plaingrayswatch

Lately

2010-08-21T07:08:00.000-07:00

So as some of you may know from reading this here blog, I have been planning a move to Buffalo this month to pursue a graduate degree in Geology/Climate Change/Hydrogeology at U. of Buffalo this fall.

I have reached a few snags in this process, the main one pertaining to signing a lease for an apartment, falling out with the roommates there (after paying 2 months rent) and having to find a new place.

Anyways, this past week I have been either working double shifts, spending time with those I will miss, and splitting time in Buffalo searching for an apartment with the new roommates (with, of course, a lease that starts before classes on August 30).

Well we managed to find a great place in Cheektowaga, NY; a pleasant little burb of Buffalo, and things have finally began to fall into place. I have also received my financial aid, so there is a little breathing room there right now.

The reason behind this post is that I have just not been posting lately. With all that has happened (literally) within just the month of August, card trading/buying/selling/drooling over had to be pushed aside.

I would like to let everyone know that this is only temporary. I've done the mathematics of my financial situation and have decided there may be some extra monie$ for cards whence I am settled and once again have internet in Cheektowaga. So have no fear, plaingrayswatch is not dead. Just sleepy.

**Also, I did manage to send the '00 Jeter Finest SP away for an '08 Fowler BC Blue Refractor with one of my readers, Steve.

Steve, my man, thanks for the quick-and-dirty trade. Love those Jeters and I'll savour the Fowler.

Friday Rock Out: The Academy Is...

2010-08-06T10:07:00.000-07:00

Summer Hair = Forever Young

Soundtrack to the summer of 2010...

No thanks. You're ugly.

2010-08-06T09:49:00.000-07:00

You know, I've made it a goal to chase all the McGowan cards ever printed.

But 2010 Topps red parallels?

No, thanks.

I cannot get over how ghastly these are. Just dreadful.

Trade Bait: Round 2

2010-07-21T08:32:00.001-07:00

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

2010-07-20T11:11:00.000-07:00

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.

2010-07-19T12:46:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-16T08:31:00.000-07:00

Lit - Zip-Lock

Yunel Escobar...Blue Jay

2010-07-14T11:31:00.001-07:00

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

2010-07-12T08:13:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-02T00:04:00.000-07:00

Rethinking Ginter

2010-07-01T07:13:00.000-07:00

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.

Dear Topps/Bowman/Tristar: Try Harder

2010-06-27T07:24:00.000-07:00

Awkward: The Baseball Card

2010-06-22T17:52:00.000-07:00

Meet Yen-Wen Kuo. Kuo is a 22-year old Taiwanese second basemen within the Cincinnati Reds organization. Bowman Prospect card #80 spits out a few good tidbits about Kuo on the back:

Signed with Reds at age 18...more than competent at second, short and third...accurate arm...fine range...contact hitter than can draw walks...

In three levels of A Ball last season, Kuo hit .256 with a .330 SLG and 1 HR with 30 RsBI in 64 games.

Needless to say, don't expect Kuo to be a contestant in any upcoming Home Run Derbies.

On to the card. Along with the underwhelming stats on the back, the front is...well..it just is. Above anything else, it is quite obvious that the image is "airbrushed" (this term is out-dated, but "photoshopped" is a bit too Microsoft-specific.). Sometimes it is easy to tell:

1. Hat - awkwardly placed, flat-lying "C".
2. Hat - Today's freshly-given-to-prospects caps would still lie rigid on a player's head, with an out of the box feel. This hat is flat reasonably broken-in, and does seem to have some dirt-staining on both the brim and body.
3. Missing Number.
4. Non-dimensional feel to "CINCINNATI" across chest. This was the giveaway. Notice how the middle "I" fits, literally, seamlessly.

Bowman tends to mail in a lot of their lesser-known prospect cards. Take for instance, Chad Jenkins, whom they could not even find a jersey for. Of course, an airbrushing endeavor turning a yellow Kennesaw State jersey into a black Jays jersey would be, well, difficult. I assume.

Though I have to give it to Kuo. He has excellent all-capital English penmanship. Cannot wait until I have bunch of his autos.

Friday Rock Out: The Black Kids

2010-06-18T13:07:00.000-07:00

Fleer Ultra Through the Years

2010-06-15T18:06:00.000-07:00

Fleer Ultra was always my favorite set. Every year, without a doubt. Inserts were attainable and interested (unlike, you know, Topps.) When game-used and autographs became the craze, Fleer Ultra did them well. Composition of the cards, labels and photography of Ultra were their strong points, and their soft points - well, there just weren't many, if any at all. Ultra provided an affordable set for people of all ages - it was modern, yet timeless. Tacky, but put together so perfectly. Fleer Ultra, I miss you every day. Please come back. In tribute to this wonderful brand, I am going to use CheckOutMyCards.com 's "Grab It" feature and show off one iconic Fleer Ultra card for every year, from 1991-2008.

1991, #296 - Ozzie Smith

1992, #45 - Sandy Alomar, Jr.

1993, #160 - Gary DiSarcina

1994, #322 - Garret Anderson

1995, #104 - Edgar Martinez

1996, #126 - Ken Griffey, Jr.

1997, #140 - Ivan Rodriguez

1998, #70 - Scott Rolen

1999, #80 - Quinton McCracken

2000, #56 - Jose Lima

2001, #1 - Pedro Martinez

2002, #188 - Jason Giambi

2003, #133 - Mike Mussina

2004, #4 - Eric Byrnes

2005, #45 - Rocco Baldelli

2006, #88 - Carlos Delgado

2007, #185 - Michael Young

Plain Beautiful Cards: Volume 13 - 2004 Ultra Season Crowns Carlos Delgado

2010-06-15T17:45:00.000-07:00

On Card Auto Hot Packs...

2010-06-15T05:49:00.000-07:00

...seem a bit suspicious. Yesterday or maybe a few days prior, I was searching to see what loose packs of Bowman and Chicle were going for on eBay. Of course, there were more hot packs listed than anything else.

I have come to two possible conclusions for "On-card auto hot pack!!!!1" listings on eBay. These packs are either:

1. Opened & Re-sealed (or)
2. Hit distribution within boxes has become more and more predicatable.

Maybe, in a long shot, the cards are printed on a thicker stock, and the jackasses with analytic scales and micrometers are searching the packs this way. However, this would be made obsolete in 2010 Bowman retail (which are not transparent) packs, as a checklist card is seeded about once every five packs or so. Without a consistent average weight from pack-to-pack, I would think that weighing would be out of the question.

Gettin' Blasted: 2010 Bowman (Retail hit? Not Quite)

2010-06-14T11:33:00.000-07:00

I had better luck with this particular blaster, in terms of prospects than any loose packs at this point. However, if you'll check the box to the top left detailing how many pack it takes until a Strasburg is pulled by me, you'll notice it is zero at this point. So if that's all you're here for, don't bother. Thirteen packs and counting...

On to the cards. If you follow this blog (and if you don't, why not?), you'll know of my affinity for 2010 Bowman. One reason is the photography:

Some great shots here with Mannywood (designed especially for the Night Owl), Kurt Suzuki (who's cards always look awesome) and Vic Martinez. Martinez's cards are usually well-done, also.

I enjoy parallels. Golds are fun, but the blues are useless to me. Aybar is featured here because that is what a card of a middle infielder should look. Romero is pictured because: 1) Awesomeness and 2) The card color and the matierial which make up his left arm are the same. Gold. Vazquez was actually a 1:3-4 blaster hit, seeded 1:29 packs and numbered out of /520. Definitely available for trade.

If you know how these packs play out, you know the chromes are next. And I finally got three big ones I'd been waiting for.
Big Chad from Kennesaw State, a new hotbed for MLB talent. I WILL have a rainbow of this card by the end of 2010, most likely by the end of summer.

Part one of the future of the Cubs infield - or someone elses. Last year he was often rumored in connection with Jays trades, but Halladay is gone, so our chance to land him is probably gone, plus the signing of Adeiny Hechevarria didn't help. This is the start of my hak-Ju Lee player collection! Weeee. (I collect Korean players.)
My name is Starlin Castro and I will be a perennial all-star short stop. Oh, and the other half of the previous card's opening statement.
I was really hoping Drew Pomeranz would slip to #11 for the Jays. No luck. 6'5" lefty with college seasoning...Team USA. Awesome fact from the back: "Fanned 16 Kentucky batters on two days rest in 2009 NCAA Tournament." Seriously, NCAA baseball is amazing.

And this guy:
Not drafted, committed to Rice. Hopefully they'll turn him into the next Jeff Niemann.

Oh yeah, seeded 1:8 packs is a...
PURPLEFRACTORRRRRR I love these so much. Much better than my Mike Lombardozzi from a couple weeks ago...

Now comes the hard part. I did not know this card existed until it fell out of the second to last pack. I'll start by saying I don't card for the Bowman Expectations cards. I like the Topps 100, and tolerate the 1992 Throwbacks, but I have a good amount of disdain towards the expectations. However, I pulled this one today, and I have to thank Bowman for it:
This mixed feeling are ripe, but I love this card. Kyle Drabek was to one player Jays fans and management were demanding in return for the Good Doctor. Although he is pictured in Phillies gear (is it airbrushed? Probably not), it's still Doc. My man. The best cut-fastball in the history of the game (bring it on, Pettitte/Rivera homers). I, in no way, expect Drabek to live up to greatest-of-a-generation-or-better status. I do, however, expect Drabek, Brett Wallace and D'Arnaud to become serviceable Jays down the road. This is also my first ever Kyle Drabek card (and maybe the only one in this set?!) and is the start of my second player collection from this box.

In summary, it was a good blaster. In combinations of Lee, Castro, Jenkins, Green, Romero, Pomeranz and Drabek/Halladay, it was great for me. The Bowman will keep flooding this blog until I find some A&G to chase.

Friday Rock Out: Hey Mercedes

2010-06-11T13:43:00.000-07:00

Came out in 2003. Seems like so much longer ago...ENJOY.

