Or did Topps really overdo it with the parallels in Topps Chrome this year? Let's see we have:
Base
Refractor
X-Fractor
Purple
Blue
Orange
Black
Sepia
Gold
Red
Atomic
Super
Canary
(Along with '96 Chrome Inserts and more Heritage Chrome)
SERIOUSLY TOPPS, WHY THE FUCK DO WE NEED ELEVENTY-BAZILLION PARALLEL SETS?!?!?! THIS DOESN'T HELP ANYTHING!
Showing posts with label Topps. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Topps. Show all posts
Friday, September 9, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Bruins Tribute and Retail Packs
And, you know what, let's watch Game 7 with Dave Goucher and Bob Beers with the call.
Makes me feel good every time!
Saturday, June 11, 2011
A Trip to the LCS: Golds, Twinks, and Tim Wakefield
Some local card shops leave something to be desired. Not mine. Kenmore Collectibles is, in my opinion, the best run card shop in the Boston Area. The owners really know how to connect to the collector: reasonable wax prices, lots of cheap singles, sales and discounts, and so on and so forth.
So today, with a little extra time on my hands, I decided to make a run on the LCS. Here's the stuff I picked up while there.
Note to all: I Collect Wakefield (with a C, the Kollecting is reserved for Kalish). Just decided yesterday to start collecting the Ol Knuckleballer, so here's a start to my collection. Now up to whopping 6 cards! Woo!
I think I might go after the entire 2010 A&G Mini Set. I just really like the design of these cards. Now, I only have 348 of 350 to go; I only have this and Vernon Wells. Fun...
A Sonny Gray chrome for $.50? Eh, what the hell! Might be able to make a buck or two down the line. I've heard that he is the shit, but time will tell.
Now, this was an interesting find. For 3 bucks, a gold refractor of a guy that is hot this season. Morton is 6-2 with an ERA under 2.5 for the Bucco's this year. Think I can crack 5 bucks on eBay with this thing? (Yeah I'm selling it, I need money!)
I also bought I rack pack of 2011 Topps Series 1 while there (I figure the hobby wax was probably too expensive to buy, but who cares). I pulled this from the rack:
Yes, this is a David Price waste of space sparkle variation. I don't understand two things: why Topps makes these and how they are popular. It's only a little photoshopped lens flare,
WHAT'S THE BIG FRACKIN DEAL?!?!?!
Returning to cardbloggery, this was gonna be it from card shop, but the owner threw in a bonus:
These here are hobby store exclusive inserts. The owner said he usually distributes them one at a time, but he gave me 10 of them: Aaron, Pujols, Longoria, Heyward, Posey, Braun, Cano, Mauer, Howard, and Hamilton. I think these are kinda interesting inserts, very simple. Nothing overly special, just simple. I think I might go after the full set of these, so if you have any, shoot me a message and we can work out a deal.
And, if you're ever in the Boston Area, make a run over to Kenmore Collectibles, located on Commonwealth Ave in Kenmore Square in Boston, only a 5 minute walk from Fenway Pahk!
Oh, and short Bruins update: Alex Burrows is a tool and Tim Thomas is still God.
That is all.
So today, with a little extra time on my hands, I decided to make a run on the LCS. Here's the stuff I picked up while there.
Note to all: I Collect Wakefield (with a C, the Kollecting is reserved for Kalish). Just decided yesterday to start collecting the Ol Knuckleballer, so here's a start to my collection. Now up to whopping 6 cards! Woo!
I think I might go after the entire 2010 A&G Mini Set. I just really like the design of these cards. Now, I only have 348 of 350 to go; I only have this and Vernon Wells. Fun...
A Sonny Gray chrome for $.50? Eh, what the hell! Might be able to make a buck or two down the line. I've heard that he is the shit, but time will tell.
Now, this was an interesting find. For 3 bucks, a gold refractor of a guy that is hot this season. Morton is 6-2 with an ERA under 2.5 for the Bucco's this year. Think I can crack 5 bucks on eBay with this thing? (Yeah I'm selling it, I need money!)
I also bought I rack pack of 2011 Topps Series 1 while there (I figure the hobby wax was probably too expensive to buy, but who cares). I pulled this from the rack:
Yes, this is a David Price waste of space sparkle variation. I don't understand two things: why Topps makes these and how they are popular. It's only a little photoshopped lens flare,
WHAT'S THE BIG FRACKIN DEAL?!?!?!
Returning to cardbloggery, this was gonna be it from card shop, but the owner threw in a bonus:
These here are hobby store exclusive inserts. The owner said he usually distributes them one at a time, but he gave me 10 of them: Aaron, Pujols, Longoria, Heyward, Posey, Braun, Cano, Mauer, Howard, and Hamilton. I think these are kinda interesting inserts, very simple. Nothing overly special, just simple. I think I might go after the full set of these, so if you have any, shoot me a message and we can work out a deal.
And, if you're ever in the Boston Area, make a run over to Kenmore Collectibles, located on Commonwealth Ave in Kenmore Square in Boston, only a 5 minute walk from Fenway Pahk!
Oh, and short Bruins update: Alex Burrows is a tool and Tim Thomas is still God.
That is all.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Junk Wax Break - 2010 National Chicle Retail
Kinda wanted to see how bad this product is and why it failed. And, it was cheap...
Yeah I figured it out. Terrible Gimmicked Short Prints. Not Hench Approved.
Yeah I figured it out. Terrible Gimmicked Short Prints. Not Hench Approved.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Blog Bat Around: Fixing Topps Baseball
Found this on the Stale Gum Blog and decided I'd take a shot at this.
