Jered Weaver - a tribute to a franchise ace

Weaver was a starting pitcher who to put his heart and soul for the Angels, winning 150 games for the franchise - he was a hot shot rookie posted an 11-2 W-L mark with the Angels in 2006 and established himself as an No. 1 guy several seasons later.

In his prime, Weaver chose to stay with the franchise on a 'hometown' discount - he won 20 games and threw a no-hitter in 2012.

There might have been a natural inclination to compare Jered with older brother Jeff, who was already a veteran MLB pitcher - when Jered was starring at Long Beach State.

However, Jered seemed so much better than his older brother - even if Jered's last couple of years in an Angels uniform were tough, especially as his velocity had drastically declined.

The last time I saw Weaver in-person was when he was with the San Diego Padres in spring training - he was participating in a bunting drill with the other Padres starting pitchers.

No one is going to remember Weaver's final MLB season with the Padres, where he was 0-5 and allowed 16 home runs in 42 innings - it would have been nice for him to enjoy some kind of bounce back season, though that never did materialize and after 12 big league seasons, the 34-year-old made the decision to retire.

Miscellaneous Angels frankenset finds

223 1995 Donruss Jim Edmonds - Press Proof parallel; not individually numbered but apparently among the '1st 2000 Printed.'

#244 2005 Donruss Zenith Rod Carew - Museum Collection parallel; even though it's not a refractor, I liked how this card shimmered, so I figured why not pick it up for a dollar and change.

310 1995 Score Platinum Team Set Garret Anderson - I grabbed the Anderson because I hadn't really seen the card before and I like how it pops.

347 2005 Donruss Champions Darin Erstad - Red Impressions parallel serial #'d to 250

386 2001 Topps Chrome Troy Percival - Retrofractor parallel; the front of the card has a refractor finish while the back of the card has a grayback finish.

433 2015 Topps Heritage Jered Weaver - short print

450 1992 Leaf Chuck Finley - Black Gold parallel; I've had my share of Finley cards from the junk wax era though I went ahead and grabbed this parallel.

460 2010 Topps Bobby Abreu - short print

Switching cards around in my frankenset

If I already had a card for a particular number in my Angels frankenset, I wasn't going to seek out a new card that I'd have to pick up, but there are random exceptions - I added a 2015 Topps Stadium Club Huston Street [card #4] for my project since the image used of the Angels closer coming into the dugout getting a fist bump from manager Mike Scioscia wasn't typical for a baseball card.

The card that the Street replaced was a 2005 Donruss Studio Stars Vladimir Guerrero insert [card #S-4] - while the clear cut Guerrero card is unique, it is otherwise bumped back down into the random collection of Angels inserts I'm trying to put together.

Another 2015 Topps Stadium Club I had to get into my frankenset was C.J. Wilson's [card #163] - the picture used is a candid image of Wilson going around Angel Stadium celebrating with fans after the Angels won the American League West in 2014.

The card that the Wilson replaced was a 2011 Topps Lineage Jered Weaver Diamond Anniversary parallel [card #163] - the Weaver is shinier but the picture is pretty boring, so it shares the same fate as the Guerrero card.

Three random Angels cards

2012 Topps Alberto Callaspo #189 - Golden moments parallel

I'll pick up whatever Angels inserts that catch my eye - though I'm not one to maintain wantlists for specific base / insert cards.

2012 Bowman Jered Weaver #200 - X-Fractor parallel

2013 Bowman Platinum Jered Weaver #3 - Ruby parallel

Card shop finds - 2013 Topps Triple Threads

#56 Albert Belle - Amethyst parallel serial #'d 266/650

#23 David Ortiz - 2013 World Series MVP

#62 Andrew McCutchen - a strong contender for the National League MVP award.

#73 C.J. Wilson - the Angels ace in 2013, he won 17 games.

#83 Jered Weaver - the Angels' ace when healthy.

Featured autograph - Zack Greinke

I probably got this card signed through the mail years ago and I wish the other guy was in professional baseball somewhere because I'd still like to complete it - the card is going into my all-time Angels autograph box to represent Greinke's time with the Angels in 2012.

Obviously Greinke is the most prized free agent this off-season and I'd love for the Angels to have the means to plug him back into a depleted starting rotation for 2013 - who really knows [I'm not betting on it, btw] if the Angels are going to re-sign Greinke to a long term deal for $120 million or more.

If it happens and Greinke is back with the Halos for the next five-seven years - then the team is going to have to tear up the long term deal ace Jered Weaver signed and make sure the face of the Halos' starting rotation is paid comparably.

2011 Topps Diamond Giveaway Haul

I had 25 of 28 cards shipped through the 2011 Topps Diamond Giveaway Web site for about $16 - the highlights were probably the three die-cuts; the rest are cardboard curiosities that I had delivered for whatever reason.

The oldest Topps card in my Diamond Giveaway collection was from 1959 and the newest non die-cut was from 1985 - the three cards I didn't get shipped included a 1982 Topps John D'Acquisto #58, a 1987 Topps Don Sutton #673 and a 1988 Topps Kirby Puckett All-Star subset card #391.

