2007 Topps Baseball Series 2 Target Blaster Box packs 11 & 12

So I really thought I’d get more cards that I needed out of this thing, and I was hoping to be under 100 by the end of the box, if not now. That hasn’t happened at all. Maybe tonight will be better. Here goes:

Me:

• 660 Yadier Molina (need)
• 516 Bartolo Colon
• 621 Alexi Casilla
• 601 The entire Colorado Rockie team
• 455 Dan Johnson
• 522 Anthony Reyes
• Topps of the Class filler

Sweet mother of mercy, another need! Here’s hoping for 15 in the remaining nine. On to hers:

• 640 Kei Igawa
• 508 Ryan Langerhans
• 404 Corey Hart
• MHR389 Mickey Mantle hit a home run
• 419 Jorge Cantu
• 382 Kevin Millwood

Crap. Nothing. Still, Corey Hart’s pretty good. And Alex Rodriguez thinks that Kei Igawa “has it in him to win 15 games or more.” Maybe he meant over his career. In AAA. Only 5 more wins to go, then!

The Upper Deck series 2 gimmick shows it’s head

So Topps has the SP Fukudome and the Arnold 2012 card.

Upper Deck once again may have seeded a Hillary Clinton card that doesn’t belong:

“We had the version of Obama lifting Clinton pulled as it became clear Barack would be the victor,” said Jason Masherah, Baseball Brand manager for Upper Deck in a statement. “Pulling these cards is a process done by hand so it is very possible some of these cards may make their way into packs. Those cards are considered an error version.”

Basically, there is a card of Obama lifting Hilary in the air and proclaiming her the victor of the Democratic nominating process. Upper Deck decided this wouldn’t happen, and hand pulled all the cards that showed it. Except for the ones they may have missed.

Sounds eerily familiar to the series 1 mistake, doesn’t it?  So far, nothing has shown on eBay.   But keep your eyes pealed as the days go by and more and more product are opened.

Toppstown ribbon cutting!

Toppstown is open for business, even if it isn’t June 1st…

I’m going in… Alright, birthday entered… Creating a name…Free code…

Hmm… I’ve got to create an avatar. And I can only choose from randomized words picked by Topps. I’m not sure I want to be Mrs. Easy Italian. Or Jo Angel Injector. How the hell do I just type in a name I want? Maybe this “about Toppstown” link will help…

ToppsTown™ is designed for all ages 6-up.

Really? You want 6 year olds to call themselves Mrs Easy Italian? Are kids not able to think up their own avatar name at the age of 6? Oh well.

I guess from now on, I’m Captain Goose something-or-other. Nice to see Topps will allow kids to call themselves “barf” and “poopoo” though. I’m surprised any of those are still available.

Ugh. Creating an avatar. Something I never cared for. I could give my guy two different sized arms, but I cannot stand asymmetry. Darn you, high school geometry.

Finally, I’m in my clubhouse. There’s a bookcase full of baseballs, a toilet, and a cardboard box for a desk with a phone on it. Oh, and cobwebs. I guess no one has to clean up in ToppsTown! Or everyone’s poor and can’t afford a maid.

Alright, on to the virtual cards. My freebie is Mark Teixeiria of the Braves. Not awful. Lets see who represents the Reds in this crazy place… Ken Griffey Jr. (makes sense), Adam Dunn (yeah) and… Ryan Freel?!? What about Jay Bruce, or Edison Volquez? Joey Votto? I hear the Reds have a pretty good 2B, too. And the Giants get five players to the Reds three? What the-?!? Wait. There’s Edison Volquez. Shows him as an Indian. Wtf, Toppstown? How long have you had to get this right before the launch?

Or is this a planned error to drum up interest? Sneaky Topps. I almost fell for it.

Off to the game zone. First up, the Daily Sports Jackpot. Kids can learn to gamble early in Toppstown. Maybe there’s Daily Cigarette Machine for them to play with as well. Hot Dog Canon is like Space Invaders, only with a hot dog canon. There’s a HR contest, a pitching contest, and a hitting contest, too. And one where you pop bubble gum on your face. Awesome.

