Pack 21

70 - Jermaine Dye
308 - Chris Duncan
73 - Shane Victorino


324 - Mark Reynolds (More leather flashin')
301 - Clint Barmes


World Baseball Classic Redemption Card (Derek Freakin' Jeter - how is he a rookie rising star?)
202 - Gaby Sanchez (RC)
55 - J.J. Hardy
294 - Brandon Boggs

Pack 22
15 - Nate McLouth
161 - Brendan Harris


285 - Justin Duchscherer
218 - Emmanuel Burriss
92 - Luis Castillo
196 - Jason Motte (RC)
296 - Reid Brignac
298 - Jonathan Van Every
204 - Andy Sonnanstine

Pack 23
254 - Cito Gaston


24 - Frank Thomas
145 - Alex Gordon
257 - George Kottaras (RC)
65 - Mike Pelfrey


RH19 - Pedro Martinez Ring of Honor
27 - Jonathon Niese (RC)
214 - Scott Elbert (RC)
172 - Yadier Molina

Pack 24
133 - Brandon Jones
160 - Evan Longoria
305 - Ivan Rodriguez (Ahhhh! I forgot Pudge was a Yankee! Make it stop, make it stop!)
229 - Cesar Izturis


TR46 - Josh Johnson
16 - Postseason Highlights (Longoria ALDS)
187 - Jon Garland
197 - Ronnie Belliard
185 - Randy Johnson

A thoroughly uninspiring four packs. I had to console myself by opening one of my 12 free packs of 2008 Upper Deck series 2:

471 - Norris Hopper


472 - Josh Barfield
442 - Carlos Zambrano
617 - Jason Bay
499 - Curtis Granderson
566 - Justin Morneau
679 - C.J. Wilson
521 - Gil Meche
A blank piece of cardboard that's as thick as a relic card - is it supposed to thwart pack searchers?
409 - Tom Glavine
522 - Brett Tomko
570 - Mike Lamb


464 - Francisco Cordero
753 - Huston Street
745 - Kevin Youkilis Season Highlights
725 - Matt Tupman (RC)


774 - Aaron Harang (Team Checklist)


PP-12A - McCain & Hillary Presidential Predictors


SQ-35 - C.C. Sabathia Starquest

Three Reds in the pack, not bad.

Pack 17 (A-Fraud)

60 - Mariano Rivera

128 - Johnny Cueto
230 - Justin Upton
5 - John Lackey


TR13 - Brian Giles (I did have this one already, but it wasn't "case fresh" so the one you see above replaced it in the binder)
208 - James McDonald (RC)
11 - Fernando Tatis


189 - Jay Payton (Is that ivy? Must be an interleague game. Anyway, the green makes a nice background with the orange and black)


249 - Jack Hannahan

Pack 18 (G.H. Ruth)
116 - Omar Infante
171 - Jeff Bailey
286 - Odalis Perez
25 - Jon Lester


85 - Justin Verlander (yet another back shot - VERLANDER 35)
184 - Bobby Parnell (RC)


99 - Juan Castro (More fundamentally sound defense from the 2008 Orioles)
279 - Ryan Church
215 - Ian Kinsler

Is it halfway through the box already? Wow, how it flies. I'd be more sad if I didn't have half the box and an entire jumbo box of U&H still to open.

Pack 19 (R. Howard)


26 - Jason Giambi (complete with porn mustache)
110 - Hideki Matsui (how many Yankees are in this set?)
38 - Eric Wedge
227 - Freddy Sandoval (RC)


TR20 - George Sisler (loves me some Sisler because of the Ichiro parallels, plus he's an honorary Oriole, as are all St. Louis Browns)
51 - Will Venable (RC)
287 - Greg Maddux
325 - Dustin McGowan
322 - John Buck

Pack 20 (T. Williams)


82 - Miguel Cairo
240 - Ryan Braun
250 - Josh Hamilton
238 - Jorge Cantu


170a - CC Sabathia as a Yankee (SP) (see what you've made me do, Topps? You've made me put Yankee cards into toploaders! Damn artificial scarcity!)
321 - Checklist (Kazmir & Price)
327 - Phil Coke (RC) (FFS - how many more Yankees?)
283 - John Baker
320 - Miguel Cabrera

Even my short prints have Yankees on them!

Colbey over at Cardboard Collections is having another group break. I missed out on his first one because I didn't find his site until mid-way through it. Luckily, I didn't miss out on break #2, and was able to get the Reds and Mariners.

Teams are just $10 for the first and $8 for each addition team, and he's busting five boxes from 1994 to 2009. Here's what he's got:

• 1994 Upper Deck Series 2 Hobby Central Region
• 1999 Topps Stadium Club Series 2 Hobby
• 2006 Upper Deck Series 1 & 2 jumbo
• 2009 Topps Allen & Ginter blaster
• 2009 Upper Deck Series 2 blaster (x2)

Obviously I'm hoping for lots of Griffeys (both Mariners and Reds), Ichiros and Felixes. Not sure if the '09 sets would have Griffey in a White Sox or a Mariners uni.

