Post Olympic Thoughts (Yes I talk about the Marty situation)

Believe it or not there are only 23 games left in the regular season for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Therefore, I can officially start using the phrase, “sprint to the end” in reference to their remaining games. As of Wednesday afternoon they sit comfortably in second in the Atlantic Division and third in the Eastern Conference. While Montreal and Toronto are nipping at the heels, an argument can be made that the Bolts are among the best teams poised to make a strong run to and through the playoffs.

The Olympic break could not have come at a better time for the team as they were in a mini-slump having dropped four of their previous six games. Injuries were also starting to take their effect on the team as goaltender Ben Bishop was banged up and big free agent signing Valtteri Filppula suffered a foot injury that caused him to miss the Olympic competition in Sochi.

Luckily for the team, both Filppula and Bishop should be ready to go in Nashville as the Lightning kick off the sprint with a four-game road trip against the Western Conference. Following that road trip, the super-extra-awsome-about-time-thank-god news is that Steven Stamkos, goalscoring extraordinaire should be back on the ice firing pucks into opposing goaltender's nets.

So with 20 some games to go their:

Number 1 goalie is rested and healthy

Number 1 defenseman (Victor Hedman) is rested and playing with a chip on his shoulder

Most prolific scorer is coming back.

I would say that's a good place to be.

I haven't written much about this season's team mostly because of superstitions. Any time I write about a team or player doing well they tend to go careening off the track (a phenomenon that began with a post about Ryan Craig a long, long time ago). I also had the feeling that this team was winning with smoke and mirrors and that sooner or later they will realize that nine of their players on their roster were on the Syracuse Crunch last year, that their starting goaltender was traded twice in little over a year and had never played in more than 22 NHL games in a season, oh and their leading scorer is 38 years old.

I was certain that when I broke down their wins and losses I would find that they were feasting on west cost teams while struggling against their own division. Maybe they had racked up their points against weak competition. So it was kind of surprising to find out that the only division they've struggled against is the relatively easy Metropolitan. Against their fellow Atlantic Division they're a comfortable 13-6-1. Granted, three of those losses are against the Bruins, but if the Bolts play out strongly that wouldn't be a problem until later in the playoffs.

Statistically the team isn't doing any one thing great (except being gritty!). They are 11^th in goals scored per game, 11^th in goals against per game, 23^rd in penalty kill and 19^th in power play. So in the traditional numbers....a pretty average team. The new age stats are a little friendlier as they are 7^th in PDO (1009) and 11^th in Corsi. I don't really, really know what that means, but I'm pretty sure it's good. There are other sites that break that stuff down way better than I can.

So, if the team isn't gang busters in scoring or throwing up brick walls on defense, how are they winning? First and foremost Ben Bishop. He has been sparkling in net for the Lightning, posting a 1.98 SAA and .933 SV% as the number one goalie. He's also managed, on more than one occasion, to bail the team out and flat out steal games that they should have lost.

The team's first win of the season, beating Chicago 3-2 in a shootout, was the first and probably best example. If you remember, and I do because I WAS THERE!, the Lightning went an entire period without a shot. Yet Bishop kept them in the game until they were able to put a little offense together.

In the past few seasons the net-minders haven't been able to cover for the skaters on their off nights. Hence, the rotating cast of characters that have trickled through the crease over the past three years. Bishop has been the MVP for the team so far this season and his health, more so than Stamkos' is the key to the team going far in the playoffs.

Stamkos' injury is another key factor in Tampa Bay's shocking run to the top. I'm not crazy enough to say that I want a 60-goal scorer routinely shelved for almost four months, but his time away from the ice did allow other players, especially Tyler Johnson, time to develop their game on the NHL level.

Going into the season, how the Tampa-cuse players such as Johnson, Radko Gudas, Ondrej Palat and Richard Panik adjusted to the NHL was the biggest question mark for the team. For the fans and for coach Jon Cooper, luckily they all, except for Panik to a degree, answered the call. Johnson is a leading Calder candidate and Gudas has provided solid time on the blue-line. Palat has picked up his game over the last two months and is quietly making a case for the Calder himself. 

Tyler Johnson - He's pretty good at hockey.

When Stamkos comes back, it will be interesting to see how Cooper adjusts the lines. I would think that Johnson is moved to the second line, possibly with Alex Killorn and Teddy Purcell while Stamkos centers Marty St. Louis and Palat. Other players get bumped down the line until one of my favorites, J.T. Brown, finds himself back in Syracuse through no fault of his own.

