Class Act

I'm an American League guy. I've never lived in a National League city and I've been a Rangers fan my whole life. Even though some of you National League guys might think that has stunted my mental development, I can still recognize a class act when I see one.

I applaud the Giants taking time out of their celebration to give Bobby Cox a hand. It was a nice move on their part.

Best of luck Bobby.

What is your best baseball memory?

It would be very easy for me to focus on the negative events that happened at the Ballpark in Arlinton this weekend. Right now I'm still a little shell-shocked that the Rangers were 5 outs away from the ALCS and they choked away game 3.

Needless to say, this scene from Game 4 on Sunday was not my best baseball memory. As a matter of fact, I'm hoping to be able to say mine was the moment the Rangers beat the Rays to head to the ALCS. So I'll hold off on answering the question until then, but you don't have to wait.

What is your best baseball memory? Was it something you saw in person? Maybe a playoff moment you watched on TV. Perhaps it wasn't even a particular game, but something else.

Speak up. Inquiring minds want to know.

2010 Topps Chrome Surprise

In order to drown the sorrows of my beloved Rangers losing 2 at home, I bought what may be the last two packs of the year for me. Two more of the "value packs" of 2010 Topps Chrome to be specific.

The first rack pack had...nothing special. It had a refractor or two plus the three Orange Refractos. I don't remember much except there were zero Rangers.

The second value pack actually had some value to it.

The most notable card from the three packs was this Brian Roberts X-Fractor. I know some people have noted these don't say X-Fractor on the back anymore. The pack still lists X-Fractors and I'm sure this is the type of card it is referring too.

Now for the three Orange refractors.

First up was Cliff Lee. Is it too early for me to start praying for a repeat performance from Cliff Lee in Game 5 of the ALDS. I am going to be distraught if they let Tampa steal this series.

The last card in the little 3-card pack was Victor Martinez. Not too bad, but I'd rather have a patp shot of Victor.

Tucked in between Lee and Martinez was the Phenom himself, Stephen Strasburg. I checked on Ebay and these are going for $20+. I don't do Ebay anymore, but I wish I did. I'd sell this one in a heartbeat.

Other than a couple of group breaks I'm in each month, I'm most likely done buying anything for 2010. The budget is getting intimidated by the looming Christmas season so that will limit, if not kill off, any money for cards.

I have cards to mail to a number of people, including those people who got the hits from the A&G box I opened. Can someone give me a long distance kick in the pants?

Welcome to 10-10-10 Day

Take 10 minutes today to tell 10 people 10 things you like about them. Or not.

You could use your time to tell the blogosphere about your 10 favorite cards, 10 favorite blogs, 10 favorite sports memories, 10 favorite sets....you get the point.

I had big plans to do a post on my 10 favorite cards. Then I was going to finally put up a 10 most wanted list.

Instead, I think I'll take 10, 10-minute naps.

In a row.

The 1956 Play at the Plate Hunt Continues

The never-ending quest for 1956 Play at the Plate cards from the Topps MCG site. Well, it I guess it will have to end sometime before March 1, 2011.


I can't get anyone to trade these two cards.

1956 Bill Sarni

1956 Carl Furillo

So, that means I need to move on to other prospects. I've put together some offers for these two beauties.

1956 Willie Jones


1956 Sandy Amoros

I'm about 90% sure this is a play at the plate from Game 4 of the 1955 World Series and that is Yogi Berra waiting for Amoros at the plate. I'd really like to get this one.

I'll let you know if I'm successful.

2010 Topps Chrome: Blaster vs. Rack Packs

A few days ago, I showed some cards from the 2010 Topps Chrome rack pack I picked up at the big W. I picked up a total of 4 rack packs and one blaster with the intention of sending one rack pack to the October Contest winner, posting one rack pack right away and doing a comparison with the others.

Here is the highly anticipated comparison. What do you mean you weren't highly anticipating this comparison? I'm shocked! And appalled!!

First up is the blaster. It contains 7 packs plus an unbelievable, incredible, stupendous, exc....never mind. It has 8 packs, each with 4 cards. That's a whopping total of 32 cards for $20 plus tax.

Pack 1:

Ian Desmond

Mike McCoy Refractor

J.A. Happ

Erick Aybar

Pack 2:

Allen Craig

Cesar Valdez X-Fractor

Pablo Sandoval

Lyle Overbay

Pack 3:

Josh Donaldson

Jayson Werth Purple Refractor #91/599 Purple Ref Blaster Odds 1:12

Matt Latos

Yadier Molina

Pack 4:

Brennan Boesch

B.J. Upton X-Fractor

Mike Napoli

Carlos Lee

Pack 5:

Mike Leake

Vernon Wells Refractor--That's the second Blue Jays refractor in this blaster

Evan Longoria

Ubaldo Jimenez

Pack 6:

Geovany Soto

Tim Hudson X-Fractor

Michael Bourn

Torii Hunter

Pack 7:

Drew Stubbs

Kendry Morales Refractor

Francisco Liriano

Bobby Abreu

Pack 8:

Sergio Santo

National Chicle Chrome Chase Utley #286/999--These fall 1:81 packs.

Shane Victorino

Manny Ramirez

The refractors and x-fractors both have insertion rates of 1:3 so you should get 2-3 of each per blaster. I got 3 of each, plus the purple refractor (1:12) and the National Chicle Chrome (1:81) so it wasn't too bad. No Ranger refractors or parallels, but that's ok. I got 24 of the 220 base cards with no dupes.

