My first 2010 Topps Tribute card

While I didn't open any packs, I spent less than half the cost of a pack to get a card I really love. Granted I am not a fan of sticker auto's but this one is just nice because it blends in a little better than most and it has 2.5 stripes. Signature is borderline acceptable but the price was the kicker.

Love it. Robbie Cano, don't ya know?!



I would love to see Robbie win the MVP even if it means I can't afford his cards anymore. He is playing so great this season and it's fun to watch.

What will I look for at the National

I asked the good folks who follow me on Twitter to give me a blog topic and Voice of the Collector made this suggestion. Now, he better read it. =)

One of the things I am most looking forward to is meeting some of the people I talk to on a daily basis either through e-mail or twitter. It would be nice to have a face to go with all the names, and it's nice to meet people who share a common interest. While I usually hate people, I really do like (most) of you. I can hear you all laughing from here... I'm (half) kidding... ;) Another thing I am curious about it how many women will be there. Usually when I go to a card show, or me and Sooz go together the only other women we really see are mothers of small boys taking them around. (If one dude asks me if I want a WNBA card, or tells me something is shiny I may go bananas. Olds, if you are reading this I am already anticipating you doing this just to push my buttons.)

Honestly, what I will end up keeping an eye out for at the National are things that I can't really find locally or on eBay, as well as National exclusive types of things. I am interested in getting a hold of a LeBron Heat card to flip for something I care about, and definitely looking to get a Strasburg card. I will probably wait to flip the Strasburg card until he is off the DL and pitching again.

I will also pick up supplies because you get the best prices at shows on 9 pocket sheets, PC1/PC3 cases (which I love), and penny sleeves.

I would love to find some Pujols base cards to fill in the holes in my collection, and maybe some inserts on the cheap. I haven't really been buying much of his stuff lately because I have been trying to hoard as many Cano auto's as possible before they get more out of control. I would be really happy to find a boatload of Pujols cards and cross some more off the list of 90 million cards he has.

I won't be bothering with getting any of the paid auto's, that is for sure.

OK, I'm done now. Your turn to talk to me and entertain me while I wait for A-Rod to come up to bat.

So who is going and what are you looking for?

Now, there is only 998 of them!

I've been in kind of a blah mood lately and have chosen to ignore lots of things to keep my sanity. For the most part, this auction was one of them.

Card #1 of the Stephen Strasburg National exclusive Heritage cards is up for auction on eBayauction on eBay where the money where be donated to charity. I saw this first on Beckett. The auction ends in four days and as of this posting is over $700.

While I normally get cranky about things like this, selling items before they are available (or something like that - my brain isn't working), I like that they are using this to give 100 percent of the proceeds to Juvenile Diabetes.

I love bubble mailer days

It's the best kind of mail, you know the one with the eBay winnings... Yay! I'll keep it short and sweet.

2007 UD Exquisite /25 Adam Lind


2010 Topps Allen & Ginter N43 Albert Pujols


I'm please with my eBay bargains, and it's nice to pick up a new Pujols card since I haven't really bought any new Pujols cards recently. I've been working on filling in the Lind collection while he's on a slide.

How do you choose?

I know there are many other player collectors out there, and I am hoping that some of you are mildly picky about your collections. I know that I would love to have every single card of the players I collect but it just isn't realistic for me. I've mentioned this several times over the years I'm sure, but I wanted to show an example.

Last year I made a rainbow of 2009 Tribute Cano auto's, just one version because that was expensive enough. This year my goal was to pick up one of each version and move on because with the season he is having it will be more than I'm willing to spend on the rainbow.

Here is the challenge: find a signature I like to bid on. I know that must sound crazy but when you look at autographs, there are some that look rushed, scribbled, or just flat out horrible. If I buy an auto, I have to like the sig on the card before I bother bidding. It really doesn't matter if I need it, I won't spend money on it if the sig looks rushed.

Look at this 2010 Tribute Cano /99. That is a signature I wouldn't bother bidding on because it looks sloppy. This one is pretty terrible as well, 2010 Tribute Cano /99.

