Shiny from Tiny

Uncle Tiny sent me some Bowman blue shiny earlier this week.

First off, a very cool mini Eric Jagielo. Although Jagielo isn't part of the Yankees organization any more, he sort of still is. He was in the initial trade where the Yankees acquired Aroldis Chapman from the Reds. The Yanks obviously then got Gleyber Torres and others from the Cubs for Chapman, and ended up re-signing Chapman. So the Yankees essentially swapped Jagielo for Torres. It's not quite that clean, as a lot of other players were involved.

Now we're talking. Yankees 2016 3rd-rounder Nolan Martinez. I can't help but like that his name is a combo of Nolan Ryan and Pedro Martinez, so it looks like we've got a future HOFer on our hands. Just 18 years old (born in 1998!!!), Nolan is current MLB.com's 30th best prospect.

Thanks for these, Uncle Tiny!

Tiny hooks a brother up

Uncle Tiny recently shot a nice package my way. He knows Yanks prospects are in my wheelhouse, and is always looking out for them.

I love this Greg Bird manu-relic. It's such a bummer that Bird is out for the season. I was really looking forward to him building on a strong rookie year.

This is the tale of two Tylers. Tyler Austin was once one of the crown jewels of the Yankees system. He was ranked as the 77th best prospect in the entire game heading into the 2013 season. Since then, he's battled injuries and just hasn't raked the way he did in 2011 and 2012. By now, he was supposed to be in the Bronx or right on the cusp. Instead, he's likely headed for another year in Scranton. Maybe he'll have a big start to the season and put himself in position for a call-up the way Slade Heathcott and Mason Williams did last year. However, without an invite to Big League camp, he's certainly not someone the Yankees are counting on. Too bad.

Tyler Wade on the other hand, just keeps climbing the Yankees organizational ladder, and doing so rather quietly. He was a 4th round pick in 2013, and spent last season in A+ and AA ball, where he was on average 3 years younger than the league average. He's likely ticketed for AA to start the season, but he's spending the spring in Big League camp as a 21-year-old, which is impressive. He might not be as sexy of a prospect as Jorge Mateo, but he's closer to the Majors (for now) and has a great chance to be a useful player in the next season or two.

Brad Halsey auto. RIP, sir.

Here's the best of the rest. Leonardo Molina is super young and oozing with tools. Giambi is not young, but is young at heart for sure. I believe he's spending his spring coaching the Indians. I'll be curious to see if he ends up coaching or managing one day.

Tiny, thanks my friend!

Ain't no thing Tiny about Tiny & JBF

While I mentioned that I will no longer show Bengals on my blog due to their selfish, immature actions, that doesn’t mean there weren’t some sweet Yankees that both Jaybarkerfan and Uncle Tiny sent me.

I’ll start with the haul from JBF, including a Tino I needed. Funny, I had lower numbered versions of this card, but not the silver diecut /699. I think I like the silver color more than the others, as well. 

Staying in “guys I collect” world, I didn’t have this 2015 Gypsy Queen Phil Rizzuto yet. I think the GQ design from this year looks better on past players than current. 

This Babe Ruth insert was from 2015, but this is the first one I’ve received or even seen. I like the goldish/tan color. It looks different. 

Bernie! This minor league issue is sweet. And look, foil! It was ahead of its time. The biggest question I have: where are Bernie’s Dwight Schrute glasses? 

Finally, a Clemens from the sweet Upper Deck HoloGRFX set. Hmm, I’ll show Clemens, but not Bengals on my blog. Go figure. I really have no morals, I guess.

Tiny sent some sweet stuff as well. I have to start with this Hideki Matsui Japanese Refractor. It’s so cool. I’ve never seen this, or anything like it really. 

This Mason Williams purple Refractor is cool too. I really hope Mason gets more time with the Yanks this season.

I’ll close this out with some sweet vintage. I didn’t have either of these cards, but anything from these years are always welcome!

