March 2012 Group Break - First Two Boxes + Bonus Packs

Here's the video for the first two boxes (T205 and Standing O!) and bonus packs for the group break!


Video streaming by Ustream
Scans after the page break

Live on UStream NOW!!!

Card busting wont start until 7:30pm central, but if anyone wants to stop in while I'm testing this set-up, by all means... UStream channel.

Can't wait to get this started.

While we're waiting and I'm testing, I'll be showing off some of the parallels, inserts and such that will be part of the Trade Bait Draft that I'll be hosting later in the month.

GROUP BREAK UPDATE - LIVE TOMORROW

Hey everyone. I'm going to be starting the group break LIVE tomorrow on my UStream Channel. This time it should go a bit better as I'll be using the new Mac instead of my Windows webcam. The box breaking will begin at 7:30pm (central) tomorrow night (provided UPS handles their end of their bargain in delivery!).

Anyone and everyone is welcome to join in the fun. I may have a beer or two as we go along, maybe you all can come up with a fun drinking game. I'll bust at least one if not two of the boxes from the break, and make sure I get the video recorded and posted to YouTube once we're done for those of you who can't make it. If it gets to be 7:40pm and no one has shown up, I'll just go ahead and record the videos with my camcorder and post them on the blog ASAP.

Here's the link to the UStream channel.

Can't wait... and for those of you in the break... leave a comment with what box you'd most like to see first... I'm leaning towards the Pro Sigs or Standing O! boxes, maybe the T-205. But the Playoff Portraits is definitely going to be the last one we bust!

No no no no no.... YOU check out MY cards...

I got quite a haul in from CheckOutMyCards.com last night... I completed a set and made quite a bit of progress on a few others. Here's the loot!

That's a BUNCH of mini's! I'm finishing off pages left and right, it's so awesome to see 15 of those mini's together side by side.... I had recently picked up the Cabrera in a trade, but definitely needed the Jackson. Only one SP away from the 2008 base set... all I need is the Cal Ripken Jr #92. Help me out people!!!!

4 more bronze border parallels to add to the books. I need but three more of these beauts! I'm not too far from my 2nd set base set + inserts. I snagged a random Beltran card with my remaining cents!

Those three Topps Chrome base cards complete my 1-220 base set. Anyone looking to pick one of these up? It's for sale. BV is $50 but I'll take $30 shipped. Includes all base cards for 2011 Topps Chrome, 1 through 220.

The scanner was getting an attitude with me.... sorry Mr. Pujols. But these 6 2009 A&G get me closer to completing the set that pulled me back into collecting a couple years ago. Only 2 cards left! Once again, help a guy out!!!!

Have a great Tuesday everyone... group break cards should get here tomorrow afternoon, and we'll start bustin'!!!!

Product Review - 2011 Panini Playoff Contenders

2011 Panini Playoff Contenders released at the end of February. The hobby boxes will run about $120-$135 and will come with 6 autos per box. Most of these autos are going to be prospects autos, however there are a few MLB vets sprinkled in through the MLBPA license that Panini was able to secure for this year. At my LCS Trade Night last night, they only had one pack war for baseball cards and I figured I'd buy a few packs and review the product. We'll start with the base set, a 50-card set of current MLB players.

I know that Panini doesn't have a whole lot of choice about the logos, unless they want to end up like Upper Deck, but these posed shots in plain colored t-shirts and hats are pretty bad. I can't say I'm a fan, but I also acknowledge the limitation they are under. A 50-card base set isn't bad, except that you only get one base card per pack and so you're looking around 3 boxes to get a full set considering you'll get some duplicates. I don't think I'll be chasing this one personally.

 

 Next up are the "Draft Ticket" inserts. There is a 100-card checklist of these, and you get 2 per pack on average. I have an extra because the guy next to me pulled an Astros guy and gave it to me. Again, same issue as with the base set. If you're a prospect hunter, these are definitely for you though. The cards have a good weight and feel to them, they don't feel as cheap as the Donruss Elite Edition set that came out a month or two ago.

