Featured Card - 2008 Topps Opening Day Fausto Carmona - this card should be in everyone's collection. After pulling it in a pack of Topps Opening Day, it has got to be one of the centerpiece cards in my collection. Just take a look at the 'morning fro' on the guy's head. Don't we feel that way at times in our lives? There is too many cards out there today, lacking the type of personality the image on this card has.

This card brings a smile to my face and transcends any collection, whether you are a prospector, a vintage collector or someone collecting for the something to blog about.

Give me 100 more cards like these and I'm be happy like a pig in mud.

Featured Card - 2008 Topps Heritage David Wright New Age Performers insert #NAP5

This insert card stood out among the other cards I flipped through in a three pack break of 2008 Topps Heritage. It pictures a modern player and the design is something cooked up 2008, not 1959. On the other hand, just for the second, you see the font, the bright, almost garish colors and imagine it maybe something you can conceivably pull out of a pack of 1959 Topps cards.

Featured Card - Tim Salmon/Mark Langston

I picked this 'oddball' card up for a nickel in a '20 for $1' commons bin. It features two California Angels' stars of the early 1990s, Tim Salmon and Mark Langston.

I remember Salmon being a favorite because I found his 1991 Bowman rookie card when it was a quarter back in 1991/1992 and I think I 'traded' for it, just because he was an Angels' player [though relatively unknown and still in the minor leagues].

Some time later, Salmon was annointed the Angels' top prospect and had an American League Rookie of the Year winning year in 1993. I most certainly believe I officially jumped on the bandwagon and became a 'frontrunner' as someone had said to me.

Salmon became the face of the franchise, providing the up and [mostly] down Angels' teams with a powerful middle of the lineup presence through the rest of the 1990s.

Salmon, who was a very good player during his 14-year career in the Major Leagues was very productive, but at times not healthy. It seemed like the last several years of his career, his bat hand slowed down as well as his range in the outfield.

While he never made the all-star team, considering everything he's done, the pinnacle of his career was winning the 2002 World Series, when he helped lead the Anaheim Angels defeat the San Francisco Giants. He hit .346 with nine hits in 26 at-bats, including two home runs and five RBIs. His on-base percentage was .452 and his slugging percentage was .615.

He fell short of hitting 300 home runs for his career and I think Angels' fans were kind of disappointed he didn't get the milestone home run to close out his playing career. He is a franchise legend, though probably falls just a notch below being a player considered to be a borderline Hall of Fame candidate.

Featured beater

1970 Topps Tom Seaver #300 - when your bored, you have to resort to doing things to entertain you. I guess this is what I'm doing with this post and I guess this was the reason the card pictured is where it is today.

Out of a bundle of poor-fair 'vintage' cards selling for a buck each, I thought I'd scored with at least a card of a Hall of Famer worth the buck I paid for. It wouldn't be pretty, but I didn't think it would be this ugly.

There are creases all over the card and apparently it is autographed by one of the youth owning this card 39 years ago.

This card was going in the garbage, but it is probably going to stick around for a while. I almost want to get a professionally graded example of this card, just so I don't feel like this is a centerpiece to my collection.

Featured pickup
2007 Upper Deck Premier Patches Miguel Tejada patch card serial #'d 38/98 - I really believe Tejada is going to have a 'bounce back' season with the Houston Astros this year. It will be interesting to follow his statistics through the season because he might be in jail for lying about his involvement with steroids.

His batting average is probably going to hover around the .285 mark. He is going to hit around 20 home runs and drive in around 95 runs. His on-base percentage will probably be around .340, with his slugging percentage around .460. Those aren't great numbers, but post-steroid era, that is a decent year. I expect him to be as durable as he once was, especially when 2007 was a fluke as far as getting injured was concerned.

After signing a big free agent contract, Tejada toiled for some forgettable Baltimore Orioles' teams through this decade. While he was obscured in a number of ways, despite performing well, he is now is strictly seen as a 'has been' with a shady steroid past.

I picked the card up for $5 at a local show running two times a week. I thought it was a sharp card and I almost didn't care who was pictured, as long as it was an 'okay baseball player.'

Ironically, I saw a similar card last month, at a card show/fanfest the Seattle Mariners/San Diego Padres have in Peoria Arizona. It wasn't a good enough pick-up then at $5, because I thought the card is irrelevant. He's been traded the Astros and people had soured on him. Of course, a $10 Vladimir Guerrero patch card [from the same set] wasn't good enough either.

I do remember him when he was hitting his prime in Oakland, where he'd be as accomodating signer as anyone in the game, though his signature wasn't that great. I got a picture with him myself and a single-signed baseball. After his Oakland days, the autograph even got worse and he strictly dictated when and where he would sign.

