The Man Jackson...and I don't mean Michael

This guy would have been so good for the Yankees- shame they traded him for Granderson. Still, the Tigers are lucky.

Tomorrow- I seriously have no idea. I have to go make some more. Somebody good, though.

Some Target Packs

Not to be discouraged by Saturday's Yo Mammaless pack rip, I put some variety into the mix- pack of Topps, pack of Upper Deck, pack of Heritage.

Topps- (only the things I don't have
Hanley Ramirez Peak Performances
Reggie Jackson Red Back
David Wright ToppsTown
Andre Ethier

Heritage-
Mark DeRosa
MELK! On the Braves
Michael Young
Javier Vazquel ON THE YANKS
RAJAI!
Hey! It's a World Series card of AJ Burnett from Game II, the one I was at!
Hanley Ramirez
Ben Zobrist

Upper Deck- (Just the Highlights)
Carlos Carrasco Rookie
Mike Lowell
Joey Votto
Eric Bruntlett
AW, CRAP, IT'S A YOOOOOOOOOOUK!
Clay Kershaw
Scott Posednik
Beautiful shot of Safeco Field

No Yo Mamma Cards, such a shame. Still, a card commemerating the game I went to.

The Next Hank Aaron? Maybe...

I know one blogger in particular who wanted to see this one. Matter of fact, so did everyone else (well, maybe not the Mets and Philly fans). Still this guy could be the next Hank Aaron, even though his name makes him sound like the lead singer of the Moody Blues.

Tomorrow- When the Yankees got Granderson, this rookie went to Detroit. Such a shame. On his last Spring Training Game in 2009, he hit a Grand Slam.

Darryl Strawberry gets fired

Remember a few months back, how I ranted my displeasure on Darryl Strawberry contending on the Celebrity Apprentice?

He got fired. How am I not surprised.

The guy may be a nice guy when you want to get an autograoh, but he's lazy. The guy barely did any work on the show, and his team suffered. The guy even failed to use his "celebrity" aspect to drive in sales.

But then again, I'm just a blogger talking about a reality TV show that I only watched because an Ex-Yankee was contending on it. Move along.

In Search of Yo Momma Cards

I am really craving some cards, especially some Yo Mamma cards. So I got 5 packs of Topps, hoping to get some-

Pack 1-
Joey Votto, Chris, Snyder, Aubrey Huff, David Wright, Braden Looper, Leader
History- Babe Retires
Yadier Molina Young Again
Todd Helton ToppsTown
Bengie Molina, Austin Kearns, Brandon Phillips

Pack 2-
Pat Neshek, Bobby Abreu, Josh Johnson, Josh Butler, Andrew Bailey ROY, Braves
Matt Kempt Turkey Red
Albert Pujols 51 Mini
Vladdie ToppsTown
Pablo Sandoval, Jeff Francoer, Jonathan Broxton

Pack 3-
Anthony Swarzak, Josh Hamilton, Joe Nathan, Cody Ross, Tommy Manzella, Adam Moore, Michael Dunn,
History Jackie Robinson
Aaron Poreda young
Miguel Tejada Topps Town
Gi Gonzalez Nate Robertson

I'm cutting this short. All I got out of the last pack was a Josh Beckett Turkey Red and Zach Grienke ToppsTown

No Yo Mamma cards, but I still need some. Have any you don't need? Email me. My haves on the set or on the sidebar

(I'm really friggin desperate here)

Custom Card of the Day

I'm pretty proud of this one. It's a catcher gear shot, a dirt shot, and a good Pudge shot all rolled into one. All Topps does is just him at bat.

I have to crank out some more of these, but here are a few of the names that are up next-
Jackson
Heyward
Burrell
Giambi
And a few surprises

Back to the old, scraggly Damon

It looks like Johnny's growing a beard again. He was famous for his caveman look during the 2004-2005 seasons, when he was on the *shudder* World Series Champion Red Sox. So hard to say that without clenched fists. Of course, the Yankees have a strict no beard policy, so Johnny had to clean up. Now the old Johnny seems to be coming back.

Tomorrow- A Future Hall of Fame Catcher- coaching a another catcher named Jesus.

The Rookie Card I beat Topps to

Somebody at Topps is probably thinking "Who is this Strasburg kid? He'll never make it, so we'll never make a card of him."

