Wow. Just wow.

I don't have a ton to say that hasn't already been said. What a night of baseball. My opinions are admittedly biased, so I won't throw them at you (at least not all of them, I do have a few below). You know I'll defend the Yanks and laugh at the Red Sox and take pleasure in their collapse, even though the Rays pitching is scarier in the playoffs than what the Sox would have run out there. I've been on the other end of an epic collapse, and it's nice to now have this in my back pocket.

I have found myself defending the Yankees all morning to the countless Sox fans I work with. In typical fashion, they are blaming the Yankees for not using every weapon possible to win last night's game. I will say that blowing a 7-run lead is never a good thing and nothing to be celebrated, but it wasn't the A squad out there at that time, and I'm fine with that. There was no need for it and they've earned the right to rest their players. A guy in my office said, "The Phillies had Lidge in against Atlanta, why wouldn't Rivera come in for the save?" To which I responded, "Mo pitched Tuesday...do you really think the Yankees are going to throw 41-year-old Rivera four out of five days (assuming he is used Fri and Sat in the playoffs) in order to save a meaningless game? The Phillies don't play until Saturday, so Lidge has two days off." Reasonable argument to me, in which he responded, "you play to win the game" and I said "you play to win the World Series." The Yankee starters shelled David Price. What more do you want? The Yankees were also responsible for stranding Jacoby Ellsbury on third base with no outs, right? The Yanks wanted to give their guys a few ABs to stay sharp, which they did, and then they rewarded them with a half game on the bench. Not a bad way to spend #162.

I'm looking forward to the postseason. The Yankees rotation has glaring holes and I'm concerned with that. I love what Ivan Nova has done lately, but who knows how he'll react to his first post-season start. A gem or a shelling just wouldn't surprise me either way. CC has been far from lights out the past six weeks. Sweaty Freddy's stuff works well against bottom-feeders, but in the playoffs? Verlander is great, Fister was a terrific pick up, and their offense is on fire. The Tigers are a strong team, five game series are crapshoots, and it's going to be exciting.

I'll be at Game One in person. Go Yanks!

Where Have They Gone? Part I: Clear Cuts

From my observation, the mid '90s were a time when card companies were a little more open to trying new, "futuristic" technologies with their cards. They used insert sets as a place where these new card types could live. One particular insert set that comes to mind is 1996 Fleer Ultra Seasons Crowns. I remember when I pulled this card (no idea what happened to it) in pack, I was floored:

First off, I was confused. I'm not supposed to like cards of Red Sox players. Especially goofy knuckleballers (ohh hey Aaron Boone). But this card was so sweet looking! The white and yellow is completely transparent, as these cards are made from acetate as opposed to cardboard. I wanted more. I remember trading my friend for the Hideo Nomo (no idea where the card is now either!). I got the Tony Gwynn in a pack, and ended up getting it signed by him TTM. It looked great.

I started to notice clear cuts popping up more and more after this. Pacific Invincible had a set and those fancy SkyBox EX-whatever cards did as well. But those were base sets. This was a 10 card insert set, and the first time I had seen anything like this.

It got me thinking...are clear cuts still relevant or cool in today's hobby? Do they have a place? They don't really fit in with all the newer sets that focus on vintage designs. However, since I've been away from the hobby for a few years, maybe I missed some sets in the 2000s with clear cuts. Please leave a comment if you can think of a recent set that included them, as I easily could have missed them over the years.

Since my want list consists of Tino Martinez and Yankees, I thought I would diversify myself as a trading partner a little bit by including this 10 card 1996 Fleer Ultra insert set. I can get a complete set on ebay for around $10, but thought it might be fun to try and trade for it - card by card or the set as a whole. If you have any, let me know!