2007 Topps '52 Rookies

I fully plan on posting packs of these until the summer of 2011, when my local Target will finally run out. That's because my two-box lot of '08 Heritage has still...not...arrived.
Ugh.

So...has anybody had any experience with the eBay seller nymets76, 'cause he sure ain't returning my e-mails. This might even make me join in solidarity with dayf, banded together against all things Met.

Anyways, let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
83 Yoel Hernandez
64 Sean Gallagher
99 Jason Miller
DF15 Jim Edmonds Debut Flashbacks

206 Drew Anderson

162 Brian Buscher

Apparently I got the Midwest SuperPack with two Twins, a lowlife Cub, and a (former) Brewer in one pack. I had to look to find out Anderson was dropped by the Brewers in January, when he was subsequently picked up by the Reds. Yeah, that Milwaukee outfield is a hard nut to crack, looking like it'll be Braun, Mike Cameron, and Cory Hart as starters, with our secret weapon of Joe Dillon filling in any holes.

(By the way, we're paying Prince Fielder $670,000 and Ryan Braun $455,000 this year. Sure, we'll bend over and take it in the rear [and like it] from these two in a short time, but now I'm liking those small market numbers.)

As far as Topps '52 Rookies goes, my Rookie of the Year is this guy. Cheers.

2007 Topps '52 Rookies Yet Again

After the pack war I really felt the need to rip into some good stuff. I'm not sure this will qualify.

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
18 Nate Schierholtz

8 Kory Casto
22 Sean Barker

Grade: I don't know.
I'm sure there are some hometown favorites in here, but none of these cards tickle my pickle. The A-Rod card is a consolation, I guess, as these things tend to do well for me on the secondary market. Why anyone is going after the full set, I'll never know.

2007 Topps '52 Rookies

I'm not sure if the unwashed masses have tired of the '52 Rookies yet, but I'm even less sure they have a say in any of this.

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
76 Jon Knott (Good one for Maryland resident, Kevin; even better one for Mayberry residents, who might mistake this guy for Don Knotts.)


71 Jo-Jo Reyes (Reminds me of one of the best Simpsons jokes of all time:

At Moe's tavern, Homer turns to Moe for advice.

Homer: Moe, I need your advice.
Moe: [bored] Yeah.
Homer: See, I got this friend named...Joey Jo-Jo...Junior...Shabadoo --
Moe: That's the worst name I ever heard.
[A man leaves, weeping]
Barney: Hey, Joey Jo-Jo!

89 Troy Cate (St. Louis needs to pair this guy up with Pujols and hold itself an '80s throwback "Cate & Ally Night," complete with the blue unis I love so much.)
DF12 Paul Lo Duca Debut Flashbacks (Thank God for dayf's checklist post, I can figure out what insert this might be, since it looks exactly like the base set.)
109 Jesse Litsch
151 Matthew Brown

Grade: Meh.

Is this not entertainment?! Are you not entertained?!

Fastest Box Break Ever - Ripping '52 Rookies

Ok, I'm a little shaken by the Santana news, and I'm already fed up with election coverage. I picked the perfect night to rip open the last box of 2007.

One more time for the people stumbling in on this at the last minute. I'm opening a box of 2007 '52 Rookies. I'll be listing the pack contents and a scan live. Keep hitting F5 to refresh and see the new packs as I post them.

In these packs I'm going to sneak in four cards from the 2006 set, if you spot them and leave the first comment pointing it out (for example: Pack 4 - Hanley Ramirez) you win a prize. If you make a guess here, you're ineligible for the "guess the rip time" contest which is closed now anyway. It's that simple.

Here are the Rules, here are the Prizes. There might even be some online help. Now we're ready to open this box. Box ripping is at 10:00pm Eastern time, 7:00 Pacific. Be there or be square eligible for the "guess the rip time" contest!

ALMOST THERE!!!!

I've got the scanner ready, the decoys scanned, an energy drink ready to chug, Hendrix on the radio, and the box ready to rip. Not long now...

All right...
On your mark...
Get set...
RIP!!!!

Pack 1 -
66 Jailen Peguero
106 Eric Stults
64 Sean Gallagher
TCR60 Jacoby Ellsbury Chrome
181 John Lannan
131 Garrett Olson

Ellsbury Chrome - great start...

Pack 2 -
65 Carlos Gomez
37 Alexi Casilla
55 Billy Butler
TCRC92 Justin Hampson Refractor
193 Dan Meyer
158 Kevin Mellilo


Two chromes in a row! Plus an ex-Brave.

Pack 3 -
83 Yoel HErnandez
99 Jason Miller
121 Melvin Dorsta
57 Sean Henn
DF12 Paul Loduca
167 Manny Acosta
118 Gustavo Molina

Brave! Plus an insert. Melvin Dorta is a great name.

Pack 4 -
75 Josh Fields
30 Hunter Pence
21 Brian Barden
DD4 Kendrick & Bourn
179 Joel Hanrahan
162 Brian Buscher


Another insert, this time of Mario's bane.

