FanFest 2014 Recap

Sorry for my bitching and my mini rant last week about FanFest.  I was expecting to have a crappy day full of denials and wasted time.  I was very much in the wrong. 

I am working on more in depth posts, so for now, here are the stats.  I was able to cross two names off the list, upgraded seven players, pulled in 15 autos of minor leaguers and new acquisitions, while still hauling in 13 to trade.

All told, 37 autographs for a whopping total cost of $40.  That includes the price of admission, food, parking and cards I bought prior to the event.  Big fan of how everything turned out.

I had a great time meeting up with a few graphers from sportsgraphing.com.  J-Orioles, Scoreset, CalRipken8 and finflash, plus others, all made it a great day.  I look forward to making some trades and adding a few more postcards to my collection.

Stay tuned for the pictures and details.

FanFest Groveling

Short and sweet.

I am looking to purchase a season ticket FanFest ticket for this year.  Since I was shut out on line, I would like to get there early and be guaranteed a couple signatures.

Please let me know if you have one available.

45 Minutes Of My Life I Want Back

As a nice welcome back to autographing, the Baltimore Orioles wasted my time for 45 minutes today.  Autograph Vouchers went on sale for the Orioles February 1, 2014 Fanfest.  And exactly like last year the site sucks ass.  Again, glitch after glitch and volume issues caused myself, and I am sure others to be shut out from buying autographs. 

Here is this years lineup.

11:20 a.m.-12:20 p.m.	Mike Bordick Bill Hunter Matt Wieters	Zach Britton Kevin Gausman Steve Johnson Calvin Maduro	Dylan Bundy David Lough Ryan Webb	Steve Clevenger Chris Davis Liam Hendriks
12:40-1:40 p.m.	Al Bumbry Nolan Reimold John Russell Chris Tillman	Ryan Flaherty Adam Jones Steve Pearce	Nick Markakis Jonathan Schoop Josh Stinson	Tommy Hunter Darren O'Day Henry Urrutia
2:00-3:00 p.m.	Kevin Gausman TJ McFarland Buck Showalter	JJ Hardy Chris Jones David Lough	Miguel Gonzalez Jim Palmer David Wallace Ryan Webb	Tim Berry Steve Clevenger Manny Machado Joe Orsulak
3:20-4:20 p.m.	Chris Davis Steve Johnson Johnny Monell	Dylan Bundy Darren O'Day Troy Patton Jemile Weeks	Tommy Hunter Brian Matusz Chris Tillman	Adam Jones Wayne Kirby Josh Stinson
4:40-5:40 p.m.	TJ McFarland Michael Ohlman Jim Palmer Nate Snell	Mike Belfiore Manny Machado Jonathan Schoop Larry Sheets	Larry Bigbie Kelvin De La Cruz Henry Urrutia Matt Wieters	Brad Brach Ken Dixon Miguel Gonzalez JJ Hardy

5000 tickets sold out in 45 minutes and the Orioles were again ill-equipped to handle the volume this process demands.  Buy a ticket for $20 (up from last year) and you get 3-4 autographs.  A great deal when it can be found.  But it could not.  For the first 30 minutes an error message popped up saying volume was too high.  When that finally disappeared half the stations were sold out and a new error message appeared, "request could not be processed".  Then at 10:45am, done. 

I was left with zero vouchers and a bitter taste in my mouth.  The last three years have had the same issues and the team doesn't seem to care, cause they sold out.  I get it, I am in business, money is money.  But service should count for something.  I thought with an increase in price that was the idea this year.  Nope.

Just for shits and giggles I looked at season tickets and was greeted with another error message.  I am done.

So I am now relegated to grovelling, trading, buying from eBay and hounding during the day.

I need some help, a lot of help. 