Speaking of Brown, the line of him, Nate Thompson and Nikita Kucherov are another huge factor in the success of the team. Any line that Nate Thompson has ever been a part of has been great at playing defense, playing in the offensive zone, keeping the other team pinned back. However, they've never really chipped in too many goals. Ever since Kucherov and Brown joined him that is different. They still do a good job of defense, but now they can throw in a goal every once in awhile. Which gives the Lightning basically three lines that can do that.

Of course, no fan base is ever content at the trading deadline. No matter how successful, or how much of a surprise a team is, moves must be made. So, what moves will the Lightning make over the next week or so?

Unfortunately for the masses, I don't think they do anything. After all they are essentially adding a 60-goal scorer at the deadline in Stamkos. And since it cost's them nothing but a roster spot, I will go ahead and declare them the 2014 NHL Trade Deadline Winners!

Other than kick the tires on some defense-men I don't think General Manager Steve Yzerman pulls anything off. The team that is on the ice is pretty much the team he envisioned putting together when he took over the reigns of the organization. A fast-paced, aggressive offense backed by solid (young) goal-tending and a defense that can add scoring while also playing responsibly in their own end.

I wouldn't be surprised to see him make some minor deals to either acquire draft picks or help deepen the organizational talent, but as far as blockbusters....I just don't see it.

Which brings us to the mite-sized elephant in the room. If I had written this two weeks ago like I planned, this part of the post would not have to be written. I would be trying to come up with some ending that actually ties it all together cleverly. Instead, I have to ask the question, “What is the deal with Marty St. Louis?”

Sad Marty is Sad

It started innocently enough. Boomer Esiason tweeted some tweets about the Rangers making a deal and the speculation fire that roared up paired the Rangers and Lightning together in a St. Louis for Ryan Callahan deal. I made some sarcastic tweets about it and then promptly dismissed the talk. In my mind, why would:

A. The Lightning trade their captain and leading scorer in a playoff year?

B. Why would St. Louis waive his no movement clause for a team that isn't a better bet to win the Stanley Cup?

C. Why would the Lightning settle for a return of a player who is going to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season when they have St. Louis under contract for another season?

Now it seems there is talk from reputable sources (Bob McKenzie) that St. Louis has asked for a trade. That throws a little bit of different shade on the topic. As does the lack of a firm denial from either St. Louis or Mr. Yzerman.

Hey There Tommy!

To quote Tom Cruise in Cocktail, “Jesus, everything ends badly, otherwise it wouldn't end.” It's starting to look like this is going to end badly. Even without the rumors that are running amok, what to do with St. Louis was going to be a story lurking in the background in the near future. He has another year remaining on his contract after this one and it doesn't look like he's ready for retirement anytime soon.

So what were the Lightning going to do in 2015-16? Despite his production he would be 40-years-old so a long term deal would be fool hardy. Especially since Stammergeddon II would be right around the corner. Do they offer him a one-year deal? Let him walk?

Throughout my career I've been all over the map on St. Louis. Way back when I first started writing I was in the “Trade Marty” camp. I always thought Pittsburgh would make a great fit for him. Then over the years I reversed myself as it became more apparent that he was the foundation of the organization.

However, this isn't the first time St. Louis has expressed doubts about his future with the organization. Following the 2009-10 season he openly questioned the direction of the team and his role with it. That was quickly forgotten as then new GM Mr. Yzerman signed him to an extension and the team went off on the great run to the Eastern Conference Finals the next season.

Trading him now would be an interesting move. It would undoubtedly alienate a large portion of the fan base. No matter who or what they got back in the deal it would hurt the team on the ice as well. Mr. Yzerman has proven that he is willing to trade a fan-favorite (see Lecavalier, Vincent) if it helps the team. But, for him to do this to a team that has a good a shot as any to make a deep run in the playoffs? I don't see it.

Now, does he make a trade this summer? That's a totally different story. Moving St. Louis in the off-season, while still not a politically friendly move can be justified (he's old, salary cap, bring value while you can, etc). Trading him now would be handcuffing the team and I don't see Mr. Yzerman doing that.

About the only good news is that it does have the rest of hockey talking about Tampa Bay for a change!