One More Down...

2010-06-09T15:24:00.001-07:00

2000 Metal Base Shredders
NNO Todd Helton
$2.50 Shipped

Still need Tony Gwynn, Vladimir Guerrero, Erubiel Durazo, Eric Munson...maybe more.

Here are the ones I have so far.
Mo Vaughn/Todd Helton
Troy Glaus/Matt Williams

Base Shredders were seeded 1:288 packs back in the day, so they were more than a case hit. Four Base Shredders would have taken 1152 packs. Not a whole lot of staying power in the price/card range. None of these has cost more than $4 off of eBay, though I can usually only get one every month or so.

One Card I Will Never Own (Part 1)

2010-06-09T05:42:00.001-07:00

To forever live in infamy as "#661"

Draft Musings and Good, Good News

2010-06-08T18:13:00.000-07:00

Last night, I watched the MLB Draft. And honestly, I really enjoyed it - aside from the raging hardon that John Hart just couldn't hide behind the MLB Network desk for every SAFE pick on the board. All told, it was an enjoying piece of television to fill my Blue Jays void from the night. (Luckily, Strasburg filled that void tonight, because 8-0 Rays is kind of making me sick right now.)

The Jays draft can be summed up in one word: Underwhelming. Virtually all mid-ceiling, John Hart-approved safe picks, and really no one incredibly impressive new Jays.

However, this is the state of the MLB Draft. It will never be as prospected as the NFL or NHL drafts. Much of this, of course, is due to the fact that in baseball, even after being drafted, a player still has to succeed in being promoted through 2-3 Low A teams, a High-A team, Double A, and finally Triple A before getting to the show. Needless to day, it takes a while to see the results of a draft. There is the Washington Nationals 2009 draft, though, that is an extreme exception with Storen and Strasburg already in the National League (and also, 5-0 Mike Leake in Cincinnati.)

Of course, all of the hype with this draft got me thinking of past Blue Jays drafts, and one #1 in particular, Dustin McGowan (2000).

Since signing on as a professional with the Jays in 2000 (it has now been a decade), Dustin McGowan is 20-22 with a 4.71 ERA in fragments of four injury-marred seasons from 2005-2008. I've stuck with my main man Dustin through the years, and last night read excellent news from the injury front..
According to Mike Rutsey of the Toronto Sun:

Right-handed pitcher Dustin McGowan (who is on the 60-day disabled list in his lengthy recovery from shoulder surgery performed in July of 2008) threw off the mound Monday for the first time since a triple-A spring training game March 19. McGowan threw 25 pitches in a bullpen session. Afterward he reported: “No problems.”

McGowan’s recovery has been an on-again, off-again misadventure for quite some time as last season he even missed time due to a knee injury that required surgery.

This spring, McGowan at one time was progressing so well that the Jays were talking about him breaking camp as one of the members of their rotation. Then came his outing in the spring training game against the Pirates affiliate where he experienced a “dead arm”. Now he is back and throwing but given his history and the problem with shoulder injuries there are no guarantees that he will make it back to the big-league level. The Jays have put no timetable on his latest recovery.

This isn't even news to most Jays fans at this point. I, myself will watch the news wire from here on, hoping for the day in which MLB's greatest chops will once again grace the league with mid-90's heat and knee-bending curves. Best of luck, Dustin.

2010 Upper Deck MLS Collation Issues

2010-06-07T10:09:00.000-07:00

This is more of a warning on how to purchase these cards rather than advice as to not buying them. They're good cards...excellent set and checklist, along with amazing photography.

As some of you may have read in my previous post, I pulled a Landon Donovan Materials card in my first pack. I was hooked on the set after that. When I purchased that pack, I had just had a lengthy conversation with Wal-Mart's trading cards vendor, who was kind enough to open up a brand new box for me. The packs are stacked in-box in side-by-side, two columns of 10 packs, I believe, maybe 12. So I took two from the left and two from the right, or the top four packs in the box.

Today, after depositing my paycheck, I decided that the MLS cards go great with my 2010 Bowman collection, and decided to buy four more. The vendor was there again, just leaving this time. For some reason, he had opened up and set another box of UD MLS cards right next to the one I bought one week ago tomorrow. I decided to grab the top four packs again in hopes of pulling another relic or hit of some sort.

Mind you, last week I received NO doubles from my four packs. At the end of today, these are the quantities of my cards:

7 Justin Mapp - 1
9 Patrick Nyarko - 2
16 Jorge Flores - 1
17 Maykel Galindo - 1
21 Jesus Padilla - 1
23 Zach Thornton - 1
24 Mehdi Ballouchey - 1
28 Omar Cummings -1
32 Scott Palguta 2
35 Eric Brunner 1
37 Jason Garey 1
43 Chad Marshall 1
48 Clyde Simms 1
52 Tony Perkins 1
53 Chris Potius 1
57 Josh Wicks 2
60 David Ferreira 1
65 Heath Pearce 2
66 Dario Sala 1
71 Mike Chabala 1
76 Brian Mullan 1
77 Dominic Oduro 2
82 Kevin Hartman 1
86 Jack Jewsbury 1
93 Edson Buddle 2
103 Darrius Barnes 1
105 Shalrie Joseph 1
106 Jeff Laurentowicz 1
107 Kenny Mansally 1
112 Taylor Twellman 1
114 Danleigh Borman 1
115 Andrew Boyens 1
116 Kevin Goldthwaite 2
125 Andrew Jacobson 1
126 Sebastien Le Toux 1
131 Kyle Beckerman 1
134 Fabian Espindola 1
140 Robbie Russell 2
148 Chris Leitch 2
151 Chris Wondolowski 1
152 Osvaldo Alonso 1
158 Freddie Ljunberg 1
160 Sanna Nyassi 2
164 Nana Attakora 2
172 Nick Garcia 1
178 Ike Opara 1
186 Toni Stahl 1
190 Andrew Wiedman 2
191 Christiane 1

The italicized cards are actually inserted subsets.

So far I have pulled 12 doubles out of 8 packs. Whould you agree that there is a collation issue here?

4 Packs of 2010 Upper Deck MLS (Football Hit?!)

2010-06-06T19:00:00.000-07:00

I was pretty excited to see these last Tuesday at the local (20 minute drive) Sprawl Mart. I had just deposited my first "summer" paycheck and written another for $130 in student loan repayments, so I felt like a dabble in cards was an excellent reward for myself. I decided that I would throw down $20, and for $19 I was able to purchase 4 packs of 2010 Upper Deck MLS, 3 Packs of 2010 Bowman Baseball, a three-pack of Extra Spearmint gum, Goya seasoning packets and a can of Hormel White Chicken Chili. Needless to say, even before checkout, I was In the Zone.

Once I got out to the Green Beret (Yes, I named my Jeep after the most bad-of-assery branch of the Marines) I couldn't compose myself, and started ripping packs. I ripped Bowman first, but everyone's seen those, so one to the MLS cards.

Yes, this was in the first pack:
With MLS cards still in their infancy, this is one of the best cards you can pull from this set. I was certainly very happy at this point. Immediately I thought of flipping it, but after letting it sink in as my first ever "hit" of any kind in football products, it now recides watching over me as I type. Probably the only cards that would top this one in the set would be some of the autographs or a multi-color piece of Landon's jersey. Apparently multi-colored swatches (not really patches) are short printed and say "Premium" in the white void in the top left.

About all I had hoped for in this pack was some Reds (Toronto FC). I did manage a few, but nothing especially awesome.
The design is ok. I do not believe, in any way, that it is a rip-off of 2010 Topps products. Similar, yes. But can we really call every set with "Player Name/Team" across the bottom a ripoff of 1957 Topps?

There's only a few ways to make a sports card.

The cards have the low-gloss feel of Upper Deck's efforts with the "First Edition" series. It was kind of disappointing, but it keeps a pack of 8 cards at $0.99, where pack prices should be.

The photography in this set, though I will admit my sample size was only 32 cards, is excellent. Check out this Kyle Beckerman:
Awwwwesome. I was pumped when Real Salt Lake won that game. I'm a big fan of anything-but-LA Galaxy.

Next we have a new representative of Team USA for this year's World Cup:
Yes, he is a Galaxy player, but he did some time with Toronto. OK in my book, and a Team USAer to boot.

I guess this would be the equivalent to Upper Deck hockey's Young Guns insert set, but sadly no John Tavares:
Ike was the #3 overall pick in this year's draft by the San Diego Earthquakes. A dreadful teams, let's see if he can help out this season. I pulled two of these, from the top 4 packs in the box, so I am assuming they are not difficult pulls.

Now, I know 90% of the readers of this blog are baseball followers, but I am hoping to spread the word of MLS cards to you. It's good stuff, so check it out for $.98/pack.

Are Printing Plates Worth It?

2010-06-04T10:19:00.001-07:00

This ends within the next two days on eBay.

Dustin McGowan is my favorite player now with Halladay on the Candy Stripers and Marcum being a hard player to collect.

This is the first ever 1/1 McGowan I have ever seen, but I just cannot manage to consider it a true 1/1. I don't even consider it a real card, honestly.

Of course, I put a bid on it, mainly just a shot in the dark. It looks good for a printing plate (much better than the cyan and magenta plates will look) but still, printing plates are just not my style. I may up my bid and see if I can pull it off, but I just don't see it happening. Maybe I'll be lucky and a black one will come around.

But honestly, if I had to choose between 4 1/1 printing plates and true 1/1 parallel like a Carolina Brights, I'd take the true 1/1.

Thoughts?

Blogger is having some problems, so click the link to see the card.

I Respect That

2010-06-01T16:15:00.000-07:00

Amidst all of the mouth-foaming for Stephen Strasburg '10 Bowmans, I came across this beauty in my daily Base Shredders/Dustin McGowan/Shaun Marcum eBay searchings. I didn't attempt to bid on this one, but I am still happy to see it get the respect it deserves. With Marcum's season so far, it's amazing how a Strasburg Purple Refractor (#/999) is selling for the same amount of this Marcum Red Refractor AUTO RC....#'ed to /25.

