Regressing

The other day I went out to buy new baseball cards to watch the World Series with. Oh, sure, I already had a bunch of Update cards from a Hobby Jumbo, but, well, you know. I need more cards.

Of course what I really need is parallels, and to get parallels I need more than extra base cards to trade for them. I need extra parallels. And that means buying baseball cards from the big colorful Box stores that sell boxes containing colorful baseball cards.

So there I was in Wally•World a whole week after the release of Update. And they still didn't have any. So it goes living back in the woods you see. So here I am on World Series night, posting about Opening Day Baseball cards. It's all 93% of teams have right now. Next year.

Because instead of new Sea Turtles I found a couple of these mysterious Opening Day blasters that could only be found at Wal•Mart this spring. And, until the other day, seemingly only at Wal•Marts south of the real Mason/Dixon line, the Chicken Biscuit line.

What in the heck is the Chicken Biscuit line? That is the true division between the north and south in our country. I think it has replaced The Onion's version of the Mason-Dixon line, the I•Hop/Waffle-House line, because Waffle House keeps marching steadily northward. Smart Yankees.

In the south, every fast food joint everywhere sells chicken biscuits. Even Burger King, and their breakfast menu is otherwise terrible. A piece of deep-fried chicken, on a biscuit. Yummy. In the north, no one sells these. Stupid Yankees. Mickey D's had them available nationally for a time a year or two back now, but they cancelled that menu item in the north, probably due to lack of sales. Stupid Yankees.

But somewhere in America there is a McDonalds that sells chicken biscuits, and 20 or 30 miles to the north of it, there is a McDonalds that doesn't sell chicken biscuits. The true dividing line.

And I only found these special blasters to the south of that line, until yesterday.

I have no idea on the mysteries of baseball card distribution. And I am very, very sure that I had looked at the card shelf in that particular Wal•Mart a couple three times this summer, and those variant Opening Day blasters weren't there. I almost took away from the experience that someone at Wal•Mart dumped these 7 month old blasters on me, instead of crispy fresh packs of Update, because I was in the only town that would be stupid enough to buy them.

So I bought them. Because I know what was in them — baseball cards I still needed. That Opening Day Highlights checklist that could only be found in these particular boxes. I scored 3 more of them:

And lots of other fun cards. So, finally, after my team is all heading for surgery and retirement parties and golf courses, I typed in my want list of all those nifty little Opening Day insert sets. And I am reneging on what I mentioned in my spring post about these cards. I do want to Chase the whole set of them, needing only 4 more of them. So I apologize to the Roy Halladay collector who asked about that card who I then turned down, despite writing they were up for trade. My very bad, and I do feel bad about that. So I hope I can find that email, &/or that gentleman is reading this again, because the good news is I also pulled that card this time, so now I have a double of it available. But only for that one guy that I stiff-armed on it.

My list follows shortly. I only have about 3 ~ 5 weeks left to set up trades before I get to start eating chicken biscuits for breakfast. And thus living without the bulk of my collection, either my old one still in storage, or my new 2011 and onwards one. And I am also probably going to start up an account on COMC to use up all my doubles, so a lot of the long lists of cards on my trade lists will disappear then too. So if you want to trade me all your 2013 Topps Parallels like I want you to, start shopping my lists. I'll try and add lots more stuff real soon.

I really liked the Opening Day inserts. I need to move on to other card projects tonight yet, so I'll only show you one more before you can start finding me all the remaining cards I need.

I would like to comment on the header picture card for this post, the Buster Posey "Play Hard" insert. I liked the nearly tie-dyed border on most of the other cards in the set, though it can't be seen on Posey's. I thought it was ironic that Posey is tagging out Prince Fielder on the card in last year's World Series. Fielder and Third Base Coach (at the time) Gene LaMont took a lot of heat for losing on that play, but of course all baseball fan hindsight is 20/20 (and usually ridiculous). Fielder was out on a very close play. But who, then, is Playing Hard on this play? Fielder is, I think. Wouldn't it be Playing Hard to block the plate? Something Posey definitely didn't do here, though no one would call him on that after what he experienced, which is explained on the back of the card.

