2015 Gint-a-cuffs (Part 3 of 3)

Heading into the final 8 packs, I'm sitting at a whopping 100 points. Let's put this thing down.

#36 - Anthony Ranaudo

#45 - Chris Owings

#90 - Darren Rovell

#147 - Yoenis Cespedes

#167 - Julie Foudy

#322 - Mark Melancon

SP-69 Chase Utley (Starting Points) +2

MINI BP-10 Tyto Alba (Birds of Prey) +2

PACK TOTAL: 4

RUNNING TOTAL: 104

I feel like the Birds of Prey set is a pretty blatant appeal by Topps to a certain card blogger.

#14 - LaTroy Hawkins

#33 - Michael Wacha

#106 - Yunel Escobar

#178 - Travis d’Arnaud

#213 - Elvis Andrus

#275 - Billy Hamilton

SP-15 Jon Lester (Starting Points) +2

MINI 112 - Buck 65

PACK TOTAL: 2

RUNNING TOTAL: 106

Even without the lens of non-scoring Gint-a-cuffs cards, this is a pretty unremarkable pack. 

#59 - Hector Rondon

#89 - Jonathan Papelbon

#157 - Jose Reyes

#288 - Robinson Cano

GS-10 Dolly the Sheep (Great Scott!) +2

FSRB-JVO Joey Votto Full-Sized Relic (FPx1.7) +10.2

MINI 112 - Buck 65 (A&G Back) +2

PACK TOTAL: 14.2

RUNNING TOTAL: 120.2

One the heels of the most boring pack of the box, we've come to the final hit of the box, a full-size gray relic. Luckily, Mr. Votto is on the Favorite Player list so he bumps up the point value a bit. Still, it was right around this point I started to accept that I'm not winning this year. Let's soldier through th rest of box.

#31 - Frank Caliendo

#54 - Javier Baez

#158 - Kurt Suzuki

#276 - Alex Rodriguez (YANKEES) -1

#281 - Cory Spangenberg

#314 - Ian Desmond

AA-18 Dory Spear (Ancient Armory) +2

MINI 264 - Matt Kemp (Black-Bordered) +3

PACK TOTAL: 4

RUNNING TOTAL: 124.2

The A-Rod card is a lot less palatable at this point of the break.

#6 - Lucas Duda

#168 - Clay Buchholz

#171 - Anthony Rendon

#193 - Aramis Ramirez

#256 - Sonny Gray

#301 - Justin Morneau

SP-49 Joe Mauer (Starting Points) +2

MINI 276 - Alex Rodriguez (A&G Back / YANKEES) +1

PACK TOTAL: 3

RUNNING TOTAL: 127.2

Okay, seriously. What is with all of these A-Rod cards??

#101 - Stephen Strasburg

#217 - Wade Miley

#229 - Ivan Drago -1

#237 - Hyun-Jin Ryu

#246 - Andrew Cashner

#321 - Ben Zobrits

SP-29 Victor Martinez (Starting Points) +2

MINI 123 - Micah Johnson (A&G Flag Back) +8

PACK TOTAL: 9

RUNNING TOTAL: 136.2

The A&G Flag Back mini was a nice little surprise. Granted, I couldn't tell you a single fact about Micah Johnson so it could've been a little nicer surprise.

#84 - Josh Harrison

#257 - Pablo Sandoval

#268 - Jimbo Fisher -1

#284 - Jay Bruce

#300 - Bryce Brentz

#306 - Stephen Drew (YANKEES) -1

SP-80 Fernando Rodney (Starting Points) +2

MINI 309 - Gabe Kapler (SP) +3

PACK TOTAL: 3

RUNNING TOTAL: 139.2

Alright, things are getting a little gross here. I'm ready for the end.

#13 - Koji Uehara

#115 - Dustin Pedroia

#175 - DJ LeMahieu

#204 - Chase Headley (YANKEES) -1

#231 - Henderson Alvarez

#320 - Dallas Keuchel

WAS-6 Brontosaurus (What Once Was Believed) +2

MINI HBF-6 Benjamin Hornigold (Hoist the Black Flag) +2

PACK TOTAL: 3

FINAL TOTAL: 142.2

That happy little brontosaurus is the saving grace of the last few packs. I somehow managed to score 60 fewer points than last year's box. Can't win them all I suppose. It was still fun and I'm anxious to see how/if I rebound in 2016.

