A long time coming ...

for a new post that is. Man, I have been swamped at work lately, add freelancing, coaching baseball, and an hour plus commute, and by the time I sit down, I'm able to catch a couple of innings of the Sox or MLB Network and I'm cooked.

So, I made it a point to do two things today, finally get some posts up, schedule some others, and go to the LCS. LCS was a success as I managed to add 100 Allen & Ginter minis from 2006–2010 for 10 bucks and also picked up two cool vintage cards for almost nothing. Will try to get scans of this stuff up before the weekend is out.

So, first up, I gotta recap some trades I have been able to make over the last two months.

First up, a great trade with Crinkly Wrappers, a trade that stemmed from this post. CW needed the 1975 Topps Munson and had a 1975 Topps Palmer that I needed for my 1975 Topps Wantlist. The trade turned into a bigger affair and the end result was two happy bloggers.

First up, the '75 Palmer that I needed for my set.

From this Palmer, Ted hit a number of spots on my needs list. He was able to knock three cards off my 2010 Heritage set as well as knocking Chris Woodward off my All-Time Red Sox Roster collection.

Next up, a bunch of 2009 Topps Heritage, including a couple of short prints. One of these days I finish this set ... always amazed at how few of those coaches cards ever cross my path.

Next up, some Allen & Ginter minis ...

And how about that 2010 Celestial Sign of Vladi!!!! This is the second one I have obtained via trade and in both cases (the other a Longoria), I had no idea it was coming. Truly a a great surprise!!!!

Next up, some T206 minis for my "Frankenstein" T206 set as well as a couple of 2009 Goodwin minis. I still need to post my needs list for the Goodwins set, I don't think I'm too far off.

And finally, some good 'ol Red Sox cards ...

Thanks again Ted, hope to trade again!!

* * * * * * *

On a side note before I forget, and forgive me if someone else posted as such, but I purchased a 2011 Topps Series 2 blaster box from Target and I swear that color and the photography is off compared to my Series 1 cards. As a designer, I can't get past how the blacks are not as strong and the grass doesn't seem as green. For example (and a scan would have been appropriate here) but I compared an Oakland A's card from each series and the green is off in the name arc and the same green uniform is TWO different shades. There's almost a dullness to the fronts. Anyone else come across the same issue? 

Oh, and no real big hits, I think my two best cards were a Kimball Champion mini of Koufax and Musial, no complaints there.

Card Show Finds

So recently I was down at the in-laws in Connecticut and lucked out in finding a card show at the local K of C hall. I had been to a couple of these over the years but hadn't been to a card show period in I bet TWO years. Going in I was hoping maybe for the dime/quarter boxes everyone talks about, maybe come away with some Allen & Ginter minis, basically, I was looking forward to an hour or so of "me" time.

So what did I find ...

After taking a walk around the room (there might have been 30–40 tables but I bet only 12 dealers if that), I stopped at one dealer and noticed he had some 2009 Topps Heritage. Thanks to this blog site, I was able to pull up my wantlists—now you gotta love that!!  Forget your wantlists, no problem—pull up the 'ol blog. So cross off four more cards off this set including a low-series short print Dice-K for a quarter!  Not sure what is more shocking, finding a SP for a quarter or Dice-K throwing a 5-pitch inning today. Sox fans know what I'm talking about on that one!

At the same table (but came back around near the end of the show) I decided to look throw two 400-count boxes that he had stacked and kinda behind so other boxes. The first was some 2011 Heritage. I'm still up in the air if I want to attempt this set. I still have a handful of '09 and '10 Heritage cards I need for those sets, including a bunch of SPs. And right now, my focus has been Ginter and trying to acquire cards of players that hold unique records or rare feats. So for forty cents apiece, here is what I found ...

So I managed to grab FIVE SPs including a Youkils, a Lester (so worst case if I don't collect this set, I have a couple of player collection cards) AND a GREEN TINT SP!!! Not bad for under $3.00!! I still have no idea, absolutely none whatsoever why Topps decided to place a number of Red Sox players under the backdrop of the Polo Grounds in New York.

