Aloha Mr. Hand

Greetings from Aruba!

Look I know that all of you have been wondering where I've been recently and worried that I may be in sort sort of trouble. I thank you for your concern, but I'm OK. Better than OK. I'm in a place where the beer flows like wine. Where beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano. I'm talking about a little place called Aruba. So far I've been unable to find any baseball cards.

What I have been able to find is 90 degree heat, wind, $5 11oz. cans of Balashi beer, the occasional margarita, and a few fruity, panzy foo-foo drinks that for some reason gave me a stomach ache.

I've been largely unable to keep up with the current baseball happenings. I do catch an occasional score on a TV in a casino, however. And last night the breaking news on ESPN was that "Roger Goodell hopes to talk to Brett Farve on thurday". I'm crappin' you negative. That was the breaking news. That two guys may or may not have a conversation about something.

I also see that the Tigers have traded Ivan Rodriguez for Kyle Farnsworth. I know nothing about this trade other than that it has happened. I haven't looked anything up and know next to nothing about what either of these players are doing this year, what they are making, and when they are free agents. That, however, will not stop me from giving my opinion on the matter.

1. Are you freakin' kidding me Tigers? Why in the world would you give up an all star catcher to help out the Yankees? The Yankees are in a terrible spot at catcher and you help then out? Really? It would serve you right if you met them in the playoffs and Pudge hit a walk off in game 7.
2. For Kyle Freakin' Farnsworth? I know you need bullpen help but wasn't Farnsworth was the best you could do? For Pudge? I haven't seen the stats but I'm pretty sure Kyle is a dude who gives up the occasional long ball. I'm fact, I hate the Yankees, but it would be funny if Pudge hit that HR off Farnsworth.
3. It's almost like Costanza is still working for the Yankees and he came up with this trade (similar to the Griffey Jr for Bernie Williams idea). And the Tigers said "OK...sounds good to us"
4. I think the Tigers GM should be immediately fired for helping the Yankees and made to watch a marathon of Olson Twins movies.

Anyway, I''m going to get back to the beach. The weather and the water are beautiful. The scenery is pretty nice too. Over all, it's not much different than Cleveland.

Aloha means goodbye.

Achiever Contest #1

Welcome to the first contest on the Achiever Blog. There are a posible 2 prizes to win

1. First Prize: The card represented in the above picture.
2. Grand Prize: My undying respect and admiration.

To win the first prize all you need to do is tell me who the player is. Yes kids, it's just that easy.

To win the grand prize you need to tell me the player, year and set. This seemed like it was probably too hard to require.

The best part is the same person could win both prizes! Wouldn't that be somethin'?

Whoever is the first person to guess right will get the card and maybe a few more or whatever I feel like sending them.

The contest ends whenever the hell I say it does.

Random Movie Quote: # 1

This will be a recurring feature on the Achiever Blog. It's not very original, nor is it very interesting for that matter. What is important to understand is that I can do this in a few minutes from work. I haven't yet figured out how to use my work computer to post scanned cards and pictures from the interwebs. So I'll keep trying to come up with more goofy stuff to keep myself amused.

The Random Movie Quote will be posted whenever the hell I feel like it. It won't be relevant. And, it won't have much to do with anything whatsoever. It may be from a movie I've recently seen. It may be from one from a long time ago that just happened to pop into my head. The quote may or may not be completely accurate and I encourage anyone to correct any errors. They will all be quotes that I find amusing for one reason or another.

So, without further adu, here is today's quote:

"You know me Lo...I'm only good at 100 plus with a couple of cops on my tail"

- Ice Cube - XXX:State of the Union

Why is this quote awesome?

Mostly because Ice Cube said it, and it is the most ridiculous thing uttered in at the end of a movie that is in the 99th percentile for ridiculousness. This movie was a train wreck. I have no idea how the hell it even got made. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. Just don't expect it to be good. Or to even make the remotest amount of sense. It isn't, and it won't. But watching a movie this bad is almost like joining a club. For example:

Guy #1: "Has anyone here seen XXX?"
Guy #2: "I have"
Both: Hahahahahahahahahaha

You don't want to be left out of that conversation, do you? I sure don't.

I also want to know how the hell Dafoe ended up in this. I understand Cube. He wants to be an action star. I understand SL Jackson. He'll be in anything that amuses him, no matter how lame. It's part of what I love about him. But how the hell did Dafoe end up in this turd? Was he blackmailed? Or does he have the world's worst agent?

Anyway, back to the quote. It's at the end, after the big climax, when Cube is talking to his special lady. It's that scene that's been in countless movies where the girl wants the guy to settle down with her, but he's too much of a free spirit and can't be tied down, no matter how much he loves her. This quote might be the best explanation of why the hero must remain untethered that I've ever heard. I feel the same way myself.

If either of you readers can think of others I'd love to hear them.

The Evolution of Oscar Gamble

Everyone knows Oscar Gamble. At least, every collector knows Oscar Gamble's cards. There were a few others in the 70's that sported the fro-tire such as Bake McBride, bit none pulled it off with the same panache and style. Oscar grew his with a reckless abandon and devil-may-care attitude that rendered his fro both glorious and timeless.

So imagine my delight when, upon waking up this morning, I was treated in the local paper to a short article on Oscars most famous of baseball cards, the 76 Topps Traded. It is linked to here and is better and more thorough than anything I could possibly write on the subject. I recommend you read it in it's entirety. It isn't that long. For those of you who lack the time or inclination, the gist of the story is that Oscar is still recognized more from his cards than from his playing career. He grew it initially in an attempted to get more playing time from his manager. And, he cut it when traded to the Yankees, not unlike Johnny Damon.

He's bald now. This fact led to my favorite quote in the article. "I didn't decide to get rid of it, it made that decision on it's own." Too funny.

Anyway, it made me curious as to Oscars other cards. I decided to post a sort of retrospective. Call it Oscar through the years. Here they are:

The 1970 rookie card. This is the earliest one I could find and see no reason to think there were any prior. This is a good start as there is no fro at all. This will make what we all know is too came all the better.

1972 Topps. This one appears to be a little more developed than a few years ago. Still nothing to write home about, but you can see the confidence growing. Oscar is definitely not a rookie anymore.

1974 Topps. The Legend starts. I have absolutely no data to back this up, but I imagine that this fro-tire would put him top 10, possibly top 5 in the league at this point. It's good, but the hat still fits and is a reasonable size.

1975 Topps. Here we are! Now we're cookin'! Oscar is through messing around. This is serious business now. I doubt anyone can touch this.