Looking back, Tejada sort of falls under those players who lulled fans into 'believing the hype,' where he posted monster numbers through his prime. Maybe he wasn't a pure home run slugger, hitting 40-50 home runs, but a guy who fanboys may have projected monster career numbers for, because he was doing it for several seasons, not considering he was Mr. B-12/Mr. Steroids.

Update [4/18/08] - Tejada was ambushed by ESPN's E:60, but was caught in another lie when age was brought up and the E:60 correspondent actually had a copy of his birth certificate revealing he was born in 1974. What was Tejada supposed to say, when apparently the only thing noting his actual birth year was legal documents i.e. than his green card. Either the teams he played for were ignorant or it was common knowledge, not just to the general public, where available information on players can be inaccurate [i.e. height/weight].

I don't think it affects his playing career much at all. He might have been losing a step defensively but he was still pretty consistent - part of that maybe due to steroids/PEDs, but he played in 162 games a year, had something like 650 at-bats a year until he got hurt in 2007.

He got his big contract and he was worth the money he was being paid - if he was Jose Ortiz, then he'd be shining shoes back in the Dominican right now, but if he made it because of lying and possibly taking PEDS, he also made it in spite of it.

I was looking back when the Oakland Athletics brought him up to the Major Leagues in 1997 and while he was actually 23 and not 21, it would be in-line as far as the age an 'average' prospect is called up - someone in the Athletics' organization must have known his true age or else the organization would have waited perhaps a year or two later.

What this incident really does, is just adds onto the distrust fans have for particular [types?] of players - what else is he lying about or players of his ilk lying about? Fans don't care about your hardships in trying to make it unless you are Josh Hamilton, great hope, et al. It wouldn't be a leap for them to assume Tejada was lying about the steroids/PEDS he might or might not have been using.

Next up: Vladimir Guerrero and Albert Pujols

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.

The first 2008 card releases are out with 2008 Upper Deck and 2008 Topps

1.) So what [?] - you realize they are such a small part of the experience. It is just another pair of baseball card releases to mark another year gone by. You are almost too sophisticated to care about new cards just because they are marked '2008' on them and they are the first products out. The stats on the back of the card don't matter because 'currently' you have numbers and numbers available on the Internet.

The excuse of picking up cards to check on 'updated' stat lines for your favorite players are obsolete - you may want to build a set, but with new products coming out, doesn't last past spring training.

2.) Lack of updates - you understand how these sets are essentially planned and probably printed in advance. On the other hand, a product nearly devoid of any updates [traded players, free agent signings] from the past off-season is just discouraging, especially when you are eager to bust some packs just to see what the 'new' cards look like.

3.) Veteran cards - the autograph collector [in-person/through the mail] appreciates a comprehensive checklist, but at some point, cards featuring certain players, career relievers, journeymen and utility infielders just pile up.

4.) Gimmick cards - the 2008 Upper Deck Presidential Predictor cards are sort of 'out there,' since it takes a more satirical stance, rather than a 'conservative, this is your father's insert' stance. I don't know how original the idea is, but UD seems to go for sensationalism [only if to copy Topps' efforts from past year or so].

5.) Using similar images - Upper Deck still does a good job of mixing things up and featuring cards with 'personality shots,' but it seems like they tend to put in a fair share of the typical, 'hitting, running, pitching, baserunning' shots, along with 'useless' cards [to the autograph collector who cares about aesthetics] featuring a 'boring studio shot,' of a player wearing a dark, batting practice jersey or using a card featuring no 'light' space at all.

The Character Assassination of Francisco Rodriguez

1.) It is disheartening and a sore spot when I hear Angels' fans bash one of the franchise's best closers - I don't claim to know K-Rod and maybe I tend to fall into the side where I plead ignorance to his basic intentions as far as enjoying personal success and helping his team win but the disrespect is galling for a guy who should be beloved as an elite closer.

2.) Despite the fact Angels' owner Arte Moreno seems to reward players with long-term contracts, where he has to overpay if he has to, fans suddenly want to lowball K-Rod - it is a self-fulfilling prophecy for a core of Angels' fans to see K-Rod fail, blow out his arm or just leave. Suddenly it is the Angels' goal to watch out and not cave in. They preach the sentiment that K-Rod is some sort of mercenary and will leave for greener pastures just because he can.

3.) A core of Angels' fans can't seem to tolerate or dismiss K-Rod's 'antics' as typical closer bravado - which closer in Major League Baseball doesn't have an edge to feed off from? A jerk of the neck, a twist, a symbolic gesture to state 'the game is over?' Why are Angels' fans dissatisfied with K-Rod? Maybe it is Tego Calderon's fault. Maybe if K-Rod had an entrance music fans can relate and chant to [like Guns and Rose's "Welcome to the Jungle," Metallica's "Enter Sandman" or "Hells Bells" from AC/DC], he'd be held in higher respect.

