Random cards for Opening Day

In honor of Opening Day, here's a pack of PressTine Baseball from the Dollar Tree.  It's a repack with 20 baseball cards and no guarantees.

















2007 Upper Deck Future Stars Victor Martinez
1989 Topps Darryl Hamilton
1979 TCMA 50's Mike McCormick
  >>> An interesting random old card to get.  This is the type of thing that makes $1 worth it.
1987 Topps Mike Trujillo
  >>> This, on the other hand, is not.
1979 TCMA 50's Jim DePalo
  >>> ahh, that's better.
1990 Donruss Curt Young
1991 Upper Deck Steve Howard
2008 Topps Joey Devine
1987 Donruss Willie Hernandez
1990 Topps Debut '89 Eric Yelding
  >>> Never seen one of these before.  It took me a while to figure out what it was.
1993 Topps Traded Steve Reich USA RC
  >>> oh, so this is how I end up with Topps Traded cards.
1990 Donruss Ryne Sandberg
2002 Topps Reggie Sanders
1989 Fleer Todd Benzinger
1993 Donruss Dann Howitt
1989 Topps Traded Claudell Washington
  >>> More random Traded
1990 Upper Deck Tony Fernandez
1986 Topps Chet Lemon
2008 Upper Deck David Dellucci
1987 O-Pee-Chee Don Sutton
  >>> They tried to trick me into thinking I got another 1987 Topps, but no, it's that pesky O-Pee-Chee.

So, by my count, one player who is actually still in the Majors...

4 Packs of 2009 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects...my best hit this year.

I've got like 30+ packs that I've opened and scanned that I will be posting over the next few months.  I would say I'd do another bracket contest, but let's face it, whoever picked the 1994 Upper Deck Street Fighter pack would easily win. Actually, seeing as how the 2009 Bowman Draft pack with an auto won the last one, I'm going to say these packs have a pretty good chance...hint, hint...

I picked these 4 packs of 2009 Bowman DPP out of the $1.59 bin at Target a couple weeks ago.  I was actually out in Dawgbones' neck of the woods, so I kinda feel bad for snagging these bad boys out of his Target.

Pack 1:
Fernando Martinez RC,
Kyle Blanks RC,
Ben Orloff Prospect Chrome,
Clayton Mortenson RC Chrome,
David Hale Prospect,
Chase Austin Prospect,
Kent Matthes Gold Prospect
>>> Well, that started off as a typical DPP pack: I didn't recognize a single name.

Pack 2:
Trevor Bell RC,
Ryan Sadowski RC,
Derek McCallum Prospect Chrome,
David Hale Prospect Chrome,
Christopher Lovett Prospect,
Sequoyah Stonecipher Prospect,
Brooks Pounders Gold Prospect
>>> I only recognize one name, Sequoyah Stonecipher, from this pack, and that's only because I've seen other bloggers comment about his name.

Pack 3:
Jeff Stevens RC,
Brent Leach RC,
Kyle Blanks Chrome RC,
Andrew Bellati Prospect,
Brandt Walker Prospect,
Dustin Dickerson Gold Prospect. 
>>> Dammit, still don't recognize any names AND I got shorted a Chrome card!  This last pack better be really good or I am going to be pissed.

Pack 4:
Fu-Te Ni RC,
Bud Norris RC,
Erik Castro Prospect Chrome,
Jared Mitchell Prospect Chrome Refractor Auto #173/500,
Cory Burns Prospect,
Derek McCallum Prospect,
Tommy Hanson RC Gold
>>> KA-BLAM.  Before I get to the goods, let me just say the Hanson Gold RC is pretty nice.  Ok, on to the goods.  I'm thinking, hey, that's a nice looking card AND it's a numbered refractor, who doesn't love that.  Jared Mitchell, hmmm...that name sounds kinda familiar...<>...Oh, that's right, he's only the 2009 College World Series Most Outstanding Player and first-round pick of the Chicago White Sox.  Easily one of the best auto's from the set, not to mention my second retail auto from 2009 Bowman DPP, and I've only bought 5 packs.  This card is the hit of the year for me, so far, and likely will be for the rest of the year unless I hit something awesome in Allen and Ginter this year. This card has been going on eBay in the $20-$30 range just recently.

