Ramon Hernandez, 2007 Topps Heritage #429

Hey, I'm back! I've returned from a birthday/belated honeymoon trip to Ireland. I had a marvelous time, and even kept tabs on the Orioles whenever I could snag a Wi-Fi signal. I can't say that I expected to find the O's with the largest division lead in the majors when I returned home, but here they are, five games up on Toronto and bearing down on Oakland and the Angels for the best record in MLB. As Janet and I took a connecting flight home from Boston yesterday afternoon, I even got to watch the Birds batter sore loser John Lackey and the Cardinals thanks to the wonders of in-flight satellite TV. 28-year-old rookie Caleb Joseph broke the team record for catchers by homering in his fifth consecutive game, breaking the mark set by Gus Triandos and tied by Ramon Hernandez. Now that I'm back on this side of the Atlantic, I'm eager to see the Orioles finish the job down the stretch.

Jaret Wright, 2007 Topps Heritage #460

Tonight I'm going to talk more about 2010 Topps. So you may be wondering why I chose a card from the 2007 Heritage set, which borrows its design from 1958. I'll get to that in a moment.

Last night I planned to rip open just four packs of my hobby box, but none of those packs produced either of the two things that I was primarily looking for: an Oriole or a Million Card Giveaway code. So I tore into a fifth pack, and that did the trick. I nabbed Adam Jones (running the bases with tongue protruding Jordan-style) and a code card with Mickey Mantle on the front.

Before I tell you which card I unlocked with my code (oh, I'm all about suspense tonight), let me run down a few things I like and dislike about this year's flagship set. I've already voiced my approval for the base card design and photography, which is the most important thing. None of the inserts I've seen do much for me, though the "Cards Your Mom Threw Out" series has its good points. There's something lazy about reprints of past cards, but the first one I pulled was Robin Yount's 1975 Topps rookie card. I'm planning to complete the 1975 set, and given the dollar value of the Yount card, I'll be needing this reprint to stand in as a placeholder for some time. So that's decent, and if you were to collect the whole "Yo Momma" insert set (as other bloggers have dubbed it) you'd have a great visual representation of the history of Topps cards from the early 1950s to the present day. On the other hand, reprints of cards from the past ten years? Pointless. Whose mom threw out their prized 2003 Kevin Youkilis card, and would this hypothetical person be torturing themselves over the loss of such a fine piece of cardboard? Meanwhile, many of the reprints (primarily the recent ones) are poor in quality. The pictures look blurred and pixelated. Someone goofed. I also strongly dislike the hideous new Rookie Cup design, but night owl has tackled that issue better than I could have.

Okay, now that you've endured my griping, let's get to the fun stuff. I logged into toppscards.com last night and checked the sidebar with its list of ten recent unlocked cards. Unlike the first week, when there was a flood of 1980s cards, or last weekend, when 1970s cards were being spit out willy-nilly, last night's list featured a hodgepodge of decades. Great, I finally got around to buying this stuff, and they actually decided to randomize the distribution of giveaways. So I typed in my code, took a deep breath, clicked the "unlock" button, and the following card loaded...

George Crowe, 1958 Topps #12. So awesome. The team-colored specs. The commie-fearing "Redlegs" nickname. The mascot with pillbox cap, handlebar mustache, and demented grin. The forgotten player who hit 31 home runs in 1957 as an injury fill-in for Ted Kluszewski. Oh, and did I mention that this card is 52 years old? I could unlock 1987 Topps cards with the rest of my codes, and I'd still be happy. (Okay, maybe that's overstating it.)

Hmm, I didn't mention anything about Jaret Wright, did I? Some other time, perhaps.

Kevin Millar, 2007 Topps Heritage #279

During a home stand last month, Orioles first baseman/Clubhouse Guy Kevin Millar suddenly appeared one night with a new bleached blond hair style. Even more curiously, as he strode to the plate for his first at-bat against the Astros, the PA system pumped out the funky cold rhythms of Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby". Rumor has it that Millar had made a bet with former Red Sox teammate Jason Varitek over the NBA Finals. Varitek's Celtics won, and the events of that late June home game represented Millar's fulfillment of the wager. Big Kev has denied that this is the true story, but he sure didn't offer a better explanation, so I'm going with it.

Much like Kevin Millar, I know when I've been beaten. Last month, I made a bet with Thorzul, a Brewers fan and fellow card blogger. The O's were in Milwaukee for a three-game interleague series. Regrettably, the Birds grooved a few too many fat ones to Prince Fielder and lost the last two games of the set after picking up a nail-biting Friday night win. A few days ago, I made good on the wager and guest posted on Thorzul's blog with five of my favorite Brewers cards from my private stash. Give it a read; it was actually a lot of fun to write about a different team for a change...

As long as it's not the Yankees or Red Sox.

Corey Patterson, 2007 Topps Heritage #79

Corey Patterson is staring into an uncertain future. He can only make out bright lights and fuzzy shapes, so he squints to protect his eyes. Though this picture was most likely taken in 2006, it could very well have been taken today. Corey has been a free agent since season's end, and despite his relatively young age (28) and two okayish seasons in Baltimore following his rock-bottom 2005 performance with the Cubs, he is still on the market with a few weeks to go until Spring Training.

I don't feel too badly for Corey. His agent is the dreaded Scott Boras, so he'll get paid sooner or later. After all, his defense in center field is graceful and exciting at once, and he hits enough to keep his bat in the lineup. Although he's allergic to walks, he's cut his strikeout rates nearly in half from 2005-2007. Plus, he steals lots of bases, which is enticing to the non-Moneyball set.

Still, it has to be somewhat humbling to sit idly by and watch the other, more high-profile players at your position sign big contracts. First Torii Hunter, then Aaron Rowand and Andruw Jones. Heck, the White Sox and Braves appear to be filling their vacancies in center field through trades (Nick Swisher and Mark Kotsay). You or I would probably feel anxious if we went for three or four months without knowing where we'd be working in the upcoming year.

With the possibility of trading Brian Roberts or Erik Bedard for a package of younger players including a center fielder diminishing by the day, it looks more and more likely that Corey Patterson will call Camden Yards home for at least one more year. I think I'd be up for that. No matter what happens, I hope he finds what he's looking for.