Tuesday, October 25, 2011

The many injustices of Slo-Mo Murphy...

1990 Upper Deck provided us with some of the newest and best Baseball card pictures and technology any had ever seen. The Man, The Myth, nay... the LEGEND Rob Murphy has been able to harness the power unlike any other flash in the pan major leaguer. This is where our tale begins....

Deion, as usual, took the field expecting frivolous compliments on his pearly white headband and his fresh Jerry-curl. Something about today wasn't right. Deion sees and injustice occurring at the hands of the resident prankster Slo-Mo Murphy. THIS HAS TO END!!

HEY WADE!! whats wrong man?? Why are you moving like that?? You need to get your dogs back and come over here and talk to your boy Prime Time...
DDDDeeeiiiioooonnnn, nnniiiiccceee hhhaaaiiirrr bbbbrrrroooo. IIII aaammm fffeeeeellliiinnnggg aaa bbbiiittt sssllluuggggiissshh tttooodddaaayy. hhhaaavvveee yyyoouuu ssseeeeennn MMMuuurrrppphhhyyy?
Ha!!! CLASSIC! This slo-mo machine NEVER gets old!!
MACMACMACMACMAC-UH OH!! HE'S GOT BERT TOO!! AVERT YOUR EYES!!
HHHHHEEEEELLLLPPPP MMMMMEEEEEE!!!
GUYS???!!! I don't feel so good!! I think Murph has me too! IIII CCCAAANNNTTT MMMOOOVVVEEE!!
HAHAHAHAH you crazy Murph!! That slo-mo do-hickey NEVER gets old!! OH SHOOT, SHHHH, Carlton is watching!!
Murphy! Not cool man! NOT cool.
Carlton ALWAYS ruins the fun. Isn't he happy being one of the best catchers in history? He has to ruin all of our fun too? Its just practice Carlton!! Save the frowny face for the game vato!


Thanks again for reading my latest installment. As always, Peace and Baseball Cards!!!

Friday, October 14, 2011

2011 Topps Triple Threads review

Product: 2011 Topps Triple Threads!!
Box Price: 180-220$
Distribution: 2 packs/mini-boxes per box, 6 cards per pack/mini-box.
Hits: 4 per box (1 unity single game used, 1 unity auto/game used, 1 multi relic card, 1 multi-relic auto)

My Grade:   B+    I ran into a pretty good box but the 2 extra hits they included this year are NOT that impressive.

This was a product that I was very excited to open this year with the prospects of pulling beautiful cards that are low serial numbered and completely unique to this set. Topps even put 2 EXTRA hits per box this year. I guess that is supposed to make the buyer feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I guess my cynicism towards this bonus included in the box comes from the mediocre players that make up the Unity game used card checklist. you'll see what I mean when the pics start flowin'!! even though there are a couple things that I am skeptical about in the hits I love the overall makeup of the set. There is a great mixture of current stars and legends in the base set. The base cards and parallels that come in the packs are high quality and designed very well. each base card and parallel are serial numbered to at least 1500 and the parallels are serial numbered lower than that. enough words. PICS!
First up: base cards Walter Johnson (left) and Jose Reyes (right) both of which are serial #'d /1500.
Second up: Parallel cards of Honus Wagner(left) and Carlos Gonzalez(right) both serial #'d /625.
Low #'d Parallels: Rogers Hornsby #'d /249(left) Andre Ethier #'d /99!! (right)
Here come the Hits. Pictured below are the Bonus hits or as Threads calls them Unity relic cards. pictured on the left is the Ryan Zimmerman Unity Game Used Jersey card #'d /36 which I was pretty happy with because I collect him. Pictured on the right is the real GEM of the box which is a Unity single jersey/autograph of Marlins Chris Coghlan... WOW!! thank you for the EXTRA hit that I noticed selling on eBay during this products release week for $2.49... :( that gets a double frowny face :(:( because my girlfriend even frowned when she witnessed this pull. Alas, this box does have a couple redeeming pulls that came from it....

Pictured below is the multi relic hit that I pulled out of the same pack as the infamous Coghlan atrocity. This card really is a beautiful card that must be seen in person to see the great Jersey coloring and the crisp coloring and edges on the card. This card is serial #'d /27. I still have a smile on my face thanks to this next pull.



Pictured below is a card the likes of which are only seen 1 in every 18 box case of Triple Threads boxes. Depicted on the card is Orioles superstar outfielder Adam Jones and the game used patches spell out 'Orioles'. The card is autographed as well and to top that off it is serial #'d 1/1... That's right this is the only one of its kind. Even though its not a player on the card that I really collect I was and still am (a week later) excited to have pulled a card like this. Without further ado her she is.... drum roll maybe? OK fine!! here it is.

My overall impression of the 2011 Topps Triple Threads product is a good one. The Unity cards that are new this year to this set are unnecessary but if you can pull a player that you collect its a nice little bonus. beware however of the Chris Coghlans and the like. For all of you high end baseball product buyers out there, this is a great set and the hits are unique and well done. For the average collector however it may be a better idea to just buy the singles that you want from the set separate. I appreciate you reading my latest installment. As always, Peace and Baseball cards!!

Monday, October 3, 2011

2011 Topps Update review

Product: 2011 Topps Update
Box Price: 60-70$
Distribution: Hobby: 36 packs per box 10 cards per pack.
                     Jumbo: 10 packs per box 50 cards per pack.
Hits: Hobby: 1 relic or auto per box
         Jumbo: 2 relic 1 auto per box.

My Grade: A.  The base set from Topps just keeps getting better!!

OOOOHHHHHH TOPPS! you've done it again. The design of the Update base set is the same as series 1 and 2 and many of the inserts are the same sets, but just numerical continuations of them. what makes the update set better than the 1st 2 series you ask? well, the addition of the cognac diamond sparkle variation cards is pretty awesome as well and short printed game used cards and such. the base set include many stud rookies and great All-Star game cards. I will not be including a picture of the base cards because they are the same as series 1 and 2 from this year. Lets get the pics goin!!
Pictured below are the gold variations of the base cards all of which are serial #'d out of /2011.
pictured below are a few of the 'cognac diamond sparkle' cards. this picture does them no justice as they are great looking when they are in your hand.
pictured below is a grouping of 5 of the standard platinum diamond sparkle cards. awesome looking as well.
here are a couple pictures of a few of the inserts that are available in the Topps set this year. all of which are continuation sets through all 3 series of cards this year.

lastly, every year the Topps update set is known for its 'Allstar Stitches' set of game used cards featuring swatches from all star jerseys of today's best players. pictured below is an example of one. The card pictured below is the Diamond Sparkle variation of the card featuring 'King' Felix Hernandez. This is a GREAT looking card.
Overall this is a fantastic set that is a MUST buy for all collectors. I thank you again for reading my latest installment and as always, Peace and Baseball cards.