Gint-A-Cuffs: Throwing My Box In The Ring

Here we are, already nearing the end of July, and Gint-A-Cuffs is in full swing. I've finally gotten my first box busted and ready to post. As far as I know Beardy is in the lead with 347 point, which seems pretty ridiculous. Let's see if I can catch him. Who knows, maybe I have a Markakis red auto or something to pull out right at the end for the upset victory.

You'll just have to stay glued to your computers to find out.

Here we go

Cabinet: #CB6 Jefferson/Hancock


Card Value: +8pts
Box Total: 8pts
Points Behind Beardy: 339


Pack 1:

#245 Todd Helton
#131 Rickie Weeks
#276 Michael Phelps
#111 Jason Giambi
#98 Josh Whitesell
#278 Herb Simpson +2 Negro League Player


#NH9 Jon Sigurosson +5 National Heroes


#NP2 Justin Upton National Pride

Pack Total: +7
Box Total: 15pts
PBB: 332


Pack 2:

#283 Mike Aviles
#5 Luke Hochevar
#117 Blake DeWitt
#219 Nate McLouth
#120 Edwin Moreno
#270 Josh Outman
#96 Geronimo Mini - No points. I just wanted to show this card because I didn't want the only card out of this pack to be A-Rod.


#NP75 Alex Rodriguez National Pride -1


Pack Total: -1
Box Total: 14pts
PBB: 333



Pack 3:

#148 Brad Lidge
#127 J.D. Drew
#244 Carlos Beltran
#295 Brett Gardner -1


#87 Aaron Cook
#326 Cameron Maybin SP +5


#133 Roy Halladay Mini
#NP9 Carlos Guillen National Pride

Pack Total: +4
Box Total: 18pts
PBB: 329


Pack 4:

#57 Frank Evans - Negro Leaguer +2


#46 Brian Roberts - Favorite Player List +2


#42 Mark Buehrle
#234 Wyatt Earp
#343 Doc Holliday SP +5


#AGHS22 Ken Griffey - Sketch Card +3


#329 Carlos Gomez Mini SP +7


#NP74 Yadier Molina National Pride

Pack Total: +19
Box Total: 37pts
PBB: 310



Conclusions:

37 points out of the Cabinet card and the first 4 packs is not going to do it. Not even close. One good pack out of the 4. There's one thing that I know for sure about the Gint-A-Cuffs: 1. It's hard to type Gint-A-Cuffs, and B. You don't win very often when you have negative packs. I've been saying that for years.

OK, that was 2 things. Only one has anything to do with anything, and that just barely. But you all get my point. Actually, probably not. I'm not sure there is a point.

Repack Madness

OK, so I did it again. I threw $10 down the drain that takes the form of repacks. I've bought a few of these and have never been too disappointed, but I've never really felt like I got my money's worth exactly either. Hey, they are what they are.

This one looks different though. This one guarantees a memorabilia card to go along with the 3 packs of cards! Seriously! A memorabilia card. We all know how hard those are to come by, so $10 seems to be almost like stealing.



The front shows me that I'm likely to pull something along the lines of a Jeter Game Materials or a Dice K SPX Rookie Sig auto. I'm assuming that the cards picked for the front of this were chosen before Dice K took a giant crap this season. Still, I'd be ecstatic with either one.

The back of the packaging explains how the Fairfield Company came by these wonderful cards...they bought them. Thank you. Thank you very much for the explanation.

So what did I get? First up is the mystery envelope that can only house the awesome memorabilia card. Let's save that for last.



The first pack is 2007 Opening Day. Here are the cards and the BV (just for shits and giggles let's see how far I come out ahead.)





#72 Roy Halladay - $0.40
#76 Rocco Baldelli - $0.40
#124 Mark Teixeira - $0.60
#105 Garret Anderson - $0.40
#74 Frank Thomas - $1.00
#46 Derek Jeter - $15.00 (I'm crappin' you negative)

Total: $17.80











The second Pack: 2006 Fleer Tradition. A set I really like.



#79 Travis Hafner - $0.30
#11 Chad Tracy - $0.30
#89 Felix Hernandez - $0.50
#19 Casey Kotchman - $0.30
#170 Mark Grudzielndgdsiek - $0.30
#128 Bobby Abreu - $0.30
#176 Jeremy Bonderman - $0.30
#119 Jay Gibbons - $0.30
#173 Justin Verlander - $2.00
#162 Matt Holliday Black and White - $5.00

Total: $9.60







Pack #3: 2007 Turkey Red. I think we all know how pumped I was to get this pack.





#127 Ryan Zimmerman - $0.75
#166 Jose Reyes - $0.75
#17 Stephen Drew - $0.50
#75 Tyler Clippard - $0.60
#81 Juan Pierre - $0.30
#180 Miguel Cabrera - $0.50
#38 Tim Hudson - $0.30
#48 Prince Albert Checklist - $1.50

Total: $5.20










And finally, the moment we've all been waiting for:

Drumroll please.








Drumroll.


LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. I GIVE TO YOU THE FAIRFIELD REPACK MEMORABILIA CARD!!!!


