Ichiro 3000: 2016 Topps OD Striking Distance #SD-1

One of the inserts in 2016 Topps Opening Day is Striking Distance which salutes a bunch of upcoming milestones.

2016 Topps OD Striking Distance #SD-1

The Subber is anchored by Future Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki, typically referred to as simply Ichiro.

Topps took a chance on this one, at the beginning of the season Ichiro was 65 hits short of 3,000. That number isn't a gimme for a 42 year old who collected just 91 hits in 2015.

Topps also gambled on the success of the Miami Marlins. Had the club performed poorly they may have ended up trading Ichiro before he reached the milestone.

Sloppy Topps

2016 Topps OD Striking Distance #SD-1 (b-side)

Notice anything wrong with the text on the Ichiro's Striking Distance Card.

In 2013 Topps elected to erase Pete Rose when mentioning the All-Time Hit record on their 2013.

On the above card they have not just erased Rose's name, Topps has elected to completely ignore his accomplishments. Maybe my math is off but I would think Pete Rose's 4256 Major League Hits would qualify him for the World 4,000 hit club.

In the final sentence Topps also missed one other player that Ichiro needed to pass on the way to 3000, Stan Ross at 2997 :)

Sources and Links
Night Owl Cards
Ichiro HoF Index
Baseball-ref

TRENDY: Ichiroll

The Phillies are in Miami to play the Marlins and Ichiro is in the lineup for the Home Team. The Future Hall of Famer entered the game with 2996 Hits - FOUR short of 3000

Tonight we have a related card sort of....

2013 Phungo BFI - Ichiroll

Team Phungo made the Trek out to Seattle in 2012. Safeco is known for it's many food and drink options - one of which is the Ichiroll, an item on their Sushi Menu. I don't really recall what was in the roll, but I think it was pretty tasty.

Ichiro was traded to the Yankees later in 2012 and I am not sure if the Mariners still sell the Ichiroll, but it would be a nice gesture to continue the honor.  

When I first conceived of Phungo Cards I wanted to have some fun ones in each set, this one certainly qualifies.

Sources and Links
Ichiro HoF Link
Vittles

Snapshots 2013 05 05 Marlins @ Phillies

Beautiful day for Baseball.

Too bad the Phillies didn't show up for a baseball game.

The biggest reason I went down to the game was to get one last glimpse at Roy Halladay before his career officially ends.  Unfortunately the only thing more epic then the Phillies 14-2 Loss was the EPIC traffic jam getting to the stadium.

Through a confluence of events the typically easy Sunday commute to the stadium was absolutely the worse I have ever suffered through. I had given myself 90 minutes to make the 25 mile trip.  Yet I ddin't get there till the 3rd inning - I completely missed Halladay's horrible outing.

And  the important part of Adeiny Hechavarria's big 7 RBI day.

But it was a nice enough day and I did get a few pix out of the day - which was a really nice except the crummy game.

. 
Snapshots

Freddy Galvis

Jimmy Rollins got the day off, Galvis played short and batted leadoff.

Adeiny Hechavarria

The Offensive hero of the day, Hechavarria had 7 RBIs by the 3rd inning - of course Team Phungo missed all that excitement due to the stupid traffic jam.  

Kevin Slowey

Not only did the Miami Marlins score a bunch of runs, the got strong pitching. Kevin Slowey got his first Win since 2010, He completed 7 innings giving up only 2 hits and no runs.

Happy New Year - Year of the Snake

This weekend marked the beginning of the Chinese New Year - 2013 falls under the Snake on the Asian Zodiac. Other snake years include 2001, 1989, 1977, 1965, 1953, 1941, 1929, 1917, 1905, 1893, 1881 and 1869.  
 
Here is our quick look at some of Baseball's year of the snake players.  

2013 Phungo #34 Roy Halladay

Halladay is likely my favorite player that came up on the Snake search.  Hopefully Roy is healthy in 2013 and the Phillies can get back to their winning ways. This is a good Phungo card from this years set.  Decent photo of Hallady in action.  The picture is from a game in August in which Halladay was not particularly effective giving up 5 ER over 7 innings, but the Phils showed up that night with a 12 run outburst.  Once again I have given Halladay the designation as the teams ACE, but that may change after the '13 season - It may be time for Cole Hamels to step up.



