Donruss Greg Minton #505
1988 Donruss Gary Lucas #579
1988 Donruss Donnie Moore #621
1988 Donruss Baseball's Best Dan Petry #139
1988 Donruss Baseball's Best Johnny Ray #171
1988 Donruss Baseball's Best Dick Schofield #195
1988 Donruss Baseball's Best Devon White #227
1988 Donruss Baseball's Best Mark McLemore #251
1988 Donruss Baseball's Best Mike Witt #307
1988 Donruss The Rookies Bryan Harvey #53
1988 Topps Traded Chili Davis #32T
1988 Topps Traded Bryan Harvey #45T
1988 Topps Traded Dan Petry #85T
1988 Topps Traded Cookie Rojas 97T
1989 Fleer Update Lee Stevens #U-16
1989 Sportsflics Bob Boone #40
1989 Sportsflics Devon White #16
1989 Sportsflics Mike Witt #197
1989 Topps Jim Eppard #42
1989 Topps Mark McLemore #51
1989 Topps Mike Witt #190
1989 Topps Tony Armas #332
1989 Topps Bob Boone #404 - x2
1989 Topps Moose Stubing #444
1989 Topps Johnny Ray #455 - x2
1989 Topps Mark McLemore #547
1989 Topps Devon White #602
1989 Topps Bryan Harvey #632
1989 Topps Stewart Cliburn #649
1989 Topps Dante Bichette #761
1989 Topps Mini Leaders Johnny Ray #50
1990 Classic Johnny Ray #63
1990 Classic Bert Blyleven #142
1990 Pacific Baseball Legends Bobby Grich #31
1992 Fleer Mark Langston #63 
1993 Donruss Studio J.T. Snow #58
1993 Donruss Triple Play Chad Curtis #26 of 30
1993 Topps Finest J.T. Snow #156
1993 Topps Stadium Club Chili Davis #611
1993 Topps Stadium Club Scott Sanderson #679
1993 Topps Stadium Club Troy Percival #681
1993 Topps Stadium Club Russ Springer #736
1993 Topps Stadium Club Team Chuck Crim #2
1993 Topps Stadium Club Team Scott Sanderson #7
1993 Topps Stadium Club Team Rene Gonzalez #15
1993 Topps Stadium Club Team John Orton #17
1993 Topps Stadium Club Team Joe Grahe #18
1993 Topps Stadium Club Team Chad Curtis #23
1993 Topps Stadium Club Team DeShawn Warren #25
1994 Topps Chad Curtis #56
1994 Topps Russ Springer #113
1994 Topps Rene Gonzalez #141
1994 Topps Chili Davis #265
1994 Topps Stan Javier #446
1994 Topps Phil Leftwich #471
1994 Topps Rod Correia #532
1994 Topps Luis Polonia #566
1994 Topps Hilly Hathaway #596
1994 Upper Deck Ryan Hancock #523
1995 Leaf Garret Anderson #2 of 18 - Leaf Gold Rookies insert
1995 Score Summit Garret Anderson #122
1995 Upper Deck Collector's Choice Todd Greene #34
1995 Upper Deck Collector's Choice SE Andrew Lorraine #13
1996 Pinnacle Garret Anderson #5
1996 Pinnacle Jim Edmonds #221
1996 Topps Stadium Club Garret Anderson #227
1996 Upper Deck Lee Smith #288
1996 Upper Deck Troy Percival #289
1997 Circa Eddie Murray #33
1997 Circa Mark Gubicza #262
1997 Donruss Studio Garret Anderson #82
1998 Pacific Online Jim Edmonds #5
1998 Pinnacle Inside Jim Edmonds #64
1998 Pinnacle Performers Jim Edmonds #58
1998 Pinnacle Performers Todd Greene #114
1998 Topps Dave Hollins #53
1998 Topps Jim Edmonds #75
1998 Topps Allen Watson #211
1999 Fleer Tradition Darin Erstad #113
1999 Bowman Seth Etherton #31
1999 Bowman Chrome Chuck Abbott #191
1999 Upper Deck Challengers for the 70 Troy Glaus #42
1999 Upper Deck Choice Troy Glaus #39
1999 Upper Deck Choice Troy Glaus #5 - Starquest insert
2000 Bowman John Lackey #80
2000 Bowman Chrome Mike Colangelo #276
2000 Fleer Tradition Update Lou Pote / Bengie Molina #U21
2000 Fleer Tradition Update Derrick Turnbow #U56