(Tomorrow will be Damon. I forgot to make him last night)

Reaching out to the Philadelphians

I know I've been really Yankee centric lately with my customs, so here's a Philly for ya. Raaaauuul Ibanez, ready to spike a homer over the Everglades. I'm making a whole bunch tonight (at least until Lost comes on.)

Coming Tomorrow- An ex Yankee- somehow stuck in Michigan

Sunday Afternoon Target Packs

I scooped up a few random packs. Some are the only pakcs of the product I'll buy all year. Some are things I'll buy all year

Opening Day- 3 Packs-

Matt LaPorta
Zach Grienke
Wade Davis Rookie
Hunter Pence Code
Ryan Braun
Kyle Blanks
James Shields
Drew Stubbs
Johnny Cueto
Curtis Granderson on the Yanks
Fredbird
Chone Figgins on the Mariners
Nick Swisher
Adrian Beltre
Bengie Molina
Posada
Felipe Lopez
Colby Rasmus Insert
Barry Zito
Jered Weaver
Torrii Hunter

Heritage- 1 pack
Ryan Demptser
Tony LaRussa
Luis Valbuena
Alexiei Ramirez
Aaron Hill Chrome #'d 1961
Mantle 61 Insert
Andrew MacCutchen
Tommy Manzella

Upper Deck- 1 pack
Hunter Pence
Buster Posey
Aaron Hill
Braden Looper
Alexei Ramirez
Brendan Harris
AJ Burnett
Jensen Lewis
Ryan Zimmerman Biography
Matt Wieters Supreme
Jason Jennings
Jon Lester
Luke Gregerson
Arthur Rhodes- how is he still playing?
Hey, it's Albert Pujols
Michael Young
Alfredo Sauce
Busch Stadium

And now...another Cereal Box. There were a lot of crappy doubles, so here are the highlights

Zach Greinke CY
Juan Uribe
Eric Byrnes
Albert Pujols
Yovanni Gallardo #'d to 2010
Adam Dunn Topps Town
HISTORY- Babe Rith 1st All Star Game
Roger Maris CYMTO THAT I ALREADY FRIGGIN HAVE! GYAAAAAAHHHH!
Pablo Sandoval Turkey Red

Refractor-
George Sisler

Yeah, not much to call home about, but it was still alright

Custom Card of the Day

It breaks my heart to see Cliff in another uniform, but he'll be great over in Seattle...when he apologizes...

Custom Card of the Day

Vladdie, finally given the custom card treatment as a Ranger

What Cyber Trading has done for me

The Million Dollar Transmogrifier spat out a few unwanted cards, like a 1993 Scott Champarino, an 1987 Ron Roeneke and a 1989 Keith Hernandez...that I already had

I decided to make a few crappy trades that might never happen. Two of which didn't go through, and one really ridiculous one did. Hey, it may have been lopsided, but in my theory, trading a card for a card with the same team and the same year really helps.

The seller might not have known who the player he was giving up was. The seller may have been the dumbest seller on the face of the earth. Trading an unknown Marlins failed prospect for a really big star- I laugh just thinking about it. Because whose rookie was in 1993 and was on the Marlins?

I'll let you see for yourself

Granderson Experiment

I gave this one a texture for some reason, thought it would make the custom better

It looks damn good, I'll give you that.

Sunset

More are still on the way

Philly Show- Rain, Swag and Pirates

It was raining hard today. Very hard. But if that's your excuse not to go to a card show, then what are you doing collecting cards?

The Philly Show in Valley Forge was today, and I got some cool stuff.