Michael Eisner has just fired the entire Topps Product Development staff and chose to hire you to take their place. Mr. Eisner has given you carte blanche to do whatever you want with Topps Baseball -- as long as you keep it under $2/pack.
If you were in charge of Topps, and based upon what you've seen of 2011 Topps Baseball Series One, what (if anything) would you have done differently?
Ok, here is what I would do:
1. Increase base set size - 330 cards is a little low, so how about we make the set something like 360 or 365 cards. And that does not mean making more subset cards of Strasburg, A-Rod, Halladay, or any of those other guys. Give middle relievers a chance at base Topps!
2. Include Manager Cards - I don't understand why these disappeared. So, they should come back. Just cause.
3. No more SPs or variations - I saw a post on the FCB Forums a few days ago and it stated that Topps needs to do these SPs and variations (including the sparkle cards this year) to increase the value of the base level Topps for people who flip cards on eBay, who he claims to be the majority of collectors. Note to this guy-base level Topps is not meant to be flipped on eBay, I'm sorry. Oh BTW, these cards really have no reason to be in the product (no, flipping this stuff does not count in my book) and I feel it compromises the integrity of the product. No more legend variations, no more sparkles, no more airbrushed uniforms.
4. Bye-Bye Reprints - A redundant set from last year? Yup, needs to go. And the pre-Topps reprints, gone as well.
5. No more Manu-Crap - Commemorative Patches and that Glove Leather stuff is quite unnecessary. Either that or don't treat that stuff as a hit.
6. A Creative Insert - Most of the inserts look like they're rehashed from last year. How about a Team MVP insert, with each team's best player from the previous year. Or something similar to UD's Pure Heat insert. Something needs to change on that front.
7. Stick to simple Autos/Relics - Do we need jersey cards of Mantle and jumbo patches in base level Topps? No. Just keep it to simple jersey cards and autos to keep the price down.
And finally:
8. No more Cut Signatures - Save that stuff for a higher end product. Again, not needed in a product like this.
From what I've seen, Topps did a pretty good job with 2011 Series 1, but they should really make some changes. There are other products to satisfy Joe Collectors and card-flippers. Now, I still need to go bust some of this stuff...
Michael Eisner has just fired the entire Topps Product Development staff and chose to hire you to take their place. Mr. Eisner has given you carte blanche to do whatever you want with Topps Baseball -- as long as you keep it under $2/pack.
If you were in charge of Topps, and based upon what you've seen of 2011 Topps Baseball Series One, what (if anything) would you have done differently?
Ok, here is what I would do:
1. Increase base set size - 330 cards is a little low, so how about we make the set something like 360 or 365 cards. And that does not mean making more subset cards of Strasburg, A-Rod, Halladay, or any of those other guys. Give middle relievers a chance at base Topps!
2. Include Manager Cards - I don't understand why these disappeared. So, they should come back. Just cause.
3. No more SPs or variations - I saw a post on the FCB Forums a few days ago and it stated that Topps needs to do these SPs and variations (including the sparkle cards this year) to increase the value of the base level Topps for people who flip cards on eBay, who he claims to be the majority of collectors. Note to this guy-base level Topps is not meant to be flipped on eBay, I'm sorry. Oh BTW, these cards really have no reason to be in the product (no, flipping this stuff does not count in my book) and I feel it compromises the integrity of the product. No more legend variations, no more sparkles, no more airbrushed uniforms.
4. Bye-Bye Reprints - A redundant set from last year? Yup, needs to go. And the pre-Topps reprints, gone as well.
5. No more Manu-Crap - Commemorative Patches and that Glove Leather stuff is quite unnecessary. Either that or don't treat that stuff as a hit.
6. A Creative Insert - Most of the inserts look like they're rehashed from last year. How about a Team MVP insert, with each team's best player from the previous year. Or something similar to UD's Pure Heat insert. Something needs to change on that front.
7. Stick to simple Autos/Relics - Do we need jersey cards of Mantle and jumbo patches in base level Topps? No. Just keep it to simple jersey cards and autos to keep the price down.
And finally:
8. No more Cut Signatures - Save that stuff for a higher end product. Again, not needed in a product like this.
From what I've seen, Topps did a pretty good job with 2011 Series 1, but they should really make some changes. There are other products to satisfy Joe Collectors and card-flippers. Now, I still need to go bust some of this stuff...
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Million Card Giveaway Red Sox Junk
With some time, 20-something redemption cards, and a good chunk of trades, I have finally built, what I feel is
THE ULTIMATE HENCHMEISTER RED SOX MCG COLLECTION OF EVER!!!!1!!!
Ok, maybe not. But, still I feel it's a pretty cool set.
Brings back good memories when the Curse was finally laid to rest. Bellhorn was never a great player, but he made some key hits that year. He also frustrated the hell out of us fans, but that is by the way.
Moss has never become a big talent in the majors. But, he will always hold a special memory to me. In 2006, I attended Game 4 of the Eastern League Divisional Playoffs between the Trenton Thunder and the Portland Sea Dogs. In that game, Moss hit a walk-off home run in extra innings to seal the series and send Portland to the EL Championship Series, where they would win their first ever title. In addition, Hideki Matsui struck out for Trenton. I had a bit of a laugh to myself.
Question: Why Jeff Bailey? Answer: I own one of his game worn BP Jerseys from his time with Portland. I always wanted him to succeed in the majors for that reason. Alas, that is not the case.
Now to some better stuff:
How can you not like the Rem-Dawg? Maybe not the best player, but a damn good color commentator.
This just needed to happen.
One of my dad's favorite players when he was young. Took me a while to acquire one of these. And, for some reason, I just like the 1959 design. Might have to buy some 08 Heritage...
