2010 Pull N Junk Playoffs: Best Pull Finals

We are down to the Final Four of the Phungo Pull of the Year competition.


Here are the four Finalist, one from each quarter of 2010.

2009 Topps T206 #138 mini Elvis Andrus (SP)/Base

2008 UD Baseball Heroes Copper #10 Brian McCann (#d100/149)




2009 Goodwin Champions Yogi Berra

2010 Topps Chrome #192 Chris Heisey

A good collection of choices, oddly no Phils made the list.  The choices show some of the things I found exciting in 2010, notably Minis.  The Two minis are both Short Prints - The Andrus is an alternate variation.  The Yogi is a nice black bordered mini.  The Chris Heisey card gets in as a local player making it big.  


There you have it, No Autos, No Relics, just a couple of minis, a serial numbered card and a local fave.

Help Team Phungo pick the first pull of the year card by voting at the pull on your right.

2010 Pull N Junk Playoffs: Best Pull - First Quarter Final

Ok now that the Junk Playoffs have reached the Finals We will start up the Best Pull Playoffs.  These aren't quite as much fun, and I will hopefully run through them much quicker then the Junk Playoffs.

We have four cards from the first quarter of 2010

January

2009 Topps T206 #138 mini Elvis Andrus (SP)

The first mini is the SP, the latter card is the Base, shown here for reference.  I like Andrus and this SP mini is even cooler after the Rangers got into the World Series. 

For more information on these cards click:

2010 January

February

1963 Topps #318 Gene Mauch

I actually just traded this card away MCG tradeathon over at Play at the Plate.  I still have 2 codes to redeem - and meant to prior to the tradeathon closing but haven't gotten around to it.  

The 63 Mauch is a great vintage card from my favorite team, but in the end I couldn't justify the cost of shipping the card.  

PATP running the Tradeathon is a great idea.  To me this is what the cardblogosphere is about - We share a common interest and can join together and get a couple of really great cards rather than a walking away with nothing.       

For more information on this cards click:

2010 February

March

2010 Topps Opening Day #13 Shane Victorino (#d 0782/2010)

2010 Topps Heritage #61RM-13 Maris Chase '61 13th Homer

For more information on these cards click:

2010 March

VOTE

There you have our four contenders for the first quarter of 2010.  Please vote in the comments.

Janary 2010 Pull of the Month

Each month I am going to try and post my pull of the month. This is in hope of posting a pull of the year at the end of 2010. I only openned 1 pack this months so pickings are pretty slim - but this ended up being a pretty solid pull:


2009 Topps T206 #138 mini Elvis Andrus (SP)
2009 Topps T206 #138 mini Elvis Andrus

The card on the left is the pull the 2nd Andrus is informational. For more background on these click here.

Of course with a Pull of the Month, one should have a a Meh of the Month for a weak card pulled:


2009 Topps T206 #26 Chien-Ming Wang

This isn't that bad a card - I actually like the shades in what appears to be a great sunset look. My complaint is in a 350 card set that came out at the END OF THE YEAR why is Wang one of the players featured from the World Champs.

I am not really a Yankees expert, but I think Topps could have found a better rep than somebody who did not contributed to the Yanks post-season and went 1-6 with a 9.64 ERA during the regular season.

Topps T206 Elvis Andrus Short Print

Ok last week when I made this post how comes none of you good folks told me about this:


2009 Topps T206 #138 mini Elvis Andrus (SP)
2009 Topps T206 #138 mini Elvis Andrus

The card on the left is from the retail pack opened in the referenced post, the latter card I picked up for a dime at a recent card show. That is when I first realized it was a short print.

Until then I thought I got a pretty average retail pack. As expected the short printed mini is a bit more desirable then the regular mini...

For the Collector

I was even more shocked to find out that it went for $8.50 PLUS $4.00 shipping on ebay!

Is that what T206 Short Prints go for?

I perused some completed auctions. A Jeter went for $36.00, Gordon Beckham (RC) for $14.00. There were several commons for under $4.00 which is wear I expected the Andrus to fall.

First Pack of the Decade 2009 Topps 206 Retail

Haven't seen anything out there that really makes me want to collect this product. I was at Target over the weekend and picked up a single retail pack for $3.17 including PA Sales Tax. Here are the Highlights:



(click to enlarge)
#145 David DeJesus - First card of the year - I can deal with that one.
#261 Johnny Damon - My Favorite Yankee Will go into my Damon Collection
#26 Chien-Ming Wang - not pictured
#138 mini Elvis Andrus - Piedmont Back
#130 Bronze Honus Wagner - Not a bad bronze to get
#187 Travis Hafner - not pictured.