Year of the Snake Players

1989 - Jason Heyward, Giancarlo Stanton, Madison Bumgarner.

2013 Phungo #16 Giancarlo Stanton  

1977 - Halladay, Andruw Jones, Carlos Beltran, Juan Pierre
1965 - Craig Biggio
1953 - George Brett, Jim Rice

1994 Topps #180 George Brett
 

1941- Pete Rose

1980 Topps Burger King #4 Pete Rose

1929 - Jim Piersall, Curt Simmons
1917 - Lou Bodreau, Phil Rizutto 
1905 - Leo Durocher
1893 - George Sisler
1881 - Johnny Evers

 2010 Obak #108 Tinkers-Evers-Chance, Baseball's Sad Lexicon





Looking Back

Previous Chinese New Year Posts

Year of the Dragon (2012)
Year of the Rabbit (2011)
Year of the Tiger 2010
Year of the Ox (2009)
 

Phun Cards 2006 Topps #UH20 Jeff Conine: 2013 HoF Candidiate

The Phillies traded for Jeff Conine in August of 2006 to give them a Left handed bat for the stretch run.  Conine got into 28 games for the 06 Phils who finished 3 games out of the wild card slot.

I was always a fan of Conine despite the fact that he basically beat the Phils single-handily in a critical game I attended in September of 2003. In addition to a double, Homer, and 3 RBIs, Conine was also a star in the field coming up with 2 big outfield assists. Overall it was one of the greatest all-around games I have ever seen a player have. To sum up his day a friend of mine who was also at that game quipped "If I had a gun I would have shot him"

2006 Topps #UH20 Jeff Conine

For His Career Conine had 1982 Hits and 214 Homers.  I am sure he is a member of several Marlins All-Time teams as he is one of the few members of both their 1997 and 2003 World Champoinship squads.  For his career Conine appeared in 6 Post Season series and was on the winning side of all of them.

Jeff Conine had a great career and will always be identified with the Marlins World Series teams.  His Numbers are good but not Hall worthy.  I do hope that he gets a goodguy vote out of the comittee, as he has always seemed like a class act.

2013 HoF Candidate Postings

Jose Mesa

Mike Piazza

Shut Up Stats: H&A Splits Josh Johnson & Mark Buehrle

2006 Fleer #191 Josh Johnson

The potential Blue Jays Marlins trade appears pretty lopsided for the immediate future - but maybe not.  Check out the Home and Away splits for the Marlins top 2 pitchers.

Josh Johnson 2012	Home	Away
ERA	2.96	4.94
BAA	0.239	0.27
HR	5	9
IP	109.1	82
WHIP	1.162	1.439
Mark Buehrle 2012	Home	Away
ERA	3.13	4.45
BAA	0.246	0.272
HR	10	16
IP	109.1	93
WHIP	1.079	1.28

Also worth Noting that Josh Johsnon had declining pitching WAR numbers the last 2 seasons after posting 6+ WAR in 2009 and 2010.  Buehrle has had Declining WAR last 3 seasons and declining IPs last four seasons. 

Snapshots: 2012 09 10 - Marlins 1 @ Phillies 3

Phils win 3-1 behind a strong outing by Kyle Kendrick.  Game finished in a brisk 2:38.  Home by 10:30 on a school night - and if you really wanna believe, you can almost tell yourself that the Phils are in the Mix.

SnapShots (click to enlarge)

Kyle Kendrick

Hero of the night - 2 hits and 3 walks 1 run over 7 innings.  It is time for me to admit Kendrick has a shot of being a decent starting pitcher.

Greg Dobbs

A member of the Phillies 2008 WSC team.  Dobbs started at 3rd for the Marlins 

Jose Reyes from the same angle

Darin Ruf

Ruf who had 20 Home Runs during the month of August for the Reading Phillies officially joined the big club on Monday.  He did not get involved in the game however.  I think he is watching the Phanatic on the big screen in this shot.

Cards that Never Were

2011 Topps Starting Line Up Dominic Brown and Erik Kratz

Brown was issued a couple of cards in the 2011 set, but I don't think any featured the above photo.  I am not sure Kratz ever made it into 2011 Topps, despite getting a handful of ABs with the big club.

