Pack Wars: Packs 15-16

These are the last two packs from the 2012 blaster. That leaves the 4 bonus packs and this thing will be over.

Your leaderboard looks like this:

Hiflew--16 points
Josh D--15 points
Dodgerbobble--11 points
Derek Hill--5 points
Morgan--5 points
The Hit King--5 points
Thorzul--5 points
Dawgboines--4 points
Kazi--4points
Rob--4 points
Zach--4 points
Fuji--3 points
Captain Canuck--2 points
arpsmith-- -3 points

Today's contestants are Eric L and Spankee.


Pack 15: Eric L - Royals, Luke Hochevar




Zack Greinke--The back of the card says Greinke won the Cy Young in 2008. It wasn't 2008, it was 2009. +0
Kevin Youklis +0
Zach Britton--I'm not digging the black O's jersey. +0
Jorge De La Rosa--It looks like De La Rosa has a tree growing out of his back pocket. +0
Ryan Dempster--If Ryan has the 2nd most wins by a Canadian pitcher, who has the most? +0
Yorvit Torrealba--Ranger time... +3
Brandon League--SP +3
2012 Rookie Stars--Floating heads, +1, Catcher wearing his helmet backwards, another +1, +2 total.
Jason Marquis--The Twins? When did that happen? +0

Eric L total = 8 points

Pack 16: Spankee - Mets, David Wright




Tim Hudson--Double digit wins in 12 of 13 seasons. That's pretty amazing. +0
Matt Harrison--Rangeriffic. +3
Carl Crawford--Is this a bounce back year for Carl? +0
Andy Dirks--Cool Sparky patch on shoulder, +1
Francisco Cervelli--Yankee for Spankee -2
Freddie Freeman--I'm thinking it'll be a big year for Freddie. +0
JFK The End of Camelot--My favorite insert in Heritage +5
Dustin Ackley--Already has a homer this season. +0
Josh Reddick--Big Rookie trophy. +1

Spankee total = 8 points

Back to back 8 point packs is nice, but doesn't knock hiflew off the top of the board.

Hiflew--16 points
Josh D--15 points
Dodgerbobble--11 points
Eric L--8 points
Spankee--8 points
Derek Hill--5 points
Morgan--5 points
The Hit King--5 points
Thorzul--5 points
Dawgboines--4 points
Kazi--4 points
Rob--4 points
Zach--4 points
Fuji--3 points
Captain Canuck--2 points
arpsmith-- -3 points

Next up will be the 4 bonus packs. I'll get those posted on Monday.

Pack Wars: Packs 13-14

We're back with two more packs for the Pack Wars contest. We only have 8 packs to go, counting the 4 bonus packs, so it's anyone's guess if Josh's lead will hold up.

The current standings are:

Josh D--15 points
Dodgerbobble--11 points
Derek Hill--5 points
Morgan--5 points
The Hit King--5 points
Thorzul--5 points
Dawgbones--4 points
Kazi--4 points
Rob--4 points
Fuji--3 points
Captain Canuck--2 points
arpsmith-- -3 points

This post will feature packs for Hiflew and Zach.

Pack 13: Hiflew - Rockies, Troy Tulowitzki




Alex Gordon--Alex broke through last year. Will this year be even better? +0
Domonic Brown +0
2011 National League Batting Champions--More floating heads! +1
Joakim Soria--Good luck coming back in 2013! +0
Kirk Gibson--He doesn't look right in a D-Backs uni. +0
Max Scherzer Chrome Refractor #378/563--Uh oh Josh. +15
Star Receivers Yadier Molina and Brian McCann--A catcher card honoring catchers, would be a point except it's Molina and they're wearing non-catcher's mitts. +0
Buck Showalter--Can he save the O's? +0
Jason Motte--No comment. +0

Hiflew total = 16 points and a new leader.

Pack 14: Zach - Orioles, Matt Wieters




Joey Votto--Joey helped me out in fantasy baseball last year. Why can't I forget useless information like that? +0
Jair Jurrjens--Thanks to TBS games, I actually know how to pronounce his name. +0
Freddy Garcia--Here's hoping Freddy turns it around in 2012...and by turn it around, I mean I hope he goes 8-12 instead of 12-8. Yankee -2
Jonathan Lucroy--I won't mention his contract again. +0
Carlos Quention--Let's see how he likes the park in San Diego. +0
2012 Rookie Stars--Floating heads. +1
Jered Weaver New Age Performers--Insert time +5
Dusty Baker--I never saw him that happy before. +0
Travis Hafner--I saw him hit a monster homerun when he played for the Rangers AA team. +0

Zach total = 4 points

These packs are very hit and miss. Hiflew hit, Zach, not so much.

