Turk Off Prize From Beardy!

My payday has arrived. I recently got my prize from Beardy for winning the Turk Off. You might have read about in on ESPN.com or seen the 60 Minutes story.

It was truly a battle to the death that we somhow both survived, which I suppose means it wasn't really a battle to the death. Whatever. I'm calling it a battle to the death because if my wife kills me, this may have a lot to do with it.

I got some really fantastic cards as my prize and I will present them here. There are a few autos, a couple serial numbered, a lot of Indians (not all of which are posted here), and of course Grady Sizemore.

Let's get to it.

Nate Robertson Auto 24/99 - 2008 Stadium Club Beam Team

This is my favorite card that Beardy sent. Not because I love Robertson in particular (I have no strong feelings for him one way or the other), but because the card is so cool. First of all, I love the design. A hear a lot of people complain about black borders because they are so easily dinged, but I like them. This card has a perfect border anyway. And the tranparent stained glass window effect is really nice. I hadn't seen any cards like this. Didn't know they existed in this set.

Also, Nate has one of the best autos around. The vast majority of players just make a scribble, like they can't be bothered. Nate took enough time to make a complete, and very cool looking, auto. I just became a much bigger Nate Robertson fan after getting this card.


Ervin Santana Auto - 2008 Allen & Ginter

Ervin was lights out last year. I know. I picked him up cheap on my fantasy team. It's always very satisfying to do that. I haven't heard much about him this year. I think he's hurt, or something.

I really like these autos in the A & G with the loose mini inside the cool border card. Ervin has a nice auto too. I'm not sure if it's abreviated or not, but it fits the space perfectly and it's more than just a scribble.


Grady Sizemore 045/100 - 2008 UD Timeline

Ah...Grady. My main man. Serial numbered even. I think Beardy pulled this out of the Timelines box he just busted. As you well know I'm a fiend for Sizemore cards. This one is very much appreciated.


Ken Griffey Jr Chrome 0800/1999 - 2007 Turkey Red

I don't believe that this was pulled during the Turk Off. Beardy knows what I like, and I likes me some Turkey Red. Actually, my long term plan is to collect every Turkey Red card and parallel starting with the 2005 set. It will take years, decades even, and almost certainly won't ever be complete. But, it will be fun trying and it will give me something to focus on.


Dry Guy - 1986 Garbage Pail Kids

I'm not sure what series this is. Probably 2 or 3. On the back is a part of a puzzle. I have no idea where Beardy comes up with this stuff. My GPKs were gone a long time ago. I love these things.


Chuck Lofgren - 2007 Bowman Chrome

Chuck is on the Indian's short list of potential starters for this season. So far we have Lee, Pavano, and a hodge-podge of starters filling in the last 3 spots. With Fausto Carmona going all Dontrelle Willis on us, there is an even greater chance of seeing Chuck sometime soon. The reports on him are good. I'd be astounded if he doesn't get a shot sometime in the next few months.

Victor Martinez - 2009 Spectrum

This must be from Beardy's recently busted box. He seemed less than impressed with this product. This is a cool card, though. Martinez has cooled off a bit recently but he's still hitting around 350. This guy is an great player. A few weeks ago rumors had him going to the Red Sox for a package including Bucholz. I'd be sad to see him go but I'd love to add Clay. Probably never happen, though.



Bob Feller - 2006 Upper Deck all Time Legends

In Cleveland we love Feller. When he wasn't terrorizing American League hitters, he was terrorizing fascists as an ace pilot. We built a statue for him outside the Jake.

I love the card. The photo is black and white so you can't see Bob's red ass.

Bill Clinton - 2007 Masterpieces

I love this card. I didn't know there was a card with him in Tribe gear. This one is from when he threw out the first pitch when they opened the Jake. I'm a big fan of the former pres. Not to get all political, but he just always impressed me when he was interviewed and I heard him talk. Whether you agree with him or not, I think it is tough to deny that he has a well reasoned, thoughtful opinion on most subjects. Basically, he's not a dummy.


