What Is Your Elusive Treasure?

Being a hump day, and seeking a little audience participation, I thought today that I would throw out a little group exercise.

We all have cards that we will eternally seek out and most likely never get a hold of (at least for a reasonable price). These cards occasionally pop on eBay in all of their glory, and tease you that "maybe THIS time, it will be mine" only to watch in sad horror as the bids pile up and ultimately your card goes to the highest (and apparently more financially sound) bidder.

So I propose the question to you. What one card do you covet the most that has (to this day) eluded your grasp? Tell your story. Whether it be an original T206 or a 2009 Allen and Ginter Phelps Auto...which one card have you continually sought out, only to have all opportunities go up in flames?

For me, being a new(ish) collector, I wish that I had started collecting just a couple years earlier in order to give me the opportunity to snag a Tim Lincecum Autograph. That "TL" swoosh is a great looking auto, and to my dismay is even more valuable now that he has won a second consecutive Cy Young. I have mostly resigned to the fact that he will never be in my collection unless his stock takes a total dive some day.

While any ol Lincecum auto would be a nice add, there has always been one that has haunted me the most, that has now appeared on eBay FIVE times to try to tempt me (I swear it is the same card that is being continually sold, but I have no proof of those claims). Anyways, below is MY elusive card:
Ah! Two of my favorite phenom pitchers packaged on one beautiful card. Again, I have seen this card (there is also a variety #/25) listed at least five times and each time just gets away from me. The last night I made a pretty formidable max bid, only to lose in the final seconds. DOH!

So what card is you elusive treasure?

Trading Post: A Load of Thanks!

Winters in Portland, OR can be a bear. They are dark and grey, and wet, and sometimes snowy, which can shut down the entire city. I wake up to the darkness and drive to work in the rain, and pretty much come home in the same conditions. They say that the days are getting longer, but I suspect that the clouds are getting thicker to block out those extra few minutes of daylight.

However, nothing beats the winter blues in Portland better then receiving some bright, yellow envelopes in the mailbox. Of course this time of year I am pretty much feeling around a dark box and stumbling on the familiar fluffy packages. Seriously, you could put a mousetrap in the mailbox and I would find out the hard way.

I was very fortunate to receive several packages in the last couple of days and would love to share the highlights with you!

The first package comes from Ed at Roll out the Barrel. I have a particular fondness for Ed as he was the one who sent me one of my first packages ever since beginning collecting last May, and those cards helped me complete my first set, Topps 2009. I always love checking in on Ed and his blog, which is dedicated to everything Milwaukee Brewers. I think that the Brewers are a pretty kick-ass team to cheer for, they have a mighty vegan, an all-star outfielder, phenom favorite Yovani Gallardo, and Bob Uecker. Nothing beats watching the sausage races or the Brewer mascot go down the slide after a home run. Its just good fun, and Ed displays a lot of that in his writing. Definitely worth checking out. Here are the highlights.
Three Red Sox and King Felix. I love the Pedroia Propaganda card and the three pitching greats.

Keeping with the pitching phenom theme, Ed sent over Dice-K, a tri-card, and probably phenom fave #2 behind Tommy Hanson, Mr Tim Lincecum. I am looking forward to seeing if Tim Lincecum can win a third straight Cy Young award (can you tell I am ready for some baseball)?

Ed also kindly heeded my call for Topps Heritage 2009, and sent over a healthy number to subtract from my quest to reach 1-720. THANK YOU. I want to knock that baby out and be done with it. It's 2010 for Pete's sake! Again, please send some Brewer love to Roll out the Barrel!

Package number two comes from Dan in Arizona. Dan participated recently in my "pick a team" promotion and I gladly sent some Diamondbacks down Arizona way. Dan graciously contributed six great Heritage high numbers to the cause, one of those being a short print of Aaron Hill. Those SP's are a bear, so I thank you a ton for getting me a step closer! Let me know if you ever need more DBacks.

This beauty is courtesy of the notorious PAB from A player to be named later. Also a participant in the "pick any team" promo, Rangers were the order of the day. I sent out Rangers, and magically it came back as Red Sox! I mentioned in previous posts how I thought that the relics in SP Legendary Cuts were some of the nicest I have seen all year. This one is fantastic as it is of one of my favorite players and it is pair with the historic Yaz. Thanks so much for this sweet addition to both my Red Sox and historic players wing (hmm, which do I file it under). There was another great card in this set, a dual relic of Varitek and Fisk. It has thus far eluded me but hopefully it pops up on the Bay again at some point.

