Draft Cards Added - And Some Pimpage

Hey guys I added some new cards for the Bonus Rounds of the Draft. Please e-mail me your picks by Thursday night. If not, I will begin picking for you on Friday (just to get this draft concluded and get people their cards). Thanks to everyone who participated.


Now for some unrelated pimpage. I am currently operating a website for my dad, who makes furniture out of wine barrels. Yes, I agree, this is about as unrelated to baseball cards as possible, but it's cool stuff and fairly priced from what I've seen. So his blog (ran by me) is Wine Barrel Furniture by Randy. There isn't much on there yet, but I'm working on it, so it might be something to check out if you're at all interested. He makes anything from chairs, benches and tables to coat racks, centerpieces and uses scraps as flavored chips for grilling. Thanks everyone.

The Draft: Mr. Irrelevant

We're at the last pick of the draft and so far I have six people that have sent me links to their advertising prior to the draft, thus unlocking four bonus rounds of the draft. The six who pimped the contest are:

Poch, Night Owl, Matt, Spiegel, Eric L and Robert

If you pimped the contest, but your name is not here then paste the link below by Wednesday.

For those of you who are joining the draft for the extra four rounds here's how it'll work. On Wednesday I will post additional cards - in the same album numbered B-1 (for bonus and then number). These additional cards aren't much, but just to give a little more selection and reward those who took the time to advertise for me.

Each drafter will then send me their top picks (just as before). I will need you to send me the top picks even if you have picks remaining because I will be adding cards. I will do all four bonus rounds as soon as I get the picks, if I get them all Wednesday, it will be completed Wednesday night.

This has been really fun for me as I hope it has been for all of you. Also in your last picks tell me anything you would like me to throw in. Thanks Everyone!

Card Draft: Final Stretch

Hey guys,

We're coming to the close of the draft and most of you are running out of picks and the selection is dwindling. Some of you have sent me a list of picks and then concluded with simple guidelines. Anyone can feel free to do this and it will speed up the end of this draft.

So send me some picks and feel free to have a pick be "newer rookie cards", "cool inserts", "Ginter mini's", "Any remaining Mariners", etc. Things like that will work and then I should be able to finish the draft and get a good grasp for what bonus cards to include with your package. Thanks a lot everyone. I hope this has been fun for everybody.

And if anyone was wondering I was able to score a Rose Bowl ticket, so stay tuned for my coverage of the event! Thanks!

20 More Rounds - (that means round 6 complete)

Round 5 and 6 are completed and posted in the album, so go see what you got. I have quite a few remaining picks for most of you, but if I don't then send me some updated ones and the draft won't come to a lull. Anyway, go check the album and see what you've scored through the first six rounds. There were plenty of good pick-ups in rounds 5 and 6:

Jeroen grabbed this Sizemore


Eric L. picked up this Minors relic of Delino DeShields Jr.

And Poch got this '75 Mini relic as well
There are still even some relics and autos left on the board and heck of a lot of nice inserts. The draft is beginning to take shape, so look through the updated draft pool to send any remaining picks.

Round 3 and 4 Complete

https://picasaweb.google.com/118063244681072103698/CardDraftDrafted#

This is the link for the album with the cards that have already been drafted. Go there and check out what your haul looks like. I have completed rounds three and four on in the album and removed the cards from the draft pool. I'll preview some of the cards taken, right now:

Spiegel picked up this Greg Madduz in the middle of the 3rd round (nice pick!):


Night Owl snagged this Prince Fielder with the second pick in the 4th round. Night Owl was able to do what so many teams are trying to do right now (sign Prince).




And Andrew got a card of the Homerun king in the third round

Card Draft: Round 2

First Click Here to see all the cards that have been drafted and who they were drafted by. Or to check out your haul! Now on to the second round.

No. 1 (11 Overall) Potch takes Tyrell Jenkins
No. 2 (12 overall) Night Owl takes Victor Diaz

No. 3 (13 overall) Matt P. takes Brad Chalk

No 4 (14 overall) Ryan G. takes Daniel Cortes Threads AUto

No. 5 (15 Overall) Andrew takes HOFer Mike Schmidt


No. 6 (16 overall) Spiegel takes Josh Tomlin

No. 7 (17 overall) Eric L. takes Lorenzo Cain (another Brewer turned Royal)

No. 8 (18 overall) Jeroen takes Alay Soler

No. 9 (19 overall) Gooch takes Cliff Pennington



Finishing of the second round is Robert's pick of Vladimir Guerrero



Good Stuff! I should be able to get Round 3 done tonight too, but it is already up in the album linked above if you're curious. If you a lot of cards being drafted that are in your picks that means I may be running low on picks for you.

