Bipped Again! This Time It's Personal

You're nice enough to send a guy a Jordan Zimmerman autograph, and this is what he sends in return. The nerve of some people! As I briefly mentioned last week, this Bipping is brought to you courtesy of Matt from Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius. I'm guessing that once the Jayhawks season is over, there probably isn't much to do in Lawrence, but that is surely no excuse to reach out and Bip someone.

Matt started things off by sending me a 1995 Upper Deck Armando Benitez card....

TIMES SIX!

Followed by FOUR 1986 Topps Sammy Stewarts.
All of this was innocent enough, and didn't cut near as deep as my first Bipping, at the hands of GCRL. But then I saw it...

This is "it"

The dreaded double "g" spelling of Greg, which happens to be my name. Matt knows this.
Matt knows that I have written in the past about my dislike for the nonsensical double "g" butchering of my first name. He knew.
He knew yet he sent the cards anyway. The balls on this friggin' guy!


I guess since this card was sent along as well, I can't be that mad. Another Brooks relic for the player collection. It's not actually a bat though, it's a piece of wood from a park bench that Brooks sat in one time. The back says "Congratulations, you have received a piece of wood".

2005 Donruss Champions Brooks Robinson relic

Thanks for the cards Matt.... I guess. I want you to keep it in the back of your mind that maybe, just maybe, I will seek vengeance. Probably not, cause I'm lazy, but I could.

Facing the Music

Thanks to all the talk of me being a coward for not taking my bipping like "a man", I decided it was time to open the mysterious and suspicious package sent to me by GCRL. Since he has already revealed that my suspicions were correct about this package, me opening it is the equivalent of throwing yourself on a live grenade. The combat analogy brings up a good point in my defense against those branding me as "not a man". If this were 1968, and trading was 'Nam, and bipping season were the Tet Offensive, am I really a coward for not walking head-on into an ambush?

All of that is null and void now that the package has been opened. I've got to admit, GCRL would have gotten me good, as this package was filled with multiple smug Oriole faces who seem to mock me even more than the limerick Jim customarily tucked safely into my stack of duplicates.

First up is the cover boy himself, Mark Williamson. This is THE card that tipped me off about this package's possible contents. Who sends a 1989 Topps card of Mark Williamson, and tries to pass it off as legitimate trade bait? GCRL was kind enough to send 7 of them my way.

His perfectly trimmed soup strainer and refusal to make eye contact subtly ask "Do you think he knows what's coming?"

Then came "the note". Hmmm... blame Thorzul.... What's that there in the limerick? Hickey? No thanks, I'll pass GCRL. Hickeys are sooooo middle school (no offense Drew).


Oh! THAT Hickey.... from 1990 Upper Deck... times 12!

Staring at me mockingly, as if he knows that I know what's coming. As if to say "He'd better know now".

Just when I thought the worst was behind me, GCRL struck back with 4 1987 Topps Mike Young cards. Even though this was the weakest bip in terms of card quantity, seeing Mike Young's mug times 4 was definitely a self-confidence blow. It was almost as if I were Deebo, and he was standing over me shouting after Craig knocked me the bip out.

Be on the lookout ladies! There is a straight player in the house. Mike's expression closes out the conversation nicely, and to me this clearly says "He knows now". I've been bipped by a mutha-bippin' hustler!

Luckily for me, GCRl was kind enough to actually send some cards of merit to ease the pain of his bipping. This post is already long enough, so I'll just show you a few.

1983 Donruss Bruce Sutter Diamond King

A splendid card of one of the finest bearded wonders in the moden history of Major League Baseball. Looks like it's officially time to start a "beard binder".

1970 O-Pee-Chee Boog Powell Sporting News All-Star

The front of this card is pretty cool, but the back is way better. I think this is the famous uncorrected Boog Powell error card featuring an illustration of Andy Rooney on the back.

Nabisco Team Nabisco All-Stars Brooks Robinson

Does anyone know what year these are from? From reading the back, it looks like these were possibly inserted into boxes of Triscuit crackers, so they can't be that old.

2006 Bazooka Brian Roberts Fielding Basics relic

Along with Mike Mussina, I've officially started a Brian Roberts player collection as well. People send me a ton of his cards, so at this point, it seems like a no-brainer to welcome him into the collective fold. Since Roberts & Tejada were all the O's had in the mid-2000's, they each have a ton of Oriole cards. Yesterday I heard a rumor that the O's are considering bringing Tejada back as a third baseman. Even though he's a dirty cheater, if his contract is easy to handle. it might not be a bad move.

So there you have it. I took my medicine like a big boy, and was bipped for all the world to see. Even if I did see it coming, GCRL too the time to assemble these cards, and paid to ship it to Baltimore. The least I could do was open, and post it.

Be on the lookout for "Beardy Gets Bipped" part 2, brought to you by Matt, from Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius.

Fear and Loathing In The Mailbox

I suspect that GCRL has tried to bip me, and I can't prove it without being bipped, but I think he's trying to get me man. In order to confirm this attempted bip, I would have to open the packages pictured below, thus making myself even more vulnerable to a possible bipping, which may in fact be the package's intent.

Somebody call the Bip Squad. There was no email from GCRL. No trade agreement in place. This was just a random package with the misfortune to have arrived in the heart of bipping season. As you can see from the photo below they don't have the most enticing of cards sitting on top. In the note that was attached CGRL stated that he was "sending me some O's in the hopes that I would send him some Dodgers instead of them always going to Night Owl". I gotta be honest, 1989 Topps is not exactly the way to my collecting heart, and something about this whole thing just reeks a bit. Knowing full well that there was already some dubious mail en-route to two of my favorite frenemies, Thorzul & Motherscratcher, there was no way I could open these cards and leave myself so defenseless. Karma was not about to bip me so quickly.

Am I paranoid? Maybe. A fool? Well.... I'll leave that one up to you. Yesterday, after they had been sitting on my table for 3 days unopened, I decided to drop GCRL an email, to let him know that his suspicious package had arrived a few days ago, and that I was not about to open for fear that there was nothing but a limerick and pain inside. He was nice enough to reply, and confirm my worst fear.

I have been Bipped, but am currently in denial about it. The cards are still unopened, but they've already penetrated the fortress walls. There is a crook in my kingdom. It's only a matter of time before I break down and wonder if there are 14 Larry Sheets' in there, or 7 Joe Orsulaks. My paranoia has gotten the best of me. Look at Mark Williamson's mustache staring at me. Mocking me. ME of all people! He has the nerve to mock me. You would do that, wouldn't you.
The package with the Ravens cards in it doesn't look quite as sketchy, but I've got to stay strong here. Can't surrender to the temptation.


CLICK HERE TO SEE THE AWESOMEST THING EVER.*

You'll never catch me!

*Link courtesy of Jon, from Rain of Error.