Jacoby's Treasure Chest

Welcome to a Sunday edition of the treasure chest. I have been enamored with March Madness this year and have not hardly even sat at a computer over the last couple days. The ol' bracket is being pretty kind to me this year, minus the 99% of us that chose Kansas to go deep. I did not choose them to win it all though, so there is still potential for moving up the charts.

Anyways, it has been a very long time since I have pulled a few cards out of Jacoby's box to share with you. So without further ado... Tommy "Gun" Hanson Career Quest (sticker) auto from 2009 Topps updates and highlights. This is yet another example of the great color scheme used by Topps last year. I have been pretty unimpressed with any of the autos from this year's set, and these green cards really glow. 2009 was the year of the "Tommy Bubble" where every card of him has him blowing a nice bubble gum bubble. The only other such blatant image repetition I have seen is the million and a half Koji Uehara Rookie cards. I will never turn down a Tommy Hanson rookie auto though.

Jonathan Papelbon Topps T206. This card found its way east from Beardy and into the treasure chest. Pap is a "unique" fella, and while I am glad he is on my team, I can see where he can rub people the wrong way and his autograph is a pretty good reflection of that as well. I challenge anybody to see where this in any way resembles "Jonathan Papelbon". Oh well, just keep mowing em down Pap.

2008 Stadium Club Johnny Cueto. These autos are starting to feel more and more like a bust, and Johnny is on the brink of either breaking through or breaking down, so I think this season is going to tell a lot about the future of Mr Cueto. In a way though, his career has somewhat mirrored the inconsistency of young King Felix, who looks like he finally turned the corner...maybe. So perhaps the same fate is lined up for Johnny. I prefer to subscribe to that philosophy.

Well, that's it for now. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Well now, that was an exciting day of college basketball, wasn't it. The first four days of the NCAA tournament are just hands-down one of the greatest creations of our times. Talk about a great way to pass some time at work and then lounge on the couch all evening as the network makes you dizzy switching between all the games. I want to give a big shout out to Washington for making me look smart, and then Texas for totally blowing chunks in the final minute of overtime. Thanks guys.

Of course the evening started out with a nice, little mystery envelope in the mailbox. This is actually the second in a week from I don't know...3rd base! The first package consisted of several of my needs for my zany quest for Toppstown GOLD! Several of those needs were knocked off the list.

The second package was a very thoughtful compilation. The year of the Tek and many other of my player wants were included in this package, many of which are variations that I needed! Here we go!
Nice! Jon Lester throwback and black variations from 2009 Topps. IMO a much nicer set than this years design and logo-fest. Needed both of these.

All aboard! Ticket to Stardom has entered the mailbox! This is decidedly one of Topps' lazier products from last year, but a great shot of Lil' Pony meaning all business.

Here is a couple more Lester's, including a Heroes card commemorating Lester's heroic return to the mound to finish off the Colorado Rockies in the World Series. I think he went up against "Dragon Slayer" or something like that. Lester was phenominal and has not looked back since.

Ah, Jacoby Ellsbury is a household staple. Oregon product.

And then of course the Year of the Tek additions. Here is Stardoms version...

As well as a white refractor of the Captain. I am still looking for the "sweet spot" on my scanner to capture how nice refractors and chromes really look, but have not found it yet.

The next card caught me completely off-guard...

Wow! A Jason Varitek UD Premier patch card numbered to 22! Patch cards are way cool, and the road jersey bits look fantastic. The coloring on this card is really much nicer than my scanner allows. This is a fantastic addition! Thank you so much!

Of course, the only thing that could top this is a product of the finest caliber...thus...

A Topps Finest 2009 Johnny Cueto rookie card! Again, scanner does not do it justice, but these finest cards really do pop. And I predict Cueto makes a big move this season. Of course I said that last year too.

Thanks again for the cards. I already have a couple in mind to send your way, just need to fill it out a bit. Enjoy Madness day two!

Your daily SAT

Okay class, pay attention now, here is a little association question for you...



is to

as

is to

A)

B)

C)

or D?

Class? Anybody? Bueller...Bueller?

Well, things are on the mend out here in Oregon. I now can safely eat a meal (a small meal) and not suffer excruciating stomach pain as a consequence. I am still home today, slowly getting some calories and energy back into my body. This gives me an opportunity to send out thanks for a recent package from Joe at Priceless Pursuit.



One of the results of the great Topps O Cuffs Rip Off was the slap heard round the world. Three to go there. A lesser known result was that Joe was able to complete an entire base set with his two hobby boxes. Me? I was roughly 40 cards short! Talk about adding injury to insult. Well I have now worked it down to TWO cards, thanks to these couple...



VERY NICE. Joe mentioned there was a card he was sending that I would do an Ozzie Smith back flip over. This is a beauty.

This one...not so much. Go Padres.

So basically that leaves me missing TWO base cards (293 and 300) does anybody have these two cards?

