Bad Day/Good Day/Great Day!

There is nothing worse than having to run all over the city on a hot Saturday afternoon. I don't know what it is, but everybody's common sense seems to hit the fan and I swear, SWEAR that there is some guy in a booth at the department of transportation that is flipping the light red every time my car drives by a signal!

I have a slew of lows and highs that have already taken place in the mere 5 hours that I have been awake. Here is a summary...

• The first thing I did this morning is put my contacts in the wrong eyes. I took me about an hour to figure out that something just was night right with my vision. I must have mixed up the caps when I took them out last night. A hour!
• Not only were the lights not in my favor, they were not working at all when I drove Jacoby to Mommy and me swim class (I am the photographer :). Ever tried to get 16 lanes of traffic to figure out how a 4-way stop works? I feel really bad for the pedestrian that was almost hit by no less than four cars, AS SHE WAS CROSSING THE STREET IN THE CROSSWALK! Some people were just straight-up blowing right through. "No signals today! Sweet!". Idiots.
• I forgot Jacoby's diaper bag at home, guess who got to go back home and back to the pool through the same outage mess!
• Later, went to figure out the debacle of the optometrist not only ordering the wrong set of contacts for me, but only a trial set instead of a six-month set! I think he is going to hook me up with an extra 6-months though (wink wink) so if that is the case, then everything is disco.
• While waiting for the optometrist to finish with a patient so we could have said discussion, I went next door to Jamba Juice (or something like it) to get a smoothie. I waited for five minutes as I watched a clearly frazzled employee try to read the ingredients on the smoothies as well as...cook a panini? Okay, so I am working on a Masters in Business and I would like to impart a tiny bit of knowledge for smoothie owner 1) stick to your product, smoothies! 2) If you are going to have a rookie employee, first of all have a veteran there to help train him and keep traffic flowing, and secondly, don't pick a busy weekend as an optimal time to let him fly solo!

I think that covers the bad! Wait! Not yet. As I type "Godzilla" (the Matthew Broderick version) is on TV. BAD! Nuke the Garden!

Now onto the good (cuz its just more fun!)

I went to Target to pick up a cooler for our family vacation to the beach in a few days (which is really good) and of course stopped by the blaster section to peruse. I figure if I cant get a smoothie or contacts, I might as well get some cards! I am really hit and miss with UD products, but figured that a Icons blaster was worth a go. The jersey cards look pretty classy and I am guaranteed one, so what the heck. Lets shoot for some Red Sox. I will post results later. Also decided to make a grab at a few retail goudey packs just for kicks. I know a few people who collect them and maybe something nice will come out to send them.

Then off to the hobby shop. Firstly I picked up 75 binder sheets and plan on transferring my A&G to binders so I can actually look at my cards.......dude, there is a load of Godzillas running all amok in MSG! Good thing Broderick tipped over that gumball machine and caused a 10 godzilla pileup. Smart thinking Ferris!

Secondly, I took the plunge on some Topps Basketball. I was able to talk a sweet deal and this is only a 220 card base set, so doing the math on 36 packs of 10 cards, I should at least get most of the base and my guess is some side series to chase. This is a feeler set to see if I like them, if so I am in for 09-10 coming out at the end of August. Don't worry, I won't bog down this blog with too many pack breaks, (but maybe a few) for you baseball purists out there. I am excited now that Portland picked up Andre Miller. Yet another quality player heads to the West.

Okay, now the GREAT!

As I was adjusting my fantasy lineups for today, I came upon the realization that Milwaukee plays Atlanta today, not necessarily notable minus the fact that it is Yovani Gallardo V Tommy Hansen! A phenom pitcher fans dream come true. To make this even better I have the MLB package, and the wife and kid are down visiting friends for the entire day! PERFECT conditions for a box rip and some great baseball! This game is so choice, I highly recommend anybody with the means to watch this game! (Sorry, I am on bit of Ferris Bueller kick right now!

Oh man, just when you thought the godzillas were toast, here is some super godzilla that just came out of the wreckage of dead baby godzillas. This can't be good. I am having a Transformers 2 flashback!

have a great day!

My 103rd Post! Phenom Edition.

