My Bday

My apologies for the lack of posts lately, just have had a lot of stuff going on. Yesterday was my birthday and I must say it was an awesome time. I just finished opening up my gifts from my girlfriend and I must say she outdid herself.

The card blogosphere may only be interested in one of the gifts off this list however I will list them here for you all now anyway!

1) An evening at Lambeau Field for the Packers Family Night last night. This was an awesome time, we had seats 18 rows from the field, I got to drink some Berghoff Rock River Red Ale, and also got to grill some brats, burgers, and dogs. I tear up every time I walk into Lambeau, there really is no more special place then that one!

2) A hobby box of Topps Series 2 to help me finish my set. I have been trying to put it together through retail only but I probably have spent at least 2 jumbo boxes worth already and still need 100 cards. Retail building of sets....bad way to go in my opinion. Can't wait to crack into this box!

3) Finally, the best gift of all...I got a Gibson Electric guitar that I have been wanting since well since I heard "Limelight" by Rush for the first time and knew I had to be able to play that song.

I'm so excited right now you all have no idea, a truly awesome birthday experience. Hopefully I will have pictures from last night up and ready and some scans from the box I'm going to go break with my girlfriend before the day is over! :)

Another thing...anybody else get the same birthday wish from friends and family. It was like they were all in sync with each other...same common theme "last year of your 20's...enjoy it" I must have received 10 text messages saying that exact phrase! :)

Stadium Club Series 2

Back again after a nice relaxing afternoon. After Corey Hart hit a 2 run homer to end the scoreless streak of innings somewhere in the 20s for the Brewers, I decided to take a nap. Of course I would wake up to find out the Crew was swept right out of Houston.

Anyway, I decided to show a few of the cards from:



If you remember correctly I bought some junk wax packs on the cheap at a card shop my girlfriend and I visited. Here are some of the results from this pack.



I received a member's choice John Smoltz. I have always respected a guy who went from being a dominant starter to a dominant closer, and then going back to a starter once again. I won't lie to you all though, it was extremely painful to watch him change uniforms after so many years in Atlanta. The toughest when he joined the St. Louis Cardinals. I will say I enjoyed listening to John Smoltz the few times I have heard him in the booth on TBS. A 20 win/50 save only 2nd guy to do it in the history of the game, not bad for a 25 cent pack.

The other card in the picture is "Primetime" himself, after finding some Deion and McGriff cards I once had as a kid, it kinda makes me feel as though I should start collecting them again.

During my baseball career I pitched and played first base. So I thought let me show you the only other 2 cards in the pack that caught my eye.





The first card, former Milwaukee Brewer Doug Henry. He made his major league debut in 1991 and finished 8th in AL Rookie of the Year voting. Could it be that Milwaukee had found their closer of the future? He finished 1991 with a 1.00ERA and 15 saves, he also had a 2-1 record on the year while being featured in 32 games. However what I remember Henry the most for was being traded to the Mets for a minor league player by the name of Fernando Vina. I still have a Vina faded ballpoint pen autograph on a ball somewhere at my parents house, when he took the time after a game to sign for fans on his way to his car. Pretty cool stuff.

The next card is of Dave Righetti. Why I chose to show you this card really deals with the fact that when I became a pitcher, I went out and begged my mother to buy me a Wilson Dave Righetti glove so I could be dominant on the mound. Funny thing about that glove, it's sitting over on my bookshelf as I type this. That thing is almost 20 years old now. Anyway, Righetti was the 1981 AL Rookie of the Year and 2 years later he threw a no hitter. Dave was a two time all star, though he played with a number of teams throughout his career. With over 1,000 strikeouts 250 saves, and a sub 4 ERA for his career, I think it's pretty safe to say the Giants have a damn good pitching coach!

Well that's all for 1993 Topps Stadium Club Series 2, but don't worry...yes that is right...I also bought a pack of Series 3 as well! Stay tuned for that sometime soon!

Oh yeah 1 more thing....FIRE MACHA AND MELVIN NOW! Ok I feel a little bit better! :)

August 1st!

Well it is August finally and I think it's the best month of the year usually. The State Fair is coming upon us which means some good beer, good music, and some Saz's sour cream and chive fries! Also we have Green Bay Packer Family Night and training camp coming. Preseason games are always fun during the summer to just sit back drink and grill, all the while watching some of the rookies who we hope can contribute to the team.

It also means that the baseball trade deadline is over, and the good teams made moves to make themselves better, the Brewers stayed put and did nothing. I'm happy we didn't make a trade for the sake of making a trade, however, if Melvin believes he is still in contention where was the pitching help? After last nights drubbing at the hands of the Houston, it should be apparent to Melvin that a few things need to change.

The biggest change that needs to happen:



This guy needs to go and go now! It's not his fault he was stuck with this shitty pitching staff again, however...he doesn't steal, hit and run, sacrifice. He just doesn't seem to know how to manage a game in the National League. There is no pressure on the defense, he again just falls into the wait for the big 3 run homer each inning. It's disgusting to see him in the dugout at this point. 4 loses in a row makes me sick, we better win today.

Next, I'm happy we didn't trade this guy:



While I think his defense needs to be polished up quite a bit more, there is no denying his offensive talents. He strikes out too much for a leadoff hitter, but if Fielder ever gets traded, I think Weeks could move down in the order and still provide that offensive output we need. Very glad he is still a Brewer, I know some people around here wanted Weeks traded along with Fielder and Hart.

Finally...on a different subject, with a new month I believe is going to bring a new focus to my collection. I think it is time to start putting focus to my Ryan Braun collection instead of Prince. Still kinda feel raw about his comments towards the club.

My first pickup that came yesterday but I'm calling it a new August month pickup:



It's funny, I have close to about 20 Braun auto's yet I didn't not have any of his Bowman Chrome cards. So I figured i'm going with a little pick up to start with considering my bday is coming in less then a week.

Even though we didn't do anything at the deadline, and we are still playing like crap it kinda feels like a new era for Milwaukee baseball...changes will be made with this club and my card collecting habits! Ahh...love a fresh new month!