Trade Pile 6: Adding On and Paging Contest Winners

I'm adding to the trade pile and also paging a few contest winners. I still need to ship out six packages, but I need addresses from all but one of you. (Gavin, I've got your Mookie Betts card set aside, and I'm waiting on soem shipping materials to arrive to my apartment before I ship.) Can the following folks reach out to me via email (alexmarkle05@gmail.com) with their mailing address? Peter S., Bret Alan, Comatoad, Adam K., and Swing and a Pop Up. 

Remember, if you want to claim the Trade Pile, comment on this post (and email me your address) and let me know what you plan to send my way from my want lists. I'm also always on the lookout for cards I don't own of my player collections. All you need to send is a single card I need and the entire stack is yours. 

2008 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes #188 Rodriguez/Jeter/Cano 

1996 Topps Chrome Alex Rodriguez #3

Blog Notes: Trade Pile, Last Call for my Contest, and BFG Winnings

The typical summer slowdown at work hasn't happened, as it's actually been much busier than normal due to COVID and all the uncertainty around what's going to happen on college campuses this Fall. But as of 5pm, I'm officially on vacation for the rest of the week, so I'm turning my attention to the blog and a few things that new some catching up on.

1. Last Call on the Contest

If you haven't yet joined in on the fun, today's your last day to do so. The contest I've been running officially ends at midnight, and I'll be adding to the prize pool and announcing winners sometime in the next few days. I likely won't make it to my goal of 100 followers (currently sitting at 96), and that's okay. I appreciate all 96 (and everyone else) that takes the time to check out the blog. Thank you!

Regarding the contest, I was initially planning to hold a winnings draft, in which the winners chose which prize they wanted. But after thinking about it some more, that will likely take a ton of time considering the number of prizes I plan on giving out. Instead, I will add all of the entries into a randomizer, then match up the names with the prize number. Seem fair?

One question remains: how many times should I randomize the list of entries? First comment to answer this question decides it.

2. Blog Reader Bruce?
Trade Pile #3 was claimed earlier this month by a commenter named Blog Reader Bruce, but I don't have their contact info. Bruce, if you're out there, can you send me an email so we can exchange address info? If I don't hear back from you by this Friday, I'll plan to add to the pile.  

3. BFG Winnings from Johnny's Trading Spot 

It feels wrong to post without including at least one card photo, so now is as good a time as ever to catch up on my past winnings in Johnny's Big Fun Game. I've participated the last two months and come away with some cool stuff, and I'm looking forward to this Friday's game as well. (Thanks for hosting, Johnny!) If you haven't yet participated, head over and sign up now!

New Blog Design and Other Important Notes

I've been wanting to redesign the blog for quite some time now, but I finally made it happen. A friend helped me with an updated banner, background, and logo, so a huge shoutout to her for all of her hard and wonderful work. If you've ever been to Dodger Stadium, then the inspiration for the changes is obvious. The new banner image is based on the famous Dodger Stadium entrance signs, the colors have been adjusted to incorporate the classic Brooklyn Dodgers blue, and the new background is a sort of cartoon/minimalistic take on the Dodgers Stadium outfield seats. 

I'm curious to hear what you all think about the new design. Drop a note in the comments and let me know what feedback you have. 

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My buddy over at Nachos Grande has been steadily working through all of the Allen & Ginter mini sets for the last few weeks leading up to his Ultimate A&G Mini Set Bracket and corresponding contest. I've had a blast voting for the best mini set of its respective year over the last few weeks, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the rest of the blogosphere thinks. Head over there to complete your bracket and see which mini set reigns supreme! 

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Speaking of contests, I've been thinking about holding my own contest sometime soon, and I may have picked up a box of Topps T206 as one of the prizes. Hint hint. Be sure you're following the blog to stay updated, as the contest will likely be embedded in one of my posts. 

Topps Reveals 2020 Flagship Design...

... and it's not great. 

I'll have a more in-depth post about this sometime in the future when more details emerge, but I wanted to throw some of my initial thoughts out there.