I am a little late with the 99th celebratory post...truth is that I just had too many random thoughts in my head that I wanted to barf out in a blog. I was about to delete my last post. The title was a bit questionable, and I was really just looking to pass the day with some story telling...but then I read the 2nd post and I think Mrs Tooths story is pretty unique and I am hoping to hear more like it. Instead of just dwelling on this youtube Ginter Break I watched, I just decided to copy the link. It really is must see, all the way from the pre-break lucky chant, to the singing along to asian rock tunes, to the "one of one!!" celebration. Take 10 minutes out and watch this video. Pure entertainment. That lucky chant must have worked! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cLNl0fEzx8

But my ritual when I hit a milestone post is to show you some of my favorite cards. The first time around at post #49 I showed you my favorites since starting collecting. This time around I would like to share my favorite phenom pitchers since I have opened that wing of my collection..

Here we go:
Yovani Gallardo 2009 Sp Legendary Cuts Future Legends #39/125. This whole set was just a total piece of class, albeit an expensive one. I actually aquired this card over Ebay for 7 bucks, which is a total steal of a deal. As soon as I saw it I had to have it. Gallardo is the man. I must find his rookie card, his TRUE rookie card.

I never thought the day that I would find a modern card of Babe in Red Sox gear. This came from 2007 Masterpieces and represents his 1918 season with Boston in which he had a 2.22 ERA! In the Last World Series win before a 86 year hiatus, the Babe went 2-0 with a absolutely outstanding 1.06 ERA. This was a surprising find and I love this card. If ANYBODY knows of a framed version, please let me know!

This came to me via trade from Joe at Priceless Pursuit . King Felix is starting to come into his own, but nobody will ever know about it because he pitches for the Mariniers.

Aaahhh, I pulled this beauty from a pack of SP Legendary Cuts. another #'rd to 125 that will stay in my collection indefinitely. He ranks right up there with Gallardo in my books. He has the stuff and just needs to iron out a few more kinks. I look for him to really take off next season.

If you saw Priceless Pursuits (two shout-outs in one blog Joe) blog the other day, Joe posted a great story about beautiful looking cards, not necessarily valuable...but priceless. I really think Topps nailed it on the head with this one. The combination of blue backdrop with blue uniform and blue foil in a classic pose against the green grass...this is one of those cards that just looks great. I could care less if this is not a chrome or refractor, I actually think that would ruin it. What makes this card even cooler is the old school throwback logo from my unfortunate mispurchase way back when.

Sometimes my scanner does random teeny tinys, but the gist of this card is..."I like gooooooooooold"!
Another absolutely stunning 2007 Masterpiece, and a bit of a rare one at that with a rust border #25/50. I am a bit of a sucker for old time masters, and this card represents the final season for Sandy Koufax, as he went an amazing 27-9 with a 1.73 ERA and 317 K's in 1966. Jaw-dropping.

I am a big fan of 2008 Ginter. I may pursue the set at some point, but in the meantime I am please to have a few of these in my collection. Mr Hamels is well on his way to an amazing career and already has a ring to his name. Without a doubt a pitching phenom and future HOF in my opinion.

Speaking of class acts, how can anybody not love Jon Lester's story. I was in Vegas at a sports book watching him pitch his no hitter in May 2008. The whole place just went nuts! I highly respect Jon and hope he is a Red Sox for years to come.

Well not necessarily a phenom, we are talking about Cy Freakin Young here. Nuff said.

And finally, for obvious reasons, Mr Pat Neshek makes my list. This one is on the way out the door tomorrow for a TTM. Thanks to Mrs Tooth for sending me my first memento of a great memory.

There you have it. As you can see I am slowly swinging into form in this great hobby and I owe it all to this great community that I have learned from, traded with, and become friends with. Thank you guys. See you at post 149!

The Art of Rippin One!

I know this makes several blogs in a day, but you all need an excuse to help pass the day anyways, and I keep finding things that amuse me that I would like to pass on to you..."Are you not entertained?!?!"

I decided to pass my lunch hour by youtubing others Allen and Ginter breaks. Probably the most amusing was what a believe to be a couple dudes from Taiwan (the really got excited when they found a Taiwan country card, and gladly displayed a Ching-Ming-Wang National Pride card with their box hits. They happily ripped away, singing some Taiwanese rock songs and a smattering of english when they announced their hit cards. The best moment though was when they discovered a 1/1 Charles Goodyear mini, what I believe to be a wood card, but was tough to tell. It was hand numbered on the back 01/01. Anyways, the cameraman just kept whooping it up and saying " one of one, Goodyear, one of one" and just having the time of his life.

