Dollar Tree Fun

Any card collector who has been to the Dollar Tree lately has noticed that they are carrying more and more year or two old packs (especially UD Documentary).  I've actually had some luck, getting a mem card (albeit a soccer card) and an auto (Frank Catalanotto crap, but still only a dollar pack).  In addition, they also are carrying a number of repacked random cards.  I've noticed there are two different brands of repack cards, so I bought some of each.  I definitely recommend that you avoid "Cards One" brand packs because they just suck (and only really span the time from 1987-1993).  When you pay $1 for a pack of random cards, you at least want to it to be a really random selection, but "Cards One" packs only seem to yield major brand junk cards.  I picked up two packs by "PressTine" - see what they did there, they mixed "pristine" and "press", oh so creative - one baseball and one football.  I'll post the baseball one now and save the football for another time. I was completely amused by this pack, so it was well worth the dollar I spent on it.

-1990 Mother's Cookies Mariners: Gene Clines, Bob Didier, Rusty Kuntz, Mike Paul, Bill Plummer. (seriously, the first card is just plain incredible.  Randomness at its finest, not to mention I got Rusty Kuntz)
-2008 Topps Update Jason LaRue (this guy is retiring because Johnny Cueto got to his head...literally...with cleats)
-1991 Upper Deck Mike Morgan (blah)
-1989 Score Kevin Romine (blah)
-1988 Donruss Buddy Bell (blah)
-1992 Upper Deck Minors Marty Cordova (now that's better, a little of the beaten path)
-2008 Topps Update Jason LaRue (this card looks familiar...2008 Topps Update Jason LaRue HOT PACK!)
-1989 Topps Traded Paul Kilgus (if I ever comment that I have no idea how I ever got Topps Traded cards, please remind me of this)
-1997 Collector's Choice Jaime Navarro (really, this is the chase card of the PressTine baseball product...or not)
-1989 Topps Traded Jesse Orosco (I have no idea how I end up with Topps Traded)
-1997 Pinnacle Express Peak Performers Tino Martinez (good random love)
-1991 Upper Deck Mark Eichhorn (blah)
-2008 Topps Jason LaRue (wow, LaRue number three, and this one is beat up and dirty.  How do you have a card with a dirt stain on it?)
-1984 Topps Tom Paciorek (and just like that we go back 24 years)
-2007 Bowman Melky Cabrera (Man, I love this randomness)
-1986 Donruss Al Cowens (and now we go back 21 years)
-1994 Studio Mike Devereaux (this is seriously the "what will I ever get next" pack)
-1990 Donruss Roy Smith (blah)
-1991 Upper Deck Wally Backman (blah)
-1988 Donruss Frank White (blah)
-1992 Topps Joey Cora (blah)
-2000 Upper Deck Yankees Legends Phil Rizzuto (wow, this card doesn't fit in, yet fits in at the same time...wierd)

Well that would be the 22 cards of the random pack that was supposed to have 20 cards...well, maybe they meant 20 unique cards and the two extra LaRue bombs were a bonus just for me.  I really dig the fact that you don't know if the next card will be a 1984 Topps or a 2007 Bowman. 

Coming soon from the Dollar Tree: PressTine Football, 2009-10 Collector's Choice Hockey, 2010 Greats of the Game Basketball, 2009 UD Draft Football, 2009 Sage Hit Football, and 2010 Topps Football (apparently the Dollar Tree is getting in the game with 5-base-card packs).

On a side note, my wife and I were out and about the other night and I picked up a half-price 2009 O-Pee-Chee blaster at Target that probably won't be posted for a while, as well as some 2010 Topps Platinum packs.  After leaving Target at around 10, we needed to find somewhere to get some food and what's better on Friday night than pizza.  The Pizza Hut by our house was open until 11, so we dropped in and were the only one's there for the next hour.  We ordered a medium pie, and when the waitress brought it out, she said, "We were out of mediums, so we brought you a large."  Many thoughts come to my mind including that obviously the "hand-tossed crust" doesn't mean it was hand tossed recently.  Who knows...maybe Pizza Hut does DiGiorno now?   If that wasn't enough, the waitress dropped another bomb.  As I was stuffing my face with my large medium not-so-fresh fresh pizza, she brought me my third Dr. Pepper, and said "Would you like to donate to help feed children in Africa?"  Seriously, as my fat ass can't finish the large pizza you gave and I can't slurp down the Dr. Pepper fast enough, you ask me to donate to starving kids.  As if I didn't already feel like a fat piece of crap.  But now, I have to give my dollar to "feed a starving child" instead of buying another pack of 2008 UD X from the dollar tree.  And I am going to hell...