TTM autographs received: Juan Marichal and Juan Guzman

Marichal signed my two cards in blue Sharpie - I worried I’d have to wait for this one, especially when I enclosed $20, but it only took about a couple of weeks for a successful response.

I’ve had successes trickle in from requests I’ve made in January and maybe TTM is a thing again - maybe getting a Marichal motivates me to try my luck with some of the guys that require a small fee to sign cards [without going through an 'official' middle-man of sorts].

Guzman signed my cards [1997 Fleer pictured] in about two weeks - he had a good debut run back in 1991 and I remember his rookies released the following season meant something for a little bit as he looked like a star in the making.

While his final career tally doesn't look so bad, the former Toronto Blue Jays star never was able to replicate his early successes - due to a number of reasons, the middle of his career was up-and-down as he turned into 'just a guy.'

TTM autographs received: Al Kaline

The 82-year old Kaline signed my cards in blue Sharpie in 10 days - he is a fairly consistent TTM signer, even though I've read he can be grumpy in person and at times signs a sloppier 'Angry Al' version of his autograph.

I've been holding off on sending to him, but he isn't getting any younger, so I finally scrounged up a TTM request - with the appropriate amount of cash money for Kaline to sign three of his Topps Allen and Ginter cards and a relic card I pulled out of a $50 pack of cards.

Because the card had a shiny, glossy surface, I wanted to prep the card with more effort - trying to make it so an autograph has less of a chance of getting smeared or streaked, especially when I'm trying to get the card signed randomly TTM as opposed to an organized signing.

Relic cards are usually thicker and I didn't want to take a chance that the card would get wrecked using a regular envelope - to help insulate the thicker card in the 6x9 manila SASE envelope I enclosed with my request, I cut up a piece of a bubble mailer used as a 'holder' when my cards were sent back to me.

TTM autographs received: Jim Rice

I sent $20 and a couple of Topps Allen and Ginter cards to Rice and got them back signed in about 10 days - his average certified autographs don't go for much, but it's more surprising that he's been responding to recent TTM requests.

Cash money always helps, but Rice has been a notorious grouch in-person and he just seems like a guy who'd probably 'more' than is reasonable - to scribble on your personal items sent.

As is, as long as the 'consensus' is that whatever things he's signed are good - then it's kind of nice that he may have loosened up.

Featured autograph - Orlando Cepeda

I don't think the Hall of Famer's autograph is rare, but he's old and you typically have to pay to get him to autograph something through a private signing perhaps - so while an outing to get someone's 'free autograph' at MLB All-Star Fan Fest isn't without its expenses, waiting time and other inconveniences, it's kind of a ritual to get something signed in-person as opposed to purchasing an autograph from a memorabilia dealer on eBay or something.

Featured autograph - Daniel Nava

I was finally able to get Nava's autograph, though this one is a 'supposed' set card [2014 Topps Allen and Ginter] as opposed to an add to my all-time Angels collection - the Bible verse he inscribes [Matthew 19:26 - “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”] gives his scribble some personality otherwise.

Buyer beware II - a resolution

It pisses me off when I pick up something online and don't get the item within a certain, noted time - but I guess I can understand if a seller occasionally goofs up, as long as there doesn't seem to be any malicious intent on their part.

I thought I got skunked on a 2014 Allen and Ginter hand collated set purchase on eBay - in-between the 'dead period' where I didn't know what happened, I went and picked up another set from another seller just to have something, if I had to go fight for a refund.

I contacted the seller where I bought the first set from through eBay's Resolution Center last week - I was surprised to actually get a response a few days later.

The seller said he'd forgotten to ship my set and would do so using Priority shipping - there was finally a tracking number to indicate the set had been shipped and after a few days, my set finally was in-hand.

Dug into the quarter boxes at my LCS

1979 Topps Don Hood #667 - I like the perfectly coiffed stache.

1993 Pinnacle Luis Polonia #31 - I randomly leafed through some Angels cards and realized Polonia is wearing a retro uniform.

1995 Upper Deck SP Championship Series Chili Davis #133 - I like him grimacing as I could only imagine the pitch he thought was a ball, was actually called a strike.
2014 Topps Allen and Ginter Shelby Miller #29
2014 Topps Allen and Ginter Taijuan Walker #64
2014 Topps Allen and Ginter Matt Adams #79
2014 Topps Allen and Ginter Matt Carpenter #123
2014 Topps Allen and Ginter Mark McGwire #147
2014 Topps Allen and Ginter Bryce Harper #148
2014 Topps Allen and Ginter Julio Teheran #229
2014 Topps Allen and Ginter J.D. Martinez #236
2014 Topps Allen and Ginter Trevor Rosenthal #277
2014 Topps Allen and Ginter Adam Wainwright #324 - SP

2013-14 Upper Deck Hockey Steve Ott #61 - maybe captured in a subtle, candid moment, blowing a bubble.

2013-14 Upper Deck Hockey Evander Kane #143 - I'm not sure the sign is the most creative but it makes the card look more amusing than it should be.

2013-14 Upper Deck Hockey Ryan Smyth #163 - inking it up

Buyer beware

I got skunked on a 2014 Allen and Ginter hand collated set purchase on eBay - the seller gave me positive feedback within 10 minutes after I hit the 'buy it now' and after a couple of weeks, there has been nothing to indicate the set has been shipped or on it's way.

I think I was a little desperate to pull the trigger, so I could get some new cards in-hand, so I didn't consider one or more of the following:

1.) Feedback - a seller with 1,000 positive feedbacks doesn't mean anything; does the seller have any recent negatives, things that particularly sticks out?

2.) What are the things a seller up for sale - I take a look at a seller's inventory and if see a seller doesn't have much of whatever it is I'm looking for [I maybe looking for a hand collated set for example, but the seller has mostly a bunch of singles listed instead or even non-card stuff], then it maybe a warning sign that they might not have the expertise to have something in-hand, ready to ship.

3.) Item description - the less there is said about something, the more I suspect that a seller might not be able to follow through.

I guess I want a seller to know what he or she is selling and if there is no basic description - it may mean I might not get the exact item.

4.) Buying from a list of trusted sellers - I have to pick up things from sellers that are basically strangers, but it may help to have a list of sellers on eBay that seem to be dependable, whether I'm going to be looking for singles, commons, hand collated sets, unopened boxes or other things.

2014 Topps Allen and Ginter Value Pack recap

I wanted to tease myself with a blaster box - however the shelves at my Target apparently were not stocked with any blasters so I settled for one $9.49 Value Pack.

Three card mini bonus pack
Adrian Gonzalez
Mike Olt
Carlos Gomez

Pack one
#296 Joey Votto
#57 Carlos Beltran
#333 Stephen Strasburg - SP
#NW-08 Ha Long Bay - Natural Wonder insert
#269 Jose Abreu - mini
#45 Nomar Garciaparra

Pack two
#141 Starlin Castro
#289 Kyle Seager
#PP-YD Yu Darvish - Pastime's Pastimes insert

#243 Helen Keller - mini
#152 Vince Gilligan

#95 Austin Wierschke

Pack three
#115 Dustin Pedroia
#84 Francisco Liriano
#324 Adam Wainwright - SP
#NW-20 Punalu'u Beach - Natural Wonder insert
#125 Glen Waggoner - mini

#164 Jenny Dell