Well, the incentive plan came into place today. I finished my math comments, which earned me two packs of Masterpieces to open. Unfortunately, it's too late for me to write a big post about what was inside. In fact, due to the whole writing reports thing, my writing juices will be pretty well sapped for the rest of the week.

But before I go into a mini-hiatus, I need some help. This whole missing hit thing with my box of A Piece of History is driving me crazy. Everywhere I've looked, it talks about four hits per box, yet I only got three. What can/should I do now? I managed to save all the wrappers (by virtue of not emptying the waste basket) and put them all in the empty box. What else might I need?

Anybody else have experience with Upper Deck boxes and missing hits? What is their policy and procedure? How did they make good? Is it even worth pursuing? This hasn't happened to me before, so any and all advice is welcome. Thanks!

The Incentive: One box of 2008 Upper Deck Masterpiece

The Task: I have to complete my report card comments for my students. I have to write comments on four subjects for each student. These comments should all be six lines long. It is not my favorite part about being a teacher.

So here's the plan. For every ten comments that I write, I treat myself to a pack of Masterpiece. With 23 students, that's a total of 92 comments I need to write. I hope to have this all done by the end of the week. Then I can spend the last two weeks of school, if not relaxing, at least not worrying about report cards anymore.

So far, I have written seven comments. But that was last Thursday, so those don't count. Maybe I will open two packs after I have written 13 comments tonight (13 + 7 = 20).

It only took me four days (that's quick for me), but the box of APOH has been busted. I'll definitely be looking to get more of this set. For those unfamiliar, the box contains 16 packs with 7 cards each. There's one "hit" in each pack, but most of the time it's a serial-numbered parallel of a base card, but there are autographs, relics and patch cards available. Of course, the big draw is the Hollywood relics, but I really don't care about them, mostly because the checklist seems to contain movies I haven't seen. I'd be impressed if I got a Claude Rains relic and it was from Casablanca, but it's probably more like something from The Man Who Watched Trains Go By.

So here's the hits from my break. As far as the main set goes, I now have 98 base cards from the 200-card set. Another box will put a big dent into that, and then I'll have to further examine the checklist to see if it makes sense to get a third box or just pick up what I need from here and there. But I love the look of the cards. The marble finish, the frame for the picture, the gold-embossed team logo in a solid-colored circle at the bottom of the card - visually, I find this set very appealing. Here's the Felix Hernandez base card (from my personal collection) to show you what I mean:

The more I discover sets like this and Masterpieces, the sadder I become that Upper Deck isn't going to be producing any more of these. One set I'm not sorry about is Yankee Stadium Legacy. That's just a pox on humanity. But this is 2009 Upper Deck, so we don't have to worry about that. What we do have to worry about, is the Upper Deck 20th Anniversary Mega Set. And in this product, half of the packs contain cards from the set. From what I can seem to tell, they're all numbered in the 500s. Here's what I pulled:


554 - Ken Griffey Jr. 1993 MVP voting
534 - Ken Griffey Jr. 27 HR season in '92
559 - UNC Tar Heels
539 - Chicago Bulls win '93 NBA title
544 - Michael Jordan All-Defensive team in '93
524 - John Paxson Game-winning shot in Game 6 (1993)
529 - Montreal Canadiens win '93 Stanley Cup
549 - Derek Jeter Short-print cards introduced

The two Griffeys, obviously, I'm glad to have. They go into my PC with some others from this set. I'm also glad to have the UNC Tar Heels card because I'm a proud alum, even if that particular card has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the Heels. It's about how Michigan beat Kentucky to set up the infamous Chris Webber "Time Out" game. And then there's a picture of the Superdome. But I'm going to keep it.

The other five cards are available for trade if anyone wants them. The Jeter card is wonderfully self-referential. It's all about how, in 1993, Upper Deck started the short print craze that the hobby currently "enjoys". Never mind the revisionist history - the card is so comical, it's guaranteed to cheer up anyone who's having a bad day.