(sound of cymbals crashing)

Jeff Kent 2006 Bowman Heritage Pieces of Greatness.

BV = $8.00

Really

Total repack value: $37.60

What a joke man. $37.60. That is fabulous. More ridiculous than I could have ever imagined. I mean, do they really think that someone might pay 15 bucks for ANY Opening Day card. Even if it is Captain No Range? Awesome.

I don't want anyone to think that I'm not happy with the repack. I am. It's what I expected and anyone who would have expected more is a fool. I had a good time opening and posting this. Definitely 10 bucks worth of a good time. But $38 is hilarious.

I highly recommend picking up one of these. Good times.

Fragile - That must be Italian

I won I won I won. A major award.

Thorzul had a little contest about a month back and I won. How you ask? Brain power.

And what did I win? Well, I thought it might be a bowling alley or something. It could have been electric sex glowing in the middle of the living room window. It could have been Prince Fielder's unused left over frozen ground beef. There was just no way of knowing.

When I returned from my sabbatical down to the land of Dayf and Dubbs, I found my award awaiting me in the mailbox.

The game in question was a June 12th 7 - 2 win by the Brewers over the White Sox. The prize was 2 cards.



The first card is a 2007 Sweet Spot Mark Buehrle 011/850. Maybe if Mark had been pitching that night, the outcome would have been different. Then again with DJ Carrasco giving up 4 runs in 1/3 of an inning it probably wouldn't have mattered much in the end.

I get why this was the prize because Mark is probably the best player you can pull from the White Sox. This is a cool card. I always like Sweet Spot when I get my hands on it.

The other card makes a little less sense.

Here we have a 2009 Topps Chris Cornell. I didn't realize that Topps included the former Soundgarden frontman in the set.



Here he is standing in a tee shirt on some kind of ice berg or something. Look at all of that angst! Dude is just full of angst.

I didn't know he was a Brewers fan. I always just assumed the Mariners, you know? I was in high school during the whole Seattle grunge thing and my musical tastes mostly arrested right there, so this Cornell card is right up my alley.

Thanks Thorzul for the contest and the prize. Good times, man. Good Times.

Back From Vacation

I'm home....finally. It seemed to take forever to get home. The check engine light was on in the car the whole way, so that was fun too. This will be a short post with a longer post about vacation to come later. I recommend that both be largely ignored as they have little to do with anything.

The first reason for this post is to get back into the swing of things and an updated ACB on all of your blogs.

The second reason is to address a concern of my wife's that proved to be unfounded. My wife was less than thrilled with my last post which basically announced to the world that we were on vacation and our house was open season for all manner of shady characters to come and steal, lounge, party, graffiti, and destroy. It was her opinion that it was unwise to announce our absence over the ether. Maybe she's right.

My counter is this. We have nothing of value to steal. We also have a giant guard dog named Chloe...err...uhhh...Apocalypse Killer (yeah, that's her name), guarding the house in our absence.

I thought it prudent to make a warning here for all of you shady characters who considered breaking into my home to nab my collection of unopened 92 Stadium Club. You may get in, but it's less than certain you would get back out with this vicious killer roaming the premises. Here are some pics to prove it.


This is Apocalypse Killer on high alert:


This is what it would look like to any unsuspecting burglar (ham or otherwise) who made the critical error of entering our abode uninvited.


Just look what happened to this poor bastard as his face is being ripped off. His shirt started out white. By the time AK was pulled off of him he looked like an extra from Raiders of the Lost Ark.


So there you go. It's probably best to just move along if you know what's good for you.

My wife was really only worried about Beardy. I figured he was too busy with the Gint-A-Cuffs to bother with us. I thought we might have some trouble with Captain Canuck (being Canadian and all), but he knew better as well.

Any way, it's good to be home. I will now resume making any and all manner of ridiculous, annoying, and mostly unfunny remarks on all of your wonderful blogs.

Kevin Mitchell - Gold Tooth Mafia

I'm on vacation. Really. I'm in a Marriott timeshare hotel thingy in Hilton Head. Left after work on Thursday, got here on Friday. Been doing a lot of nothing ever since. I've already got some stories to tell, nothing very interesting, but maybe worth reading. That's for later, though.

Right now I'm sort of out of options. Vacations change drastically when you have a kid. No more out until closing time. I'm bored but I'm not tired. It's around 11 and everyone is asleep. I can't turn the light on or I'll wake the kid.

So what should I do? Isn't it obvious? I'll do what any number of you reading this would do in my position. I'll grab my wife's computer and write a short post about Kevin Mitchell and his gold tooth. Duh.





I didn't realize until recently that Kevin Mitchell had a gold tooth. I should also say that I'm just guessing that the tooth is gold. That isn't at all clear in this card. It's merely the most likely material used.

And, that tooth (#9 to be exact) is definitely some sort of metal. It's plain as day in this 1989 Bowman card. The year of this card, Kevin Mitchell had the best year of his entire life. He smashed 47 Hrs. He hit in 125 RBIs (yes, I've said it before. I'm calling them RBIs. With the "s"). This might even be the year he made that over the shoulder barehanded catch.* I can't remember when that was.

