U-S-A! U-S-A!

I was a little surprised this evening when Grant walked up to me and handed over 20-30 Tulo cards, to say the least. He informed me that he was going to start doing some work on a young Andy Sonnanstine collection and wanted his Tulos to go to a good home.

The kid's got smarts.

Though we had many of the same cards in our respective collections, we had quite a few varying parallels so I was pretty damn stoked to see what would be making its way into my personal collection. I'll touch on a parallel tomorrow, but for tonight I wanted to check out a card that I have anxiously been waiting to add to the collection:


2004-05 UD USA Baseball National Team

I'm a patriotic guy and a big fan of anything dedicated to any Team USA, so this card is a welcomed addition to the collection.

It's good to see some new Tulos come my way, but even better seeing him back on the field again. Right now, I think we're all hoping for a little Mile High Magic as the club sits at 33-51 and 9 games behind the D-Bags. Congrats to Aaron Cook, however, for going the distance tonight with a 79-pitch complete game shutout versus the Padres.

Thanks again to G for the hook up and please, let him know if you have any Sonnanstines available for trade.

That's all I got...

- J.C.F.

2008 MLB First Year Player Draft

It's official. G and I have two seats reserved for the MLB Draft this Thursday at Disney's Wide World of Sports. I'm hoping to get a little live blogging done here on Tulo Trader while poaching autographs from unsuspecting prospects. Look out for us on ESPN2 at 2pm Eastern... we'll be the obnoxious Rockies fans representing 5280 and wearing obscure minor league paraphernalia.



Baseball America, like always, has some great info on the draft. The gig has changed over the past couple of years and this is a great article to read which will clear up some of the discrepancies you might have.

*SIDE NOTE*
My Want List has been updated so be sure to check it out. I would also be more than happy to help any collectors in starting, finishing or adding to an existing collection. If there are any players you would like me to keep an eye out for, shoot me an email and I'd gladly assist. Thank you all for checking out Tulo Trader and be sure to check out the rest of the 'Yet-to-be-Named' blog network of Wax Breaker, Beginner's Wax and Iron Man Cards.

That's all I got...

- J.C.F.

Soon-to-be Brothers-in-law R-O-C-K

Too many hyphens? Yeah, I thought that too. But that's aside the point.

Last week, I checked out the new local card shop that would be calling my name on a daily basis and happened to leave with a box of '08 Upper Deck Series 2 for myself as well as one of '08 Topps Series 2 for my future brother-in-law, Grant (proprietor of Beginner's Wax). I left the unopened Topps wax on his bed with a note that simply read, "Merry Christmas".

A few minutes later, Grant said the same to me and handed me a couple of early Christmas presents of my own:


'08 Topps Opening Day Blank Back (Front)


'08 Topps Opening Day Blank Back (Back, obviously)


Certificate of Authenticity

Not bad, eh? I was pumped G snagged this for me and felt good going into our first box break together in the new apartment.

But wait... there's more:


'08 UD Spectrum Yellow Parallel Printing Plate (Front)


'08 UD Spectrum Yellow Parallel Printing Plate (Back)

I knew I was marrying into a good family! Many thanks to Grant and his eBay success. I really appreciate acts of kindness like this, especially when I'm in a card slump. Needless to say, I was a little on tilt going into the UD Series 2 break, but good things were to come of that as well. A detailed review of the box will be up on Wax Breaker soon, but I was fortunate enough to pull the Rockies' team checklist with Mr. Tulowitzki's mug gracing the front:


'08 UD Series 2 Team Checklist

Hooray! A new picture! Hey Topps... earn your paycheck! I'm a little sick of the purple jersey, tongue in cheek and shades flipped (see above).

Three great Tulo's in a week ain't too shabby. Thanks again to Grant and I hope to be back soon with some more new Tulo pulls. I'll have a Rockies throwback sesh later this week.

That's all I got...

- J.C.F.

Tu-day's the Day

After a long period of pinching pennies due to the 2,000 mile move from Denver to Orlando, the bank balance is back in the 'safe zone' and I can get back in the game.

Grant and I have had to say goodbye to our card shops in Missouri and Colorado, respectively, but we have found a local shop and are hoping it's the start of a beautiful relationship. We stopped in yesterday for some supplies and saw that both '08 Topps and Upper Deck Series 2 were available [and had been a few days prior to the released date]. Intentionally, we only walked in with about $20 on hand as we knew that the summer was beginning and some exciting released were on the horizon, however I got that itch again and will be returning in a few short hours.

With that said, these are my goals for the near future:

1) Get the train rolling and complete the 2008 UD Set. Series 1 was a blast and I'm looking forward to a few hundred new pieces of gorgeous photography to add to my favorite collection of '08 wax.

2) Continuing to stay true to my roots and scouring the new shop for some old school wax. Sometimes you just can't beat the quality (or hilarity) of the throwbacks. Spud at Wax Breaker has been swamped as of late and I'm looking to hold up my end of the bargain as a contributor and get some quality posts on there in the very near future focused on old school wax.

3) Give my old school individual player collection some online love. Most folks that read this blog think that Tulo is my favorite player of all-time and the only individual that I collect. Well, he's a close second, but doesn't take the cake. One Mr. Calvin Edwin Ripken, Jr. will forever be my favorite ballplayer of any era. The truth is that I've been collecting Cal (albeit with less intensity) since the start, and though he's been out of the game for some time now, my collection seems to grow more than I realize. I grew up an O's fan in Northern Virginia and this guy set the bar for all players competing for my obsession and fanaticism. Sorry to the rest of you that felt like taking a day off was a good idea... your legacy is irrationally criticized and tarnished in my spoiled and distorted view of 'how to play the game'. Tulo gets a free pass.

and last, but not least...

4) Acquire every single card that pictures, mentions, looks like, or masquerades as Troy Tulowitzki or his likeness... past, present and future.

On my way to the shop for some UD goodness and hopefully some hidden gems in the commons boxes. Welcome back and thanks for sticking out the wait!

That's all I got...

- J.C.F.

Beginner's Wax...

I have to take a minute here for a quick shoutout.

For those of you that haven't checked it out yet, do yourself a favor and head on over to Beginner's Wax. Grant just got back into the hobby and, as we all have, noticed a change in the game over the past decade or so. As he re-learns the trade of being a collector, G is documenting his journey and creating a great product. It's a new blog, but definitely worth the read.

A fantastic writer, a dedicated collector, and my future little brother-in-law (no bias here!).

Check it!

That's all I got...

- J.C.F.

Hectic Times...

As most of you have noticed, the posts are few and far between these days. I apologize for the lack of content lately, but I'll have some new material in the coming days.

I am moving back to Orlando from my current home of Denver in a couple of weeks and my schedule has been out of control. I assure you that this blog isn't fizzing out... once set up again in Orlando, things will be picking back up for this little site.

So, sit tight and bear with me in the coming weeks. The collection is growing and a couple of new series are coming out which promise to provide some solid content.

In the meantime, check out Grant's work at Beginner's Wax for some great commentary from a new collector on his journey through the 'new era' of the hobby. It's always a good read!

That's all I got...

- J.C.F.