Not a bad pack. No Phillies and No surprises. I doubt I will collect this set or even collect a single player per team from the set. Like a lot of other folks I am a bit retroed out of the non-Topps style cards. I am not real excited about 2010 Heritage either - the 1961 design doesn't do a lot for me.

Regardless it is fun to get the first pack of the year under my belt.

Sources and Links
Johnny Damon Index

phungo 5 with Texas Rangers Cards

This week the Phillies are hosting the Washington Nationals, and I've have decided to go a slightly different route with Phungo 5. We are going to check in with a blogger representing one of the two clubs descended from the Washington Senators, The Texas Rangers.

Texas Rangers Cards covers the Rangers club which emerged when the Senators migrated to Texas in 1972. TRC is the first AL blog to appear in the Phungo 5 and has hooked us up with some good information about Rangers Past, Present, and Future.

1) Do you know of any Washington Senators connections to the Rangers anymore or is that so far in the past that no one really mentions it?

It is still mentioned occasionally. The team still owns the rights to the name "Washington Senators" (that's why the Nats couldn't use the name) and uses Washington jerseys for throwback games. Tom Grieve is the first person who comes to mind to make the connection. Tom played for one season for Washington before the move. For quite awhile he was practically the face of the Rangers, serving as the GM and now as a broadcaster. Toby Harrah is also a fairly big name and played for both teams.

2) I look at the Rangers rotation and I see two former Phils in Kevin Millwood and Vincente Padilla plus a guy that couldn't get himself on the mound as a Phil a year ago (Kris Benson) - am I wrong to have a knee jerk reaction against this staff?

You are in the case of Kevin Millwood. Kevin has started three games this season and has completed one of them while posting a 1-1 record. Those numbers are a little misleading though. He is carrying a 1.17 ERA in 23 innings and has 14 strikeouts compared to 4 walks. I worry more about the offense when Millwood starts. Padilla is a different story. He also has a 1-1 record but the similarities end there. He has a 9.64 ERA in 14 innings and 11 strikeouts to 5 walks. I get this weird rash on Padilla's nights to pitch. Benson is just Padilla on the DL. I guess your knee jerk reaction about the staff went 2 for 3. In summary, I would take Millwood over Mitch Williams (former Ranger) but would have to take Mitch over the other two...

3) Seems to me Ian Kinsler and Michael Young autograph cards are a bit undervalued - Do you think my opinion is correct, If Michael Young keeps himself healthy he may be a 3000 hit guy - and we all know what that means. and if I am looking to pick up some cheap autos of Rangers prospects - who would you recommend? Please tell me Joaquin Arias - I know I have a couple of those laying around already.

Kins and Young are undervalued but don't tell anyone, I am scooping them up as quick as I can. Both of them have HOF potential in my mind. Prospecting is not my strong point but I'll give it a shot. At this point Derek Holland and Neftali Feliz are the top pitching prospects. Both are starters and are supposed to carry the team into the future. Justin Smoak and Max Ramirez are both near the top of the position players list. Arias got hurt a couple of years ago and got passed up by Elvis Andrus. There is a very real possibility that he will end up on the trade block.

2008 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects Chrome #BDPP89 Elvis Andrus
2007 Bowman Heritage #22 Michael Young


4) Last month you came out with a column regarding Ivan Rodriguez and his possible involvement with PEDs. It has only been a month - Have there been any developments in your relationship with your Pudge collection.

Not really. I have continued to add cards to the collection through trades but haven't made any additions through buying. I am still hoping that he will eventually clarify his statements on the matter.

5) I see you are a Civil War Buff, Have you ever been to Gettysburg?

Yes. Went years ago when I was in high school. Awesome place. My current location keeps me from seeing as many battlefields as I would like though. If anyone ever gets a chance to get to Prairie Grove, Arkansas they should. Great park.

We will award Texas Rangers Cards a 5 out of 5 this week. Thanks for the tips on Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park and letting us know what else is going on at the Ballpark in Arlington.

This weekend will be the first 2009 meeting between the Phillies and those stinkin' Mets. To mark the occasion we are hosting a Phungo 5 with the Mets card and memorabilia Blog Sports Locker.

If anyone would like to volunteer as the Nationals Rep for Phungo 5 please let me know. For a look back a previous Phungo 5 click here and find out what Wax Heaven had to say about the Florida Marlins.