Spring Training 2008

It's official, I am on my way to Spring Training. A life long dream will be fulfilled as my Wife and I will venture down to Arizona in March to watch the Giants begin life after Barry. I would never consider going to a pre-season football or basketball game (much less traveling to do so) but something about Spring Training Baseball is special. I will head down there and see if I can figure out what it is.

Happy E-Bay Day, Again!

Well as the last of my old stuff I was selling on E-Bay closed, a flurry of purchases allowed me to do some shopping. Low and behold, what do I find?

Oh so worth the $5.oo the guy wanted for it. I love e-bay. Oh course sometimes I hate it too, but not today. This goes very nicely beside my other favorite Giant.

Two e-bay finds, one happy Giants fan!

Want List: Part 2

Thank you to all the folks willing to help with my A&G Minis. I think I have contacted you all now on trades and will wait to hear back now.

While finishing those up though, and of course new offers are always welcome, I thought I would post part 2 of my want list....... meet Matt Cain.

Due to my recent entry back into the hobby, my Matt Cain collection is Weak. If anybody out there is interested in trading, just let me know which Cain's you may have, your favorite team, favorite player, or cards needed to complete your sets, and we can work out a trade high book for high book. Thanks!

New Kid on the Block

It has been pointed out to me that I am a new comer to the institution of Baseball Card Blogging. There seems to be some sentiment that every Tom, Dick, or Harry should not be waxing poetic about wax. The fact is the new card blogs popping up are a reflection of the growth of the industry. As people flood to the hobby, they flood to the Internet as well. For the established guard of bloggers, it seems the newcomers are stepping on toes. What was once a cornered market has become an ever expanding collection of new thoughts and ideas. I had no idea when I started this blog that I was out of line for linking to existing blogs, or asking them to link to mine. I figured other blog owners would be happy to have readers and happy to promote other peoples blogs who shared similar interests. I know now that I should have known my place. Apparently you are supposed to write your blog for years before ever hoping to have anyone read it. I figured what was the point of writing if no body knew about it. I saw that my place in the card collecting world differed slightly from the other blogs I was reading. It appeared I was willing to dive into collecting again, where as others preferred to limit or specialize their efforts. I wanted to be a voice for those that bought into the hype, and dropped the big money on a box or two. That doesn't mean I don't love the posts about the truly bad wax out there, I do, I get a huge kick out of them. I just thought there might be others like me that were willing to trust again. Ready to splurge again. Ready to give it another try now that life had settled down, and adulthood had set in. To those of you who have stopped in to check out my thoughts, Thank You. To those of you who have taken the time to comment, THANK YOU. I realize most (if not all) of my commenters have their own blogs. That means blog writers are reading other blog writers. To me, that makes us friends. People who listen to each other and share ideas. I am not interested in talking at you, I want to talk too you. If for any reason I have missed your link e-mail, or any other request you might have sent, send it again. I will be glad to add your link.

I may be a NKOTB, but I came in throwing heat, and I won't stop till I become an HOFer.

There are good days, and then there are Damn Good Days

My Wife says I am the luckiest person she has ever known. In fact she thinks if her terrible luck didn't rub off on me, I would be even luckier. To be honest, I can't really argue with her. I have never really hit that big "HOLY CRAP" pull. However, on a consistent basis I do defy the odds and prove to be pretty damn lucky. Today is one of those days.

I wish the scanner did a better job of picking up the film reel. The image is of Ruth still in the batters box with bat in hand as he follows through on his swing and looks up to the Right Field bleachers, no doubt tracking one of his 714 Home Runs. Also somewhat hidden from the scanner in the bottom right hand corner of the front of the card is the UD 1 of 1 logo. Now this is by no means the only Reel History Babe Ruth card out there, but each of us lucky bastards at least has a different piece of said history to drool over. Beats the hell out of those mirror sets with 700 cards with the same photo. I have now bought three boxes of this product this year, and have yet to net an autograph, but I will take this awesome relic of nearly 100 year old footage any time. As those of you who watched the Burns documentary might remember it wasn't until later in Ruth's career that the Yanks added numbers to the backs of their uniforms to match their spots in the batting order. Ruth got his number 3 with Gehrig wearing number 4. This footage predates that occurrence since there is no number on his jersey putting this film from the early 1920's. Pretty sweet, and a great idea from Upper Deck.