Okay, on to the real hits. I'll keep the commentary to a minimum, lest this post end up becoming the size of a William Faulkner novel.


BSM-PK Paul Konerko Box Score Memories relic card

Why not start with the big gun? This was the relic that I pulled, and I can't complain getting a Paul Konerko. It's a shame that it's a plain white jersey, but when you consider all of the other cards out there, to pull a relic of a great player on one of my favorite teams ain't half bad. I'm definitely keeping this.





Blue Parallel cards (numbered to 999):
31 - Troy Tulowitzki
90 - Evan Longoria
150 - Mitch Talbot
Franchise Members - Chicago Cubs (Soriano, Lee, Ramirez, Soto)

The double Tulowitzki isn't a mistake - I pulled two of them in this box, within three packs of each other. None of these cards overwhelm me so they're all available for trade, especially the Tulowitzki dupe.


Box Score Memories subset (numbered to 999):
Derrek Lee
Rafael Furcal

Both available for trade. The idea is okay, an important game in the players career with the box score for that game printed on the back.

Both cards are available for trade.


Franchise History subset:
Roy Halladay (numbered to 999)
Jason Varitek (numbered to 149)

I've already got the Tim Lincecum card in this subset, but would be interested in the cards from the five teams I collect. I know Brian Roberts is on the Orioles card, Konerko's on the White Sox and Bobby Crosby is on the Athletics (remember, this was a 2009 set).

Both of these cards are available for trade. The Varitek is from the rarer "black" subset. Looks like it should be called the "gold" subset to me.


A Piece of Hollywood
POH-BS - Ben Stiller

"Pants" is a good word to describe this pull. Over on A Pack to Be Named Later, I wrote that I hoped whatever relic I pulled it would be from a movie I'd seen. Three packs after I wrote that, I didn't get my wish. These pants, as you can see, are from Along Came Polly. There's a reason I didn't see that movie. I'm not buying Jennifer Aniston as a free spirit. Uptight and controlling like she was in The Break-up - now that I can buy.

This is definitely available for trade.


Violet Rookie Autograph
125 - Shairon Martis

Really? Shairon Martis? The guy so obscure, Topps spelled his name wrong on his 2009 base card? And it's a sticker auto, too.

I guess I shouldn't be badmouthing this card if I want to trade it away. Umm, this card is great! Truly a special card of a special player! Thanks, Upper Deck, for allowing me to share its glory!

Yeah, it's available.


Timeless Moments subset (numbered to 999):
TM-CH - Cole Hamels

When Thorzul opened a couple of cases of this, I got a Ken Griffey relic from this subset that would have been the hit of the break if it hadn't have been for some crazy Junior short print about his return to the Mariners. And the damn thing was, I would have had the Mariners *and* the Reds if I had logged on five minutes earlier. Instead, I got the Orioles and ended up with two Brian Roberts base cards and a Nick Markakis. It's funny how life works.

I have no interest in this card. If you do, please make me an offer.



Cut From the Same Cloth subset (numbered to 999):
CSC-GB - Ken Griffey and Jay Bruce
CSC-RR - Jose Reyes and Jimmy Rollins

Saving the second-best for last. Here's a card for my Grifffey White Sox Project that I didn't even know existed before I pulled it. And it's got a Red (and a good Red at that) as well. I pulled this within the first four packs (maybe it was Pack 2?) and that pretty well cemented my love affair for this set. A really sharp looking card.

The Reyes and Rollins card is available for trade. The Griffey/Bruce card, obviously not.

Let me just finish by saying that I enjoyed this set. However, I may have been shorted a memorabilia card, according to the sell sheets and the Dave & Adam's web site. But what the hell am I going to do about that from here, and more than a year after the product was released. With Upper Deck on its last legs, can it even do anything about the problem?

But I'll be a sucker and get another box, to be sure. And if there's three relics in that one, then all will be forgiven.

