Topps Heritage - I Have No Clever Title

As 2011 turned into 2012 I made a resolution, no a declaration, that I would only chase two sets this year.  No longer would I waste money that I don’t have on packs at Target on sets that I’m not going to complete.  Nope, I would be strong, I would be resolute and stick to my guns.  So far I’ve done that. 

To reward myself for my self-control I went to the Local Card Store and bought myself a box of 2012 Topps Heritage.  That’s right, why chase a base set when I can chase a more expensive one with a ton of short prints?  My parents would agree that common sense was never my strong point (much like the proper use of commas).

John at Elite Sports Cards got his shipment of Heritage in on Wednesday and promised to hold a box for me till Thursday.  So, I jumped on the El and headed up to his shop (by the way if you’re on the North Side, check his shop out.  He has a pretty decent selection of boxes and packs for sale and his prices are reasonable. I walked out paying a fair price (cheaper than online when you factor in shipping costs) and headed home to rip some wax, paper, whatever they’re sealed in these days.

Here’s what I pulled in.  First up the regular base cards:

Mirrored on the 1963 Topps set, this year’s Heritage features a nice use of bold colors on the bottom edge. Several cards have funky backgrounds that off-set the mostly posed pictures of the players.  The images have that nice faux-painted look that collectors seem to enjoy.  Jeff Samardzija is going for which look:

A.      Swashbuckler

B.      Tow-Truck Driver

C.      Guy bumming a cigarette at the bus stop

D.      Over-rated middle reliever

Players on new teams do get the airbrush treatment as new Oriole DH Endy Chavez shows:

Look at the hat!  So glad it’s back!

Everyone loves floating heads for rookies:

As you notice, Wasteland Hall of Famer Michael Taylor is featured on two different cards.  Apparently, this is a nod to the original 1963 set.  It’s cool with me, I guess.

Some rookies got their own card and the big All-Star Rookie Trophey is back:

I have at least four cards in the set with Jared Hughes on them.  I have no idea who he is.  On the other hand big trophies are awesome.

I have no problem with manager cards and team cards, either:

Now we move on to the inserts.  Most Heritage collectors don’t bust boxes looking for hits.  Sure, they have some nice on-card autographs (spoiler I didn’t get any), but they are rather hard to pull compared to other sets and it’s hard enough to put together just the base set.  I couldn’t imagine someone wanting to do a master set.

First up News Flashes and Baseball Flashes:

JFK cards usually move well on the secondary market and who doesn’t smile when they pull an Ernie Banks card.

There is shiny:

I pulled two Chromes (numbered to 1963) and one Refractor (the unflattering portrait of Zach Greinke) which was numbered to 563.

There is the “meh”

Two New Age Performers and a Then and Now.  Not really feeling those inserts.

Stickers:

I pulled three of these and have resisted the urge to stick them on anything so far.

The “Hit”

A grey swatch of Nick Swisher’s jersey.  A certain editor for a certain Collectibles magazine may be interested in this card.  Twitter-negotiations are underway.

Oh and then there was this.

At first I thought it was just another base card, it would have been my only duplicate, and kept sorting.  Something in the back of my mind made me look closer.  Let’s compare the two.

Regular Base

Eh?

Hey wait, they have different color schemes.  Did I just pull a super short print color swap of the Yankees captain?  As Lana Kane would say, “Yuuup”.

I did what any unemployed blogger would do - post it on eBay as fast as possible.  Then I went shopping with the Duchess.  By the time I got back my “Buy it Now” price had been met. The final price easily covered what I paid for the box with a little left over to spend how I feel fit (totally spending it on cards). So I would say it was a decent box.

Even without the Jeter short print I would have been happy with this break (which is what everyone says when they actually make back their investment).  People who collect Heritage will be happy with it even with all of the variations and “error” cards.  I’ll probably throw some more money at it in the form of jumbo packs, but one hobby box is enough for me. Much like the 2009 set I’m sure I’ll be chasing this until I die.  For those other unfortunate souls chasing this one I’ll have a “wants/haves” list posted sometime soon.

The Lightning Card of the Week - Mike Smith 2009-10 UD Victory

There is a 78% chance Smith is going to turn the puck over in this photo.

2009-10 Mike Smith Upper Deck Victory. Back to back Victory cards and back to back current Phoenix Coyotes.  Wow, two posts into this gimmick and I'm already in a rut. I like the Victory cards because they usually don't try to be anything more than a basic set. No need to be fancy with the design or photos, just make sure you have the logo, player name and team name on the front and throw a white border around it. Works for me.