The updated total is:

Hiflew--16 points
Josh D--15 points
Dodgerbobble--11 points
Derek Hill--5 points
Morgan--5 points
The Hit King--5 points
Thorzul--5 points
Dawgbones--4 points
Kazi--4 points
Rob--4 points
Zach--4 points
Fuji--3 points
Captain Canuck--2 points
arpsmith-- -3 points


Until we meet again...enjoy your Saturday.

Pack Wars: Packs 11-12

Let's move this along shall we?

You're current leaderboard:

Josh D--15 points
Derek Hill--5 points
Morgan--5 points
The Hit King--5 points
Thorzul--5 points
Dawgbones--4 points
Kazi--4 points
Rob--4 points
Fuji--3 points
arpsmith---3 points

We'll get the ball rolling today with Dodgerbobble and finish up with Captain Canuck.

Pack 11: Dodgerbobble - Dodgers, Matt Kemp




Johnny Cueto--The best part of this card? The logo on his sleeve. +0
Ian Kennedy--"I'm 100 feet tall!" +0
Freddy Sanchez--Giants, yuck. +0
Todd Frazier--There's that logo again. Too bad Dodgerbobble isn't Cincybobble. +0
Tyler Chatwood--Is there anything less intimidating than the fake throw...ooh, I'm scared! +0
Kevin Gregg--He must be so happy the cartoon on the back highlights his 6 teams in 5 years. +0
Justin Masterson--Blue parallel counts as an insert. +5
2011 American League Batting Leaders--Floating heads, +1, Michael Young +5, total +6
Robert Andino--Close but no cigar... +0

Dodgerbobble total = 11 points


Pack 12: Captain Canuck - Braves, Chipper Jones




Derek Jeter--The Captain kicks the Captain in the balls. Yankee -2
Evan Longoria--I like Evan. I hope he has a nice comeback year. +0
Nick Swisher--Now they're just ganging up on Cap. Yankee -2
Trevor Cahill--Try to look like you give a rip Trevor. +0
Red Sox Smashers--I wonder if Bank of America gave Topps some $$ for that promo. +0
Joe Mauer--my favorite active non-Ranger...hurt or not. +1
Dee Gordon--I think he just heard Omar Vizquel signed with another team at the age of 44 and is thinking to himself, "I can play 20 more years!" I dig the big rookie cup. +1 for the cup, SP +2, +3 total
Fredi Gonzalez--Favorite team, +2
Shin-Soo Choo--I never remember where to put the hyphen in his name. +0

Captain Canuck total = 2 points

Ouch. Sorry CC.

Your current standings are:

Josh D--15 points
Dodgerbobble--11 points
Derek Hill--5 points
Morgan--5 points
The Hit King--5 points
Thorzul--5 points
Dawgbones--4 points
Kazi--4 points
Rob--4 points
Fuji--3 points
Captain Canuck--2 points
arpsmith-- -3 points

Until tomorrow...

We now resume...Pack Wars!!

I guess it's official. My life is pretty boring so I'm reduced to generating excitement through pack wars. Actually, it's made these two blasters a little more fun to open. Normally by this time, I'd have sorted the cards into my set and set aside any for trading and forgotten them. At least I'm still enjoying the break.

Here are the current standings:

Josh D--15 points
Derek Hill--5 points
Morgan--5 points
The Hit King--5 points
Kazi--4 points
Rob--4 points
Fuji--3 points
arpsmith---3 points

Let's get started with the 2012 Heritage blaster. First up, is dawgbones from Dawgbones, A Phillies Phan. That's a phunny blog name.

Pack 9: Dawgbones - Phillies, Carlos Ruiz





Chris Carpenter--I should throw out this pack, burn the blog, and banish Dawgbones forever for this card after Game 7 of the 2011 World Series. Of course, it's not Dawgbones fault, but he suffers with zero points. +0
Miguel Montero +0
Brian McCann--two catchers in a row is worth a point. Hey, I'm the boss, get over it. +1
Alcides Escobar +0
Clay Buchholz +0
Tom Milone--Dawgbones is in a slump.
Chris Denorfia--I was just thinking how Dawgbones needed Chris Denorfia to break this slump. SP +3
Anibal Sanchez +0
Willie Bloomquist +0

Dawgbones total = 4 points.