Good Gennady Golovkin Wins Again

With all due respects to the Denver Broncos, there was another one-sided beating that took place in the sports world this past weekend. On Saturday, fast-rising middleweight Gennady Golovkin administered a clinical beating of Osumanu Adama and racked up his 16th consecutive knockout. Unfortunately not many people in America saw the latest conquest by “GGG” as HBO decided not to carry the fight.  Based on the result, the streak and the praise that the boxing world has heaped on the Kazakh I’m pretty sure that it’s the last Golovkin fight that they pass on.

Saturday afternoon’s (and I’m sure the 3.45pm east coast start time played a part in HBO’s decision) knockout didn’t have the awe-inspiring image of a vanquished opponent writhing in pain that Golovkin’s knockout of Matthew Macklin last June did.  In fact, the ref stopped the fight in the 7th round with Adama still on his feet. The quick (but correct) stoppage by Luis Pabon robbed Golovkin of a defining finish, but was totally in keeping with the nature of the fight.

Osumanu Adama is a good fighter, he’s held a belt and his own against champions.  But outside of Chicago, where he trains, he isn’t a “name” fighter.  (Reason number two HBO passed I’m sure).  Adama, however, was a willing fighter.  He tried to take the action to Golovkin, tried to use his jab to keep the WBA/IBO Middleweight Champion off of him, tried to move around the ring and make “GGG” chase him.  He tried, but it wasn’t enough.

Even though Adama landed some clean punches they didn’t hurt Golovkin, and Adama's attempts to evade him were frequently cut off.  The 31-year-old man fighter from Kazakhstan was patient, waiting for his opportunity and then unleashed his trademark thundering punches when he had an opening.  Two of his three knockdowns of Adama came off of jabs, more accumulation of damage as opposed to any one thudding shots.

Adama wasn’t winning the fight. At the time of the knockout in the seventh round I had him trailing 59-53 on my scorecard and could have had it 50-52 (I gave him the third round when Golovkin didn’t seem interested in throwing any punches). The end came kind of suddenly. The seventh round starts off with Golovkin sneaking a left through Adama’s guard that drops him to a knee. Adama didn’t seem hurt, he had no problem meeting the ref’s count and comes out throwing some solid left hooks to the body. That works for about a minute and then Golovkin snaps a left hook that lands flush. The crowd oohs as Adama stumbles backwards. Golovkin casually wipes some sweat off his nose as Pabon rushes in to stop the fight. Just another knockout for The Kazakual Disaster.

Along with patience and power, efficiency runs rampant in Golovkin’s fights.  He doesn’t waste punches or movements.  While Manny Pacquiao at his best is an overwhelming blur of combinations, Golovkin gets the job done in simple two-or-three punch flurries. He has the deceptive speed of great athletes allowing him to be right where he needs to be, on balance, in order to unleash a vicious hook to the body or straight right to the face. Yet it never seems like he is particularly fast in the ring.  When the #fancystats people finally make their way to boxing “GGG” is going to be the defining example for whatever clever word they come up with to describe punching efficiency.   Every punch he throws seems targeted to do maximum damage.

With his Goldberg-like string of knockouts the number one question after this fight is “Who’s Next?”.  He has made it known that he wants to fight Sergio Martinez to decide the best current middleweight. Luckily for fans the promoters shouldn’t be able to screw this one up.  It’s only a matter of time (and health for Martinez) until this fight gets booked.  I’m thinking it headlines a pay-per-view sometime in the spring of 2015.  

Unlike Floyd Mayweather, Golovkin likes to fight.  He had four bouts last year and plans on having at least four this year.  ESPN’s Dan Rafael mentions that Golovkin will headline HBO’s card in April at Madison Square Garden (the same venue that saw him stop Curtis Stevens with a punishing eight round beating) against an unnamed opponent.  According to Rafael, Golovkin is willing to fight anyone from 154 to 168 pounds which opens up a flood of contenders not named Mayweather.

Personally I’d like to see him fight someone with a little bit of power to see what kind of chin Golovkin has.  That is one thing that really hasn’t been tested. In his fights against Adama and Curtis Stevens, he has been hit. That happens when you come straight forward.  To see him in a real slugfest would be interesting to watch. Rafael mentions James Kirkland as a possibility and Andre Ward has called him out in the past year as well.  Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr.’s name has been bandied about and I could see HBO being very interested in making that a big-tent fight in the fall.  It could be a good fight for Golovkin in the sense that JCC is a “name” in the boxing world even if his talent doesn’t live up to his fame.  A decisive victory over a well-known opponent does a lot to drive ticket sales.

