Time Sure Does Fly

Just realized it has been over a month since I posted.  I am still trying to adjust to life in the Midwest with my new job and all the other changes that come with a move.  I haven't been able to figure out a good way to carve time out for blogging.  Interestingly my wife stopping work has resulted in me having less free time.  She used to go to bed early and I would have time for my hobbies, now she stays up later, we spend more time chatting and actually watch TV and movies together.   Good for the relationship, not so good for hobby time.

I have gotten some great packages from fellow bloggers over the last few weeks that I will hopefully get around to posting soon.  I have been able to carve out enough time to burn through my monthly budget on cards so I have plenty of blogging material and fun things to show.

My Giants were not able to turn that even year magic into a fourth World Series title in four years which wasn't a total surprise with their lack of bullpen and second half collapse.  I am over the disappointment and actively cheering for the Indians to win it all.  As I reflect back on the Giants season it was a pretty good one and I have high hopes for next year.

Our starting pitching looks like it is in great shape.  With a top 4 of Bumgarner, Cueto, Moore and Samardzija our rotation will be one of the best. I have been following Moore for 2-3 years now as I have him in my keeper fantasy league and I believe the combination of Rightetti and AT&T Park will make him almost the 3rd ace of the rotation.  It hurt a little giving up Duffy in the trade but I have confidence Nunez will fit in well for the entire season and provide some speed in the lineup.  We have Matt Cain and a trio of young guys that will fight for the final rotation spot.  The rotation should be the  strength of the team.

The infield is rock solid with Belt, Panik, Crawford and Nunez and of course the best catcher in baseball in Buster.  If Pence stays healthy, right field is locked down and while some fans aren't in love with Span, I like what he brings to the team.

That leaves holes in left field and a majority of the bullpen.  With the Giants resources, they should be able to plug those holes and be reloaded for a deep playoff run next year.

To celebrate the year, I thought I would share the Giants Wild Card set of cards from Topps Now:

 I have to say this is a pretty nice looking set but I did get caught up in the excitement and paid more than I probably should.  I have seen quite a bit of commentary on the Topps Now cards on several different blogs.  While I was initially not enamored with the set, I found myself getting caught up in the Topps Now universe. Outside of this set I only bought about 2-3 cards directly from Topps but found myself seeking them out on eBay. 

I was doing pretty well having accumulated the first 20 Giants cards from the set but have slowed down recently getting only 2 of the final 12 cards.  Probably time to hit the Bay and see if I can find the rest for reasonable prices as it would be a cool team set (although pricey) to complete.

I am hoping to figure out a way to post more regularly and keep up with everything else.  Thanks for all the recent card packages and I will eventually get some stuff back out your way.  Under 5 months until pitchers and catchers!