Zistle Trade #29

So, here we are before the start of game four of the World Series.  It has been a tremendous ride so far this postseason.  At the start of the season I said that a successful season would be a playoff run.  Well, we made it to the World Series!  The Dodgers made it a tough Division Series.  I thought the Cubs had our number before game one of the League Series, but we rolled through them with a four game sweep.

Things have not started out too well for the Mets in the World Series, but they have played well.   The Royals have just played better.  The Mets showed some life in game three and look to continue their swinging ways in game four.  

Now, on to another Zistle trade!  This one with user ccards.  Tim was looking for some various card needs and I requested some various Mets needs in return.

Next up is a nice full sheet of 2003 Topps.  This time with Cliff Floyd in an actual Mets uniform. 

There wasn't anything too ground breaking here, but still a nice set of cards that fills some holes in my binders!

Group Break at Crackin' Wax: 2015 Topps Heritage

Let us pause the trade posts and check out a group break.  This break was a number of months ago, but at least I am now in the current year with my posts.

I have known of Topher over at Crackin' Wax for a while now.  I read his blog, follow him on Twitter, and like how he does his group breaks for charity.  He always comes off as a good dude.

I decided to join one of his group breaks.  The spots in his breaks go fast with the Mets spot being among the fastest to get claimed.  I was able to claim a spot in the 2015 Topps Heritge group break as you can see below.

It was a fun break.  Topher makes his breaks enjoyable as he and his wife discuss things while he is crackin' the wax.  I generally do not watch breaks because they get boring for me (probably because I would rather be the one opening the packs).

As you can see, I ended up with a complete Mets team set (including the deGrom, Harvey, and Wright short prints), a deGrom insert, and a deGrom chrome parallel.  I did not get a hit, but still enjoyed what I got during this break.  I also like the look of this year's Heritage release.  The blue sky background works very well with the Mets uniforms and the shots are mixed up well enough to keep each card looking fresh.

Zistle Trade #28

Here we are now.  The Mets made it to the postseason!  They start the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers Friday night.  The series will surely be a well-pitched one with the winner being whichever team's bats show up.  I think a lot of people are looking for the Dodgers to take this series, but the Mets have the ability to surprise those skeptics.

Now, back to the trades with this quick one with Zistle user dogfacedgremlin.  Check out Tim's blog over at The Real DFG.

I sent him a trade request seeing if he wanted any or all of my Pittsburgh Steelers cards.  He did not have many Mets cards to offer in return, but that was fine with me.  I was still able to add some Cal Ripken, Jr. cards.

The lone Mets card was a dandy.  I think this card sums up the early 1990’s Mets teams quite nicely.

Zistle Trade #27

Tonight is the final game of the Subway Series between the Mets and Yankees.  The Mets won game one on Friday while the Yankees won game two with a shutout on Saturday.  The Mets still have a comfortable lead in the division, but could use the series win here to keep their momentum going forward.

Tonight's game is also a continuation of the Matt Harvey story.  Harvey did not pitch very well during his last outing almost two weeks ago against the Nationals.  He is trying to stay sharp for his first playoff run.  He likes to pitch against the Yankees, too.  Hopefully, Harvey will have a good outing and put this whole media mess further behind him.

Now, back to the trades with this one with Zistle user rbarone5.  He is a fellow Mets fan (or at least I think it he is as his avatar is the Mets logo).  This was a short and simple trade with us exchanging a few cards.

Nothing great here with this trade, but it does fill a couple of needs.

Zistle Trade #26

The Mets keep rolling with another series sweep this weekend over the Atlanta Braves.  There were a couple of unfortunate errors in Sunday's game, but they redeemed those with three runs in the ninth and tenth innings to complete the four game sweep.  The Mets return to Queens to start a homestead against the Marlins, Yankees, and Braves.  It is only a matter of time now until the Mets clinched their division.

Moving along with another Zistle trade.  This time with user reyoung68.  He reached out to me requesting some of his Topps needs and countered with these Mets cards along with some of my other various needs.

Not a bad selection of Mets cards.  I was looking to get Rickey Henderson's first Topps card as a Met for a while at the time of this trade.  I also enjoy the Upper Deck Oviation Mike Piazza I received.  The card is made to look and feel like a baseball.  Of course, they do not feel like an actual baseball, but Upper Deck made an interesting card with that set.

Zistle Trade #25

Well, those were some great games of baseball!  Three come from behind wins for the Mets and they now have a nice seven game lead in the NL East.  Mets fans do not like to say something is definite until it happens, but things are definitely going our way right now.

Now, back to the trades...

I have traded with user bdlehman18 a couple times now.  Our first trade was only my second one on Zistle.  He was only looking for a couple of cards for our third trade, so it was short and simple.

We did hit a little snag when he went to pull the cards he was going to send me.  Zistle is a great website for keeping your card collection, but it does come with some bugs.  It happens on occasion during trades, but it never has been a big deal.

Being the good trader he is, Brian asked if I wanted to pick a replacement.  I gave a couple of options and asked him to surprise me.  This is what he sent.

I really enjoy the look of these 1998 Pacific Omega cards for some reason.  I only had one Omega card prior to receiving these four cards, but that one card has always been a favorite of mine.  I could have pulled that card and scanned it, but decided it was easier to do a Google Image search.

"Courtesy" of The Snorting Bull

It is not too often you find a card depicting a player on three different teams, especially of a high caliber player like Mike Piazza.  Unfortunately, Piazza missed the Hall of Fame election again this year.  His chances are looking better for next year with only one definite shoo-in (Ken Griffey, Jr.) in front of him.

Zistle Trade #24

We are now into September with the Mets in first place.  They look to continue their forward momentum into a playoff run.  Due to the Cardinals, Pirates, and Cubs playing great ball, but being in the same division, the Mets must win their division to make the playoffs.

The Mets and Nationals started a crucial series on Labor Day.  The first game was exciting with the Mets giving up the lead, but then coming back for the win.  The entire team looked ready for this game and did not seem distracted by the recent media hoopla.  Now, it is the person at the center of the hoopla to make his start to continue the Mets path to the playoffs.

Moving along with another Zistle trade with user SDre31.  Steve was one of the first few trades I completed on Zistle a couple of years ago.  This was our second trade.

Those 1987 Topps cards that you can find literally from anyone.  These are from the Topps Traded set which I believe finishes off that 1987 set for me.

The bottom-right card is a rookie card of Kelly Stinnett.  I know he is not one of those players you trade for, but I was glad to get this card.  

I have been to over 20 MLB games, so far, in my life.  I have always wanted to catch a foul or home run ball, but have not done so yet.  The closest was when Kelly threw me a ball after batting practice.  I was maybe 11 or 12 years old and pretty far away from what I recall.  I was waving my glove and he threw the ball up to me.