Here is one I like and would be more inclined to bid on: 2010 Tribute Cano /99. I know it might not seem like a big deal to most people but I would rather have something I really like than a sloppy auto I bought just to say I had it.

I also want you guys to look at this card: 2010 Tribute Cano Triple Jersey /99. How hard is it to assemble the card so that the stripes are straight? They do not wear uniforms that look like candy canes or barber shop poles, so why do that? Furthermore, for the money this product costs I think that it should be straight. And........ that signature is terrible. Bad Robbie, sign nicer next time. (I will refrain from saying anything about the f-ing stickers for today.)

Please tell me that there is someone out there that picks their auto's carefully (generally speaking, not just in Tribute)....

eTopps Release 7/26 - 8/2

This weeks eTopps cards are:

Prince Fielder


Curtis Granderson


Carlos Santana

Sunday Question

Where do you go to buy your cards?

There are so many different outlets to get cards with eBay, Sportslots, COMC, the local card shop and so one, I want to know where go you get your stuff.

Some people use different outlets for different reasons. I want to know them all.

Tell me now.

I buy most of my stuff from eBay just because it's easiest for me and has the most cards. Every once in a while I go the Check Out My Cards route.

I had to stop buying on Sports Lots because they banned me. Seriously. They had a glitch in their system. After updating my new address and then buying cards, they still sent the seller my old information and a bunch of cards went to my old address and I never got them. After emailing Sports Lots about the situation they tried to blame me even though they admitted to there being a problem with their system updates.

I guess they had enough of me at that point and just blocked my account and I wasn't allowed to order from them anymore. That's not exactly good customer service. I decided after that - even though I created a new account with a different name and IP address - that I didn't want to purchase from them anymore, anyway. I stop going to places with bad customer service.

Anyway ... long story short, where do get your cards?

Making little boys cry

Chelsea Baker and I have something in common, we like making little boys cry. So what if I'm 30 and she's 13, nothing brings joy to my heart as much as seeing a little boy cry because I'm better than him.

However, Baker does it with a little more class than I do. She's a Little League pitcher and one of the best in the country. Baker throws 65mph already, but she also has a knuckle ball. She has never lost a little league sanctioned game.

Check out a video from ABC here.

She also has a piece on ESPN 360, which can be seen here.

Here's a longer article on her from ESPN here. 

She's from Plant City, Fla., which is where I stop talking about this story.

Anyone else think about this?

While I am aware that technology is not something new and has been evolving for some time now, there are still some things that I think are kind of crazy. Well, I am really speaking of Twitter in this situation.

Here are my thoughts. If you had told me as a kid trading cards with my friend that I could talk to someone that works for Topps and tell them what I think, you probably would have been the coolest person on the planet. I wish that there were more kids into the hobby than adults because they have no idea all the cool advantages they have to collecting now.

I know 90% of you hate Beckett or think whatever of Chris Olds, but he is a very nice guy if you can get your head out of your ass about his employer. If one of my blogger friends worked for the Red Sox, I would still talk to them. Just sayin'. But, my point here is imagine being a kid and reading Beckett every month (like I used to do religiously) to find out the latest news because there was no internet and no blogs only to find out that you could actually talk to the guy who writes the stuff in there. Holy smokes! These are the things that would have made my head spin as a kid growing up.

I know this is a goofy topic, but have you ever thought about how cool all this stuff would have been when you were younger?

I think about weird things all the time, this is just one of many off the wall topics.

Can I get a discount on my National VIP pass?

With the National coming up in just a short time, there is so much talk going on about the hobby and who's going and who will be bringing the beer.

Blowout Cards had a different idea and is offering special Topps VIP retro card sets on their site for presale - that's before the National, before anyone has had a chance to put these cards in their hands.

I thought these cards were supposed to be limited to people who bought VIP packages. It's part of the deal, right? So, why does Blowout get the opportunity to sell these cards ahead of time to anyone who wants to purchase them?

I am not naive to think that after the convention these cards aren't going to end up on eBay, but why does Blowout get to have the upperhand and sell these cards before anyone when they were supposed to be given out to the public and the National Sports Card Convention?