Stroke of Genius

Well, I haven't posted up any .99 cent bargains in a while, but I doubt anyone missed them much. I do like to post the very cool cards that can be had out there though, for less then an average pack would cost you. I guess I just feel that, in the overpriced world of the hobby, the "one man's trash is another man's treasure" concept can be well applied in building collections that make us happy. When considering that certain cards are only inserted at a rate of 1,2, or 3 packs per box, the chance of snapping these cards up for less then the random pack appeals to me when the subject of the card somehow enhances my overall collection. It can take the form of a player I like, a local team, a particular card design, anything that makes me feel that my collection is a better reflection of myself. So with that being said (and the hope that I might encourage others to look through "another man's trash") here are a few recent .99 cent finds, and one big, Giant (pun intended) splurge.



Street and Harden play ball about an hour from here so there is a local feel, and some eye candy at shows and what not. Most of all I love the card design and it was a easy couple pick ups for cheap with combined shipping. I would have to imagine when this guy pulled these he was disappointed. That is most likely why he listed them on e-bay for .99 cents. To be quite honest I would have been disappointed too, but I didn't drop the hundred on the box, I dropped the $5 to purchase both items and get them shipped. That is less then my local store packs them out for. Especially since he didn't pack out this product. As for Vlad. He is a bad ass. Why would I not want that card? Come to think of it why did the other guy give it up for a buck?

This was the splurge. For half of book value I take home my first Lincecum Auto. Great looking card, great design, great photo, terrible spelling.

The Second Box

Normally I would save the best for last, but instead I just went with the worst, lol. Usually my Wife is always right, and she never liked Turkey Red. Each time I would look at the box, she would just tell me not to get it. Finally, while in the store alone, I caved. I figured I would prove her wrong and get a great pull.

Well the Andrew Miller doesn't suck, but this is a pretty unspectacular box. There were no "Ad Backs" either, in fact I still have never seen one. You do pull a good amount of rookies from the box though, so in that way you are stocking up on a lot of nice looking rookie cards. Then again some of the painting are terrible and look alot like a high school art class. This was one of the better ones though, so I will leave you in the presence of greatness.

Two More Box Breaks

I need to remember to get more organized and prior to cracking a box and getting all mixed up, actually pay attention to what I am doing as to give people a usefull box break. Well I am still learning, but I will provide a few visuals of what you will be able to expect to see in some 2007 releases. Clearly E-Bay will provide you plenty of scans, but this is what was actually netted from a box.

First Up: 2007 Upper Deck Artifacts. I bought this because the closeout price seemed fair at $55 and the last time I bought a close-out box of 2006 I ended up with this.

So why not try 2007?

Artifacts says you can expect to find 3 jersey/autos in each box.

Jersey #1

I am not even sure this is an Artifacts jersey. I think this must be a universal UD release as it does not say Artifacts in the copywrite. Would have been more collectable if this was a Braves uni. This is certainly trade bait.

Jersey #2

Sometimes you can like a card more then it's worth. This one is one of those for me. He plays on a local team, nice big jersey swatch, and low number. It's pretty sweet. Plus trade rumors that he could be moved to the Giants? That would be nice.

Jersey #3

It's a Jeter jersey card with a pinstripe and /199. What's not to like.

Jersey #4

Hot Dog! We got a bonus hit! Jersey/Auto to boot. BJ is a good young player. People have cooled toward him for no good reason. He will have a lot of good years and then get delt much like Cabrera. This will be a keeper.

Congrats Eli

I, for one, am glad Eli has taken the Giants to the Super Bowl. I think he has taken a bad rap over the last couple years. He has progressed well as a QB who keeps his team in the game. He may never put up the prolific numbers like Peyton, but he can no doubt lead a team to victory. When all is said and done I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up with a couple rings, just not this year.

Masterpiece!