So that was pretty fun stuff. But what amazes me the most is how QUICKLY these guys go through a 100 dollar box of cards. It is pretty hypnotizing actually. He opted for scissors on the break, which is good because you can be embarrassed if you get an exceptionally tough back to rip open.

My question then to you is what is your box break ritual? As a matter of fact, lets have a little fun with this one. Send your ritual story. Be creative, but somewhat honest, and KEEP IT CLEAN. Me and my wife (I am volunteering her) will judge the entries and the winner will receive some wax TBD. Sound fun? No? Well do it anyways because I still have several hours left in my workday! :)

Reaching Out For Collectors Wisdom

If you read my blog yesterday, you may have noticed that I had the opportunity to have a conversation with the CEO Jacoby about future collections. While teetering back and forth between trying out basketball or football to shake up my collecting a bit, I initially leaned towards basketball.

I have done a bit of research and there seems to be a lot of anti-basketball sentiment going on in regards to product licensing. Some also feel that the collections are virtually worthless and it is a dying hobby.

I have not had the opportunity to delve too deep into the football option yet, but I notice a significant amount of bloggers in this community also seem to collect football cards or at least have a passing interest in them.

So I reach out to the community to help me make the right choice. Football or Basketball. The answer could also be a resounding NEITHER (which is probably what my wife will respond if she sees this blog. Here are my criteria:

Set: Looking to compile an entire base set
Price: this is considered an alternate while I put my pennies away for 2010 baseball
Value: Lets be honest here, while we all collect for favorite players etc, what not be thrilled to snag a card or auto that will appreciate over time?
"Hits". Auto's relics, insert sets...which is better.
Product: At this point I am either considering Topps Basketball or Topps Football.

Thanks for your thoughts. Discuss!

Searching for Alex Gordon

Today I stopped by Hobby Shop #2 (not the cranky man) but the knowledgeable, younger owner with the overpriced packs and hobby boxes. I wanted to run my basketball/football questions by him, and after wasting a good half hour of his time, I decided that I should probably purchase a little product.


I was very surprised to see a little section of his store that I had not noticed before, most likely because I was so focused on 2009 cards that I continually passed these by. Turns out that the owner has a half priced pack section of several products. I decided to grab several of these: Beats the heck out of my retail Ginter debocle yesterday, and at 1.50 a pack, I really cant complain. Besides, COULD this bunch of packs contain the ever sought-after Alex Gordan "non" RC? Time will tell...............nope, no gordon, but here are some decent highlights from 10 pack of these...


A couple of Red Sox. Wily Mo also is the pack, not scanned for practical purposes
4 team sets, very nice...

These combo cards were suprisingly nice, though the Mets shot is a little unfortunate. Camera man must have been a yankee fan...

Hanley Ramirez RC, Ryan Zimmerman RC, Craig Hanson RC and Justin Verlander RC. A couple others, but these were the notables. Being 2006, I dont know if this is the first year that RC's were not actually RC's but I wonder about Hanley because he only played in two games for the Sox the previous year. This card is worth keeping an eye on me thinks.

Always nice to find a Johan Twins card, and also included was this shiny Cabrera card.

Okay, this one caught my attention. So it appears the deal with this set is that if you put the cards in order, the back assembles the US Constitution. Deal me in! These would look really cool in binder sheets and would be great for Jacoby. Do any of you have any of these or know where I can obtain them?

There were also a couple opening day cards....

this set suprised me a bit. Lots of variety here and really I cant complain too much about the cards received. The rookies are downright reasonable and this Constitution set has got my attention. A fun rip. I might try to chase this set, but imagine these boxes are difficult to find.

Meeting with the CEO

So on occassion, a get the opportunity to sit down with the heart and soul of JD's Wild Cardz, the CEO and President himself, JD Gellner.

I remember it fondly like it was just a few hours ago. There were were sitting around the dinner table, sharing a nice bowl of garden vegetable chicken mush with rice cereal, chatting about the Buehrle's perfect game, the new Red Sox additions and subtractions (so long Julio and your wacky batting stance, just looked painful). We also had a opportunity to talk about some future collection options.

"blaaahaaaaaah" said the president. He was quite pleased with our progress with the A&G base set as we are well on our way to completion. "What would you like to do next"? I asked.

"eeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkk!" he exclaimed. I cannot say that I blame him. It is definitely a tough decision. The summer is already at mid-point, we have already tried many products and nothing has necessarily jumped out at us.

