Random cardboard picked up

2014 Bowman Platinum Jonathan Gray #BPP 12
2014 Bowman Platinum Henry Owens #BPP 25
2014 Donruss Austin Jackson #293 - Silver Press Proof serial #'d 083/199

2014 Donruss Mat Latos #284 - Gold Press Proof serial #'d 64/99
2014 Donruss Salvador Perez #299 - Stat Line serial #'d 232/292
2014 Donruss Trevor Rosenthal #340 - Stat Line serial #'d 094/263
2014 Donruss Avisail Garcia #278 - Stat Line Gold serial #'d 134/289

2014 Donruss David Price #344 - Stat Line Gold serial #'d 075/400
2014 Donruss Yan Gomes #13 - Elite
2014 Donruss Evan Longoria #48 - Elite
2014 Donruss Bryce Harper #56 - Elite 
2014 Donruss Bryce Harper #2 - Elite Series serial #'d 120/999
2014 Donruss Chris Sale #10 - The Elite Series serial #'d 127/999
2014 Donruss Adrian Beltre #1 - Elite Dominators serial #'d 168/999
2014 Donruss Eric Hosmer #9 - Elite Dominators serial #'d 187/999
2014 Donruss Miguel Cabrera / Chris Sale #7 - Face 2 Face serial #'d 067/999
2014 Donruss Johnny Cueto / Troy Tulowitzki #11 - Face 2 Face serial #'d 625/999

2014 Topps Finest Eric Hosmer #67

2014 Topps Finest Justin Upton #96
2014 Topps Inception football Manti Te'o #83
2014 Topps Pro Debut Hunter Harvey #66
2014 Upper Deck SP Authentic golf Paula Creamer #6
2014 Upper Deck SP Authentic golf Natalie Gulbis #15
2014 Upper Deck SP Authentic golf Paula Creamer #66

Sorting through the various baseball card releases

It maybe the time of the year where the MLB / MiLB season is basically a done deal and until things pick up again in the spring - I might have to turn to filling my time with picking up the random, cardboard offerings put out by mostly Topps, but also by Panini [so maybe I won't get bored and I'll have new cards to try and get autographed in-person in 2014].

I'd like to be able to pick up a couple [or really several] boxes of something, but that isn't going to happen - trying to account what I'm planning to accumulate with regards to recently recent products.

Out already
2013 Bowman Chrome - looking to pick up a base prospect set.
2013 Topps Chrome - looking to pick up a base set, though is there any notable rookies besides Yasiel Puig? Don't really need a bunch of redundant veteran cards.
2013 Topps Finest - though it's basically redundant vets and maybe some young stars, I like the 1993 Finest themed inserts and maybe looking to get at least a couple if random singles once the novelty wears off in a month or so. I can't imagine buying even one mini-box [about $50 or so] for this stuff. 
2013 Topps Update - maybe I'd picked up a blaster box, hanger box, hanger rack / jumbo pack by now, but maybe I'd settle on picking up a base set and call it a day.
2013 Topps Update Chrome - not really an intriguing product to me, though it may actually entice me to try out a Topps Mega Box anyway.

It seems the value really isn't there with only two 4 card packs of this Topps Update Chrome in a box with five 8-card 'filler packs' of 2013 Topps Update - it isn't like Topps Update Chrome is going something really sought after once the novelty dies down, though there might be some nice pulls as far as parallels.   

Upcoming
2013 Bowman Draft - definitely looking to get a box or two of this, maybe a base set, maybe related inserts and some loose hobby packs, retail blaster boxes and maybe a hanger rack / jumbo packs.
2013 Panini Prizm Perennial Draft Picks - looking to pick up some loose packs, a base set and maybe related inserts if it has players that pique my interest.  
2013 Panini Elite Extra Edition - looking to pick up some loose packs, a base set and maybe related inserts if it has players that pique my interest.

My take on 2009 Topps

I'm wasn't not going to buy any 2009 Topps or Upper Deck until the hype dies down - with many bloggers busting random packs left and right to give their take, I don't want to succumb to the 'peer pressure' until the excitement over new stuff dies down a little.

Despite finding nothing marked '2009' in two visits to Target - I was able go to a place where I sometimes get my cardboard fix from and cherry pick cards out of some commons bin to get my fill [instead of buying loose packs].

The prices ranged from 25 for $1, a quarter and a dime each - too bad,I was only able to find loose 2009 Topps cards and not Upper Deck.

I don't see how this year's Topps is different from past years - there is a certain feeling about base Topps cards that I'm indifferent to. Maybe it is the fact after a month, every retail outlet, hobby shop, Major League Baseball team store [ones they have inside a MLB stadium or one in an MLB city] and some card show booths will be carrying these cards. For collectors, I suppose having a look at base brand Topps each year is a rite of passage.

The silver on black 'name plates' makes players' names hard to read infront of the card - with 2008 Upper Deck, you can get away with it, because the full-bleed images were sharp enough to stand alone. With Topps, any little design flaw is exposed as an excuse [for me] not to pick up anymore cards.

However, there are some things I liked as I glanced at random cards - it seems there was a more conscious effort by Topps to include action shots [though getting some from 'different' angles like the Kevin Youkilis card is kind of distracting] as opposed to merely 'pitching, hitting and fielding' shots. There are guys making awesome catches in the outfield [Juan Pierre, Alex Rios, Brandon Moss], flying in the air [Youkilis, Jack Wilson], directing traffic [Jose Guillen], et al.

I saw the Turkey Red inserts and it mimicked the 2005/2006 Topps Turkey Red backs - as opposed to some kind of 'vanilla' Trading Card History insert style back. These cards will be a nice to find in random Topps packs.