1976 Topps Traded. This is the money shot. This is the one that guarantees Oscars place in the pantheon of baseball cards. An All-Timer. Look at the size of that hat! Years later, when people would comment on the growth in size of Barry Bonds hat in conjunction with his (alleged) steroid use, I don't know why he didn't point to Oscar Gamble as a comparison. After all, no one has ever accused Oscar of using steroids, right?

When people think of these big baseball fros, this is the card that they think of.

1977 Topps. Damn you George Steinbrenner and your stupid stance on facial hair and grooming. Fascist!

1978 Topps. OK, now that he's out of New York and their medieval autocracy, Oscar can let himself go again. At least a little bit. However, I fear that the salad days are over and a complete return to form is not in the cards.

1979 Topps. Not bad, not bad. Still, it's just not the same.

1980 Topps. Oscar is back with the Yankees and the fro is, not as glorious as it once was, but...I guess flourishing could be appropriate here. Not bad at all really. You can almost see him giving George the finger here.

1982 Topps. Definitely past his prime. I guess all good things must come to an end.

1984 Topps. Oscar's last card until some later "looking back" type cards. So this is how it ends. Not with a bang, but with a whimper. And a normal size hat.

Most things come back into style. Why not the fro-tire? I do believe it's about time. Someone get Curtis Granderson on the horn. He's got work to do.

That's it. Hope you enjoyed this little retrospective. Both of you.

All Star Lineups

All star lineups have been released (not that you needed to come here to find out). Here they are:

American League:
1. Ichiro (Mariners) rf
2. Derek Jeter (Yankees) ss
3. Josh Hamilton (Rangers) cf
4. Alex Rodriguez (Yankees) 3b
5. Manny Ramirez (Red Sox) lf
6. Milton Bradley (Rangers) dh
7. Kevin Youklis (Red Sox) 1b
8. Joe Mauer (Twins) c
9. Dustin Pedroia (Red Sox) 2b
SP Cliff Lee (Indians) lhp

National League:
1. Hanley Ramirez (Marlins) ss
2. Chase Utley (Phillies) 2b
3. Lance Berkman (Astros) 1b
4. Albert Pujols (Cards) dh
5. Chipper Jones (Braves) 3b
6. Matt Holliday (Rockies) rf
7. Ryan Braun (Brewers) lf
8. Kosuke Fukudome (Cubs) cf
9. Geovany Soto (Cubs) c
SP Ben Sheets (Brewers) rhp

Edges:
American league:
C - To tell you the truth I may have this one wrong. I just don't know too much about Soto. I haven't seen him play. I do know that I really like Mauer so he gets the nod from me.

3b - Look, Jones is great. He's having a great season, and I really do hope he hits .400. That would be incredible. But he's up against a guy who is arguably the greatest ever.

lf - If you are picking a guy for your team for the long haul you definitely go with Braun. If you need one guy to give you a big hit in one game you go with Ramirez.

cf - Josh Hamilton has 95 rbi. 95. I'll write it again, Hamilton has 95 rbi. Fukudome has a name that is fun to say and a shitload of singles. The guy is a slappy. This one's no contest.

rf - Ichiro has een soing it for a long time. Holliday is great but do you really pick him over Ichiro away from Coors? Let me ask it this way. If you were pitching, who would you rather face with the game on the line? I'd rather face Holliday. If you disagree, well, that's just like, your opinion, man.

National League:
SP - I'm a Cleveland guy. I love Cliff Lee. What he's done this year is incredible. He may win the Cy Young AND Comeback Player of the Year. I don't know if that's ever been done before. But I think you really have to go with experience here, and Sheets has more.

1b - Berkman vs Youklis is no contest.

2b - Dustin Pedroia is scrappy. He's a gamer (whatever the hell that means). But, if given the opportunity, even Red Sox fans would trade him for Utley in about 1/2 second. Why? Because Red Sox fans are annoying, not stupid. Another no contest.

ss - I like Hanley. He's going to be great for a long time. Just maybe not at short for too long. And Jeter may be the most overrated player ever. Now, New York fans probably wouldn't trade Jeter for Ramirez. Why? Yankee fans are annoying AND stupid.

Prediction? One game with this level of talent...anything can happen. Has the AL dominated this past decade because they are a better league? Possibly. They ARE a better league. But, I think that this streak is just random. You can flip a coin and come up with 10 straight heads too. It just isn't likely. That doesn't mean heads is better on the next flip. I don't necessarily think that the AL is a better All Star team. The lineups look pretty even to me.

Final: AL8 - NL3. Just because when it rains, it pours.

IPod Extravaganza! #1

During the week I'm usually at work where I have no access to a scanner or my cards. This drastically limits what I can post. I have a few really stupid ideas. This is only the first. That's right kids! There's plenty more crap where this came from!

The IPod Extravaganza is a feature where I hit shuffle on my IPod and let you know what comes up. I know you're excited but try to settle down. I guess 5 songs is as good as any other number. No cheating - I promise.

OK, here we go!

#1/3904 - The Full Bug - Van Halen (Diver Down)
This is one of those Van Halen songs with David Lee Roth from when I was too young to really be a fan. I became a huge fan with "1984" and continuing with Sammy Hagar (You got a problem with that?). Then I had to go back and get the whole catalog. Whatever you might think about Roth now (he's a lunatic), that dude used to be a rock God. The guy held his own against and even possibly overshadowed Eddie Van Halen. EDDIE VAN FEAKIN' HALEN! The guy pretty much invented a new way to play guitar and is in the conversation for best/most influential of all time. Roth's ridiculous radio show can never take that away.


#2/3904 - Regeneration - Stone Temple Pilots (Shangri - La Dee Da)
You probably only know this song if you are a die hard STP fan. It's not one of their best but it's solid. It's also unmistakably STP. That's a good thing, by the way.


#3/3904 - In the Light - Led Zeppelin (Box Set)
I'm sure Zeppelin wrote a song I don't like. I'm sure of it...give me a minute...huh...let me get back to you on that. This song is another one of the solid ones. Not at the top of my list of favorites but good. This song is like Mel Hall.


#4/3904 - Slow and Low - Beastie Boys (License to Ill)
What a crazy album License To Ill was. If you didn't rock out to No Sleep Till Brooklyn in Jr high, well...I don't know what to tell you. You probably weren't very cool. Sorry. Hell, if you wouldn't rock out to No Sleep Till Brooklyn now you probably aren't very cool. Slow and Low is yet another solid effort from a great album that at some point in my life I could probably recite from memory.


#5/3904 - Lost Cause - Beck (Sea Change)
Here it is. This is the pull of the box if you will. I like Beck but Sea Change (Beck's breakup album) is incredible. It is like nothing else he has done. Acoustic, melancholy, and devastating. It is simply a beautiful album and my favorite by Beck. Lost Cause is probably the best song on it. This is the auto jersey #d to 100 pull of the extravaganza.

