Two More

So A while ago I posted 4 packs of 09 Topps Chrome that I had gotten from Rite-Aid. Well I decided to go back for 2 more of these. I was drawn in by the fact that it was Rite-Aid and they actually had Topps Chrome. I couldn't pass on the opportunity.

This was a couple weeks ago, so some of these cards have already made their way into packages for other bloggers, But I figured I might as well still post my pulls.

Pack 1

Oh Yeah! Elvis Andrus XF. Sweet

Pack 2:

Not bad, a Helton for my PC

Jay Bruce is always a worthwhile pull too

So there you have it. My second set of packs from Rite-Aid. I may eventually seek out more of these.

Mail from Marie

A couple weeks ago Marie and I made a simple trade. 2 for 2, she got two Pujols cards she wanted and I got these:

Thank you Marie for the trade. I hope you enjoyed the Pujols cards, and I look forward to future trades.

Marie can be found over at A Cardboard Problem

Group Break!!!

No not here silly. It over at Troll's Place, go check it out immediately. Fill up those last 12 spots so it can be awesome.

Click here to read about it. Then email Troll about getting in on the action.

A Surprise!? For me? Oh You Shouldn't Have. (Mail from Mike Gellner)

Last week I received a surprise package from Mike over at JD's Wild Cardz. In it was 34 of the cards on my want list for Goodwin and Champions. What a pleasant surprise that was!

Well ok, it wasn't entirely a surprise cause he had mentioned the incoming package to me during a discussion about a package that I had owed him. I had been waiting for the right items to send to mike in return for a very nice package that he had already fronted me. No sooner did I have the package planned out, than I find out he's already plotting this generous gesture. Great guy that Mike is, you all should be reading his blog.

So here we have it, 34 of the cards I needed for my G&C set:

Card #s: 1, 5, 9, 13, 26, 27, 34, 35, 37, 40, 50, 58, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 75, 76, 80, 93, 94, 102, 104, 105, 112, 116, 118, 119, 120, 122, 132, 139, 149

I'm missing one of the scans, but I'll show you all of the others, just because I like the look of this set so much and I figure everyone enjoys seeing them.

Thank you very much Mike. The cards are a huge help in trying to finish this set, and it was cool to be semi-surprised by the arrival of a package. I hope you enjoy the package that is on the way over to you.

I will update the want list for this set soon, so that it reflects the changes in what I need.

Serial Numbering

Today I read a post on The Priceless Pursuit about serial numbering and it insprired this response from me. I put a good amount of thought into my comment so I figured I'd put it in a post. Please go check out the original post, because if you don't, mine might not make as much sense.

The following was my comment:

"I am in total agreement accept for when it comes to printing plates. The different color printing plates are legitimately different enough that i don’t mind them each being 1/1. It’s not a rarity that is falsely created: because the manufacturing process requires one of each type of plate, so when you receive the plate they are saying that you have the one and only plate that puts the magenta ink on the card.

But when it comes to different variations of the same auto, I am in total agreement. In my opinion, variations are only legitimate when each progressive variation is more intrinsically desirable than the one that preceded it. For example, the Chrome refractor is more desirable than the plain chrome card. another example would be, a card with a patch and an auto is more desirable than a card with a plain white swatch and the auto. However, when it comes to these two cards, the silver is actually uglier than the copper version, so why the heck would anyone prioritize having the silver version?

It makes me very frustrated to see this happening. And the companies don;t even realize that they are eroding the ground on which they stand. there are only so many innovations that can be applied to baseball cards, and serial numbering is one of them. They demean the intrigue of a serial numbering when they do things like create a million variations of the same thing. Soon enough people won’t care about serial numbering, which means that the companies will lose that innovation as a selling point for their products, and they will have to move on to new ideas. Sooner or later there will be no new ideas worth implementing and baseball cards will lose much of their value and relevance. In essence, manufacturing companies are doing the same thing that the American public did leading up to this recession. They are taxing their future in favor of living large in the present."