4.) Fans want Scot Shields to close in the worst way [to put it politely and in P.C. terms, wanting to see the 'fan favorite' to succeed [for whatever reason besides just pure performance] where they feel the guy they don't want is somehow not doing the job to their satisfaction syndrome] - Shields is the guy whose arm went dead and got a little nutty during a prolonged period of time in 2007. Love the guy's contributions, but he had a 7.36 ERA in the second half last year, including a 9.00 ERA in August. I know for a fact, there is a core of fans, who still want to annoint him the closer, while burying K-Rod's accomplisments. It isn't everyone else in the Angels' bullpen making up for K-Rod's supposed faults, it is the other way around.

5.) Wouldn't it be ironic if he did leave and saved 50 games for some contender like the Detroit Tigers - and help lead them to a World Series championship? Angels' fans just don't know how good they have it.

Featured Pick-Ups
2002 Diamond Collection Jim Edmonds Franchise Connections bat card serial #'d 083/100 and 2003 Topps Finest Moments George Foster autograph - I paid $7 for the bat card with the St. Louis Cardinals' logo engraved on the game used bat swatch. I think I overpaid for the Edmonds' card, but I collect his cards on the side and I thought it was somewhat unique.

I paid other $7 for the Foster certified autograph - maybe several years ago, I wouldn't have cared for the card, but I needed to fill a hole in my award winners collection. I had to pick up the hard signed certified autograph card of the 1977 National League MVP.

2007 Donruss Elite Extra Edition set [$9.00 BIN plus $7.95 s/h on Ebay] - hand collated sets maybe a low-risk, low-reward purchase if you want to see what a particular product's base cards look like. Some releases, particularly 'late in the year' feature base sets with a handful of first-year player cards and/or true rookie cards.

Throw away the coach's cards - apparently former Utah basketball head coach Rick Majerus' card comes in handy. Ignore the other sports' cards - keep the Jennie Finch and Amanda Beard cards handy though.

Gawk at the Summer Sanders card - wondering why Donruss didn't use a The Sports List [remember that show] era image [or even an NBA Inside Stuff] of Sanders. Her autograph would be going for more than $10-$15 on EBay, if a more attractive image was used.

Flip through the baseball draft picks cards - see there are a few non first-year minor leaguers included, though you can hardly tell from the other baseball draft picks wearing their amateur threads. Wonder why

Wonder why Donruss had to included two Cobi Jones base cards in the set - only to smirk and realize the other card is of women's soccer player Michelle Akers.

Cheap wax hell

On Ebay, I picked up the following pack lots - I've always been burned picking up a bunch of packs, with the idea I'm going to pull something of note or at least something better the discount price is not telling me.

I do think the mid 1990s were the peak as far as nice, modern baseball cards being printed - you can argue there are better types of cards today as far as being autographed, being a parallel or having game-used swatches, but nothing compares with the 1990s as far as aesthetics and actual graphics are concerned.

Each lot had a different s/h cost and I thought I'd be only paying the highest cost [$6.95], but the combined shipping on the invoice is $13 - I'm sure you can ship everything in one box [actually the seller shipped it in two boxes] and I think if you buy multiple items from one seller, they should be able to only charge you one s/h fee. I e-mailed the seller after the auction had ended the response was it is $6.95 [highest] for the first auction and $3 each for next two.

The total ended up being 45 packs [about 492 cards] for $37 - you got punked already since these are not the latest and greatest, but you like the pain of confusion [lack of clarity] leading to impulsiveness. Where are my priorities? What can I really do empower myself in this endeavor called collecting?

10 other things you can pick up [at the very least] -
A.) 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson PSA graded rookie card
B.) 1982 Topps Cal Ripken Jr. PSA graded rookie card
C.) 1983 Topps Tony Gwynn PSA graded rookie card
D.) 1984 Topps John Elway PSA graded rookie card
E.) 1984 Topps Dan Marino PSA graded rookie card

1995 Pinnacle, 1997 Pinnacle, 1997 New Pinnacle & 1997 Leaf packs [20 packs/8-12 cards in each pack; $7.99 plus $6.95 s/h] - one of the things I'm cautiously aware of is always being burned picking up a bunch of 'close out' packs, with the idea I'm going to pull something of note or at least something better the discount price is not telling me.

When I got these in the mailbox, I just started ripping and ripping - it looks like these packs were recovered firebombed hobby shop. I listed the notable cards I got out of each pack [though the order I might have opened them might not be in order] as far as semistars/all-star types as well as random common cards I collect for whatever reason or the other [that may not be fully explained in this paragraph].

