Opening Day 2015 is almost here...let's celebrate with 2 packs of 2015 Opening Day

Opening Day of the 2015 Major League Baseball season is just around the corner. You know what that means, Topps has their Opening Day set revved and ready to go.

I find it odd that I'm buying Opening Day cards when I haven't even collated and made a want list for the hobby box of 2015 Topps I bought! Man I'm a slacker!

At $.99 a pack I can't resist picking up at least a few packs each season. I don't really collect these cards, but it's a cheap fix. Plus there seems to be at least one cool insert set I like.

Scanning over the listed odds on the back of the pack I grabbed at Target the other day shows parallels 1:5 packs, 1/1 parallel 1:10,080, serially numbered Printing Plates 1:2,391, base card variations 1:307, Superstar Celebration inserts return at 1:5 packs, along with Mascots 1:5. Opening Day Stars fall 1:24 packs and I'm assuming (and hoping) those feature the lenticular design. Hit the Dirt, Stadium Scenes, Franchise Flashbacks all come in at 1:5, Team Spirit 1:36, Autographs 1:383, Mascot Autographs 1:776 and Opening Day Relics 1:383 packs.

Well, no Braves for me in the first pack. One ex-Brave however. Guess I'll toss the Hamilton and McCutchen in their respective PCs.

Now here is a small insert set I could get behind. I appreciate the subject theme and can't wait to see more cards from this set. The photo of George isn't too bad, but I can't help but think it would have looked better if the picture was snapped just a second or two later. I wanna see some dirt flyin' in the photo!

Pack 2 yielded a Georgia boy and finally a Brave! The other cards will be going into my trade stack. I'll get those added to the Trade List Google Doc soon.

I would think by now these Mascot inserts could be retired...but I guess there are plenty of people who still like 'em.

So for my buck 98 I got a pretty cool Hit the Dirt insert and my first Opening Day Braves player...who get this, is actually on the 2015 roster! Pretty par for the course I'd say.

What's that I spot in the corner of my eye? 2015 Donruss? Hmm...

2014 Topps Finest Atlanta Braves

It's been awhile since I've bought any new Braves cards, let alone a whole team set, so you'll have to excuse my excitement over this 2014 Topps Finest set. Being out of the loop a bit I didn't even know that Finest was having a 2014 release. Now that I have these cards in hand I'm loving the wild 90's design. Makes me want to seek out a few of the Refractors now.

#41 Jason Heyward

He hasn't even been gone for a whole month and I already miss him. I'm anxious to see what Markakis can do in right field, but boy does he have some big shoes to fill.

#45 Freedie Freeman

Freedie had another solid year at 1st base and I expect nothing less from him than in 2015.

#52 Christian Bethancourt

Evan Gattis who? Yup, looks like Gattis may be on his way out (to left field?) to make room for Bethancourt to be the everyday catcher. I liked what I saw from him defensively and I hope his offensive game starts to heat up this upcoming season.

#73 Craig Kimbrel

Release the Kraken! Craig continues to amaze me. I think by now people know he is a force to be reckoned with.

#96 Justin Upton

By the time the 2015 season rolls around I'm not sure this guy will even be on the team. I know his strikeouts were up there last season, his bat will be missed if he is traded away. I know you've got to give up something good to get something good. Let's just hope GM John Hart can work out a good deal because I know the other clubs will come knocking this winter.

An interview w/ a Topps sketch card artist, James-Michael Smith

Today I present a different type of post.  It turns out a friend of mine has been doing some work for Topps, lending his incredible artistic abilities for 1 of 1 sketch cards!  I've posted a few of his Topps Museum Canvas Collection sketches on my Facebook page in the past.  I asked him if he'd be willing to sit down for an informal interview and he agreed.

1)      First of all, tell us a little about yourself.

