2011 Allen and Ginter Discount Blaster

This box had been sitting in my unopened pack box for far too long. I picked it up for 11.99 maybe a year or more ago, whenever Target had them in their discount section.

2011 Allen and Ginter
#2 Ty Wigginton
#10 Miguel Cabrera
#22 Michael Bourn
#28 John Lindsey
#30 Hanley Ramirez
#31 Jimmy Rollins
#41 Carlos Santana
#51 Tim Collins

The base cards started off in a promising direction for my collection, with a one-time Cardinal, Ty Wigginton. But, that would be all I would get among the base cards. Let's see the rest of them anway.

2011 Allen and Ginter
#56 Scott Kazmir
#62 Alfonzo Soriano
#87 Colby Lewis
#97 Zach Britton
#118 Rafael Soriano
#124 Chad Billingsley
#149 Lars Anderson
#166 Geovany Soto

I didn't remember that Rafael Soriano also played for the Yankees, so at first I thought they put Alfonso in some weird pitcher-looking pose. Seeing his Cubs card made me realize what was going on, though.

2011 Allen and Ginter
#173 Mariano Rivera
#183 Mike Napoli
#205 Kendry Morales
#215 Andrew McCutchen
#254 Denard Span
#276 Desmond Jennings
#322 Trevor Cahill
#335 Jason Heyward

If I've read my online checklists correctly, those last 2 are among the short printed base cards, along with the next two. They don't seem all that short printed from this box, since they compose 1/7 of the set, and over 1/7 (4/26) of the base cards I received. Maybe I'm not accounting for something else in my math there.

2011 Allen and Ginter
#320 Jon Lester
#323 Orlando Hudson
Floating Fortresses #FF15 USS Cairo
Ginter Code Card
Animals in Peril #AP22 Sea Otter

The greatest threat to the Sea Otter? That'd be Floating Fortresses. I'm kidding...maybe...I don't really know why the otter is in peril. I do know the Otters were our local minor league hockey team many years ago.

2011 Allen and Ginter
Baseball Highlight Sketches
#BHS-10 Ryan Howard
#BHS-13 San Francisco Giants
Hometown Heroes
#HH2 Colby Rasmus
#HH15 Matt Holliday
#HH23 Dustin Pedroia
#HH24 Ryan Zimmerman
#HH34 Chipper Jones
#HH47 Phil Hughes

I have a few of these Hometown Heroes cards, but luckily neither of the Cardinals I pulled, Matt Holliday and Colby Rasmus. The sketches aren't bad either, one of them featuring native St. Louisan Ryan Howard. There was talk about the Cardinals trying to sign him in lieu of Pujols back when the contract talks were going on, but I think they came out ahead overall by not getting either one.

2011 Allen and Ginter
Mini #152 Ryan Zimmerman
Mini #308 Jhonny Peralta
Mini Allen and Ginter Back #254 Denard Span
Mini Allen and Ginter Back #264 Adam Jones
Mini Black Border #348 Russell Martin
Portraits of Penultimacy #PP1 Antonio Meucci
Step Right Up #SRU3 Fire Eating
Code Card #201 Andrew Romine
Ascent of Man #AOM15 Catarrhini
Minds That Made The Future #MMF9 Elisha Otis
Checklists #4

Here we have the big draw of Allen and Ginter, the minis. I got 2 regular and 2 A&G backs, and one black border, so none of the extreme low-numbered parallels. I almost filed that Andrew Romine with the base cards, but it has the Ginter Code symbols on its corners.

2011 Allen and Ginter
Framed Relics #AGR-FH Felix Hernandez

Finally, the prize of the pack is this Felix Hernandez Relic. He'll definitely be in the running for the AL Cy Young this year, having won the ERA title, even if it was on questionable retroactive scoring decisions. I think the biggest knock against him will be that the voters for these awards like to see a guy make the postseason, and the Mariners clearly did not this year, while Max Scherzer's Tigers did.