"There's too many people you used to know. They see you come (!) and, they see you go"

translated - "you are a complete whore"

Wow, The guy is brutal on this album, but if you don't listen to the lyrics it sounds almost sweet. I highly recommend you check it out.

Well, that's about it for the pilot installment of IPod Extravaganza. Hope you enjoyed.

Final analysis: A decent pull with none of my wife's songs (when her stuff shows up you'll know) and one great pull. I'm sure I'll have better packs, but this one could have been worse.

2008 Topps Chrome Box Break

Welcome to my 2008 Topps Chrome box break. I'm very excited. This is the first set I've decided to try to put together since my glorious return to the hobby. The reasons are these: I like the look of the cards. There is a good checklist with a good mix of stars and rookies. There are some pretty cool inserts and parallels. The price is reasonable. The set is manageable in size. And, there are some of my favorite Indians to get excited about.

I got my box just around the corner from my house at a warehouse card shop that I never knew was there. I found it just by luck on the Topps website. Tom's place is really just a warehouse that deals mostly in boxes and sets. He sells mostly over the interwebs and to other dealers. He won't have many singles, which is OK with me as there isn't much in the way of singles that you can't get on ebay anyway. He seems like a good guy and he has a great selection. His website is Hookedoncardswholesale.com. I really recommend you check him out if you are in the market for boxes or cases.

So here is a breakdown of what is in the 2008 Chrome set:

Base - 170 veterans
50 rookies (allegedly)
35 rookie autos

Heritage Chrome - numbered to 1959
Black - numbered to 59
Refractor - numbered to 599

Inserts - Baseball Card History
All Rookie Team
Mickey Mantle Story
Mickey Mantle Home Run History
Inserts available in:
Super-fractor - 1/1
Red - /25
Copper - /100
Refractor - /500

Parallels - All base cards have to same parallels as the inserts (Super-fractor, Red, Copper, Ref)
Auto rookies also have a blue refractor numbered to 200

There are 2 autos in each box.

OK lets see what we got!


Pack#1 : 205 Brian Bocock (Giants)
37 Tim Hudson (Braves)
C159 Tadihito Iguchi (Padres) Heritage 0038/1959
43 Aaron Hill (Blue Jays)
Call me cynical but I'm not too excited about my Iguchi heritage card. Underwhelming start.

Pack#2 : 130 Bobby Abreu (Yankees)
6 Dice - K (Red Sox)
C144 Chin-Lung Hu (Dodgers) Heritage Rookie 0473/1959
100 Lance Berkman (Astros)
Hu card is kind of cool looking I guess.

Pack#3 : 33 Jeremy Hermida (Marlins)
9 Joe Mauer (Twins)
C176 Ted Lilly (Cubs) Heritage 0158/1959
151 Curtis Granderson (Tigers)
Ted's heritage is pink. Iguchi's is yellow. I have no idea if this means anything. Probably not.

Pack#4 : 217 Kazuo Fulcumori (Rangers)
MHRC450 Mickey Mantle Home Run History
ARC10 Albert Pujols (Cards) - All Star Rookie
171 Luis Castillo (Mets)
I like these cards. They are kind of Old Timey and New at the same time, if that makes any sense.

Pack#5 : 45 Carlos Zambrano (Cubs)
MHRC440 Mickey Mantle Home Run History
3 Scott Kazmir (Rays)
188 Noah Lowry (Giants)
I don't really get all of these Mantle cards. I like the Mick. Obviously one of the all time greats. It seems like Topps is trying to make everyone hate him. I'm all ready getting sick of Mantle and I've only been at this for about a month.

Pack#6 : 2 Barry Zito (Giants)
224 Kevin Hart (Cubs) Rookie auto Blue refractor 100/200
TCHC20 Grady Sizemore (Indians)- Trading Card History
132 Chipper Jones (Braves)
I guess this is supposed to be the big pull of the box. I like the blue and everything, but, I just can't get too excited about Kevin Hart. I looked him up and found out that he's somewhat of a comedian. Looks different in this video, though.

The Sizemore card is awesome, by the way.

Pack#7 : 97 Troy Tulowitzki (Rockies)
229 Clay Buchholz (Red Sox) Rookie Auto
TCH29 Ivan Rodriguez (Tigers) - Trading Card History
87 Mark Teixeira (Braves)
The 2nd rookie auto. I guess if you Get Buchholz you've got no complaints. What the hell is that signature supposed to be? Who the hell does this guy think he is?

Pack#8 : 5 Miguel Cabrera (Tigers)
41 Brandon Webb (D-backs)
32 Johan Santana (Mets)
127 Tom Gorzelanny (Pirates) Webb is having a pretty nice year.

Pack#9 : 113 Ryan Braun (Brewers)
203 Gregor Blanco (Braves)
MMSC47 Mickey Mantle Story
164 Eric Chavez (Athletics)

Thank God...I hadn't pulled a Mantle inset in 3 whole packs. I was starting to get worried I might never get a Mantle Card again. There aren't too many of them out there.

I wondered why Braun's card would have him bunting of all things. This is what I came up with. Braun might never bunt again in his entire career. They got a photo of him bunting and decided it was too rare of an opportunity to pass up. This may end up being the only card ever made with him bunting.

There is no "off" position on the genius switch.

Pack#10 : 161 Asdrubal Cabrera (Indians)

C139 Melky Cabrera (Yankees) - Heritage Refractor 535/599

46 Ben Sheets (Brewers)

63 Roy Oswalt (Astros)

Sorry accidentally deleted Melky's card and don't know how to get it back. No great loss really.

Also, the first Indian base card I pull is now in AAA. Fantastic.

Pack#11 : 162 Gary Sheffield (Tigers)

90 David Ortiz (Red Sox)

29 Ryan Howard (Phillies)

136 Jeff Francis (Rockies)

Anyone calls me Francis...I'll kill ya.

Settle Down Francis

Pack#12 : 89 Brian Roberts (Orioles)

129 Geovany Soto (Cubs)

107 Alex Gordon (Royals)

147 Josh Beckett (RedSox)

I picked Gordon's card to scan because he has an awsome swing. I still think he will be a star. Also, it wa either him or Josh Beckett. And fuck Josh Beckett.

Pack#13 : 61 Gil Meche (Royals)

121 Derek Jeter (Yankees)

111 Hanley Ramirez (Marlins)

3 Scott Kazmir (Rays)

Fuck Jeter too

Pack#14 : 210 Randor Bierd (Orioles)

146 Curt Schilling (Red Sox)

TCHC19 Ichiro (Mariners) - Trading Card History

28 John Lackey (Angels)

I think this Ichiro card is my favorite so far. I just like the look of it and the colors. The Japanese writing makes it look unique and special. (To me anyway)

Pack#15 : 117 Pedro Martinez (Mets)

13 Dontrelle Willis (Tigers)

TCHC28 Chase Utley (Phillies) - Trading Card History

168 Frank Thomas (Blue Jays, sort of)

Is Utley doing anything this year? I haven't heard.

