I am so sick of this rain. Over 26 inches for the month of October. This is on top of over 12 inches in September. We also had a wet spring. It was fun for some trying to get to work today (I only live about 1 mile away, so I had it easy).
On a brighter note, there have been some great pitched games in the WS so far. I hope that both staffs can keep it up over the weekend.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Lamenting my collecting habits
I am at a crossroads right now when it comes to collecting. See, I am a weird person that never really got out of the hobby. I stopped buying boxes and trying to assemble sets back in the early 90s. Instead I just would buy a Topps factory set each year and just say "forget it". That was primarilly due to budget constraints, etc. This presents a problem on my part because I don't know what to do anymore. I have been trained to think that any product above $X is to much and I will pass on it.
What has happened when I pass on buying only sets and not boxes to hand collate the set is that I can't tell you what any of the cards look like. The desings on the past 15 or so years all look the same and I can't distinguish them in my head. Now, I can tell the difference between a 90 and 91 Leaf, or a 89, 90, 91 Upper Deck because I saw a lot of them. If you put a 93, 94 and 95 Topps card in front of my I probalby could not pick out which card belongs to which year,
Why am I rambling: easy, it is the 2010 Topps set. I have seen the sell sheets and the images. I really like the way the cards look. But I don't know if I want to pay about $50 per box to buy 4 boxes and try and collect the set by hand. Going back and trying to complete 92 Ultra by hand is easy and justifiable at the prices i can find boxes for, but I don't know about Topps.
Decisions, decisions, decisions.
What has happened when I pass on buying only sets and not boxes to hand collate the set is that I can't tell you what any of the cards look like. The desings on the past 15 or so years all look the same and I can't distinguish them in my head. Now, I can tell the difference between a 90 and 91 Leaf, or a 89, 90, 91 Upper Deck because I saw a lot of them. If you put a 93, 94 and 95 Topps card in front of my I probalby could not pick out which card belongs to which year,
Why am I rambling: easy, it is the 2010 Topps set. I have seen the sell sheets and the images. I really like the way the cards look. But I don't know if I want to pay about $50 per box to buy 4 boxes and try and collect the set by hand. Going back and trying to complete 92 Ultra by hand is easy and justifiable at the prices i can find boxes for, but I don't know about Topps.
Decisions, decisions, decisions.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Prize Winnings
I received my prize winnings in the mail today from the Mojo Hand. I had yet to see any Goodwin cards in person, so I was curious to see what they looked like. I am impressed with how the cards looked, and the variety of current and retired players in the set. I am going to share some of the images here.
First the minis. It does not scan well, but the Upton is a foil card. The other two are black bordered and have Gypsy Queen on the back. I assume that the GQ are Short Prints, maybe.
Current stars. I like the old school logo on the McCann card. Jeter I am beginning to appreciate as I get older (he is still a Yankee).
HOFers. Can't go wrong with Knucksie and Fisk.
Misc. Cool, a card of LBJ and "Dracula". Dracula is a classic, and appropriate for the Halloween season.
First the minis. It does not scan well, but the Upton is a foil card. The other two are black bordered and have Gypsy Queen on the back. I assume that the GQ are Short Prints, maybe.
Current stars. I like the old school logo on the McCann card. Jeter I am beginning to appreciate as I get older (he is still a Yankee).
HOFers. Can't go wrong with Knucksie and Fisk.
Misc. Cool, a card of LBJ and "Dracula". Dracula is a classic, and appropriate for the Halloween season.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Where I have been
I have been negligent in updating my blog since the end of August. No reason why, just work and life in general have been really busy. Since I last posted, the Lions finally won a game, Michigan looks like they will go to a Bowl game this year, and the Tigers gacked away a Division title (just like 2006). I would celebrate by posting images, but it takes forever for an image to post from home using dial up, so just bear with me as I ramble today.
I celebrated the Lion win by breaking down and purchasing a pack of Philadelphia. I like these cards, but probably will not try and complete the set due to SPs, and stuff. Rack packs seem to be the way to go with this set if you are trying to get the 200 card main set. The first card in my pack was Brian Westbrook with the photo showing his jockstrap getting stretched out. Not an image that I am used to seeing on football cards.
The Tigers exceeded my expectations this year, but the way they ended the season was disappointing. They should have been a third place team, but made it to a playoff game. Next year should see a regression to the mean (third place) as Jackson and Porcello will probably not repeat the numbers from this year.