I gotta admit, this card is awesome looking.  The coloring of the card, the refractory goodness, a decent picture, the thick blue ink, and a nice signature all work for me.  On-card auto's rule. 

My first video pack break

I finally got around to recording myself opening some packs.  I don't have a webcam, so it's just my plain digital camera on a mini-tripod.  The quality isn't that great, but I wasn't expecting a whole lot.

I also scanned the inserts/parallels:

Masao Kida RC Refractor (1:12 packs)

Not exactly the greatest card to get a refractor of, but not bad anyway.  Kida played just a few games for 3 teams: Tigers, Dodgers, and Mariners.  Before, in between, and after, he played in Japan for several years.  He currently plays for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.  The MLB totally needs a team called the Ham Fighters.






Albert Belle Milestones #0200/1400

So the back of this card predicted Belle would reach 1,500 RBI in 2002, with a total of 1,019 by the end of 1998.  It also says that he could possibly reach 1,844 and crack the all-time top 10.  I'm going to go with NO.  He ended up finishing with 1,239. 








Mickey Morandini Gold Refractor #043/100 (1:57 packs)

The big hit of the pack, even if it is Mickey Morandini.  There's gotta be a Morandini super collector out there that wants this...or maybe just a Cubs fan?

Another 2011 Heritage Blister Pack

Value pack #1 for me yielded a nice hit, so I had to go pick up another one.

Black Border Bonus:
C39 Evan Longoria
C25 Bronson Arroyo
C90 JP Arencibia
>>> Nothing spectacular here, except a nice addition to a decent Longo collection that will probably be put up on eBay to raise funds for 2011 Allen and Ginter.

Pack 1:
291 Bobby Cramer RC
101 Jacoby Ellsbury
113 Chicago White Sox
397 Brian McCann All-Star
434 Carlos Ruiz SP
353 Neil Walker
142 Babe Ruth - Coaching for the Dodgers
393 Hanley Ramirez All-Star
121 Buck Showalter
>>> Hanley is my first 2011 Heritage dupe.  I'm not certain we really ever need to be that close to Brian McCann's face.  Gotta love the Chicago White Sox team card with the red background just like the original '62 Sox team card.  The babe Ruth card is neat, I guess, but pretty boring really.

Pack 2:
19 Jake McGee RC
165 Adam Jones
213 Angel Pagan
346 Felix Hernandez
BF-9 Baseball Flashbacks - Frank Robinson
12 Brad Mills
311 Jeter Makes the Double Play
66 Geovany Soto
352 Ricky Nolasco
>>> First it's Babe and the Dodgers, now it's Frank and the Reds.  Something just feels wrong about that.  I love the multiframe cards in this set, but could someone please tell me how Jeter makes the double play without throwing the ball? For more on this, see here for the NCIS investigation by Agent Rhubarb.  I guess I can't really blame Topps, after all, the Mauer I posted here is incorrect as well. As a rocket scientist, I can tell you that Mauer, in fact, DOES NOT put the ball into orbit.

Pack 3:
11 Joe Nathan
10 Andrew McCutchen
78 Matt LaPorta
329 Yovani Gallardo
77 Chase Utley
C49 Freddy Sanchez Chrome SF Giants World Series #0994/1962
88 Joe Girardi
191 Ryan Dempster
174 Jon Garland
>>> My first chrome.  Thats really all I got for this pack.

I love the Chrome Heritage cards, especially this year.  I was excited about these chrome cards ever since the Justin Upton 2008 Topps Chrome Trading Card History card.

More Opening Day

2011 Topps Opening Day.  Remember that stuff? You know, the product that seems like it was out for a day or so before the Heritage craze completely swallowed it up.  Well, between Heritage posts (I'm guilty, too) I might as well show a pack of Opening Day.  This wasn't a regular retail pack, this was a rack pack/jumbo 24 cards for $3 thingy from Target.

