The first, and last Allen & Ginter post on Waxaholic.

This week marks the start of my least favourite time. Ginter time. Don't get me wrong, I love the product. And if I had more $$$ I'd chase the set. But we here in blogger land know what Ginter time means. It means All Ginter All the time. 24/7 on approximately 365 blogs for the next 6-8 weeks.

Now I try and read all of your blogs, because I truly enjoy reading everyone's differing opinions on stuff. The world is flat, Johnny Depp is a good actor, Yadier Molina is a good catcher... you know.... But sometimes it gets to be too much.

So, like last year, I will make one post about A&G and then no more (unless a card or two gets shown off in a trade post of course) After this, you may come to Waxaholic for a brief respite and a Ginter free zone.

We'll have cake and punch. It'll be fun.

So on we go to my two pack break. Here's what $9 got me.

Pack One:

First card I see, Brandon Beachy. Awesome.

 And to bring me crashing back down to Earth, Ty Wigginton.

 a former Brave, Rafael "I go where the big money is" Soriano

 A hit! It's.... It's ...... Robinson Crusoe. Er... Cano. Craptastic. A guy you hardly hear about, until he lucked out in the Home Run competition. But seriously, why was he even there? If anybody actually collects this guy, offer me a Brave relic somethingorother and we'll swap.

 another former Brave, Mini Derrick Lee.

 Strasburgjo!!!! A year too late I guess...

 and some worthless insert of Lance Berkman.

 Pack Two: Can I improve on pack one???
No. The answer is no.

Miguel Cabrera.

 Nick Swisher. And my scanner is not playing tricks, nor am I hurt like Night Owl, it really is that bad off center.

 former Brave Tim Collins. We had Tim for five minutes before trading him away for some Maple Bats.

 The man no one wants.... Carlos Zambrano

 Grady Sizemore

 Mini Marmol! I always think of Robert Munsch when I say his name...

 One of the Astros many pitchers named Rodriguez.... this one is Wandy. Seriously. Wandy.

 and how would any pack break for a 2011 baseball product be complete, without a David DeJesus card.

All except Mr Beachy are for trade.... especially for any Braves or Adam LaRoche cards you may have.

Have fun Gintering!!!!!! Come back here for a well deserved break.

help a blogger out....

I need your help. Well, I'm begging actually. The baseball season starts today! (not counting the ESPN love fest sunday night... and no, that doesn't count) I need to finish off a couple of sets, with your help please.
And we're doing this, Ginter style.... first up,

2006 A&G
Card #53 John Smoltz SP
Card #305 ???
Card #303 Jennie Finch
Now I know it may be impossible to pry Ms. Finch from most of your sweaty little grasps. I probably have a better shot at getting your favourite pair of jeans, your eye teeth, or your sister... but there are girl bloggers out there, and maybe one of them will help me.

2007 A&G

Card #72, 228, 272, 310, 311, 322, 336 those in red acquired, THANKS!

I have no idea who any of those are...


2009 A&G - complete!

Card #347 Yvoni Gallardo SP - Acquired! - THANKS MADDING!!!!
I thought I had Gallardo in a swap, but it never panned out, so he's back on the most wanted list.

so if anyone of you can help with my Ginter Quest, I would very much appreciate it. LMK and we can work something out.

Sooooooo close....

Thanks to my good friend, the not so Average Joe, who sent me 10 of the last 11 cards I need for 2009 Allen & Ginter set completion, I am down to needing this one last card.

#347 Yovani Gallardo. Here's what he looks like...
anybody got a spare Yovani?

Joe also sent me some other goodies which deserve their own post. Coming soon. Thanks Joe!

some catching up

in my desperate attempt to get caught up on the recent (and not so recent) mail days, I give you a double header.
First up Greg from Lake Effect Baseball Cards sent me a few National Prides for my attempt at the '09 Ginter set. But he also included this beauty.
the last card I needed to complete the 1991 Score set. Well, the first 800 cards anyways....

and I also received a package from Sean at Condition Poor, a new blog to me, but I quickly found, an excellent one.
Sean also sent a few Ginters in exchange for the same. He included with them a couple of Dale Murphys to try and cushion the blow at the fool voters who did not, and have not voted Dale Murphy into the Hall of Fame. Neither in Cooperstown or at Collective Troll's Bloggers Hall of Fame.
Thanks guys!!!

the latest...

I haven't had any luck in finding anyone who collects a lot of players I have.
Finally, I have found Alfredo, of My Past Time... and he was willing to take Mr Miller off of my hands. What do I get in return??? Wait and see kids... wait and see....

Ginter mail and updates

Many thanks to Drew, Nachos Grande, and Jim from Sixty Feet Six Inches, (great blogs, all three of 'em.. ) my Ginter list is slowly waning. Thanks for the trades guys! I'd post what they sent, but even the Hermit Penguins of Southern Antarctica have seen them a hundred times already.

