Coupons.

       I was at Target today shopping for birthday cards, Easter ephemera, and deodorant when the siren song of the card section drew me in.  This is what I picked up...

Why?  Coupons!  I had totally forgot I had these little coupon books that came in the 2014 Topps blasters I opened at the beginning of February. But there they were in my little coupon pouch.  There was one for $5 off a Heritage blaster and $1 off three pack of Opening day.  There was also one for $1 off two packs of Gypsy Queen, but GQ is new product so of course my Target didn't have any...*eye roll*  I am a sucker for a bargain so I got these almost in spite of myself.

I got these packs of Opening day for basically 66 cents a piece, a price I haven't paid for a pack of cards at a store since I was a kid no doubt; let's take a look at what was in there.

They put an insert in each pack of Opening Day now.  I really like those blue parallels (I see a page build in my future).  They are not quite as glittery as last year but they are a little more shiny.  The 3D stars are nifty and very busy.  I know these cards are aimed at the kiddies and my inner 7 year old approves.  Adult Max thinks the grey is too washed out, though.

I covered the Heritage pretty comprehensibly already and I also decided not to build the set, even though I adore the design and Topps did a really good job on this year's set.  I will breakdown a selection of the cards I pulled:

I like that Topps used head shots similar to the ones from the original set.  One thing you won't see on those cards from 1965 are things like the mohawk on Didi up there or the bald head and psychotic grin of Cody Ross there.  I am a little puzzled why Adam Jones is so sad on his card - smile dude, you are an above average major league outfielder.  I bought this blaster wearing my Sox hat with a thick beard leftover from winter...dear lord, I am Mike Napoli's doppelganger!  Aaron Hill is pictured holding up his Aaron Hill model bat, that seems more like a 90's Pinnacle photo than a contemporary Topps shot.  Poor Hiroki and Albert were captured making as goofy a face as you can make without knowing someone is taking your picture.  And finally, those Houston Astros cards show that they followed the '65 oddity of having both "Houston" and "Astros" on the fronts of the cards.  Also, Max Stassi is very tastefully named.  If anyone needs any of these singles for their set, please let me know.

It was a pretty good box for inserts too:

I gushed over the idea of the 1st Draft set when I initially wrote about this set and then I found out there are only 5 cards in the whole thing.  I got that same Graig Nettles in my hobby box.  This seems like a missed opportunity.  The red Target parallel looks wonderful with a Red Sox subject, I must say.  I also pulled a game used jersey of Buster Posey and a mini of Hunter Pence, both of which are very high ratio pulls.  Those are destined for ebay unless there is a Giants fan out there who wants to trade.  Lastly, I am showing the backs of two different players.  The Roy Halladay there is now something of a final tribute as he retired before the season, so that is his entire major league record.  I also have Alex Rodiguez's card back there too.  Will those be his final major league statistics?  Will any team ever take a chance on him again if/when he comes back next year?  The whole A-Rod thing makes me very sad. 

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Oh, and I have leftover coupons I am not planning on using.  I still have one each of the $5 off a Heritage blaster and the $1 off three packs of Opening day.  I also have the two $1 off two packs of Gyspy Queen which I now plan on not using at all.  They are all good until the beginning of June.  If anyone would like any or all of these, drop me a line and I will send them to you.  Hey, money is money.  Eight bucks is eight bucks.