Ryan Garko - 2007 Bowman Heritage

I always liked Garko. He hasn't turned into a premier slugger first baseman type, but he has his moments. The back of his card says that he was born in Pittsburgh. I wish I hadn't read that.

Victor Martinez - 2007 Goudey Mini

The more Goudey I see, the more it grows on me.


Eric Wedge - 2009 Topps

I hate this card. I hate it because that man you see on the front is an imposter. I like Wedge. The ranks of Wedge appologists dwindles with each consecutive horrible April, but I still can't convince myself that it's Wedge's fault. But this isn't Eric Wedge. Eric Wedge does not smile. Ever.

This is not my manager.

Andy Marte - 2009 Topps Walget

For some reason I cannot keep it straight which ones are Target and which are Walmart. In any case, I like these black ones better. And this is a sweet looking card of Marte.

I can't belive that he is still with the Tribe. He was so bad the last 2 years that this once top flight prospect made it through waivers. He's back in AAA, and guess what? He's hitting the crap out of the ball again.

Is it time to give this guy another chance?

Travis Fryman - 1998 Finest

The protective coating is still intact here which means so is the book value. Thank god for that.

I loved Fryman in Cleveland. If I'm not mistaken he's still with the organization as the manager of the Mahoning Valley Scrapers.

Coco Crisp - 2005 Turkey Red

I love this card. I love all things Turkey Red (as you all well know). I was actually at the Tribe game last night. An endodontist I know (root canal dentist) had some tickets and called me last minute. Good times. That's actually why this post didn't go up last night.

The Tribe won it in extra innings when Choo drove in the winning run off of Kyle Farnsworth (The Royals fans are shocked by this, I'm sure). The hit clipped a seagull and got by Clisp.

It was high comedy watching Clisp act all indignant about it, as if he would have definately gunned down DeRosa at the plate, what with that cannon he has bolted onto his shoulder. If not for that crazy bird they might still be playing right now.


Lou Boudreau, Bob Lemon, Bob Feller - 2007 Legendary Cuts.

I don't have any of these cards. I had no idea they were so awesome looking. These 3 are good ones to end on. The scan does NOT do them justice.

Thank you Beardy. The Turk Off was great. I got lucky.

You were definately a Worthy Faqin Adversary. The Beard in the black Pajamas.

Turkey Red Prospectus

I've spent valuable time that I just don't have breaking down the Turk Off in an effort to bore everybody to tears. What follows is the result of that resounding success. Here are the Turk Off stats.

Sure, I won the Turk Off. But did I really win? Or did I just get lucky with some timely ripping? Let's be honest, if I'm Turking Off against anyone but Beardy I lose because their favorite player isn't Markakis. So who's box was really better? Let's see if we can find out.

Quick scoring adjustment: I screwed up. In pack #1 I didn't count Chase Wright against myself. He's a Yankee. That's -1 point. It does not affect the outcome. Sorry about that.

Base Set: 186 Cards (or 185, depending on how you look at it. I will explain)

Beardy: 155/186 = 83.3%
doubles: 19

MS: 139/186 = 74.7%
doubles: 35

total: 158/186 = 84.9%
doubles: 87
triples: 46
quadruples: 3

conclusions: Beardy pulled a much higher percentage of the total set. If you are a set collector then his is the box to bust. In fact my box would have only yielded an extra 3 base cards toward the set. There is very little value in busting more than one box of this if you are interested only in the base set.

One thing that is interesting is that I pulled 1 more card than Beardy. This is because one of my packs with the Relic had 8 cards instead of 7. I didn't realize this at the time. Normal packs have 8 cards but relic packs only have 7. This took a little over 28 hours for me to figure out. It was driving me absolutely bonkers. I was ready to stick my finger in a socket to restart my brain. You have no idea how frustrating it is to have the numbers off by 1 and not know why. (And to know that it doesn't matter, not even a little bit, to anyone but yourself.) But you Just. Can't. Let. It. Go.