Thanks, JBF and Tiny!

The last Bengals cards you'll see on this blog

On Saturday night, I watched in disgust as the Bengals gave away an opportunity to win a Playoff game due to lack of self-control.

As a fan, I don't care that they lost. I'm used to that. I was prepared for it. The Jeremy Hill fumble was awful, but that (unfortunately) happens. But the way they responded in that last minute, by caring more about dirty/cheap shots and bitching to the refs than actually winning the game, infuriates me. I know it's unfair to lump in guys like AJ Green and Andy Dalton with guys like Pacman Jones and Vontaz Burfict, but to me, the latter outshines the former. It's sad, and it's all I'll be able to remember.

I kept thinking about what if my son was old enough to watch the game. I would have been horrified telling him that grown men, at the pinnacle of their careers playing in the most important game of their lives, can't keep their composure and just do their job. We all want to go nuts at work sometimes But we don't. We put our heads down, keep our mouths shut, and do our jobs. Somehow, that doesn't apply to some professional athletes.

Many said they feel bad for Marvin Lewis. Please. He was nowhere to be found when his players were going off the rails. It starts at the top, and the lack of discipline was present all season, not just in the last minute of the final game of the season.

I don't care if my thoughts are viewed as an overreaction or jumping ship on your team. That's fine. When the players care more about themselves than the team, why should I care about the team as fan? I don't. I'm not going to root for another team in particular. I'm not going to say "Hey, I'm a Giants fan now." Nope. I'm just not going to root for the Bengals. I'm not. I can handle losses on the field. I can't handle a team behaving the way they did on Saturday night.

Therefore, I thought I'd show some Bengals cards for the last time. One batch came from Uncle Tiny, and the other from JBF. While I appreciate their gestures, I hope they no longer go out of their way to send me Bengals cards as a result of Saturday night. These guys also sent me awesome Yanks, which I'll show off later. I appreciate that they always find some Bengals to send my way, but I just don't have the heart anymore.

From Tiny:

And from JBF:

 

From Tiny via someone else

A while back, Uncle Tiny said that I'd be receiving a package, but it was from someone else. I believe that he set up a trade with another collector, but had some of it shipped it to me. A very unique and cool idea!

The package itself was full of Bengals, with a few highlights below. I've really enjoyed trading with Uncle Tiny, and I thank Jaybarkerfan for putting us in touch. I've found Tiny to be a very kind, generous guy who is always up for some good card chat.

Thanks again, Uncle Tiny!

Tiny blows up my mailbox again

Uncle Tiny is at it again! I'm not sure what I did to deserve such good fortune, as Uncle Tiny has been sending me some amazing Yankees and Bengals cards!

First off, two more signed 8x10 photos! Last time, Tiny sent along a sweet Mason Williams signed photo. This time, he doubled up on Mason, but also included an incredible Enos Slaughter! Seriously, this is going to look awesome in my man cave one day. Enos actually answered a fan letter for me for a school project in the late '90s, but I didn't have his autograph.

Cards-wise, my favorite is easily this Ichiro SP. I was too lazy to take it out of the screw case. I promise there is no writing on the card. I remember the Ichiro trade well. I was on the bus home from work, and my co-worker texted me "Ichiro. I hate you." I was so surprised! Even cooler, the Yanks were in Seattle, so he suited up that night, and came to the plate to a huge ovation. Then he ripped a single.

This is by far one of the nicest Mickey Mantle modern cards I have ever seen. The colors from the Refractor are amazing.

This canvas Babe Ruth (again, not taken out of the case) is a beauty as well. I love the texture.

And it wouldn't be an Uncle Tiny package without Bengals! Here are just a few of the many he sent. I love how many AJ Green cards I have now!

Uncle Tiny, thanks again!

Uncle Tiny strikes twice!

Uncle Tiny recently (or not so recently) sent me two great packages. He really takes to heart that I’m a Bengals fan, and finds some cool (and often shiny!) Bengals to send my way. While I don’t buy football, between JBF and Tiny, I have a really nice binder of Bengals cards, especially newer stuff.