Assorted cheap vintage-

1967- Luis Aparicio
1972- Bob Gibson
1973- Rod Carew, Juan Marichal
1974- Willie Stargell, Luis Aparicio, Orlando Cepeda
1975- Carlton Fisk, Lou Brock, Rod Carew, Willie McCovey
1976 Yaz

Other stuff-

2009 Goodwin Rollie Fingers, Al Kaline
2001 Donruss Elite A-Rod
2001 Upper Deck Legends Catfish, Ernie Banks, Harmon Killebrew
1989 UD Mark McGwire
2009 SP Tim Lincecum
1982 Topps Ozzie Smith
2004 Diamond Kings Roy Halladay
1978, 79 Topps Rollie Fingers
2004 Topps Roy Oswalt
2007 UD Mike Piazza
2003 All Time Fan Favorites Harold Baines, Joe Pepitone, Goose
2004 ATFF Reggie Jackson
2001 SP Vladdie
2002 Diamond Kings Berk
2006 Sweet Spot Jason Giambi
1983 Topps Dave Winfield
2005 Topps Tim Wakefield, Roy Halladay, David Wright Rookie

2005 Diamond Kings-
Keith Hernandez, Darryl Strawberry, RAAAAUUUUUL, Roy Halladay, Pedro Martinez, BJ Upton, Jorge Posada, Adam Dunn, Jeff Suppan
2004 Fleer Showcase-
Manny Ramirez, Sammy Sosa, Frank Thomas, Randy Johnson, A-rod, Mike Piazza
2004 Skybox Autographix-
Albert Pujols, Ken Griffey Jr., Jose Reyes, Hideki Matsui, Chippah, Jim Thome, Jeff Bagwell, Mike Piazza, Randy Johnson, Mark Teixiera, Frank Thomas, Manny Ramirez

Overall, great show. Can't wait for the next one. Reggie Jackson, Curt Schilling, Andre Dawson are supposed to be signing

The gimmick that ate Chicago

By now, I'm sure you've all heard of Topps' idea of a joke, the Abe Lincoln gimmick. They've inserted Abe into all the Cubs cards, somehow making it silly.

Why couldn't they just stop at the pies? You're already ripping the Yankees, and now you turn toward ChiCAGo? Plus, it's really friggin ridiculous. I mean, they've already made quite a few Abe cards already in Allen and Ginter, 2007 Turkey Red, various other products.

HOW DO THEY COME UP WITH THIS CRAP? Is there a Bad Idea Pottery Barn or something, is that where they all meet?

These gimmicks are getting ridiculous Topps. TAKE THE INDEPENDENCE SERIOUSLY!

A Goodbye to the Enemy

You spent your career with 2 cursed teams, and two teams that haven't won since the 80's

You took steroids

You played for Boston

You hit homers aplenty against us
Your fans cried when you left

But Nomar, there were some things I liked about you.

For one thing, the last 6 years of your career were not spent in Boston

You gave class to an era who needed it

You had fans who named their kids Nomar

And you did the right thing in signing with your ex-team before retiring

Nomar, you will be missed

Just not by me

Another Custom for you guys

A few Mets fans I know will get a kick out of this one.

More are on the way including a much hyped rookie, a speedy outfielder, and RAAUUUUUUUUUL

Can't you just feel the exitement?

They're back, baby.

Custom Cards are coming...

Card Show...a whole lot of swag

I went to a card show at a local mall, and I was pretty impressed. Depsite the lack of Yo Mamma cards and Yankee Game Used, I did manage to get cards from 2010 Topps, 2008 Timeline and All Time Fan Favorites-

2008 Timeline-
60- Luke Hochevar
42- Joe Mauer
6- Han-Ram
24- Matt Holliday
16- Lance Berkman
33- BJ Upton
7- John Smoltz
64- Hiroki Kuroda
43- Alex Gordon
61- Chin Lung Hu
34- Nick Markakis
66- Jed Lowrie
82- JR Towles
14- Derrek Lee
13 Alfonso Soriano

The Studio 92-
Randy Johnson. He didn't have too much of 92 Studio

The 2010 Topps-
320- Brian McCann
258- Edwin Encarnacion
295- YOOOOOOOOOUK
318- Nate Schierholz
159- Vernon Wells
301- Custy the Clown
153- Justin Duchduchduchduchduchduchduchduchduch
205- Chris Coghlan
90- Ian Kinsler
214- Matt Kemp
157- Mike Sweeney
165- Brandon Phillips
212- Magglio
124- Rickie Weeks
75- AAAAADDRIIIAAANNNN!
40- Josh Johnson
79- Fransisco Cordero
160- Miguel Tejada
245- BERK!

