Gint-a-Cuffs #4 Packs #20-24 Grand Finale

Wednesday, 31 August 2011

Hey guys.  I have been a too bit busy with real life to post anything recently.  Although I have tried to maintain a presence by commenting on other blogs.  I am going to make a quick Gint A Cuffs post just to wrap it up under the wire.  I will hopefully be back to regular posting sooner rather than later.

FOR THE LAST TIME (this year) RELEASE MCCRACKEN

Total through pack #19 - 159 pts.

Pack 20:                                             

51        Tim Collins (0 pts)

64        Ricky Romero (0 pts)

65        Ryan Howard             (0 pts)

aom10 Sarcopterygii (Tiktaalik) Ascent of Man (+1 pt AOM insert)

agr-rd  Ryan Dempster Framed Relic (+10 pts relic)

24        Kristi Yamaguchi Mini (0 pts)

hh70    Troy Tulowitzki Hometown Heroes (+4 My FP,+1 Rockies,+1 HH insert) +6 total

Pack total: 17 pts

Running total - 176 pts

Pack 21:                                             

97        Zach Britton (0 pts)

28        John Lindsey (0 pts)

231      CJ Wilson (0 pts)

123      Rajai Davis (0 pts)

21        Logan Morrison (0 pts)

326      Jason Castro SP (+2 pts SP)

sru5     The Human Cannonball Step Right Up (+3 pts SRU mini)

hh50    Josh Hamilton Hometown Heroes (+2 FP list +1 HH insert) +3 pts total

Pack total: 8 pts

Running total - 184 pts

Pack 22:                                             

59        Jeremy Jeffress (0 pts)

102      Wandy Rodriguez (0 pts)

17        Jonathan Papelbon (0 pts)

285      Alex Rios (0 pts)

19        Daniel Bard (0 pts)

aom3   Choanoflagellates Ascent of Man (+1 pt AOM insert)

ap17    Orangutan Animals in Peril (+3 pts AP mini)

hh100  Travis Snider Hometown Heroes (+1 pt HH insert)

Pack total: 5 pts

Running total - 189 pts

Pack 23:                                             

190      Sue Bird (0 pts)

136      Dick Vitale (+1 pt the Commish thinks he isn’t annoying for some reason)

74        Torii Hunter (0 pts)

141      Vernon Wells (0 pts)

82        Scott Rolen (0 pts)

305      Justin Morneau SP (+2 pts SP)

ug2      The White House Uninvited Guests (+3 pts UG mini)

mmf15 Isaac Newton  Minds the Made the Future (+2 pts MMF insert)

Pack total: 8 pts

Running total - 197 pts

Pack 24:                                             

165      Jo Frost (0 pts)

89        John Axford (0 pts)

115      Shin-Soo Choo (0 pts)

219      Johan Santana (0 pts)

252      Omar Infante (0 pts)

18        Daniel Hudson Crack the Code (+3 pts Code card)

107      L.L. Zamenhof Mini Black Border (+3 MBB, +2 Zamenhof) +5 pts total

hh65    Adrian Gonzalez Hometown Heroes (+2 FP list +1 HH insert) +3 pts total

Pack total: 11 pts

Running total - 208 pts

There you have it.  I did break the 200 point barrier and got quite a few Rockies.  Overall (perhaps not surprisingly) I am not impressed with this set.  I am not surprised primarily because I have not liked any of the A&G sets in general.  It is mostly the non-baseball players that turns me off, but the colored gas cloud behind the players has always been too odd for me.  Everything from these packs is for trade excluding the Tulo and AOM inserts (the only ones I like this go around).

I will have a state of the blog post probably tomorrow explaining my absence and other things.  I thank those of you that have inquired about my sudden disappearance.  I guess that means I have made an impression on some people.  Thank you.

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Gint-a-Cuffs #4 Packs #15-19

Monday, 1 August 2011

Okay I am back from my Ubaldo pout-fest 2011 with my next set of packs for Gint a Cuffs

Points through pack #14 - 122

RELEASE MCCRACKEN

Sure the joke is old now, but after tomorrow you won't have to see it again for another year.