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten that Fernandomania post. It's just a very busy time around here - we're heading into the summer in the Southern Hemisphere, so school is wrapping up. That means report cards, end-of-school assemblies, and all that crazy stuff. I hope to write a couple of posts this weekend in between tee-ball games (coaching, not playing) and report cards.

But I did want to take the time out to wish everyone in the cardosphere* a happy Thanksgiving. Even though I'm thousands of miles and thirteen time zones away from America, my wife was still kind enough to cook a full Thanksgiving meal, including all of the Big Five**, after she got home from work. Throw in a bunch of good friends (one of whom is half-American herself, so she knows about Thanksgiving), some wine, and it's a recipe for a pretty terrific evening. I know you all still have Thanksgiving dinner to look forward to. I hope it's as nice as mine was. Enjoy.


* Do you like that phrase? I'm trying to start a thing here. Feel free to spread the word (literally)

** Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes. Green bean casserole, despite what the folks at Durkee might say, is not part of the Big Five. We also had two kinds of pie (pumpkin and apple).

I haven't posted on APTBNL since my post in July about Allen & Ginter. I'm surprised Matt hadn't revoked my posting privileges due to gross inactivity. Anyway, it turns out that '09 A Piece of History had never been written about on the site, so I wrote about it.

Check it out here. I'll be back on RGB Cards tomorrow with a post on Fernandomania (seriously!)

I picked up this box mostly out of obligation and the need to buy something at my "local" card shop (which is about to get even less local next year). After months (not an exaggeration) of waiting for him to get some baseball boxes, he finally got some in last week. The good news - he got the Updates and Highlights. The bad news - I already ordered it online and couldn't justify buying another box.

So that led me to this, almost by default as it was the cheapest box he had available. But four packs in, I'm glad I got it. It's another fun little set and chock full of bonuses. I've already got two Griffey cards from the 20th anniversary set and a new card for the White Sox Project. I also got an autograph card, with the Piece of Hollywood card and possibly a relic card still to come.

I'll post a wrap-up piece later this week, when all the packs have been busted. And I hope that in a couple of months, when I get back to my "L"CS, there will be at least one more box available. I'm definitely down for another go.

I planned to start this post by congratulating King Felix on his well-deserved Cy Young award, then showing off the cards of his that I bought on my trip to Al's Card Shop today. Small problem - they didn't have any Felix cards. Well, that's not strictly true; there was one, but I already owned it.

So what to write about? I was stumped. I bought some cards, to be sure. A few Griffeys, Ichiros, Lincecums and even a Matt Wieters. A couple of team bags full of commons from the 2009 American Heritage set that I haven't decided will be a new Good Little Set for me to collect or not (it probably will, because I've reached The Tipping Point - expect a post on that soon). And some other stuff.

The big news is that Len finally got some new baseball stock, including 2010 Topps Update. Of course, I had just ordered a box of that earlier this week. But hey, this is a rare opportunity to pick up a couple of packs of the most current release, just like everyone else in the blogosphere does. So I got two packs from a freshly opened hobby box. Len even gave me the rookie chrome refractor, which was nice. Turned out to be Sam Demel, which wasn't great, but I took it as a sign that I had arrived as a Valued Customer.

As far as the two backs, I can't complain. No ZOMGSTEPHENSTRASBURG!!! cards, but from what others have written, I'm not too worried, my turn will come, probably in the jumbo box that's currently sitting in Singapore. I did get a Legendary Lineage, a Card Your Mom Threw Out and a Turkey Red card - which happens to be the only insert sets I care about. And I got an MCG redemption card.

Because I'm up in Perth, I decided to redeem the code straight away because I don't trust myself not to lose it. Looking at the "recently unlocked cards" I wasn't holding up much hope - there was even a 2010 Strasburg amongst the last ten. I typed in RwsxKDF4L (what do I care - it's already redeemed), hit click, and up popped:

Sure it's a Cub, I've never heard of the guy, and it looks beat up all to hell, but it's a 1956 card. And it's the oldest one in my collection (although only by 3 years). A nice way to wrap up my first '10 Update purchase.