Stacks of Packs

Monday, October 24, 2011

Reopening the doors

This is just a quick little update stating that I hope to be writing some on this blog in the very near future. I may not talk exclusively about baseball cards, but I do plan on keeping that the main focus of this blog. Sorry for the long absence, if anyone is reading this, but I hope to return very soon.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

How rare is this card?

I just recently pulled this card from a pack 0f 2008 Upper Deck Series 2 and I haven't found too much information about it. I know it's pretty rare, but how rare is it?

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Another Hero of mine has passed away

Former UFC Middleweight Champion Evan Tanner was found dead last night. Tanner was only 37 years old.

I don't really know what to say. Ever since the first time I saw Tanner fight he has been my favorite fighter; not only for his fighting ability, but for his personality. He overcame his personal demons and was finally happy with his life again.

I could say so much more, but there is nothing I could say to give Evan Tanner the amount of credit he deserves.

Rest in Peace Evan, I will never forget what you meant to me.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

A couple of recent hits

First off a few 2008 Bowman Auto's:

Josh Bell of the LA Dodgers
Jarrod Parker of the Diamondbacks organization.

Matt Dominguez Refractor /500

Next is a card that I received in a package I received from Bad Wax. I won a contest celebrating the 50,000 visitor to the site. The prize was a sealed package of a game-used or autograph card, along with a team set, and an unopened pack of cards.

Here was the autograph card:
A 2004 UD Etchings Chris Capuano Etched in Time Autograph /375. Pretty sweet card. Thank you once again to Mike from Bad Wax. And if you haven't checked out his blog yet, please do, it is well worth the time.

I pulled this Erstad jersey card out of a box of 16 random packs I bought from Wal-Mart. Usually the packs are unspectacular, but at the very moment I opened this pack I said to myself "I'll probably never get a jersey or autograph card out of a box like this." Next things you know, BAM! It's a pretty sweet card of a very underrated player.

2008 Upper Deck Football Mario Manningham "event-worn" jersey card. I think the Giants drafted him so they can listen to the announcers say: "Manning to Mannigham." Eh, maybe not, but I can dream.

Superman's Cape from 2008 Upper Deck A Piece of History. It's from the movie Superman 3 starring Christopher Reeve. This card is a lot better than the Birdcage relic I got a few months ago.

OVERALL RATING for no reason:

IV out of V

Sunday, August 31, 2008

35 cards for 2 dollars, good idea or bad?

Hey, college football season is here. That's great, but so is getting 35 re-packaged baseball cards for $1.99. I don't feel like going in depth here, so I'll just write a quick statement about each of the cards. Besides, college football season is here, and I've got to write quickly to watch it.

The Cards:

