Sunday, August 31, 2014

#PackADailyCircus - Winding Down the OOTP season, Current draft, Busting a pack

Hello, everyone!

I noticed something the other day: The MLB season ends on Sept 28. Our OOTP simulated season ends on August 25. Because of the gap (the OOTP game is set in 2013 because I started the simulated games before the new version of OOTP came out), this is how the end of the season will go in terms of pack breaks and simulated games:

  • Pack busting will run through September 28, 2014. This giveaway has always been about the regular MLB season, so I will continue to break packs until the season is over.
  • After the last MLB game of the regular season, we will hold a final draft for all renaming players/cards. This will include fillers and inserts that we've uncovered along the way as well. Why not, right?
  • The OOTP playoffs will be played each day after the MLB regular season ends: So, starting on September 29, 2014, I will begin posting daily results for the OOTP season. These will be screen shots of results/standings, most likely. 
  • The OOTP World Series will run immediately following the OOTP playoffs - I am not going to run the OOTP World Series along side the MLB World Series. That's too much to handle in the way of timing, etc. Plus, there is no guarantee that either would end up being played in tandem anyway (wildcards, short/long series, etc).
  • The OOTP World Series Winner will receive a "prize pack" with several goodies in it. The contents of the prize pack will be revealed at the start of the OOTP World Series, so stay tuned for that later!
I think that's it as far as the season goes.


Now, as for this week's draft:
  • I mistakenly listed Andrew Lambo as a free agent. He is owned by the BCs. I removed Lambo from everyone's list and shifted the choices up accordingly. Sorry for the inconvenience or confusion.
  • The Workmans attempted to draft Chris Carter, but he is already owned by the BoRosnys. You two keep me on my toes!
  • We had a couple shut-outs this week: Wilsons and Trhdds. Better luck next time!
Let's see how it went down (Click any image to see full-size version):

Since we have 30 participants this week and the draft was supposed to take place on the 30th, I figured I would randomize the list 30 times. You never know with me:


This is the list of folks after the sorting in random order:

And here is the final breakdown

Remember, the draft snakes, so Round 1 goes DOWN the list, Round 2 goes back up starting at the bottom, lather rinse repeat. I'll get the name entered into OOTP this weekend and I will send out the new draft list as well!


Now, let's bust some wax!

1998 Donruss with Stan Musial Puzzle. [Hmm, this pack opened WAY too easily. Not sure if this was tampered with or just old.]

Stan Musial Puzzle 19, 20, 21 - Cardinals - JediJeffs (Wahoo!!) - [Smart move, picking players featured on Donruss puzzles! This piece shows off some of his stats.]

Bob Boone - Angels - Free Agent - [I'm old, so his name always reminds me of Pat Boone. For you kids out there, Pat was a country singer.]

Pete Incaviglia - Rangers - Free Agent - [Surprised at this one. Mainly in that we hadn't busted him out of a pack before. Someone should do an MLB spoof of "The Princess Bride" and have the Vizzini character say "Incavilia" over and over.]

Joey Meyer - Brewers - Free Agent - [Obviously, this season was top-heavy with newer cards. Meyer is wearing a patch on his arm that says, "Sully." This is too early to reference Monsters, Inc and/or the Hudson River plane crash.]

Jose Canseco - A's - Kazis (Wahoo!!) - [He may be young in this pic, but his look is that of someone who has seen the future and isn't happy about it.]

Tom Foley - Expos - PlayAtThePlates (Wahoo!!) - [I only remember Foley from his days as a Pirates player, not to be confused with Tim FOLI, who also player with the Bucs.]

Bud Black - Royals - Backstopcards (Wahoo!!) - [This was back before he played for the Indians. At the time of this card, he had played 5 seasons with the Royals and had a career 3.70 ERA.]

Mickey Hatcher - Dodgers - Free Agent - [Wow. I was surprised to see him unclaimed. Guess that goes back to the whole "top-heavy with newer cards" thing. Such is the way of randomly picking packs, eh]

Dave Winfield - Yankees - Arpsmiths (Wahoo!!) - [Winfield is one of my favorites. In addition to the Indians cards I have, there are several in my "non-Tribers" collection.]

Todd Benzinger - Red Sox - Free Agent - [To me, he looks a bit like Orel Hershiser in this pic. Maybe not.]

Jeff Robinson - Tigers - Free Agent - [I don't know anything about him. However, this exact card was used as the image for his Baseball-Reference.com page.]

Robin Yount - Brewers - Thorzuls (Wahoo!!) - [Freakin' Yount!! Nice! I never have to look to see who has him on their roster. I believe for each of these seasonal breaks, he has gone to Thorzul. It's something of a tradition - or, if I am wrong, then it should have been a tradition. or something.]

Tom Niedenfuer - Orioles - gcrls (Wahoo!!) - [I know this is awful to say, but every time I see his name, I can't help think about Star Wars and Nerfherders.]

Ivan Calderon Diamond Kings - White Sox - JediJeffs (Wahoo!!) - [If memory serves, each team got to submit their own pick for inclusion in the DK series. Makes you wonder why the Sox (or anyone) picked Calderon over Baines. Thoughts/input from any of you?]

Checklist 138-247 (#200) - [Checklists will be a free agent draft item in the very last draft of the season. Winner takes all the checklists busted this season. Congrats or condolences, whichever applies.]

Vince Coleman - Cardinals - Maddings (Wahoo!!) - [Coleman is by far one of my all-time favorite Cardinals! Glad to see him in here today.]

Lee Smith - Cubs - PTownToms (Wahoo!!) - [He played for 18 years, and even with a couple 4+ and 5+ seasons, still finished his career with an overall 3.03 ERA. Nice pull.]

Congratulations, folks! Several of you have more cards for your collection and we have a few free agents to add to the mix as we approach the playoffs in OOTP!







Saturday, August 30, 2014

#PackADailyCircus - The Real One

Good morning, cardboard fans! I've decided to add a little *umph* to my pack breaks starting with today. rather than just post a list of cards we break out of each pack, how about a little color commentary to go along with each card? I dunno. We'll try it and see what happens.

Today, we're opening a pack of 1991 Topps - "The Real One!" [Were there fake Topps going around back then? I have no recollection.]

Mike York - Pirates - Free Agent - [Well, first card up and I have nothing to say. So, let's go to BBR and see what they say: Huh, he played 14 games for the Tribe. Well, there ya go!]

Rob Dibble - Reds - NachosGrandes (Wahoo!!) - [Not the best-looking pitcher card, but not the worst, either, I suppose. At least he isn't holding a flaming ball, right? I always want to swap names with Ron Kittle when I see his name...]

Frank Thomas - White Sox - Jafronius (Wahoo!!) - [Awesome! This was just before he earned his "The Big Hurt" moniker, which would come in the 1992 season, according to research.]

Dave Schmidt - Expos - Free Agent - [Had a career 3.88 ERA. Unfortunately, his final season with the Mariners netted him a 18.90 ERA in just 3 games (7 runs in 3.1 innings).]

Steve Lyons - White Sox - Free Agent - [Wow!? Really? I don't see how that's possible at the stage of the game. For whatever reason, he was one of my favorite White Sox players back then.]

Scott Garrelts - Giants - Free Agent - [Nice wind-up shot, though since I don't scan free agents, you won't see it unless you Google it. Sorry.]

Jim Vatcher - Braves - Dayfs (Wahoo!!) - [Too bad the kid in the background is blocked by a parental arm adjusting his cap. I wonder if he knows he is on a card?]

Jose Lind - Pirates - BackstopCards (Wahoo!!) - [This shot appears to show Lind about to make a play. The dust in front of the bag and what appears to be a shadow just under the Pirates name on the card.]

Topps Instant Win Game card - [I include this only as a reminder of the time I sent one to Topps recently and they sent it back saying the contest had expired. No duh! No sense of humor.]

