Single cards that stand out

When trading, oft times I receive a pile cards that while welcome, there is not a particular card that stands head and shoulders above the rest.  Well, that was different for a couple of recent packages that landed on my door step.

First was a great lot of cards from Nick over at Dime Boxes.  The main portion of the envelope was Blue Jays (of course), but Nick actually sent me one card that stood above all the others...

The blurry baseballs are a little disconcerting

My first card of Jim Thome from another blogger.  No doubt pulled from one of the myriad of dime boxes that Nick frequents, this card becomes the 10th base card in my Jim Thome collection. 

The other card that stood out for me this week was part of the envelope that Max from the Starting Nine blog sent over.  It was the lone hockey card in the envelope, and seeing this instantly got my mind turning.

This guy is the reason I got turned off of one particular sports blog.  The incessant ripping of this guy was beyond anything that should happen to anyone.  Yes, the guy had a rough go of it while he was in Toronto.  (tell me who hasn't over the past 7 seasons).  But to listen to people bash the guy over and over, even long after he had been traded was a little much. 

Seeing this card reminded me that anyone can sit behind a keyboard and a computer monitor and be negative.  I've done it myself on more than 1 occasion, and even sometimes end up regretting the post later on, because of the negativity.

Hopefully the sight of this one card will remind me in the future of one of the reasons I write as often as I do.

I enjoy collecting cards, and I enjoy writing about them.  The world is full of negatives, why should our hobby be one of them.

Thanks for reading, Robert

Canadian English

(Note:  This post, like many others, is meant to poke fun at me, myself and I.  Do not interpret this to be personal or a shot at anyone other than the author.)

I have always believed in self-deprecation as a form of humour.   If you cannot laugh at yourself, you should not be laughing at others.

I'm sure you've read some of my self deprecating humour before on this very blog.  One of the ways I love to poke fun at myself is the way that I communicate.

I do this at work a lot.  I'll have an account exec, or even someone on the road send me an email or message, I'll respond back to them with the answer that I feel most appropriately solves the problem. Afterwards, I'll get a response back that is totally off the wall.  It is then that I ask one of my esteemed co-workers to take a look at what I wrote to be sure that my words actually made sense.  I'll also jokingly ask them "am I speaking in Canadian English here?"

I worry that what I say is not interpreted properly.  I worry about writing "like I speak", and will re-read posts 3 or 4 times before I am happy with what I have written.  I guess you could probably say I'm a worrier by nature.

What made me think of this was the trade package that I received from Napkin Doon a few days back.  I wrote about the Gypsy Queen cards that he sent me, but he also added a few other goodies in the envelope.

First was a serial numbered Blue Jays card....2001 Topps Gold Label Class 2 Brad Fullmer

Nap also added 3 other serial #'d cards in the envelope.

3 Flair Showcase serial #'d cards, cards that would fit well into the insanity set because they are numbers that I need.

if only they were Topps/Bowman products.....

Now this is not the first set of serial #'d cards that have come my way that weren't from Topps or Bowman.  I've received cards from Upper Deck, Donruss, Playoff, Leaf to name a few other companies.  I've even received cards that were serial #'d above 3000. (Why that is, I'll never know)

Again, the worrier comes back.   Maybe I didn't explain how the set works properly to everyone.

The Canadian English has crept back and has me explaining things bass ackwards.

Maybe the blogosphere is trying to tell me something.  1500 serial #'d cards, 50 per MLB team would still be a hell of an achievement even allowing all cards from all manufacturers into play.

It would allow me to add such cards as the multi colored UD Heroes cards...

It would allow me to add a card of Mark Grace where he looks like he's screaming because someone gave him a hot foot (he has to be pointing down for some reason)

HOT!

It would allow me to add a card of a guy whom I consider to be one of the best defensive center fielders ever to roam a major league ball park...

No doubt another HR stolen

Who knows, maybe I'll change my mind and let all the various manufacturers be part of the insanity.

After what I've read lately, I'm sure Upper Deck fits the bill perfectly....

Bonne nuit mes amis Canadiens et Americains...oops sorry, that wasn't Canadian English...

Thanks for reading, Robert

Migrating to the dark side...NOT!

As of this writing, we are down to 89 days until Christmas.  For those of you who do celebrate, don't say I didn't remind you come December 24th.

I decided to get a head start on my spending this year, and picked up a couple of sweet cards on eBay.  I will not say who they are for just yet, just in case that person is actually reading this blog.

That person happens to like the Pittsburgh Penguins, so I decided to bid on a couple of auctions for them.

The first card cost me $15...a buy it now for a pretty nice autograph...the scan isn't that great, but IMO I believe I got a pretty good deal.

I don't know what got into me, but I saw this next card and I knew that my intended giftee had to have this card. (Yes, I did buy these before the revelation about the relic cards...you can't go back in time unfortunately)

Wonder if we'll see any of these guys play hockey this year?

