Hobby Box, Part Two

Insert cards. Reader Chris S got it right - there are no inserts in these packs whatsoever. If you look at the tiny writing on the pack wrapper above (you'll probably have to click on the image), you can see that Topps has inserted a little disclaimer where the insert odds usually are located. "Topps does not, in any manner, make any representations as to whether its cards will attain any future value." Nice. There's something that screams "purist" about a box with no inserts, though.

Here's the second half of the box:

Pack 11:
124 - Eric Owens (Not a great start.)
82 - Johnny Damon (Bleh.)
136 - Carlos Zambrano (Oh, come on!)

1 - Jim Thome

356 - Carlos Delgado Sporting News All-Stars

115 - Johan Santana (Nice shot with the scoreboard in the background.)
272 - Dusty Baker
121 - Ben Grieve
283 - Ron Gardenhire
313 - Kyle Davies (No. 3 guy in the Royals rotation now.)

Pack 12:
23 - Jay Payton
255 - Deivi Cruz

207 - J.D. Drew (I hate buying his cards, so I guess I don't mind getting them in packs.)
227 - Francisco Cordero

365 - Andy Pettitte Sporting News All-Stars (These cards are kind of ridiculous looking. "crafty southpa")
321 - Tim Friend
176 - Ben Sheets (The man without a team.)
119 - Adam Eaton (If Adam Eaton is on your fantasy team, you're in trouble. Actually, you could probably say that about your real team.)
197 - Matt Clement (What a waste.)
222 - Randy Wolf

Pack 13:

45 - John Smoltz (I just saw the clip where Smoltz showed Maddux his bald head when Maddux faced him at the plate for the first time on the MLB Network the other day. Yech.)
67 - Mariano Rivera (A fair amount of doubles in this box.)
151 - Erubiel Durazo

241 - Orlando Hudson
96 - Alex Cintron (Cintron is the WORST! He knocked Scott Rolen out of the 2002 playoffs and I will never let it go.)
144 - Alex Gonzalez
281 - Jim Tracy (Jim Tracy is now a bench coach for the Rockies. Just so you know...)
323 - Tydus Meadows
270 - Mike Hargrove
273 - Jerry Manuel

Pack 14:

140 - Greg Maddux (There should be more retro uniform days.)
104 - Mike Hampton

101 - Orlando Palmeiro (A pretty "meh" Cardinal. I didn't have the card, though, so I am fine with this.)
179 - Mike Stanton
89 - Tim Spooneybarger
298 - Anthony Lerew (Not all Braves pitchers pan out.)
258 - Runelvys Hernandez
320 - Rodney Choy Foo
159 - Toby Hall
42 - Josh Phelps

Pack 15:
46 - Jay Gibbons (The back of his card practically admits steroid use. "These days, his biceps bulge from his short sleeves..." Okay, you could say it sounds like a romance novel, too.)
224 - Ryan Klesko
225 - Rich Aurilia (He hit 37 HRs and batted .324 in 2001. I guess that's what happens when you have BondsMonster in your lineup.)
193 - Luis Matos
292 - Bob Melvin
33 - Jeff Weaver
175 - Paul Quantrill
279 - Jimy Williams
219 - Richard Hidalgo (He sort of just dropped off of the face of the earth.)

238 - Raul Ibanez

Pack 16:

31 - Mike Piazza
249 - Jose Cruz Jr.

28 - Fred McGriff (Who knew that McGriff was a Dodger? I didn't.)
282 - Ned Yost

364 - Roy Halladay Sporting News All-Stars
284 - Frank Robinson (Do player collectors collect cards of players' managing days, too?)
43 - Brendan Donnelly
264 - Frank Catalanotto
135 - Tom Wilson
27 - Brett Mayne

Pack 17:
243 - Doug Mientkiewicz

157 - Miguel Cairo (I still can't believe people keep giving Cairo a major league job. He must just be a really nice guy.)
223 - Kris Benson
271 - Grady Little

349 - Roger Clemens / David Wells Postseason Highlights (Yee-haw!)
250 - Jeff Kent
198 - Byung-Hyun Kim
208 - Einar Diaz
146 - Brian Jordan (Former Cardinal OFer / Falcon Safety.)
109 - Russell Branyan (The new Mariners 1B - an even worse version of Richie Sexson. Bring back John Olerud!)

Pack 18:
232 - Kyle Farnsworth (A great picture of a terrible pitcher. But he's a Cub, and I didn't want to scan him. Look it up if you want to.)
261 - Dustan Mohr
267 - Mike Scioscia
96 - Alex Cintron (Again?! Curses!)

348 - Kerry Wood / Mark Prior / Javier Vazquez NL Strikeout Leaders (Speaking of curses, look at these guys. At least Wood has rebuilt his career as an allegedly decent closer now and Vazquez is in a rotation. What does Mark Prior have?)
114 - Cesar Izturis
318 - Nic Ungs (Yes, there really is a player named Nic Ungs and, no, he has not made it to the majors yet. He's hanging in there in the Milwaukee organization by the looks of it.)
259 - Joe Mays

328 - Ryan Madson / Elizardo Ramirez (Stars might be a reach, but I guess you could do worse.)

Pack 19:
38 - Tim Worrell

186 - Tino Martinez (Amazing shot of a player who was decent, but never produced for the Cards like he did when he was a Yankee.)
93 - Javier Vazquez

49 - Frank Thomas
246 - Ryan Franklin (Franklin has been terrible this spring. Even an average spring probably would have won him the closer's role just because of how Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan love the vets.)
95 - Darren Dreifort
312 - Khalid Ballouli
289 - Lloyd McClendon (McClendon is not welcome anywhere near the Cardinals clubhouse.)
266 - Orlando Cabrera
296 - Carlos Tosca

Pack 20:
103 - Brad Fullmer (Last pack, thanks for reading!)
253 - Miguel Batista

220 - Manny Ramirez (The pride of Ball State University.)
271 - Grady Little

337 - Bill Mueller / Manny Ramirez / Derek Jeter (The Red Sox pack. Wait... Bill Mueller won a batting title? How??)
307 - Jesse Roman (Only Cardinal double.)
36 - Craig Wilson
208 - Einar Diaz
308 - Sung Jung
187 - Aubrey Huff (He finally had a pretty good year last year.)

I'm not attached to any of these cards, except for the Cardinals that I didn't already own, of course. Let me know if anyone out there is interested in some otherwise-completely-ordinary-except-for-the-foil-stamp 2004 Topps cards.