Featured pack breaks

2008 Topps [$1.50 each x 3 from a local card show] - gotta get some initial 2008 breaks out of the way.

Pack one
# 189 Esteban German
Checklist
# 133 Mike Bacsik - I'm looking for certain cards featuring just the right image captured on cardboard, the right graphics to make the image standout. It may or may not evoke something, but the card just symbolizes what a baseball card should be.

# AR 9 Mark Ellis 50th Anniversary Topps All-Star Rookie insert - it is a pseudo retro design, which I tend to like. I think I like the idea of being able to pull retro themed inserts, because they are quaint and it makes me feel like I'm pulling a card from Topps' rich history.
# 186 Lastings Milledge
# 294 Brian McCann
# 45 Dontrelle Willis - a nice, seamless airbrush job.
# 117 Boof Bonser
# 28 Kyle Kendrick
# 200 Manny Ramirez
# 241 Ervin Santana Pack two
# 99 Postseason Highlights subset [ALCS] - featuring Papi and Manny being Manny
# 256 AL MVP subset - featuring A-Rod
# 322 AL Leaders subset [strikeouts] - featuring Scott Kazmir, Johan Santana and Erik Bedard; some writers are actually saying Bedard is a better bargain than Santana, though I personally don't think Bedard is an iron-clad superstar talent like Santana.
# 279 Damion Easley
# 14 Lenny DiNardo
# 173 Jamie Moyer
# 146 Aaron Hill gold parallel [serial #'d 0084/2008] - this guy quietly had a pretty good season last year.
# 90 Vladimir Guerrero
# 313 Kameron Loe
# 147 Marlon Anderson
Pack three
# 65 Billy Wagner
# 217 Postseason Highlights subset [World Series] - Josh Beckett
# 7 Mickey Mantle
# 165 Tim Lincecum
# 22 Ron Washington
# 84 Brian Fuentes # YR 7 Year in Review insert - Alex Rodriguez
# 203 Jason Tyner
# 182 Billy Buckner
# 80 Alex Rios

Comments - Topps is the product you grab when you don't have time and you are on the go. Besides the gimmick cards [Kazuo Uzuki and Rudy Giuliani anyone?], it is the same old cards you'll find at your show's commons bin [in due time].

• It is only three initial packs, but there maybe 'more' cards with light enough backgrounds, so they are more suitable for getting autographed randomly. Maybe those who selected the photos took more time [when they could] to feature a nice, clean image.
• Maybe it is a wrong perception, but in the past, there didn't seem to be any consistency with the images being used. They seemed to be 'all over the place,' just because there were too many different photographers/services being used.
• The circus team lettering may not be so appealing, but it is sort of appealing, where the cards shouldn't be taken seriously. They should be played around with, flipped, glanced at and collected otherwise.