Card collecting has also been put on hold as I get ready for the holidays. I have stayed away from card shows and purchases (shows are not hard to stay away from as there are not many around here). My next purchase will be the 09 Topps factory set. I am also waiting on cards in the mail from the Mojo Hand after winning a contest over there, and Dave's Trick or Treat. Last year he sent some Lions and Bears to go along with Tigers. What will this year hold? Don't know but can't wait to find out.
I celebrated the Lion win by breaking down and purchasing a pack of Philadelphia. I like these cards, but probably will not try and complete the set due to SPs, and stuff. Rack packs seem to be the way to go with this set if you are trying to get the 200 card main set. The first card in my pack was Brian Westbrook with the photo showing his jockstrap getting stretched out. Not an image that I am used to seeing on football cards.
The Tigers exceeded my expectations this year, but the way they ended the season was disappointing. They should have been a third place team, but made it to a playoff game. Next year should see a regression to the mean (third place) as Jackson and Porcello will probably not repeat the numbers from this year.
Card collecting has also been put on hold as I get ready for the holidays. I have stayed away from card shows and purchases (shows are not hard to stay away from as there are not many around here). My next purchase will be the 09 Topps factory set. I am also waiting on cards in the mail from the Mojo Hand after winning a contest over there, and Dave's Trick or Treat. Last year he sent some Lions and Bears to go along with Tigers. What will this year hold? Don't know but can't wait to find out.
Friday, August 21, 2009
I am late to the game
It looks like I am the last person to weigh in on Topps' exclusive license. Do I think it is good or bad? Well, it depends.
Not a strong stand is it. Let me explain. We don't know what Topps has in store for collectors next year, and with them being the only game in town most collectors feel that quality will go down. Next year should be ok as most of the product calender has probably been set for the year, designs approved, and plans finalized. I would expect 2010 to be more of the same as this year, maybe without the gimmicks (don't hold your breath). What will happen in 2011? don't know, but I hope that Topps listens to what collectors are saying when they open their products.
Do I think there are to many sets out there now? Yes, but I also thought that back in the late 80s. If you take the time and look at the number of sets available in 1989 you would be probably be amazed. Let's see: Base sets for Donruss, Fleer, Score, Topps, Upper Deck, and the ressurection of Bowman (6 sets). Add Topps Tiffany, Fleer Glossy (I don't know if Score did one) for 2 more. Donruss issued an All Star set (available in packs) and a "Baseball's Best" set available as a factory set for 2 more. Score put out Scoremasters later that year, bringing our total to 11 off of the top of my head. Now add in the stuff like Toys R Us, Kay Bee, Woolworths, etc. and you get a bunch more "smaller" sets. I did not add Scores 100 hottest stars/rising stars sets as I don't remember if they were issued in 89. Oh, I aslo jsut remembered box bottom cards, rack pack inserts, wax inserts (Donruss All Stars/Grand Slammers Fleer's All Stars) and the number of sets is increasing. Try and collect all of those back from that time period and you are looking at a lot of time and effort. Some of these you would just stumble on to at card shops and card shows. You might also throw in Starting Lineup, if you consider that a set.
See, the problem with the nubmer of sets is not new. People complained back then that you could not collect everything. So what can we do about it? Not much, other than hope that the companies read our blogs and value the customer's opinion.
I also understand why there are so many sets. It is because there are different types of collectors. We collect what we like. Some only collect the base sets, or retro sets, or high end sets. Nothing wrong with that. Your collection should be a reflection of what you like and of you. I am what they call a set collector, but I only like the base cards. I don't like getting inserts/SPs in my packs (unless it is something cool, then I will keep it for my personal collection).
What would I do if I ran Topps? I would only tweek things up a little. I would advertise up front that the base set would consist of 3 series, realesed in Feb, May and Sep. Why do this? So we know what to expect. We would expect the first series to cotain a few stars and rookies that were called up late in the prior year, the second series to contain rookies who made the team out of spring training along with players that changed teams during the winter (that means if the palyer was a free agent who had not signed by the press run deadline they should not be in the first series). Don't give me 2 Sheffields! The third series will round out the set, and you could get the early season call ups. As far as inserts go, make the team checklists insert cards, along with separate All Rookie and All Star player cards. Try and make this at an entry level price point.
Next you would still produce the retro sets (Heritage and A & G) and release them as normal. Put SPs and relic/autograph cards in these sets. This will allow for a more challenging set build.
Also have a couple of "high end" products for those collectors who like those types of products. The market is there, and it is probably signifiacant enough to warrant the issuing of these sets.
I don't want to address the Bowman line as I have not followed that set since 91.