Missing:

Beardy: 31 cards - all of them SPs

MS: 47 cards - 16 regular base cards 31 SPs

Total: 27 missing - all of them SPs

Conclusions: Beardy pulled every card possible that wasn't an SP. Here is another thing that hung me up for a while. At first I thought that there was 1 regular card that we both missed...#112 Ramon Hernandez. But, I thought I remembered seeing on Beardys break. Sure enough, Beardy has Ramon Hernandez listed as #67. #67 is actually Chase Wright (Yankee Puke). I concluded that Beardy mistakenly wrote the wrong number on his post and in fact does have every regular card.

The other card that caused me trouble was #56 Chase Utley. This is not listed as a short print. It is an Ad Back. However, unlike every other Ad Back card, this does not have an analogous regular base card. This card ONLY exists as an Ad Back. You cannot pull the #56 Chase Utley Card without it being an Ad Back. Strange. I have no idea why Topps did this. What it accomplished is throwing me for a loop for a significant amount of time that could be used NOT giving my wife MORE grounds for divorce than she already has.

Obviously Beardy's box has the edge in this aspect.

SPs:

Beardy: 5/35 - Kurt Suzuki, Carlos Lee, Chase Utley, Dallas Braden, Todd Helton

MS: 5/35 - Mickey Mantle, Kurt Suzuki, Carlos Zambrano, Mark Buehrle, Eric Byrnes

Total 9/35 - Only double is Kurt Suzuki which, as Beardy pointed out, is a great looking card

If you are busting boxes to get to the SPs then it would be beneficial to bust more than one. I don't know how many boxes it would take for the law of diminishing returns to kick in, but I know it's more than 2.

I have to call this one a tie. I just don't know how to judge who go the better of the SPs. My first inclination would be to give it to myself because of the Mantle. But, Utley, Helton, and maybe even Lee are all better than anything else I got. So I'm calling it a draw.

Ad Backs:

Beardy: Miguel Cabrera

MS: Johan Santana

Conclusions: The only conclusion I have here is that we got screwed on Ad Backs. The players we pulled are both good so I'm calling it a draw.

I'm not going to complain too much, though, because if they took out Ad Backs and put in Silks and Black Refractors then we definitely came out ahead.

Yankees:

Beardy: 18 cards

MS: 25 cards

Conclusions: This includes all Yankees...Mantle, Jeter, and A-Rod too. Unless you are Drew, Sooz, or any of the other nameless rabble of brainwashed fans, Beardy has a decided edge in this category. It's not even close. I knew I was pulling a lot of Yankees.

Mantles:

Beardy: 6

MS: 7

Conclusions: This is closer than I thought. I thought I was going to kill Beardy in this category but it's rather close.

The question becomes whether it's better to get more Mantles...or is it better to get less? I refuse to let a baseball card company ruin the thrill of pulling one of the greatest players of all time. If you would be pumped to pull a vintage Mantle then this should be no different. So I get the edge due to having more cards and one of them being the SP, which unlike Beardy, I think looks rather nice.

Major Stars:

Beardy: 20

MS: 20

Conclusions: Dead even, just like the Turk Off. This is probably the reason it came down to the wire. Nobody pulled more cards of the stars. I know that we need to put more thought into the list next time, but it is what it is.

Negative player pulls:

Beardy: 5

MS: 5

Conclusions: This is the list of 5 players that were negative points for no reason whatsoever. We both pulled them all once. Even Steven (or Stephen I suppose).

Home Teams:

Beardy: 5 Orioles 2 Indians

MS: 2 Orioles 2 Indians

Conclusions: Another category that Beardy has a decided edge in. Actually 5 Orioles is probably a pretty good haul.