No matter who lines up against him from now on, you’ll be able to see it.  Which is a good thing for boxing.  With Mayweather and Pacquiao both heading off into the sunset, the sport needs new “much watch” fighters and Golovkin is one of those guys.

The Hopeful Chase 2014 Collecting Goals

Arrggghh.  So far 2014 has gotten off to a grinding start in the writing department.  One post in 24 days is not good.  It’s not good at all. I can blame it on the weather (so very cold), the job (lots of weird hours), being sick (so many over the counter drugs), but it is mostly my inability to carve out a consistent time to write (so very lazy).  Just to let you know, I’m shooting for at least one post a week for the rest of the year. 

Today, it’s the 2014 Collecting Goals Post!  It’s good to have goals. Without goals we are directionless, wandering aimlessly though our existence without a plan.  If being with the Duchess over the last ten years has taught me anything – it’s that you have to have plan if you want to be successful.  So this year’s plan is…….

Finish off some god damn sets.

That’s right, 2014 is the year of the set completion.  And I’m not talking about recent sets like 2012 Heritage or 2012 O-Pee-Chee Hockey.  I’m looking to complete sets from all eras of my collecting days.  So that spans three-and-a-half decades (yup I’m old). 

Does that mean I’m not buying any new product? Wellllllll. Let’s not get crazy.  Of course I will.  We all get bored and need new stuff.  I’ll probably dabble in the Topps flagship product.  Every year I say I won’t but I do.  So there’s that.  There is also Upper Deck Series II Hockey. So there are two new products on the radar. 

Since I’m older I’m more responsible now.  Responsible people have budgets. Therefore I have a budget.  My budget for 2014 -$300. Of course, because I am me, there is wiggle room.  That $300 can be supplemented by eBay sales. So, if I sell something then I can buy something.  Winner, winner chicken dinner.

Let’s get back to the initial goal – finishing sets.  Throughout my 30-odd years of collecting I’ve started a lot of sets.  Unfortunately I haven’t finished a lot of sets.  It’s time to rectify that situation.  It’s time to finish off some sets.  It’s time to go back into the 90s and face the junk era. 

That’s where I’m starting. I have a lot of cards from the early 90s, yet I don’t have many complete sets.  This year I’m going to change that fact.  I’ve already knocked off the last two cards I needed for the 1990 Topps set and now I’m moving on to the 1992 Topps set.  I think 1991 Fleer will be next (so yellow, so awesome).

I’ll still go after my personal collection cards and various Lightning/Orioles cards as well, but my laser like focus (look, squirrel!) will be on finishing off sets.  We’ll see how that goes.

With that in mind, I did a little shopping on COMC last week.  For less than the price of a blaster I picked up thirteen new cards.  Here they are:

The Starting Point:

1983 Ryne Sandberg Topps

Yes, 1983 Topps is one of those sets I’m working on.  So with a little money in the PayPal account I decided to knock off one of the bigger cards of the set.  I saw a lot of Cubs fans this weekend.  They all want Sandberg as their manager.  They were also irrationally upset that the Cubs moved Bingo night from Friday to Saturday.

The Set Needs 

2012-13 O-Pee-Chee Hockey.

The Tom Pyatt doubles as a Lightning need as well so it killed two birds with one stone.  I have no idea who Brandon Manning is, but it’s one less Rookie card that I need.

Personal Collection

Late 90s Pacific cards were so shiny and unnecessary.  Bonus points for the greatest uniform in the history of Tampa Bay. The Upper Deck Trilogy is probably one of the last cards to be produced with Vinny in a Lightning uniform.  I’m going to be so sad when I get my first “Vinny in a Flyers uniform” card.  Lecavalier in a Ak Bars Kazan uniform?  Yes please!

Random Lightning Cards

Mike Commodore played in a handful of games for the Lightning, you think they would have made a bigger deal of a having a one-legged player on the team. The J.T. Brown collection grows by one and a Steven Stamkos Panini Toronto Expo card round out the bunch.

The Hits

Another jersey swatch for Vincent.  Pretty soon I’ll be able to sew together an entire sweater out of Vinny jersey cards.  That would be awesome.  A Keith Aulie signature?  It was less than two bucks.  I mean I think that’s his signature….

The Super Awesome Bonus Card

Favorite Team – check

Favorite Goalie –check

Favorite Jersey – check

If I ever pony up for a true throwback jersey it will be a Zac Bierk 3^rd jersey.  Although I would go with the All Star patch over the John Cullen patch.