Besides the Jensen and the Lee cards, this might have been one card I sought after the most. I also believe that Piersall was another one of my dad's favorite players. Now, to complete the Red Sox outfield at that time, I need a Ted Williams card...that won't happen.
THE ULTIMATE HENCHMEISTER RED SOX MCG COLLECTION OF EVER!!!!1!!!
Ok, maybe not. But, still I feel it's a pretty cool set.
Brings back good memories when the Curse was finally laid to rest. Bellhorn was never a great player, but he made some key hits that year. He also frustrated the hell out of us fans, but that is by the way.
Moss has never become a big talent in the majors. But, he will always hold a special memory to me. In 2006, I attended Game 4 of the Eastern League Divisional Playoffs between the Trenton Thunder and the Portland Sea Dogs. In that game, Moss hit a walk-off home run in extra innings to seal the series and send Portland to the EL Championship Series, where they would win their first ever title. In addition, Hideki Matsui struck out for Trenton. I had a bit of a laugh to myself.
Question: Why Jeff Bailey? Answer: I own one of his game worn BP Jerseys from his time with Portland. I always wanted him to succeed in the majors for that reason. Alas, that is not the case.
Now to some better stuff:
How can you not like the Rem-Dawg? Maybe not the best player, but a damn good color commentator.
This just needed to happen.
One of my dad's favorite players when he was young. Took me a while to acquire one of these. And, for some reason, I just like the 1959 design. Might have to buy some 08 Heritage...
Besides the Jensen and the Lee cards, this might have been one card I sought after the most. I also believe that Piersall was another one of my dad's favorite players. Now, to complete the Red Sox outfield at that time, I need a Ted Williams card...that won't happen.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Where Did I Disappear To?
As you may have noticed, I've stopped posting since Adrian Gonzale became a part of the Red Sox. The question is, where did I go? Well, once I back after Thanksgiving, those things called finals started rolling around and I got swamped up in the mass amount of studying, paper writing, and test taking. Now, thankfully that's over, I've returned to Boston, and I need update and comment on some things.
1. Red Sox sign Carl Crawford and retool the bullpen
I can't say I was a massive supporter of the Crawford deal at the beginning of the offseason (I would've prefered Jayson Werth, but that's just me). But that doesn't mean that this is a bad signing for the Sox. This gives them a tremendous amount of speed, both in the field and on the base paths. Crawford has steadily turned himself into sort of a 5-tool player and I think he will continue to develop while he's in Boston. They also finally addressed the issues in the bullpen and signed Bobby Jenks, Dan Wheeler, and a bunch of other guys. Maybe they weren't the guys I originally thought of (my thoughts were Scott Downs or Matt Guerrier), but still these were good signings. If Papelbon implodes again, Jenks can close and Wheeler is excellent addition to Bard at the setup role. Combined, these two will hopefully do what most couldn't do last year, bridge the gap to Papelbon in the 9th.
2. YANKEE FAIL!
Cliff Lee was guaranteed to be a Yankee at the end of the season. Instead, he winds up in Philly. They can't get any of the big name free agents. And their big signings are Russell Martin and Mark Prior. 1 word: FAIL! I feel that sums it up.
3. Topps Fail
Bowman Platinum is keeping them on the streak of "we doesn't gives a shat about quality control". I plan on buying a blaster once I return to Ohio, but from what I've seen (and what most have seen), it looks like shat. Just another product they were banking on with Stras-JO! In addition, Topps has released images for next year's Gypsy Queen Baseball. Excuse me, but Gyspy Queen baseball? First, hell of a creepy name. Second, the previews have shown that there is nothing attractive about this set. Third, more retro? THERE IS NO NEED FOR MORE RETRO! Bring back good Stadium Club, Topps Total, anything but more barage of retro sets!
That's all I need to comment on. I busted a box of Score Hockey over 2 weeks ago and I really need to post that. And, I've been trying to refrain from buying wax, but a box of Updates for 30 bucks is really clawing at me.
Back to Christmas shopping...
In addition: I've started to sell my unwanted cards on eBay because I'd like some extra money for the shopping season. So far, I've sold only 3 items, and 2 of them haven't made me a lot of money: a Bob Gibson fake patch and a Pablo Sandoval Game Jersey. One of the items did bring me in a good deal of money: a Starlin Castro Autograph from Topps Chrome. I bought 1 pack for 3 bucks and sold the card for almost 15 bucks. Talk about good return on investment! I'll be listing some more cards on the Bay in the next couple of days, nothing special, just some junky hits. My profile is panam382, so check it out!
1. Red Sox sign Carl Crawford and retool the bullpen
I can't say I was a massive supporter of the Crawford deal at the beginning of the offseason (I would've prefered Jayson Werth, but that's just me). But that doesn't mean that this is a bad signing for the Sox. This gives them a tremendous amount of speed, both in the field and on the base paths. Crawford has steadily turned himself into sort of a 5-tool player and I think he will continue to develop while he's in Boston. They also finally addressed the issues in the bullpen and signed Bobby Jenks, Dan Wheeler, and a bunch of other guys. Maybe they weren't the guys I originally thought of (my thoughts were Scott Downs or Matt Guerrier), but still these were good signings. If Papelbon implodes again, Jenks can close and Wheeler is excellent addition to Bard at the setup role. Combined, these two will hopefully do what most couldn't do last year, bridge the gap to Papelbon in the 9th.
2. YANKEE FAIL!
Cliff Lee was guaranteed to be a Yankee at the end of the season. Instead, he winds up in Philly. They can't get any of the big name free agents. And their big signings are Russell Martin and Mark Prior. 1 word: FAIL! I feel that sums it up.