Silks:

Beardy: Cole Hamels

MS: Josh Beckett

Conclusions: The odds that I found are that these are 1:85 to pull so we both did very well. To tell the truth, I would call it a tie in any other situation. But, I had to go and put up that pole and Hamels got the slight edge with 5 votes to 3 and another 3 votes calling it a tie. Of course those 5 Hamels votes were probably Beardy at home, at work, at his parents, at his neighbors, and at the strip club...but I can't prove it. Another advantage Beardy.

I'm still pumped as hell that I pulled that silk, though.

President Cards:

Beardy: James Polk and George Washington

MS: Benjamin Harrison and Abe Lincoln

Conclusions: Another draw. I tried to think of a reason to give this to myself but I just can't. We both got an all star and a solid #7 hitter. As even as it could be.

ARod Road to 500:

Beardy: #325

MS: #321

Conclusions: I'm giving myself the win here because 321 is divisible by 3 and 325 is not. Also Beardy made a huge stink about this. Actually, he was just trying to get as many points as he could...just like any good Turker Offer would. Commish Dayf wasn't having it and soon sanity was restored. Nobody wins with these cards. But, I need SOMETHING about my box to be better.

Chrome:

Beardy: 6 - Jeff Kent, Fransisco Rodriguez, Carlos Beltran, Mark Teahen, Johan Santana, Andy Pettite

MS: 6 - Jeff Kent, Chipper Jones, Johan Santana, Carlos Beltran, JD Drew, Alex Rios

Conclusions: It comes down to Rodriguez, Teahen, and Pettite vs Jones, Drew, and Rios. It's a tough call but I'm giving it to myself. Drew and Petitte are about a wash. I personally like Rios over Teahen, and Chipper over Fransisco Rod is a no-brainer. Close, But my box is better here.

Chrome Refractor:

Beardy: 3 Vlad Guerrero, Yovanni Gallardo, Roger Clemens

MS: 3 Jason Schmidt, David Ortiz, David Eckstein

Conclusions: Man this is close. If anyone can come up with a reason that one is better I'm all ears. Until then this is a push.

Chrome Black Refractor:

Beardy: Hideki Okajima

MS: Nick Markakis

Conclusions: MS in a landslide here. Not even close. This card is the sole reason that I won the Turk Off.

Cabinet:

Beardy: Michael Young

MS: Johan Santana

Conclusions: I win this little battle. Santana smears Young. The only problem is now I have this Ginormous card that I have no idea what to do with. Of course, I have that problem with Santana. Beardy has the same problem but with Michael Young, so I still win.


Overall Thoughts:

Beardy's box was better. Hands down. Our pulls were very similar, but it wasn't even close as far as base set and doubles. Plus, I had to put up with a significant amount of Yankees over what Beardy dealt with.

There you go. There's the numbers.

If anyone has bothered to read or at least skim this whole damn thing please leave a comment so I know that I didn't spend 197 hours of my life compiling this only to have nobody read it. If you don't think it would take very long, look at the posts and try to think of how you would go about figuring out who had doubles of what and how many base cards were pulled yada yada yada. Then think about how many little compiling mistakes you would make and have to go back to figure out why the numbers don't work and are off by 1 or 2.

I have no idea why I did this.

Turk-Off Packs 23 & 24

Here it is. It all comes down to this. I've had a lot of fun. It has been a lot more work than I imagined. I'm piggybacking right on the back of my last post so I don't even know who's winning as of this writing.

It's right in the middle of the Cavs game so I probably will be in no position to do anything Turk Off related for a while yet.

Win or lose, I've had a blast.

Pack 23:

#162 Troy Glaus 0pts
#87 David Eckstein 0pts
#20 Alex Rodriguez 1pts (I don't feel right about getting a point for this douche)


#142 Jered Weaver 0pts
#63 Carlos Zambrano SP 8pts (Nice, pulling the big boys out in the end.)


#44 Bill Hall 0pts
#10 Jimmy Rollins 0pts
#49 Brandon Inge 0pts

Pack 23 Total: 9 points

Decent. But will it be decent enough?