69 Lance Berkman
49 Yonder Alonso RC
63 Manny Ramirez
116 Torii Hunter
118 Rafael Soriano
33 Kyle Drabek RC
107 Scott Rolen
99 Clay Buchholz
23 Chris Johnson
89 Pablo Sandoval
203 Neftali Feliz
127 Nick Swisher
135 David Ortiz
19 Carlos Marmol
5 David Wright












130 Justin Morneau
60 Aroldis Chapman RC
22 Hunter Pence
219 Matt Garza
39 Kurt Suzuki
TTOD-13 Ian Desmond ToppsTown

















SC-12 Matt Garza Superstar Celebrations












PFP-8 George W. Bush Presidential First Pitch

















M-6 Gapper Reds Mascot

The $3 pack isn't too bad of a deal to get a decent chunk of 20 base cards and four inserts.  Topps should have left ToppsTown out of this, but I actually think the Presidential First Pitch, SuperStar Celebrations, and Mascots insert sets are pretty good.  The Spot the Error things are a little goofy, but they at least are something fun and interactive.  I actually would prefer that the opening day base cards were the flagship base cards.  I'm not all that into the foil names and all, so I wouldn't mind seeing flat print on the flagship set again.  On a related note, I really like the new opening day logo.  I think it's a major improvement over the last couple years. It's less busy and a little more classic style. 

New Banner!!!

Ah, yes.  As promised at the turn of the new year, I have created a new banner.  I'm retiring the MCM Customs Series 1 cards for the time being.  As with anything professional, I reserve the right to unretire, retire, unretire, retire, and unretire them as I please.  I'm sad to see Tiger, Bill, Monica, and Kobe go, since they have been faithful...er, well, to me...but it is time for a change.  I present to you

MCM Customs Series 2:

Charlie Sheen Framed Adonis DNA Relic

>>> Could I call myself an honest blogatorian and not have a Sheen card? I think not.   The hard part was narrowing it down to just one Sheen-ism to go with. Ultimately, I had to spoof the A&G DNA cards with his "Adonis" claim. Duh, WINNING!

Tony Parker and Brent Barry Divorce Dual Cuts Cut Signatures
>>> They have cut autographs from just about everything - Contracts, checks, index cards...why not divorce papers.  Not my best card design effort, but a dual cut on one side is tough.  I couldn't pass up a spoof with that picture though.

Heads Up Brett Favre
>>> Series 2 without Brett Favre is Topps without gimmicks - inevitable but we'd rather they just go away.  I labored over Favre for way too long, but I think this card works on many levels.  I'm glad I scrapped my original idea of a "Textfractor".  The design just seems to fit.  I mean, Favre with a big head...why didn't that come to me sooner.  Searching for random clipart helped me come up with three little cartoons.  For those who don't have super vision, the cell phone screen says "Im hott 4 U xoxo".  This would be my favorite of Series 2, but the next card is just too good.

Lindsay Lohan Sparkle Variation
>>> I was forced to come up with a fourth card since I went vertical with Series 2.  After digging through TMZ for the right subject, I settled with Lohan.  This card is by far my favorite card of Series 2.  I think I did a hell of a job in getting the design close only using PowerPoint.  I started with the picture of Lohan and wanted to spoof something with the team name of "Stealers" or a Record Breaker for "Best Steal", but those seemed too cheesy.  Then the sparkle just kinda came out when looking at the Shapes in PowerPoint. That's two 4-point stars with slight transparency and a soft-edged circle in the middle.  The simplicity of the card is what I like the most.  Of course, I had to get a bonus jab in with the prison bars in the circle. 





The Lohan is simple, yet effective, and the Sheen is appropriately over-the-top.  The Parker/Barry combo was almost too obvious, and Favre with a big head is, well, accurate.  The candidate list for Series 3 has already been started with Lawrence Taylor.

 I'd love to hear thoughts on the new banner.

