Night Owl Cards

It's been a hell of a week ... again. I didn't think I'd have a chance to post today ... again. But then I opened the mail. And there was a note from my friend Tom from Oregon, who sends me stuff every once in awhile. And now I'm posting. At whatever time this is. You'll see what Tom wrote to get me off my butt in a minute. But first some cards from Tom and a couple other people. As you know, I haven't devoted much of this blog to current cards lately. Ever since Heritage, Topps has issued one bullshit set after another if I may be so ... accurate. I bought a rack pack of Opening Day and that's the last bit of new that I have acquired. Since then, Gypsy Queen, Bowman and Archives have arrived (along with some high-end crap I can never keep straight) and I haven't budged. Some other folks, though, aren't as picky as I am, and thanks to that I received my first taste of GQ, Bowman and Archives recently. This here is my first Gypsy Q...

I received a card today of The Biggest Rookie Sensation In The Universe At This Very Moment In Time. Normally that would be cause to celebrate the card and the legend that is ManBearPuig, plus get into a discussion of worth, scarcity, hype, blah, blah, blah. But I think the way in which I received the card is much more interesting than all of that. This card -- one of those Bowman minis -- arrived from Ryan, who runs the blog Ryan's Pitch . He offered to send it to me a few weeks ago, before Yasiel Puig had been called up to the majors. Puig was already a big deal at that time and pulling his card was a moment. But nothing was blowing through the roof yet. Then last week happened. Monday: A single in Puig's first major league at-bat, two total hits, and a rifle shot from right field to first base to double up the runner and end the game. Tuesday: Two home runs, a double, and five runs batted in. I kept waiting for Ryan to send me a note that said: "You kno...

It occurred to me that I haven't done one of those giant trade posts that everyone loves so much in quite awhile. It also occurred to me that I am on vacation this week. Why on earth have I not realized that vacation is the perfect time for a giant trade post? Well, other than the fact that Mother's Day is approaching and wrapping presents takes me about two days, the lawn mower is busted and I'm trying to get a new one operational, the cable is acting zooey and tech support even zooier, I've got a half dozen home projects that aren't getting done because I don't have the cash/know-how, my diet/exercise program eats up a tremendous amount of free time ... other than that, I guess I just never thought about it before. So, let me squeeze in an epic trade post. It'll take my mind of the fact that the guy next door is beautifying his lawn for the second time this week while I'm walking through knee-high grass. The first cards are from Nathan at Cana...

As the resident hater of Gypsy Queen, I suppose people are waiting for me to fall off the wagon and announce that I've purchased two cases of GQ because I confess I just love the stuff so much ! It's so BEAUTIFUL. Well, first, I don't hate any set. Hate is too strong a word for cards. Except 1992 Donruss. Sorry, '92 D, I really, really, really hate you. Burn in the ground you disgusting, putrid, vile set of horror. But everything else I measure in "like" and "dislike." Sometimes "love." I still dislike Gypsy Queen, particularly this year's version. And, no, I haven't bought any GQ since my first experience with a pack. I'm not even tempted in the card aisle. All I have to do is look at the price tag and I say to myself "$9.49 for THAT?" Yup, the chances of suddenly discovering random Gypsy Queen in my shopping cart is nil. But fool team collector that I am, I'm required to obtain cards from each and...