I have been taking a bit lately about how much I enjoyed the Topps flagship series and its seemingly never ending surprises. I enjoyed a nice large 36 pack box and just kept having a blast with it. I would almost buy another just for the entertainment and chance at some cool hits, but the massive amounts of doubles just did not seem worth it.

I have thought about Goudey, I have thought about the upcoming Goodwin series and UD signature, but as time goes by I find myself less impressed with UD other than Masterpieces and that money-sucking Legendary Cuts! And really, at this point I have seen so many similar variations of player photos, that it was time to head down a different path.

"What do we do Mr President"

"BLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZRS" He exclaimed?

"Say Again, Sir?

"AAAAAAAAAAAALDDDDDIDGE,ROOOOOOY"

"Blazers, Aldridge, Roy?".......BRILLIANT! Jacoby then washed down his meal with a swig of milk and a smile on his face.

So starting at the end of the month, JD's Wild Cardz will officially raise the curtain on it's first NBA Basketball effort, Topps 2009-10 Basketball. With 36 10 card packs, and a guaranteed 3 hits per box, and managable base set of 330 cards, this seems like just the product to continue my exploration of new products, complete a set, and introduce Jacoby to basketball. After all, it is our only pro team in town.

I thought initially about football, but as much as I love football, I am mostly familiar with offensive stars rather than defensive players (thats why I always play a fantasy league with team defense) and rookies would mostly be as unfamiliar to me as Bowman First Year players. I am well versed in the NBA, and in this hobby, a rookie card is a rookie card, which is always nice.

Do any of you collect basketball cards? I would certainly like to be able to complete my set before gearing up for some exciting 2010 baseball offerings.

In the meantime, I will spend most of the winter focusing on obtaining cards for my pitching phenom wing and finding a way to get rid of extra wax (call it winter cleaning) so there will still be PLENTY of baseball posts to go around.

Anybody out there also collect roundball?

Storage Help?

Hi everybody,

I just have a curious question about storage of cards (once again). Here is the deal. when it comes to main sets (like Topps Flagship and A&G) I am using penny sleeves on all cards and then a card box for each.

I think have a box for dups for each set etc. When I buy random wax, I have a box with labels for different teams and file accordingly (some with penny sleeeves depending on the play). I then have my box of rookies and prospects that i'll never hear about again.

My question is this. My quality cards, like my Babe Ruth SP, Jackie Robinson SP, Jacoby Rookie, Dustin Rookie, cards like that right now I have in hard cases, but the boxes are not wide enough, or tall enough to store hard sleeves in, so I feel that I never get a chance to look at my most prized cards since they are just buried in a shoe box.

Is it a horrible idea to put these into a binder in Ultra sleeves, or whatever they are called? So take them out of hard case? Do they make 3-ring hard case sleeves (you know, big enough to slip a hard case into.

I just feel that whats the point on keeper cards if I dont ever get to look at them without digging them out. Thoughts?

One more question. I have a few auto cards that I have in the Ultra Soft Sleeves. Is this a bad idea also. They seem pretty protected in there. Help a noob out please?

Oh, oh! one more question STILL! The A&G relics and autos that I pulled in my boxes, Since they are framed, are they considered protected so dont need a sleeve, or should each of THOSE be in soft or hard sleeves also? Thanks guys!

Random Late Edit: Looking at Ebay for a much sought after Gallardo rookie card, I stumbled upon a Gallardo bowman card with this beauty of a description...


up for auction is a very rare NELSON CRUZ ROOKIE THIS GUY HAS TEH CHANCE TO HAVE A GREAT NBA CAREER THANKS!

Target Games!

So today after work I decided to pop into Target. I had heard that Ginter was out in blasters, so I figured this would be a good way to attack the base cards. Sure enough they were there and I had one in my hands, but I know that there is a lot of trade opportunity out there right now, and I probably would just pull more duplicates and triplicates that I will never get rid of, so I talked myself out of it.

