The Best of the Rest Just got Best-erer

Aloha, everybody, 

Long time no blog, I know. I've written before about being away from ATBATT for a variety of reasons - some better than others.  But deep down, when I'm away from our collecting community for any length of time, I really miss it - and all of you. 

If there's anything that will get me to sit at the keyboard and refresh all of your blogrolls with an update from me, it's receiving some cardboard goodies in the mail, and that has happily come to pass. 

On June 1st, Zippy Zappy wrote about the "Best of the Rest", a name which he bestowed upon the both of us, (aside from the SuperTraders group) as collecting/trading/blogging representatives for our respective teams, the Dodgers and Yankees.

It's a name which was inspired by fun, but one which I wear with honor and a smile, because it's these types of connections and friendships that make our community so very cool to me, and they are the reason I miss the blogosphere when I'm away. 

OK, now let's get to checking out some of the cards that ZZ sent to me in the latest installment of our never-ending LA to NY trade-a-thon. 

Some folks include notes with their packages and PWE's. My notes on Rolling Stones paper have shown up from time to time, and anyone who has ever been Zippy Zapped, will recognize his trademark mascot. I think it's a rabbit, but who knows with art? 

One of the best aspects of trading is collectors will send different types of cards, based on their collecting habits. ZZ tends to collect a lot of young players, minor leaguers and rookies. 

That works out great for me, since I don't buy Bowman and the like, so ZZ fills in those gaps in my collection.

 Valentin is with the AA Phillies now, and putting up some decent numbers. Hopefully he can break through with them.

 Here's a purple beauty of long time minor leaguer, Zach Lee. The Dodgers gave him a shot with the big club early in the season, but he was on a very short leash, and was quickly sent down when he did not put up Hall of Fame numbers. 

The kid could be a solid innings eater, which is something the Dodgers could really use, but they don't listen to me. I'm hoping Lee gets another shot soon. 

Speaking of kids, Holmes here is a recent Dodgers signing with a ton of potential and a lot of hope surrounding him. This Bowman chrome also has a lot of shiny surrounding him.

It's a double shot of Holmes...

I love this Bowman beveled-frame-styled design. The blue on the bottom half works well with the Dodgers colors. 
 

 Verdugo here is a solid Top 10 Dodgers prospect. He's a pitcher transformed to an outfielder, and there is some talk of him moving into right field for the Dodgers, with the possibility of Yasiel Puig being traded away or jumping when he becomes a free agent. 

 Now here's a great little card that popped out of the package. It's the Dodgers teen-aged phenom...

Urias got shelled in his NY debut, but I chalk that up to rookie jitters, and an ill-advised, rushed debut in hostile territory. It was a ridiculous decision on the part of the Dodgers. 

 Urias pitched much better a couple of nights ago in his Dodger Stadium debut, and he will pitch on Sunday against the Giants - talk about hostile territory. Tune in for that one. 

Here's a cool limited edition 236/250 from Topps Finest of one of my favorites out of the Dodgers' beleagured bullpen, Yimi Garcia. I'm digging that German Expressionist background on the card. 

 Yimi is on the DL now, so I'm hoping for a full and fast recovery. 

 It just aint a proper Zippy-Zapping without one of these (and I don't mean a Manny card)...
 

 I mean one of these super cool, Japanese Sega Card-Gens. Some people get slabbed cards and don't want to remove them from the thick plastic slab. I feel exactly the same about not wanting to remove this card from its penny sleeve with a Japanese price tag on it. 

I mean, how cool is that? This time I mean a Manny card in the home whites. 

We're just getting started with the package that ZZ sent to me.

Next time: Part 2   Aloha!