Card of the Week: 2010 Topps Sterling Stan Musial Mystery Pack Gold #2/5

Since I would never buy a box of the colossal money bonfire that is Topps Sterling (if you like 10% ROI this is your set) I had to turn to eBay to pick up this slick looking card of one of my favorite players. The gold parallel looks great in person and is about as thick as most standard jersey cards. I scored a bit of a deal because the card was listed in the football rather than the baseball card section, and while I'm sure Stan the Man was talented enough to play any sport, he definitely played for the Cardinals and not the Rams. Very happy to add this card to my collection and I will certainly look to add some more Sterling to my collection. Thanks for looking!

Box Break: 2006 UD Artifacts (Not Bad)

This is the second of three boxes I got from Atlanta Sports Cards on Black Friday. 2006 UD Artifacts has 3-4 hits per box in just 10 packs so there isn't a lot of wasted base cards (which is good, because they are kind of boring). The autograph checklist is pretty strong, so I was hoping to pull a big name, and this box was definitely better than Fleer Platinum. Here's the goods:

Derek Jeter Base Card: Pretty standard, but better than later years of Artifacts. That does not look like a Gold Glove shortstop to me. Just saying.

Mark Loretta AL Artifacts Jersey #317/325: I don't know if there is a more boring player to pull from a pack than Mark Loretta. Jose Lopez? Don't get me wrong, he's not a bad player, just not one I ever want to pull a jersey card of again.

Huston Street MLB Game-Used Apparel Jersey #193/250: Another yawn.


Graig Nettles Auto-Facts Autograph #75/300: While I didn't pull an autograph of a Hall-of-Famer, Graig Nettles and his 390 career HR's is a pretty nice consolation price. Please take notes Topps and Panini, this is how you should design a sticker autograph card. A very slick looking card that hides the sticker well.

Overall Thoughts: For 30 bucks this is a pretty fun box to open, although I wouldn't pay much more than that. The jerseys are kind of boring but the autographs look good and there are plenty of star players to pull. I would be willing to trade the jerseys if anyone wants them but I think I will hang on to the auto for a while. Thanks for looking! Stay tuned for box number three!

Double Rainbow!!

Alright it's just one rainbow but it's my second in the past month so that's got to count for something (so many apostrophes in that sentence). I realize that most people have never heard of Akwasi-Owusu Ansah, but since I pulled the superfractor I was legally obligated to complete the rest of the set after starting with the most difficult card. I was actually able to track down all the cards in about two weeks thanks to some friendly eBay sellers (goodness does still exist in the heart of man--at times) and a little good luck. I think it looks pretty wicked cool altogether--now I just need AOA to turn into a superstar kick returner ala Dante Hall, or a rapper. I would listen to a rapper named AOA and I don't even like rap. Here be rainbows:

Thanks for looking!

Box Break: 2004 Fleer Platinum Rack Pack (OUCH)

This was the first of three Black Friday boxes I ordered from Atlanta Sports Cards (all for around $33 bucks) and this was by far the worst. The box was advertised as having four packs with an "Inscribed" auto in each pack. The site warned that there were redemptions in the product, although the autos of Albert Pujols and Ryan Howard were both pack inserted, so I wouldn't have to worry about missing out on a big hit to passed deadline. I figured I might pull a redemption, but I certainly wasn't prepared for what happened:

Billy Wagner Auto Redemption (x2) and Ryan Wagner Auto Redemption (x1): That's right, out of four packs I pulled three redemptions all of players with the last name Wagner (better than running into a Baldwin brothers box but still...) Technically these redemptions never expire but since Fleer went out of business I might have a tough time getting the cards in hand. I'm thinking of sending one of the Billy Wagner redemptions for a TTM. How cool would that be?

Laynce Nix Inscribed Auto #156/200: The last pack in the box finally delivered an auto, although not the Albert Pujols I had been dreaming of. Nix has carved out a career as 4th outfielder but never quite lived up to his enormous potential. Apparently the Mariners are looking to sign Nix to provide some depth of thier bench, so expect a terrible year from him in 2011. It's the Mariner way. On a side note the autos are well designed, though that doesn't really ease the sting of going one for four, and yes I know I should be used to that after my high school baseball career.

