Player collection updates...

I mentioned last week or so that I am a fan of the 2012 Cubs. Yes, their record is horrible. And they just got blown out 17-1. But I see some potential in a core group of guys that I hope survives the dismantling and rebuilding process. Aside from Ryne Sandberg, I decided this past off season I would start player collections of Tony Campana and Darwin Barney.

Campana hasn't had much to work with yet in terms of cards but so I'm trying a little harder with him. Just one more parallel from this year to go that is already on its way and some from last year. As I showed earlier in the week, I picked up a 2012 Campana printing plate to go along with my one from last year's update card. I don't know a Cubs fan that doesn't like him or appreciate what he does for the team, but his limited edition cards don't seem to cost very much. I'm ok with that.

I'm a little more lackadaisical with the Barney collection and am just going for base cards and parallels right now. I have added a couple of relics and autographs when I see one at a fantastic price and its ending in the middle of the night or something. That's how I picked up this dual relic autograph card:

Unless the seller dropped the card in a mud puddle and managed to clean off everything but the jersey swatches, this is the filthiest relic card I've ever seen. I didn't notice it in the auction photo, only when it arrived. Check out this nearly glowing Andrew Cashner by comparison I picked up from the same seller for less than a buck.

And actually, a few recent bulk trades and the following ebay pickup, led me to start looking into a player collection of Jeff Samardzija. He has a lot more card than I realized once I started looking outside of Topps. I found one seller who had all three of these guys for a reasonable price: 

Jeff Samardzija Black #/61

Darwin Barney Black #/61

Tony Campana Black #61

Before I picked these up, I thought the black border would be grittier for some reason. But they are just as smooth as the base card. Maybe because they're glittery? Each is numered out of 61 so with 23 Cubs in the team set, I won't be going after all of them. But I am very happy with these three.

I'm debating on starting an Anthony Rizzo collection but right now the answer is no (even though he's Riz-zonkulous) I think he's got more Padres cards right now than Cubs cards so maybe when that tips more in the Cubs favor, I'll change my  mind. Hopefully I'm refraining from buying high and not missing out on what will be considered cheap n the future...