Well, I’m an artist/Bible teacher/martial artist who grew up in Savannah, studied fine art at Reinhardt and UGA, went to seminary in Massachussets, and has lived in Charlotte since 2003. I’m also a ginger and my favorite movie of all time is Big Trouble in Little China. What did I leave out?  J

2)      What is your favorite sport?  Did you play sports growing up?  Do you have a favorite athlete?

Hands-down my favorite sport is MMA (Mixed Martial Arts)! I grew up playing basketball and doing martial arts. I wasn’t particularly great at the former, but I always did well at the latter. My favorite basketball players as a kid were Magic Johnson and Dominique Wilkins. I was also a big John Stockton fan in college. For the last seven years or so, I’ve been concentrating on Brazilian Jiujitsu, which is both a sport and a martial art and I’ve loved seeing the explosion of BJJ and MMA in American and around the world over the past decade or so. It’s hard to narrow down the fighters I’m a fan of, but I’d say my favorite MMA athletes are Renzo Gracie (whose association I train under) and Lyoto Machida for the men, and Felice Herrig and Tecia Torres for the women. Oh, and as a UGA alum I’m definitely a Bulldogs fan. Go Dawgs!!

3)      How did you come about working for Topps?  Have you done anything else for them?

I’ve been doing portraits of fighters and martial artists for the past few years and ended up connecting online with other MMA artists, a couple of whom do illustration and sketch cards on a regular basis. When Topps was looking for artists for their 2013 UFC Bloodlines set, my friend Scott Cohn (a fantastic comic book artist and illustrator whose work folks should check out @ Deviant Art) suggested my work to them. The director for Topps’ UFC department got in touch with me and I ended up doing around 80 or so cards for Bloodlines. While working on those, someone in the MLB department saw my work and contacted me about doing a set for their 2014 Museum/Canvas Collection. I ended up doing about 50 for that set which was just released a few weeks ago.

4)      From beginning to end, how long on average did it take you to complete one card?  What type of pen did you use for the sketches?

It depends on how complex the composition is really. Some I was able to do in under and hour. Some took a couple of hours to do. I used mostly Pigma Micron pens and Prismacolor art markers, as well as colored ballpoint and gel pens.

5)      Did Topps specifically request certain types of sketches?  (i.e. portrait, in game action) 

For Bloodlines, they gave me carte blanche pretty much. I could choose the reference photos from a collection they had the rights to and go from there. They asked that I try to work in the fighter’s nationality or country of origin if possible, since the set focused on the international aspect of the fighters’ backgrounds. So I used many of the color schemes of the various flags on that set.

For the MLB set, they were more restrictive. Rather than letting me choose my reference photos, they sent me ones they wanted me to work from. Honestly, I’m not a big fan of that approach because different artists’ styles lend themselves to different poses or compositions. Many “action shots” in baseball are actually pretty awkward looking when drawn at 2.5”x3.5” scale…especially if the reference photo is poor quality. So that set was much more challenging than Bloodlines (also, I have to confess I’m not very knowledgeable when it comes to baseball…at least compared to my MMA knowledge! So there were a number of players I drew who I’d never seen before. But I won’t say which ones in case they happen to read this! Haha!).

6)      Which card ended up being your favorite and why?

In the Bloodlines set I’d have to say it was my Ian McCall (aka. “Uncle Creepy”) card. 

The reason being that I had Ian autograph it and we raffled it off to raise money for a friend who lost her husband after a long battle with cancer last year. We ended up raising over $700 for the family from the raffle of that card.

From the Museum/Canvas Collection set I’d say it was one of the Cal Ripken cards I did. My roommate of 11 years got married last week and he’s the biggest Cal Ripken fan you could ever hope to meet. So I did a few extra cards of Cal and framed a couple of them as a wedding present. 

7)      What does it feel like to see your cards selling for (usually) high dollar amounts on eBay?

It’s pretty cool, I have to admit. Seeing a sketch card you did go for 3-digit figures is really gratifying, especially if you know it went to a fan of that particular athlete.

8)      Lastly, do you have any more plans to work with Topps in the near future?