Pack#16 : 169 Aaron Rowand (Giants)

65 Hunter Pence (Astros)

34 Anrew Jones (Dodgers)

91 Derrek Lee (Cubs)

Boring Pack

Pack#17 : 25 Alex Rios (Blue Jays)

MMSC51 Mickey Mantle Story

18 Chris Young (Padres)

111 Hanley Ramirez (Marlins)

Take my word for it...keep your eye on this Ramirez kid. He might turn out to be half way decent. No really. You heard it here first.

Pack#18 : 126 Rocco Baldelli (Rays)

MMSC52 Mickey Mantle Story

ARC5 - Chipper Jones (Braves) - All Star Rookie

8 Jimmy Rollins (Phillies)

Bad news. I think my Baldelli card may have to go on the 15 day disabled list. To bad. That card has a lot of potential.

Pack#19 : 93 Fausto Carmona (Indians)

125 Freddie Sanchez (Pirates)

ARC9 Jimmy Rollins (Phillies) - All Star Rookie

140 Raul Ibanez (Mariners)

It's about time I got another Indian. Faust too. Good Times. Here's hoping he can make it back soon and pick up where he left off last season.

Is there any way that Freddie Sanchez's nickname isn't "dirty"? I say no way.

Pack#20 : 196 Joey Votto (Reds)

153 Kazuo Matsui (Astros)

TCHC30 Josh Beckett (Red Sox) - Trading Card History

31 Justin Moneau (Twins)

Nice! Joey Votto. Good Times! Here's hoping that In a few seasons Joey changes his name to Albert. You know, for old time sake.

Pack#21 : 209 Fernando Hernandez (Athletics)

105 Travis Hafner (Indians)

TCHC27 Manny Ramirez (Red Sox) Trading Card History

175 Richie Weeks (Brewers)

Travis! My Man! I haven't given up on you dude.

Pack#22 : 82 Carlos Delgado (Mets)

219 Denard Span (Twins)

197 Josh Beckett (Red Sox) Copper Refractor 005/599

184 Adam Laroche (Pirates)

Nice Refractor card. I guess the baseball card gods have decided that I'm a big Josh Beckett fan. I did not know that.

Pack#23 : 197 Nick Blackburn (Twins)

149 Ronnie Belliard (Nationals)

29 Ryan Howard (Phillies) Copper Refractor 335/599

64 Mark Buehrle (White Sox)

Two Copper Refractor's in a row. It's all commin' together. Plus Ronnie Belliard! So there's that too!

Pack#24 : 157 Carlos Beltran (Mets)

109 Nick Swisher (White Sox)

C108 Kei Igawa (Yankees) - Heritage 1819/1959

71 Dan Haren (D-backs) Anytime I pull a Buckeye he gets scanned. This list consists of Nick Swisher (that I know of)

OK, that about does it. Wraps her all up. Things seem to have worked out pretty well for the dude. Made me laugh to beat the band. Parts anyway.

Let's look at the stats:

base cards: 71/220 32%

rookie auto: 2/35 (although there are only 19 according to the checklist. I don't really understand that)

Heritage: 5

Trading Card History: 5

All Rookie Team: 3

Mickey Mantle Inserts: 5 (Seems like 5,000)

Indians: 4

I figure 3 more boxes will give me most of the base set leaving only a few to fill in.Maybe in one of them I can pull one of those fancy-schmancy superduper-fractors.

Sorry, for some reason the blogger is jamming everything together in the 2nd half of this post. I don't know why and I don't know what to do about it. Oh well.

What is an Achiever?

Those of you who have seen The Big Lebowski know what an Achiever is. This post is for those who have not yet seen the film. It is a way to try to explain how this blog came about it's name.

It really will take a viewing of the film to understand, but here is what an Achiever is. A Little Lebowski Urban Achiever is an inner city child of promise without the necessary means for...the necessary means for a higher education. If it is still vague then 2 clips are provided for your viewing pleasure.

#1 is a clip that explains the plot of the movie. This explains the over-riding impetus for what is happening on screen.

If it still doesn't make a lot of sense then this clip will be able to put it into it's proper context. This is a short synopsis, or outline if you will, of the entire movie.

Generally it is best if you just watch the whole thing. Repeatedly. The best viewing usually occurs between the 10th and 13th time.

Hope this helps, man.

Good Night Sweet Prince

This isn't exactly breaking news, but it's the first I've become aware of it. Thurman Munson's wife and kids have decided to auction off a lot of the late catcher's memorabilia. The auction will be in New York over the All Star game. Here is a link to the story in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Some of the items will include World Series rings, a uniform, game worn undershirt, and the coup de gras, a custom Mercedes Benz convertible. Whether or not you have to be present or if you are able to bid over the phone/net I'm not sure. Just seems like a good opportunity for any Munson or Yankees fans who are interested. Even as a Yankee, Munson was always considered one of our own in Northeast Ohio. He is still loved here to a degree that no other Yankee has ever been or will ever be.

Bustin' Packs: 93 Stadium Club

Back again with more packs to open. This time it was 4 packs of 93 Stadium Club series 1. (Told you I had a bunch of junk to open). These actually came in the old style (from what I remember) wax packs. They certainly weren't foil. No gum, though.

The style is very similar to the 94 Pinnacle I opened yesterday. Basically they are just shiny post card like pictures with a name on them. Not much to them. Truth be told they don't look a whole hell of a lot like baseball cards. Not What I think of anyway.

Like yesterday I had Mrs. Scratcher open up 2 packs and I opened 2 myself. Once again I got shit and she got some nice players. Not that she had any idea. She didn't seem annoyed when I gave her the packs so that is something, I guess.

OK...Let's see what we got!

Felix The Cat Fermin. One of 4 Tribesmen pulled. I'll always have a special place in my heart for Felix. I liked him as a player but the best thing he ever did for Indians baseball was get traded for Omar Vizquel. He was trade in the winter of 93 along with Reggie Jefferson for Omar the Great. A year later Felix was a free agent. Omar went on to become one of the great defensive shortstops of all time. There is not much that a Clevelander will argue about more vigorously than Omar as the greatest defensive shortstop ever. What do I think? I think that it's impossible to say for sure, but anyone who dismisses Omar didn't get the privilege of watching him play for years. He was magical. I don't know if he was the best. I do know that there isn't anyone I would have traded him for.