Hit of the box: Double Pujols. I'm just going to leave that one alone.

Overall Thoughts: As a riverboat gambler (I've wanted all my life to have this title despite the fact that I take very few risks. I'm also hoping I can get the nickname "Night Train" to stick) I'm used to big wins and stinging defeats. This was definitely the latter and is a good reminder of the dangers of buying old wax. Of course most new products stink so collectors are really caught between a rock and a hard place. The box was pretty boring to open because there weren't any inserts other than the autos and the collation was terrible. I probably will steer clear of this in the future, but then again, how could I possibly do worse? Stay tuned for the next two boxes; I promise they won't be this bad.

Pack Attack: Topps Chrome Wrapper Redemptions

Here's what Brian and I got from our wrapper left over from the box busting bonanza. I was a little disappointed we didn't receive a Strasburg or Posey, but it was a solid group of players overall. The cards look great in person and don't seem to have any of the quality control issues that the regular Topps Chrome set had. Thanks for looking!

Card of the Week: 2009 Topps Platinum Dwayne Bowe 3-Color Patch/Autograph #21/150

I actually pulled this from a blaster of Platinum last year but didn't post it because Dwayne Bowe was playing awful and I'm fairly lazy (at least when it comes to blogging). This season has been a completely different story as Dwayne Bowe has become a fantasy monster, scoring touchdowns in seven straight games including three against the Seahawks over the weekend. He's the major reason why my fantasy team (Vick's Vapor Rubs formerly known as Korn on the Kolb) has turned an 0-4 start into a 7-5 record and a shot at a first round bye in the make believe playoffs (depending on this weekend's outcome). The least I could do to thank Mr. Bowe for his contributions to my team is show off this great looking card:

Let's go Vick's Vapor Rubs!

A Rainbow of Griffeys on a Black Friday

Yes, I realize that this is two Fridays in a row that I've used color(s) in the title of my post...is that a crime? Anyway, I recently finished a project I've been working on for close to a year--the 2008 UD Heroes Ken Griffey Jr. rainbow. It's the first rainbow I've completed (two more are in the works) and it's fitting that it would be of my favorite player. It looks great in person (you can get a better look at it by enlarging the picture) and I've got to give a big shout out to Ed at Roll out the Barrel who traded me the purple variation (I haven't seen a single one on eBay since) way back when. Thanks Ed! Now, marvel in beauty of a Griffey rainbow:

Bowman: A Colorful Cure for a Case of the Fridays

In an earlier post I said I wasn't going buy anymore 2010 Bowman Chrome but for just $8.99 those value packs are tough to say no to. I'm glad I caved--this one turned out pretty well:

Armando Rodriguez Green X-Fractor RC

Graham Stoneburner Green X-Fractor RC

Bryan Mitchell Purple Refractor RC #/899

Matt Davidson Green X-Fractor RC

Aroldis Chapman Purple Refractor #876/899

Thanks for the look! None of the cards are for trade right now.

King Felix Captures the AL Cy Young Award

Two thousand and ten was an absolutely terrible year to be a Mariners fan (which was compounded by the loss of Dave Niehaus). Thankfully, we got to witness brilliance every fifth day when Felix Hernandez took the mound. Despite winning only 13 games (he was supported by one horrendous offense) he led the league in nearly every other statistical category and sabermetricians (different from the people who study Wolverine) everywhere can celebrate the voters getting it right. Congrats Felix! The King finally gets his crown.

Box Break: 2010 Topps Chrome Football (Super!)

I was looking to add an inexpensive box to the order for Brian and Bud's Box Busting Bonanza (stay tuned for the sequel sometime in the future) to get free shipping from Blowout and after some substantial hemming and hawing, decided on a box of 2010 Topps Chrome Football. I wasn't counting on much, but as it turned out, I pulled what will probably be a once in a lifetime hit. Here are the two cards worth mentioning:

Rob Gronkowski Rookie Auto: Though I didn't hit an auto from the scarce Group A I was still lucky enough to pull one of the better autos from Group B. Rob Gronkowski was the Patriots second round pick and had a monster game last night, hauling in three touchdown passes against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Not bad, but not nearly as a cool as...