I definitely want to do another set for next year’s Bloodlines series! The UFC is launching a women’s 115lb division this year and a number of the women they’ve signed (Felice Herrig, Tecia Torres, Paige Vanzant, Bec Rawlings) are fighters  whom I’ve done charity portraits of before and who have been supportive of my work. So I told Topps that I absolutely want to do sketch cards of them for this year’s set.

Turns out that Topps sent him a few sketch cards back as part of his compensation, and with JMS not being an avid baseball card collector he has listed these on eBay.  Here are a few available:

* Atlanta Braves lot featuring John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Deion Sanders
* Baltimore Orioles slugger Chris Davis
* Boston Red Sox great Dustin Pedroia
* Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun
* Oakland Athletics bash brother Mark McGwire
* Philadelphia Phillies legend Mike Schmidt

James-Michael Smith is not only a great artist as you can see, but he is also a great all around guy.  Oh yeah, he does commission work too so if you like the sampling of his work give him a shout and perhaps he can craft a masterpiece that will be the centerpiece of your team or player collection!

JMS can be contacted via Twitter, or to view more of his work stop by his Art of the Dojo page (quick link to his other sketch cards), Facebook and Tumblr.

A huge thanks goes out to JMS for taking the time out of his busy schedule to share with us just one of his incredible talents.

A few picks up during the off season

I have cut my card buying WAY back for several reasons and I don't intend on ramping it back up until some things change.  However I'm still a sucker for beautiful cards and good deals so I may snag a few things here and there.  While I have just about cut out set building for the time being, I'm still focusing on a few players.  Here is a sampling of a few things I've picked up over the past several months.

I don't always care for the Triple Threads brand, but I loved the last auto I picked up of Tim Hudson so when I found this one for a few bucks it was hard to ignore.  Sadly this card marks the last year of Hudson truly being an ace on the club.

If you can't tell this is one of the cards from the internet only 2013 Topps Mini set.  I know the parallels are a bit tough to pull and this pink Breast Cancer Awareness parallel numbered #22/25 was under $5.  Still haven't messed with picking up the base mini or the gold mini parallel.

Chrome and die-cut?  Sold!  I don't know what this insert set is called, but it came in a lot with a orange Refractor - both from 2013 Topps Chrome.

I loved the Pinnacle brand back in the day, but I was only so-so impressed w/ the one pack I bought earlier of the new 2013 product.  I grabbed this one insert to see if it would tickle my fancy and I have to say it's pretty sweet looking in hand.  The card is covered in a holographic like prism w/ gold foil stamping.  The center of the card is a clear acetate and apparently comes in a variety of colors with different words.  This Heyward only set me back a buck.

I'm not really sure how I started a Jeff Taylor player collection, but I amassed just about every single auto of his from his rookie year last year.  So why not continue the trend with the new 13-14 offerings?  It's not like his autos are expensive.  Plus he is a great young player that when I do watch my Bobcats play, I enjoy watching him play and put up the 3 pointer.  This card hails from one of the earliest sets in the new basketball card season, Panini Prestige.

NBA Hoops I believe made it's come back (thanks to Panini) last year and in the 90's it was always one of my favorite sets.  After it was released I checked the checklist to see if Jeff Taylor had an autograph in the set and I was happy to see that he was included.  However these red and blue parallels are lame and seem pointless to me.  This red bordered parallel is #d 47/50.  Still need to pick up the regular version and perhaps the blue that is #d to 25.

Defeated! Atlanta's 2013 season comes to a close.

The Atlanta Braves' season came to a close last night with a loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.  While it was a great season for the Braves, to say I'm frustrated is a huge understatement.  I'm proud of what the team accomplished, but October just isn't their month.  Heck, September hasn't been too good to them either in the last few years.