Pack 5 -
98 Joakim Soria
84 David Murphy
81 Brian Stokes
170 Justin Upton
DF16 Roger Clemens
186 Ehren Washington
141 Amos Day


Jeez, another insert plus two Sox. Steve hates me now.

Pack 6 -
2 Angel Sanchez
31 Masumi Kuwata
45 Jarrod Saltalamaccia
52S-NH Nathan HAynes Auto
188 Jose Ascancio
216 Melky Cabrera
123Rick Vandenhurk




AUTO!!!!!!!!!!!!11111 Melky! Salty! Brave! What a pack!

Pack 7 -
95 Elijah Dukes
101 John Danks
62 Chris Stewart
211 Jose Diaz
201 JOBA!
161 Ryan Budde


I can't belive my freakin' luck....

Pack 8 -
9 Tony Abreu
32 Ryan Rowland-Smith
16 Jeff Baker
140 Matt Capps
DD3 - Braun & Gallardo
173 Jack Cassell
156 Patrick Misch

Braun & Gallardo insert... Sweeeet. Plus Capps was on my fantasy team last year.

DONE!

Ok, that was an awesome damn box. Topps IS trying to get me to like this product, aren't they? Ok, Give me a little while to tabulate everything and I'll post the winners later tonight. No fair admins cheating and deleting posts now...

TEH WEINERS:

Winner of the "Guess the Rip Time" contest: Thorzul who guessed 23:15. The actual time was 23 minutes. Thorzul claims the 10 Vintage Topps cards prize.

First decoy card: Pack 3 Melvin Dorta (which I misspelled Dorsta like an idiot)
Winner: Kevin who claims 10 Vintage Topps cards.
The card Dorta Replaced:


Second Decoy card: Pack 5 Roger Clemens.
Winner: BeeRad who claims 5 Insert cards.
The card Clemens replaced:

Third Decoy card: Pack 6 Melky Cabrera.
Winner: BeeRad who already won so the prize goes to Brian who got it next. Brian chose the 1980-2007 Topps cards.
The card Melky replaced:


Fourth Decoy card: Pack 8 Matt Capps.
Winner: Brian who already won so the prize goes to burnsee2 who got it next. Burnsee2 claims the Big Pile 'O Heritage.
The card Capps replaced:

Thanks for playing, everyone. The winners should e-mail me using this address. Or just check my profile. I'll need to know which prize you want and a shipping address. Thanks again everybody! I think we got a record for comments on this blog!

2007 Topps '52 Rookie Card: Part II

The first pack was pretty nice and seemed to spark a bout of peer pressure directed towards dayf. I'm staying out of it.

Let's tear in.

Top to Bottom:
92 Devern Hansack (I can tell this guy was a product of Nicaragua's crumbling public school system based on his signature alone. It appears as if he was taught how to write his entire first name in cursive, but funding ran out and he was eternally damned to write his surname in manuscript.)

105 Kyle Hendrick
120 Yovani Gallardo (Milwaukee's rookie pitcher, however, trained under some of the best calligraphers and most ardent penmanship scholars the world has to offer. Neat, lilting, supple...this signature belongs on the Declaration of Independence. I'm really excited about this card. People who don't follow the Brewers might not know how much of a stud this guy could turn out to be...although none of us can forget the brightly burning flame that was Teddy Higuera who burned out oh so quickly.)

5 Troy Tulowitzki (This is the SP variant, I believe, though it's only because I got both versions that I know this. I wish there was a better way of being informed than looking on eBay to figure it out.)

109 Jesse Litsch
114 Juan Salas

Grade: B+
Another good pack. But I guess that's each to his own, since I've seen packs on this blog that I've thought flat-out sucked, but the ripper raved about. If '08 Heritage weren't coming out so soon, I'd be tempted to buy more of this stuff. By the way, on Topps' website, there is no longer a street date on Heritage's release. Anyone out there got the skinny on this?

2007 Topps '52 Rookie Card

My resolve is weakening. I just can't resist the alluring siren call of succulent Topps Retro, even if it is the stinking 1952 design AGAIN. After seeing the slick Joba insert here I ran out in a frenzy determined to get a blaster. I managed to cool down by the time I got to the store and was able to get by with only one pack. This pack better be lousy or I'm in some real damn trouble here. Let's open this thing. Yeah, let's open it slow... Mmmm, the wrapper feels sooo gooood.