*Here's the thing about that catch. Is it really that impressive? If you ever see a highlight real of great catches, that one is always on it. I'm not so sure it should be. I mean, they have a glove for a reason. If he had run to the right spot and gotten himself in better position, he would have been able to use it. Sure, a barehanded catch is fun and rare and all that stuff, but wouldn't most other fielders have just used the glove? I see fans make barehanded catches at every game. And they have to fight off other fans AND not spill their beer and nachos. That's way more impressive. Don't you think?

And, he did it all that year with the gold tooth.

Take a look for yourselves. The photo is grainy because I don't know how to make it not grainy, but it's certainly a metal tooth.

So welcome, Kevin Mitchell. Former MVP, former Indian, highlight real barehanded catcher, and newest member of the Gold Tooth Mafia. It's good to have you aboard.

By the way. Here is a scan of the card after I trimmed it to the size of a regular card so that I could fit it in my little card case to bring on vacation. I highly recommend that you do this with all of your 1989 Bowman. Trust me when I tell you that they don't look any worse, and they may look better after trimming. The back remains unaffected. You just lose a little of the top and bottom borders. I wish I had done this a long time ago. I was coming slowly to the decision to either light all of my 89 Bowman on fire, or sell it all on Craigslist for $1,000. Now I have a third option.

To Picasa Or Not To Picasa

OK, Here's my idea.

Over the last year I've managed to amass a collection of GU, Jersey, and Auto cards that is underwhelming and a little pathetic. I'd like to turn it into a little collection of Indians cards that is both underwhelming and a little pathetic, but a lot more fun for an Indian's fan like myself to look at.

I'd like to scan all of these cards in for people to access so that they can salivate over the awesomeness and send me emails offering trades that will be returned promptly (within 5 weeks).

Here's the question that I'm throwing to you, brilliant readers and fans of ACB. What is the best medium to scan the cards to? I came up with the 2 obvious ideas:

1. Just scan them to a blog post and make a link at the side.

2. Scan them to Picasa and make a link.

3. A better option I haven't thought of.

I haven't used Picasa before but people have told me it's good. Would that be easier or better somehow?

Question #2 is; what it the best way to list wantlists? Just in blog post with links? Or, is it better to use one of those Google Documents spreadsheet things? Opinions will be greatly appreciated.

For the time being, I've decided to scan some of the sweet cards that will be available for trade upon completion of this little project...sometime in 2011.



Allan Anderson on card Auto 1987 Topps

I got this auto myself (I think). I'd trade one because I have 2 of them. I'm 87% certain that Allan signed them, although it is possible that I signed them myself. It just doesn't look like a 12 year old's writing. Yeah, I'm going with legit. I could probably get a few hundred on Craigslist for this baby.


Coco Crisp Game Used Apparel 2006 Artifacts 053/325

That's right. The Crisp card that everybody's been waiting for. And a 1/1 as it is the only card numbered 053/325. That's right, you won't find another 053/325 anywhere on the planet. How can a Crisp fan pass that up?

I must be tempted with a truly great card to give this one up, as Crisp is in a Tribe uniform.


Omar Poveda Auto 2008 Donruss Threads 628/999

That's right, less than 1000 made of this future Hall Of Famer.


Ian Kennedy Game Jersey 2009 Upper Deck

Can you believe that I'd even consider parting with such a rare and glorious card? Ian Kennedy might be the best pitching prospect of the last 50 years. He's can't miss. I'd have to check with Beckett but I could probably get at least $250 for this card.

So, that's just a little sample of the awesome cards that will be available for trade in a few short years after I make a decision on the format and get them scanned. Just be warned, I'm not letting these go for cheap. Be prepared to overwhelm me to pry some of these loose.

Any and all advice would be taken into consideration on future trades.

I was bullied

As all of my loyal readers may have noticed, I've added a followers link to the right hand side. Go ahead, take a look, I'll wait. See it over there? Yeah, I have no damn idea what the hell it's for. But Beardy requested that I put it there. And, it's not a good idea to piss off beardy. Just look at that crazy bastard.




Not a dude that you want to say no to. Am I wrong?

Seems as if I have 12 followers, which seemed really cool to me, until I looked at every other blog and realized that they all have around 40. I never really understood the point of the whole followers thing. I guess it let's you know when someone updates their blog, but doesn't the blogroll already do that? Well, I signed up for a handful of your blogs to start with and I'll continue to sign up for more. I'm officially a follower. Before you know it I'll be twittering with all of the other crazy whippersnappers out there. Damn kids with their tweets, blogs, and follower thingimadoos.

After a year of this (that's right, my 1 year anniversary quietly passed a few days ago. Maybe I'll do something to commemorate it. I thought about making a post but it didn't seem right unless it was a few weeks late) I finally am making an effort to get with the program.

Thanks to Beardy for the much needed kick in the pants.

By the way...Gint-A-Cuffs is going to kick ass.