A bip-free zone

I don't think I've done a trade post that hasn't mentioned "bipping" in some shape or form since the whole nastiness started.

I do believe unearthing the art of bipping on us innocents was Thorzul's way to tarnish trade posts forever more, since they seem to irk him so. And although I'll give him a hearty "well-played" if that was his intention, this is one trade post he's not going to ruin.

No bippings in this post. No siree.

And best of all, this post is going to be looooooooooooonggggg. I'm wedging four different packages into one. But there's a lot of variety here. So, think of hit as a four-course meal. It's long, but it's all good stuff. And your card appetite will be satisfied in the end. Plenty of belching, but no bipping.

I will start off with someone who has bipped me already. And that means I wasn't crazy about opening this package. But it turns out Wicked Ortega was back to his usual giving mood. He had a small stack of Dodgers, and they came protected in a neat little '93 Flair box.

Fancy. By 1993 standards anyway.

And look, there are some '93 Flair Dodgers. Ghostly images looming in the background. That's what early Flair did best.

Here is one of several Mike Piazza cards I have received recently. It's a 1994 Select model. I don't like this set at all.

This is a very snazzy Topps Prestige Legendary Years Steve Garvey card. It's not as cool as the Orel Hershiser that Wicked sent earlier, but Orel's in a class by himself.

OK, sorry, Wicked, very cool cards, but I've got to cut you off. I've got to keep moving so no one nods off in their chair. That's my No. 1 goal with this blog you know. How can I serve YOU. How can I make YOUR life more wonderful. Ah, screw that. It's not my No. 1 goal at all. I just want to gab about cards.

So, on to package No. 2. Here are some cards from Zach at Autographed Cards. I sent him a card to get signed during his Royals Fan Fest fiesta. But Zach had a lot on his plate and couldn't get it done. No loss for me, as I sent the card on a whim.

However, I did land these key items.

This is one of the few T206 mini Dodgers that I didn't have yet. I'm not counting back variations when I say that. I'll never chase that stuff.

Another Piazza card. The write-up on the back of the card asks if I ever dreamed of being a big league manager. Well, let me think about that for a minute. Have I ever dreamed of trying to get the egotistical outfielder to learn to hit the cut-off man? Uh, no.

Those are two very cool Turkey Red Dodgers from this year's Topps insert set. With Ethier, Kemp and Ramirez now in my possession, I'm wondering how many Dodgers are left. Could that be all of them already?

Good deal, Zach. But I've got keep moving. Very busy. Veeery busy.

Next up is the Collective Troll. He sent me the loot from his Million Days Box Break. There needs to be a Guinness Book of World Records category for Longest Box Break, because Troll's record will never be eclipsed.

The only Pinnacle/Stadium Club cards from the break I'll show you are the two Nomo cards, because I needed both of them. But I'm sure everyone -- especially Troll -- is sick of seeing these things.

Marck was crazy generous with the rest of the package. Here is some of the rest of what he sent:

This is a Davey Lopes jersey card from 2002 Upper Deck that I showed some interested in when Troll featured it. I'm glad it doesn't feature a jersey swatch from Catfish Hunter, although I admit a gold swatch would be awesome.

Super vintage stuff. A very nice 1962 Topps card of one of the Los Angeles Dodgers' first matinee idols, Ron Fairly. He never became the superstar that people thought he'd become, but he lasted an awfully long time in the majors.

I know Jim Gilliam is one of Troll's favorites, so I can't believe he sent me this card. Too nice. It is in terrific shape. I own the 1963 Topps Don Drysdale card and that is also in amazing shape. But this Gilliam card might have it beat.

Zim! Again, this 1960 Topps card is in great shape and it is awesome of Marck to send. Also, check out the cartoon on the back:

Now that is putting a positive spin on a bad situation. Also, "poling a homer" sounds painful.

Thanks, Troll. Thanks a ton, but I've got to run.

Last package is my winnings from Brian at Play at the Plate. I already showed you the Alex Gordon card that I pulled from my five packs of 2010 Topps. But there were happier cards in those packs, too. Let's have a look:

My first gold card of the year and it's of the supposed 2010 NL Rookie of the Year. I might hold onto this card for a bit. But if someone has a gold Clayton Kershaw card or something similar, then I could be persuaded to part with this.

The Tales of the Game set just kicks ass. It could be my insert set of the year. I'm going to have to get all of these.

More Giants inserts. This Card Your Mom Threw Out (that's right it was YOUR mom who threw it out. MY mom would never do such a thing) has the more rare original back.

This card of McCann is frightening. Why on earth is the photo cropped so close?

I didn't pull a single Dodger that I needed out of these packs, which was disappointing since I still need the Kershaw card. But Brian did send me some extra Dodgers.

One of them was the Orlando Hudson 2010 card that I needed.

Here is a Hideo Nomo card that I needed, this is from 2002 Fleer Showcase.

A very nice, very white Shawn Green jersey card. Thank goodness it's "Authentic Fabric." I hate it when synthetic blends get on my cards.

Brian is also not only one of the few collectors who know I have a 2008 Stadium Club want list, but he's one of the few who actually has cards from the set to send me. Here is a nasty divisible-by-three Ty Cobb card that whittles my want list down to an even dozen.

So, there you are. I got through four different packages in relatively short manner and not a bipping in sight.

Well, except for something that fell out of the package from Brian:

Oh, no.