A Triangle of 2017 Panini Chronicles Blasters

It's been a while since we've had a box break on here, so how about some Panini tomfoolery?

2018 Panini Chronicles was a pleasant surprise, giving me some frankenset flashbacks to 2008 UD Timeline, and making itself known as an interesting, if fundamentally flawed, set. So, when Dave an Adams had themselves a sale on THREE blasters of the 2017 version of the product, for a very low price, I jumped at it. I know, it's Panini...poor, logoless Panini, but they can put out good stuff if given the right ideas.

So...we have three 4-pack blasters...or, essentially, a 12-pack mega-blaster. Woo.

Let's get to the packs:

 Pack 1-
So right away, you can see the difference between the 2017 and 2018 versions of Chronicles. In 2017, there was a definite, tangible base set. It looks like this. It's inspired, but slightly wordy. Like Flair meets Fleer Emotion, multiplied by a calculus textbook. Not that the paragraphs are out of place, just...I don't see why they couldn't have gone on the backs. Design-wise, the base set is cool enough, though.
Also, even if this is a one-year-old product, nobody in this pack is still on their listed team.

Don't think the Frankenset-esque quality is completely lost in 2017 Chronicles. No sir. There are still inserts worth of them. Granted, they're not seeded as well as in 2018, but...there's still a good number of them, like this here Rated Rookie of former Oakland, and now Baltimore, farmhand Franklin Barreto.

 Pack 2-
All Red teams. Or just...3 Reds and a Phillie. Good to see Pete Rose in this set. Topps doesn't like him.

This Absolute insert, which looks very awesome and very 2004, is of Ian Happ, who does look good on this one.

 Pack 3- More base. I do like how the left corner triangle changes color with teams. Jones' is a gold parallel, which is #'d to 999. Nice subject for one, too.

 This Prizm insert, which does look kinda cool but a bit too 2000s Finest, is of Adrian Beltre, so I'm glad we got that one in pre-retirement.

 Pack 4- Yankees on left, Yankee killers on right.

A rookie pick that hasn't aged especially well, but this design is cool enough.

 Pack 5- The second box begins with three fairly unspectacular base cards. Don't worry, this pack gets much better.

 I still adore this Absolute Memorabilia design, even if Jorge Bonifacio isn't THE greatest subject for it.

Oh yeah, there was a hit in this pack. And it was not a bad one.

Miguel Sano, who had a FANTASTIC 2017 season...or at least a really good first half, is the subject of this jersey relic, which fortunately does have a navy pinstripe in it. This is definitely a cool enough relic, and it's #'d to 99, which is pretty cool as well.

...Surprisingly it'll get better than that in this break.

 Pack 6-
Generally standard base stuff here. Freeman's the only one still with that team. Reynolds' looks pretty cool, tbh. It's one of those that'd be better as a full vertical card.

 Toles gets the rated rookie here. I really wish he'd eventually end up playing a full season, cause he seems to be a pretty great bat.

 Pack 7-
Standard base here, though it was nice to see the poster boy, Anthony Rizzo, as well as fringe player Ben Gamel and legend Ryne Sandberg.

The Prism insert here was Josh Bell, an awfully nice subject for one of these.

 Pack 8- Two great base cards, one shit one, and a gold parallel of Todd Frazier...AS A YANKEE. Which is nice.

 And a Rated Rookie of Brock Stewart, one of the few RRs I've pulled that hasn't really made the majors for too long yet.

 Pack 9-
Rose and El Torito are dupes. Solarte and Harper aren't. Nice to see Harper, pre-inevitable contract.

As cool as this card does look, Magneuris Sierra would end up heading to Miami...to get, like, no playing time.

 Pack 10- Carpenter is the only non-dupe here.

 Trey Mancini is our Absolute subject, and...gosh I love this one.

...and then...

...this hit happened.

I just happened upon a bat card of Mike Piazza, one of the best hitting catchers of all time. A BAT CARD. Numbered to 99.

Like...I don't have the kind of luck to pull something like this, even if it is out of a blaster from Dave and Adam's. This is just nice.

 Pack 11- Pujols and Altuve are new. Kraken is a dupe. Edwin is a gold, #'d to 999.

 Rated Rookie of Yandy Diaz, who'll be getting a lot more playing time this year.

 Pack 12- All of these are new for me, and I especially like the Mauer and Molina.

And one last Prism insert of Ryan Zimmerman, who...managed to outlast Bryce Harper on the Nats. Which I can't believe.

