2009 Topps T-206
2 hours ago
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.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
2 Packs of 1990 Donruss
These packs of 1990 Donruss cards have been lying by the computer for the last couple of weeks. So, I thought to myself, why not write about them? Each pack comes with a puzzle piece for a Carl Yastrzemski puzzle. I hope that Yaz is recovering well from his heart surgery earlier this week, get well soon, Yaz.
Pack 1
#518 Frank DiPino
Dipino was pretty good in 1989, putting up a 9-0 record, a 2.45 ERA and walking only 20 batters in 88 innings. He was hit or miss for much of his career, but DiPino pitched until he was 37 because you can never have enough lefty relievers.
#581 Scott Bradley
Bradley had 1648 career at-bats, and walked 104 times. At least he didn't strike out a whole lot, as he only had 110 career strikeouts, so he's got something going for him. According to Wikipedia, Bradley is now the baseball coach at Princeton.
#230 Will Clark
Hey, a pretty good player for once. Clark was the man in the late 80s and early 90s. He single-handedly beat the Cubs in the 1989 NLCS. Back in the prime of his career, Clark looked like a sure Hall of Famer, but things didn't quite work out that way. Hell of a player, though.
#179 Luis Aquino
It looks as if Aquino is about to shake off his catcher on this card. Aquino was a decent pitcher, with good control, but he didn't strike out many batters (4.21K/9).
#303 Nick Esasky
Esasky had a big year in 1989, hitting 30 home runs and driving in 108 runs. The Braves, needing as much help as they could get, signed Esasky to a big money deal, hoping he could give the team a much needed power boost. What happened instead was bizarre, as Esasky somehow developed vertigo from an ear infection. He only played nine games for the Braves. I know it wasn't Esasky's fault, but I can't think of another big free-agent signing playing less than Esasky did.
#308 Tom Browning
Browning once pitched a perfect game against the Dodgers in 1988. The first baseman that day was Nick Esasky. That has nothing to do with anything, but I find it interesting.
#665 Nolan Ryan (King of Kings)
Sweet card here, although I'm not sure what the heck is going on in the background. Still, it's cool to get a card of a legend like Nolan Ryan.
#60 Danny Jackson
Jackson was just awesome in 1988, going 23-8 with a 2.73 ERA. He would have won the Cy Young award if not for Orel Hershiser. Unfortunatetly, Jackson was only mediocre to good for the rest of his career, finishing with an ERA+ of 100 (which basically means that Jackson was exactly average). He did pitch in three World Series, though.
#85 Kevin Seitzer
Seitzer wasn't the greatest fielder, and never had a ton of power, but the man could flat out hit. He led the AL in hits as a rookie in 1987. In my opinion, he was a victim of following George Brett's shoes, and the Royals never appreciated what they had in Seitzer just because he wasn't quite as good as George Brett.
#628 Les Lancaster
The most vivid memory I have of Lancaster is watching a Braves-Cubs game in 1991 or 1992. Lancaster kept warming up and sitting back down, warming up about five times before finally getting into the game in the 8th inning. Story aside, Lancaster was awesome in 1989, posting a 1.36 ERA in 73 innings for the division winning Cubs.
#BC-5 Orel Hershiser (MVP)
Orel was a pretty good pitcher, and he isn't a bad tv analyst either. I don't think his incredible 59 inning scoreless streak will be broken for a long time. I mean, that's like pitching 6 and a half whole games without allowing a run.
#519 Randy Milligan
Milligan was a lot like Nick Johnson, a first-baseman who drew a bunch of walks but didn't have overwhelming power. Unfortunately for Milligan, teams didn't value On-Base percentage a whole lot in the 80s, and he came up with the Mets, who had Keith Hernandez blocking his path. As such, Milligan didn't get a full time gig in the majors until he was 27, with the Orioles. Milligan retired in 1994 with a .391 career on base percentage.
#582 Greg Harris
The thing I most remember about Harris, a long time reliever who pitched for a bunch of teams, was that the media would bring up the fact that Harris, a right handed thrower, was ambidextrious, and wanted to pitch a game left-handed. Well, late in the 1995 season, with the Expos out of the pennant race, Harris got the go-ahead to pitch some left-handed in a game against the Cincinatti Reds. He pitched to two batters left handed, Hal Morris and Eddie Taubensee, walking Morris and getting Taubensee to ground out, before switching back to his right hand to get Bret Boone out to end the inning. Harris is the only pitcher to alternate arms in the same game during baseball's modern era. That doesn't mean this card is worth more than a common, it's just interesting.
#584 Lee Mazzilli
Mazzilli was with the Mets during the post-Seaver years of the late 70s, playing for some wretched teams. It was nice that the Mets brought him back for their championship run in 1986, though perhaps they kept him too long. Mazzilli was wretched in 1988 (.147 average, 2 XBH in 116 at-bats). Mazzilli got a raw deal as Orioles manager in 2005, as the team collapsed due to circumstances outside of his control (i.e., Palmerio getting busted for steroids, then pointing the finger at Miguel Tejada). I don't know if Mazzilli will get another shot at managing, but I feel that he should.
#236 Bill Doran
Doran was a good hitting second baseman, except during the second half of the 1989 season. With the Astros in a pennant race, Doran put up the following numbers during that second half: .136 batting average, .244 OBP, a .182 slugging percentage. That is one hell of a slump.