What good is calling this a VIP exclusive if I can sit at home and click buy for $25 and get the same cards that hundreds of people went to Baltimore and received because they paid the $120-plus for a VIP package?

Update: Maybe they are slightly limited on Blowout, although I don't see where it says on the website. Blowout wrote on their Twitter account at 12:29 p.m.: "2010 Topps National Convention VIP 1960 Retro Card Sets-less than 10 left."

2010 Topps Tribute (and whatever else its called) on the Bay

One seller has listed pretty much his entire case of cards of 2010 Topps Tribute. I am not sure what the release date of this product is supposed to be. I know it was originally this week, but things get shuffled around so much.

However, I don't see any hits. Mostly, it's the base cards - and I use that term loosely. The cheapest base card from this seller is about $4 with the numbered cards easily going into the $50 range. Anyone plan on ponying up that kind of dough for a base card?

Here are some of the auctions (I wish there better scans):

- 2010 Tribute black and white 205 Babe Ruth /99

- 2010 Topps Tribute gold Mickey and Mantle /50

- 2010 Topps Tribute blue Derek Jeter /399

- 2010 Topps Tribute 205 blue Joe Mauer /399

- 2010 Topps Tribute black Chase Utley /99

Looks like there is some kind of subset of rivalries or something along those lines in this set, but it's not what you think.

You get cards of histories biggest foes such as David vs. Goliath (and the blue version in case you have an inkling to make the rainbow), the Hatfield and McCoys, Kennedy vs. Nixon, USA vs. USSR, and (I'm sure not the last) how can we forget about one of the oldest family rivalries in literary history the Montague vs. the Capulets.

Update: Two Stephen Strasburg cards have appeared on eBay already. Auction #1 (auto relic) and Auction #2 (auto dual relic).

Topps releases Strasburg exclusive for the National

Topps announced an exclusive Stephen Strasburg card at the National.

Here's their release:

Collectors opening 10 packs of 2010 Topps/Bowman branded baseball cards (except Topps Attax, Topps Opening Day and the .99 cent Topps Cello Pack) at the Topps booth will receive Stephen Strasburg’s 2010 Topps Heritage card (# NCC1). The card, which will be sequentially numbered to 999, will be available in designated quantities and at designated times from Wednesday, August 4th to Sunday August 8th. The card will be limited to one copy per person per day.

It's not wood afterall

For years, when I saw the Allen and Ginter wood mini cards, I assumed they were made out of wood. Little wood chips the size of a regular mini with the picture on front. I don’t even think I thought there was a back to the cards.

I saw a Kevin Kouzmanoff for sale right before I went on vacation last week. I sniped that sucker and made sure I won it. I received the card the day before I left for vacation.

I tore into it quickly all the while thinking, how cool this wood chip card is going to be.

But it’s not wood. Since I have never seen one of these cards in person before, I really had no idea these cards weren’t really wood. It’s just cardboard - not that there is a problem with cardboard.

This card is just a regular mini from Allen and Ginter with a wood-tint finish on the front. They could really make the front any hue they want this way, but they chose wood and for years I went on thinking these were actual wood cards.

I’m not disappointed that I own another Kouz 1/1, but I was definitely disappointed to learn that this wasn’t real wood. … There are so many jokes I could make here, but I am just going to end this post in saying, yes, I like wood.

eBay "Mojo"

Hi, my name is Marie and I have a cardboard problem.

(Group: Hi Marie.)

So, I was on eBay as usual browsing around for nothing in particular with my eBay bucks certificate and came across an Adam Lind card I have wanted for a while but was just waiting for the price to be reasonable. Once he got hot last year, it seems like no one has bothered to check on his current batting average which is hovering around .210-ish. I picked up the card for less than $6.

2004 SP Adam Lind/Ryan Klosterman...


I figured since I was already buying something from the seller and he had a store, why not see what else he can jam in the bubble mailer? The other card I got was in the same boat, just waiting for a good price. This one was less than $5.