I also looked at a UD Icons blaster, but their stuff is so hit and miss with me. So I stumbled on something that looked like a lot of fun. It was a 15 pack "mystery set" valued at $9.99. I thought it would be fun to see what random packs were involved, but then thought better of it and figured those 15 packs were lumped together for a reason. HOWEVER, right next to it I found this beauty...

the images turned out tiny, but basically this little beauty (at $12.99) states that there are 4 mystery packs and ONE auto card. The back states the obvious, that there is no guarantee you will receive an auto as pictured on the front...no Howard, no Wright.....NO PROBLEM. Plus how fun is it to not even know what card products you will receive. Here were the packs included:

a 2007 Topps Updates and Highlights
a 2006 Upper Deck Series 2
2 packs of 2006 Fleer.

here is the break

Updates and Highlights:

Jon Papelbon!
Steve Trachsel
Hiram Bocachica???
Jorge Cantu (Reds)
Alex Rodriguez Road To 500 #391
Scott Feldmen

Upper Deck Series 2

Gary Majewski
Skip Schumaker
Reggie Abercrombie RC
Bob Howry
Rich Aurilia (Reds)
NOHMAH!! (LAD)
Run Producers Mark Teixeira (Tex)

Fleer Pack #1

Jake Peavy
JD Drew
Huston Street
Jeff Kent
Juan Pierre
Bartolo Colon
Jonny Gomes
Billy Wagner
Todd Helton
Clint Barmes

Pack #2

AJ Pierzynski
Jason Varitek!
Joey "Oh So' Devine
Aubrey Huff
Andrew Jones (Braves)
Jeff Harris RC
Aaron Rakers RC
Ivan Rodriguez
Brett Myers
Chase Utley

How about that big Auto??


















INKREDIBLE! Zach Miner. Hmm...well....hmmm. All of these cards are up for trade. It was fun though...

BUT, why not have a little more fun I thought to myself. There was an open retail box of A&G, looked freshly opened so I decided to be that guy....you know the one...the guy that feels the packs to find the hits, even though it was a retail set and there probably wasnt even one in there. It was more of a game than anything else. Mr Ginter Code himself, seer of all seers, prognosticter of prognosticaters, can leap buildings in a single bound....anyways, I felt out the packs and picked out 3 that felt decidedly thicker and more firm than the others. So how did I do?

Pack #1

Jay Bruce (needed this card)

Brian Roberts

Dice K

Andy laRoche

Navarro Mini

Carlos Beltran NP

FAIL!

Pack #2

Cueto Mini (good)

Helton

Osterman

Kenny the beard man

Curtis Granderson SP

Kosuke Fukudome Np

FAIL!

Pack #3

Andy Pettitte Mini (uber-fail)

Guzman

Cano

Phelps

Drew

Adrian Gonzales NP

FAIL!

So there you have it. My skills of Ginter relic detection are total garbage. I did find a couple that I needed though, and really, there were several SP's which was surprising. Oh well, it was a fun way to spend $20 buck none-the-less, the Gellner Blaster, if you will!

Fishin' For Hits!

As many of you many know, when you go to the hobby shop for supplies, you typically cannot seem to walk out of the shop with JUST supplies. It just does not happen. A couple weeks back I was feeling like rippin a couple of packs that for the most part guarantee a hit. These are the packs that normally are way overpriced and only have a few cards.
I got to the shop and discovered that SPX was the way to go. I had never ripped one of this brand yet, so I figured I would give it a go. Mr Cranky gave me a bit of a discount, so I used restraint and just snagged a couple.. so these are SPX 2009 (containing 4 stinkin cards).


Right on, nice start. If you only get 4 cards a pack you feel pretty good to pull guys from your team, so I am happy already. These cards are crazy shiny too, I don't know if they really qualify as refractors, but scans don't really do them justice.
Right behind Pedroia was Beckett, so now I definitely feel that my money was worth spending on a couple unique Sox cards.

The rest of the packs filled out as follows....

Carlos Beltran
Chase Utley
Cal Ripkin 2131 games Upper Deck 20th anniversary retrospective
Joe Dimaggio career highlights
Derek Jeter 20th anniversary retrospectuve "launches new SP brand" card
Joe Dimaggio 359/425 career highlights card. Confused as to what is the difference between this and the other Dimaggio card.

All of these listed above are on the block!

The hits? Here's what I got...

This card just slays me. It is just a comedy of confusion. So here we have Jason Giambi with Oakland...okay, but he is wearing his Yankee hat, and which swatch does he match with because the one to the right sure looks like yankee stripes to me, so maybe he is meant to match up with the grey patch below. Then you have Richie Sexson, and pardon me if I don't keep up on my yankees, but does he even play for them this year?? Also wearing his Mariner helmet, next to the yankee logo. I am not even really sure the connection between these two guys, except that they played with each other for about two months and each hit the road after the season. Odd card. Up for grabs...