1. Nameplates: The nameplate gets a vertical treatment on all cards and the names rotated 90 degrees. This looks to me like only the second time Topps has treated names in this fashion, maybe as a nod to the 1999 set? Not the set I'd steal design elements from, to be honest. 
2. Bowman?: At first glance, it looks a lot like recent Bowman releases. Don't ask me which ones; I think most Bowman from the last five years or so looks incredibly similar. This doesn't seem to have much personality.
3. Color: The design seems to lack color. The nameplates coordinate with the players' team, but we only get small bursts within the largely semi-transparent frame. Of course, this is a full-bleed design, so most of the color comes from the photo itself, but I would have liked to see a more colorful set. I suppose I'm a border purist when it comes to Flagship. Of course, the backs could contain a ton of color, but we'll have to wait and see.
4. Photos: More of the same with the four photos above. I didn't expect anything less in the sneak peek, and I'm sure there will be gems in the set, but I still would've loved to see more variety. 

From the very limited images we have, I can't say I'm a big fan. The set doesn't feel decidedly "flagship" to me, resembling Bowman or some of Topps' more recent digital releases. The design can still change, however, though based on the production process, it'll likely only be small tweaks here or there. 

What are your thoughts on the 2020 design? 

Back to Blogger in Pursuit of Some Horses

Back in January, I moved my blog over to WordPress after spending most of the last 5 years blogging from Blogger. I had heard a ton of great things about WordPress and figured I'd give it a go. Shortly after joining and transferring all of my content over, however, WordPress released a new editor which is absolutely horrid. A ton of other problems ended up popping up with WordPress, so I'm back to my roots here. Sorry for the the URL changes, folks.

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I've spent considerable time over the past few months organizing my collection and determining where to focus my collecting habits moving forward. I've already decided to take a more aggressive approach with my Clayton Kershaw PC, and I recently added Justin Turner to my PC as well. 

I've also decided to start collecting horse cards. 

Yep. Horse cards.

My girlfriend is a longtime equestrian, so collecting horse cards seemed like a fun and unique way to loop her into the hobby. 

I'm starting this mini-collection with a focus on the Horse in the Race mini set in 2017 Allen & Ginter. I happened to come across some insider information about the production of the subset a few years back, and I knew I had to collect it. I managed to pull a couple from packs--the Shire and Marwari horses pictured--but they aren't easy to come by. 

It's a 25-card subset, and I've knocked two off the list, but I'd like to grab the rest. You can find my needs here or by navigating to my Want List page. 

In addition to this brief set, I'm also interested in collecting cards that have horses on them even if they aren't the focus point of the card. I'm not quite sure where to begin, but I'm sure there has gotta be some great horse cardboard out there somewhere, and I'm hoping you'll all help me find it. 

Have any horse cards? Let's make a swap. 

Chavez Ravining Fantasy Baseball

I've been waiting to write this posts for months. After the success of last year's league, I've been chomping at the bit to start up again. Although the league as a whole was a success, there were a few improvements that can be made for 2015 (including a few things I could have done better); but we'll talk about tweaking the rules/points a bit further down the line.

Let's talk about some of the format and some of the basic rules for 2015 before we get to the signups.

1. This will be a dynasty league. This means that we will carry this league on for as long as people are willing to stay in it. But don't worry, owners will have the chance to leave at the end of the year if it just isn't working for them.

2. It will be rotisserie scoring. This means that points will be scored by counting stats, and there will be no head-to-head match-ups. We will be using ESPN to play. 

3. Please, please pay attention and keep up with the league if you are apart of it. I understand that life gets in the way and we can all get busy at times, but the league doesn't work unless all of the participants are active. If you can spend at least ten minutes a week keeping up with trade offers etc. it would be greatly appreciated.

That is pretty much the extent of it right now. I have a good idea with where we will head going into the season, but I'd rather have that discussion on the Fantasy Baseball blog itself. 

If you are interested in participating, simply leave me a comment or send me an email.

You are not locked into participating by doing this, so even if you are unsure if you want to participate you should still contact me. 

Also, I am more than willing to here suggestions about the league in the comments section. Don't want to do the dynasty format? Think we should do something else? Just let me know.

Looking forward to another great year!


EDIT: Here is some more info about the league. These are the thoughts I've had, so all the rules, format is up for discussion. 

• Mixed league (both NL and AL)
• 6X6 scoring
• Batters: R, HR, RBI, SB, AVG, OBP
• Pitchers: K, W, SV, ERA, WHIP, K/9
• Hosted on ESPN.
• Last year was free to play, may consider a small buy-in with prizes at the end of year.  Open to both options.
• About 50% of the roster will be kept year-to-year.
• Tenative Roster Limits. Depends on how many people participate. 