3. Topps Fail
Bowman Platinum is keeping them on the streak of "we doesn't gives a shat about quality control". I plan on buying a blaster once I return to Ohio, but from what I've seen (and what most have seen), it looks like shat. Just another product they were banking on with Stras-JO! In addition, Topps has released images for next year's Gypsy Queen Baseball. Excuse me, but Gyspy Queen baseball? First, hell of a creepy name. Second, the previews have shown that there is nothing attractive about this set. Third, more retro? THERE IS NO NEED FOR MORE RETRO! Bring back good Stadium Club, Topps Total, anything but more barage of retro sets!
That's all I need to comment on. I busted a box of Score Hockey over 2 weeks ago and I really need to post that. And, I've been trying to refrain from buying wax, but a box of Updates for 30 bucks is really clawing at me.
Back to Christmas shopping...
In addition: I've started to sell my unwanted cards on eBay because I'd like some extra money for the shopping season. So far, I've sold only 3 items, and 2 of them haven't made me a lot of money: a Bob Gibson fake patch and a Pablo Sandoval Game Jersey. One of the items did bring me in a good deal of money: a Starlin Castro Autograph from Topps Chrome. I bought 1 pack for 3 bucks and sold the card for almost 15 bucks. Talk about good return on investment! I'll be listing some more cards on the Bay in the next couple of days, nothing special, just some junky hits. My profile is panam382, so check it out!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Box Break: 2010 Topps Update
This box break started off about as well as it could go, and then slowly went downhill.
The pulls:
Base Set
184 out of 330 (55.7%)
66 Doubles
7 Triples
1 Quintuple (Jason Bay)
8 Gold Cards #'d to 2010
1 Stephen Strasburg Rookie (Card 661)
Inserts:
36 Topps Attax Code Cards
13 Cards Yo Momma Threw Out (2 doubles)
8 Turkey Reds
9 Stupid Vintage Legends (1 double)
5 Tales of the Game
2 Legendary Lineage
4 Peak Performance
10 MCG Code Cards
Hits:
Box Loader Rookie Chrome Refractor - Stephen Strasburg
Big Mojo Hit!!!!!1!!!1 - Robinson Cano All Star Game Jersey *groan*
Stephen Strasburg Cards Pulled - 7
Review:
You can't say Topps Updates is a terrible product. You can get an excellent selection of rookie cards in the set, some of whom will pan out and be worth a decent amount of money. Yes, this was the Stephen Strasburg hot box, right out of the gate even with the boxloader. The checklist for the boxloaders is pretty good, and there are decent odds you'll find something good. The regular checklist is the usual for Updates: rookies, traded players, and All Stars, nothing new or different here. The inserts are mostly all the same from Series 1 and 2, also nothing new here. For what you can and do get, it is what it is.
All that being said, the originality of Updates, quite frankly, sucks. I was kind of hoping for something different and original for an insert out of Updates, like with the propaganda posters in last year's set. Instead, it was just more Tales of the Game cards (I'm so happy with that). I'm not great with original ideas, and clearly neither is Topps, but some type of insert needed to be interesting. And can we all agree that the Vintage Legends need to go away? I think so. On another note, the "stamping" of the serial numbers on the gold cards looks even cheaper and worse than it did before in Series 1 and 2. It's still printed on, but the font looks even cheaper than before and looks sloppy, for lack of a better word.
Finally, and Topps you better be reading and fixing this, your quality control sucks. I'm going to be blunt with that. This is your flagship brand, make it a quality product, not this $48 worth of fail I just opened. Ok, so I pulled 7 Stephen Strasburg cards of various types and got my Ryan Kalish Rookie, so it wasn't all fail. But I for one want something more than Stephen Strasburg's galore in a box. I pulled 66 doubles, 7 triples, and 1 quintuple out of this box. 66 DOUBLES FOR GOD'S SAKE! This is just purely inexcusable; I got short-changed 20% of the base set. And, yes I did like Jason Bay during his time in Boston, but I do not want 5 of his cards in one box, and neither does anyone else. And, it wasn't just the base set, I pulled doubles of a few inserts. And it doesn't stop there, I got short changed out of a pack and instead of pulling 10 cards, I pulled 7.
Topps, do you actually give a crap that your quality control sucks this much? Diamond cutting T-206 cards, not following through on the promised hits, poor (and that's an understatement) coalition, not putting the right amount of cards in a pack, does that not mean anything? Are you realizing that people are getting fed up and pissed off about this? Have you just rolled over and given up? Is it just me, or did Upper Deck, who doesn't even have a baseball license, make the best product this year in terms of quality? Does that mean that you really deserve that exclusive license? I'm starting to question that. So, Topps, do what's best for you and start cleaning up your act and giving a crap about your product and the work that goes into making it, and that includes not putting 66 doubles in a box.
In any matter, this is Topps Updates. While this box was a fail, that does not that every box is a fail. I would still say this product is Hench Approved; it should be somewhat unusual to find 66 doubles in a box. This box, on the other hand, is Not Hench Approved, Stras-Jo, Ryan Kalish, and all.
Another thing, the hit was Yankee, Robinson Cano All Star Game Jersey Card, there-by making this box break much worse. As you know, it is for trade, preferably for a Red Sox relic or auto.