This card is more like it. Makes sense which swatch goes where, one player, from starting point to current team. Nice little card of El Caballo. Like the stripes too. Also up for trade.

Overall these packs were fairly interesting, but at four cards a pack, obviously not designed for the set collector in mind. I also found the Red Sox/Yankee theme to be pretty abundant in these packs. Contact me if interested in any of the above (minus the Sox)!

Mail Day!

No better feeling that coming home to a nice brown envelope in the mail! This one came with a special surprise from the USPS:No better feeling that coming home to a nice brown envelope in the mail! This one came with a special surprise from the USPS: yup, that right, I owe the postman 55 cents for these cards! I have never seen anything like this, I just assume that they send it back to you insufficient funds, but the mailman cowboyed up and got me the cards. So how does this work? Can I put 55 pennies in the envelope? Do I mail it in? What happens if it "accidentally disappears"? The back of the envelope is no help at all. It simply states "buckle up and drive safely" Oooooookkkkkkay! Thanks USPS!

Anyways, this package comes from Chris at Project 62'. Chris and I had some heavy, heavy negotiations over the last few weeks regarding cubs relics versus phenom autos. We eventually came to agreement and this little dandy came my direction!

Homer Bailey!..............(crickets). Okay, so the guy got lit up and only lasted 2.2 innings tonight. To be quite honest I had no idea that he was even called up at all, so surely he got called up for SOME reason. Maybe not exactly a phenom at this point, but he's got a rockin name, so I welcome him all the same.

This is a prime example of the perfect use of gold parallels, give em to those who want them the most. This Cueto parallel is perfect and I am always happy to add an additional Gallardo to my collection. He is my favorite and the hunt continues for his rookie card.

Cubbie fans LOVE Ryan Braun! Love to send em across the Rocky Mountains that is. I most am collecting pitchers, but I truly believe that Braun has that special something needed to make a run at the home run record some day. So I am happy to hang on to his cards.

Thanks again Chris. Please let me know when you receive your Ramirez Jersey card. I KNOW that one got mailed last week.

Thanks again!

This Is What Happens When You Try To Be Suave...

Nick and I finally got the big Ginter Solution site up and running today. But if you were there at the officially launch time (and I know a couple of you that were) what you saw was part of the solution, and then nothing, and then something, and then nothing! Then you saw the last piece of the puzzle first. It was all very "Pulp Fiction". Roooyyyallle with cheese!

So here is what I learned today. Never try to be too hip, or it will bite you every time.

Nick and I were working dilligently all morning on editing, re-editing, and making sure that the steps make sense. I am not certain that they really do, but at the very least it should put to rest the complaints that the code was too easy this year, because it definitely was a mind bender for sure and I tip my cap to the writer. I just picture the dude from "A Beautiful Mind" writing Ginter code all over the windows. Crazy stuff.

Anyways, once we were done we decided to release the website link and an "open the curtains" moment at 2 pm pacific. "Should we just publish it now" asked Nick? "Nah
I said "Lets build up a little buzz"

And buzz we got as there were several hundred hits within the first 10 minutes, with one small problem...The pages were all out of order and I kept having to delete and repost them. I am sure it made for a great read...if you were DRUNK!

I learned this about Blogspot...it will only let you post one post every 7 minutes and 34 seconds (by my estimation). One second earlier or later and the page posts out of order. It was mind boggling and frustrating and I learned a ton about HTML coding in the next hour. No much for the big release! It's amazing that I can even put my shoes on the same feet some days.

Anyways, the site is actually working correctly now and all the pages are even in order, so if you would like to take a look click here , and if it seems like a bunch of gibberish, let me know and I would be happy to answer any questions!

Ginter Solution is Ready!

Hi everybody,

After lots of blood, sweat and tears, Nick and I have completed the Ginter Solution blog. Hopefully it makes sense to everybody, its hard to do step by steps! Just contact us if you have more questions! The 2009 Ginter Code Solution blog will be uploaded at 5pm eastern time today!

National Pride Available!

Here are my dubs for National Pride...

NP ,2,,4,,5,,,,8,8,,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,18,67,67,69,70,71,72,73,74,75

Also here are two Baseball Highlights sketch cards available...

Chipper Jones
CC Sabathia (Milwaukie).

Ginter Availables!

