The Kaz Delivers!

A short while back,I posted about a player that I was going to start collecting,Nick Markakis. Mark Kaz from This Way to the Clubhouse decided to help out by sending me a few Markakis cards and a couple of Cansecos to boot!So,a big thank you to Mark for that random act of kindness.It's not everyday that someone just offers up cards like that  ,so I truly am grateful. Now,on to the cards....

Here's a nice Markakis  Fleer  Rookie Sensations.Kenji Johjima came out In this set ,too, so I  believe these came out In 2006 .

Laying out to make the grab!

I'm not a big A&G guy.I never picked any up at retail at the height of my card collecting back In 2006,and I still don't.I can,however,appreciate the distinguished design.  

As much as I liked the Markakis cards,this one here Is my favorite of the bunch.  

 What an awesome Canseco card this Is!I really dig the credit card novelty.I never  knew these cards existed.His name  and stats are really embossed on the front of the card,juts like a real credit card.Good stuff! 

At first I thought I already had this card,but upon further inspection,I didn't!BTW- I was looking at my Can Stash the other day and realized that I had no Canseco White Sox or Expos cards.Two teams he barely got to touch the turf with.So If anybody out there  has any of his White Sox cards or Expos card (I think he only had one) ,let me know ;)

Baseball Card Blues

Lately I've been In a bit of a baseball card funk ,spending more time photographing baseball cards with my phone and posting on Instagram.Instagram allows me to post card pics quicker and doesn't require a lot of writing,which at times can be a bit of a chore.There really Isn't anything about baseball cards,modern baseball cards that is,that has me running to the card aisles.I think packs are overpriced,especially those that yield a bunch of commons which I have absolutely no more room for.I kind of dig the new Topps Bunt physical cards and just might pick up a couple packs of those.Other than that ,not much else out there for me to get excited about.
My only saving grace would be a card sop opening up nearby so that I could snag up a few singles here and there,but that's not happening anytime soon.Hobby shops have gone the way of the dinosaur.
I have,however,been searching ebay for graded rookie cards of guys who used to be studs but because of the whole steroid thing,have become very affordable.I thought about doing this after unearthing my graded Manny Ramirez from a box the other day.I thought,what the hell,for the price of one graded Mike Trout I could build an  army of graded rookie cards  of suspected and admitted steroid studs that include guys like Juan Gonzalez,Albert Belle,Kevin Maas,etc! They'd have to be 9 or better and preferably PSA.So that's what I'll be focusing on ,that and the usual Mets singles.

Oh,and I've got a couple packages to pass on,hopefully by this weekend.One's going out to Matt of Bob Walk The Plank who I can't thank enough for stopping by and commenting on a regular basis ,even If It's just to hear me lament and complain.Also ,my good buddy Mark Kaz recently sent me some cardboard goodness,bolstering my Markakis and Canseco stash,so one of these will be headed his way.And last but not least,I've had a stack of Cubbies put aside for  Dimebox Nick for the longest,hopefully I can get  all three of these out by the weekend or early next week.   

Nick Markakis

Nick Markakis was a guy I wanted the Mets to pick up a long time ago.He's a disciplined hitter who churns out more doubles than a lady pregnant with twins,twice.I wanted to gobble up all of his rookie cards back in '06 and '07 but at the time ,the price tag on most of his XRC were through the roof.Well,not so much through the roof,maybe like 20 bucks a pop.But still,that's a lot to be paying for a single card I think.Since then,Markakis has suffered from a recent power outage ,failing to reach double digits In home runs In over 650 plate appearances last year ,and has only 2 going into today.He's still a solid hitter and outfielder to boot,but as a result of his more down to earth numbers,his card prices have plummeted. Looks like I'm finally going to be able to pick up that '03 Upper Deck Prospect Premiers after all ;) As of now,these are the only Markakisissiz that I own.

I'm really digging the beard , though.