A Pleasant Surprise From Ebay

I am known to spend/waste hours each week searching Ebay for good deals on baseball cards.  I am usually satisfied with my purchases.  Ebay is a great way for a collector to stock up on some cardboard without even leaving the confines of there sofa.

This time around, I purchased some cool Dodger cards on the cheap.  It was being sold as a lot and included a 2009 Upper Deck Icons Chad Billingsley GU.  The seller listed some of the cards that were to be included in the lot.  After he listed what would be in the lot, he also stated that there will be "much more."  Whenever an Ebay seller states "much more," I am expecting an extra card of 1990 Donruss or a couple of cards from 1989 Topps.  This time the seller actually included some quality and quantity into my lot.  This was a big surprise.  I was expecting the Billingsley GU and about 9 other cards.  I got much more for my 3 dollar purchase.

Here was one of the pleasant surprises.  How did this seller know that I have been trying to bolster my collection with Pedro Guerrero cards?

I know that I was going to receive these two cards.  I was a Jeff Kent hater when he was a Giant but, I was a Jeff Kent fan when he was a Doyer.  I am a big fan of the 2006 Ovation set.  I like how the player and the baseball in the background protrude from the cardboard. 

Getting a James McDonald serial numbered rookie card would have been cooler 2 or 3 years ago.  McDonald at one point in his pitching career was the Dodgers Minor League Pitcher of the year.  He looked to be on his way to being locked into the Dodger rotation for the next several years.  The Dodgers gave him some opportunities to succeed.  He was okay as a middle reliever but was complete garbage as a starter.  In one game, that I think was in 09 or 10.  I am leaning towards 2009, where McDonald was struggling with his control, got booed off the mound and was crying on his way into the Dodger dugout.  That may have been the final straw.  The Dodgers traded him last season for the services of Octavio Dotel.  Dotel was a Dodger for maybe a month.

These two cards were apart of the random extra cards that the seller sent me.  Rauuul Mondesi is shown here beating out an infield single against the Giants.  Andy Laroche, like James McDonald, is another failed Dodger prospect.  I thought that Laroche was going to make me forget losing Adrian Beltre through free agency.  The Dodgers gave Laroche some at-bats at third base but, he never produced much.  Also, like McDonald, Laroche was sent to the Pirates as part of the three way deal that brought Manny Ramirez to LA.  Remember Andy Laroche?  He plays in Oakland now after failing in Pittsburgh.  Remember Manny Ramirez?  He now plays for nobody after failing a second drug test.  Manny is wallowing in the stench of infamy with Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens.  Good thing I never bought a Manny jersey.

I need to pick-up more Billingsley GUs.  I think that I have written that before at the Platter.  I also need to obtain a Billingsley autograph.  Please help me out, blog world.  Check out my trade bait and maybe there is a card that you may be interested in.

The seller also included this 2011 Toppstown Mat Latos!?!?  I bought a Dodger lot and he sent me a Padre?!?!  That was an odd inclusion.  I have no idea why he added this into my purchase.  He probably wanted to dump a Padre on me because Padre cards usually just collect dust in one's collection.  The Padres don't have too many collectors or fans.  If I was an Ebay seller, I may include random Padre cards in someones purchase also.  That may be one of the few ways to get rid of some Padre cards. 

The chance may be slim, but if anyone wants this Latos card, please send me an e-mail.