The Yankees fifth starter could see a jump in card prices

With news that Andy Pettitte may be retiring, prospectors are jumping at the chance to predict the next Yankees fifth starter.

Since New York didn’t land any pitching free agents this offseason, so far, it’s likely the Yankees will have to get someone within the organization.

But who?

Could it be one of the Killer Bs?

That’s what prospectors are hoping for and Andrew Brackman seems to be leading that charge. Brackman was the Yankees 2007 first-round pick. His name hasn't been mentioned earlier because Brackman was recovering from Tommy John surgery he had in August 2007.

On Dec. 16, a Brackman Bowman blue refractor sold for $20 at auction. On Dec. 26, a blue refrector sold for $40 with a BIN listing.

In just 10 days, his cards have jumped significantly.

An orange raw refractor sold for $110 just yesterday.

He also has 60 items listed on eBay right now. Meanwhile, just 18 items of his sold since Dec. 16, including two cards that went yesterday.

Last season in Double-A Trenton, Brackman went 5-7 with a 3.01 ERA. He struck out 126 and walked 39 in 140 2/3 innings.

Current Brackman auctions
- 2008 Bowman Chrome auto refractor /500
- 2008 Bowman Chrome auto blue refractor 9.5 BGS
- 2007 USA auto /30
- Signa Cuts auto /25
- 2008 Just Minors auto 1/1
- 2007 Donruss Elite Extra Edition auto /500

Topps ringing 2011 with some big names

I'm a little late to the news, but Topps has gotten Sandy Koufax and Hank Aaron to sign baseball cards for 2011.

Aaron was most recently announced. His autographs will be included in 2011 Topps Heritage, 2011 Tribute and 2011 Gypsy Queen. Topps is getting two of baseball's all-time greats (and perhaps REAL home run king) into its products for the upcoming baseball card season.

Koufax and Aaron are the type of players who transcend teams. I would be thrilled to get these guys even though they never played for MY team. Aaron has a number of autographed - though many are short-printed - but this one looks pretty sharp. Heritage is the type of set made for old-school player autographs.

His last Topps auto came in 2005. So it's been a while since we've seen Hammerin' Hank on a card.

Hey, casual collector ... Guess what you can't have?

I lump myself into the category of a casual collector. I don't buy a ton of product and mostly chase the singles of the players I want when a product comes out.

But I do like to bust boxes of product in hopes that I can get a cool card or even something that I might be able to flip for money. I know those times are few and far in between, but it's why so many of  us still play the lotto. The odds aren't in your favor, but you can always dream.

The image of this Bryce Harper card was released today. It's part of Topps' 60th Anniversary roll out.

It's a cool card. If I hit it, I am not sure I would sell or keep. But I am never going to hit it. I am 100 percent sure of that.

This card is exclusive to 2010 Bowman Sterling Baseball.

I can't afford that. One hobby box of 2010 Bowman Sterling, which is set the be released in January costs $237.50. You can get six packs with five cards per pack. You essentially get 20 hits per box with a bunch of autos. But I can't afford high-end products.

Unfortunately, that's just the way it is.

Anyway, I do like the card. I just wish it was more readily available to casual collectors or at least I wish we had a shot at getting it.

I wish I wasn't so negative about it. There are 180 total Harper autographs with three different inscriptions. I would like to be excited about this, I really would. But I just get disappointed when such a cool card is out of my reach.

Blaster Break: 2010-2011 Panini Threads Basketball

The other day when I told you guys I went to Target and surveyed the new stock and prices I picked up a blaster. Most people have to rip them instantly, but me, I like to wait until I reaallllllly need to open packs. It's like a blaster for a rainy day, so to speak.

I picked up a blaster of 2010-2011 Panini Threads because I had liked what I had seen from the previews Panini posted, as well as the design of the cards. I am going to try and work on trading away the teams I don't want for some other cards if anyone is interested. I will also give away any of the base cards from the Rookies & Stars hobby box break if you e-mail with team preference and just pay the S&H.

I scanned some of the highlights and lowlights (Celtics) for everyone to check out. Honestly, it was well worth the $20 for the blaster.
Lamar Odom, Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher




Gotta love LeBronand his talents to pose for the camera like a tool.

The Shaqcard is the corniest pose ever, not to mention that uniform just doesn't suit him well.

The Gerald Henderson is an insert card /199


The only NY Knick I don't hate, Danilo Gallinari.

Willie Warren auto /399 which is on actual wood. No sticker, no "looks like wood" like the Topps Ginter "wood" cards, an autograph on the card that is wood. The card is awesome despite me not caring at all about the player. An autograph from a blaster is a win.




What do you guys think of the auto card design?

Sunday Question

Christmas is just a week away and I am kind of excited. I was thinking about past Christmases (is that a word? or is it Christmas'? actually I don't care, no one is paying me to write this), and all the cool toys and things I used to get as a kid and even as a teenager.

So here it is: What was the coolest thing you got for Christmas as a kid? (16 and younger)

There are very few things I remember opening as a kid and being so surprised that I didn't know which way to go first. In my house the gifts for Christmas usually end up being one big gift and a couple of little things. The earliest thing I can remember opening as a kid was a giant refrigerator sized box (I was maybe like 6 years old) and inside was a ginormous Woody Woodpecker stuffed animal. I loved him as a kid. I also got an adult like 10 piece drum set one year, too. That was cool.