Pack 15:                                             

256      Hunter Pence (+2 pts FP list)

162      Mat Latos (0 pts)

18        Daniel Hudson (0 pts)

167      Adam LaRoche (0 pts)

193      Jorge De La Rosa (+1 Rockies)

249      Carlos Ruiz Crack the Code (+3 pts CTC card)

64        Ricky Romero Mini A&G Back (+2 pts AG back)

hh36    Gordon Beckham Hometown Heroes (+1 pt HH insert)

Pack total: 9 pts

Running total - 131 pts

Nice JDLR card in this pack.  The Colorado season went to hell as soon as he went down with his TJ injury.  The Crack the Code makes its first appearance in my box here as well.  Good luck to all of you attempting this one, but I don’t understand the point.

                       

Pack 16:                                             

294      Jacoby Ellsbury (0 pts)

168      Carlos Marmol (0 pts)

266      Chris Coghlan (0 pts)

280      Adam Wainwright (0 pts)

347      Josh Thole Crack the Code / SP (+3 pts CTC card, +2 SP) +5 total

aom1   Prokayotes Ascent of Man (+1 pt AOM insert)

330      CC Sabathia Mini SP (+3 pts SP mini, -1 DAMN Yankee) +2 pts total

hh97    Brandon Morrow Hometown Heroes (+1 pt HH insert)

Pack total: 9 pts

Running total - 140 pts

                       

Another pretty good pack here with a second Crack the Code and a short print at that.  I wonder if I should have sold the image on eBay since it is a shortie.  The Yankees make an appearance in this pack to bring my running total up to Rockies 8 Yankees 4.   this might be the first box ever with more Rox than Yanks.  My second AOM card is the first and my first was the last.  I never consider myself close to completing a set until I have both the first and last cards.  Here I got those two first, so I got that going for me.

                       

Pack 17:                                             

45        Annika Sorenstam (0 pts)

196      Jered Weaver (0 pts)

111      Pablo Sandoval (0 pts)

113      Miguel Montero (0 pts)

265      Buster Posey (0 pts)

156      Marlon Byrd (0 pts)

99        Placido Polanco Mini A&G Back (+2 pts AG back)

hh74    Jayson Werth Hometown Heroes (+1 pt HH insert)

Pack total: 3 pts

Running total - 143 pts

                       

Run of the mill, at best, pack here.  The only pack worse than this one points-wise was the earlier one with 2 Bearded Douches, aka Brian Wilson.  This one has 2 Giants as well, Fat Panda and Ray Fosse Jr.  I think Giants are officially the worst team for Gint-a-Cuffs purposes.  I know they are the worst for my purposes.

                       

Pack 18:                                             

220      Prince Fielder (0 pts)

297      Travis Hafner (0 pts)

268      Dallas Braden (0 pts)

AGA-CWO    Chuck Woolery Framed Autograph (+10 framed autograph)

wmf2   The Poe Toaster World’s Most Mysterious Figures (+3 WMF mini)

hh58    Jimmy Rollins Hometown Heroes (+1 pt HH insert)

Pack total: 14 pts

Running total - 157 pts

                       

Okay as contrary as I have been about the Ginter set, even I can’t contain a smile at getting a Chuck Woolery auto.  I remember him more from the game show Scrabble (my favorite as a kid), but most remember him as the Love Connection guru.   I wonder if this card entitles the card producers to pay for a second box if I agree.

                       

Pack 19:                                             

234      Chrissie Wellington (0 pts)

40        John McEnroe (-1 pt being a loudmouth jerk)

291      Grady Sizemore (0 pts)

53        Chipper Jones (0 pts)

300      Ryan Braun (0 pts)

303      Jaime Garcia SP (+2 pts SP)

29        Johnny Cueto Mini (0 pts)

hh53    Justin Verlander Hometown Heroes (+1 pt HH insert)

Pack total: 2 pts

Running total - 159 pts

                       

Well that is a crappy pack to end the day on.  3 players that scored nothing could have been someone’s favorite player.  I am shocked that Braun wasn’t picked in fact.  He seems to have that rare crossover collectability for non-Brewer fans, like a Pujols or Maddux.

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Gint-a-Cuffs #2 Packs #10-14 FIRST HIT

Saturday, 30 July 2011

Yesterday's (well it was supposed to be yesterday anyway) fifth took me out of the running for the victory more than likely, but I am still plugging along with a fairly strong set of packs here.

