Good Luck Ducks, Week 4

The Boise State Broncos are next on the schedule for the Ducks as they return to Autzen Stadium in Eugene after a brutal double-overtime victory over Purdue. Much has been made of the Ducks suffering their fifth serious QB injury in the past year, but the general consensus is that it's just been terrible luck and nothing that the Ducks are doing wrong in their game plans. I was fairly ambivalent about Boise State until I was reading about how cocky they are, or at least how much their fanbase is. Even with the uncertainty at QB, I think that Oregon should survive this game on their talent (specifically the run game and the defense) and the support of the home crowd, even though the students aren't in class yet.

Chad Cota was the anchor of the Ducks secondary during his time in the green and yellow. He went on to have a 9 year NFL career. I was originally planning on putting up a Josh Wilcox card until I realized that I'm not sure that I have one. Wilcox's brother, Justin (also a former Duck), is the defensive coordinator at BSU under head coach Chris Petersen, himself a former Duck wide receivers coach. Cota's card says 1992 in the Oregon logo, but it is part of the same uncut sheet of the 1994 team. (A couple of other cards suffer this same error and it's truly weird that I didn't notice it until a week ago when I've owned it for so long.) With even less experience at quarterback than they previously had, hopefully Oregon can count on a Gang Green-like effort from their defense to keep the team in the ballgame if things get rough on the offensive side of things.

Peer Pressure Blaster

I caved. Big Time. I was really ready to resist buying into the Allen and Ginter hype, mostly because it sounded really expensive and because there were cards of Billy Mitchell in the set. I'm not really sure what series of events transpired to bring me to this place, but after buying a pack at first and not immediately being disgusted, I suddenly found myself at the Oregon coast buying a shrinkwrapped box of packs at a Fred Meyer store of all places. I wasn't intelligent enough to keep anything in sensible order, so I'll just post a summary here rather than a pack-by-pack breakdown.

(1) Mini World Leaders (Tenzin Gyatso)

(1) Mini Unnumbered (Ray Durham) - Beckett tells me that there was only a print run of 50 on these cards. To me, unnumbered cards just look like a sloppy error.

(1) Mini Black (Pablo Picasso)

(1) Mini World's Deadliest Sharks (aw, come on, that Tiger Shark doesn't look so fierce...)

- A plethora of base cards including Yadier Molina, the only Cardinal I pulled...

- Hiroki Kuroda, a rookie...

- and Pete Weber, a professional bowler (interesting? side note - I used to bowl an average of about 140 or so, and I could be counted on for a 170 point game in a pinch. I'm somewhat surprised that I've never appeared on a baseball card of widespread release.)

(4) Flag cards, including Konerko, David Wright, Nick Markakis and Jason Varitek


(4) Short-printed base cards (including Aubrey Huff)

I ended up falling hard for this set, and I've since purchased another box. I'll throw it up on here, soon.

Return of the Fat Pack Party

Here is pack 3 of my 3-pack purchase of 2006 Fleer, Fat Pack style. This is the Heroes vs. Villains version. Good Guys vs. Bad Guys. Winners vs. Chumps.

108 - Ryan Dempster (Dumpster. score one for the Bad Guys.)
193 - Dontrelle Willis
380 - Jose Contreras
159 - Noah Lowry

25 - Roger Clemens (I think that picture speaks for itself.)
325 - Cory Sullivan
104 - Mark Prior
47 - Gustavo Chacin
398 - Randy Johnson
251 - Ramon Hernandez
137 - Brad Penny
222 - John Patterson
1 - Adam Kennedy (this is obviously not the same Adam Kennedy that has played for the Cardinals the past two seasons)
273 - Jack Wilson

52 - Shea Hillenbrand (3-0 Chumps, right now. This guy is worthy of his own blog entry. Instead, you'll have to read his Wikipedia entry, which I can promise you is more entertaining than anything I have written here.)
307 - Aaron Harang (shutout the Cards last night. almost worth another score, but not quite...)

94 - Scott Rolen (and the Good Guys get on the board here. blame Alex Cintron and Hee Seop Choi if he never makes the Hall of Fame.)

388 - Bernie Williams (Bernie is pretty much the opposite of Shea Hillenbrand. you would get his entire career's worth of stats on the back if this reincaration of Fleer wasn't so lame.)
167 - Casey Blake
49 - Miguel Batista
304 - Craig Hansen RC (what's worse, being a Red Sox prospect who can't get playing time because his team is too stacked or being a Pirates pitcher who is... well, a Pirates pitcher?)