Good karma goes to anyone who can tell me what the hell is going on in this picture. Is this the best they could get?

The first of the parallels. Larry Walker Members Choice. I like Larry a lot. I don't know if the picture is the same on the base card or not. I have a feeling that the only difference at all is that they wrote "members choice" below the player name. Very clever. Can't wait to get them all.

The back features some info on the player instead of stats. Let's see what we can learn about Old Larry. Huh...apparently "Walker's flexible approach to hitting virtually assures him of continued success". I guess they used the word "virtually" as an out. No need to stick your neck out too far. Am I right?

How 'bout this: "When pitchers make an effort to finesse him with breaking stuff, Walker shortens his swing, allowing him to wait the necessary extra time before committing himself" No shit? Sounds good to me.

The second Members Choice card in 4 packs! I'm on a roll now buddy! And Travis Fryman at that! A former (or future, if you decide to look at it that way) Indian. I did love Fryman. Dude was solid. Let's see what they have to say about Travis

"Fryman gets out of the box quickly and is aggressive" (That's what she said). "Travis Fryman is being talked about as a major star - the next Cal Ripken, people are saying. And why not?" Exactly, why not. Let's compare Travis to Ripkin. That shouldn't be too much pressure.

Bobby Bonilla. Or as Barry Bonds refers to him "That other dude in the outfield who wasn't half as good as me" Bobby was good. Maybe he didn't last as long as Barry because he was using the wrong trainer. We'll never know.

Hey Kruky! Lookin' good my man. Svelte. Little story I heard about Kruk. 2 stories actually. May be that neither are true but I'll tell them anyway. #1 Kruk was in a bar after a game smoking a cig and drinking a beer. A woman walks up to him and says something about how she can't believe an athlete would drink and smoke like that. Kruk says "Lady, I'm not an athlete...I'm a ballplayer". I love that.

#2 Most people know that Kruk had a battle with testicular cancer and had to have one of his "boys" removed. The next training camp he showed up in a tee shirt that read "If you don't like the way I play I'm taking my ball and going home". That is too awesome not to have happened. I've loved Kruk ever since I heard that.

I don't care what you do. I choose to believe those stories.

The only insert card pulled. This insert set was (as far as I could find) entitled 93 Stadium Club Insert Set. I think it must have been friday and damn near 5:00 when they came up with that. The back features a list of all 36 players who were taken by the Marlins in the 92 expansion draft. I won't list the players here. I will say that I have no idea how the hell they won a single game that 1st year. This just makes it even more painful that they've won 2 World Series, one against the Tribe.

FUCK YOU JOSE MESA! YOU GO TO HELL AND YOU DIE!

Sorry about that.

Is there anyone else like me? Does anyone else ever wonder if they've ever opened a pack and NOT gotten a Kevin Seitzer? Death, taxes, and Kevin Seitzer in my wax.

Another former/future Indian. (7 in all) Jeff Kent was traded in 96 along with Jose Vizcaino to the Tribe for Carlos Baerga and Alvaro Espinosa. I was pissed. I loved Baerga. I remember going on a rant to my dad about what a "stiff" Kent was. I just couldn't believe it. Kent didn't last long with the Tribe. He was traded in the offseason. Baerga went on to lead the league in cocaine snorted for 3 straight years. Kent went on to win the MVP and set the record for most HR by a second baseman ever. EVER.

OK, so maybe I was a little off on that one.

Last card I scanned. Scott Brosius. Good player. Layed out. Making the play. Nice card.

The last thing I'll bring up is a fantastic offer I plan on taking Topps up on. That's right, Topps has offered me membership in the exclusive Topps Stadium Club! Jealous much?

With this membership I will receive limited edition members only stadium club cards. They are exclusive to MEMBERS ONLY. So don't even think about trying to get them. You can't. It's only for members. Like me...pretty soon anyway. A one year membership is only $29.95. and includes Topps Magazine and a personalized stadium club membership card and ID number.

And I'VE been asked to join! How great is that?

Honors and benefits already at the age of 33.

Don't worry, I'll put in a good word for all you little folks.

Bustin' packs: 94 Pinnacle

Well, I got another delivery today, in addition to my Ernie Camacho cards. This was a big bunch of hobby boxes from all kinds of different sets. They are all from the mid 90s, ranging from 92-96. They are all cheap. There is nothing particularly exciting or noteworthy about them other than the fact that I now have a shitload of packs to open. There are 15 boxes in all. They should keep me busy for a while.

I let my lovely wife pick out the first box to open. If I can get her even a little bit interested in cards there's a lot better chance that she won't divorce me. She already went way below her league when she married me. This might be the straw that breaks the camel's back if I can't manage to suck her in with me, at least a little bit. I live in constant fear that she will one day wake up and realize that she can do much better.

Anyway, on to the cards. She picked a box of '94 Pinnacle and we each opened 2 packs. The cards themselves are nothing great. They look more like small post cards than baseball cards. That are shiny, though. So they've got that going for them. Which is nice. I don't know much about the inserts. There are Artist's proof, Museum Collection, Rookie Team, Run Creators, and a few others. I guess I'll find out what they look like if I pull one.




The first card up top is #490 Chris Sabo. Growing up in Cleveland we are taught to hate the Bengals. Almost as much as the Steelers. OK not nearly as much as the Steelers, but still a lot. And just because they've slipped to 3rd on the hated list behind the Ravens doesn't mean that there is any love. Icky Woods can take his shuffle and shove it straight up his ass.

The Reds are a different story. There's really no animosity toward them. I guess it's because they are in a different league. When the Tribe played them this year it was just like any other series. Back in the late 80's/early 90's I liked them. Barry Larkin was great. Pete Rose wasn't too far removed and it was before most of his trouble. I absolutely LOVED Eric Davis. And Chris Sabo had his glasses. To tell you the truth I wasn't even aware that Sabo played for the Orioles. In my mind he will always be at the hot corner for the Reds. Back in the good old
days when Marge Schott couldn't speak two words without offending someone.


No matter what you think about
Danny Darwin...that man had some balls. Looks like about 6 of them.


Another player I always liked was David Cone (#325). I put this card up because I think it looks great. One of the best action shots I've seen in a long time. With that arm out and peering over his shoulder. Right hand cocked and ready with the split finger. Perfectly balanced on his right foot. This batter has no chance. No chance at all. Beautiful picture.


And then there's this. What the fuck is going on here? Is this the worst card you've ever seen? I'm going to keep my eyes open for terrible action shots like this and compile them into one entry. Eventually. I think I'll be hard pressed to come up anything worse than this. Seriously, who picked this? Someone had to make the decision. I think whoever that was...Meares must have nailed his wife or sister or something. It's the only thing that makes sense.