Stay Tuned

2010-06-01T13:45:00.001-07:00

The resurgent Adam Lind says stay tuned. I have a lot of (or one) posts planned, which may end up being anywhere between 1 and 5 posts. Maybe one will pop up tonight. If you just cannot stand to go without reading my disheveled thoughts until then...go here. And join that blog, too. We've got some ripping to do.

Kim Jones Moment #1

2010-05-30T06:33:00.001-07:00

Ladies and Gentleman...Your 2010 National League All Stars: The Philadelphia Phillies!

2010-05-28T10:49:00.000-07:00

MLB voting for All Stars is a joke. Last year's teams were a sham, and this year is the worst yet. Just taking a look at the standings right now, I am embarrassed by the showings of the fans this year.

Take a look at the NL Team, as it stands:

C - Yadier Molina: Good. I suppose with McCann and Jean Martin off to relatively slow seasons, Yadier is probably the best choice. Defensively, he is an excellent catcher. He picked me off while I was in high school, while playing in the Cardinal's farm system.

1B - Albert Pujols: The man is a legend, but Joey Votto has been a little bit better this season. Whoever is hotter heading into the game is deserving of the honor. However, Joey does not even place in the top 5 among AL 1B as of right now.

2B - Chase Utley: Utley is having a good season so far, but Dan Uggla (as much as I despise him) is better right now. Equal in runs scored and steals (1!), Uggla is better in HR and RBI. Chase leads in BA by about .01, not enough to get him the call over Uggla.

3B - Placido Polanco: Leading by a good 80,000 votes, Placido is the worst of them all. He is doing good, with a solid 5HR, 21 RsBI and a .306 BA, but Casey McGehee, Mark Reynolds, Jorge Cantu, David Wright, Scott Rolen and Ryan Zimmerman have all had better seasons up to this point.

SS - Jimmy Rollins: Rollins came into 2010 on fire, and then got hurt. He has 41 ABs over 14 games played.

OF - Ryan Braun, Jayson Werth, Shane Victorino: I agree with Braun and Werth. Werth is awesome, and should make the team for his beard alone. Braun is great, though .322 with 8HR and 32RsBI, he is the number 1 ranked OFer in fantasy sports (Yahoo) at this time. But Victorino? No way. The Flyin Hawaiian is off to a mediocre start at best. I could list all the OFers who are a better option, but I won't. Let's pick one at (not so) random: Andre Ethier. Guy's a freakin' god this season.

The American League isn't much better. Teixeira, barely managing to hit .210 this season will probably play 1B. No, this is not anti-Yankee, as I agree fully with Cano for 2B, as much as I hate the lackadaisical way he plays. Jeter seemingly shouldn't be SS starter, but there isn't much of a better option (maybe I'm missing someone? Oh yes, Jason Bartlett.)

What upsets my stomach is the Rangers (Sorry, Play at the Plate, BigD and others...).

Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler, and most of all Taylor Teagarden have NO business going to Anaheim this July. Elvis Andrus, maybe. Nelson Cruz and Vlad: Definitely.

What it comes down to is ballot-box stuffing. Obviously Texas fans and Philadelphia fans have figured our how to manipulate the abomination that is MLB All-Star voting. It's an awful, awful system, and if MLB had any sense it would re-configure everything involving the system. 25 votes per person? Kill it. Home field advantage for World Series? Kill it. This is an exhibition game. Will the 2010 World Series participants want Mark Teixeira, Placido Polanco, Shane Victorino and Hideki Matsui playing for the advanatge? I know I sure wouldn't.

New Additions and a Bold Claim

2010-05-24T18:15:00.001-07:00

First, the claim.
Give this maybe 2-3 months. I've been seeing a trend in conversation, facebook comments, news interviews and so on. First off, it was kind of funny. Then it was being taken slightly more seriously...

But here it is. By the end of the summer,

ascots will be IN.

__________________________________

Anyways. The extreme lack of new options (in the North) in baseball and hockey cards (the newest release up here is '10 Heritage Baseball.) has me doing pretty much nothing but sniffing around for some more trades and snapping up singles off of eBay. I did purchase a blaster of '09 T206 today, but it was a waste.

As many/none of you may know, I am working on putting together one of the hardest memorabilia sets of all time (seeded 1:288 pack back in the day); 2000 Metal Base Shredders. If you're unfamiliar with the cards, they're fully holo-foiled out game used base pieces of players who "shred the bases". And no, it does not mean fast players. Apparently it was a set more for hitters, and, well, Eric Munson.

For $2.24 Shipped, I picked up this beauty:
Big Mo Vaughn. Rumble, rumble, rumble. How sweet would a patch card be made from that jersey?

Next up, everyone's favorite 20-something who has not pitched in the Bigs for almost 2 full years, Dustin McGowan. The only reason McGowan is my #1 collecting interest is, well, Shaun Marcum's cards suck. Poor photos (except '06 UD), only 2 autos with a few variations, and pretty much allllll base cards. Just not worth the effort. Maybe if he wins 15 games this year that will all change.

First up, 2004 Bowman Autograph:
Not bad. But green? Maybe the Oakland cards looked good in '04.

Next, 2006 Topps Chrome Red Refractor s/n #30/90. Nice, rare, refractory goodness.
So that's red, blue and black complete for this rainbow. Still need base, refractor and xfractor. Doable.

And now, what you've all been waiting for.
My new favorite card.
All the glory of the CN Tower.
Bright eyed and bushy-tailed young Blue Jay form Georgia.
Oh, and inked:
What a glorious card.

**There is currently 0:35.8 second remaining in the Eastern Conference Finals. Mike Richards, the one player I would rather have on my team than ANY other NHL player, just set up a tap-in for Jeff Carter. This team is nasty, nasty, nasty. Chicago is gonna have a bit of a challenge on their hands.

Six pack of Awful

2010-05-20T06:11:00.001-07:00

Ladies and Gentleman (Boys and Girls...)

I have recently opened the worst packs a Jays fan can possibly rip.

With a few minutes to burn before a movie Tuesday night (Shutter Island, if you're interested), We (myself and m'lady) decided to kill some minutes in the KMart in the neighboring strip mall. It was my first time at this particular "Target of the South", and in terms of prices it was amazing. Blasters marked down to $4.96 in some cases (but I avoided the UD Documentary set) and loose packs from 2008 gravity feeders (weird, right?) for a buck. Can't go wrong, right?

Wrong.

Things went very, very wrong.

I had four packs in my hand, and asked Sam if I should grab another. So she shuffled through the feeder, grabbing me another. I then grabbed a second "one last pack."

I "marked" the pack she picked out by tearing the top seam a bit. Just to see if he luck is really better than mine. It wasn't.

After about 10 minutes in line (with only two people in front of us) we ambled out to the parking lot to explore the goodies in the packs.

You may be getting to the anxious point of noticing that there are, in fact, NO PICTURES in this post. There is a reason for that.

And the reason is such:

6 Pack, 5 Cards Per Pack, for 30 cards.

Pack 1 (Samantha's Choice):
Curt Schilling
Hideki Matsui
Carl Yastrzemski
YSL Gil MacDougald
Dan Uggla Charcoal

Wow, that was painful. Maybe Samantha shouldn't be picking my packs.

Pack 2:
Don Mattingly. Hmm.
Jeter/Griffey/Ripken/Ichiro. Four players on one card is entirely too many.
Paul Konerko
YSL Whitey Ford. I manage to beat the odds and get one of these in about every pack.
Albert Pujols Charcoal. Okay, that one is nice.

Noticing a trend yet?

Pack 3:
Scott Rolen. So Jays DO exist in UD products? No shit.
Carlos Lee
Kelly Johnson
Nick Markakis
Goddammit. Jacoby Ellsbury Charcoal.

This was the best pack of the all. Seriously.

Pack 4:
Matt Kemp
Ryan Zimmerman
Eddie Murray/Prince Fielder
John Lackey
Griffey/Clemente/Guerrero/DiMaggio Charcoal (They just HAD to add a Yengwe to this one)

Pack 5:
Mike Schmidt
Joba Chamberlain
Justin Verlander
Daric Barton
Howie Kendrick Charcoal

OK, Only one Yankee, but unmemorable at best.

Pack 6:
Ryan Theriot
Bo Knows Jackson
Ugh. Manny Ramirez...
YSL The Boggs Head...
Dave Winfield (NYY) Charcoal.

In case you've missed the glaring disdain I have for the collation of these packs...here's the rub:

9 New York Yankees
4 Red Sox
2 Angels
1 each of Phillies, A's, Tigers, White Sox, Marlins...etc...

I am debating whether to email Upper Deck or just put all in cards back in an envelope with the receipt and place it in a flaming bag of dog shit on their stoop. These packs were a disgrace to our game and hobby.

Custom Contest

2010-05-19T18:46:00.000-07:00

Over at Hey, That's Mine!

Neat lil' blog. Checker out.

Please Help: 2004 Donruss Studio

2010-05-17T18:27:00.000-07:00

Sometimes a set comes a long that just gets you. People collect sets - birth year sets, first year favorite player sets, favorite team World Series Champion sets. When I decide which cards I like I can rarely use my favorite team as a representation. Mainly because the Jays, aside from the 80's and about 1990-1993, are extremely underproduced in sets, not only as base cards, but in inserts, relics, autographs. Maybe it's the Canada thing. It doesn't matter.

Especially with this set.

2004 Donruss Studio is my favorite set off all time visually. Yes, all time. Sorry, Topps 206, 1995 Topps, 1986 Topps and yes, 2010 Bowman (I usually hate Bowman, but love this year's design). It's simple. The shots are all poses, as was the status quo with Studio back in the day.

