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.