2011 Topps Heritage Value Pack

I picked up one of the 2011 Heritage Value Packs (3 retail packs and 3 Black Border bonus cards) because my wife and I decided to give ourselves a little portion of our tax refund to spend before it goes to pay for certain things.  I'm glad Topps is keeping it going with the value packs a la 2010 Chrome because it helps me not feel so bad about just buying three retail packs.  I wonder if they'll keep it going for Gypsy Queen and Allen & Ginter with some crazy bonus parallels.  Anyway, my value pack yielded these three black border parallels.

Corey Hart, Casey Coleman RC, Rangers Danger Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz.

The black borders are number with a "C" prefix just like the Heritage Chrome cards.  I'm thinking these are basically black refractors without the Chrome.  Still, if I'm going to buy three retail packs, why not get some extra cards, too. 

Pack 1:
231 Chone Figgins
195 Paul Konerko
421 Francisco Rodriguez
83 Chris Carpenter
345 Dustin Pedroia
108 Matt Kemp
365 Howie Kendrick
398 Joey Votto All-Star
55 AL ERA Leaders (Hernandez, Buchholz, Price, Cahill)
>>> The base cards are decent.  The All-Star cards are pretty nice.  The Leaders cards are freakin sweet.  The floating heads are incredible.  King Felix looks like a badass.

Pack 2:
253 Lou Marson
162 Alex Gordon
133 Andres Torres
332 Alcides Escobar
453 Roy Halladay SP
194 Jordan Walden RC
300 Carl Crawford
413 Chris Young
97 Grady Sizemore
>>> I'm not a big fan of short printing base cards, especially a 425/75 split, but if it makes the Halladay more tradeable, then I guess I can live with it.

Pack 3:
387 Desmond Jennings RC
47 Kosuke Fukudome
129 Carlos Quentin
CCR-VG Clubhouse Collection Relic Vladimir Guerrero Bat
145 Dallas Braden
403 Jonathan Papelbon
326 Gregory Infante RC
16 John Jaso
>>> Hell yeah.  I can live with whooping the odds for a retail relic. I'm not gonna lie, I love the 2011 Heritage Clubhouse Collection relic design.  The wood of the bat and the wood grain background work well together.  This is actually the second Vlad bat I own.  The other is 2001 Fleer Platinum Lumberjacks.  I think I also have a 2008 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Vlad jersey.  Anyone out there collecting Vlad? 

Bracket Contest Winners!!!

Well, the grueling contest is finally over.  It only took 2 months from the first entry to the final vote.  The winner is:

2009 Bowman Draft Pack - A2 Wolverine

He beat out Dipayan Banerjee and the 1999-00 Finest Basketball pack by a vote of 10-6.  Congratulations A2 Wolverine, you are the winner of the following:

Of course, you also get the Wild Card packs, though the contents have been revealed, and I took the cards that were on my wantlists (none of it was too special).  You will also get some other random stuff, and some items that fit your collecting needs.  So, A2 Wolverine, send me an email with a list of the things you collect and maybe point me towards your want lists.

Dipayan Banerjee, congratulations on being runner-up.  Send me an e-mail with a list of the things you collect so I can put a small package together for you. 
To get back to the voting, I'm sure plenty of you would like to know who wins the bonus voting prize.

Congratulations Night Owl.  I'll put some kind of package together for you.  Send me an e-mail so I can get your address. 

Bonus entries were given for anyone who gave their reasoning behind their votes.  I found it to be quite enlightening. Here are some of the comments (anonymously, of course):

The baseball turned basketball vote:

"At first I figured I would never pick basketball over baseball especially with an auto on the baseball side but...I have to go with the hoops simply because of the star power in that pack. I am not a big basketball fan...yet I still know all the players in the pack while the baseball pack didn't move me with the player selection."

The economist:

"...I also think that looking objectively it's [Bowman Draft] also the pack that generated the most value."

Score this one 5-0:

"Autos are great. I like Trevor Crowe. I can't stand Charles Barkley or Tracy McGrady. There's a wide variety in the cards (ie. gold, chrome, WBC chrome, auto, rookie card, etc.). Baseball wins over basketball every time."

Baseball fan:

"I can't vote for basketball"

I think this may have been Charles Barkley's vote:

"Hard to beat 5 certified stars... and one of them is Barkley... winnah winnah... chicken dinnah"

A sore loser who wants to act like they didn't lose as bad:
"That pack beat me in a previous round."