2011-BB-DDC-DDC-10 Howie Kendrick 1 07/17/12 SHIPPED
2011-BB-DDC-DDC-11 Jered Weaver 1 07/17/12 SHIPPED
2011-BB-DDC-DDC-25 Vladimir Guerrero 1 07/17/12 SHIPPED
1959-BB-TS1-194-NA Jim Brosnan 1 07/17/12 SHIPPED
1960-BB-TS1-113-NA Bob Skinner 1 07/17/12 SHIPPED
1972-BB-TS1-504-NA Ed Spiezio 1 07/17/12 SHIPPED
1973-BB-TS1-513-NA Dave Marshall 1 07/17/12 SHIPPED
1974-BB-TS1-455-NA Tom Bradley 1 07/17/12 SHIPPED
1974-BB-TS1-512-NA Joe Lahoud 1 07/17/12 SHIPPED
1976-BB-TS1-213-NA Dave Heaverlo RC 1 07/17/12 SHIPPED
1976-BB-TS1-32-NA Danny Frisella 1 07/17/12 SHIPPED
1978-BB-TS1-19-NA Darrell Porter 1 07/17/12 SHIPPED
1978-BB-TS1-301-NA Buddy Schultz RC 1 07/17/12 SHIPPED
1980-BB-TS1-137-NA John Castino RC 1 07/17/12 SHIPPED
1980-BB-TS1-97-NA Bill Lee 1 07/17/12 SHIPPED
1981-BB-TS1-170-NA Ross Grimsley 1 07/17/12 SHIPPED
1982-BB-TS1-356-NA Denny Lewallyn 1 07/17/12 SHIPPED
1982-BB-TS1-77-NA Miguel Dilone 1 07/17/12 SHIPPED
1984-BB-TS1-189-NA Tim Conroy 1 07/17/12 SHIPPED
1985-BB-TS1-3-NA Dwight Gooden RB 1 07/17/12 SHIPPED
1985-BB-TS1-630-NA Tim Raines 1 07/17/12 SHIPPED
1974-BB-TS1-96-NA Jerry Hairston RC 1 07/17/12 SHIPPED
1973-BB-TS1-439-NA Eddie Fisher 1 07/17/12 SHIPPED
1975-BB-TS1-542-NA Pete Broberg 1 07/17/12 SHIPPED
1981-BB-TS1-709-NA ALAN TRAMMELL DP 1 07/17/12 SHIPPED

Order # 308490-1 Order Date: 07/02/12 0299EDI
Shipping Method - USPS

Jered Weaver - no-no

I was hoping to make out to Angel Stadium for Wednesday night's game, hoping if Jered Weaver pitched well, maybe he'd sign autographs after the game - I think tickets were less than a buck on StubHub through early Wednesday.

I guess I picked the wrong day not to go to an Angels game - with Weaver throwing a no-hitter against the hapless Minnesota Twins and really just reaffirming himself as the Halos ace.

COMC mail day Part 3 of 4 - adding to the Angels regional collection

2003 Topps Pristine Garret Anderson Gold refractor [$4] - a shiny, numbered card of a former Angels star whose name is listed prominently among the top of the team's all-time offensive categories.

2011 Topps Hope parallel of Torii Hunter #'d to 60 [$4.95] - I'm trying to ramp up my regional collection bit by bit, though I probably won't try and track every Angel card down unless it pictures my 'favorites.'

2011 Topps 60th Anniversary Black Diamond wrapper redemption Torii Hunter and Jered Weaver [about $0.69 each] - I was vaguely aware of the early 2011 Topps Series I promotion, though never bothered to look into it because it was hobby exclusive.

2003 40-Man Darin Erstad Rainbow parallel #'d to 40 [$2] - I figured I'd better just grab the card sooner [rather than never] and not worry whether or not it was worth picking up.

1996 Studio Tim Salmon Hit Parade insert #'d to 5,000 [$1.15] - can I really do any extensive digging through a card shop or a card show [these days] to find a forgotten insert like this?

2006 Upper Deck F/X Tim Salmon Red #'d to 40 [$1] - this parallel is from was printed the same year Salmon finished up his playing career. The card itself has a nice, shiny finish and it's numbered too.

2002 Upper Deck 40-Man Tim Salmon Rainbow parallel #'d to 40 [$5] - I've never been aware of these parallels from Upper Deck's answer to the 'comprehensive' Topps Total sets from the early 2000s.

2004 Leaf Limited Tim Salmon Spotlight parallel #'d [$1] - it is shiny and numbered.

1996 Bowman's Best Preview Tim Salmon Atomic refractor [$1] - not a bad looking parallel of an insert card.

Jered Weaver - sweet news to all Angels fans

So Jered Weaver and the Angels have agreed to a contract paying him around $85 million for the next five seasons - with the way he has been pitching over the last few seasons, it is nice to see Angels general manager Tony Reagins get something done to lock him up for the long haul.