While on this second go at this table, I also looked in a boxed that was titled something along the lines of non-sport, presidents, etc. I figured, he must have some Allen & Ginter minis in there ...

Not too many but any mini is a good mini. We have some National Animals, a 2008 World Icon, a couple of World Leaders, a Flag card (always a good find), and a couple of base minis. No complaints here.

I was kicking myself after the fact for a A&G mini I did not pick up. At another take, a dealer had a 2009 Verlander no-number that was hand numbered. The dealer gave me one price and then lowered it to $3.00, I should have taken it. Oh well, maybe it will be there next time.

Next up at another table was some 2009 Goodwin Champion minis. Getting closer on this set and it will be interesting to see how Upper Deck goes about the checklist for the 2011 edition. The most expensive card in this bunch was the Adrian Peterson at a buck.

Next up at one dealer was some 6 and 10 for buck boxes in which I fond some ...

Some Jon Lester's including the sweet 2009 OPC Highlights and Milestones from Jon's No-No for 2008 ... Some ...

Jason Varitek's, the Captain and still a pillar in the clubhouse. He did mighty well helping Josh Beckett get back on track over his last two starts ... and finally some more player collection cards ...

YYYYYYYYYYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUKKKKKKKK! Of this bunch I think my two fav's are the Goudey and the Heritage.

So all in all, I came away with a number of cards that covered a nice swath of needs. It was a small show but still worth it. I'd do it again as I know there were cards I left at various tables that would fill in some other needs. So with that, hopefully, I won't have to wait another two years to attend my next show.

Trade with SpastikMooss

So a a couple of weeks ago, SpastikMooss sent me a email about doing a trade. I always like reading 'Mooss's site, I'm the Great Sports Name Hall of Fame, I mean, who doesn't like the name Rusty Kuntz. Man, I would love to have that ball he's signing on his 1982 Topps card. In any case, if you haven't visited his site, check it out!!!!

So, going SpastikMooss' way will be a bunch of 1995 Topps Baseball and 1995 Topps Cyberstats along with some other cards he was looking for. And in return, below is a couple of shots of what I received.

The first image knocks off 3 cards from various wants. First up an OTW Missing 9 in the 2010 UD Rich Hill. Hill, a local kid from Milton (just south of Boston) appeared in a Red Sox uniform for 6 games at the end of the year. He picked up a win on September 14 at Seattle in his first Boston appearance. Next up is Juan Nieves, a member of the No Hitter Club. Nieves' no-hitter became the first ever thrown by a Puerto Rican in Major League Baseball. The feat was credited to Nieves, though was made possible by amazing outfield grabs by Jim Paciorek and finally by Robin Yount with 2 outs in the 9th inning. He was at the time, the second youngest to ever throw a no-hitter. And third in this shot is a 2009 Topps Heritage short print, #478 Troy Tulowitzki. Thanks to Mr. Tulowitzki's torrid August/September, I brought home a fantasy baseball championship in my long-standing head-to-head keeper league. No I face the decision of do I keep Tulowitzki or Robbie Cano, I am leaning towards Tulo as shortstop is void of big time talent.

Next up are a couple of shot of various Red Sox (there was a handful of 90's and 00's as well). A 1991 Fleer Update Mo "The Hit Dog" Vaughn, a 2004 Trading Day Fleer card of Nomah, and a Dustin Pedroia '09 Topps Chrome. Pedroia has a call in segment to the power house, sports talk radio station WEEI in Boston call the LaserShow. Do a search and I am sure to come across it—it's good for some laughs. He and manager are big cribbage players before games during the season.

And finally, some vintage 70's and 80's Topps Red Sox. I have always loved the 1980 Fisk, something about the catchers helmet on backwards, protector on, and looks like he may have just gunned someone down at second.

So thanks again SpastikMooss for the trade, hopefully one of more to come! It's great having the blog to finally be able to post these trades! The more, the merrier!

