Autograph request through the mail received: C.C. Sabathia

This was a forgotten request sent years ago and received today - Sabathia's had a long, fruitful MLB career and after dealing with injuries along with mediocre results, it maybe interesting to see if he bounces back his mid 30's.

Dime box finds for the end of 2012

I picked up about 65 cards for $6 at a card show trip - the random 2011 Playoff Contenders cards intrigued me the most, even though I'll still have to look up most of the players pictured on the cards, to see if they are legitimate MLB prospects or fillers used in a non-MLB licensed baseball product.

I tried to fill out my pile with a few cards of star players - I have my share of cards of guys who played five, 10, 15 and 20 years ago, but it's hard not to be nostaglic and impulsively flip through cards I may not have had an opportunity to pick up during my collecting adolescence.

1992 Bowman Frank Thomas #114 - the action shot of Thomas swinging away at a familiar looking [if somewhat obscured] Anaheim Stadium caught my eye.
1994 Fleer Ultra Ken Griffey Jr. 6 of 25 - Award Winners insert

1997 Bowman's Best Previews Ken Griffey Jr. #BBP 2
1998 Fleer Tradition Mike Piazza #391
1998 Sports Illustrated Ken Griffey Jr. #51
2000 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. #EP-4 - Epic Performances insert
2000 Upper Deck Ionix Lance Berkman #81

2002 Donruss Diamond Kings C.C. Sabathia #040 - stamped sample

2003 Fleer Tradition Nomar Garciaparra #22 of 25 - Milestones insert
2005 Bowman Draft AFLAC Cameron Maybin AFL 11 - I lost a similar card to a TTM request years ago that is still MIA.
2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites Rick Monday #110
2009 Upper Deck Tommy Mendonca #USAB-TB - USA insert
2011 Donruss Elite Extra Edition Tyler Goeddel #5 - Elite Series insert
2011 Donruss Elite Extra Edition Zeke DeVoss #11 - Elite Series insert
2011 Donruss Elite Extra Edition Logan Verrett / Phillip Evans #6 - Building Blocks Duo insert
2011 Donruss Elite Extra Edition Jeff Ames / Steven Ames #11 - Building Blocks Duo insert
2011 Donruss Elite Extra Edition Larry Greene / Mitch Walding / Roman Quinn #10 - Building Blocks Trio insert
2011 Playoff Contenders Travis Harrison #DT 1
2011 Playoff Contenders Lenny Linsky #DT 3
2011 Playoff Contenders Burch Smith #DT 4
2011 Playoff Contenders Ronald Guzman #DT 6
2011 Playoff Contenders Anthony Meo #DT 10
2011 Playoff Contenders Alex Hassan #DT 14
2011 Playoff Contenders Nick Fleece #DT 19
2011 Playoff Contenders Andrew Susac #DT 20
2011 Playoff Contenders Tony Zych #DT 21
2011 Playoff Contenders B.A. Vollmuth #DT 22
2011 Playoff Contenders Blake Snell #DT 26
2011 Playoff Contenders Kylin Turnbull #DT 28
2011 Playoff Contenders Evan Marshall #DT 30 - x2
2011 Playoff Contenders Jordan Cote #DT 31
2011 Playoff Contenders Aaron Westlake #DT 32
2011 Playoff Contenders Tommy La Stella #DT 42
2011 Playoff Contenders Cole Green #DT 45
2011 Playoff Contenders Matt Szczur #DT 46
2011 Playoff Contenders Cristhian Adames #DT 55
2011 Playoff Contenders Forrest Snow #DT 56
2011 Playoff Contenders Tyler Gibson #DT 57
2011 Playoff Contenders Josh Osich #DT 60
2011 Playoff Contenders Zach Good #DT 64
2011 Playoff Contenders Madison Boer #DT 71
2011 Playoff Contenders Kevin Comer #DT 73
2011 Playoff Contenders Jason Esposito #DT 74
2011 Playoff Contenders Dan Vogelbach #DT 75
2011 Playoff Contenders Cameron Gallagher #DT 77 - x2
2011 Playoff Contenders Jordan Swaggerty #DT 87
2011 Playoff Contenders Brian Dupra #DT 88
2011 Playoff Contenders Taylor Featherston #DT 97
2011 Playoff Contenders Matt Skole #DT 98
2011 Playoff Contenders Joseph Musgrove #DT 99
2011 Playoff Contenders Carson Smith #DT 100 - x2
2011 Playoff Contenders Kevin Matthews #4 - Future Stars insert
2011 Playoff Contenders Tyler Gibson #11 - Future Stars insert
2011 Playoff Contenders Logan Verrett #13 - Future Stars insert
2011 Playoff Contenders Jake Lowery #3 - Johnny Bench Award Winners insert
2011 Playoff Contenders Andrew Susac / Josh Osich #2 - Winning Combos insert
2011 Playoff Contenders Dan Vogelbach / Hudson Boyd #5 - Winning Combos insert
2011 Playoff Contenders Chad Comer / Jason Krizan #7 - Winning Combos insert
2011 Playoff Contenders Brian Flynn / Tyler Grimes #11 - Winning Combos insert
2011 Playoff Contenders 18 Chris Reed / Scott Sondgress #18 - Winning Combos insert
2011 Topps Allen and Ginter Josh Hamilton #HH 50 - Hometown Heroes insert

2012 Topps Yoshinori Tateyama #437

2011 Topps Heritage blaster recap

2011 Topps Heritage blaster box [$19.99 at a Target] - my biggest complaint against Heritage is despite the massive appeal, most of the cards I'll pull, are base cards I'll be able to find out of someone's common boxes later.

