I now have a computer again!

Hallelujah !  I now have a new computer, although it took me a whole lot more time than I thought it would. I bought the computer last Monday at a Best Buy I used to work in (a lifetime ago). I stopped in Friday, and they said they would call me to let me know the status. Saturday morning, I had my wife call, and they said they had just completed the set-up, since "they were busy." But, they then  had to transfer the files from my old computer to my new computer, which they estimated to be about nine hours. Bottom line, I was finally computer equipped about 7 p.m. Saturday night.

It's amazing, but life without a computer is like life without a microwave. You don't realize how dependent you are upon it, until it's gone.

At least now, I can get going on my blog again.

Oh happy Days!

Goodies in the mail -- Padres program and Alonso auto

(A previous column I hadn't had the chance to publish)

I had a couple of nice packages in the mail the other day. As you all know I collect everything and anything San Diego Padres, so I was stoked to receive a 1984 World Series Program from the Friars' first World Series appearance. Despite losing four games to one against the Detroit Tigers, the Padres had an outstanding 2004 season.

What I remember the most, however, was what it took for them to get into the series -- Especially that last playoff series against the Cubs. I remember sitting in the back row of the Spanish class I was taking at the University of Iowa at that time, with a hoody on and an earphone stuck in my ear listening to the Padres/Cubs games. Thankfully, I wasn't asked to answer any questions that day, but I do remember one of my classmates laughing at me when I jumped up straight in my seat, pumping my fist.

 

The program was in perfect shape. After carefully looking through it (I loved the features on the SD players), I placed it in a plastic sleeve for safekeeping.

 

My other package, was a really nice Yonder Alonso auto...

I couldn't resist this card when I saw it on E-Bay, and surprisingly enough, it only cost me about $3.

 

Alonso was a great pick-up for the Padres, along with Edinson Volquez, Yasmani Grandal and Brad Boxberger. , Edinson Volquez, Yasmani Grandal, and Brad Boxberger were traded to the San Diego Padres for Mat Latos on December 17, 2011

 

Ouch - The computer is down. Again!

Unfortuantely, my computer is down once more -- no picture or anything once you turn it on.. I'll have to scramble to see what I can come up with.

UPDATE:
As it is, it's the processor that's bad and according to the rep, almost impossible to replace cheaply. So, I'm going to have to fund a trip to the store to pick up a new computer. A shame, actually, this one only lasted two and-a-half, to three years, since I picked it up after I got back from Iraq.

10-pack Value Repack - 2012 Topps Opening Day

Today begins day one of the 11 furlough days for Iowa National Guard technicians. If government officials say sequestration is no big issue, that the military is overstating the significance of sequestration, I beg to differ.

 

I am the face of sequestration. I have to take one unpaid day off a week, so I'll be losing approximately 20% of each paycheck, in order for the government to make up its deficit. I have to admit, it really, really sucks. We haven't even had a cost of living pay increase in the last three years (or if we did, it was minimal enough not for us to notice).

 

Sorry for getting on a soapbox. Now, however, time for happy news - let's open those two packs of 2012 Topps Opening Day. To be truthful, I’m not a big fan of this series. Basically, all it is, is 2012 Topps, with an Opening Day banner printed on it. The only nice thing about it, it’s a relatively cheap pack (ain’t that the truth) for younger collectors to spend their allowance on.

Once both packs were opened, this is what I ended up with.

Jhoulys Chacin – Rockies

Michael Cuddyer – Rockies

Jacoby Ellsbury – Red Sox

Freddie Freeman – Braves

Eric Hosmer – Royals

Torii Hunter – Angels

Jason Kipnis – Indians

Jon Lester – Red Sox

Casey McGehee – Pirates

Ricky Nolasco - Marlins

CC Sabathia - Yankees

Sergio Santos – Blue Jays

Inserts

   Mark Trumbo – Superstar Celebrations

   David Wright – Elite Skills

 Either Torri Huner is a great comedian, or he must have pulled off one heck of prank. C Hank Conger is even laughing. Almsot makes you wonder, doesn't it? I like the Ellsbury card, since it's hard to find good action shots at the plate. It looks like he's just ahead of the tag of Seattle's Jesus Sucre, as the helmet goes flying.

 

Here's the inserts. Nothing too impressive...

 

 

 

Okay kiddos, six packs down, three to go. tomorrow we'll crack the 2012 Topps, saving the 2010 Topps 206 for Friday.

10 pack Value Repacks -- 1989 Donruss & 2012 Topps Chrome

As I stated earlier, I had bought a 10-pack value repack at our local Target and received a (1) 2012 Topps Chrome; (2) 2012 Topps Opening Day; (1) 1989 Donruss; (1) 1987 Donruss; (1) 2012 Topps; (1) Leaf Living Lengend Pete Rose (Ich!); (1) Jumbo Pack 2012 Donruss (they count this as one pack, actually); (1) 2007 Ultra; and a (1) 2010 Topps 206 Value Pack (12 cards, but they also count it as one pack).

 On Sunday, I opened the 1989 Donruss and 2007 Ultra. Today, I’ll be opening the 1989 Donruss and 2012 Topps Chrome.

 Oh, those 1989 Donruss – bright red, with the little black and white speckles on the sides – they’re almost as recognizable as the bright yellow 1991 Fleer cards. Besides the Carl Yastrzemski puzzle piece, I found a pair of rookies, and some “name” ball players, but that’s about it. And again, tonight, I’m shut out on Padres cards.  

