A Dozen Packs Down and This One is Completely Mutant...

I have 81 points up to this point and I am ready to rip pack #12, aka the halfway point in this 2011 Gint-A-Cuffs box. This pack was pretty crazy, mutant really. I have never heard of a short print hot pack, but if such a thing exists, this is it… Anyway, here is my 12th pack…

I will start with a favorite player of mine, not my “Favorite Player”, but a fave nonetheless… I’m talking about card #138 of Cubs pitcher Matt Garza. This dude pitched the first and only no-hitter in Tampa Bay Rays history and they traded him the very next season. Thanks to the WGN Superstation, I have got to see Garza pitch quite a bit this year. I think he is a better pitcher than his 6-8 record indicates. The Cubs are giving Garza even less run support than the Rays did… Garza currently has a career LOW 3.68 ERA and 157 strikeouts in 151 innings. No points, but I ain’t worried…

The next 3 cards didn’t yield me any points either, but just you wait… Featured here are card #94 of Josh Rodriguez, #84 of Gregory Infante and card #167 of Adam LaRoche.
Things start to get a little odd with the next few cards. The 5th card out of the pack is card #330 of Yankees Ace CC Sabathia. I lose a point because CC is a stupid Yankee, but I gain 2 points cuz it is a short print. I still get 1 point total from this card and I am not done with the short print goodness.
Next up is card #345 of current Brewers Ace Zack Greinke. Another freaking short print and they came back to back! I don’t get the Yankees penalty on this one, just 2 points for being a short print. Not too shabby…
I am still in shock that I got 2 short prints consecutively… One of a current Brew Crew hurler, one of a past… But wait, there is more!
A Home Town Heroes card of EVERYONE’S Favorite Player Jon Lester. Like Raymond, everybody loves Jon Lester and I get a total of 3 points for this piece of cardboard and I am not finished cuz there is one mini left in the pack…
This particular mini is card #327 of David DeJesus. Another freakin’ short print, but this one is an even tougher pull… The regular short prints are 1 in two packs and I got two in one, but the mini SP is 1 in 13 packs, so this could be my one and only in this box…. Plus 3 points for the Troll, woo hoo!
Even losing a point for CC being a stupid Yankee I still come away with 9 points for this pack… Everything except for the SP base cards are up for trade…

If you are collecting the set I have noticed that I have a dupe of SP card #323 of Orlando Hudson. If anyone needs it, let me know… First reader to respond in the comments AND read this awesome post from everyone’s favorite nocturnal birdy blogger can have it – no strings attached… You should probably mention something about the Night Owl post in the comments to indicate that you read it… I am sure you did. If you wasted your time reading my silly posts and you aren’t reading the Night Owl on a daily basis, you aren’t making the best use of your time… Just saying…

Thanks for reading. After twelve packs I have 90 points. If I stay on this pace I will not be the 2011 Gint-A-Cuffs champion, BUT I think things will be getting better, so look out Nachos Grande, the Troll is coming!!! Go Rays! Troll out.

Ripping Again, Gint-A-Cuffs Pack Number Ten

The Gint-A-Cuffs Commissioner has encouraged me to keep posting, so I can’t stop now! With his blessing/command/demand/encouragement/ threats I will continue on and post pack number 10.

I have 69 points thus far, which I feel is respectable. I have been trying to post these in the order in which they came out of the box and when you rip a whole bunch, you generally start slow, but I think it will get better. I mean BJ Upton can’t be the only Rays player in an entire box and I am pretty sure that Brian Roberts is in the set somewhere…

Anyway, onward to pack #10 in my Gint-A-Cuffs adventure!
Here is what I got:

The first card out is card #126 of Brave pitcher Jair Jurrjens. I say his name out loud every time I pull a card of his. Say it with me, Jair Jurrjens. It’s fun…

Plus Jurrjens is having a fantastic season - his 2.71 leads all starters on a very good Atlanta pitching staff.

Next up is yet another cool looking horizontal card, #150 of Rockies All Star, Gold Glove, Silver Slugging shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.

The same Troy Tulowitzki from the fabled Favorite Player list! This horizontal card nabs me 2 points!

Shifting back to the standard vertical orientation we have card #170 Timmy Lincecum.

I didn’t even check the Fave Player list because I know that no one would select a member of the Giants for that distinction.

Staying west of the Mississippi we have card #185 of D-Backs right fielder Justin Upton, BJ’s little bro… The younger Upton is having a heckuva good season so far - he has already established new career highs in runs scored and doubles and will probably do the same with homers and RBIs by the time the season is over.

No points, but I will never complain about pulling an Upton…

Heading back East for a moment we have card #110 of Rays pitcher Jake McGee.

