GAC X Part 6 - The Reckoning

The end is in sight... Also, our last two lousy hits are in here somewhere! I bet they're Yankees.

Running Box Total: +85

Pack 21:

Dallas Keuchel
Brian Dozier - +5 (+4 MY Favorite Player, +1 MY Favorite Team... at least at the time of printing)
Lucas Giolito
Ozzie Albies
Fantasy Gold - Mariano Rivera - +1 (+2 FG, -1 Friggin' Yankee)
Full Sized Relic - Josh Donaldson - +5 (+5 Full Sized Relic)
Mini - Phil Coyne A&G Back - +2 (+2 A&G Back)

Pack Total: +13
Running Box Total: +98

Whoa, what a pack! Dozier's base card is... worth the same as a hit!? Ugh. Worthless hit.

Pack 22:

Byron Buxton - +1 (+1 Favorite Team)
Masahiro Tanaka - +-1 (-1 Yankee...)
Brandon Crawford
Kyle Schwarber
Fantasy Gold - Ichiro - +2 (+2 FG)
Framed Mini Auto - Jackson Stephens - +7 (+7 Framed Mini Autograph)
Mini - Adrian Beltre

Pack Total: +9
Running Box Total: +107

Whelp, we broke 100! Hooray! And our hits are gone! Hooray! How does no one like Jackson Stephens enough to have him as their Favorite Player!? SERIOUSLY!

Pack 23:

Carlos Gonzalez
Anthony Banda
Corey Kluber
Jordan Montgomery - +-1 (-1 Yankee... Grr)
Justin Upton
Sean Doolittle
World Talent - Javier Baez - +2 (+2 WT)
Mini - Hanley Ramirez A&G Back Mini - +2 (+2 A&G Back Mini)

Pack Total: +3
Running Box Total: +110

OK, we're getting there... not really. I'm sure Spankee has already posted a score of like +398. Which I'm sure is totally possible.

Pack 24:

John Smoltz
Felix Hernandez
Samesong Park
Kevin Kiermaier
Jon Lester
Jose Berrios - +1 (+1 Favorite Team!)
Baseball Equipment of the Ages - Vintage Glove - +2 (+2 BEA)
Mini - Jay Bruce SP - +3 (+3 Mini SP)

Pack Total: +6
Final Box Total: +116

So we weren't that far off of our projected total of 120. Not terrible. I still am missing my Cut Signature Dual DNA Relic of George Washington and Pee Wee Herman.

One final picture for proof and we're done! Thanks for reading folks!

GAC X Part 5

Phew, furiously scoring and picture taking now...

Running Box Total: +77

Pack 17:

Jackie Robinson
Franklin Barreto
Ryan Sickler
Aaron Nola
Dominic Smith
Johnny Bench
Fantasy Gold - Frank Thomas - +2 (+2 FG)
Mini - Ozzie Albies

Pack Total: +2
Running Box Total: +79

Well that pack was... underwhelming.

Pack 18:

Tyler Mahle
Babe Ruth - +-1 (-1 For Being A Stinkin' Yankee)
CC Sabathia - +-1 (-1 For Also Being A Stinkin' Yankee)
Rickey Henderson - +-1 (-1 For ALSO Being A Stinkin' Yankee)
Greg Bird -+-1 (-1 For... SERIOUSLY?!)
Jose Ramirez
Baseball Equipment of the Ages - Modern Cleats - +2 (+2 BEA)
Mini - Baseball Superstitions - Baseball Cards - +3 (+3 BS)

Pack Total: +1
Running Box Total: +80

At least we... got into the green? 4 consecutive Yankees. That was a bad, bad pack.

Pack 19:

Cody Bellinger
Wade Boggs
Buster Posey
Matt Kemp
Hideki Matsui - +-1 (-1 For ANOTHER Yankee)
Roger "DIRTBAG" Clemens - Seriously, I want to give myself -108734 for this card because he's a scumbag
World's Greatest Beaches - Bay of Angels - +2 (WGB's)
Mini - The World's Hottest Peppers - Carolina Reaper - +3 (+3 TWHP)

Pack Total: +4
Running Box Total: +84

Pack 20:

Chris Davis
Garrett Cooper
Jackie Bradley Jr.
Andrew McCutchen
Pat Neshek
Roger Maris - +-1 (-1 For Yet Another Yankee)
World Talent - Felix Hernandez - +2 (+2 WT)
Mini - Christopher McDonald

Pack Total: +1
Running Box Total: +85

Well, that was a much more straightforward route to +1 than say Pack 18!

Here is a picture full of Yankees. Yuck.

GAC X Part 4

And we're back for our mad dash to the deadline. On to the start of the last half!

Running Box Total: +58

Pack 13:

Josh Donaldson
Kris Bryant - +2 (+2 Any Favorite Player)
Mookie Betts
H. Jon Benjamin
Walker Buehler
Reggie Jackson - +-1 (-1 For Being A Yankee)
Fantasy Goldmine - Lou Brock - +2 (+2 FG)
Mini - Ted Williams

Pack Total: +3
Running Box Total: +61

Yankee's rear their ugly head. Yuck.

Pack 14:

Cryptocurrency
Luis Castillo
Carlos Martinez
Paige Spiranac
Sandy Koufax
Robinson Cano
Baseball Equipment of the Ages - Vintage Catcher's Mitt - +2 (+2 BEA)
Mini - Black Bordered Gio Gonzalez - +4 (+4 BB Mini)

Pack Total: +6
Running Box Total: +67

Pack 15:

Mark McGwire
Scott Blumstein
Tyler Glasnow
Sonny Frederickson
Yuli Gurriel
Lance McCullers
Magnificent Moons - Io - +2 (+2 MM)
Mini - Lindsey Vonn A&G Back - +3 (+3 A&G Back Mini)

Pack Total: +5
Running Box Total: +72

Boy, I'm probably messing this up big time. Ah well, ONWARD!

Pack 16:

Yonder Alonso
Zach Davies
George Springer
Randal Grichuk
Adam Jones
Gerrit Cole
World's Greatest Beaches - Cozumel - +2 (+2 WGB's)
Mini - Jackie Robinson A&G Back - +3 (+3 A&G Back Mini)

Pack Total: +5
Running Box Total: +77

Well. I had to go back and correct a mistake. At least I caught it now. ONWARD!