2006 ESPN Baseball #88 Carlos Delgado: Lefty masher, a potential future Hall of Famer.
2006 Topps #BOS14 Josh Beckett: The best postseason pitcher of the century.
1986 Topps #602 Mariano Duncan: Somehow voted as the N.L. starting second baseman of the 1994 All-Star Game
1990 Donruss #89 Bret Saberhagen: Two-time Cy Young winner, could have been a Hall of Famer if not for injuries
2004 Topps #111 Braden Looper: Mediocre closer turned mediocre starter.
1988 Fleer #113 Garth Iorg: Long-time Blue Jay
1988 Fleer #256 Steve Farr: Decent reliever, Didn't debut in the majors until he was 27.
2005 Topps #733 Postseason Highlights: World Series Game 3: Boston 4-St. Louis 1
1992 Leaf #124 Don Slaught: Better than Mike Lavalliere
1985 Donruss #535 Vic Rodriguez: Never heard of him
2008 Topps #CLE5 Casey Blake: Late-bloomer, underrated player.
1992 Leaf #70 Glenallen Hill: Hates spiders (see no. 23)
2006 Topps#601 Atlanta Braves: Shows a team picture of the 2005 Braves, the last of a dynasty.
2001 UD Victory #197 Robert Fick: Former Brave, didn't really pan out for the team, though.
1991 Score #273 R.J. Reynolds: The former Pirate outfielder, not the tobacco company.
2008 Topps #HOU2 Brad Ausmus: Starting catcher for way too long for the Astros.
1991 Score #830 Glenn Davis: Washed-up before he was 30.
1991 Score #537 Roger McDowell: A better prankster than a pitcher, even if he was a good pitcher.
2006 Topps #MIL10 Russell Branyan: Swing and a miss.
1994 Bowman #311 Robert Toth: Never heard of him.
2008 Topps #ATL12 Jeff Francoeur: Hopefully, Francouer can rebound from a poor 2008, much in the way Ron Gant did for the Braves in 1990.
1988 Fleer #399 Ron Hassey: The only catcher of two perfect games.
2006 Topps #BAL4 Brian Roberts: Has been rumored to be traded for about three years.
2001 Topps Gallery #36 Jason Kendall: A career .294 hitter, which surprises me.
1994 Topps Finest #13 Troy Neel: Went to Japan after the 1994 strike.
2006 Topps #CHC12 Jacque Jones: Career may be over, career .230 hitter against lefties.
1990 Star #13 Brad Hopper: Former Royals prospect, never heard of him.
2003 Topps #244 Brad Wilkerson: Career seems to be on the Glenn Davis path.
1988 Fleer #218 Willie Randolph: A better player than manager.
2003 UD MVP #106 Geoff Jenkins: Injury-prone, but a good hitter.
1988 Fleer #150 Doug Sisk: Middle reliever for the '86 Mets.
2006 Topps #PHI8 Aaron Rowand: Good player who's played like a superstar.
2006 Topps #PHI11 Jon Lieber: Former 20 game winner, excellent control.
2006 Topps #HOU1 Roy Oswalt: Having an off year, but still among the best pitchers in baseball.
1988 Fleer #370 Scott Bradley: Left-handed hitting catcher, coaches at Princeton.
1988 Fleer #648 Major League Prospects (Greg Jelks, Tom Newell): Prospects look dim.
2007 Bowman Draft Picks Future's Game Prospects #46 Homer Bailey: Will 2009 be the year of the Homer?

Overview: Honestly, I was expecting more older cards, and I was surpised to see a lot of cards from the 2000s in here. It's not the greatest collection ever, but there are a couple of current stars like Delgado and Oswalt, and an early card (if not a rookie) of prospect Homer Bailey. I'll give the package about a C.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites

Like the 1990 Donruss packs, this pack of 2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites has been lying next to my computer screen for the last couple of weeks. Basically, the set is made up retired players who played during the Topps era, although there could be a few players that were active in 2005. The cards themselves are designed in the style of previous Topps sets. For example, the Bob Boone card below is designed in the style that the 1978 Topps baseball cards were. Got it, good. For a nostaglia mark like myself, this is a pretty cool product. Well, let's see what we've got.

#132 Bob Boone

Boone was a catcher more known for his defense and durability than for his hitting. Only one other player has caught more games than Boone's 2,225, and that man, Carlton Fisk, has caught only one game more than Boone did. Boone later went on to manage some bad teams in Kansas City and in Cincinnati.

#37 Al Kaline

Sweet, a Hall of Famer. Kaline was a great player, even if he had his best season at age 20. I never realized this until a friend mentioned it a few weeks ago, but if you combine his first and last names, you get Alkaline. It is safe to say that Al Kaline powered the Detroit lineup for many years (bad joke, I apologize).

#78 Carl Yastrzemski

It was good to hear that Yaz was released from the hospital and that he is doing well. Yaz was a player that did everything well and remains the last Triple Crown winner in baseball history.

#40 Bill Mazeroski

Three Hall of Famers in a row, although the previous two were slam dunks while Mazeroski's selection remains debateable. He hit perhaps the most famous home run in the game's history in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series. That, and his defensive reputation, got him into the Hall of Fame. Good for him, but there are better second basemen than Mazeroski (Joe Gordon, Lou Whitaker, Bobby Grich) that will never be elected into the Hall of Fame.

