Sunday Question

How do you think this is all going to end with Upper Deck?

Be as funny and creative as you want with these answers. But you can also be serious.

Hit from 2009 Upper Deck Ultimate

A buddy of the household opened a box of 2009 Upper Deck Ultimate and I thought I would share the hit out of the box. You only get four cards in the pack, which is the entire box.

Some really nice hits (I'm looking at your Mr. Scott) have turned up around the blogosphere.

Here's is GoldNPoker 's (that's his name the Beckett message board) hit.

 

Cal Ripken auto 20/25

Very nice. I bet I would be able to flip that for a nice Jeter.

Thanks for pic, Steve.

MLB v. UD

For those of you just getting to a computer today, Upper Deck a.k.a. the anti-card seems to be pissing off plenty of people in places they really don't want to. Chris Olds was the first to issue a statement from MLB Properties on the matter.

Click here to get an update on MLB v. UD

Bip This: The missing link arrived.

Crazy girl finally finished the 2009 Topps Tribute mission she set out on. Though it cost more than I initially thought it might, it still doesn't even come close to the cost of a box, or half a box for that matter. I picked the swinging version of the card for those of you just tuning in (and you shouldn't be just tuning in because we are fun).

Here is the missing link:

Gold /25

And because I can, I'm going to make a rainbow of this.

/50
/75
/99 (why couldn't they make this /100 so everything was in even multiples?)

My favorite autograph out of the 4 cards is on the black one, least favorite is sadly the gold one. This is probably one of the cooler things that I have gone after in recent months as far as Cano goes and I am very happy with my little set from Tribute.

I also want to note that for some reason the swinging version seems to sell for more money than the throwing one. No idea why, and I could look into it but I'm lazy. Not to mention that they are serial numbered the same way so I can't imagine there is really a good reason.

Anyone else go after a player and do the same thing?

2010 Topps Series 1 Blaster

In case you are wondering why I bought this, I honestly do not have an answer. I do lots of dumb things involving baseball cards. But enough with the jibber jabber, lets see what was in the blaster.

"Blasters contain 10 packs plus one patch card, includes 2 packs of exclusive throwback parallel cards".

We'll start with the thowback packs:




My favorite card in the box:




My second favorite card is over here:

And here are the rest:





Commemorative Patch: Tim Lincecum

It's very rare that I get "a" Pujols card in a blaster, much less 3 of them so this was very exciting for me. Odds on the original back were not in my favor at all, but there he was! I needed the Peak Performers card as well, but already had the Legendary Lineage one.

As far as Albert goes, I am still looking for: #4, Target exclusive red back, both league leaders gold cards, all black borders, When they were young, silk collection, and the other cards your mom threw away. If you have any of those, pretty much all my inserts are for trade.

Best envelope ever

The fun was actually inside the envelope.

In our recent contest, there was a question where we were asked if we could have any card before 1948, what would it be?

I chose a 1921 Miller Huggins card. I picked this card because Huggins was the manager of the Yankees on the first World Series championship team. I thought it was pretty unique and would be a nice addition to my collection.

Today I opened my mailbox and saw a little tiny envelope. I hoped it wasn't a chain letter.

Instead it was this from Matt at Number 5 Type collection.

I looked at the card and was speechless. I've never received anything like this before and couldn't believe Matt's generosity. Again, Matt, thanks so much.

I'll never be able to find something as cool as this to send back to you.

News from the Underground

(So, that was my Lion King reference)

There's a bunch of news relating to the hobby that has come out the last two days. In case you have missed any of it, here's recap:

- According to a few different sites such as this one and this one, the lawsuit brought by Konami against Upper Deck could be settled out of court after the first day of trial.

Then, this one says its already done. Either way, seems as though UD owes Konami a lot of dough. The terms of the settlement are confidential, but when UD starts putting out cards drawn by their kids, we can safely assume the end is near.

- eBay fees are changing. For high-end and mass quantity sellers, this doesn't seem to be working in your favor. The little sellers are getting the benefit.

Starting March 30, sellers who list their minimum bid for under $1 (you know, the .99 cent types) won't pay an insertion fee on the first 100 listings per month. Final value fees are going up to nine percent. Here's eBay's site on the news.

Good thing COMC moved to a bigger location.

- And, just in case you have been under a rock, UD is showing its hand a bit on how they will handle the 2010 products. Two 2009 products came out in the last two days with Ultimate and UD Signatures. While they are technically products, because they were released after the New Year, UD was supposed to follow the terms of the license agreement.

Well, so far, we have logos. But just hats.

Look, Ma! No logos!