Good times!

The 2013 Hopeful Chase Card of the Year

I do realize that most blogs/sites/reputable places on the internet do their “Best Of” postings at the end of the year.  Well, if you’re a regular reader of this blog, then you realize I don’t do things like most other sites.  I like to refer to it as running on “island time” as opposed to being lazy, but make of it what you will. However you want to look at it, it’s finally time to anoint The Hopeful Chase Card of the Year for 2013!

Most years (or the couple of years that I’ve actually done this) there is a clear cut winner.  Due to either budget constraints or lack of luck I don’t usually pull any truly awesome cards.  If my collecting was a hockey player it would be a third-line center.  Hard-working, defensive-minded and able to chip in the occasional goal. Nothing spectacular or flashy, just solid.  I would be Nate Thompson.

However, 2013 was a bit different.  Things broke my way and shots that normally get saved went in.  I had great linemates that fed me the puck (aka new cards) and set me up for success. It was, to drag this analogy out to the end, a 20-goal season for this collector. I was able to buy a few boxes, finish some sets and through eBay and some good ol’ fashioned wheeling-and-dealing pick up a few new cards for my every evolving personal collection.

Since it was such a good year for collecting there are actually four cards under consideration for the prestigious honor of being card of the year.  That’s right four pieces of cardboard that on any given year I would be jealous if someone else posted about acquiring. After careful consideration (10 minutes before I started typing this post) I’ve come up with a winner.  So I present to you, in order, my top four cards of 2013.

4. 2012 Golden Greats Joe DiMaggio Game Used Relic #’d 10/10

Yup, the Yankee Clipper comes in 4th.  It’s a great card of a Hall of Famer. There are only 10 in existence. The piece of wood from the bat is over 50 years old. It was used by the man (well one of the men) that got it on with Marilyn Monroe!  Surely it should be ranked higher! For many people I‘m sure it would be. However, in the end, it is  a card of a Yankee.  That alone precludes it from being number one.

3. Anders Lindback 2013 Trilo3ySignature Pucks

That’s right, a signature for a backup goalie ended up higher on the list than one of the best hitters of all time.  What can I say?  It’s my list and I’ll do what I want.  I really, really like this card.  The layout, the signature on the piece of rubber, the fact that I poined up way more than I normally do for a pack and pulled a hit from my favorite team.  In most years this would probably be a winner.  Just not this year.

2. 1982 Topps Cal Ripken, Jr. Rookie

Yup, a base card from an early 80s that can be had on the internet for the price of a blaster made the top two.  Of course, for Orioles’ fans this isn’t just some random rookie card.  It is THE ROOKIE CARD to own.  I would venture that Ripken is the most popular Oriole of all time (just slightly ahead of Rocky Coppinger) and his card came out in a time when collecting was both popular and affordable.  While it might not be pulling in the triple digits it once did, the Ripken rookie is still a cornerstone for any Baltimore collector.  I still can’t believe it took me more than 30 years to actually have one of my own.

We pause a moment to mention another card.  When I started thinking about this post (two weeks ago) there was another card that I was going to put at number one.  A card I pulled out of a box that blew my mind.  A box that I swore I bought in 2013, yet upon further review I actually bought in the fall of 2012.  So, I am retroactively naming the below card as The Hopeful Chase Card of 2012!

Yet another honor for the Great One.  Congrats Mr. Gretzky.  Now onto the big reveal for 2013.

1. 2012 Topps Museum Collection Archival Autographs Nolan Ryan #’d 6/25

This is just an exquisite card.  The blue ink on the white background is absolutely perfect.  Coupled with the fact that it uses a photo from his days with the Mets instead of the more common Astros/Rangers makes it my favorite card of the year (even if he was part of the 1969 Mets team that upset the O’s in the World Series). When I hit the Powerball and open up a card shop with Saint Leo Mike this is a card I would be proud to have in a display case.

Add to it that it came to me as part of the same redemption that the DiMaggio card was part of makes it even more awesome because, from a certain point of view, it could be considered a throw-in. Especially since, on more than one occaison, I forgot that I was waiting for a redemption.