A professional athlete in his prime, looking for that next long-term contract that is going to take his relative wealth to a whole new level is understandable - but sometimes the athlete doesn't experience the same level of success and despite being paid more than he has ever had before, alters the course of his professional career in a downward spiral.

As a potential free agent, Weaver may have gotten a minimum of $120 million or more as a starting point - it maybe refreshing to assume he has had it good in Anaheim and didn't want to drastically change his lifestyle.

It seems like Weaver has really built up an ardent fan base and while he may not come across as being having a superstar persona - he gets fans interested by his performances as the ace pitcher of the Angels staff.

Hopefully Weaver is still a pitcher on the rise and the Angels investment will pay off - there have been pitchers [like Brandon Webb, Jake Peavy, Johan Santana] who have broken down and stumbled in their early 30s, after enjoying much success through their prime years like Weaver has had.

2011 Topps Lineage Value Pack recap

2011 Topps Lineage value pack [$4.99 each at a Target] - all I can say is busting a lone value pack isn't as much fun as ripping through a blaster of Lineage.

Top section
#90 Tris Speaker
#97 Aaron Hill
#103 Joey Votto
#163 Jered Weaver - Diamond Anniversary shiny parallel
#181 Frank Thomas
#197 Andre Dawson
#23 Carlos Zambrano

Bottom section
#4 Buster Posey
#60 Reggie Jackson
#69 Jayson Werth
#78 Dan Uggla
#108 Hank Aaron
#164 Brandon Beachy
#177 Phil Hughes
#2 of 4 Checklist

2011 Bowman Platinum Value Pack recap #1

2011 Bowman Platinum Value Pack [$8.98 x2 purchased at Walmart] - four cards in a pack/three packs and a bonus pack of three Platinum Purple refractors in a 'rack.'

I like Bowman Platinum because it is a MLB licensed trading card product with prospect cards - like what I said last year, it gives me some options besides the typical Bowman / Bowman Chrome / Bowman Draft offerings from Topps.

Compared to last year's Bowman Platinum - the 2011 version seems so much nicer looking in hand.

Bowman Platinum might not ever be confused for a super premium product like Bowman Sterling, but the Bowman Platinum cards stand out on their own - with a shiny and have a refractor finish, this year's cards almost reminds me of 2002 Topps Gold Label cards, except the design is a little cleaner.

Value pack one - I'll have the recap from my second 'rack' in another post.

Pack one - the cards are facing from the back.
#64 Hunter Pence
#75 Josh Hamilton
#BPP 81 Cesar Puello
Filler card
#95 Kyle Drabek

Pack two
#47 Cory Luebke
#91 Troy Tulowitzki - green foil?
#BPP 32 Dustin Ackley
Filler card

#56 Jered Weaver

Pack three
#37 Josh Johnson

#9 Derek Jeter - red foil?
#BPP 41 Delino Deshields [Jr.]
Filler card
#30 Felix Hernandez

Purple refractor pack - these cards had a dusty white substance all over them; maybe Topps wanted these to help out autograph collectors and degloss these cards.

#BPP 78 Brad Holt

#BPP 23 Josh Zeid
#BPP 86 Tim Beckham

Diamond Giveaway trade - 2011 Topps Diamond Cut Jered Weaver DDC-111

I traded the 2011 Topps Diamond die cut Manny Ramirez in my portfolio - for a Jered Weaver 2011 Topps Diamond die cut card.

I like 'collecting' hitters' cards a little bit more than pitchers but Weaver is the Angels' ace - but wanted to add a card with some regional flavor to my collection.

Featured autograph - Jered Weaver

This is the baseball Jered Weaver signed for me at the 2011 Angels FanFest - I think he was the one player I wanted to get on the team this upcoming season.

2010 Topps T-206 Value Pack recap

2010 Topps T-206 Value Pack [$4.99 x1 at Target] - I don't like the idea of the 'hatless' images used for these cards, but an unintended consquence [that is actually a good thing] is I have cards to add to my 'hats-off' collection of cards [where players are pictured without wearing any caps and/or batting helmets].

Top compartment of the rack

#211 Jered Weaver - looking kind of grim faced; probably the side effect for pitching so well as the ace of a decidedly mediocre Angels' team in 2010.
#236 Johnny Bench
#227 Chad Billingsley mini - Piedmont back
#46 Carlos Quentin
#21 Jason Kubel
#263 C.C. Sabathia
#281 Melky Cabrera

I've only experienced the wrath of Johnny Bench when trying to get his autograph for free at golf tournaments [on something other than a piece of paper] - but this is a nice card featuring the same image used on Bench's 1969 Topps second year card.

Bottom compartment of the rack

#193 Buster Posey - looking to go neck-and-neck against Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann as the best hitting catcher in the Naional League.
#183 Carlos Pena - gold border parallel
#99 Christy Matthewson
#70 Luke Hochevar
#277 Johnny Evers