The pulls:
Base Set
184 out of 330 (55.7%)
66 Doubles
7 Triples
1 Quintuple (Jason Bay)
8 Gold Cards #'d to 2010
1 Stephen Strasburg Rookie (Card 661)
Inserts:
36 Topps Attax Code Cards
13 Cards Yo Momma Threw Out (2 doubles)
8 Turkey Reds
9 Stupid Vintage Legends (1 double)
5 Tales of the Game
2 Legendary Lineage
4 Peak Performance
10 MCG Code Cards
Hits:
Box Loader Rookie Chrome Refractor - Stephen Strasburg
Big Mojo Hit!!!!!1!!!1 - Robinson Cano All Star Game Jersey *groan*
Stephen Strasburg Cards Pulled - 7
Review:
You can't say Topps Updates is a terrible product. You can get an excellent selection of rookie cards in the set, some of whom will pan out and be worth a decent amount of money. Yes, this was the Stephen Strasburg hot box, right out of the gate even with the boxloader. The checklist for the boxloaders is pretty good, and there are decent odds you'll find something good. The regular checklist is the usual for Updates: rookies, traded players, and All Stars, nothing new or different here. The inserts are mostly all the same from Series 1 and 2, also nothing new here. For what you can and do get, it is what it is.
All that being said, the originality of Updates, quite frankly, sucks. I was kind of hoping for something different and original for an insert out of Updates, like with the propaganda posters in last year's set. Instead, it was just more Tales of the Game cards (I'm so happy with that). I'm not great with original ideas, and clearly neither is Topps, but some type of insert needed to be interesting. And can we all agree that the Vintage Legends need to go away? I think so. On another note, the "stamping" of the serial numbers on the gold cards looks even cheaper and worse than it did before in Series 1 and 2. It's still printed on, but the font looks even cheaper than before and looks sloppy, for lack of a better word.
Finally, and Topps you better be reading and fixing this, your quality control sucks. I'm going to be blunt with that. This is your flagship brand, make it a quality product, not this $48 worth of fail I just opened. Ok, so I pulled 7 Stephen Strasburg cards of various types and got my Ryan Kalish Rookie, so it wasn't all fail. But I for one want something more than Stephen Strasburg's galore in a box. I pulled 66 doubles, 7 triples, and 1 quintuple out of this box. 66 DOUBLES FOR GOD'S SAKE! This is just purely inexcusable; I got short-changed 20% of the base set. And, yes I did like Jason Bay during his time in Boston, but I do not want 5 of his cards in one box, and neither does anyone else. And, it wasn't just the base set, I pulled doubles of a few inserts. And it doesn't stop there, I got short changed out of a pack and instead of pulling 10 cards, I pulled 7.
Topps, do you actually give a crap that your quality control sucks this much? Diamond cutting T-206 cards, not following through on the promised hits, poor (and that's an understatement) coalition, not putting the right amount of cards in a pack, does that not mean anything? Are you realizing that people are getting fed up and pissed off about this? Have you just rolled over and given up? Is it just me, or did Upper Deck, who doesn't even have a baseball license, make the best product this year in terms of quality? Does that mean that you really deserve that exclusive license? I'm starting to question that. So, Topps, do what's best for you and start cleaning up your act and giving a crap about your product and the work that goes into making it, and that includes not putting 66 doubles in a box.
In any matter, this is Topps Updates. While this box was a fail, that does not that every box is a fail. I would still say this product is Hench Approved; it should be somewhat unusual to find 66 doubles in a box. This box, on the other hand, is Not Hench Approved, Stras-Jo, Ryan Kalish, and all.
Another thing, the hit was Yankee, Robinson Cano All Star Game Jersey Card, there-by making this box break much worse. As you know, it is for trade, preferably for a Red Sox relic or auto.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Oh Lookie: 2011 Topps
Again? The same Albert Pujols card? By now, you've probably seen this. I think it's an upgrade to the 2010 design. But, it feels like they've rehashed the same design concept for the past 4 years. Maybe a black-border, like the 2007 design, or blue like in 2003. Maybe the border should change based on the team...or not. I don't know. Something just needs to change. Opinions?
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Blaster Break - 2010 Topps Series 2
I loves me some college!
I'm sorry, but there is: a. No purpose for the 2 packs of black-bordered cards, and b. No purpose for the stupid one-per-blaster manufactured patch card. NOTE TO TOPPS: I'd rather have 2 more packs of base cards than two packs of black-bordered bullshit.
I'm sorry, but there is: a. No purpose for the 2 packs of black-bordered cards, and b. No purpose for the stupid one-per-blaster manufactured patch card. NOTE TO TOPPS: I'd rather have 2 more packs of base cards than two packs of black-bordered bullshit.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Well Finally! - 2010 Heritage Video Pack Break
Wow, it took long enough to do. Now, to figure out how to embed this damn thing. I'm still figuring out the lay of the video stuff.
And, it worked. Yee-hah!
The pulls:
Buncha Base Cards
2 Short Prints
1 Dice Game Variation (Grady Sizemore; I didn't notice it until after the video when I was sorting the cards, so I apologize for the obliviousness.)
3 Chrome Parallels #'d to 1961 (Prince Fielder, Ian Kinsler, Neftali Feliz)
2 Ruth Chase Inserts (1 and 5)
1 Baseball Flashback (Luis Aparicio)
1 News Flashback (Berlin Wall)
More worth it than a box of last years Bowman? Maybe. I did pull 3 chrome cards (1 in 5 packs, for those who don't know) and a dice-game variation (1 in 3 box hit). But was it like ripping a wax box? No. Was it worth it, in general? I'd say so.
And, it worked. Yee-hah!
The pulls:
Buncha Base Cards
2 Short Prints
1 Dice Game Variation (Grady Sizemore; I didn't notice it until after the video when I was sorting the cards, so I apologize for the obliviousness.)