So if you can, please check my remaining wantlists HERE, and I'll post my traders below.

Hit me up for any trades... I'm not the fastest trader in the West, but it'll get done.

My Ginter doubles....

#'s 5, 6, 7, 9, 14, 18, 20, 21, 24, 26, 27, 28, 34, 42, 48, 52, 56, 57, 59, 62, 65, 68, 70, 71, 72, 72, 73, 74, 75, 77, 78, 83, 83, 84, 85, 86, 94, 96, 98,

100, 103, 105, 107, 108, 110, 110, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 120, 121, 126, 130, 133, 134, 138, 139, 142, 144, 150, 151, 153, 158, 161, 165, 176, 177, 179, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 192, 195, 196,

200, 205, 206, 210, 223, 227, 234, 235, 237, 243, 243, 247, 248, 251. 259, 262, 264, 270, 277, 278, 288, 291, 293, 298,

315,

National Pride #'s 3, 16, 17

Sketch #'s AGHS7, AGSH8

Ginter Update

So after the first few flurry of trades, here's where my doubles list stands. (no lying down on this job)

#'s 7, 9, 14, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28, 42, 50, 52, 56, 57, 59, 68, 70, 71, 72 (x2), 75, 77, 78, 83 (x2), 84, 85, 86, 94, 98, 100, 103, 105, 107, 108, 110 (x2), 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 120, 121, 126, 130, 133, 134, 138, 139, 142, 144, 150, 151, 153, 158, 159, 161, 165, 170, 176, 177, 179, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 192, 195, 196, 200, 205, 206, 209, 210, 214, 223, 227, 234, 235, 237, 243 (x2), 247, 248, 249, 251, 259, 262, 264, 270, 277, 278, 288, 291, 293, 298, 315

AGHS5, AGHS7 (x2), AGHS8,

NP3

Those are all available, I'd like to get the Chipper sketch, but that's the only one I want.

My Ginter wants are as follows;

3, 11, 15, 19, 66, 79, 93, 104, 106, 131, 132, 135, 136, 154, 156, 180, 202, 220, 224, 225, 244, 250, 297

301, 303, 306, 307, 309, 311, 313, 314, 316, 318, 321, 322, 324, 325, 326, 329, 331, 333, 334, 339, 342, 343, 345, 347, 349,

NP 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 31, 33, 34, 35, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65

A big thanks to all those I've swung trades with already...

Doubles anyone?

if you came here looking for tennis, move along. Nothing to see here.

If you came here hoping to at long last find my 2009 Allen & Ginter super duper list of duplicates... pull up a chair. This may take awhile....

The following is a list of my DOUBLES... posting a list of my needs would take too damn long.

#'s 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28, 32, 42, 46, 50, 52, 56, 57, 59, 68, 70, 71, 72 (x2), 75, 77, 78, 83 (x2), 84, 85, 86, 87, 94, 98, 100, 103, 105, 107, 108, 110 (x2), 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 120, 121, 126, 130, 133, 134, 137, 138, 139, 140, 142, 144, 150, 151, 153, 158, 159, 160, 161, 164, 165, 170, 173, 176, 177, 179, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 192, 195, 196, 200, 203, 205, 206, 209, 210, 214, 219, 223, 227, 234, 235, 237, 243 (x2), 247, 248, 249, 251, 259, 262, 264, 266, 270, 273, 277, 278, 287, 288, 290, 291, 292, 293, 295, 298, 310, 315

AGHS1, AGHS2, AGHS3, AGHS5, AGHS6, AGHS7 (x2), AGHS8, AGHS25,

NP3

for the sketch cards, I'm looking for any Braves sketches, or a couple of National Prides that I don't have...

let the frenzy begin... card #'s in RED are traded...

where to go from here

some of you may have noticed a little less posting on my behalf lately. Okay, a lot less. Many reasons for that. Real life can tend to get in the way sometimes. Boredom. Burnout. Other distractions. Shiny things. And by the way, that game you see advertised everywhere in the banner ads? Evony? DO NOT click on those banners. That game is damn addictive. Alarmingly so.

Anyways.

It's september now. Time to get the yard ready for winter. The leaves are changing colours. The smell of Gint-A-Cuffs is in the air.
Actually, A&G is one of the reasons I haven't been posting as much. I was so looking forward to this year's version. Gint-A-Cuffs came along and I jumped at the chance to compete with other bloggers. Now, located where I am, I ended up getting my two boxes a lot later than most everyone else. The blogs were filled with the sights and sounds of Ginter madness.

A lot happened in the hobby between then and now. Not really for the better either. I guess baseball cards soiled on me a little. Too much business, too much bs counterfeits, too much greed from athletes, manufacturers, retailers. Just too much.

