Joe Collector September Break

I Am Joe Collector has group breaks. Most people reading this know that. I find it either ridiculous or typical that I'm just getting the September break posted. Probably both.

In September, I changed teams with Jim at GCRL. He normally has the Twins and I normally have the Dodgers. I like having the Dodgers because a lot of the breaks offer the possibility of getting great players from the past. They also have great young players like Kershaw.

Furthermore, getting the Dodgers in these breaks offers me the possibility of trades with Dodgers fans like...Jim at GCRL. Then there's also that Night Owl Dude. Dodgers are useful.

But, as much as I hate the Twins, I like then too. Shut up. It does too make sense. I hate the Twins, but how can you not like guys like Mauer, Morneau, and Nathan? So, Jim and I traded teams for the September break. Check out what he got right here.

Here are the Twins that I got. Joe Collector got down with some 2009 Finest and Icons.

See! Joe Mauer base card. If this guy doesn't win the MVP this year the award loses all relevance. In fact they should use this years vote as an excuse to weed out some of the undesirables.

Anyone who puts Jeter or Teixiera (both who had admittedly fine seasons) or anyone else above Mauer's historic season should lose voting privileges. They are either too old, too stupid, or both to be voting. The only way to regain their vote is to submit to "RBI appreciation elimination surgery" which is exactly what it sounds like. Don't think we can do it? Heck, we (allegedly) put a man on the moon 40 years ago. I'm sure we can extract the ability to view RBI totals as somehow meaningful from Yankees beat writers.

Even then, we better keep them on a short leash.

Delmon Young Refractor

I don't have much to say about Delmon. But that card is shiny as hell.

Sadly, no Finest Twins Parallels this time around.

Justin Morneau Icons Base

Justin Morneau is a beastly, bulging man. He hits the hell out of the ball. I find it admirable that the Twins stuck with him after a 2005 season where he hit .239 with 22HR and 79 RBI (not that the RBIs really matter. I'm nothing if not consistent). The next year he was a monster. The Yankees would have sent him to AAA and signed someone else. The Twins patience paid off with a monster 2006 and the rest is history.

It's why I love the Twins. It's also why I hate the Twins.

Joe Mauer Base Icons

One thing I notice about these cards is the lack of OBP on the back. Hey Upper Deck...it's 2009.

Michael Cuddyer Icons Relic

Any time you have a chance to snag a Michael Cuddyer Relic you have to take it. It does have a stripe on it. So that's good.

Francisco Liriano Future Foundations

Man, just a few years ago this would have been an awesome pull. Now...Liriano looks like Dontrelle Willis 2.0. It's sad, and I take no pleasure in a promising young player crapping the bed the way he has, even for a rival team.

He is only 25 though. Let's hope he can somehow put it back together. What he needs is his release. Then the Indians can sign him and get him back on track. He could end up pitching in the World Series...for whatever team benefits from the Tribe's fixing him.