C.C. Sabathia

Immediately after C.C. was given  the Cy Young  award in '07 ,I took to Beckett marketplace to snag up  his rookie card.He was already lighting up the league years before that '07 season and I had taken notice.In fact ,C.C. won 17 games In his rookie season, coming In second in the ROY voting.Some guy named Ichiro took the league by storm that  year and won the honors.Still ,Sabathia was and has been  quite effective over his 17 year  span of  Major League service.Tonight he'll have his hands full.Here's to another solid start from Sabathia!Go git em' C.C.

The Sports Pub Curse!

Hey everybody!It's been almost 3 months since I've posted anything here on the sports pub.With the Mets toiling ,suffering injury after injury and chasing the Nats all season long,baseball hasn't been the focal point It's been In the past.As a result,this blog has been pretty dormant.I also started to get the feeling that I was jinxing my team and certain players that I'd post about. Every time I get excited about a player,I make It a point to snag up at least one of their rookie cards or autograph cards.Then something began happening. Immediately after my posts went up,these players began experiencing horrific slumps and/or  injuries. Regular readers know how much I love Familia,so much so that I had to pick up his  auto card .He ended up getting injured and never putting It back together again.

He'll be lucky to get his closing job back next year.Remember Matt Duffy?Played for the Giants .Finished second In the 2015 ROY voting .Is with Tampa Bay now.Yeah,he started to suck right after I got his serial #'d Panini rookie card In the mail.

And then there's Ezekiel Elliott.I feverishly sought out his cheaper priced rookie cards and even went a little over budget on his Optic Panini Donruss card.And then came the suspension.

I'm telling you It's the Sports Pub curse!I guess I'm not allowed to get excited about a player anymore because that will only ensure their demise.WAIT A MINUTE!I'm rooting against the Yankees in the playoffs but I really like Gary Sanchez ......

So Long Mr. Duda

A funny thing happens when you , religiously ,follow a sports team .You become attached to the players.Some players more than others,but ultimately the team as a whole becomes ,almost like, part of your family.So when a player gets traded or let go ,it stabs you in the heart a little bit.Lucas Duda was traded to the Rays a couple of days back for AA reliever Drew Smith.With Dominic Smith and free agency on the horizon  ,it was only a matter of time before he got dealt.I'll miss the prodigious moonshots to right field,the humble way he went about his business  and most of all ,the hair!Early in Duda's career ,my dad and I  would get a kick out of  the little bit of hair that protruded from the air holes at the top of his batting helmet.I wish him the best as he takes his much improved bat and defense over to Tampa Bay in hopes of reaching the playoffs for the third time in three years.So long ,Mr. Duda, and the best of luck moving forward!

Kenji's Korner

I picked up this Kenji  30 card lot with dupes so except for the Co-Signers ,I have doubles of  everything you see here.So if anyone needs a couple of  Kenji's  ,I have them and they're yours :)    

This pose never gets old. 

Love this card!

New Kenji's!

I got these In the mail today.A couple stacks of Kenji cards  that i'll be going over in my next "Kenjis Korner" post.Stay tuned !

The Can Stash! (The Pepsi Conspiracy)

I saw these over on Fuji's site  a while back and had to pick up a set for my self.I love the pic variety and the vibrant blue and whites,but something  about these cards bring out the Alex Jones In me.Could  Pepsi have had something to do with Canseco being traded to Texas?Did they see It coming?What's with the red and blue duds?I mean,ok,Pepsi colors, but wouldn't a Mountain Dew motif been a little more apropos?In the 90's Pepsi's slogan was "Pepsi,a generation ahead".This set Is from 1990 and Canseco wouldn't be traded to Texas until mid season of  1992.Also,Pepsi had strong ties to Texas In the 90's.So much so Texas brass considered changing the teams name to the Texas Pepsi's.Although that last nugget of info has yet to be fact checked.

Kenji's Korner

Once again,I'm back with more Kenji goodness!The Fleer Traditions,Allen & Ginter and Upper Deck i had ,just hadn't posted about them yet.The remaining three I just received from ebay.

I remember getting these sepia cards and thinking they were pretty cool.2006 Fleer Tradition would be  the first packs I ripped after a hiatus that dated back to my childhood.I began collecting again mostly because of  Prince Fielder.This was his rookie year.Plus the Mets were pretty good around this time as well.

That backdrop looks like a little league field.Great sunset,though.

Serial Numbered

I didn't even know these were  serial numbered when I picked them up on ebay. I just thought they were all great looking cards.

                       

                               

                        

The Can Stash! ( Kodak Mail Aways)

Can you guys feel the tides changing a bit?MLB seems to be starting to ease up on the bad boys of summer .These last few years or so we've seen guys like McGwire , Bonds and Pete Rose(yes,PETE ROSE !)make somewhat of a resurgence In Major League Baseball. McGwire has found himself a job with the Padres as their bench coach,Bonds ,though recently fired,was the Marlins hitting coach for about a year or so and Pete Rose has been brought on by FOX to  do color commentary as a guest analyst.And now It seems that Jose Canseco ,the quintessential bad boy of baseball, will be doing some pre game analysis with the Oakland A's this season.I don't know about you,but I'm glad MLB has ,If only half way,dismounted their sanctimonious high horse  in an effort let our child hood heroes back In the game.To the cards...


This set I found on ebay while searching out Canseco oddballs.The price tag says 8 bucks but I only paid 5 and some change ,including shipping.What got me about these cards were the obvious signs of these being from Cansecos early years.There are no date stamps on the set of 10 cards but those are definitely 86/87 duds he's wearing.If anyone has anymore info on this card set ,please let me know In the comments below. 


                                           The card fronts have a vintage filtered look to them.

The backs all have the same advertisement.An offer for an 8" x 10" glossy color photo(on Kodak paper) hand signed by Jose Canseco.

I've never seen these before and who knows,they could be reproductions.It still wouldn't bother me one bit.The shots of Canseco are original and candid as they come.  

Ya see?Canseco had the fundies down-pat!

Are those California Redwoods back there?

Another nice addition to my growing Canseco collection.