Last, but certainly not least I received a great package from Mr Scott at Mr Scotts Baseball Cards. I learned of Mr Scott through his contributions at Wax Heaven. Mr Scott busts a lot of product, and always does some fine review posts. Without a doubt Mr Scott puts a lot of effort and thought into his posts and it is definitely worth looking into. The contents of this package were three-fold. Mr Scott sent me a healthy bunch of Topps Heritage, and also chipped in several of my beloved, but impossible to complete, Goodwin Champions. Also included in the package was a nice little surprise nugget shown above, a very classy and fantastic Captured On Canvas King Felix relic from Masterpieces 2008. Seriously, was their any cooler product out their in 2007 and 2008? I really hope this product makes a comeback on of these days.

Mr. Scott, you went above and beyond and I owe you some Yankees. Though a bit thin on them at the moment, I am a bit of a Yankee magnet, and I promise to send you something soon. Thanks again.

And thank you to everybody for helping me knock out my Heritage and Goodwin sets. Every card helps!

Trading Post: Beardy's Baseball Blog

After a weekend filled with Cartoons and Jedi, it is time to get back to some good ol' fashioned baseball blogging. We start off the week with a trade received from East Coast, Everything Baltimore guru Beardy from Beardy's Baseball Blog. The Bearded One answered my call to scratch my old timer itch and sent me several beauties from the T206 series.


I feel like the Honus Wagner and I are old friends since I have seen this image at Dinged Corners
throughout last year. It is easily one of my favorite of the batch. I have no particular plans or ideas for my old timers collection yet. I don't really know how I want to store them, or display them, or organize them...all I know is that I want them...ALL of them. Some people hoard rabbits, or cats, or copies of "Catcher in the Rye", I hoard old-timers.

The next two cards are courtesy of the upcoming Topps Chicle set. Pictured above is David Wright and Albert Pujols.

Beardy then kicked it up a notch by jettisoning an autograph of Jonathan Papelbon out of Oriole Land to Red Sox Nation Left Coast.

I am not one to bag on my team's closer...I would much rather have him on my side than have to go against him...and I think that many would agree. But I have to say that Papelbon is one STRANGE CAT, with some strange little quirks. That's why I love this card so much, as this autograph fits his personality to a tee. I have no idea what this signature says, and I am betting that neither does he.


The stunner of the package lay at the bottom of the stack:

Oh yeah...A Topps Finest Rookie Redemption Tommy Hanson! I have way too much of a fascination with the Tommy Gun, but I do love a great prospect and Tommy completely lived up to his hype last season. This card was courtesy of part of the Obama SP for Clayton Kershaw (Matt Damon) auto exchange last spring. I never thought Topps would get the redemptions in the mail, but they finally got their act together and Tommy found his way out to Oregon.

Topps finest is an excellent card. I had to remove the card from the protective sleeve and take a good, long look at it to admire the levels of 3D dimension that jump off of the card. The pose is nothing unique, in fact I would wager that 90% of all Tommy Hanson rookie cards look just like this, including the less-than-attractive T206 of Tommy blowing a bubble (as is the case in this card.

For those of you not already in the know, Beardy has a pretty excellent blog that you must check out. He bringin' it daily, and is the recent recipient of a Drewbie and a Gummy for blogging awards and I am fairly certain that he is next in line for the Noble Peace Prize as well. Thanks again Beardy!

JD's Pack Rip (Part 2 of 2)

Welcome to the second part of Jacoby's pack rip. Before we continue on with Jacoby's Target picks, I wanted to give you an update on the success of the SpongeBob tattoo that I wore to yesterday's poker game. While indeed everybody was completely intimidated and impressed with my bravory of adding the tattoo (that wash rag was HOT), unfortunately I fell out in 7th place at the final table after have my set of Kings eliminated by a runner-runner-runner ROYAL FLUSH. I mean that's absolutely insulting. He would have beaten me with a regular ol' flush, but noooo, had to be the best freakin' hand in poker. Thanks for nothing, SpongeBob.