Catcher (C)	1	No Limit
First Base (1B)	1	No Limit
Second Base (2B)	1	No Limit
Third Base (3B)	1	No Limit
Shortstop (SS)	1	No Limit
Middle Infielder (2B/SS)	1	N/A
Corner Infielder (1B/3B)	1	N/A
Left Field (LF)	0	No Limit
Center Field (CF)	0	No Limit
Right Field (RF)	0	No Limit
Outfield (OF)	5	N/A
Designated Hitter (DH)	1	No Limit
Utility (UTIL)	2	N/A
Pitcher (P)	10	N/A
Starting Pitcher (SP)	0	No Limit
Relief Pitcher (RP)	0	No Limit
Bench (BE)	4	N/A
Disabled List (DL)	2	N/A

Let's Do Some Housekeeping

I was browsing the blogs last night when I came across a fantastic post by Zippy Zappy over at Torren' Up Cards. I have not had the pleasure of dealing with him yet, but perhaps that will change one of these days.

Anyway. In spite of some recent events, Zippy Zappy went over his trading Code of Conduct. It was definitely a good read, so I encourage you all to go and check it out. 

In the post, ZZ discussed building trust with trading partners. The post made me think about how I go about trades, contests, and other blog related dealings, but most importantly, it reminded me of all the people I owe cards to. 

In an effort to make things right with some of the fantastic people out there in cardboard land, I am posting this as a reminder to myself , and to those I have dealings with, to make things right.

If I owe you cards, or if we have a deal in place that hasn't been completed, please comment on this post. 

A combination of school and work has taken up a ton of my free time, and I am getting forgetful in my young age. 

Below is a list of people I know I owe cards to. If you aren't on this list, and we haven't spoken in the past few weeks, please contact me. 

• Ruben Lipsyzc (USA Relics from Contest)
• Matthew Wilson (K-Mart Set)
• Bo Rosny (K-Mart Set)
• Fantastic Catch (Bowman Minis + Cardinals)
• Nomo's Sushi Platter (Dodgers) 
• Nachos Grande (Set needs + more)
• Night Owl (Dodgers Needs)

I'm pretty positive that those are the only people I owe cards to. I double checked my email and Twitter inbox and can't find anyone else. However, I am human and I may have missed someone. 

By the way, here is one of my more recent Kemp pickups. Shiny blue cards are fun. 

State of the Blog: 2015 Goals

Last year I set nine goals for myself, all of differing variety and difficulty. This year I decided to make things a little simpler.

1. Get to 300 Matt Kemp cards

Pretty self-explanatory. I reached 200 in 2014, so that gives me about 365 days to get 100 more. My options are getting lighter, but we'll probably see the first non-Dodgers Kemp card in my PC this year. That will be a tough post.

2. Add One Clayton Kershaw Auto

Hell, these are all self-explanatory. I have been meaning to add a Kershaw auto for quite some time, but I never found one at the right price at the right time. Hopefully 2015 will be the year.

3. Reach 100 Followers

Again, pretty easy. Though this one does depend on other people more than myself. I should probably bring back contests this summer.

4. Finish the master auto set of either Parks and Rec or Archer

In a perfect world I'd do both, but this isn't a perfect world. Parks and Rec is probably the most realistic of the two sets to finish, but there are some expensive cards left to acquire. Let's hope 2015 is the year of the good eBay deal.

I'm sure other things will pop up periodically throughout the year, but these are the bigger things I'd like to focus on for now. 

Wait, one more.

5. Go to Los Angeles for the Dodgers World Series Parade
B)

I'm sure this guy would be down to party it up this November

A Look Back at my 2014 Goals feat. Barry Bonds

On this date one year ago, I established nine goals to accomplish in 2014. Let's take a look at each one of those goals and grade how I did. I'll be posting my 2015 goals early next week.

1. Keep an Updated Blog List
Well, I guess I did alright. I have quite a few blogs on my Blog List, and I know I added a few in 2014. However, I know there are quite a few blogs I visit regularly that are not on here. If you aren't on the list and would like to be, just leave me a comment.

Grade: C+

2. Track Chavez Code Points Better
Hahahahaha. Nope. It only took me a few months to get rid of that due to the difficulty associated with its upkeep. It was a pretty cool idea though.

Grade: F-

3. Reach 200 Matt Kemp cards
Hey, I actually accomplished this! It was on the last day of the year, but I still did it. It was quite a fun ride getting to 200 and I look forward to grabbing more for my PC.