2000 Fleer Tradition Update Adam Kennedy #U64
2000 Fleer Tradition Update Keith Luuloa / Eric Weaver #U112
2000 Fleer Tradition Update Juan Alvarez #119
2000 Skybox Impact Troy Glaus #5
2000 Skybox Impact Kent Bottenfield #92
2000 Skybox Impact Adam Kennedy #135
2000 Topps Troy Glaus #94
2000 Topps Garret Anderson #97
2000 Topps Jim Edmonds #107
2000 Topps Mo Vaughn #338
2000 Upper Deck Gold Reserve Mo Vaughn #1
2000 Upper Deck Ionix Mo Vaughn #1 
2000 Upper Deck Legends Mo Vaughn #3
2000 Upper Deck MVP Garret Anderson #1
2000 Upper Deck Victory Ramon Ortiz #7
2000 Upper Deck Victory Ben Molina #8
2000 Upper Deck Victory Jim Edmonds #10 - x2 / one was creased and beat up
2001 Fleer Tradition Mo Vaughn #21
2001 Fleer Tradition Scott Spiezio #169
2001 Fleer Tradition Bengie Molina #176
2001 Fleer Tradition Darin Erstad #191
2001 Fleer Tradition Garret Anderson #227
2001 Topps Garret Anderson #4
2001 Topps Darin Erstad #80
2001 Topps Troy Glaus #175
2001 Topps Mike Scioscia #324
2001 Topps Troy Glaus #390
2001 Upper Deck MVP Bengie Molina #6
2001 Upper Deck Prospects Premieres Jake Woods #2
2001 Upper Deck Prospects Premieres Ryan Budde #5
2001 Upper Deck Vintage Troy Glaus #3
2002 Fleer E-X Garret Anderson #65
2002 Fleer Tradition Update Troy Glaus #U363
2003 Upper Deck Troy Glaus #S1 - Superior Sluggers insert
2004 Fleer Legacy Vladimir Guerrero #30
2004 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites Mickey Rivers #18
2005 Fleer Authentix Vladimir Guerrero #61
2005 Fleer Skybox Autographics Garret Anderson #2
2007 Tristar Prospects Plus Jonathan Bachanov #52
2007 Upper Deck Artifacts Vladimir Guerrero #15
2007 Upper Deck Elements Jered Weaver #21
2007 Upper Deck Goudey Garret Anderson #40 - Red back
2007 Upper Deck Goudey Jered Weaver #106
2007 Upper Deck Goudey Francisco Rodriguez #123
2007 Upper Deck Goudey Orlando Cabrera #168
2007 Upper Deck Goudey Chone Figgins #192 - Red back
2008 Topps Update and Highlights Nick Adenhart #UH 129 - base and Gold parallel
2008 Upper Deck Darren O'Day #719
2009 Bowman Chrome Will Smith #BCP 13
2009 Bowman Chrome Luis Jimenez #BCP 22
2009 Bowman Chrome Anthony Ortega #BCP 57
2009 Topps Bobby Abreu #367 - Gold parallel serial #'d 0930/2009
2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Jered Weaver #171
2010 Bowman Chrome Alexia Amarista #BCP 98
2010 Topps Chrome Bobby Abreu #4
2010 Topps Chrome Howie Kendrick #16
2010 Topps Chrome Erick Aybar #34
2010 Topps Chrome Kendry Morales #56 - refractor parallel
2010 Topps Chrome Torii Hunter #115 - base and refractor parallel
2010 Topps Chrome Jered Weaver #148
2010 Upper Deck Chris Pettit #24
2011 Bowman Draft C.J. Cron #BDPP 25
2011 Bowman Platinum Hank Conger #7
2011 Bowman Platinum Vernon Wells #88
2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Torii Hunter #WC 1 - Wall Catcher insert
2012 Topps Tyler Chatwood #317
2012 Topps Update Series Chris Iannetta #US 93 - base and Target red parallel
2013 Bowman Nick Maronde #129 - Gold bordered parallel
2013 Bowman Platinum Jered Weaver #3
2013 Topps Jered Weaver #36
2013 Topps Archives C.J. Wilson #75
2013 Topps Archives Jered Weaver #80
2013 Topps Heritage Joe Blanton #372
2013 Topps Opening Day Jered Weaver #32

