Trade Bait: Round 2

Hopefully the picture is good enough. If it works, click on for a bigger image.

Oh...and...contest? Sure!

If you can tell me as specifically as possible what the object in the background is, you will get your choice of any (1) card from this image. Not a great prize...but nice.

Here's what you're looking at, left to right, top to bottom.

2008 Upper Deck Game Jersey David Ortiz #97-DO
2009 UD Icons Jersey Bill Hall #IC-BH
2009 UD Icons Jersey Miguel Cabrera #IC-CA
2010 Allen & Ginter's Baseball Sketches Carl Crawford Silver Slugger #AGHS7
2008 Topps Chrome Dick Perez Ryan Howard #WMDPC3
2008 Topps Chrome Trading Card History Mike Piazza #ARC3
2008 Topps Chrome Trading Card Histroy Carston Charles Sabathia #ARC22
2010 Allen & Ginter's Mini Jim Zapp #243 (Love this card, just don't want to chase the minis this year and I know many other cllecting the Negro Leaguers.)
2009 Absolute Memorabilia Rookie Jersey Mike Thomas #21
2000 Fleer Showcase Frech Ink Pablo Ozuna Autograph #---
2009 Topps Series 2 Blue Backs Chippah Jones #---
2008 Topps Chrome Trading Card History 1916 Zeenuts Albert Pujols #TCHC8
2008 Topps Chrome Trading Card History 1985 Topps Justin Verlander #TCHC26
2009 Upper Deck Spectrum Swatches Jersey Brandon Webbbb #SS-BW
2001 Topps Finest Derek Jeter Short Print #/1999 #100 (Surprisingly rare Jetah cahd)
2009 Goodwin Champions Mini Albert Pujols #5
2009 Goodwin Champions Gypsy Queen Mini Clayton Kershaw #35 (Damn beautiful card)
2009 Allen & Ginter's Black Border Mini James Shields #287

THE PAPER CHASE IS DEAD

When I started this blog in the late fall/early winter of last year, I never envisioned almost 40 followers and frequent, repeat posters and readers a mere 9 months later. I'd like to thank everyone for their continued reading, support, trades, arguments, scams, contests and everything else we've all been a part of this past three-quarters of a year.

Also when I first started, I was lost in terms of placing a name on the blog. I was listening to a lot of The Academy Is... at the time (and still do, rather often) and they have a song called "The Paper Chase". I thought to myself "...cards are more or less made of paper...this will have to do..." The Paper Chase is also a movie about lawyers or something from the 80's. No thanks.

Needless to say, I was never a big fan of the title of the blog. Now, titles are not everything, but they are something in the cardblogosphereoid. I really enjoy reading the blogs in which wit and charm are commonplace and find myself attracted to the ones with the great titles right away. (I'm looking at you, Collective Troll, Play at the Plate, Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius, Pictures of Men, etc.

So as I sit here sipping my icy Ocean Orange Hawaiia Punch, I decided something. Let's get a good name on this thing.

And here it is..

Ladies and Gentleman, REintroducing:


Plain Gray Swatch.

The name originally came to me over the winter after purchasing a discounted blaster of 2007 Fleer Ultra (which I still do not have completed, HALP!) In the very last pack, I pulled my first ever relic of childhood hero, Ken Griffey, Jr. It was nothing more than a plain gray swatch to most, but after 20 years of chasing one of the best players of all time, I had tears in my eyes pulling this card. It was the crowning moment in my sport card collecting career. It was a moment I wish all collectors to have one day: the realization that this hobby isn't about that LIEKOMGZ ZUPER ROOKIE AUTO PATCH SIGNATURE JOCK hit. We're here for the love of the game. The chase.

So, after 9 or so months and 39 faithful followers, I would like to thank everyone once again for sticking with my inconsistent posting, trade-lag times and overall venting/praising/destruction/introspection/deterioration/reevaluation/inspiration/irrationalizations of this hobby we love so much.

Please stay tuned.

Back to Normal, Eventually.

Allen & Ginter has finally hit retail stores in CNY. Goody. I picked up 5 rack packs today, and loved my results.

I also came home to 6 packs of 2009 UD Icons (a set which I am trying to complete) that I bought off of ebay for $4...and managed to score a Miguel Cabrera jersey relic. Mucho suave.

More news in the card world...I have made some good trades recently and some proud purchases off of ebay in terms on singles. All is right in my collecting world right now...maybe.

Anyways, I kept this exceptionally brief due to time restraints...check back again soon for images of my latest ebay scores, Allen & Ginter review (RETAIL-JO!!!!11) and so on.