Grade: A+

4. Own 15 Matt Kemp Autographs
Yep. Though only 13 have been shown on the blog. I guess that warrants a bit of a markdown. Look for numbers 14 and 15 soon.

Grade: A-

5. Complete the 2013 Topps Chrome Rainbow for Matt Kemp
The first sentence accompanying this goal was, "This one depends on the availability of the cards, more than my desire to get it done," and boy did that ring true. I missed out on the camo refractor of Kemp early in 2014, and apparently I missed another one that only sold for two bucks in November. I still need five more refractors (Red, Camo, Pink, Atomic, Super), so the chances of this ever being completed are slim. It is a HUGE goal of mine though, so I will drag this goal onto 2015.

Grade: Incomplete

6. Complete 2014 Flagship Before 2015 Comes Out
Well, that was the plan. I finished Series One within a month of its release, came pretty close to finishing off Series Two, but then ditched my set building in an effort to save some time, space, and money. I feel I would have accomplished it had I not gave up on set building, but here we are.

Grade: C-

7. Put Together Every Dodgers Team Set from 2014
Looking back at these goals have led me to realize the difference in my collecting habits only one short year ago. I am focusing more on my small group of PC's nowadays (Kemp, Kershaw, Green, Beltre, Ryu, Bills, Harper, Puig), so this one was doomed when I changed my collecting habits in the summer.

Grade: F

8. Have 75 Followers on the Blog 
I started out the year at 22 followers, so considering I am at 88 followers now, I think I did pretty good.

Grade: A+

9. More Dodger Bobbleheads
I had five at at the time, and I now have twelve.

Grade: A+

Overall, I think I did alright. Some goals didn't work out due to a big change in my collecting habits, so I don't feel too bad. Others I just sucked at following through. It was fun to look back and see how I did, and I hope to have some of the same success in 2015.

Overall Grade: C+

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I couldn't post this without an accompanying card, so here is a card I picked up in one of my latest trades. 

This card came courtesy of Caitlin over at Yankees and Jays. You can see what I sent her here. 

This may be the only time I ever intentionally trade for Giant, so soak it in. Barry Bonds is the greatest player of my generation (though many people may argue that), and I am happy to add a cool looking card of the Home Run King to my collection. The relic on this piece is particularly weird, and it feels a bit like foam to me. I'm not sure if it is specific to my copy of the card only, but it is still pretty jazzy. 

Thanks again, Caitlin!

Reinvigoration Part One: The Dodgers

I've been spending the past few days going through stacks and stacks of cards. I'm trying to tone down the collection and make some room, so I've been setting cards aside for a variety of people. 

Dimeboxes, Bob Walk the Plank, Plaschke, Johnny's Trading Spot, Tomahawk Empire, Andrew's Baseball Cards, A Swing and a Hit, Sportscards From The Dollar Store and others should be expecting cards from me pretty soon. I will also be getting out the rest of the contest winnings from my last contest soon as well. 

In the mean time, I will be "listing" cards on here that I am attempting to move. Feel free to comment if anything catches your eye. I am up for trading the cards, or in some cases, selling them. However, I will probably only sell the bigger lots of cards. More on that later. 

State of the Blog: Water and Cards Don't Mix + Other Odds and Ends

I have been pretty darn busy with school and work which has hindered my ability to consistently post here. I still get the occasional custom post out, but those are becoming a little harder to stay on top off. I am chalking that up to the middle of the semester blues, something I seem to go through every semester. I am doing fairly well in my classes, though Calculus is a pain in the butt. I'm glad that I'll be done with math after the end of the semester.

Anyway. I have always had this irrational fear that I would spill water on and/or destroy someone's cards right before I sent them out to that person. After nearly a year of posting here on the blog, that fear never materialized. That is, until I spilled a large cup of water over on my card desk a few nights ago. I managed to wipe out over half of my Chad Billingsley collection, a ton of Topps Chrome cards of the Braves I was planning on sending out to a certain blogger, I ton of Washington Nationals cards from the break that were just sitting around, and a few other various cards I had sitting out on the desk.

It seems that my cards took a brunt of the hit. That Chad Billingsley post I was planning on doing for way too long will never fully unfold. At least it was the base cards that took the hit. My autos/relics were luckily saved by their top loaders. The Chrome cards seem to be warping a bit, and the backs are starting to peel. For the most part, nothing of real value was lost, but it is still frustrating to lose cards in general.

