I just received my latest batch of items from my framer.  I got my Daniel Radcliffe stuff from NYC framed, as well as a few Sox items.

Well, I knew the bubble had to burst at some point.  Today was not nearly as good as the three previous days.  All of the big guys have cut down tremendously on the amount of autographs they sign.  Well, except for Jake Peavy of course!

Most of the pitchers finished on a small field next to the clubhouse, so there was no access to them when they were done working out.  This meant that I didn't even get John Danks!

When I asked Brian Bruney to sign, he replied "Really?  More?"  I assured him that I was just a big fan and not a dealer and he responded that he really didn't care either way, and he signed the four cards I put out.

When I asked Mike Gellinger to sign, he was VERY surprised that I knew who he was.  He actually said "Give me some" and fist bumped me!

Dunn, Konerko, Pierzynski, and Quentin all finished at the same time.  They all signed a few, but not nearly enough to get everybody.  Konerko must think I'm a dealer as well.  I had the first spot at the corner of the fence.  He walked right by me and started signing with the guy next to me.  I would have been the next person to get Dunn when he quit signing.

For the first time, I decided to wait by the White Sox parking lot.  I had heard from several people that nobody would sign.  They were very nearly right.  I was the ONLY person at their parking lot, yet just about everybody ignored me.  The only people that stopped were Mark Salas, Juan Nieves, and Alexei Ramirez.

Here are my totals:

Kyle Bellamy - 1/1
Daryl Boston - 4/4
Brian Bruney - 4/4
Nick Capra - 4/4
Kyle Cofield - 4/4
Don Cooper - 1/1 (8x10)
Jordan Danks - 2/2 (8x10s), 4/4
Gavin Floyd - 1/2
Mike Gellinger - 1/1 (8x10)
Curt Hasler - 4/4
Greg Infante - 4/4
Josh Kinney - 4/4
Shane Lindsay - 4/4
Jeff Manto - 4/4
Juan Nieves - 4/4
John Orton - 4/4
Jake Peavy - 2/2
Juan Pierre - 2/4
Charles Poe - 4/4
Carlos Quentin - 1/1
Alexei Ramirez - 1/1
Mark Salas - 3/3
Brandon Short - 4/4
Miguel Socolovich - 1/1
Dayan Viciedo - 1/1 (16x20), 2/4
Greg Walker - 2/2

I went to the Dodgers side after the Sox were done with practice.  Unfortunately, the Dodgers were done as well, and there were only a few players/coaches left.  Luckily, I got there just before Mattingly finished signing.  Once again, I was the next to last autograph that he signed.

Hector Gimenez - 3/3
Dee Gordon - 2/2
Trey Hillman - 1/1
Tommy Lasorda - 1/1 (magazine)
Don Mattingly - 1/1
Aaron Miles - 3/3
Tim Wallach - 1/1

Another phenomenal day!  Though not as good as I originally thought.  While I was back in my hotel room sorting my stuff, I found that one of the best autographs I got today was smeared beyond recognition.  =(

I'm going to have to dispense with the details today... I need some sleep!  I'll post some more detailed info and stories tomorrow.

White Sox
Harold Baines - 1/1
Gordon Beckham - 1/2
Buddy Bell - 1/2
Aaron Boone - 1/1 (ball)
Brian Bruney - 4/4
Ramon Castro - 4/4
Kyle Cofield - 4/4
Jeff Cox - 4/4
John Danks - 2/2, 2/2 (16x20s)
Jordan Danks - 4/4, 1/1 (16x20)
Adam Dunn - 1/2
Eduardo Escobar - 4/4
Tyler Flowers - 2/2
Stefan Gartrell - 4/4
Lucas Harrell - 2/2
Curt Hasler - 4/4
Philip Humber - 2/4
Brandon Hynick - 4/4
Greg Infante - 4/4
Edwin Jackson - 2/2, 2/2 (10x20s)
Nate Jones - 3/3
Paul Konerko - 1/2 (smeared!)
Brent Lillibridge - 3/3
Donny Lucy - 4/4
Jeff Manto - 4/4
Jeff Marquez - 4/4
Jose Martinez - 8/8
Dallas McPherson - 4/4
Lastings Milledge - 3/4
Brent Morel - 1/3
Jake Peavy - 1/1 (mini helmet)
Josh Phegley - 4/4
Juan Pierre - 1/4, 3/3, 1/1 (ball)
A.J. Pierzynski - 1/1
Jared Price - 1/1
Carlos Quentin - 1/2
Alexei Ramirez - 1/2
Jerry Reinsdorf - 1/1 (ball)
Chris Sale - 4/4
Sergio Santos - 4/4
Brandon Short - 4/4
Mark Teahen - 3/3
Omar Vizquel - 1/2
Devon White - 1/2
Kenny Williams - 1/1 (ball)

Dodgers
J.D. Closser - 2/2
John Ely - 4/4
Damaso Espino - 2/2
Dana Eveland - 2/2
Jay Gibbons - 1/1
Javy Guerra - 2/2
Ken Howell - 2/2
Gabe Kapler - 1/1
Hiroki Kuroda - 2/2
Jon Link - 4/4
Mike MacDougal - 4/4
Bill Mueller - 2/2, 1/1 (ball)

Another day, another White Sox rackfest!  Today was just about as good as yesterday.  I got more autographs today despite the fact that I didn't have any other generous graphers helping me out.