Pack 24:

#52 Brandon Wood 0pts
#130 David Ortiz 0pts
#88 Tim Lincecum 0pts
#39 Micah Owings 0pts
#76 Nick Markakis Chrome Black Refractor 89/99 10pts (CBR) x 7 (Markakis) = 70pts (HOLY COW!!!!!!!! A GRAND SLAM IN THE BOTTOM OF THE NINTH!!! Can you believe that I pulled this card of Makakis?!!! Outstanding! No matter what's happened I feel pretty confident about this pack.)



#57 Miguel Montero 0pts
#18 BJ Upton 0pts
#92 Homer Bailey 0pts

Pack 24 Total: 70 points

70 Freakin' points. Wow, what a way to finish. I swear that I just posted these packs as I pulled them. This just happened to be the last one.

I guess that the poll was right. Beardy and I both opened pretty good boxes. Both go t silks.

I can tell you that win or lose, that Black Chrome Markakis is going to find it's way to Beardy. You get a pull like that and are busting things with =the one guy in the world who could appreciate it more than any other...it's just like the stars aligned. Good times. Really good times.

There's still a Cabinet to open but that's really just for show. I'll drop that around midnight or so. It's pretty decent too.

Turk-Off Packs 15 & 16

Beardy is still in the lead even though I pulled that Santana Ad Back. You can still only win a pack once. I'm starting to feel the pressure. I feel like I've already pulled my share of Yankees and I should be clear of that now. Let's hope.

Pack 15:

#85 Danny Putnam 0pts
#125 Michael Young 0pts
#60 Mariano Rivera -1pts (So much for steering clear of the Yankees. I got a comment from Drew, a Yankee fan, talking about how great this box is for Yankees.)


#107 Mickey Mantle 1pts (At least this Yankee gets me a point instead of takes it away.)


#96 Derek Lee 0pts
#7 Mickey Mantle SP 8 pts (SP) x 3 (Star) /2 (Yankee) = 12 pts (It seems like I get at least 2 Yankees in every pack. Thank god we made the Mantles worth something. It could have easily gone the other way and I'd be in negative points for the entire box. The great thing about this one is it's the SP. I'm more relieved than happy. If I would have pulled every freakin Mantle card in the set twice but didn't pull the SP, well, someone would have gotten a strongly worded letter.)


#161 Trevor Hoffman
#176 Turning Two Checklist 0pts

Pack 15 Total: 12 points

Turned out to be a good pack despite the Yankees. It's not unbeatable but I like my chances with this one.

Pack 16:

#175 Lance Berkman 0pts
#105 Phil Hughes -1pts (What, am I supposed to be surprised? If there was one thing I was hoping for in this box it was the get Phil Hughes...twice.)


#144 Jermaine Dye 0pts
#5 Cole Hamels 0pts
#178 Magglio Ordonez 0pts
#53 Swiping Two Checklist 0pts
#57 Miguel Montero 0pts
#18 BJ Upton 0pts

Pack 16 Total: -1 points

Here we go. Another negative pack. Now I've got to hope that Beardy's first pack is not great or I will find myself down by 4. That would be pretty much insurmountable at this point methinks.

I like any excuse to write methinks.

We'll have to see what Beardy got, but my stomach is in knots. Well, not really, but I'd like to have a chance. That's all I ask...a chance at the end.

Turk-Off Packs 13 & 14

I'm playing from behind for the second time in this inaugural Turk-Off. Beardy is ahead by 1 pack, and since we both may have exhausted our hits the lead may be too much to overcome. I will not lose hope, however, and Beardy has shown a propensity to open really really terrible packs at times.

We shall overcome!

Before we get to the packs, another few polls have closed:

The best 3 pulls from packs 1-4 are the Rolen Relic, Santana Chrome, and Pettite Chrome. I think the first 2 are no brainers but Pettite over the Helton SP? Really. I'm disappointed.

I forget what the second poll question was because I accidentally erased it. It must not have been too compelling.

