Spring Fever at my LCS

Last week I made a trip down to my LCS to trade in some Yankees. I've mentioned it before, but my LCS owner and I are pretty good friends. He is a big Yankees fan and so I like to take in recent Yankees to him. In return he usually lets me take my pick of Dodgers he has laying around. 

I did just that.

First up is this sweet Yasiel Puig Spring Fever card. I rarely see these in his shop, but I was able to pick up this one, as well as a similar card of Jose Fernandez. I am a huge fan of Puig, yet the pricing on his cardboard has generally made him an afterthought for my collection. I try to pick up cheap singles when I find them, but for the most part I will stick to trades and LCS pickups for him.

Of course, a trip to my LCS wouldn't be complete unless I picked up some new Matt Kemp cardboard.

I plucked this recycled image out of the newly released Topps Archives and added it to my stack. The image may have been used before, but at least Topps chose a photo I really like. 

I also picked up these two cards, hailing from 2013 and 2014 Panini Prizm, respectively. I thought I already had a copy of the 2013 card and planned on sending it to a fellow blogger, but a quick look at my checklist shows that it is a new addition. In fact, it is my 149th card of The Bison. I have a post on my 150th card planned as soon as it gets in.

I also picked up a couple of cards of my favorite Dodgers pitcher, Clayton Kershaw. This has to be one of my favorite photos of Kershaw on a card, so I will be on the look out for some of the #'d versions out there. 

Speaking of great looking cards of Kid K, I was able to secure this awesome white-framed card from Gypsy Queen as well. I LOVE THESE WHITE FRAMED CARDS.

Now is as good as a time as ever to show off a couple more powdery cards from 2014 Panini Prizm. Seriously though. What was with all the powder residue on this product. I'm not sure if I was the only person with this problem. 

I don't pass up the opportunity to pick up free Harper cards very often, so I grabbed two more to add to the collection. It's a shame that Harper hasn't been able to stay healthy. The game is much better with young studs like him in the lineup everyday.

I feel like this trip was predominantly taken over by Topps Archives. I picked up these three cards, though I don't care enough about Archives to figure out the need for 3 different vintage sets. I am fans of all three, but Topps is already using the '89 design for the flagship minis. I wouldn't mind seeing some more of those '86 designs though as it may be one of my favorite sets of all-time, but it doesn't get enough credit. I did enjoy picking up my first card of Alex Guerrero, but with a bitten off ear, Topps may have to reuse the rookie card emblem again next year. 

I try not to nitpick about Topps too much, but sometimes there are some issues I like to bring up. Like why the hell they felt the need to use this picture not only in Heritage, but Archives only a few weeks later. The shot of Hanley is great, but I would like to see some more variation. 

I enjoy hitting up my LCS, but with a lack of time and money, my time there has diminished since last summer. I was able to secure another job recently (more on that later), so hopefully I will be able to pick up my first hobby box this fall.