But lets get to the matter at hand. With the second pick in the 2010 Jacoby Pack Pick Em', Jacoby selects... Star Wars- The Clone Wars Widevision! Now, unlike SpongeBob, I DO have a reasonable amount of knowledge of the Star Wars universe. I know my Bobas from my Jabbas, my AT-AT from my AT-ST, and my Jar-Jar Binks from my Jelly Beans. I do know that the first three movies (originals) were epic, and that the second three were...well...not. I understand the rise of Darth Vadar, and the ultimate fall of the Empire, but I must admit that the stuff in between (AKA the Clone Wars) is a complete fog. Somewhere between the massive unleashing of clone troopers at the end of Episode II, and the beginning of Episode III, a massive amount of @#%% went down. These cards are based on episodes from the Clone Wars Television Series.


Let em rip!

Card #1 - Checklist. PHEW, because without the checklist to guide the way, I would have absolutely no clue what is going on here!

Card #2 - Seeking the Reeksa Root. Ah yes, gotta get me some of that Reeksa Root. Wait...what the hell is Reeksa Root. WELL, first of all is it apparently found on the planet lego (although suspiciously the planet name is not capitalized, making me wonder if Mr Lucas might have been asking for a copyright infringement by making it planet Lego. As a matter of fact, I would not be surprised if it is even pronounced differently...something like Lee-Go. Nevertheless, that's where ya gotta go if you want the Reeksa Root.

The Root? Well it turns out that Reeksa is a natural antidote to the Blue Shadow Virus. Serious stuff. Even more difficult about this mission? The Reeska Root is a huge Venus Flytrap looking plant complete with teeth looking to EAT YOU. Don't forget your lightsabers, folks.

Card #3 A visit to Dooku. First off, a little character clarification:

Count Dooku

Eliza Dushku

Anakin and Obi-Wan go visit a captured Count Dooku and interrogate him about...blah blah blah blah blah. I guess what I really want to know is...wasn't Dooku the Emperor's Sith apprentice prior to getting captured, and wasn't it that red camo faced, double-lightsaber wielding bad-ass from "The Phantom Menace" the Emporor's apprentice prior to that? I guess it is lucky for Palpatine that he hooked up with Darth Vadar, because prior to that he had a pretty lousy employment record. He was like the equivalent of Murphy Brown and her never-ending string of administrative assistants. At least with Vadar he had a pretty good run, but we all know how THAT worked out.

Card #4 Out of the Storm - I have to admit, I read the synopsis on the back of this card and am at a complete loss as to what the plot of this episode was. I do have an observation though...what is up with the clone troopers in the lower-right? I thought these were CLONES? I remember that ever trooper in Episode II was a clone of Jenga Fett (excuse me while I push the bridge of my glasses up), but THESE two cats look nothing alike. One looks like Magua from "Last of the Mohicans" and the other looks like Lee Marvin.

Clone Troopers....WHATEVER. Tired one's too. You can almost picture them sitting there with a bucket lunch and a thermos sitting in the shade.

Card #5 - In the Care of Wag Too. Anakin gets messed up pretty bad in a battle on Maridun, and Wag Too plays nurse. The Trade Federation decides to land on the planet and start picking a fight with the peaceful Tee-Watt Kaa nation for no apparent reason other than to flex some muscle. Sounds and AWFUL lot similar to the plot of "Avatar", eh, James Cameron?

Card #6 - Skywalker's Trap - This episode sounds pretty cool and Skywalker and his posse set a trap for the chain-smoking General Grievous and his fleet of misfits. ANY major battle needs to take place in the most dangerous of space settings...so bring on the asteroid field. Quote of the episode "We're outgunned. We're not going to last a mynock minute out here". Since EVERYBODY knows that mynocks love to hang out in asteroid fields, this quote is rather cleverly placed (excuse me while I push my glasses up again).

That wraps up the base cards. But this pack contained a HIT! No, not an autograph. Yes they do exist in this product in every 1:174 packs. I have no idea who the autograph is of, but I would kill for a Lando. Anyways, this particular hit is a transparent animation clear cell of some ferocious Jedi named Ahsoka. You can't really tell from the scan, but it is what is says it is, a clear cell with animation on it. Pretty sweet stuff. All kidding aside, if you collect this stuff, just let me know and Ahsoka is all yours.

Special thanks to Wookipedia for its tireless dedication for making sense out of everything Star Wars.

A song, you say? Wanna hear it, here go!