Where do I start?  Everyone knew that Dan Uggla has been struggling offensively for a good part of the season.  Just in the last few weeks of the season he had Lasik surgery and had to play several games in the minors before re-joining the team.  That didn't bother me too much as Evan Gattis was sent down to AAA right before the end of Gwinnett's season to hopefully get more at bats and work on his swing.  However, to bench Uggla for the first playoff series in favor of Elliott Johnson?  That's ludicrous Freddi!  What were you thinking?

Yes, I get it.  The Braves need offense and Uggla has been struggling, but you can never under estimate good defensive play.  Just look at the Braves' performance in the field in game 1 against the Dodgers.  It was horrible!  While Elliott maybe the funny guy in the dugout, Uggla should have been in the starting line up.  I'd rather have his glove in the field and hope he gets lucky with one at bat.  Lord knows there are enough other bats in the line up to rely on.

I haven't been on Twitter much, but I couldn't help to send a few tweets during the playoffs.  Man on man has Brian McCann been killed online.  Yeah, I get it he caught a lot of flak when he was standing on the 3rd base line barking at that Marlins player who hit a home run in the last weeks of the season, but that jerk's jaw was moving faster than his legs were while rounding the bases.  He apparently had some history w/ Braves pitcher Paul Maholm, but there was no need for him running his pie hole to every Braves infielder.  Just drop your bat and tag the bases and be done with it.  McCann was just coming to the defense of his pitcher and fellow players.  Outside of that instance, I don't see why McCann has taken so much heat.  Granted his play in the playoffs left a lot to be desired.  A lot.  McCann went 0-13, 4 strike outs alone in game 4 of the NLDS.  He's a free agent after this season and reports state he should command anywhere between $15-18 million on the open market.  The Braves already have two young catchers in the organization so I just don't see the Braves waiving that kind of cash in his face.  It'll be weird not seeing McCann behind the plate for the Braves, after all he is a GA native and was drafted by the club back in 2002...however Evan Gattis isn't an outfielder and he belongs behind the plate.

And speaking of Mr. Gattis, El Oso Blanco came out of nowhere it seemed earlier this year and was on fire.  I remember searching eBay to see if he had any cards earlier this year and his only release was from a minor league Topps Heritage set and man on man what that card trading for some crazy numbers!  Thankfully Topps fit him into later releases, but the timing of that combined w/ my loss of interest in collecting like I used to means I only have a few RCs of his.  Gattis has a good arm and a monstrous swing and good presence behind the plate.  However he is abysmal in the outfield.  I know Freddi Gonzalez wanted his bat in the line up and that is why he was trolling left field against the Dodgers (that and B.J. Upton's offense was no where to be found).  Gattis may eventually win a gold glove behind the plate, but never in the outfield!

Pitching was also a major factor in the teams loss to the Dodgers.  Kris Medlen was the game 1 starter last season against the Cardinals in the one game playoff.  Watching game 1 of the NLDS against the Dodgers I swear was like deju vu.  I love Medlen, that kid is a great pitcher...just not so much in the post season.  Mike Minor pitched an excellent game 2 and I think he has a bright future on this ball club.  Julio Teheran had a rough outing in game 3, but is a great young pitcher and will bounce back next season.  When it was announced that long time veteran Freddy Garcia would be taking the mound for game 4 with the team's season on the line, I'm sure many of the fans (including myself) were really nervous.  However he pitched a much better game than I thought he would.  If only the bullpen wouldn't have "dropped the ball" there would be a game 5.

I knew the end of the season / post season would be tough on the club when several key pitchers started dropping like flies.  Of course the big blow to the team was the loss of veteran pitcher Tim Hudson.  I was glad to see him w/ the team celebrating after they clenched the division and in the dugout for the NLDS, but I so wish he could have taken the mound.  Also loosing Jonny Venters and Eric O'Flaherty in the bullpen didn't help  Brandon Beachy made his return to the club in the 2nd half of the season, only to re-injure himself and be lost for the rest of the season.  While other guys did step up at times and shine, there just wasn't much consistency in the bullpen outside of Craig Kimbrel.  He was lights out just about every time he took the mound...he just couldn't get out there against the Dodgers enough!