This is the one and only insert out of the 4 packs. A Bryan Harvey Museum Collection. For the life of me I can't figure out why they call it the Museum Collection. I can't even fathom a guess. The difference from the base is the sparkly Teflon coating that they sprayed on and the background. It looks like Bryan just jumped to hyperspace or something. Not bad I guess. Kind of fun to look at.


And hey...Bryan Harvey...not too shabby. Am I right kids?




OK, there was one other insert. This is actually the first redemption card I've ever pulled. If I can manage to get it in my dec 31, 1994 I'll pick up Museum Collection card #279. From what I've been able to research I think this is Rob Nen. OK then.

I think I'll send this in anyway. Why the hell not? Maybe someone will get it and get a good laugh out of it. Maybe even send me something back. You never know.




Other players pulled include:
Edgar Martinez
Luis Gonzalez
Tim Raines
Jeff Bagwell x2
Larry Walker
Wally Joyner
Pedro Martinez
and a sweet Roger Salkeld rookie card...among others.

Not a bad 4 packs

Fingers crossed on that redemption

For the love of Ernie Camacho

When the mailman (the regular one, not Karl Malone) showed up today I was giddy with excitement. I just had that feeling that "the package" was going to be with him. I should finally be getting my ebay Ernie Camacho cards. I just knew today was the day. I'm not going to bore you with tales of how I got such a great deal. I did not. We're talking about Ernie Camacho here. It's impossible to get a good deal. Yet here I was with a huge smile on my face as i ripped into the package. I would have paid twice as much.

As a tribe fan growing up in the 80's there wasn't much to talk about. The one year when they were supposed to be good they ended up losing about 100 games. Sadly, in Cleveland that was par for the course. It didn't seem that unusual to me at all. It also didn't stop me from loving the Tribe. Every year I would convince myself again that they would be good. After all, We had fireballers like Rich Yett and Ken Schrom. Tony Benazard and Pat Tabler on the infield. Brett Butler in center and one of the greatest power hitters of all time (as far as I was concerned) Cory Snyder in right. Every year was finally our year to be champs and it was going to be glorious.

One of the most popular players among my friends and I was Ernie Camacho. I can't really explain why. Hell, I don't even understand why. My only guess is that we liked his name. Ernie "Macho" Camacho. How the hell don't you like that guy? He must be awesome right?

So, naturally when I just happened to run across someone selling a lot of 5 cards there was nothing going to stand in my way. In my head I knew that this ebay seller had a market of 1 and he had miraculously found me. I'll bet he about shit himself when he got a bid. But that didn't stop me from checking the auction about every 2 hours for 5 days. Incredibly, nobody else bid!

This blog post will chronicle the cards I received (sadly, one was a double), and also entertain you with what little info I could find on Big Erne.

Big Erne was drafted by Oakland in the 1st round in '81. A few years (and one stint in the mexican league) later he wound up on the Tribe. He actually had a pretty decent statistical year in '84 when he pitched 100 innings and saved a franchise record 23 games. He still only struck out 48, though. That was a career best but still awfully low for a dude who could bring mid 90s heat.

Yes, it seems like Big Erne was a head case. You can read more about him here but I'll give you the gist. Ernie apparently had no confidence. He thought that there was some ulterior motive for putting his locker next to the door. He was frequently dressed down right there on the mound by manager Pat Corrales who had to treat him like a child from the sound of it.

My favorite story is when he was hit by a line drive in the glove hand. He asked to be pulled from the game. Corrales, for some reason, refused to pull him. Instead he made the catcher (probably Chris Bando) return the ball to either 1st or 3rd and have it run to the mound. I can neither confirm nor deny the validity of this story, but it is told by a very good beat writer (Sheldon Ocker) with a sterling reputation. I think it's so damn ridiculous that it has to be true.

Big Erne didn't show up much in '85 so I assume he was hurt. He had another semi-productive year in '86. After that he drifted around for a few years and faded into bolivion.

The greatest indignity has to be his '85 donruss card shown here:


That's not even Ernie! That's just some asshole with a mustache. Apparently it's Rich Thompson. I don't remember him at all. Well, as far as I can tell Ernie wasn't good enough to bother correcting the error. I could be wrong but if there's a correction I can't find it.

I have been able to find a list of all possible Ernie Camacho cards. There are 36 of them that I'm aware of. I eventually plan on getting the complete set. It should be fun. It will probably take years but it will be really cheap. Really, where the hell am I supposed to find Ernie Camacho cards? In the end it may end up being the most satisfying set I ever construct if I can do it.

Now if I can only get Topps to put out some kind of Camacho Auto. That would really be something.



Edit: Immediately after posting this I went to ebay and found a whole shitload of Camacho cards. I guess my lot wasn't such a rare thing to find after all. I'm glad I did because I found one of the most hilarious things I've seen since starting collecting again. Who the fuck grades an Ernie Camacho? This guy thinks someone's going to pay $13 because it's graded?

Excuse me while I dry out a piece of dog shit and send it to Beckett to get graded. As long as it's at least a 9 I can put it up in TWGM with a $19.95 BIN. Where do these idiots come from?

Ode to Wax Heaven

All 3 of you that have read my blog know that I'm just returning to card collecting and I don't know my ass from a hole in the ground. Presently I'm trying to figure out exactly what a refractor is. And, is this different from an xfractor? I'm sure everyone knows but me.

Anyway, I'm stoked because I may have just found a hobby shop that's only about 5 minutes away from me and been right under my nose the whole time. The next closest one is about 1/2 hour away and a pain in the ass to get to. I hope this one isn't closed down like all of the others I have driven by. I guess ebay has put them all out of business.

Well, I'm a big fan of some of the blogs that I've run across and even been inspired to write my own...even as amateurish and ridiculous as it may be. It's fun. I've been leary to put in obscure movie quotes and pop culture references because I'm not sure how many people will get them. Now I think...who gives a shit? Who the fuck do I think is reading this stupid thing anyway?

Where was I...lost my train of thought there. Oh yeah.

Well, I have tomorrow off and I have big plans. I've decided to put together a set of 2008 Topps Chrome. Cool cards and a reasonable price. I'm planning on tracking down a box and "breaking"it. (See, I'm starting to get hip to the lingo). But, since I have tomorrow off I decided to tie one on tonight. So I'm 6 beers into a case of Great Lakes Imperial Dortmunder. That might not sound like a lot to you crazy college kids but the stuff is 7.5%. Not exactly a lightweight. For the uninitiated, Great Lakes Brewing Company might be the best brewer in the US. If you are skeptical do yourself a favor and get some of their Christmas Ale off ebay in december. The stuff gets bought up so fast that people hoard it and put it on ebay. I'm crappin' you negative. It's that good.