I give this discount box a 35 stars out of 37, which doesn't really mean much of anything. A retail relic is always a nice surprise, and at 8 bucks off the original price, how can I go wrong?

The Fourth 2012 Update Hanger Pack

I was going to title this "2012 Update Hanger Pack The Fourth" (I know, infinitely more clever, right?), but it sounded a bit like Yoda grammar.

2012 Topps Update
#US179 Matt Adams
#US242 Joe Kelly
#US273 Yadier Molina
#US301 Carlos Beltran

I'm starting to get more duplicate Cardinals, but there are still a few new ones in this pack. That's also my first ever Matt Adams card. He may be poised to be our first baseman for a long time if he can keep up his offense.

2012 Topps Update #US329 Jason Isringhausen

This pack had just one former Cardinal base card, our once-dominant closer Jason Isringhausen.

2012 Topps Update - Gold Border
#2Trevor Cahill #1367/2012
#37 Mike Napoli #0177/2012
#171 Koji Uehara #0182/2012
#US4 Matt Treanor #0207/2012

This is the first time I've pulled 4 Gold Border cards in one of these packs. I was short a Golden Greats though, so I think it's about even. I can't decide if I would know who Matt Treanor is if not for his wife, Misty May-Treanor. 3 consecutive gold medals in any sport is pretty impressive, making her and Kerri Walsh the reigning champs for 12 years running.

2012 Topps Update - Target Red Border
#US92 Chone Figgins
#US203 Fernando Rodney

This time it's red borders on Navy and Green/Blue teams. I might be cursed. A mildly annoying, not dangerous at all, curse.

2012 Topps Update
Golden Moments #GM-U47 George Brett
1987 Topps Minis #TM-105 Ichiro

George Brett makes me, and probably Topps, wish that card companies put out cards of assistant coaches. He took over as hitting coach for the Royals in mid-season, in case you haven't kept up with Missouri's other team.

2012 Topps Update
Blockbusters #BB-6 Jay Buhner
Gold Sparkle #US324 Jamey Wright

Jamey Wright was a waiver trading deadline pickup for the Cardinals in late August, 2002. He only played 4 games before the end of the season. He's been quite a journeyman, and has moved on from the Dodgers to Tampa Bay this year. As for Jay Buhner, I can't resist a chance to post this video again.

My Second 2012 Update Hanger Pack

Sometime a good pack can be determined objectively, with a big autograph, relic, rookie, or some combination of the 3. This is not one of those packs, but it is subjectively good for me.

2012 Topps Update
#US273 Yadier Molina
#US301 Carlos Beltran

2012 Topps Update #US131 Mitchell Boggs

The box had 3 current Cardinals, and if I'm going to get a duplicate, Yadi's a pretty good one to get.

2012 Topps Update
#US25 Joe Mather
#US60 Edwin Jackson
#US247 Ryan Ludwick
#US254 Jason Marquis

There were also 4 former Cardinals. In all, nearly 10% of the pack played for St. Louis at one time.

2012 Topps Update - Gold Border
#475 Chris Dickerson #1750/2012
#521 Ruben Tejada #0999/2012
#US80 Jered Weaver #1277/2012

I'm starting to like these Gold Border parallels. I fear I may be close to adding a 984-card section to my wantlist.

2012 Topps Update - Target Red Border
#US67 Jamey Carroll
#US214 Jeremy Affeldt

The red borders would grow on me too if not for orange teams like the Giants. Not that I find them repulsive, they're just not as awesome as they could be.

2012 Topps Update
Gold Sparkle #US177 Mike Napoli
Blockbusters #BB-14 Yu Darvish

Here I have 2 Rangers, although one has since changed teams, appropriately enough for an Update set post. And the Darvish deal was definitely a Blockbuster, no matter how his stats turn out.