This didn't scan well, but it's a refractor-ish version of the base draft ticket insert, numbered on the back /299. They look ok in person, but Panini definitely has some catching up to do in the refractor technology, just not as impressive as Topps' refractors. I think it's supposed to have a bit of the same look as the Atomic refractor from Topps Chrome, but just doesn't quite get there.

These inserts are where it starts getting interesting. I really like the Prospect inserts with the wood grain border. They are pretty sharp, and again they come about 1 per pack. The last two cards are the Future Stars insert set, 19-20 cards deep depending on what checklist you believe. There are autograph versions of these cards as well.

Finally we have two of my favorite inserts in the set. First are the "Winning Combos", which highlight two players who either played in college together (Springer/Barnes) or guys who are in the majors together (Upton/Kennedy). There are dual autograph versions of these as well. Finally, the Legendary Debuts subset which has a very nice silver foiled background. There are 15 cards in total and would make a very nice set.

There are 6 autographs per box, but unfortunately I didn't pull any in my handful of packs. However, the guy sitting next to me needed help opening his two boxes before time ran out in the pack war, so I started busting his cards with him, and he pulled a MAMMOTH auto! It came from the Sweet Signs subset of inserts, which mimics the "Sweet Spot" autos from other sets. A faux baseball with a signature across the sweet spot of the baseball, you know what they look like! Anyways, his auto was numbered 2/6 and was none other than Stan "The Man" Musial. It was a SWEEEEEET looking card and for those lucky enough to pull the Sweet Signs autographs, you'll be very happy with the cards.

Overall, I say this is a 2.5 out of 5 stars release. There are a bunch of autos per box, but without licensing, all other competitors will be a step behind Topps and the sets just won't look as nice, have the same staying power, or for that matter, resale value. I think if Panini is able to sign these prospect guys to long term exclusive autograph deals, and then some of them hit it big in the majors, they'll start seeing people chase these boxes a bit harder, but as long as collectors can wait a couple years and get Topps' autographed RC from Chrome or Bowman, Panini just can't compete.

A Trade and a Contest Won!

First up, I have a couple cards acquired from Charles over at Lifetime Topps Project. We went back and forth for a bit and finally struck a deal to land me these two AWESOME Gypsy Queen cards!

This gives me 19/24 (79%) completion of the mini relics (I need Jeter, Munson, Ruth, Gehrig and Musial). This gives me 10/20 (50%) completion of the full sized relics (I need Cano, Molina, Rolen, Howard, Pedroia, Jeter, Ortiz, Gardner, Braun and Ellsbury). This chase is going pretty well so far, I'm really hoping to get the bigger names this summer possibly. I really need to get to working on those full sized relic cards, and I'm hoping the price will drop on some of those once the 2012 GQ release date gets here.

Next up, I've got contest winnings from Brian over at 30-Year Old Cardboard. He had a mini contest and I won! No really, it was a contest for mini's, not a miniature contest... anyways.. here's the loot:

 That's a lot of retro 1987 Topps!!! They are all in a pile for Offy as part of a pending trade (except for Gardner and Kendrick as they are dups of ones already in the pile). Offy, you're up to 16 total now, just FYI.

That's a lot of mini's! Thanks Brian! Anyone see something they want, they are all for trade except for the aforementioned 87 mini's for Offy!

I've got a product review post coming up later today for Panini Playoff Contenders 2011!

Group Break Update and the Card of the Day

We had our first team swap trade go down yesterday between Hiflew and Ryan H, with Hiflew ending up with the Cubs and Ryan H getting the Blue Jays. Again, if anyone wants the Marlins, I'm basically open to any trades. It seems the Marlins and I are destined for each other as I've got them the past couple of my own breaks and one over at Nachos Grande. I don't particularly like the Marlins or any of their players, so yes, I'm begging at this point... don't want the Pirates/Royals/A's/Padres, shoot them my way! Anyone??? Anyone??? Bueller... Bueller?