5 packs of 1995 Pinnacle [12 cards per pack] -

Series I Hobby
Pack one - Don Mattingly, Garret Anderson, Chuck Knoblauch [awesome action], Milt Thompson [awesome outfield action], Ricky Bones [pitchers hitting], Bryce Florie [beyond the glory], Rick Wilkins [tools of ignorance].
Pack two - Bernard Gilkey [hats off], Jim Edmonds [awesome outfield action], Greg Colbrunn [awesome action], Gary Sheffield, Paul Konerko, Mo Vaughn [awesome action], Pat Kelly [awesome action]
Pack three - Jim Thome [high toppers], Joe Carter, Ken Caminiti [awesome action], Leo Gomez [Puerto Rico], Fausto Cruz [foreign born - Dominican Republic], Doug Drabek [hats off], Tony Phillips [awesome action], Darren Daulton [hats off]
Pack four - Jay Bell [awesome action], Tom Pagnozzi [tools of ignorance], Danny Bautista [awesome outfield action], Chipper Jones, Brent Gates Upstarts US7 insert [retro uniforms], Kevin Stocker [awesome action], Todd Zeile [awesome action], Ozzie Guillen [high toppers].
Pack five - Joe Carter, Fred McGriff, Mark McGwire, Ken Caminiti [awesome action]

Comments - nothing too exciting in here.

6 packs of 1997 Pinnacle [10 cards per pack]

Hobby
Pack one - Fernando Vina [awesome action], Roger Clemens, Curt Schilling, Juan Gonzalez [retro uniforms], Andruw Jones, Nomar Garciaparra, Ray Durham [awesome action]
Pack two - Joey Cora [awesome action], Darin Erstad [Museum Collection parallel], Bobby Abreu
Pack three - Chuck Knoblauch [Clout Nine subset]
Pack four - Mike Piazza, John Smoltz, Eddie Murray
Pack five - Fernando Vina [awesome action], Roger Clemens, Curt Schilling, Juan Gonzalez [retro uniforms],
Pack six - WORST PACK AS FAR AS THE CARDS INSIDE ARE CONCERNED; are any salvagable? Think of gum stains on old Topps cards, only with ink remnants from other cards in the pack.

Comments - cards have not aged well in 10 years of being banged around in unopened pack form. Most have stuck to each other and left imprints from one card to the next. IF I'd left these cards unopened for the next 10 years, they would have probably been virtually unrecognizable.

6 packs of 1997 New Pinnacle [10 cards per pack]

Pack one [red pack, listed as a hobby] - Hideo Nomo, Rico Brogna [awesome action], Mike Piazza [tools of ignorance], Jason Dickson [foreign born], Marc Newfield [Orange County ties], Mark Wohlers [beyond the glory], Bernard Gilkey [awesome outfield action]
Pack two - Vladimir Guerrero, Pedro, Andruw Jones [pack coverboy], Barry Larkin, Darin Erstad, Gary Sheffield, Randy Johnson, Nomar Garciaparra
Pack three - John Smoltz, Joe Carter, Roger Clemens [push ups on reverse], Brant Brown [awesome action], Mike Mussina, Scott Rolen [checklist], David Justice, David Cone, Mark McGwire [infamous, with Jason Giambi]
Pack four - Gary Sheffield [East Meets West subset], Alex Rodriguez [East Meets West subset], Mark McGwire [Aura subset], Jason Dickson [foreign born - Canada], Bernard Gilkey [awesome outfield action], Marc Newfield [Orange County ties

Pack five - Pedro [dinged], Larry Walker [broken bat shot], Jason Giambi, Juan Gonzalez [Aura subset], Robb Nen [Orange County], Mike Piazza [Aura subset], Marty Cordova [Orange County ties]
Pack six - Mark Grace, Paul O'Neill, Moises Alou, Billy Wagner, Jose Canseco [hats off picture on reverse], Eric Davis [broken bat shot], Ken Griffey Jr.

Comments - nice to see some old, but newly discovered collecting topics cards

3 packs of 1997 Leaf [cards per pack]

Pack one - Carlos Delgado, Eddie Murray, Randy Johnson, Tim Salmon
Pack two - Greg Maddux, Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Rich Becker [hats off], Vladimir Guerrero
Pack three - Chipper Jones [Legacy subset], Barry Bonds, Lance Johnson [awesome action]

Comments - there are actually 10 cards to a pack

1995 Upper Deck Minor League packs [14 packs/12 cards in each pack; $7.99 plus $5.95 s/h] - the design mimics the 1995 Major League set, but features minor leaguers. Even though it is worthless, I should be able to pull a number nice looking cards, featuring 'Major League stars' pictured as minor leaguers.