This is probably the case for most average pack or blaster breaks, but maybe I assume busting Heritage is a little more special than busting the latest baseball card offering from Topps - at times the cheesy inserts I may or may not pull in Topps Heritage are often times boring and I'm not sure what to make of the Heritage line.

Pack one
#48 C.C. Sabathia
#324 Tommy Hunter
#276 Darwin Barney
#21 Carl Pavano
#264 Jeff Niemann
#BF-9 Frank Robinson - Baseball Flashbacks insert
#3 David Ortiz
#8 John Danks

Pack two
#71 Jonathan Sanchez
#344 Fernando Salas
#245 Jason Bartlett
#207 C.J. Wilson
#C44 Casey Coleman - Chrome parallel serial #'d 0670/1962

#194 Jordan Walden
#300 Carl Crawford
#230 Francisco Liriano
#143 Babe's Pitching Record
Checklist 3 of 6

Pack three
#288 Mike Stanton
#146 Placido Polanco
#105 Max Scherzer
#86 Alex Presley
#460 Justin Verlander

- SP
#108 Matt Kemp
#365 Howie Kendrick
#99 Brandon Snyder
#404 Mark Trumbo - between my blister pack break and this blaster box break, I'm happy I pulled the four base cards of the Angels rookies [Hank Conger, Walden, Andrew Romine and Trumbo] out of the 2011 Topps Heritage set.

Pack four
#11 Joe Nathan
#10 Andrew McCutchen
#396 Carlos Gonzalez
#79 Jordan Zimmerman
#334 Tampa Bay Rays
#C73 Sabathia Tosses a Curve - Black refractor parallel serial #'d 17/62
#145 Dallas Braden
#403 Jonathan Papelbon
#67 Zach Duke

Pack five
#291 Bobby Cramer - it must be nice for the former independent league pitcher to get a Major League rookie card after making his Major League debut in 2010.
#51 2010 American League Batting Leaders
#303 Daric Barton
#332 Alcides Escobar

#NAP-4 Roy Halladay - New Age Performer insert
#243 A.J. Burnett
#268 Ervin Santana
#371 Victor Martinez
#28 Vernon Wells

Pack six
#101 Jacoby Ellsbury
#354 Hunter Pence
#24 Detroit Tigers
#246 Andrew Bailey
#488 Koji Uehara
#187 Jon Lester
#167 Wilson Ramos - here is a story about Ramos' ascent to the Major Leagues.
#414 Jarrod Dyson
#304 Brett Myers

Pack seven
#227 Cliff Lee
#256 Ruben Tejada
#139 Babe Hits 60
#103 Brandon Phillips
#TN-5 Mickey Mantle / Prince Fielder - Then and Now insert
#75 Chris Tillman
#338 Brett Gardner
#134 Brett Cecil
#423 Fear the Beard - Brian Wilson and Buster Posey

Pack eight
#184 Kurt Suzuki
#386 Michael Cuddyer
#210 Evan Meek
#129 Carlos Quentin
#NF-5 U.S. Navy Seals Are Activated - News Flashbacks insert
#137 Babe and Mgr. Huggins
#383 Daniel Hudson
#13 Cliff Pennington
#265 Derrek Lee

2010 American League Championship Series preview

The Texas Rangers enter the American League Championship Series with a good shot to get past the New York Yankees and get to the World Series for the first time in franchise history - thanks in part to a very good pitching staff and a lineup can bash and mash as one of the best in Major League Baseball.

Rangers No. 1 starter Cliff Lee needs no introduction as a legitimate ace - however C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis have performed as well as anyone could have guessed and expect competent pitching performances.

If the two non-Lee pitchers do falter a bit, it will be up to the hitters like Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, Michael Young and other to make up for any deficits on the board - sadly it is going to be with the Rangers, but with a big series, 35-year old Vladimir Guerrero has an opportunity to make up for his postseason shortcomings over the past six years.

The New York Yankees are still the best team money can buy, but it boring talking about how great they are - any lineup they put out can match the Rangers hit for hit, run for run.

On the mound, C.C. Sabathia is money and so is Andy Pettitte - the spectre of Mariano Rivera looms in the late innings and the Rangers need to jump on the starters early and be able to hold the lead.

Where every play seems magnified, the Rangers' ability to play small-ball baseball helps them - bunt the ball over, hit the ball to the right side, don't get caught napping on the bases and not making any mental mistakes on the field. Riding the momentum of winning their first postseason series, manager Ron Washington needs to make sure his Rangers play without any jitters.

Ultimately, it would be no surprise to anyone if the Wild Card Yankees got to another World Series stage - but the Rangers are a team that can catch lightning in a bottle and 'upset' the Yankees to win the American League pennant.