Pack 10: Thorzul - Brewers, Ryan Braun



Justin Verlander--It was nice of Topps to fly out to Verlander's Hawaiian vacation to get this shot +0
John Axford--I thought this was one of those error cards because he looks so different in each picture. Favorite team +2
Yonder Alonso--He looks happy for a guy who just go zero points. +0
Johan Santana--Anyone wanna lay odds on the number of wins Santana gets in 2012? +0
Emilio Bonifacio--Thoughts on the Marlins new logo? It's colorful, that's for sure. +0
Mark Teixiera Stick-On--Why on earth would anyone want to stick that smug face on anything is beyond me. +5 insert, -2 Yankee, +3 total.
Devin Mesoraco--That dude looks like a catcher. +0
Matt Dominguez--The back of this card says Dominguez is at the head of the line for Miami's 3B job. Did anyone tell Hanley Ramirez that? +0
Shelley Duncan--Not a great way to finish up... +0


Thorzul total = 5 points
Well, we're already a quarter of the way through this blaster and no one has made a run at Josh and his lead. Here are the standings as of now:

Josh D--15 points
Derek Hill--5 points
Morgan--5 points
The Hit King--5 points
Thorzul--5 points
Dawgboines--4 points
Kazi--4 points
Rob--4 points
Fuji--3 points
arpsmith---3 points

I'll get the next two packs up later today.

My best box break hit ever...and it's not a Ranger.

Kyle over at Just a Bit Outside is holding box breaks like the world is on fire. His 4th break was auction style and I took a flyer on the Cardinals (in addition to my Rangers) because they were such a good bargain. Turned out to be a good move on my part because I got my best box break hit ever.


It wasn't this card.





It wasn't this card either.





I love that Kyle threw in this 1963 Marv Breeding Senators card, but it's not the card I'm talking about.





Behold the 2004 Fleer Platinum Albert Pujols Inscribed autograph, #20/100.





This card has a Beckett value of One Bazillion Dollars!






Assuming he never tests positive for anything, I'll have a nice low numbered early auto of a first ballot Hall of Famer to pass on to my son.

Thanks Kyle!

I must be living right

I've been putting off a post office run all week. It looks like Thursday will be mail day from now on so I pulled into the PO parking lot and was greeted by one car.

I walked in and there was only one person and he was just about finished. I set 8 packages on the counter and struck up a conversation with the nice lady. I paid for my shipping plus a money order for a blowout purchase and walked out.

Elapsed time: 4 minutes!

If you live in the following zip codes, watch your mail box:

76063
23223
40475
85233
99504
34270
08551
97202

I can't wait to show off the cards from my blowout buy. Two words: vintage catchers.

High and Inside

During our intermission from the Pack Wars (brought on by the fact that I didn't get the 2012 Packs scanned), I thought I'd share a few of the cards Ryan from Ryan's Pitch sent over. Ryan sent these a month ago and I put the package in a bag that got set aside. I found it two days ago and felt bad that I forgot to post it, but happy to have found it. It was like getting another great package all over again!

This package was the result of me claiming some of the Wal-Mart blue bordered parallels that Ryan pulled. He generously sent over those and a stack of other cards he knew I'd like.





Michael Young is sharing the spotlight with Miguel Cabrera and Adrian Gonzalez on this 2011 A.L. Batting Average Leaders card.





Mike Adams should play a big role in the Rangers bullpen this year. It'll be nice to have him for the whole season.





Adrian Beltre was a beast last year and he looks like an angry beast on this card.

I like these blue bordered parallels. I don't really want to buy anymore Series 1, but I need to get some of the Target red parallels.




German Duran signed a sticker that some UD schmuck put on a 2008 UD Timeline card. I didn't have it, so it's nice to get one more I can mark off the list. Duran played in 60 games for Texas in 2008, but the Rangers waived him in 2009. He's reportedly in the Marlins camp this Spring.

The surprise of the package was this card.




I had inquired about this card and Ryan said it might already be claimed. I was pleasantly surprised to find Mr. Bench and his manu-patched retired number was now mine!

Ryan, thanks so much for the package! I'll get something heading your direction soon.