RIP

That sucked, but it allowed me to make time to organize my cards and think about what I plan on doing with a ton of them.

As I mentioned a few times over the past couple of months, I am trying to downsize my collection. I enjoy collecting, but it will have to take a backseat to some of the other things going on in my life.

I will attempt to sell most of my cards pretty soon. There will be a detailed post with everything I am selling. I don't plan on trying to turn a profit, but a small amount to cover shipping and supplies is probably what I am thinking. Stay tuned if you are interested in picking up some cards for cheap.

On another note, Halloween right around the corner. Has anybody out there ever seen a costume based on cards at all? I was discussing different Halloween costumes with my coordinator at work today and we were coming up with some cool ideas, but it made me think about the card community. I could see someone making a Topps card costume pretty easily. Google proved me right.

Not Me

Narrowing My Focus

Less than a month ago, I published a post describing my desire to take a step back from the hobby. At that time, I cited a lack of money, time, and space as the reasons why I needed a reprieve.  Less than a month later, I need another reprieve.

My posting on the blog has been sparse of late. I have made 15 posts in the month of September, and 5 of those were simply for the box break. It's not like I have a lack of interest in cards, or lack of cards to post, rather a lack of time. 

And time is the reason I need to narrow my focus once again. 

No longer will I have secondary or tertiary PC's. That Topps Chrome Rainbow I have been trying to complete since I started the blog? That's done too. We can also say goodbye to the Chavez Ravining HOF, though I never really did get the chance to go anywhere with that. This list could go on and on. Let me just talk about what I plan to focus on going forward.

1. My PC Guys

No longer will they be my "primary" PC guys, but just my PC guys. Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, Adrian Beltre, and Shawn Green will be the primary guys featured on this blog. I will continue my attempt to gather as many cards for these guys as possible. I'm still on the hunt for that elusive Kershaw auto. Damn college and it's expensiveness! 

However, Hyun-Jin Ryu is getting the boot. I will still have an enormous place for him in my collection, along with a few other players, like Bryce Harper, Yasiel Puig, and A-Gon. I will just have a smaller focus on those guys. I would love to receive their cards in trades, but I won't actively look to purchase their cards for the time being. 

2. Non-MLB Cards

I can't really explain my infatuation with non-MLB cards as of late; all I know is that I can't get enough of them. Parks and Recreation, Archer, and The Simpsons will be much bigger parts of this blog moving forward. 

Maybe it is because they are truly one-of-a-kind cards. They aren't 1/1's, but I don't see the same laziness in these cards as I do in some of the baseball products. *cough cough* Topps *cough cough*

3. Topps Team Set Project

One thing that won't be going away anytime soon is my Topps Team Set Project. For those unsure of what this is, it is basically my pursuit of every Dodgers team set from Topps Flagship ever. 

I have a good start so far. A good chunk of the 80's is done, and I have a pretty good start on the later 2000's as well. Of course, that leaves me with a ton of expensive cards from the 50's, 60's, and 70's to buy, but this project may last a lifetime. I'm not rushing it right now. 

In addition to those three things above, I will be placing an extra importance on autographs. I love base cards, but I'm trying to collect without taking up too much space for the time being.

And that's it. I am narrowing my focus to just three things. My PC guys, my TV shows, and my Topps Team Set Project. 

It is important to mention that I am not planning on just dumping all of the cards of my secondary and tertiary collections. I still have the desire to collect those guys, but I need to narrow down my focus. If you are interested in any cards from those guys, I would be more than happy to move them, though I am not obligated to do so. 

I will take the time to adjust the layout of my blog to coincide with my new collecting habits sometime soon. For the time being, I will continue to post my recent trades and customs until I can work out a schedule that puts me in my office chair on a more frequent basis. 

Hey, I'm Alive!

Hope all is well with everyone out there in the blogosphere!

As you may have noticed, I have been missing for just over a week. For someone who once made it a habit to post every single day, the last week or so has felt pretty empty. However, my absence is justified, and I wasn't just being lazy.

You may have heard that I got a tutoring gig over at my college. I've been tutoring English, History, Psychology, and just writing in general. (You'll have to find somebody else to ask if you need help with math :o) It has been an immensely enjoyable experience so far, if not a little overwhelming. Actually, I'm not sure if overwhelming is the right word. It hasn't been overwhelming in a bad way, but more of a time consuming activity that I really enjoy doing.

