Getting Aboard The Strasburg Hype Train Will Needlessly Drain Your Bank Account

If you missed Stephen Strasburg's debut, you may have been one of the only people in the sports world to do so. The hype behind yesterday's game was so ridiculous that it spilled over into almost every aspect of sports coverage. Not only was MLB network broadcasting the game, but ESPN was giving live updates, and websites were doing trackers. In the hobby, it was similar, as Topps declared it Stephen Strasburg day, offering contests and giveaways related to his debut.

Aside from the massive amounts of coverage, many collectors were waiting on pins and needles to see if their investments were going to pay off, at least temporarily. Even though Strasburg was pitching against the worst team in baseball, he did have a pretty amazing performance with 14 Ks. Pittsburgh has won at least a few games, and the Nationals are almost as terrible. There was actually a good chance that he could pitch one run baseball and end up with the loss (not that record should have anything to do with it). I think people were just hoping that he wouldn’t screw the pooch too badly and get roughed up. I don’t believe anyone was expecting what actually happened though.

Over the last week, his values have gone from ridiculous to insane. I mean, for pitching in a collecting black hole, his cards were already AS expensive as Lincecum, a pitcher who has already done it all for a better team. Then, post-call up, his values went so high that I am continually surprised how much people are willing to pay for cards that have already hit their ceiling. Then when you consider that Strasburg will have his first Chrome auto coming later this year, and people are still paying what they are for the base bowman cards, I start to question the general intelligence of the hobby more so than I already do.

Check out some of these recent sales, and then tell me that the people who are buying these cards are looking at this the right way.

Base Bowman Chrome (NO AUTO) - This is a BASE card. A. BASE. CARD. I cant even explain this. I got mine for 17 dollars only because I had 13 ebay bucks. Now I may have to sell.

Bowman Orange Auto /25 - Cmon. Really? Wow. This is a nice card, sure, but for THAT much? Good lord.

Bowman Orange Auto /25 See previous explanation, then add some shock.

Bowman Base Auto - When was the last time you saw a prospect auto go for this much - even some of the higher number parallels? There cant be THAT many Nationals fans out there that would pay that much for a card with no upside.

Bowman Blue Auto /250 - Paying this much money for a card numbered THAT high is terrible. I really don’t get it, even more so when you see that he will be in EVERY product this year.

Bowman Base Auto BGS 9.5 - Double the price for a 9.5? Since when? It would be one thing if these cards were like the Chrome versions that had a lot of condition problems, I don’t think these had that kind of issue. Seriously though, there is never a reason to pay a 100% premium on a graded card, let alone one that is only a 9.5 and not a 10. What a scam.

Bowman Base Auto - This one broke five hundred? Im going to laugh at this one in a year or two I believe. Some Pujols first year autos don’t go for this much. PUJOLS. ALBERT EFFING PUJOLS.

Again, prospecting is prospecting, but buying at the extreme peak of a players values isnt even worth it for his biggest fans. Washington is a terrible team in a terrible sports city, and people are acting like he is a New York Yankee. His values CANNOT hold, so why waste your money and pay 40% more than you should. Its ridiculousness at its finest.

EDIT: The first Strasburg MCG giveaway card has 55 bids on it. I will laugh if the card from Topps U&H has no differences and is completely indistinguishable. (Thanks to dayf for letting me know that U&H is numbered differently. Everyone will need to spend a ton now to truly complete the base set. Nice job there.)

This Is What Boredom Does To A Football Collector

Last week, we had the first product of 2009 hit the shelves, which usually would be a happy day. However, this product is PRE draft and is only put out to cash in on something that many football collectors can identify with - BOREDOM.

2009 Sage is basically the brother of press poop, and this unlicensed product is the first in the brown wave of ugly cards with ugly foil stickers. For college collectors, this product is a wet dream because many of those people couldnt care less about which pro team they are on. For other people, this is a boring attempt to cure the boredom of a lack of affordable products since SPA in December. I hate these cards, and I cant understand the people who bust this shit because they want autos of the 2009 players before the draft even happens. Why couldnt you wait? No, instead, lets pay 30+ dollars for an auto of Mark Sanchez who may not even be a first rounder. Fucking ridiculous. Add in the fact that they will be paying triple to quadruple the value for cards that will bottom out as soon as a real product hits the shelves, and you see what I mean. Hell, even the college collectors, whom this product SHOULD be made for, wont even buy yet on the big guys. Why should they?

I know, I know, people will never learn. Its like they think this year's products will be different. They think that SAGE will hold its value for the first time EVER, and they will be able to cash in. Sure, why not.

This is pretty fucking easy: Dont be stupid, dont be that guy, dont buy this crap, and wait for the draft. There are a lot of question marks this year, and you could easily get screwed by buying this early. Its like having a baseball fantasy draft in february, you can only get hurt by not waiting.