Pack War Packs 7-8

Welcome to another round of Pack Wars! Ok, maybe it's not exciting enough to warrant an exclamation point, but you never know what might be lurking in the next pack. These are the final two packs of 2011 Heritage.

Once again, the scoring rules link, and the most current standings.

Josh D--15 points
Derek Hill--5 points
The Hit King--5 points
Rob--4 points
Fuji--3 points
arpsmith---3 points


Pack 7: Morgan - Braves, Dan Uggla






Giants Crush Rangers in Finale--This card just crushed any chance Morgan had of winning this contest. -5
Cabrera's Power--I'm still trying to get over the last card. +0
Chipper Jones--Favorite team. +2
Carlos Beltran +0
Rookie Parade--Floating heads, +1, SP +3. +4 total.
Wilson Ramos +0
Jarrod Dyson--blessing his lunch, +1
Josh Hamilton--Ranger great. +3
Jonathan Lucroy--Just signed a big contract. +0

That wasn't a bad pack for Morgan, but that Giants card killed it.

Morgan total = 5 points

Pack 8: Kazi - Blue Jays, Brett Lawrie




Kevin Millwood--48-46 in four seasons with the Rangers. Seems like a very average record for the $40+ million they paid him. +0
Wandy Rodriguez +0
Gio Gonzalez--Things are not going well for Kazi. +0
Denard Span +0
Paul Maholm--that's called a baseball Pat. +0
Brooks Robinson Baseball Flash Back--that's more like it! +5
A.J. Burnett--Heritage giveth and Heritage taketh away, Yankee. -2
2010 N.L. Home Run Leaders--Floating heads! +1
Bruce Bochy +0


Kazi total = 4 points

Here are your updated totals:

Josh D--15 points
Derek Hill--5 points
Morgan--5 points
The Hit King--5 points
Kazi--4 points
Rob--4 points
Fuji--3 points
arpsmith---3 points

Next up, the 2012 Heritage packs.

Pack War Packs 5-6

Let's get another couple of Pack War packs posted. Here is a scoring rules reminder if you need it and the up to the minute standings are:

Josh D--15 points
The Hit King--5 points
Fuji--3 points
arpsmith---3 points

Pack 5: Rob - Orioles, Nick Markakis





Omar Infante--Egads! It's an "old-school" Florida Marlins uni. Remember those...ahh, the good old days! +0
Nick Hundley--Definition of a boring baseball card. +0
Skip Schumaker--It's an actual, almost authentic baseball pose. Bonus point for breaking up the monotony of that pack. +1
Huston Street--Former Longhorn. SP +3
Dallas Braden +0
Jonathan Papelbon +0
Kendry Morales--Before he told everyone they were mispelling his name. +0
San Diego Padres Team Card--The whole first row is squattin on NOTHING! +0
Derek Lowe +0

Rob total = 4 points

Let's hope Derek has better luck with his pack.

Pack 6: Derek Hill - Braves, Martin Prado




Marlon Byrd--The Chrome refractor version that Josh hit may be the winning card. This one, not so much. +0
Rangers Danger--Sweet! Ok, I have about 10 of these, but it's good for Derek. +3
Vance Worley +0
Eric Sogard--Too bad for Derek that the Rookies aren't worth at least a point. +0
Cory Luebke--See previous comment. +0
Ervin Santana +0
John Lester--This is a bad run. +0
Brandon Beachy--Favorite team. +2
Cody Ross--Derek is lucky I don't take all his points for this card. +0

Derek's total = 5 points

Well, it looks like Josh's lead is safe, at least for now.

Josh D--15 points
Derek Hill--5 points
The Hit King--5 points
Rob--4 points
Fuji--3 points
arpsmith---3 points

Stay tuned for more packs!

Pack War Packs 3-4

Here we go with the next two Pack War packs. Here is the scoring rules post if you need it to check me.


The leaderboard through two packs:

The Hit King--5 points
Fuji--3 points


Pack 3-2011 Heritage: Josh D-Royals, Billy Butler





Chris Johnson +0
Jason Kubel +0
Ian Stewart--Someone wake me when this pack is over. +0
Shane Victorino +0
Jose Valverde +0
Marlon Byrd--Chrome refractor parallel #211/562. Now we're talking. +15
Jordan Walden +0
Carl Crawford +0
Barry Cecil +0

Wow, that pack was boring, but it did have the one card. Those chrome refractor parallels fall 1:45 packs.