Pack one - Michael Jordan
Pack two - Paul Konerko [checklist]
Pack three - Nomar Garciaparra, Derek Jeter [Road to the Show subset]
Pack four - Nothing of note
Pack five - Paul Konerko [Draft Class subset]
Pack six - Brian Giles, Kimera Bartee x2

Pack seven - Craig Griffey, Derek Jeter, Ben Grieve
Pack eight - Johnny Damon [Road to the Show subset], Trot Nixon, Paul Konerko
Pack nine - Chris Carpenter
Pack 10 - Nothing of note

Pack 11 - Edgardo Alfonso, Jermaine Dye
Pack 12 - Dante Powell - went to Cal State Fullerton
Pack 13 - Ruben Rivera
Pack 14 - Derek Jeter

Comments - this was probably the best packs I busted out of the 45 packs I got since they were the cleanest. While hardly valuable, I got some nice looking minor league era cards of Major League veterans and stars.

1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999 Upper Deck baseball packs [11 packs/10-12 cards in each pack; $7.99 plus $4.95 s/h] - I'm not exactly focused on the quality of the pulls, just the desire to rip packs. Hopefully the packs I receive will be clean, so the cards I pull won't be damaged.

4 packs of 1995 Upper Deck Baseball [12 cards per pack]

Retail Series II
Pack one - Jimmy Hurst [high toppers], Hideo Nomo [dinged], David Justice, Shawn Green
Pack two - Kirby Puckett, Pat Kelly [awesome action], Royce Clayton [awesome action], Carlos Perez [infamous]
Pack three - nothing of note
Pack four - Cecil Fielder, Carlos Baerga [broken bat shot on the reverse image], Ed Sprague [broken bat shot], Ivan Rodriguez [tools of ignorance], Paul Molitor [signing autographs]

Comments - not a lot of stars at all, even guys who starred in the mid 1990s and would be considered 'has beens' today.

1 pack of 1996 Upper Deck Baseball [10 cards per pack]

Retail
Pack one - Roger Clemens [Best of a Generation subset], Greg Maddux [Strange but True subset], Mark McGwire [x2], Trevor Hoffman, Sandy Alomar [tools of ignorance]

Comments - two McGwires in the same pack

1 pack of 1997 Upper Deck Baseball [12 cards per pack]

Retail
Pack one - Darryl Strawberry [high toppers], Garret Anderson, Greg Maddux, Ken Griffey Jr. [Hot Commodities insert]

Comments - nice to pull a Junior insert, though it is worth about two quarters.

3 packs of 1998 Upper Deck Baseball [10 cards per pack]

Retail Series II
Pack one - Chipper Jones, Edgar Renteria [awesome action, 1997 postseason subset card], Delino DeShields [signing autographs on the reverse image], Paco Martin [awesome action]
Pack two - Juan Encarnacion [Rookie Preview insert], Nomar Garciaparra [Echelon logo], Juan Gonzalez [Prime Nine insert], Mike Piazza, Mark Loretta [bonus baby], Brian Jordan [signing autographs]
Pack three - Frank Thomas, Kenny Lofton, Julian Tavarez [pitchers hitting]

Comments - nothing too exciting; seems to be the theme in these breaks.

2 packs of 1999 Upper Deck Baseball [10 cards per pack]

Retail Series I
Pack one - Scott Rolen [hats off]
Pack two - Brad Fullmer [hats off], Rickey Henderson, Sammy Sosa [Foreign Focus subset], Darryl Strawberry [bonus baby; Derek Jeter makes a cameo in the background, even though the image zooms in on Strawberry signing an autograph in the dugout], Will Clark, Jose Canseco.

Comments - nothing too exciting

Featured Pack Breaks

I picked three packs of 2007 Donruss Elite Extra Edition [$6 each at a show] - the packs are nice and thick [duh, because of the tick white stock filler Donruss uses], with No. 1 overall pick David Price as the coverboy on the pack.

Pack one - Norm Stewart #1339/1500 School Colors insert; he is a college basketball coach and that is all I have to say about that. Pulling cards of frumpy old guys out of a brand revolving around 'youth' is a little deceiving.

Pack two - Sam Runion #35/494 Turn of the Century autograph insert; not bad.

Pack three - Darwin Barney base card; he seemed to be in the middle of Oregon State's baseball back to back College World Series championships in 2006-2007.

Comments - I got my first sniff of this product and out of my three packs and I was able to pull an autograph.

Featured Box Break

I picked up a box of 2007 Bowman Draft [$55 at a show] - this product may have jumped the shark already because people seem to equate Bowman Chrome as some sort of holy grail of first-year cards and it seems serious collectors/speculators buy this product by the case, perhaps ruining the charm [whatever that means] for the casual baseball card collector who chooses to only pick up one or two boxes.

You should still get one coveted on-card draft pick Chrome autograph per box [most of the time] that should hold its value [whether or not it is classified as a true rookie card] - as long as the player is on the fast track to Major League stardom and not projected to be a career reliever in AAA.

There are lots of cards [of first-year players] to flip through for the collector in you [even though the casual collector might wonder who all these guys are] - including Chromes of 2007 first-year players and MLB rookies for what seems to be a low-end price [I'd rather pick this up than some random Upper Deck product].

