Mailday Monday - Dimwit & Kelleher

First of all I want to thank Sam over at The Daily Dimwit. We completed a trade this week in a Gypsy Queen exchange so when he received my package he plugged this here blog to send a bunch of new readers my way. So welcome to everybody who discovered my little slice of the interwebs over the weekend! Updated daily at Noon, EST.

So the mail this week brought Dimwit's package. There were a few Cubs for me and a couple of Nats card for my sons. So many different parallels in GQ but knocked out a few for each team set. Always excited to add some new Ryne Sandberg cards. The first card is numbered to 599 and the second is a mini Straight Cut parallel. Now that I have one for the Sandberg collection, still need one of each for the team set.

Couple more Cubs inserts. Ernie Banks regular mini. Starlin Castro Sliding Stars mini.

I don't see a defensive player but Castro doesn't look very confident in his slide.

I normally wouldn't include Nats cards on the blog but since they came as part of this great trade, I'll show them. First, a trio of Ryan Zimmerman minis. A regular mini, a Straight Cut mini and a photo variation:

Three more minis, a Gypsy Queen back Ian Desmond, black Ian Desmond and a black Michael Morse:

Thanks again Sam!

Also in the mail this week was my return package I had sent out to ethannoah over at SCN. He had offered some help with getting Yankee autographs when they visited his hometown Royals. Probably because of their popularity, but Yankees are notoriously tough signers. Don't panic, I didn't want any actual current Yankee players, but rather some former Cubs players and current Yankees coaches. I sent ATCRCS cards for Joe Giradi (manager), Mike Harkey (bullpen coach) and Mick Kelleher (1st base coach) as well as a couple of Topps issues for Harkey and Kelleher.

True to reputation, Ethan didn't have much luck with the Yankees but he did manage to get two Topps cards signed by Kelleher. He wouldn't sign the ATCRCS card, presumably because it is unlicensed. I had run into this excuse myself with a minor leaguer but I won't give up!

He signed a 1980 and 1981 Topps cards and added his #20, which he wore during his time with the Cubs, to the signature.

Thanks Ethan!

Today's ATCRCS card of the day: George Altman

Mailday Monday

One of the reasons I decided to start my blog was to increase my network of trading partners. I'm sure there have been some rants about this long before I joined the community, but exorbitant shipping, overpriced commons, lack of local card shops and shows have made it difficult to knock out a few cards here and there to finish off some sets. That said, I just worked out my first trade within the blog community over the weekend with the Daily Dimwit and am very excited to find more. I still have a lot of organizing and cataloging to do for my extras but I'm working on it!

Another light mail week but these autographed cards below recently came in the mail in a trade I worked out over at SCN.

2005 Topps Todd Walker

2004 Topps Traded Ricky Nolasco

Check out today's ATCRCS cards of the day on Facebook!

Mailday Monday

Today is the first installment of Mailday Monday. It was a bit of a slow week but I'm real pleased with my pickups. The first two were separate eBay purchases but will help get the ball rolling on completing the set. There is nothing wrong with the fronts of the cards themselves but apparently my scanner likes to pick up each pixel. The corners and centering are pretty good on both although the border on the Luis Salazar is a little thinner on the top.

Mitch Williams was only with the Cubs for 2 seasons but he falls into that Boys of Zimmer category that I mentioned the other day with Jerome Walton. Luis Salazar is currently the manager of the Lynchburg Hillcats, the Braves low Single A affiliate. They play my local minor league team, the Potomac Nationals, several times a season so I picked this card up in anticipation of going to a game to get it signed.

My third item was actually a card I've had for over 20 years. There was listing over on Sportscollectors.net for a Cecil Fielder signing and this card came to mind instantly. No, Fielder was never a Cub, but since he is on a card with my favorite one ever, it was a no brainer to send in for the signing. I hope to finish it off by adding Sandberg's signature soon. Maybe it's just me, but Cecil seems a lot slimmer than I remember as a kid.

Today's ATCRCS card of the day: Former Cub, current Washington National, Mark DeRosa

Structure

I love structure. I can be a little scatterbrained so I learned early on that checklists are not just for baseball cards sets. I use them everyday for work, home and my hobby. When I decided to start my blog, one of my biggest concerns was that there would be days where I would draw a blank and not be able to write anything. But now that I've been doing this for about two weeks, I've come up with a basic structure of themed days that will get me through the week should the need arise. Some of these I'll do every week, some just when needed.

Sandberg Sunday - Without a doubt, my favorite player growing up was Ryne Sandberg. I have thousands of his cards (hundreds of which are different), dozens of autographs and plenty of other memorabilia to showcase.

Mailday Monday - Whether its eBay purchases, trades, autograph requests being returned or bills, Monday tends to be my biggest mailday. I'll share some of my bounty from the previous week.

Tab Tuesday - It seems logical to me that following a big mailday, I should update the different collections featured in the tabs underneath my header (tabs coming soon!). Also, updates and reminders to any upcoming box breaks or contests will be noted here. Date of last update will be included in tab name.

Wantlist Wednesday - After sorting through everything from Mailday Monday, I will update my wantlists accordingly. As I dive deeper back into the collecting world, I fear this list may grow faster than it will shrink.

Trade List Thursday - I can't expect people to help with Wantlist Wednesday without something in return, so on Thursdays I'll showcase a few items looking for a more appreciative owner.

First Pitch Friday - Debuted yesterday, this is a fun little insert for my ATCRCS that I developed on a whim. While looking for photos to use, I came across quite a few celebrities who have thrown a first pitch at Wrigley Field.

Signature Saturday - As part of my overarching Cubs collection I collect autographs as well. With a pretty good headstart and continuous acquisitions, I should have enough to cover Saturdays for a long time.

Although this blog will be heavily Cubs themed, I hope there is enough variety to keep others interested. Feedback always welcome!