2012 Topps Update
Golden Moments - #GM-U30 Cal Ripken, Jr.
1987 Topps Minis #TM-126 Jackie Robinson

Finally, we have 2 Hall-of-Famers. A good friend of mine since Kindergarten moved to the Baltimore area for awhile, then moved back, and so has a secondary allegiance to the Orioles. Consequently, I give him trouble relentlessly about Cal Ripken, Jr. being inferior to Ozzie Smith as a shortstop, being an old man (since he was gray rather early), and setting the MLB record for perfect attendance. It's all in good fun, of course, and I'm happy to have this card. The Robinson mini is pretty nice too, with his MLB career stats on the back. Obviously the Brooklyn Dodgers and 1987 don't exactly go together, but the retro border and retro shot just meld together nicely on this card.

Finally, I Can Open My Hanger Pack

I bought a few hanger packs of 2012 Update in late 2012, because I knew Target would only carry them for so long, but I've been so behind on blogging cards, and didn't want to make a mess of my desk, that I just now opened the first one. Here's what I found.

2012 Topps Update
#US123 Jamie Moyer/Checklist
#US178 Lance Lynn
#US273 Yadier Molina

2012 Topps Update
#US11 Rick Ankiel
#US46 Jamie Moyer

I only post base cards of Cardinals, and Moyer technically was one for 8 appearances wayyyy back in 1991. That's reason enough to show his 2 base cards here. Those Lynn and Molina guys are pretty good too.

2012 Topps Update - Target Red Border
#US57 Hanley Ramirez
#US122 Logan Ondrusek

Red Parallels look good for red teams, and bad for most others. I don't think I'm saying anything new with that statement. I am rather surprised they don't look pleasing with the Dodgers jerseys, though, with that bold red jersey number on the front.

2012 Topps Update
Golden Greats #GG-92 Reggie Jackson
Blockbusters #BB-24 Steve Carlton

I'm not sure I'm a fan of all the gold in 2012 Topps, but at least something finally goes with the A's uniform. That's a good looking card of Reggie Jackson. I do, however, like the Blockbusters set, despite its reminder of the 4-time Cy Young winner Steve Carlton the Cardinals traded away.

2012 Topps Update
Gold Sparkle #US155 Franklin Morales
1987 Topps Minis #TM-148 Justin Morneau

I scanned these two this way just so the mini would look mini. Why do gimmicks like minis and sparkly gold tempt me so?

2012 Topps Update - Gold Border
#389 Alexi Casilla #0029/2012
#511 Ervin Santana #0838/2012

These 990-card parallels nearly sucker me in every year. I think one year I'll actually try to collect them all, along with all of the attainable Series 1 and Series 2 parallels. #/50s and 1/1s will probably have to be skipped over, unless I win a small lottery and feel like blowing it all on cards. Also, I love that throwback LA Angels hat on Ervin Santana. I might need to get one of those.

2012 Topps Update
Gold Border #US238 Shawn Camp #0298/2012
Golden Moments #GM-U38 Tim Lincecum

Another Gold Border parallel, but it's a Cub. I like Tim Lincecum. I don't like that the Giants beat us in the NLCS in 2012. So I give this card a B.

My non-Cardinals insert cards are generally up for trade, so if you see anything you'd like here, or in my next few hanger packs, let me know.

A Real Lineage Blaster, Extreme Value Style

I thought I was clever and "beating the system" when I built my own blaster last time, but then I found this Extreme Value Blaster at Target for $11.99. For the same price (give or take a few pennies) as 56 cards in 4 of those packs, I got 8 packs of 7, so 56 cards, plus a relic card. Foiled again by the discount store sales cycle!

2011 Lineage
#40 Stan Musial
#141 Ozzie Smith

First up are 2 Cardinals Hall of Famers.

2011 Lineage
#9 Matt Holliday
#178 Albert Pujols
#189 Jaime Garcia

And 3 present-day Cardinals (as of 2011 at least). I got Pujols and Garcia in my last grouping, but Holliday is new.