Oh, and proof:

GAC X Part 3

Running Box Total: +40

And we're back. As it turns out, this is going to be a giant numbers dump because I waited to the last second. Again. But with time winding down, we're GOING to put it all together. No more slacking for this Ginter Godfather!

Pack 9:

Mike Zunino

Lucas Sims

Kyle Seager

Cal Ripken Jr.

Glyber Torres - +-1 (-1 Yankee)
Chipper Jones
World Talent - Max Kepler - +3 (+2 WT, +1 Favorite Team)
Mini - Jose Berrios - +1 (+1 Mini Favorite Team)

Pack Total: +3
Running Box Total: +43

Two Twins? That's the number Twins ought to come in, you know.

Pack 10:

Manny Machado
Paul DeJong
Greg Maddux
Jesse Winker
Albert Pujols
Chris Taylor
World Talent - Manny Machado - +2 (+2 WT)
Mini - Sonny Frederickson

Pack Total: +2
Running Box Total: +45

More "Twins" if you will... couldn't he have been someone's favorite player? Help a guy out!

Pack 11:

Frank Thomas
Marcell Ozuna
Brandon Crawford
Joe Panik
Max Kepler - +1 (+1 Favorite Team)
Cameron Maybin
World's Greatest Beaches - Bondi Beach - +2 (+2 WGB's)
Mini - Black Bordered Joey Gallo - +7 (+4 BB Mini, +3 Any Favorite Player)

Pack Total: +9
Running Box Total: +54

I mean, black bordered minis are great... I guess.

Pack 12:

Brain McCann
Willie McCovey
Sean Manaea
Justin Verlander
Rougned Odor
Ted Willliams
World Talent - Brycer Harper - +4 (+2 WT, +2 Favorite Player List)
Mini - Khris Davis

Pack Total : +4
Running Box Total: +58

Well, we're halfway through the box. Revised projection is down to +110. If we break a hundred, I'll be amazed.

As required by the rules since I suck at bribes and haven't been excluded from them yet, here's proof, sans the pudding.

GAC X Part 2

We're back with more GAC X. Breaking it up into bite-sized posts should help. Who knows. Maybe we can slow roll it. Only time... will tell...

Running Box Total: +26

Pack 5:

Jake Lamb
Paul Blackburn
Ichiro
Austin Rogers
Aaron Judge - +-1 (-1 Yankee)
World Talent - Freddie Freeman - +2 WT, Eh?
Home Run Hero - Manny Machado - +1 Home Run Challenge
Mini - Andrew Stevenson

Pack Total: +2
Running Box Total: +28

Canada, eh?

Pack 6:

Jay Bruce
Micky Delmonico
J.D. Martinez
Jackson Stephens
Biz Markie
Fernando Rodney - +1 Favorite Team
Magnificent Moons - Enceladus - +2 MM's
Mini - Folio of Fears - Claustrophobia - +3 FoF

Pack Total: +6
Running Box Total: +34

I swear, I didn't think these packs were remotely this decent. But if they're decent for me, they're more decent for other contestants.

Pack 7:

Mike Moustakas
Ryne Sandberg
Phil Coyne
Taijuan Walker
Yadier Molina
Dexter Fowler
Fantasy Gold - Don Mattingly - +1 (-1 Yankee, +2 FG)
Mini - Luiz Gohara A&G Back - +2 A&G Back

Pack Total: +3
Running Box Total: +37

That's more like it... Yankees!

Pack 8:

Trey Mancini
A.J. Pollock
Method Man
Gregory Polanco
Todd Frazier - +-1 (-1 Yankee)
Michael Rappaport
Magnificient Moons - Ganymede - +2 MM's
Mini - Carlos Martinez - +2 SP Mini

So. Funny story about Michael Rappaport. When I was in 5th or 6th grade, I was an extra in a movie starring him called The Naked Man. It's about a wrestler who's schtick is he wears a body suit that has no skin, hence the naked part. He was sick and shared his peanut M&M's with me. And my picture was taken and was in the paper. True story. I did not get the sickness from the M&M's though. Fun times.

Pack Total: +3
Running Box Total: +40

We're what, 1/3rd of the way through an at +40? Projecting out a total of +120!? That'as amaaaazing!

Here's the proof, which is allegedly in the pudding?

Oh the futility... GAC X!

Once upon a time, there was a box of 2018 Ginter. It was awful. The end.

If only it were that easy. After utterly failing to score the entirety of my box LAST year, I did vow to actually score it this year. Despite it being awful. I'm not even kidding how awful it is. I may be going to a new GAC record for lowest score ever. Yankees seemed plentiful, hits seems... not good. On the plus side, I am fairly proficient in the art of diagnostic x-ray generation and stuff. Yay for residency! To quote the major motion picture The Martian with a slight adaptation, "We're going to <math> the <explitive> out of this." Onward to failure!

So, this year we selected Brian Dozier as our favorite player. Literally as he was traded. I had already selected Brian Dozier as my favorite player but didn't post it, then he got traded, and I just opted to stick to my guns. Then the Twins sucked horribly this year. Welcome to professional sports in Minnesota not named the Lynx! That summarizes our choices at the start of GAC X. Lets get to the scoring!

Boxloader:

BL-12 - Mark "I didn't use PEDs, I swear!" McGwuire - +4 pts

"Pack" Total: +4
Running Box Total: +4

Well, I can think of literally one box loader that could be worse. You may be thinking, "NO WAY JOSE!" and you'd be very literally correct. Jose would be worse. At least McGwuire isn't a jerkwad.

Pack 1:

Will Myers
Joey Votto
Christian Yelich
FSRA-RO - Full Sized Relic - Rougned Odor - +5
Fantasy Goldmine - Hideki Matsui - +1 (+2 FG, -1 Yankee)
Honus Wagner
Mini - Wil Meyer

Pack Total: +6
Running Box Total: +10

Eh. One hit down, two to go. First Yankee. This is an omen.

Pack 2:

Josh Bell
Mariano Riveria - +-1 (-1 Yankee)
Justin Blackmon
Magnificient Moons - Miranda - +2 MM's
Michael Brantley
Trevor Story
Nomar Mazara
Mini - BB John Smoltz - +4 BB Mini

Pack Total: +5
Running Box Total: +15

Eh. More Yankees. It's like my box is mooning me. Taunting, isn't that a personal foul? 15 yards? Maybe +15 points? Automatic first place? Nah? Ah well.