Anyway. The tutoring staff has dealt with some turnover heading into this semester. Some of the longest tenured tutors left because they finished up with school. Other moved to other colleges. Basically, there is a ton of new faces in the tutorial center, with me being one of them.

Everything was fine to begin the semester, however another veteran tutor had to leave because it conflicted with her schedule at school. Then, another tutor left last week with no prior notice. That left about six of us to cover all of the hours during the week. That wasn't bad in itself, but then two of those tutors had to go and get sick this week.

But I'm rambling. Basically, I have been the go-to guy for tutoring this week, because of my willingness to cover and my availability. Long days in the tutorial center and long nights doing homework have essentially led to my demise.

That said, I would not change a thing about the last two weeks. Working in the tutorial center has genuinely been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life so far. I mean, I actually look forward to getting up and going to work. How many of you can say that?

*Life story ends here*

Now that I have justified my absence, lets get to talking about cards. More specifically, cards I owe people. Even more specific, cards from the box break.

I shipped about five packages late last week, but was interrupted while putting the rest together. (You guessed it, I got called into work). I sent out some emails over the weekend confirming address for a few of you, and I also mentioned that I would be shipping on Monday. That never happened, so your cards are still sitting here waiting to be packaged up. I guarantee they will all be shipped out tomorrow morning. If you haven't received cards from the break yet, or if you haven't been contacted my me, please email me so I can confirm the shipping address. 

I apologize for taking so long to get them out. It was really not my intention, but I guess life happens. Let me know if I can make it up to you somehow. 

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I have also had almost zero interest in my Mystery Packs. I figured 50 cards, mostly inserts, parallels, #'d cards, and one with some hits would garner some more interest, especially since I was selling them for $5.00 including shipping. I guess I was wrong.

If I don't get anymore inquires for them after this post, I may just ship them of to a few various bloggers that I enjoy doing business with. 

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Finally, here is the flan Archer Sketch Card I never got around to posting. I'm sure this doesn't interest many of you, but sketch cards are quickly becoming a favorite of mine. 

This particular card went to my buddy Dikran as part of his birthday present, but I could definitely afford to get him a few more. Well, I can't really afford it money wise, but I should probably return the favor at some point. 

Taking a Step Back

I've been struggling with my collection for quite some time now. I absolutely love my cards. Not in a perverted psychopath kind of way, but more like the way a person might love a fine Cuban cigar (#EverySimpsonsEver). However, I have decided to take a large step back in my collecting. 

Now hear me out. I am not doing this because I don't want to collect cards anymore. I'm not doing it because I don't like David Ortiz, Hanley Ramirez, or Jose Fernandez anymore. I am not doing it because I don't feel a thrill in chasing the newly released sets like Heritage, Chrome, or Allen and Ginter's anymore either. I am doing it because I am short on time, money, and space. 

Time
Time is a valuable thing; however, it is a valuable thing that I have far less of these days. Going to school full time, along with working two jobs, can really take a chunk out of a persons time. Not to mention I like to get to get some exercise in, whether it be the gym, baseball field, basketball courts, or lately, the tennis courts. I also enjoy hanging out with family and friends, but who doesn't. I almost forgot to mention my commute time to simply get to town. 

If those reasons weren't clear enough, just look at the amount of posts I've written over the past month. I wen't from writing one (sometimes two) posts a day, to having about five a week. And I have been cheating with digital cards and box break posts recently. 

Being short on time isn't only detrimental to the state of my blog, but it hurts the organization of my cards here at home. I am unable to find time to sort, scan, and write considering the sheer size of my collection. 

Money
The biggest problem I have may be universal: money. Everyone loves that green stuff, but it is hard to come by these days. With endless bills, textbooks, car repairs, and other crap I have to buy, I am unable to trade my paper currency for cardboard currency. 

With a limited budget for cards, I am also having a hard time setting my priorities. I collect so many things, that I simply change my mind on what I want to purchase on a daily basis. Should I use most of my budget to pick up that Matt Kemp auto I have been eyeing for a few weeks? How about those sweet Simpsons autographs? Maybe I should save up for the higher priced Parks and Rec autos? 

It is a never ending series of questions in my head, and I never have a good answer. Picking up the occasional card from every corner of my collections leaves me bored and feeling unaccomplished. 