Lets Clear This Up For The Clueless People Out There

People, people, people, do you really think these cards are from the Jerseys the players actually wear in the all star game? Wow, its stupid to me that people love these cards. First off, they are player touched, at least I hope they are. Secondly, this piece is from the Jerseys they wore either during the derby (not likely), during warmups (not likely), or during a special event sponsored by topps (very likely). They were definitely not warn during the game.

Dont believe me? Here is a picture for proof.

See? No name on the back of the jersey, and the letter above in the card is white, not black, regardless. Guys, dont be stupid and pay five million dollars for this card, it isnt worth your time. Stick to the autos and other crap you can get. This stuff is junk with no picture on it (or a very small one).

Seriously, sucker born every minute.

Someone Paid a Hell Of A Lot For This Card, Wow.

Thanks to Wheeler for passing this on.

I guess that the Forte logo out of SPA has been pulled and sold, and it went for an INSANEULOUS amount of money.

Let me refresh your memory of my hatred for the popularity of Forte's cards: the guy is a mid level prospect, playing for a team that didnt make the playoffs, and did not make ROY. He had a good rookie season, by rookie standards, but things sort of tapered off for him at the end. Usually, stupid things drive a cards worth like what I mentioned above, pro bowl appearances, etc, and yet without that, his still went for a down payment on a car.

When he ends up as the next Rudi Johnson, I just want a big I told you so.

Cue the Forte lovers telling me I am an idiot...

2009 NFL Pro Bowl Rosters Are Up

And the Vikings basically have their whole defense in the game. Nice. Some obvious selections in Peterson and Kevin Williams, with Jared Allen and Patty McFatty as reserves, and my main man Antoine Winfield as the gem of the NFC secondary.

See, this is a great story, as Antoine has been a great, I mean fucking balls out awesome head cracking corner in this league for years . He has never even had a sniff of the Pro Bowl because the guy doesnt run his mouth like Porter, or dance like Ray Lewis. Besides, its a cliche to say that someone plays every game like its the Super Bowl, but he does, and he makes it seem like its 4th and 1 from the 1 yard line with the game riding on the stop. I love watching him, and I am so glad he made it, AND as a starter. Good for him.

Cue the Antoine hit punishment reel.

Clip?

We got a clip?

No clip?

Okay no clip.

So, even though the game is a sham, and needless injuries happen every so often, its still nice to have some of the Viking Ship in Hawaii.

Some other surprises: Chris Johnson makes it as a rookie, I dont think anyone saw that coming, especially with Matt "I H8 U" Forte not making it on the other side of the ball. Hell, even Matty Ice didnt make it, and he took his team to somewhere from no mans land. Another interesting note, Reggie Bush is shut out again from Hawaii even though his punt returns have been masterful this year. Lastly, maybe they should just have the kicker and the punter from the Super Bowl winner every year, it would save us a lot of time.

2009 NFL Pro Bowl Rosters Come Out Today, But Who Cares?

In baseball, the All Star rosters are important, now, and it should never, eeeeeeeeeeeeeever have been that way due to the EXHIBITION status of the game. Regardless of the above stupidity, its still pretty fun to watch. I like seeing my favorite team play, but its amazing to see the best players most popular players face off in a game.

On the other hand, we have the NFL "All Star Game" or the Pro Bowl, where players make up injuries not to go, its after the season when people are still reeling from the Super Bowl, and with no bump and run coverage, or people who care, it becomes boring. On top of all this, you still have fan voting, which means that LaDanian Tomlinson will probably still get in, despite having the worst season of his career.

Funny enough, there was even controversy about the balloting for this game that no one wants to play, as the Washington Redskins were accused of stuffing the ballot box for starting a campaign a little early on their website and games. As a result 8 of the 11 starting positions were dominated by Redskins players in the vote. In retaliation, the NFL extended some stuff and really, it boiled down to no one caring.... again. In my mind, there are only a few people that should go to the pro bowl, as we have come to find out that the non-skill players are just there because they were last year.

What do I think should be done? Well, im glad you asked! If it were me, I would do this as an All American style thing where you dont actually play a game that no one watches except in Hawaii. Instead just have a banquet there, and let everyone still get their trip.

The thing that I hate about the Pro Bowl is that when its over, so is football action for a long......... long fucking time, and that sucks ass. Sure we have the draft in May or whatever, but its still just people on a stage. Really too bad.

This Shouldnt Need to Happen

NFL players are basically the thugs of the sports world. Now, the NFL is getting on top of that, in almost comic fashion.

Personally, I wont collect a player if he is a douchebag off the field. I think Adam "Im a life stealer" Jones should be permanantly barred from playing again after his bullshit at a strip club. I surely wont collect Travis Henry, Cedric Benson or Brandon Marshall. I find it pretty disgusting that people continually get behind these guys considering they are some of the worst people on the planet. They have all the money in the world, yet they spend their time doing drugs and being premadonnas and gangbangers instead of focusing on the game. Seriously, im actually pretty glad that the NFL is the "no fun league" mainly because of what the players are capable of.

Its pretty sad that the Vikings are famous for the love boat scandal, and luckily, I never had a single Culpepper card that I had to throw away or sell after that. Fred Smoot was an asshole to start, so it didnt matter for him.