Jim Abbott - Angels - GoBlues (Wahoo!!) - [Abbott was another player I liked to follow in the 90's. Though, admittedly, it had to do with his name and "Who's on first" than anything...]

Mike Fitzgerald - Expos - Free Agent - [Featured in full-on catcher's garb, this card would be well-received by the girls over at Dinged Corners!]

Willie Randolph - A's - Free Agent - [I love this photo: He has just swung through. Camera is shooting from the hands, which are blurred, to his face, which is in focus and shows incredible concentration. Top 10 photo, easy.]

Darryl Strawberry - Mets - ScottCrawfordOnCards (Wahoo!!) - [I was a HUGE Strawberry fan. Ironic, given that I cannot stand the fruit that bears his name.]

Randy Ready - Phillies - Free Agent - [Believe it or not, when I was a kid, I loved the Phillies. Somewhere, I have a photo of me in a Phillies pale blue shirt with the maroon logo.]

Dave Valle - Mariners - PlayAtThePlates (Wahoo!!) - [I always have trouble with pronunciation. Is it "Val" or "Vail" or "Valley?"]

Ken Dayley - Cardinals - Free Agent - [Unfortunately, this card was the one to which the gum was stuck. Over time, the oils seeped through parts of this card. It's kind of a mess.]

Well, there you have it, folks! What did you think? Should the comments stay or go? Did they take away from the pack-busting or add to it? Feel free to share any thoughts in the comments.


Friday, August 29, 2014

#PackADailyCircus #ootp - Standings Update and busting wax

Good evening! Welcome to this week's PAD Circus update! Unfortunately, I can't upload the files yet, but I can give screen shots of the current standings in the Pack-A-Daily Circus League.

Before we get to that, though, today, in the OOTP simulation (Sept 1), rosters will expand to 70 active players per team! This will be interesting to watch how things move over the next month or so.

As we look at the Blogger League first, the JoshDs have taken first place back from the Tribecards in the Picadilly Division. The Wilsons have all but sealed their place for post-season play in the Green Park Division, as have the NachosGrandes and the CaptainCanucks:


Meanwhile, in the WordPress League, everyone in first place looks to be set for a playoff run. The only exception might be the Workmans. They are 4 games ahead of the BoRosnys, so the expanded roster could help swap those two teams.


Of course, with the rosters expanding from 50 to 70 active players, there is no telling what the next simulation is going to look like. Add to that all the A&G add-ins, etc, and we've got the makings for one of the weirdest baseball season finishes in history! Okay, maybe not all of history, but how many airplanes do you know that are playing on a baseball team?

Let's shift our focus to tonight's wax! How about a donated super-sized pack of 2012 Topps Series Two:

Ryan Doumit - Twins - BCs (Wahoo!!)
Andruw Jones - Yankees - CaptainCanucks (Wahoo!!)
Chase Headley - Padres - BackstopCards (Wahoo!!)
Ichiro Suzuki - Mariners - Jafronius (Wahoo!!)
Adam Wainwright - Cardinals - Maddings (Wahoo!!)
Chris Volstad - Cubs - Free Agent
Scott Hairston - Mets - Thorzus (Wahoo!!)
Alex Presley - Pirates - BCs (Wahoo x2)
Cal Ripken Jr Cut Above - Orioles - TSHensons (Wahoo!!)
Cal Ripken Jr Golden Moments - Orioles - TSHensons (Wahoo!! Back-to-Back!!)

Wow! I don;t think we have ever pulled back-to-back cards of the same player before! That is awesome! Added to that? Yeah, Cal freakin Ripken! Okay, yeah, I am geeking out over here. How could I not!?

Dwight Gooden Mound Dominance - Mets - ScottCrawfordOnCards (Wahoo!!)
Homer Bailey - Reds - Chonks (Wahoo!!)
Victor Martinez - Tigers - Trhdds (Wahoo!!)
Jeremy Hellickson - Rays - Quarrys (Wahoo!!)
Tyler Clippard - Nationals - Jafronius (Wahoo!! x2)
Humberto Quintero - Astros - Free Agent
Juan Francisco - Reds - Free Agent
Eric Hinske - Braves - Free Agent
Bronson Arroyo - Reds - BoRosnys (Wahoo!!)
Anthony Rizzo - Cubs - Pedersejs (Wahoo!!)
Jair Jurrjens - Braves - Free Agent
Torii Hunter - Angels - Jennings (Wahoo!!)
Mike Stanton - Marlins - TSHensons (Wahoo!! x3)
Charlie Furbush - Mariners - Chonks (Wahoo!! x2)
Ryan Sweeney - Red Sox - Otakus (Wahoo!!)
Eric Sogard - A's - Free Agent
Bob Gibson Gold Standard - Cardinals - Pedersejs (Wahoo!! x2)
Drew Pomeranz Gold Futures - Rockies - Free Agent
Jack Hanrahan - Indians (Wahoo!) - Free Agent
Josh Beckett - Red Sox - ThoughtsAndSox (Wahoo!!)
Rafael Betancourt - Rockies - Free Agent
Jerry Sands - Dodgers - Free Agent
Ruben Tejada - Mets - Free Agent
Justin Smoak - Mariners - ProwlingCats (Wahoo!!)
Brett Lawrie - Blue Jays - Kazis (Wahoo!!)
Brandon Crawford - Giants - Workmans (Wahoo!!)

Wow! That was a lot of cards, especially at 11pm. haha! As I am dozing off and on while typing, I must say this post will be updated on Saturday and I will post scan of the manager hits.

Speaking of, how about a HUGE congratulations to those who got a hit in this mega-pack, but also those who scored multiple hits!! Wahoo!!  I hope everyone has a great night! Remember, Saturday is draft day!






Thursday, August 28, 2014

#PackADailyCircus - Faking a TBT?

Good evening, everyone! Around the Interwebs, it is TBT (ThrowBack Thursday), as it is every Thursday these days until someone comes up with something else we all latch onto. For our version, we'll fake it with 2014 Heritage.

David Holmberg/Chad Bettis Rookie Stars - Reds/Rockies - Superduperman99s (Wahoo!!)/Quarrys (Wahoo!!)
Alexi Ogando - Rangers - PlayAtThePlates (Wahoo!!)
Kevin Gregg - Cubs - Chonks (Wahoo!!)
Nelson Cruz Purple Refractor - Rangers - PlayAtThePlates (Wahoo!!)
Xander Bogaerts New Age Performers - Red Sox - BCs (Wahoo!!)
Wade Miley - Diamondbacks - ScottCrawfordOnCards (Wahoo!!)
Zack Wheeler - Mets - Hadsalls (Wahoo!!)
Tyler Chatwood - Rockies - Free Agent
Alexei Ramirez - White Sox - MySportsObsessions (Wahoo!!)

One hit away from a Perfect Pack! So close. I like pulling multi-player cards where both players are already drafted. That will be some post-season fun for me as those will be handed out by chance to the owners! Congrats, everyone! I hope you have a great night!






Wednesday, August 27, 2014

#PackADailyCircus - Walmart Wednesday

Good evening, everyone! I wasn't able to post last night, as my daughter had her first football game to attend. She is on the cheer squad this year, and we will support her in that just as we support her running ambitions and her tumbling/gymnastics. I am all for my kids doing ANYTHING athletic because I never did much in the way of sports. That is a tale for another day.

I stopped by Walmart to grab some lunch and while there, decided to pick up a 3+3 pack of 2014 Bowman. There are 3 packs plus 3 bonus purple inserts.

Oh, before I go to far, I mistakenly listed Andrew Lambo in the free agent draft. He is already on the BCs and will be removed from the draft before it runs. Sorry for the mix-up!!

