Jeff Niemann says it all: Blech!

Ever had one of those days? Jeff Niemann has:

My man Elliot Johnson gets injured the same night I post about him throwing me a ball.

Then tonight the Rays get 6 runs (SIX runs!) off of Justin Verlander, only to lose 7-6 to SMG's Tigers. AND they dropped the lead in the AL-East.

When it rains it POURS!

At least the new Walking Dead comes out this morning. Zombies!

Have a good one everybody and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

Catching Paper: Cards from the Paper Chase

Roy from over at The Paper Chase dropped me a line about a Niemann auto he could part with and buried this deep in the package. 

I'm always stoked to get a CC I don't have because I have a good many of them and there are fewer and fewer I haven't seen. He'd mentioned in an email he might have one, but since it wasn't on top I wasn't even looking for it. Pretty cool to hide it, complete with note on the penny sleeve.

And then the Niemann:

I left it in the case with electrical tape for the scan because I'm always fascinated by different styles of packaging trades. For example, many ebay sellers are worse than traders although they are getting cash money to send the cards out safely. I usually pack cards in cardboard, packing tape, and a bubble mailer, which mostly likely means I'm overcautious and paranoid, eg a typical southerner. Electrical tape - that one's new to me. Maybe it has something to do with Geologists. At any rate it made extra sure no one messed with my cards in transit, which kicks ass!

Thanks again for the cards, Roy! I scanned a bunch of the other cool Rays you sent over, but my computer kept eating the scans (seems it doesn't have the multi-card thing down just yet!)

Have a good one everybody and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

Wicked Trade: (Long Over Due)

I could blame it on my slow scanner. Or pure laziness. Or my fondness for wine within 5 minutes of hitting the door when I get home from work. Or all of it, take your pick.

At any rate, I've fallen behind in trade posts, starting with an epic trade from Wicked Ortega. Well, this is my end.

A 1956 Doby:

I'm not a huge Miggy fan, but he's one of the best players in the game and it would have taken something pretty badass to pry that card from me. Well, this is more than sufficiently badass. Since Doby is from SC I pick up his cards whenever I can afford them, and this was a score. I'll go into it in more depth this summer when I do Larry Doby week again, but for now I'll just say "YEAH!"

Worked out in the trade were some other Rays cards.

I don't get too much into the high end stuff (is Sweet Spot High End? Low End? Mid Range? Hell, they sell is at Wal Mart, right?) or even serial numbered cards because of the cost. So: I'd never seen this card or one like it before and have/had no idea of it's value. First: that's not a bat chip. It's a 1/2 inch thick piece of bat embedded in a card that's more like a shadow box. Pretty awesome, and I had no idea what I was getting.

Then this CC jersey:

CC jerseys are always good, CC jerseys with Derek Jeter on them....I just don't know.

And most importantly, as a throw in for the person who tolerates my collection (and has yet to see my recent ebay purchase come up on the credit card bill):

It's the smile himself, Mr. Carlos Peña. It was immediately one of the compa's favorite cards and it's her first minor league CP. Thanks for throwing that in, Wicked, and for the epic trade in general.

Have a good one everybody and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

The Jeff Niemann Collection

Thanks to the folks who've sent me Niemanns.

2005
Bowman's Best auto, #109, /974
Donruss Zenith, Gold #222 (thx Troll!)
Topps, #682 (thx Padrographs!)
UD Origins, #235
UD Sweet Spot, #12
UD Sweet Spot Gold, #12, /599
UD Sweet Spot auto, #SS-JN /50 (thx Wicked!)

2007
Bowman Draft Picks, #83 (thx Troll!)

2008
Allen and Ginter, #117
Topps Chrome, #192
Topps Stadium Club auto, #159 (thx Paper Chase!)
Topps UH, #321

2009
O-Pee-Chee, #459 (thx night owl!)
Topps UH, #262 (thx Troll!)

2010
Topps, #158 (thx JC!)
Upper Deck Portraits, #SE-87

Trading Post: Many Thanks to the Troll and a Delmon Mystery!!!

Daddy D cleared out at about 5:30 this morning, so things are settling back down. The dogs no longer have a ready source of table food and multiple walks per day, and compa no longer has someone to keep me in line.

So, I can turn to some of the awesome packages I've gotten in the past week, starting with Msr. Troll. He sent a 13-inch stack of cards, so these will only be selections from the amazing number of Rays he hooked me up with.

First, he included several Peñas. These, of course, are for the compa's growing collection, and which she has promised will be organized...any...day...now. According to her, this one stands out because a) it give him a cardboard showcase for his great smile and b) it does not have Capt'n intangibles on the front screwing the whole thing up.

Next, he included some Jeff Niemann. I've posted about Jeff a couple of times, and can honestly say I'm real happy that he had a lot of success in the Bigs this year. Having haunted the Durham Bulls Athletic Park from 2003-2008, I've seen a lot of guys come through, and a lot of Jeff Niemann in particular. Moreover, he's a player I'll always associate with this epic trip the compa and I took up to Baltimore for a Rays/O's double header last September. Great guy, and a lot of great Durham memories.