Topps gets Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez in 2011 Topps Series 1

When the email came over with the press release that Topps was able to get Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez in Red Sox unis for 2011 Topps Series 1, I had a good laugh on the inside, and not in a mean way.

I am not laughing at the magic of Photoshop. I think it's a good idea, especially for people who want to see their newest players in uniforms. I think it's a solid idea to get them in the product.

I laughed because over the years Series 1 has had guys who were free agents and wound up with another team during the offseason only for them to be shown in uniform with their former club. Then, would leave out guys who you knew weren't going anywhere - specifically Derek Jeter - and not include them until Series 2.

I'm happy to see that Topps is moving in the right direction when it comes to these types of scenarios.

But because the product is essentially coming close to being finished, the Crawford and Gonzalez cards will be short-prints and numbered as variations.

Is there a way to tell which stadium Crawford is actually in? Does anyone know?

I don't think the Red Sox uniform is very becoming of him, by the way. ;-)

All I want for Christmas...

I can't believe Christmas is next week already. This year has gone by so fast that I can hardly believe it. I love this time of year for so many reasons, one being that Elf is on all the time and when it's not I can watch it on DVD.

Here's a clip of Buddy going to New York. Keep an eye out around 7:00 in when he goes into the department store. Hilarious.



Then there is all the yummy food... Perhaps subconsciously I have been working out extra hard the last 2 months so that I can inhale holiday food. I love Christmas cakes, cookies, and all of that good stuff. Ohh and mashed sweet potatoes that I will only share with Sooz on Christmas night.

But my top favorite part of Christmas aside from spending it with family (even if they are crazy sometimes...) is giving presents. I like seeing peoples' faces when they open their presents and are genuinely happy with what I picked out for them.

Since it's Friday and no one wants to be at work, let's have a little fun today. I know most of us don't get cards for Christmas from our families so if you could pick one product to get this year, what would it be? The other question is- If you could pick one thing (anything) to get me and Sooz what would it be?

I'll start it off. I would like a 2003 Heritage Cano RC AU. If I could buy Sooz anything (well, I bought her something it just isn't this) I would get her a 55" Samsung LED 1080p TV. It would be stupendous for watching sports.

2010 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects

I picked these up, you know, for the sake of the blog. Yep, I'll keep telling myself that.

Remember how I told you guys about what you get per pack in retail packs and blasters? Well while I was there the other night when I opened the boxes, despite picking a few packs up of each I put all but 2 2010-2011 Panini Threads. However, yesterday when I was in the mall for another reason I walked back by the card aisle to see what was left.

There were roughly 6 2010-2011 Panini Threads blasters two days ago. Yesterday, there was only one left. I also forgot to make mention of the fact that the Panini Threads blasters have a coupon for $2 if you buy two Panini Threads products.

The funny part or sad as if may seem, is that the 4 packs of 2010 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects I had grabbed from the bottom of the box were in the exact same spot I left them in with nothing else moved... Kinda weird... I felt this was some sort of sign, and since I had a Target gift card from my birthday I grabbed the 4 packs to see if my feeling was right.

Here are the highlights of the 4 packs:

Sean Brady USA and Corey Seager USA



Drew Stubbs RC refractor


Jason Heyward RC


Carson Kelly GU /199

I also pulled 3 base Team USA cards: Sean Brady, Marc Brakeman, and Alex Bregman.

I wish there was more of a difference in the design of the different versions of Bowman, Bowman Chrome, and Bowman DPP. The first year cards I think should be universal, but it's like opening the same packs for 3 releases. It makes this one kind of a snooze by the time it gets released because you have seen the cards so many times already.

Anyone pull a cool auto from retail? Hobby? (Retail boxes state one auto and one relic per box.)

Target fully stocked

Last night I went to the mall and while in Target I noticed that there were blasters and packs galore of everything you could imagine, including sealed retail boxes of 2010-2011 Panini Threads Basketball, 2010 Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects baseball, and 2010 Bowman Platinum. They also had rack packs and blasters of everything.

I won't lie, I opened each box and planned on grabbing a few packs from each and going on my way. I grabbed the bottom packs out of each box... Then I put them all back. $2.99 per pack for both Bowman products and you get 4 cards. 4 cards that I probably won't want since I don't collect many players. Then the Panini Threads... $2.99 per pack, 10 cards per pack. Sold.

I have had good luck with basketball so I stuck with those packs. While I didn't pull anything great, they were fun to open and I like the photography and design on the set.



As luck would have it I have a knack for pulling Boston Celtics cards. Go figure. Perhaps I can make a pile of Celtics to trade someone.

So I took note of some of the other products out and what you get in the blasters. Bowman Platinum blaster is 8 packs, 4 cards per pack- 32 cards for $20. Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects
you get 8 packs with 7 cards per pack - 56 cards for $20. The DPP is actually a break considering the loose packs only get you 4 cards and chances are the packs were searched unless you stumble upon a box that was sealed like I did. Still wasn't tempting for the price despite the odds being intact. Rack packs of Platinum go for $8.99 for 3 packs with a bonus 3 refractors, and I believe the DPP rack packs were $4.99 with 3 chrome cards (I forget how many cards total). Panini Threads blaster, 8 packs, 10 packs per box- $20.

Maybe I picked up a blaster....

I wish Topps could pack a few more cards per pack or an extra pack per blaster to make you feel like you are getting value like you can get from a Panini product.

Anyone happen to pull something good out of the new retail release wave that hit recently?