Topps Heritage Break Day 2

I’m going to post this one early since I’m off to the doctor to have something scraped off my back.  A little unsolicited medical advice for all you kids out there – if you have a small bump on your back get it checked out before it gets infected and makes the doctor gives you a look that basically says, “You’re an idiot.”  How about that, an-anti drug message one day and medical advice the next? I should be getting a grant from the World Health Organization for this blog.  Anyway, onto the cards.

Pirates Rookie Stars – C’mon folk.  We all know there is only one Justin Wilson. What are they looking at by the way?

Edwin Jackson – The nice thing about photoshopped cards is that it is easy to change uniforms to reflect offseason changes.  Of course, by the time the season starts Jackson could be on another team.

Josh Reddick – The bat over the shoulders pose is almost as badass as the pointing the bat at the camera pose.

Dusty Baker – Aroldis Chapman throws 100mph? Not when I’m done with him.

2013 Rookie Stars – No individual rookie cards for the Heritage set this year.  I like mixing things up like that.  After all, without double rookie cards the Bong Puffer card would have never existed.

Coco Crisp – Any posed card that doesn’t feature his OscarGamble worthy afro is a wasted card in my opinion.

Baseball Flashback Hank Aaron – Body weight is leaning a bit forward, but the hands are still back. I’m thinking he roped this one into the gap for a double.

 Nick Swisher – Is this really Nick Swisher? It doesn’t look like Nick Swisher. Can a logo photobomb a card? Cause it looks like Chief Wahoo is photobombing this piece of cardboard.

Adam Laroche – I’m sure Laroche is a nice guy, but I’ll never like him because he spurned the Orioles in free agency.  I’m not sure why that matters to me, because so so many free agents have turned the O’s down.  But let me be me, damn it.

Two days down and apparently only twenty-two to go.  I really thought there were thirty-six packs in a hobby box.  Silly me.

Best Card - Hank Aaron

Worst Card - Adam LaRoche - 'cause "F" that guy

Topps Heritage - One Pack at a Time

It is experiment time here at the Hopeful Chase. Yesterday I picked up a box of 2013 Topps Heritage from Elite Cards.  John was nice enough to hold it for me even though I was three day late picking it up. Instead of doing what I normally do – getting home and opening the entire box in less than 5 minutes and immediately experiencing buyer’s regret – I’ve decided to test my self control and your patience.  Over the next 36 days I will be opening one pack a day, and offering you my comments on each card in the pack.

I know it’s been done before, but then again hasn’t everything been done before?  However, I’ve never done it before. Heck, I don’t think an unopened pack has ever lasted more than 48 hours in my house.  So, with Saturday Night Live playing in the background, lets dive into Pack Number One.

The first card of the year is a sad looking Dee Gordon.  As he only hit .228 last year I’m assuming Topps had plenty of similar photos to choose from.

Brian McGann – All-Star catcher for the Braves

Christian Friedrich – The first of what I’m assuming will be many players that I don’t know who they are.  God I’m getting old. It doesn’t help that Friedrich looks all of 15 years-old.

Mike Fiers- Welp.  That would be number two. I used to know everyone, even kids in the minors.  Now, I’m lucky to know the entire Orioles roster.

Jimmy Rollins – Now we’re back on track. For some reason I always think he’s a second baseman even though Chase Utley has been on the team almost as long.  I never said I was a smart man.

Phil Coke – The ol’ Yankee prospect turned situational reliever.

Carlos Beltran Memorable Moments – My first insert of the year!  300 HR’s and 300 SB’s.  Even though Home Runs and Stolen Bases are archaic stats by today’s standards those kind of numbers are impressive.  (Holy sh*t-snacks – a Two Wild and Crazy Guys cameo?  Wow, SNL).

Franklin Gutierrez – How many years does someone get to be a “prospect”?

Alex Aliva – An alliterative name, I like it.  Aliva looks so damn happy here.

Best card of the pack – Beltran

Worst Card – Dee Gordon, just cause he’s so very, very sad.