3 Chrome Parallels #'d to 1961 (Prince Fielder, Ian Kinsler, Neftali Feliz)
2 Ruth Chase Inserts (1 and 5)
1 Baseball Flashback (Luis Aparicio)
1 News Flashback (Berlin Wall)
More worth it than a box of last years Bowman? Maybe. I did pull 3 chrome cards (1 in 5 packs, for those who don't know) and a dice-game variation (1 in 3 box hit). But was it like ripping a wax box? No. Was it worth it, in general? I'd say so.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Late Pack Break: 1984 Topps
I did a video pack break a while ago of me ripping 4 packs of 1984 Topps. It looked like it went well, but it went over 10 minutes. So, the bastards at Youtube won't show it. But, it was a successful pack break. Now, to just remind myself I need to go faster when ripping these things.
The results: The packs yielded basically 112 cards (that's 28 cards per pack if you can't do math) and four sticks of gum that have turned into bricks. Out of those 112 cards, I pulled 4 hall of famers: Ryne Sandberg, Phil Niekro, Steve Carlton, and Tom Seaver. I also pulled 2 All Star cards of George Brett and Ozzie Smith (another 2 hall of famers). And, I got a Dwight Evans.
DEWEY-JO!!!
In my opinion: successful. 16 bucks for 112 cards is still a better value than today's Topps products. Maybe that just means they're not worth a lick anymore. But, do I care..........no.
The results: The packs yielded basically 112 cards (that's 28 cards per pack if you can't do math) and four sticks of gum that have turned into bricks. Out of those 112 cards, I pulled 4 hall of famers: Ryne Sandberg, Phil Niekro, Steve Carlton, and Tom Seaver. I also pulled 2 All Star cards of George Brett and Ozzie Smith (another 2 hall of famers). And, I got a Dwight Evans.
DEWEY-JO!!!
In my opinion: successful. 16 bucks for 112 cards is still a better value than today's Topps products. Maybe that just means they're not worth a lick anymore. But, do I care..........no.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
8 Packs in Cooperstown
Cooperstown is a little village that is completely and utterly dedicated to baseball. So, what do I do when I make my return there (yes, my first visit was in 03)? I find a card shop. And, I went into 5 or 6 places before I could find a place that sold a decent amount of wax. There were places that sold retail packs of crap, but nothing worth buying by any means. I think it was called On Deck Circle, or something like that. But, they had plenty of wax, including packs from the early 2000s for which I am a complete sucker to. So, for 20 bucks, here's what I bought:
2009 Heritage
2002 Topps Series 2 (2)
2000 Topps (4)
2000 Bowman
A bag of crap (free)
2009 Heritage brought forth not a lot, except for a Papelbon base card and a flashback of Frank Robinson. The only notable card I pulled from 02 Series 2 was a Junior Griffey, other than that....not much. 2000 Bowman was confusing as hell, but I did pull a Berkman, a Bagwell, a Smoltz, and a Jayson Werth, which I'm pretty sure is a prospect card. The bag of crap was just that. 2000 Topps was definatly the highlight. Pulled a Big Mac, not saying much, but I still like it. So, I give you now, the semi mojo pack (no big hits, but hall of famers, sticking with the Cooperstown theme):
Bret Saberhagen (12)
Dave Martinez (161)
Mike Morgan (195)
Andy Sheets (149)
Cal Ripken (4)
David Justice (66)
John Smoltz (125)
Greg Vaughn (113)
Frank Thomas (55)
Felipe Lopez, Pablo Ozuna, Alfonso Soriano Prospects Card (203)
Garret Anderson (97)
A Checklist
20 Bucks worth of wax, completely worth it.
Note: Stay tuned for a Railfan Report tonight, whenever I feel like posting it.
2009 Heritage
2002 Topps Series 2 (2)
2000 Topps (4)
2000 Bowman
A bag of crap (free)
2009 Heritage brought forth not a lot, except for a Papelbon base card and a flashback of Frank Robinson. The only notable card I pulled from 02 Series 2 was a Junior Griffey, other than that....not much. 2000 Bowman was confusing as hell, but I did pull a Berkman, a Bagwell, a Smoltz, and a Jayson Werth, which I'm pretty sure is a prospect card. The bag of crap was just that. 2000 Topps was definatly the highlight. Pulled a Big Mac, not saying much, but I still like it. So, I give you now, the semi mojo pack (no big hits, but hall of famers, sticking with the Cooperstown theme):
Bret Saberhagen (12)
Dave Martinez (161)
Mike Morgan (195)
Andy Sheets (149)
Cal Ripken (4)
David Justice (66)
John Smoltz (125)
Greg Vaughn (113)
Frank Thomas (55)
Felipe Lopez, Pablo Ozuna, Alfonso Soriano Prospects Card (203)
Garret Anderson (97)
A Checklist
20 Bucks worth of wax, completely worth it.
Note: Stay tuned for a Railfan Report tonight, whenever I feel like posting it.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Series 2 Pack Break
I bought the Blaster Box equivalent of packs yesterday at Kenmore Collectibles for 16 bucks (good place, by the way; check 'em out). A blaster box costs about 20 bucks. Would you say the manufactured patch card is worth the 4 extra bucks? Yeah, didn't think so. I was going to do an on location pack break, but the rain is holding me in since, well, photos on a day like today are shit. So, I proceeded to rip them here.
