It's a Wampa Weekend

I made it to the bottom of the box and I survived to tell about it!  I've been spacing out posts lately to keep a steady stream of content flowing on the blog, but I've decided to run with back-to-back posts until I put this Wampa to bed.

Here's a picture of the aforementioned box:

Yep, that's the gnarly Wampa from JBF.  What a fearsome beast.

Let's dig into the clear cases within the Wampa's box!

 

Additions to the player collections!

Hall of Fame Cubs!

 Some of the my favorite Cubs from last couple of decades: DLee, Jon Lieber, Crime Dog, and Soriano. These guys had plenty of cards and inserts, but I doubt that any of them topped stack of cardboard that Sammy amassed in the late 90's and early part of the 2000's.

 We interrupt this run on Sosa cards for a little more Soriano.

 Topps Finest cards are always so classy.  What a simple and shiny looking card!

A couple more decent looking Sammy cards:

I've always had a soft spot in my collection for artsy-looking cards. I should have collected the National Chicle set from a few years back.

The Upper Deck Masterpieces set is another gorgeous set.

I'm still not sure I understand the late Upper Deck releases. First Edition? Parallel?  Not a parallel? What in the world is going on here?

How about some cardboard of Cubs rookies?   I'm always in the market for more Castro rookies!

 Here's a couple of homegrown products who are no longer with the Cubs: Cashner and Samardzija are both out on the west coast now.

I love me some new cards of older players.  Ken Hubbs is a welcomed addition to my collection.

Woo-Hoo!  A couple of Ryno's and one is a 20+ year old parallel!  This Wampa isn't so bad afterall!

I questioned the Gary Gaetti signing back in the day, but he quickly won me over during the '98 season.  He's sporting the Harry Caray patch on the right sleeve in this card.  Very nice.

Ah, a great subset card from the early 90's of the rifle-armed Shawon Dunston.  Sweet.

There was such a nice mix of cards in the first couple of plastic cases within the Wampa's box.  Then things got a little strange.  Um, I mean Doug Strange.

 No, I think I meant strange.  What an awkward shot.  I'm pretty sure Strange misses the ball here, but I'll give him bonus points for his ability to levitate.

Mini 2013 Topps cards and a Marmol red parallel...  wait, aren't all of these guys former Cubs?  

 This set is only a year old and all six players have been shipped out in one fashion or another.  Sigh.  I'm hoping the player carousel slows down in 2015.

 I'm not sure this last card was meant for me.

 I think the Wampa got his notes confused and this one was meant to go to JediJeff.  Or maybe this is part of the Wampa's surprise attack?

Perhaps that's his tactic?  Confuse and maul?    Stay tuned to find out!

One Stamp = 19 Cards

Seriously?  How can one "Forever" stamp carry nineteen cards?  Either Nick is the savviest PWE man out there or someone at the old post office fell asleep on the job.

 

As far as variety goes, the best PWE's come from the Dime Boxes blog.  I imagine Nick receiving numerous packages each day with worthy offerings for his binders, but a guy can only keep seven or eight 1984 Fleer Jay Johnstone cards.

Am I right?  So, what's a guy in Nick's position to do?

Isn't the answer obvious?  Send some of the Cubs repeats to me!  Who am I argue?

 I've seen many of these Kellogg's 3-D Super Stars on the blogosphere as of late and now I can add my first two to my collection! 

Another mini!  This is my third 1975 mini and it's of the great flag saving Rick Monday.

Excellent!

In a recent trade package with a Cardinal fan stranded in Los Angeles I send out one of my few Sega CardGen cards.  It was a Lance Berkman and he was worth seven stars.  Those Sega CardGen cards are tough to come by and it was tough part with the Berkman.  But apparently what goes around comes around.

Luis Valbuena is only one star?  Whatever.  He's been a pretty good third baseman the last two years and will serve as an even better utility man when Kris Bryant is called up. 

Besides Geovany Soto in 2008, Jerome Walton was the last offensive rookie of the year the Cubs have had.  Neither Soto nor Walton mattered too much after their inaugural season.  I'm hoping Jorge Soler or the aforementioned Kris Bryant changes that in 2015.

Oddball cards!  Two of the fine lefty hitting first basemen the Cubs employed before Mark Grace manned the station. 

Whoa!  Some Jim Abbott cards!  Nice!  Abbott, along with Bo Jackson, Roberto Clemente, and Jackie Robinson are on my very short list of non-Cubs players who I actively collect. 

 For the record, I read Abbott's book and it has a pretty good message.  The back of the card in the picture above which has Abbott at the computer also has a pretty good one: Stay In School!    These were a pleasant surprise for sure and a nice deviation from all the Cubs I've been receiving as of late.

Hey, my first Travis Wood card of 2014 and my first Power Players card, too.

 

 I'm not sure what the Power Players cards about, but I'm sure it's another gimmick Topps has thrown out there to stir their money pot.