Last year at Twins camp, Jesse Crain would always stop his car on his way out of the parking lot to sign for everybody.  He had some fun with us, though.  At some random point, he would honk the horn of his giant truck, and scare the crap out of all of us.  I asked him if he was doing that this year, and he said he couldn't bring his truck with him because it is way too big for Chicago.

John Danks was great as usual.  He would have signed two more cards, but he got sweat all over them, and he didn't want the autograph ruined.  He told me that his mom would love a copy of each of the prints I've made or had made of him.  I'll bring those to him tomorrow.

Jake Peavy was very appreciative of the "South Side Aces" print that I gave him.  He was doing 1 per for everybody as he was in bit of a rush, but he made sure to knock out 3 for me.

I was surprised to see Darrin Jackson there today.  That makes two announcers in camp.  Luckily, DJ is no Steve Stone.  When he came out, he said he would sign on his way back in.  About an hour later, I turned around and DJ was heading right for me.  I didn't even have to remind him.

I haven't yet decided what I think of Will Ohman.  When he was taking the field in the morning, I asked if he had time to sign.  He looked at his wrist (no watch) and said "I checked my watch, I don't have time".  At the end of practice, he answered the same question with "I do have time now" and signed 2/4 cards.

When I asked Kirk Champion to sign, he replied "You must have dug deep if you've got cards for me".

Here is my Sox tally for day 2:

Harold Baines - 1/2
Gordon Beckham - 1/2
Kyle Bellamy - 4/4
Mark Buehrle - 1/2 (10x20)
Anthony Carter - 1/1
Kirk Champion - 3/3
Kyle Cofield - 4/4
Jesse Crain - 4/4
John Danks - 2/4, 4/4 (2 10x20s, 2 10x30s)
Jordan Danks - 2/2 (8x10s)
Alejandro De Aza - 4/4
Adam Dunn - 1/3
Tyler Flowers - 2/2
Gavin Floyd - 2/2
Darrin Jackson - 2/2
Nate Jones - 4/4
Paul Konerko - 1/2
Charlie Leesman - 4/4
Brent Lillibridge - 2/4
Ever Magallanes - 4/4
Jeff Marquez - 4/4
Joe McEwing - 2/2
Dallas McPherson - 4/4
Brent Morel - 1/4
Juan Nieves - 4/4
Will Ohman - 2/4
John Orton - 4/4
Jake Peavy - 3/4
Tony Pena - 4/4
Juan Pierre - 2/4, 2/2
A.J. Pierzynski - 1/2
Alex Rios - 1/2
Chris Sale - 1/1 (16x20)
Sergio Santos - 4/4
Brandon Short - 4/4
Mark Teahen - 2/2
Matt Thornton - 2/2
Dayan Viciedo - 1/1 (16x20)
Devon White - 2/2

When I was finally convinced that there was no point hanging around the empty Sox camp, I again headed to the Dodgers parking lot.  My main objective was still to get Jon Garland to complete my All-Star 16x20.  The only difference is, this time I completed it!  I was giddy for about 15 minutes afterwards.  This bad boy is getting framed!

John Kruk was doing a report from Camelback Ranch today.  He entered on the Sox side, but was in a big rush and couldn't stop to sign.  He exited on the Dodgers side, and couldn't have been nicer or more accommodating.  I just wish I had had some Sox stuff with me!

Here are my Dodgers totals:

Casey Blake - 1/1
John Ely - 4/4
Jon Garland - 1/1 (16x20)
Jay Gibbons - 4/4
Gabe Kapler - 1/2
John Kruk - 1/1 (baseball)
Hiroki Kuroda - 1/1
Mike MacDougal - 3/3
Dioner Navarro - 1/2
Trent Oeltjen - 1/1
Ramon Troncoso - 2/2
Maury Wills - 2/2

Last night, Triple Threat Sports held a signing with John Danks and Paul Konerko.  The wife and I went to get Konerko on a mini helment at 2005 World Series 16x20.  While in the store purchasing the tickets, I noticed they had John Danks authentic jerseys for $100, which is quite a good deal!  So I picked up a Danks autograph ticket as well.  Here is the bounty!

We just got back to the hotel.  Picnic in the Park was MUCH different from last year.  The impetus for the change?  Rain, and lots of it.  This year, the autograph session was held in the lower level concourse on the first base side of the stadium, and the actual picnic was held in the Patio area.

I had more success at this year's autograph session.  The only drawback to having it in the concourse was that there was no room to move around.  I think I said "Excuse me" more today than I had in my entire life prior to today.

Nonetheless, the results were quite good.  Surprisingly enough, I got just about every big name on the team.  Unfortunately, I got almost none of the lesser names.

Enough small talk, here is the tally!

