Monday, February 18, 2019

Cause All The Cool Blogs Do It

Almost every blog reviews their first pack of flagship.  I don't know that I ever have, even back when I posted twice a day but I'm too lazy to go back and look.  Heck I'm doing good to even get something posted at all.  I know I did a Heritage review one time.  Since it is a staple of blogging I thought I would give it a try. 

The problem is my first pack sucked!!!  Yes I got a sparkly JD Martinez card (rainbow foil maybe??) but the rest was soo... bleh.  So I'm just doing a one card review.  The first card I pulled. 

2019 Topps #111 Reynaldo Lopez
And Yuck!!  The smoke is back.  These cards remind me so much of 2016 with their smokey effect that I hate them as soon as I saw them online.  The little bit of square dots on the left that fade into the picture and the white part behind the name that Reynaldo's leg fades into is horrible.  They should be full bleed on the top and down one side and fully bordered on the bottom and right; while that white fade thing should just be white. 

2019 Topps #63 Jake Odorizzi
Wait, that's not the same card you say?  You are correct.  But I said I was reviewing the first card I pulled and I couldn't figure out which was first.  See Lopez was at the top of the stack but when I opened the pack the back of Jake's card was peering out at me.  So I figured Lopez was first because he was on top but I should use Jake for the back since it was the first card I saw.  The back is sooo much better than the front.  Full stats, one little blurb, and even his Twitter info for all the young kids. (who don't buy cards but that is a different discussion)  The one improvement I would make to the back is where it says Series I under the card number I would change it to 2019 Topps Series I.  And do the same thing for all the other card sets that come out during the year so that when I'm sorting cards my old ass eyes don't have to try to make out that little tiny date at the bottom. 

Okay, two improvements.  No matter how many stats are on a card they all have the same 1/8" of nothing at the bottom.  Everything should be scooted down 3/32" of an inch and middle all be made a bit bigger.  There is only 2.5" to use why not use it all.

In all this is the 3rd worst design on the 2010s.  (which means it will probably fall somewhere between 5th and 10th worst of all time. 

My favorites from best to worst for the last 10 years:

2011
2014
2018
2017
2010
2013
2012
2019
2016
2015

Saturday, February 2, 2019

Long Delayed Post - Cards From Saints of the Cheap Seats



So on my Blogger Dashboard I found a button that says Drafts.  I don't have any posts started but it shows 4 posts in there.  The oldest one is from 3/8/2009.  Yes folks this post was almost 10 years in the making. 

Evidently Saints of the Cheap Seats and I traded cards 10 years ago.  It looks like Dan has been away from blogging since 2013.


I had no words saved drafted just a few pictures of cards.  Or parts of cards. 



The answer is shocking!  I moved it to the bottom of the post so you have to read or at least scroll down to see it.



When I lived in Missouri I worked with a guy named Jerry.  His son was Bill Mueller's college roommate.  Jerry and his some were supposed to go to game 5 of the 2004 World Series. 




Johnny here was a big reason that there was no game 5.  His HR on the very first pitch of Game 4 was the Cardinals back breaker. 


I'm pretty sure the no team has had nine double headers in a year for two decades not to mention nine in a row.  Talk about a tax on the bullpen. 

Friday, February 1, 2019

Down The Night Owl's Rabbit Hole

I love/have Wikipedia.  Yeah I know it's shortcomings but it is great for looking something up real quick.  And lets be honest I'm not writing any term papers in the next... I don't know, EVER!  But it's real shortcoming is that is is a back hole just waiting to suck me in.

Who was that Tex actor on Last Ship?

Go to Wikipedia.

Ah, there he is. Wow, he was in Deadwood.   Great Show.

Oh, that character was a real person.  All I have to do is click here and I can find out all about him.

And down the rabbit hole I go.

I love history and its so easy to just keep reading about more and more things.  Old West, Civil War, World War(s) I can get suck reading forever.


January is my busy time.  The worst month of the entire year.  I start each day at work with two quick reads Night Owl and Joe Posnanski.  It kind of paces me and keeps me from running to the day trying to slay dragons that are better left alone.  I have no time for dragons or rabbits in January.  Well in the dead of January I'm reading  this Night Owl post  and right in the middle he posts some 1976 Mail in Light Back Team cards.  Now I had never known these existed but I know that Virdon was featured on the 76 Astros Team card and I also know that I have a 1975 Mail In Light Back Team card.  Once I connected those dots I was down the rabbit hole.

After much research (made way longer because of the fact my Standard Catalog was at home and I was at work) I found out that Topps did the Mail In Team cards every year from 1975 to 1981 and I only had the 1975.  So I was off to eBay.



This is the 1977 Mail in card.  (I didn't buy the 1976 yet because the cheapest one on eBay was graded and $45)  It looks exactly like the regular issue.  Until you turn it over.


If you read my post about how my desk is cluttered with cards.  Well it came in handy because I happened to have a regular 77 in my desk to compare it too.  You can see how much lighter the mail in card is.  It is also a way lighter and thinner paper stock.

Coaches are not featured on the team cards in 1978 so I got to skip to 1979.


Again it looks just like the regular issue until you turn it over.


The scan shows it as lighter but it is really way lighter that the scan.  It is kind of odd holding an old card that is on thin light card stock.  They feel like early Donruss cards to me instead of Topps.


My desk pile failed me in 1980.  Both my regular 1980 and my two 1980 Buybacks are at my house tucked away in the binder where they belong.  Maybe, they could also be in that box of cards that need put in the binder still.

The only 1981 Astros Mail In card I found was uncut. I don't really want to buy it uncut.  I know myself I won't cut it.  So even if my procrastination ends and I binder up all my cards it will never make it to the binder.  I need to just wait until a cut one comes along.

Who am I kidding. I'll probably wait a week, buy the uncut one, and keep looking for one for the binder.  I shouldn't even call myself a collector, I'm an amasser.

Night Owl's rabbit hole wasn't so bad.  All those clients just had to wait an extra day for their W2s.  Besides I don't know if I ever got 3 new to me Virdon cards on the same day before.