Maybe this year's World Series will see the very last plate blocking play in the Major Leagues. We'll see. The Rules Committee is likely to make a Ruling on the subject soon.

And let's just not talk about Fielder's base-wobbling in this year's ALCS Game 6. Topps doesn't make Play Soft cards, fortunately.

I'll give you one more card before my list ... get yours ready now ... I have wanted to see how these beauties would scan ...

ehh, not so much. Much better in person. Now, Let's Trade!




Opening Day Highlights

Need: 1 Zimmerman, 2 Cabrera, 5 Altuve, 6 Sabathia

Have Available: 8 Halladay


Ballpark Fun

Need: 1 Pedroia, 2 Reddick, 4 Fielder, 9 Harper, 11 Longoria, 12 Ortiz, 13 Pujols, 14 Werth, 24 Ramirez, 25 Crisp

Have Available: 5 Kemp, 6 A. Jones, 7 Machado, 8 Santana, 15 Jeter, 18 Barney, 19 Phillips, 20 Soriano, 23 Chapman


Mascots

Need: 1 Mets, 3, Mariners, 11 Twins, 16 Astros

Have Available: 4 Cards, 5 Rangers, 7 Nationals, 13 Braves, 14 Rays, 22 Red Sox, 23 Reds


Play Hard

Need: 2 Harper, 10 Cabrera, 11 Ortiz, 19 Fielder

I know the Cabrera and Fielder cards weren't actually produced. But a few slipped out into the wild anyway with big holes punched in them. You should send them to me.

Have Available: 1 Posey, 6 Heyward, 7 Pedroia, 9 Castro, 13 Pujols, 14 Wright, 16 Kemp, 18 Ruiz, 20 Molina, 21 Freese, 24 A-Rod


Superstar Celebrations

Need: 1 Kemp, 5 Stanton, 7 Reddick, 13 Hart, 17 Headley, 20 Fielder, 23 Ramirez

Have Available: 2 Butler, 4 Votto, 11 Werth, 12 Morneau, 15 Hernandez, 18 Willingham, 19 Soriano, 25 Ortiz


3-D Stars

Need: 1 Fielder, 5 Jeter, 8 Ortiz, 13 Darvish, 14 Hernandez, 19 Harper, 21 Votto

Have Available: 2 Verlander, Cano, 7 Longoria, 11 Trout, 12 Hamilton, 18 Hamels, 22 Braun, 23 McCutchen, 24 Kemp

World Series Box Break

It's World Series Day. I want to rip some new baseball cards. I keep hitting up the Big Box stores, and they still don't have them. It's like they think it's football season or something. I'll return to that shortly in another post.

I am going to satisfy my itch by participating in a Box Break of an Update Jumbo over at the Andrew's Baseball Cards blog: link. 2 Teams, $10. 18 Teams left to pick. You're sure to get some fun baseball cards. If you still agree that baseball cards are fun, like Andrew does, rather than just worthless hit-delivery systems, like most grouchy baseball card collectors. I am also sure Andrew will get some packs ripped for me while the Series is still in progress, unlike a bunch of slack truck drivers lost somewhere on their way to northern Michigan.

Words words words. No one clicks a blog link for the words. Here's a picture:

I think Miggy is going to lose this battle. Trout and Machado are gonna take him out for blocking them at the All-Star Game and the MVP awards banquet, and Miggy is just standing there admiring another Home Run, oblivious. Harper will try and get in the struggle, but he's not all that great at making contact consistently. Harvey is cocked and loaded, but everybody knows he can't throw right now.

That leaves Darvish. He looks pissed. Not a good look for a card wrapper there Topps, displaying a player showing an unflattering Game Face in the heat of battle. Does Grumpy Cat sell products?