So...those were a bunch of 2017 Chronicles blasters. I still prefer the 2018 version, for its frankenset-ness, but...this version had some cool inserts, that AWESOME Absolute Memorabilia design, and two really nice hits. So I'd say that break was a net-win.

I did manage to get another box from D&A's...and it'll go up within the week. I did...sort of well on that one as well.

Anyone Can Pitch: The Rest of 2018

I did a bunch of these Anyone Can Pitch posts throughout the year, as this year ended up becoming, unofficially, the year of the pitching hitter. Since 2018 is over, I'll just unload the rest of them here. Besides, I've got another original custom series on the horizon, and I wanna get to those as soon as I can. I like posting consistently in January, and I'd love to keep it going.

Anyway, one of the more high-profile hitters to try the mound this year was Mark Reynolds, the journeyman home-run basher who mainly succeeded off the bench this year. Reynolds had a simple enough job- close out a loss against the Marlins. He faced one batter, and got him out. Not bad for his sole pitching appearance.

 Francisco Arcia had the starrier appearance, becoming the first player to pitch, catch, and hit a home run in the same game. Granted, said game was a loss to Oakland, and Arcia's pitching appearance consisted of two home runs and three earned runs over 2 innings. Perhaps he'll have better luck as a catching option next year for Anaheim.

 This year, Tommy La Stella had a rival for 'best bench player', and that was former Dodgers farmhand and current Braves specialist Charlie Culberson. Pitching an inning against Colorado, he also left with a 9.00 ERA, with two hits and one earned run, but at least he was a bit more useful at the plate.

 Meanwhile, Matt Davidson of Chicago became another example of a designated hitter who just had to wind up pitching, next to Kendrys Morales. Davidson, however, proved to be a reliable last-resort pitching option, averaging a 0 ERA in three appearances, giving up only one hit, and two strikeouts, over the course of 11 batters. One could even say that Davidson had a better average as a pitcher than he did as a hitter.

 Daniel Descalso was one of many Arizona position players to try pitching this year, including Jeff Mathis and Alex Avila. But Descalso, the veteran middle-infielder, was the only one with two appearances, though his season was a mixed bag, with 2 strikeouts and 3 earned runs across 15 batters.

 Mitch Garver had a nice come-up this year, stepping in for Jason Castro at catcher and making a name for himself as an option for 2019. Garver's pitching tenure, against Cleveland, wasn't much to write home about, but in an inning of work he only allowed one hit, and left with a 0 ERA. Just...no strikeouts or anything. So just as ho-hum as a lot of the rest of Minnesota's season.

 Brandon Guyer, the Indians' backup infielder of this era, had a similarly ho-hum pitching appearance himself, only pitching an inning, leaving with a 0 era, and leaving all the putouts to other defenders. At least he can get the job done.

 Meanwhile in Philadelphia, Scott Kingery, one of the more notable rookie misfires in Philly since...uh, take your pick, had an equally disastrous inning and a third against the Mets, leaving with a bloated 13.50 ERA, thanks to 4 earned runs including 2 home runs. I sincerely hope this guy can learn to hit at the major league level, as he does have the right idea.

...And then there's Anthony Rizzo. Beloved Chicago power-hitter and team-saver Anthony Rizzo. He pitched a little this year! I mean...he did only face one batter...and somebody else managed to get him out. But still, Cubs fans got to see this guy pitch...which has got to be kinda cool, right?

I'll probably bring this one back next year. I do, however, need to revamp the design of this AND Stars are Out. They're both a bit too 2015.

Jose Rijo's Eyewear Emporium

"Hi there, I'm Jose Rijo! You may know me as a World Series Champion, and a Cincinnati Reds legend, as well as a fireballer on the mound. 

But what you may not know about me is that I LOVE sunglasses. They're the coolest. The way I see it, you become a completely different person where you're wearing the right kind of eyewear. It changes the way you see the world.

...so to speak. HEE HEE HEE HEE...

Let me show you some of the different types of eyewear we've got on display here at Jose Rijo's Eyewear Emporium...

FUNKY WIPE TO:

 GREETINGS, MISTER BOND!

No, don't worry, it's only me. Jose Rijo. But with these glasses, I FEEL like an old-school super villain. I could blow up a building, and these glasses would just...allow me. How weird is that?

Plus, these are kinda purple on the lenses, yet they're still good to wear as sunglasses, because..I mean, what CAN'T they do? Am I right...

hehehehhhhh...okay, next pair-

FUNKIER WIPE TO:

 HAPPY MARDI GRAS, Y'ALL.