2015 Gint-a-cuffs (Part 2 of 3)

A third of the way through my Gint-a-cuffs box, I'm sitting at 51 points and 2 hits remaining. Let's jump right into part 2.

#25 - Mark Trumbo

#131 - Josh Reddick

#162 - Anthony Rizzo (FP) +2

#245 - Ryan Howard (FP) +2

#263 - Pedro Alvarez

#340 - Neftali Perez

SP-37 Salvador Perez (Starting Points) +2

MINI 236 - Julio Teheran

PACK TOTAL: 6

RUNNING TOTAL: 57

Thanks to a couple of guys on the Favorite Players list, this is actually a pretty decent pack.

#103 - Salvador Perez

#179 - Manny Machado

#266 - Drew Storen

#339 - Clayton Kershaw

SP-8 Adam Jones (Starting Points) +2

Mini A&G Buyback - Nick Swisher +4

MINI FIRST-4 Dolley Madison (First Ladies) +2

PACK TOTAL: 8

RUNNING TOTAL: 65

These 10th Anniversary Buybacks are weird. I guess they're "added value" even though this framed mini version meant one less card in the pack for me. I can't imagine there being too many opportunities for me to get rid of this random Nick Swisher quasi-hit with artificial scarcity, unless Chris Olds stumbles across this particular post. Oh well.

#65 - David Ortiz (FP) +2

#85 - Kris Bryant

#203 - David Wright +2

#206 - Erick Aybar

#328 - Val Kilmer

SP-58 Brian McCann (Starting Points) +2

Full-Size A&G Buyback - Alex Rodriguez +2

MINI 95 - Kole Calhoun (A&G Back) +2

PACK TOTAL: 10

RUNNING TOTAL: 75

Now this 10th Anniversary Buyback is definitely more intriguing. I've kind of come out the other side with A-Rod. I think it's hilarious that he's doing well again this season after he was such a magnet for hate the last few years. I'm not really a fan of his per se but I definitely welcome the baseball gods trolling everybody. If only there wasn't the Yankee penalty attached to this card. Add in the Favorite Players and the A&G back and this is probably the best pack of the box so far. Not to mention that the Kris Bryant rookie card doesn't even score any points.

#53 - Brandon Crawford (FT) +1

#78 - Carlos Gonzalez

#99 - Yan Gomes

#138 - Michael Pineda (YANKEES) -1

#189 - Kennys Vargas

#224 - Edinson Volquez

WAS-3 Ether (What Once Was Believed) +2

MINI 143 - Mike Zunino (A&G Back) +2

PACK TOTAL: 4

RUNNING TOTAL: 79

I wish I could have put money on Brandon Crawford winning a Silver Slugger before a Gold Glove. The odds would probably have been like 110:1 or something. I could have made a fortune at the end of this season.

#2 - Nick Markakis

#15 - Justin Verlander

#70 - Kyle Seager

#241 - CC Sabathia (YANKEES) -1

#274 - Mookie Betts

#330 - Jason Heyward

WAS-9 California Island (What Once Was Believed) +2

MINI 292 - Grant Balfour (Black-Bordered) +3

PACK TOTAL: 4

RUNNING TOTAL: 83

I don't get why the black-bordered minis are so non-black-bordered. The little intricate ornamentation they added is unique to these parallels, so it's not like they were just following suit with their base design. They'd really look nice if they stood out a little bit more.

#239 - Zach Britton

#242 - James McCann

#252 - Mike Trout (FP) +2

#295 - Joe Nathan

MM-13 Cyclops (Menagerie of the Mind) +2

FMR-MH Matt Holliday (Framed Mini Relic) +8

MINI 85 - Kris Bryant

PACK TOTAL: 12

RUNNING TOTAL: 95

Hit #2 of the box. Whaddaya know, it's one of my least-liked players from one of my least-liked teams. I'm pretty sure Cardinals fans aren't even all that crazy about Matt Holliday. And again, the best card of the pack just happens to earn me zero points.