Mike Belfiore (Postcard)

Tim Berry (Anything, prefer Postcard)

Brad Brach (Anything, prefer Postcard)

Steve Clevenger (Anything, prefer Postcard)

Kelvin De La Cruz (Anything, prefer Postcard)

Liam Hendriks (Anything, prefer Postcard)

Bill Hunter (Anything, prefer Postcard)

Chris Jones (Anything, prefer Postcard) 

David Lough (Anything, prefer Postcard)

Johnny Monell     (Anything, prefer Postcard)

Michael Ohlman(Anything, prefer Postcard)

Steve Pearce (Postcard)

Josh Stinson (Postcard)

Henry Urrutia (Anything, prefer Postcard)

David Wallace (Anything, prefer Postcard)

Ryan Webb (Anything, prefer Postcard)

Jemile Weeks (Anything, prefer Postcard)

Can anyone help, either trade/consignment/anything?  I would even be willing to help in line if anyone has multiple vouchers. I am desperate. 

#OriolesFail

Big Leagued By A Journeyman

My only trip to Camden Yards last year was met with an interesting request.  Chris Snyder, journeyman catcher met my request for an autograph with an unusual amount of animosity. 

He signed a ball for another collector and I patiently waited my turn as he was walking to the park.  I handed him my custom autograph card.  He looked at it, handed it back and said :do you have anything else".  I politely responded that I had nothing else because he hadn't been featured as an Oriole yet.

His next response threw me for a loop. "Well, you get my bootleg signature then".
My initial reaction was "HUH".  Eventually I came back with, "OK.  It's just going into my collection".

But his perspective got me thinking.

Players have "bootleg" signatures?  Journeymen catchers that have spent a lot of time in the minor leagues have "bootleg" signatures?  What, exactly, is a "bootleg" signature?

Well, this is a "bootleg" signature:

Chris Snyder Orioles Autograph Card

Here is his normal signature:

Whatever.  I have his autograph and I have a story, but seriously.  Obviously he thought I would be selling this autograph in some way.  So I did a little research.  There have been a grand total of five sold autographs on eBay in the last two months.  The most expensive, one whole dollar, and that was a dual autograph. 

If this was indeed my way to make money, I would be better off panhandling for change.  Come on man.

Let's Play A Game

The game: Who am I?

The rules: Name the player in the autograph. 

The hint: This person was at the September 23, 2013 Baltimore Orioles home game versus the Toronto Blue Jays.

The prize: any available autograph.

The reason: I actually have no idea who it is.  None whatsoever.  So no wild guesses please and I will verify guesses.

The Subject:

Good Luck.

Blogger Hated Me, Then It Didn't

I went to my first and only Orioles game of 2013 on Tuesday September 23.  I took a vacation day from work to get to the stadium early and try and make the most of my day.  I was rewarded with one of the worst autographing days I have had.  Now I did walk away with six autographs but the day was brutal. 

Then I wrote all about it and Blogger deleted my post, then proceeded to not work for two months.  It works now so I guess I have been forgiven.

Back to my day.

This day must have been National "Catch Me Inside the Stadium Day" because that was the go to denial.  All day.  Whether it was two graphers or five (the most of the day) we were stonewalled by all but Scott McGregor and Chris Snyder (separate post for the guy).  Chris Davis told us he would be back and kept his word.  It was to show fellow Texans Tommy Hunter and Darren O'Day his new Ford F250 not sign an autograph.

I grabbed some food and went inside the stadium to try my luck there.  I had a little with Rick Dempsey and Buck Showalter behind home plate, neither of which I need.

Rick Dempsey 1991 Orioles Crown #102

Buck Showalter Orioles Autograph Card

All of the "Catch me inside" guys ducked every attempt to pay up.  I figured I would try my luck with the Blue Jays.

I was only on their side for ten minutes and was able to get a Cy Young Winner and an Oriole upgrade.

Sal Fasano Orioles Autograph Card

 I was ill prepared for this game and didn't know Fasano was a coach for the Jays.  I saw him walk into the stadium as I was being shunned by my team and was pissed I didn't have a blank ready.  At least I atoned for my mistake inside the stadium. 