How do you remember the Mike Smith era in Tampa? Colossal disappointment? Unfulfilled potential? Have you ever dated someone who was perfect for you, but for some reason it just didn’t work out? Despite the fact that you laughed at the same jokes, she tolerated Star Wars and you didn’t mind Titanic, something was still off.  Either she was coming off a long-term relationship or you were an axe-wielding psychopath, the relationship just didn’t work so you parted ways and wished the best for each other.  To me, that was the Mike Smith experience in Tampa.

Things were rocky from the beginning for Smith in Tampa.  He was the centerpiece in a deal that saw one of the most popular players in Lightning history shipped out because the new ownership group couldn’t afford him.  He was behind the 8-ball from the beginning with some fans because he was traded for Brad Richards and could never live up to their expectations simply because he wasn’t Richey.

On paper he was as close to a perfect prospect for a goaltender. He was big (6’4” 215), athletic, and successful – as the understudy to Marty Turco in Dallas Smith posted a 24-14 record with .909 save percentage and a 2.35 goals against average over two seasons with the Stars.  Most importantly to the ownership group he was young and he was cheap.

There were some good times, his 43 wins places him fifth all-time on the Lightning wins chart and he did post 6 shut-outs through his 3+ seasons with the Bolts. Heck, he even had a shining moment in the 2010-11 Stanley Cup playoff run where he replaced a struggling Dwayne Roloson in Game 4 and stopped all 21 shots he faced on the way to the Lightning’s come-from-behind 5-3 win.

He was a well-liked guy in the clubhouse, Nate Thompson called him “one of our favorite guys” and there was considerable glumness in the clubhouse when he was demoted to Norfolk during the 2010-11 season. There was also his undeniable on-screen chemistry with Ryan Malone.

Unfortunately, in the end there was too much inconsistency.  For some reason he could never grab the number one role no matter how many times it was on the table for him.  He would play well for stretches and then disappear, losing starts to Johan Holmqvist, Karri Ramo, Dan Ellis and finally Dwayne Roloson.

He had pockets full of talent, but perhaps a little too much enthusiasm.  He loved to play the puck, but was so bad at it I advocated chaining him to his goalposts at one point.  He was big and athletic, but technically a bit unsound.  My sister has a dog.  When he was a puppy Milo’s paws were disproportionally huge compared to the rest of his body and he wasn’t the most coordinated animal ever created.  He tended to crash around the house more then run or walk. That’s what Mike Smith was  – a giant puppy crashing around the crease.

Injuries played a large role in his struggles in Tampa, the biggest example being the concussion he hid from the coaching staff for six weeks. The concussion would eventually cost him the last 32 games of the 2008-09 season. During his tenure with the Lightning he would miss time with various knee and neck injuries as well.

When Tampa made it clear they had no intentions of re-signing him in the off-season most fans wished him good luck while others snickered when Phoenix signed him to a 2-year/$4 million deal.  Now that the season is winding down it’s obvious that the Coyotes are the ones laughing as Smith has 30 wins under his belt and is a goalie reborn under the tutelage of goaltender coach Sean Burke.

From the handful of games I’ve watched, he’s calmer, better positioned and under control when making saves.  There is a lot less flailing and desperate scrambling.  Being reunited with Dave Tippet’s defensive system (Tippet was his coach in Dallas as well) seems to agree with his style more so than whatever Barry Melrose and Rick Tocchet put on the ice. Even Coach Boucher’s system puts a lot of pressure on the goalie when it’s not executed correctly by the team in front of him.

He’s only 29-years-old so there is still a chance he can string together a good career in the NHL. Perhaps, the demotion to Norfolk last year served as a wake-up call. Now maybe with a little bit of maturity and discipline he can establish himself as a number one goaltender in the league. It’s a shame it won’t be in a Lightning uniform, but sometimes a change of scenery is best for a young player.

To go back to our earlier analogy I guess now Smith is the ex-girlfriend you stayed friends with and are glad that she’s doing well, but it still pisses you off that she met a doctor and is driving around in a Mercedes.  Especially since at this point the Lightning are still the axe-wielding psychopath still looking to meet the right girl.

State of The Blog

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post there are going to be a couple of changes on this site.  Most notably, the content on the Lightning is going to go way down.  That’s because I just picked up a gig writing for The Hockey Writers, and quite frankly, I’m way too lazy to come up with original content for both sites.  I will be linking to my articles over there, so if you’re interested you’ll just have to click one more link.

I will still be doing the Lightning Card of the Week here as well as Raw Charge’s Question of the Week.  Other than that I think I’ll be getting back into writing more about baseball. I haven’t caught the spring training bug yet, but once the season starts up I’m sure I’ll have some random Orioles and Cubs opinions to spout.