Looking ahead to Topps Heritage ...

So earlier this week I took a look over at Topps' 2011 base product, today, I will offer my thoughts on the 2011 Heritage offering.

The design, a classic, but design-wise, it probably came too late. The wood grain look would have been better served in 1958 –1960 (if not earlier) with the baseball moving to the left coast. In any case, it is a look that Topps repeated in 1987 with success.

Undoubtedly, this years version is sure to surpass last years '61 offering. I never minded the simplicity of the '61, but it's well known the look is not a favorite of many card bloggers.  I too like the nostalgia of the 1962, and will certainly try to pick up a couple of blasters and packs,  but not sure I will collect this years set.  While I like the '62, my favorite designs of the 1960's Topps were 1960, 1965, and 1967.  I just simply cannot collect everything and would rather put that money towards my 1972 and 1975 sets or this years 2011 Topps set (if it looks as great as we have seen in previews).

But, maybe my mind will change when I see the cards in person.  Looking at the original 1962 checklist and comparing to this years, there are a number of similarities in the checklist make up. For example, the Red Sox team cards both fall at #334, the ten Babe Ruth cards fall at 135–144, and the Rookie Parade cards have multiple players on them.  I looked a little deeper and noticed that the combo cards were slated for the same number slots in each set. Here is a look at the original versus the Heritage version:

Original 1962 ...
18 Manager's Dream (Mantle, Mays)
37 Tribe Hill Trio (Latman, Perry, Stigman)
72 Bob's Pupils (Boros, Scheffing, Wood)
127 Pride of the A's (Bauer, Lumpe, Siebern)
163 Hot Corner Guardians (Boyer, Gardner)
211 Midway Masters (Bolling, McMillan )
263 The Right Pitch (Jay, Purkey, Turner)
306 Redbird Rippers (Jackson, McDaniel)
351 Braves' Backstops (Crandall, Torre)
401 AL & NL Homer Kings (Maris, Cepeda)
423 Rival League Relief Aces (Face, Wilhelm)

and now my take on what the Heritage might offer...

18 Manager's Dream (Mantle, Mays)
37 Tribe Hill  (No offense to the Chief Wahoo fans out there, if there are any left, but Carmona, Masterson, Westbrook ...yikes!)
72 Bob's Pupils  (original had pitching coach, but no "Bob" with current Tigers staff, so ... Leyland or PC Rick Knapp ... Verlander and Max Scherzer)
127 Pride of the A's (Suzuki, Matsui, DeJesus?? Not gonna lie, but oooooffffffffff!)
163 Hot Corner Guardians (Arod/Wright ... Original had two Yankees)
211 Midway Masters (original was Milwaukee Braves ... Alex Gonzalez and Uggla? ... maybe Brewers to tie into Milwaukee theme but then Betancourt and Weeks)
263 The Right Pitch (Dusty Baker or PC Bryan Price with Arroyo and Cuetto ... Travis Wood?)
306 Redbird Rippers (Wainright and Carpenter or Pujols and Holiday? Both good options but think Topps will stay true and do the two pitchers)
351 Braves' Backstops (McCann and David Ross)
401 TBD Combo  (if Al/NL Homer Kings, Jose Bautista and Pujols)
423 Rival League Relief Aces  (how about Mariano and Brian Wilson ... Soriano led the AL last year, but right now he is a set up guy for the Yanks. Other thought was Wilson and Neftali Feliz)

As a whole, the set make up looks like this:

• 500 Total Cards
  425 Regular Player Cards
  6 World Series Highlights
  11 Combo Cards
  4 League Leaders
  24 Sporting News All-Stars
  18 Team Cards
  8 Rookie Parade
  9 In Action Cards
  Babe Ruth
• 75 Short Printed High Number Cards

So there you have my take on this years Heritage. Topps never seems to fail on this product line, and don't think they will start this year.  Right now, release date is tentatively March 17, 2011.