Pack 3:

Jose Abreu
Ameo Rosario
Bill James
Dansby Swanson
Lorenzo Cain
Andrew Stevenson
World's Greatest Beaches - Trunk Bay - +2 WGB
Mini - Gregory Polanco - +2 SP Mini

Pack Total: +4
Running Box Total: +19

Pack 4:

Addison Russell
Marcus Stroman
Claire Smith - +1 Commish's Awesomeness
Ender Inciarte
Raisel Iglesias
Eddie Rosario - +1 Favorite Team
BEA-30 - Vintage Uniform - +2 BEA
Mini - Flags of Lost Nations - Ottoman Empire - +3 FLN

Pack Total: +7
Running Box Total: +26

Wow, a pack better than one with a hit. What the heck? And no Yankees...

Time for a picture! To save on taking pictures because my photographer is expensive...

Time to Engineer a W...

So, there are a few simple joys in life. Coffee. Being a parent. Making up African countries. Engineering. And you know who is the biggest, baddest, most awesome engineer of the present day? This guy:

Number 90! Yes, Mr. Suh is a mechanical engineer, and his son, Ndamukong, holds a degree in construction management. I know, it isn't "technically" engineering, but look, construction and engineering go hand in hand. So he's an engineer in my book. He knows how to stomp the competition.

All jokes aside, I legitimately admire Suh and while disappointed he left the Lions, and very much feel he got a bad reputation that is entirely unwarranted.

On to the shenanigans! By my calculations, I have about 9 days to actually score my GAC 9 box and all that jazz. So, I shall do just that. But a quick life update, I PASSED PART 1 OF THE BOARD EXAMS I TOOK UPON MY LAST POST! WOO HOO!

Alright, celebration aside, lets get to work. Due to the Great Hobby Priceout of 2017, we opted to get only a single box of Ginter this year (our only hobby box this year...) and my lovely wife opened 12 packs and I opened 12 packs. It'll score as one box, but we'll have a Spousal Subscore to see who "wins" this year. (Hint: Me.)

On to the packs!

Pack 1 (wife's):
Ben Zorbist
Jorge Soler
Xander Boegarts
Chad Pinder
WAD - Derek Jeter (+2 WAD, -1 Yankee?)
Mini - Randy Johnson
Stephen Vogt (+1 SP)
Ken Griffey Jr.

Now, I'm no GAC Lawyer, but it would almost read as though the Yankee's Bane Modifier applies to base cards, minis, and hit cards only!? Hmmm... that can't be right. I must dock points anyways. Sorry wife.

Pack Total: +2
Wife Running Sub Total: +2
My Running Sub Total: +0
Box Running Total: +2

Pack 2 (Mine):

Rediscover Topps 1988 Pete O'Brien (+1 UCG)
Alex Reyes
Hunter Pence
Jacoby Jones
Willie Stargell (+1 SP)
Andy Katz
Troy Tulowitz
WAD - Buster Posey (+2 WAD, +2 Other Favorite Player)
Mini - World's Dudes - Newsboy Dude (+2 WD)

Now we're talkin'...

Pack Total: +8
WRST: +2
MRST: +8
Box Running Total: +10

Pack 3 (Wife's):

Garrett McNamara
Juan Segura
Hank Aaron
Matt Olson
Jesse Winker
Ardolis Chapman (-1 Yankee Scum)
Revolutionary Battles - Battle of Lexington (+2 RB)
Mini - Didi 'Freaking' Gregorious (-1 Yankee Dirtbag)

Well, she's batting 100% on opening a Yankee in each pack... so there's that?

Pack Total: +0
WRST: +2
MRST: +8
Box Running Total: +10

Pack 4 (Mine):

Johnny Damon
Salvador Perez
Noah Snydergaard
Daniel Murphy
Luke Weaver
Garrett Richards
World's Fair - Monorail (+2 WF)
Mini - Magicians & Illusionists Harry Kellar (+2 M&I's)

Pack Total: +4
WRST: +2
MRST: +12
Box Running Total: +14

So, 4 packs in and we're at 14. That's an alright start, I suppose. No Marlins yet. I think our favorite team this year is the Marlins. I random'd it after removing the Yankees. Like you do. Going to go build with some Legos I think now. Until tomorrow, I hope!

-GG

Gint-A-Cuffs 9...

Well well well, it would appear that everything has changed... because nothing has changed. The same empty promises of blogging more often, the same false hope and the eventual lack of follow through. Isn't that just my lot in life.

A quick life-update, I'm entering the final year of grad school (hopefully?) and JUST finished my first board certification exam (Part 1 of 3... yay, lets hope I pass!) on Monday. So that's where I've been. I still have a ton of work to do, but you know what they say about work. Yep. Work. And all that jazz.

BUT! I have ordered my Gint-A-Cuffs 9 box today, despite prices rising in conjunction with the tensions with North Korea. I think in both scenarios, it's going to be a blow out. Get it? I'm going to get blown up and they're going to... yeah. I think you get it.

But for realsies, the wife and I are going to tag-team it this year, where we'll compete against one another each with 1/2 of the box and the combined total will obviously be my total score. Nothing in the rules prohibits this, except the "running pack total" or something, but I'm sure we can come up with a work around. Indeed.

So you can take these promises to the bank. It's on like Ndamukong!

-GG

Monday Night Magic (MNM) - October 24th

Hello all!

Since this is a blog about pieces of cardboard, I figured it would be apt to post about my Magic: The Gathering (MTG) hobby.

One thing I like about MTG is that you get to play with the cardboard. So you get the thrill and joy of opening wax associated with baseball cards and a fun and complex game that is challenging that you can play with friends. It's a lot harder to 1) find other people in my area that collect baseball cards and 2) do anything other than look at and sort and admire. And trade, I suppose, but MTG has that too!

Anyways, I also feel like you get more bang for your buck with MTG. So with my limited funds I can play in sealed events, have fun for the cost of a movie and potentially have it cost me nothing. That is, if I end up with a somewhat valuable card that I can then trade in or sell for the cost of the event, I essentially played for free.

Which brings me to my next point, I only play sealed events. So the two formats are Sealed and Booster Drafts. In Sealed, everyone gets 6 booster packs, and they build a deck of 40 cards (basic lands included) and duke it out to be the best. In a Booster Draft, everyone has 3 packs that you open one at a time, take a card, and pass it to the next person (and receive the pack from the person on the other side of you, sans the one card they took) for all 15 cards in the pack. Then the pod opens the next pack and passes the opposite direction, with the third pack going the original direction. This adds a great deal of strategy as to HOW to draft a competitive deck while being fun and unique with each iteration.

