2022 Baseball Card Thoughts

 Baseball card thoughts:

I finally found some 2022 Topps packs at Target and picked them up.  Since the lockout has ended, I'm still not pleased with the direction of baseball.  But I'll give it a chance to see if my fears (long, slow, boring games dominated by a few teams) come to fruition.  

I've been collecting cards since 1981.  Though I'm no longer serious about collecting, I like to pick up a few packs to check them out.

Pros:

• The overall layout is nice and clean- white border isn't too cluttered
• All of the pictures I've seen are of action shots from games, and the photography is good
• They have lots of stats on the back- not just the most recent year and career

Cons:

• I'll deal with the con specific to Topps 2022 first.  Several of the cards are upside-down.  If you organzie the backs in the same directions, many of the portrait pictures are inverted.  That's just sloppy and lazy
• Now the big problem, which not only applies to this set but to baseball cards in general.  They aren't for collectors.  They are for speculators.  
  
  16 packs cost $40.  That's insane, even with inflation.  Especially when you can buy the entire basic set of 2021 Topps for $70.  Why would anyone buy the packs?
  
  Because the packs have the special insert cards.  Besides the basic set, they also have a chance for the following parallels (same cards with different borders:)

• Gold Foil – (1:2 hobby jumbo, hobby jumbo only)
• Premiere Party
• Rainbow Foil
• Rip Party – (exclusive to Rip Party packs)
• Royal Blue – (1:10 retail, retail only)
• Gold – /2022
• Green Foilboard – /499
• Advanced Stats – /300 (select cards only)
• Orange Foilboard – /299
• Red Foilboard – /199
• Vintage Stock – /99
• Independence Day – /76
• Black – /71 (hobby and hobby jumbo only)
• Father’s Day Powder Blue – /50
• Mother’s Day Hot Pink – /50
• Memorial Day Camo – /25
• Clear – /10 (hobby only, select cards only, list below)
• Platinum – 1/1
• Printing Plates – 1/1 (each has Black, Cyan, Magenta and Yellow versions)

Plus the Short Print Variations.

Plus the Super Short Print Variations

Plus the Ultra Short Print Variations
Plus the autographs.

Plus the parallels on the autographs

Plus the memoribilia cards

Plus the parallels on the memoribilia cards

Plus the 1987 cards

Plus the Chrome versions of the 1987 cards

Plus the...

I'm not joking.  Go to this link and see all of the checklists.  No human being could collect them all.

That's not the point.  It's not for collecting.  It's a lottery- buy a ticket and if you're lucky, you can find something worth much more than you spent.

But the lottery is a bad investment.  And so are baseball cards.  

Too bad... I use to enjoy buying packs and putting together a set.  But I stopped doing that- and under these conditions, I won't start ever again.

NBA Playoff Predictions

First, thank you to the Cleveland Cavaliers.  I've been extremely pissed off about sports lately.  

Major League Baseball has problems that needed addressing.  The games are getting too long, there is less action on the field, and the local tv contracts give some franchises so much revenue that they can overwhelm the other franchises.  The lockout was the perfect opportunity to address these issues- and (IMHO) we ended up in a worse situation than before.  

As for football, the team I used to support just went all in on a man who has been credibly accused of sexual assault 22 times.  They don't even publicly claim that they believe he's innocent; the team just doesn't care.  I don't even get angry now; I'm at the 'my life is better without you' stage of the Cleveland Browns.  

But the Cavs are a young team that has played great.  Injuries killed them, and the last two games kept them out of the playoffs... but they've given me hope, and something to look forward to regarding sports in Northeast Ohio.  Thank you.

Onto the playoff predictions!

First Round:

Eastern Conference:

• Miami (1) over Atlanta (8), 4 games to 2.  Miami is a weird number 1 seed.  The best record, and full of veterans- but no one thinks they are the best team in the East.  Which is probably just where Riley and company want them.  
• Boston (2) over Brooklyn (7), 4 games to 1.  KD is the only reason I don't think this is a sweep
• Milwaukee (3) over Chicago (6), 4 games to 1.  The Bulls even did better than the Cavaliers in exceeding expectations.  But injuries are going to cost them against the defending champions
• Toronto (5) over Philadelphia (4), 4 games to 3.  I have faith in Embiid; I don't have faith in Harden, and both need to be on the top of their game to advance.

Western Conference:

• Phoenix (1) over New Orleans (8), 4 games to 0.  Man, the Pelicans are a weird team.  They have the foundation of a great team, ready for a superstar.  They HAVE that supposed superstar in Zion Williamson.  But he didn't play all year, and has shown no sign of wanting to be there.  Meanwhile, the Suns are awesome.
• Memphis (2) over Minnesota (7), 4 games to 1.  Both are young teams- but Memphis made a much bigger jump than the Timberwolves
• Denver (6) over Golden State (3), 4 games to 3.  Denver's been devastated by injuries- but they have Jokic, and Golden State isn't completely healthy. I'm picking the upset here
• Utah (5) over Dallas (4), 4 games to 1.  Utah is very underrated, and Dallas relies so much on Doncic that I think a veteran team has the edge

Second Round:

Eastern Conference:

• Miami (1) over Toronto (5), 4 games to 2.  Giving this to the veterans
• Milwaukee (3) over Boston (2), 4 games to 3.  I expect everyone to be raving about this series.  Boston has been on a tear lately- it's like they finally put it together.  Tatum is awesome, and they are a deep and clever team... but so is Milwaukee.  And as awesome as Tatum is- Giannis is better.

Western Conference:

• Phoenix (1) over Utah (5), 4 games to 3.  Utah might be in the Boston role- the team that has been good for years that everyone forgets about.  Part of me wants to pick them to play the spoiler.   But... Phoenix is really that damn good.
• Memphis (2) over Denver (6), 4 games to 2. If Denver was healthy, I might pick them to go all the way.  But they aren't, and I think Memphis is the team that really steps up in the playoffs

Conference Finals:

Eastern Conference:

• Milwaukee (3) over Miami (1), 4 games to 3.  Miami will have a chip on their shoulder.  But Milwaukee has the talent to overcome them.

Western Conference:

• Phoenix (1) over Memphis (2), 4 games to 1.  Phoenix is a buzzsaw.  Ja Morant is awesome- but the young Grizzlies run out of steam against the Suns

Finals:

• Phoenix (1) over Milwaukee (3), 4 games to 2.  A repeat of last year's finals.  It's hard to win the title, but it may be harder to repeat.  And the Suns will be on a mission

Your 2021-2022 NBA Champions!

Half a Century

So... I turn 50 years old today.  

Normally, I don't care about my birthday.  It's just a number.  The last one I cared about was 25- and that was because my car insurance rates dropped.  But 50 seems... significant.

I'm a much different person than I was at 40.  In some ways, I wouldn't recognize myself.  (40 year old me:  "When did you stop eating beef and pork?  And you voted for... Joe Biden?  Willingly?").  But I also think that I've become a better person over the past decade.  Closer to the point that I want to be.  And hopefully, I will continue to grow in my fifties.

Thank you all for being in my life.  We all only have one journey, and I appreciate all of you being here as I walk this path.