Well... I am late to board this train, but I am glad I decided to get on eventually. 2007 Upper Deck Masterpieces was a release that I allowed to slip by after busting two boxes of SP Legendary Cuts which yielded nada, zip, nothing. At that point another historic UD release was not high on my list. Then after an exceptionally weak box of SP Authentic, I was wondering why I broke my habit and bought UD at all, but never being one to learn from my mistake I took on more gamble. For my effort I got 2, not one but two, Carlos Lee Captured on Canvas cards in the same Masterpieces box. I was pretty pissed at that point, but as I sat putting all these cards in sleeves, I noticed something. I really like these cards. They are nice! They look good, feel good, and despite the two Lee's I had to admit it was the best looking jersey card I had seen all year. The on card autos are a nice touch too. So I figured, what the hell, my local shop had another box on the shelf. It couldn't have two more Lee's in it right?
Yeah, this was a step up. Out of two hobby boxes I yielded a complete set 1-90 of the base cards. Six Captured on Canvas jersey cards: Carlos Lee 2, Jeremy Bonderman, Tom Glavine, Hanley Ramirez, and Dontrelle Willis. Two autographed Stoke of Genius cards (with the hilarious misspelling of Masterp'ei'ces on both cards) Hunter Pence, and Cole Hamels. One metallic blue framed card #/50 Frank Thomas. One metallic green framed card #/50 Howie Kendrick. Two black framed cards numbered #/100 Victor Martinez, Justin Morneau, and ten green framed cards (Ruth, Michael Jordan, Clinton, Koufax).

Overall this product is just awesome. The sticker price of $100 was still a bit high for me, seeing what possible pulls there were. However, there is no denying the overall quality of the product. There are some chances for low number parallels, some one of ones, and a chance at the original oil paintings. Those chase cards keep the sticker price up around the century mark, rather then the $65 that seemed more appropriate to me based on the auto and gamer possibilities. The rookie class overall is solid. The veterans and legendary players are well chosen as well for such a small set. The omission of Kirby Puckett's game six heroics is unforgivable, although they give me something to look forward to for next year. PLEASE Upper Deck bring this product back. Spend a little more and get some legend autos and relics, and expand the base set.

I know I am not the first to say how much I enjoyed this set, but I am sure I will also not be the last. These scans really don't do justice to how nice these cards actually look. As always many of these cards are tradeable, just ask.

I need your help!

This is my first trade want list. If anybody out there is interested I would love to talk more about this. As a reference I can say that I completed a flawless trade with Chris Harris of Stale Gum, and am a fast and extremely secure shipper. What I need help with is completing my 2007 Topps Allen & Ginter Mini set. I do not care which type of mini they are. Regular backs, A&G Backs, Black Backs, whatever... I will take them. That doesn't mean I won't give you full value for your rare ones though. I will go High Book for High Book out of the most recent Beckett (crazy sp multipliers and everything). So if you have any of the numbers I need, I will be glad to work out a trade. All the cards I have posted on this site I own, and I have loads and loads more to trade, just let me know what you are into or what you need.

Thanks.

2007 Topps A&G Minis:
2, 5, 22, 26, 32, 39, 41, 43, 46, 48, 49, 54, 57, 62, 63, 64, 67, 68, 69, 77, 83, 88, 90, 91, 96, 99, 103, 104, 106, 107, 109, 110, 115, 118, 128, 127, 167, 168, 170, 176, 179, 185, 188, 189, 191, 202, 213, 219, 222, 224, 232, 239, 242, 244, 248, 250, 256, 267, 268, 277, 278, 279, 282, 284, 288, 294, 299, 302, 303, 305, 306, 309, 315, 316, 317, 320, 323, 332, 336, 338, 340, 341, 342, 343, 345

I know it seems like that is just about all of them but I am about 70% there.

The REBIRTH of the HOBBY!!!

There are recent posts going around about the current state of the hobby. Badwax.net and White Sox Cards have both posted excellent commentaries about the goings on in their local areas. There are resounding similarities amongst all the stories especially when it comes to the local card shop. There is a pining for the loss of the lovable store owner, and the fellow collectors to share your great pulls, or awful luck, with. Well, my brothers, I bring you tidings of great joy!! We are at the forefront of the Great Rebirth!!!