#12 Nelson Cruz

#29 Nick Swisher

#42 Max Scherzer

#181 Drew Hutchison

#208 Jose Fernandez

#289 Wil Myers

SP-57 Jacoby Ellsbury (Starting Points) +2

MINI 156 - Brian Dozier

PACK TOTAL: 2

RUNNING TOTAL: 97

Silver lining to this dud of a pack is the lack of Yankees, even though Ellsbury is, in fact, a Yankee.

#74 - Casey McGehee (FT) +1

#116 - Freddie Freeman

#143 - Mike Zunino

#145 - Santiago Casilla (FT) +1

#271 - Dexter Fowler

#350 - Masahiro Tanaka (YANKEES) -1

WOULD-1 Flying Car (What Once Would Be) +2

MINI 196 - Ian Kinsler

PACK TOTAL: 3

RUNNING TOTAL: 100

I know Topps has to make checklists and produce the cards waaaay in advance of release but this is a really great example of the flaw in the current system. Here we have a set that doesn't hit shelves until late July. Casey McGehee was designated for assignment May 24. His replacement, Matt Duffy, has since been one of the best thirdbasemen in the National League and is a serious contender for Rookie of the Year. Duffy, who was part of the Giants' postseason roster last year, has yet to have an MLB card produced. Meanwhile, Topps did manage to make room on the checklist for Gary Brown, who used to be considered one of the Giants' top prospects. Brown's inclusion in this year's Allen & Ginter set is even more egregious, considering he was DFA'd by the Giants before the season even began. To make matters worse, he's been picked up and DFA'd by two other teams since then.

So here I am as a Giants fan with cards of 2 players who essentially made zero contribution to the Giants' 2015 season. Meanwhile, our all-star caliber rookie thirdbaseman will be surfacing for the first time in Topps' Update series, which is just a minor step above Opening Day when it comes to enthusiasm in the hobby. Again, I know why this all happened but am just pointing out that in no way should this happen.

And as that rant ends, so does Part 2 of my Gint-a-cuffs box. I'm sitting at an even 100, on pace for 150 points with one hit remaining. 

2015 Gint-a-cuffs (Part 1 of 3)

August has thankfully arrived and given me some content to post via the annual Gint-a-cuffs contest. This is my fourth consecutive year to compete; I have a pretty good winning percentage in the danged thing that surely isn't sustainable (foreshadowing...)

This is part 1 of 3 of my box of 2015 Topps Allen & Ginter

Jose Abreu Oversize Boxloader +8

RUNNING TOTAL: 8

I've gotten a lot of Abreu cards this year, though of course it's a year too late. I still don't understand why Topps has two different versions of these oversized boxtoppers. There's the standard base design just blown-up and then this completely different design. Like a lot of choices they make, it just seems pointless to me.

#48 - Coco Crisp

#68 - Matt Barnes

#111 - Dellin Betances (YANKEES) -1

#135 - Mark Teixeira (YANKEES) -1

#331 - Alcides Escobar

SP-56 Ryan Braun (Starting Points) +2

Full-Size A&G Buyback - Louis Braille +3

MINI BODY-8 Barbell Lifts (A Healthy Body) +4

PACK TOTAL: 7

RUNNING TOTAL: 15

The 'Starting Points' insert is this year's super-expansive filler. It's pretty ugly. It looks like one of the runner-up designs for the base card that just didn't get used. Having to cram the insert title in there really crowds everything. If the photos were cutout like the basecards instead of just feathered on the edges, that would alleviate some of the claustrophobia. But really, it's all kind of uninspired. You could plug any number of concepts into this design and they'd fit just as well as the 'starting point' concept.

#166 - Carlos Gomez

#207 - Derek Norris

#216 - Jake Lamb

#248 - Jose Bautista (FP) +2

#297 - Magna Carta +1

#335 - Collin Cowgill

MM-4 Phoenix (Menagerie of the Mind) +2

MINI 117 - Corey Kluber (A&G Back) +2

PACK TOTAL: 7

RUNNING TOTAL: 22

I actually like the base design this year. The asymmetry is nice without throwing things off balance. The Allen & Ginter logo is a little big but it looks nice still. I'm not crazy about the shifting border colors, though it's feasible they have something to do with the Ginter Code so I'll let it slide. The players are cropped a lot tighter this year. Not sure if it's better or worse but I appreciate that it's a break from the norm. It'll help differentiate 2015 from other sets years from now I imagine.