Anyway, there's a bunch of popular teams still available, so do yourself a favor, head over to Cardboard Collections and sign up now. The deadline is today, because he's busting the boxes tonight and posting results starting tomorrow.

Beardy, White Sox Cards, Troll, Night Owl - I'm looking at you! The O's, Sox, Rays and Dodgers are all available as I write this...

Looking at what I wrote down when I first got these cards, I realised that I opened these packs on Monday. It's now Thursday and I'm just getting around to posting this. As I write, it's half time in the Nigeria v. Greece game, so I'll make this quick and get back to the action.

Pack...what are we up to now, 13? Goodness (Babe Ruth)

205 - Miguel Tejada
106 - Marlon Byrd
36 - Kevin Slowey
28 - Mike Lowell

RH25 - Lou Piniella Ring of Honor
217 - Albert Pujols NL MVP


40 - Carl Crawford (Just look at that concentration!)
151 - Carl Pavano (Back-to-back Carls!)
72 - David Dellucci

Pack 14 (Ryan Howard...not the one from "The Office")

80 - Brian McCann
261 - Jose Bautista
266 - Todd Wellemeyer


TR44 - Ervin Santana
164 - Bob Geren
169 - Juan Miranda (RC)
302 - Brian Giles
146 - Glen Perkins
280 - Joe Saunders

Pack 15 (Teddy Ballgame)

284 - Luis Ayala
150 - Kosuke Fukudome (looking like he's being carried off the field)


288 - Guillermo Quiroz
278 - Postseason Highlights (Phillies win World Series)


23 - Gerald Laird gold parallel (879/2009)
64 - Miguel Montero
177 - Eric Hinske
94 - Adam Lind
23 - Gerald Laird (at least I don't have to worry about getting the base now!)

Pack 16 (Alexander E. Rodriguez)

225 - Aaron Cook
88 - Fredi Gonzalez
135 - Carlos Gonzalez (back-to-back Gonzalezes!)
270 - Grady Sizemore
263 - Elijah Dukes


LG21 - Bob Clemente (Why Bob? Check out his 1969 Topps card)
309 - Humberto Sanchez (RC)
216 - Joe Maddon


247 - Yuniesky Betancourt


While it's always nice to get a Clemente card, this was not the greatest four packs for someone who collects Reds, Orioles and Mariners. In fact, either this box is loaded with Yankees and Red Sox or all the Reds are at the bottom, waiting to be opened. I prefer to think it's the latter but I fear it's the former.

I've pretty much given up on June. Between work, moving and the World Cup there's no way I can keep a regular posting schedule. The best I can do is keep track of the packs I open and scan as many cards in whenever I get a chance. But I won't get much done on the blog until school holidays start back up in July.

The good news is that I got a box hit (as you can tell by the title of the post) - read on to find out more:

Pack 9 (Ryan Howard)
117 - Ron Gardenhire
255 - Joe Crede
295 - Derrek Lee
173 - Manny Delcarmen

TR35 - David Wright (Another one I don't have - 3 for 3!)
134 - Evan Longoria AL ROY
242 - Ricky Nolasco
158 - Ray Durham
207 - Joe Blanton

Pack 10 (Splendid Splinter)
188 - Josh Bard
21 - Jack Wilson
118 - Josh Johnson
66 - Dustin Pedroia AL MVP


RH21 - Johnny Podres Ring of Honor


13 - Ryan Langerhans (another "back shot" - LANGERHANS 29 - this is the third one I've pulled)
3 - Andy Marte
182 - Daniel Murphy
49 - Kazuo Matsui

Pack 11 (Pay-Rod)
265 - Carlos Zambrano
143 - Matt Joyce
246 - Upton, Crawford & Longoria Postseason Highlights
259 - NL Strikeout Leaders


216 - Joe Maddon Magenta printing plate (My first-ever printing plate. I have no idea why I thought they'd be bigger than the size of a card. The subject could have been a bit more inspiring - I guess I'll have to try and trade up)
326 - Manny Ramirez Postseason Highlights
62 - Brian Barton
96 - Dexter Fowler (RC)
138 - Ubaldo Jimenez

Pack 12 (The Sultan of Swat)
170 - CC Sabathia (I'm assuming Thorzul already has this Brewers card)
192 - Collin Balester
222 - Mark Sweeney
163 - Ross Gload


RH15 - Don Zimmer Ring of Honor
299 - Cole Hamels Postseason Highlights
20 - Brad Lidge
297 - Bud Black


19 - Edgar Gonzalez (not sure why I scanned this in; there don't seem to be many scans from this post and Edgar's showing off some sweet glove work)

Packs 13-16 whenever I have a chance to scan more cards in.