What does everyone think of the issue? I'd like to hear people's different takes on it.

Mail from Dinged Corners

Recently I received a package from Dinged Corners. I had expressed an interest in a couple cards from the 08 Moments and Milestones set that had been posted as being available for trade. Little did I expect this entire package! Here's what was sent my way:

2007 Topps Chrome: #MMS8 Mickey Mantle Story

2004 Fleer Tradition: Texas Team Leaders

2008 Goudey: #131 Ian Kennedy

2006 World Baseball Classic: #5 Alex Rodriguez

There was a bunch of T206

#120 Derek Jeter

#100 Ramiro Pena (RC)

#261 Johnny Damon

#248 Mariano Rivera

More T206:

CL1 Mickey Mantle

CL2 Mickey Mantle

NNo Mickey Mantle (SP)

#73 Joba Chamberlain (Bronze Border)

#184 Jorge Posada (Bronze Border)

I actually like the T206 set, I think I will try to collect the base cards for the players that I normally collect, and maybe some SPs.

Contrary to what I've heard from a lot of people, I enjoy this set. Sure Topps employed somewhat of a manipulative rarity system, but as someone who collects a lot of players in this set, it is really nice way of looking at their achievements.

There were five of Arod: 4 commemorating his 500 career home runs (2 of which were black variations #d/25) and 1 commemorating his 54 hrs in 2007.

I also got a Mickey, a Cano, and a Pettitte.

I really like the look of this set but the arrangement can certainly be frustrating to try to collect. Either way, I'm certainly happy to have the cards.

Then there are these Jeters. These are not confusing at all. I actually have 2 of the ones from this countdown. I think the design on these is great. The affect of the gold strips behind him give the feeling of triumph, which I like. Even though a random sampling from the entire set may look disjointed, once you put several cards of the same countdown together, they look great.

Last but not least:

A Mark Teixeira Bowman Heritage relic

It came with a note explaining the the scrape on the right edge as damage that was there when pulled from the pack :( Come on Bowman! People pay good money and hope to pull nice stuff, not damaged product. However, I can still appreciate it. If you hold it with your finger over the damaged part, it's pretty sweet!

Thank you Dinged Corners for the generosity of the package. I hope you enjoy what I've sent in return.

Trip to Rite-Aid

I picked up some package materials for trade packages that I need to send out, and I happened to see that they had some 09 Chrome. Of course, how could I say no to some chrome. I got four packs. Here they are:

Pack1:

#56 Randy Johnson

#138 Joba Chamberlain

#195 Kenshin Kawakami (RF)

#57 Jon Garland

It's a good pack when I pull a Yankee that I like. Can't forget about the freshly retired Randy Johnson.

Pack2:

#137 Travis Hafner

#104 Victor Martinez

#W38 Cheng-Ming Peng (WBC)

#97 Dustin Pedroia

I am a chrome Hafner magnet. In the span of a booster and 8 some-odd packs I've pulled 3 regular Hafners and 1 XF. Apparently there were no retakes allowed for the WBC photo shoot cause some of these guys pics are laughable.

Pack3:

#6 Jon Lester

#215 Anthony Claggett

#6 Jon Lester (XF)

#147 Garret Anderson

Two Lesters in one pack! The odds of that have got to be awfully slim. I like the XF better than the RF. This guy Claggett keeps coming up too. I have 2 normal and an RF of him, which works out fine cause he's a Yank. Anyone know if he's any good?

Pack4:

#30 Chris Young

#120 Curtis Granderson

#18 Jermaine Dye (RF)

#205 Ramiro Pena

Check List 1

Sweet Ramiro! I finally got Pena. I'm glad that they don't consider the CL one of your four cards for the pack. It's hard to tell but the Dye is in fact a RF.

The Pena and the Chamberlain are mine but everything else is fair game for trade.