The best reason:
"Reasoning? Fact. Baseball is better than Basketball. Baseball. Basketball. Battlestar Galactica. And a clean looking auto from a baseball pack beats darker basketball card any time (perhaps it is the scan, but the cards do look dark). Although I'd like to see each of the actual players from both packs go at it in a rumble. Yes, I know that the basketball players are 10 years older, but it would be fun. Maybe just have them do an American Gladiators thing so they don't get hurt. If it was a true tire irons and bike chains rumble I might have to go with the basketball players. But this is cards. Baseball. Thanks for the incredibly difficult and confusing contest that I had absolutely no chance in. I enjoyed it."


There are two truths I take away from the whole voting experience:

Baseball > Basketball
Auto > No Auto

  

Contest...last call...seriously, don't you want a chance at free cards?

All you have to do is go here to get details.  All it takes is an email. You have until 12:01 PM tomorrow.

Since you are here, how about some cards:

2011 Topps Opening Day Retail Pack:
68 Jeremy Jeffress RC
61 Jason Bay
133 Alex Rios
9 of 10 Buster Posey Spot the Error
199 Francisco Liriano
111 Nelson Cruz
206 Rafael Furcal
>>> Nothing to crazy here.  But, please, for the sake of my sanity, could someone tell me the error in the Posey card.  I'm usually decent at things like this, and have been able to get the other Spot the Error cards fairly easily, but damn, I can't find anything in this one.

A couple new want lists and a new Topps #3

I've finally added a couple of want lists I've been meaning to for a while.  You can see my want lists over on the sidebar, or by clicking here.  I added the following:

2005 Upper Deck All-Star Classics:
3,7,8,13,15,19,25,26,29,34,38,41,43,45,49,
51,52,53,55,56,59,63,65,66,68,69,70,71,72,75,77,79,81,83,84,85,86,90,91,92,93,96,98,100

2007 Upper Deck Future Stars:
6,11,20,23,26,28,29,40,57,60,74,76,80,85,88,93

I'm contemplating picking up a box of UD AS Classic to make up for the fact that I think I traded most of the Legends cards 76-100 that I had before.

I also want to show off the latest Topps #3 I've picked up, thanks to The Lost Collector.  He sent me the 1999 Topps Scott Brosius.  Some Yankees cards will be headed his way soon as a thanks.

Contest reminder...and my first pack of 2011 Heritage

Go here to find out how to vote on the bracket contest finals while you still can and enter for a chance to win some free cards!
Now that I got that out of the way, on to my first pack of 2011 Topps Heritage.

316 Joe Mauer "Mauer Sends One Into Orbit"
19 Jake McGee RC
79 Jordan Zimmerman
334 Tampa Bay Rays
229 Pedro Ciriaco RC
488 Koji Uehara SP
192 Florida Marlins
283 Danny Valencia
393 Hanley Ramirez All-Star
261 Reid Brignac
230 Francisco Liriano

Damn right, my 9 card pack yielded 11 cards.  I figured I'd scan all the cards that weren't standard veteran base cards, and that turned out to be most of the pack:

The team cards look great as do the multi-shot action cards.  I don't really get the point of the 75 short prints, but that's the way things go these days I guess.  I prefer last year's All-Star cards, but these aren't bad.  I understand that they are trying to be authentic, but have the RC logo AND the 2011 Rookie Star is kinda dumb.  I also picked up two of the Value Packs from Target that have 3 packs and 3 bonus black border cards, but I'll save those for later.  I have no intention of going after this set, so these cards are available for trade once you all get your fill of ripping packs.

Don't forget, go here to find out how to vote in the bracket contest finals and earn yourself a chance to win something.