Yep, I said Rays – my FAVORITE team!!! Add 1 point to that total! I saw McGee pitch for the Port Charlotte Stone Crabs in a game in 2009 and was left unimpressed, but he made it to the big leagues that same year. He has split time in the bullpen in 2011 between the Bulls and the Rays. I am pretty sure this is my first card of his. Awesome!

Speaking of awesome, the next card out of the pack is card #310 of the Bison, Matt Kemp.

Being a short print gives me plus 2, plus another extra 2 points for being on the favorite players list. 2 fave players in 1 pack, sweet! Kemp is blowing up this year and has a shot at the Triple Crown… He leads the NL with 31 homers, is second in RBI with 100 and is 4th in batting, plus he joined the 30-30 club and is having another Gold Glove type season.

If the season ended today, Kemp would get my vote for NL MVP. For now I am thrilled with the 4 points that I get for this card! Oh, and by the way, once I complete my Gint-A-Cuffs posts you can look forward to Matt Kemp being a CT Card of the Day because he meets two requirements - he has a cool nickname and he is the pride of Midwest City, Oklahoma...

I have 2 cards left, one small and one standard.

We will start with the standard sized card, #HH48 of Rays All Star third baseman Evan Longoria. By his standards Longo is having an off year, but I still thank my lucky stars that the Rays picked third in 2006 and we didn't end up with Luke Hochevar or Greg Reynolds...

Chalk up 2 more points for this one!

2 Rays in one pack and a whole bunch of scoring…
The final card in the pack is a mini, card #293 of 2 non sports, completely insignificant people. It was a great pack up to this point. Oh well. I still get 9 points for this pack. It brings my total up to 78. Not bad. Stay tuned, I will try and obey the Commissioner and continue to post… Gint-A-Cuffs rocks! Go Rays! Troll out.

It's High Time For Pack Nine!

I am posting like its 2009, trying really hard to get my Gint-A-Cuffs packs posted… My wife bought me the sweet binder from the ads that showed up in packs… The binder was way too big to scan and I couldn't locate my camera, so look for a scan of it sometime in the future. I have been told that these binders were a bit pricey, but it is a really nice binder and it was MEGA SWEET of her to get it for me. I bought 50 pages from the LCS yesterday and I am ready to get these posted and put away in the binder.

I had done some trading and got pretty far along on a lot of the mini subsets, but I am just starting to put the base set together and with only 8 packs worth of cards, there are a TON of empty slots in the binder… Anyway, regarding the 2011 Gint-A-Cuffs competition, I have 62 points after my first 8 packs.

Here we go with pack number nine…
Let’s start with card #139 of US men’s soccer goalie Tim Howard. Howard is one of the few soccer players out there that I actually recognize, but if I am pulling soccer players Hope Solo would have been nicer, but…

Next up is card #108 of Philadelphia’s fifth starter Roy Oswalt. The Wizard of Os is the only pitcher on the Phillies staff who has started more than 7 games this year AND has a losing record… Still, for a 23rd round draft pick, dude has turned out a damn nice career.

The one thing he is missing is a ring. He was always one of Houston's few brightspots in the postseason, but he only made it to the Series once and it didn't work out so well but the Philadelphia juggernaut might deliver that ring for him in 2011.

The 3rd and 4th cards out of the pack are a couple of no-point-value-cards of guys from the NL Central - card #295 of Cards pitcher Chris Carpenter and #156 of Cubs outfielder Marlon Byrd.

The 5th card in this pack is #251 of Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond… Desmond commits his share of errors and his batting average is a bit low, but I think he has a long career ahead of him. Maybe my glasses are rose colored because he was born, raised and lives in the same town as I work in (Sarasota, FL), but I am a fan of him and dig this horizontal card…

Once I get my Gint-A-Cuffs packs fully posted I intend on doing many more Ginter related posts, including some regarding my Ginter-Mini-Franken-Set. If I get on the ball I can stretch that thing out for an entire year. I am bringing it up because Ian Desmond will definitely need a spot in my Frankenset cuz I gotta rep the locals.

Card #6 was the best so far as after 5 cards I was pointless in this pack.

Pointless no longer – I pulled card #329 of the second overall pick in the 2005 draft Alex Gordon. AG is having a good year at the plate and has found his home in the outfield and leads AL outfielders with 20 assists this season. More importantly for me, he is a short print and earns me my first 2 points of this pack. He has improved so much this season, I think next year he has a shot to be on next years Gint-A-Cuffs Fave Player List...

Once I start scoring points I can’t stop…

The next card I pulled is #FF12 of La Gloire from the Floating Fortresses insert set. It’s good for 2 more points!
The last card in the pack, yep I actually got the advertised 8 cards in this pack, is a MINI! From the Step Right Up insert set it is card #SRU2 featuring Fire Breathing. From the first card I saw I fell in love with this set. I really love side shows and carnival art and I have actually finished the 10 card set, so this is a dupe for me. I should mention, although it has been years since I have done it, I have done fire breathing and fire swallowing without lighting my hair on fire... Maybe someday I will try it again cuz it's pretty cool. I am happy, but it was somehow anticlimactic. Always is. Anyway, the card is good for an extra 3 points AND it is available for trade. It brings my pack total up to 7 points.

Not spectacular, but it keeps me in the game. I have the next 3 packs scanned already, so stay tuned for more Gint-A-Cuffs fun and games… Oh, my total has jumped to 69 points!!! Yay! Pack #10 will be coming in a matter of hours. Who knows if I will bother to get some sleep tonight? I have a ton to do tomorrow before I go to work and I want to keep on posting. Where is the coffee? Go Rays! Troll out.

The Gint-A-Cuffs Train Keeps a Rollin'...

With 48 points so far on my 2011 Gint-A-Cuffs run, it is time for pack #7, aka my MONEY PACK! Here is what I got…
Card #231 of Rangers pitcher CJ Wilson. He is followed by Phillies slugger Ryan Howard on card #65. I checked the favorite player list twice for Howard, but that is a negative… Next up is a sweet horizontal card of Howard’s teammate and 2008 Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee on card #290. Again, negative on the FP list. Hmm…
Who needs the fav player list when you’re pulling short prints? Next up is card #327 of Nationals closer Drew Storen. The 2009 first rounder is having a great year so far with a 6-2 record, 2.77 ERA and 34 saves. Even better is that Storen earns me 2 points for being a short print.
The next card is #241 of New York Mets first baseman and first round pick from 2008, Ike Davis. No points…
Card #6 in pack #7 is another sweet horizontal card and I have to say I definitely prefer the horizontals in this year’s Ginter. I prefer this cuz it is card #236 of Rays centerfielder BJ Upton. It is the first card I have pulled from my favorite team which earns me a point, plus it is probably the coolest looking A and G Upton card I have seen so far… That brings my point total for this pack up to 3 (and counting!).
Next up is card # HH40 of Brewers first baseman and 2011 MVP candidate Prince Fielder. Again, how is this dude not on the fav player list??? Either way I get a point for being a Hometown Heroes card… Prince Fielder is a fellow Floridian. I was born in Broward County, Fielder is from Brevard. He went to the same high school as Tim Wakefield. Cool. Four points so far…
My last card is a little one. A high points, super awesome little one. It is card #140 of 2010 Cy Young Award winner King Felix Hernandez AND it is a black bordered mini. That is plus 3 for BB-mini and another plus 3 for pulling a mini from the Favorite Player List. Finally! The 6 points for King Felix makes this pack worth 10 points. That brings my grand total up to 58. Not too shabby…
I have 17 more packs to rip and I totally plan on knocking them out quickly. I have a deeper reason. My wife is getting less pleased about the 17 packs of cards sitting all over the house. I don’t wanna put any cards into the binder until I post them. They really need to get these cards put away which means I really need to get them posted…
Aside from BJ, everything is up for trade… More Gint-A-Cuffs fun to come! Go Rays! Troll out.

A Quick Gint-A-Cuffs Post, Pack Numero Cinco...

Back again for more high scoring action, Gint-A-Cuffs pack numero cinco (5)…
I have 20 packs left to post and now that I have a scanner I am out of excuses… Only a few minutes before I have to go to work… Here we go:
First off 3 people who don’t play baseball, card # 3 of Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz. Stupid Lou costs me a point. He is followed by card #11 of Iron Chef Marc Forgione… I should lose a point for pulling a card of a dude with that name who spells it in that manner… Next is card #242 of a lady who dances, Cheryl Burke. Three cards in and I am down a point…
Next up is redemption!!! Card #309 of A’s catcher Kurt Suzuki!!! This may be one of my favorite base cards so far. A play at the plate and he is OUT!!! Very nice. Plus 2 cuz he is an SP. Is that John Lackey sliding in? Weird…
Next up is a Hometown Heroes card of David DeJesus. He is from Englishtown, New Jersey which has a big drag (racing, not queens…) strip in it. Big racing town, went there often as a kid. Plus 1 for Hometown Heroes. Plus 2 total for the pack…
My last card is a mini. Card #214 of Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus. I was hoping he might be PaTP’s fav players, I was hoping, but he went with Josh Hamilton and pulled a bunch of his cards and scored a lot of points. I score nothing for this. Pack 5, 2 points. Gint-A-Cuffs rocks!!! Oh, I had 39 points already after my first 4 packs, so I have upped my total to 41! Assuming I don't get called in to work tomorrow I should be able to post a few more packs... As always EVERYTHING is up for trade... Thanks for reading! Go Rays! Troll out.

The Joy of a Completed Page - 46 Year Old Short Print Edition...

First off. Sorry about the "no posts" last night. I worked a VERY long double shift yesterday and fully intended on putting together a month's worth of posts in one night. Small problem. I couldn't get internet outdoors anymore like I did last year. I didn't bring my handy dandy USB LAN adaptor thingy and just couldn't get online, so I wrote a couple of posts in Word, but they need some work before they are ready to go. I am trying to get my Jeep back up and running today, so I am a little busy, BUT I didn't want to go all day without a post, SO...

How about the Joy of a Completed Page? I have finished several pages in my 1965 Topps binder - actually I have finished 23 pages. Some pages have Hall of Famers on them, some have sweet rookies, the one I posted a couple of weeks back had little pictures of 11 (should be 12, Ron Santo...) different Hall of Famers including Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Sandy Koufax and Brooks Robinson... I worked hard and spent big to finish that page and I am really proud of it. Today's page doesn't have the big names on it, but is far rarer than PAGE 1. When I started my mission in collecting this set I wanted to start at card one and work my way up 9 cards at a time. I let it be known that I wanted '65 Topps cards badly and a bunch of you traded with me and I snatched up every '65 Topps card that walked into my LCS. I also bought a few lots of cards here and there on the auction sites. What ended up happening was I got higher numbered cards than I had intended. Originally I just kept all cards numbered above 300 randomly in pages, not in numerical order. Well, my Mother-In-Law got me a box of Ultra Pro pages as a birthday gift this year so I decided to spread the binder out to include 70 pages. Enough to house cards 1-598 in order with a few extra pages for dupes. Anyway, I realized I had more short prints than I thought. To be honest, I don't know anything about the print totals in this set or what is a short print or how short printed they are.

I have always understood that cards numbered 523 to 598 are super short-printed. There are some NICE cards in there. Lou Brock (thanks Wicked!) and Tony Perez' rookie card might be the 2 best, they are the 2 best in my binder at least. Anyway, I got off track, but I am hoping that someone can tell me more about short prints in this set. On the auction sites sellers seem to tag any card higher than 300 as an SP in the description. I don't believe that. I have also been told that cards 485 (Nellie Fox) and above are all SPs. If THAT is the case, then this page I am showing today would be a legit group of 9 short prints. Anyway, any full page is pretty awesome in my book (or binder!). If these really are short prints than even better. Included on this page are card #489 Gene Mauch, 490 Earl Battey, 491 Tracy Stallard, 492 Gene Freese, 493 Tigers Rookies, 494 Jay Ritchie, 495 Joe Christopher, 496 Joe Cunningham and 497 Giants Rookies.

Hopefully someone can tell me if these are legit SPs. Either way, I am pretty happy to fill a page in the second half of the ole binder. Collecting this set has been amazingly fun for me. I love this hobby, I really do, but if you are getting burned out on it I would highly recommend chasing a Topps set from the 60s, 70s or early 80's. It will definitely get your hobby blood pumping again! Thanks for reading! As always, you are encouraged to check out my want list for this amazing set. I have passed the 50% completion point and I don't want to slow down! I love this game, I love this hobby! Back to work on the Jeep... Wish me luck... Go vintage! troll out.

The Joy of a Completed Page OF SHORT PRINTS!!!

I thought I would take a brief break from talking about 2010 Topps to write about 2008 Topps, Allen and Ginter. I was late to this party and didn’t rip any until just a few months ago, but my luck has been great and the set is getting very close. I received an amazing package from Democratic Roadkill featuring all kinds of goodies including the final cards on my A&G want list to finish off the set. Well, it turns out that the list wasn’t accurate-someone said they were sending something and it never got to me. Last night I thought I was done with this one, but after putting the new cards away I see that I am close, but not there yet… I am feeling the joy of about 25 completed pages, but more importantly I am feeling the joy of a completed page of short prints! Yep, cards #327-335 are mine! I am 100% done with the fifty United State cards. I am also the new owner of a whole bunch of minis and World’s Greatest Victories cards. Anyway, here is the completed page and here is what I need to finish the remainder of the pages: 43,55,83,95,238,305,315,318,320,341 and 348. I say this often, but THANKS DUANE!!! You rock! The cards were absolutely amazing. Pitchers and catchers report TOMORROW! That means I will probably be bumping into Matt Wieners and Zach Duke at 7-11. Up next: more trades, my first Carl Crawford card from 2010, more 2010 Topps, 3 from 3s and cards of the day... Go Rays! Troll out.