What should Upper Deck do? Maybe enter into an agreement with soem food products and put cards packaged with food (thing Tombstone Pizza or Kraft Cheese). Yes, cards inserted in those products might help increase sales. When I was a kid I would beg mom to buy stuff at the grocery store if they had cards in them. I at a bunch of Ho Ho's, Twinkies, Frosted Flakes, Chewey Granola bars, Nestle Candy bars, etc. back in the day. Wish I still had my Hostess cards. I think they got thrown away when I was a teenager. Would kids want Cheerios if they had cards in them? I don't know, but I would.
That ends today's portion of random thoughts. I am going out to the local Red/White scrimmage soon.
Not a strong stand is it. Let me explain. We don't know what Topps has in store for collectors next year, and with them being the only game in town most collectors feel that quality will go down. Next year should be ok as most of the product calender has probably been set for the year, designs approved, and plans finalized. I would expect 2010 to be more of the same as this year, maybe without the gimmicks (don't hold your breath). What will happen in 2011? don't know, but I hope that Topps listens to what collectors are saying when they open their products.
Do I think there are to many sets out there now? Yes, but I also thought that back in the late 80s. If you take the time and look at the number of sets available in 1989 you would be probably be amazed. Let's see: Base sets for Donruss, Fleer, Score, Topps, Upper Deck, and the ressurection of Bowman (6 sets). Add Topps Tiffany, Fleer Glossy (I don't know if Score did one) for 2 more. Donruss issued an All Star set (available in packs) and a "Baseball's Best" set available as a factory set for 2 more. Score put out Scoremasters later that year, bringing our total to 11 off of the top of my head. Now add in the stuff like Toys R Us, Kay Bee, Woolworths, etc. and you get a bunch more "smaller" sets. I did not add Scores 100 hottest stars/rising stars sets as I don't remember if they were issued in 89. Oh, I aslo jsut remembered box bottom cards, rack pack inserts, wax inserts (Donruss All Stars/Grand Slammers Fleer's All Stars) and the number of sets is increasing. Try and collect all of those back from that time period and you are looking at a lot of time and effort. Some of these you would just stumble on to at card shops and card shows. You might also throw in Starting Lineup, if you consider that a set.
See, the problem with the nubmer of sets is not new. People complained back then that you could not collect everything. So what can we do about it? Not much, other than hope that the companies read our blogs and value the customer's opinion.
I also understand why there are so many sets. It is because there are different types of collectors. We collect what we like. Some only collect the base sets, or retro sets, or high end sets. Nothing wrong with that. Your collection should be a reflection of what you like and of you. I am what they call a set collector, but I only like the base cards. I don't like getting inserts/SPs in my packs (unless it is something cool, then I will keep it for my personal collection).
What would I do if I ran Topps? I would only tweek things up a little. I would advertise up front that the base set would consist of 3 series, realesed in Feb, May and Sep. Why do this? So we know what to expect. We would expect the first series to cotain a few stars and rookies that were called up late in the prior year, the second series to contain rookies who made the team out of spring training along with players that changed teams during the winter (that means if the palyer was a free agent who had not signed by the press run deadline they should not be in the first series). Don't give me 2 Sheffields! The third series will round out the set, and you could get the early season call ups. As far as inserts go, make the team checklists insert cards, along with separate All Rookie and All Star player cards. Try and make this at an entry level price point.
Next you would still produce the retro sets (Heritage and A & G) and release them as normal. Put SPs and relic/autograph cards in these sets. This will allow for a more challenging set build.
Also have a couple of "high end" products for those collectors who like those types of products. The market is there, and it is probably signifiacant enough to warrant the issuing of these sets.
I don't want to address the Bowman line as I have not followed that set since 91.
What should Upper Deck do? Maybe enter into an agreement with soem food products and put cards packaged with food (thing Tombstone Pizza or Kraft Cheese). Yes, cards inserted in those products might help increase sales. When I was a kid I would beg mom to buy stuff at the grocery store if they had cards in them. I at a bunch of Ho Ho's, Twinkies, Frosted Flakes, Chewey Granola bars, Nestle Candy bars, etc. back in the day. Wish I still had my Hostess cards. I think they got thrown away when I was a teenager. Would kids want Cheerios if they had cards in them? I don't know, but I would.
That ends today's portion of random thoughts. I am going out to the local Red/White scrimmage soon.
Today is contest day
Card Cache is also sponsoring a huge A & G contest where one of the prizes is a complete 2009 base set. For free. Wow.
New Contest
The collective Troll is holding a contest for a bunch of stuff here. All you have to do is be a follower of his blog and post a comment. Oh, and also vote for the Hall of Fame (I know of one player I am voting for).
Go ahead, visit and vote.
Go ahead, visit and vote.
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