If I wasn't giving it as a gift, I'd almost be tempted to add it to my own collection.  What was cool is that the seller who I bought this card from added the next card to the envelope....free!

A nice 'graph from one of the Sutter brothers...no complaints here!

As much as I'd like to start cheering for the Penguins, there are two reasons that I just can't bring myself to do it.

First, they gave up the blue and white for black and gold....
Second, the guys who call their games on TV...can't stand them....worst pair of announcers in my opinion. 

You will never see me migrate to the dark side that is Penguin hockey....

Ever

Thanks for reading, Robert

You'll have to excuse me...I'm still a little slow (the sequel)

If you're one of the insane crazies that reads my blog on a regular basis (and bless your heart if you are), you may remember my post a couple of weeks back ranting against myself about the Allen & Ginter set.

Well, true to my Dumb & Dumber roots, which are greying/graying by the way, I now provide you with the sequel to that post from two weeks ago.

This post will prove to all just how moronic I can be sometimes. 

I received a couple of trade envelopes over the past couple of days, from great people in the land of the blogs who had some Gypsy Queen cards to help with my want list. 

The first scan comes to you courtesy of the one and only Napkin Doon, who sent me a generous helping of GQ, along with a few other cards that are going to be discussed in another post in the coming days.  I'm showing just 9 cards of the package, because you've seen them all over and over....

Nap, thank you for the cards!

The second package comes from blog reader Patrick S.  (Patrick, if you have a blog out there, somewhere, please let me...and the blogosphere know!)  Here is the prerequisite 9 card scan for you.

Patrick, thank you as well!!

As I sat at the computer this evening, checking the cards I received from both of these fine gentlemen off of my excel spreadsheet, I see the number of cards that I need diminish (duh).  I sit here and think to myself...hmm, only 55 cards to go to complete the set, when it dawns on me.

34 of those 55, you guessed it, are the Variation SPs.  So now, for the 2nd year in a row, I've committed myself to collecting a set that has a bunch of SPs that are going to be costly to obtain.  Look to 2011 Heritage for that other miserable exercise that's going to cost a small fortune.

I've been slow to learn that my rash decisions on what sets to put together are biting me in the ass.  Yes, GQ looks good to me, but not stopping to think about what the set is comprised of has set me on a path of spending that is probably not smart.  Don't even get me started on the '64 set I'm building and the high dollar, high numbered cards (that might be the third post in the series).

In order to remind myself in the future to "look before you leap", I'm putting an index card on the wall right above the monitor with a little message.

I have nobody to blame but myself in the future if this card doesn't work....

Thanks for reading, Robert

Still collecting hockey even though there's no hockey

As I perused the card aisle at Wal-Mart on Saturday, one box of cards kept following me as my eyes perused all the choices.  It was as if the box was saying "buy me, buy me".  It was a blaster box of '12-'13 Score hockey.  I picked it up and saw that there was 11 packs with 7 cards in each.  I wasn't too sure about picking it up since I thought that Score was supposed to be a lower end brand, and I thought that 20 bucks was a little too steep.

I decided to take the box over to the price scanner and check, just in case.  It scanned at $9.99.  I grabbed 2 of them. 

I enjoyed ripping both of them open.  For just under 20 bucks, I ripped open 22 packs, and had great fun looking at the cards.  The price point definitely doesn't hurt the budget, and the cards are decent as far as photography and card stock.  (Not great....decent....)

Base set cards are fun, and as mentioned the photography is all right.  Love the whip on the stick of Nick Johnson on the left.  Miikka Kiprusoff looks as if he's going to use his head to stop one of the millions of shots he faces each season.  The Jonathan Quick card on the right features the Stanley Cup logo, which blends in well with the black and white uniform he's sporting.

The inserts harken back to the 90's for score as well, with names such as the franchise and Check-it being used.  The Eddie Giacomin is a "retro" franchise card, and I was 'lucky' enough to pull one in each blaster I bought.    I do, however, like the First Goal insert set, that's something different. 

For those hopelessly addicted to collecting parallels (not me, I would never do anything like that....nope...), Score has included a one per pack gold bordered parallel, along with a much more rarer black parallel.

I can't say for sure, but I believe that the Sven Baertschi is one of the black parallels (maybe someone out there can enlighten me).  The Hot Rookies will at least be reasonable to pick up, as I pulled 6 of them in each of the blasters.  This is in comparison to this years OPC set, in which I've pulled 2 of the high numbered cards in 6 rack packs. 

Score even found time to focus a little on the lighter side of hockey in one of the photos they used.  This card of Patrick Kane so far is my favorite.

I really enjoyed watching Kane done the Clark Kent cape and glasses at the skills competition last year, and got a good chuckle when I pulled this out of one of the packs. 

