Night Owl Cards

I don't think this falls under the "secret shame" category. But I've been a little reluctant to confess a bit of information: I have a hard time telling a refractor card from a regular chrome card. I'm not actively collecting the Topps Chrome set from 2008, but I do pick up some packs here and there just because I can't resist. It's chrome! But I can go months before realizing that a card in my possession is a refractor. Just today, while continuing my never-ending attempt to sort my cards, I discovered that the Dustin Pedroia card up there was a refractor. It's a good thing Topps mentions it's a refractor on the back, or I'd be as clueless about this card as how the Arizona Cardinals got to the Super Bowl (I can name three players on the team. Maybe four). Then it dawned on me: how many chrome cards had I thought were doubles were actually refractors? I immediately headed to the basement and dug through my 2008 dupes. I found two refractors s...

I'm not dumb enough to consider "Work Hard, Get Cards" an insert, but think about it for a minute: It's not part of the base set. It's randomly inserted in packs; you don't get one in every pack. That's the definition of an insert, right? OK, enough foolishness. This is where I count down the inserts/subset cards I got in the various packs I purchased since November. Fourteen separate packs yielded what I'm about to show, and it's a pretty depressing lot. I like the last card, and that's about it. What follows pretty much sums up what you got in retail packs in 2008. Or at least what I got. These cards and the rest, listed along the sidebar, go to the winner of the contest. You can get the rules and enter here . Off we go: 11. Mickey Mantle, Home Run History, No. 430, Topps Chrome. This is a waste of valuable chrome. Get these out of the chrome set. 10. Dennis Kucinich, presidential campaign subset, Topps Series I. You see correctly; I ranke...

Everyone has seen this year's Topps Chrome offering, I'm sure. But I'm a sucker for a pack-ripping, as I know a few others out there are, too. A Pack A Day is the best. Set up a ripping of 1991 Donruss and I'm there. So anyway, I picked up a couple of packs Sunday. Lest anyone think I wasted precious gas on cards only, let it be known that the family also purchased toothpaste, cake frosting, a CD for my daughter, spray paint and a pet bed. Now that's one fulfilling afternoon. It's all about the Yankees tonight, so I'll try to keep it in a New York State of Mind: Too late. First one out of the gate is a Dodger, albeit an injured one. I don't know if Brad Penny is ever going to get back to his former self, and that's too bad because he was my favorite player during that year-and-a-half with L.A. when he was just bad ass. And that was before he started dating her . OK, the Yankee theme can start with Mr. Cocky. If this guy stays in a Red Sox uni...