The world is changing. Communities are changing. With a change of perspective we can see that all is not lost, but born again. We are no longer collectors with no one to collect with. We are no longer shoppers without a store to shop in. WE are the new community! We are the voice of the hobby. No longer are we separated by geography, collecting habits, time zones, team loyalties, we are joined together by the Internet. We have a group to share with. People telling stories, and floating ideas. We have great minds like Stale Gum, Poets like the Baseball Toaster: Cardboard Gods, trailblazers like The Baseball Card Blog. We have the ear of the largest retail shop in the country in Dave & Adams Card World who link customers to our blogs. We are even recognized by the gold standard of the industry, Beckett, who helps to set the market for our precious cardboard. Not only that but we are all the owners of our own card shops through E-Bay where we can be connected with other collectors the world over. Since discovering this community I have sold off excellent cards in order to purchase even more excellent cards in my own mind. I have made a trade of cards of my favorite player's pants for random cards to complete a set. I have found new friends to share ideas and thoughts with. Folks if this isn't the best card shop you have ever been in, then I need the address of your favorite shop.

Sure things have changed, but when did you ever have a way for your ideas to be seen by thousands of people? When did you have access to that card you really wanted that was pulled by the collector 2000 miles away? When did you have the chance to select exactly the product you wanted and have it shipped right to your door? I am not trying to sell you anything here folks, I am just trying to renew your faith in the hobby. The hobby as we knew it is dead, long live the new hobby. Don't despair about the past, rejoice in the future. Want to tell someone about your great pull? Start a blog, or post it on mine, I would love to hear about it. Need to get something off your chest? Ramble like I am doing, or send it to one of us in an e-mail, I bet we would be glad to post it up for you. All I am saying is you are not alone. We all had 10 hobby shops we could ride our bikes to where, hopefully, some of our friends would be around to shoot the sh*t with. Well now your friends are all around, and we are waiting to hear your collecting stories.

Fear Not, I bring you tidings of great joy!

Watch Ken Burns Baseball!!!

You need to see Ken Burns documentary on Baseball. I know many of you may have done this years ago. I didn't realize how long I had let pass until I finally got around to seeing it. Now, with Netflix and Blockbuster Total Access so prevalent, there is really no excuse anymore. I had never actually seen it in a video store for rent before, but once I looked it up on-line on Blockbuster there it was. It is absolutely tremendous, and will increase most people's baseball knowledge tenfold. My entire life I have known who Honus Wagner was, but had I ever seen him play? Did I know he was so bowlegged it looked like he could barely walk? Did I know an old Honus Wagner showed up a young Ty Cobb by out playing him in a World Series? Nope. Do your self a favor, watch it, or watch it again.

Another $.99 Find

I don't know how you guys feel about e-bay. I have liked it, and I have hated it. I have bought and sold, been disappointed and pleasantly surprised. I've gotten cards in conditions I would have never sold, and I have gotten surprisingly gradable cards I am surprised people have sold. All in all, you never really know what you are going to get. Sometimes I feel things are just simply overpriced on there, and then moments later I will think that e-bay is killing card values and ruining the hobby. Don't get me wrong, I am not in this just for the money. I don't need a book to tell me what cards are valuable so I can like just them. However, with the prices that we are paying for these products there needs to be some tangible value in them to justify the cost. If packs were transparent, and we could select what we wanted to purchase at a set price, then we could say that cards simply have the value placed on them by their owners. In e-bay we have basically that. However, most people still enjoy the mystery of opening the pack. The chance there might be something special inside. The excitement of the unknown. Packs are our slot machines, and even slot machines are regulated to ensure there is some value coming out of them.

So that brings me to my 99 cent find on e-bay. To me this card holds much more value, but there is a balance there. The balance is what amount am I willing to part with to have it, versus what inherent value I place on the card. I have no problem saying that I would probably part with no more then $5 for the card. Yet once in my collection it obtains a sentimental value of no less then $30. Why you ask? For one, I consider myself a Maybin fan. Second, I enjoy jersey cards. To me they add a personal touch that simply a piece of cardboard with a photo cannot achieve. Third, I Love jersey cards in which the jersey in question can be identified. Now there are lots of ways the companies get around this. Rather then the All-Star Jersey, its the event worn all-star jersey...etc. So in this case I don't know for sure that this jersey card is really the one worn in the photo, but when they are the same color, and they claim to be, I like to take the optimists approach and believe. I believe that this is the next logical step in g/u apparel. It will simply not be enough anymore to say something is game worn. We are going to need pieces of those jerseys when that shut-out, three HR, game 7's, actually occurred. For rookies, the debut game worn jerseys are going to be huge. Plus it can give people some real good reasons to go after second year stuff of the hot rookies, which is always good for the companies and the hobby.

