2013 Finest Cherry Picking

I wouldn't say I would NEVER buy a box of Topps Finest, but I don't see the point.  With a little patience, you can pick up the base cards very cheaply off sportlots.com, even some of the refractors.  I know the same can be said about pretty much all sets, but Finest seems to have a really pronounced  gap between retail price, and secondary market prices per card. 

I am a fan of Finest in general, but not sure if the 2013 set does it for me.  There are a couple of neat insert sets this year, and I may get the Rangers that are on those cards.  Otherwise, I find the base set a little boring.  It's just a scroll of dots across the card with FINEST at the top.  No logos or anything.  Maybe some will like the simplicity of the design, and maybe I will too after some time to pontificate on the matter.

Anyway, I ordered a handful of cheap base cards off sportlots.com and they arrived Saturday.  The Beltres above are all different- the one on the left is an x-fractor, the center is the base and the right is the standard refractor.  I may chase the red and green and other color versions of the Beltre card too, and make a cool rainbow page in my Rangers binder.  Below are the other cards I got, just because.

More Big League Minis

I'm not sure what it is about these new Topps Big League Minis that I like, but I like 'em:

I couldn't help myself and bought a couple more this week.  Perhaps they are filling a figure collecting void that began for me when Starting Lineups were discontinued.  Perhaps I want them because I don't think they are available everywhere yet.  I haven't seen them in any other Walmarts or Targets around here, and there are only a handful available on eBay right now.  I saw Chris Olds rip a pack earlier this month on YouTube but he didn't say anything about an early or limited release.  However I still see online retailers selling them as pre-orders that ship in July.   

Whatever the reason, again, I like 'em.  I had pretty good luck too, getting Mike Trout and Jose Reyes figures.  I'd be happy to trade either of them for a Yu Darvish figure if someone else out there has stumbled upon these little rascals. 

When The Cat’s Away, Napkin Will…

…pretty much not do anything about it.   Last week, I put the lovely wife on a plane for a much deserved four day mini vacation to visit some friends out of state.   After sort of being successful curbing my spending during August-erity, I figured these four days would be like a big window of debauchery for me.  By debauchery, I mean I would buy a ton of cards, and feed myself and the kids junk food the whole time.  I was going to go hog wild at Cleve’s and put in a bunch of write in bids for Tuesday nights auction.  I was going to write at least 20 blog posts and cue them up.  I was going to watch the Razorbacks pound ULM.  I took Thursday and Friday off from work and was only going to turn it loose!

Eh, it didn’t really happen that way. 

Oh my god taking care of two kids by yourself is exhausting!  I had a blast with them, but man they never slow down!    I took my two year old with me to Cleve’s while the six year old was in school, but soon came to my senses and realized taking a two year old into a store filled with expensive items that are easily torn was not too bright, so I got out of there before any damage was done, which is why I didn’t do a Cleve-view Sunday. 

And we ate pretty healthy.  And I have no comment about the Razorbacks.

I didn’t buy the piles of cards that I thought I would, but did get a couple of blasters of Topps Chrome:

I’ve noticed that Salvador Perez has been in each pack that’s had a Yu Darvish.  That’s great with me, since I’m trying to build up my Perez collection.   It’s two wins in the pack as far as I’m concerned.

In short, I didn’t really do much with cards and focused more on the kids while the lovely wife was away.  Are you expecting me to say time with the kids was more fulfilling?  Come on, of course it was.

Checklist Chipaway: 2011 Bowman's Best Prospects

I love this set.  I managed to get the Harper in a blaster, so the rest were not too difficult to get cheaply.  These were the last two I needed.  No, I am not going to include the new additional cards that were tacked onto this set when Bowman Chrome came out.  I just wanted 1-25 and that was it.

Glad to get the Trout card.  I hate to admit, but he is a stud and will probably be a thorn in the Rangers side for years to come.   I was able to watch him play in person a few times when he came through AA and played against the Naturals here in NW Arkansas.