2010 04 09 - Phillies Home Opener v Miami Marlins

This one didn't go as well as the O's opener on Friday.  Weather wasn't as good, no long wkend to look forward to afterward, and the Phils lost.  The Phillies Offensive sputtered once again on Monday as they only managed 2 runs which occurred late in the game as the Phils fell 6-2 to the rebranded Miami Marlins. 

Snapshots

Austin Kearns Home Run Trot (click to enlarge)

The Marlins pretty much owned the day so we open with one of their new players.  

Starting Lineups Anthem and the Big Flag.

Cole Hamels

Wasn't Cole's day, nor the Phils.  But it was still a good day.  Bad day at the ballpark is better than most any day in the office.  Go Phils!

Phungo 5 with 30-Year Old Cardboard

Note - The interview below was conducted prior to the Marlins eventful day yesterday and we really didn't discuss Mr Guillen here. 

Opening Day has come and gone and despite the Marlins spoiling the Team Phungo Home Opener outing, we are going to check in with Brian at 30-Year Old Cardboard and see what is going on with the franchise that now goes by the Miami Marlins.

1) Have you adjusted to saying Miami Marlins

I'm getting there.  I prefer to call my team 'The Fish' so it works out nicely for me as the team mascot has not changed.  Still, there are times when I have to do a double-take when I see someone wearing the new gear.

2) How many items do you expect to add to the Andre Dawson collection this year? 

As many as I can.  My main goal is to get to 1,000 unique cards.  I think I will hit that goal by the summer.  I have some ideas for some new inscribed baseballs that I would like to add to my collection, and I am going to try to bring home a few surprises too...

3) Do Marlins fans really care about the retiring and unretiring of the #5?

Not in the least bit.  If #5 was worn by a former Marlins legend it would be a different story - to be honest very few people even knew that it had been retired in the first place.  My guess is that the only people upset about it were the ones that bought LoMo's #20 jerseys and t-shirts.

4) Since you cover both the Cubs and Marlins, Is Carlos Zambrano more of a Loss for the Cubs or a Gain for the Marlilns?

Definitely a gain for the Marlins.  He did very little constructive work for the Cubs at the end of his tenure in Chicago.  And while they were probably happier to get rid of him than we may have been to pick him up, I would certainly welcome any opportunity to see if a former dominant hurler could re-capture his spark on my team!!!

2012 Phungo #28 Carlos Zambrano

5) Jimmy Buffet troubador or buffoon?

He is a good guy.  And I like that he speaks his mind.  Plus, he has great taste in sports teams.   LOL

Scorecard

5 of 5 - Great answer regarding Logan Morrison picking up the #5 Jersey - We absolutely must give a salute to anyone that can build a player collection of a thousand cards for a single player.

The Buffet following sometimes baffles me, but 30YOC brings up a valid point about how the man handles himself.  I do admit I was impressed with the man the one time I saw him concert.  Side Note:  I once saw the Coral Reefer Band (Sans Jimmy) do the National Anthem at Camden Yards.

Looking Back
2010 Phungo 5 with 30-Year Old Cardboard
2009 Phungo 5 with 30-Year Old Cardboard

2012 Phungo 5 Postings
Philadelphia Phillies - The Phillies Room.

Pittsburgh Pirates - Pirates Treasure Room

Oakland A's - The Fuji Chronicles

Seattle Mariners - Emeral City Diamond Gems 

Texas Rangers - Play at the Plate

2012 04 09 Noteworthy Snapshot: Ozzie Guillen & Charlie Manuel - Phillies Home Opener

Ozzie Guillen is all over the news today.

Here is a snapshot of Guillen w/ Phillies Manger Charlie Manuel prior to Monday's Phillies Home Opener.

2012 04 09 Ozzie Guillen and Charlie Manuel 

Looks like it Ozzie will not be part of the remaining two games of the series as he has been suspended by the Marlins.

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. 

2011 Topps Heritage NOT Hot Box

As usual, I am a little behind - everybody is checking out Gypsy Queen and I am busting Topps Heritage, but at least I am busting a box from the current year.

Backstory

I was initially on the fence about building 2011 Topps Heritage - A recent Posting by A Cardboard Problem speculated on the rumour that the Hot Boxes (containing green tint chrome cards) were packaged differently.  At the CSA show in Oaks PA a few weeks back I found one of these Potential Hot Boxes.  In the name of Trading Card Research I was compelled to break the box.

