Interleague Far East Matchup

Time to put down the cards for a few hours and check out Kenshin Kawakami face off against Daisuke Matsuzaka in Fenway.

Nate McLouth just gave Kenshin some breathing room with a leadoff homer off Dice-K.

Buying Fairfield Repack Boxes So You Don't Have To

I really should know better by now, but This Fairfield box sucked me in yesterday. It's called 7th inning stretch because there are 7 Unique baseball items per box! WOOHOOO! Get it... Seventh inning... seven items... ahem. Well, for fifteen bucks they better be unique. Anyway I bought it and opened it and now I have become a warning to others. First, let's see what's promised in the box:

This is like the seven dirty words you can't say to a Joe Collector without them frothing at the mouth like an evangelical preacher listening to a George Carlin routine.

Star, Insert, Rookie, Pack, Box Set, Game Used and Graded.

Heck, there could even be the A-word in some of these boxes! oh Lordy, I do believe I'm getting the vapors... Let's see what's in this most wonderful of boxes.

Item 1: One sealed boxed set of 20 cards or more!

Oh goody, a 1990 KMart box set. With 33 Super Gloss photo cards! AND GUM! Still cello wrapped and everything. Let's peruse the checklist:

Bah, no Braves. Well, it was 1990. Dave Justice was about it from that year. There's a few stars in here though. It looks like there's a lineup for the AL and the NL. I think the AL could take 'em though. This may be something I have to bust in a future post. It's kinda weird to get a KMart set out of a box from Target. Time to move on to the second item.

Item 2: One major manufacturer sealed pack!

Upper Deck is a major manufacturer to be sure. And the pack is sealed all right! This is a series one pack out of a blaster. I can tell from the lack of a UPC code on the back and the fact there are only 8 cards in the pack. Let's open 'er up and see what's in there:

98 K Master Mark Reynolds
293 Mike Mussina
230 Coco Crisp is a part of this nutritious breakfast
266 Brandon Inge
323 Ian Kennedy RC
397 Jarrod Saltalamacchia Season Highlights
PP-1 Rudy Giuliani & Jeffrey Maier
.SQ-17 StarQuest common Hanley Ramirez

Definitely a pack for a Yankee fan. Hey Eric, Rudy's yours if you want him, I've already got Mr. 9/11. There are three Yankee logos on the card so it should be right up your alley. I've been pulling Ian Kennedy rookies like mad lately. is he any good or what? 0-4 in ten appearances this year with an ERA over 8. Blech. He pitched well for Scranton though and he's only 23 so who knows. Ok, time for the good stuff:

The infamous plain white Fairfield envelope! What secrets are hidden inside?

Item 3: One rare insert valued at $15 or higher!

A 2001 Pacific parallel of Robert Person? Really? Wow. Oh wait, it's serial numbered.

A Robert Person Pacific Premeire Date parallel card numbered 3/36. This is supposed to be valued at $15 or higher. Really? Let's check the only price guide I have that would contain listings for this set, my 2002 Standard Catalog of Baseball cards. Let's see, Let's see... 2001 Pacific... Robert Person is valued at 10 cents... Premiere date parallels are 25-50X listing for star cards. Is Robert Person a star? I think it's time to be moseying along...

Item 4: One Authentic Rookie card!

Dice-K! Not a bad rookie, it looks kind of different though. Aha, it's from the 2007 Topps team set of the Boston Red Sox. The card is numbered BOS1. Still pretty good, it's a variation I don't have yet. Ok! The next card is really thick! Let's check out the JERSEY CARD!!!

Item 5: One game-used or autographed card!

...

Moving on.

Item 6: One superstar card of Pujols, A-Rod, Jeter & More!

Well, they called the Pujols card all right. This Pujols is from the National Packtime giveaway in 2006. Another neat variation of a star, but I have this set already. Well, this box has been pretty hit or miss so far, with a double helping of miss. Last item in the box is the bulkiest. Let's check out this big ol' slab of plastic.

Item 7: One Beckett graded card!

Well now this ain't too bad! A BCCG 1987 Bo Jackson graded 10 Mint or Better. I think a BCCG 10 is roughly equivalent to a PSA 4 or so, but don't quote me on that. This is actually the best looking 1987 card I've ever seen. Sharp corners, clean back, well centered plus it's Bo! One of the best cards in the set! I'm not a big fan of grading, but this here is a purty card.

So whaddya think kiddos? Was it worth it? Are you going to run out to your local target and snap up a bunch of these boxes? If you do, let me know what you got. It can't possibly be better than this box and I'd like to gloat. Bo Jackson baybee!

First Strikeout, 2008

Daisuke Matsusaka, struck out Jack Hannahan.

Also, first hit batter, wild pitch, meltdown.

That's enough firsts for right now. Maybe I'll do a Fleer sticker of the winner later today.