What's Wrong With This Picture?

I've said it before and I'll say it again... I like a good retro set, and one of my favorite Tulo cards happens to be in this category. The '07 Bowman Heritage collection is a good looking retro set which hosts a couple of Tulo short prints and variations. Today's featured card (left) is Tulo's '07 Bowman Heritage #248b as opposed to #248a that Mario sent over to me last week (below).


As you can see, the original base card has the 'Rookie Card' logo located on the lower right corner of the card and also features the facsimile signature, while the #248b variation has the logo on the right and does not feature a signature. This is a great addition to the library and tomorrow I'll be featuring a parallel straight from the '07 Bowman Heritage.

That's all I got...

- J.C.F.

The Man That Keeps The Hobby Alive

Everyone in The Hobby knows of Wax Heaven and its proprietor, Mario Alejandro. Mr. Wax Heaven himself has yet again outdone himself, but the favor will most definitely be returned.

Mario designed the Tulo Trader logo/banner while assisting me in a number of other things from blogging to dealing with the card companies. I sent over some Jose Cruz Jr's, Canseco's and various Marlins to him last week along with a couple of Jeter's for Tatiana to show my appreciation... and what do I find today in the mail?


'07 Bowman Heritage (RC)


'07 Upper Deck (RC)


'07 Upper Deck SP Rookie Addition


Matt Holliday, '07 Bowman


Matt Holliday, '07 Bowman Chrome


Matt Holliday, '07 Upper Deck Spectrum

Yes, that's right... he thanked me for thanking him (and apparently a few other folks as well). There are some good people out there that are involved in The Hobby and I thank Mario for reminding us all of that fact while piquing our interest and keeping us involved. Unfortunately, the most genuine collector around is gaining first-hand experience with the scum of our hobby in truly upsetting fashion.

I'd like to wish him the best of luck with U.D. and thanks again for all of your help.

More Tulo's to come tomorrow, so check back in!

Boom... outta here.

- J.C.F.

Latest Additions...

It took a couple of days, but here are the scans of the latest additions:


'07 Bowman Chrome Refractor (RC)


'07 Topps '52 Dynamic Duo Jimenez/Tulowitzki (RC)


'08 Topps Moments & Milestones (RBI #7) [#ed 129/150]

I also lucked out when picking up a random pack of '06 Bowman Heritage:


Matt Holliday - '06 Bowman Heritage Refractor

That's all I've got heading my way anytime soon, but this is what I am quite excited for.

That's all I got...

- J.C.F.

Monday Mail Day (04/07/08)...

Monday tends to be my least favorite day of the week, but a Rockies win and a full mailbox made this one a little sweeter. I made some eBay purchases over the last couple of weeks and they all happened to come on the same day. I picked up some more base cards, an SP, and a pretty solid auto and will have scans below.

First of all, however, I wanted to give a shoutout to Mario over at Wax Heaven. He has helped me publicize the site over the last week and even offered to send a serial numbered refractor my way. It's great to see the continued respect and courtesy being shown among collectors and it's been nice to get to know some of you.

So, here's the scan of the Topps Turkey Red refractor Mario sent over this weekend (scan doesn't do it any refractor justice):


'07 Topps Turkey Red Refractor (RC) [#'d 676/999]**

Second on the docket is the first Tulo auto I've gotten my hands on. I don't like going for anything too fancy on eBay as I'm perpetually worried about getting burned... and I was 90% sure this card was either fake or would refrain from showing up in the mail, but to my delight neither were true...


'07 Upper Deck SPX Auto (RC)

I finally got my hands on the following card and am pretty pumped. This card isn't particularly rare, but it is one of my favorites. I'm kinda of a sucker for the retros:


'07 Upper Deck Goudey (RC)

My goal in purchasing the previous card was to keep the cost under $1.00 (which is hard to do in Denver)... and I succeeded by only spending $0.99. Yeah, yeah... shipping put me over $1.00, but I picked up two cards from this seller and got a decent discount. The second card wasn't a Tulo, but pretty decent to say the least:


Todd Helton: '06 Bowman Heritage Pieces of Greatness 'Relic'

No goatee, but it's a classy card. My one qualm, though, is T-O-Double-D laying down the bunt. Whateva...

I also snagged these two cards:





On top is the '07 Topps '52 Base (RC) and below it is the short print of the same set (both no. 5 on the checklist). I didn't know about this short print and saw the two available for $1.99 combined on eBay and took a shot.

Last, but not least, is the [hideously ugly but must-have] A&G Dick Perez from 2007:


'07 Topps Allen & Ginter Dick Perez Sketch

All-in-all it was a great walk down to the mailbox and an even better one on the way back. The collection is growing, but I'm still waiting for the big Tulo hit that I pull for myself. I'm staying off of eBay and out of the hobby shop for the next couple of weeks, but let me know if you have any Tulos not in my collection that you'd be interesting in trading (or selling for a reasonable price).

Thanks again for checking in.

That's all I got...

- J.C.F.

**Thanks again to Mario at Wax Heaven!

Retro Sets...

As a collector coming out of an extremely long retirement, I was wondering what some of your favorite 'retro' sets have been over the years. I'm a big fan of many of the retro sets and am trying to catch up on some that I have missed over the years.

A couple of my favorite sets of the last few years:

2006 Topps '52

- I love the quality of these cards. Great gauge cardboard, great 'photos'...



2007 Bowman Heritage

- Same as above...



Topps Allen & Ginter (all)

- Find me one player that doesn't look like a total B.A... I'm sure there's one out there, but these cards came out well. I like '06 over '07, but they're both solid...



Least favorite (in retrospect):

2008 Topps Heritage

- I wanted to love this set, but the overall quality of the cards was sub-par in my mind. Some of these photos are just ridiculous while some came out well. Topps went overboard on some players' photos to give them the authentic 'retro' look, but the 'graininess' on some of these is way too much. Great idea, poor execution...


**Credit photo to intelliracer at Sports Card Forum

So, share with me your favorites... especially the good ones that I don't know much about. Yes, I'm aware of the Goudey and Turkey Red product, but don't own enough to get a good feel.

Oh, and if you have any Rockies (especially Tulo's) from any recent retro sets, let me know. I'm always willing to trade!

That's all I got...

- J.C.F.

Welcome!

Well boys and girls, I'm joining the baseball card collecting blog world and am quite excited. I collected a lot of cards as a kid (who didn't?) and decided to get back into the hobby a couple of months ago after coming across some great cards I had stored in my closet. My friend, Alex 'Spud' Thornton, over at Wax Breaker and I have been hitting the shops hard and have had some great pulls recently. We have started respective blogs and wanted to share our insight (while learning from the best) in the latest trends in the hobby among other observations. I'll be focusing less on the hobby overall and more on my collection and its growth for the time being.

This site is obviously dedicated to my never-ending quest to attain every Troy Tulowitzki card in existence as well as other exceptional pulls. I'm always interested in trades and occasionally purchases and would love to hear your offers and proposals if you come across any Tulo cards not in my collection.

For the first post I wanted to share with you my small, but ever-growing Troy Tulowitzki collection. Below are some of my favorite cards of his so far as well as a link to the whole shebang:


'06 TriStar Prospect Plus


'07 Bowman Heritage (RC)


'08 Topps Heritage 'Baseball Thrills' (Unassisted Triple Play)


'08 Topps Heritage Chrome Refractor (343/1959)

Check out the rest of the collection here!

Well that's it for now, but check back in to watch the collection grow along with future pulls that I find worthy of commenting on. Thanks for visiting!

- J.C.F.