The third question leaves little room for doubt. Beardy is in fact the son of a motherless goat. Sorry. Don't blame the messenger Beardy.

On to the packs

Pack 13:

#122 Roy Oswalt 0pts
#154 Travis Buck 0pts
#160 Ivan Rodriguez 0pts
#110 Dice-K 0pts (Really starting this pack off gangbusters)
#150 Ken Griffey Jr 2pts (Finally some points)


#159 Johan Santana Ad Back 8pts (AD Back) x 3 (star) = 24 pts (WooHoo!!, I new I had to be getting one of these eventually and I hoped it was a star. Now I have to hope that Beardy wastes some decent pulls, but not quite good enough to overtake me. I'm back in it baby!)



#157 Jake Peavy 0pts
#13 Play At The Plate Checklist 0pts

Pack 13 Total: 26 points

How about that. A nice hit AND no Yankees! Doesn't get much better than that.

Pack 14:

#169 Justin Verlander 0pts
#163 Troy Tulowitzki 0pts
#64 Miguel Tejada 0pts
#172 Kelvin Jiminez -1pts (Well, it was fun not getting negative points while it lasted)


#TRP16 Abe Lincoln 5pts (Nice. My man Abe. I might get lucky and pull this pack out if Beardy opens a dud. He already pulled George. For my money Abe and George are the best president pulls, although we get more points for Polk or Harrison. I guess because Washington and Lincoln always get all the glory and the other 2 guys could use a little pub.)


#65 Mike Cameron 0pts
#67 Chase Wright -1pts (It's a big conspiracy. That's what I think)


#109 The Captain Checklist 0pts (Since it's a Yankee it might be worth negative points, but since it's Jeter it might be worth one. However, it's a Checklist so I don't think its anything. I'll change it if necessary)

Pack 14 Total: 3 points

So many Yankees. So many. They are really coming down hard on me. 5 points might win a pack. 3 points not likely. I guess we'll see. my guess is Beardy gets 4 points in pack 14.

Turk-Off Packs 11 & 12

What a wild ride those last 2 packs were. Good Times. I have to say I'm very impressed so far with Beardy's overall Turking Off skills. He's managed to pull out wins over my 2 biggest hits. I'm starting to worry. I didn't think he'd be able to hang with me at such a high Turking level, but he has proven himself a worthy Faqin adversary.

The results of the first poll are in and it indicates that the majority of you are just happy viewing the Turk-Off and indicate that we are all winners. It's people like you who came up with the "everybody gets a trophy" stupidity that is pervading today's youth sports and culture dooming us to a future of entitled brats who are unwilling and unable to achieve. I weep for the future. A few of you did vote for the terrorists so I suppose that's something.

Now let's gather up all of the other grown men and women and look at more baseball cards!

Pack 11:

#2 Dontrelle Willis 0pts
#36 Tadahito Iguchi 0pts
#119 Hideki Okajima 0pts
#4 John Maine 0pts
#173 Roger Clemens -1pts (Please, just 1 pack without a Yankee. Is that too much to ask?)


#130 David Ortiz Chrome Refractor 5pts (Isn't Ortiz a major star? He hit a HR this year.)


#8 Serving Up Strikes Checklist 0pts
#153 Andy Laroche 0pts

Pack 11 Total: 4 points

What a boring pack. Even with the Chrome Refractor. Maybe I have Silk withdrawl.

Pack 12:

#32 Andrew Jones 0pts
#33 Josh Beckett 0pts
#98 Doug Slaten 0pts
#84 Dan Uggla 0pts
#61 Carlos Delgado 0pts
#ARHR325 ARod Road to 500 HR #325: -3pts (There it is. You knew this was coming. What a horrible set. I'm pissed off that it took up the space of what could have been a base card. Maybe those two were right on the pole. Maybe the terrorists do win.)


#13 Play at the Plate Checklist 0pts (I kind of like these checklists. Cool action paintings. I'll scan it so this pack has something decent to look at.)