The design? A simple holo-logo in the upper left. A team logo (I need team logos) in the bottom right, along a film strip line, with the player's name in white. Simple. Unpretentious. But what makes the cards are the backgrounds. The players are placed on a stunning backdrop of their team's city's skyline...at dusk. In years before Studio showed vague, off-angled shots of the stadium, and in latter years blurred and faded the city skylines into one colour with borders. Both of these designs I enjoy, but nothing comes close to 2004.

I mean, seriously...even the Yankees look great in this set:

The above is Hideki Matsui's Gold Proof Parallel. #/50.

Now I am sure there was some PhotoShopping going on in some of the skyline shots in this set.
Some, like this Chutley; the sky is actually pretty well lit, while the city lights just seem to be turned on for the night:

Even with LA Looks cover boy Chase (ultimate douche name grand prize winner), these cards still look great.

One disappointment I have with the set, in terms of background; is Boston's:

...and Abe Alverez is my segue into my other complaint: Checklist.

The autographs are bad, bad, bad. With the exception of these bad boys:

As (none/many/who cares) you may know, I am not a Ryan Howard fan. At all. And with the price of that card ($60 on COMC), it may deter me from completing the set eventually. However, I love me some Carlos Beltran in the Royals uni, so that one is a must have. Other than the previous two, not many of the signers have made it in the bigs. However, my main man Dustin McGowan is featured as a rookie auto. I scored that card off eBay for $1.75 last night. You'll see it soon. Other "names" in the auto set include Abe Alverez, Chris Shelton, Michael Hessman, Ryan Wagner, Joey Gathright (check this out), Jay Payton, Carlos Hines, Mike Gosling, Casey Daigle///and it just gets more obscure from there. Oh, and as his friend know him: "EL MAYO"

My affinity for this set mainly lies within the base and the "Private Signings" autographs. The inserts, as Donruss is famous for, are forgettable. Behold:

Meh.

More horizontal? Really?

Oh. Spoke too soon...(there are random legends in this set, including a Gary Carter Private Signings.)

Ehh. More horizontal. Corked bats...blech.

But it gets worse. Possibly the worst designed jersey card set ever:

There's more, but some of the inserts are not even worth pining over. Some are "die-cut" (their edges are...rounded. That's it.) But none are necessary. They're also exceptionally rare, which is more of a good thing.

But, with all sets, there's usually something to dislike; and although the inserts are dreadful and the autographs are mediocre at best, we still have some stunning base cards:

Pretty good one to end on, eh?

Anyways. I want all of these, but I simply cannot find any reasonably priced boxes. If you have any, let me know. I'm interested.

Friday Rock Out: The Strokes

2010-05-14T06:02:00.001-07:00

This isn't the best video for a Friday Rock Out, because nothing really happened last night except a decent thunderstorm. But enjoy it anyways, it's rock solid.

Royal Court of Beltran

2010-05-13T17:39:00.000-07:00

LADIES AND GENTLEMAN

I have just been handed an urgent and disturbing news bulletin.

CF Carlos Beltran has been cleared to begin jogging and participating in light baseball activities.

Urgent, no. Disturbing, only to Mets fans. The $118 Million man can finally resume baseball...ish activites. With a brace on his knee.

This is a poor segue into the post I intended, but when a Ron Burgundy quote is handed to you, you smile and compliment the moustache.

When Carlos Beltran was on the Royals, I was very much into collecting cards. I was young and enjoyed shiny/hologrammy/embossed cards, and 98-03 was a great time for flashy, tasteless, dare I say - Japanesish cards.

At the time, I was pulling Beltran cards like they were Yankees. Now, they're just Yankees. Blech.

So I started collecting Carlos. He then went on to Houston and New York; and somewhere in between aliens captured Carlos, and destroyed the cartiledge and tendons and whatnot and crippled him out of baseball shape.

Here are some Carlos cards I enjoy:

2000 Topps Chrome
New Millenium Stars #NMS6

One pack of buckshot Topps Chrome netted me this insert and my first ever refractor.
It is still one of my favorite packs of all time. (The refractor was Ryan Rupe, Hoorah!)

2003 Upper Deck Ovation
Standing "O" #S-35

This card is shaped like a baseball. It has taken everything in my power
to not come out with an "O Face" joke. And for once, self control triumphs.

2003 Victory #39
Single.
I loved this set. I never had to worry about UD quality control touching
my sharp edges...and messin 'em up.

2001 Bowman's Best #36

This card scanned to a nuclear yellow. For those of you unfamiliar with Bowman's Best '01,
the cards all have a refractor finish and slight texture. The blue behind Carlos is, for lack
of a better word, ribbed (for, yes, my pleasure) and the circular lines are indented. Also kind of
rough behind the nameplate. Very over the top, and necessary.

2000 Topps Tek
#17, Variation 1

Topps: "I got an idea. Let's make a card...out of plastic. Print close to 30 background parallels
of each card...use terrible photos, make it transparent...with holofoil on both sides...and
hell let's give 'em that awful digital serial numbering."

Whoever said that, I thank them. Long live Topps Tek.

"O. O. You know what I'm talking about. O."

Bowman 2010 Strasburg Watch: May

2010-05-12T07:01:00.000-07:00

Average Cost of Cards Sold on EBay May 11/12, 2010

Bowman Base Card: $6.05
Bowman Chrome Base Card: $22.33
Bowman Chrome Refractor: $59.99
Bowman Autograph Blue: $465.00
Bowman Chrome Refractor Auto: $No Data
Bowman Blue Parallel: $27.50

Stay Tuned for second report on or around June 10-14.
This didn't take a whole lot of effort, so I might just start going every week or every other week.
Also, I am fully expecting the amount of listings to blow within the next few weeks.

A New Project at APC

2010-05-11T13:05:00.000-07:00

It's the Stephen Strasburg Rookie Card watch!

Today is May 11, 2010; and 2010 Bowman is LIVE.

As you may know, some hot shot young buck in the Warshington Nationals organization is included in this set.

As is often the case with Bowman rookie cards, and almost all cards these days; their values peak at release. I completely expect this to happen with Strasburg (except for when he throws a no-hitter versus the Pirates, eventually; and inevitably gets signed by the Yankees or Red Sox.)

So here is my plan.

His cards will be all over eBay, so every 11th day of every month, I will write up a short post on the going prices of his singles on eBay. I will use the following 5 cards:

Bowman Flagship Base
Bowman Chrome Base
Bowman Chrome Refractor
Bowman Flagship Autograph
Bowman Chrome Refractor Autograph

I will post again later with results for the cards which I am currently watching.

MLB's G20 Stunt: Safety or Fiscal Opportunity?

2010-05-11T10:27:00.000-07:00

It's official, MLB relocates Blue Jays June 25-27 series against the Phillies to Philadelphia due to G20 summit. More on mlb.com soon. 22 minutes ago

-Jordan Bastian Twitter Feed

The suspense it over. Major League Baseball has officially moved the 6/25-27 series in Toronto with the Philadelphia Phillies to Philadelphia, in response to heightened security for the looming G20 summit.

So far this year, Toronto is struggling with attendance. With Canada being hit harder, and recovering slower from the recession, the Blue Jays now rank 29th in average attendance.

The Blue Jays now have three more home games subtracted from their schedule. The three games in which Toronto was looking for their highest attendance of the year, with many fans buying tickets ahead of time for all three games in anticipation of the return of the son of Toronto, Roy Halladay.

The fans were not going to go to boo.
They weren't going to pick fights with scrawny, foul-mouthed Philly fans making the trek to Toronto.

Roy's fans were coming out for one more chance to see the Good Doctor dominate once again at Rogers Centre, even if it was against their own team.

There are, however, two winners in this decision. Major League Baseball and the Philadelphia Phillies.

Major League Baseball gets what it wants: three guaranteed weekend sellouts just as the season begins to heat up. Merchandise sales will rocket in Philadelphia, as the fans, dying to run on the their field in Halladay jerseys and tees, will spend.

Philadelphia, well it's a no brainer. They get to pad their ridiculous lineup even more with a DH.

What does Toronto get? The last at-bat. "A home game" according to MLB.

Questions arise. Is this truly a safety stunt? I doubt it. To me, this is a money grab for Major League Baseball. They are the real winners.

All this does is further hurt baseball in an amazing city.

What a Story

2010-05-09T16:12:00.001-07:00

In case you haven't heard yet...

2010 NL Cy Young Chase will be a Good One

2010-04-28T09:51:00.000-07:00

Last night, Ubaldo Jimenez and the Rockies dominated the Diamondbacks, 12-1.

“He’s one of the most dominating pitchers in baseball right now,” Gonzalez said.

Damn right, CarGo. Ubaldo has now gone 22.3 innings pitched without...can you guess? Giving up and earned run. Yeah. It's the longest streak in Colorado's franchise history. It's safe to say that this guy is a special talent. Not convinced? Check this out, then.

But Ubaldo is not the only National leaguer embarassing opposing lineups this season.

Tim Lincecum is 4-0 with a pretty 1.00 ERA.

Roy Halladay has been nails for Killadelphia, as everyone knew he would be, going 4-1 with a 1.80 ERA and an unbelievable 11:1 K:BB ratio. Yeah. Eleven to one. And oh yeah, he's not a strikeout pitcher.

So far this year we've Philip Hughes, Ricky Romero, Shaun Marcum and others take no-hitters into the eight inning. Ubaldo has a one-up on others in the NL Cy Young race (maybe the hardest award to win in the Bigs?) with his accomplishment versus the Braves recently.

So who's your pick? Tiny Tim? The Good Doctor? Or Big 0-fer Ubaldo?

Either way, it's going to be a great season to witness some of the best pitchers in baseball...history.

This is what happens when I watch Hockey instead of Baseball

2010-04-17T20:28:00.000-07:00

...and the goddamned Caps won, too.

My man Ubaldo (a guy I collect, hint) tossed a no-hitter today. He also walked six, so it was afar from perfect.