Despite the lack of page views they generate, I will be posting more about boxing, both local and national.  After all both Mayweather and Pacquiao are fighting this year (sadly not against each other) so I will spout off about those boxing contests.

There will be a couple of box breaks coming up. I treated myself to a $16 box of Pacific Vanguard from Atlanta Sports Cards and Heritage should be released in the next week or so.  I’m sure there will continue to be card-related topics to talk about as the year rolls on (maybe Rally Squirrel gets a spot in Heritage? Heads will as-plode!)

I’m going to make a conscious effort to post more about this great city I live in and will bring back the Chicago photo series, maybe at some point I’ll take a picture that I actually like.

So I guess things aren’t going to change that much.  Thanks for reading.

Question of The Week - What Would You Do?

Coming up soon I’ll have a quick post about some changes regarding this here blog – that’ right I’m going to start charging for it.  $99 bucks for a year’s subscription!  Just kidding, this site will always be free, because frankly that’s what this content is worth. I mean who wants to pay to read lame jokes about hockey cards?

Now, it’s time for the good ol’ Raw Charge Question of The Week!  This week it’s a nice general topic about the NHL in general. 

What would you change about the NHL?

Antennas optional

Make the players wear the Great Gazoo’s helmet.  Boom concussion problem solved. Now everyone can get back to watching their favorite players without wondering if the next hit will force them to spend the rest of their life in a dark room. That was easy enough, eh?

Actually, as I think about the question and scroll over some of the other folk’s answers I keep coming back to an idea I’ve been kicking around for a couple of seasons.  Pretty much since I returned from my one year protest following the lock out:

Make the playing surface bigger.

According to Rule 1.2: “the official size of the rink shall be two hundred feet (200’) long and eighty-five (85’) wide.”  The rinks have generally been that size since the NHL began play.  Some of the older barns like the Boston Garden may have had slight variations, but now, as the new buildings become more uniform, most of them play to those regulations.

According to Wikipedia (where this picture is taken from) The Garden measured 191x83

The problem is, while the rinks have stayed the same, the players have gotten bigger.  When the Toronto Maple Leafs won their last Stanley Cup in 1966-67 their biggest everyday skater was Frank Mahovlich who was listed at 6’ 205lbs.  Last season’s Bruins team featured 13 players on the roster bigger than that with Zdeno Chara logging an impressive 6’9” 255lbs.

1940's player meets 2010's player

Add in two referees and two linesmen and that’s a lot of human flesh cluttering up the ice. Even with some of the rule tweaks that were instituted post lock-out it’s easy for defensive minded teams to clog up the neutral zone and choke off entry into the offensive zone.

Any time widening the playing surface is mentioned the immediate outcry is that owner won’t go for it because it’ll eliminate too many expensive seats along the glass. That’s true, but at least it’ll give them an excuse to raise ticket prices as opposed to doing it for no apparent reason.  Or, maybe they can see past the short term loss of revenue to the long term benefit of strengthening the game.

Smart owners will find ways to recover the revenue lost from removing a couple rows of seats.  After all, Lightning owner Jeff Vinik made the audacious move of removing luxury suites during the latest Ice Palace renovation and hasn’t suffered from it.  In fact, he’s received nothing but praise (and boosted attendance) for the recent makeover.

Expanding out to full international ice (210 x 98) might not be the answer, but adding 2 or 3 feet of width on each side will make it hard for teams like the Lightning to stack the blue line with three or four defenders to prevent the opposing teams from skating freely into the zone.  Of course, with the way the Lightning defenders have been letting the other team into the zone uncontested all year that really hasn’t been a problem yet.

Wider ice surfaces might not be a cure all for the concussion rampage that is currently sweeping through the league but it can’t hurt either.  Space equals time in the NHL.  Making a defender skate an extra foot or two to deliver a crunching hit along the boards could be the difference between Sidney Crosby suffering another brain bruise or him slipping by and scoring a goal.

Some critics complain that games played on international ice by European professional teams are low-scoring and boring.  That the large ice surface makes the game resemble soccer more than the high-impact, rock ‘em-sock ‘em NHL hockey they’re used to watching.  Well, yeah of course it’s not the same – they’re not using NHL-caliber talent.  While they’re pretty good, they’re not the best. Moving to larger ice won’t eliminate hitting, but players will have to be more conscious about making sure they are in the proper position to make the hit.

The league has a lot on its table this summer.  From negotiating a new CBA, to realignment, ownership issues, concussion problems and a serious decline in the quality and consistency of officiating the last thing they’re thinking about is redesigning the ice rink. However, as the game moves forward and the players keep getting bigger and faster it is an issue that will require more attention.