Space
Space is also a huge factor in my decision to downsize. I have a ton of cards. Maybe not as many as some of the other bloggers, but more than I could have imagined I would this time last year. I have tons of cards (base, insert, shiny, ugly, relics, autos, #'d) all over my room. Frankly, it is driving me a little crazy. I like to keep as organized as possible, and having tons of stacks of cards laying around does not help my OCD-like brain at times. 

Cards have invaded my dresser, nightstand, and now my TV stand. This is not only due to the sheer amount of cards I have, but because I have not had the time to organize them. 

So what is the solution?

It's simple. Get rid of some of the cards I have now, and adjust my collecting habits. 

Let's first take a look at some of my adjustments.

1. Shorten up the list of players I collect
This was not easy. There is a reason I collect every player I do, so cutting some of them out was difficult. However, after some thinking I took out quite a few. I will no longer be actively collecting David Ortiz, Hanley Ramirez, Jose Fernandez, or Paco Rodriguez. I have been going back and forth on getting rid of Manny Ramirez, but he is going to stay for now. Remember, I still love these guys, and would collect them if it was sensible to do so. But, it isn't so logical to do so at the moment. 

2. Say goodbye to putting together sets
Another thing I didn't really want to do, but was necessary. I have been attempting to put together Topps Heritage, Flagship, Chrome, and Allen and Ginter's. Considering I have a small budget to work with, putting together so many sets is not very cost-effective. Of course, I could go and buy the sets online for a reduced cost, but I would rather put them together by busting packs. So, yea. No more sets. Well, except Flagship. I will still be putting together Flagship. 

3. Bid farewell to a ton of my current cards
This ties in with how I plan on getting rid of my some of my cards. Actually, this will explain it. I plan on getting rid of about 50% of my cards. Most of these are cards of teams besides the Dodgers, but I do have quite a bit of Dodgers stuff to get rid of too. 

I have not figured out one exact way to do this just yet. A blogging yard sale would be great, but this is the internet, and nobody is going to drive to my house for cards. I could just give away the cards, but I don't really have the money to just ship pounds of cards away to various bloggers at a time. I was also thinking of doing mystery card pack sales. Honestly, the options are endless. But I plan on using a mixture of all three to move my inventory of you will. So, whose ready to inherit some cards?

Let's move some cards!

A Blogging Yard Sale
This method involves me straight out selling cards to people that want them. Of course, I am not trying to do this to make money, but to move some cards. Here is what I am proposing. Tell me what cards you want from any of my 2013 and 2014 sets (minus flagship and 2013 Topps Chrome) and I will send them to you. You just cover the cost of shipping. I am not charging for the cards, rather just the amount it takes to cover shipping. First come, first serve. 

Here is a list of the sets that are available.
2013 Bowman Chrome (Base Set Only)
2013 Bowman Platinum (Base Set Only)
2013 Bowman (Base Set Only) 
2013 Topps Finest (Base Set Only)
2013 Topps Heritage
2014 Topps Allen and Ginter's
2014 Topps Heritage

Keep in mind, those link to lists of cards that I need to complete the sets. In other words, I have all of the cards NOT listed. 

Mystery Card Pack Sales
I have always enjoyed the idea of a mystery pack. You never know what you are going to get, and cards can come from a ton of different products. That is why I have decided to have a mystery card pack sale. It will allow me to move some of my cards, while at the same time making a minimal amount of money to move them.

I will be selling 10 mystery packs. Every pack will come with 50 cards. Packs will include a few base cards, but primarily inserts, refractors, x-fractors, colored refractors, and #'d cards from 2013 and 2014 products. 1 pack will come with a couple of bonus autograph/relic cards. These packs will cost $5.00, and that includes shipping. These packs are already packaged up, and I have no way of knowing which pack contains the bonus cards. You can buy one, or you can buy all 10. First come, first serve. 

If you are interested in purchasing one of these mystery packs, simply leave a comment of send me an email. 

Simple Trades
This is probably the easiest way to move some cards. So let's trade! 

My Set Needs page, as well as my What I Collect page have been updated. Just send me an email if you want to make a trade happen. I have tons of cards from most teams, but there are a couple of teams that I am just about out of (Braves and Orioles). 

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I know I just typed out a ton of stuff. Honestly, I was just happy to have the day off to be able to do so. Depending on the type of feedback I get on this, I may have an additional post on the Yard Sale and Mystery Pack Sale later in the week. 

Of course, I can't write up a bunch of words and leave you with no card pictures. I have been hinting at adding player to my collecting ways recently, so let's take a sneak peak at who it is!