Lightning Card of the Week - Hamrlik's Back Again

Shiny cards and scanners don't mix

Roman Hamrlik 1995-96 Donruss Elite #36

We’ve been over Hamrlik’s story before so instead – a brief story on how the card came into my collection.

A few weeks, or months, ago I received a small brown parcel in the mail.  My first thought was, “Sweet! My cocaine is here!” Then I saw the postmark was from North Carolina and remembered that I don’t get my cocaine from The Tar Heel state.  In fact I don’t get me cocaine from anywhere because I’m not rich enough to have a coke habit. What I mean is - DON’T DO DRUGS!

I wasn’t really expecting anything in the mail so I was intrigued as I started to rip off the brown wrapping paper and newspaper (which was secured really, really well).  I didn’t trade with too many folks in North Carolina and hadn’t bid on anything on eBay (well, anything that would constitute an actual package) so I was completely stumped as to what was in the box.

When I finally tore through the last bits of paper I saw a plastic cube filled with cards and a note on top.  The cards were shiny and the note was from my Pops, apparently he had spent a day at a flea market in Stuart, Florida (Sailfish Capital of the World) spending my inheritance and stumbled across a guy selling sets of cards.

I then remembered a voicemail he had left me a couple of weeks before asking me to call him back to see if I wanted him to buy some “ope dee or whatever you call them” sets.  I missed his call because I was sleeping off an overnight and assumed he had passed and moved on to the guy selling golf equipment.

Instead, because he is an awesome dad, he grabbed one set and sent it to me when he got back home. Now I own the 1995-96 Donruss Elite base set.  Not a bad set for a couple of bucks as it had all of the stars from the mid-nineties (including Jaromir Jagr’s fabulous mullet).   In addition to the Hamrlik card Brian Bradley makes an appearance in a Lightning uniform.  Hey there wasn’t much to choose from in the early days!

One card did make me laugh when I saw it.

"I wonder if Roman Vopat is at the beach right now. I liked the beach."

The Great One with a, “What the heck did I do to end up here?” look on his face as he rocks the St. Louis Blues uniform. 

If my memory serves me right this is the third set my old man has bought me over the years.  The first one being a 1987 Topps Baseball base set which is, to this day, my all around favorite set of all time.  I’m pretty sure he paid about $15 for it and the last time I checked I think it was still worth $15.  Not much of a return on investment, but I still page through that one from time to time just to look at the wooden borders and cool “Future Star” script that was a staple of the late 80s sets.

The second set he bought me was a Christmas present.  And back in the junk wax era it was one of the sets to have.  I’m talking about the 1990 Leaf set that was released as competition to Upper Deck’s 1989 base set and kind of cemented the idea of “premium” sets.  The big card of the day Frank Thomas’ rookie, but marquee names from the 90’s were also in there.  Names like John Olerud, Marquis Grissom, Dave Justice and Larry Walker.

It’s kind of funny to type those names and realize that they probably don’t mean much to kids under 25 these days.  But back then, those guys were the stars and that set demanded a premium.  So much so that I actually broke the set to make a little money.  No it wasn’t Thomas that I sold, or Ken Griffey’s second-year card.  It was a rookie card of young slugger in Cleveland named Albert Jujuan Belle.  I believe I got $10 from my buddy Mike at the time. 

There would be a hole in the set for many, many years until one day I was combing through a dime box at a flea market in Florida (odd how that seems to be a running theme) and stumbled across a copy of the missing Belle.  I was shocked, shocked and happy, to see one of these cards languishing in a box of commons. Much like the Belle card the value of the set as a whole has taken a bit of a hit. Still, for me it’s the first premium set I owned and now that it is complete again I don’t plan on breaking it up any time soon.

Not only did my ol’ Pappy support my habit financially by paying me an allowance he also instilled the best advice on the industry that I’ve heard, advice that I still follow to this day.  One day when I was rambling on about how much a card was “worth” he put down his pipe, swirled his rocks glass filled scotch and said, “Son. Those cards are only worth what someone is willing to pay for them.” 