Scott Kazmir and Ubaldo Jimenez

The Cleveland Indians might be contenders this season because of the resurgence of Kazmir and to a certain extent, Ubaldo Jimenez - it's scary to think the Indians will look upon these two guys to help them contend for the rest of the year, but I hope they can continue what they've been doing.

Lately, Kazmir has looked like the way he was when he pitched in Tampa Bay - though he took the Angels for a ride and had to sort of rebuild his career, including playing for an independent league team in 2012.

When the Indians signed him in the off-season, I thought this guy wasn't going to make the MLB roster - no matter what he did, I'm always expecting him to fail because of how he sucked so badly with the Angels.

If Kazmir hadn't gone through a hiccup in his career - maybe he's just another good MLB pitcher, but there is something interesting and maybe inspiring when a professional athlete fails and has to find a way back to where he once was.

Maybe I'm warming up to the Scott Kazmir comeback story of 2013 - though I wonder how long he can keep it up and whether he's found new life.

Jimenez will probably be never be better than a No. 4 starter but he has put up more serviceable, if not great numbers this year - it remains to be seen how many 'dud' starts both he and Kazmir have left and how many starts they have left, where the results mimic some of their early MLB successes.

Collecting topics focus No. 1 - the facial hair guys

I'm not prone to collect baseball cards [except to try and get autographed], but I still like flipping through all sorts of cards, especially with a unique focus - in recent years other collectors / card bloggers have been more proficient in hoarding and showcasing a variety of baseball cards that showcase a unique, sometimes quirky view of the game through baseball card images.

If I feel a little behind on all things related to actual baseball card collecting, I like the idea I can still build up my collecting topics collection - even though right now I'm trying to focus on only cards of players / coaches with facial hair.

This means for an indefinite period of time, I'm basically keeping an eye out for facial hair cards I've added this year - as well as trying to figure out if I have 100 percent of the cards listed in my database in-hand.

Once I figure out how to keep all the facial hair cards I have together - then I'll move into another collecting topic to swim in for a while.

My official position as far as cards out I don't have in my collection is I don't have to have them all - but I'd like to be able to discover and add 'new' cards here through pack breaks, quarter box digs, et al.

Featured autograph - Charlie Dees

I picked this certified autograph card for my all-time Angels autograph collection since I never bothered tried sending a TTM request to Dees - using a original 1964 Topps unsigned card I picked up in a trade with a cardboard blogging icon.

2013 Topps Heritage blaster recap #3

After having tried two Walmart blasters, I decided to impulsively get a Target one - just to see what a red bordered parallel would look like [as if there is a difference when these Heritage parallels are basically the same cards].

Pack one
#7 Buster Posey / Andrew McCutchen / Ryan Braun / Yadier Molina - 2012 Topps NL Batting Leaders
#190 Derek Jeter
#157 Charlie Manuel
#200 Clayton Kershaw
#76 Ron Washington
#181 Jose Valverde

#499 Jesus Montero - SP
#221 J.J. Hardy
#264 Vernon Wells

Pack two
#284 Yasmani Grandal
#215 Francisco Liriano
#289 Lonnie Chisenhall
#270 Trevor Plouffe
#278 Shaun Marcum
#271 Matt Dominguez
#350 Matt Cain - Target red border variation
#59 Adam Wainwright
#369 Greg Holland

Pack three
#61 Kirk Nieuwenhuis
#357 Ryan Hanigan
#225 Jason Kubel
#236 Jim Johnson
#67 Davey Johnson
#240 Allen Craig

#HC14 Martin Prado - Chrome parallel serial #'d 970/999
#208 Juan Pierre
#140 Carlos Pena

Pack four
#112 Jarrod Saltalamacchia
#224 Jamey Carroll
#375 Austin Kearns
#342 Homer Bailey
#377 John Axford
#113 Johan Santana
#NF-MLK Martin Luther King Jr. - News Flashback insert
#353 Chris Heisey
#394 Brandon Inge

Pack five
#301 Ernesto Frieri
#217 Alex Gordon
#122 Hisashi Iwakuma
#302 Neil Walker
#48 Peter Bourjos
#304 Paul Goldschmidt

#491 Wei-Yin Chen - SP
#219 Stephen Strasburg / Gio Gonzalez - Young Aces subset
#417 Juan Francisco

Pack six
#143 Clint Hurdle
#189 Freddie Freeman
#283 Wily Peralta
#338 Tommy Hunter
#125 Yu Darvish
#17 Nick Markakis
#NAP-SC Starlin Castro - New Age Performers insert
#196 Chris Carter
#82 Pablo Sandoval

Pack seven
#286 Tom Wilhelmsen
#259 Miguel Montero
#390 Brandon Belt
#328 Patrick Corbin
#104 Jonathan Papelbon
#385 Glen Perkins

#490 Buster Posey - SP
#410 John Lackey
#114 Cody Ross

Pack eight
#54 Ron Gardenhire
#178 Everth Cabrera
#43 Brandon Morrow
#248 Jim Leyland
#169 Elvis Andrus
#50 Curtis Granderson

#BF-FR Frank Robinson - Baseball Flashback insert
#241 Geovany Soto
#354 Sean Marshall

2013 Topps Heritage hobby pack recaps

I grabbed three random packs [$3 each] from the open box displayed on the counter of the card shop I go to - even though I'd already went on a retail run for 2013 Heritage, I wanted to try some Heritage 'H.'

