2012 Topps Opening Day Rack Jr

The always maligned Topps Opening Day release is live - 24 card Rack Packs Retail at Target for $3.19 (3.21 w/ combo of Target discount and PA sales Tax) - They are single packs and about 1/3 smaller then the Rack Packs for 2012 Topps, thus I have chosent to refer to them as Rack Juniors.  

The price point is slightly cheaper then 9.99 for a 72 card Hanger Pack of Topps Flagship.  The single packs are a dime more then a year ago at 1.09.  77 card blasters are $10.49 I believe.


Here is a glance of what you might find in your Rack Jr. 

Phillies

 
Wrapper

Copare with 2012 Topps

Serialed Blue Parallels

Rookie Cups

Inserts

Photo Shopping

Etc
Over the next couple weeks I plan on giving 2012 Topps Opening Day a little overanalysis by elaborating on some of the above cards - I am sure that is much more then TOD deserves. 

Phungo 5 Returns with Capewood's Collections!

Today is opening day for many teams across the Major Leagues, while the Phils open tomorrow versus the Houston Astros.  This means the return of Phungo 5,  and for the second consecutive year Capewood's Collections will help us out with the season debut of P5.


1) As an Astros and Phils Fan, how cool is it to have the Phils and Astros meeting on opening day?

The Astros have played the Phillies pretty tough the past few years. It's hard to tell what the Astros are going to do in 2011. They finished last season strong but haven't looked too good this spring. It's always a tough decision for me as to who to root for. It wasn't too long ago when both teams had a chance for the playoffs and I would usually root for whoever I thought had the best chance. This year I think it's the Phillies and I'll be rooting for them. It would be cooler if Oswalt was going to pitch against them in the opening series but I think he is 4th in the rotation.

2002 Bowman Chrome #79 Roy Oswalt

2) Who is your favorite player to follow that has been involved in the many Phils-Astros trades we have seen recently?

Obviously, the Big O. He's been one of my favorite Astros and I heavily collect his cards. He hasn't gotten the recognition he's deserved while pitching in relative obscurity in Houston. I'm hoping he has a great season.

3) Thumbs Up or Down for the centerfield pole and Hill in Houston.

A Thumbs Up. It's an interesting feature to have in a ballpark. It's fun to watch a right fielder trying to play a ball there. But to tell the truth, I think it's pretty rare for the Hill to be a problem. It's a long way from home plate.

4) Any  News on the Bonsai Trees, I don't believe we have seen them in a while. 

Ah, the Bonsai Trees. I started this hobby without realizing how much effort it was going to take. I've lost a few plants but am now down to a number that I can deal with. I've got 8 healthy plants, 4 inside and 4 outside. It was a cold winter here with some freezing rain. I lost one plant because I didn't get them inside fast enough. I'm hoping to have them cleaned up and featured in a post soon.

5) What is your favorite Movie set in Houston?  

I had to think about this for a bit and look up movies on Wikipedia. The only movie which came to mind was Bill Murray's Rushmore. There are a few movies, which in some way or another deal with the space program, such as Apollo 13, Armageddon and Space Cowboys, but most of those movies actually take place in outer space. Arlington Road with Jeff Bridges and Tim Robbins was set in Houston but could have been anywhere. The subdivision where Arlington Road was located pretty much looked like a hundred different subdivisions in the Houston suburbs. And there there is Independence Day where the government sacrifices Houston while atomic bombing an alien ship. That scene where they show a road sign indicating a freeway exit to the University of Houston, used to establish that we really were in Houston, totally does not exist. 

There are a few more either set in Houston or filmed in Houston but I haven't seen them. All in all, I'd say Rushmore. It was a good movie and it was one of Bill Murray's first real serious roles and I like that side of him.

Scorecard

Team Phungo frowns upon the Hill, but awards double points for coming up with Rushmore as a film recommendation.  So 5 out of 5 for Cliff for the opening Phungo 5 of 2011.  

For a look back at Cliff's P5 from 2010 click here.

Phungo Game Report - 2010 08 17 Giants @ Phillies

Great night to be at the Ballpark - The Confluence of several events made for a great evening.

1) Going into the game the Phillies and Giants were both playoff contenders locked in a virtual tie for the wild card spot in the NL playoff race.

2) Pat Burrell also returned to Philadelphia, playing left field for the Giants.

3) The game was the 2nd home start for recent acquisition Roy Oswalt.

4) There was one final bit of spice that added to the electricity of the evening - Phils All-Star 2nd Basemen Chase Utley returned to the lineup after several weeks on the DL.

I must also add that it was a rare perfect night for baseball, in what has been an extremely hot and steamy summer here in the Northeast.

SnapShots

Cards That Never Were

Roy Oswalt - notice that the 2009 Topps Style card specifies Oswalt as RHP rather then just P for pitcher.