  As I grow older the opportunities for cards to provide a jaw-dropping experience become fewer and fewer.  Be it because I have become more jaded, or because I just see more cards it’s a feeling that just doesn’t happen that often.  Some days the sorting, cataloging, mailing out, tracking and storing of collected cards drains the pure joy of seeing a great card.  However, when this card popped out of the padded mailer from Topps, the heroin-rush high of collecting came flooding back. Once the Gretzky card was deemed ineligible (another jaw-dropper) it was easy to name the Ryan autograph as the Card of the Year.

All of the cards on the list (with the exception of the Lindback, sorry Anders) I would be proud to place in a display case. That’s really one of the criteria I take into consideration when I choose the card of the year, along with if I really, really like the card. Therefore they are all getting the added bonus of being put in the fireproof safe along with our important life documents and collection of foreign money (which now includes Brazilian Reals!)

That wraps up 2013.  Will 2014 continue my run of good luck or will it be a dry year?  Stick around to find out.

Merry (fake) Mailbag Day!

I hope everyone is enjoying their Wednesday. If you celebrate Christmas than Merry Christmas. If you don't, well Happy Wednesday to you.  For today's post I figured I'd open the mailbag and go through some of the letters that have piled up over the year.  Of course, no one mails me letters so these are all 100% fictional, but it gives me space to write about things I don't want to commit a whole post to.  Enjoy.

P.S. I'm writing this on an iPad, and don't feel like figuring out how to scroll through pages to fix the errors.  Sorry bout that.



"Jemile Weeks is going to be an all-star! Mark my words!"
                     -- Clarence, South Side Chicago

No closer, no second baseman, third baseman with a bad knee and a starting rotation that is anchored by Miguel Gonzalez.  Heck of an off-season for the Birds.  You know what? I don't care. Sometimes standing pat is not a bad thing. Especially when the alternative is overpaying in a weak free agent market.

I like Jim Johnson. I don't like Jim Johnson at $10 million.  I don't like any closer at $10 million unless they're named Mariano. If I had my druthers, Brian Matusz gets the nod as closer and the O's use that money on Chris Davis.

Brian Roberts going to New York is funny, because who else is going to overpay for an overaged, often-injured second baseman? Roberts will probably get into the O's hall-of-fame at some point. He was really, really good during some really, really bad times.  Right now, in 2013, he's not the same. Bring in a placeholder like Weeks for now until Jonathon Schoop is ready and see if he's the real deal (hint, I think he is).

I do like some of the moves they made in the off-season to strengthen the bullpen even without Grant Balfour. Ryan Webb will fit in nicely and David Lough is a younger version Nate McClouth. Is it enough to keep pace in the AL East? Probably not, but weren't we saying the same thing last year?

"So much for that 7-9 prediction for the Ravens. Way to be wrong!"
            --- The Three Readers I picked up back at the beginning of the season

Hey, this is one of my better years. I was a 61-yard field goal miss from being right on track with e record. It has been a rough year for my Ravens watching. The one Sunday I had off of work was their bye week. Other than that I've been at work during every game they played.

As for the team - they are what I pretty much thought they were. A young defense gave away a couple of games (Chicago and Cleveland), the offensive line isn't good and that hurt the running game. Joe Flacco has been at his Joe Flacco-iest, which means a good quarterback with great moments who lost all of his security blankets and had trouble connecting with new receivers.

As much as people hate the term, they are rebuilding. They are trying to rebuild while staying competitive, which is hard to do in the NFL. Should they miss the playoffs I'm sure the rabbled masses will call for wholesale changes and new quarterbacks, but if they stay the course and work on improving the offensive line, they'll be back on top in no time.



"Justin Tucker, b&itches!"
                                  -- Kris S., Baltimore

Thanks for writing in, sis. Ah yes, the legend that is Justin Tucker.  I do have Tucker and the Miami defense to thank for making it into the playoffs in one of my leagues. Three teams - three playoffs made - three first round exits.

Much like the Ravens it was a bit of a struggle for me this year. Injuries and bad drafting left me with tremendously unexciting teams. At one point I looked at my starting line-up and realized there wasnt a single player that i drafted starting. Yes, I would be better off autodrafting.

I'm at the point where taking a year off seems like a good idea, but I'm sure that by the end of the summer my mind will change again.  So I'm basically an aging veteran pondering whether or not to hang up the cleats.

"You're Twitter bio says you're a Liverpool fan.  Yet you never mention them, ever! Top of the table!"
                 -- Steven G., Anfield Trainer's Table

What can I say? I'm an Ameican soccer fan. Too many things come before it. Once football is over I'll probably pay a bit more attention.  However, I can't make any promises. Between late shifts at work, early as sin start times and not having cable makes it hard to follow the EPL. Funny how scoring a bunch of goals and winning games put that "Suarez wants out" talk on the back burner.