I seriously have a point here...I think. I'm drunk, so who knows.

Oh yeah, I was thinking about cards and the card blogs. There are a lot of good ones and a few great ones. Wax Heaven...in my opinion...is the cat's ass. So here I am, drunk on a tuesday night reading through the Wax Heaven archives. Some really great stuff. And somewhere during Mario's fight with Madison Bumgarner's dad I thought to myself "Man, Mario's on fuckin' fire!" Well, that led my somewhat chemically altered head in a completely unpredictable direction that resulted in this post and this:

My Ode To Wax Heaven

Anyone in their early 30's like me knows how kick ass that was. Was there a better time to be a 12 year old kid than the mid to late 80's?

Some fun facts: I'm pretty sure that Peter Criss was NOT on this album (animalize), but it was Eric Carr. And, I think He's dead.

Pause the video at 1.28. That thing is ridiculous.

Kiss actually formed a worldwide utopia with their worst song: "God gave rock and roll to you" Still unsure as to how this happened. I also don't know when it ended but I think Jose Mesa is somehow to blame.

I don't give a fuck who you are or what music you like...Gene Simmons' base is awesome.

Ace Frehley's solo ablum "Frehley's Comet" which featured the seminal hit "Rock Soldiers" was released in 1987 and feature the able drumming of Anton Fig. As you all know, Anton Fig currently presides over the skins for Paul Schaffer and the CBS orchestra.

Anyway, the point of this blog is that 6 Great Lakes Imperial Dortmunders took me from Topps Chrome to Wax Heaven to Anton Fig. I suppose that means I really didn't have a point after all. It was all sort of spur of the moment and stream of consciousness anyway. I just felt like paying my respects to Mario (and Tatiana who is very sexy).

Well that's all for now. I can't wait 'till tomorrow morning to be suprised all over again. I'll be satisfied if this is even somewhat cohearent.

For Your Enjoyment

I haven't had time to post anything lately so I'll just link to something I love.

Phenominal

Way better than anything I could come up with anyway.

4th of July Grab Bag!!!

Happy 4th of July everyone! I hope that where ever you are the weather is as beautiful as it is here in sunny, tropical Cleveland Ohio. So fire up the grill, grab an oat soda, and throw the dog a frisbee. It's time to relax and enjoy yourself. It wouldn't be a bad idea to fire up that old transistor radio and tune in to whatever ball game is on. Even if that ballgame does involve my beloved, infuriating Tribe. It's never too late to turn it around, right? Not when you've got Andy Marte ready to come off the bench.

Anyway, I decided to dig up whatever team USA cards I could find. The results are less than spectacular and posted here. Hey, I just started this. Give me time.

When I pulled this Logan Forsythe out of a pack of UD a few weeks ago I thought that I'd hit the mother load. Never had I seen a card so freakin' thick in my entire life. And is that his real autograph? Good lord, this must be worth a fortune! Wait while I go grab my Beckett!...Rats, it's not listed. Maybe it's so scarce that there isn't even a value on it! What a happy Day! What a happy day! Never mind that I have no idea who Logan Forsythe is. I have the 3rd auto in all of the world! Let me check ebay and see what they're going for. If it's less than $5,000 I'll eat my shoe. After all, there are only 50 of them in existence!

oh

nevermind

actually, I do have a question about this card. There are 2 others like it that are linked to below. Mine is just an auto. The other 2 are jersey autos. Why is one #d to 75 and the other #d to 99? Mine is #d to 50. I guess mine is not the same but the other 2 look the same to me. How can they be #d differently? I've run across this with other cards. My only guess is that there is some difference in them that I haven't been able to figure out yet. (Sorry that the link is way down there. I'm still working out the kinks on this blog thing.)

USA-15 Upper Deck Lance Lynn. I better hang on to this. This guy looks like David Wells. If he can get that girth behind his fast ball he may be unstopable. It says on the back that he went six strong with 10 K against Chinese Taipei in 07. Sounds good to me. By the way, I didn't know that there was a ball club named after that old computer game. How 'bout that?

USA-3 Upper Deck Brett

Wallace. A natural athlete if I ever saw one. Looks like team USA might be big on the long ball, and the buffet table. Says here that Brett launched a 3 run "big fly" in his first AB for team USA. Nice goin' kid. But "big fly"? I'm not sure that one's going to stick.

Here we are. My love for all things Cory Snyder has already been documented here. It probably doesn't make sense for anyone who didn't live in C-town in the late 80s. For about a year and a half this guy was Roger Maris re-incarnate. All of Cleveland loved him. I still have no idea what happened. Says here he was the MYP of the 1984 Riverside Invitational Tourney. So he's got that going for him. Which is nice.

Also, his line for 1984 USA baseball: 5G, 20AB, 8H, 7RBI, .800SLG, .400AVG. Told you he could rake.

Thought I'd throw in my second "really thick card" for good measure. I like Laroche. Good ball player. This jersey card is interesting too. The picture isn't great but the jersey is. It's just grey uni fabric but its got some yellow in the corner. You probably think it's just some border yellow. Big deal right? It doesn't look that way to me. To me it looks like mustard. I shit you not. I'm pretty sure. I don't know what else it could be. I wonder if that makes it more or less valueable? I'll let you know after I send it to Beckett to get graded...jk lol.

Anyway, if it is mustard it's kind of disappointing in that it appears to be yellow, not stadium. While this isn't as bad as ketchup, it's not exactly proper either. I know that ballplayers didn't sign up to be role models, but they are held to a higher standard. Yellow mustard. How the hell are we supposed to explain that to the kids?

The last cards I'll throw up here are these UD Triple Play cards. I can't figure out what insert set they belong to. It says 2007 on the back, but I can't remember what packs I pulled them from. I'd already opened a wide variety before I realized I should pay closer attention to such things. There is some sort of scratch off game on the back. Like the Old Man at the gas station in No Country For Old Men, I'd like to know what I stand to win before I scratch it off. Can anyone help me out with any info on this game? I'd hate to scratch them off and lose some BV, LOL.

That's all for now. Everyone have a great 4th and remember: don't blow off your hand with fireworks and don't shoot the neighbors for blowing off fireworks. You'll regret it later.

Oh, and here are the links I was talking about at the top:

1.
http://cgi.ebay.com/2008-Upper-Deck-USA-Logan-Forsythe-Auto-Jersey-09-75_W0QQitemZ150264601328QQihZ005QQcategoryZ73396QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

2.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Logan-Forsythe-2008-Upper-Deck-USA-Auto-Patch-Card-99_W0QQitemZ120277859438QQihZ002QQcategoryZ149906QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

A great day for Tribe baseball

I'd like to congratulate the Indians for not losing a game today. Fantastic.