Josh D total: 15 points


Pack 4-2011 Heritage: arpsmith--Giants, Matt Cain





Nick Swisher--Yankee -2
Twin Terrors--Joe Mauer +1
Edinson Volquez +0
Hot Corner Guardians--blech, Yankees again! -2
Todd Helton +0
Then and Now Bob Gibson/Roy Halladay +5
Matt Kemp +0
Howie Kendrick +0
World Series Winners--NOOOO!!! Giants World Series card -5, Brian Wilson -2, favorite team +2. Total for this hideous card: -5

arpsmith total: -3 points. Sorry arpsmith!


That's four packs down, sixteen packs to go.

Your updated leaderboard looks like this:

Josh D--15 points
The Hit King--5 points
Fuji--3 points
arpsmith---3 points

Good luck to the rest of the participants. More packs to come!

Let the Pack Wars Begin!

Before we get to the first two packs, let's take a look at who will be participating in the Pack War/Heritage-a-Cuffs (sorry Mark!).

The 8 participants for the discounted 2011 Heritage blaster are as follows:

Pack 1: The Hit King---Reds, Jay Bruce
Pack 2: Fuji----A's, Kurt Suzuki
Pack 3: Josh D.----Royals, Billy Butler
Pack 4: arpsmith----Giants, Matt Cain
Pack 5: Rob----Orioles, Nick Markakis
Pack 6: Derek Hill----Braves, Martin Prado
Pack 7: Morgan----Braves, Dan Uggla
Pack 8: Kazi----Blue Jays, Brett Lawrie

The 8 participants for the 2012 Heritage blaster are as follows:

Pack 1: dawgbones----Phillies, Carlos Ruiz
Pack 2: Thorzul----Brewers, Ryan Braun
Pack 3: Dodgerbobble----Dodgers, Matt Kemp
Pack 4: Captain Canuck----Braves, Chipper Jones
Pack 5: hiflew----Rockies, Troy Tulowitzki
Pack 6: Zach----Orioles, Matt Wieters
Pack 7: Eric L----Royals, Luke Hochevar
Pack 8: Spankee----Mets, David Wright

The 4 bonus entries go to....

Bonus Pack 1: Jafronius----Cubs, Ichiro
Bonus Pack 2: Spiegel83----Dodgers, Clayton Kershaw
Bonus Pack 3: Commishbob----Orioles, Lance Berkman
Bonus Pack 4: Robert----Blue Jays, Jose Bautista


The scoring rules were posted early this morning.

Here we go.

Allow me to apologize in advance for the small pics. I wasn't going to try to scan and post each card individually because I would rather have been kicked in the groin by an angry mule.

Pack 1-2011 Heritage: The Hit King- Reds, Jay Bruce






Bronson Arroyo--favorite team, +2. Not a bad start.
Carlos Zambrano--Could easily have been a deduction for douchebaggery. +0
Gordon Beckham--Nice backdrop Topps. +0
Jon Jay +0
Julio Borbon--Rangers. Dumb picture, but any a Ranger earns points. +3
Andre Ethier +0
Jonathon Niese +0
Vernon Wells--Vernon gets -2 for sucking since he signed his big contract and +2 for being a drain on the Angels. +0
Brett Myers +0

The Hit King total = 5 points.

He started off strong, but had too many duds. Of course, 2011 Heritage had a lot of duds, so we'll see how it holds up.

Pack 2-2011 Heritage: Fuji-A's, Kurt Suzuki





2010 NL Batting Leaders--Floating heads are cool. +1
Alexei Ramirez +0
Jorge Posada--Yankee -2
LAAAAAAA Angels Team Card +0
Chase Utley--Starting the year on the DL? +0
Ben Revere--Twin rookie +1, cap on crooked, -1, SP +2. Total +2
David Ortiz +0
Cliff Pennington--favorite team, +2
Derrek Lee +0

The Fuji total = 3 point.

If it hadn't been for Posada, Fuji would be tied for first. After two packs, here are the standings:

The Hit King--5 points
Fuji--3 point

More packs to come!

Pack War Scoring

Here are the scoring rules for my Pack War Contest!