"You've pulled some nice cards this year. Any front runners for Card of the Year?"
             -- Justin G., Chicago

Even in a fake mailbag I have to resort to submitting my own questions. Oh well, that's what happens when you take three weeks off between posts. The Hopeful Chase Card of the Year will return sometime in the next week.  Heck, there is even discussion of a new induction into The Wasteland Hall of Fame.

Oh My Goodness I'm Writing About a Trade (Non Jim Johnson related)

As 2013 draws to a close I realize I haven't been very good about posting trades.  It's not because I haven't been trading, actually it's quite the opposite.  So I guess it's just that I'm lazy.  Yup that's it. Laziness.

If you remember (and I know you do!) I bought a random box of hockey cards to break a couple of months ago.  That box happened to be 2011-12 Panini Rookie Anthology. In the box there was a really nice Gabriel Landeskog auto/relic that I wasn't sure what I would do with it. Sure I could put it on eBay and get a couple bucks for it. Or I could hold on to it until an Avalanche fan came strolling by with an offer.

Lucky for me I didn't have to wait long.  Matt over at Cardboard Conundrum sent me an email saying that he was interested in the card and if I could make him an offer we could probably work something out.  Needless to say we worked something out.

Let me say something about being a Lightning fan.  There aren't many of us in this hobby. That means I get the pick of the litter when making trades with folks.  Matt had a pretty nice selection to chose from and in the end we settled on a 2-for-1 deal that netted me the below cards:

2011-12 Panini Titanium Game-Worn Gear Vincent Lecavalier

The photo makes it look like Vinny is wearing dress pants.

Yup, still collecting cards of Vinny4. At least cards of him in a Lightning uniform.  I like the layout of the card with the exception of the fabricated metal strips that border the top and bottom of the card.  It would be fine without it, but I'm guessing Panini needed to drive home the "Titanium" theme.

2012-13 Panini Limited Phenom JT Brown numbered 257/499

J.T. looks like he's photobombing his own card

Anytime you can start a personal collection of a 4th line winger you have to do it, right?  Normally I'm not a fan of manufactured swatches, but this is a bit of an exception.  The blue ink and blue Lightning "Flash" logo show up nicely on the white background.

Brown has actually paired quite well with Nate Thompson on Tampa's 4th line.  He's used his speed and hustle to create a little chaos on the forecheck and that line has actually scored some goals in recent games.  Something that the Bolts need with Stamkos out for a couple of more months (or weeks, or days since he is apparently a cyborg).

Matt, thank you for the trade!

Happy Thanks-Redemption-Giving Day

So what am I doing posting about cards on Thanksgiving? You know, the day where we’re supposed to turn the computers off, put the phones down and pass out on the couch during football with family?  Well, The Duchess is in Florida and I’m still in Chicago eating leftover pizza.  Welcome to the hospitality business!

After a long day at work (one in which I managed to talk my way into a six day work week with two overnight shifts) I figured a nice night with the Ravens game streamed online and a little blogging was the best way to spend the night.

How long has it been since I posted?  Well, Steven Stamkos has had surgery on his leg, left the hospital, ditched the crutches, ditched the protective boot and walked out onto the ice with barely a limp to present Marty St. Louis with a special gift in recognition of the captain’s 1000^th game played.  It doesn’t appear that Stammer has been rehabbing outside.  Is it possible that he is getting paler?

We’re not here to talk about hockey, though. We’re here to talk baseball cards and the bane of the collector’s world – redemptions.  In my history I’ve had pretty decent luck with redemptions; I don’t think I’ve waited more than 3 months in the past for the handful of cards that Topps or Upper Deck have sent out for me.

That was until September of 2012.  Remember that month?  The O’s were driving for the pennant and the Ravens were kicking off their Super Bowl winning season.  I was walking around half-awake due to the three overnight shifts a week I was working and the NHL was busy pissing off all of the fans they had left after the last lockout.

I was celebrating my birthday (and about to get married) when the Duchess’ parents bought me a box of Topps 2012 baseball.  It was a fun rip, nothing overly exciting except for one card – a Nolan Ryan Golden Greats auto/relic card. Or at least that’s what the redemption card said it would be.