If he told the story I bet he would say there was no pipe or newspaper or scotch, but whatever.  To this day, in trades and selling cards I remember what his advice. No matter what Beckett says, or what the “experts” say – the cards are only worth what someone is willing to give up for them.  If no one wants it, then no matter how rare or how foiled up a card is it’s not more than a piece of cardboard.

Of course, that can work for you.  For instance, my buddy Mike who bought the Belle card from me overpaid because he was such a big fan of the recalcitrant slugger. I exploited that and charged him way more than book value to have that card.  Same with the John Rocker cards that I made a mint off of back when yahoo had auctions and the reliever made some dumb comments about Mets fans.

So like the other two sets, this one will get slid into pages and then into a binder. And no matter what Beckett says, it’ll take way more than $15 for someone to pry it out of my collection.   

What No Card of the Week? A Quick Look at the State of the Lightning

We’re about a third of the way through the season. At least I think we’re a third, math isn’t my strong point which is one of the reasons I drive craps dealers nuts by never giving them the right amount of chips.  I tend to forget actual records and rely on a general sense of how a team is doing.  For instance I have no idea of what the Penguins record is, but I know they’re doing alright.  Same with Buffalo, except they kind of suck..

Even the team I follow, the team I paid good money to have their games blocked out online when I want to watch them, I have only the vaguest sense of what their actual record is.  I want to say something along the lines of 8-6-2.  Since I’m typing this 30,000 feet above Iowa I can’t fact check that number, but it sounds about right.

So after a few weeks of games what kind of team is housed at One Channelside Drive?  A schizophrenic one at best.  If the United Center is the Madhouse on Madison, the Tampa Bay Times Forum is the Sanitarium by the Aquarium. I have never followed a team that has such a split personality between playing at home or on the road.

When they are at the Ice Palace (sorry I tried calling it by it’s proper name, but I can’t. Just like I can’t get used to someone wearing “19” that isn’t Brad Richards) no lead is safe for the other team. It’s at the point where it seems they aren’t into the game until they give up a goal.

Yet once they hop on the plane they leave the scoring behind.  A one-goal deficit in the first 10 minutes seems impossible to overcome.  How a team that has such a dynamic scoring core can be stifled game after game is staggering.  At home they are averaging an outstanding 4.67 goals a game while on the road it’s only 2.83.  An even more drastic gap exists in their power play.  On friendly ice they’re scoring at an unsustainable 35% rate with the man advantage.  While on the road they might be better off declining the extra man as they convert a dismal 8.6% of the time.

Pointing out that they struggle on the road and not offering a reason why is easy, it’s lazy, it’s what you would expect from this blogger, right?  Well don’t you worry, I’m stepping it up today (mainly because I’m stuck on a plane for three-and-a-half hours and I’ve already read the Spirit Magazine) and giving you at least one reason. It’s almost the least I can do.

Unfortunately, in my internet-less cocoon I don’t have a lot of access to stats, either standard or detailed, so you’re going to get a general impression breakdown.  You know, the type of barstool argument that existed before smart phones and instant access to data, back when you could say, “Jim Traber should be the everyday first baseman for the next 10 years ‘cause he’s got the certain swagger that power hitters need” without your drinking buddy cutting into your argument with a tsunami of facts and tendencies about why Jim Traber is not, nor ever will be, the next Babe Ruth.  Plus I’m old and don’t like learning new stuff.  If you are interested in how the numbers are breaking down for the Bolts, Clare at Raw Charge is doing hero’s work with Fenwick, Corsi and Gusev numbers. Ok, I made the last one up, but for a second you were excited weren’t you?  You thought there was a new metric, you crazy stat-head you.

To me, your humble, Vegas-bound blogger, the most glaring obstacle that this team needs to overcome is their pathological need to make things so goddamn pretty.  Frequent viewers of the Lightning television broadcasts will recognize the term “hope pass”. Along with linesmen holding one contestant and not the other during a scrum, the Bolts reliance on drop passes, blind passes, cross-ice-past-two-defenseman-and-off-the-sideboards passes are the bane of Bobby Taylor’s existence.

