![2007 Sweet Spot Classic "Classic Memorabilia" Steve Garvey](http://www.electricfriar.com/wp-content/gallery/singlepics/2007_ud_sweet_spot_classic-cmsg-classic_memorabilia-steve_garvey.jpg "2007 Sweet Spot Classic "Classic Memorabilia" Steve Garvey")
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Just Got Back to Some Surprising Headlines
My ship just got back in this afternoon. We went on a 25 hour underway which was both a) a nasty surprise to the crew and b) very tiring. Out of 25 total hours at sea, I stood over 16 hours on watch so I am rather exhausted. We had no internet available to us so I was out of the loop for a bit. So three big stories hit me went I rejoined the world of cyberspace. Turns out that the Padres didn’t trade a marquee pitcher, a familiar name returned to San Diego, and the Padres are in the midst of a 6 game winning streak.
First the Peavy trade. As a Peavy fan I am glad to see that he rejected going to San Diego. Despite his “down year” he’s still one of the top pitchers in baseball and a hell of a competitor. However, the thought of a Gordon Beckham and/or Aaron Poreda does seem intriguing. Still not sure who the four players the White Sox were giving up. With the economy and the team the way it is, I’m kind of resigning myself to the fact that Jake won’t be in San Diego much longer. I only hope the Padres can maximize his trade value.
Returning the Gwynn name to San Diego is brilliant. Not in the baseball sense, but in the PR sense. At this point Jody Gerut is a much better player. However, the team saves $1 million and they add a name familiar to most casual fans, the ones who haven’t been coming out to Petco.
Lost in all the excitement is the fact that the Padres swept the Giants and the Reds. Bring on the Cubs!
Box Break: 2008 Sweet Spot
I got my hand on a hobby box of 2008 Sweet Spot and one of those Sweet Spot retail tins from Target. It’s been a while since I opened a box so I’ve been getting the itch to bust something.
I’ll start off with the retail tin. These sell for about $30 at target and offer 3 packs of 8 cards with the promise of at least one memorabilia or autographed card.
Pack 1
-85 Rich Harden
-58 Johan Santana
- 61 Jose Reyes
- 31Dan Uggla
- 94 Torii Hunter
-34 Derek Jeter
-97 Troy Tulowitzki
-7 Alex Rodriguez
-YSL Game 5546 Wade Boggs - Is it me or does it seem weird that Wade Boggs has a ring with the Yankees but Don Mattingly doesn’t?
Pack 2
-42 Grady Sizemore
-23 Carlos Zambrano
-50 Jason Bay
-Ivan Rodriguez Sweet Swatch Memorabilia (Gray)
-74 Michael Young
-38 Felix Hernandez
-47 Ichiro - That’s an awkward batting stance. He looks like he needs to head to the restroom.
-B.J. Upton
-YSL Game 2425 Allie Reynolds
Pack 3
-67 Lance Berkman
- 4 Albert Pujols
-40 Freddy Sanchez
- 78 Nick Markakis
-51 Jeff Francoeur
-13 Billy Butler - I think I like the old school KC look.
-15 Brandon Webb
-70 Manny Ramirez
-YSL Game 5571 Don Mattingly - Donnie Baseball, still one of the cooler nicknames of the 80’s.
Thoughts on the retail tin: Not too bad. I didn’t think I would pull an autograph from a retail tin, so that’s OK. Pudge Rodriguez is a great pull, the man’s a future HOF.
Now for the hobby box. Spotted this at the comic shop, it kept tempting me, so I figured I’d take a shot. I’m hoping to get a decent Sweet Spot autograph.
Hobby Pack 1
-63 Josh Hamilton
-90 Ryan Howard
-27 Chris Carpenter
-86 Robinson Cano
-66 Ken Griffey Jr. - Junior seems out of place in a White Sox uni.
-48 Ivan Rodriguez
-YSL Game 585 Lou Gehrig
and…
Sweet Swatch Triple Memorabilia #’d 10/25
-Vlad Guerrero (red, white, & blue patch)
-David Ortiz (red & blue patch)
-Magglio Ordonez (blue & white patch)
Hobby Pack 2:
-35 Dontrelle Willis
-62 Josh Beckett
-89 Ryan Braun
-Hanley Ramirez Sweet Swatch (Gray)
-41 Gary Sheffield
-68 Lastings Milledge
-5 Alex Gordon
-YSL Game 635 Bill Dickey
Hobby Pack 3:
-26 Chris Young (D-back OF, not Padre pitcher)
-80 Paul Konerko
-17 Brian Roberts
-Sweet Swatch Triple Memorabilia - Vlad Guerrero (gray swatch), David Ortiz (gray swatch), and Magglio Ordonez (white swatch)
-23 Carlos Zambrano
-50 Jason Bay
-42 Grady Sizemore
-YSL Game 560 Babe Ruth
Time for a rant. Come on Upper Deck! Two Triple Memorabilia cards featuring the same exact players? I realize that one is a numbered, multi-colored patch card, thus making it a premium. But at least go for some variety in these boxes.