 Larry Anderson – Astros

Harold Baines – Rangers

George Bell – Blue Jays (MVP)

Brian Dowing – Angels

Brian Dubois – Tigers (RC)

Mike Fitzgerald – Expos

Kirk Gibson – Tigers

Rene Gonzalez – Orioles

Danny Heep – Red Sox

Rick Honeycutt – A’s

Tom Magrann – Indians (RC)

Paul Molitor – Brewers (MVP)

Jeff Montgomery – Royals

Clay Parker - Yankees

Byrn Smith – Expos (Diamond King)

Frank Viola – Mets

 

Two of these cards particularly stand out for me. One, is the menacing look of Kirk Gibson at the plate. This was more than likely the look Dennis Eckersley faced in game 1 of the 1988 World Series. In his only plate appearance of the series, Gibson currently the Diamondbacks manager, nailed Eckersley’s 3-2 offering into the right field stands. He then gimped around the bases with his strained left hamstring and injured right knee, pumping his fist into the air.

 As for the George Bell photo, I get a kick out of seeing the Jays hat barely fitting atop his late ‘89s ‘fro. I’ve always liked the old Blue Jays logo pictured here, and I’m glad they went back to a variation of it.

 As for the 2012 Topps Chrome, it's dissapointing on two fronts: 1) There's only four cards to a pack; and 2) Among those four cards, there's nothing too exciting:

Clay Buchholz – Red Sox

Melky Cabrera – Giants

Felix Hernandez – Mariners

Jose Valverde- Tigers.

I kind of like the intense reaction exhibited by Jose Valverde. He must be happy about something!

Well, there's now four packs down and five to go (Remember, I'm not about to touch that Pete Rose pack). Tommorrow we'll tear open the two packs of 2012 Topps Opening Day.

Minor League Monday - P Matt Maysey

 

Born in Canada, P Matt Maysey was a seventh round Padres pick during the 1985 draft, directly from Alief Hastings High School, of Houston, Texas.

His baseball education began at Spokane, where he compiled an 0-3 record, with a 4.66 ERA and 18 strikeouts.  The next two seasons of his six-year Padres minor league career saw him toiling at Charleston, S.C. in the Class A Sally League. In 1986, he bettered his record 5o 3-2, as his ERA rose to 5.02, with 39 strikeouts. 1987 would prove to be his best season in the Padres system, as he went 14-11, notching seven saves and recording a 3.17 ERA and 143 strikeouts and 59 walks.

The next season saw him promoted to AA Wichita, where he was 9-9, 3.71 ERA 120 K’s, and 68 walks. His last two Padres seasons saw him producing for the Las Vegas Stars, compiling a 15-21 record in 1989 and 1990, with his ERA progreassively ballooning to 4.08 and 5.62, respectively.

In February 1991, he was released by the Friars and then signed as a free agent by Montreal in October 1992. He finally made the big leagues as a relief pitcher, pitching two games for the Montreal Expos in 1992 and 23 for Milwaukee during the 1993 season, after being granted free agency by the Expos. He pitched his final game Sept. 28, 1993, at the age of 26.

After serving as an instructor and coach at the Proway Baseball Academy, Maysey now works as a senior mortgage banker for Nationwide Home Lending in Houston, Texas.

 

10-Pack Baseball value repack

While waiting to go see "Despicable Me 2" at the movies this afternoon, we walked through Target at the mall to kill some time. As usual, my wife knew I had to stroll through the sports card section, "just to look," Needless to say, when we left the mall, I had a 10-pack value repack baseball box, complete with "Extreme value - 40% savings," sitting in our bag, along with Red Vines and a box of Good 'N Plenty for the movie.

I resisted the temptation to open the box while waiting for the movie to start. By the way, I highly recommend "Despicable Me 2." I thought it was better than the first and the minions had more of a role in this one. That's all I'm going to say about that.

Back to the repack...With a Topps 206 and a 2012 Topps showing, I thought it'd be something decent. The 10 packs I received were: (1) 2012 Topps Chrome; (2) 2012 Topps Opening Day; (1) 1989 Donruss; (1) 1987 Donruss; (1) 2012 Topps; (1) Leaf Living Lengend Pete Rose (Ich!); (1) Jumbo Pack 2012 Donruss (they count this as one pack, actually); (1) 2007 Ultra; and a (1) 2010 Topps 206 Value Pack (12 cards, but they also count it as one pack).

I refuse to open the Pete Rose pack - I don't want to dirty my hands. If anyone wants it, they can have it! But I'll open a couple packs a day, saving the 2012 Topps Jumbo Pack and 2010 Topps 206 Value Pack for last.

Having said that. I'll open the 2007 Ultra and 1987 Donruss tonight, so I can deal the good with the bad.

Let's start with the Donruss. Unfortunately, no Padres. Besides a Stan Musial puzzle piece, people move along, there's nothing to see here.

Jack Clark - Cardinals - Diamond Kings
Black Jack Morris - Tigers
Juan Nieves - Brewers
Eric Bell  - Orioles
Richard Dotson - White Sox
John Franco - Reds
Jeff Reardon - Twins
Mark Eichhorn - Blue Jays
Mike Morgan - Mariners
Mike Campbell - Mariners (Rated Rookie)
Jody Davis - Cubs
Sid Fernandez - Mets
Mike Krukow - Giants
Chris Bosio - Brewers
Bob Kipper - Pirates

I was much happier with the pack of Ultra. Lo and behold I got a Padre...and a Hector Gimenez (Astros) RC. Big whoop on the Gimenez, though. In his 168-game to date career, he's only hit .216 with 2 homers and 11 RBIs.

As for the rest:
Grady Sizemore - Indians
John Buck - Royals
Vernon Wells - Blue Jays

Tuesday, I'll have the 1989 Donruss and 2012 Topps Chrome on tap.