This whole post isn't all doom and gloom however.  Several Braves players stepped up to the proverbial plate and were consistent all year.  Freddie Freeman, should be the National League's MVP, was fantastic.  I can see him being the next guy to play his entire career w/ the Braves.  Chris Johnson, the "throw in" to the Justin Upton trade last winter.  Who would have figured he would be competing for the batting title at the end of the season.  In fact Chris' bat was one of the few bright spots of the Braves offense against the Dodgers in the NLDS.  Andrelton Simmons.  This guys defensive talent is scary.  Batting 7th or 8th most of the season, he surprised a lot of people w/ his at as well.

All season long the Braves were streaky.  There were times they would be on fire and went on several double digit win streaks, only to follow them up w/ horrible losses to under .500 clubs.  Just look at how they were swept by the Marlins in the final weeks of the season!  However honorable mention goes to several key players who stepped in at various points in the season and helped the team.

Gerald Laird, who has one year left on his contract, could really help continue to mentor the likes of Evan Gattis.  Reed Johnson, got some playing time in the outfield at times, but was mainly used as a great, reliable pinch hitter from the bench.  Jordan Schafer was re-acquired from the Astros, the team they traded him away two in 2012, gave a nice spark to the team with his speed...both in the outfield and on the base paths.  Injuries slowed him down a bit, but I would rather see him in centerfield than a certain other overpaid guy with initials that reference an off colored sexual act.  Tyler Pastornicky is another young guy that migrated back and forth between Atlanta and AAA Gwinnett.  Injuries took him out for the season as well, but I like him as a back up for Simmons moving forward.  Jason Heyward may not be living up to some people's expectations, but I like what he did as the Braves lead off batter.  He needs to stay in right field though...he just doesn't seem comfortable at center or in left.  At the tail end of the season the team called up Joey Terdoslavich from AAA and he had some good success.  I got to see him play in person a few times when Gwinnett came to town to face the Charlotte Knights so I was happy to see him get a chance to help out the club.  I'll also throw Alex Wood on this list.  Sure he had a rough outing against the Dodgers in game 3 after Teheran was pulled in the 3rd, but outside of that game Wood was impressive.  I might be a little biased since Wood hails from my hometown of Charlotte, NC, but I think he surprised a lot of baseball fans this season.

In closing I will give the Dodgers some props...as much as it pains me.  Clayton Kershaw.  Wow.  Now I know why everyone raves about this guy.  Of course living on the east coast I don't follow the west coast teams much and rarely do I get to see certain players play.  Unless they are playing my Braves (or sometimes Red Sox when I watch the AL) I don't follow their careers and progress.  Clayton impressed me.  I already respected him for being a devout Christian like myself, but his baseball skill has very much left an impression on me.  The Braves just happened to run into a very good, and very hot Dodgers team in October.  The Dodgers did the things necessary to win games that the Braves simply did not do.  Both teams had their fair share of injured players so I'm not going down that path, I'll just leave it as it is.  The Dodgers were the better team...in October.  I'm proud of the Braves and I look forward to seeing what happens in the off season.  Of course I'll be ready come spring next year as well.

Thanks for a great 2013 season.  I guess the bright side to the Braves being out of the playoffs is this.  I won't have to worry about missing any games the rest of this week or next week since I'll be at Walt Disney World!  I will have to tune in though and root on the Pirates to take out the Cardinals and Dodgers.  And for my wife, I'm hoping the Sox get back to the World Series as well...though I wouldn't be upset to see the A's there either.  I like pulling for the small market teams.

Oh and one last thing.  Yasiel Puig.  Still don't like him and I still think he is overrated.  That is all.

Catching up with some scanning - Atlanta Braves Edition

Below are the first part of the stack I scanned the other night featuring new Atlanta Braves that I've picked up at shows, on eBay/Yardsellr or via trades.  Eventually I'll get enough stuff scanned that I'll reveal the project I've been working on...well, since I started this blog!