SP +3
Favorite Team +2
Favorite Player +10
Another person's favorite player +diddly squat (Hey, who's running this thing, you or me?)
Any type of variation +15
Chrome Parallel +5
Chrome Refractor Parallel +15
Any type of insert +5
Any Giants World Series Card from 2011 -5
Any Cardinals World Series Card from 2012 -5
Any Rangers card +3
Any Michael Young card +5
Any Joe Mauer card +1
Any Yankees card -2
Multiplayer cards may have multiple +/- at my discretion
Brian Wilson -2
Clubhouse Collection Relic +20
Any autograph or really rare hit + eleventy billion
Any card that pisses me off -2 (I won't deduct double for Wilson, Giants, Cards or Yanks, unless I do, then I will)
Cards I like just 'cause I like them +2
Floating Heads=Cool factor +1


All scoring is final, unless in my subjective state I realize I've made an honest mistake/grossly negligent error/purposeful slight. The winner will be determined once and for all after the 20th pack is scored.

Thank you for your participation in my insanity...I mean contest.

I'll have the randomization and the first two packs up later this morning.

We now interrupt this Pack War...

Yesterday evening, as I was sleeping blissfully and dreaming of Michael Young holding up the 2012 World Series trophy, one of my wonderful children crashed the brand new computer. I don't know if it was really his fault, but I woke up to find my wife describing some blue screen of death and the computer powered down.

My brother in law is my own personal Geek Squad, so I'm waiting for him to come "fix" my computer this morning. When he does, I'll get the scans of the Heritage cards for the Pack Wars done and start posting them.

I'll leave yesterday's bonus pack entry post open until tonight and then I'll randomize those entries to get the last four people.

I'll post the scoring "rules" and the randomization and then I'll get the first two packs up!

Thanks for your participation and good luck!

Bonus chance to get in the Heritage-a-Cuffs contest

I returned a "gift" to Wal-Mart today and used the proceeds to pick up 4 loose packs of 2012 Heritage. I'm going to use them to get 4 more people qualified for the Pack War. This time I'll give everyone who isn't already in the Pack War an equal chance by picking 4 random commenters. Nachos Grande asked where the bonus packs were so here you go!

Leave a comment with your favorite team and player and I'll randomize to pick the final 4 participants. I'll get this show rolling tomorrow!

Good luck!

Heritage-a-Cuffs Contest Part 2

Round 2!

The first 8 people to comment will get a 2012 Heritage slot in the Pack War contest. I posted about it yesterday and the prize is 5 packs of 2012 Stickers.

Please include your favorite team and favorite player in your comment.

I'll start posting the packs on Monday.

Good luck!

Heritage-A-Cuffs Contest Part 1

Now is the time! The first 8 people to comment will get a 2011 Heritage slot in the Pack War contest. I posted about it yesterday and the prize is 5 packs of 2012 Stickers.

Please include your favorite team and favorite player in your comment.

If you're not one of the first 8, you'll have one more chance to enter later today. I'll start posting the packs on Monday.

Good luck!

Who wants some free packs of 2012 Topps Stickers?

As many of us do, I strolled by the card aisle at Wal-mart on my latest grocery buying trip. I noticed a new box of 2012 Topps Stickers. They also had 2 Hobby boxes of 2008 Topps Chrome!! I don't know if $49.98 is a good price for 2008 Topps Chrome, but I sure was tempted to blow the budget to get one. Instead, I picked up 10 packs of stickers and a never before seen discounted blaster of 2011 Heritage. My generous mother-in-law also brought by a blaster of 2012 Heritage so I thought I would spread the generosity.

I'm going to hold a little contest and give away 5 packs of stickers.





Tomorrow I'm going to make two posts, one at about 9:00 AM central time and one at about 5:30 PM central time. The first 8 commenters on each post will be assigned a pack of the Heritage and I'll be doing a little pack war. You can only get one entry so if you get one of the first 8 spots, please let others try for the second post. PLEASE POST YOUR FAVORITE TEAM AND PLAYER WITH YOUR COMMENT.

The pack war scoring will be completely up to me, but rest assured you'll get bonus points for Rangers, your favorite team and your favorite player. You may also lose points for certain teams. Consider this a sort of Heritag-a-Cuffs if you will. I'll post the scoring "rules" before I post the packs. I'll start posting packs on Monday. The winner will receive the 5 packs of stickers and the Heritage cards for their team.

Salt in the Wound

Topps just can't let me get over the World Series. I was busting the first of my three blasters when I came across this Cards card.




Like many of you, I was watching Game 3 of the World Series when Albert Pujols hit his three homeruns. I have to say it was pretty sickening.

The second blaster picked up my spirits a little when I pulled this Derek Holland card.