Compared to Donruss Elite Extra Edition, Topps isn't forced to make this product a multisport product - the first-year professional baseball players are pictured in Major League uniforms [whether or not Topps had to pull some strings and possibly had to Photoshop MLB uniforms into an image of No. 1 overall pick a David Price] and at the very least cards of first-year players are licensed by Major League Baseball.

Autograph
Jonathan Gilmore BDPP 127

X-Fractors [1:39]
Jay Bruce BDP 103 serial #'d 255/299; refractor line across upper part of the card

Blue bordered base parallel [1:29]
Drew Bowman BDPP 38 serial #'d 255/399

Refractors [1:11]
Franklin Morales BDPP 74
Joey Votto BDPP 98
Matt Tolbert BDPP 104

Notable Chrome - two per pack
Justin Upton BDP 3; off-center
Tim Lincecum BDP 11
Alex Gordon BDP 15; off-center
Mike Moustakas BDPP 53; print mark on right hand side of the card
David Price BDPP 55
Wendell Fairley BDPP 59

Notable base -
Justin Upton BDP 3
Joba Chamberlain BDP 18
Mark Reynolds BDP 54
Jarrod Parker BDPP 58
Wendell Fairley BDPP 59
Deolis Guerra BDPP 72

Comments - I was disappointed I didn't pull any first-year Chromes of 2007 draft stars like Matt LaPorta and Jason Heyward among others. Among the 'okay pulls' from the box, there are some imperfections. My autograph is of a position player, who may not be a future stud, but is now in the collection I guess.

Rookie cards

I don't know if it makes this blog less readable - but I've decided to skip the festivities of the holidays, Christmas and New Year's and plow through.

There is nothing like a true rookie card in your hand picturing a Major League rookie - especially if you pull one out of a pack, featuring a rookie star or a player projected to be pretty good.

After reading a baseball card message board post about picking up 2007 parallels of Alex Gordon, Cameron Maybin and Justin Upton for cheap - I got curious as to whether their original 2007 cards [not the parallels] would be considered true rookie cards.

I was at a Walmart and they had a Beckett magazine to leaf through. When I saw listings for some of Gordon's 2007 cards, there was a just an RC designation, but no parenthesis - I didn't quite understand how Gordon's 2007 cards can be considered rookie cards, because there seemed to be a glut of Gordon cards [Bowman, Bowman Chrome, Bowman Draft, Bowman Heritage, Bowman Originals - only from Topps of course since they can sign minor leaguers to make cards of them before they reach the Major Leagues] from last year [aside from the 2006 Topps cutout that wasn't supposed to be, supposedly], while Maybin and Upton had their share of cards [nearly the same Topps products Gordon is in, plus cards from an AFLAC set produced in 2005].

I couldn't see Beckett price guides labeling the 2007 cards of Gordon, Maybin and Upton as anything but rookie cards (RC) with a parenthesis - when I looked at another Beckett, I saw Gordon, Maybin and Upton's 2006 cards listed with no designation.

Why aren't 2007 cards of Hunter Pence, Phil Hughes, Dustin Pedroia and Ryan Braun considered non-parenthesis rookie cards - the answer is probably because Pence, Hughes and Pedroia had rookie cards in 2004 products [produced by Topps, Fleer Top Prospects, Donruss Elite Extra Edition and/or a combination of all] while Braun had true rookie cards produced by Topps in 2005.

The MLBPA rookie card rules were not enforced until 2006 - if first-year cards of Pedroia and Braun were made last year, they'd still have cards considered as true rookie cards in the price guides. So any first-year player card Topps produced in 2006 through the present [why aren't they tagged as XRCs?]

The rookie card rules changed the way first year cards produced by Topps were classified [company had to differentiate the numbering] - so in some respects, how could the 2006 cards of Gordon, Maybin and Upton be considered true rookie cards? They basically are not recognized as having any status with regards to being a first-year card or rookie card.

Certain first-year cards [parallels and autographs] - will still command the most value as opposed to just your basic run of rookie cards. The fact you can find true rookie cards of Gordon, Maybin and Upton however adds some name value to certain 2007 products featuring the three players in addition to other rookies like Tim Lincecum and Joba Chamberlain. Its kind of disappointing however because even though there have always been a 'better card,' the true rookie cards you'll pull out of packs these days are likely worth $3 compared to cards [likely autographed and certified] worth $75-$150.

It isn't worth bragging about to pull cards only worth a few bucks - when it comes to rookie/rookie-year/first-year/xrc cards, there is some vanity involved in having one of the best ones, even for the stereotypical collector types who would think nothing of their own appearance.