The good thing is the games seem pretty simple for kids and should have them rolling in Topps points. The games do take a while to load and are a bit limited by the rules (ie, 10 balls to hit, and that’s the end, start over again). And the points are good only to add design to your avatar or clubhouse. I could care less, but maybe tech savvy kids will have to get earn 700 points for diver flippers or 2500 points for an arm holding a bag of peanuts.

Well, scanning the trade offers, no one wants big Tex right now. So I’ll wait a while before coming back. Like maybe when I get a code or two to enter and see who the big surprise is. Until then, it’s clear that Toppstown isn’t for the older collectors. It’s geared toward the kids who want to play games and click on ads to earn free virtual cards worth nothing.

In the end, I guess it’ll show kids that the cards are worth what they want to give up for them rather than the hobby regulated price. And kids can get their favorite players from someone who wants a card they have, which is what trading used to be about.

Until I see what kind of people move into to Toppstown, I’ll just rent a condo and sit on the porch for awhile.

*UPDATED* So I went to the library today and marvelled as three kids, maybe 10 years old, sat in the corner and argued about trading coats and goggles for some online avatar they created. While that’s a boost to the chances of this thing working (and it makes me wonder why kids think it’s cool), I also found myself asking why kids would leave the site they were on and go to Toppstown. But I also didn’t want to be creepy adult and talk to kids in the library, either, so I let it go…

Beyond Fukudome

Cubs OF Koskue Fukudome has a short printed insert in Topps Series 2, and Chris Harris at Stale Gum is a little upset about it.

In the brief time I’ve been blogging here, I think my tolerance for this sort of thing has grown. First off, this short print is actually a baseball player, not a squirrel or fake Japanese kid. And it’s not an airbrushed card either. Second, as a set collector, it only negatively affects me if I pull it instead of a base card I need to complete my set. But even still, it’s a baseball player, so I still won’t be that upset about it.

Finally, it’s not a short printed version of a regular card, like another company has decided to do (starts with U, ends with K, there’s a pper Dec in the middle). But even this card doesn’t have a piece of his hair or flecks of sunburned skin encased in it, so it’s not the biggest travesty.

I do find Topps decision to release their flagship without a genuine RC for Fukudome a little odd, but they’ll just add it to Update and Highlights and that will be that.

I realize the Fukudome card is another example of creating inflated value for a card through short printing, something I dislike in the hockey sets. But as long as the Fukudome card is SP2 or XJ-37, as long as it’s not numbered as part of the base set, I’m okay with it.

I may even be a little disappointed if I don’t pull it.

*UPDATE* I can, however, do without the stupid Arnold Schwarzenegger 2012? card.

2007 Topps Baseball Series 2 Target Blaster Box Packs 9 & 10

Or as I like to call it, Duel of the Hit Parades.

Let’s start with hers:

• 444 Josh Beckett
• 646 Devern Hansack
• 593 Washington Nationals team card
• 557 Scott Olsen
• 481 Jim Thome
• HP7 Gary Sheffield Hit Parade
• Could’ve won and stay in school, in one pack!

Mine:

• 393 Milton Bradley
• 552 Chris Woodward
• 501 Mike O’connor
• 360 David Ortiz
• 529 Chris Snelling
• HP6 Alex Rodriguez Hit Parade
• I could’ve won…

Even needing my entire pack could not have saved me from the merciless drubbing I took tonight. Even worse, I needed none of ’em.

Only five more days of this. Hopefully by then my series 2 wax will have arrived.

So what did I miss?

Jay Bruce promoted!

Corey Patterson gone!

Upper Deck has hairy cards!

Jay Bruce is also the 2nd Topps Finest redemption! And it’s autographed!

I think that’s it. Did I miss anything else?