And the Sabathia trade watch continues.

And to a lesser extent, the Byrd trade watch.

Motherscratcher's First Box Break

Th five people that are going to read this will be rewarded with the historic first box break of Motherscratcher. I know, it's very exciting. Just try to remain calm. Really, you're going to be O.K. Imagine if I would have told you last night. None of you would have been able to sleep.



Let me set this up a bit. Up until a few weeks ago I hadn't thought about baseball cards much since I was a kid. This may be a bit of a midlife crisis or something. Who knows how long it will last. But, here I am, broadcasting my own blog over the world wide web for all to see. Crazy world. As far as midlife crisis's (?) go I suppose there are a lot worse. Just ask former governor Spitzer.



I just recently found out that opening a box of baseball cards is called a "box break". OK then. Too late I found out that there is some kind of requirement to film yourself doing this and broadcast it on youtube. Upon hearing this my initial reaction was "You've got to be fucking kidding me! What kind of asshole would do that? Who gives a shit?". Then I went to youtube and proceeded to waste two hours of my life watching people open card packs. I was transfixed. Thanks a lot Gellman. My favorite are the guys who open $150 packs of exquisite, or whatever the hell they cost. Imagine spending that much on 6 cards! They are pretty cool though. Maybe someday. I think if you are going to spend that much it deserves to be documented and broadcast. Just don't expect that type of bafoonery from me. While I don't think it's quite as silly as I thought a few days ago, I have trouble imagining a scenario in which I record myself "breaking boxs and showing my sweet pulls". I'm sure you're very disappointed.



On to my break. I broke a box of '92 Fleer Ultra. This set is significant in that it immediately followed the '91 Fleer Ultra and preceeded the '93 Fleer Ultra sets. There isn't much else that distinguises it. Players in this set include: Griffey, Bonds, Qwynn, Mattingly, Ryan, Ripkin, etc.. Good players all. The set also included some decidedly uninteresting inserts. All of the good players were included in series 1. That is kick ass because my box is of series 2. My trusty Beckett lets me know that there isn't a single card in all of series 2 that is worth listing. Good Times!



Why do I have a box of unopened series 2 '92 Fleer Ultra you ask? Well, it is the only entire box of cards I have ever owned. I was planning on using it to buy a car. Maybe not a Corvette, but better than a Fiero for sure. I'm paying close attention to see if I pull the Griffey Jr. All Star. According to Beckett it could snag me about 1/2 gallon of petrol for my Fiero. Fingers crossed!



Here come the sweet Mojo pulls (I have no idea what that means)!



You can do a lot worse than Wally Joyner. I'll tell you what. I used to love that guy. He was not spectacular but consistantly solid. Him and Will Clark don't get enough credit. Besides, he has an all time great baseball name. I mean how could a dude name Wally Joyner NOT end up in the bigs? I believe this in the same way that if you name your daughter Nikki you might as well start stocking up on thongs and pasties for her. She's going to need them.

Cory Freakin' Synder! Look at those glasses! Everything about this guy was awsome (except maybe his BA). Don't believe me? Look at who was on the cover the the 86 SI baseball preview. And I used to watch this guy make throws from right field before the games. Dude had a cannon.

Lee Stevens! Sweet Sassy Molassy! What's so interesting about Lee Stevens you ask? Good question. Well, as everyone here knows Lee was the conerstone of the Bartolo Colon trade that turned the Indians franchise around. For that I will always love him.

Oh yeah, that trade also included 3 other guys named Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee, and Brandon Phillips. Whoever the hell they are.

Jim Abbott. Who didn't love this guy? I just have one question about his cardboard. Is there a card out there where you can see his stump? I've never seen one that I could recall. If you're Toops or Donruss isn't it imperative that you have some kind of insert set of Jim's stump? Really, who the hell wouldn't collect that? Talk about a missed opportunity.

Success!!! I knew it! I could feel it! Pull of the box! Now I just have to decide whether to put it on ebay and turn it into gasoline or try to trade it for a Brook Jacoby rookie. Decisions decisions. As an aside; look at that swing. Dude is awsome. If I ever make the bigs I hope my card look something like this.

On the other hand:

Poor Dickie Thon. First of all, the guy's name is Dickie Thon. Second of all, he's in a profession were everytime someone sees a card of his they are reminded that his name is Dickie Thon. Third of all, this might be the worst picture of the set. It's like the photographer had to be convinced that he wasn't the ballboy or something and just snapped off this picture so Dickie would leave him alone. "You want your picture taken? OK just stand there in short left and look at the third base dugout. If that's not good enough for you then piss off. I have better things to do."

FUCK YOU MESA!!! YOU GO TO HELL!!! YOU GO TO HELL AND YOU DIE!!!

Gregg Jefferies! Awsome! Hey wait a second while I go get my Gregg Jefferies rated rookies so I can throw them up on ebay. I already have my Fiero so I'm going to use this lot of 2,000 cards for the down payment on my mansion.

Alright men. Everyone here who isn't an overrated A-hole take a step forward.

Not so fast Sanders.

I just love Guzman's curl in this. Fantastic. Just let your soul glow Juan. I bet nobody remembers Juan's foray in action cinema. That's right. I'm pretty sure he was in Hard To Kill, or whatever the hell one it was where Segal fought the Jamaicans. If I wasn't so lazy I'd find a picture for you.

Kirby seems like a good one to end it on. Over all I like the cards. The base cards are simple but nice. Most of the shots are pretty good. The all stars are kind of cool looking with their marble borders. I guess it could have been worse. I had a good time anyway.

Let me know what you think. And, check back later as I document the greatest box break of all time. This thing was a greek fuckin' tragedy. It's not to be missed.

What did we do to deserve this?

Hasn't Cleveland suffered enough. The Drive, the Fumble, Red Right 88, Jose Mesa. Heck, just last year the Tribe collapsed with a 3-1 lead in the ALCS. I mean, we could taste it. I know nothing is for sure but you had to like our chances in the WS against Colorado, didn't you?

But now, the Tribe is completely in the tank. A season that started with so much promise has turned into a nightmare. The Indians are struggling to keep up with the Royals, and they are showing absolutely no signs of turning it around. The CC Sabathia trade watch is in full effect. What the hell happened?

The Browns season looks promising but they've broken my heart so many times I try not to get too excited.

And the Cavs; standing pat and watching everyone else get better. Doing nothing as the clock ticks on the Lebron James era. Call me crazy but I don't think that the addition of JJ Hickson is going to be enough to boost them over the top. And with all of this I get to go to ESPN and read this every few weeks:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3468173

Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to go drink. I need to get the taste of the vomit out of my mouth.