And if you win, typically you get prizes in the form of more booster packs. Yay.

Anyways, I'll probably start blogging about some of my MTG events so this blog isn't so darn empty (except with Gint-A-Cuffs...). In other words, I'm going to try and be a legitimate, bonafide blogger. Yikes.

So I found out a local place has Monday Night Magic drafts, which is perfect since the typical days (Friday/Saturday/Sunday) work very, very poorly for me. Mondays, however, usually nothing going on. Tuesdays in the morning... also equally not so much. And my generous, loving, benevolent wife recognizes my need to go away and do things occasionally and is willing to handle bed time, alone, once in awhile. Bless her. A lot.

In theory there are a few of us that occasionally play board games that would meet up there and play together, thus making it even more fun. But I sort of made some new... uh, acquaintances tonight that were perfectly amiable and pleasant to converse with. And it was great.

My deck wasn't particularly great. It was alright. Both of my matches had one game where I just got hosed on land (once being flooded and the other being short) and it was costly, but it was surprisingly competitive when it had mana. My mana curve was a little higher than I wanted, being mostly 4 cost with a handful of 3 cost and a whopping two 2 cost creatures. But I had a decent amount of removal (3x Welding Sparks, anyone?) with the following rares seen/acquired:

First Pack (but not a first pick... yuck): Midnight Oil. It's... an interesting card. But I wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole unless I was committed to black and really wanted that draw advantage late in a game. I took a Welding Sparks instead, I believe.

Also in that round was Lost Legacy (taken roughly round 8) because hey, why not. It's an OK sideboard card but I was getting pretty heavy into Red/White as that was the signals I was reading.

Second Pack (first pick!) Fumigate. Who doesn't like mass removal with life gain? Taken with the seventh pick was Concealed Courtyard. I was still possibly going to splash black at this point, so it both made sense from a deck perspective and financially the fast lands are more valuable than your average run-of-the-mill rares. So I was happy with it.

Third Pack (first pick!) Skyship Stalker. Um, yes please. This card is an absolute monster in sealed events. 3/3 flyer for 4 mana with fire breathing, possibly first strike and possibly haste? Yes, yes, yes, and I'll take as many as I open and get passed. Since I was already committed to red, this was the kind of bomb-ish card that my deck was needing. Mid-pack I picked up an Inventor's Fair because... why not. It would have been more useful if I had gotten any artifacts. But I didn't. So I took it. Because the rest of the cards were garbage. And as the final card I got passed and had no choice but to take was Madcap Experiment. I would have passed on it a second time, but it was the last card. So I couldn't. Still, I'll be moderately happy with six drafted rares , two of which were definitely playable!

As for my matches, I go stomped pretty good. I did get a game with at least one of the losses in each match being a very close game. So they were good games to say the least! But sometimes winning just isn't in the cards. Tonight was no exception.

Thanks for the read, let me know if there's anything you'd like me to extol upon in future blog posts or if you like the rundown of events! Disagree with my draft with what little information I offered? Flame away! Until next time, keep it in the family!

-GG

(PS: Still waiting on my wife to finish opening the consolation box of Ginter... but I suspect it'll be about on par if not possibly worse than my Gint-A-Cuffs box. There was definitely a -3 point pack I opened. Are there more Yankees in this set than usual, or are they just being more plentiful for me than normal? Seriously.)

Goodness gracious me!

So that atrocious excuse for a box of Ginter landed me in dead last by 5 points. That's a whole lot of points, especially in this year's Gint-A-Cuffs. As I alluded, I knew the box was a doozie and hence why I put off the pain for so long. Then like a band-aid, I ripped it off and it stung. Ouch.

If any of the GAC VIII folks are interested in anything from the box, let me know and we can probably work out a trade or something.

As for the loser's box, I'll post the contents on here once it arrives and probably do some sort of giveaway depending. You may need to wait until after November 9th though for it, as I have a very large deadline due then. Speaking of deadlines, need to get back to it!

Keep it in the family,

-GG

Better Late Than Never... Gint-A-Cuffs VIII Packs 1-24

Well, just the other day I was slaving away at determining how practical using a Hankel singular value decomposition on an under suppressed water two-dimensional chemical shift imaging in the body at ultra high fields would be and I went, "Holy cats! Gint-A-Cuffs' deadline is practically tomorrow!" I then promptly forgot about it until my wife reminded me that it was, in fact, due tomorrow. So here I am, the night before the deadline going to take it all in one fell swoop.

To be honest, I've been more or less intentionally putting off scoring my box. I legitimately don't think I'm going to break 100 points. My box is -that- bad. Oh yeah. A real winner. Besides, when you have multiple abstract deadlines that loom followed by posters and all these other things on top of two small children (and lets not forget the dog... or my wife... HAH!) you can see how things might just have gotten away from me. But here we are.

So my box may be the worst, but can I do this in the fastest time? Lets find out.  I'm starting this at 2040 local time. I bet I can do it in an hour without losing too much quality. You'll have to forgive me for my lack of high quality pictures that rival Spankee and his awesomeness, but desperate times call for low quality pictures. Alas. Here we go.

Box Loader:

Mike Trout (BL-MT) : +4 pts (Bacon, Lettuce, MoreBacon, Tomato sandwich?)

Pack Total: +4
Running Total: +4
Projected Total: +???

If you think it is going to get better... it doesn't.

Pack 1:

#51 A.J. Ramos

#220 Matt Duffy

#121 Corey Seager

#31 Brad Ziegler

Numbers Game - Matt Harvey: +2 NG

#5 Mini - Kyle Waldrop

Framed Mini Relic - Felix Hernandez: +8

Pack Total: +10

Running Total: +14

Projected Total: +244 (See what I did there? Put the best possible pack out front to give you the illusion of hope? Yeah...)

Pack 2:

#327 Raul Mondesi
#33 Ender Inciarte
#170 Max Scherzer
#205 Carlos Santana
#213 Heidi Watney
#190 Jon Gray
Natural Wonders - Dead Sea: +2 NW
#281 Mini - Jose Bautista

Pack Total: +2
Running Total: +16
Projected Total: +196

This pack is dead-er than the Dead Sea... which is ironic.