But first! Perhaps the crown jewel of two packages, at least for me, was this signed Mason Williams 8x10! It came with a COA. I’m not sure where Tiny picked this up, but I’m super happy to have it. I don’t have many signed 8x10s in my collection – maybe four or five - but one day I hope to have more and have a nice display. 

I still think Mason Williams will be an MLB player. He is already an elite defender and could play MLB CF right now. However, he needs to pick it up with bat. He was close a few years ago, as he hit .298 and jumped up to #32 in Baseball America’s prospect rankings. He’s had two straight down years since then, but spent all of 2014 in AA. If he can hit in the .250-.260 range, plus shows a bit more maturity (which has been a knock), I think he can find a way to NY as a reserve outfielder later this year or next. 

Tiny also sent me a Ty Hensley for my PC, and a cool Zach McAllister auto.

Aside from there, here’s an assortment of Bengals. My favorite is definitely the Gio Bernard relic, although the Blue Wave AJ McCarron is very cool too. I hope McCarron pushes Dalton next season. Someone needs to! 

 

 

Tiny, thanks again. You should be getting a package from me in the next day or two.

Nothin' Tiny about these cards

For the second a time, Uncle Tiny dropped a nice trade package on me. I first met Tiny through JBF's blog, and we've completed a few swaps now, with plans for more. It's always nice to have someone looking out for cards for me. Both Wes and Tiny do a great job finding Bengals cards for me. I'm not a football collector, per se, but when they send awesome cards of my favorite NFL team, I really appreciate them. It's nice to have a binder of AJ Green, Tyler Eifert, and Gio Bernard.

I love this Jeremy Hill Topps Platinum X-Fractor RC. Hill had a big rookie year. I have no idea what the market for his cards are, but I assume he in relative demand. Maybe not since he's a Beng.

Odell Thurman. Sigh. This guy had all the talent in the world, but couldn't stay out of trouble. He was very representative of the Bengals from the mid-00s. I'm glad the days of guys constantly in trouble are over (knock on wood).

Here are two baseball cards I enjoyed from the package. I definitely did not have this Jeter. I need to catologue my Jeters soon, as I'm sure I have a few hundred through trades alone. Also, a pretty sweet Ichiro Bowman Heritage.

Thanks, Tiny! More Astros coming your way!

Uncle Tiny strikes!

From time to time, Wes at Jaybarkerfan's Junk would show off some treasures sent to him by Uncle Tiny. Honestly, I have no clue if Tiny is actually Wes' uncle, cousin, friend, etc. All I know is that he always sent Wes some really thoughtful stuff.

At some point, I made a comment about Uncle Tiny's generosity and asked if he was taking applications for new nephews. It turns out he was. I should know better than to make a comment like that when dealing with JBF or anyone who may or may not be his uncle.

Tiny reached out through Wes, and of course a bubble mailer landed on my doorstep.

It was chock FULL of Yankees. Look!

And also had a very, very sweet Michael Pineda green refractor. Holy smokes is this a nice green!

Uncle Tiny also found out I was a Bengals fan, and hooked me up with some really cool football cards. Not being a very active football collector, it's always fun to see some football releases from the past few years. One thing I've noticed is that a lot of football sets are really classy in design.

I really like this Darqueze Dennard RC. I'm a little disappointed he hasn't had more of a impact after a great college career, but sometimes it takes corners a little longer to establish themselves in the NFL. I hope that's the case here.

 

I also have an irrational love for this Darnay Scott card. See, growing up, the only time I could watch the Bengals was when they played the Giants, Jets, or Bills...which was never. They got zero highlights on ESPN because they stunk, so I was left with reading boxscores about the mythical WRs Darnay Scott and Carl Pickens. I knew all of their stats, despite never seeing them play.

Uncle Tiny, thank you so much.