RELEASE MCCRACKEN

Total from first two days - 76 pts

Pack 10:                                             

159      Shawn Michaels (0 pts)

35        Adam Dunn (0 pts)

58        Alcides Escobar (0 pts)

269      Derrek Lee (0 pts)

bhs2     Jay Bruce Highlight Sketches (+2 pts FP list, +3 pts HS insert) +5 pts total

328      Chris Johnson SP (+2 pts SP)

pp5      The Hare Portraits in Penultimacy (+3 PP mini)

ff10     USS Monitor Floating Fortresses (+2 FF insert)

Pack total - 12 pts

Running total - 88 pts

           

I just don’t like the Highlight Sketches cards.  I am sure they have their fans, but when the base card is basically a sketch…what is the point of a sketch insert?  The Shawn Michaels card is pretty cool and, for me, the best non-baseball card I have pulled SO FAR.

           

Pack 11:                                             

225      Jack LaLanne (0 pts)

6          Micky Ward (0 pts)

77        Rafael Furcal  (0 pts)

26        Edwin Jackson (0 pts)

71        Chris Perez (0 pts)

304      Madison Bumgarner SP (+2 pts SP)

wmf7   The Man in the Iron Mask World's Most Mysterious Figures (+3 pts WMF mini)

ff1       HMS Victory Floating Fortresses (+2 FF insert)

Pack total - 7 pts

Running total - 95 pts

           

Did anyone see the DiCaprio version of The Man in the Iron Mask?  Anyone?  The Victory is, of course, from the famed Battle of Trafalgar which ultimately led to the defeat of Napoleon a couple of years later.  I know a little about the battle, but naval battles is not my milieu in history.

           

Pack 12:                                             

197              Jay Bruce (+2 pts FP list)

153              Scott Cousins (0 pts)

57                Derek Jeter (-1 pt DAMN Yankee)

4                  Jhoulys Chacin (+1 pt Rockies)

AGR-JLO   Jed Lowrie Framed Relic

235              Cole Hamels Mini (+2 pts FP list)

hh30          Dexter Fowler Hometown Heroes (+1 pt Rockies,+1 pt HH insert) +2 pts total

Pack total - 16 pts

Running total - 111 pts

           

There is a lot going on here in this pack.  Every card except one (DAMN you Scott Cousins) was involved in a score of some sort.  Obviously, the best two for me are the two Rockies.  Which bring the total score up to Rockies 7 Yankees 3…I love that.  Jed Lowrie is not exactly on my collecting list.  From other boxes I have seen, specifically Spankee’s, this entire set consists of a whole lot of Red Sox relics.

           

Pack 13:                                             

263      Mark Trumbo (0 pts)

201      Andrew Romine (0 pts)

25        Nelson Cruz (0 pts)

127      James Loney (0 pts)

163      Ian Kennedy (0 pts)

316      Manny Ramirez SP (+2 pts SP)

261      Carlos Pena Mini A&G Back (+2 pts AG back)

mmf37  John Deere Minds the Made the Future (+2 pts MMF insert)

Pack total - 6 pts

Running total - 117 pts

           

Are we sure Manny is a short print?  This is the second appearance for him in my box after the black border mini (Yes Zakwin this one is yours if you want it).  Coming from an old farming community, the John Deere is kind of cool.  You cannot walk down the street in this town without seeing several John Deere caps at any given time.  However, I think they named this set wrong.  These are the minds that made the PRESENT.  The mind that will make the future are not famous yet and I don't think some of these accomplishments will have as much of an impact in the future as in the past and present.  That being said , they were ALL brilliant for their time.

Pack 14:                                             

34        Pedro Ciriaco (0 pts)

242      Cheryl Burke  (0 pts)

261      Carlos Pena (0 pts)

90        Roy Halladay (0 pts)

192      Carl Pavano (0 pts)

332      Luke Hochevar SP (+2 pts SP)

103      Andres Torres             Mini A&G Back (+2 pts AG back)

HH38  Andre Ethier Hometown Heroes (+1 pt HH insert)

Pack total - 5 pts

Running total - 122 pts

           

A “meh” pack ends the day here.  Two of my scoring cards involve a Dodger and a Giant, so I am not exactly thrilled with this pack.  Eric, if you need the Hochevar…let me know.  <Sarcasm mode on> This pack also ends my lifelong dream of having a card of a non-athlete from Dancing with the Stars.  <Sarcasm mode off>   I think it is cards like this that is the main reason I never gravitated toward A&G in the past. 

Not a bad fifth here with a total of 46 points and STILL two hits to go including tomorrow’s which I am hoping will pay for a second box (if both parties agree).

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