#80 Craig Biggio 0pts

Pack 11 Total: -3 points

I guess if you're going to eat crap on one of these packs you it's better to do it this way and not soil other potentially good pulls and packs.


Looks like Beardy swept this one. I made the first pack close, but the second pack was like Dresden. I still have time. Lot of packs left. Lot of packs left.

Turk-Off Packs 9 & 10

OK, the Cavs game is over. On to the really important things after that diversion. I'm calling this the "Live To Fight Another Day" edition of the Turk of. First because of the series extending win by everybody's favorite Cleveland basketball team, and the fact that Beardy pulled a major hit (Miguel Cabrera Ad Back) form his pack. I'm just trying to sneak out of here with a push and "live to fight another day."

On a side note, I just want to say how lucky I feel to be able to watch Lebron play here. That doesn't mean I think we have the series locked up or anything stupid like that. I just mean I've never seen anyone quite like him...in any sport, and I know how fortunate I am to see it. I stood right next to him under the Q last year after a game, but that's a story for another day.

Let's see what I can pull off. I'll need a shot like Lebron made in game 2 to pull this one off.

Pack 9:

# 9 Josh Beckett 0pts
# 98 Doug Slaten 0pts
# 84 Dan Uggla 0pts (Looking like he's about to boot a grounder in an All Star game. Too soon?)
# 61 Carlos Delgado 0pts
# 85 Danny Putnam 0pts
# C10? Josh Beckett Silk 46/99 20pts (I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I'm still going to lose the pack, but who cares right? This card is fantastic. Even better in real life than I imagined. One of the coolest cards I've ever seen. After pulling this does it really matter that I'm going to lose the pack? Looking back these should have been worth more. I wouldn't trade this for 10 SPs. Just an awesome awesome card.)


#38 Tim Hudson 0pts
#48 Prince Albert Checklist 0pts

Pack Total 20 points

I may have lost the pack, but I feel like I won the war on this one. I'm positively giddy right now. The Cavs one and I pull this. I cannot wait to get it scanned in and posted.

How crazy is it that I've lost both packs that I pulled my big hits?

Pack 10:

#25 Albert Pujols 2pts


#68 Chien-Ming Wang -1pts (Wang having a 35.00 ERA or whatever it is almost makes this pull worth it. Almost.)


#120 Manny Ramirez 0pts (Another guy we left off the Major Stars list. I guess you have to draw the line somewhere and Manny's cuts are too fresh.)
#55 Josh Hamilton 0pts (but still a nice pull.)
#159 Johan Santana Chrome 3pts Chrome x3 Star = 9pts (I was starting to worry I might lose this one too.)


#118 Hideki Matsui -1pts (What do you know. Another Yankee. I'm Beardy's total lack of surprise.)


#184 Matt Holliday 0pts
#157 Jake Peavy 0pts

Pack 10 Total: 9 points

That was quietly an outstanding pack. Pujols, Ramirez, Hamilton, Santana, Holliday, Peavy...really good pack. Of course the only thing screwing it up was the Yankees. Typical.

Looks like another split. Although I think Beardy has to feel pretty good about it after winning another pack when I get a big hit.

Damn, that silk is kick ass. I don't even care that I lost. I can't stop talking about it.

Turk-Off Packs 7 & 8

Here we are, already 1/3 of the way through the Turk-Off and we are no closer to uncovering the favorite. This has been as even as even could be. Even Steven, if you will. We are tied 3-3 despite Beardy's shameful effort to circumvent the Commissioner's fair, wise, and just decision on the monstrosity that is the A-Rod Roid to 500 card. Frankly, I was a little embarrassed for him.

I've seen that Beardy has already posted 7&8 but I haven't looked to see his point total. I have it on semi-reliable authority (Beardy himself) that his packs were less than stellar and now's my chance to make my move. I have no doubt that I have an A-Roid card just waiting to rear it's ugly pointless head at the exact wrong moment. we shall see. On to the cards:

Pack 7:

#175 Lance Berkman 0pts
#105 Phil Hughes -1pts (Can I please open a pack without getting a Yankee or JD Drew?)