BLOGGER SCAM WATCH

2010-04-16T08:54:00.000-07:00

Hey gang. We're a family here, and I wanted to let you guys know of something fishy going on.

This morning I received an email from "John."

John claimed to be affiliated with a company interested on buying ad space, a simple text link, on this blog.

Of course, I was skeptical. So I looked into it more.

The sender's email is "john@missionclear.net."

Red Flag #1 - Why would this supposedly global corporation (On the cutting edge of advertising!) with over 100 employees have ONE "John", the most common name I know of?

Red Flag #2 - If you're going to scam someone, make your website look less like something I created my senior year of high school in Marketing & Web Design class. Here's MissionClear's steaming pile of shit website.

Red Flag #3 - More often than not, a large company will have complex webaddresses, rather than Xcompany.com/page.whatev . It's a security thing, I believe.

So I did a little research. Before I could finish typing "missioncle.." into google, the dropdown menu had one suggestion: "MissionClear Scam". Well, that was easy.

I looked into it a bit more, and what they do is ask to pay you up front for ad space, rather than as a rate. Then, they ask you to cash a certified check for too much and send them a refund. Of course, this check bounces, and you're left with(out) whatever you send them. So, you know, don't bother with these parasites.

A Post in Progress: Dustin McGowan Collection

2010-04-15T15:12:00.000-07:00

I don't think I mention it enough. At least, there is no specific page on the subject (until now) on this blog. So I have decided to chronicle the chase of my favorite player, Blue Jays starting/injured pitcher, Dustin McGowan.

We'll descend through the years, rather than ascend. At this bottom, eventually, I will post a want list of Dustin's cards, along with a few posts here and there on my most wanteds.

S/N = Serial Numbered
H/N = Hand Numbered

2009

Upper Deck #385
Topps Career's Best Autograph #CBA-DMM
Topps Silk Collection #NNO S/N: 19/50

2008

Topps Heritage #402
Topps #187
Allen & Ginter's #214
Allen & Ginter's #214 Mini
Allen & Ginter's #214 Mini - A&G Back

2007

2006

Topps #426
Topps Chrome #229 - Black Refractor S/N: 348/549
Topps Chrome #229 - Blue Refractor
Topps '52 #268

2005

2004

Playoff Honors #195 Holofoil Signature S/N: 56/59

2003

Just Minors Autograph #35 H/N: 41/375
Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects #BDP110
Bowman Draft Picks & Prospects Chrome #BDP110
Bowman's Best Autographs #BB-DMM

Quickly, eBay, Some Explanations

2010-04-13T15:09:00.000-07:00

I've been quiet, lately.

Spring is usually a busy time for me, so I'm used to mailing in on my hobbies this time of year. In high school all I knew in spring time was pitching (I sure as hell couldn't hit until summer). I didn't care about my academics then, and until I got my lovely dogger, I didn't have much else to care about then.

In college, well, the first four years, anyway; I spent all of my time doing geology (as the field season kicks off, it is rather impossible to find a geologist indoors), as well as playing (both) indoor and outdoor soccer at to different schools for three different teams, along with pickup wiffle, softball and hockey games.

Now that I am out of college I thought I'd be more prone to outdoor activities such as fishing and running and rock hounding. But with fishing season not open until May, running without the fear of having to remove a four-banger Ford from my rectal cavity, and rock hounding impossible to schedule while trying to get everyone involved, I have pretty much succumbed to substitute teaching and watching Frazier on Lifetime from 10-11 every morning.

I meant for this to be a quick post, but it wasn't. Sorry. Here's what (I guess?) I was leading up to.

New Dustins!

2004 Topps Chrome Traded
Dustin McGowan X-Fractor Box Topper
SN: #16/20

This is my new lowest numbered card. That's right, I have no 1/1s, nor do I intend to chase any gimmicks such as printing plates, unless they're Dustin McGowan.

Another first as of late is this one:

2009 Topps
Silk Collection
SN: #19/50

Another first. A guy at work in AUGUST told me about pulling a silk from '09 Topps. I played along like I gave a shit/knew what they were. Now I have one, and, to an extent, appreciate them. I have no interest in them other than getting any McGowan, Marcum or Romero, really. They're a nice idea, but they should stick to The Flagship, and stay the hell out of my Ginter. By the way, 2010 Topps Allen & Ginter's and 2009-2010 UD Champs are the only sets I plan on collecting this year. And since almost everyone wants to collect A&G this year, I believe it should be easy for everyone to do so with box breaks, trades, and genuine blogger generosity.

Aaaand that's it, I guess. More McGowans later this week. I have found a great ebay seller who sent me a nice email saying he's got a bunch of him and a bunch of Jays and he'll list 'em for me if I want 'em. Refreshing to find an ebay seller who would rather have your business repeatedly than just rail you in the ass with shipping.

Mini-Jo! 2009-2010 UD Champs Blaster

2010-04-06T13:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, in the draggin-ons of the Upstate NY evenings (though, a very pleasant one), the girlfriend thought up the idear to head to Target in Cicero. Sounds good, I thought. I hadn't bought cards in over a month (I think).

So we saddled up, and went to Target.

Interestingly, I may have caught some pack searching in progress, along with the dopes young kid, of course. (Why do they always bring the kids to show off their scum.) However, I was in no place to scold this man, as he did not purchase anything and left quickly after I showed up. Not to mention the credibility I would have lacked whence the searcher noticed the $.75 pair of women's underwear I was grasping as m'lady was visiting the bathroom. Such as it goes.

Anyways. The guys and his kid left, and I looked over the paltry selection of cards during the dead time between key releases.

'10 Topps Heritage? Pass. Flagship blasters...loose T206 packs, rack packs of the previously listed brands and of course the insufferable Bowman.

Then, in the blasters, this ugly guy staring back at me:
On cardboard, of course. But still, very cool packs. I was actually pumped to see that there were only two blasters remaining, and only six packs left out of the 24 from a retail box. This means somebodies buying these, and damn well they should be. Here's why...

Excellent base set. Pretty simple design, very hockey design. Those who follow hockey cards will know what I mean.

I really enjoy the parallels. I pulled 5, even though the box of 12 packs states parallels at 1:4, so I made out big time there. First, "green", or as I like to called them - Seafoam.
I didn't realize the seafoams were parallels until I had them all stacked up at the end and Craiggy was sticking out.

Love the yellow. These are apparently one-per-box, or 1:24 as far as I can tell. So this Havlat is kind of a hit for a blaster.

And of course, there are minis, seeded 1:1.

Basic.

Historical Figures. I could do without these.

Newbs. Glad to get my favorite rook from 09-10.

Natural History.

RAWROSAURS.

...and Mini Threads! Mini-Jo! This was a pleasant surprise. I was pumped, even though it's Tomas Vokoun. Anyways, this is an absolutely perfectly done relic. Tiny swatch? Throw it on a tiny card! Sepia-tone that shit! Give it a cool name like Threads! Great cards...mediocre player selection on these.

Overall, this is THE BEST blaster I have EVER purchased. Now, I rarely buy hobby boxes, and spend the most of my cash on blasters, so I buy a lot of them. The real cool thing is that this is the first memorabilia hit I have ever landed from a blaster in which one is not guaranteed. So, yeah. Go snatch some of these up, whether through loose packs, blasters or a hobby fatty. These are well worth the money, and 100x greater than their Goodwin Champions counterparts.

Don't Play Adrian Beltre Tonight

2010-04-04T08:24:00.000-07:00

It will be interesting to see the route the Red Sox will take tonight versus the Evil Empire (or route, I haven't seen any lineups, yet.) Beltre was one of three big signings for BoTown this winter along with Scoots and Lackey, and I am willing to bet he'll improve, albeit marginally in his batting number this season upon moving from the "pitching haven" of SafeCo field.

But he won't improve tonight. Nah, the guy's 1-13 (.077) versus Captain Cheeseburger in his career. This is where baseball's huge money ego comes in. Beltre will start, I'm sure, with Mike Lowell sitting on the bench. Imagine the press it would get if a big free agent signing sits on Opening Day with an aging, balky third basemen (who, in reality IS THE BETTER PLAYER) actually plays.

Mike Lowell's numbers versus Carston Charles? 5-19, good for a .263. We'll see how it goes. If Beltre humiliates me and has more than 2 hits off CC tonight: 1) Hooray, and: 2) I'll run the first ever contest on this blog.

Reserve NOT Met...

2010-04-03T07:27:00.000-07:00

...and it does not surprise me. While jumping around eBay a few minutes ago, I decided to see if any 2009 Topps 206 Carolina Brights had hit ebay within the past who knows when.

Well, one did. And it's a big one.

All the back of the card preludes to is a Mariners player, and card #129. Well here's the from, too:
Glorious. I'm not a big fan of foil on my 206's, but I haven't pulled a Carolina Brights, and , well, I don't plan on it I would love to acquire one eventually, hopefully a Halladay or Rookie Romero (life=complete), but finding that one person on the planet with that card, and then matching their price, I am sure is near impossible.

So if you're feeling frisky and want to blow a good amount of bills (I'm guessing this goes for $300 or so), give this guy a bid.

XFractor Question

2010-03-30T08:14:00.001-07:00

So I've been wearing the invisibility cloak of late - have you noticed?

Been busy working with the small streams and riparian zones/wetlands that make springtime so great. Also spent some time in Baltimore drinking green beer and in Oneonta (NY) playing some vicious footy games.

Long boring stories short and concise, I haven't been around much lately. I still have to post trades from Jason and the Baseball Dad, and need to send two thank you packages out. I'm also in the middle of about 3 offline fantasy baseball drafts and multiple payoff pushes for fantasy hockerinz.

Anyways, last night I did my typical load-ebay-and-type-in-Dustin-McGowan thing, and found the mother lode. Well, not really. But I did find a seller with two much needed Dusty autos for cheap with combined shipping. Score (hopefully, I'll find out later tonight).