If you have been counting then you know we're up to the last card.

 A scribbled on 1962 Ron Santo!  When Santo came up he was number 15 and then he eventually switched to number 10.  So, I'm not sure what's up with the 18 penned above Ron's name.    I get the "W" on his sleeve. All Cub fans are happy when the blue "W" flag is raised!  Then there's the question of the faint red ink on Ron's upper chest.  It's a stamp of some sort, but I can't read it well enough to figure it.  Any ideas from the blogosphere?

There you have it, folks!

Nineteen wonderful cards from a generous blogger shipped for the cost a of Johnny Cash forever stamp.  How cool is that?  Thanks, Nick!

Wampa: Battle of the Binder

"The Wampa presents a new challenge - Smaller, but more vicious. Horribly violent beasts target the strengths and weaknesses of their prey." - quoted from the Wampa letter

No doubt.  This Wampa has read me like a blog.  I alluded in the past to starting a Cubs FrankenSet, which I have yet to lay down any ground rules for.  And look what the Wampa throws at me right from the start.

Crazy.  Maybe this Wampa has mind reading abilities?  Or maybe it has been reading my blog?

Here's a snapshot of the first completed page in the FrankenSet binder.

 

 I absolutely love the variety on display here.  There's a relic, an oddball, some vintage, some 2014 product, a failed prospect, some serviceable big leaguers, a couple of all-stars, and two members of the Hall of Fame.

You know what's even better?  Check this out:

Yeah, numbers 19 through 27.  This is a legit FrankenSet!  We're piecing this one together bit by bit.  I'm so pumped!  I didn't think I would start this project until either fall or winter break, but now I may have to work a bit in the evenings!  So excited!

 I have some big time decisions to make.  Like, do I limit the number of cards per player?  What about from each set?  There's already two Upper Deck Masterpieces serving as numbers 19 and 22, but that's one of my favorite sets of all-time!  What to do, what to do...

The two Ryno cards from above will go into the Sandberg binder and will have to be replaced.  I'm not sure what an Artist's Proof is, but it's new to me! The Home Run Club card from Pinnacle is shiny.  Shiny cards are a particular weakness of mine.

Wham!  Another quartet of cards that will need to go their respective binders.  Kerry Wood, Kosuke Fukudome, Kyuji Fujikawa, and . . .

 a flippin' ROCK SHOUDLERS autograph!  Holy Smokes!  The Wampa surely does know my weaknesses!

Time for another ROCK SHOULDERS-ism: When you think you're seeing a falling star, it isn't a falling star at all. It's a ROCK SHOULDERS home run ball just circle the Earth in orbit.

Here's two more of my favorites.

 

Man, those Masterpieces cards are sweet looking, but not as sweet as this well-aged 1969 Topps Ernie Banks card!

Another question... how high should the FrankenSet go?  The slot next to Marco Mateo is open, so the Wampa binder must holds 180 cards.

 Perhaps I should just run with the 180?  Oh, the decisions to be made!

Round one of the Wampa battle definitely goes to the beast.  I'm going to have to regroup after this start!

And So It Begins...

The skies may be clearing just to the north of me, but things are about to get crazy here in P-town.  You see, there's this guy.  From what I've been told he may be mistaken for the likeness of the Hamburglar. 

Some of you may know him as JBF or the uber-generous blogger from Jaybarkerfan's Junk. I know him as the guy who likes to release monstrous packages on me.

Oh, and I don't use the word "monstrous" lightly.  See below:

 I've never fought a Wampa before.  I've been mentally preparing myself for a few weeks now.  But really, how does one truly prepare to face a Wampa? 

 This one seems friendly enough.  He's brought me a letter!

Ooooooh, and it's one of those fancy letters where there's an envelope inside another envelope.  You know the type, kind of like one of those wedding invitation deals.

Although, I don't think it's a wedding invitation.  Let's see.

Okay, a few things to note here:
1) I haven't traded with Bob Walk the Plank yet, but boy, oh boy, does he have a surprise coming for him!
2) Let me be completely honest here... "defeated" is a really strong word. JBF is not only generous with his cards, but with his words.  I think I would have use "outlasted" to describe my battles with the Kraken, Rancor Monster, Bear, and Colossus.
3) Wampas are vicious.  Wookieepedia.com wouldn't lie.

My weaknesses?  Get this, my wife just came home and wanted to know why there was a Wampa in the living room.  Hehe.  You don't hear that everyday! 

She read the note next to the Wampa and said, "Isn't your weakness that you're a Cub fan?"  Ouch.

 She's probably right.  I'm a Cub fan and I'm blinded by Cubs from the past, present, and future.  I like vintage, junk wax, and shiny Cubs.  In any case, I fear the Wampa will be tough one to bring down.

Stay tuned to see how this one plays out!