Pack 3:



#236 Brad Boxberger (I like this guy's name... Boxberger... it's like Hamburger Helper...)
#82 Gerardo Parra (Gerardo... a good strong name)
#66 Miguel Sano : +1 Favorite Team (HOLY COW I'M IN THE GREEN)
#7 John Lamb
#1 Jorge Soler
#254 Bryce Harper
Number Game - Robinson Cano : +2 NG (He SHOULD be a Yankee, dirty sellout...)
#152 Mini Gary Sanchez : -1 Yankee

Pack Total: +2
Running Total: +18
Projected Total: ((+18)/(3))*24+4 = +148 (Yay for showing your work!)

Pack 4: 



#169 Adrian Beltre
#234 Glen Perkins : +1 Favorite Team
#278 Madison Bumgarner
#225 Brandon Drury : +4 Favorite Player (Insert white-guy dance)
#83 David Wright : +2 FP List
#298 Jacoby Ellsbury : -1 Yankee
Numbers Game - Nomar Garciaparra : +2 NG
US Mayors Mini - Tomas Regalado : +2 USM Mini

Pack Total: +10 (Uhhh, wat?)
Running Total: +28
Projected Total: +172

I promise this pack is a fluke.

Pack 5: 



#184 Mookie Betts
#28 Elvis Andrus
#272 Troy Tulowitzki
#293 Jonathan Papelbon
#89 Dallas Keuchel : +2 FP List
Baseball Legends - Al Kaline : +2 BL
Numbers Game - Ozzie Smith : +2 NG
#252 Mini Cole Hamels : +3 FP List Mini

Pack Total: +9 (Huh?)
Running Total: +37
Projected Total: +181.6

Yeah, I must be losing my mind. I know there are a dozen negative packs in here somewhere...

Pack 6: 



#332 Yan Gomes
#159 Brett Gardner : -1 Yankee
#300 Trea Turner
#76 Colin McHugh
#226 Luke Jackson
#244 Gravitational Waves (Groovy)
#88 Jose Fernandez
#236 Mini Brad Hamburger Helper

Pack Total: -1
Running Total: +36
Projected Total: +148

Toldja.

Pack 7:



#335 Shawn Tolleson
#85 Prince Fielder
#148 Kole Calhoun
#59 Billy Hamilton
#230 Jessica Mendoza
#97 Kyle Schwarber : +2 FP List
Baseball Legends - Willy Mays : +2 BL
Ferocious Felines Mini - Siberian Tiger : +2 FFM

Pack Total: +6
Running Total: +42
Projected Total: +148

Pack 8:



#281 Jose Bautista
#14 Kendrys Morales
#116 Jose Reyes
#287 Andre Dawson
#228 Colin Cowherd : -1 Because The Commish Said So (BTCSS)
Baseball Legends - Jim Palmer : +2 BL
Numbers Game - Jon Lester : +2 NG
US Mayors Mini - Greg Stanton : +2 USM Mini

Pack Total: +5
Running Total: +47
Projected Total: +145

Eh. I seem to be hanging in there. I'll tank it here in a moment I'm sure..

Pack 9:

#311 Welington Castillo
#175 Jonathan Schoop
#229 Mitch Moreland
#290 Andrew Faulkner
#119 Gennady Golovkin
#110 Michele Steele
#299 Clayton Kershaw : +2 FP List
#294 A&G Back Mini - Carlos Rodon : +2 A&G Back Mini

Pack Total: +4
Running Total: +51
Projected Total: +140

Apparently the A&G Back Minis are tougher to hit in hobby boxes this year? I read it on Twitter, so it must be true.

Pack 10:



#341 Richie Shaffer
#157 Gerrit Cole
#231 Kaleb Cowart
#93 Mike Piazza
#41 Drew Smyly
#113 Alcides Escobar
#166 Morgan Spurlock
#178 Black Bordered Mini - David Robertson : +3 BB Mini

Pack Total: +3
Running Total: +54
Projected Total: +133.6

Well, at least I got a black bordered mini?

Pack 11:



#45 Laurence Leavy (How is this guy not worth negative points? Seriously.)
#112 Kris Bryant
#237 Dustin Pedroia
#180 Ryne Sandberg
#274 Chris Sale
Numbers Game - Robin Yount : +2 NG
Natural Wonders - Devils Tower : +2 NW
#348 Mini Trevor Plouffe : +3 SP Mini, +1 Favorite Team (+4 Total)

Pack Total: +8
Running Total: +62
Projected Total: +139.27272727272727

I mean, that Trevor Plouffe Mini... Best card in my box? Probably.

Pack 12:



#321 Nick Castellanos
#118 Evan Gattis
#46 Ben Revere
#151 David Ortiz
#2 Ryan 'Gimme Da Roids' Braun
#21 Ben Zobrist
Natural Wonders - Aurora Borealis : +2 NW
#95 A&G Back Mini - Jimmy Nelson : +2 A&G Back Mini

Pack Total: +4
Running Total: +66
Projected Total: +136

Half-way there and we're livin' on a prayer to break a hundred points...

Pack 13:



#221 Brian McCann : -1 Yankee
#283 Michael Wacha
#109 Eduardo Rodriguez
#247 Papal Visit (This should have been my favorite player...)
Numbers Game - Roberto Clemente : +2 NG
#231 Mini Kaleb Cowart
Full Sized Relic A - Corey Kluber : +5 FSRA

Pack Total: +6
Running Total: +72
Projected Total: +136.923 (I don't think I'm calculating this correctly, to be honest... whatever.)

Hit #2 down... trust me, Hit #3 is awful.

Pack 14:



#126 Greg Bird : -1 Yankee
#138 Cord McCoy
#276 Matt Harvey
#140 Caleb Cotham
#268 Frank Thomas
Baseball Legends - Duke Snider : +2 BL
Numbers Game - Andy Pettitte : +2 NG, -1 Yankee (+1 Total)
#120 Mini Kenta Maeda : +3 FP List Mini

Pack Total: +5
Running Total: +77
Projected Total: +129.14 (This is the correct way... ([77-4]/14)*24+4)

Eh. Yankees. What can you do.

Pack 15:



#301 Tyson Ross
#68 Dexter Fowler
#256 Starling Marte
#143 Adrian Gonzalez
#242 DJ LeMahieu
#49 Ketel Marte
#206 Bob Gibson
#45 Mini Laurence Leavy (Serious, eff this guy. I was fine with the Texting Champion from 2014, but this guy just irritates me...)