Unfortunately, The Box was not a Hot Box but remained a fun box to open and I am happy to be building 2011 Topps Heritage.  It is the first Topps Baseball Set I have elected to build since 2008 Heritage.  I am pretty sure that at some point I will look into 2009 Goodwin Champions, but right now that project is still in the thinking about stage.

Box Toppers

The Box had two toppers - A 50th anniversary of Don Clendennon and a David Price Baseball Fiver. 

Not sure how I feel about Topps QC on this one, The Clendennon card is in reasonable shape if I was picking it up at a show as a 50 cent common, but this card is in fair shape and horribly cut.

Don't get me wrong the Anniversary cards are my favorite box topper, I just think that at 1 in every other box Topps could do a little better on the buyback end.  I was also hoping for a baseball buck and Price is a nice one to get.

Base Set

Low Numbers 194/425 (45%)

Phillies 7/17 (41%) 0/2 Hi Number

Hi Numbers 8/75 (10%)

Babe Ruth 5/10

checklist 3/6

Hits

CCR-JJ - Josh Johnson Clubhouse Collection

#143b - Jackie Robinson Story SP

Chrome

C12 Batting Leaders (Refractor 212/562) 

C27 Omar Infante (1941/1962)

C35 Casey Blake (1690/1960)

I don't get including the leaders cards in Chrome.  It is only a 100/200 card set why bother with duping a couple of floating heads on a single card.
 

Baseball Flashbacks

BF-4 Robin Roberts - would of liked him more in a Phils Uni for this one. 

BF-5 Yaz

New Age Performers

NAP-2 Jim Thome

NAP-7 Joey Votto

I love Thome, but I don't think of him as a New Age Performer at this point in his career.  Votto might be my favorite non-Phil young player of the moment.

News Flashbacks

NF-4 JFK/Cuban Embargo

NF-9 Jamaican Indepence

gotta love any card that celebrate Ganga and Reggae Music

 

Then and Now

TN-5 Mantle & Prince (this is a dupe of a retail I already pulled)

TN-7 Killebrew & Bautista 

every year this is my least favorite insert in heritage - although they are the easiest to make fun of. for example I refer to the Mantle/Fielder card as a celebration of Drunk Vegetarians - which reminds me of every "art student" I knew in college.

 
Phungo Says

 
Yes I was disappointed this was not a Hot Box, but I am happy with my decision to build 2011 Heritage.  I remain a fan of heritage,  and have always enjoyed the 1962 Topps set.  For the most part the inserts are interesting and the 50 or so Heritage cards I already picked up had enough unique cards to get me over the half way point in the set.         

 

STS Profile Josh Johnson

Congrats to CalJr3000 of Too Many Grandersons who quickly spotted this weeks auto of Marlins Ace Josh Johnson.  

2010 Topps Peak Performance Autograph #PPA-JJ Josh Johnson

Pop Quiz:  Who led the NL in ERA last season?  

It wasn't Roy Halladay, Adam Wainwright, or Ubaldo Jiminez - It was Josh Johnson.  Johnson isn't near there yet but if he had enough innings to qualify he would lead all active pitchers in career W-L percentage.  

For the Collector 

Despite the fact that Johnson is a potential Cy Young award winner Johnson's autos are pretty affordable.  I picked up the above card for $4.24 last yr via auction.  The same card has gone for $5 and $5.26 recently.  The 2011 Topps auto (also a sticker) went for $6.25.  The rather bland 06 Topps Auto (on card) went for $8.50.  Josh Johnson Autos peaked out at $45.00 for an 06 Topps Chrome (BGS Slabbed).

Spot the Sig!

Magglio Ordonez comes up with an RBI Single for Too Many Grandersons.  TMG takes the first lead in this Edition of Spot the Sig! - and also picked up a bonus and will have the bases Loaded going into this wkends STS!

Bonus

8 of 13 contestants picked up bonuses - The Bulk of the Phils rotation was picked, congrats to observant readers like mmmmRhubarb who did their research and found out that Closers like Jon Rauch were among the pitchers that Team Phungo witness win games.