#185 Mark McGwire
About a decade ago, McGwire was credited by many people as the savior of baseball. He was a national hero. My how times have changed.
Pack 2
#96 Carney Lansford
Lansford stole 37 bases in 1989, which is amazing to me because I remember him being pretty slow. I guess he had deceptive speed. Lansford was a heck of a hitter, though, even winning the AL batting title in 1981. Lansford also was in the movie "Angels in the Outfield", a film which I know I have seen but I can't remember anything about it.
#455 Scott Fletcher
Fletcher was traded with Sammy Sosa and Wilson Alveraz for Harold Baines. The White Sox would repeat the Rangers' mistake, and let Fletcher walk as a free agent after the 1991 season. Fletcher was nothing more than a decent shortstop, who didn't take anything off the table, but didn't bring anything to it, either.
#459 Paul Assenmacher
I have no idea where the name Assenmacher originated from, but Paul Assenmacher was a solid left-handed reliever for a number of years. Assenmacher pitched 884 games in his career, ranking him 23rd in major league history.
#521 Mike Jeffcoat
I'm sure Mike Jeffcoat is a nice guy, I just have nothing interesting to say about him.
#169 Mickey Tettleton
Some ballplayers get their power from steroids and HGH, Tettleton got his power from Fruit Loops. Tettleton was the ninties version of Gene Tenace, lots of strikeouts and a low batting average, but lots of walks and a lot of home runs.
#359 Larry Andersen
Besides being a good relief pitcher (good enough for the Red Sox to trade Jeff Bagwell for), Andersen was also credited as being the funniest man in baseball during his career. I'd provide examples of his wit, but I don't remember any right now.
#245 Alvaro Espinoza
Here's an interesting stat for you, Alvaro Ezpinoza had 503 at bats in 1989. He drew 14 walks. This in spite of those thick glasses he is wearing. The only reason Espinoza played so much is that the Yankees original starting shortstop, Rafael Santana, missed the season due to injury. That's a duo reminiscent of Mantle and Maris right there.
#367 Pat Sheridan
Earlier in his career, Sheridan wore glasses on the field. I guess he decided to go with contacts by this point. However, his .221 average in 1989 suggests that maybe Sheridan should have stuck with the glasses.
#372 Bryan Harvey
Harvey was postively dominant from 1988-1991, Harvey was dominant, and was the best closer in the game with the exception of Dennis Eckersley. However, injuries cut him down, and except for a big season in 1993 with the expansion Marlins, Harvey never would reach those same heights again.
#612 Mark Thurmond
Thurmond was the prototypical junk-throwing left hander. In 837 and 2/3 career innings, Thurmond struck out a mere 3.43 batters per nine innings. He had a career ERA+ of 101, and was very good for the NL Champion Padres in 1984 (14-8, 2.97 ERA in 178 2/3 innings), so Thurmond was able to fool enough batters to have a decent career.
#617 Don August
August should be a cautionary tale as to why you can't trust pitchers with low strikeout rates. In 1988, August went 13-7 with a 3.09 ERA for the Brewers, but only struck out 66 batters in 148 innings (4.01K/9). The next year, August put up a 5.31 ERA (though his record was remarkably 12-12), and struck out 51 batters in 142 innings (3.23K/9). Needless to say, August didn't last much longer.
#96 Cal Ripken
Sweet, a Hall of Famer and a card of Ripken I don't have. There have been many things said about Ripken so I will just say this, I don't believe that Kevin Costner story for a second.
#102 Spike Owen
Spike is not a nickname, it's his given name. Owen was basically Scott Fletcher lite, except Owen was better at drawing a walk.
#460 Zane Smith
Zane Smith went 1-12 for the 1989 Braves before being traded to the Expos for three guys I don't care to remember (Pitchers Sergio Valdez and Nate Minchey and outfielder Kevin Dean, in case you were wondering). Sure, Smith had a 4.45 ERA, but you'd think the Braves could score enough runs to give him 4 wins. Then again, the 1989 Braves would have trouble scoring even if you let them start every inning with a runner on second base. so who knows.
#522 Mike Harkey
Harkey was the fourth overall pick in the 1987 amateur draft by the Cubs. Unfortunately, his career was cut short by arm injuries.
#525 Tony Armas
Armas was an odd player. He'd hit for power, but not for average, and he seemed allergic to walks. He hardly ever stole a base, but was quick enough to play center field. He also had a couple of kids (Marcos and Tony Jr.) who played in the big leagues.
#175 Dan Plesac
Plesac started out as the Brewers closer, doing very well (100 saves from 1986-89). He struggled in 1990 and 1991, and was eventually moved to a set up role. Except for a few months with the 1996 Pirates, Plesac never got a chance to close again, even though he played until 2003. I guess teams felt Plesac was too valuable as a LOOGY (Lefty-one-out-guy) to move into the closer's role or something. Plesac pitched 1064 games in his career (sixth all time), but I wonder why he never go another shot at closing. Oh well.
Overview
For a couple of 1990 Donruss packs, they weren't too bad. No rookies, but two Hall-of-Famers (Ryan and Ripken) and a third who may be (McGwire). Plus, even though I have a bunch of 1990 Donruss, I didn't get too many duplicates. Overall, I'd give the two a C+
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