Night Owl Cards

You probably didn't enjoy voting today. Oh, maybe you got to talk to your neighbor. Maybe you got a sticker or a baked good. Maybe you felt good about exercising your civic duty, your right as an American citizen. But the actual process , the selecting of the candidates at hand , that probably wasn't much fun. I voted today. I've also taken three showers today. And a bath. Look, I may not like our current political climate (not that I've ever been the political type), and I feel a slight amount of guilt over what's been wrought, as every sane American probably should, but that doesn't mean I can't have a little fun with it. On this day where things could have been a whole lot better, I want you to be able to vote for someone that you want to vote for today. And that's why we're going to vote for Pedro starting tonight. By my count, there have been 29 Pedros to play in the major leagues. I have cards of 17 of them. I'm going to displa...

A big thank you to everyone who voted for the "best card set" and "worst card set" of 2008. As you can see by the results, there is little question about what people thought was the best and the worst of the past year. At least among people who visit this blog anyway. Topps Allen & Ginter was the best card set by such a wide margin that not only did it win "best set" by 13 votes over its closest competitor, but it was the only set listed that was not voted the "worst set" of 2008. I have to say I agree. If you're collecting and you hate Allen & Ginter, I really have no idea what your collecting motives are. Upper Deck X was picked as the "worst set" of 2008, also by a wide margin, 14 votes more than the "next worst," Upper Deck Spectrum (Upper Deck has a number of pointless brands out there. Personally, I'd throw Artifacts in there, too, and SP Authentic). I noted that not as many people voted in the "wor...

I decided to rip a pack of 2008 Topps Stadium Club here, because that's what all the kids are doing these days. You won't find me featuring the latest and greatest very often, so enjoy it while it lasts. Actually, I got this pack today so I can lead into something else. It has to do with the polls off to the right. I'll get to that in a minute. In the meantime, you might be asking yourself: only a pack? How come there's no blaster? And my response is: one month to Christmas my friends. No blasters until after then. If you want to see Stadium Club blasters, check out a number of the fine card blogs out there. Cardboard Icons, Free Andy LaRoche, Fielder's Choice, and a bunch of others have busted this stuff in the last few days. My quick thoughts on Stadium Club before I get to the cards: I respect Stadium Club, I recognize its ground-breaking ways, I like its photography. But I'm not ga-ga over it, like some are. Full-bleed photos contribute to a sameness in whi...

This, in a roundabout way, is my response to the results from the "Where has Topps Gone Wrong" poll I posted. It's obvious, according to those who voted (and I know for a fact Chris Harris did not vote 36 times), that Topps' gimmickry is mostly to blame for the feelings of ill will that collectors have for "The Real One." Actually, the poll categories were fairly even until news of the Sarah Palin beauty queen card broke, and then that second column pulled a Carl Lewis. The poll's not up anymore, but here are the results written out: Too may gimmicks: 52 percent Too many sets: 25 percent Too expensive: 22 percent Poor card design: 19 percent Topps rules, the rest drool: 16 percent Too many relics/autographs: 11 percent Too little customer service: 8 percent I, personally, have the most problem with the first and second categories. I'm surprised that the relics/autos category didn't draw more votes, though. I know some bloggers have n...

Don't worry, no presidential pontificating here. The heaviest I will get on this blog is when discussing the combined weight of Prince Fielder and CC Sabathia. Whoa, those are some big boys. I'm just asking you to point your eyes to the upper right and add your vote to the poll. The question: exactly where has Topps gone wrong? We all agree they're screwing up somehow. So, go ahead and vote. It's free! And you can vote for more than one category. It's like voting for McCain AND Obama AND that guy from the communist worker party. (oops, sorry, that's a political reference). If you think Topps is untouchable, a benevolent and omnipotent god, then there's a category for that, too. Cast away. I promise, I will post on whatever category comes out on top. I have no idea what I'll say. But I'm sure it'll be some sort of unoriginal diatribe. Unoriginal but fascinating. Just you wait.