83 - Chris Carpenter (Carp ties it up at 3-3. He may be hurt again in another area that isn't his surgically replaced elbow. Ugh!)
45 - Eric Hinske
351 - Jeremy Bonderman

130 - Jose Valverde (look at that face... or don't. Chump City.)
T40-40 - Jeff Kent Top 40
244 - Adam Eaton

23 - Lance Berkman (is it possible to have a Chump Face? Lance does. 5-3 Chumps.)
329 - Luis Gonzalez (not the outfielder guy, but a guy who played 2B for the Rockies for a time.)
110 - Alex Gonzalez (5 teams in 5 years according to his stats on the back that only cover the last five years... except that he's pictured in a different team once again than his 2005 team)
399 - Robinson Cano(e)
178 - Eddie Guardado
246 - Brian Lawrence
378 - Joe Crede
268 - Ryan Howard (is obviously not a native Philly resident, since he does Subway commercials for their, uh, totally authentic Philly Cheesesteaks)
157 - Dan Ortmeier RC

89 - Chris Duncan RC (back in the win column. hopefully Duncan will one day regain his hitting stroke.)
188 - Jeff Harris RC
358 - Carlos Silva
239 - Melvin Mora

18 - Brad Lidge (no mention on the back of the card of this for some reason.)
205 - Cliff Floyd
247 - Dave Roberts
26 - Roy Oswalt (ugh, okay, make it STOP. I'm not showing pictures of these guys anymore...)
315 - Miguel Perez RC
15 - Adam Everett (not funny)
185 - Raul Ibanez
270 - Ronny Paulino RC
317 - Ryan Freel
96 - Aramis Ramirez (...)
266 - Pat Burrell
T40-35 - Josh Beckett Top 40 (and to top it off, a Red Sox guy for good measure.)

The chumps win it. The case is closed. Here's hoping the Fleer name will not be buried permanently, but also that the owners of the name will actually come up with something that suits the brand name. (like stickers!)

2006 Fleer Fat Pack Party

I have a bunch of stacks of cards laying around on my desk and my coffee table, so it's time now to start clearing them out and writing blurbs about them so I can sort them into my fairly organized storage boxes. The story behind these cards is that I bought 3 2006 Fleer "Fat Packs" from eBay for a fairly affordable price. I will talk about Pack 1 here. I wrote about Pack 2 yesterday on A Pack A Day. Here is the bulletpoint version of how I feel about Fleer now:

- Upper Deck has control of the Fleer brand now, and has turned it into the Safeway Select of baseball cards. My hope is that someday Fleer can comeback as the RC to Topps's Coke and Upper Deck's Pepsi.
- The card backs of this set in particular are incredibly lame and boring.
- The design could be worse, I suppose, but this set is neither glossy and UV-coated nor retro cardboarded (like Heritage or Goudey) so it has to rely on front-of-card appeal alone
- Where are the stickers? Where is the wax buildup on the last card of the pack?

Enough with the whining, though... here's what I got:

386 - Tadahito Iguchi
165 - Ryan Garko RC

233 - Walter Young RC (he is truly a massive guy - 6'5" and 320 lbs according to the stats on the back. I saw him play for the Portland Beavers in 2006.)
118 - Julio Lugo
186 - Richie Sexson
356 - Rondell White (Twins player, pictured as a Tiger. this is an ongoing theme for this set...)

212 - Mike Cameron (sporting some kind of retro Mets jersey, but he's so totally a Padre as of 2006)
297 - Alejandro Machado RC
76 - Doug Davis
55 - Adam LaRoche
361 - Chris Heintz RC
251 - Ramon Hernandez (An Oriole pictured as a Padre)
44 - Dave Bush
299 - Jason Varitek
78 - J.J. Hardy (I think it's bad luck to be a Brewer these days)
367 - Michael Cuddyer
43 - John-Ford Griffin RC (is this a real player or one of those fake players that video game manufacturers make up to fill out the rosters of teams?)
332 - Angel Berroa
111 - Aubrey Huff
253 - Trevor Hoffman

32 - Danny Haren (well, there's always Mark Mulder's 2005 season to fall back on, I suppose)

321 - Aaron Miles (Miles, a Cardinal-Rockie, looks super-determined here)
62 - Julio Franco (see the beginning of this entry. he's a Met, but he can't shake the Braves)
368 - Scott Baker
147 - Milton Bradley (I wonder if anyone has tried paying him in Monopoly money)

T40-29 - Roy Halladay Top 40 (these inserts come 2-per Fat Pack, with no other inserts possible if I am understanding things correctly)
46 - Frank Catalanotto (more difficult to type than to speak)
352 - Magglio Ordonez
131 - Luis Gonzalez
305 - Tim Wakefield