...Look at the wings on this thing. Look at the shine, man. That is some premium cool on here, and this can be yours, for...um...okay, I honestly forget the price, but it's definitely cheaper than 20 dollars. I think.

And again, these are great for sunny days, winter days, bar mitzvahs, and just looking cool whenever you want. We've got dozens and dozens of styles of sunglasses, monocles, and general eyewear, that can fit the whole family.

AND DON'T JUST TAKE MY WORD FOR IT! Listen to these MLB players talk about what Jose Rijo's Eyewear Emporium has done for them!

CUT TO:

"Yeah. Uh. Jose made a real good deal with me on these sunglasses. Real good deal. I may have given him something else in return, but uh...look, these glasses are great. Look at the, uh, look at the cut on this lens. Look at the way that thing curves. That is cool, right?"

CUT TO:

"Jose? Yeah, he's one cool dude, right? He gave me these for helping him out with, uh...jeez, I forget. But he gave 'em to me for practically nothing. But I could have paid, like, 30 bucks for it. You ever seen shades this yellow? Looking through these...it's like you're seeing the future.

Swear to God, some kid from Chicago goes and steals these shades from me? He's a dead man."

CUT TO:

"Yeah, funny story. I was the one who got Jose into the eyewear business. Me and Quisenberry had a shades business going in KC for a while. He came through in a series with Oakland, wanted to see what we had. And we showed him. And his eyes LIT UP, man. I haven't seen his eyes since, cause he's always got 'em covered with good, good sunglasses. Couple years later, Mets do a series in Cincy, he takes me to his dugout, says "I wanna show you something". And he gives me this pair. Reflectors. Aviators. Scary good price, too. Jose has my respect, man."

DISSOLVE BACK TO:

So come on down to Jose Rijo's Eyewear Emporium, located in beautiful Cincinnati, Ohio...in the plaza with, uh...the Skyline Chili...and the Little Caesars. Yeah. That one.

Come on down, get some shades, have a good time, or my name isn't...Jose Rijo."

VO: JOSE RIJO'S EYEWEAR EMPORIUM. LOCATED RIGHT NEXT TO JOSE RIJO'S SUPERSOAKER WAREHOUSE]

And Now, A Word from Jerald Clark and His Bats

"Hi. I'm Jerald Clark.

These are my bats.

I like that black one over there. On the left. It's smooth. Real smooth. One time, I line-drived a man's shin clean open. He needed surgery and everything. I like that one, but...I don't use it often. You know, you wanna keep the knee-splitting one to a special occasion.

This plain one's pretty nice too. Custom wood. Got it from a tree in Denver, 20 minutes from the stadium. Y'see, when you're getting wood to make bats from trees, best to do it in the middle of the night, so they don't see you.

You don't want them to see you.

This is the one I use most often, when they start me. I go ahead and I whack at that thing, man. I try and make like that tree and fall on that pitcher's house.

I mean...uh, yeah.

This bat-holder, that was made custom for me. I got it made especially by, uh...this guy, that...he used to work at an IKEA. And he...you know, he studied how they made those little, um...bat holders. At IKEA. And he studied those, and he made one himself.

...I mean, it kinda LOOKS like this guy stole a bat-holder from IKEA, but no, that...that didn't happen. No.

This one to the far right...that thing is SWEET, man. You what I'm gonna do next year? I'm gonna go to Japan, right? Take only this bat. And just annihilate all the Japanese pitching. With this here bat. This thing is on another level, man. Tougher than American pitchers, tougher than Japanese...tougher than...Scandinavian? I don't know, man, it's a tough-ass bat.

Just you wait. This bat's gonna set Japan on fire.

...And this rack, too. I'm gonna take this bat rack with me. To, uh, to Japan. I'm gonna put it in my suitcase. They're cool with that. Honest. They're real cool with that. That's one of their exports, Japan. Custom made bat racks. That's their industry.

Sometimes I like to look at 'em all. My bats. I like to look at 'em, and I think...'these are MINE. I OWN these. I hit...so many hits with this thing. I DID that.'

Sometimes you just have to own stuff like that. I did all this. And if this is all I end up doing, then...then that's enough.

Isn't it?"

A Four-Pack Blister of 2018 Panini Donruss, or Why Football Cards Again?

Hello, football cards. It's been a while.