Whats I gots:
55 Base Cards (I know, yawn)
1 Gold Parallel #'d to 2010 (Evan Longoria)
4 Legendary Lineage Cards (I don't know how that happened, you're guaranteed 2 in 8 packs and I got 4)
1 Card Yo Momma Threw Out (Al Kaline '54, also guaranteed 2 or 3 and I somehow got 1)
1 Original Back (Duke Snider '57)
2 History of the World Series ('26 Babe Ruth, '61 Yogi Berra)
1 Peak Performance (Aaron Hill)
1 Turkey Red (Adam Dunn)
2 Vintage Legends (Babe Ruth, Ozzie Smith)
2 Team 2020 (Clayton Kershaw, Matt Kemp, Dodger-JO)
2 MCG Redemption Cards
8 Topps Attax Cards
Not bad for 16 bucks worth of wax (actually 20, since I bought a pack of '09 Heritage High Numbers and '08 Updates and Highlights). I'm still trying to figure out how I pulled 4 Legendary Lineage Cards, but I guess it makes up for the stuff I got technically screwed out of. I like the product, but I feel as a lot of people feel, WAY TOO MANY INSERTS. As I've said before, I don't like inserts very much. Some of them I don't mind, like the Cards Yo Momma Threw Out and Team 2020 (really loving those cards). But, the Vintage Legends can go away. I didn't really mind the Ozzie Smith of 1989 in the 1969 style because it didn't look that out of place. However, 1919 Babe Ruth on the 1999 template is completely out of place. I don't mind cards if they look halfway decent, but seriously, 1919 Babe Ruth on a card made 80 years later? Where's Charles Barkley when you need him? And, can we please go back to ToppsTown Cards instead of ToppsAttaxTown Cards? I know Topps trying to market the shit out of this product, but I don't want cards from a game that sounds like it takes you about 5 minutes to play. All in all though, it's still a pretty good product.
Whats I gots:
55 Base Cards (I know, yawn)
1 Gold Parallel #'d to 2010 (Evan Longoria)
4 Legendary Lineage Cards (I don't know how that happened, you're guaranteed 2 in 8 packs and I got 4)
1 Card Yo Momma Threw Out (Al Kaline '54, also guaranteed 2 or 3 and I somehow got 1)
1 Original Back (Duke Snider '57)
2 History of the World Series ('26 Babe Ruth, '61 Yogi Berra)
1 Peak Performance (Aaron Hill)
1 Turkey Red (Adam Dunn)
2 Vintage Legends (Babe Ruth, Ozzie Smith)
2 Team 2020 (Clayton Kershaw, Matt Kemp, Dodger-JO)
2 MCG Redemption Cards
8 Topps Attax Cards
Not bad for 16 bucks worth of wax (actually 20, since I bought a pack of '09 Heritage High Numbers and '08 Updates and Highlights). I'm still trying to figure out how I pulled 4 Legendary Lineage Cards, but I guess it makes up for the stuff I got technically screwed out of. I like the product, but I feel as a lot of people feel, WAY TOO MANY INSERTS. As I've said before, I don't like inserts very much. Some of them I don't mind, like the Cards Yo Momma Threw Out and Team 2020 (really loving those cards). But, the Vintage Legends can go away. I didn't really mind the Ozzie Smith of 1989 in the 1969 style because it didn't look that out of place. However, 1919 Babe Ruth on the 1999 template is completely out of place. I don't mind cards if they look halfway decent, but seriously, 1919 Babe Ruth on a card made 80 years later? Where's Charles Barkley when you need him? And, can we please go back to ToppsTown Cards instead of ToppsAttaxTown Cards? I know Topps trying to market the shit out of this product, but I don't want cards from a game that sounds like it takes you about 5 minutes to play. All in all though, it's still a pretty good product.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Box Ownage: 2002 Topps Series 1
So, I decided not to go railfanning and sleep in, because sleeping is always good. That nice package that came in the mail yesterday was that box of 2002 Topps Series 1 Baseball, and it didn't take long to get here. So, in celebration of graduating from high school later on today, I ripped it to pieces. I'll get to what I got first then I'll give an opinion of some sort.
What I got:
Base Set - 341 of 364 cards (93.7%), 2 doubles
Parallels: Gold Parallel of Livan Hernandez numbered to 2002
Inserts:
36 (1 per pack) Logo Race Baseabll Cap Cards (Each Division)
4 Ticket to History Promotion Cards: Games 1, 2, 6, & 7
4 Logo Sticker Cards: A's, Tigers, Marlins, and Astros
4 Own the Game: Mike Sweeney, Rich Aurilia, Curt Schilling, and Roger Clemens
2 Ring Masters: Roberto Alomar and Paul O'Neill
1 Hobby Master: Barry Bonds
1 East Meets West: Hideki Irabu and Masanori Murakami
2 1952 World Series Highlights: Game 1 and Game 3
2 1952 Reprints: Allie Reynolds and Roy Campanella
The Big Hit: Team Topps Mickey Lolich On Card Autograph of 1964 Buyback card
All in all, a very good day with the pulls. I got one more than the guranteed Own the Game Card, plus two Ring Masters and two '52 reprints (one more than the guaranteed). Plus, I pulled that big hit. I wanted another parallel, but I'll live with it (1 in 19 packs). Now, unfortuantely, the cards stuck together in the packs. So, I had to sometimes pull them apart causing either 1 or both cards to become damaged. I have no plans to sell these cards, so I can deal with it.
Breaking these packs maybe wasn't exactly the same as 8 years ago, but I feel like I appreciate it a lot more than I did back then. The base set is very easy to collect, since there aren't many inserts (same can't be said of 2010 Topps). Plus, I don't like a lot of inserts. I am also very close to collecting the base set, which was pretty easy to do seeing as I pulled 93 percent of the base set. Alright, I got to go get ready to get the hell out of high school forever. I'm out.