Mike Minor - A's - CaptainCanucks (Wahoo!!)
Wil Myers - Rays - RJBreezes (Wahoo!!)
Avisail Garcia - White Sox - JediJeffs (Wahoo!!)
John Gant - Mets - Free Agent
Victor Payano - Rangers - Free Agent
Tyler Danish Blue Border (416/500) - White Sox - Free Agent
Miller Diaz Chrome - Mets - Free Agent
Chris Kohler Chrome - A's - Free Agent
Josh Donaldson - A's - Free Agent
Ryan Zimmerman - Nationals - CaptainKirk42s (Wahoo!!)

Well, we started out okay but then fell into a free agent slump! Congratulations to the managers who actually pulled cards from here. That was a tough round.

Let's see how Round 2 goes:

Andrew McCutchen - Pirates - BCs (Wahoo!!)
Roy Halladay - Phillies - RJBreezes (Wahoo!!)
Jason Heyward - Braves - Dayfs (Wahoo!!)
Jose Herrera - Diamondbacks - Free Agent
Seth Mejias-Brean - Reds - Free Agent
Jake Johansen Mini Chrome (Refractor?) - Nationals - Free Agent
Hunter Dozier Chrome - Royals - Free Agent
Alex Reyes Chrome - Cardinals - Free Agent
David Ortiz - Red Sox - FDNYs (Wahoo!!)
Buster Posey - Giants - Arpsmiths (Wahoo!!)

Haha, same start, but a stronger finish. That mini chrome card is very cool! Good luck to folks trying to grab that in the next draft. Congratulations to RJBreezes for going 2-for-2 in the packs so far, and to everyone else for adding to their collections.


The last pack before the purple cards is up next:

Wei-Yin Chen - Orioles - Free Agent
Jon Lester - Red Sox - ThoughtsAndSox (Wahoo!!)
Alfonso Soriano - Yankees - BoRosnys (Wahoo!!)
Micah Johnson - White Sox - Free Agent
Zach Borenstein - Angels - Free Agent
Cody Reed - Royals - Free Agent
Eric Jagielo Chrome - Free Agent
Rosell Herrera Chrome - Rockies - Free Agent
CC Sabathia - Yankees - BoRosnys (Wahoo!! x2)
Tim Lincecum - Giants - Otakus (Wahoo!!)

Still only four hits, but at least they pretended to be spread out. Congrats to the BoRosnys for hitting two hits from the pack! Lucky for the other two managers, there were players to be handed out besides the free agents and BoRosnys take.


Finally, we have the 3-card purple insert pack:

Armando Rivero - Cubs - Free Agent
Mark Appel - Astros - Free Agent
Dillon Overton - A's - Free Agent

Wow, struck out there. No hits at all. I will scan these in case you hadn't seen the purple ones yet...




Monday, August 25, 2014

#PackADailyCircus - Seavering up a Golden Moment

Good evening, everyone! Hope you all had a great Monday. Tonight, I have a pack of 2012 Topps Series One to offer up. Let's see what's inside:

Kyle Blanks - Padres - CaptainCanucks (Wahoo!!)
Michael Morse - Nationals - Hadsalls (Wahoo!!)
Aroldis Chapman - Reds - NachosGrandes (Wahoo!!)
Tom Seaver Golden Moments - Mets - MySportsObsessions (Wahoo!!)
Texas Rangers Team Card - Rangers - Free Agent
Addison Reed - White Sox - MySportsObsessions (Wahoo!! x2)
Jon Jay - Cardinals - Superduperman99s (Wahoo!!)
James Loney - Dodgers - Jennings (Wahoo!!)
Jason Isringhausen - Mets - Maddings (Wahoo!!)
James McDonald - Pirates - Free Agent
Matt LaPorta - Indians (Wahoo!) - Free Agent

Hey! Great news for the MySportsObsessions as the hit for two in this pack! Congrats to them and the other managers who snagged players from the pack.




Saturday, August 23, 2014

#PackADailyCircus - Bazooka? Bazinga!

Hey all! Hope everyone had a great Saturday. Tonight, I have a pack of 2003 Bazooka. Let's see if we can score something cool:

Jonny Gomes Mini - Rays - Workmans (Wahoo!!)
Rafael Palmeiro - Rangers - Tribecards (Wahoo!!)
Rich Aurilia - Giants - Free Agent
Manny Ramirez Comic - Red Sox - ThoughtsAndSox (Wahoo!!)
Juan Pierre - Marlins - Quarrys (Wahoo!!)

Man, one card right in the middle keeps us from having a Perfect Pack. That's a bummer! Well, Rich will go into THIS draft (I am sending the list tonight, finally!). Congrats to managers getting card, including ME! Wahoo!!




Friday, August 22, 2014

#PackADailyCircus #OOPT15 - A Circus, for sure!


Let’s take a look at this week’s standings:

I finally got the names entered into OOTP, so I've got the updated simulation results. There are a few surprises in here: good and bad, depending on your team's performance.

In Picadilly, The Tribecards and the JoshDs rise above the FDNYs in a bid for first place. The Arpsmiths, StealingHomes, and Night Owls finish out the division. In fact, they are 4 games ahead of the FDNYs. Check out the game stats and box scores to see if you can put that one together!

Things in the Green Park Division remain the same: Wilsons, Maddings, MySportsObsessions, GoBlues, and DiamondKings hold the same positions as they held in the last update. The Wilsons lead the division by 15 games over 2nd place maddings.

In Leicester, we a similar situation as Green Park: everyone remains in the same position. The order sits at NachosGrandes, Superduperman99s, PlayAtThePlates, ScottCrawfordOnCards, Trhdds, and the JediJeffs. The JediJeffs, however, slip to 38 games out of first.

Finally, in this side of league, we have Oxford Circus. The CaptainCanucks extend their lead over the Chonks to 21 games. The ProwlingCats and PatWs hold a considerable lead over the last-place Erins. The Erins fall to 52 games out of first. The only thing saving that team is the end of the season on the horizon.

Looking at Punto Obelisco, the Dawgbones pull 12 games ahead of 2nd place RJBreezes. Far behind, we see PTownToms, Pedersejs, Jafronius, and TSHensons. The TSHensons continue their free-fal, now sitting 58 games off the lead.

Lillywhites Division keeps the Hadsalls 13 games in front of 2nd place, but we see a changing of the guard. The Thorzuls step 2 games in front of GCRLs, as they swap 2nd and 3rd positions. ThoughtsAndSox and EG9460s round out the division. The EG9460s better reach for their parachute soon: they are a whopping 65 games out of first.

In Bakerloo, we don’t see any kind of shake-up at all. The Kazis are 10 games in front of the Quarrys as the BCs, Jennings, and PatrickSmiths watch from below. In PatrickSmiths case, from 57 games below! Wow!

Finally, let’s look at Caring Cross. The leading 2 teams remain as is: Workmans in front of BoRosnys. There is a swap for 3rd and 4th, though. The Dayfs jump ahead of the Otakus, while the BackstopCards and CaptainKirk42s fill out the division.

We have several teams that are more than 50 games out of first place in their respective divisions. I don’t think I would have predicted that at the start of things!

Check them all out here: http://tinyurl.com/padcircus/


#PackADailyCircus - Roster Updates and a pack for the road

Good morning, everyone!

I have updated the current players/managers list to reflect the most recent draft:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LrQ6P9lv3ADEpGH9K3UNoSNp-HD4OJty2XHH_DxTAnw/edit?usp=sharing

I should have the latest simulation posted by tonight as well! I'm looking forward to seeing how things are panning out across the league.

Before I head out to work, I thought I would post yesterday's pack. You know, since I kinda forgot that and all.