Without further adieu, here is an awesome beer bottle label, completely unrelated to anything I would normally write about:


Yes, it's from Utah.

Friday Rock Out: Lit

Lit - Zip-Lock

Yunel Escobar...Blue Jay

I haven't seen any reports on the story, so I am not yet sure how much better MLBNetworks or ESPN (you're dead to me, ESPN) have photoshopped Yunel Escobar's Braves mugshot with the Toronto "T". This only took a few seconds, and as long as you don't zoom in...well, anyways...it's good enough for me.

Shifting [P] Collection Priorities A Bit

Card Purchased via eBay

Dear Mutton-chopped One,

In 2000 (yes, one decade ago), you were drafted by my beloved Blue Jays.

"He's the next great arm" they'd say.

"His stuff is unbelievable/unhittable/etc...."

Now, the only disbelief is in yet another set back in the continual struggle to keep one the best right arms the Jays have seen in decades healthy. See you in Spring Training 2011, maybe.

Sincerely, Despair
____________________________________________________________

What this comes down to is a shift in priorities of my collecting life. Dustin is obivously not going to put out anything more thana few base cards and (maybe) a lucky autograph here and there (such as the ghastly Peak Performance insert from Topps.)

On the other hand, my man Vernon Wells is shortening the life span of AL pitchers while crushing almost everything he sees now. We're talking 2006+ numbers, and likely career highs in...everything. I don't like the idea of him in the HR derby, leave that to J-Bau.

Collecting Vernon has been fun over the years. He was always a highly touted prospect for the Jays, so from 98-00 his rookie/prospect cards were amazing, in the modern era peak of rookie card-dom. Didn't have to worry about 1/1 Magenta Pringting Plate Game Used Jock Strap Sticker Auto Rookie Superfractors then. Simple cards: skyline of Toronto or a sweet swing, an airbrushed white space, no sticker-autos, simple.

Needless to say, there are many, many more Vernon Wells cards than Dustin McGowan/Shaun Marcums, and they're often much, much better. I have also noticed throughout our blogging community, Vernon is not a highly sought after player. That's one thing I love about being a Toronto fan - not a whole lot of competition for trades.

So, send me your Vernons. I know you have some. He's been filler (base cards, parallels) in almost every trades I've put together here. Also, any doubles I accumulate will go to another Jays collector/blogger.

Card from Cameron at Cardboard Heaven

Also, I plan to still collect McGowan and Marcum. I still find myself outbid on McGowans here and there, so the chase is still fun. But the lack of game-used and autographs (moreso of Marcum) is pretty discouraging, and the stacks are pretty much just refractors and other parallels.

Card from Chris at On Card Autos

Friday Rock Out: Funeral For a Friend

Rethinking Ginter

Back in , I was excited. I figured that even with the Topps MLB Monopoly/Exclusive License, they would at least give this one set to the collectors. Visions of dinosaurs, national flags and fierce animals (along with some unheard of, and yes, unnecessary add-ins), code breakers, classy relics and autos, rip cards...this was going to be the set of the year.

Of course, it's a 2010 Topps set, so there is scandal.

I could care less about the Strasburgs...by 2013 he'll be the guy everyone pulls in every pack (Chipper, Josh Johnson, Jorge).

World's Greatest Wordsmiths? Meh.

National Animals? Sure, but I'll grab a complete set off eBay for $10 by the end of October.

The base cards bother me. When I first saw the David Wright & company from the sell sheet back in...whatever month that was, I was excited. Some cards look great (Hawpe, A Gonz, Aaron Hill), but I wouldn't be suprised that 20% of the semi-stars cards are re-used photographs (Ricky Romero from 2009 Topps, Vernon Wells, Andy Pettitte from 2009 A&G, and ever Pujols from a previous Topps set). Seriously, how do you recycle an Albert Pujols image?

One bright side is that there is an amazing insert set known as Monsters of the Mesozoic. I want these, so if you do not, trade them/sell them/donate them to me. I have quite the affinity for dinosaurs and prehistoric beasts (dinosaurs are not even the coolest prehistoric creatures (see also: Castoroides ohioensis or the Meganuera genus).

So, my goal at completing this set, as was originally planned months ago, is pretty much cancelled. Also, my patience for Topps is quite thin at this point. This blog may become more modern hockey and junk baseball wax blog with some MLS/EPL cards mixed in.

At this point, Topps sets are just becoming parallels of one another. Same players, pictures. Different touches and borders.