Those of you who are longtime readers of the blog (all...like, 2 of you), you'll remember that from 2010 until somewhere around late 2014, there was a lot of football card content on the blog. Why? Because I had enough time and energy to remember all of the good players, and collect the ones I wanted. Also, I did get a ton of hobby boxes of current Panini products from a top-secret source (who...hasn't made it to the merch room in a while), and got a few consecutive Topps flagship factory sets. So I had the materials to collect, but once I hopped off to college, I lost the time. And I collected less and less football, and the amount of people to keep track of grew and grew.

So...I haven't really collected a ton of football cards since roughly 2015. Since Topps lost their license. And then, on Christmas Day, my dad figured he'd throw in a blister of 2018 Donruss. Because it'd been a while.

So...here I am with four packs of Donruss, with a bonus card of Clay Matthews, Packers hero. I'm not gonna know a lot of these players, so I'll use pro-football reference for help.

 Pack 1-
Kyle Long, who is an offensive tackle for Da Bears, and is expected to play against the Eagles on Sunday.
Kevin Byard's an All-Pro safety from Memphis.
Jacquizz Rodgers I have heard of, because...you don't forget that name. Used to be a steady running back for Atlanta, now stuck in Tampa.
And Brandin Cooks, who I have heard of, is one of the chief receivers of a strong, playoff-bound Rams team. Glad he's not on the Pats anymore.

 Two players I have DEFINITELY heard of. And yes, there is a reason I have them stuck next to each other. Because one took down the other earlier this year.
Always great to get Foles cards. Always great.
I should talk about the design, and it's...alright? Kind of forgettable, though I do like that they're trying for the 84 Donruss white lines down there. It's striking enough, but very minimal.

 Card backs are solid. There are career stats, but like usual with Panini the year splits are truncated. Definitely colorful and simple enough, if...a bit drab.

 Rookies at least look cool. Very '07 Bowman. Keke Coutee is essentially a backup receiver, but at least he's on the Texans.
DJ Chark is another backup, but he looks pretty damned cool on this Gridiron Kings insert. Very stylized. Helps that there are logos.

 Pack 2-
Kyle Juszczyk is a three-time pro-bowler fullback, who seems to be one of the highlights of the now perpetually-dreary niners rosters.
Jordan Howard was a pro-bowler in his first season in Chicago, and has been a steady mainstay as one of Mitchell Trubisky's favorite running back targets.
Evan Engram is a tight end for the Giants that's losing some serious playing time lately. Also, kinda odd that these Press Proof parallels aren't numbered or anything.
And AJ McCarron, who I had heard of, is the former Alabama QB who spent four years as Andy Dalton's backup...before becoming Derek Carr's.

 Julian Edelman's another one of those stinking Pats, though at least it's another one I've heard of.
Courtland Sutton had a fine enough rookie year, but it's too early to tell if he'll become a mainstay.

One thing I do like about this base set is the peppering of legends, like Bradshaw, along with inserts that occasionally feature other Hall of Famers. A Steelers hot pack!

 Pack 3-
Like a lot of rookies in this set, Marcell Ateman didn't see a lot of time this year.
Jimmy Smith is one of the few remaining ring-holders still left in Baltimore. Hopefully he keeps things up.
Kawann Short is an intimidating defensive tackle from Carolina. Again, a lot of people warrant cards these days, and I'm not sure which ones I'd choose to collect.

 Thankfully I'd heard of all four of these guys. Joe Klecko is an odd choice for a legend subset in a modern base set, but I'll take it. Faulk is welcome.
And then there's Agholor and Brees, two guys I love getting cards of. So I'm not complaining here.

 This year's Donruss throwback insert was from the 88D set, which looks relatively cool, especially with Matthew Stafford fitting right in with the blue.

 Pack 4-
George Kittle's a tight end that made a pro bowl this year.
Rashann Evans is an inside linebacker who was another rookie miss for Panini.
Anthony Barr is a four time linebacker pro-bowler with Minnesota
Michael Crabtree,  contrary to popular belief, is still playing. He's also carrying on the legacy of Donruss/Panini not finding new photos as of press time.
Tyrell Williams is a solid receiver for LA.
And Devin Funchess is a strong Carolina receiver whose 2018 numbers paled in comparison to his 2017 ones.

These last two cards prove that this blister was meant for a Steelers fan, with JJ's younger bro and a super-cool Legends Series insert of Rod Woodson.

So...this was interesting, if anything. Definitely enjoyed seeing what the product looks like now. I don't know if it's enough to get me back into collecting football, but it definitely amused me.