Ok, well the boxes shipped from Dave and Adam's Card World yesterday after I ordered them yesterday morning. They show that they are going to arrive in Mobile on Wednesday, so I should start busting wax Wednesday night!

Here's an awesome Astros card for today:

Have I mentioned enough how much I think UD Black is AWESOME? These cards just look SWEEEEEET! The Berkman auto looks great in the framed autograph area, even if it is a sticker. The American flag patch is pretty cool too! Number it out of /75 and I'm definitely a happy collector!

On the back, the standard write-up from Upper Deck and a quick blurb about a awesome Lance Berkman performance on 8/12/07. I'm not to sure about UD calling this sub-set "Pride of a Nation" as we Americans don't really go about calling our baseball players National heroes or anything, but whatever, it's still an awesome card!

Another Day... Another Card...

In the never ending quest to show you every single awesome card I own, here's today's card!

Today we have a great relic of Roy Oswalt from 2005 Prime Patches. Not only is it an over-sized swatch, it's a bit dirty and the card is super thick. A sweet looking card. My one gripe, certainly they can find a picture with him wearing the same style uniform they cut the swatch from... to me it's details like that which push a card from great to AWESOME!

Here's the back and as you can see it's #'d /150. A simple design on back, I'm assuming they customize these with the team colors from the player's team, but they could all be the same scheme for all I know. This may be another product I research for a future break!

Have a great day everyone!!!!!

Group Break 2nd Team Randomization

Here's the list of claimed teams. I'll randomize the remaining teams and they will be added to this list in the order in which they are spit out of the randomizer!

Atlanta Braves - The Dutch Card Guy
Baltimore Orioles - Ryan H
Boston Red Sox - jaybarkerfan
Chicago White Sox - Jeff Laws
Cincinnati Reds - jaybarkerfan
Cleveland Indians - BASEBALL DAD
Colorado Rockies - Hiflew
Houston Astros - Dimwit
Los Angeles Dodgers - Stealing Home
New York Yankees - The Lost Collector
New York Mets - ...Joe
Philadelphia Phillies - daddyohoho
San Fransisco Giants - arpsmith
St. Louis Cardinals - PlayAtThePlate
Texas Rangers - PlayAtThePlate

So here's the results:
Atlanta Braves & Seattle Mariners - The Dutch Card Guy
Baltimore Orioles & Toronto Blue Jays - Ryan H - TRADE WITH HIFLEW
Boston Red Sox & Arizona Diamondbacks - jaybarkerfan
Chicago White Sox & Detroit Tigers - Jeff Laws
Cincinnati Reds & Milwaukee Brewers - jaybarkerfan
Cleveland Indians & Tampa Rays - BASEBALL DAD
Colorado Rockies & Chicago Cubs - Hiflew - TRADE WITH RYAN H
Houston Astros & Florida Marlins - Dimwit
Los Angeles Dodgers & San Diego Padres - Stealing Home
New York Yankees & Washington Nationals - The Lost Collector
New York Mets & Oakland Athletics - ...Joe
Philadelphia Phillies & Kansas City Royals - daddyohoho
San Fransisco Giants & Los Angeles Angels - arpsmith
St. Louis Cardinals & Pittsburgh Pirates - PlayAtThePlate
Texas Rangers & Minnesota Twins- PlayAtThePlate

Trade away... leave comments to trade... I will trade the Marlins for the Cubs, Mariners or Twins.

I'm waiting for payment from arpsmith and jaybarkerfan. Will order boxes as soon as I get those in the old paypal account. Thanks everyone!

Group Break Is Full

The group break filled up over night. Randomization to take place tonight and boxes will be ordered as soon as I receive payment from the remaining few. Going to be a great break! Can't belive it filled up in under 12 hours! You guys rock!