2011 Lineage - Platinum Diamond
#19 Larry Walker
#157 Wandy Rodriguez

Here are some more not-really-that-blue Platinum parallels.The blue scan makes the purple Rockies uniform clash horribly; the real card is slightly less offensive. He is still wearing a purple jersey, after all. But it's former Cardinal Larry Walker, so I'm happy.

2011 Lineage
Diamond Anniversary #184 Josh Hamilton

Sometimes I look back at gimmicks like these Diamond Anniversary parallels and think they were dumb, but in this case, I kinda really want to get all 200 of these.

2011 Lineage
Topps Rookies #TR6 Jake McGee

This guy's listed at 6'3", 190lbs. There's no way that's right unless this is a terribly awkward angle.

2011 Lineage
Topps 3D #T3D15 Evan Longoria

Another Tampa Bay Ray, this time in threeeeee-deeeeee.

2011 Lineage
Stand Ups #TS14 Joey Votto

Here's a card that will never live out its destiny, since I can't bring myself to break the perforations.

2011 Lineage
Cloth Stickers #TCS11 Jackie Robinson

And another, unless I can find an excellent, permanent place to put this sticker.

2011 Lineage
Checklist 1 of 4

Boom, finished the Checklists subset! Ok, I know, that's not really a subset. But whatever, I've got all 4 now.

2011 Lineage - 1975 Minis
#145 Adrian Gonzalez
#161 Luis Aparicio

Minis! Neither variety of Sox is the team I primarily root for, but these look good enough I just might want to grab all 200 of this parallel too.

2011 Lineage
1975 Mini Relics #75-NR Nolan Ryan

Finally, we have the money card: the mini relic. Nolan Ryan has to be one of the biggest stars in this set, at least in my mind. He's also one of the first guys I knew as a storied veteran since I started really watching baseball in 1992. I'm really happy with this card. The jersey swatch even has a little character in it, as it appears that it might be where a button was, due to the 4 holes.

Who am I kidding, the guy who wrong that last post was foolish; this relic was well worth getting the blaster.

2012 Gypsy Queen Extreme Value Blaster #2

As 2013 Gypsy Queen is hitting stores, I'd like to take you into the past. Allllll the way to the year 2012. I picked up another discounted 2012 Gypsy Queen blaster from Target for $11.99, after the previous one from November looked pretty good. And, I just can't resist a deal.

2012 Gypsy Queen
Mini Parallel #78 Sergio Santos
Mini Parallel #84 Freddie Freeman
Mini Parallel #123 Geovany Soto
Mini Parallel #134 Juan Nicasio
Mini Green #45 Madison Baumgarner
Mini Gypsy Queen Back #29 Ryan Roberts
Mini Gypsy Queen Back #126 Brett Myers
Mini Straight Cut Back #240 Tim Lincecum

Why do I love parallel sets so much? I've got half a mind to try to complete at least the regular mini set.

2012 Gypsy Queen
#143 Dustin Pedroia SP Variation
#250 Ken Griffey, Jr. SP Variation

I only spotted these variations when I noticed 2 of the packs appeared to have 5 standard cards and 1 mini. All of the other packs had 2 or 3 insert cards, so I dug around for the SP Variation checklist.

2012 Gypsy Queen Hallmark Heroes
#HH-FR Frank Robinson
#HH-NR Nolan Ryan

I start feeling old when I see a guy I remember playing, Nolan Ryan, featured as an old-timer with the likes of Frank Robinson.

2012 Gypsy Queen Future Stars
#FS-DH Derek Holland
#FS-DJ Desmond Jennings

Also making me feel old: These guys are both about 4 years younger than me; both are 26.

2012 Gypsy Queen - Sliding Stars #SS-DG Dee Gordon

2012 Gypsy Queen
#208 Adron Chambers
#249 Stan Musial

I already got this Adron Chambers card in the last blaster. He appears to be running from a giant lizard bent on destroying Tokyo. Oh, and there's a Musial, which is good because those are hard to pry away from another Cardinals fan these days.

