Breaking The Seal On A 2005 Ryan Howard Etopps Card!

I'm not quite sure what happened with etopps. The site allowed you to collect cards and store them  In a virtual portfolio or  have a physical copy of the card delivered to you for a small shipping fee.I loved the service and actually still have a card In my portfolio waiting to be shipped.I currently have about 15 In-hand etopps cards In my collection ,stashed  In a small section of  our linen closet  designated for  cards and other baseball related ephemera. The other day,while grabbing a new set of clean sheets ,I accidentally dropped a couple of them on the floor.One of them was this 2005 Ryan Howard .I've broken the seal on these once before, just never documented it.This time I've got the pics to prove It ;)

This Is what the card looks like ,encased.Just a nice,all around solid product.Not pictured  Is the separate card  with the print run and serial number,an added touch that softened the blow of  dropping 14 bucks on the card after shipping. Still.ya gotta love the presentation!

This ,my friends ,Is the infamous etopps seal of authenticity!Dun,dun,dunnnn!

I was hoping for It to peel right off,as It does on most etopps cards,so I could put the card back in the case but as you can see I made a little bit  of a mess.

 Once the seal Is removed ,you'll have to slightly pry the lower part of It open by unsnapping It.

                                                                          And VOILA!

 The protective case Is totally reusable.A little bit of alcohol should help In removing the access gunk left behind by the problematic etopps seal .

As for the card?Aesthetically ,the picture quality could have been a little better.It doesn't come across In the pics but  Howard's looking a little  blurry. Although,It might have been what they were going for  seeing as how they went with television esque scan lines for the background.The card Is  thicker than your average base cards  , with a  plastic feel to it.It's hard to describe . 

            I was surprised to see that the etopps logo wasn't embossed like they are  on other releases.

The serial number Is on an etopps sticker which Is located on the backs of the cards. Not a lot to show stat wise as Howard had yet to break Into the majors.

Did any of you guys collect etopps?If so,What's your take on them and the service In general?

Singles Only

        Nothing big,just a couple of Chrome pick ups.The 2015 Topps design was one that I was curious about getting the chrome treatment.I don't know If It's just me but they don't really pop as much as past Topps Chrome stuff.Still,the Degrom and Harvey are nice additions.Stay tuned for my next couple of posts as I'll be showing some recent Football card pick ups.

Ecstatic We Made It To The World Series,Elated That It's Over With!

I remember getting on the "Over The Falls" log ride with my 8 year old daughter  this past summer,and shamelessly expressing my outright fear of  getting on It.I'm not one of those macho dads that hides his fear of things behind a fake Superman crest on his chest.If I'm afraid of something ,I'm gonna let you know about It.It's sad I know It,my daughter has bigger cojones than I do,lol.You see,this ride has no seat belts ,just a bar you hang onto as you   go plummeting down 100 feet or so into a shallow pool of water that breaks the fall and splashes the crap out of you.My stomach just Isn't what It used to be.Anyways,2 minutes into the ride and I realized ,at that point,that there was no turning back.This unassuming little log raft ride that was slowly approaching the foot of the hill, slowly tugged us up to the top ,before the clanking sound of whatever metal mechanism It was holding us onto the track  ,released us into a scream inducing free fall.This Is the best metaphor I could think of.The Mets In the World Series was the Log ride ,my couch was the log raft and wouldn't you know It,sitting right next to me,accompanying me through It all was my daughter.There was no turning back now.My Mets were In the World Series and I was going to have to endure every nail biting  minute  of It.The first two  games I caught at my parents house,with my nephew and my dad but It was the final three,at my place, that took the most out of me.My daughter watched  a few innings  with me and I was pleasantly surprised to see how much she's learned about the game.She knew the count and kept me current whenever a bathroom or drink break was In order.When I say drink,I'm referring to water.That's all I had throughout the entire series.Water.I didn't even snack on anything,I couldn't. My stomach was In knots the whole time.Fans on certain forums say that this Is a once  In a lifetime experience and that I should enjoy every moment of It.Bullshit.Although seeing my guys up there wearing World Series patches on their unis and grabbing headlines was extremely cool,It was far from  enjoyable  to watch Cespedes,Wright,Murphy and Duda kick the ball around like a game of  hacky sack. What really broke my heart was watching the excitement In my daughters eyes when they reversed the Flores tag up play In game 4.Ever since the crying incident,Flores has become her favorite Met.She never stood up long enough to watch game endings,so every morning she'd ask me If we won or lost.Sadly I 'd have to break the bad news to her the next day.While she wasn't distraught like her dad was,I could see It starting to bug her.She hated to see the Royals celebrating In the dugout.I secretly did too,but had to explain to her that they were just excited and had every right to celebrate.I didn't want her to develop hatred for another team so early In her Mets fandom.I can't remember why but  at one point she even got mad  at Ned Yost,lol,the calmest guy In the Royals dugout!There are some positives,though.Namely,the fact that the Mets made It to the World Series.We lost,yeah,but had an epic postseason run.Hell It was an epic run period,since day one of the 2015 season.I'm so fucking proud of our pitching staff. I've never seen a crop of young players/pitchers be so damn fearless on the mound.I mean Matz had all but 6 major league starts before falling right in the thick of a pennant race.And he answered the call like a seasoned veteran ,while most 24 year old rookie hurlers would have folded under the pressure. I also got to watch the fall classic with my dad and  football fanatic nephew,who because of this years Mets team has a new found  love for the game of baseball.Lastly,the fire I saw In my daughters eyes during game four made It all worth It.She loves the fact that Matz Is a hometown kid who still lives with his parents and makes the short commute daily to the ball park.She loves the fact that Syndergaards nickname Is Thor.She loves the fact that Flores cried on the diamond because of how much he loved being a Met.She hates the fact that Royals fans refer to  Jacob Degrom as Caitlin Jenner.And I love the fact that my 8 year old daughter Is beginning to fall In love with the NY Mets. And just as she did that summer on the log ride ,she'll be there to hold my hand through what  will hopefully be more gut wrenching ,exciting yet fear inducing  Mets National League championships and World Series appearances!Can I get a -  LETS GO METS!LETS GO METS!