Gonna keep postin' 'em! AP David Zalubowski

Dustin Tokarski Gets The Call

An extremely bad Photoshop I made earlier in the season for Twitter (based on a billboard in Norfolk)

If you’ve read any of my hockey stuff over the past year or so, you know I’m a bit of a mark for Dustin Tokarski.  Heck, he’s even one of the folks on my Personal Collection list, so you know I’m a fan.  Even back in 2010 I thought he’d be something to look forward to.That means I’m super excited about the news out of Channelside that he’s been promoted, right?  Not really.

The Tampa Bay Lightning organization hasn’t exactly been a hot bed for goaltending prospects over its 20-year history.  As a matter of fact, it’s been more like the place where young goalies go to disappear.  Every regime that has come through the Tampa Bay Area has had their “Chosen One” who would lead the team in net for the coming years. Names like Evgeny Konstantinov, Gerald Coleman, Riku Helenius and Zack Bierk (aka Sebastian Bach’s brother-in-law) have all been pitched to the fan base as a potential hot young goalie in the system.  The combined number of NHL games for them in a Lightning uniform – 31. The number of wins – 5 (all of them by Bierk).

If you look at the Lightning’s history of goaltenders that they’ve drafted, it’s not pretty.  The all-time games leader for Tampa Bay drafted goalies is Karri Ramo with 48, that is barely over a half of a season’s worth of games. Even for a relatively young franchise that’s pathetic.

Ramo did have one of the best masks in Lightning history - BRAINS!

Most likely it is because the organization has never concerned itself with using top picks to draft goaltenders. In the sixteen drafts that the Lightning have used their first round pick (they traded away their number one picks in 1999, 2002, 2003 and 2007), only once have they used it for a goaltender.  That was for Helenius in 2006 when he went 15^th overall (with Semyon Varlamov, Michal Neuvirth and Jhonas Enroth still available). Only Tyler Moss (2^nd round 1993) and Konstatinov (3^rd round 1999) have been drafted in the top 3 rounds.

With that lack of top-end talents in the prospect pool it’s no wonder that they’ve never developed an elite starting goaltender in the NHL.  They have also had a tendency to rush whichever prospects they do have through their system and throw them into the fire with horrendous teams in front of them. Ramo was 20 when he appeared in his first game, Bierk was 21 and Coleman was 20 when he appeared in two games before being shipped out to Anaheim in the Shane O’Brien deal.

Tokarski has been in the organization since 2008 when he was drafted in the 5^th round by the Bolts.  There was a lot of excitement about him early in his career as he dominated his last season in junior hockey, winning the Memorial Cup MVP and the Hap Emms Memorial Trophy as the top goaltender.  He was also the starting goaltender for Team Canada at the 2009 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships where he led them to their 5^th straight goal medal (even if his play was uneven at best).

I have this card! Well not this exact one, but one just like it!

He immediately made the jump to the AHL where he won 27 games in his first year at Norfolk while sharing playing time with Helenius and Jaroslav Janus.  Tokarski would win 21 games in 2010-11 and seem to take a step back on the prospect depth chart as Janus and newcomer Cedrick Desjardins would look like they might have higher potential.

This season, with Desjardins out of the system, the battle for the future of the organization has come down to Tokarski and Janus. After splitting time earlier in the season, Tokarski has wrestled his way to the starting job and has matched his career best with 27 wins, 8 of which have come in his last 8 starts. The Admirals are in the midst of the playoff hunt in the AHL, mostly due to the outstanding play in net by their two keepers.

Before Tuesday night’s game it looked like the plan was simple.  Despite the uneven play of Dwayne Roloson and Mathieu Garon, Tokarski would stay in Norfolk and wet his teeth on AHL playoff pressure. Roloson will most likely be gone next season and Tokarski could enter camp with the chance of battling for the number one position with Garon or any other goalie brought in by Mr. Yzerman.  The kid, he is still 23, wouldn’t be rushed nor would he waste away on the bench.

Then, at about 7:47pm EST, Garon deflected an Erik Karlson shot with his glove. In doing so he shredded his groin like our cat shreds a newspaper. Immediate thoughts on the Twitter-verse were that Mr. Yzerman would be putting a call into the league and swooping in to take Marty Turco off of waivers.  Alas, it wasn’t to be.  They waited for the diagnosis and on Wednesday morning, in the shadow of the news that Peyton Manning was being released by the Colts, announced that Tokarski was getting the call up.