STS! Standings after 4 Innings

Bonus answer in parens - if there is a "+", the answer was correct, if there is a "x" the answer was inccorect.

Too Many Grandersons - Tigers: 1 Run in and Bases Loaded  (Oswalt +)   

Plaschzke/Argyle - Brooklyn Dodgers: Bases Loaded (RA Dickey +)
Night Owl Cards - Los Angeles Dodgers:  Bases Loaded (Blanton + ) 

Waxaholic - Braves: Man on Third. (Tim Hudson x )  

Autograph Cards - Kansas City Royals:  Men on 1st and 2nd (Kendrick x )

DawgBones - Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs: 1st and 2nd (Lidge x , Sorry no bonus for Saves)

Phillies Room: 1st and 2nd (Moyer +)

The Daily Dimwit - Astros; 1st and 2nd (Halladay +)  

Nachos Grande - Reds: 1st  and 2nd (Brian Bergensen +)

Steven:  1st and 2nd (Hamels +)
Rhubarb Runner - Twins: 1st and 2nd (Jon Rauch +)  

Orioles Magic: 1st    

The Angels ln Order - LA Angels:  On Deck 

UncleMoe of 2008 Topps Set : On Deck
Play At the Plate - Rangers : On Deck
Card Buzz- California Angels: On Deck (Durbin x) 
Nathan - A's: On Deck (Hamels x Duplicate answer)

Thoughts n Sox - Bosox: On Deck

Thanks all for playing so far.  There are a lot of runners on base already - look like we are in for an exciting competition.   

You are welcome to join the game at anytime. If you need more Spot the Sig! details click here.

2010 Pull N Junk Playoffs: Junk - 2nd Quarter

Onto the best Junk from the 2nd Quarter of 2010

April

2009 UD Signature Stars #90 Ryan Garko
Garko somehow gets a card in a set that only contained 100 veteran players.

May

2008 Topps Mark Hendrickson

I bumped the scanner and the error wasn't worth correcting.   Tallest Pitcher in the game getting squashed by Topps Logo. 

June

2009 UD Piece of History - Historical Moments #177 Microwave Oven Invented

Do I really have to say anything about this?

1 - Ryan Garko
2 - Mark Hendrickson
3 - Microwave Oven

Please Vote in the Comments.

To Vote on the First Quarter Final for 2010 Jan-Mar Click Here!

Phungo 5 with 30-Year Old Cardboard

Today we are visiting with 30-Year Old Cardboard and talking Marlins.

1) When the Marlins move in 2012?, will there be anything you will miss at Dolphin/Blockbuster/Landshark Stadium?
When the Marlins move even further South, I will miss the 30-minute drive to the ballpark the most. And with their move to a new stadium, I will also miss the relatively cheap parking price of $10. I am guessing that the new ballpark will charge between $20-$25. YEAH!! The current stadium is set up for football, but I think it happens to be a great place to watch baseball as well. Hopefully the new stadium will be even better.

2) Are there any parameters on "Same Card Different Paths?"
'Same Card, Different Paths' was a fun series to add to '30-YOC'. Originally, the idea came to me from the idea of how it must feel to be a player or team collector that had problems securing a high-profile card due to the 'other' guy. Just ask Night Owl how it feels to have one of his favorite players featured on what is known by 99.9% of collectors as Mike Schmidt's rookie card.

2010 Phungo #50 Chris Coghlan

3) How surprising was Chris Coghlin's rookie season?

Coghlan's rookie campaign was incredible. At the start of the year, my eyes were firmly affixed on Cameron Maybin, but Coghlan came out of nowhere and made great strides as the Marlins' lead-off hitter. Had it not been for Maybin's demotion to AA ball, Coghlan may not have received the playing time he got with 'The Fish'. I firmly believe that the lead-off hitter has more pressure on him than any other hitter - and his tremendous success as a rookie was fun to enjoy each and every night. It felt very similar to what Jerome Walton did for the Cubs in '89.

4) How do you feel about the Marlins playing a Home Series vs the Mets in San Juan?
I'm ok with it. But if I were a season ticket owner, and I got billed for three games that were not at 'home' I may have another opinion. I do know that the team is working with any fans that want to make the trip to see the games...

5) Is the Cuban the best regional sandwhich?
Ask most South Floridians and they will say yes. My honest opinion is that you guys in Philadelphia own that title(amongst many others)!!!