Card Draft: Rounding out the First Round

For the remaining rounds I will most likely be doing it 10 picks (the whole round) in one post. I have a lot of picks from everyone, so this should get us going pretty fast. Just wanted to give the rest of the first round their proper publicity, don't need any mad draft picks.

With the 6th pick in the 2011 CBH Draft Andrew selects Andre Dawson (No. 78)
No. 7 Ryan selects Milton Bradley (No. 23)

No. 8 Matt picks up a Miguel Montero Auto RC (9. Montero)

At No. 9 Night Owl snags this Zach Lee Green Tint (no. 215)

And rounding out the first round is Poch's pick of a graded Nolan Ryan card (No. 88).

Pretty good first round. I think everyone even got their highest pick, maybe their second highest at worst. Like I said I have more picks, so I'll get cracking on round 2 and maybe even round 3 if I'm feeling ambitious today.

Frist Five Picks are IN

No. 1 - Robert picks a Travis Snider Auto RC (photo no. 5)

No. 2 The Gooch picks the second Blue Jay RC Auto and this one is Adam Lind (card no. 32)


No. 3 Jeroen goes for the on-card trifecta with a Carlos Carrasco relic Auto RC

No. 4 Eric L. picks up a card that used to belong in my Brewers collection, but now will be a piece to his Royals collection thanks to a trade the Brew Crew made for Greinke.


No. 5 Rounding out the first half of the first round is Spiegel83's pick of USA Auto Blake Smith


I won't be individually posting every pick like this, but I will be updating it through the album and e-mailing all of you guys when I run out, or get close to running out of your picks. Most of you have sent quite a few and they should get us going for a while. I'm waiting on picks from Andrew, which I'm sure he'll get to me soon.

That was fun! I think the first five all received their top pick in the Draft.

Card Draft - Order is Set

Let's get it started (no connection to The Black Eyed Peas) it's time for my first card draft and to get the ball rolling and hopefully get you guys a hand full of cards that you want, need or will use for other trades. Entering the list:

1st Randomization....

Second Randomization....
And the third and final one to set the order:

BLAM! Robert has the first pick in the draft. This is a snake style draft, which means that Poch picks 10 in round 1, but then first (11th overall in round 2). I have received picks from just about everyone, so I'll update which cards have been taken shortly.

Card Draft - Time for Submissions

Hello Drafters!

I STILL HAVE ONE SPOT OPEN! Again $15 for 26 rounds. There are 32 autos 15 relics (that means guaranteed three hits) plus a lot of inserts, Ginter, 2011 Topps inserts, vintage, a little bit of everything. As usual I'll also throw in any cards that I see fit before I send off your package.

For the Drafters already signed up - I won't be adding any more cards to the draft unless I find a stack that I must add, but all the autos and relics are pretty much in there. I have sorted and confirmed that I have all the cards pictured. That means that even though we still have one spot to fill. It is time to start sending in your picks. At least the top ten. The draft order will be set Wednesday whether or not the one spot is filled. I hope to be able to fill in the first round of picks that day as well.

If there are any questions about payment, draft rules, etc. please email me at
cameronclow12@gmail.com

Card Draft - ONE SPOT & Payment Info

Ladies and Gents,

I have one last and final spot left to fill for the Card Draft. IF THE FINAL SPOT IS NOT FILLED BY WEDNESDAY WE WILL START THE DRAFT. If you have already signed up it is time to start collecting payments. $15 for 26 rounds (snake-style), four bonus rounds if you pimp the draft, which many have shamelessly done. I will be adding the final additions to my baseball TB, aka the Draft pool.

PAYPAL payments should be sent as a gift to camclow@yahoo.com PayPal account. This e-mail is different from my account for this blog, sorry for the inconvenience or confusion. After you pay please send an e-mail to cameronclow12@gmail.com stating that you've paid and your shipping address. The e-mail you send it from will be the primary way that I connect with you during the draft.

Essentially, the draft order will be determined by a randomizer. Then each drafter will be asked to submit 10 picks, or more if they feel up to it. I will sort through the picks in the order of the drafters (snake order). In doing so, I will remove the cards drafted from the Baseball TB album and place them in a Drafted Cards album and the caption will change to the name of who drafted that card (just to ensure accuracy of the draft). I will be continually communicating picks, needed picks, etc. on the blog and through e-mail. Good luck!