As much as I dislike parroting the long-time analyst’s opinion because then I can’t take credit for it being an original observance, I have to agree with the man.  When the Lightning keep it simple, use short passes and move the puck around they are lethal.  When they out think themselves or try something that works one out of every six times they turn the puck over and end up chasing it back to their own zone.

I would love to have them play that type of hockey and be successful.  God knows they have the talent to play The Beautiful Game on the ice, but it’s just not practical in today’s NHL.  With 6’4” defenseman wielding sticks the size of Paul Bunyan’s axe it is too-hard to be consistently successful. And consistency, more than talent or will dictates who goes to the playoffs and who doesn’t.  OK, made not more than talent.  You need some good players to make the postseason, well most of the time.  The Panthers are the exception to that rule.

For some reason, this tendency is elevated when they play on the road.  Perhaps, it’s the matchups that make it appear more drastic, better players on the ice will tend to capitalize on bad decisions more often.  Whatever the cause is, the effect is a disruption to the flow of the offense and a team that can be brutal to watch at times.

Way more times then need to be I’ll see a winger, lets use Marty St. Louis as an example, skate into the offensive zone one-on-one and with the defenseman BACKING DOWN, Marty will pull up and drop the pass to….welll…no one.  The puck will sit there for a few heartbeats before two players attack it like it’s a face-off.  When you have the speed, skill and experience that St. Louis posses he has to pressure the puck on the net. Especially if the opponents are ceding territory to him.  Drive the net and force the other team to make a play.  Dropping the pass off just inside the blueline surrenders momentum, space and time.  All factors that make it hard on defending teams.

Along with protecting the puck a little better it wouldn’t hurt to have someone in the net that didn’t give up a soft goal every single game.

As it stands the Lightning are a borderline playoff team, but because they are playing in a South Eastern Conference that is having a down year they are also a potential three seed.  A seeding that would be most beneficial if they do make the playoffs due to their better play at home.

There is still a lot of hockey to play and their offense is really, really good.  Good enough, in fact, to overcome their flaws.  And they’re good enough that they can overcome the weaker teams in the conference. That alone will keep them in the hunt, but they need to play smarter to get to the next level.

The Lightning Card of The Week -Tik Toc The PC is

So much red in this card.

2008-09 ITG Between the Pipes Future Stars Dustin Tokarski #15

Well, it looks like another personal collection bites the dust.  I woke up to the news on Twitter that the Lightning had traded goaltending prospect Dustin Tokarski to the Montreal Canadians for Cedric Desjardins - the once and future Tampa Bay net minder.  Not exactly the type of news I wanted to see at the crack of 9:30am (hey I worked till 1:30 last night).

Most people have no idea of who either of those players are, heck to most hockey fans it's a minor league deal involving a couple of at-best back-up goaltenders.  For me, however, it's yet another waste of eBay money and trades.  I have a small (about 20 cards) collection for the former 5th round pick, but unlike my other PC's this one was speckled with some higher-end cards.  That's the joy of collecting a prospect for a sunbelt team, I guess. It's easy to pick up decent cards for rather cheap prices.

It's funny, when a favorite player is traded it feels like their career is ending.  With Tokarski that's hardy the case. At only 23-years-old he definitely has more than enough time to establish himself as a NHL-caliber goalie. For some reason his progress in Tampa has stalled.  He had been usurped in the organizational rankings by Jaroslav Janus and Russian prospect Andrey Vasilevskiy and his inconsistent play seem to frustrate management.  General Manager Steve Yzerman alluded to the fact that it was time for a scenery change for Tokarski when discussing the move with the press.

It also appears that Mr. Yzerman wasn't comfortable with either Janus or Tokarski as an option should the Lightning need them this season.  Despite having less actual game experience in the NHL than Tokarski (2 games to 3) his age and experience lend to Desjardins an edge should the big league club need him.  There is also the fact that Coach Boucher is familiar with the 27-year-old from his days in Hamilton.

I don't follow the minor leagues much, but it seems Syracuse was struggling with getting consistency in the net (seems to be an organizational problem) and this move will hopefully shore that up. That Crunch seem to be a team in flux especially with all of the recent call prospect call ups.