Phungo 5 Box Score

Brian has come up with some interesting insights on the Marlins for us and Kudos for bringing the Philly Cheesesteak into the conversation. A well done 5 for 5 for 30-Year Old Cardboard. There are many fine and fun features over at 30-YoC, whether they are chronicling the efforts in collecting the 75 Reds or the exploits of Hall of Famers.

Thanks for helping out with this division rival version of Phungo 5.

Looking Back

For a look back at a previous Phungo 5 Click Here to see our Washington Nationals Q&A with 25 Years of Baseball.

2010 Topps First Pack

This is no longer news for the rest of you, but it is for me. I finally got my hands on My First Pack of 2010 Topps yesterday. I bought five packs, this is pack number 1. It is a retail pack that I picked up at the local bargain chain store Five Below (everything is $5 and under) The Pack went for $2.11 including PA sales tax.

The first 2010 Topps card of the year is:

2010 Topps #148 Cody Ross

Sort of anti-climatic. Outfielder for a Phils rival. One time journeymen who has found a home with the Marlins, especially now that they have finally given up on Jeremy Hermida.

Since everyone has seen these already I will to a quick blow by blow of the pack.
2010 Topps #273 Pat Neshek
Blogosphere favorite who I didn't realize pitched last year.


2010 Topps #15 Bobby Abreu (click to enlarge)
Former Phil - with the back of the card. 2100 Hits at the age of 36...


2010 Topps #40 Josh Johnson
2010 Topps #56 Andy Pettitte

Among Phils Rivals Johnson is a Phungo Favorite. He was the ace of the team Phungo Fantasy Squad pitching staff that took the 2009 title.

Good Photo of Pettitte, but he Beat Phils in final game of 2010 Series >:| Getting past that - one wonders - Does Pettitte have HOF credentials?


2010 Topps #5 Texas Rangers
2010 Topps #72 Franchise History Milwaukee Brewers

The above two cards came up back to back. Having both versions of team cards in the base set is confusing. I am not sure the regular team card is necessary - I would have preferred another middle reliever be thrown in there. I do like the Franchise History cards and may collect them as as a faux set. Although what is with Topps placing a Beer Ad smack dab in the middle of a Baseball card?? (click to enlarge and see alcohol ad)

2010 Topps mom 2004 Topps #600 Alfonso Soriano
2010 ToppsTown #TTT16 Kevin Youkilis

Pretty sure this is a Photoshop Special with Soriano in a Home Jersey AND the Yankees in the dugout also wearing the home duds. This card is of the SP back variety.

2010 Topps #HOTG17 History of the Game - 1957 Dodgers and Giants Move to California (click to enlarge)

This insert set is likely on the to do list.

2010 Topps #62 Kevin Millwood
2010 Topps #91 Erik Bedard

Ranger heavy pack. As a Brave Millwood is 29 games over .500, the Rest of his career he is +5.
He has not reached the Postseason since being traded to the Phils after the 2002 Season.

Notice both the Millwood and Bedard Cards were fed through the foil stamper incorrectly. The Players name (in black) is now in an ugly mess below the foil. Curiously the names are more readable when fed through a scanner - they are not when viewing the card for real. The Topps logo glances off the top border of the card and the players postition is also raised. nice job Topps.

Two Cents from Phungo

I picked up a total of 5 packs on Friday and will be back throughout the weekend with additional thoughts.

I have very little new thoughts to add to what has already been stated elsewhere. I am happy with the look of the cards. The borrowed design does not bother me. The team logo is a bit large but not to much so. I could do without the foil. Solid Photography and Interesting inserts.

For those of you that keep track of such things, the cards are listed in the order in which they came out of the pack. To keep the pix face center, I may have flipped some of the card pairs in the scans.

Pull of the Pack

I am going with Josh Johnson here, Had the Yankees not just beaten the Phils in the Playoffs, I would likely go with Pettitte. I have always like Bobby Abreu, but everyone knows fielding isn't Bobby's strength. Soriano Mom SP is likely a favorite for many collectors

Meh of the Pack

Erik Bedard easily. The Mis-foiling of the card plus Bedard's rep as a soft pitcher when he was in Baltimore all add up to a Meh card.