1990 Donruss:

Carl Yastrzemski Puzzle (31, 32, 33) - Red Sox - ThoughtsAndSox (Wahoo!!)
Mike Blowers - Yankees - Free Agent
Gene Harris - Mariners - Free Agent
Mitch Webster - Cubs - Free Agent
Julio Franco - Rangers - PlayAtThePlates (Wahoo!!)
Gary Carter - Mets - Hadsalls (Wahoo!!)
Kevin Elster - Mets - Hadsalls (Wahoo!! Back-to-Back!)
Paul Molitor - Brewers - Jafronius (Wahoo!!)
Steve Buechele - Rangers - Free Agent
Cecilio Guante - Rangers - Free Agent
Barry Lyons - Mets - Free Agent
Kirt Manwaring - Giants - Arpsmiths (Wahoo!!)
Nick Esasky - Red Sox - Workmans (Wahoo!!)
Clint Zavaras - Mariners - Free Agent
Rafael Belliard - Pirates - Dayfs (Wahoo!!)
Brian Holman - Mariners - gcrls (Wahoo!!)
Ron Kittle - White Sox - Free Agent

Wahoo!! Congrats to the Hadsalls for going back-to-back! We had a LOT of free agents in here, so they will be in the upcoming draft (which *WILL* go out today, sorry for the delay!). Congrats to the managers who scored cards this time, too. I was surprised that Kittle and Buechele were still on the list. Guess I have been doing these long enough that I think certain players are drafted because I remember them from previous years. Getting old, I suppose...



Wednesday, August 20, 2014

#PackADailyCircus - Upper Class

Hello, everyone! I just realized that I have not put the draft together for this week! The start of school around here has thrown my scheduling and my brain a bit off kilter. I'll get that squared away and send out the draft bu Thursday evening. I also need to get names entered into OOTP so I can run this week's simulations!

Well, until all that happens, let's break open a  pack of 2014 Series One Topps.

Onelki Garcia - Dodgers - Night Owls (Wahoo!!)
Pablo Sandoval - Giants - Arpsmiths (Wahoo!!)
James Shields - Royals - JoshDs (Wahoo!!)
Josmil Pinto - Twins - Free Agent
Aaron Hicks - Twins - Dawgbones (Wahoo!!)
Justin Verlander Upper Class 2006 - Tigers - Otakus (Wahoo!!)
Hisashi Iwakuma - Mariners - Chonks (Wahoo!!)
Abraham Almonte - Mariners - Quarrys (Wahoo!!)
Brandon Barnes - Astros - Free Agent
Carlos Quentin - Padres - Free Agent

Wow, three free agents from a 2014 pack? That seems kinda funny. Ah well, let's give a hearty congratulations to the managers who did pull cards out of here!




Tuesday, August 19, 2014

#PackADailyCircus - Two-for-Tuesday Quickies

Good morning, folks! I thought I would get off a couple quickie pack breaks to start the morning off right!

2012 Gypsy Queen:

Jon Niese - Mets - Hadsalls (Wahoo!!)
Yadier Molina - Cardinals - Erins (Wahoo!!)
Adam Jones - Orioles - ScottCrawfordOnCards (Wahoo!!)
David Wright - Mets - Hadsalls (Wahoo!! x2)
Sandy Koufax No-Hitters - Dodgers - StealingHomes (Wahoo!!)
Travis Snider Glove Stories - Pirates - NachosGrandes (Wahoo!!)
C J Wilson Mini - Angels - PlayAtThePlates (Wahoo!!)
Mike Morse - Mariners - Hadsalls (Wahoo!! x3!!)
Ryan Howard - Phillies - Dawgbones (Wahoo!!)
Adam Eaton - Diamondbacks - Free agent

Aw, man! I thought we were going to have a Perfect Pack! Well, that aside, how about the Hadsalls getting THREE hits!? Awesome! Congrats to them and to all the other managers who take home cards from this pack.


Oh, let's see what other Gypsy Queens can get us... How about a pack of 2014 GQ:

Tony Gwynn Sr - Padres - Backstopcards (Wahoo!!)
C C Sabathia - Yankees - BoRosnys (Wahoo!!)
Rickey Henderson - A's - Workmans (Wahoo!!)
Yu Darvish Dealing Aces - Rangers - RJBreezes (Wahoo!!)
Adam Wainwright Mini - Cardinals - Maddigs (Wahoo!!)
Peter Bourjos - Cardinals - Superduperman99s (Wahoo!!)

Hey! There's a Perfect Pack on a Two-for-Tuesday Morning!! Way to go, everyone! That is a great way to start off before heading to work... Have a great day!


Monday, August 18, 2014

#packadailycircus - bit of delay

Hey everyone! I am a couple days behind but I will get us back on track soon!

--posted from my phone at 11:44pm cst, under influence of toothache medicine.

Hmm had something else to say. I dunno. Enjoy the night!

Saturday, August 16, 2014

#PackADailyCircus - Draft results and pack to bust

Good evening, everyone! Believe it or not, I actually have the draft results for this week! Before I reveal who got what (or whom), let's take a peek at a few key points:


  1. Whitey Ford had the MOST picks (20)
  2. Alex Wood had the 2nd highest (19)
  3. Michael Eisner and Dave Portnoy had the LOWEST (1)
  4. Pedersejs got shut out. :-(
  5. BoRosnys listed Austin Jackson, who is already owned by the PatWs in a previous draft. 
A cautionary word about the drafts: Trying to go back through old posts will not be an accurate way to see which players are free, though sometimes it does work out if I miss a name (like Ripken Sr or Tettleton). I know some of you are not getting my emails for some reason. I will be sure to post the draft announcement on the site for now on and you can email/inbox me and I will get the list to you.

Okay, so here is how tings went down:

The list of managers who made picks this past week, randomized:


The picks in order of randomization:


The final results:


 If I left you off, please let me know! In the past two drafts, I managed to miss someone while putting together the lists.


The next draft will be NEXT FRIDAY. I am still working on the draft picks and will make a separate post when it is ready!


Let's rip a pack of wax!

1992 Upper Deck

Mike Mussina - Orioles - JoshDs (Wahoo!!)
Rheal Cormier - Cardinals - Free Agent
Tino Martinez - Mariners - Maddings (Wahoo!!)
Greg Myers - Blue Jays - Kazis (Wahoo!!)
Brian Downing - Rangers - Free Agent
Dennis Eckersley - A's - Jafronius (Wahoo!!)
Bill Gullickson - Tigers - ScottCrawfordOnCards (Wahoo!!)
Benito Santiago - Padres - BackstopCards (Wahoo!!)
Larry Walker - Expos - Quarrys (Wahoo!!)
Dave Righetti - Giants - ScottCrawfordOnCards (Wahoo!! x2)
Gary Pettis - Rangers - Free Agent
Fred McGriff - Padres Checklist - BackstopCards (Wahoo!! x2)
Carlos M Rodriguez - Yankees - Chonks (Wahoo!!)
Ted Williams Baseball Heroes 1946 & 1949 MVP - Red Sox - ThoughtsAndSox (Wahoo!!)
Juan Guzman - Blue Jays - Free Agent

Wow! We had a couple folks get a double hit from that pack. Congrats to you and to all the other managers who got cards added to their stacks. The free agents will go into the next draft! Glad to see we are still pulling free agents this late into the season.








Friday, August 15, 2014

#PackADailyCircus - Double-Bustin' Friday

Hey folks! Since I was just too pooped to post yesterday, I am posting TWO packs of cards today!

First up, 2014 Archives:

David Wright - Mets - Hadsalls (Wahoo!!)
Willie McCovey - Giants - Tribecards (Wahoo!!)
Cliff Lee - Phillies - Tribecards (Wahoo!! Back-to-Back!)
Jordan Zimmerman - Nationals - CaptainKirk42s (Wahoo!!)
Paul Goldschmidt Future Stars - Diamondbacks - Workmans (Wahoo!!)
Josh Donaldson - A's - Free Agent
Matt Davidson - White Sox - Workmans (Wahoo!! x2)
Jay Bruce - Reds - NachosGrandes (Wahoo!!)

Wahoo!! I score back-to-back cards! Congrats to the other managers getting cards from here, too!