09 Allen and Ginter- Jason Giambi, Brad Penny, Zach Grienke
2009 Icons- Matt Holliday, Kerry Wood, Nate McLouth
2007 Turkey Red AAAAADRIANNN!
2008 Heritage Jim Edmonds, Billy Wagner
2005 Topps Justin Morneau, RAAAUUUUUUUL
2002 Play Ball Willie Stargell
2003 Fleer Tradition Rickey Henderson on the Dodgers
2002 Heritage- Pedro Martinez
2006 Topps Trading Places Alfonso Soriano
94 Fleer Jim Thome, George Brett, Pudge, Ryne Sandberg, Bo
99 Topps AJ Burnett ROOKIE!
1994 Topps Rickey Henderson, Sammy Sosa, Don Mattingly, Tony Gwynn, Roger Clemens
99 Topps Todd Helton
2006 Fleer Tradition Brett Myers
2004 Flair Tom Glavine
2005 Skybox Autographics Sammy Sosa, Pedro, Randy Johnson, Jim Thome
2006 ROW Roger Clemens
93 UD Ozzie Smith, Nolan Ryan, Pedro Martinez
2006 Turkey Red Reggie Jackson, Wade Boggs, Gary Carter, Tom Glavine and Tony Gwynn
2004 UD Timeless Teams Bob Gibson
2003 First Pitch John Lackey ROOKIE
1991 Stadium Club Sammy Sosa
2004 Fleer Greats Eddie Murray
2005 Topps Update Jeff Kent, Sammy Sosa
2006 Fleer Showcase Tom Glavine, Frank Thomas

I also got a TON of All Time Fan Favorties. I'll do a post on that set another day.

2 Topps Cereal Boxes

I cannot get enough of the stuff, man. I went out and got some more.

#1-
278- Carlos Delgado
255- Chris Davis
133- Freddy Sanchez
193- Shairon
323- Jim Thome
59- Kevin Gregg
110- Andrew MacCutchen
68- Brandon Inge
58- Kyle Blanks
161- Denard Span
94- Ivan Rodriguez...but he's still on the Rangers
30- Victor Martinez
82- Jason Marquis
149- Jose Guillen
270- Michael Brantley, lord of the dance
20- Tommy Hanson
98- Cesar Ramos
46- Chad Tracy
9- Lincy CY
298- Orioles
220- Randy Johnson
191- Mat Latos
137- A's
294- Adam Dunn
106- Leaders
33- Adam Moore
296- Braves
194- Neil Walker
120- Posada
10- Kershaw
GYAAAAAAAH1 IT'S THE SAME F--KIN MANTLE 62 CYMTO!!! seriously, anyone need it?
HISTORY- 1st televised World Series
Turkey Red of...AAAADDDDDRRIIIAANNNN!
Code
TALES- jeter's flip. BOOYAH!
Lineage- Jackson and Dunn
Peak Performances- Jackie Robinson
Aaron Poreda young again
David Wright ToppsTown
247- Andre Ethier
1790 Ryan Spilboroughs
257- Bobby Crosby, now a Pirate
201- Tigers
158- Jeff Niemann
252- Ronny Cedeno
279- Randy Wolf
70- Cole Hamels
55- Man-Ram
24- John Maine
569- Royals
117- David Dejesus
256- Akinori Iwamura
130- Vladdie
107- Scott Hairston
211- Kelly Shoppach

#2-
63- Josh Bard
310- Elvis Andrus
41- Dodgers
67- Matt LaPorta
169- Pirates
210- Josh Beckett
289- Lyle Overbay
127- Hank Blalock
99- Garrett Jones
28- Jonathan Sanchez
126- John Smoltz
43- Marco Scutaro
221- Russ Branyan
156- Tony Gywnn Jr.
101- Scott Baker
292- Tommy Mazella
34- Michael Dunn
163- Josh Butler
236- Bailey ROY
287- Jhonny
263- Placido Polanco
56- Andy Pettite
5- Rangers
51- Eric Young
1- Prince Feilder
174- Mike Gonzalez
243- AssDribble Cabrera
4- Leaders
268- Juan Pierre
306- Milton Bradley
CYMTO 95 Pizza, another one I already have. Anyone want this one?
History- The Babe
Turkey Red Pujols
Code
Tales- Maris 61
Lineage- Frank Thomas and Prince Fielder. They're right
Peak- TEIXIERA ON THE YANKS!
Daniel McCutchen Young Again
ICHIRO ToppsTown
257- Another Bobby Crosby
201- Tigers
158- Jeff Niemann
...and a lot of crappy doubles

The two refractors are GEORGE SISLER and Jackie Robinson

Everybody hates the Yankees

If there's one thing I've seen on my year in the blogosphere, it's the hatred of my team, the Yankees. I've always wondered why. They're a great team wtih great players, but nobody gives them any love.