Congrats To My Metsies!

Please forgive my lack of posts,for I have been In a bit of a trance due to this years  Mets epic playoff run. I'm not about to go off on some long prophetic rant about how I knew the Mets would make It Into the World Series because frankly, I knew that It could have gone either way.I liked our chances and knew that our pitching would show up,I just wasn't sure about our offense.I certainly wouldn't have foreseen the big blue  machine that was Daniel Murphy throughout pretty much the entire playoffs.To me,Murph was  the epitome of a player making the most out of an opportunity.He knew the size and importance of the stage he was on ,and  put on one hell of a show.The Mets can be streaky.We can go a week without hitting the ball,and then turn around and rake for two weeks.Our stretch of  timely hitting couldn't have come at a better time.I don't have cable,so I was forced to watch every game on MLB's Gameday,pitch by pitch.It really wasn't so bad.In fact It was cool to see every pitch location ,determining what calls the umps were getting wrong.At some points In the game,I felt like Mets pitching was being squeezed a bit,but no use In crying over spilled milk.We're advancing and that's all that matters right now.I'm still In shock of It all but should be back to normal as the excitement wears down.The Dodgers made things interesting and Justin Turner was a thorn In our side throughout.Adrian Gonzalez wasn't the force that I expected him to be,which In hindsight was  a good thing. The Cubs definitely had presence.Every guy In that lineup could hurt you in various ways.From game 1 all the way to 4 ,I think I came up for air once.I did ,however, expect more out of them,and I don't think I'm alone In that sentiment.I know they'll be back with a vengeance next year.In the meantime,looks like I'll be keeping tabs on the Jays and Royals to see who we get to match up against.

Honorable Mentions-

Bartolo Colon

Addison Reed

Michael Cuddyer

Kelly Johnson

John Niese

Cespedes Is Now A Met!

Man!Finally Met fans can exhale.We've had It all these last couple of days.From trade reversals,to emotional shortstops,to odd bottom of the 9th, 2 out and one strike on the batter  ,rain delays.It's been a little more than I can handle.Well,today with only minutes left before the official trade deadline,Sandy Alderson surprised everyone by picking up probably the best power bat available right now In Yoenis Cespedes! With Aldersons track record as a Met GM  and the recent deterioration of the Gomez trade,I had lost all hope.I thought for sure Sandy would go bargain bin hunting again and pick up a guy like Rajai Davis or Will Venable.Boy was I wrong.We now have a legitimate cleanup  hitter In Yoenis and a much better shot at making a run towards first place In NL East.Kudos to Sandy and co.I can breathe again.

New Blood, In NY!

I must say that while I'm not blown away by the acquisitions of Uribe ,Johnson and Clippard,I am overall pleased.I like the versatility you get In Johnson and Uribe. Clippard,while not what he used to be, brings  some toughness to our bullpen.These guys are all gamers and already have made a mark with the Metsies. Hindsight Is 20/20 ,but I think all three will mesh well.Here's hoping Sandy can pick us up another bat to solidify this offense.I decided to search my collection for cards of  Clip,Uribe and Johnson.I had tons of Clippards but only a couple Kelly Johnson's (I'm pretty sure I have more somewhere) and one Uribe.

Tyler Clippard-

Kelly Johnson - 

Juan Uribe - 

Contest Over At The Homerun Apple!

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2015 Donruss

 I love It when I drop a couple bucks on a pack of cards that yields cards of players that I actually want!Such has been the case with these '15 Donruss  "30 card"  packs at Wal Mart.I really,really love what Donruss has done the last couple of years,more so this year.I've picked up three of these rack packs and not one double yet!I haven't felt this way about a card product since 2006 Topps Turkey Red.The addition of team logos would put this line over the top in my opinion.The base cards are super glossy and bright showcasing each player in their new digs for 2015.No boring head shots either,just action shots after action shots.I was never a big fan of inserts and maybe Topps has alot to do with that.They kind of over do It with inserts showcasing  events and first pitches.That kind of thing never really appealed to me. Donruss's inserts seem more like a whole different product (quality product),so it keeps things fresh.I want more!

SCORE!Altuve Is a little beast!

I'm not a big Rollins fan,but It Is cool to see him in Dodger blue.

D Wright!

The green on this card pops!To me Rickey will always be an A

My first Kris Bryant!

                                                                  

I love the revival of "The Rookies"  and the fact that the logo hasn't changed. 

Score!J-Bru!

Love the looks of  the Diamond Kings this year.Very classy!