A warning - the World Cup is going to start in about an hour (as I type this). Which means for the next month, I'll be focused on the following things, probably in this order:

1. The World Cup
2. Writing my report cards
3. This blog

That's just how it is for me. Baseball and soccer are my two sporting loves. The World Cup only comes around once every four years, and even though it isn't the best soccer in the world (because the players are all just too bloody tired after a long club season), it is the most important. So updates to the blog will be sporadic. However, my phone is never too far away from me, which means Twitter isn't, either (@JonathanRGB).

On to four more packs of Topps 2009 Series 1:

Pack 5 (Babe Ruth on the front):

195 - Tim Lincecum (the baseball card gods continue to send me messages to start a Lincecum PC. I may have to relent soon.)
119- Craig Counsell (all you can see is COUNSELL 30 in giant letters. It's a nice picture...of his back)
262 - Mike Gonzalez (I wish he was still a Brave. Being on the 60-day DL will have to do. Don't come back soon, Mike!)
221 - AL ERA Leaders


78 - Tim Lincecum NL Cy Young (see what I mean? Two Big Time Timmy Jims in one pack!)
84 - Rod Barajas
112 - Hideki Okajima
131 - Joe Torre
104 - Brandon Moss

Pack 6 (Ryan Howard)

260 - Manny Ramirez
256 - Reggie Abercrombie
4 -NL Batting Average Leaders
153 - Lastings Milledge


TR37 - Kevin Kouzmanoff Turkey Red (another one I don't have - nice!)
293 - Brian Bixler
42 - Jeff Francoeur
125 - Roy Oswalt
223 - Dave Roberts

Pack 7 (Purple-Lipped Cheater)

303 - Zach Duke
244 - Sean Rodriguez
111 - Troy Percival
63 - Josh Outman (RC) (I'd show this card if I hadn't already showed the gold card in the last post)
179 - Rafael Furcal


LG2 - Honus Wagner Legends of the Game


144 - Matt Tuiasosopo (RC)
101 - Nick Hundley
74 - Trey Hillman

Pack 8 (Ted Williams)

140 - Brandon Webb
243 - Chase Headley


253 - Edgar Renteria (he's a Flying Wallenda out there!)
203 - Jair Jurrjens
268 - Chris Burke


LG6 - Tris Speaker Legends of the Game
231 - Xavier Nady
234 - John Russell
159 - Matt Antonelli (RC)

I'm off to a quiz night. Hopefully it won't end too late and I can watch the soccer matches. Big one at 2:30 a.m. (Perth time) - the U.S. versus England. C'mon you Yanks!

Yesterday my cards arrived in Australia from Dave & Adam's. Shipped on the 1st of June, arrived on the 10th - I'd say that's pretty good. I'm so glad to have found a big-time online presence who will actually ship internationally; any of the big boys that you can think of, they only ship to the U.S. Trust me, I've looked into it. Maybe I should start naming and shaming them on my Twitter account...

So I prepared my 2009 Topps Series 1 binder (I was smart enough to order a box of binder sheets along with my cards) and broke open the first four packs. Nothing really earth-shattering, but I did get two gold parallel cards in the four packs, as well as a Turkey Red that I didn't already have, and the card of a certain Dodger legend. Read on for more...

35 - David Price (RC)
43 - AL Batting Average Leaders

45 - Aubrey Huff
48 - Mike Napoli
54 - Dusty Baker (the one bad part about the Reds' success? I can't make fun of Dusty Baker now.)


63 - Josh Outman Gold Parallel (991/2009)
69 - Rich Aurilia
71 - Mat Gamel (RC)
75 - Rich Harden
81 - NL Home Run Leaders (strangely, Pujols is not on this card. He finished 4th in 2008.)
87 - Brad Hawpe
102 - Garrett Atkins
105 - Francisco Liriano


115 - Kevin Youkilis
123 - Casey Blake
137 - Angel Salome (RC)
152 - Cody Ransom
165 - Matt Kemp
201 - Checklist (Salty & Ham Bone)
206 - NL ERA Leaders
210 - Geovany Soto (remember when he was Rookie of the Year?)


220 - Jay Bruce


233 - Erik Bedard


235 - Chad Billingsley (THE BUZZSAW!)
239 - Brandon League
241 - David Newhan (the first card out of the first pack, so technically my first 2009 Series 1 card.)
248 - Scott Lewis (RC)


268 - Chris Burke Gold Parallel (926/2009)
281 - Tug Hulett
292 - Francisco Cervelli (RC) (thankfully, no pies anywhere in sight)


312 - Ryan Sweeney
317 - Jarrod Saltalamacchia
328 - Doug Mientkiewicz
329 - Gil Meche


TR3 - Jimmie Foxx Turkey Red


LG15- Pee Wee Reese Legends of the Game (what, you thought Billingsley was the Dodger legend I was talking about?)