How much the young netminder plays in the next 3-4 weeks hasn’t been determined yet.  With the Bolts only 4 points out of a playoff spot, one has to think that the team will rely heavily on the veteran Roloson.  There are only two sets of back-to-back games left on their schedule (March 26,27 and April 4,5) so they may try to ride him down the stretch.  However, his play has been spotty at best throughout this season so there is a slimmer of a chance that Coach Boucher will give the younger goalie a shot.

The Tampa Bay Lightning Card of the Week - Radim Vrbata 2008-09 Victory

Here we go with another weekly (yeah, right) feature.  I know there are folks out there that have similar gimmicks going on their websites, heck some writers even manage to do a “card of a day”.  First of all, I’m way too lazy to do the same thing every day. Secondly, I figure if I only do one card a week, I can really stretch out my collection for the foreseeable future.

I’ve started slowly organizing the Lightning cards I have up here in my northern compound and figured I’d share a few with you readers out.  After all, there aren’t too many bloggers out there posting about Lightning cards.  I’ll try my best to keep the players and sets varied, Zeus knows there have been enough players sporting the Lightning’s colors over the years to do that.

First up we have:

I bet there were more Lightning cards with "Victory" on it then actual Lightning Victories that year

Radim Vrbata 2008-09 Upper Deck Victory Gold Parallel

What’s that you say?  You didn’t know he suited up for the Tampa Bay Lightning?  Well, some of us are trying to block out his playing days as well.  His one season, well part of one season, was during the dark days. Signed to a 3 year deal on July 1, 2008 he was part of the free agent flurry that signaled that those who will not be named planned on treating the Lightning like their own personal fantasy hockey team.

The former 7^th round pick of the Colorado Avalanche, Vrbata was supposed to be the elite scoring winger that would round out Vincent Lecavalier’s and Marty St. Louis’ top line.  He was coming off a 27-goal season for the Phoenix Coyotes and the $3 million a year contract didn’t seem like a bad bargain at the time.

To say it didn’t work out well would be an understatement.  Vrbata lasted only 18 games with the Lightning (two games more than head coach Barry Melrose) before heading to the Czech Republic to play.  The reason originally given at the time was that he was struggling with personal problems and his confidence was shattered.  Later it would be revealed that his wife was having a difficult pregnancy and her struggle was weighing heavily on his mind.  The chaos that was the Lightning organization probably didn’t help much either.

The fact that he wasn’t producing on the ice helped make the transition a bit more amicable, and the fact that the cash-strapped ownership wouldn’t have to pay his salary didn’t hurt either. Vrbata would spend the rest of the season in the Czech Republic playing for Mlada Boleslav BK and Librec Bili Tyqri HC.

Following the season, and the healthy birth of a baby boy, Vrbata announced that he wanted to return to the NHL. The Lightning, however, had moved on. With Alex Tanguay and Stephane Veilleux on the roster of course there was no room for him (please note the sarcasm meter on the previous sentence was an 8).

So the General Manager gave Vrbata’s agent permission to seek a trade.  Low and behold his previous employers, the Coyotes, were willing to take him back.  So on July 21^st, 2009 he was traded to Phoenix for Todd Fedoruk and David Hale.  The trade didn’t do much for the Lightning, other than provide me with my fantasy hockey avatar.

Honestly, the missing teeth are the scariest part of the picture for me.

Vrbata, on the other hand, flourished upon his return to the desert where he has scored 73 goals and counting for the beleaguered franchise.

It’s a shame that Vrbata’s tenure in Tampa didn’t turn out better. He was a hard working, quiet player who went about his business professionally. As he’s proven in Phoenix he can score goals, and if things had been different the organization’s long-running quest for scoring depth might have not still be on-going.

The Upper Deck Victory set this card is a part of has an interesting history with the company. Sometimes released as its own set, it has also been released as an insert set in other Upper Deck products such as their flagship base series.  It is considered a lower-end set with packs usually costing no more than a dollar or so in the retail market.

 Inserts are limited, as are parallels such as the gold version shown above. They do tend to feature a healthy amount of rookies, so collectors looking to pick up cheap versions of their favorite player’s early cards may turn to this set.

I'm Calling Them Out

Panini
Upper Deck
In The Game

If this isn't on a slab of cardboard next year then someone dropped the ball.

Photo by Phil Ellsworth/ NHLI via Getty Images

For the record I think it was an iffy penalty at best. Skinner's  Brandon Sutter's only option was to stop and Stamkos still would have plowed him into Garon. Then, again if the 'Canes hadn't blown a two-goal lead they wouldn't have been in overtime in the first place.

My Pappy used to tell me, if you're in a position where an official decides the game then you don't deserve the win. I think it was my dad, sounds like something he would say since he was a umpire and all.