Nothing earth shattering is going to come out of these packs, but at about 90 cents a pack, I don't expect anything great.  You get a decent product that will not break your bankroll, and yet the packs provide enough entertainment so that you're not left wanting at the end.

Thanks for reading, Robert

Blue Jay Monday: Starting Nine minus 3 minus 1

Well, let's just say I was way overdue to post these cards from Max at the Starting Nine blog, and I was even slower noticing a feature of the trade package that may or may not have been intentional.

I've had these cards for a few days now, and have looked over them a few times trying to obtain a little inspiration for a post.

Along comes Blue Jay Monday, and I really don't have any idea what to write.  Then I count the cards.  9 in total.  Makes sense, doesn't it?  I'm going to give Max the benefit of the doubt and say that he placed  9 cards in the envelope on purpose. 

The Blue Jay portion of the envelope which this post is going to feature is 5 cards in total (9-3-1).  2 other posts will cover the 3 (insanity) and the 1 (11-12 OPC hockey) portion of the envelope. 

The first card reminded me that even though you may be a baseball player, you don't have license to put anything you want on your face....what in the world was this guy thinking? 

Curious to see if he's in a different uniform come spring

I'm hoping and praying that Adam Lind regains his confidence, and his hitting stroke.  Adding his bat to the middle of a lineup that features Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion could make this this trio one of the best in the game.

A&G Back...let's hope Adam comes back

Every time I see Brett Lawrie's name at the top of a line up card, I have to keep reminding myself that he was originally a 2nd baseman, not a 3rd baseman.  I just hope that he stays healthy, because his balls to the wall recklessness reminds me of another 3rd sacker the Jays had back in the early 90's, Kelly Gruber.  If Lawrie can stay healthy, and stay in Toronto, he just may be the Canadian star that the Jays have always craved.

Damn chrome cards...almost makes me want to run out and buy a blaster...need discipline!!

Now for two guys that the Jays traded away that they could really use.

When I heard that the Jays had traded Aaron Hill for Kelly Johnson last year, I thought it was a good deal, because it was a straight swap for 2 guys who probably were in need of a change of scenery.  While the defense has been decent, and he's had some pop this year, Kelly Johnson has not been the player that Hill has been for the D-backs.

I definitely missed the boat on the early Ginters....

Just a little tidbit, in the 2 games that Hill hit for the cycle this year, those 6 extra base hits represent 1/6 of the total XBH that Johnson has for the entire season.  I liked Aaron, a scrappy player who now that he's healthy represents probably the 2nd best offensive 2nd baseman in the majors, behind Robinson Cano.

Finally, this guy doesn't need an introduction:

Back in Black

How would this card have looked better?  Picture Roy in the Jays black road uniforms from the mid 00's, and I think that the could would have looked awesome.  None the less, this 2009 Topps black parallel is a great card of one of the best pitchers ever to don the Jays colors.  No doubt though that where he is now, things are funner (t)here. 

Max, thank you for the Blue Jays goodness....there's a couple of other posts saluting your cards coming...

Thanks for reading, Robert

Sakic Sunday: Relics and the continuation of this pursuit

To be honest, I really do like the look of a lot of the UD products that they have released over the years.  They really did give collectors a solid second choice to Topps products for a long time.  But with the current scandal that is in the news, I really have to wonder if there is a future in the industry for Upper Deck. 

I'm sure that there a lot of people out there that will say "good riddance to bad rubbish", and I don't deny them that thought.  I can't see them continuing on as a licensed company to the NHL after the story I read about the Jeter jerseys.  (If you're not sure what I'm talking about...read this post from Voice of the Collector and find out).

This kind of stuff makes me wonder if any of the Sakic relic cards I own are authentic.

Me being the optimist, I want to believe that these cards are legit, but there is that nagging doubt now that makes me shake my head.  While Joe Sakic cards aren't in the stratosphere of a Gretzky or a Lemieux in terms of price, they are by no means lower tier in terms of cost.  For me to continue to chase a Joe Sakic relic card with this cloud over relic cards is kind of tough.

How about people who have bought packs of Upper Deck's The Cup over the past few years?

While I have never personally bought a pack of their super premium product, nor do I own a relic card of Joe Sakic (or any player for that matter) from The Cup, if you own any of this product, does it make you wonder now as well? 

I know I'm a little focused on this subject lately, but I feel it's for good reason.  In the hockey world, Upper Deck has been a major player for the past several years, and the legitimacy of their relic cards has been called into question. I'm sure that I will think about this a lot more, and wait to see if Upper Deck does release some kind of statement regarding this allegation.  I hope they do, but it's gotta be tough to put a positive spin on this situation.

To be truly honest, I really do want more Joe Sakic relics.  Relics aren't dead to me...

Not yet anyways....

Thanks for reading, Robert