Hobby Pack 4:
-44 Hanley Ramirez
-71 Mariano Rivera
-8 Alfonso Soriano
-Sweet Swatch Pedro Martinez (gray swatch)
-69 Magglio Ordonez
-6 Alex Rios
-96 Trevor Hoffman - His last Upper Deck card as a Padre. Definitely a keeper.
-YSL Game 485 Babe Ruth
HobbyPack 5:
-64 Justin Morneau
-1 Aaron Harang
-98 Vernon Wells
-Sweet Swatch Johan Santana (white) - looks like there’s a crease in the upper-right corner
-3 Adam Dunn
-93 Tom Glavine
-30 Dan Haren
-YSL Game 685 Red Ruffing
Hobby Pack 6:
-13 Billy Butler
-40 Freddy Sanchez
-67 Lance Berkman
-Sweet Beginnings Auto Greg Smith #’d 252/399
-95 Travis Hafner
-32 David Ortiz
-59 John Smoltz
-YSL Game 610 Tony Lazzeri
Thoughts on the hobby box: Definitely disappointed. The only autograph was a pitcher I’ve never heard of. I would have loved to pull a Sweet Spot auto. The fact that Upper Deck collated two similar triple memorabilia cards also made the break a disaster. Only picked up one card for my personal collection (Trevor Hoffman).
As far as the base set design goes, it’s ok. I like the faux stitching used on the cards. The photography is also good, but not on par with the photos used in Upper Deck’s flagship set.
Mailday: 2009 Goudey Graphs Adrian Gonzalez & Matt Antonelli
It’s been awhile since I’ve won anything from Ebay, so a few days ago I started bidding and won these two cards. This year’s Goudey design has pretty much been destroyed in the blogosphere, but I’m still a fan of anything with on-card autographs. Especially anything with Padres autographs.
Some good news for Matt Antonelli this past week. He was activated off [...] Continue Reading…
Collection Highlight: 1994 Flair Wave of the Future Joey Hamilton
I’m in a 90’s kind of mood right now. So I figure I’d spotlight a card that exemplified the craziness of the 90’s insert era. Here’s Joey Hamilton’s card from the 1994 Flair ‘Wave of the Future” insert set. This was a 20 card insert set that highlighted some of the game’s hottest young stars. All cards featured the player superimposed over a dizzying wavy [...] Continue Reading…
Thoughts on the Night Shift
Another duty day onboard the ship, another boring watch finished. I’m up working late, so I figured I could surf the web for a bit to pass the time.
The losses keep piling up. Jake Peavy pitches pretty decently, but as he put it, “Just good enough to lose.” The Friars have gone 4-17 in their last 21 games, extinguishing all hope for fans excited by the 9-3 start. Bad [...] Continue Reading…
Mr. Padre Turns 49
I completely forgot today’s significance, but 30 Year Old Cardboard was on point. Tony Gwynn, aka Mr. Padre, turns 49 today. Happy Birthday to a class act and the greatest to ever wear a Padres uniform.
Collection Highlight: 2002 Topps Finest Ryan Klesko Refractor
Ryan Klesko’s Topps Finest Refractor. So very shiny:
I first became aware of Ryan Klesko back during the Padres fire sale of 1993. (Wow, that’s over 15 years ago….I’m feeling older.) Back then the team was being gutted and the likes of Gary Sheffield and Fred McGriff were being shopped around. The Atlanta Braves were very interested in the Crime Dog and I was hoping [...] Continue Reading…
Prospects Watch: Grant Green and Tyler Matzek
With the amateur draft almost a month away, I wanted to highlight a couple of prospects not named Stephen Strasburg. While I hope Scott Boras’ posturing will scare away the Nationals and Mariners, odds are that one of those teams will draft the best prospect ever.
So, who’s the best of the rest? Even if they miss out on the Stephen Strasburg sweepstakes, at #3, the Padres have [...] Continue Reading…
Collection Highlight: 2004 Sweet Spot Khalil Greene and Sean Burroughs Diamond Duos
Remember back in 2004 when Padre fans naively thought that we were set for the next 15 years at SS and 3B? It was a euphoric period for the Padres. They were in the midst of moving into their new downtown ballpark and they had a nucleus of solid young talent - Burroughs and Greene included. Alas, it wasn’t to be. Sean Burroughs never developed [...] Continue Reading…
Tony Gwynn Discusses Uber-Prospect Stephen Strasburg
Mr. Padre talks about his star pitcher. How great he is, how he’s handled the pressure, etcetera, etcetera. Gwynn’s take on all the attention surrounding Strasburg, clearly the top prospect in this year’s Amateur Draft:
If you don’t want all the attention then suck.
Speaking of the MLB Draft, it will be televised this year on the MLB Network. I’ll be praying that he’ll fall to the Padres at #3. [...] Continue Reading…
