2008 Topps Series 2 Box Break - Packs 1-4

Ok, I'm doing the same drill as last time. I'm ripping the box one layer at a time and posting those four packs. Then I'll do something else and then rip the next four packs. This way the box lasts about a week and I get 9 posts out of the deal. Here's the first four because I'm sure my readers are all frothing at the mouth in their lust for new wax. Last time I got two "hits" - a black parallel and a Presidential stamp card. Will I do better or worse this time? Let's find out.

Pack 1:
498 Matt Chico
408 Edinson Volquez
486 Javier Vazquez
601 Felipe Paulino RC
492 Harvey Garcia RC
333 Jayson Nix RC
YR83 Wil Ledezma Year In Review
ToppsTown code card
507 Mark DeRosa
339 Troy Percival
378 Ozzie Guillen

First pack I pull a Brave insert. Ok, so it's Wil Ledezma. IT'S STILL A BRAVE. Edinson Volquez is the first card to elicit a "cool!" reaction from me. The Reds picked him up from Texas in the Josh Hamilton Trade and he's leading the league in ERA. I'm pretty sure he's pitching against Tom Glavine tomorrow. I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that with the Braves' inability to hit on the road and Edinson's ability to pitch lights out at home, the Bravos are in for a long night. I'm surprised this isn't his rookie card though. I did get three RC's in the pack including what they are trying to pawn off as Jayson Nix's rookie card. I say Bull. I have a Topps Heritage card of him from 2002 for Pete's sake. I pulled my first ToppsTown junk card. It's got some kind of a code on back. Hooray, I get to register for Topps' website and forget the password after 2 months again. Troy Percival in a Rays uniform is kinda cool. Did you know he has 14 saves for them so far this year? He's also posing in the back yard of some dude apartment. I've seen this same apartment building on about 10 Topps cards now dating from last year at least. WHOSE APARTMENT IS THIS??? It's driving me a little nutty. Last card in the pack is Ozzie Guillen. I hope Ozzie manages the Sox for as long a time as Bobby Cox has managed the Braves. The second time around mind you, not the first time when he got fired by Ted Turner for no apparent reason.

Pack 2:
606 Jason Bergman
347 Chris Capuano
468 Gregor Blanco RC
658 Kerry Wood
TCH61 Francisco Rodriguez Trading Card History
AR90 Angel Berroa All-Rookie Team
445 gold foil Hideki Matsui
Checklist 3 of 4
660 Yadier Molina
473 Joe Maddon
356 Manny Corpas

If you were hoping that Topps would ditch the gold foil cards for series two, you were disappointed. The foil on Hideki is kind of scroungy like the cards from my last box, so maybe we'll see no foil errors again. The Gregor Blanco card is sweet. I've been waiting impatiently to pull his card this year. Kerry Wood's card is nifty looking, there's a beautiful cloudy Arizona sky behind him. Yadier Molina is card #660 for the second straight year. This I do not understand unless the Topps checklister is a Mets fan who tries to leave him out of the set but is forced to put him back in as the last card instead. Angel Berroa gets a 50th anniversary card. K-Rod's Trading card history card is going to inspire a post. The back says "1952 Baseball Card" but it looks like a Red Man tobacco card to me. The card looks great either way and it's going straight in the binder. The checklist card is the most interesting though, it has the Home Run Derby Checklist (Chipper's the only Brave), the Silks checklist (Chipper, Smoltz, Tex, Hudson and Frenchy) a bunch of autographs I'll never get and the tail end of the Campaign Matchup card. that's the really interesting part. The card for 2008 is Barack vs. Hillary and is labeled 2008D. No McCain at all. If Topps has to have a gimmick card in this set, sneaking in a super short printed McCain vs. Obama card would win back some of my lost respect from the Giuliani stupidity.

Pack 3:
423 Mike Scioscia
626 Mike Redmond
638 Juan Pierre
489 Joakim Soria
621 Denard Span RC
602 Lyle Overbay & Vernon Wells Classic Combos
YR64 Chad Gaudin Year in Review
ToppsTown junk
372 Matt Kemp
338 Matt Diaz
505 BJ Upton

Three packs, three Braves. Good start. So far I'll say this: The photography is better than in series 1. the action shots are a little more interesting than the "Pitcher throwing" "Hitter hitting" all from the exact same angle shots we've been getting. Juan Pierre's card is especially nice looking as he swings away with the crowd and the first base coach in the background. BJ Upton is chillin' by the batting cage. Even the posed portraits are getting a little better as they aren't slapped up against a blank wall or some Olan Mills dropcloth. Mike Scioscia has fluffy clouds behind him and is flanked by a palm tree and the Angels' Halo A on either side. Joakim Soria has an interesting pattern of seats as a backdrop. Denard Span has nothing interesting behind him and is pissed off about it. Another ToppsTown card, another Year in Review, another 9 cards for the set. Next pack.

Pack 4:
491 Cliff Floyd
414 Andrew Miller
624 Joe Torre
587 Chris Snyder
403 Nate Robertson
406 Gold Parallel Takashi Saito #1336/2008
MM64 Mickey Mantle Story
Topps All Star Rookie junk card
ANOTHER ToppsTown Junk card
571 Eric Gagne
564 Frank Catalanotto
382 Micah Owings

Cliff Floyd is still in the league?? Awesome! Topps is teaching me new stuff all the time. I'm starting to buy Joe Torre in a Dodgers uni. He'll probably get fired as soon as I'm really comfortable with it though. I got my first Gold Parallel, too bad it's a Dodger reliever. Could be worse, coulda been Gagne. I bet writers regret not giving Smoltzie his due back when Gagne was juicing up the world in '02 to '04. Four packs in and I'm tired of ToppsTown. The Mantle card looks good on the front, but the back was a bit of a shock. I'm used to seeing cartoons on the back of '56 Topps cards and there's just a wall of text talking about Don Larson's perfect game. I know people are kind of tired of The Mick in Topps products, but I really hope they continue this Mantle Story set through his '69 card design. I'm in kind of a pickle here, I pulled both Andrew Miller who is Mario's favorite and Micah Owings, beloved of Dinged Corners. Looks like I'll have to post them both!

The box so far:

Base cards - 33
Checklists - 1
Dupes - 0

Parallels:
Gold Foil - 1
Gold Parallel - 1 - Takashi Saito

Inserts:
Year In Review - 2 - Wil Ledezma, Chad Gaudin
Trading Card History - 1 - Francisco Rodriguez
All-Rookie 50th - 1 - Angel Berroa
Mickey Mantle Story - 1

Junk:
ToppsTown - 3
All-Rookie - 1