Cheesy mustache aside, Holland pitched a masterpiece in Game 4. Hopefully he gave the Rangers a look at the future since he just signed a new 5 year deal. The Rangers got a pretty good deal I think. I'm going to try to get this one signed because Holland is a great signer.

The third blaster gave up these cards in back to back packs.




Game 5 hero Mike Napoli celebrates his two run double on this card. It gave the Rangers a 3-2 victory and I was almost certain I was only a few days from celebrating the first World Series Championship.

The very next pack ripped my heart out again as I read "Deep Freese Makes Texas Toast".




Thanks Topps. I really needed a kick in the balls today and you came through like the exclusive provider of licensed MLB trading cards we all know and love.

My First Autographed Sports Illustrated

I've been saving this one for last, but since Kathy Ireland turned 49 two days ago, I thought I'd post it as a belated birthday wish to my favorite SI model ever.

Kathy Ireland made an appearance at a KMart in Hawaii back in 1992 or 1993. I showed up with my copy of the 1992 SI Swimsuit issue and waited patiently for my chance to get an auto.




Kathy was really nice and spent a little time talking with each person and posing for pics.

I also got a large calendar signed. It was too big for the scanner, but it's stored safely away.



Here is the pic of her with my SI and the calendar is underneath it.

I started doing TTMs in 1995 and sent away a short note to Kathy.





She was nice enough to respond with this autographed picture. Not exactly the same as the SI, but still a nice auto for my collection.

I've got a few more TTMs left in that binder, but I think I'll hold off until after the Rangers win the 2012 World Series to post them.

Call me Mr. Fancy Pants

I recently wrote a post about my Opening Day blaster. I described everyone who was buying 2012 Heritage as "fancy pants rich boys and girls". It was just a tongue in cheek comment and I've since bought three...sigh...yes three blasters of Heritage myself. I used a gift card for one, so I'm really only $40 in, at least that's what I keep telling myself.

Three blasters equals 24 packs. I got 8 SPs which is the expected number. Here are the non-base highlights of the blasters.

Stick-Ons (1:8)




I expected to get 1 per blaster and that's what I got. Jesus Montero, Andrew McCutchen and Chase Utley. There are only 46 of these and the Rangers got 4. I need to track down Nelson Cruz, Josh Hamilton, Ian Kinsler and Adrian Beltre.

Baseball Flashbacks (1:12)



I got two of these, which would be right in a box of 24 packs, but with three 8 pack blasters, I just got lucky. I don't really have any need to go after this set, but the Kaline is pretty nice.




The Kaline and Marichal are available for trade if anyone needs them. I'll give first dibs to the couple of people that I'm working on trades with, but if they don't need them they'll be up for grabs.

News Flashbacks (1:24)




The same situation here as with the Baseball Flashbacks. I got two and that just worked out good for me. I'll be looking to get all of these cards. It's the history buff in me. I really like the JFK cards.




These cards look pretty nice this year. If anyone has any dupes, let me know.


New Age Performers (1:15)




I managed to get two of these in my 24 packs. Neither is on my list of collectible players or teams. The Beckett is going to a blogger I promised some Red Sox too.




Ryan Braun is available if anyone wants it.

Then and Now (1:15)




These are my least favorite inserts in Heritage. The only one I really want is the Carl Yastrzemski / Miguel Cabrera one for my Yaz collection.

Heritage Chrome (1:22)



These are falling about 1:3 blasters so getting one was about right. It's the second Phillies insert so far and that doesn't bode well. My Vance Worley Heritage Chrome is #1061/1963. At least Vance has that old school look. He fits right in on a 1963 throw back card. I think there are 7 Rangers chrome cards so I'll be trying to get those pluse the refractor and black refractor parallels.

Walmart Parallel (1:8)




I'm guessing these fall one per blaster. I got one in each of mine. Carlos Santana.




Dan Uggla




Adam Jones

I only need two of these parallels. One Ranger from the blue set, Nelson Cruz and Joe Mauer from the red set.

Clubhouse Collection Relic (1:57)




I guess I beat the odds a little bit by getting a relic card, but it had to be another Phillie. There are 5 Rangers included in the Clubhouse Collection relics so I'll be going after those and the Joe Mauer.

I didn't get any wacky image or color swap cards.

That's the low...um, highlights from my three blasters. I'll probably try to get the base set and any SPs that come my way because I like the '63 design. Let me know if you need anything you see here.