Someone explain this please

This is a Mike Minor card from 2010 Topps Update.

It is a rookie card and has an official MLB RC logo on it. 2010 Topps Update was released on October 21st, 2010.

This is a Mike Minor card from 2010 Bowman Platinum.

It is a prospect card and thus not an official rookie card. 2010 Bowman Platinum was released on December 6th, 2010.

What the hell Topps??

Rack Pack Madness Part 1 - 2010 Topps Update

Throughout the latter months of 2010, I was compulsively picking up Rack Packs of various Topps products from retail establishments at an alarming rate. There were several reasons for this. Topps' ruination of blasters with patches and parallels, a lack of compelling products worth dropping more than a fiver on, interesting shiny gimmickry on the Chromy packs and my gnawing addiction that precludes me from walking out of a Target without some cardboard. I need to get this all out of my system so as not to ruin another year blowing cash on retail wax so I'm going to showcase some racks this week. Here's a run of consecutive cards out of a rack of 2010 Update that I found interesting.

Adam Wainwright workout joisey Mojo. Former Brave. We got a year out of JD Drew at least.

J-Hey and formed Atlanta Hawk draft pick Dave Winfield.

Spahnnie Tale of the Game.

Stupid Attax card that almost ruins the run. I remembered that Markie Mark played high school ball in Georgia so this tenuous Atlanta connection keeps the streak alive.

Ok, as much as I've bagged on them in the past year it is really cool that they picked the Lou Burdette switcheroo card for the Yo Momma set.

Formeerd Brave pitcher who was traded to the Yankees for Aroldys Vizcaino. Melky was a throw-in, people.

Former Brave first baseman what we should have never gotten rid of in the first place. How nice would it have been to have Roche nailing down first for the past few years?

But at least we got this guy to replace him for a month last year.

Nice little run of locals there if you don't count the Markakis. I see Attax cards like one of those puffy sweatshirt advertisement cards from the '80s so it's easy to pass right over it.

A few cards from the Update Series

I was still in the middle of my exile/sabbatical/mourning/ragequit when Topps 2010 Baseball Update Series Major League Baseball The Exclusive Trading Card All Rights Reserved Patent Pending No Pepper Games came out. As such, I have mercifully avoided all the inevitable MOJO! and WEAKSAUCE! and GIMMICK!!! posts so I'm going into this set with no prejudice or expectations. Basically I saw the preview images from Topps and some of the preliminary checklist. Of course this is just Traded, er, Updates & Highlights, um, Updates, uhh, oh screw it Topps Series Three, so I pretty much know what I'm getting into. A few rookies, a few players on their new teams, a whole slopload of subsets and more of the same inserts from the first two series so you end up with a bunch more of the ones you don't want and you're that much farther from completing the sets you do. Oh, and there's the obligatory auto/relic/manupatch detritus along with some other sketchy big money hits. Basic Topps, ho hum I'm so excited I could slit my wrists.

Even with the crushing ennui I feel towards Topps' flagship lately, I finally picked up a few packs. I'll want these sets in a couple of years even though they don't interest me a whit right now. The local card shop* has packs priced better than Target right now (5 hobby packs for $8 compared to 4 retail for the same price) so I'm going to get my Topps fix there until prices get jacked up. If they get jacked up. No more Strassboorg hype, remember.

My first five packs were actually fairly decent, surprisingly enough. Here's one card from each pack, mainly because I can't be arsed to post the whole thing anymore.

Pack 1 - Dave Winfield & Jason Heyward Legendary Lineage 

There was one card I really really wanted from this set when I first saw the sell sheet. Nailed it in one. Every pack I purchase after this one is a colossal waste.

Pack 2 - 1952 Topps Eddie Mathews Yo Momma card

No ones' momma threw this card out because Sy Berger chucked 'em all into the river before they could get to them. Nowadays all those unsold high series packs would be shoved into repack boxes instead. Think about that the next time you complain about the six 2007 Topps Series Two packs you get in your next "Find The '52 High Series!!!" box. If I manage to pull the original back version of this card I'm putting it in with my 1952 Team set and crossing one more card off my list.

Pack 3 - Rick Ankiel

Ok, his batting average with the Braves was .210 (compared to a strikeout average of .353!) but the guy sure can play defense. The Home Run makes up for all the whiffs. I initially thought I might have been at the game when this picture was taken but the visitors' uniforms are all wrong. (those are the Mets, right?)

Pack 4 - Merry Stras-Mas Motherfu----

The front of this card makes me nauseous (Seriously, Merry Stras-mas? Blearrgh), but the back is interesting. First card in the set? #661. That's right Topps, YOU DON'T FCUK WITH THE BASE SET, BITCHES. Let's see how long it takes them to forget this rule. I put the over/under at about a month and a half ago.

In other news the numbering convention US-1 to US-330 is just as unwieldy as UH-1 to UH-330. It is slightly more patriotic, however. Go back to T1 to T132 or even better 661-990. All those extra numbers and dashes just put more strain on set collators' eyes. Oh wait, I'm telling the marketing geniuses who have managed to shrink their market to about 10% of what it was 20 years ago how to run their business. Never mind, you guys got this. Carry on.

Pack 5 - Ty Cobb Vintage Legend - 1971 Topps

Is it just me or is Topps just having fun doing the same custom card stuff we do all the time with this set? While there are some odd ducks in this set (see: Christy Mathewson in a 1997 Topps design with a blue border design) this one is just about perfect. '71 Topps design, check. Sweet facsimile auto, check. Cool old timey ads in the background, check. The Georgia Peach with a bat in his hand and hatred in his soul, check. Topps even got the fonts right on this card.

I have to say I like the Update set more than I thought I would. I'm still pretty apathetic towards this whole 'card' thing right now though. How many Heywards do I have to chase, again?

*I'm not using the increasingly popular LCS acronym. Nosir, I don't like it. Still gonna use blogosphere though no matter how much everyone else in the blogosphere doesn't like the term.

Good Job, Topps

I don't mind the stupid stuff you do as long as you fix your mistakes.

Steven Strasburg RC Card #661 will be found in 2010 Topps Update.

I think Topps has finally learned you don't f$%# with the base set. Good job. I'm proud of you. May the road rise with you. May the forces of evil become confused on the way to your house. May the seed of your loin be fruitful in the belly of your woman. Yay Topps!

I'm happy to see this too.

drooooooooooooooooool..........