Awesome.  I don’t necessarily collect Ryan cards, but it’s always nice to pick up a Hall of Famer’s autograph (especially when it comes to working out trades). So I submitted the online code and went on with my life (got married).  Then I promptly forgot about the redemption.

Over the next year or so I would read a post about someone redeeming a card and then remember I had a card sitting out there. After taking 15 minutes to remember which password I used for the site I would log on and find the always infuriating, “Pending” in the status field.

Since I basically got the card for free and I’m tremendously lazy I let a year go by before doing anything about it. Last September I dug up the customer service line and gave them a jingle. After about 15 minutes on line (8 of those with David Wright telling me that Topps is on Facebook) I spoke with a rep who looked up the real status of the card.

Really wish David Wright would stop interrupting "Me, Myself and I" on the Topps hold line.
— Torch Ramrod (@torchramrod) September 26, 2013

Apparently Topps is having an issue getting an authentic jersey to cut up for cards. I guess they’re not having any luck on their eBay auctions.  I’m a flexible guy so I told them I would roll the dice and take the replacement of “equal value”.  No problem, the chap on the other line said, I should see my card in 4-6 weeks.

Needless to say I didn’t.

So, another call to Topps.  At first they asked if I wanted a replacement. I told them I already set that up. They said, “oh yeah” and gave me a tracking number. I tracked it the number and it said, “Return to Sender.”

What?

So, what had happened was…..

In October I had received a notice that the post office wasn’t able to deliver something to me.  No information other than the tag number.  I set up a redeliver and waived the signature needed.  Put the card out so the mailman could pick it up and then went the extra step to set up an online redelivery confirmation as well. I even saved the email confirmation.

Promptly forgot about it.

For some reason the post office didn’t get either notice so they were waiting for me to pick it up at their location. The location that is conveniently open from 9am to 5pm during the week.  Otherwise known as the same hours that I work (hence the reason I wanted it redelivered).

After 30 days they sent it back to Topps.  I noticed the package was at one of their sorting facilities in Pennsylvania so I called the United Postal Service to see if they could route it back to me.

I will never (EVVVVVVVEEEERRRR) do that again. I can’t stress that enough. If you’re ever in a situation where you have to call the postal service or not get something delivered – give up on the

On hold for 15 minutes.  The first agent said no problem let me get you to that department.  Which is apparently code for hanging up on me.

Called back, waited on hold for another 25 minutes and got through to someone who basically told me I was short on luck. She kept asking me why I didn’t pick it up, I kept telling her because I had set up redelivery. She asked for the confirmation on the redelivery. I gave it to her. She said that number didn’t “exist”.  I told her I could forward her the email showing that it did indeed exist. She declined and asked if I wanted to open a complaint.  I asked if that would help me get my package re-routed to me.  She said no.

I thanked her and asked to speak to a supervisor.  She connected me.  The supervisor gave me the same story and said it was too late to re-route. I kept pointing out that it was in their facility, surely in this day in age she could contact someone there and have it sent back to me. She said no and said that if I had just picked it up we wouldn’t be having this conversation so it was basically my fault. 

I hung up on her.  However, before I hung up on her I may have uttered a few curse words. Maybe I pointed out that this kind of service is why they may be going out of business. Maybe I said something about my only mistake was trusting tem to do their job. That might have all happened before I hung up on her. (Spoiler – all of that happened.  Especially the cursing.)

One thing about the digital/cell phone era is that hanging up on someone is nowhere near as satisfying as it used to be. Clicking a button has nothing on slamming a handset down.

I calmed down a bit and called Topps again.  I spoke with a nice gentleman named Vincent (I think) who said he would set up a note to return to sender the return to sender once it hit their receiving warehouse. He did mention that they couldn’t waive the signature fee due to the “value” of what they were sending out.  That made me giddy.

About two weeks later I received a call on my cell phone (which is linked to the call box outside of my apartment) and a delivery guy said he had something to drop off.  I said go ahead (thinking it was some stuff The Duchess had ordered online) and once again forgot about it.  When I got home there was a lovely padded envelope waiting for me containing not one, but TWO cards.

And here they are:

 

A Topps Golden Greats Joe DiMaggio relic card numbered 10/10

A Museum Collection on-card Autograph of Nolan Ryan numbered 6/25

Umm I would say that was of equal value. (Worth reading the 1200 words it took to get to the payoff, eh?) 

So Topps I take back whatever I said on Twitter that made you block me. Your customer service did a good job of taking care of me as a consumer.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.