There's not a single logo in this card from 2009 Upper Deck Ultimate.

I think the card still looks sharp. I like.

By the way, some UD Signature Stars cards are popping on eBay as well. Check out Trader Jack's blog. He has a couple of photos up of this set. As you'll notice, there are logos on just the hats and helmets. No where else.

Jeter, however, has a logo on this card on this card from UD Signature Stars.

As Dropped Third Strike says: They got some brass ones

Blowout forums user bluecloud2 has a four-box break of 2010  2009 Ultimate on the forum. The pictures are just of the hits, but it is interesting to see the cards.

Link here for the thread.

Now, technically I'm not sure if these are 2010 cards. They were released after the New Year, though, and I thought there was supposed to be a 2009 release (unless there was and I missed it). Some of the terms of licensing agreement are shady. So, if it says 2009, but released after Jan. 1, UD might not have any issues.

Either way, there are photos of a new product.

It's interesting to note there are no team names on the cards, just cities. There are no jersey logos to be seen as a whole. But you can see partial jersey pieces such as the Vlad patch card.

The only discernible logos that can be seen on the card are on the players' helmets.

If this is what we can expect from UD, I actually don't have a product. I don't notice what is missing from the card. These cards are very solid.

We'll see where we go from here.

2009 Razor Babe Ruth cut pulled

A tweet from Blowout Cards this morning informed me of the the best card from Razor was pulled and thrown up on the Bay.

2009 Razor Sports Icons Cut Auto 1/1

This is definitely a beautiful card. The eBay auction has a asking price of $8,000 right now. And, should I buy it for the BIN price, I would make $160 in eBay bucks. Great deal!

When a card like is pulled from a set, does it stop collectors from buying that set anymore? I haven't bought any Razor or thought about purchasing any Razor, so any feedback is appreciated.

2010 Fantasy Baseball

As it stands right now these are the confirmed teams back from last season:

1. The Franchise

2. The Dude

3. Purple Donkey

4. Carolina XFractors

5. Boneyard Braves

6. Cards on Cards

7. Victorious Secret

8. MOJOJAZZ (I think he sent an e-mail)

I am still waiting to hear from Grand Cards, gcrl, and possibly MOJOJAZZ. Depending on their responses I will let everyone know how many spots are definitely available.

Team names can be changed or remain the same for this season. I have a waiting list for the remainder of the spots. I am looking to cap it at 10-12 teams, head-to-head, limited roster moves per week (i.e. no daily pick ups and drops), and the rest will be discussed once full.

For the people that played last season, would you prefer a 10 or 12 team cap?

Waiting List as of today: Mr. Scott (who will be taking Sooz's spot), Peterson, Anthony K., Duane, Cardboard Icons (if he is still interested).

2010 Topps Series 1 Baseball Checklist Link

I know many people have been wondering where to get a checklist for this set, and Sooz found a good one.

2010 Topps Baseball

And as always, if you have any Pujols for trade, let me know.

A 1/1 that is really 1/2

I got an e-mail from my buddy Dan who frequents the same card shop that I do showing me two eBay auctions he had found. He collects Hamilton and Bruce so that is probably what led him to these cards. Both cards are from 2009 Topps Triple Threads, and both claim to be 1/1 White Whales.

In this corner we have the auction for the "1/1"

And in this corner, we have the buy-it-now "1/1"

You can't even get mad at the sellers of these cards because it's some yo-yo at Topps, or a "machine error" that made this all happen. Or..... someone has a great card making machine/scam at home (however that is doubtful).

Opinions?

Sunday Question

With 2010 Topps finding its way into Targets around the country, what do you think of the product?

Topps has an exclusive license with MLB, and the company could have gone different routes.

First, Topps could have completely dropped the ball and not put out a quality product because, technically, there is no competition.

OR ... Topps can better year to year and create product where people think "MLB did the right thing."

OR ... Topps didn't go either way. It (cliche alert) didn't step up their game, but they didn't completely bomb either on its flagship product.

What do you think?

By the way, if you haven't seen bdj610's Baseball Card Blog, go check it out. He's compiling a list of SP variations from 2010 Topps. At last check, there were 15 variations, which some have been submitted from others around the blogosphere.

Consider it Topps Stealth Variation Central.

So if you know of anymore, let him know.

2010 Topps Series 1 Baseball Favorites and Randoms

Sooooo...... it appears that I have a wee bit of an addiction to opening packs. They are like potato chips, you can't just open one. Well, maybe you can but I can't. I opened some more packs, I know you are surprised by that. I also may complete a set before they even get "released" at this rate.