Mike Sweeney - the new Number 5

The Old Number 5

Pat Burrell was given a short ovation when he batted and cheered positively when lineups were announced. He got booed a lot more after he hit a line drive 2-run homer in his first at bat.

Good Guy Awards

Tim Lincecum was doing his thing signing many autographs and interacting with fans. I also saw Buster Posey sign a couple of autos and Giants First Base Coach Roberto Kelly signed an item for a fan.

Game Notes

Roy Oswalt pitched 7 good Innings. He gave up 3 runs off 2 homers, Burrell's 2 run dinger, and a solo shot by Jose Guillen. Barry Zito kept the Phils off balance for the first 4 innings but ran into some trouble in the 5th and could not get an out in the 6th. Zito Left the game down 4-2 giving up 4 earned on 8 hits and 1 walk over 5+ innings.

The Phils would eventually put up a 5 spot on the Giants Bullpen in the 8th to turn a tight game into a blowout. A controversial bulk call, in which Jimmy Rollins would have gotten picked off otherwise, extended the inning - likely contributing to the Phils final 2 runs.

The Phils did something they have not done well all season. They got hits in key situations. It is a rare night when you will see the Phils score 9 Runs without aid of a Homer. Placido Polanco was key in that effort collecting 4 hits in 5 ABs. Rollins, Carlos Ruiz and Shane Victorino all had hits that plated multiple runners. Utley was the only Phils position player to not record a hit or score a run. He did reach once on an error and hit one flly ball pretty well to center.

For a Look back at a previous Game Report Click Here to read about the Team Phungo trip to see some A-Ball between the Salem Red Sox and Wilmington Blue Rocks.

The last Phillies Phungo Game Report was on a July game vs the Braves.

The most recent Phungo Game Report featuring the San Fransisco Giants was last September.

Card Show Report 2010 07 24 - Concorde Mall, Wilmington DE

The Concorde Mall has skylights throughout which I am sure are wonderful for letting in the tons o light most of the year. Unfortunately the AC in the mall cannot compete with the 100 degree heat and the sun just keeps baking down on you while your trying to sort through dime bins.

But that is my only complaint about the show - A couple of vendors I enjoy seeing were not there, and the $1 Vintage guy wasn't there so there were some disappointments. Still I manage to spend $53 mostly at dime boxes. Here are some examples of things that were selling.


There was a guy that had a bunch of the cards that were thrown out by someone, probably me - during my various moves during the crazy years during and surrounding college. He had plenty of 1976-79 Topps cards for a nickle a piece. I splurged for about 160 of these including the 76 Tony Perez above. I think I only found 3 HOFs including this Perez and his 1977 card (Expos) as well as a Goose Gossage card.

The other 3 cards came out of a dime bin. Congrats to Andre Dawson on his Hall of Fame induction. This card is a BBC magazine cutout. It actually looks really good. The Blanton card goes into the 2008 WSC Phils in other unis box. It is interesting that this is an early card of Blanton and he is in a position you frequently see him in for many cards and pictures. The Miguel Cabrera is the short printed no sig variation - nice find for a dime.


This is partially the Trade Deadline Group. Both the A&G cards were in dime boxes. The Oswalt card is a short print (#333). I would like to see the Phils land either pitcher, but if they don't start hitting, I am not sure either pitcher would make a difference. There were plenty fo the A&G This Day in History cards in the dime bin. At 1/pack this is no surprise. I picked up about a half dozen of the SPs which I was happy to find in the dime bin.

The Zorro/Zoilo Versalles card is a Rookie Card of an MVP player (1965) - nice find for .50 cents. I doubt that you will find an older rookie card of a future MVP any cheaper than that. Finally the Chrome Sandberg card. For most Hall of Famers if you find a Chrome Card from their playing days for a dime, there is no reason to not have the card in your personal collection.

2010 Topps Opening Day - First Pack

I am sure you are aware of this product. I picked up a single pack at Target, 7 Cards $1.05 including PA Sales Tax I am guessing.

First Opening Day Card of the Year:

Daniel Hudson. I actually like this card and drew it in the half dozen or so retail packs of regular Topps I picked up a few weeks back. It is probably the only rookie card that I don't mind the RC logo on. Unfortunately the additional opening day pushes the red white and blue from a nice small touch to two dueling logos.

Phils Cards

Unlike those half dozen packs of 2010 flagship Topps which yielded only one Phils card, this pack produced 2 including a serial numbered Shane Victorino insert. The light blue does nothing for me. Well certainly not as much as the Red did back in 2008 - which bordered the Phils cards perfectly.

The Rest

Other than stinkin Mr Met, A nice selection of cards. The Oswalt is a particularly good looking shot - Swoosh meshes into the card well - only draw back is Miller Lite ad in the background.