Next, we have 2013 Gypsy Queen:

Monte Irvin - Giants - Free Agent
John Kruk - Phillies - JediJeffs (Wahoo!!)
Felix Hernandez - Mariners - Otakus (Wahoo!!)
Chris Carter - Blue Jays - Free Agent
Anthony Gose - BlueJays - Chonks (Wahoo!!)
Darryl Strawberry - Mets - ScottCrawfordOnCards (Wahoo!!)
Ike Davis Mini - Mets - Chonks (Wahoo!!)
Evan Longoria - Rays - TSHensons (Wahoo!!)
Shelby Miller - Cardinals - Superduperman99s (Wahoo!!)
Manny Machado - Orioles - RJBreezes (Wahoo!!)

The Strawberry card was facing the opposite direction in the pack compared to every other card. I don't know what that's about, but the card seemed normal to me. Congratulations to the managers getting cards from this pack!





Hot Corner Cards: Take My Team Sets

Patrick, over at Hot Corner Cards, is having a very cool program over on his site! You see, in his effort to collect all things Tigers, he has amassed a HUGE collection of cards he wants to get rid of. So, he decided to break the cards into teams.

It all looks very cool to me! I see there are Indians in the photos, too!

What is novel about this set-up? Two options:

1. He sends you all the team cards from the team you pick, and you send him all the Tigers you have. That's right, a team-for-team swap!

2. Send him five bucks and you get the team cards. He isn't really looking for money, but some folks may prefer to go that route for various reasons.

So, head over to the Hot Corner and check this out!

http://www.hotcornercards.blogspot.com/2014/08/take-my-team-sets.html

Thursday, August 14, 2014

#PackADailyCircus #ootp15 - Expanded rosters: Side effects?



Hey all,
  The updated OOTP game has been posted! It is current through Aug 13. I was not able to do a side-by-side comparison from the last standings, so feel free to look things over and see where your team stands.

As I mentioned before, the active rosters have been expanded to 50 players and then after Sept 1, they will go to 70.  Some of you are already beyond the 70-player limit! Some of you love to grab all the free agents you can. I think that's pretty cool. Plus, it should make for fun mail deliveries after the season is over.

You can check out the current standings and stats at tinyurl.com/padcircus/

I don't have a pack for tonight, so I will make up for it on Friday.

Have a great night, everyone!

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

#PackADailyCircus - Gold in them thar packs!

Good evening! Welcome to a non-Ginter pack break! We haven't busted anything outside of the Allen and Ginter since I got the box, so now that it is all but finished (still have the verified final tally and selfie to go), let's open a pack of 2012 Topps Series One:

Philip Humber - White Sox - BoRosnys (Wahoo!!)
A J Burnett - Yankees - Kazis (Wahoo!!)
Carlos Gomez - Brewers - Thorzuls (Wahoo!!)
Ichiro, Joe Mauer, Vladimir Guerrero Active Leaders GOLD - Mariners, Twins, Orioles - Jafronius (Wahoo!!), PlayAtThePlates (Wahoo!!), GCRLs (Wahoo!!)
Stan Musial Gold Standard - Cardinals - JediJeffs (Wahoo!!)
Jordan Pacheco - Rockies - Free Agent
Wilson Ramos - Nationals - Free Agent
Jason Vargas - Mariners - Hadsalls (Wahoo!!)

Congratulations, everyone! It was weird not typing a GAC score after each card! Haha! That gold card is pretty sweet! The Musial card is also a nice surprise. Very cool stuff in here, folks. Thanks for coming by!




Tuesday, August 12, 2014

#PackADailyCircus #GintACuffs - The Final Countdown

We're busting together
We hope it ends well
And may find a pack
With more, who can tell?
I guess there's Ginters to claim
We're holding ground
Can we raise our score again?

It's the final countdown...

Okay, pretty far-reaching stretch, I know. But, we are busting into the final three packs of my hobby box. I have 139.5 points and I know someone has already hit 171.6 as a final tally. I just don't see me winning without a major bribe to the ruler of Gint-A-Cuffs (which I am going to offer a bribe because you just never know).

Let's do this and get the pain over with:

GAC Pack 22

Albert Pujols - Angels - Wilsons (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +139.5
Yordano Ventura - Royals - NachosGrandes (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +139.5
Ryan Zimmerman - Nationals - CaptainKirk42s (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +139.5
Christian Yelich SP (#320) - Marlins - Free Agent - GAC +2; Total +141.5
London, United Kingdom - World's Captials - Free Agent - GAC +2; Total +143.5
Allen Craig Mini SP (#347) - Cardinals - Maddings (Wahoo!!) - GAC +3; Total +146.5
Gary Sheffield - Marlins - Chonks (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +146.5
Rafael Palmeiro - Rangers - Tribecards (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +146.5
(Pack total: +7;  GAC total +146.5: +2 shortprint; +2 capitals; +3 mini shortprint)

Hey! Not a bad pack for GAC. Had a really nice pack for managers. Some of you pulled some cool players. Congratulations, folks!



Well, we have two packs to go and just 25.2 points to take the lead. haha!!

GAC Pack 23

Mark Teixeira - Yankees (NNOOOO!!!!) - BoRosnys (Wahoo!!) - GAC -1; Total +145.5
Ty Cobb - Tigers - Stealing Homes (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; total +145.5
Lou Brock - Cardinals - Wilsons (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +145.5
Curtis Granderson SP (#331) - Mets - Hadsalls (Wahoo!!) - GAC +2; Total +147.5
Ottawa, Canada - Worlds Capitals - Free Agent - GAC +2; Total +149.5
Lonomia Mini- Deadliest Predators - Free Agent - GAC +3; Total +152.5
Samantha Briggs - Fitness Champion - Free Agent - GAC +0; Total +152.5
Mike Pereira - Broadcaster - Free Agent - GAC +0; Total +152.5
(Pack total: +6; GAC Total +152.5: -1 yankees; +2 shortprint; +2 capitals; +3 predator)

Man, start off with a ding but end up with some pretty cool cards. The predator really stands out with that bright red printing! Wow!


And so, we have come to the end of the box. There is but one pack left to bust open. We have revealed all our expected hits. We've hit some bumps along the way (Yankees, misc dings) but we have also found some very cool cards as well. As part of Gint-A-Cuffs, I get +5 for posting a selfie with my favorite card. I will do that when I post my actual "Final GAC-6 Points" post. I cannot remember if the person with 171.6 included the selfie with that score or not. Hmm... Well, here we go:

Adrian Gonzalez - Dodgers - GCRLs (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +152.5
Jake Marisnick - Marlins - Free Agent - GAC +0; Total +152.5
Brooks Robinson - Orioles - CaptainKirk42s (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +152.5
Paul Goldschmidt SP (#317) - Diamondbacks - Workmans (Wahoo!!) - GAC +2; Total +154.5
Socotra Archipelago - Natural Wonder - Free Agent - GAC +2; Total +156.5
Casey Kelly Mini A/G Back - Padres - FDNYs (Wahoo!!) - GAC +2; Total +158.5
Mark Roth - Bowler - Free Agent - GAC +0; Total +158.5
Carli Loyd - Soccer Player - Free Agent - GAC +0; Total 158.5
(Pack Total: +6; GAC Total +158.5: +2 shortprint; +2 naturalwonder; +2 mini a/g)

Well, with +5 for a selfie to come, our total is +163.5! All things considered, I think that's a decent score. I'm looking forward to reading some of the other posts and see if anyone in the competition pulls something super rare!

In the meantime, I hope everyone enjoyed the onslaught of Allen and Ginter over the past few days. Congratulations to ALL the managers who scored players/cards and to those who WILL score more when this is all said and done through the next couple drafts.  This has been a LOT of fun!!



Monday, August 11, 2014

#PackADailyCircus #GintACuffs - Two for flinching

Good morning/afternoon, everyone! I am off work today after a visit to the dentist. Turns out I get to have root canal done. Yay me. On the other hand, I did get some pain killers and since I have taken one, I am not driving to work today. I also can't vouch for the content, quality, or general atmosphere of this post. Oh, I know, friends don't let friends blog on pain meds...

