Yep, I was slapped, and other news....

SLAP! Congratulations to those of you who were on to my wily ways yesterday. I was indeed slapped by Joe as a part of the Topps-O-Cuffs rip-off punishment and directed to specifically praise the benefits of our friends at Beckett. Slap posts are actually kinda fun because I can have the artistic freedom to make up anything and everything actually make it sound plausible!

Truth be told, I do read the occasional Beckett and do use it as a reference for value, but mostly to determine what I have and what set it comes from. I am willing to stick my neck out there and say 95% of you do the same, whether you will admit it or not, Beckett is at least partially ingrained in your collection and trading decisions, and I bet either you have a secret online membership, or have a magazine laying around by your card stash at this very moment.

But no, I have not suddenly flown off the wagon and become a Beckett henchman...though if they offered me a job I would probably take it, and so would the 95% of you! Is that like accepting a job at Phillip-Morris?

But back to regular posting. There is actually a lot going on to discuss today. I want to start off by talking a bit about Allen and Ginter 2010.

Sportscardradio.com has a very thorough and well done checklist for this year's set. I don't know if they created it or it was pulled from elsewhere, but I have posted the link right here. It is a MASSIVE checklist to be sure and I can see myself jumping in to several boxes of this set and being satisified with it.

I do have a bit of bad news to report regarding this set. None of this is confirmed yet...well, part is confirmed, but Topps may or may not be hesitating on including a card of Nick and I in this year's set. What is confirmed is that, unfortunately, having Jacoby on a card is out, period. Topps has instructed Nick and I to each send in a photo and some verbiage (which I did name drop Jacoby at least), but we have not heard back from them and they seemed skeptical to be able to fit two people onto one card. I guess come to think of it I have never seen it happen before, but why not use landscape or just create two cards? I am going to be a bit sad if it does not work out, because it really is the most rewarding part of the contest, so cross your fingers and hope it all works out.

Today is also a Lincecum Log Friday! It is going to be a tough lil contest tonight, and I dare say probably the biggest challenge yet for the Freak. Speaking of Big Time Timmy-Jim, he got a chance to star in his own "This is Sportscenter" commercial. Click here and scroll down a bit...it's not the funniest ad, not really funny at all, but it is Lincecum. Every time I see Albert Pujols come to the plate, I gotta recite "guys, I am not a machine, I am just Albert". Check it out though and root for Big Time Timmy-Jim tonight!

Also, post 400 is looming and a few changes are in store for the blog. I had a bit of an epiphany the last several days about my collection goals and how to make things exciting again. I think I have a pretty good plan and tested it out last night with some Target rack packs and was satisfied. Stay tuned for that in a couple days...it will change the face of trading FOREVER! Ba-Da-Bummmmmmmmmmmmm.

Go Beckett.