Next Joe sent along a slew of 2008 Masterpieces to round out my collection. I am still a few short there... (3,10,52,73) Also, shortprints I HAVE are 91,98,100,106,109,116. If anybody can help me finish this set up, please let me know!

here are some more gems that Joe sent my way. This is the result of trying to space the cards so you get a separate scan of each in one scan. Whoops, back to the drawing board...

Manny Ramirez Prospect card! Tommy Hanson Relic! Whaaa? Yeah, I like relics if I like the player, but since I don't like about 98% of all players (nothing personal) then relics mostly lag. Then also a nice Lester and Dice-K Topps Unique.

Oh, I almost forgot. Joe also included a few Toppstown Golds in his package. In what surely is the least desirable set to chase of the entire season, I am getting close! Still looking for golds of David Wright, Josh Hamilton, Zach Grienke, Ryan Howard, Albert Pujols, Kevin Youkilis, Andrew McCutchen and Ryan Braun. I would be happy to make a trade with you for these golden gems.

Also, I have not idea what is up with these, but do TTT26-30 even exist? I have yet to hear of a Suzuki, Lee, Votto, Alexei Ramirez, or Sizemore TTT. I assumed one per each MLB team, so what gives? Has Topps actually shortprinted Ticket to Toppstown??

Thanks again to Joe, and thank you to anybody who might be able to help me knock out a few of my set needs. Let me know what I can send in return!

I want to believe!

Well, I don't know whether my "I want to go throw up" after my relic slap became a self-fulfilling prophecy, but that's exactly what I am doing today. You know you are sick when:

1) your skin has that dry, warm feel to it...but you can't sweat

2) you get that dull headache right above your eyes

3) you don't sleep well, but when you do, you have the wackiest dreams. Don't believe me? All night long I had A hip-hop-a-hibby-da-hibby Rappers Delight , then Wilson Phillips, then I dreamed I was smoking cigars with James Franco. There you have it. I'm sick.

After checking in on my last post though, I had to respond. I was pretty impressed with the passion of the answers, and you are right, how often do you get an opportunity like this. So to put speculation to bed (ahhhh, bed) I wanted to let everybody know that I did indeed go to UpperDeck.com (the site is still up!) and redeemed my mystery cut! In 12-16 weeks, though in my opinion, Upper Deck is general really fast about redemptions...we will know the answer.

Here is where it gets interesting. When you input the code, the description is simply "Athlete. Mystery Cuts 2009". This is extremely vague, but does tell me one thing...it is an athlete. Of the few postings on Ebay, they are all from 2008, and many of them posted are actors. This is hopeful.

I do gotta say though that it is a little...well....mysterious that even when you punch in the redemption code, that such a generic description pops up. So does each code correspond to a particular cut signature, or does Upper Deck have the liberty to send me either a Babe Ruth or a Ruth Ginsberg? A Mickey Mantle, or a Mickey Mouse? I want to believe that each code links to a specific cut, but only time will tell.

either way, it is going to be fun finding out, and as soon as I know something, I will pass it on to you! Thanks for the feedback. Off to nap now.

Case Hit Conudrum!

Today I grabbed Jacoby and headed back out to the ol' card shop. Mom had surgery the other day and had her gall bladder removed, so there has been quite a bit of Daddy/Son time in the last several days. Today I wised up and had JD in his stroller though, as he has become quite tall and mobile and is starting to get a little grabby with loose card packs!

I cannot say enough about my new little shop. I have had INSANE luck with this store. I went in today trying to justify buying a jumbo of Topps Flagship. Part of me really wants an auto or another hat relic out of the set, and the allure of an SP or silk also sounded great. Unfortunately, the price on Jumbos has skyrocketed to ridiculous levels over the last several weeks and it immediately changed my mind.

There was another item that has been staring me down for the last several weeks. SP Legendary Cuts. This product absolutely blew me away last summer and I spent way too much on it. This is the one product where I really appreciate the hit cards...including relics, which I normally loathe. I think that the creativity put into this set is top-notch, and plus there is always the outside chance at a cut-auto. I pulled the trigger, and was not disappointed!

Bam! Right off the bat is Mr Papelbon. Just a plain white swatch, but the presentation is awesome. Very colorful and textured. Not a bad start.

Yes! I love classic players swatches. These have very nice images and my first Perry.

Stan the Man!

My fourth and final hit of the box is a dual-relic of Mike Schmidt and Chipper Jones. A couple top-notch hot-corner specialists. Normally Upper Deck pairs up random players, so this is a great pull.

All done, right? As I am finishing up my final four packs, absentmindedly sorting out the cardboard dummies and the 20th anniversary retrospective garbage, this shows up...

Holy smokes! An Upper Deck Mystery Cuts Exchange Card! One of these falls per case. It's like having a lottery ticket fall into my lap! Some of the possible names? Ruth, DiMaggio, Gehrig, Cobb, former presidents, actors, etc.

Awesome! If redeemed, this would be my first and only cut-auto. It could be Ruth, or it could be Mitch Williams....WHO KNOWS? What do I do? Redeem? Sell? Trade?