84 - David Eckstein (no matter what you think of him, you have to appreciate how he sprints to 1st base after he gets walked)
339 - Steve Stemie RC (another made-up video game roster filler)
195 - Josh Beckett (a Marlin-Red Sox)
263 - Jon Lieber
42 - Alex Rios
387 - Alex Rodriguez
276 - Oliver Perez

166 - C.C. Sabathia (like I said... look at how boring these backs are)
10 - John Lackey
180 - Gil "Ga" Meche
265 - Mike Lieberthal

196 - Juan Encarnacion (a smilin' Marlin not quite prepared for the Birds on the Bat)
230 - B.J. Ryan
9 - Jarrod Washburn (the Angel-Mariner)
264 - Danny Sandoval RC
156 - Doug Clark RC (Giant-Athletic)
287 - Kevin Mench
66 - Rafael Furcal (Brave-Dodger)
202 - Todd Jones
198 - Robert Andino RC
283 - Francisco Cordero

T40-27 - Jim Edmonds Top 40 (wooo! this makes the pack... an Edmonds insert that I didn't have.)

Pack 3 will conclude things here. I also have a few blasters to talk about and some random stacks sitting around the apartment.

Coming Soon to an NBA Court Near You...

...unless, of course, you live in Seattle. Stupid David Stern.

Good Luck Ducks

This afternoon, the Oregon Ducks football squadron heads to West Lafayette to take on the Boilermakers of Purdue in their first real test of the season. I dug up an uncut sheet of cards that I got as a giveaway at a game during their magical Rose Bowl year of 1994. Before the abomination that it known as the BCS was around, the Rose Bowl was just about the best thing you could do as a member of the Pac-10, and for the Ducks it was their first big dance in 37 years. A little Google action came up with these interesting articles about the '94 season.

Cristin McLemore was one of their more talented receivers, and it seems he went on to play in the Arena league for a time. I'm fairly certain he is the player I got to see vomit on the astroturf right after lining up for a snap after getting nailed in the gut on the previous play. He got a standing ovation from the student section (well, we were always standing.) Ah, college...

Sadly, Kenny Wheaton is not part of the set.

Go Ducks!

Generosity Abounds, Part 2

Here is the second half of the lovely package from Dinged Corners, and this stack starts things off right with Ozzie Smith. I started my first ever player collection of Ozzie back in high school, and while I already have this card (a 1988 Topps UK Mini) it's a nice one from an oddball set I really liked.

1995 Collector's Choice Rick Sutcliffe - Every time I've seen Sutcliffe work a Cardinals game for ESPN, he always seems to mention how he used to pitch for the Cardinals. I also never remember this actually occurring. Now I have documented proof in baseball card form, even though the only picture of him actually appearing to compete in a game on this card is a teeny-tiny inset picture on the back of his card. Here we see him signing for his legions of fans, most of whom are probably Cubs fans.

2006 Cardinals Upper Deck World Series Champions Adam Wainwright - A perfect baseball moment captured on a baseball card. I suspect that the Dinged Corners team did not mind parting with this card one bit. (Not pictured: Carlos Beltran) By the way, where did this little set come from and how can a Cardinal fan like me go about getting one?

2007 UD Masterpieces Ozzie Smith - A "whoa!" moment in opening the package. I had just recently bought a couple of packs from this set at $1.59 discount price, but I did not have this Ozzie. He's just showing off.

2005 Fleer Tradition Larry Walker - His time with the Cards was so brief, so it's nice to get any of his cards in the Birds on the Bat.

1988 Donruss Ricky Horton - Thanks to Joe Buck big-timing the Cardinals, I've been able to hear the sweet dulcet tones of Mr. Horton during select FSN Midwest broadcasts this year.

2006 Upper Deck John Rodriguez - Okay, seriously... I miss J-Rod. I miss his MLBlog. Rick Ankiel is effectively done for the year. Joe Mather is completely done for the year. Colby Rasmus isn't coming. Troy Glaus, while not an outfielder, is also going to miss "a number of games" which could easily in Cardinalsinjuryspeak mean "done for the year." John Rodriguez could hit. I'm not sure what he's up to these days, but I think that I heard he was playing for an independent league team at last check. Surely he could be signed for a tray of nachos and a few Fredbird bobbleheads, right?
2001 Topps John Mabry - This was the aqua Topps set, right? Or is that teal? 2003 was the blue set. I'm still trying to learn all the Topps designs from the years that I missed. This is from Mabry's second of three stints on the team. He was always a useful pinch-hitter and spot starter.

1986 Topps Vince Coleman - Jackpot! This is Coleman's rookie card, 1985 Traded Set be dratted.

I also got a supernice personalized note from Lucy of Dinged Corners with the package. I am planning on putting together a package for the people behind this great blog soon, even though all this was sent to me as a no-strings-attached gift.