Pack Total: +0
Running Total: +77
Projected Total: +120.8

Yep. Zero. Nice. No picture = A picture of a bribe. Just sayin'.

Pack 16:



#129 Zack Greinke
#44 Miguel Castro
#146 Evan Longoria
#80 Edwin Encarnacion
#70 Chase Headley : -1 Yankee
Numbers Game - Jose Altuve : +2 NG
Natural Wonders - Mount Everest : +2 NW
#102 Mini Aaron Nola

Pack Totals: +3
Running Total: +80
Projected Total: +118

Pack 17:



#308 Andy Pettitte : -1 Yankees
#295 Jose Altuve
#186 Alex Gordon
#114 Randy Sklar
#122 Andrew Heaney
#35 Jayson Werth(less)
#103 Carlos Martinez
Subways & Streetcars - Metromover : +2 SS Mini

Pack Total: +1
Running Total: +81
Projected Total: +112.7

At least it is positive?

Pack 18:



#318 Pedro Severino
#34 Rick Klein (Political Analyst? Analyze THIS Election, guy...) : -1
#142 Jake Arrieta
#271 A.J. Pollock
#48 J.T. Realmuto
#238 Tyler White
#165 Nelson Cruz
#149 Black Bordered Mini Michael Brantley : +3 BB Mini

Pack Total: +2
Running Total: +83
Projected Total: +110.6667

Getting there... 6 packs, 17 points? Need more than 2 points per pack here folks... and no, my hit is SERIOUSLY not going to help.

Pack 19:



#94 Todd Frazier
#73 James Shields
#156 Jason Heyward
#162 Josh Harrison
#199 Carlton Fisk
#106 Steve Spurrier : -1 BTCSS
Numbers Game - Adam Wainwright : +2 NG
#82 Mini Gerardo Parra

Pack Total: +1
Running Total: +84
Projected Total: +106.32

Heh. Yep. Uphill battle.

Pack 20:



#100 Rob Refsnyder : -1 Yankee
#312 Carlos Beltran : -1 Yankee
#64 Steve Schirrpa : +1 BTCSS
Baseball Legends - Rod Carew : +2 BL, +1 Favorite Team (+3 Total)
#289 Jose Quintana
#90 George Lopez : -1 BTCSS
#67 Melky Cabrera
#116 A&G Back Mini Jose Reyes : +2 A&G Back Mini

Pack Total: +3
Running Total: +87
Projected Total: +104.8

That is a VERY long way to +3...Ugh.

Pack 21:



#23 Addison Russell
#241 Orlando Jones
#270 David Price
#29 Jay Bruce
Numbers Game - Ryan 'Juice Me Up Bro' Braun : +2 NG
#317 Mini Yordano Ventura : +3 SP Mini
Full Sized Relic B - Brian McCann : +5 FSRB, Divide By 2 For Yankee (+2.5 Total)

Pack Total: +7.5
Running Total: +94.5
Projected Total: +108.57

OK, so the SP Mini helped a lot. Notice the hit... did not. Stupid Yankees.

Pack 22: 



#177 Mark Teixeira : -1 Yankee
#197 George Springer
#176 Neil Walker
#32 Falcon 9 Rocket : +1 BTCSS
#210 Michael Breed
Natural Wonders - Marble Caves : +2 NW
Numbers Game - George Springer : +2 NG
#183 Mini Andrew McCutchen

Pack Total: +4
Running Total: +98.5
Projected Total: +108.18

OK, I need a half a point. 0.5 is all I need... here we go, two packs...

Pack 23:



#336 Tom 'The Mountain' Murphy (Bonus points if you get the reference!)
#191 Anthony Anderson
#182 Nolan Arenado
#145 Mike Greenberg
#61 Miguel Cabrera
#258 Kenley Jansen
#201 Byung 'Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas!' Park : +1 Favorite Team!!!
#14 Mini Kendrys Morales

Pack Total: +1
Running Total: +99.5
Projected Total: +103.6

I should make it! Assuming I find a measly single point!

Pack 24:

#344 Ryan Zimmerman
#75 Mike Moustakas
#202 Missy Franklin
#40 Jordan Zimmermann
#57 Jim Rice
#153 Jung Ho Kang
#243 Jay Oakerson
#217 Mini Julio Tehran

Pack Total: +0
Running Total: +99.5

Final Total: +99.5

... nope. So close, yet so far.

So here's a picture of another bribe?

I'll look into that Game of Thrones picture thing to put me over the edge, but honestly... I don't think I deserve it after that box. I knew there was a reason I was prolonging the pain. I haven't read the books, I haven't watched the show...

Aaaaaand stop @ 2222! (Nice!) Just over an hour and a half.

Happy Ginter Day 2016!

Ah-HA!

I bet you thought, "Boy, that Ginter Godfather guy really dropped the ball. Again. What else is new, besides no new posts from him in 3 weeks?" Well duh, but I managed to get a post in now before the end of the month. That counts as a success, or at least my therapist would say to count it as a success!

In reality though, between losing power for three days sandwiched in between both boys running actual fevers (one on one side of the power outage, the other after power restored... naturally the one that consumes digital media, i.e. power, got sick right before and during so good luck getting a sick kid to rest quietly on the couch when he's used to being able to watch his favorite show and learn about some nifty creature!) and a host of other fun life-esque events, July kind of vanished. That's OK, because today is...

GINTER DAY! Happy Ginter Release Day!

Whoever thought it would be a good idea to release Ginter on a Friday is an idiot.

If UPS is late in delivery, no Ginter until Monday. Nice. Way to go. Gold star for you! Or not.

Also, retail is going to be a week out from that too, so not even a blaster to tide me over. Oh well.

The box breaks thus far have looked OK. I do feel the need to warn people that a disturbing trend of hits being distributed along the horizontal axis (i.e. in a single row of packs across the box... so one guy had all three hits be the top three packs... the top pack in each of the three columns? I hope you get the idea...) could lead to unscrupulous card shop owners swiping the packs or unscrupulous customers swiping the hits and leaving a hit-less box for someone else to finish off. I mean, I love Ginter enough that the product is good enough without hits, but I know some people are hits-driven, so be forewarned! I would strong recommend just opening sealed boxes on this one!

Also, Gint-A-Cuffs VIII has opened for sign-ups and begins August 1st! Head on over to Mr. Aubrey's blog to sign up! It's free to enter (albeit you provide your own box... but you're opening one anyways... so blog about it!) and you could win a prize. #WINNING!