2012 Gypsy Queen - Glove Stories #GS-BR Ben Revere

Imagine Chariots of Fire playing over this catch in slow motion. It'll be the next big thing: music cards.

2012 Gypsy Queen - Moonshots #MS-FT Frank Thomas

It's even weirder that Frank Thomas is an old-timer now. I've still got a poster of him in my pool room, which I bought as a kid. What can I say, the Cardinals just weren't that good in the early 90s, so I went with the Chicago guy.

2012 Gypsy Queen - Relics #GWR-RK Ralph Kiner

And here's the crown jewel of the box, a Ralph Kiner relic. It was actually in the last pack I opened, which added to the suspense of opening. I don't know much about Ralph Kiner, so I went and read his Wikipedia page. I thought it was interesting that despite playing in only the minimum required 10 seasons, he's in the Hall of Fame. And not only did he barely qualify, he gained entry on his final ballot, and with just 1 vote over what he needed. I bet this guy slams on the gas to zip through yellow lights.

All in all, I was pretty happy with this box, which means I'll keep checking the bottom shelf at Target for discounted year-old blasters.

2012 Gypsy Queen Extreme Value Blaster

I recently picked up a blaster of Gypsy Queen at Target for $11.99. Normally these are $19.99, a little more than I can convince myself to pay for the 48 cards inside. But, for a quarter a card, I went for it. I've decided this set isn't old enough for a pack-by-pack breakdown, so here are the inserts and Cardinals.

2012 Gypsy Queen
#201 Allen Craig
#208 Adron Chambers

 Each pack has 1 mini card, and here's how those broke down.

2012 Gypsy Queen - Mini Parallel
#21 Mat Latos
#158 Rickie Weeks
#177 Nick Markakis
#183 Heath Bell

These are stated at 1:1, but they can be replaced by rarer mini parallels.

2012 Gypsy Queen - Mini Straight Cut Back
#69 Troy Tulowitzki
#115 Kurt Suzuki

I really should have scanned the backs since that's the only difference, but these Straight Cut Backs are inserted 1:6 packs.

2012 Gypsy Queen - Mini Gypsy Queen Back
#261 John Smoltz

Again, I really should have scanned the back. This Gypsy Queen back is also inserted 1:6 packs. And I'm still referring to him as Former Cardinal John Smoltz.

2012 Gypsy Queen - Mini Black Border
#305 Matt Cain

Since the black minis are inserted 1:12 packs, and this has a high number, I figured I had something rare with this one, but apparently the minis 301-350 are not short-printed this year. Still, a cool card of a guy who just won a World Series, and really did a number on my Cardinals in the process.

2012 Gypsy Queen - Future Stars
#FS-JH Jeremy Hellickson
#FS-JU Justin Upton

Future Stars is an interesting name for a set featuring a 2-time All-Star. It's much better than the Bowman gamble on guys that may be no-names in a few years.

2012 Gypsy Queen - Hallmark Heroes
#HH-MM Mickey Mantle
#HH-SM Stan Musial

That's a pretty good pair, Mantle and Musial, especially for a Cardinal fan such as myself.

2012 Gypsy Queen - Sliding Stars
#SS-DG Dee Gordon
#SS-JW Jemile Weeks

Feet first, guys. You'll eat much less dirt that way.

2012 Gypsy Queen - Moonshots
#MS-AP Albert Pujols

Oh, Albert. That Angels uniform still doesn't look right on you.

2012 Gypsy Queen - Glove Stories
#GS-DJ Derek Jeter

This card features the ridiculous play Jeter made against the A's, in which he flipped the ball and it seemed to make a left turn mid-air to get Jeremy Giambi at the plate.

2012 Gypsy Queen - Blue Framed Parallel
#80 Ryan Braun #015/599

Finally, a nice parallel carried over from last year, the framed parallel. Last year was green, and this year's is Blue, and numbered to 599. But mostly I like how cool it looks and feels. I'd like to pick up a few Cardinals from this subset, so if you have any and would like this Braun, drop me an e-mail.