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.

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.

4 Days of Tulo: Day 2

Technically it's Friday, however it's been a mere six and a half hours since the '4 Days of Tulo' started. I'm saving money for the move back south and I'm guessing this my is way of coping with card withdrawal. I couldn't tell you the last time I set foot in a hobby shop...

First, I wanted to state something I forgot to mention in the previous post. I was reminded of these sentiments when perusing Wax Heaven this evening and came across a great essay originally posted on SportsCardFun.com (what would we do without you, Mario?). 'Premium'/'Parallel' sets are out of control and inflating the hobby. Yeah, Tulo's UD Spectrum card is pretty dope, but come on. The kid's [technically] a second year player that was called up in '06 and the fact that I have 20+ base cards of him is absurd. I'm not complaining about the amount of cards available of a player, and in this case [clap clap, clap clap clap, clap clap clap clap] TU-LO, but it is a little ridiculous. However, I digress (while using way too many parentheses and brackets).

So for Friday, my random Tulo card of the day is another Upper Deck Product:


'07 UD Artifacts

The photograph says, 'Go ahead... make my day'...

The card says, 'I'm trying really hard to be a wanted poster in a spaghetti western'...

[What the card literally says on the back]: 'After collecting 123 hits at Double-A Tulsa in 2006, Tulowitzki was called up to the Rockies and banged out four knocks in his fifth ML game (9/3).'

Cheesy card, cheesy product, but one helluva player looking BA.

Sorry for wasting your time...

That's all I got...

- J.C.F.

Slumpin...

A three-run jack and a couple of huge RBI this year (emphasis on 'a couple') is less than stellar for this stud.

A .167 BA, however, makes me think...



DESPERATELY NEEDS


(Thanks Mario!)


That's all I got...

- 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.

Thanks to Wax Heaven!

Mario at Wax Heaven hooked me up with a great header for the site. Many thanks to Mario for his continued help!

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!

Speaking of Retro, Cont'd...

Dayf over at Cardboard Junkie has done one of the more thorough previews I've seen of any product, let alone this year's U.D. Goudey set due out in July. Links to his recent posts on the products are below:

'Second Thoughts on 2008 Goudey' [Dayf/Cardboard Junkie]

'Second Thoughts on 2008 Goudey, Pt 2' [Dayf/Cardboard Junkie]

Also on top of the release are Mario from Wax Heaven and Chris from Stale Gum. Their posts are below as well:

'2008 Upper Deck Goudey Preview' [Mario Alejandro/Wax Heaven]

'1st Impressions: 2008 UD Goudey' [Chris Harris/Stale Gum]

As for news from my neck of the woods...

I've got a couple of Tulos coming in the mail [hopefully] in the next couple of days. Nothing too thrilling, but some nice additions nonetheless. I've also got a great Helton relic on the way which I'll scan upon arrival.

Thanks again for checking in.

That's all I got...

- J.C.F.

Speaking of Retro...

Mario and Chris have posted a couple of 2008 Upper Deck Goudey previews on their respective sites. Check 'em out below:

[Mario Alejandro/Wax Heaven]
[Chris Harris/Stale Gum]

That's all I got...

- J.C.F.