2006 Future Stars Russell Martin RC
What I didn't notice about the Russ Martin card was that he is clear when you have the card in hand. From being scanned you can't tell, so that was a cool surprise. The card itself is also kind of made of plastic. I have the Adam Lind version of the Clear Path to Greatness, but I don't remember it being clear or plastic feeling....

So those are the latest cards to arrive for the PC. Sooner or later I will get the 2004 SP Adam Lind /400. I've been wanting to pick that up for a while now, and I am hoping no one else bids on that one (unless they are sending it to me).

Old news, but I want to talk about it - Ginter code was cracked

The 2010 Allen & Ginter code was cracked in part by Nick Jacoby, the person who had a hand in cracking the code last year as well. He has a run down on his process that you can read here.

First, let me say what an amazing job. I am not sure I would have ever figured that out even if I had a year to do it.

But something has been bugging me about it since I read the post and it has to do with the fact that he sent the email to get the sipher.

The advertisement for the code in the box says "Think you've cracked the code?" Email code@topps.com.

It doesn't say, if you're stuck and want some help, email us to get a hint or email us to get the part of the code that you really need to figure it out. I spent roughly two hours looking at Ginter to see if I would have a shot at figuring out the code and then I realize I was going on vacation, so I didn't even bother.

I know there were groups of people out there who went about trying to figure out how to crack the code. So what about those people? What about the people who thought they were following the directions of the code, you know waiting to email until they thought they found it, only to learn that wasn't the case.

Sorry, I had to get it out. Great job by the guys involved in cracking the code. I can tell from the post that they worked very hard at what they did and still deserve credit for breaking the code. Well done, guys.

Sunday Question

We are at the halfway mark (a little past it) of the baseball season and have a pretty good idea of which players are in the running for MVP, and which teams are heading to the playoffs.

Who do you think will win the MVP?

Everyone seems to love this debate on local tv around here, so I was curious as to who everyone likes for the award.

Personally, I am hoping Robbie Cano can keep it up and win the AL MVP but with the likes of Cabrera, and maybe even Vlad (!), or Hamilton it will be an interesting second half. I am also sure the regular candidates will surge in the second half (Mauer, Morneau... once Morneau is healthy again) As far as the NL goes it could come down to Pujols, Howard, and Votto.

I finished a set!

I am rather proud to announce that I have now completed the 2010 Bowman Prospects set of 110 cards. It is an enormous feat simply because I usually either lose interest or motivation every time I try building some sort of set.

The last few cards I needed were sent over to me by Cardboard Icons in part of a large trade we managed to figure out. Part of that trade also included another card I have wanted since it is on the lower spectrum of Strasburg cards. I am very pleased to add the Topps 100 Strasburg to my collection. If you haven't been over to his blog yet, I highly suggest you check it out. He's a cool guy but cheers for the wrong team. Hey, everyone has flaws.

I was debating on putting together the Bowman 92 Throwbacks set because I really like that one, but the problem is that I don't really intend to buy more Bowman and I know too many people doing the same thing. That ship might have set sail for me, so there may be another trade with Ben in the near future.

I am still working on finishing 2009 OPC, which seems like a lost cause. By working on, I mean if some people sent me the last of the cards I need. Did anyone finish that set?

eBay Idiot of the week

I was supposed to remember to post one of these a week, but I never remember. I did remember today, and I will explain why I chose Dead wood as this weeks idiot.

Plain and simple: He has sucked. If that person thinks that card is worth 1/10th of that price (market value) then they should have their head examined.

I think that this awesome card would be priced in that range but this person is slightly more in touch with reality. If I won the Mega Millions tonight I would probably buy this and feel overjoyed that I didn't get ripped off on a POS card of Joba the Dud.

The Great Ginter Trade

Here is what I am thinking.... I need the following mini's:

Albert Pujols
Albert Pujols A&G
Albert Pujols black

Robinson Cano
Robinson Cano A&G
Robinson Cano black

Adam Lind
Adam Lind A&G
Adam Lind black
Adam Lind Rip

I have the following mini's for trade:













Let's make a deal because I know many of you have opened plenty of Ginter boxes for the Gint-A-Cuffs or just in general. Hook a lady up.