Memorial Day weekend

So I took the weekend off to spend more time with my family and no time on the internets.  Even though we stopped at a coffee shop with internet access, there was never a real time I missed the whole thing.  And by the end of it all, I felt like I hadn’t missed a thing.

Since the Reds were coming to the west coast to visit, we decided to get tickets and see a game that meshed well with our schedule.  It would be the first game for our son, still less than 2 years old. 

I was a little worried about how he would do, so we even bought him his own seat in case he got tired of being on our laps.  As we arrived and hit the elevator (for the stroller) I said to me wife “if he lasts seven or eight innings, I’ll be impressed.”

He made it 13 and a half.  The game lasted 18.  The Reds blew three saves in the game, more then they had blown all season.  Paul Janish delivered a clutch 2 run single in the 11th, but for a reason known only to Dusty Baker, Josh Fogg and his ERA over 8.00 came in try and seal the victory.  He failed.

Pitcher Bronson Aroyyo was used as a pinch hitter and singled.  That was the last hit we actually saw.  Aaron Harang and Edison Volquez were used as relievers.  And after a Joey Votto error in the bottom of the 18th brought up Adrian Gonzalez, you could feel the end was near.  And sure enough, it was.

It was a little chilly, but otherwise a beautiful day for baseball, and my son seemed to alternate between caring about the game and just wanting to play.  It’s just too bad he didn’t get to see the Reds win. 

2007 Topps Baseball Series 2 Target Blaster packs 7 & 8

I’ve returned. More on the absence later, probably tomorrow. For tonight, you get the battle of the blaster packs.

Me:

• 375 Miguel Olivo
• 384 Alex Gonzalez (the injured Red)
• 512 Jason Kubel
• 564 Nelson Cruz
• 639 Joe Smith
• GN344 Hanley Smith once stole 2nd base

Her:

• 407 Nick “the Stick” Johnson (need!)
• 423 Mike Lamb
• 514 Mark Grudzielanek
• 528 Paul Byrd
• 553 Ramon Martinez
• 574 Brandon McCarthy

Mark one off the list, and it’s the only saving grace of her pack. I’m not sure I got much better, even with the insert. Folks, I’ll let you decide who got the best pack tonight.

2007 Topps Baseball Series 2 Target Blaster packs 5 & 6

The third night reveals:

• 355 Oliver Perez
• 359 Jon Garland
• 443 Mike Cameron
• 490 Andruw Jones (looking thin)
• 498 Jarrod Washburn
• DS25 Ted Williams fought in the war

Mrs. Handcollated:

• 345 Joe Borowski
• 348 Rodrigo Lopez
• 534 Terrmel Sledge (I remember fighting over him in Fantasy baseball)
• 549 Horacio Ramirez
• 551 Ronnie Belliard
• OD3 RFK Stadium Marlins vs Nationals
• One of those Topps of the Class inserts

A big strikeout in the need department in both packs. It’s not going as well as I thought it would, but hopefully luck will change in the last 14 packs.

As to tonight’s winner, I gotta go with me for the second night in a row. There’s a real lack of star power in either pack, and even though I got Andruw, I also pulled an insert of one of the greatest hitters of all time and his contribution to the greatest generation.

Feel free to vote below.

The box break returns Wednesday night.

2007 Topps Baseball Series 2 Target Blaster packs 3 & 4

My pack:

• 358 Jason Tyner
• 451 Bobby Jenks (need)
• 486 Wandy Rodriguez (need)
• 536 Tom Gorzelanny
• 637 Justin Hampson
• MMS 18 Mickey Mantle looks across the room
• I could have won a trip to the 2008 all star game

The missus:

• 340 Roger Clemens
• 387 Nate Robertson
• 445 Pablo Ozuna
• 468 Kerry Wood
• 604 San Diego Padres team card (what is it about the Pads again?   The Reds better pull tonight out)
• GN270 This one time in Florida, Delmon Young hit 2 singles in a game!
• Checklist 3 of 3

I’m claiming the win based on the 2 cards needed, even if that checklist card is pretty sweet.