Well, we're opening the next three packs of Allen and Ginter today.

Oh, before we move on, I have a matter of business to conduct. Somehow, I managed to assign the same Carlos Gonzalez (Rockies) to both Quarrys and Jennings. After reviewing the drafts and going back through the revision history of the Managers/Players list in Google, it is quite clear that the Quarrys owned that player first (had him in the first draft) and somewhere, I managed to give him to the Jennings. As a result, Jennings gets Jayson Nix (currently not drafted) and one other Rockies player to be named. Jennings has given me the choice. I chose Melvin Mora.

Next season, I have plans to avoid these kinds of "duplication" problems. I appreciate everyone's patience and understanding as we continue to work out the kinks in these now-annual giveaways. :-)

Okay, let's see where we are in GAC: Total is +114.5, and for the record, the meds are making me sway a bit at the keyboard. Probably a good thing I am not playing Far Cry 3 or GTA IV right now.

GAC Pack 19

Wade Miley - Diamondbacks - ScottCrafordOnCards (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +114.5
Aroldis Chapman - Reds - NachosGrandes (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +114.5
Adrian Beltre - Rangers - PlayAtThePlates (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +114.5
Kolten Wong - Cardinals - Superduperman99s (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +114.5
Anibal Sanchez SP - Tigers - ProwlingCats (Wahoo!!) - GAC +2; Total +116.5
Sportsman's Park - Fields of Yore (Cardinals) - Free Agent - GAC +2; Total +118.5
Sandro Botticelli Mini - Where Nature Ends (Painter) - Free Agent - GAC +3; Total +121.5
Erin Brady - Miss USA - Free Agent - GAC +0; Total +121.5
(Pack total: +7; GAC total +121.5: +2 shortprint; +2 fields of yore; +3 nature ends)

Wow, that pack had several GAC scores! Every player pulled has an owner already, too. Very cool! I'm sure I had some smart alec comment to make about a "Miley" card and a "Wong," but it has since left the swimminess of my brain. Yeah, I made up a word there. Or misspelled it, whichever.



GAC Pack 20

Zack Greinke - Dodgers - JoshDs (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +121.5
Oswaldo Arcia - Twins - BoRosyny (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +121.5
Paul O'Neill - Yankees - ScottCrawfordOnCards (Wahoo!!) - GAC -1; Total +120.5
Max Scherzer Pastime's Pastimes - Tigers - Chonks (Wahoo!!) - GAC +2; Total +122.5
Kyle Seager Game-Used Bat (FSR-KS) - Mariners - ProwlingCats (Wahoo!!) - GAC +8; Total 130.5
Clay Buchholz Mini - Red Sox - BCs (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +130.5
Sam Calagione - Businessman - Free Agent - GAC +0; Total +130.5
(Pack total: +9; GAC Total +130.5: -1 yankees; +2 pastimes; +8 full-sized relic)

Nice pull for the ProwlingCats! And, we were just one card away from a Perfect Pack. Congratulations to all the managers pulling cards out of this one!


Okay, one more pack for today! For the record, I took a break between packs 19 and 20 because my mom had brought lunch for me and the kids. We enjoyed sitting around and talking. As we did, we watched a portion of some movie called "Immortals." Lots of fighting in the movie, but some of the coolest death-effects I've seen. Of course, that could be the pain meds talking.

Anyway, I digress often, so let's get back to opening packs. Well, one more anyway!

GAC Pack 21

Doug Fister - Nationals - Kazis (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +130.5
Madison Bumgarner - Giants - FDNYs (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +130.5
Starling Marte - Pirates - BCs (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +130.5
Troy Tulowitzki Pastime's Pastimes - Rockies - Erins (Wahoo!!) - GAC +2; total +132.5
Clayton Kershaw Game-Used Relic (FRB-CK) - Dodgers - Night Owls (Wahoo!!) - GAC +8; Total +140.5
Vince Gilligan Mini - Writer/Director - Free Agent - GAC +0; Total +140.5
Anthony Bourdain - Chef - Free Agent - GAC -1; Total +139.5
(Pack total: +9; GAC Total +139.5: +2 pastimes; +8 relic; -1 bourdain)

Wahoo!! Well, we pulled our third relic! Congrats to Night Owl for that one. Freakin Bourdain put a wet blanket on this pack. Dang it. At least we can say a big congrats to each of the managers who got cards from this pack! That's always good news.

The bad news is that I have three packs to go and all the guaranteed hits have shown up. Why bad news? Because I read one of the other GAC contestants' posts and saw he had posted a final score of 171.6. So, if I have any chance of winning, I have to pull +31.1 points out of the final three packs. That will only happen if I scored a bonus box with an extra hit. I'm not banking on that happening.

So, until next time: See ya later!


*Any typos, misspellings, ramblings, or other nonsense is the result of posting while on pain meds. Leave a comment if there is something I need to fix and I will get it at some point. Thanks!

Sunday, August 10, 2014

#PackADailyCircus #GintACuffs - We got a hit!

Good afternoon, folks! I am sitting here with +76 points in my Gint-A-Cuffs coffers and zero box hits so far to show for it. Yesterday, I busted several packs. Today, I will open up 3 or 4 (we'll see how it goes) and see if we can uncover any hidden gems.

GAC Pack 16

Jarrod Parker - A's - BoRosnys (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +76
Jordan M Zimmerman - Nationals - CaptainKirk42s (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +76
Clayton Kershaw Pastime's Pastimes - Dodgers - Night Owls (Wahoo!!) - GAC +2; Total +78
Steve Carlton Mini A/G back - Phillies - MySportsObsessions (Wahoo!!) - GAC +2; Total +80
Felicia Day Framed Mini Autograph - Actress - Free Agent - GAC +25.5; Total +105.5
Judah Friedlander - Comedian - Free Agent - GAC +0; Total +105.5
Diana Nyad - Swimmer - Free Agent - GAC +0; Total +105.5
(Pack total: +14; Total +105.5: +2 pastime; +2 mini a/g; +12 framed mini auto; +3 mini fav plyr +15*1.7 for Day's bonus multiplier)

WAHOO!! Our first box hit, and it is a Mini Framed Auto of a Favorite Player!! That is great! She is also a free agent in this week's draft! Wow, some managers may rethink their pick orders. haha! Speaking of, congrats to the managers who grabbed cards from this pack.


Well, let's see what our next pack holds!

GAC Pack 17

Jon Lester - Red Sox - ThoughtsAndSox (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +105.5
Kris Medlen - Braves - CaptainCanucks (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +105.5
Randy D Johnson - Mariners - GoBlues (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +105.5
R A Dickey - Blue Jays - Chonks (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +105.5
Carlos Gonzalez Pastime's Pastimes - Rockies - Quarrys (Wahoo!!) - GAC +2; Total +107.5
Jered Weaver Mini - Angels - GoBlues (Wahoo!! x2) - GAC +0; Total +107.5
Manny Ramirez - Red Sox - ThoughtsAndSox (Wahoo!! x2) - GAC +0; Total +107.5
Don Sutton - Dodgers - NachosGrandes (Wahoo!!) - GAC+0; Total +107.5
(Pack total: +2; GAC Total +107.5: +2 pastimes)

WAHOO!! We just racked up our first Perfect Pack of the box!! Wow, our first box hit and our first Perfect Pack on the same day! This is way cool. Congrats to the GoBlues and the ThoughtsAndSox for each nabbing a pair of hits out of the pack! Congrats to all the other managers, too.


In terms of GAC, we are actually sitting in pretty rough shape for the contest right now. I realize we have two more box hits to go, but there are just seven packs left. In previous years, my boxes have hit as high as 214 points, and that wasn't even close to the winner. I hate to say it, but I'm not feeling too good about my box and its Gint-A-Cuffs contender potential.  As far as Pack-A-Daily goes, however, this box rocks!