Featured Mail Day

Torii Hunter display [$29.99 plus $10.00 s/h on Ebay] - I was looking around for Hunter item after he signed with the Angels and I found this unique item. It is a framed piece with an 8x10 photo and a certified Upper Deck Sweet Spot signature card. It is interesting not to get an actual signed item of a current athlete and instead use a 'cut autograph' to frame an unsigned item around. In the end, it is pretty sweet framed item to add to my personal collection.

2007 Donruss Elite Extra Edition Scouting Report

I think collectors who are more of the prospecting variety are not stuck on being traditionalists - I think the chase for a player's best card makes this product popular as long as it features first-year autographs and subsequent parallels of players expected to make an impact in the Major Leagues through the next three to five years.

The 2004 version featured cards of the first-year players in minor league uniforms - but they were considered rookie cards, since they were included in a set with Major League veterans.

On the other hand, the 2007 version doesn't even feature official MLB team names - and the players are pictured in their high school or college uniforms. Traditionalists will argue these are strictly minor league issues because obviously there is nothing in this product saying it is either affiliated with Major League Baseball or the MLB Players Association.

The important fact however is this product is made by Donruss - which is a trading card company having some history and EEE will be considered mainstream brand, not a niche product like the USA Baseball sets from the past year. If this was a Just product [no offense to such trading card companies], Tristar or even a Press Pass [which seems like it produces high quality cards], then it would be considered minor-league cards.

The graphics are gaudy - but is a change of pace from the typical Bowman Draft products, which is refreshing, even if Topps can get first-year players in a Big League uniform and Donruss cannot.

This is a multisport product and one of Donruss' selling point for this product is the school ties - it seems ironic baseball players are driving this product, though baseball isn't traditionally the number one collegiate sport to follow, lagging behind football and basketball.

I want to pick up a box [only a box] - though the pulls might be spread thin between pulling autographs of the better baseball draft pick autographs, the none draft pick baseball autographs as well as other notables [Jennie Finch/Amanda Beard anyone?] from other sports.

2007 Upper Deck Black Scouting Report

I've seen the cards on Ebay and for the most part, cards seem pretty ugly - is there a single from this product, I'd like to have? Maybe not in baseball, but perhaps one of the new 'Kobe Bryant' full signature autograph cards [as seen on a Upper Deck private signing 'photo op' session on beckett.com] in what appears to be in the basketball release of this product is something I hope to pick up eventually.

AS for baseball, can anyone not affiliated with Upper Deck's marketing department justify picking up a box for over $200, featuring two one-card packs or even one pack - I don't like the sticker autographs, especially when it comes from supposed super premium product.

I'll 'spare' the rising stars like Cole Hamels, Billy Butler, Justin Verlander from my rant [wrath] - but 'F' the Homer Bailey, Dan Uggla, Adam/Andy LaRoche, Andre Ethier, Melvin Mora, Chad Cordero, Jason Bay, Kelly Johnson, Aaron Harang and the rest of the 'C-list, D-list' baseball stars littering this product's checklists.

The Game Day Box Score cards don't do anything for me since the athletes' image seems obscured by the vague graphics - the box score is supposed to showcase a performance highlight, just doesn't do it for me as the dominant graphic on a card.

~I like it how the particular athletes sign a silver sticker with what looks like a silver Sharpie.~

Any cards with just an autograph and/or with a combination of 'plain' swatch pieces are ugly - though they look better if the cards feature a patch piece or two.

The premium bat barrel autograph cards are pretty sharp - which I assume are made from stock, non game used bat.

The Pride of a Nation autograph cards are pretty sharp - with the manufactured flag logos.

Shipping rants when picking up cards from online sources like EBay.

Maybe combined shipping means something different - but I always thought it also meant not having to pay extra s/h charges on additional items bought from sellers.

Sometimes I like to pick up multiple items from one seller, particularly if there is only one item to pay shipping/handling for - the problem I see now is sellers tacking on a extra s/h charge on additional items and calling it 'combined shipping.'

I realize everyone has their expenses - but another problem I see is not being able to pick up singles and only having to pay one shipping and handling charge. It seems like sellers are trying to take advantage of s/h charges, at a time when they might not be able to move cards like they have done so in the past.

At the very least sellers might able to sell more cards - if they offered one s/h fee for combined orders within two or three days, capped the s/h and handling fee instead of taxing every item/card purchased and/or make the s/h charge reasonable for additional auction won [keep the charges at around a quarter and don't make it more than $0.50].

Plain white envelopes - no problem with it as long as it gets to me safely, but I do have a problem when I'm charged $2.50 or more and do not get my item in a bubble mailer.

2007 Bowman Draft scouting report

I am desensitized to this product because prospecting has gotten to be something entirely foreign - which players do you jump on and do you pick up their cards now?