And then I found the card at the top of this post. I did not know this card existed. I'm not a fan of 2004 Topps. I figured they had ignored McGowan in this set, until this one popped up. There's still 5-6 days left in the auction, so I am not getting excited about winning just yet, but still have a question.

Are these really numbered to /20? I did some searching for other in the set, and apparently they are ox toppers. It just strikes me as odd, as the colorless XFractors are #ed/20 and the red XFractors are not serialed.

Has anyone else seen these?

Catching up on Trades: Quest for 80's ness

2010-03-22T17:10:00.000-07:00

I appologize to those of you who I have completed trades with recently. With travel, prepping of a new life and some quick-and-dirty research, I have pushed the blog back just a bit.

This is a three-parter of recent trades, and this solid package came from John at Quest for 80's ness. Very excellent. John sent a small box of cards in exchange for some Goody Champs, which will be in England...eventually.

On to the cards:

The Gruber. Mandatory acknowledgment.
The Big Cat. In tremendously shiny glory.
Skinny, well-shaved Todd in all of his 1996 BB Rookie Card awesomeness.
Big thanks on this one.
Who doesn't love Shawn Green?
Aside from those who've thrown down $80 for a one-hit box and pulled Green relic.
But not me.
Turkey-flavored Dexter Fowler. Super neat.
'09 Upper Deck sans foil Fowler. Is there a point to First Edition?
And no, making the Starquest foil a different color is not a legitimate answer.

Thanks for the Trade, John. Goody Champs and extra BoSox coming your way soon.

Friday Rock Out: Flobots

2010-03-19T12:54:00.000-07:00

Need to Post Something

2010-03-18T15:38:00.000-07:00

So here's some eBay scores. All four cards, less than $15.

Patric Hornqvist - 08/09 UD Ice Double Jersey.
Matt Stajan Auto #1
Matt Stajan Auto #2
Aaaand....awesome. First Hat Logo card...and for about $7. Decent. These were going for $35 in February.

I have a ton of trades to post. 9 cards each, and good ones. A new Dusty Lambchops (and a silky on in the mail!).

I am pretty close to broke after Baltimore. Thus, no cards for a while. Trades, sure. Don't plan on buying anything until A&G anyways.

The GSA got my geology legs kicking again. So expect more posts here rather than here.

I might have funding to return to Alaska. Amazing.

Friday Rock Out: Thursday

2010-03-12T14:22:00.000-08:00

Thursday. Understanding in a Car Crash

Ultimate Wish List Card #6

2010-03-11T07:17:00.000-08:00

2005-2006 UD Ice Glacial Graphs
Alexander Steen

Not an extremely rare card, nor is Alex Steen a phenomenal player. However, he's my favorite. No longer a Leaf, but, such as it goes in the NHL with the salary cap. However, this card has a ton of things I love:

Alex Steen. Duh.
Colors. They're pretty awesome on this one. Sometimes, blue autos, as dull as they can seem sometimes, look great on a card.
GLACIERS!
The Glacial Graphs inserts are just plain awesome. I really want to buy some of this stuff, and hey, maybe I'll grab this beauty.

Five Days in Baltimore

2010-03-10T15:00:00.000-08:00

Updates: Very possible to reach 4000 hits on this blog tonight. This is really great, since I have only been writing since late November or early December.

Wednesday Greetings, Readers.

I thought I'd quickly toss together a custom I just made of Orioles RFer Nick Markakis. (Quickly has been my downfall lately, as I completely mailed-in that 09/10 UD post last night. All apologies.) I'm really into making these Night Shot/Skyline customs right now, so if you want one made of your favorite player, let me know.

I chose Markakis because I'll be spending Friday-Tuesday in Baltimore, Maryland for a geology conference. If you give a damn, check it out. Needless to say, I'll be out of touch until Tuesday night probably. I originally intended to fire up the ol' To-Shi-Ba laptop, but then realized it's a flaming pile of refuse and decided against torturing myself. So instead, I wil entertain myself by eating out, generic hotel cable television, and fo course, the geologist's pastime, bar hopping. Oh, and listening to 20 minute speeches from 8AM until 430PM every day, nursing the free coffee.

On my way back, on Tuesday, I plan on driving through Cooperstown, and devestating every bargain bin I can find...while trying to boost my player collections.

So without further adieu, here's The Stick:

Oh, and if anyone has any restaurant dive bars in Baltimore you think we should check out, let me know.

Maybe some planned posts while I'm away, but unlikely.

Two Packs of 2009-2010 Upper Deck Series 1 Hocker

2010-03-09T18:21:00.000-08:00

I always have better luck with hockey. Better players, better quality, etc. However, being home-based in Central NY, hockey gets no attention. Where you find 3-6 brands per football, baseball and even basketball (sickeningly), there MIGHT be one, or on a good day two, hockey brands available. Since my room is currently haunted by UD Collector's Choice throughout the years, I dare not ever pick up another pack of the stuff.

Well, today, aside from UDCC, there were packs of 2009-2010 Series 1 & 2 Hockey at Sprawl Mart. I grabbed two retail packs. Here is what I received:

Marty.

Punch-and-score-y.

Paille. Nice shot.

The enemy. Most Leafs fans hate the Sens. I hate the Bruins more.

Love the 'Yotes unis. If you move to Hamilton, keep the mascot.

I meant to rotate Drew, really.

Perhaps if I had bought hockey in 08-09, this would be a Stamkos rookie. One can dream.

Late round bargain fantasy pick for me x5.

I don't like you, Bryan. I didn't in the blue & white and I sure as hell don't now.

I like Schenn, though. Sometimes.

I think I've heard of this guy before.

Unfinished Tulowitzki Custom

2010-03-09T18:20:00.001-08:00

I like it.

Post 100: Allen and Ginter will once again Remove your Face from your Head

2010-03-09T12:11:00.001-08:00

It's worth wasting post #100 on. I'm not much of a milestone man, anyways. This article comes from The Beckett Blog. I haven't read Beckett since Nomahhh was on the cover in a Cubbies uni, so believe me, I'm no Beckett homer.

The article shows what everyone knows about Ginter already, but check out the cabinet Tony Hawk card. SIC MOSH BRAHH.

Yeah, that's right. No pictures. Relax. I have about 30 to post later tonight from opening packs of 2010 Topps and 2009-2010 Upper Deck Hocker. Watch for the latter on A Pack To Be Named Later this evening.

Okay, maybe one picture...
I found this via 1 Blue Jays Way earlier today.

Dustin McGowan TTM Custom

2010-03-08T13:05:00.001-08:00

So there it is. It only took about 1/2 an hour, and most of that was trying to teach myself Gimp 2.0. I still need to resize it, as well as possibly making the faded part for the auto less opaque. Click on the full size, and notice that I made the background oil-painting-ish. (?!)

I'd like to print this guy out and sent it to Dunedin, but I'm stuck as to what to do next, more specifically, what kind of paper to print it on. I think it would be lame to just put it on a letter sheet. Any suggestions?

Plain Beautiful Cards: Volume 12 - 1993 Score Jor Girardi #419

2010-03-08T09:47:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer: Joe Girardi is an awful manager. I didn't care for him as a player and his managerial style (which is basically putting his team in position for walk offs) makes my lunch curdle in my stomach and rise up my throat. However, this card is excellent. Why? The Rockies in the background.

So to you, Joe Girardi - you're lucky I do not have a scan of the Garrett Atkins '09 Goodwin Champs card.

Check Out My Cards, eBay, and the Greatest Card Ever

2010-03-06T16:55:00.000-08:00

I'll keep the comments short on these cards, this will mainly be a picture show. Stay tuned to see some of my new favorite cards late in this post. All of these were purchased for less than $25 cumulatively.
Second Good Doctor Halladay relic...1000x better than the shitty '08 Topps one, which is thicker than my Physical Hydrology textbook. ($1.75)
Been in love with these since I pulled my first one (Larry Wayne Jones) back in 2000. Now have 3/10, and the others should be easy to obtain. ($0.75)
Refractors never scan as good as one can hope. I actually took this and the following Dusty Lambchops cards outside to refelct to sunshine today. They came out ok. First Marcum auto. Big spender on this one. ($3.75)
Awesome. ($0.24)
This blue refractor isn't as nice as I'd hoped, but it's Dusty (favorite player), a refractor, and is going towards the 2006 Topps rainbow. Just need the red one and the base...were there XFractors in '06? ($0.75)

Quite possibly one of the greatest cards ever printed. My new favorite Dusty Lambchops. ($0.50)
Maybe you're thinking: "Booooo! Airbrushed!" or maybe "Booo....he's standing next to a Caribbean-themed Bowling Alley" or even "Booooo that auto sucks in it's tiny script and fine-pointed pen. Well, screw you, and flip it over to see (or not see in the terrible scan):
Hand numbered to /375. WIN. ($1.75)
Fun fact: Dustin McGowan in 100% torso. Look it up. Or down. ($3.00)
Another card for the 2003 Bowman rainbow. Need Refractor and XFractor. ($0.15)
You just got Rickyrolled. ($.99)

And now.

Without further adieu.

I give you...

The greatest card of all time:
Effing eh, man. Effing eh. ($1.25)

Five Years Ago Today...

2010-03-06T12:48:00.000-08:00

My wonderful, beautiful dog Lily was born. I know this is a card blog, but Lily has been a huge part of my life ever since.

I was a senior is high school when my parents got her. At the time, I was not expecting a dog. I had been without one for over a year and had given up on getting on until after college and I would be on my own.

When they got her, I was in South Carolina playing baseball. The day she came home, I was on the mound, carrying my first ever no hitter into the fifth inning...and with two out gave up a bomb to Proctor's 1Bmen, and I was pulled from the game, but that's not important. What is important is that they never told me they were getting, or had taken her from her litter yet.

Anyways, a few days passed, and I returned home on or around the 9th of March. I got home at 3AM. I noticed my Mom was sleeping on the couch, which was a common occurrance with my parent's dueling snores.