But cards man, we need cards to look at. OK, OK...You sharpies may notice the special little H on the pack there. I did well with this pack; I pulled this card out of it, though I am too lazy to take it back out of the top-loader for you:

Nomar is not impressed. What is this set, the Grumpy Tween Gymnast edition? All those ballplayers looking up in the air rather than at a not even Barely Legal Twitter feed?

Oh, yeah, baseball cards. I'm sure you will enjoy ripping a Jumbo with Andrew. I bought one at my Friendly Local Card Shop, along with a couple packs just for good measure. Yeah, I collect the wrappers too. I'll show those off some day. The sweet slippery feel just won't translate across the wireless internet wires, but I'm sure you will remember it on your own.

I did pretty good on my Jumbo. I pulled one of the /25 Sapphires I am lusting after, a 1/1 printing plate, a Silk Collection, another short-print (McCutchen) and an All-Star Stitches I have already traded for a Camo. And this mammer-jammer:

I'm thinking I'll trade that one to Andrew when he pulls the /62 HTA-only Black Border edition of the best Black&White card I've seen in about forever, the DeWayne Wise card. That will make a sweet 2 card rainbow. I hope he hits the White Sox on the random for his second team. Or, maybe I will, though with my first pick I couldn't pass up a shot at the sweet Scherzer/Cabrera short-print from the team I wish was playing tonight (and it stands to reason that I pull hits from the LCS winners). It's random. I have a little pile going for a White Sox trader....

What are you hoping Andrew will pull from these cards? Try out a Group Break and see what happens. You don't want Yu to throw that ball at you, do you?

Hey, maybe I can get him to launch that one at the front window of the next Big Box store too slack to stock their shelves on time...

I just don't usually care for 2-player cards

I'm having a hard time recalling any 2-player cards I've actually liked very much. Aside from my favorites — the old "Father/Son" cards that I haven't seen in quite a long time, though professional baseball is often still a family tradition. There were probably some others over the years; if I could get at all of my collection perhaps I would find some more. 2-player Leader Cards can be OK as well.

This year Archives had the "Dual Fan Favorites", which at least dispensed with the convoluted statistical connections of the 2011 "Dynamic Duos" inserts, and simply puts two popular players from one team on the same card. In the age of massive player collecting, Topps gets one card desired by possibly two different player collectors.

Now in the 2013 Update set we have a fairly similar insert subset called "Franchise Forerunners," with 2 players from one team; one recent rookie, as if we don't get to see those players enough, and a somewhat older player. Let's check out the results:

Hey, look, He poses for pictures now too. I'd wager pretty heavily that we'll see these exact mug shots again, possibly as soon as March when Heritage appears.

I like the colors. A baseball card can't go wrong with Red and Blue, especially for a Dodger card. Not too sure about the faux-concrete background there. And I like the idea of a pennant on a baseball card at least. But the result feels a little weak.

So we've got 2 profile pictures and a bit of graphic-ness. For once on a recent insert set, I'm not completely sure where the relics and autos go, though I am sure there are "hit" versions. But I don't really care.

Now many people consider baseball cards to be strictly one-sided products. But of course, I read the backs:

Pretty minimal, with more of that faux-concrete whatever to help you fall asleep faster. I only noted that  bit there about Puig's first 17 games to start getting my own estimate of the production schedule for these cards for future reference. I do like the nearly painterly use of Puig's first name for the second reference to him by the card-back-writer, which is used consistently on the other cards I have pulled so far. Yasiel, Yasiel, say it with me ... crib notes from Vin Scully if you have to.

I pulled 5 of these so far. The Puig/Kemp already has a destination, but I also pulled 4 - Cole/McCutchen; 5 - Myers/Longoria; 7 - Harvey/Wright; 9 - Cespedes/Henderson, if you need them. I do not.

This was my first baseball card to feature Wil Myers:

And led me to an education from another famous Will when I read the back:

That card back initially made me mad. Surely bated would be spelled "baited", I thought, but it turns out to be a derivative of "abated", coined by Shakespeare. Baited breath makes no sense. Abated breath does. Oh, the places you'll go...