I love this card probably one of my favorites in the set, yet the one thing I don't understand is how they didn't include Hits as a category on the back considering Jeter chased Gehrig and passed him. Then again, I just have to remind myself it's Topps and not to ask why.



This is a great card because he just looks great in a Dodgers uniform.



Here are some Leader cards that will fit nicely into my PC, poor Adam missed the HR leader card by 1 homerun, and Aaron Hill was tied with Jason Bay yet he was left out in favor of Bay.



My boys decided to come home, though in separate packs.


Some cards from the "Cards your mom threw out" sub-set....

When They Were Young card that I wish my mom threw out.


Gold border that I would like to trade for Adam Lind gold perhaps.

Tales of the Game

Legendary Lineage

Another Turkey Red

History of the Game

Well there you have it. Confessions of a cardboard addict.

Anyone out investigating?

Last night I decided to go to another Target and see what was going on there, and if they had some 2010 Toppsor anything else leaked. Turns out they had nothing. Not even an empty gravity box. Something tells me that these "early releases" are sent to select Target's and perhaps on purpose. Last year the exact same thing happened, the one closer to where I live had stuff but not the other one. Also, no blasters to be seen. Maybe Topps leaks random retail to add to the hype and anticipation of a new set coming out.

I ended up back at the Target that has had them for days, and well there were still packs left. Did I buy any more? Maaaaayyyybeeee...... did I get any cool inserts?! Well, you'll have to wait and see.

Has anyone else been out looking for these things? Anyone locate a blaster? Though I am sure if someone found blasters I would have heard about it by now. Ohhh even better..... any local hobby shops got their boxes early?

Let me know if anything interesting has popped up in your town this way I have something to procrastinate studying for tomorrow and during the week ;)

What happened to 2002's Future Stars?

Recently, I busted a box of 2002 Fleer Triple Crown. It was a fun box to break, but some of the interesting cards were the Future Stars cards.

Frankly, not all of them became future stars. Of the Future Stars cards, I think just two of them could be considered certified stars. There were 20-30 in the set.

Here's a glimpse at most of the Future Stars cards.

Angel Berroa is not one of the Future Stars. He played just four full seasons and was last scene in a town called Flushing.

Here is one of our first stars, well, sorta. Juan Rivera has played well for the Angels. He was traded from the Yankees to Montreal as part of the Javier Vasquez trade. Then, he was traded by the Nationals to LA for Jose Guillen.

Who?

'Memba him?

He did not become a Future Star.

In seven seasons, Ransom has played in just 197 games.

This is only bonafide star in the mix.

George Perez played just one season in 1958 .. uh, wait. Wrong George Perez. Apparently, there is only one George Perez in the history of Major League Baseball. This guy never made it.

In 2001, Pedra Santana played one game.

One.

Tyler "I can't stop sweating" Walker had an up and down season last year for the Phillies out of the bullpen.

Bill Ortega did one better. He played in five games in 2001. He got a medium-sized cup of coffee.

Dustin Mohr was kicking around until 2007. He spent time in Minnesota, San Francisco, Colorado and Boston.

Cruz is still around, but he isn't a star. Last year, he went 3-4 with a 5.72 ERA with Kansas City.

Guys named Corky shouldn't even be allowed to play baseball.

Seems like the Future Stars who don't end up with the Yankees, go to KC. Ramirez was 0-2 with a 5.96 ERA out of the Royals bullpen.

More 2010 Topps Series 1 Previews

For those of you who are not new here, you probably knew I would end up back at Target and that's great because it means you have been reading. If you thought I was done, well you need to pay more attention. I'm not listing all the base cards, but I scanned the inserts and a few base cards of interest with some scans of the backs so you can see what the back looks like as well. So feast your eyes on these:

Copper ToppsTown
Beckett, Lee, Teixeira
PUJOLS, A-Rod, Wright
Banks, Robinson
Maris
McCutchen
Yaz (Cards you thanked your mom for throwing away)
Howard/Hamels, Pudge, Yaz back
Carlton, Mauer, Pedroia (hate him)
Hernandez Gold
Mariano, Mantle, Robinson
The Yankees. Double of one checklist, the "Anthem in New York with Jeter, A-Rod, and Cano are checklist cards, which there are 5 of total)
Gayest baseball card picture this year, guaranteed.
For Tricia. 'Nuff said.
Why on Earth would they use this terrible picture? Bah.
Only a month to find out I won air.

So.... Taaaadaaahhhhhh. I'm done now. (Maybe) I went back to Target after dinner thinking the whole gravity box would be empty by now, and there were ALOT of packs missing but there were still about 40 left. I cracked 10 in this post, in case you were wondering how I did on the odds.