Pack one
#56 Ross Detwiler
#210 Jacoby Ellsbury
#421 Wellington Castillo
#373 Ted Lilly

#HC 3 Evan Longoria - Chrome refractor serial #'d 547/564

#CCR-PK Paul Konerko - Clubhouse Collection relic
#36 Ben Zobrist
#325 Rafael Betancourt

Pack two
#393 Pat Neshek
#193 Garrett Jones
#268 Justin Ruggiano
#10 Miguel Cabrera / Curtis Granderson / Josh Hamilton - 2012 American League Home Run Leaders
#116 Chris Herrmann / Nick Maronde - 2013 Rookie Stars
#320 Coco Crisp

#124 Ryan Cook - Venezuelan parallel
#323 Danny Espinosa
#212 Edinson Volquez

Pack three
#314 Shane Victorino

#22 Andrelton Simmons
#239 Joel Hanrahan
#254 Nathan Eovaldi
#80 Jay Bruce
#232 Bob Melvin

#496 Clay Buchholz - SP
#11 Chase Headley / Ryan Braun / Alfonso Soriano - 2012 National League RBI Leaders
#146 Thomas Neal / Jay Chapman - 2013 Rookie Stars

2013 Topps Heritage blaster recap #2

Pack one
#166 Dustin Ackley
#102 Kirk Gibson
#328 Patrick Corbin
#104 Jonathan Papelbon
#385 Glen Perkins
#222 J.P. Arencibia

#475 Edwin Encarnacion - SP
#54 Ron Gardenhire
#308 J.J. Putz

Pack two
#5 R.A. Dickey / Clayton Kershaw / Cole Hamels - 2012 National League Strikeout Leaders
#180 Carl Crawford
#169 Elvis Andrus
#50 Curtis Granderson
#386 Jared Burton
#182 Felix Doubront
#NF-J Jeopardy - News Flashback insert
#387 Bobby Parnell
#120 Josh Beckett

Pack three
#275 Kevin Youkilis
#72 Chase Utley
#118 Robin Ventura
#6 Justin Verlander / Max Scherzer / Felix Hernandez - 2012 American League Strikeout Leaders
#363 Neftali Feliz
#381 Fernando Martinez
#TN-FH Whitey Ford / Felix Hernandez - Then and Now insert
#309 Michael Cuddyer
#227 Jason Motte

Pack four
#384 Ryan Doumit
#167 Christian Garcia / Eury Perez - 2013 Rookie Stars
#313 Stephen Drew
#192 Brandon McCarthy
#324 Terry Collins
#388 Ali Solis / Casey Kelly - 2013 Rookie Stars
#NAP-BB Billy Butler - New Age Performers insert
#31 Asdrubal Cabrera
#333 Mike Minor

Pack five
#238 Joe Nathan
#359 Wilton Lopez
#401 Alex Presley
#28 Anthony Gose
#117 Colby Rasmus
#424 Logan Forsythe

#464 R.A. Dickey - SP
#124 Ryan Cook
#20 James McDonald

Pack six
#423 Matt Cain / Buster Posey - Tops in NL
#223 James Loney
#170 Jon Lester
#51 Kenley Jansen
#134 Daniel Descalso
#366 Jason Castro
#BF-CY Carl Yastrzemski - Baseball Flashback insert
#389 Frank Francisco
#175 Alfonso Soriano

Pack seven
#106 Mike Leake
#79 Chris Johnson
#14 Josh Wall / Paco Rodriguez - 2013 Rookie Stars
#420 Bronson Arroyo
#235 Jhonny Peralta
#109 Zack Cozart

#454 Gio Gonzalez - SP
#80 Jay Bruce
#130 Philip Humber

Pack eight
#364 Russell Martin
#276 Nick Swisher
#344 Andrew Bailey
#267 Marco Estrada
#315 Rajai Davis
#171 Derek Holland

#250 Prince Fielder - Walmart blue border variation
#232 Bob Melvin
#10 Miguel Cabrera / Curtis Granderson / Josh Hamilton - 2012 American League Home Run Leaders

2013 Topps Heritage blaster recap

I picked up a couple of blaster boxes [$19.98 each] and a jumbo rack [$5.97, already recapped] from a Walmart - I don't like the idea of the one-per-box blue border variation card because it's not unique; just another parallel created that doesn't add any value to these boxes...unless of course we fast forward to the future and realize only then that these cards were harder to find than others and some crazy collectors are willing to pay premium prices for singles from this parallel insert set...I don't think that is going to happen...