JD's Pack Rip (Part 1 of 2)

Yesterday I mentioned that Jacoby's Treasure Chest is more-or-less a reflection of my current tastes in cards since the big man is just 13 months old at this point. While for the immediate future, I will be making the executive decisions while the CEO is mastering his motor skills, Jacoby called me into his office yesterday and mentioned that he would like me to analyze a couple of pack rips of HIS choice. Who am I to cross paths with the head cheese? So last night, Mom and Jacoby went to Target with explicit instructions to have JD pick out two packs from the $1.99 bin. Any two packs of his choice. Needless to say, the results were stunning.

I present to you pack #1 SpongeBob Squaaare PANTS!....series 2. Ooh boy, this is going to be a bit more challenging than I first thought. Back in my college days, those late nights of "studying" that ultimately resulted in sitting in front of the TV, watching Cartoon Network with a big bowl of cereal and a wooden spoon were well before the time of SpongeBob. To my recollection (foggy at best) Space Ghost: Coast to Coast ruled the roost and its 15 minute episodes were about perfect for our limited mental capacity after a grueling "study" session. Space Ghost was tight, but the dude was a serious stick in the mud, and Zorak and Moltar picked on him relentlessly. Where else could you see Pauly Shore, Bobcat Goldthwait, and Emeril Lagasse, a praying mantis, and a robot producer all in one show?

But as your humble blogging host, I will go the extra mile to make some sort of sense out of the SpongeBob universe. To the rip!

Card #1 - Revenge of DoodleBob. "Look out SpongeBob, he has an eraser"! What a seriously scary way to wake out of a nice sponge sleep. Okay, so the pencil is a "Magic" pencil to falls to the ocean floor from a writer in a boat on the surface. Spongebob and his goofy little starfish pal start to play around with it and discover that whatever they draw comes to life...and can also be erased by the eraser. After several great laughs, the terror begins as Spongebob "doodles" and thus the evil DoodleBob comes to life and begins to cause a ruckus in the deep. This particular scene depicts an evening after Spongebob and Patrick tricked DoodleBob and erased him...all but his arm. Late at night the arm grabs the pencil and redraws himself. How does SpongeBob save the day you might ask? WELL, it turns out that he discovers that in order for a doodle to exist, it must be on paper, so he slams Doodlebob into a book, thus putting him on paper where Doodles belong. Phew, close call SpongeBob.

Card #2 - Well, not a card at all but a 1 in 6 packs Tattoo! Thanks to the miracles of scanning negatives, we can reverse the image to reveal the "screamin' my pants off"! seriously rockin out Spongebob. I am going to apply this baby before my poker game this afternoon and intimidate the competition.

Card #3 - This exclusive photo was taken from the BCS National Championship. Pictured is Texas backup QB Garrett Gilbert and the Alabama Crimson Tide Defense.

Card #4 - Light and Fashionable - Right, so apparently SpongeBob happens upon a purple wig that he thinks is the cat's pajamas. Even though everybody makes fun of him, he convinces himself that they are laughing with him and not at him. Oh SpongeBob. The rub is that this little dude next to him is Ned (I think), and Ned is the leader of a band, but the producer wont hire Ned because he has no hair (underwater discrimination...I sense a Spongesuit in his future). So from what I can gather somehow during a riot that SpongeBob causes by blocking a movie screen with his massive hair, Neddie gets hold of the wig, saves his career and SpongeBob can sleep happily again that his wig made somebody else cool. Don't be fooled though, SpongeBob was PISSED that his wig got stolen.

Card #5 - Man, this episode sound HI-larious! So Spongebob and Patrick are skipping town to head to a jellyfish convention and NO SNAILS ALLOWED. Gary is SpongeBobs pet snail. Having no options, SpongeBob asks SquidWorth to take care of him. Squidworth is a bit of a D-Bag and completely DOES NOT take care of Gary. Result? Gary gets sick, SpongeBob takes him to the vet and accidentally gets a dosage of snail medicine...which of course turns SpongeBob into a snail! After some more chaos ensues, SquidWorth also accidentally runs into a needle and turns into a snail also! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! As I said, HI-larious! The science in this episode begs to question: Did all of the juicers in MLB "accidentally" inject themselves with medicine intended for Mr. Met, thus resulting is ginormous craniums? Hmm...

Card #6 - Again, not a card, but a game piece for the "Happy Squared Sweepstakes"! How did we do?

AWW! Another stupid "enter code online" contest. Well, what the hell. I went to the site and logged Jacoby's code into the system. Result? We are entered in some sort of contest, though it is incredibly vague and the site assured me that if he wins, they will contact Jacoby's parents to let them know. I can guarantee one result from this contest...I am now going to get a @#$%-load of spam mails from Nickelodean now!

