My Exquisite Cards

I Am Joe Collector had the exquisite case break a few weeks back. I figured it was about time to gloat over what I got. I usually get in on his breaks because it gets me a lot of cool stuff that I wouldn't usually buy on my own. You know...like Exquisite.

I think the high end prices are ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous. Don't get me wrong, I understand the reasons why they cost that much. At least I understand from an elementary economic supply and demand type of view. But it's still ridiculous.

I don't want this to come off as a grumpy "high end is the devil" and "what about the poor children" kind of rant. I have nothing against high end and I'm glad it exists and I think it's good for the hobby. What I mean is that when I step back a little, I realize that I'm a grown man that considers it reasonable to spend around $200 for a pack of baseball cards with 5 cards in it.

That's not something that I would necessarily tell my friends at the bar. They wouldn't understand. They would think I've lost my marbles, and I'm not sure they would be wrong. That's why I say it's ridiculous.

That doesn't mean I don't want them. And when Stusigpi gives me a reasonable opportunity to get some, you better believe I'll be in on it.

I got 2 spots which got me 2 cards, and I won one of the base cards as well.

Vlad the Impaler base card.

Travis Hafner Auto 18/50

This is probably my favorite card, being a Tribe fan and all. I still have (probably unrealistic) hopes that he can pull out of his 3 year slide and re-emerge as one of the games preeminent sluggers.

And, he's from North Dakota so...Yahhh, Ohh Yahhh...You betcha.


Alexi Casilla/Don Kelly Dual Auto 20/35

I've heard of Alexi Casilla, and my initial reaction was a good one. However, Baseball reference has his similar batters as Jay Partridge and Arthur Irwin. Yeah, that dampens the enthusiasm a bit.

I haven't heard of Don Kelly. Now on his second go round with the Tigers, he's been released by the Pirates, Diamondbacks, and Tigers in the last few years. Not even a trade for a player to be named later or a gift certificate to Sizzler. Not encouraging. But, a very pretty card.

Miguel Montero Auto 15/20

Starting most of the Diamondbacks games at catcher this year, Miguel looks like he's in line for a pretty good, and possibly great, major league career. Nice pull on this one.


Chad Billingsley/Hong-Chih Kuo Dual Auto 6/10

I think this is a great pull. I like Billingsley. He's a hometown boy from right here in Ohio. I know he's not had a great year this year, but I think he's the real deal and is going to have a nice career. He was one of the names being thrown around, along with Kershaw, in the Cliff Lee sweepstakes this summer. I don't know exactly what the package was (or if it was just rumors). I know that what we got was a 19 year old fireballer who was on the disabled list at the time and just had shoulder surgery. So, yeah, I'd have preferred Chad.

Hong is a fixture in the Dodger's bullpen and as far as I can tell is pretty lights out.

Really nice card.

Great cards all around. 2 autos and 2 dual auto. All pretty low numbered. All look great. All cards that I wouldn't have gotten of my own accord (except maybe the Hafner if I ran across it on the Bay) out of a product that the idea of busting myself is some sort of future dream.

Thanks for the opportunity Jeff. Good times.

Check out the blog here (as if there's a chance you haven't been there before).

Get in on the group break action. It really is the best blog for group breaks and there's usually something either in the works or just around the corner.

Joe Collector Break

Here is the loot I got from Joe Collector in the August group break and also the Bowman's Best group break.

You really need to get in on these breaks. I think there are open spots for the monthly break club. It's worth getting in. It's cheap and fun and you'll get stuff you probably wouldn't have bought on your own. In September you will get some Icons and Finest at a fraction of the cost of one of those boxes.

Stusigpi is also breaking a case of 2007 Exquisite baseball. Did you read that correctly? A CASE OF EXQUISITE! When the heck are you going to have a chance to bust Exquisite? And you are guaranteed hits. There's no chance of coming away empty handed or getting a bad team. No. You will get hits. The only question is if they will be mildly cool, really cool, or completely freaking awesome.

Someone is getting a case hit. This isn't an "I hope there's a case hit" thing. Someone will get it. It could be you. I hope it's me. There are spots left so get your asses over there so we can get this thing done!

In August we did some Ginter. Now I've posted the hell out of 2 boxes of Ginter already with the Gint-A-Cuffs. So I won't bore you too much with it. I picked 3 cards.


Last year when Casey was still in Cleveland I saw him in Perkins eating with his kids. On TV he looks like a lot of other ballplayers. Up close he looks every bit the guy considered the best high school athlete in Iowa history. You might remember that Dan Gable is from Iowa.




I just like to look at the cards of 2 of the guys that I heard might be involved in the Cliff Lee trade. That's what we do in Cleveland. We torture ourselves.

By the way, how's Cliff working out for Philly? Anyone know?

Now on to the Bowman's Best. I was unfamiliar with this set. I didn't know what the cards looked like. And, I didn't know how expensive a box is. If not for this break I might never have known. That would have sucked. They are some of my favorite cards I've ever gotten.