Another example of one of my identifiable game worn cards

The Great Fan-Fest Card Give-Away!!!

Well, although I have yet to receive a comment on my blog, my site tracker tells me people are reading it, or at least looking at it. It seems nowadays with the internet there is no card that you really can't find a picture of if you really want to see it. However, for those who might have missed it, I thought I would put up THE card which got me back in the hobby and writing this blog.

It's a beauty aint it? I really do love the design of these All Star Game cards in this years topps. Would have been nice if it was the base design for this years release wouldn't it?

Well.... in a shameless self promotion I have decided to offer those readers, who would be kind enough to leave a comment, a chance at an Official 2007 MLB All Star Game Fan Fest card at absolutly no cost to them!! All you have to do is leave a comment on this blog between today, and the 15th of February, and I will put all the names of those who commented in a hat and randomly draw a winner to receive the card. I will then e-mail the winner for their mailing address (U.S. only please).
I can not currently say which card I will select, but I can say that it will come from this Upper Deck All Star Set, it will be a rookie, and the more comments I receive the better player it will be. I will need a minimum of 10 different people to comment to make it worth it, so, if you would like a cool card you could only get at the All Star Game, and you don't mind taking a second to comment, then Good Luck you just might win!!

Nothing Beats an Ichiro Pokemon Card!!

Big thanks go out to Topps and Bowman for issuing this Ichiro Pokemon card. I can't wait to play it against some cocky little kid at the local dork shop. My Ichiro slaps your Pikachu into left for a base hit, then he steals second and scores on a lazy bloop hit to center! Take that you little yellow rat-cat-hamster looking thing!!

There is really no such thing as an uncool Ichiro card.

The Next Griffey Jr.

Can you imagine being a team on the verge of a championship. A team with great pitching, great hitting, fan support, and ownership willing to spend the money to build a championship. Then imagine that you make a trade to bring in Miguel Freaking Cabrera and Dontrelle Freaking Willis. Personally as a Giant fan I can't imagine that. It just isn't possible. Isn't possible that is unless you are willing to part with CAMERON FREAKING MAYBIN! I just can't tell you how disappointing it is going to be that this guy is going to be nearly invisible in Florida until either the Yankees or Red Sox trade for him. I can't even fathom having a prospect like this guy to look forward too. An 8 day stop in Double A where he hit 4 home runs in 8 days before going to the show. At 19? I respect Detroit for the balls to trade this guy, and I don't deny that they got extreme talent for this guy in return. It just breaks my heart that 1k people a game will see this guy put on a Marlins uniform, instead of the millions that should have been watching him in the playoffs and World Series with Detroit.

Is there some kind of ballot when can sign and pass around to get him off the Marlins? Do you think they would take Dave Roberts, Randy Winn, Ray Durham, and Rich Aurillia for him? On second thought they would probably trade him to us just to keep those guys off the team.

Feels Good

Sometimes it is nice when $1.99 still feels good. For a lot of collectors, just pulling a base card of a good player still produces joy. For others it takes a big hit for any pack or box to be worth it. For myself I can still get pretty happy over pulling a young kid in Orange and Black. Problem is there have not been alot of young kids wearing those colors as of late. So for the price of a pack from the local store, and one heck of alot less then a blaster, I picked up something I just might be able to get excited about down the road. Here is to $1.99 worth of Hope.

"Bowker is a 24-year-old outfield prospect who hit .307 with 22 homers, 90 RBI, 70 runs, three steals, a .363 OBP and a .523 OBP in 522 Double-A at-bats last season. "

Who should return in 2008?

With so many products out there it would behove the Big 2 card companies to look long and hard at which products they chose to bring back, and which to let go bye bye. There is little doubt that certain products go over like a lead balloon, while others that might have had a few bright moments, or years, can tend to wear out and become dated like old moldy bread. Sure the stuff was great when it was fresh, but it just didn't keep. So the question is.... what to keep. In the vain hope that some employees might be looking to us, the baseball card community, for insight, I say we provide what feedback we can. Here are a few ideas I can really get behind.

