Allen and Ginter!!

I have none!!

But I was feeling left out, not posting anything about the set like everyone else, so I thought I would at least talk about what I'll be after this year.

First, I will get a Cubs team set. Actually, I already bought one and am just waiting for Mr. Mailman to do his thing. There are only eleven Cubs in the set this year: Alfonso Soriano, Starlin Castro, Ryan Dempster, Matt Garza, Carlos Zambrano, Marlon Byrd, Geovany Soto, Carlos Marmol, Kosuke Fukudome, Aramis Ramirez, and Carlos Pena. And because the Cubs are so lousy this year and there aren't a lot of people interested in collecting them, not a single Cub is among the shortprints #301-350. The good news there is that I save a few bucks. But I'd rather spend the money and have the team doing better.

Two insert sets also have a Starlin Castro card; Hometown Heroes and Baseball Highlight sketches. I'm on the prowl for them. I'll probably wait a few weeks and get them from Sportlots.

The crazy part this year is the relics. I've got all of the Cubs relics since Ginter first came out in 2006. Most years it was one or two, three at the most. But last year there were five. And this year, it's gone nuts. Even though there are only eleven base set Cubs, there are relics for Ten. That is just ridiculous. What's even more ridiculous is that I'm going to go after all ten. I just can't stand to have a hole in the collection. I hope that Topps starts to realize how stupid it is to have so many of these so-called "hits." A Blake DeWitt jersey card? Really?

Last night I was able to get seven of the ten. They came from only two sellers, so that helps keep the shipping down. And most were pretty cheap. The only one I paid more than $3 for was Starlin Castro. I've got the other three in my sights, and hope to have them by the end of the weekend.

As I get these in hand, I'll get them on the blog. Stay tuned.