Here are the Available For Trades for 2009 A&G!

4,4,6,6,8,8,,10,14,,18,21,23,23,24,26,27,28,31,33,,44,,,55,,62,62,63,63,67,67,,73,
,79,79,,90,91,,105,,106,,,,118,122,122,123,123, 127, 133,141,141,,148,,
151,,154,158,,161,163,163,166,,168,169,172,176,,,,186,,,189,190,,191,197,197,198,198,,,206,209,214,217,217,,,237,,241
242,242,243,244,,246,247,249,,251,255,256,257,261,261,,,268,,,277,,,281,
,289,,,296,,298,,, 322,,332,

Ginter Needs!

Alright! 3rd and final (sniff) box of Ginter is complete. Thank you for your patience. Here are the needs:

Blue is needed
Red is pending
,110,165
,223,148,168,176

Thank you for your help on finishing up my set (after all, set-collecting is my middle name!)

A Six-Stamp Post!

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of opening my mailbox and discovering a new first for JDs Wildcardz...the legendary 6-stamp post! This package comes from Joe at Priceless Pursuit.
Joe and I have the perfect trading relationship because he hates the Red Sox and I hate the Yankees, so it is match made in Heaven. Recently Joe responded to my offer of Mark Mulders Pants! "Pants!" he exclaimed..."I gotta get me those some Mulder pants"! And so it went. Of course have I sent the pants out yet...of course not because I ran of of stamps for pants. How can you have any pants without stamps? Going out TOMORROW. Lets take a look and see what a pair of Mulder's pants is worth these days...
Lovin my scanner by the way...Joe has taken kindly to my request for phenom pitchers and sent me a Volquez, Kershaw, Grienke and Grienke Grienke.
Here is Dan "the man" Haren who is absolutely keeping my fantasy team afloat, a Kuroda (who has NOT kept my team afloat) and a fascinating hologram depicting the 1918 Boston championship. JD and I were so enthralled by the image that it took my wife to point out the 1918. Pretty colors will do that to you.
This was an extremely generous card by Joe, a King Felix Bowman First Year. He also sent a bunch of other prospects that I have never heard of, but that is the point, you never know when the next Felix might come along, so thanks Joe, I will keep them Cryogenics frozen until the day they become priceless!

So thanks again, and make sure to check out the latest at Priceless Pursuit!

ps, that Yankee prospect might just find his way back down to So Cal!

Found My Ginter Happy Spot!

Last night I cracked open my 3rd and final?? box of Ginter. I have gone through them a bit quicker because normally I will rip until I find a relic, collate my cards and call it an evening. As mentioned before, that 2nd box did not give me my hits until the absolute last packs, so that box was cashed in a hurry! The Clayton Kershaw auto was worth the wait though. This is my Matt Damon auto card.
I pulled this one last night. Not too attached to it, but don't seem to have a lot of Rocky fans visit my blog, so he may have to keep Kershaw company for awhile. If you want to swap for him, let me know!

This was something else that I noticed last night. It is very Upper Deck, but I am assuming that this same image is due to the fact that he is a rookie. I dont know if dup images is common in this set.

Now the happy spot. I am only luke-warm with the close-up vertical player shots, though there are a few zoomed out, action shots like the Brandon Phillips card. But where I think Ginter really shines is with their horizontal shots. It just seems that the "widescreen" appearance really opens up the creative possibilities for the designers. For example...

I don't actually have this mini, but rather the regular card. Still very unique.

This is a nice example of a rookie card. Again I think this just pops out a bit more than the vertical shots. This would be a perfect card for a TTM.
This card is pretty ambitious as a lot of background is incorporated into this card. This is one of the few Lincecum cards I have seen where he doesnt have his crazy leg flying around in the air.

My parting though of this post my vote for goofiest card of the set. Sure you have the Donkey Kong Master, the Electron, and Brigham Young staredown (get that boy a diet coke)...but my vote hands down...even before finishing the set goes to...

Mr Ervin "Johan" Santana. I really have no idea what is going on in this card. Mr Santana appears to be flexing his non-existant guns while daintily posing the ball. Mr. Santana, the razzy award goes to you, felicidades!

APB- Pat Neshek

Hi everybody. I am seeking a Pat Neshek Ginter Code card for my collection. Did any of you happen to pull this card during your box opening and would be willing to mail it to me? Let me know! Thanks!

Have you seen this man?