Alright. I did want to drop the customary Happy Ginter Day post and let people I'm not dead. I'll have a more robust posting later. Cheerio!

-GG

End of June Status Report

June has come and gone, and with it the first half of the year.

If I had made it a new years resolution to get back into collecting, this might make a great mid-point review. As it is, it's just the passing of another month. Still, it provides an excellent opportunity to assess where we are and where we hope to be. Well, since we don't actually have any specific aims, where we hope to be is a bit of a misnomer.

Freebies:

Listia - The Free Stuff Site. If you don't know what Listia is, check it out. You obtain credits through various means, though the "easiest" way is to "give" stuff away. People bid their credits for your "free" stuff and then you mail it to them. Or e-mail. Or whatever. There's a fairly decent population of cards that can be found on Listia, and it makes for a great little site to pick up some "free" inserts and the occasionaly cheap AU/GU. My biggest score was last year scoring a patch card of my sister, Megan Kalmoe, from 2015 A&G. Unfortunately it was poorly shipped and ended up getting slightly bent. VERY frustrating.

Starting Balance: Low. Very low. Sad numbers.
Acquisitions This Month: None
Ending Balance: 121,347 credits.

Now, if you figure the "buying rate" for credits is about 11k/$, we're sitting on a pretty $11 or so, which is nice. Enough to get... not a whole lot, but something. Going to keep saving and doing free offers to build my reserve and hopefully nab some nice things when 2016 Ginter rolls out in July.

Swagbucks - My favorite so-called 'beer money' site. Collect points for doing whatever you normally do, turn it into PayPal. Easy day. Basically one Swagbuck is a penny. Need 2500 to turn into PayPal, but it's worth it. Usually takes me a few months to very casually get there. But a few free blasters each year is worth it, right?

Starting Balance: Also low. Very low. Sad numbers.
Acquisitions This Month: None
Ending Balance: 285 SBs.

I haven't been paying a lot of attention to SB. Shame on me. I'll probably try and pick back up with my daily searches at least to get some stuff flowing in.

Others:

Nothing more to report. Getting back into the swing of things so we're trying out a few other things. An app or two here that I'll hopefully get a post/review up on and whether they'll be able to help in getting free stuff in the future!

So the only real success we can report is the Listia credits. Inflation has been terrible for Listia Credits, AU/GU's used to go for 3-4k, now people are demanding 10x that much, easily. Which is hilarious. On the flip side, people are also listing boxes of cards, like this box of 2014 Elite Extra Edition for 888,888 credits. I'm a bit shy, obviously, but how sweet would it be to score a free box of cards?

I look forward to July, and not just because Ginter is coming...

Keep it in the family,

-GG

It's aliiiive! It's aliiiiiiiiiive!

Would you look at that. More than a two posts in a time span of less than 6 days, let alone 6 months. What. Is. Happening. Could it be there is some sort of re-kindled interest in blogging and love for collecting? Lets be honest, the flame never really died out. So re-kindled is the perfect word for it. Yes, that and I could just be looking to procrastinate from doing work currently. Either way, it means more posts!

I've decided that rules themselves aren't very fun. So we'll go with guidelines, which are more flexible and less rule-ish. It is a rule I must have coffee everyday. A guideline for coffee is that it should be great coffee, but good coffee will suffice in a pinch. Get my drift?

So, my new Guidelines for Collecting:

1) Only disposable income earned through random means should be used for purchasing things. When possible, acquire things for free (or some mild amount of effort for contests and the like).

2) The only sets I will be actually collecting going forward shall be Topps Allen and Ginter. If there is a new set that is released that is set-building worthy, I might add it, but for now I don't see being able to really build more than one set, and only on the most basic of terms at that.

3) I shall also only be collecting Twins players in Twins uniforms (past and present) from here on out. I don't care about the Blue Jays or the Cubs.

4) Cool or otherwise rare cards not fitting the above description are worth putting into my PC of nifty things, as long as I pulled them myself (Or the missus, or the mini-me's...). Example: Larry Bird auto. I have no reason to like basketball, but Larry Bird is cool enough and the auto is on-card. Sharp. Worth holding onto.

5) Have fun. <---- This is actually a rule now, not a guideline. If it isn't fun, cease and desist immediately.

Four guidelines and a rule. Should be pretty straightforward, yes?

Current Projects to start me off:

1) Organize. My. Desk. It is a damn mess and has been sitting like that for months with stacks of inserts, autos, and GU's just piled up with no purpose or organization. First I need to sort them by sport, then by product/year. Liquidate all uncool football and basketball. Make room. Be more zen. All that fun stuff. I may even need to enlist the help of the missus to use or Organization-Fu to make things happen.

2) Come up with a list of needed base and inserts for Ginter Sets years 2011-present.

3) Come up with a list of needed minis for Ginter Sets years 2011-present.

4) Have fun.

I'm really bent on having fun, can't you tell?

Cheers!

-GG

The Adventure Continues...

Hi everyone!

Long time, no post. Right? Have been taking a bit of a hiatus from the hobby to focus on family and school, to be honest. But with June/July comes Allen and Ginter Season, which means Gint-A-Cuffs. And that also seems like a pretty good time to get back into the hobby in a leaner, cleaner sense.

I'll be hopefully posting a bit more frequently with opinions, reviews, breaks, etc. Expect a post in the near future with some more thoughts and rules for my new collecting hobby!

As always, keep it in the family.

-GG

Gint-A-Cuffs VII: Episode 6 (The Yankees Strike Out)

HI FAMILY OF GINTER!

Alright, you can tell that several straight hours (or so it seems... I've been tearing through these pretty fast and probably have missed a couple of FPs and the like... will have to double check) have been getting to me as per this greetings. Love that Mario Andretti hit, too bad the Commish doesn't think it's worth more than +20 points given it is rarer than a red ink auto and can't be modified by favorite team/player unless you picked someone only in that set (Hulk Hogan comes to mind as the only really feasible one...)

Anyways! MOVING ON!