The Finals...and a mini-contest

The bracket contest has reached the finals, where just two packs remain.  For the finals, the voting will be done a little differently than before.  Votes must be submitted to me via email (my email address can be found in my profile on the sidebar).  One vote per person. Voting will be open until 12:01 PM on Monday March 21.  Now for the incentive:

Each person that votes will be given one entry for a chance to win a small prize package suiting their collecting desires (if you collect Yankees, you'll get Yankees, if you collct 2011 Topps, you'll get 2011 Topps, if you collect Hockey, you'll get 1987 Topps Baseball...j/k I have a decent selection from most sports) A second entry will be granted for explaining why you voted for the pack.  The entries will be entered into random.org...you know the drill. 

The two finalists, A2 Wolverine and Dipayan Banerjee, you aren't eligible to vote, as I am assuming your votes will cancel each other, and since both of you already will be receiving prizes.

Without further delay, here are the finals:

#16: 2009 Bowman Draft Pack (A2 Wolverine)
BDP34 Drew Sutton RC
BDPP48 Robert Hefflinger
BDPP25 Brock Holt
BDPP72 Brian Moran Gold
BDPW14 Pedro Lazo WBC Chrome
BDP46 Trevor Crowe RC Chrome Refractor
BPA-JK Jason Knapp Autograph
>>> Just more proof that the auto is king. 

Wild Card 6 1999-00 Finest Basketball Series 1 Pack (Dipayan Banerjee):
  Chauncey Billups,
  Corliss Williamson,
  Tracy McGrady,
  Reggie Miller,
  Finest Producers Charles Barkley,
  Paul Pierce Sensations
>>> Finest lives up to its name.  I'm glad a wildcard pack made the finals.

Good Luck!

I love post-Christmas markdowns

A little over a month ago, I happened to be walking around K-Mart to do a little browsing.  Most everything Christmas-related had been discounted and sold with the exception of one rolling cart that had a bunch of crap on it marked 75% off, and a stack of candy canes from where they apparently ordered a few thousand too many boxes.  Mixed in with the candy that no one likes, the broken candles, and the occasional cologne/aftershave/deodorant set, was a box just Christmassy enough to make my day.

If you can't make it out from the picture, here is what it says:

20 Factory Sealed Packs
Baseball
Basketball
Football
and More!

Plus! 12 Bonus Cards
Assorted Sports

Includes 2 Game Used Cards
Football and Basketball Players

$14.99 Box Sale Only

Obviously, I was a little skeptical as to whether this would be on sale, too.  The box was definitely green and red with snowflakes, so I took it to the scanny thing in the toy aisle.  $3.75.  "Oh yeah baby, you're my cheap date tonight, " I said, as the kids in the toy section ran away. 

My favorite thing about blind boxes like this (other than the fact that I got it for dirt cheap) are these two phrases: "and More!" and "Assorted Sports".  That is the equivalent of saying, "this box will contain junk packs you had no clue existed".  This usually means that you will get some kind of German soccer cards or Turkish horse racing cards or something of the like.

Let's see the 12 guaranteed cards:

First off, all the junk in this box was just tossed in, with the loose cards floating around between packs.  Sa-weet.

2001 Pacific Dynagon Michael Bennett RC (NCAA/NFL)
>>> eh.

2001 Pacific Dynagon Todd Heap RC (NCAA/NFL)
>>> Whoa, that's like a decent card, of, like, a guy who is good.  Didn't see that coming.

2007-08 Fleer Hot Prospects Shane Doan (NHL)
>>> Standard hockey inclusion

2006 Topps Update Odalis Perez (MLB)
>>> bland baseball card, check.

2004 UD Golf Championship Portfolio Annika Sorenstam (PGA/LPGA)
>>> Ok, this is pretty cool, actually

1996 Skybox Bryant Reeves Lottery Pick (NBA)
>>> Big Country, right on.

2007 Sage Hit "The Write Stuff" John Beck (NCAA/NFL)
>>> Another college football eh.

2007 Sage Hit "The Write Stuff" Adrian Peterson (NCAA/NFL)
>>> Wow, really?!?! This card books for $12. Not that book means anything, but I paid less than $4 for the whole damn box.

2006 Upper Deck Sidney Crosby Phenomenal Beginnings SC1 (NHL)
>>> This thing is big, 3.5"x5", where did this come from? What is like a box topper or something? It's still in it's own wrapper.