This next card really did make me mad however:

I'm not sure why Topps went with any use of the color Red on a Pittsburgh Pirates card. Maybe they thought the Pirates actually play across the parking lots at Heinz Field. Dunno.

What I do know is, this is just another useless insert set taking up space in the packs I purchase. I just can't warm up to this one after a pretty likable run of inserts this year. Perhaps, neither could Topps:

Joy of a Completed Binder Page

Well I've been wanting to type that post title for a long time now. A title I borrowed from the always entertaining Card Junk blog.

I have been buying packs, single cards, lots of cards and have sorted them and typed out their numbers and re-sorted them and have finally completed the first page of my Parallel Project.

May I present 2013 Topps Series 2 Cards 350 ~ 358:

I have had several pages stuck at 8 cards for quite a while now. Henderson Alvarez no-Hit the Tigers on the last game of the regular season, and now he was no-hitting this project....until a lot of Series 2 Gold cards came in, and I decided to re-check each page in the binder. I had a /62 Black border card of Alvarez, but I also had one of Juan Francisco, and I was giving preference to the horizontal card on a slot for a Black card — my favorite of the parallels this year. Probably it was the Greg Dobbs card that became the keystone of completing the page. I had him in several colors ... I sorted the stacks .... I discovered a new /2013 Gold of Francisco ... but I already had Dobbs on the page for Gold ... I found a Target Red of Dobbs ... Get Down! Page Complete!

I especially like this page because it doesn't use any Emerald (my least favorite), thanks mostly to the /10 "Silver Slate" parallel I picked up on eBay. It also helps that I could use a card from the /2013 Blue Foil parallels from Opening Day, which is true on most pages in Series 1 & 2, but not quite all of them.

Along the way I discovered how tough it can be make a nice-looking page with these cards. As the difficult cards (Pink, Black, or Camo) on a page arrive, I can start placing the more easily acquired parallels. I realized I would have to buy the low /x parallels of common players and use the most printed parallels (Emerald, Wal•Mart Blue, Target Red) for the stars. I got lucky and pulled the Pujols card from a blister pack at Toys•R•Us. (Thanks Geoffrey!)

However when I can place the Red & Blue parallels I was surprised to learn I couldn't bring myself to just use any parallel I had laying around. I couldn't use a Target Red parallel of Asdrubal Cabrera up there....red-on-red does not a good parallel make. I also realized that the team colors and card border parallels are a bit like being able to make your own baseball cards, at least in terms of the color scheme.

I managed to finish 2 other pages shortly after that one; a second from Series 2 and my first in Series 1 as well. I'll shut up now....here are cards 458 to 466:

I might re-do parts of that page as I'm not sold on the Purple-on-Red of the Pomeranz card, which is actually one of the worst in either Series with print lines in the background. The Emerald would hide that perfectly; I like Orange-on-Emerald for the Orioles but I might order Hammel and Pomeranz to switch, we'll see.

Don't forget you can click on an embedded picture in a blog for a better view of it. I scanned these in their brand new binder pages where they will live for all eternity, but the upload process shrinks everything considerably.

That is cards 317 ~ 325 from Series 1. I'm not totally into Teal-on-Wal•Mart 'Blue' either, but it will do for now.

I still can't believe I finally have some pages done. Only 71 pages to go ... then 37 more for Update, and for that one I won't have access to 4 possible colors: Silver Slate, Blue Sparkle, Toys•R•Us Purple, and Topps Factory Set Orange. I'll probably have to cave in a little and use one white Base Card per page for that one.

So blow the dust off that PC Rainbow, Team Rainbow, Master Team Rainbow, whatever partially completed collecting project you lost interest in with these cards, and let's trade some parallels!

Update on the Morrow

Well the first card of a set that one should blog about would normally be the first card in the first pack:

A solid, seemingly workman-like effort at first, this card grows on me some as I gaze upon it. 

Plus: nice flow of multiple diagonal lines.

Minus: the now standard cropping of the player above his knees. Letting us have a little more background context might have reinforced the lines, or possibly weakened them from this end result. We'll never know. At least all the floating torsos don't come with a set of storm clouds as the cult-like Inception cards did.