Thanks everyone, this is shaping up to be a good draft!

The Braun Situation - From a Fan's Perspective

Getty Images

I am torn. Torn between being naive and believing that Ryan Braun is innocent and torn between abandoning my admiration for a player that could stand to cheat the game. I am torn between grasping onto the last bit of optimism surrounding Braun and baseball as a whole and becoming a baseball naysayer and cynic (which I don't want to be). I am leaning towards holding on to that last bit of optimism.

Not because I'm ignorant of the fact that a player has never reversed a positive test. Or because I support the "unknowingly" defense, but because I'd like to believe that I live in a world where my favorite athlete isn't this stupid. I'd like to believe that a player doesn't need PEDs to hit 33 HR. I'd like to believe that I lived in a time when all my heroes weren't dethroned and crowned cheaters right before my eyes. I'd to believe these things and I'm going to...for a little while longer.

Braun's camp is standing strong, "There are highly unusual circumstances surrounding this case which will support Ryan's complete innocence and demonstrate there was absolutely no intentional violation of the program. While Ryan has impeccable character and no previous history, unfortunately, because of the process we have to maintain confidentiality and are not able to discuss it any further, but we are confident he will ultimately be exonerated." I guess he has a special case. I, like most people, am hesitant buy this. I'm not that naive, but I am going to let everything play out. Innocent until proven guilty. I'll stand by my favorite player for a little while longer, I don't have much of a choice, it's all or nothing at this point.

Guilty or not guilty. Knowingly or Unknowningly. I do think that Braun has a chance to do something noble. I want to see Braun step up and VOLUNTEER to be tested, every month, every week, hell test him every series I don't care. I would like to see him have the first documented guaranteed PED-free season. I think that this could at least show that he cares about the game, which is what I really care about. I could give a (sh*t) if Braun misses 50 games, but I would like to think that he gives a (sh*t) about the integrity of the game.

I truly hope there is some crazy situation with Braun. I hope it was a failed test or what have you, but I'm as real as the next guy - It's never happened before, I get it. I just don't have much of a choice other than to take that last shred of optimistic fan that I have left in me and cherish and save for a little while longer.

All of this two days after my favorite basketball player retired from the game at the age of 27.

Card Draft - UPDATE

Looks like I have some drafters (in no particular order):

1. Eric L. - PAID - 4R
2. Night Owl - 4R - PAID
3. Spiegel83 - 4R - PAID
4. Matt Pederson - 4R - PAID
5. The Gooch - PAID
6. Robert - PAID - 4R
7. Jeroen - PAID
8. - poch - 4R - PAID
9. Andrew - PAID
10. Ryan G. - PAID
11.

That means I have four open spots to fill before I can get my Rose Bowl ticket! There's a lot of cards and I encourage you to check out my Baseball TB, which the draft will be picking from in snake order for 25 rounds (actually going to make it 26 rounds to make the snake even) and if you're like The Gooch and pimp the contest on your blog you get 4 extra rounds (30 total rounds).

I'll be consistently adding cards until the draft begins, which I hope to be shortly after this weekend.

90's Cardboard: Shawn Kemp "Reign Man"

Hey everyone, I have 5 spots left in my Card Draft for a Rose Bowl Ticket. See the post below if you're interested and check out my Baseball TB. Ok Back to the good ol' 90's Cardboard, BLAM:



You can tell this card is from back in the day, whether it's the slim version of Shawn Kemp, the playful TSC (Topps Stadium Club) logo, or the fact that Mr. Kemp is wearing a Sonics jersey this card just screams 90's. Oh and let us not forget the crazy foil hologram that the card is printed on, which the scanner doesn't do justice. Anyway this is a super sweet card and a one that I actually pulled out of a pack as a kid! I never bought packs as a kid, my dad was all about buying single cards. Just about the only time I got packs was when Santa put some in my stalking. Well Santa worked a little magic on this particular 1996 Stadium Club pack. I don't know how much wax y'all busted in the 90's, but inserts like this are equivalent to pulling an auto out of some retail, usually like (1:50+, 1:72 was common).

Card Draft - Interested?

I am hoping to attend the Rose Bowl and root on my Oregon Ducks in the final year of my schooling here. To do so, I need a little extra spending money. I'm trying to buy my ticket with a card draft. My goal is to have 11 participants at $15 each ($165 is the face for a student ticket). I won't do the draft with any less than 9 participants.

The draft would consist of my baseball trade bait - seen here

So I was hoping to see how many of you would be interested. And if you had any preferences as to if I should add my football trade bait in as well?