Akwasi Owusu-Ansah SUPERFRACTOR Rookie: I thought I might go my entire collecting lifetime without ever pulling a superfractor, and that scared me (not really). Considering how difficult they are to pull, and how few products they are in, it was a very real possibility. But then, in the third pack of my second football box ever, I saw Akwasi Owusu-Ansah glaring at me from this gold-bordered beauty. The card looks amazing in person and is one of the few one-of-ones that lives up to the hype. I realize that Akwasi Owusu-Ansah isn't the most highly collected player out there, but it doesn't diminish the value of this card to me, and makes it easier to keep it in my personal collection indefinitely.

Note the numbering: 1 of 1!

Overall Thoughts: Well, anytime you pull a superfractor, I think you are legally obligated to give the box a thumbs up. 2010 Topps Chrome football definitely looks better than the baseball edition and at only $40 a box, it's not a bad gamble for a chance at a Bradford, Tebow or in this case, superfractor. Thanks to this box, I can cross another collecting goal of my list. Next up: a cut autograph!

Card of the Week: 2010 Topps Chrome Dexter "Run DMC" McCluster Rookie Autograph

I've busted a boatload of 2010 Topps Chrome Football retail this year and done awfully well. My top pulls include a Ndamukong Suh SP Variation (sold for $16), Sam Bradford X-Fractor (sold for $11) and a Dez Bryant Orange Refractor (sold for $7) in addition to a bevy of rookies and refractors (which will sell nicely as a lot). Sure I'm not making money, but anytime you can break close to even on retail is a victory, and I've got lots of nice cards for my PC to boot. Last week I grabbed a blaster and promised myself I would stop buying Chrome retail if I pulled an auto (like that would happen). Sure enough, I did, and a good one too. While Dexter McCluster is hurt right now, he flashed some exciting potential during his time on the field, and looks like a big part of the Chiefs turnaround. I was awfully happy with my Run DMC auto but it doesn't compare to what I pulled from my hobby box of Chrome--stay tuned for that!

2010 Topps Chrome Dexter McCluster Rookie Auto

Brian and Bud's Box Busting Bonanza: Results!

I busted the two boxes of 2010 Topps Chrome for Brian and I today and was fairly pleased with the results. We received the promised number of autographs with two decent prospects (Wilson Ramos and Jon Jay) and a very tough to pull red refractor (1:370 packs). The cards were in pretty good shape, but the base cards had some centering issues and the some of the refractors had a strange thin powder coating on them. At only $35 a box, 2010 Topps Chrome isn't a bad gamble, although the autograph checklist is weak and colored refractors are hard to find. Still, I had a lot of fun busting the boxes, and I hope that the Killer B's (Brian and Bud) will reunite soon for some more box breaks.

Brian's Spoils:

--> Refractors (9): Wandy Rodriguez Red Refractor #21/25,
--> Inserts (3): Dustin Pedroia Heritage Chrome #/1961, Martin Prado Heritage Chrome #/1961, Pablo Sandoval t206 Chrome #/999
--> Autos (2): Wilson Ramos and Cole Gillespie

Refractors

Pedroia Heritage Chrome, Kung Fu Panda t206, Martin Prado Heritage Chrome

Cole Gillespie RC Auto

Wilson Ramos RC Auto

Wandy Rodriguez Red Refractor #21/25

Bud's Spoils:
--> Refractors (8): Stephen Strasburg RC, Ken Griffey Jr., Jay Bruce, Brandon Webb, Rick Porcello, Adam Jones, Hiroki Kuroda, Akinori Iwamura
--> Inserts (3): Phil Hughes Chicle Refractor #/499, Hanley Ramirez t206 Chrome #/999, Wandy Rodriguez Heritage Refractor #/561
--> Autos (2): Jon Jay Refractor #/499 and Drew Butera

Base Refractors

Hughes Chicle, Hanley t206, Wandy Heritage Chrome

Drew Butera RC Auto

Jon Jay RC Refractor Auto #/499