Bring Back Goudey:

As an "nearly" exclusive Topps collector, there are just a few products I will leave my comfort zone to collect. Hot off the heals of my love for TA&G, I plopped down the cash for a hobby box of this UD product. I have to say, I really like it. That being said the release price of $110 a box was WAY to high. Bring this product back with a $80 tag, and watch it soar off the shelves. It can't be that pricey of a product to make, certainly no more so the TA&G, so don't price out the average collector with the high price tag. Even $90 and you would be more consumer friendly. If you look now you can easily find this product on Dave and Adams for between $80 and $90 now, which makes it a real tempting late season pick up.

Come on Bowman.... Seriously:

I guess this is more of a question then an idea. The question is are we going to honor the Rookie Card logo or not? That is not even the only question. The other is if Bowman will even be honest about their own cards. This First Bowman Card crap is just that.... crap! I have found multiple times already where this logo is fictitiously placed on player's cards who have previous Bowman releases. I for one am in favor of the Rookie Logo, and I would like to see it enforced. One of the reasons this years card sales were as strong as they were is because guys like Lincecum and Joba had their first releases in this years sets. These card companies benefit from the rookie buzz created by guys like Dice-K, Ichiro and Pujols. They need to learn that holding the release of such stars will benefit them greatly in overall sales. Are they seriously that worried about losing market share to Just? As long as other companies can't get the license, there is no need for Upper Deck and Topps to smite themselves by defusing rookie buzz with topps chrome releases 4 years to early. This is Not Cameron Maybin's first Bowman card. Nor is it Adrian Cardenas's in this years Bowman DPP.

Add a Watermaked '08 logo to '52 Rookies:

Pretty soon this is just going to get confusing. If Topps insists in continuing this line, then they are really going to need to differentiate the cards more then just the copywrite logo on the back. It wouldn't kill them to put an '08 on the back of the card or something. Then again an even better idea is to keep the concept, all the rookie eligible players from the given year, and change the design. Anything else just seems lazy.

SF25

Sometimes you find just the right card to suit you. That was the case for me today on E-Bay. I am a Barry Bonds fan. I will not apologize for that. I don't care that he is an asshole. I am an asshole too for the most part. I don't even want to be stopped out in public by people I know, why would anyone want to be stopped by people they didn't even know? I duck and hide in fact so they won't see me just so I don't have to talk to them. Kids? Don't have them, don't want them, and don't even think yours are that cute. So if I feel this way, why should I care if a baseball player does? As for the steroids thing, guess what, your favorite player was doing them too.

In May of 2003 my Father told me that his long battle with cancer would be coming to an end. My father was the greatest man that I ever had the privilege to know. His fight was courageous but like all of our heroes death was the one thing he could not overcome. Just one week after he told me, I had tickets for all of us to go to a Giants game together. In that one week my father had gone from looking healthy and good, to looking sickly and needing a wheelchair. But he fought through it to brave the brisk air of the San Francisco Bay. Not so much for himself, but to give me that one last memory I so wanted to share with him. Twins got out to an early lead that night. They were up 3-0 and there was little the Giants could do. Bonds tripled to give the giants their first run of the game. They would tie the game in the 8th. In the 9th Bonds was due up a distant 6th, but with a rally the Giants loaded the bases on a 7 pitch walk by Rich Aurillia. That brought up Barry with nowhere to put him and two outs in the inning. Barry won the game with a walk-off hit in the 9th. My last memory with my Dad is the crack of the ball off Barry's bat, and leaving the game with smiles on our faces as my favorite player, the God Son of his favorite player, won the game with two outs in the 9th.

I tell you that to tell you this. If Barry Bonds took steroids to be a better baseball player.... SO BE IT!!! If my favorite player cared that much to risk his own health to be the best he could possibly on the diamond, who am I to complain for the memories he gave me.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN200306040.shtml

Thanks Barry, We Love you!

Joba!

Well, I promised a breakdown of the boxes from Wednesday, but in the process of sorting through the cards I came across this!