R.A. Dickey 2013 Gypsy Queen Dealing Aces #RD

Before the game I had not planned on grabbing a Dickey, but when he started signing I couldn't pass up the opportunity (Sorry I had to go there, I couldn't help myself).  I was the last of a long line trying to get at Dickey and I think my signature suffered for it (Again, that was unavoidable).

Anything but the Fasano is available.

Note to Blogger-Whatever I did to you I am sorry.  I will be on my best behavior moving forward, I promise.  Just please don't hate me any more.  It is good to be back.

Nope, I'm Not Dead

After taking four months off from blogging, I can't blame any one thing for my hiatus.  Hell, I can't blame any fifteen things, but I am back.

I am back to pay attention to the blogging community.  I am back to get involved in trading.  I am back to start crossing names off the needs list again.

I have truly missed this blog and the fun I had writing it, researching players and interacting with the community.  I am hoping to get back to regular posting.  I appreciate all of those that have not un-followed me yet. 

So for those patient enough to stick around for more than four months, I will not disappoint with my most recent addition.  Here is the star, the stud, the prize jewel of my collection.

Jason Pridie 2003 Topps #674

OK, not the crown jewel, but an addition none the less.  I received this in September, I think.  It was a trade from one of the sites I was on, which I don't remember.  It came from a person I don't know. Lots of unknown surrounding this guy.

What I do know, Pridie made his Oriole debut on September 25, 2013.  He appeared in four games as the Orioles finished off their heart wrenching campaign without Manny Machado.  Pridie was merely a stop gap and the team granted him free agency after the season. 

This is just the beginning as I am working on a few more posts to bring you back into the quest.

Time To Make A Run

No more waiting.  No more series wins.  The Orioles have to make a run and a big one, or they will be left watching the Playoffs this year. 

It has all been said already, but hell, you haven't heard it from me. 

They control their destiny.

19 of their final 29 games are against teams in the Playoff race.  6 against the Yankees and 3 versus the Indians can create separation with the pack, but that still leaves the front runners.

6 more with the Red Sox and 6 with the Rays can create an interesting race.  Or put a lot of distance between the wild card contenders.

The lineup has been able to produce and score runs all year.  That has continued in recent weeks but our once stellar bullpen has been awful.  Get the lead early and blow it late has been the way of the Birds.

So what do they do right before September call-ups?

Get another bat of course.

We could use a pitcher to sure up the pen, someone like this guy:

 

Francisco Rodriguez 2000 Topps Traded Autograph #TTA38

Arms like his may be the difference, instead we get Mike Morse and his .227 batting average and poor defense.  Perfect fit.

Feeling Lucky: 1982 Edition

The last time I had busted a vintage pack of cards, it wasn't vintage at all.  It was new, fresh exciting and it was probably 1987.My brother has been a little more adventurous in his pack ripping.

Recently he picked up a bunch of older packs from somewhere and had some good luck.  He has been working on the 1978 Topps set and was hoping to pull an Eddie Murray RC in good condition. He did.

 He snagged a 1982 Topps rack pack for my birthday, hoping I could do the same with a Ripken RC.

It was my birthday, I was feeling lucky and I though it could happen.  It did not.

I don't know if these are the best cards from the bunch, but I thought they were cool.

The Fisk is pretty damn sweet.  I got  thrill from opening up some old school, even if it didn't pan out.

A Perfect Angle

 

Matt Angle 2009 Frederick Keys Team Set #2

Angle is a former 7th round pick of the Birds that found his way into the lineup during the 2011 campaign.  He appeared in 31 games patrolling each of the outfield positions but with little pop at the plate.  He hit under .200 for the year and was relegated to the minors for the majority of the season. 

 

Following 2011 he was claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Dodgers and has been in AAA the last two years.  He has hit around .300 for the Isotopes the last two years and has shown the most power of his career.  If the Dodgers are contending come September, he should get another shot to bolster a lineup and add some depth to their outfield.