#53 Atlee Hammaker

There are 142 cards in this set. The fact that Topps gave Hammaker a spot among the "All-Time Fan Favorites" is either very charitable or very curious. Hammaker wasn't a terrible player, but in no way does a 59-67 record and 1 All-Star apperance in a 12 season career inspire the term, 'fan favorite'. Hammaker was great in 1983 (10-9, NL leading 2.25 ERA and NL leading 1.03 WHIP (Walks+Hits per inning), but he also became the only pitcher in All-Star Game history to allow a Grand Slam that year (to Fred Lynn).

#51 Matt Williams

Not a bad way to end the pack. Williams was always a favorite of mine, expect in 1993 when his Giants were battling with the Braves for the N.L. West Title. It would have been interesting to see if Williams would have broken the single-season home run record in 1994, but the dang strike ended whatever chance he had at hitting 62 home runs. At the time, Williams had 43 home runs, and the Giants still had 47 games left, so it's very possible that Williams, and not Mark McGwire, would have been the man to break Maris's mark.

Overview:

Pretty cool pack, with the three Hall of Famers being the highlight. The inclusion of Hammaker is curious, but does not take away from the quality of this pack. I'll give an 9.0415626 out of 9.95268368

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Random Braves cards

I recently purchased a lot off of Ebay for 5 bucks. It wasn't really a specific lot, but it was supposed to include at least two autographs and a couple of numbered cards. I asked him if there were any Braves cards he could put in this lot, and these are what I got:

First is a 2006 Bowman Blue Parallel Horacio Ramirez #495/500. Horacio was a pitcher that I thought always showed great promise but would follow every good start with an equally bad start.

2006 Topps '52 Anthony Lerew Autographed Rookie Card. I really like this card. Lerew was once a top pitching prospect for the Braves. Last year he had some arm troubles and had to undergo Tommy John surgery. He has only pitched a total of 19 games the last two seasons, 16 of them in the minors. But I still have hope that Lerew can become a successful pitcher.

Next is a 2003 Topps Own the Game card of Javy Lopez. Lopez is probably the best catcher in Braves history. Joe Torre is a very close second, but he had a lot of good seasons after he left Atlanta, including three straight 100+ RBI seasons with St. Louis. Brian McCann could be the best in the future, but that remains to be determined.

1993 Leaf Greg Maddux. Maddux is my all-time favorite pitcher and any cards of his gets an A+ in my book.

1993 Leaf John Smoltz. Probably my second favorite pitcher of all-time, tied with Tom Glavine. These two cards mark the beginning of one of the best pitching staffs in history. Three surefire Hall of Famers in one rotation for about 10 or so years. It's hard to get better than that.

2005 Topps Update Jeff Francouer Gold #0938/2005. Francouer may be struggling this season but he is only 24, I can't call him a kid though as he is six months older than I am. Francouer is still fun to watch in the field however. He has one of the most explosive arms i've ever seen...sometimes it's just too explosive.

2004 Bowman Sterling Autograph of Alec Zumwalt. For some reason i've never heard of this guy. He was a fourth round pick by the Braves in 1999, but he never made it past Triple-A. Still, it's a pretty nice looking card with a nice autograph on it.

2006 Topps Own the Game Andruw Jones. Yup.

1998 Score Chipper Jones. A Chipper card I don't have, and it is added to the collection.

2005 Topps Chrome Update Chuck James Rookie Card.

2005 Bowman Chrome First Year card of Matt DeSalvo. DeSalvo got called up this year from Triple-A even though he had a 2-9 record... I guess that shows you how bad the Braves are desperate for healthy arms.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I was kind of impressed. It was only five bucks and I had ZERO expectations for this lot, but it turned out pretty good. I got three future Hall of Famers and some pretty nice rookie cards. Overall for Five bucks I definitely got my money's worth.

I give it a score of 493 out 500.