GAC Pack 18

Chase Utley - Phillies - Dawgbones (Wahoo!!) - GAC +2; Total +109.5
Joey Votto - Reds - NachosGrandes (Wahoo!!) - GAC +2; Total +111.5
Dwight "Doc" Gooden - Mets - ScottCrawfordOnCards (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +111.5
Lou Gehrig - Yankees - GoBlues (Wahoo!!) - GAC -1; Total +110.5
Mike Olt Short Print (#326) - Cubs - RJBreezes (Wahoo!!) - GAC +2; Total +112.5
Punalu'u Beach - Natural Wonder - Free Agent - GAC +2; Total +114.5
Jeremy Hellickson Mini - Rays - Free Agent - GAC +0; Total +114.5
Allyson Felix - Sprinter - Free Agent - GAC +0; Total +114.5
(Pack total: +7; GAC Total +114.5: +2 fav plyr; +2 fav plyr; -1 yankees; +2 shprnt; +2 nat wonder)

Hey, as far as GAC goes, that's not a bad haul without a hit! We had two favorite players in there and they both led off. Nice.  Hellickson is in this week's draft, so he'll go to a manager at the end of the week! The others will be rolled into next week's draft. Really, this was a nice pack of cards - some great players in it for sure!


We have six packs to go. They fit nicely in the box as a 2-high by 3-wide arrangement, so I will stop here for now. Next time, I will break open the top row of three and then we will have the final three for another post. We are nearing the end. We have two box hits yet to unearth. We have a LONG way to go in terms of overall box score.

See you next time!

Saturday, August 9, 2014

#PackADailyCircus #GintACuffs - Packs 13-15 - Start the 2nd Half!

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Tonight, I am opening three more packs of our Allen and Ginter hobby box. Yeah, I should wait until tomorrow or spread this out over many days, but to be honest I am just too excited to see what we get. So, here we go!

GAC Pack 13, Total so far +76 (At least 30 points off for a decent overall score)

Alex Gordon - Royals - JoshDs (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +76
Carlos Gomez - Brewers - Thorzuls (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +76
Roy Halladay - Blue Jays - RJBreezes (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +76
James Paxton - Mariners - Dayfs (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +76
Yasiel Puig Pastime's Pastimes - Dodgers - Trhdds (Wahoo!!) - GAC +2; Total +78
Japanese Bobtail - Little Lions - Free Agent - GAC +3; Total +81
Casey Kelly - Padres - FDNYs (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +81
Tommy Lasorda - Dodgers - GCRLs (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +81
(Pack total: +5; GAC Total +81: +2 pastimes; +3 little lions)

Wow, except for the bobtail, we would have a Perfect Pack! That is cool to see no matter what we're busting open. At the rate of +5 avg per pack, I am going to end up with a measly 120 points for this box. Still holding out for the hits. Congrats to everyone that pulled hits here!


GAC Pack 14

Joe Mauer - Twins - PlayAtThePlates (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +81
Yadier Molina - Cardinals - Erins (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +81
Yu Darvish - Rangers - RJBreezes (Wahoo!!) - GAC +2; Total +83
Erik Johnson SP (#334) - White Sox - Free Agent - GAC +2; Total +85
Ha Long Bay - Natural Wonders - Free Agent - GAC +2; Total +87
Troy Tulowitzki Mini - Rockies - Erins (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +87
Daniel Okrent - Rotisseries Baseball Co-Creator - Free Agent - GAC +0; Total +87
Ryan Riess - Poker Champion - Free Agent - GAC +0; Total +87
(Pack total: +6; GAC Total +87: +2 fav player; +2 short print; +2 nat wonder)

Nice score on the fav player and other positive-point cards! Managers are getting some great bits of cardboard in this box. Congrats to everyone that got a card here tonight from this pack!


Okay, we have one last pack to open tonight. Really, I'm just hoping for an Indians player or four of five. Haha!

GAC Pack 15

Daniel Nava - Red Sox - BoRosnys (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +87
Matt Davidson - White Sox - Workmans (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +87
Nick Franklin - Mariners - Free Agent - GAC +0; total +87
Ben Zobrist - Rays - Dayfs (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +87
Justin Verlander Pastime's Pastimes - Tigers - Okatus (Wahoo!!) - GAC +2; Total +89
Sam Calagione Mini A/G Back - Businessman - Free Agent - GAC +2; Total +91
Bill Bucker - Dodgers - FDNYs (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +91
Roger Maris - Yankees - ScottCrawfordOnCards (Wahoo!!) - GAC -1; Total +90
Crack the Code
(Pack total: +3; GAC Total +90: +2 pastimes; +2 A/G back mini; -1 yankees)

Ugh, a freaking Yankee in the mix causes me to lose a point. I have no idea who Sam Calzone, Calgon, Calafragilisiticexpialadocious is, but I got the A/G back version, so that's 2 points and I'll take them! Roger Maris is the #1 card in the whole set. That's pretty cool to pull the card that would sit on top in a stack by card number. Congrats, managers!


Hope you have a good night/good morning!

#PackADailyCircus #GintACuffs - New draft on the loose, updated Managers/Players and busting more Gint-A-Cuffs!

Good afternoon, folks! I have released the latest draft to the managers. It has the cards we've busted here lately from the Gint-A-Cuffs breaks. Free Agents revealed this week will go into NEXT WEEK'S draft (not this week's) unless they are already in the draft for this week.

Notables in this week's draft include several autographs and relic cards, Allen and Ginter cards, etc:

Whitey Ford Regular and Mini A/G
Barbed Wire regular and Black-Border Mini A/G
The Iron Sheik Black-Border Mini A/G
Brad Ziegler autographed cards (x2)
Alex Wood Autograph card
Kyle Waldrop Auto card
Beau taylor Auto card
Jacob Nix auto/relic card
Erin Brady Miss USA Mini A/G Back

Notes: The Hendrix/Handel card was listed as two separate "players." Cal Ripken Sr was added this week (somehow he had been left off before). Mickey Tettleton has been added (thanks to Bo for spotting that).


The Managers/Players list has been updated: http://tinyurl.com/padplayers


Now, let's rip some Allen and Ginter for Gint-A-Cuffs!!

GAC Total so far: +55. For those wondering, the stadiums cards are treated as regular cards.

GAC Pack 09

Prince Fielder - Rangers - TSHensons (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +55
Carlos Gonzalez - Rockies - Quarrys (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +55
Johnny Bench - Reds - Trhdds (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +55
Mark McGwire - Cardinals - Wilsons (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +55
Prince Fielder Pastime's Pastimes - Rangers - TSHensons (Wahoo!! x2) - GAC +2; Total +57
Robin Hood Mini - Outlaws, Bandits, Ne're Do Wells - Free Agent - GAC +3; Total +60
Helen Keller - Newsworthy - Free Agent - GAC+0; Total +60
Ricky Nolasco - Twins - Quarrys (Wahoo!! x2) - GAC +0; Total +60
(Pack total: +5; GAC Total +60: +2 pastime; +3 n.d.w)

Wow! TWO managers got two hits in one pack, plus the TSHensons got he SAME player twice on different cards! That is some kind of cool! Congrats to the others who managed to snag cards out of this one.


Still haven't found a "hit" from the box yet. Here, I will jinx it: It would be cool to hit the halfway mark without getting a single box hit. Now, let's see what happens:

GAC Pack 10

Miguel Cabrera - Tigers - Workmans (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +60
Troy Tulowitzki - Rockies - Erins (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +60
Frank Robinson - Reds - CaptainKirk42s (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +60
Jim Palmer - Orioles - CaptainKirk42s (Wahoo!! Back-to-Back!) - GAC +0; Total +60
Justin Masterson Pastime's Pastimes - Indians (Wahoo!) - Tribecards (Wahoo!!) - GAC +3; Total +63
Vladimir Gurrero Mini A/G Back - Angels - GCRLs (Wahoo!!) - GAC - +2; Total +65
Dr. James Andrews - Surgeon - Free Agent - GAC +0; Total +65
Mike Napoli - Red Sox - FDNYs (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +65
(Pack total: +5; GAC Total +65: +1 favorite team; +2 pastime; +2 a/g back)

Wahoo!! Scored +1 for Indians player, +2 for it being Pastimes, and scored +2 for the cool mini A/G back! Slowly building my GAC score. As for PAD, well, another Wahoo!! for the Masterson that goes to my own collection! And a big WAHOO!! to CaptainKairk42 for going back-to-back! Man, what a fun pack to break open! Sorry for all the exclamation points, but come on, you have to admit this was pretty cool.