Now on to the rack packs. For comparison sake, I have two of the "value" rack packs. For a total of $18 plus tax, I have 6 packs of 4 cards plus two 3 card packs of the special orange refractors. Two of these don't quite equal a blaster in cost or packs, but the orange refractors are supposed to make up for it. We'll see.

Rack Pack 1:

Orange Refractor Pack

B.J. Upton

Edwin Jackson

Tim Hudson

Pack 1:

Alex Rios

Yunel Escobar X-Fractor

Bryan Anderson

Hideki Matsui

Pack 2:

David Wright

Kanekoa Texeira Refractor

Lance Zawadzki

Andrew Cashner

Pack 3: No scans here...

Joe Mauer
Mickey Mantle

Denard Span

Jake Arrieta

Rack Pack 2:

Orange Refractor Pack

Zack Greinke

Adam Wainwright

Koji Uehara

Pack 1:

Wandy Rodriguez

Russell Martin X-Fractor

Jason Bay

Matt Kemp

Pack 2:

Josh Hamilton

Ichiro

Javier Vasquez

Luke Hochevar

Pack 3:

Tim Lincecum

Derek Jeter X-Fractor

Scott Sizemore

Brian Matusz

The odds on these packs are the same as the packs from the blaster. I got three x-fractors and only one regular refractor.

As for the comparison, it really comes down to whether you want the orange refractors or not. If so, you definitely want to pick up the rack packs. The next time I was at the store they were all gone.

Scattershooting: ALDS Version

I'll let you know up front that this is a Rangers-Rays post. I haven't watched one pitch of any other series. Not that I wouldn't like to, but working nights and watching the Rangers-Rays games during my sleep time has limited any other TV watching. As it is, I'm exhausted so this may be a bit scattered and freeflowing, but I'm just going to write it as it comes into my head.

*If I was a Rays fan, or worse, if those calls in the first two games had gone the other way, I'd be livid. I would be calling for the heads of those umps. The call on Carlos Pena in game 1, the one where he foul tipped/got hit by the pitch with the bases loaded, could have gone either way. I watched the replay over and over and it really didn't look like the ball hit anything to me, but it "sounded" like the ball hit something before it hit Molina's mitt. There was that little "tick" sound that was definitely there. Still, that's the kind of play where you get mad if it goes against your team. The play from game 2 where Michael Young was not rung up on the checked swing and then hit a 3-run homer on the next pitch is another example of the same thing. Did Young catch a huge break? It sure looked like it to me. The important thing from the Rangers perspective is that he capitalized on the second chance and got the first postseason hit of his career. If that was Zobrist or Longoria, I'm fuming and yelling from my soapbox. The thing is, that might not have even mattered the way Wilson and the bullpen shut down the Rays for a second consecutive day. Those runs may have influenced the way the Rangers approached pitching for the rest of the game, but we can't possibly know the outcome had Young been called out.

*After the Young homer today, the Rays fans were chanting "Replay", "Replay", "Replay". Even with expanded use of instant replay, I don't think it would be used on checked swing calls or the type of call that affected Pena in game 1.

*Baseball, like other sports, is a game in which it seems like a team will catch all the breaks. Bloop hits fall in, balls are hit to just the right spot, umps make a call that goes your way. The Rangers have gotten those breaks in games one and two. The Rays have hit a number of hard line drives right at people. If those fall in, the series may look different. That's not to say the Rangers pitching hasn't been great, because it has. It sure helps to catch those breaks too.

*I get that B.J. Upton is fast. What I don't get is why he plays so shallow in center. How many balls have the Rangers hit on a rope over his head. All I can say is keep playing shallow B.J. and the boys will keep knocking them over your head.

*I'm no baseball manager. I'll bet you didn't know that! I don't understand why Joe Maddon started James Shields in game 2. I know the numbers...his ERA was 1.5 runs lower at home than on the road. I get that. If Price had won game 1 and the Rays had the luxury of throwing Shields with the worst case scenario being a split, I get that. However, when your ace gets beat, you need to go with your number 2 starter so you don't go down 2-0. You can't put yourself in that hole. Honestly, with a guy that gave up the most runs and homers in the A.L., I'm surprised he was in the rotation at all. Can the Rays come back and win 3 in a row. Sure they can, but the Rangers aren't going to lay down for anyone.

*Speaking of Shields, I've never seen a pitcher let a baserunner get him so flustered. In the top of the 3rd, with Matt Treanor at 3rd base and Elvis Andrus on 1st, Shields lost his mind. He was so preoccupied with Andrus, he fell off the mound on one pitch, a pitch that Shoppach somehow managed to stop even though it went behind Michael Young. I was not surprised at all to see him make an errant pickoff throw that allowed Treanor to score the first run of the game.

*It was nice to see Michael Young get a couple of hits, especially the big homerun.

*Ditto for Ian Kinsler. Kinsler was scuffling a bit at the end of the season, going 3-19 in his last 6 regular season games.

*Mitch Moreland didn't get a hit, but he made a great diving catch of a foul pop-up by B.J. Upton for the first out in the first inning. That followed the leadoff single by Jason Bartlett and helped put out what could have been a first inning fire.

*C.J. Wilson looked sharp. He has really benefitted from the presence of Cliff Lee. He watches how Lee carries himself and has tried to model his approach after Lee. Wilson used to have a bit of a rep as a flake, but copying Lee shows some intelligence.

*I sure would like to have a ticket to Saturday's game. Alas, I'll be watching from the couch again.