Then, we have a couple of cards of Justin Ruggiano. Since I try to keep things focused on the Big club I haven't written about Ruggi before, Troll had no way of knowing the Ruggi is one of my favorite Bulls. Moreover, since I don't rip wax, I had exactly ONE Ruggiano card that I scores of ebay in my collection before this package. He's a player the Rays STOLE from the Dodgers a while back, and an unfortunate victim of the insane depth of the Rays farm system. His 2007 and 2008 numbers are solid and to be honest, he's never gotten a full shot to be an everyday player at the Big League level. His production in '09 dropped off, but his wife gave birth to their first kid in-season, so I'm sure that had something to do with it.

None of this is to say that he hasn't had some great moments in a Rays uni, because he has. It's just that with a starting OF of CC and BJ, then the pressure to play Pat Burrell (contract) and Matt Joyce (justify horrible, terrible, no good Edwin Jackson trade), as well as other minor leaguers like Fernando Perez and Desmond Jennings, things are pretty crowded in Tampa. Dude deserves a shot, but it probably won't come with the Rays.

And finally, Troll included a couple of Delmon Youngs. These are nice cards, but then I turned over the 2004 UD and became a little confused.

I keep taking a closer look, but can't for the life of me figure out who that is. It's NOT Delmon Young, which I find pretty hard to believe insofar as around 2004 D Young was the hottest Minor League player on the planet and everybody knew he he was. Can anybody help me out with this? Who is this man not named Delmon Young?

Catching Up:Contests, Things I Don't Get, and Thanks to 1980 Topps Baseball

OK, so first of all don't forget the two great contests going on right now.

1st, the Ginter Giveaway at Card Cache.

2nd, the HOF giveaway at Collective Troll. While you're there check out Troll's latest post on the mad props he's gotten for his work. Very well done, sir!

Next, two things I don't get:

1) Why in the name of all that is holy is Jonny Gomes not an everyday player in the Reds OF? His OPS is .925, his OPS+ is 136. He's a legit power threat in a lineup that could really use another big gun. So why on earth isn't he etched in stone in the lineup?

2) Why aren't CC and Zobrist getting national coverage for MVP, and Niemann for ROY?

Finally, sending out good vibes, I recently received two incredible packages from some folks in the blogosphere. With school kicking off in less than 24 hours, the compa and I have been in the weeds for the past two weeks (hence the slackness in posts, and these belated thank yous). The compa has a moral obligation to thank Troll for the incredible package he sent her (long story which I'm sure she'll explain) and she has promised me that's coming soon! Apologies, Troll, she really digs the cards.

I got two unexpected cards from the folks at 1980 Topps Baseball. Let me say that it's incredibly humbling that anyone would think enough of me to pick up some 1986 Topps needs for me at a show. Dean Family, I cannot thank you enough and am in your debt! With these two cards, I'm now 1 away!

First up: Dave Rozema. Did you know he's Kirk Gibson's brother-in-law?

He might be most famous for plunking a couple of Twins in 1982, which spawning a bench-clearing brawl, during which Rozema tried some sort karate kick that not only derailed his season, but also failed to connect with its target, John Castino. Apparently, he was a "colorful" player and a pretty good sport at that, as his home town minor league team sponsor a Rozema karate kick bobblehead night. I love how in this card he's leaning back a bit, like he's getting ready to throw a kick at someone. Nice touch!

I also received Lance Parrish.

Lance Parrish looks like catchers have and should have looked since the beginning of time. Bat over his shoulder, yeoman-like mouth half open as if to say, "What are you looking at?" I know Topps is about to break out a new T206 retro set, and let me just say that THIS is the prototypical shot they should use. It's absolutely timeless.

Many thanks again, Deans!

Jeff Niemann

Lost in the write-up of tonight's Rays/Jays tilt is Jeff Niemann's utter dominance of a really good Jays squad. On the MLB Network' pregame show everyone pretty much agreed Halladay would do all the dominating, and I'm not sure they even mentioned Niemann's name. 

And let's be honest: Niemann, along with Jason Hammel, came into the season out of minor-league options and was competing for the fifth spot in the rotation. This spot, as we all know, was merely being kept warm for David Price, so most observers were not taking Niemann's starting gig too seriously. Niemann is proving them wrong and, with the typical bumps along the way, has claimed his spot on the Big Club's staff.

I'm also a fan of Sonnanstine (whom the Rays sent down) but it's also nice to see former Durham Bull Niemann stay in the rotation and get better with every start. Congrats, Jeff, and keep up the great work!

As an aside, the compa and I attended a Rays/O's double header last year in Baltimore and ran into Jeff's dad at the Babe Ruth museum before the games. He asked about the Durham jersey I was wearing and we talked baseball for a few minutes before parting ways. Very nice guy and a very proud father.