Tuesday, June 30, 2009

2001 Topps Series 2



Most people probably bought this stuff looking for either Ichiro and Pujols rookies, the other good rookies or some of the inserts. Me? I'm just looking for people I've heard of. Will I be successful?

#787 Rickey Henderson (nice way to start a pack...and a sweet looking card)
#468 Billy Wagner (two-for-two on people I've heard of!)
#518 Darryl Hamilton (most of the backs feature a nice posed photo, like this one)
(look at that bio line, by the way. Who would of thought Darryl Hamilton held a record?)

#709 Bobby Bonilla (didn't know he was still playing in 2001...and the look on his face is priceless)
#613 Jose Silva (aaand there goes the streak of people I've heard of)
#492 Ray Durham (anybody got a good caption for this? I'm stuck between "Stop! In the name of love" and "Whoa man, don't get any closer...I've got a bat")
#534 Brett Laxton (yeah, uh...who?)
#653 Mark Redman
#420 Eddie Perez (he looks furious at that baserunner he's gunning down)
#544 Frank Menechino (sa-wing and a miss!)

Well, there you have it. No Ichiro, no Pujols, but I got Rickey! And I bet Rickey loves it when people pull cards of Rickey.

Monday, June 29, 2009

2007 Topps Transformers: The Movie (Retail)


Unfortunately, the retail version of this card set is without costume cards, sketch cards, and autographs of Megan Fox. But, hey, you can still get the base set cards and chase inserts! I didn't though... Fiddlesticks. Well, I got the base cards... I meant - Oh, you know what I meant.


You know, I think I prefer the new Mustang as opposed to the Camaro. But, in a pinch, give me a '90 Festiva in aqua blue. Wind it up and it'll go-go-go.

I think this movie (and the sequel) should have had the Transformers in all their 1980s glory. These CGI behemoths have too many little unnecessary pieces. Definitely not for children under 3.

Look! It's Shia LeDouche! In that box there is a crystal skull of suck.

I suppose this pack beats a kick in the pants... Then again...

1988 Donruss

With Score complete and Fleer getting close to completions, here's the lastest in my quest to collect the four major sets from 1988. Be sure to check out the rest of the box break daily at 1988 Donruss.


This should be fun...

499 Tracy Woodson
367 Lloyd Moseby
235 Bill Doran
103 Mickey Tettleton
93 Dave Righetti
83 Shane Rawley
414 Damaso Garcia
158 Terry Steinbach
149 Frank Viola


BC-4 Mike Schmidt - The little blurb points out that Michael Jack Schmidt is a future Hall of Famer.

498 Sam Horn


BC-6 Tony Gwynn - Just look at that 1987 season! Any pack with Tony Gwynn is a good one.

501 Ken Schrom


368 Kirby Puckett - One of my all time favorites, and a player that was taken away too early. I've said it before, but had he not been forced out of baseball, what could he have done with another seven or eight years? What he did in his short career was good enough for Cooperstown though. Rest in peace Mr. Puckett.

With this card we have something pretty rare too: A great photograph from 1988 Donruss!

236 Milt Thompson


Stan Musial's right shoulder.

So there's pack one. The first thing that is readily apparent in opening these cards is the overall lack of quality in the cardstock. 1987 Donruss was better all the way around. It had a better design, better photography and better cardstock. 1988 was a near failure and Donruss wouldn't release another quality set until 1992 (and even it's pretty boring).

Despite all of that, I really like this set, in the same way I like 1940s and 50s sci-fi movies. It's so bad that it's fun to look at.

Again, come read 1988 Donruss for a pack a day break of this box. I've got some good ideas for this break, so it should be a fun read.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

2009 O-Pee-Chee Value Pack Retail

So this "value pack" slams four six-card packs into one single package. Logic would dictate that the insert rate would just be multiplied by four wouldn't it?...Carboard Junkie has the insert math provided by Chris from Stale Gum.

After ripping the pack, the answer to the insert question is "no." Only one black bordered card and one insert in the pack. But on the plus side, I think we've found the solution to those O-Pee-Chee set buliders who want to actually make progress on the base set at a larger than four-cards-per-pack rate.

#22 Ben Francisco

#490 Vladimir Guerrero

#292 Brian Anderson

#149 Clint Barmes

#469 Chris Young

#286 Carlos Ruiz

#23 Brian McCann

#402 Sean Gallagher

#40 Matt Cain

#438 Eddi Guardado

#206 Ryan Freel

#356 Billy Butler

#170 Roy Oswalt


#113 Matt Capps
#350 Joe Mauer
#79 Raul Ibanez

#8 Brian Schneider

#171 Carlos Pena

#551 Moments July 6, 3008

#456 John Smoltz

And here's a studio shot that I hope even Night Owl could love.

#221 Skip Schumaker

#73 Ian Stewart [Black Border]

#86 Fausto Carmona

#283 Ryan Shealy

2008 Upper Deck A Piece of History



From everything I've seen, people either love or hate this set. The Hollywood memorabilia cards are pretty sweet, but some other things are lacking. What random historical events will I pull?

#156 Hawaii becomes a state (not bad. Never been there, but I know it's a great place)
#147 Luis Mendoza (he currently has a 36.00 ERA this season)
#188 Louisiana Purchase (at least these Historical Moments have been actually historical)
#194 Human Genome Project red parallel #'d 36/149 (any genetics collectors out there?)
#35 Gary Sheffield (I hate Gary Sheffield. Read (and watch) this and the 14th paragraph here to find out why. And I was at that game too...great moment, but his reaction was horrible)
#74 Jimmy Rollins
#100 Ryan Zimmerman (wonder if he'd be a household name in another city...)
YSL #4066 Billy Martin

Not a bad pack, but I've seen better of this.