#144 Jermaine Dye 0pts (The first thing I saw on this card was pinstripes and I almost puked)
#5 Cole Hamels 0pts
#TRR JW Jered Weaver Relic 10pts (My first big hit. Jered Weaver. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to have the points, but I'm underwhelmed. I hope I didn't wast this on a pack where Beardy got like 2 pts)


#164 Jorge Posada -1pts (WTF man? Are there 2 Yankees in every pack or something? I already have a freakin' Posada. This isn't even about the Turk-Off anymore. Enough with the Yankees already.)


#131 Jose Jose Jose Jose! 0pts (Another double)
#50 Jason Giambi -1pts (I'm seriously getting pissed. If I lose this pack even though I got a relic I'm finding whoever collated it and they're getting the old potato sack.)


Pack 7 Total: 7 Points

Pack 8:

#30 Barry Bonds 0pts (Why didn't we make him a Major Star? Oh yeah, everybody hates that guy.)
#41 Barry Zito 0pts
#59 Carlos Beltran 0pts
#11 Kenji Johjima -1pts (Figures)


#12 Orlando Hernandez 0pts
#87 David Eckstein Chrome Refractor +5pts (Look at that guy, even the shininess of being Chrome AND a refractor can't remove all of the grit. He is one gritty SOB. He plays the game right. All of the other wonderful things announcers say about small white players with limited talent. Don't get me wrong...sweet card.)


#138 Shawn Green 0pts
#78 Curt Schilling 0pts

Pack 8 Total: 4 points

Judging by what Beardy said in his email that should be enough to take both packs. Unless, of course, he was just strategizing and trying to lull me into a false sense of security. I must admit, that would be a good strategy. If I knew that I needed a lot of points I would concentrate much harder and pull better cards probably.

Turk Off Packs 5 + 6

I see that Beardy really screwed the pooch with his last 2 packs. Here is my chance to climb back into this thing.

C'mon....Momma wants a....NEW PAIR'A SHOES!!!

Pack 5:

#81 Juan Pierre 0pts
#127 Ryan Zimmerman 0pts
#180 Miguel Cabrera 2pts


#90 Justin Morneau 0pts
#59 Carlos Beltran Chrome 3pts


#164 Jorge Posada -1pts


#131 Jose Jose Jose Jose! 0pts
#50 Jason Giambi -1pts


Pack 5 Total: 3 points (Damn Yankees)

My God, I've been getting a lot of Yankees. I hate these deductions. I just keep telling myself I'm getting them out of the way early. Either that or I have a Yankees dream box and I'm screwed.

Pack 6:

#125 Michael Young 0pts
#60 Mariano Rivera -1pts (What the hell is it with me pulling all of these freakin Yankees?)


#107 Mickey Mantle 1pts


#96 Derrek Lee 0pts
#126 JD Drew Chrome + 3pts (chrome)-3pts (Drew) = 0pts(THIS IS BULLSHIT! Who decided that JD Drew should be a penalty?...Oh yeah, that was me.)


#16 Stand Up Double 0pts
#27 Roy Halladay 2pts


#37 Edgar Renteria 0pts

Pack 6 Total: 2 Points

Even with only 2 points I still beat Beardy on that pack. Thank God because if I lost both of these I don't think I'd have a chance to recover.

The first pack is still up in the air. We are going to need a ruling by Commissioner Dayf on what that A-Rod card is worth. It sure would be rough to lose on that dumb-ass card but I will abide by any decision made by the Commish.

The Dude abides...you know?

It got late here trying to get this up tonight. I probably won't be able to get another 2 packs done until tomorrow after work. It's my early day tomorrow so I hope to get it up by 5 PM.

Beardy, make sure I scored that JD Drew Chrome correctly. I just figured that we subtract 3 from the total for those players from what the hit would have been worth otherwise.