Color correction

This is another one of those posts that falls under the category of "only interesting to me." I won't apologize for that. Consider it your warning.

But on the good side ... hey, all you Beckett-bible-latest-and-greatest-I-can't-talk-about-anything-in-the-hobby-unless-it's-four-seconds-old people, NIGHT OWL IS TALKING ABOUT MODERN STUFF!!!!!!

Enjoy it before I slip back into the vintage deep freeze.

So, yesterday on Twitter, Topps was teasing collectors -- something it does constantly -- with images of this year's 2013 base set. The set is supposed be out in a mere 12 days, so even someone like me is in a panty-bunching-yank about the cards. But the thing that made every last collector take notice is that Topps was showing one card from each team. Those sly, sly marketing people. By the end of the evening, everyone was wiping drool off the keyboard.

I've already mentioned that I love this year's Topps design. It's better than last year by far. It's better than 2011 and 2010. It's probably better than 2009, although I could go either way on that. And it's definitely better than '08 and '07 and '06. But that's me yammering again.

I'm much more succinct on Twitter:

Yup, I can be a Topps fan boy. For a day anyway.

But in going back to review the first time I got all doe-eyed over the 2013 design, I noticed something.

Here is an image that was provided by Topps back when it first unveiled the 2013 design last summer:

And here is the image of the Tigers card that Topps tweeted yesterday:

OK. Other than the fact that the scene behind Raburn looks like a beer commercial and can't possibly be real, what else do you notice?

Yup.

The border color is different. It's lighter.

In fact, that dark blue color that you saw on Fielder's card doesn't appear to exist in 2013 Topps. At least not according to the images that Topps tweeted.

There are only seven separate colors used for the borders in 2013 Topps, according to those images from yesterday.

Blue. For the Dodgers, Tigers, Braves, Yankees, Twins, Royals, Rays, Rangers, Padres, Cubs, Brewers and Blue Jays.

Red. For the Cardinals, Angels, Nationals, Reds, Diamondbacks, Indians, Red Sox and Phillies.

Orange. For the Mets, Astros, Marlins, Giants and (I assume) Orioles (Topps did not tweet an image for the Orioles, mistakenly tweeting a card of the Angels' Mike Trout twice. As of this point, it was still working on an image for the Orioles).

Green. For the Mariners and A's.

Yellow. For the Pirates.

Purple. For the Rockies.

Gray. For the White Sox.

To see images of the other teams, go to @toppscards.

For each color, the same shade is used, so there is no dark blue, unless Topps is planning something funky.

In fact, when Beckett announced the 2013 Topps checklist on Wednesday, it used the 2013 Topps image of Bryce Harper from several months ago.

It looks like thus:

And here is the 2013 Topps image of Harper that Topps tweeted yesterday:

Yes, the rookie cup has been added. But the color border is brighter, too (as well as the logo filled in).

I suppose there's always the possibility that the cards will look different in hand, or the tint was off on the scanner mechanism at Topps publicity, but I doubt it. Twelve days from street date, I think this is what you'll get.

Personally, I like the lightened color. It has a mid-1980s Miami Vice/Ocean Pacific/south Florida feel. The green borders, especially, make me want to put on a Flock of Seagulls or the Miami Sound Machine. The colors, I would say, are "neon" and you know how I love bright stuff like neon.

So, awesome touch there, if that's what we're going to see.

And the photos look great, too. I don't want people to think all I see is design.

And I know what you're thinking again, too.

No.

I'm not collecting it.

Still.