75 Josh Fields
30 Hunter Pence
21 Brian Barden
TCRC91 Refractor Yovani Gallardo #529/552
182 Shelly Duncan
111 Cory Doyne

I know I'm cruelly taunting Steve with the Josh Fields card, but I bought this pack literally 15 minutes after I had dropped off a package to him at the post office. If I had gone to Target before the post office I would have gotten one of those plastic things that hold the paperwork on the Priority mail boxes, slipped Josh in a top loader and stuck it on the outside of his bubble mailer. Sorry Steve, maybe in a future trade. I was hoping for a bad pack and I didn't get it. I know who 4 out of 6 of these guys are at first glance. Josh of course, Shelly could be the starting first baseman for the freakin' Yankees next year, Pence was one of the hotter rooks this year and Yovani... Oh Yovani. Why did a refractor have to be in this pack when I'm looking for reasons not to collect this set. Seriously, out of like four or five packs I've gotten a chrome, a refractor, a GOLD refractor, a short print, a variation and a black back. Plus there are cards like Cory Doyne here. I don't know what is most fantastic about this card... The spectacular specs, the novelty glove that looks like Cory pulled it out of a crane machine at Chuck-E Cheese, or the look on Cory's face. The look that says "Yeah, I look like a total dork , but I'm in THE SHOW beeyotch!!"

I'm in trouble. I'm gonna end up getting a blaster of this stuff now, I just know it. I do have a a cunning plan however... Since the 2006 and 2007 sets look exactly alike, I'm going to sort them all together into one big set. That way it will be easier to get a complete set, and if I have two cards with the same number I'll play it off like it's a 'variation' card. It... could... WORK!

2007 Topps '52 Rookie Card

Since this set envelops itself in the same delicious packaging material as '07 Heritage (my first post, I believe), I couldn't help from picking a few packs of these up.

Let's tear in

BOINNNNNNG!

Top to Bottom:
5 Troy Tulowitzki (Off to a good start.)

36 Brett Carroll (This guy's mug is no day at the beach. I wonder if he's related to Jamey Carroll, the ex-Rockie, now-Indian, who's in the running for the ugliest current baseball player.)

38 Nick Gorneault
DD2 Dynamic Duos Joba Chamberlain & Phil Hughes (Sweet! An insert Joba!)

170 Justin Upton
123 Rick Vandenhurk

Now that that's over, let's discuss how ugly Jamey Carroll is. The first thing that comes to mind is "Andy-Richter-with-his-face-caught-in-a-face-smooshing-vice." From there it moves into Munchkin territory, though I'm not quite sure why. Maybe I just get the feeling in the back of my mind that with every at bat he's going to offer someone a membership in the Lollipop Guild. Or maybe he looked normal before, but a chance mishap at an amusement park caricature artist booth somehow switched his actual face with the airbrushed freak version, something like the premise of the John Woo's film Face/Off.

2007 Topps 52 Rookie Card

Do you know what I need? I need a Topps release calendar. This is like the third time this year that a Topps product was released and I was caught flat footed. Thankfully I didn't really care about this product. I went to the card shop to buy some bubble mailers because psychologically it's easier for me to spend a buck and a half in postage for a bubble mailer than a plain white envelope and boxes of '52 Rookies were sitting there. The owner said " Hey! 52 Rookies is out! and I said "um.... ok...." and he said "Don't you want a box?" and I said "um.... no....." and the fact that I wasn't excited about a Topps retro product seemed to shatter his entire world view. This is a really great card shop so I bought a pack to restore his faith in humanity.

103 Jensen Lewis
82 Alberto Arias
96 Ryan Z Braun
37 black Alexi Castilla
TCR77 gold refractor Eric Patterson #24/52
170 Justin Upton
112 Jay Marshall
121 Hector Gimenez

First of all, I would like to state for the record that if this was '53 Topps Rookies, I would have walked out with a case. I may have had to sell my car to do it, but I would have bought the case. Actually if I sold my car I might be able to afford a box of '88 Donruss and a bent Oddibie McDowell rookie card. Ok so I'd rob the dealership instead. They rob us all the time anyway. I am sick to death of the 1952 design that looks like it was designed by Sy Berger's dog after an all night kibble binge. I'm really bitter that after this was introduced last year I naturally assumed they'd just go down the design list and use the 1953 set like like with regular Topps Heritage. Then they go they foist off the same old crap on us again. The design is literally identical except for the copyright date. If you had a whole mess of these cards loose from both '06 and '07, it would take 8 years to sort them as you squint at the copyright date. C'mon Topps, why didn't you put some foil or a big 2007 edition logo or something on these things to differentiate them?? There was even one very easy thing they could have done to make this year's set stand out from last years:
Black Backs. Sadly this is a one in 6 pack short print variation and not the regular back for these cards. Ok fine, I got a short print, Justin Upton and a Gold Refractor. I don't care, it's the same old bullshit from Topps and I'm not buying it this time. There's too much other good looking stuff out there to be buying rehashed junk. Even the wrapper looks stupid. It looks like they took the 52 Heritage wrapper and inverted the colors. Don't believe me? Here it is with the negative colors:
Not much difference, eh? Actually I fib. This is the prototype wrapper for the 2008 '52 Rookies "You'll Buy Anything We Put Out So Who Gives A Fuck" edition. They're not even going to change the date, us suckers will have to figure out that it's the 2008 set by ourselves.

By the way, the answer is c) Hector Gimenez.