People like Cris Carter and other guys who are true role models are few and far between. All Day may be a top competitor on the field, but that doesnt mean he isnt a class act off the gridiron. He spends a lot of time in the community and is known for being a true all around good guy. Thank god.

Hopefully you guys dont waste your time on awful people, that would truly be a JC moment not worth forgiving.

I Was Misinformed, But This Is Twice As Stupid

So the LA times posted the wrong rosters yesterday. But, I would much rather have those rosters than the new pieces of crap.

The reason I am so shocked is because Jason Varitek has been named as a reserve. Jason Varitek, the guy who is putting up .219AVG, 7HR, 27RBI, .289SLG, .661OPS. You have got to be fucking kidding me. He should be disqualified. Maybe he will get injured and someone who actually deserves it will be named instead of the stupid ones usually voted in by the idiot fans.

From Real Sports Blog:

Jason Varitek is the most recent All-Star to make our list. The Red Sox catcher entered Monday night's game hitting just .219, in the midst of a terrible 12-for-92 (.130) slump and had more strikeouts (70) than hits (53). Varitek was selected to the team by other players, something that slightly embarrassed him, even though he says, “Cut out the last three weeks and I’d be OK.” Not quite. 'Tek is just 15-for-113 with 38 strikeouts since May 21, and as of Sunday night, over the same length of schedule and assuming a minimum of 100 plate appearances, San Francisco Giants shortstop Omar Vizquel was the only major leaguer who had hit for a lower average (.108) than Varitek (.133).

Buying Habits Of The Stupid and Uninformed

Ryan Grant can suck my left testicle. You know why? He is littering my
products and he doesn’t deserve to be printed on the cardboard he is. People are paying upwards of 200 dollars for his Sweet Spot RC and his Playoff RC, which is fucking ludicrious, and his Topps Progression auto redemption is going for more than most of the other vets in the set. People, seriously, what the fuck?

It seems like every single guy who comes in and rushes for 100 yards is all of a sudden worth a shitload in this hobby. Ahmad Bradshaw, Kolby Smith, Selvin Young and Ryan Grant are all prime examples of this, which makes me want to slap people considering that they arent even starters. This happened with Ahman Green a couple of years ago, and the guy put up one good season before becoming a nobody. People just don’t learn, and I laugh at them. The bad part with this phenomenon is that people like Ryan Grant get more face time in products because people buy like pigs when he hits it big the first time. Now when I pull his stupid ass out of boxes, I have to wonder why I just threw 150 bucks down the drain for a box hit based on the buying habits of idiot fucking jackasses. I want people that actually make a difference, and this guy wont amount to anything other than a few good games.

Any response from the Joe Collectors?

"Baaaahhh."

Ahh, right, that’s what I thought you fucking sheep.

Whoever Bought This Needs To Reevaluate Their Priorities In Life

Selvin Young SP Authentic Auto Auction

This brings a few things to mind:

1. Jersey number serial cards taking a premium is beyond fucking ridiculous. Only stupid people and God know why a card numbered to a player's jersey number is worth more than the regular numbered card.
2. Selvin Young is not the starter on the Denver Broncos as of yet
3. Prospecting only works when you buy low
4. People in general are stupid fucking idiots.

I Am Really Sick of East Coast Teams/Fans, Part 2

For those of you who havent seen the recent all star game balloting update on MLB.com, a Yankee or a Red Sox player leads the vote in each goddamned category. Fucking gross if you ask me, considering that this game actually counts for something.

Let me tell you something. Jason Varitek should not be the top vote getter for AL catchers, nor should Ivan Rodriguez. But, since the average 9 year old is still allowed to vote, and because the average baseball fan is a blithering idiot, he leads by a good margin. I would pick Napoli, Mauer, and 3 other guys before I would waste my vote on those guys. Ivan Rodriguez isnt even batting .270!


Youkilis commits error, needs new pants.

Youkilis is having a great year, but he should not be leading by over 200,000+ votes. Not a chance. Same with Pedroia and ESPECIALLY Derek Jeter. I know Jeter prevented a plane crash last week by piloting the team plane to a smooth landing from 35,000 feet, but he is not even close the top shortstop in the AL. Calm eyes aside. Also, sidebar, Jason Giambi has 3 place in the vote for AL 1B, I want to kill myself.

If this exhibition game is going to count, which it shouldnt as an exhibition game, fans should be taken out of it. I say to let the managers pick their rosters because the fans have no clue, and when I mean no clue, I mean NO FUCKING CLUE who to start.

Based on VORP and EqA, here is who should be starting:

CF - Josh Hamilton
LF - Carlos Quentin
RF - Magglio Ordonez (May actually be a starter)
1B - Kevin Youkilis (Morneau leads EqA w/ Youk a close second)
2B - Ian Kinsler
3B - Carlos Guillen
SS - Michael Young
C - Joe Mauer
DH - Milton Bradley

Ill take this team, you guys take your Yankees/Red Sox hybrid. We'll see who wins.