Something Strange This Way Comes

Hi there.

Yes. I've been gone for a couple of weeks, but I'm back now.

In the past couple of weeks, I have barely had time to be on Twitter. I have some cards to post, of course, and I have some other items to scan and post as well. 

More on that in a minute. 

But, something very strange has been going on here, and I'm not sure what -- if anything -- can be used to explain it. 

Why in the heck was my last post so popular in terms of views?

If you're familiar with the Blogger interface on your posts to see how many hits your posts get, you know that some strange things can happen there. Depending on how search engines catalog your pages, you might end up with dozens -- even hundreds -- of hits on a particular post. Prior to this year, my record number of hits for any one particular post came on the handwritten post contest idea that Gavin came up with last year. It was an incredible 1574 hits.

Then I decided to title a post, "Bowman's Coming, But I Need to Post Heritage." That was my most recent post before today. I had all kinds of stuff going on lately so I haven't been paying much attention to the blog or collecting generally, so I was a bit surprised when I looked at my post list today and saw this:

Six thousand hits? What in the actual hell is going on here?

I dug deeper. Most of my hits over the past several weeks have come from the US. No surprise there. But, proportionately speaking, my American hits are much lower than normal. 

Here's the Overall numbers:

But here's the numbers for the past week:

I've suddenly become huge in South Korea? Is it that Eric Thames is now a Brewer and suddenly everyone in South Korea is seeking out every morsel of Milwaukee Brewers writing on the Internet? 

I really don't have any good ideas why that is the case. It's just weird.

Maybe it has something to do with my Twitter activities. Maybe. I mean, Twitter is how I got a new addition to my Dan Plesac collection:

Back in March, Redskins fan Kenneth -- the man behind the Washington Redskins site Cardboard Hogs -- posted this Rediscover Topps card of Dan Plesac. I asked him if he would part with it, and he was glad to oblige. He even threw in another of the Dan Plesac MLB Network inserts from Topps Series 1 for me.

Y'all be sure to check out Kenneth's website and follow him on Twitter too. 

I mean you, my South Korean friends. Please follow Kenneth. 

Thanks to everyone for reading, and here's to my getting back to posting again!

Gint-A-Cuffs VI: Packs 13, 14 and 15

So, reading the early returns, I'm hopeful that it means that scoring is down this year in Gint-A-Cuffs from last year.  Of course, those early returns do not include a ruling on the Box Loader filled with the rare minis that the Cardboard Conundrum pulled, which I'm pretty sure will nearly cinch the deal for him to pull ahead of the rest of us without those.

In other words, I think I'm still just hoping that the Randomizer treats me well.  I mean, I'm halfway through my box at just 89 points.

As I've started all my posts for the GAC with music, let's do it again.  To celebrate the fact that I'm getting to Pack 15 this post, let's go with 1980s synth/Britpop and make sure you're wearing your black, all you throwback Goths:

Listen to "Little 15" by Depeche Mode a few times, and you'll think your life has become the background on these A&G Pastime's Pastimes.  Speaking of which, I haven't had one of those in a while...

All right, let's get to the cards.

Pack 13

It's a Yankee, but it's a short print Yankee in Mussina, so he's still a positive 1 point.  Throw Taipei, Taiwan -- my second Taiwanese card in this box...must be the Ginter Code (which is my explanation for literally everything and anything when opening packs of this) -- for 2 points, Omar Vizquel being someone's favorite player for another 2 points, and a mini Magellan for 3 points, and this pack hits a big 8 points overall.  That's a sturdy number for a pack without a hit.

TOTAL POINTS: 97

Pack 14

Can the box keep its momentum after that pack?

It's not the worst I've ever seen, if you know what I mean.  I've got the Sailing Stones of Racetrack Playa -- don't hate la playa, hate el partido -- which is 2 points (and I should be careful I don't lose points for bad puns in Spanish).  The Polar Vortex chilled out America in January, with even Atlanta hitting 6 degrees for a low, but it's a short print so I still get 2 points for it.  Finally, Aroldis Chapman is a simple A&G back mini -- another 2 points.  So, that's 6 points for the pack, which pushes me over 100 for the tournament/box.

TOTAL POINTS: 103

Pack 15
It's Little 15.  The lyrics say that little 15 "wants a nice surprise every once in a while."  Maybe I'll get a nice surprise here.  I'm due -- I still have two hits to go, after all:

Bingo.

Adam Wainwright is not on the favorite players list, but he is a Pastime's Pastime card worth 2 points.  Freddie Freeman is a favorite player (thank you, Card Hobbyist!), so the 8 points I get for a Full-SIze Relic gets multiplied by 1.7 for 13.6 points.  So, little 15 is worth 15.6 points.

TOTAL POINTS: 118.6

It certainly could be better for me -- no book card, no mini relic, nothing fun like that -- but at least I got the multiplier for Freddie.  

As a side, personal note, I have plowed through my cards through 1984 now, so my want lists through 1984 are updated.  If you have some Fleer from 1984 forward, I think I needed it.  I have sets that I am loathe to break, and I would need additional cards for PCs in any case.  So, I'm leaving the sets alone and trying to collect the cards I need.  If you have some, let me know.

Thanks for reading, and may all of you Gint-A-Cuffs competitors pull plenty of Yankee relics.