Gordon Beckham x4 (Card, 8x10, 16x20, Mini Helmet)
Mark Buehrle x4 (Card, Sports Illustrated, 16x20, Gold Glove Baseball)
Ramon Castro x4 (Card x3, 8x10)
John Danks x4 (Card x3, 16x20)
Freddy Garcia x6 (Card x5, World Series Baseball)
Ozzie Guillen x4 (Card x3, Jersey)
Bobby Jenks x4 (Card x4)
Andruw Jones x4 (Card, 16x20 x2, Gold Glove Baseball)
Paul Konerko x4 (Card x4)
Jayson Nix x4 (Card x3, 8x10)
Jake Peavy x4 (Card x3, 16x20)
Juan Pierre x4 (Card x3, 8x10)
A.J. Pierzynski x4 (Card x4)
J.J. Putz x3 (8x10 x3)
Carlos Quentin x4 (Card x3, 10x20)
Alexei Ramirez x4 (Card x3, 8x10)
Alex Rios x4 (Card x3, 16x20)
Sergio Santos x4 (Card x3, 8x10)
Omar Vizquel x4 (Card x2, 16x20, Gold Glove Baseball)

I got 14 rookie cards signed for my rookie card project.  They were Beckham, Danks, Garcia x2, Guillen, Jenks, Konerko, Peavy, Pierre, Pierzynski, Quentin, Ramirez, Santos, & Vizquel.  I also got a total of 20 Upper Deck cards signed for my All-Time Upper Deck project.

I have posted images of everything except for the 8x10s and magazines.  Lots of good stuff, take a look!

I went back to Astros camp today.  My main objective was getting my Carlos Lee 16x20 done.  It ended up being a very good day!

Carlos Lee - 3/3, 1/1 (16x20 w/ El Caballo inscription, White Sox mini helmet, 2 cards)
Lance Berkman - 1/1
Jeff Bagwell - 1/1, 1/1 (help)
Alberto Arias - 2/2
Brad Arnsberg - 4/4
Jason Bourgeois - 4/4
Michael Bourne - 2/4
Britt Burns - 2/8
Roy Corcoran - 3/3
Brian Esposito - 1/1
Pedro Feliz - 1/1
Jeff Keppinger - 1/1
Gary Majewski - 4/4
Bobby Meacham - 1/1
Brian Moehler - 3/3
Bud Norris - 1/1
Humberto Quintero - 1/2, 1/1
Jamie Quirk - 2/2
Polin Trinidad - 4/4



I went the extra mile to get Lee a few times today.  I arrived at the players parking lot at 6:45am.  I made a 16x20 inch sign that simply said "Please Carlos".  It's a good thing I got there early, because Lee pulled up at 7am sharp.  I was the only person there.  He began to give me his customary wave, and it was obvious he was not going to stop.  I held up the sign, and Carlos slammed on his brakes.  He rolled down his window, and I handed him the 16x20.  I started blabbing about how I'm a huge White Sox fan, and told him the sole reason that I was at Astros camp was to get his autograph.  He was nice enough to add an "El Caballo" inscription upon request.  I then asked if he would mind signing a couple of cards, and he did.  Great guy!

Unfortunately, Geoff Blum was not as accomodating.  I made an 8x10 inch sign that said "Please Geoff".  When he pulled up, he told me he would sign in the parking lot after the workout.  When he came out after the workout, he completely ignored me and drove off.  Not cool.  =(

I got an inside tip that Jeff Bagwell would be arriving today, and it turned out to be true.  He arrived in the players lot after the workout had ended.  After about an hour or so inside, he came out.  He was nice enough to pull over and sign one per for the 8 or so of us that were still there.  I asked if he would mind signing a baseball too, and he said "Just one today".  In any case, a great success.

The surprise of the day was Lance Berkman.  He did not sign inside, and I was sure he wouldn't be one to pull over.  Lo and behold, that is exactly what he did!  There were quite a few people there at that point too. 

I will post pictures later!

2010 Spring Training Totals - 91 cards, 1 8x10, 1 mini helmet, 1 16x20

Carlos Lee signed 3 items for me at 7am this morning, including a 16x20 with "El Caballo" inscription! I'm a very happy guy! Details and pictures will be posted when I get to my hotel in Fort Myers tonight.

A San Diego area collector helped me out at a Toys for Tots event last month.  Jake Peavy honored his previous San Diego commitments, even though he is no longer on the Padres.  Sounds like a guy I want on the Sox!

I sent two 16x20 photos of Peavy in a Sox uniform, one for each of us.  Here is what I got back:

I am about to head to the Post Office to mail out ALL Photofile preorders.  I had planned on getting everything out on Saturday, but it was not meant to be.  For those of you that had ordered photos on the "maybe" list, I was able to order everything but Jim Thome, Bobby Jenks, and Chris Getz.  There was very little interest in Thome and Jenks.  There was a good deal of interest in Getz, but not enough to justify an order of 25 photos, which is the minimum order for Getz.

Thanks to everybody that took part in this.  I look forward to our next order!

By the way, I do still have some 16x20s of this Mark Buehrle perfect game shot: