My Dance With 2011 Topps Lineage...

Like every other blogger I picked up some 2011 Topps Lineage. It was a new product, there ain’t much going out there in hobby world and I was curious. Well, like pretty much everyone else it was a big fat let down. I did plan on posting the let down and I scanned the whole pack a couple weeks ago, but I was worried that I missed the boat on posting Lineage in a timely fashion, but today I noticed several posts, including this ONE regarding ’11 TL, so I figured the window was still open, plus I really don’t want any of these cards and I can’t trade ‘em if no one knows I have ‘em.

Anyway, my simple review is that these look like a 90’s bargain retail set, like something from Score/Pinnacle family that should be 99 cents a pack. If this product had that price level, I would probably be way into it, but it doesn’t work as a “premium product”. Before I start I need to apologize for the really bad scans. I am still getting used to my new scanner and this was one of my first scanning jobs - anyway, I cropped the hell out of everything, chopped off tops and bottoms and...

Okay, enough yakking, here is my pack. The cards fell into 3 easy categories… First category is the stoopid Yankees.

Got four of them. 1 is pretty cool. How could you not like a card of Lou Gehrig? Conversely, it is pretty darn easy to not like cards of Derek Jeter. Also in the lot o’ Yanks is Robby Cano and Andruw Jones. I didn’t even realize AJ was a Yankee. Heck, I didn't realize that he was still in the Big Leagues. Huh…

The next grouping was the Cardinals. I was thinking about sending these directly to Madding from Cards on Cards because it has been far too long since I have sent him a care package, but I started thinking that maybe he had these already, so I thought I would just post them and see what happened. Among the Cards, like the lot of Yankees, there was one card (Card) I was particularly pleased about pulling. Getting a card of Hoot, aka Bob Gibson is always awesome… Joining him in this pack is Chris Carpenter, Lance Berkman and a sparkly card of Matt Holliday.

The third grouping in this pack wasn’t of a specific team, rather a position. Yep, these are all speedy young middle infielders… Starting with Twinkies rookie Tsuyoshi Nishioka on card #24. Joining him are Cubs phenom, All Star Starlin Castro on card #136. Castro is leading the NL in hits and looks like the real deal. Unfortunately I forgot to scan his card, oops, bad troll. The final card in the shortstop section of my rack pack is card #12 of Texas’ shortstop Elvis Andrus, who is 5th in the AL with 32 steals.

I did have a couple more cards in my 14-card jumbo pack that failed to fall into specific categories… This first one is pretty awesome. Card #192 of the 1959 Rookie of the Year Willie McCovey complete with with a big ol’ Topps All Star rookie trophy. Nice. Next up is card #183 of Brian McCann. I’ve been told that McCann Can Triple, he can and he has. Twice in 7 seasons, but not since 2009. He has been an All Star for 6 consecutive seasons and he looks like he is looking for something, but what, I don’t know… The last card in the pack is a 2011 Rookies Commemorative Set card of Padres pitcher Corey Luebke. Luebke is 5-6 so far this year, but has a nice low ERA of 2.99 in 99 innings of work. Honestly I was shocked that San Diego didn't deal him at the deadline. This card is number 19 of 20. I thought this insert set was a nice touch, especially getting it in a rack pack, it took me back. As a kid I always started trying to chase these glossy inserts, but never got far and always gave up.

Anyway, this is my 14-card foray into 2011 Topps Lineage. Had I read the Waxaholic review before I plunked down the 5 bucks for this pack I probably would have spent my money on something else, but then again, I probably still would have given it a spin. I do know that I have no interest in hanging onto ANY of these cards, so if you have any interest in any of them, claim them in the comments and drop a Troll a line… Oh, before I sign off, I know it has been a long time between posts, I am still back and I have a world of stories to share and a number of reasons why I haven’t been a posting fool and I have a number of posts that are sitting in the queue have finished. Look forward to seeing a bunch of ‘em in the week upcoming… Go Rays! Troll out.

3 Things to LOVE About 2009 SP Authentic, A 3 From 2 Post

I have not ripped a single pack of ’09 SP Authentic, but I finished off the Rays team set a while back which was my main concern. It’s a good looking design. If I had a few bucks to spend and I saw a pack, I probably would have gone for it, I just NEVER SAW A PACK. NOW, I don’t even want to rip a pack. I have the best of a box right here. This would have been a 3 from 3 post, but it’s actually 3 from 2. The first card is part of my winning from the contest on Cobb and Halladay and the other two were part of the monster deal that I worked out with Wax Pack Relapse. I actually have a 4th card on its way to me from this subset. It has Nolan Ryan and Scott Kazmir on it. For now, this is what I have in my greedy little hands. The subset is called Generations Memorabilia and each card is a duel relic featuring a current player and one from a decade prior. Up first is card #GM-GP of Bob Gibson (representing the 1960’s) and Jake Peavy (representing the 2000s). I can’t think of a better pitcher to represent an entire decade than Bob Gibson of the St. Louis Cards. During the sixties Gibby struck out 200 or more batters 7 times and he topped 20 victories four times. He was an All Star 6 times in the decade and he won 2 Gold Gloves, a Cy Young Award and 2 World Series rings. He owned the decade. It’s hard for anyone to compare to Gibson and Jake Peavy is the other dude on the card with Gibby. Peavy is representing the 2000s. Let’s see how he stacks up. JP struck out 200 or more guys 3 times. He didn’t top 20 wins, didn’t win any rings or Gold Gloves. He was an All Star twice and he did win a Cy Young Award in 2007. We will still just call him the other dude. The back of the card says the memorabilia was certified to be used in a MLB game. It doesn’t say by whom though. I am sure that Hoot has never been anywhere near that little gray swatch, but it does look old and that is enough to make me love it. Thanks Joe for a great contest and a great card!
The next two came from Wax Pack Relapse. The first one is number GM-SL and features a pair of third basemen, Mike Schmidt and Evan Longoria. Schmidt represents the 1980s and once again they picked the number one third baseman in the National League to represent that decade. In the 80’s Schmidt was an All Star 8 times, he won 7 Gold Gloves and 6 Silver Slugger Awards. He led the league in long balls 5 times and took home 3 MVP trophies. He also won a pair of National League Pennants and a World Championship in 1980. Paired with him on the other side, representing the 2000’s is Evan Longoria. Longo is off to a great start, he has a ton of potential, but he is a long way from Mike Schmidt. That’s okay though. Having a card of the greatest third baseman of the 80’s (the decade I grew up watching baseball) and the current star third baseman from my favorite team is pretty awesome. I don’t know if it gets better, but the next card is pretty close. This one is number (letter) GM-BL and features Wade Boggs (90’s) and Evan Longoria once again for the 2000s. If I had to choose I would pick Schmidt over Boggs, but there is something awesome about the pairing of Boggs and Longo. The card shows both of them in (Devil) Rays gear, hell the swatches are probably cut from the same rag. Boggs doesn’t rep his decade as well as Gibby or MJS, but he does okay. In the 1990’s Boggs was an All Star 7 times, a Silver Slugger 3 times and twice a Gold Glove. He also added a World Series victory and a ride on a horse in ’96 and he was an original Tampa Bay Devil Ray, PLUS he is the only one of the 6 guys shown here who can say he got 3000 hits. I like the pairing of the current star with the legend, but I think it works MUCH better when they are from the same team. I mentioned at the top that I am waiting on the Nolan Ryan and Scott Kazmir pairing from this set. I don’t mind that pairing because Kazmir IS the Rays original ACE. I would like a card of JP Howell and Esteban Yan, but I would probably be the only one. I should probably just look up the checklist, but I would rather just make up some more pairings that I think would be awesome. Ben Grieve and Carl Crawford, Fred McGriff and Carlos Pena, Quinton McCracken and BJ Upton, Wilson Alvarez and David Price, Rolando Arrojo and Matt Garza, Larry Doby and Grady Sizemore, Roberto Clemente and Andrew McCutchen, Danny Tartabull and Billy Butler, Tony Oliva and Delmon Young, Bobby Grich and Brian Roberts and the last one-Bert Blyleven and Pat Neshek, BRING IT!!! A huge thank you to both Cobb and Halladay and Wax Pack Relapse for the AMAZING cards!!! These are not only my first relics of Schmidt and Gibson; they are my first of Longo and Boggs, too. Thanks guys! Go Rays! troll out.

Brock's Leadoff HR Starts Cards Romp!

Today’s card of the day is from the 1969 Topps set, card #165 titled “Brock’s Lead-Off HR Starts Cards’ Romp; Gibson Wins 7th in a Row”. The front of the card shows Brock hitting the second pitch of the game from Denny McClain into the seats to spark a 10-1 St. Louis win. Bob Gibson pitched a complete game 5-hit, 1 run victory while striking out 10 Tigers and both Brock and Tim McCarver had 3 hits on the day for the Cards. Al Kaline was the lone Tiger to have 2 hits and only 3 of his teammates reached base that day. The game was Bob Gibson’s 7th consecutive World Series victory and improved his career mark to 7-1 in the Series. Lou Brock was 3-5 with a pair of runs scored that day and he had an outstanding Series himself. His final stats included a .464 batting average, 2 homers, 5 RBI and 7 stolen bases. This victory gave the Cards a 3 games to 1 advantage over the Tigers in the 1968 World Series. Of course the Tigers came back and took game 5, pummeled 7 different Cardinals pitchers in game 6, winning 13-1 to set up a decisive game 7. Gibson started for the Cards trying for his 3rd win in that Series and his 8th consecutive. His opposition would be Mickey Lolich, the Tigers number 2 starter that year, who was on fire in the Classic. Lolich was the better man that day and his pitched his 3rd complete game of the Series, collecting his 3rd win and sealing the Cards doom. It was a tight game, both pitchers went the distance, but the Tigers rallied in the 7th inning scoring 3 runs, which is all Lolich needed. The scoring began when Jim Northrup belted a 2-run triple to center which scored Cash and Horton. Northrup scored himself when Bill Freehan doubled him home. The Tigers took game seven 4-1 and Lolich (3-0 1.67 ERA) was the surprise hero and the Series MVP after putting in a Gibson-like performance in the Classic. This is the second Gibson related World Series card that I have focused on, but he was that good-especially in the big games. Gibby’s career numbers in the Series are awe inspiring. Check this out: He was 7-2 in 9 starts. 8 complete games and 2 shutouts. He had a 1.89 ERA with only 17 walks to 92 strikeouts. That’s right, 92 freaking Ks in the World Series! They came over 81 innings giving Gibson an average of 9 innings per start in the WS. He finished every game he started except for 1 where he left after 8 innings, but 1 complete game went 10 innings. He pitched in 3 World Series for the Cards during the sixties, winning the first 2 and losing the final against the Detroit Tigers in 1969. He was the World Series MVP in the two that the Cards won in 1964 and 1968. At the plate he had 28 at-bats, getting 4 hits for a .143 batting average. Not too great, but 2 of those hits left the park. Not many players have 2 career World Series homers, especially a pitcher who averages 9 innings a start…
I really miss the days when the Ace of a staff went 9 innings regardless… At least I have my cards to remind me that it used to happen. I think that free agent starters should look at the box score on the back of this card and see what Bob Gibson did BEFORE they think they deserve 100 million dollar contracts because that is the bar of a great pitcher. I love this game, I love this hobby! Oh-by the by... A Colorado Rockies collector has stepped forward! Waiting for an e-mail and then the trading-free-for-all can beging! Troll out.

A Cardboard Rewind of Bob Gibson and the 1964 World Series!

By his incredible standards you could call 1964 an off year for Bob Gibson. He failed to win twenty games (19-12), he only struck out 245 that year and his ERA was a hefty 3.01. At the plate he only drove in 4 runs with no homers after putting up this line in ’63-.207/3/20. He only completed 17 games and didn’t lead the league in a single category. He didn’t even make the All Star team or receive a single vote for the Cy Young Award (Dean Chance won); by all accounts it was an off year for Hoot (but would have been a career year for a mortal hurler). It took career years from the rest of the St. Louis pitching staff (Ray Sadecki 20-11, Curt Simmons 18-9) to help the slacking Gibby lead the Cards to a 93-69 record and an NL Pennant.
Their foes in the World Series were the Yankees who had appeared in 14 World Series in 16 years. They had been the dominant team of the 40’s, and then the 50’s and it looked like they would do the same in the sixties. The Yankees fell to the Dodgers in ’63, replaced their manager with Yogi Berra and won the AL Pennant again to earn the chance to face the Cardinals in the Fall Classic. The Yankees beat Bob Gibson in game 2; Gibby came back and beat them in Game 5 in one of the most exciting games of the Series. Gibson had shut the Yankees down all day, but in the bottom of the 9th Tom Tresh hit a two-run homer to tie the game at 2 a piece. The Cards would come back in the top of the 10th when Tim McCarver hit a home run himself. Gibson shut the Yankees down in the bottom of the 10th for a 10-inning complete game. The series back to St. Louis and Jim Bouton won game 6 behind homers from Mantle, Maris and Pepitone to tie the series at 3 each and bring on a decisive game seven.
Game 7 was played on October 15, 1964 at the tiny Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis in front of just over 30,000 fans. After battling in game five Gibson and Mel Stottlemyre were both back on two days rest to square off in game 7. The title line on today’s card of the day gives away the surprise. Bob Gibson’s regular card in the set is number 320 and it shows a close-up of the great power pitcher in spring training before the first pitch of the season. Today’s card of the day is card #138 in the set and it shows Gibby on the mound in game 7 with the headline: Gibson Wins Finale. This is the 7th of 8 cards in the set that chronicle the ’64 World Series, one for each game, plus the final card, #139, titled Cards Celebrate.
Back to the main card of the day… The front shows that Gibson won, beating New York 7-5, a quick flip of the card shows the game’s box score on the back. The disparity between the sizes of the lineups in the box score makes me laugh. The Cardinals finished the game with the same 9 guys who started it. The Yankees on the other hand used 5 different pitchers and 3 pinch hitters. Gibson shut the Yankees down for the first five innings and had a pretty cushy 6-0 lead, but Mickey Mantle cut the lead in half with a 3 run homer in the top of the sixth. There was no scoring from either team until Ken Boyer (3-4 that game), who led the NL in RBI that year, hit a solo homer in the bottom of the 7th to set the score at 7-3, in favor of the Cards. That score held until the top of the 9th when the Yankees, backs to wall, unloaded against Gibson. Tom Tresh, who had homered earlier, struck out to lead off the inning, bringing up Ken Boyer’s (Cards) brother Clete Boyer (Yanks). This had to be a proud day for the Boyer family because both of the Boyer boys (both 3rd basemen) homered that day. Clete Boyer’s solo shot make it 7-4, Cards. With the pitcher’s spot in the order up, back-up catcher Johnny Blanchard got the call to pinch hit and Gibson struck him out for the 2nd out in the 9th. 25-year-old utility guy Phil Linz was the Yankees final hope. Linz started the game at shortstop (Tony Kubek was injured and missed the Series) and was the Yankees lead-off hitter. He had made an error earlier in the game and was looking for redemption. He got it, getting his 2nd hit of the day, a solo homerun to left field to bring the Yankees a little bit closer. With two outs in the 9th, the Yankees were down 7-5. Gibson remained in the game despite giving up two homers in the inning, he wanted this one. He still had a two-run lead and needed just one more out. All Star second baseman Bobby Richardson (.406 BA in Series) was the batter. Richardson popped one up, second baseman Del Maxvill pulled it in, the game was over and the St. Louis Cardinals were World Champions! Like the card told us earlier when it spoiled the surprise, “Gibson Wins Finale, Game #7-St. Louis 7, New York 5. This would be Gibson’s first World Championship-he pitched in 3 games, finished 2 of them and earned two wins. His final stat line for the Series was 2-1, 3.00 ERA. He went 27 innings, gave up 23 hits and struck out an incredible 31 Yankees-a World Series record. He was named the Series MVP and in 1965 he would return to his dominate self (winning 20 games and striking out 270) and would finish the decade as one of the most dominate pitchers ever. As for the Yankees, this would be their last World Series for 12 seasons-they would return in ’76 and be the victims of the Reds 4 game sweep. Perhaps it was Gibson’s game 7 toying with them that broke their winning spirit. That is my take on the game and the Series, but here is what the back of the card had to say: "St. Louis pitcher, Bob Gibson, survived a 9th inning rally by the Yankees as the Cardinals won the 1964 World Championship title. Pitching with just two days rest, Bob Gibson set a World Series strikeout mark, fanning 31 Yankee batters in 27 innings." I love this game, I love this hobby! As a collecting end note-as my friend Master Mike of JDs Wild collects cards of phenom pitchers, I collect Topps originals of my favorie dominate pitchers of the 50's, sixties and seventies-Billy Pierce, Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, Juan Marichal and Steve Carlton. The collection is pretty small, but I do love these '65 Gibsons! A '65 Koufax would be a nice addition, too... Troll out.

Its a 2009 Topps Series 2 Pack Break!!!!

I haven’t posted a pack break in a while, so here goes…
I normally get so excited that I end up ripping it in the car, then forgetting it. This one I saved till I got home.
I had got off work at midnight, was paid in cash and although I had many bills to pay, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to hit the Wal Mart (which is not even close to being on my way home) in search of 2009 Heritage blaster boxes. They had none. In fact I haven’t been able to find retail boxes anywhere. Sucks. Well, I couldn’t allow the power to be shut off for anything but Heritage, but since I had driven all the way out there, I couldn’t leave empty handed. I settled on a pack of 2009 Topps Series 2. I couldn’t remember how to tell the difference between regular and retro packs. I was hoping for a retro. The primary reason I picked these was the price tag and the amount of cards in the pack. $1.99 for 12 cards is right in my range, so I grabbed one. I have self control on occasion. So, here is what I got.

Card #476 Edinson Volquez. He was an All Star last year, and ended up winning 17 games for the Redlegs. He is 4-2 so far this year. Probably not good enough for another appearance in the mid summer classic, but it’s a cool looking card. I love the up close and personal view. I just can’t believe that he doesn’t snag his chain on his glove. I’ll be looking out for that.
Card #531 Frank Francisco. He’s a former teammate of Volquez’ with the Rangers. This year he may be the one to get the All Star call. He has 12 saves and a 0.44 ERA. Wow.
Next outta the pack is another ’08 All Star, Rays catcher, (card #519)Dioner Navarro. It’s a neat shot of Navy calling 2 outs, or giving the stingray sign or encouraging people to worship the devil, but it looks good. The “niche in history” on the back of his card tells me he is the 9th switch hitting catcher to be an All Star in either league. It also tells me he has a .429 career batting average with a 2-0 count. Cool.
Next is John Smoltz with card #355. Topps decided to go with the glamour shot for Smoltzy on this one. He hasn’t pitched a game yet this year, but is scheduled to return to the Sox next Thursday on a tight pitch count. He does eight All Star selections to his credit to go along with over 3,000 Ks. Too bad he’s chosen to end his career with the Sox. I used to like him.
Next we have Edgar Renteria on card #558. The coloring on this card is kinda neat, but I don’t like not seeing a players face, unless they’re doing something cool. Renteria is off to a sub-par performance this year and his .245 BA probably won’t make him an All Star. He has been picked 5 times previous.
Now, we are in insert land. The first one is a “Career Best” card of Ty Cobb, card #LGCB-TC. If you flip the card and read this guys career bests you will see he highest average was .420. He had 127 RBIs with his highest homerun count being 12. He hit 47 doubles, 24 triples and stole 96 bases in one year. Pretty good numbers for someone who never made an All Star team.
Speaking of legends…Next outta the pack is a “Legends of the Game”, #LLG-12, card of Bob Gibson. It’s a nice portrait of Gibson, muttonchops and all, looking off into the distance, likely prior to a game. Gibson appeared in 8 All Star games.
Next we have a Topps Town dot com card of Ian Kinsler. I go online to write this blog, that’s about it. I have never visited that site or entered a redemption code. Just not into it. I do like Ian Kinsler, though. His 18 homers leads second baseman and could give him his second All Star appearance.
We are back to base cards and the first one is Chicago White Sox manager, Ozzie Guillen, card #488. The back of the card ads a stat from his playing days. I didn’t realize he hit .533 off of Mark Knudson…Ozzie was a three-time All Star as a player and once as a manager. He also finished his playing career in 2000 with the Rays.
Next up is Giants outfielder, Randy Winn and card #549. I really like the orangey-ness of this one. Winn was an All Star with the Rays in 2002. He has very quietly put together a nice career with over 1600 hits in 12 seasons.
Next we have Brewers pitch Braden Looper on card #419. This card is not good or bad. Kind of like Looper’s career. He has been the perpetual “even Steven”. His career record is 63-62 and I am sure his next outing will be a loss just to even things up. I did learn that Brad Ausmus only hit .126 off of him, career.
The 12th and final card in the pack is Rays centerfielder, BJ Upton, card #640. The picture is awesome, BJ in post-power-swing. The back of the card gives me info I already knew, but bears repeating. He tied a postseason record last year with 7 home runs. He was also the AL player of the week this week, but that isn’t on this card. BJ has yet to play in an All Star game, but he’s still only 25. He’s already swiped more than 100 bases, got over 400 hits and scored over 250 runs at age when most are still in the minors.
Okay, that was my pack; I think I got my two bucks worth, don’t you? I was just happy to get 2 Rays in one pack, that never happens. I think that the Volzuez and Upton cards tie for the star for best base card, with the Gibson being the coolest insert. I will probably pick these up at a once a week pace and probably build the set someday, too. So between the 12 guys on the 12 cards, we ended up with a total of 29 All Star appearances. More amazing, there were 8 different cards of All Stars. Can you tell I am getting anxious about that game they’re playing in St. Louis in a couple weeks? The Gibson card is going in the stack for my next trade with Cards on Cards, everything else is available. Still fighting to finish my Heritage sets and looking for new trading partners. I have stacks upon stacks of the following teams if ya want em (to trade, nothings free) please let me know. The teams are the Astros, Giants, Padres, Pirates, Mariners, Blue Jays, Tigers, Expos, A’s, Yankees, Red Sox, Nationals,Phillies, Indians, Marlins, Royals, Reds, Rangers and the Mets. Basically, I have homes for my Rays, Braves, Cardinals, Dodgers, Brewers, Orioles, White Sox and Blue Jays. All other teams are lying in wait. Let me know.
Go Rays! Troll out.