Previous Running Total: +131

Pack 21: 

Huston Street #219
Curtis Granderson #10
Mini Kelia Moniz #93
Ancient Armory War Hammer (+2 AA)
Full Sized Relic Jorge Soler (+6 Full Sized Relic)
Angel Pagan #343
Hisashi Iwakuma #49

Pack Total: +8
Running Total: +139

Pack 22:

Matt Adams #120
Dee Gordon #238
Adeiny Hechavarria #282
Chris Sale #139 (+2 ANY FP)
Starting Point Cole Hamels (+2 SP, +2 ANY FP)
First Ladies Mini Rosalynn Carter (+2 FL)
John Lackey #191
Albert Pujols #198

Pack Total: +10

Running Total: +149

Pack 23:

Jimbo Fisher #268
Jose Bautista #248 (+2 ANY FP)
Steven Moya #255
Starting Points David Ortiz (+2 SP, +2 ANY FP, +1 Favorite Team)
Mini Dalton Pompey #82
Gary Brown #304
Jason Kipnis #244 (+2 ANY FP)

Pack Total: +9

Running Total: +158

Pack 24:

Javier Baez #54
Frank Caliendo #31
Jorge Soler #151
Buck Farmer #81
What Once Would Be: Vacuum Tube Trains (+2 WOWB)
A&G Back Mini Zack Cozart #194 (+2 A&G Back Mini)
Gabe Kapler #309
Gregory Polanco #222

Pack Total: +4

Running Total: +162

Adjustments for bribes: +0

FINAL TOTAL: +162

Well, that was a bit anticlimactic. So I lose. Again. Ah well. At least I have these:

I'm still missing several cards for my Megan Kalmoe Master Collection... sad panda.

'Til next time, keep it in the family!

-GG

(Also, as in next time, I plan on blogging more continuously throughout the year. I've gotten more into the digital card collecting scene, Topps Bunt, Topps Huddle, Topps Kick, and Topps Star Wars Card Collector... because they're free. I'm a dirt poor graduate student and these let me rip wax without the cleanup, storage problems, or the satisfaction of actually ripping real wax! Er... wait...)

Gint-A-Cuffs VII: Episode 5 (A New Hope)

Hi Ginter Family,

Just a couple more packs to go... hoping for some big things here. Hence the name of the post. A New Hope. Aptly named.

Previous Running Total: +96

Pack 17:

Johnny Cueto #23
Philae Probe #293 (+1 for being awesome)
Daniel Norris #105
Matt Kemp #264
Starting Points Felix Hernandez (+2 SP)
Mini Appomattox Court House #24
Hunter Strickland #314
Manny Machado #179

Pack Total: +3

Running Total: +99

Not the start I was... hoping for.

Pack 18:

Yasiel Puig #142
Jake Arrieta #76
Craig Kimbrel #5 (+2 ANY Favorite Player)
Starting Point David Wright (+2 SP, +2 ANY Favorite Player)
Brian Dozier Mini (+1 Favorite Team Mini)
Alcides Escobar #331
Andrew Cashner #246
Ivan Drago #229 (-1 Drago KO)

Pack Total: +7

Running Total: +105

That little humdinger gives me some... hope!

Pack 19:

Chase Headley #204 (-1 Yankee)
Matt Barnes #68
Rubby De La Rosa #298
Jung Ho Kang #265
Starting Points Matt Holliday (+2 SP)
Mini Ichiro #285
Edwin Escobar #63
Andrew Heaney #149

Pack Total: +1

Running Total: +106

I... hope... the next pack is WAY better than that. At least 25 times better.

Pack 20:

Doug Fister #221
Jayson Werth #28
Addison Reed #286
Ancient Armory Chu Ko Nu (+2 AA)
BB Mini John Lackey (+3 BB Mini)
10th Anniversary Issue Framed Mini Auto Mario Andretti (+20 10th Anniversary Auto)
Jon Singleton #39

Pack Total: +25

Running Total: +131

Boom! Mario Andretti auto! I will claim this is the best hit from my case. Which means my case was all around pretty terrible. But oh well. Next year will be better I... hope. :-D

Gint-A-Cuffs VII: Episode 4 (Revenge of the Yankees)

Guten Tag, Ginter Family!

I do not speak German. I'm just trying to spice things up. 

Ehhh? See what I did there? Cake in the last picture, a cupcake here? What can I say, E-3PO loves cake. But what little toddler-droid-thing doesn't. Back to Gint-A-Cuffs...

Previous Running Total: +79

Pack 13:

Mike Zunino #143 (I met this guy once. In Wichita of all places...)

Xander Bogaerts #94

Starting Points Hunter Pence (+2 SP)

Framed Mini Buyback Machiavelli (+4 Framed Mini Buyback)

Mini Jimmy Rollins #250

Howie Kendrick #91

Mike Napoli #338

Pack Total: +6

Running Total: +85

So, not terrible. Could be better. Broke that Yankees streak, so that's good! Also, I could have made BANK if the Red Sox were my favorite team... there are like four of them in there. Maybe only three. But still.

Pack 14:

Drew Hutchinson #181

Gus Malzahn #185

Chris Davis #170

Starting Points Coco Crisp (+2 SP of... cereal)

A&G Back Mini Joe Buck (+2 A&G Back, -1 Joe Buck-ness)

Jhonny Peralta #313

Ryan Zimmerman #290

Ichiro #285

Pack Total: +3

Running Total: +88

Well that pack was less than stellar. Oh well. What's wrong with Joe Buck, anyways? Who is Joe Buck? The world may never know...

Pack 15:

Carlos Gomez #166

Appomattox Court House #24

Mike Mills #37

Great Scott! X-Ray Diffraction (+2 Great Scott!)

First Ladies Mini Louisa Adams (+2 FL)

Clayton Kershaw #339

Nori Aoki #125

Wilmer Flores #4

Pack Total: +4

Running Total: +92

So, did you know that the reference to 1895 on the back of the X-Ray Diffraction card refers to the use of x-rays to find the fragments of a knife lodged in the spine of a sailor who got stabbed during a fight? Trufax. This is what an incredibly expensive education will teach you, folks. 

Pack 16:

Max Scherzer #42

Casey McGhee #74

Carlos Beltran #253 (-1 Yankee)

Kenley Jansen #296

Ancient Armory Flanged Mace (+2 for smashing a Yankee's skull in... I mean, AA)

BB Mini Jordan Zimmerman #290 (+3 BB mini)

Chris Carter #305

Buster Posey #173

Pack Total: +4

Running Total: +96

So. Didn't break a hundred through 16 packs. This is not looking good to make up 80 points here in eight packs. That's an average of OVER 10 points per pack. YOWZAHS. Damn Yankees.