Is it the fans? The New York fans are pretty obnoxious. When I went to the game in October, they were pretty damn vicious. But they still knew how to watch a game.

Is it the players. Everyone hates A-rod, for reasons that are quite obvious, but what I can't stand is why everyone hates Jeter, Jeter's one of the best players of the modern era, and you fans are treating him like just another crappy Yankee.

Is it the trades? We trade to get better players, which is what the Yankees are famous for, since we have a lot of money. Sabathia, Texiera, Burnett, Granderson, Hairston. All have been traded or signed, and because we all get the "good" players, everybody hates us. Why?

Is it me? No.

Is it Steinbrenner? The owner is one of the more loud characters in a while. He's an omious prescence who looms in the shadows and shows up to rob players of playing time. Sorta like Dracula.

Is it Sandman? No, everybody likes Rivera.

Is it the 27 series'. Maybe. The fact that we won 27, and everyone else is still in single digits it just overdoing it. It's like Obama taking 62 states in the next election.

Is it the fact that most people just need someone to hate because their team is doing so badly. That might be it.

But still, everyone hates to get Yankee cards, except the elite group of Yankee bloggers such as myself, and a few other people.

Goodbye, Upper Deck

I was always a Topps collector, but every once in a while I would buy Upper Deck. Sometimes I did it to get some Masterpieces, sometimes I really like that year's base set, and sometimes Target didn't have any Topps left. But Upper Deck has always been a close second to Topps in my mind.

Yesterday, MLB told Upper Deck to stop making baseball cards, because of the unlicensed crap they've been putting out lately. Here's my question- Why didn't MLB tell them this BEFORE UD made the unlicensed cards. You try and take away something, to fix a problem, and then you have to limit it completely to fix an even bigger problem that you made when fixing the last one.

It's a sad story. Here are 5 reasons that I'll miss Upper Deck

5. The 1000 card base set. Topps these days usually has a 660 card set, along with an update set. Upper Deck, in 2 series, made a complete 1000 card set. Now granted, it was very hard to complete (unless you constantly get hobby boxes of it), but it's the right sixe of a base set, to me.

4. The great designs. Take their 93 set. It has a nice, solid design that's out of the norm for the white border set from the last 3 years. Take the 95 set, and the 2006 set. A few classic designs and a few great sets too.

3. Masterpieces.

2. The rookies. They used to designate the first few cards for rookies, and this have given us rookie cards of so many people...including...

1. The Card. Ken Griffey Jr.'s rookie card from UD is one of the most recognizable cards of that era, and it came from their first set in 89. Upper Deck was also a rookie in 89, and it's apparently been retired.

Rating the Inserts- Topps 2010

I haven't posted in a while, so I'll make it up to you by dishing on this year's Topps inserts, sorta like I did with the gimmicks last year. 1 is the worst, 10 is the best.

Topps Town. It's a cool insert set, but it's still a shameless web promotion that's one per pack. And there are so many doubles. Jees, I haven't gotten a new TT card out of a pack in a while. 3.

Turkey Red. A lot of people are bashing Turkey Red this year. Why? It's a damn good insert set if you ask me. It has current stars, Hall of Famers and a cool design. Plus, it's a lot better than the actual TR sets Topps put out. 8.

Tales/History of the game- Two fun sets that are collectable, but aren't as good as the other ones. 5

Cards your mother threw out. I like this set, and that's why I'm trying to complete it. Seriously- if anyone has some CYMTO that they don't want, email me. 9

Peak Performances. Sorta like the Record Breakers set from '02. Okay. 6.

Legendary Lineage- I don't like this one. Maybe it's just that some players don't need comparison, AND THERE IS ALREADY SOMETHING LIKE THIS IN HERITAGE!!! 2

When they were young- ehhhhhh. 4