Yeah, kind of an idiot for not knowing I had a Joba Chamberlain reverse negative rookie for two full days, but I don't actually expect to pull cards like this. Of couse it is an error card so the bottom will fall out of the value like a rock, but still, pretty cool pull. I probably still wouldn't know I had it but as I was sorting the cards I had a Joba on top and slid the reverse negative one out from below, once they are side by side they scream out at you. Anyway, the card is up on E-Bay now (I am not a big Error card guy) but if anyone wants to make a trade offer I will always listen. I will try to come up with some want lists soon since I am posting more stuff on line now. I am in the process of my first trade with Chis Harris of Stale Gum, and have found the experience thus far terrific.

Out of the other box of Topps Update, at least I assume it was the other box since I didn't even know I had it, came this.

That beauty is numbered #2/7, of course with 493 other home run relics numered to 7 that is at least 3451 of them. Still Mantle Relic and Joba Chamberlain error, this was a Yankee box all around. Now if I just didn't live in San Francisco.

My Box of Topps 52 Rookies will most likely be my last. If anyone out there just have to have a Jensen Lewis or Joseph Bisenius Autograph rookie card, let me know I have bought two boxes, and got one in each. What are the freaking chances of that!?! Less then pulling a Relic numbered to 7 that is really 3451.

Enough History Already

Sorry for the drawn out history of my return to the hobby. It was all I could think about writing in the beginning, but perhaps something a bit more current is due. Last night was a banner night in the Weasel household. Or as we call it the Weasel Farm. In one glorious afternoon two wondrous packages arrived. The first, 3 boxes of Baseball cards from Dave and Adams Card World. The second... my Ninetendo Wii. What kind of ass gets two things like that in the same day you ask? No I am not rich, no I am not stupid, but yes I am Lucky to have an understanding Wife who allows me to act like a child since we have none. The fact is, the Wii only cost me $200 and a little piece of my soul. In my first ever soiree into the ultra premium world of cards, I worked a full day of overtime to buy a box of Bowman Sterling Football. After heading down to the local card shop, I plopped down a cool $200 on the box. Through the first 5 packs it seemed my 48 hour week was in vain. Then in pack six I saw my Wife pause and stare at a card in slight confusion (we open all the packs together). I could see she was holding a black shinny card, but I couldn't see of who. I asked her to let me see it. It was a beauty. JaMarcus Russell Jersey/Auto Black Refractor #/10. NICE. By far the best card I have ever pulled. Well maybe my Billy Ripken F'face card I got at the mall and then screamed in joy as I showed my Mom how it said F'face. But this was a nice card indeed. I tell you this cause the card is gone now. In what I believed to be a responsible move I decided if I really wanted a Wii, I would have to give up something to get it. So anyway, now I have a Wii, but not a JM Black Refractor. All in all I will get a lot more use out of the Wii.

On the flip side, before all that developed I had made a purchase on DACW and was waiting for my package to arrive. It did, and I had 2 hobby boxes of Topps Updates & Highlights, and 1 box of Topps '52 rookies to open. The same day the Wii came. Good day, huh? I will break down these boxes with scans a little later, but I will say I was disappointed that my Wife didn't get to find a Poley Walnuts card in her packs, I was really hoping she would as I had not told her about it yet. To this day she still thinks the Jack the Ripper card in the TA&G set was the coolest card ever.

Also when there are about 75 possible autographed cards in a set that comes three to a box, what are the chances of getting two of the same three out of 2 boxes bought from different dealers on opposite coasts?

After the All-Star Game

Once the dam was broke, the cards flowed like wine. It was trouble. Everything was new. Every idea I saw on a card was the first time I had seen it. I got jersey cards of guys like Carlos Beltran and thought I was looking at $50 cards. I mean two jersey hits in a box... the box costs $100 bucks... this guy plays in New York. Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!!! I got hit and hit hard by Topps Allen & Ginter. I had never seen anything like it. This stuff was SWEET. Sure that first box with the Gagne and Aurillia hits was a little week but man, this stuff had MINI cards in it!!!

One weekend and $1000 latter, I looked at my BJ Upton printing plate, my Hanley Ramirez autographed mini, my Dice-K high number mini rip rookie (yes I got a rip card after buying nearly a full case), and my stack of jersey cards, and thought I had hit the big time. I also felt extremely sick to my stomach over the binging I had just done, without any purging. Total amount spent: over 1k, total amount earned probably less then $500. Aww, truly this is the hobby of kings.