I am going to go ahead and get us to the halfway point. So, two packs down and two more to go! GAC total so far is +66 with *NO* box hits.

GAC Pack 11

Andre Rienzo - White Sox - MySportsObsessions (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +65
Tom Glavine - Braves - CaptainCanucks (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +65
Bob Feller - Indians (Wahoo!) - TSHensons (Wahoo!!) - GAC +1; Total +66
Elvis Andrus SP (#335) - Rangers - PlayAtThePlates (Wahoo!!) - GAC +2; Total +68
Moscow, Russia - World's Capitals - Free Agent - GAC +2; Total +70
Iron Sheik Mini - Wrestler - Free Agent - GAC +1; Total +71
Andrew Lambo - Pirates - BCs (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +71
Dan Straily - A's - Free Agent - GAC +0; Total +71
(Pack total: +6; GAC Total +71: +1 favorite team; +2 short print; +2 capitals; +1 iron sheik)

Wow, this is a very nice GAC Pack! +1 for Feller being Indians. +2 for Andrus being short-printed. +2 for the World's Captials card. +1 for Iron Sheik "just because." Nice!

On the PAD side, we scored a slew of free agents for next week. Congrats to folks pulling cards out here. That Feller card is pretty slick. Nice pull, Timothy!


Okay, we are going into the halfway mark with this pack. We have +72 points and have not had a box hit yet. Come on, big bucks! No Whammys!

GAC Pack 12

Hector Santiago - Angels - Free Agent - GAC +0; Total +71
Junior Lake - Cubs - Pedersejs (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +71
Yogi Berra - Yankees - Dayfs (Wahoo!!) - GAC -1; Total +70
Pablo Sandoval - Giants - Arpsmiths (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +70
Matt Kemp SP (#301) - Dodgers - Night Owls (Wahoo!!) - GAC +4; Total +74
Cave of Crystals - Natural Wonder - Free Agent - GAC +2; Total +76
Tyler Skaggs Mini - Jennings (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +76
Steve Carlton - Phillies - MySportsObsessions (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +76
(Pack total: +5; GAC Total +76: -1 yankee; +2 favorite player; +2 short print; +2 natural wonder)

Well, we did it! We managed to break half the box without a single box hit. That means the second half should be even more fun than the first! Congratulations, managers! For me, pulling the Carlton was the best card of the pack. How cool!


Thanks for stopping by!! See you next time when we TRY to find our first box hit!

(Note: After this was posted, I went back to check scores. Adjustments have been made. Point values are current as of 8/9/14 3:30pmCST)

Friday, August 8, 2014

#PackADailyCircus #GintACuffs - GAC Packs 06-08 - Still Seeking First Big Hit

Greetings, readers of the Tribecards! Today, I am busting open several packs of Allen and Ginter for the Gint-A-Cuffs contest and to help add cards to manager stacks and the free agent  pool. I do not have a set number of packs, so let's bust some open and see where it leads!

GAC Total so far after 5 packs and a box loader: +42

Hanley Ramirez - Dodgers - Night Owls (Wahoo!!) - GAC: +0; Total +42
Johnny Cueto - Reds - NachosGrandes (Wahoo!!) - GAC: +0; Total +42
Jim Rice - Red Sox - FDNYs (Wahoo!!) - GAC: +0; Total +42
Babe Ruth - Yankees - StealingHomes (Wahoo!!) - GAC -1; Total +41
Phil Niekro SP (#343) - Braves - Dayfs (Wahoo!!) - GAC +2; Total +43
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt - Air Supremacy - Free Agent - GAC +2; Total +45
Didi Gregorius Mini A/G Back - Diamondbacks - NachosGrandes (Wahoo!!) - GAC +2; Total +47
Dave Portnoy - Blogger - Free Agent - GAC +0; Total +47
(Pack Total: +5; GAC Total +47: -1 Yankees; +2 short print; +2 air sup; +2 a/g back)

Not a bad GAC pack total, but not great. As for PAD, the FDNYs score another Rice card (you may recall the amazing auto card from the Crackin Wax "Crapload of Stuff" giveaway). Ruth dinged me, but who cars? It's freaking Babe Ruth. That Didi mini A/G back is a pretty cool addition for NachosGrandes!

BTW, if you are wondering why I scan the backs of certain cards, it is because I am showing evidence that  card is short-print or A/G back, etc for the Gint-A-Cuffs contest.


Let's rip into our next pack! Is it me, or are these wrappers the hardest things to get off!?

Avisail Garcia - White Sox - Free Agent - GAC +0; Total +47
Xander Bogaerts - Red Sox - BCs (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +47
Jose B Reyes - Blue Jays - Kazis (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +47
Matt Carpenter - Cardinals - Superduperman99s (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +47
Jose Altuve Pastime's Pastimes - Astros - Erins (Wahoo!!) - GAC +2; Total +49
Craig Kimbrel Mini Black Border - CaptainCanucks (Wahoo!!) - GAC +3; Total +52
Hal Newhouser - Tigers - Free Agent - GAC +0; Total +52
Sparky Anderson - Tigers - Free Agent - GAC +0; Total +52
(Pack Total: +5; GAC Total +52: +2 pastime; +3 mini black brdr)

Wow, the CaptainCanucks score ANOTHER Kimbrel mini, only this time it is the black border variation! Congrats to the other managers who grabbed cards out of this pack, too! I am amazed Sparky Anderson hasn't been seen yet - or at least not drafted. That is certainly one of the fun things about doing these pack-a-day breaks.


We're on a roll, so let's keep going. We've had two packs worth +5 points each so far. Maybe I should bust packs until the pack total falls below +5. Haha! Who knows...

Freddie Freeman - Braves - CaptainCanucks (Wahoo!!) - GAC: +2(fp); Total +54
Jered Weaver - Angels - GoBlues (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +54
Taijuan Walker - Mariners - Workmans (Wahoo!!) - GAC +0; Total +54
Dennis Eckersley SP - A's - Jafronius (Wahoo!!) - GAC +2; Total +56
Cleveland Municipal Stadium - Indians (Wahoo!) - Free Agent - GAC +0; Total +56
Whitey Ford Mini - Yankees - Free Agent - GAC -1; Total +55
Buffalo Bill Cody - Newsworthy - Free Agent - GAC +0; Total +55
Mike Piazza - Mets - Jafronius (Wahoo!! x2) - GAC +0; Total +55
(Pack Total: +3; GAC Total +55: +2 fav player; +2 shortprint; -1 yankees)

I have posed the question to Mark, ruler of all things Gint-A-Cuffs, as to whether or not the stadium card counts as an Indians card. If it does, that adds +1 to my score. But, I jinxed things by putting the +5 limit on my pack total. Dang Yankees.  In the meantime, that Eck card is beautiful with the green done the way it is! Of course, I am scanning the back since it is short-printed, so you won't see it unless you search online. haha! Congrats to Jafronius for being the first manager to pull two hits from a single pack in the GAC break! And, congrats to everyone else that pulled cards here.


I am not too bummed about my GAC score at this stage. I mean, I have not hit the halfway point yet and have managed to gather up more than 50 points. We have yet to find the elusive big hits, too. Maybe next time we can find one. Of course, I'd be happy to have all three hits come at the end, building the suspense and tension.

Thanks for stopping by! See ya next time!