I came in, my Mom woke up. It was still dark, but we all know where everything is in the house, and as I hugged my Mom I felt something warm and furry on the couch with her. The warm and furry turned into a licking, and eventually, a beautiful golden retreiver puppy was having a chew on my arm. I was instantly in tears with joy. It was the single greatest moment of my life.

While in college, the only thing that ever made me homesick (and I was only about 2 - 2 1/2 hours away) was Lily. Whenever I missed home, or was reluctant to leave, was because of her. I'll miss her when I head to Buffalo in August, but will be able to visit her whenever, as I'll (hopefully/finally) have a vehicle and will be able to come home when needed.

Bringing everything up to date: Last night I went to Target with my other love, Samantha, in hoped of finding Lily a present. I decided to grab her a Beneful meal, you know, those real swanky dogfood dishes that could feed a small child. I plan on mixing it with some dry dog food (as it's not a whole lot of content) and serving it in an iceberg lettuce-dish. Iceberg lettuce is her favorite.

Thanks for reading.

Friday Rock Out: Brand New. Again.

2010-03-05T13:02:00.000-08:00

Enjoy. I have since '06.

Ultimate Wish List Card #5

2010-03-04T18:15:00.001-08:00

2009 Topps 206
Old Mill Framed Bat Relic
#FR24

Why:
A) Jackie Robinson
B) Collecting Anything 206
C) Old Mill Frames are the Best Frames
D) Jackie Robinson

2009 Topps 206 Want List Posted

2010-03-04T11:19:00.000-08:00

...however, since I started it yesterday, it didn't make it to the top of the blog. No big deal. Either scroll down, or click here.

Cards from the Friendly Confines

2010-03-03T17:08:00.000-08:00

...of On Card Autos! I'll take this opportunity to thank Chris of the aforementioned blog for banging out an epic trade here.I arrived at the post office yesterday to ship out another trade package, and the annoyed clerk handed me three packages, one of which was a box (yes, a box, not a padded envelope) stuffed with 9 team bags of Rockies and Jays from Chris. Awesome trade. Well worth the Aramis Ramirez jersey that left sunny NY. Enough smalltalk, let's get to the cardstock:

The highlights -
I first saw '05 in a pack rip by Beardy, and I wasn't impressed. This card, however, is awesome. The scan doesn't do it justice. The blue is a nicer, lighter shade. The insert name is terrible, however.
Josh Newman auto, via '08 SPx. I've been offered this card a couple times. Josh Newman is, well, hasn't yet been successful, and this card doesn't carry much "resale/book/Beckett" value, but whatever. I like it. I love autos. It's on a sticker, but hardly noticible. Nice card, but UD didn't pop out all the cardboard in the bottom triangle of the "X".
My new favorite Ubaldo. Sometimes the blackout cards work better than others, and for teams like the Rockies and Jays, they work perfect. Might make a run at both team sets. Also got a Barmes throwing a big "Westsiiiide" motion up but forgot to scan. It will make an appearance soon enough.
Antoher Ubaldo. This time, a Rookie. I like the rookie card logos. Especially the new ones. Except the Upper Deck ones. Bad, bad Upper Deck. They got their comeuppance (here, here and here.) (I didn't know that comeuppance was a real word.)
Lifetime gold-glover and HOF snub, Robby.
Stieb, straight outta my birth year set. Neat. Gotta put this set together, really.
Big-game Stieb.
After every Romero win this year, expect a "RICK ROLLED!!" post. You've been warned.
Keeping with the '10 Topps theme, here's Ryan Spilborghs. My favorite from this set so far. Blacked out, this would be epic. I love cards that feature emotion on player's faces. I bet this was from a walk-off, as his pants are getting damn close to being completely undone.
I miss him already. Kick ass in Seattle, man. You deserve to be on a winning team through the arbitration years. League is often called one of the hardest pitchers to hit in the AL. Why? 96 MPH sinking fastball. No, you cannot hit it. Don't even try.
I selected this card for one reason: Robert's arms. Tats!
Bam. Silver Slugger. Once again Chris, thanks for the cards. I got lots of new Rockies and Jays...however, there was one thing...

It seems, and Chris may not have even noticed this when throwing this package together...I have been stealth-bipped by the worst closer in baseball, Brian Fuentes:
Eep. Three 2007 Upper Deck, Four 2007 Topps, four 2008 Topps. Way too many dots and circles. I won't forget this. Bip abides.

Still, awesome trade. Hit Chris up at On Card Autos.

2009 Topps T206 Want List

2010-03-03T10:07:00.000-08:00

This is rather premature, but I have had a few requests to post it. I am looking for everything from this set except Bronze parallels, though I will take them. Bronze is just the lowest priority right now.

So, without further adieu, The List.

NOTE: The base set is a NEED list, the inserts are HAVE lists. This way required less typing. Eventually, it will all be NEED lists.

Mantle Checklists: 3

Base Set:
NEED: 2, 3, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 19, 21, 23, 26, 28, 30, 33, 37, 41, 47, 48, 51, 52, 53, 58, 60, 62, 63, 66, 67, 68, 70, 72, 75, 76, 78, 79, 81, 83-86, 81-86, 88, 90, 95, 99, 100, 101, 102, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 111, 113, 114, 118, 121, 122, 123, 126, 129, 131, 132, 135, 138, 139, 141, 142, 144, 146, 147, 149, 150, 154, 155, 158-160, 165, 167-170, 172-174, 177, 180, 181, 182, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 190, 193-195, 202, 205, 206, 207, 210, 215, 221, 223, 225-229, 231, 233, 234, 237, 238, 239, 241, 243, 247, 249-253, 258, 264-268, 271, 272 274, 276, 280, 281, 285, 286, 287, 288, 291, 295, 297, 299, 300.

Base Set Doubles: Mantle #2, 5,8, 50, 96, 125, 145, 191, 201, 218, 236, 245, 255, 259, 264, 265, 275, 296, 296

NNO Short Prints: Too early, need 44. Have: Ichiro, George Sisler, Rick Porcello, Manny Ramirez, Mark Teixeira, Walter Johnson, Albert Pujols, Fernando Martinez, Derek Holland, Michael Bowden

Minis Have List (Cards I own): *Not Updated
Piedmont - 15, 18, 31, 74, 108, 122, 151, 155, 191, 194, 212, 239, 240, 243, 294
Polar Bear - 89, 102
Old Mill -
Cycle - 64

Bronze: *Not Updated
Have: 53, 61, 65, 125, 137, 177, 180, 183, 201, 213, 240, 245, 250, 254, 258, 265, 274, 288

Framed Autographs:
Have: Josh Outman

Framed Relics:
Have: Miguel Tejada

Cards found on the side of the road...

2010-03-02T15:16:00.000-08:00

...well not really. Today I got three packages, er..down the road. The one which I will showcase tonight is a solid package from Duane at Democratic Roadkill. I want to thank you, Duane, quickly, before I get to the loot. Duane came to me saying he had a good amount of cards from my '07 Fleer Ultra want list, and some '06 Fleer Traditions. Without giving him a rundown of a return package, he sent these awesome cards my way. Don't worry Duance, I'll cook something good up for you, though it may take a while.

First up, one of the greatest players of all time from one of the greatest sets of all time:
What a great card. He sent a bunch of these, all Jays save for the Junior Griffey, including the flowing golden locks of a one Kelly Gruber:
Awesome. Gruber is letting everyone in Major League Baseball know right then and there, who finished first in 1992. And will again in 1993. And 2014.
Currently the oldest Jays card in my collection. Boomer's 6'5"/218 frame dominates his panel. He might be average by today's standards.

I juxtaposed these on purpose. Why? A couple reasons. One, The pose is very similar. I'm assuming Topps did not do this on purpose, because they hate the Blue Jays, but also because these cards are 200 apart in the set.

The real reason they are juxtaposed for me is that this way, we can symbolize the passing of the torch. My favorite Blue Jays traded away for some baby birdies, the ringing in of the new ace and my favorite player, as well as my #1 Personal Collection player. Dusty, it's time to be a man.

Now for some more '08 Allen & Ginter's (I need to get a want list up for these) of Mr. Joe Baseball himself:
Love the state cards, pissed that my state is represented by a complete shithead.
'08 Ultimate Collection Joe Baseball. Didn't think much of these from randoms I have seen on eBay, but these are pretty solid for high-end (limited to /350) base cards.
As I mentioned above, got some '07 Ultras in this package. This was the one that stood out most, only because of that hat. I really dislike the Padres, but that hate is awesome. WANT.
Weee. Another Soria, for my paltry Soria collection. I haven't heard of anyone else who collects him, but someone mentioned it on their blog recently. I dig this card. Someone else sent me a Seth Smith of the same variety. I really like how UD did this set.

Well, thanks for the awesome cards, Duane. I will get a package out to you soon. I hope you'll be as pleased with it as I am with my half. Awesome.

Go check out the trader's blog, Democratic Roadkill.

2009 Topps T-206 Blaster

2010-03-01T18:10:00.000-08:00

A little story. As you read this post, you will eventually notice a *** in the Good Doctor's segment. This is where I copied and pasted the entire html script from where I realized I was accidentally posting this on another blog, A Pack to be Named Later.

To celebrate my jackassery: Brand New!

I. Love. This. Set.

Why?

Simple design. Unique backgrounds (examples: Ichiro and McCutchen (the good one)). Rookies, and lots of them. Legends, and few of them (only 13 I believe). Minis. The best minis in the business (well, baseball anyways, 08-09 UD Champs Hocker were pretty fantastic.) Short prints done right.

About the only thing I don't like about this set is that the price hasn't come down on blasters yet. This one was $20. But really, I haven't even come close to having a bad pack of this product yet, over 9 months into it's life.

Anyways, on to the box. I bought and ripped on Saturday out searching for a desk for when I move in August. So of course, I bought cards instead. I am young, and I will continue to not spend money correctly. Deal with it.