2007 Upper Deck NHL Rookies (Matt Carle, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, Paul Stastny, Alexander Radulov, Jordan Staal) (NHL)
>>> Another hockey big, 3.5"x5" card, still in the wrapper. 

That makes 10, so the last two must be the big game-used hits:
2006 Upper Deck Leon Washington Future Star Materials Jersey
>>> Not bad.  It's a nice green swatch.  This one's probably going in BA Benny's stack.

2005 Upper Deck SP Game Used Edition Stephon Marbury Authentic Fabrics Jersey
>>> I think Marbury probably shows up a lot in these boxes.  Another guy who was once a star that kinda went nuts.  This card is really nice, though.



















Here's a look at all the box contents:

A few notable packs: 

Top Middle - Random Silver "Bonus Pack".  Hmm, looks like one of the little blaster bonus things.  Maybe some Topps Trading Card History or some Dick Perez cards?

Bottom, third from left - A cut apart 2006 Topps Football rack pack.

Bottom Middle - 1991-92 Pro Set Les Cartes Des Pros Du Hockey Serie I Edition Francaise.  No German soccer cards, but did get French hockey cards.  That's great, too, because I don't speak any French.  Sorry for not including any of the crazy accents and characters, like the "c with a tail" in Francaise, like the one in Pierre Garcon.  In fact, in my insensitive brain, I pronounce Francaise as "Frankis".  Pardon my French, really.

The packs will randomly show up on here in the next few weeks, along with a bunch of other random packs I've picked up lately. 

But, for now, I leave you with this:



Baguette, aw haw haw!

More Plaschke Goodness

I recently completed my second trade with Greg over at Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle, where I was able to dump off some of the Russell Martins that haunt my dreams.  He shows up everywhere.  Anyway, Greg posted the cards I sent him, here.  Greg sent me a number of PC cards, including a couple of great Justin Uptons:

I especially love the SilverHawks card since it is one I hadn't ever seen.  Greg also hooked me up with a 2009 Allen and Ginter SP and a great 2008 Masterpieces Framed SP

Thanks, again, for another great trade!

Another NPN success

I got another NPN package from Upper Deck the day after the one I posted a few days ago.  I won another hockey card, this time from 2010-11 Upper Deck Hockey Series 1.  The card is a Young Guns Rookie Card of Dana Tyrell from the Tampa Bay Lightning:















Again, not bad for a free card, though since it's hockey, I'm a little more happy about the free toploader, penny sleeve, and bubble mailer to reuse.  Any Tampa Bay Lightning fans out there?

More 2011 Topps: $10 Hanger Thingy

I finally caved in Wal-Mart the other day and picked up a half-blaster-cereal-box-2.0-72-card-with-special-exclusive-blue-card-hanger-pack-thing. 

I got the #3 Jon Lester card for my Topps #3 Collection.

The inserts:

Cory Luebke Platinum Diamond Anniversary shiny
Starlin Castro ToppsTown
Orlando Cepeda Topps 60
Honus Wagner Reprint
Gaylord Perry 60 YOT
Andrew McCutchen Kimballs Champions Mini

I also picked up a couple of cards for my PC:

Michael Cuddyer base and Justin Upton Diamond Duos w/ Mike Stanton.  I have been a 2011 Topps Justin Upton magnet recently.  I've got more of his 2011 Topps cards than all of my other PC players total.  That Cuddyer card is sweet.

Last but not least, the exclusive card:

Not bad.  I seem to be pretty good at pulling Jackie out of cereal boxes.  In 2009 I got the Platinum Chrome Refractor and the Legends of the Game insert, in 2010 I pulled the Jackie base SP, and now this.  I do have to say though, I would have preferred to see a better design for an exclusive card.  How sick would it have been if these cards were made sparkly like the Platinum Diamond Anniversary cards?

I almost forgot the best card in the pack: the Diamond Giveaway Code.  I plugged that bad boy in anticipating a nice '87 or '90, but instead I got this:

1960 Felix Mantilla of the Milwaukee Braves.  By far the best card I've gotten in either Topps giveaway.