Pack one
#52 Jayson Werth
#153 David Murphy
#300 Jason Heyward
#392 Mike Baxter
#298 Buck Showalter
#71 Carlos Gomez

#428 Ryan Howard - SP
#216 Jason Kipnis
#202 Luke Hochevar

Pack two
#191 Anthony Rizzo
#119 Dan Uggla
#418 Bryan Morris / Justin Wilson - 2013 Rookie Stars
#127 Edwin Jackson
#244 Jon Jay
#100 Robinson Cano
#BF-BG Bob Gibson - Baseball Flashback insert
#95 B.J. Upton
#258 Michael Young

Pack three
#253 Sergio Romo
#348 Miguel Gonzalez
#63 Jason Grilli
#163 Gaby Sanchez
#201 Manny Machado / Dylan Bundy - 2013 Rookie Stars
#330 Johnny Cueto

#451 Jake Peavy - SP
#183 Fernando Rodney
#73 Steve Lombardozzi

Pack four
#280 Ryan Vogelsong
#399 Dale Sveum
#281 Adam Warren / Melky Mesa - 2013 Rookie Stars
#15 Drew Storen
#3 Gio Gonzalez / R.A. Dickey / Johnny Cueto / Lance Lynn - 2012 National League Pitching Leaders
#273 Matt Moore
#NAP-CG Curtis Granderson - New Age Performer insert
#226 Steven Lerud / Luis Antonio Jimenez - 2013 Rookie Stars
#7 Buster Posey / Andrew McCutchen / Ryan Braun / Yadier Molina - 2012 National League Batting Leaders

Pack five
#139 Sergio Romo / Buster Posey - Break Out of the Broom / 2012 World Series Game #4
#310 Mark Ellis
#251 Juan Nicasio
#42 Tommy Milone
#343 Daniel Nava
#214 Jean Segura
#TN-MD Eddie Mathews / Adam Dunn - Then and Now insert
#284 Yasmani Grandal
#142 Daniel Murphy

Pack six
#307 Dan Straily
#99 Tim Lincecum
#119 Corey Hart
#334 Kurt Suzuki
#93 Christian Friedrich
#206 Huston Street

#MM-DJ Derek Jeter - Memorable Moments insert
#61 Kirk Nieuwenhuis
#357 Ryan Hanigan

Pack seven
#349 Ian Stewart
#230 Mark Reynolds
#179 Justin Maxwell
#326 Geraldo Parra
#272 Matt Joyce
#160 David Freese
#458 David Price
#225 Jason Kubel
#49 Brett Jackson

Pack eight
#131 Dan Haren
#260 Drew Stubbs
#90 Joe Mauer
#87 Bruce Bochy
#176 Ervin Santana
#254 Nathan Eovaldi
#447 Felix Hernandez - Walmart blue border variation
#112 Jarrod Saltalamacchia
#224 Jamey Carroll

2013 Topps Heritage retail jumbo pack recap

Maybe the card stock is a little thinner and the cards don't have the same texture and feel as Heritage cards from other years - the cards seem a little cleaner in-hand and the images are a little sharper than in previous years [where Topps would doctor the images for a 'faux' retro look].

Top section

#267 Marco Estrada
#159 Desmond Jennings
#233 Jeremy Hellickson
#389 Frank Francisco
#175 Alfonso Soriano
#80 Jay Bruce

#BF-SS Shea Stadium - Baseball Flashbacks insert
#106 Mike Leake
#364 Russell Martin

#26 Angel Pagan - not quite a star but after bouncing around early in his MLB career, he helped the San Francisco Giants win the 2012 World Series and has established himself as a borderline All-Star talent.

Bottom Section

#14 Josh Wall / Paco Rodriguez - 2013 Rookie Stars
#420 Bronson Arroyo
#344 Andrew Bailey
#133 Chris Perez
#53 Tyler Pastornicky
#333 Mike Minor
#124 Ryan Cook
#401 Alex Presley

#423 Matt Cain / Buster Posey - Tops in NL subset
#223 James Loney