Maybe its in the middle of December, almost Christmas and baseball is just not where the focus is at - still, even if spring training is just a few months away, the reality is most of the players in this set will be scattered through the minor leagues this upcoming season and you may key in on a handful of guys 'you like,' but everyone wants the sure thing. Can you be patient about waiting for a player to develop in the minor leagues?

Bowman Draft isn't typically expensive and there are probably a handful of true future stars in this product - as long as the brand has key drafted players like David Price, Matt LaPorta, Mike Moustakas, Matt Dominguez, Jason Heyward and other 'names,' people will be chasing their guys, doesn't matter if the cards are slapped as official MLBPA logo rookie cards.

On the other hand picking up random packs, a random blaster and a random box only gets you so much - you need the young prospect cards but it just isn't about getting his first base Bowman card. The key lies in first-year autographed [if available] and base Chrome [particularly its subsequent parallels]. However are you really willing to spend so much on these particular cards?

Featured Card Show Buys

I picked up 45 commons for $3 - I figure for the price of one pack of cards, I'll go the 'Billy Beane' route and pick up quantity. Now, the hard part is spinning my enthusiasm and penning a card tale without going overboard, realizing these cards serve a function in my collection, but aren't exactly ones you'd need to spend hours talking about.

Randomness [six cards] - 2005 Topps Update Dana Eveland, 2006 Topps 1952 Debut Flashbacks inserts Carlos Beltran, 2006 Topps 1952 Debut Flashbacks Scott Rolen, 2006 Upper Deck Brad Aumus, 2006 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Grady Sizemore, 2007 Artifacts Grady Sizemore, 2007 Upper Deck Artifacts Miguel Cabrera and 2007 Topps Chrome Garret Anderson.

2007 Topps Update [nine cards] - Adam Jones [x2], Kameron Loe, Carlos Marmol, Jamie Burke, Boone Logan, Rick Ankiel, David Newhan and Edinson Volquez. These cards featuring 'rank and file' guys will probably used in random autograph in-person endeavors and a key was finally getting cards of Jones. These guys probably turn a long 'no-autograph' day into a one, two or three autograph day if you are chasing them at the stadium.

2007 Upper Deck [nine cards] - aesthetics means a lot to me as far as card collecting is concerned and somehow the silver borders depress me for whatever reason, but the images on the cards are always 'Upper Deck nice.' Miguel Tejada [cutting down Kendry Morales at second base as good buddy and former teammate Brian Roberts looks on during an Angels' game], Jay Payton managing to get his hand across home plate as he slides in, Scott Hatteberg [looks like he is the first to congratulate someone hitting a walk-off home run, with Edwin Encarnacion and some 'Kid' in the background], Jeremy Hermida [tracking down a fly ball into his glove on the run], Brian Schneider [looking like he's chasing after a wild pitch or pass ball], Tony Pena, Gabe Gross [signing autographs], Adam Melhuse [catcher waiting throw, ready to block home plate] and Nook Logan [we were reminded in some book report that came out last Thursday, his first name is actually Exavier]. Logan is a marginal player, a poor man's Juan Pierre - which would make him just about worthless [-1] in most sabermetric circles.

2007 Upper Deck SP Rookie Edition cards [19 cards] - Miguel Cabrera base, Joaquin Arias base, Kory Casto base, Matt Chico base, Gustavo Molina base, Miguel Montero base, Arias 1993 SP base parallel subset [?], Ryan Sweeney 1993 SP base parallel subset [?], Mike Rabelo 1993 SP base parallel subset [?], Micah Owings 1993 SP base parallel subset [?], Arias 1996 SP base parallel subset [?], Joseph Bisenius 1996 SP base parallel subset [?], Rocky Cherry 1996 SP base parallel subset [?], Chico 1996 SP base parallel subset [?], John Danks 1996 SP base parallel subset [?], Andy Gonzalez 1996 SP base parallel subset [?], Sweeney 1996 SP base parallel subset [?] and Chris Stewart 1996 SP base parallel subset.

The shelf life of this product wasn't very long [or at least the relative interest] but this is the first time I've had these cards in-hand and the cards featuring the retro mid 1990s SP graphics are sharp - imagine what Topps and Upper Deck can do if they actually printed cards that matter in a way that reflected their best releases in their history. While Topps has been churning out retro themed products like Heritage, those can be boring as much as they are 'old school cool.'

While UD only has a run from 1989 to present to go on, they can go back to showcase the crap out of this [past] year's Major League Baseball rookies through 1993 SP, 1995 SP and 1996 SP [no 1994?] designs - it is kind of retro for the guy who grew up through the mid 1990s instead of the 1950s.

My last card related purchase was picking up a 'bundle' of 2007 Allen and Ginter for $1 - about 29 cards with duplicates. I counted it out and I got 16 cards towards my 'makeshift' set and 13 doubles. I suppose the doubles can be used if something happens to the original cards.