The Daily Dimwit August Group Break Results Extravaganza

Now that the Cardinals have regressed beyond Limp to the Finest Line Mode to something resembling more like Get Dragged Behind a Bus For Hundreds of Miles Before Anyone Notices mode, the usual suspects are starting to question some of the decision making surrounding the team that has gotten praise all year. Specifically, the claws finally came out over the Carlos Beltran offseason signing. Beltran has struggled mightily in baseball's second half after an MVP caliber first half. To second guess the team now, with just a few weeks left in the season is pretty easy. These same people will be singing the praises of everyone with pulse on this roster if the team manages to put together a few wins and make some noise in the playoffs. I'm fully prepared to call this season a wash, and without Berkman, (Chris) Carpenter or Kyle McClellan most of the season and no Rafael Furcal down the stretch, it's easy to see why there have been some gaping holes. It's still a tad bit premature to call the Beltran thing a failure or write this team off completely, however, especially in the day of watered down playoff competition.

Basically, I just want the Cardinals to win some games, and soon. Today's cards are from The Daily Dimwit's group break held last month. The new Topps Finest, something I would never buy for myself, drew me in and I stayed for the 2012 Topps Series 2 base cards to bolster my team set needs. I will update my list soon as I'm badly behind in adding my needs from Series 2. The 2007 Artifacts set was also in the mix, but I have all of the Cardinals base cards and only received a Jim Edmonds card anyway.

Speaking of Topps Finest, I guess I'm not sure what to make of this year's design. I generally enjoy the Finest cards I do own, but this concept is so metallic that it reminds me of one of those late '90s Metal sets.

I like the left half of this card, but that green Tic-Tac-Toe board with the logo in the middle just looks strange.

These are great inserts. It's amazing what a little die cutting will do to an otherwise unremarkable insert design.

Any time I can add another Ozzie Smith card to my collection is a good time for me.

I also was awarded the Pirates as my random selection in the group break. It's been a little while since I've made a Pirates trade with anyone, so if there are any Pirates collectors out there, drop me a line. I am sure I have a few piles of cards to push out the door.