Card #7 - Sponge in Space!

Ground Control to Major Sponge,

Ground Control to Major Sponge,

take your water pills and put your helmet on.

Ground Control to Major Sponge

Commencing SpongeDown, faucets on!

PHEW, made it through the pack! For further information, please visit the SpongeBob Wiki, but please be forewarned that some of the synopsis of episodes will make your head spin round and round as they were most likely written by those late-night college revelers who put down the wooden spoon long enough to post a wicked wiki.

And just in case it is not in your head already, please click here

Part 2 tomorrow. What did Jacoby choose?

Jacoby's Treasure Chest

Happy Friday to all, and here is to a nice, slow weekend burn and some wild card playoffs!


I watched the BCS National Championship game last night, and it had to be one of the most wildly unbalanced games that I have ever seen. When Colt McCoy went down early, and wide-eyed and quaking true freshman Garrett Gilbert stepped into the game, you knew that Texas was in trouble. On third and goal, the coach finally called a pass play, and Gilbert rewarded the call with a pass high and out of the end zone. Yup, BIG trouble. After two interceptions, the second of which was a pitch pass that was picked by a 300 lb lineman, Gilbert looked like he just wanted to vomit. I just remember him seeing him mouth the words "I'm trying" to his teammates.


After what seemed like an eternally long halftime show, Texas took the field again, and displayed an inspired defense for the next 27 minutes. Gilbert Grape found a quasi-rhythm that allowed him to connect with WR Jordan Shipley for a couple of touchdowns that set up the drama for the final drive with three minutes left...only to have Gilbert crunched from his blind side and fumble for a Alabama recovery and TD. Ballgame.


I guess my impressions were that the game would have pretty much sucked if not for the impulse to root for the underdog, to cheer on Gilbert and hope for him to succeed, which he didn't, then did, then didn't again. Also, does Colt McCoy really LOOK like a future NFL QB to you? I just keep seeing this tiny little dude with a baby face with enormous headphones standing on the sideline. Hard to imagine him leading a NFL Squad down the field. But the game kept me watching, what is what sponsors are hoping for, as I have now decided that I need a Ford truck and also need to take a trip to Norway and Sweden and book it on my Citi card.


But enough of the oblong ball. This blog is all about the hardball. Being Friday, it is time to dip my hand back into Jacoby's treasure chest and pick out three random cards to share with you. In case you missed last week, I will go over the rules one more time. My goal is collecting is to complete some sets, but also stuff a shoebox full of toploaders that my son and blog CEO (JD) can have to enjoy down the road some day. I try to eliminate my own personal biases in gathering a wide spectrum of autographs and rare cards, but obviously since JD is more interested in pushing siren buttons on his firetruck and eating graham crackers, I am calling most of the shots at this time!


Here are today's random three:



2008 Topps Chrome Refractor Rookie Auto - Being a phenom junkie, I jumped on the Johnny Cueto bandwagon. It was hard not too after his stellar debut against the Diamondbacks where he struck out 10 hitters on an efficient 92 pitch outing. Unfortunately JC was a bit wild on the control side, and those who owned him during fantasy season had quite the ride. Much the same for 2009 where he finished with an 11-11 record and only 132 K's to his record. I still hold out hope that Cueto's best days are still ahead, but at the moment he is mediocre on my watch list at best. Of interest in this auto is the bizarre signature of "J.Cuito" that is unlike any of his other autos. Its almost as if he was signing two stickers at once and I got the left-handed model. Though maybe, just like his pitching, he has lack of penmanship control from time to time.

Jackie Robinson SP from Topps 2009 Series 1 - Of the several SP's that I now have from Topps Flagship and Updates and Highlights, this one is my favorite. This is just a beautiful image with a perfect color scheme and an even more perfect slide from one of the game's most historical icons. It is a privilege to keep this card safe and sound and well protect. Timeless.

And finally a 2005 Updates and Highlights Jacoby Ellsbury draft picks rookie card. I am told that this is Jacoby's "true" rookie card, though these days it is hard to tell with all of the variations and bowman "first year" cards. Either way, it is no secret that this is a Jacoby kind of family, so I had no problem shelling out the 12 bucks and top-loading this baby. I can't afford a Jacoby autograph, but I can afford one of these!

Until next week, Jacoby's Treasure Chest is closed.