On to the highlights:

I didn't get any "hits" of the relic or auto variety, but this does not concern me. I have already lifted a sweet Josh Outman auto way back in one of my first ever posts, you can glance at it here. The relics aren't worth much anyways, as I snagged a Tejada pantaloon relic off eBay for a cool quarter dollar.

Best-looking Card of the box:
Maybe I'm partial to the Pasty White Hope. Who apparently has to "earn his spot on the roster" this season. Which means, of course, he will have to hit better than...Jose Bautista and Joey Gathwright?! Dear Cito, thanks for the early 90's. Now kindly screw off.
There were*** a fair amount of Jays in this box. Three of 'em! That's GREAT for a Topps product. Topps hates Canada.

What would a Topps T206 post be without some....Dial 9-1-1 Shorty Fire Burning on the Dance Flooooooor...Whoaaaa (Short Prints):

Two bad one is a radical dork and the other is a raging, yet entertaining douche bag. Apparently, "douchebag" is incorrect. It's two words. Learn something every day.

Rookies!
And good ones, too. Zimmerman, sadly is going to be out all year with TJ surgery. McCutchen, however, will be knocking NL Central pitchers senseless. Not like there's any good ones, anyways. Ok. Maybe Carpenter and Wainwright.

Bronzies!

Awesome. Wish they would have done a better job on the Romero, but whatevs. I pulled two Coghlans, This and a base. Terrible photo. Almost as bad as the Kinsler others seem to like, I don't care for it much. I plan on collecting everything but the bronze cards from this set. So if you want some...

And of course, the Mini Page!

These were not all pulled from this box. The Soria came in a trade, and is ultra-rad, Blanks and Konerko came in a two-pack, or a diet fat pack. The Ubaldo, however, did come from this box. It was also the hardest to come by in the box, as it's a Polar Bear.

In conclusion, I love this set. I want to put it all together, but I'll need some help. I probably cannot afford to keep snagging $20 blasters and $75 hobby boxes, so please, trade me your extras. I'll take minis of any variety.

Snappy sign-off line!

2010-02-28T10:30:00.000-08:00

The Great Pasty White Hope Says:

Blaster Box Breaks: 2007 Upper Deck Series 1 & 2 plus 2009 Topps T-206 coming soon!

I will not let myself near the internet until tomorrow, as the USA/Canada Gold Medal game is tonight, and I have to DVR it. No spoilers! Will hopefully get to watching the game tomorrow sometime, and I plan to at least post the T-206 break at that time.

Go USA.

Friday Rock Out: Catch-22

2010-02-26T07:11:00.000-08:00

9MM And a Three Piece Suit

Cards from Fans of Red Teams

2010-02-24T15:19:00.000-08:00

That's right. Fans of the blasted Red Sox and the "who knows how they'll be this year" Reds. Seriously, how the Reds will fair one year to the next is always a mystery to me.

Anyways, let's start with some goodies from fanofReds over at Nachos Grande. Sadly, no nachos were included. I flipped him a Gallardo relic for a near-impossible task of putting together the '09 A&G relic set, along with some Larkins, and he was kind enough to send these my way.

First up is a V-Dub spectrum jersey:
Nice, healthy card. Spectrums do not scan well, but they're a treat to look at. Also the jersey cards seem pretty common, I am currently sitting on a Brandon Webb who will probably go visit someone's pseudo-card shop in Arizona in the future.

Chris sent some Jays to boot:
Greatest Blue Jay of All Time, Roy Halladay with painted-on eyes...
Gruber!
And something else...
...this makes me happy. Apparently I wasn't the only one who spent $.99 of 16 of these suckers back in '00. (This card is 10 years old...yikes.)

Thanks for the cards Chris, they're good ones.

Next up, Adam at Thoughts and Sox. I contacted him a week or so back (this package got here quiiiick), and proposed Jays-for-Sox. Unfortunately, he had sent all but a few Jays to another blogger. Aww shucks, but I collect Rockies too! Well, add another blogger to the list that cannot wait to drop his Rockies off on another. Adam sent a 100-count box over here to NY, filled with mostly Rox, but a few, very quality Jays mixed in.

First: some Baby Jays:
These are beauties. You can probably pull my fingerprint from the Aaron Cibia if you feel like incriminating me. Hopefully the Jays won't give up on these guys.
'08 SPx Halladay die-cut. Are these all die-cuts or is this a parallel? Either was, I cannot believe it scanned so well. Adam also sent a Todd Helton. Fellow bloggers have been exceptionally generous in sending me Heltons. Adam sent 15. Wow.
Adam - when you were putting this package together did you know this would be my favorite? Probably not, but Dusty Lambchops is my favorite Jay now that Shawn Green, Carlos Delgado, Orland Hudson and Brandon League are gone. I am actually thinking of starting a Dustin McGowan collecting blog, as other have for Carl Crawford, Brian Roberts, and other players.

Here's the bad news for Adam, though. I haven't even started putting the package together yet! I apologize deeply for this, but things have been a bit hectic lately, and I'm out of packages. I'll put the cards together tonight, so hopefully you can expect them by the end of next week. Once again, sorry for the delay.

On to an eBay score...

This is the best deal I have ever received on eBay. Two autographs, a Tejada pants relic, and an Ichiro SSP from '09 Topps 206.
I'm leading myself to believe that the seller had no idea that he was sitting on an Ichiro short print. This is one of my favourite cards ever, at least in my Ichiro collection. What a great card.

Also, for $.25, Miguel Tejada's pants!:
I picked this up since shipping was cheap past the first card. For two autos, Miggy's pants and the SP, the order cost $4.75 or something. STEAL.

Quick COMC Question

2010-02-24T07:42:00.000-08:00

So today I decided tojump head-first into Check Out My Cards for my first purchase. Twenty hard-earned (pressing the play button) bills from PayPal to my COMC ID for one goal: boost that personal collection. So far I have added three cards of my favourite (remaining) Blue Jay, which total a staggering $.74.

My question is this: the shipping rates, similar to eBay it seems, are set at an initial $3 +$.50 each additional card.

Does this work if you purchase from multiple sellers? I am not majorly concerned, because in my understanding, the sellers ship to COMC before they ship to the buyer, thus the cards come from one place, drastically reducing shipping rates. Am I right?

Update: Only $3.63 (without initial $3 shipping) Including a jersey relic, multiple rookies and inserst, 9 cards total. I'm beginning to like this site.

All posts must have pictures:

God I miss that place.

The Transformation of a Ballplayer: Jayson Werth

2010-02-22T15:44:00.000-08:00

Just the first in a series.

In 1998, Jayson Werth, one of my favorite players, was a solid catching prospect for the Baltimore Orioles.
Last week Jayson Werth reported to Philadelphia Phillies camp in Clearwater, Florida. Coming off a stellar season in 2009 with a total of 36 HR/99 RsBI/20 SB, Jayson Werth has decided to add a new asset to his game. Now, it's not quite Markakian in respectability but behold:
On a side: 2010 Spring Training caps = lame.

Want List - 2008 Topps Chrome Refractors

2010-02-22T08:35:00.000-08:00

Any refractors will do, basic, XFractor, Blue, Copper or Red. Really want to get a Red.

Need: 1, 2, 5, 7, 9, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, 20-24, 27, 28, 31-36, 38, 39, 41, 43, 44, 46, 48-57, 59, 60, 62, 64-66, 68, 69, 71, 73, 77, 78, 81, 83-85, 91, 92, 95-97, 101-105, 107-109, 112, 116, 117, 120, 123, 127, 130, 131, 134, 135, 137, 139, 140, 142-145, 148, 151-154, 156, 158, 159, 162, 165, 166, 168, 170, 171, 174, 178, 179, 181, 183-185, 188-190, 192-199, 201, 206-209, 211-214, 216-220.

Autographs: All. I might just collect these as chrome base cards, but any refractors would be awesome.. Looking for Evan Longoria, Randy Wells, Brian Barton most of all.

Okay, for trade from this set, I have either doubles, triples or quadruples of these:

8 - Jimmy Rollins Refractor
14 - Orlando Cabrera Refractor
26 - Jason Bay Refractor, XFractor
40 - Robinson Cano Refractor
61 - Gil Meche Refractor
63 - Roy Oswalt Refractor (2)
74 - James Loney Refractor (2)
76 - Jermaine Dye Refractor
82 - Carlos Delgado Refractor (Need XFractor and Red for complete Rainbow!)
87 - Mark Teixeira Refractor
88 - Bobby Crosby Refractor
126 - Rocco Baldelli Refractor
129 - Geovany Soto Refractor
133 - Jeremy Bonderman Refractor
146 - Curt Schilling Refractor
155 - Joba Chamberlain Refractor, XFractor
163 - Greg Maddux Refractor (2)
175 - Rickie Weeks Refractor
176 - Milton Bradley Refractor
177 - Daniel Cabrera Refractor
180 - Hideki Okajima Refractor
200 - Elliot Johnson Rookie Card Refractor
215 - Kyle McClellan Rookie Card Refractor

I usually get a few lots of these off eBay per month, so keep checking back. Any help will be rewarded. I would prefer the colours in this order: Red, Blue, Copper, Basic, XFractor.

Semi-Live Blogging: USA vs. Canada

2010-02-21T16:04:00.000-08:00

WARNING: Explicit Blogging

7:05 Pregame...

Team USA white jersey really look like Rangers uniforms. Not cool.
Supposed to start at 4:40 PST, but seems kinda early as Team USA already took the ice, no Canada yet.

The British Columbia commercial make the place look great to visit but...all of the celebs (yes, that basketball player is a celebrity, anyone can show up and play basketball) are obviousbly being shot on a set, and are most certainly not in British Columbia.
Love Christopher Guest, but these census commercials are kind of unnecessary. How much $ are we spending to make them?

7:11 Canada takes the ice...always in sick unis.