You couldn't escape Ginter if you tried. It was everywhere. When I received my boxes I eagerly tore open the first box. And had already seen every card in there. No surprises.
I then slowly opened my second box. I could not believe the amount of duplicates in that second box. I was pissed. But then after sorting the two boxes together, I realized that I did not have that many duplicates at all..... I had just already seen all of the cards already.
Now, I'm not blaming Gint-A-Cuffs at all. It was a great idea, and I almost won. 333 to Beardy's 347. Close, but no cigar. Not that I smoke anyways.
I dreaded sitting down at the computer because I knew I had to scan in all of the Ginter. It was like an albatross around my neck. So I just didn't scan anything. Now the contest is over. And I don't have to scan everything, and I'm glad I didn't win. Congrats to whomever is crowned Gint-A-Cuffs champion. Well done.

Now, about that box that scored 333. It had four hits in it, don't ya know? That's right. Four. But here's the kicker. The fourth hit may be why I didn't beat Beardy's score. Confused? You won't be after the next episode of...... sorry, mind wandered a bit.
Let's take a look at that pack, shall we?

First card outta the pack
CC Sabathia - Yankee -1 pt
Johnny Damon - Yankee -1 pt

Chien-Ming Wang - Yankee -1 pt AWW C'MON!!!!!

Carl Crawford - Rays no points

HIT!!!

CC Sabathia Jersey - Yankee - 8 pts/2 = 4 pts Motherfu*%$#!

Brian McCann mini!!!!!! Woot! 4pts

Carlos Zambrano National Pride. = Lame.

A pack with a hit and I only get 5 pts. Now the thing is, and here's where it gets tricky, is that I got the EXACT SAME PACK in my other, lower scoring box. (244 pts for the record)

EXCEPT, I got a Tim Lincecum jersey instead of fat ole Captain Cheeseburger. For those of you scoring at home, a Lincecum is worth 40 pts!!! Instead of the 4 pts, that would be an additional 36 pts to 333, for a total of 369!!! I woulda won! If only the packs had been reversed. *sigh*

I still can't believe I got the EXACT SAME PACK in two boxes though.

So anyways, enough rambling, it's not my style. My posts are usually picture heavy. And thanks for all of you who sent caring emails saying it was okay to stop posting, as long as there were pics of cheerleaders every few days.

Your kindness will not go unrewarded.

Look for a post later today (I hope) on where I will go from here.....

It's here! It's really here!

It's been so long since this contest started, I've forgotten where the rules and points list are. But once I find them, you're all in a lot of trouble.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go find some scans of red autos and relic hairs of dead presidents. Maybe a Unicorn tail.... stuff like that.

Woot!

Today's mail brought two small yellow envelopes. In the first one, Matt from Project Baseball 1976 sent over four 1976 Topps beauties to complete our trade.

I love finding other collectors who are trying to collect the same tough set as you are. It makes trading that much more fun. I send you four, you send me four. Perfect. Although Matt is a lot closer to completion than I am.

The next little goodie I received finished off a set for me. Todd (also known as darkship) sent over the last two SP's I needed to polish off '08 A&G.

I've heard that this old bird was a tough one to find. But now my binder is full. (except for some no # Fukudome card I've heard all the cool kids talking about, but that's not worrying me)

Thanks guys!

so close I can smell it...

Two cards. that's all I need to complete last years' A&G set before this years comes out. I still have a few left to trade that I haven't given away to others trying to complete this thing.
Does anybody have #312 and #313?


EDIT: darkship comes through.... Thank you Todd!

Two for the weekend...

What a way to head into the weekend... not one package, but two! The first, from the ladies over at Dinged Corners. We were able to help each other out with our '08 A&G sets... here's what I got......

Aaron Rowand
Hanley Ramirez

Steve Williams
Geovany Soto
State Flag insert Illinois
State Flag insert Oregon
State Flag insert South Dakota
and...

Chipper Jones! Great Googly Moogly! How could I not have him yet????? I bought two hobby boxes! I'm the biggest Braves fan north of Atlanta! @$#%$@#(^&)11!!!!
Thanks girls!!!!!!!!

For my second package of the day... I receivedan offering from Scott at Hand Collated. Scott was nice enough to send this gratis, but I will be finding some hockey to send his way very soon.

The last card I needed for my '87 Topps Braves team set. (or so I hope)

Darryl Motley

and some more '08 A&G!
Jeter and the Mick!

Mark Buehrle

Julio Lugo

Brian Bannister

Hank Blalock

Ty Wiggington

and,

Johan Santana

Matt Diaz

Johan is ready to give the gas.... Matty does not look impressed. Go ahead Johan, give Matt a first pitch fastball... I dare ya.....

My A&G is looking better and better.... Thanks to both of you!

El swappo with Nachos Grande

A couple weeks ago, Chris from Nachos Grande and I hammered out a trade of Allen & Ginter. I sent him 18 A&G minis along with a few random Reds, that he needed, and he sent me 22 regular A&G cards I needed for my set.
The cards arrived today.
Thanks Chris!