Hopefully, the storyline stays in Syracuse as that means all is well between the pipes in Tampa.  As for Tokarski it is a chance for him to start over in a new organization (although one where he is stuck behind a  guy named Carey Price). Wherever he has gone he has won, from juniors to the national team to the AHL.  We'll see if that continues.

As for my collection, I think I'll hold on to it for now (unless, of course, some Canadians collector comes along with an offer I can't refuse) and maybe add the occasional Tampa-clad card to it.  I doubt I'll replace him with another player in the personal collection folder, especially since I won't be able to get my hands on any Cory Conacher Lightning cards until next season.

Lightning Card of The Week - National Hockey Card Day (Canada)

2011-12 Upper Deck National Hockey Card Day Steven Stamkos #9

Perhaps the only thing that I'm lazier about than my writing is my trading.  Ninety-percent of the time I receive cards before I even think about finding the cards I need to send out.  Recently I had a rash of trades where I offered cards I didn't even have. Okay, it wasn't really a rash, it was two trade, but they happened right in a row and made me feel like my mind was going. Luckily the trades were with folks I had dealt with before so I don't think I lost too much credibility in the trading world.

What does any of that have to do with young Mr. Stamkos?  Nothing, but I figured you needed to know that.

It is indeed the Canadian day of hockey cards. A special set of cards will be available only in hockey shops around the country which means I have to rely on my Canadian brethren or eBay to pick up this year's version of Stamkos' card.  I haven't seen a checklist yet (lazy) but I'm assuming he is the only member of the Lightning that is represented in the set.

Next week will be the United States turn to celebrate hockey cards and I'll be celebrating by standing out in the cold at Soldier Field for the Hockey City Classic.  In lieu of the NHL hosting an outdoor game I figured a day of outdoor college hockey would be just as good.

As of right now there is a 76.4% chance I'll write about it.

Lightning Card of the Week - And Now...It Begins

Little Known Fact - Marty is the same size as Lord Stanley's Cup

  

2010-11 Certified Champions Martin St. Louis #17 297/500

I really, really like this insert series, I really, really like this card.  It's serial numbered, has a definite theme and the layout is fantastic.  I'm sure it's a happy coincidence, but I really like how the Lightning logo on St. Louis' sweater is centered right on top of the "Certified Champions".  Well done, Panini!

Watching a player, especially one on your favorite team, lift the Cup is really why we put up with all of the nonsense that the NHL puts us through.  It seems such a long, long time ago that the Kings had their victory skate.  Through all of the blustering, meditations, false hopes, gloom and doom we can finally get past the sniping at the podium and back to the sniping from the left face off dot (Stamkos shooots and SCOOOOOOORRREEESSSSS!)

It's been so long that someone asked me the other day what the Lightning gave up for Anders Lindback and my response was, "ummmmm a lot?"  (For the record it was 2 2nd round picks, a 3rd round pick, and the rights to Lightning Legend Sebastien Caron for Lindback, Kyle Wilson and a 7th round pick.) So I'm a bit rusty on my current Tampa Bay Lightning squad, but it will only take a few games for me to get back into the flow, so hopefully I'll piece together some sort of preview by the end of the weekend.

My one NHL protest will probably be buying my next jersey from a Chinese distributor instead of an approved NHL dealer.  That's right, baby - DAMN THE MAN!

Hopefully, the short season lends itself to exciting action on the ice as each team fights for every point available.  The last thing the league needs is a rash of injuries to major stars (I'm looking at you, Sidney).  If they're extremely lucky, one of the offensive studs starts off the season red-hot and garners some interest in a possible 50 goals in 48 games scenario. And hopefully for my fantasy team that offensive stud is Alex Ovechkin.

As for Mr. Saint Louis, I'm thinking he has a bit of a bounce back season as he spends the entire season on Stamkos' line (up-and-comer Cory Conacher seems to be penciled in as Lecavalier's wingman). It's no doubt that his career is winding down, but perhaps, with the extra time off, he can stave off Father Time for one more season.