Trade With Royals and Randoms: Poker? I Didn't Even Know Her. Plus PC Additions.

I completed my first trade with Josh from Royals and Randoms. He posted some Dodgers and assorted bait, and I inquired about a particular autograph. He was interested in a pair of cards from my Bait, and a trade was quickly underway. As a side note, he took the Angel Berroa relic I pulled out of my "Super Box" off of my hands, which alone would be worth a post. Good riddance to that.

The signature I was interested in is the above Evelyn Ng from 2009 UD Goodwin Champions. I absolutely love playing poker, and this is only the second poker card I have (both feature John Hancocks). It's pretty cool that Ng drew a little crown to go along with her autograph. A nice, appreciated touch. As always, it's worth noting: on-card! Josh also hit up my Kemp and Kershaw PCs with the below pair of new additions. A Clayton mini! Always an excellent sight.

And finally, a slew of cards from some of my smaller player collections, particularly the trio of Suns I really miss seeing play together: Nash, Marion, and Amare. An Aaron Rodgers sticker also makes an appearance. The trio of Topps Finest are awesome, awesome, awesome, and the '03-'04 UD Standing Ovation die-cut of Marion is just fantastic.

Thanks for the great trade Josh!

Box Break: Would You Call This A "Super Box"?

Half of my graduation gift from my parents was a Baseball Super Box from SBay Cards. The box is $100, and for that $100, you get ten cards. Each of the cards is a hit, though the box does not specify what proportion are autos and what proportion are relics.

So, I opened up the box, dug through the packing peanuts, and popped out the team-bagged brick of cards.

This was my box. The cards are pictured in the order they were pulled in. I ask you, was it "super"?

052/107

0858/1000

Card is clean. Toploader, not so much.

234/300

2692/5750

198/400

I'd wager this was probably one of the worst boxes out of the 270 they sold.

Angel Berroa? I thought I'd never have to see that name again.

I wasn't expecting to pull a Babe Ruth or Mickey Mantle hit, and certainly not a top name for each of the ten cards I was getting. But I certainly had higher expectations than what I ended up with. And I certainly expected that, for one hundred dollars, each of the cards I got would be penny sleeved and placed in a toploader. Needless to say, that did not happen.

I'd still recommend the box - available once a year - because at the least, every card is an auto or relic, and you also get a ticket which enters you into a drawing for some great prizes (included this year were a Koufax Auto and Babe Ruth Autographed Baseball, amongst others).

My ticket came up empty this year, and though my box was pretty terrible, I'm hoping to at least move the cards in trades and get back something I'll enjoy more. So, if you're still reading PTSIA a year from now, you can expect another box break of this custom product. And hopefully, I'll have more to show for it.

EVERYTHING IS AVAILABLE. Please leave a comment if something interests you.

Good News All Around

Jamie Hoffmann is back and Angel Berroa was released.

Mark Loretta To Retire

Reports ESPN.com

Loretta, 39, spent 15 seasons in the bigs, spending time with Milwaukee, Houston, San Diego, Boston, and most recently the Dodgers.

Loretta, if he does in fact retire, finishes his career with a .360 OBP and .395 SLG % (.755 OPS), pretty good, in terms of OBP, for an otherwise average player. His OBP is surprisingly high to me, considering how atrocious he was at the beginning and end of his career.

Thankfully this means the end of the Dodgers wasting plate appearances on him. Now they can go to Angel Berroa!

Dodgers Sign 9 To Minor League Deals

• Doug Mientkiewicz
• Angel Berroa
• Josh Towers
• Justin Miller
• Luis Ayala
• Prentice Redman
• Juan Perez
• John Lindsey
• Francisco Felix

All 9 have received an invite to Spring Training.

The first 7 have been mentioned here already, but the last two are new names.

Lindsey, 32, spent time in AA and AAA with the Dodgers between 2007 and 2008.

Felix, 26, has spent his entire pro career in the states in the Dodgers organization, beginning in A ball in 2006 and reaching AAA in 2008. He split 2009 between AA Chattanooga and AAA Albuquerque. Over his 5 seasons of minor league baseball, including time spent in the Mexican League, Felix has K'd 8.7/9 IP with a WHIP of 1.37.

Dodgers Sign Two Former Dodgers To Contracts

Doug Mientkiewicz and Angel Berroa have signed minor league deals and been invited to Spring Training. Mientkiewicz has the better shot of the two to make the team.

Angel Berroa Is Tricky

H/T to JuanLove for pointing the video out.