#49 - Hisashi Iwakuma

#50 - Francisco Rodriguez

#83 - Matt Harvey

#127 - Nick Castellanos

#191 - John Lackey

#313 -  Jhonny Peralta

WAS-1 Flat Earth (What Once Was Believed) +2

MINI MBT3 - James J. Hill (Magnates, Barons, Tycoons) +2

PACK TOTAL: 4

RUNNING TOTAL: 26

The full-size insert here is "What Once Was Believed" which features formerly accepted truths that have since been proven false. Don't confuse them with the "What Once Would Be" inserts, though. We'll take a look at those coming up... 

#51 - Matt Garza

#52 - Jake Marisnick

#121 - Wei-Yin Chen

#183 - Edwin Encarnacion

#198 - Albert Pujols

#305 - Chris Carter

SP-42 Hyun-Jin Ryu (Starting Points) +2

MINI 27 - Maikel Franco

PACK TOTAL: 2

RUNNING TOTAL: 28

Every time I pull a Dodger card, I get sad and start adding up the negative points until I realize that it's just the hated Yankees we're penalized for. But then I get sad again because now I'm stuck with another gross Dodgers card. 

#44 - Sal Vulcano

#72 - Joe Panik (FT-Giants) +1

#110 - Victor Martinez

#153 - Brandon Moss

#199 - Zack Greinke

#311 - Michael Brantley

SP-90 Prince Fielder (Starting Points) +2

MINI 69 - Christian Bethancourt

PACK TOTAL: 3

RUNNING TOTAL: 31

I'm slowly accumulating points here. Thank goodness there are a ton of Giants on the checklist. I'm glad I was able to accumulate some nice Joe Panik cards before he got called up and turned into such a solid player.

#102 - James “Clubber” Lang

#114 - Brian McCann (YANKEES) -1

#126 - Alexei Ramirez

#160 - Danny Santana

#243 - Jean Segura

#343 - Angel Pagan (FT) +1

GS-6 Deoxyribonucleic Acid (Great Scott!) +2

MINI 259 - Jonathan Schoop (Black-Bordered) +3

PACK TOTAL: 5

RUNNING TOTAL: 36

The "Great Scott!" cards feature scientific breakthroughs that have occurred through history. Some people have been clamoring for more DNA cards for a while so maybe this will appease them? This will not appease them.

#69 - Christian Bethancourt

#92 - Michelle Beadle

#190 - Michael Bourn

#230 - Keith Law

#254 - Alex Gordon

#338 - Mike Napoli

WOULD-7 Easy-Clean Furniture (What Once Would Be) +2

MINI 272 - Glen Perkins

PACK TOTAL: 2

RUNNING TOTAL: 38

And here is the "What Once Would Be" insert. These are all black & white drawings of stuff that was predicted to happen in the future but never came to be. I guess these are supposed to be sister inserts but I feel like they just get in the way and are needlessly confusing. And worse than that, the "What Once Would Be" cards are just boring to look at.

#17 - Yadier Molina (FP) +2

#112 - Buck 65

#172 - Matt Carpenter

#317 - Hunter Strickland (FT) +1

AA-9 Flail (Ancient Armory) +2

MINI HBF-10 Henry Every (Hoist the Black Flag) +2

FSRA-APA Aaron Paul (Full-Size Relic) +6

PACK TOTAL: 13

RUNNING TOTAL: 51

Here we have the first hit. It's a non-baseball one of some guy from some show I didn't watch. I mean, I guess Aaron Paul would be one of the better non-athlete hits to get. Perhaps if it was memorabilia from Bojack Horseman I'd be a little more excited. Overall, though, a very welcomed pack to end part 1. I'm currently on pace to come nowhere close to last year's wining score. Let's hope that changes... (spoiler alert, it won't...)