What I got:
Base Set - 341 of 364 cards (93.7%), 2 doubles
Parallels: Gold Parallel of Livan Hernandez numbered to 2002
Inserts:
36 (1 per pack) Logo Race Baseabll Cap Cards (Each Division)
4 Ticket to History Promotion Cards: Games 1, 2, 6, & 7
4 Logo Sticker Cards: A's, Tigers, Marlins, and Astros
4 Own the Game: Mike Sweeney, Rich Aurilia, Curt Schilling, and Roger Clemens
2 Ring Masters: Roberto Alomar and Paul O'Neill
1 Hobby Master: Barry Bonds
1 East Meets West: Hideki Irabu and Masanori Murakami
2 1952 World Series Highlights: Game 1 and Game 3
2 1952 Reprints: Allie Reynolds and Roy Campanella
The Big Hit: Team Topps Mickey Lolich On Card Autograph of 1964 Buyback card
All in all, a very good day with the pulls. I got one more than the guranteed Own the Game Card, plus two Ring Masters and two '52 reprints (one more than the guaranteed). Plus, I pulled that big hit. I wanted another parallel, but I'll live with it (1 in 19 packs). Now, unfortuantely, the cards stuck together in the packs. So, I had to sometimes pull them apart causing either 1 or both cards to become damaged. I have no plans to sell these cards, so I can deal with it.
Breaking these packs maybe wasn't exactly the same as 8 years ago, but I feel like I appreciate it a lot more than I did back then. The base set is very easy to collect, since there aren't many inserts (same can't be said of 2010 Topps). Plus, I don't like a lot of inserts. I am also very close to collecting the base set, which was pretty easy to do seeing as I pulled 93 percent of the base set. Alright, I got to go get ready to get the hell out of high school forever. I'm out.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Pack Shredage
I went into Boston today to buy some packs that I figured I'd rip while railfanning tomorrow. Instead, I received a nice package in the mail today that I will bust tomorrow. So, it will a nice railfan-box break combo post on the morrow. Yeehah!
So, I decided to rip the packs today. Here's what I bought:
4 packs of 2009 O-Pee-Chee Baseball (6 cards/pack, 99 cents a pack so I stocked up)
1 hobby pack of 2010 Upper Deck (20 cards/pack)
1 pack of 2010 Topps Series 1 (10 cards/pack)
2 packs of 2010 Topps Series 2 (same as S1)
1 pack of 2010 Topps Heritage (8 cards/pack
1 pack of 2009 Allen & Ginter (8 cards/pack)
So, 90 cards for 27 bucks. So, here went the rippage.
The Pulls:
'09 OPC:
19 Base Cards
4 Black Parallels (one per pack)
1 2008 Highlights and Milestones Insert (Kelly Shoppach)
'10 UD Baseball
16 Base Cards
2 Bio Cards (Andres Torres, Kenshin Kawakami)
1 Celebrity Predictor Card (which is stupid, may I add)
Gold Parallel Card numbered to 99 of Jose Bautista (yeah for AL Leader in homers!)
'10 Topps S1
6 Base Cards
1 Turkey Red (Ryan Braun)
1 Card Yo Momma Threw Out (Roger Maris '61)
1 Toppstown Card (Vlad)
'10 Topps Heritage
7 Base Cards
1 Then & Now Insert (Whitey Ford and King Felix)
'10 Topps S2
11 Base Cards
2 Cards Yo Momma Threw Out (Brooks Robinson '61, Ryan Zimmerman '08)
1 Peak Performance (Hunter Pence)
1 Turkey Red (Raul Ibanez)
1 Redemption Card for a Peak Performance Relic of Pablo Sandoval (Some damn good mojo for a 1 in 49 pack pull)
'09 A&G
6 Base Cards
1 Mini (Mark Teixeira)
1 Nat'l Pride Insert (Erik Bedard)
1 Crack the Code Insert (...yay?)
When you pull a parallel numbered to 99 and a 1 in 49 pack hit in the same day, you're having a good day. The Mojo Gods were on my side today, for once it seems like. So, thumbs up for 27 bucks worth of wax!
So, I decided to rip the packs today. Here's what I bought:
4 packs of 2009 O-Pee-Chee Baseball (6 cards/pack, 99 cents a pack so I stocked up)
1 hobby pack of 2010 Upper Deck (20 cards/pack)
1 pack of 2010 Topps Series 1 (10 cards/pack)
2 packs of 2010 Topps Series 2 (same as S1)
1 pack of 2010 Topps Heritage (8 cards/pack
1 pack of 2009 Allen & Ginter (8 cards/pack)
So, 90 cards for 27 bucks. So, here went the rippage.
The Pulls:
'09 OPC:
19 Base Cards
4 Black Parallels (one per pack)
1 2008 Highlights and Milestones Insert (Kelly Shoppach)
'10 UD Baseball
16 Base Cards
2 Bio Cards (Andres Torres, Kenshin Kawakami)
1 Celebrity Predictor Card (which is stupid, may I add)
Gold Parallel Card numbered to 99 of Jose Bautista (yeah for AL Leader in homers!)
'10 Topps S1
6 Base Cards
1 Turkey Red (Ryan Braun)
1 Card Yo Momma Threw Out (Roger Maris '61)
1 Toppstown Card (Vlad)
'10 Topps Heritage
7 Base Cards
1 Then & Now Insert (Whitey Ford and King Felix)
'10 Topps S2
11 Base Cards
2 Cards Yo Momma Threw Out (Brooks Robinson '61, Ryan Zimmerman '08)
1 Peak Performance (Hunter Pence)
1 Turkey Red (Raul Ibanez)
1 Redemption Card for a Peak Performance Relic of Pablo Sandoval (Some damn good mojo for a 1 in 49 pack pull)
'09 A&G
6 Base Cards
1 Mini (Mark Teixeira)
1 Nat'l Pride Insert (Erik Bedard)
1 Crack the Code Insert (...yay?)
When you pull a parallel numbered to 99 and a 1 in 49 pack hit in the same day, you're having a good day. The Mojo Gods were on my side today, for once it seems like. So, thumbs up for 27 bucks worth of wax!
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