As far as baseball goes I have a lot of Ginter, 2011 Topps inserts, refractors, various RCs and the hit count - 32 Autos, 14 relics, with more likely to be added (depending on the interest in the draft). My plan is to have 25 rounds in the snake formation (you pick last in round 1, you pick first in round 2). Think of it as buying a blaster and having a guarantee for four hits! Let me know by commenting below or shoot me an email at cameronclow12@gmail.com

Thanks, here's a little teaser, doesn't necessarily represent the BEST cards, but some of the decent picks!

Frail Blazers: Rough 24 hours for the Blazers

Last night the NBA vetoed a trade of Chris Paul to the Lakers and just when things were looking alright in Blazer land I woke up to the announcement that 27-year-old Brandon Roy is retiring from professional basketball. This isn't a Ricky Williams, "I gotta find myself" type of retirement. This is (for those of you who don't follow the Blazers) because of terrible knee conditions. His knees are so bad that doctors told him continuing to play basketball could jeopardize his ability to walk not far down the line. This comes two days after Blazers coaching staff said he looked like a starter.

I feel just terrible for Mr. Roy. I loved watching him play and it's really a shock that I won't get to ever again. I knew his knees would likely shorten his career and/or prohibit him from returning to all-star form, but there was this seed of optimism in my mind that it could happen, or that Roy's mystique would show up somewhere down the line.

Anyway, I do want to remember his great career. He was a huge piece of RIP CITY! He brought basketball back to Portland and erased the Jail Blazer label (though the Frail Blazer label might be replacing it). Roy won the ROY and was a two-time all-star not to mention one of the most loved players in Portland. I'm so thankful for what he did for the franchise. It's not often that a team enters rebuilding phase and drafts the ROY and a solid big man (Aldridge). It's not often that a team goes from rebuilding to No. 4 seed within a couple years and B-Roy was a huge part of that. Goodbye Brandon - You will be sorely missed.





Oh and PS - Greg Oden had a snag in his recovery and is likely out this whole season (we signed him to a one year deal about a week ago). Talk about pouring salt on an open wound.

Hot Stove Update

Super crazy stuff is happening that I can't even wrap my mind around. This Hot Stove, Winter Meetings extravaganza has been one of the most heartbreaking gut wrenching experiences of my baseball fandom. Why, you ask? Because Jerry Hairston Jr. is no longer a Brewer. I know this caught everyone by surprise, but I'll be OK. Because, while it appears that the Brewers will lose Prince Fielder it was already not in the cards for another NL Central team to keep their MVP Candidate 1B - Albert Pujols, who signed a deal with the Angels.


Now, it looks as though the Cubs are out of the Prince Fielder race (though I doubt that), but if that is the fact then it looks like the Astros (Brett Wallace) might have the second best first baseman in the league - depending how the Cards and Crew rebound from their losses.

Secondly, Prince was rumored to go to the Mariners and Rangers. The Rangers would have an offensive lineup that rivaled murderer's row (lose pitching - CJ Wilson, combat with more offense). The Mariners must believe that one power bat stands between last place and contention, so I want to hear from you guys what do you think?

Is the AL West in an arms race (or rather a bats race)? Is there a power shift in the leagues? And are the Astros doomed by switching leagues at the wrong time?

2011 Bowman DP&P

I scored three packs of the Bowman DPP today at Target. I usually pick up a couple packs from this set just to get some of the top draft picks of that given year. Topps has been kind of leveraging the Strasburg and Harper buzz for their flagship bowman products, but there are still a lot of stars in these.


First off I got two purple refractors. I was confused with the normal Bowman Chromes, but these aren't numbered. At least Stephenson was the Reds #1 draft pick, that's a good sign. Moneyball wouldn't like it because he's a pitcher out of high school, but oh well. These are the base cards:
The black border is... different. I like that they use something to differentiate the base cards from Bowman, but I don't know how much I like this black border. It might take some getting used to. Right now it just feels kind of lazy. I am happy to pull two guys that I worked with this summer with the Eugene Emeralds. I always like having cards of players that I've met. Black border just doesn't feel right though. Plus the chrome cards still have the white border:
Here's another No. 1 pick and a USA card of a player younger than my brother. Yeah this kid was born in 1995! What?! Anyway, this is an adequate product depending on if you're a prospector or not. I don't consider myself one, but I do like flipping through my cards and finding RCs of the next star, who knows? This is how I got a David Wright RC back in the day, maybe I'll be lucky again. It does take patience though.