Plus: the lines all lead you to the baseball in Morrow's right hand. I like to see the baseball on my baseball cards.

Half-Minus: the Nike swoosh takes us a little roller-coaster ride and all that flowing has me a little woozy, though strangely still without any desire to own any Nike anything.

So yer average 2013 Sea Turtle. Let's check the back:

I didn't even find anything to mark-up with my digital pen. The Topps writer does an OK job of creating a "first pitcher in Club history" deal out of arbitrary stat limits; I think he could have been a little more generous and pointed out the dramatic improvement in Morrow's numbers in the 2012 season.

A bigger question is why Toronto's #2 starter at the beginning of the season wasn't in either Series 1 or 2 or Opening Day already. ?  Normally in Update we get lots of middle relievers, not seemingly solid starters. All those R.A. Dickey and Josh Johnson cards must have left poor Brandon swept under the rug at the Topps office.

Which is just as well as he unfortunately struggled with injuries in 2013; he didn't pitch at all after late May and thus inadvertently created a perfect situation for an Update card. Except for my aforementioned complaint of why a WHIP of 1.11 doesn't earn a card in the regular Series?

Ahhh, the mysteries of common baseball cards.

The next card has already been seen on 2 good blogs so far, and will probably have a nice future of popularity as bright as the nearly glowing infield grass:

I thought I'd do my own scan of it to help further show off that nice run of shadows there at the bottom. I'm thinking those will really pop on some of the various build-your-own-baseball-card options we have with all the parallels these days. There will be an obvious one I will want, but I think some of the other options might surprise the viewer. The /2013 Gold parallels can be a bit of a sleeper hit. Decisions, decisions.

And on that note I will sign out for the evening, for as much as I like typing up my ramblings on baseball cards with y'all, I like looking at brand new baseball cards even more...

ALCS FLCS pick-up

I like Broadcaster cards. Cards of Broadcasters in action, or ballplayer cards of the ex-ballplayers. I'll show you some of my few prides and joys some day when I am actually at home, where my cards live.

For all of this thrilling edition of an ALCS, I have been traveling, where blogging is difficult. But the other day a both fortunate and unfortunate rain delay (for my work, not for the game that night, fortunately), allowed me to visit my Friendly Local Card Shop. Yes, the one I was worried about in my previous post.

So I have some wonderful new Sea Turtles to babble about. Hobby Sea Turtles at that. Awesome Nomar Garciaparra pull so far.

Hey, wait! He played for the wrong team. Fortunately, I also picked up this long-time desired card:

Only one-fiddy! Not three. Why haven't I started buying these cheap old Vintage cards a long time ago? Oh, yeah, they're not exactly sold on the street corners out in the backwoods where there are no street corners.

I like this card thanks to the lurking light-tower and a stadium's upper deck (such comforting photo elements, so.....Vintage) also because of the back:

Which brings you some reminders of a few of the stories Jim likes to tell during his broadcasts - he is from Hershey, PA, and he enjoyed playing 2 sports in high school, doing well at each.

Tomorrow night I will be listening intently to the Tigers broadcast, from the opening interview with Jim Leyland to Dan Dickerson's final sign-off. Well, hopefully I can skip the sign-off, because they will play again on Sunday.

Whenever the Tigers are playing a possible elimination game or game 162 of the regular season, I absorb the radio broadcast, which mean a lot to me. Probably to save it all up for the offseason. I don't like the offseason. The Hot Stove League just doesn't do it for me.

I'll write more on the Tigers' radio team some other time. Hopefully when I finally pick up the other 2 Jim Price cards that I believe exist from his playing days. I would love to discover some new ones from the 21st Century though I doubt any exist.

Who listens to the radio anymore anyway?

The New Baseball Cards Aren't Here! The New Baseball Cards Aren't Here!

I love where I live. I love where I work. I am very fortunate to do what I do. This year at work I have lost track of how many Eagles I have seen, to brag on just one tiny cool thing about it.

