I'm up to 10

Ten followers that is! Sure, it's not a lot....but it's a start. Thanks you to all who are following my blog. On another note, I signed up for Yahoo Sport's Fantasy Baseball today. Here's hoping to a great season. Baseball is just around the corner!

Two More in the Can

Today I knocked out two more of my 2012 collecting goals. I grabbed the last two 1993 Flair Wave of the Future insert cards that I needed AND I finally completed my 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen set. I was able to grab the last five short print cards, but wasn't too thrilled that I had to spend $7.50 for the Chase Utley card. Those things are almost impossible to find so I decided to bite the bullet and shell out the money before they were nowhere to be found. Anyway, with those two sets complete, I'll be spending the next month or two trying to complete my 61 and 62 Topps Reds team sets. The one card I'm not looking forward to trying to get is the 1962 Topps #594. While it is the rookie card of Red's catcher Don Pavletich...it's also the rookie card of Bob Uecker!!! Ouch!

Ryan Braun Suspension Overturned...WTF?!

So as most of you know, or at least should know by now if you're a true baseball fan, the reigning National League MVP's fifty game suspension was overturned. It's not that I don't like Mr. Braun...in fact I have no opinion of him whatsoever. Being a Red's fan I know I should despise this Brewer, but I don't. What I do despise is the technicality for which the suspension was overturned. As far as I'm concerned, Shyam Das has done a great disservice to MLB players who strive to do their best legally without the use of performance enhancing supplements. I'll be completely honest, if the shoe was on the other foot and Joey Votto or Brandon Phillips or any other Reds player had tested positive, then I would have the same opinion as I do regarding Braun.....suspend them. They don't put up with this crap in the Olympics (sure it's a poor choice for comparison) but baseball is still trying to wipe the tarnish off from the steroid era. While random drug testing helped to add accountability to the players, this ruling completely flies in the face of what needs to be done in baseball.

1961 Topps

What to say about this set when there's really nothing to say about it. I'm not a fan of 1961 Topps. It's probably the most poorly designed set that Topps released in the 1960s. To say that this set is nothing more than a plain Jane would be a compliment. Even calling it an Ugly Betty would be too kind. I just want to know what happened Topps? The 1960 set was nice with the horizontal layout with two pics used on the front. Did you just decide to let two year old little Billy down the street make the call on this? Disappointing. Unfortunately, the only joy I get from this set are the comics on the back.

2005 Studio

While I've been busy trying to knock out my 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen set, I've started on another set endeavor, the 2005 Studio set. I was a big fan of Studio when it came out in 1991 and while it held a special place in my collecting heart, I couldn't put in on the same pedestal as the 1991 Topps Stadium Club set. When I started dabbling in the hobby again in 2002 I was disappointed with what had happened to Studio. I wasn't impressed with their designs and was sad at what had become of this novelty set. However, in 2005 that changed when I saw what Donruss released. The card backgrounds are fantastic with the city skylines that are used on most of the cards in this set. In addition, I like how Donruss decided to use a sepia style in this design as compared to standard color photography. If I had one gripe with the set, it would be that I miss how Donruss didn't have the player's hobbies and interest or their hero. It's that quirky stuff besides a player's stats that I'm able to connect with.

Finding Time to Blog Again

The past twelve days have been the most difficult I've ever had to go through. On January 11 at around 10:30 pm I received a call from my Mom in Cincinnati telling me that my Dad passed away a few hours earlier. While my Dad wasn't in the greatest of health the past few years, it was still a shock considering that when I saw him over New Year's weekend everything seemed OK. So while I've spent almost an entire year blogging about my passion for cards, I've had the opportunity to reflect on what's important in life.....family and friends. While I will continue to blog about baseball cards, it won't occupy as much time for me as it had in the past as I devote more time to family and less toward a hobby. My Dad left for me a legacy that treasures family above any material possession and I hope to do the same with my own family as well. Baseball will still play into my family as I hope to take my daughter and foster son to games to chat about what's going on in their life. But baseball is just a game that lasts for nine innings. Family lasts for all eternity.

2003 Fleer Authentix

While this isn't on my list of things to do for 2012, I would like to eventually finish my 2003 Fleer Authentix set. When I first saw this I was just amazed by the design of these cards. I've always been a team logo fan, and to put them behind every player photo was sweet. I also like the idea of making a baseball card resemble a game ticket. Genius! Sure, I'm not a big Fleer fan...in fact I hated most of the product they ever released, but this set (along with 1993 Flair) was different. My favorite cards in this set would have to be the Ticket to the Majors cards. Very cool to include a replica hometown ticket on those player's cards. If I had one gripe with the set it would have to be the back of the cards. How difficult would it have been to show the actual stadium on the back of the card instead of some generic stadium drawing. Not that hard in my opinion and it's the voice of the collector that should matter most to card manufacturers. After all, we're the one's buying the product! Anyway, if I can't get around to completing this set later in the year, it'll definitely be on my list of things to do next year.