I'm sure you all have gotten the 2012 base set out of your system, since it's two months since you all busted your boxes. You've moved on to Heritage or Tribute or whatever great new thing is next on the release calendar, but stuck behind everyone as I am, 2012 Series 1 is still news to me. Heck, I'm still opening packs of 2011 Update Series.

I got my jumbo box of Series 1 today, along with two blasters. (How did they come so quickly? Well, I might have cheated and ordered them the day after I found out that I had gotten an interview for my new job, rather than when I found out I got the job itself. Still, it's a nice way to celebrate my success.)

Obviously, I didn't know much, if anything, about 2012 Topps due to my self-imposed exile from blog reading. I don't even know what the base card looks like. But one thing I was really curious about is what the theme of the blaster manu-patches would be. Two years ago, it was World Series patches. Last year, it was retro team logos. I definitely enjoyed last year's more - due to the fact that they're team-specific. The one blaster patch I pulled from 2010 was Tony Perez and the '76 World Series, so I can't complain. But what would Topps do this time around?

ZOMGRETIREDNUMBERPATCHES!!!!@W!!!1!!!!

This, my friends, is awesome. And looking at the checklist, which is helpfully printed on the side of each blaster, there are a lot of solid options, including site namesake Frank Robinson and awesomest pitcher ever Sandy Koufax. I should have skipped the jumbo box and just ordered 8 blasters. But the shipping would have been a nightmare.

Unfortunately, I can't open any cards today because I have to get up at stupid o'clock to go pump some gas (the new job doesn't start until late April). Maybe when I get home. Thankfully, the filling station is in the same shopping center as a Big W (think Australian Wal-Mart, but not evil) so I can purchase a new binder. If only they sold baseball cards, too... ;)

I opened a pack of cards today, for the first time in more than two months.

It felt good, even if the biggest card in the pack was a Yankee:

I also got this card, which I already had. Heath Bell's slide from the bullpen was, to me, the iconic image of last year's All-Star game. In a (sadly rare) case of getting-it-right from Topps, they managed to immortalise the image, which is great.


Yoenis Cespedes didn't take long to show he belonged today. I'm sure it's too late for him to be included in 2012 Series 2, we'll probably have to wait until the Update Series for his rookie card. By then it might be worthless.

It's been a rough couple of months here at RGB Manor. Financially speaking, things weren't going too flash. I won't bore you with the details. Suffice to say, I didn't really have the funds to purchase any 2012 cards, and rather than read about all the sick pulls you all were getting, and feeling like I was missing out, I just withdrew from the blogging community.

I also didn't feel like writing about old cards. I had three jumbo packs of 2011 Update just sitting on my shelf, unopened. I didn't want to touch them because I didn't know when I would be able to purchase any more cards, and I didn't want to use up what little I had. Strange, I know, but I blame my grandfather, who grew up during the Great Depression, for passing that particular little mental viewpoint on to me.

It may not be the Great Depression, but the Great Recession sure hit hard. We moved back down from up north with only one guaranteed income (my wife's). We thought it wouldn't be too hard for me to find a job, but that turned out to be untrue. Apparently, at least 35 other teachers were looking for full-time employment down here. I know, because every time I applied for a job and got knocked back, I got the same story: "You had a very strong application, and we appreciate the time you put into it, but there were 35 other applicants for the same position."

Teacher shortage, my ass.

Sure, I picked up some relief teaching, but it wasn't consistent (as substitute teaching is wont to be). And while I did get a job teaching phys ed, and it was a great little school, it was only one day a week. Not enough to bring in. I also got a weekend job at a gas station. It's not like I earned rest on the weekend, anyway. We could use the money.

But today is opening day. The Mariners are 1-0. And Ichiro leads the majors in batting, with a crisp .800 mark. So all is right with the world.

Not only that, but I got a good little piece of news today. Along with a full-time job. I'll be teaching science to students from Grades 1 to 7, starting next term. Plus, I have relief teaching lined up for the rest of this term. I finally feel like a real teacher again.

The box of 2012 Topps has been ordered, and it is making its way to RGB Manor as we speak.

Ahh, the magic of Opening Day.

So I'm listening to spring training baseball this morning, thanks to the awesome MLB At Bat app for my iPhone. There is nothing better for keeping track of my teams or baseball in general. At any rate, I was listening to the only game available, the Washington Nationals versus the newly re-christened Miami Marlins. But that wasn't the only name change in the stadium.

Listening to the lineups, I noticed the announcer didn't call the Marlins' left fielder "Mike." Instead, he announced Giancarlo Stanton. Although, with the sound of the final syllable of the first name and the initial syllable of the last name, at first it sounded like John Carlos Stanton. But still, when did this happen?

It turns out that Mr. Stanton has always been name Giancarlo, but started using Mike, one of his middle names, in high school for ease of pronounciation. That I can totally understand - I went to high school with a guy whose first name is Bilal, but who we all called Mike (now that he's an adult, he reverted back to his real name, too).

But what I don't understand is, when there were already two other Mike Stantons in the big leagues, why Giancarlo didn't start going by his first name sooner. Because not only is he the first Giancarlo Stanton in the big leagues, he's the first Giancarlo, period. Talk about branding!

Oh, and one more thing. Mike Stanton, the former Braves reliever and All-Star? His first name is William.

Well, my vacation is over, so I should get things back to normal very soon. In the meantime, here's a list of mini-posts you missed if you don't check out my Tumblr feed.

D.J. LeMahieu's reign as the coolest name in baseball was short-lived...

...anatomical oddities are explored...

...or is it just over-zealous airbrushing?...

...Steve Pearce get all potty-mouthed...

...and of course, it wouldn't be Tumblr if we didn't kick a man while he was already down...

Did any big trades happen while I was gone?

I'm on vacation this week - so the blog posts won't be very frequent. Not to worry, though - I opened a bunch of packs before I left and created a ton of tumblr posts ready to launch throughout the week. The snark meter is set to high - enjoy my amusing comments about cards in the 2011 Update Series.

Each week I'm going to create a "review post" about the tumblr highlights. Feel free to check them out and leave your own witty comments, or just a thumbs-up. And if you have your own tumblr, or know of some good baseball tumblrs I should follow, let me know in the comments section of this post.

This week in tumblr...

...we take a look at cool baseball names...

...explore baserunning fundamentals...

...learn about proper design techniques...

...make fun of a father of six...

...and of course, engage in toilet humor

There's more as well, so be sure to check out the tumblr every day. Posts go up around 7:00 p.m. Eastern time, give or take an hour.

P.S. This is where I'm staying. Not to rub it in or anything...

Earlier this week, I posted my latest pull from the Topps Update jumbo pack I purchased over Thanksgiving. It was a Bert Blyleven liquorfractor, and my pal Richard (aka Dawgbones) commented on how great it looked, especially since some liquorfractors are worse than the original card.

Today's liquorfractor comes from Series 1 - it's card #5, Joey Votto. I think it goes in the "improve" pile. I really like the 3-D effect:

Incredibly, not the only Votto card in that pack. Or even the best one. Next up is an early contender for "Pull of the Year, 2012"


The leader in the clubhouse...a Joey Votto jumbo patch card, numbered 1/6. It will take some doing to top that, but I hope I can. I'd hate to think my 2012 has peaked on January 4th.

I love it when case hits like this one (odds - 1:665) end up in the right hands. Namely, me.