Sunday, August 16, 2009

2009 Upper Deck Series 2 Fat Pack

Vladdie - Did you see him get a hit off a pitch that bounced Friday night? You may think I'm joking, but I'm not.
Alex Rios - Tied for 6th in the AL Power-Speed Number race.
Ryan Rowland-Smith
Cole Hamels
Brandon Inge - This is a great shot. Framed by the catcher, the wall, the ump, the fair pole. Crowd in the background. Full extension on the swing.
Brian Roberts
John Danks - Mini-binder idea: Players Blowing Bubbles.
Matt Joyce
Koji Uehara
Josh Hamilton--Starquest Turqoiuse Common - I like the StarQuest cards a lot more when I like the player.
Mike Hampton--Astros Team Checklist - Really? Hampton gets the checklist card for the 'stros? Not Berkman or Oswalt? Ridiculous. This is Hampton's first season in Houston.
Daniel Cabrera
Cha Sung Baek - Was the 10th South Korean to play in the bigs. There have been three more since. He is back in the minors this year.
Sean Marshall
Ty Wiggington
Brad Ziegler
Aaron Laffey - Rocking the throwbacks. Can anyone tell me in what years Cleveland wore this uni?
Jo-Jo Reyes
Chris Ianetta
Alexi Casilla
Carlos Zambrano - I normally don't like a card of a pitcher hitting, but for Z, I make an exception. The big guy can rake. Still, you'd think they'd use a different pic on the back. You can barely see his face.
Carlos Ruiz - On the all time PA list for players from Panama, Carlos ranks 16th with 1153. Carlos Lee is in 2nd with 6689, and the all-time Panamanian leader is none other than Rod Carew with 10550 in his HOF career.
Neal Cotts
David Purcey
Kerry Wood--Indians Team Checklist - This is just as bad as Hampton on the checklist card for the Astros.
Ryan Perry
Cliff Lee--Starquest Turquoise Common - A year after his breakout Cy Young campaign he's still one of the ten best pitchers in the AL.
Ryan Hanigan
Chris Waters - "Hang on!" he says. "I can't pitch both of these."
Kyle McClellan
Joey Devine - His 0.59 ERA in 45.2 IP last season was the lowest in MLB history among pitchers with a minimum of 40 innings since ERA became an official statistic in 1912; however, his record is not officially recognized because the MLB minimum is 50 innings. He's missing this season for arm surgery. (source)
Radhames Liz
Joba Chamberlain - Yankees fans have absurd expectations for this guy, based upon the success he had in his first very short stint in 2007 and in 100.1 IP in 2008. He's a decent arm, but he doesn't look to me like a long-term dominant force.
Andre Ethier
Jorge Cantu

I will miss the Upper Deck base set if they decide not to go through the hassle of a large set without the ability to use team logos. Full bleed, tight design, and crisp photos have made this a solid set for years.

3 comments:

  1. Those Indians jerseys are the team's home alternates, worn every weekend home game and on special occasions. They're not based on any particular year, but borrow most heavily from the 1950s threads.

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  2. Thanks, Voltaire. I guess that disqualifies the card from my throwback binder.

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  3. That hit by Vlad was sick. They use to say the same thing about Yogi Berra, and getting hits off of lousy pitches.

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