Of course you knew that Sizemore was going up there.


It's also not a bad idea to put the eventual MVP up here either. I refuse to accept that there are enough stupid baseball writers out there that Teixiera might win.


Shawn Riggins 417/799

I don't know this guy, but hey...numbered rookie card.



Even though I hate the Red Sox I was excited to get this rookie card of Jonathan Papelbon in some kind of green parallel numbered to 249. It's a really sweet card of one of the best closers in the game. You can't complain about that, am I right? This guy is...wait...huh?

Why does it say Josh? His name is Jonathan, right?

Yeah, that must be him. There must be some kind of mistake on the card. Josh Papelbon is a 26 year old who's still in A ball so they wouldn't make a card of him.

Yeah, that's right. It's Jonathan. Case solved. They just wrote the wrong name. Could happen to anyone.



Eric Bedard Auto. I wonder if this is still Beardy bait?


Adam LaRoche Auto. I lost track of where the hell this guy is. I just know he's not in Pittsburgh anymore, which is a good thing for anybody.

There was more stuff but that's all I scanned.

Thanks for the breaks Stusigpi. I love the stuff that you pick out. Good times.

Personally, I don't agree with all of the terrible things that The Bearded One says about you. I think you're a great guy.

Finest Group Break Booty

I really like this year's Finest. I had 2 spots in Joe Collector's group break a few weeks back and I did incredibly well. I'm sure you've seen other posts about it.

Here is what I got. And from now on, if I ever complain about what I get in a group break, I want someone to print this post out about 1,000 times. Then, roll it up into a phone book sized cylinder, and beat me about the head and face with it for a good five minutes, as if you were Michael Vick and I was a dog. (Is that out of bounds?)



First, a few base cards. With all of the refractors and parallels and what-have-you it's easy to everlook the base set. It happens to be really nice, and may be my favorite Finest design so far. Here are Pujols, Wright, and H Ramirez.

There is also a handy dandy little trivia question on the back. Eg:

Who was the last rookie to win 20 games in a season? (Tom Browning, Vida Blue, Fernando Valenzuela, or Frank Tanana).

I wavered on Frank Tanana because his name is so fun to say, but settled on Vida Blue.

ANS: Tom Browning (1985)

I'm always been better at the pop culture trivia than at sports trivia for some reason.



Stephen Drew Refractor

Trivia: Who has the highest career SV%?
I was stumped when Joe Borowski wasn't even an option.

ANS: Eric Gagne



Josh Hamilton Blue Refractor 344/399
Alex Gordon Blue Refractor 025/399
Troy Glaus Blue Refractor 335/399

I might try to put together the Blue Refractor set. They are only out of 399 so it seems do-able.

Trivia: Which current franchise has gone the longest without a last-place finish in any season?

I know Iknow, you're all thinking Cleveland, right? Wrong! I know, fooled me too.

ANS: St Louis - 1918....seriously? They haven't finished last since 1918? That is impressive.



Dustin Pedroia Gold Refractor 41/50
Ichiro Gold Refractor 29/50

I like how Ichiro doesn't even seem to have a last name any more.



Rookie Redemption #7 Gold Refractor

Cool - I can't wait to see who it is. Then again, I'll be honest, I haven't even looked yet. I have no idea when they are releasing the info. I probably won't know until it arrives n the mail, sometime in 2011. By then I will have no idea what the heck it is for. I'm thinking it will be a lot like when you find $20 in your winter coat pocket in the fall when it turns cold for the first time.



Bobby Parnell Patch Auto 108/170

The only problem with these is that the auto's are too small. they would have been much better off letting them sign the white part so that we can read it. I know that isn't how it is done but really, would it matter? It's not like these are game worn. No, their just just some patches that some 9 year olds made in Taiwan for 50 cents an hour and 1 bathroom break (Is that cynical?).



Michael Bowden Blue Refractor Auto Patch 05/25

These are cool. I think I just like the blue color.

BTW, please disregard everything I just wrote about signing on the white part.



Grady Sizemore Cyan Plate 1/1!!!!!!!!

Major thank you to Groat who gave me this plate in exchange for a Ryan Zimmerman Blue Refractor. Grady is my favorite player on this Indian's team and Groat is a Nationals fan, so it worked out, but I can't help but feel a little guilty. This is the only 1/1 card I own and I couldn't be more excited about it.

You know what else? Did you notice that Zimmerman really started to tear it up right after this break and Groat's generosity? Good Karma. That's what it is.

Thank you Stusigpi for the break, and Groat for the trade. Made my month.

I even went on the bay and picked up a few boxes of my own. Got them for less than $70 each so I think I did pretty well. More to come on those.

I Am Joe Collector is currently doing a baseball and a football Group break with 2007 Sweet Spot. There are a few spots open. I recommend it.