But I am rather less happy about being at the edge of nowhere — I live in the Great Lakes and watched the sun rise out of Lake Huron this morning, so I'm always at the edge, not the middle — when it comes time to buy some brand-new baseball cards.

A time when I end up as happy as a Jerky guy in a 1970s movie when the new phone books arrive.

What are phone books? Don't worry about that. They were these clunky things used in the 70s, among other decades, that time has passed by, mostly.

Another clunky thing from the 1970s  are ... Wacky Packages! Fortunately, they are remaining somewhat timeless.

I love it when Topps drops little, or not so little, shout-outs to timeless art masterpieces in their work.

I thought it was rather lucky to be in nowhere land just long enough to still pick up a last pack of Series 10. I don't know if I have a set of it yet; I still have some to rip back at home Base. And indeed I picked up the very last pack available on the rack.

Of course with there being a big baseball game today, I had to pick up just a few more baseball cards somehow. Yesterday I went with a little bit more Topps Chrome (trade list list list updated) and pulled David Ortiz, twice. Naturally, the Tigers lost.

Tonight things went much better. I purchased one last rack/jumbo/fat pack of Trout Turtles, errr, Series 2, to luck my team into victory. And what a phat pack it was: I pulled 3 Miguel Cabrera cards in one pack!  And only one Red Sock - Johnny Gomes, who didn't even make tonight's line-up. Topps nails it shut as the Tigers crush a former White Sock! Thanks Topps! Don't mess with the Topps Voodoo!

Now if only the wizards of Duryea could do something about those durn Update Turtles. The new Sea Turtles are still swimming towards me way up here, and they sure swim slowly.


And if I finally find some Update for sale tomorrow and I pull a Boston Strong parallel....oh dear.


I have a few things left in Series 1 & 2 to babbly-on about, but those will have to wait. Even Turtles reach their destination eventually, though meanwhile I am becoming very, very concerned about my current nearest Friendly Local Card Shop (65 miles from home), which I haven't reached in my review series yet. I want to reserve a "Hobby Jumbo" of Update...but they haven't answered their phone all week. I can only hope and pray the owner is simply on vacation.

Luckily I can still be Wacky!

Perhaps it explains what happened to those sluggardly Sea Turtles still stuck on some semi somewhere: "They've gone AWOOL and are on the lamb!" You slay me Topps, you really do. Nice work pairing that punny masterpiece with more of the same on the back:

I wish I could scan that one for you to walk off every last foot-pun of fun there. You'll just have to shuffle on down to the Big Box store on your own two feet and find one of your very own. Topps is a little better than I with the word footsie on it. Maybe I'll pull a double for ya when I finish ripping Series 10. I do hope to find doubles, triples and quadruples of this one:

Occupy shout-out! Political Wacky! These are rare in the sets but they do appear from time-to-time, and I will be sticking this on some things. I have a few pulled to share with you on some other grumpy no-baseball cards day.

I have mentioned in a previous foray into my original www - the wonderful world of Wackys - how much I like the new mockery theme on the backs, the TV show billboards, like this one:

As usual I am left wondering if these things really are for children. Though whenever I think I know that answer, I immediately find 2 or 3 ho-hum scatological Wackys.

In this Series, perhaps for the first time ever, I really like one of the puzzle subjects:

I like it enough that I might try and figure out how to display the puzzle pieces even, courtesy of this hanger/jumbo/rack/fat pack (I can never get the nomenclature right for those things except for the Series 1 packs with Prince Fielder on the wrapper) which hooked me up with 6 of the 9 puzzle pieces at once. I'm not quite used to such large Packages of Wacky.

Still finding new stuff to make me purchase more stuff while I wait for the new stuff, even in the Wacky Packages. Topps has my number. They even knew to give me a sweet new taste of one of my previous favorites from this Series:

Nice. Primary colors. Orange and blue, like this baseball team I like. I could grow to like these Parallel Wackys.... Ut-ohhh....