Ultimate Checklist: 2002 Topps 206

Hey, Topps T-206 is out. That makes this as good a time as any to go back to the old standby: The Ultimate Checklist posts. Remember those? I use them to chronicle all of Curtis Granderson's cards from the beginning of time to, well, now. With 2009's Topps T-206 now here, it gives me good reason to show off Topps 206 from 2002, back when Curtis was but a rookie card.

2002 Topps 206 #425 Curtis Granderson RC Polar Bear Mini

I only have one of the cards from this set--and it is a mini variation. The base card looks the same but is full size. There are also a slew of parallels that all look the same, but for different tobacco companies promoted on the back. The parallel versions from that 2002 version were the Polar Bear version that I have:



--this is the most common mini variation--as well as three versions of Sweet Caporal back (Black, Blue and Red) and Uzit. I don't have any of these and couldn't find any good pictures of them until...the Cardboard Junkie profiled all of these cards the other day and showed wonderful pictures of the backs.

In general, I like the Topps 206 series--I think that this would easily be the best set for Granderson rookie cards but for one thing. They use the exact same picture as the Bowman and Bowman Chrome releases. Too bad. For all the grief I give the card companies for using the same pictures nowadays, it seems as though things used to be even worse. Granderson rookie cards exist across four sets, and three of them use the same picture. Sigh.

On the plus side, there are a bunch of mini tobacco cards out there just waiting to be collected, and I don't think that anyone can complain too much about that.

Peeking In On 2009 Topps T-206

So Topps T-206 is out and it is looking nice. As part of my never-ending checklist quest, I think I'm getting a good handle for what the set is all about, namely a nice looking checklist and mini parallels galore. I'll get more in-depth as more cards become available, and will try to put together a gallery checklist by the end of next week to show the cards off.

For now, here's a sneak peak of some of the Tigers in the set:







I'm excited to see the rest. Preliminary eBay perusal reveals this checklist:

Base Set
25 Magglio Ordonez
53 Wilkin Ramirez RC
66 Ty Cobb SP
72 Rick Porcello RC, SP
87 Ryan Perry RC, SP
119 Curtis Granderson
166 Joel Zumaya
183 Jeremy Bonderman
230 Miguel Cabrera
276 Justin Verlander

T-206 Autographs
FMA-3 Ryan Perry
Curtis Granderson

T-206 Relics
FR-22 Ty Cobb

I'm hoping these become a little more widespread over the holiday weekend. Also, I will easily be convinced to collect this base set, and probably a mini set too. I'm just saying.

Tigers Checklist: 2009 O-Pee-Chee

Doing the long drive home for the holidays, during which time I expect posting to be scarce (but you never know). To tide you over I thought it would be nice to show off one of the larger sets produced this year. Lots of Tigers in this one.

I have trouble gauging exactly how I feel about O-pee-chee. I like the makeup of the set, I like the design, I like the refreshing absence of inserts, relics and autographs mucking things up. This is a team/set collector's set, which gives it bonus points. Big checklist, nice feeling cardstock, all good stuff. The downside is that I find a lot of the photography lacking, with too many gray-background studio shots, and other pictures that are so bad that it is borderline absurd (feeling OK, Dontrelle?) In all, I could never bring myself to pull the trigger on a team set because I just didn't find the photography appealing enough. Take this design with all in-game or candid shots and I'll be there 100% of the time.

With that, your 2009 O-Pee-Chee Detroit Tigers:

Base Set

#24 Carlos Guillen	#32 Magglio Ordonez	#92 Brandon Inge
#114 Gerald Laird	#165 Edwin Jackson	#178 Placido Polanco
#207 Jeremy Bonderman	#234 Fernando Rodney	#314 Zach Miner
#320 Miguel Cabrera	#331 Curtis Granderson	#362 Adam Everett
#413 Marcus Thames	#414 Dontrelle Willis	#426 Justin Verlander
#488 Armando Galarraga	#525 Detroit Tigers CL	#533 Cabrera/Rodriguez/Quentin
#535 Morneau/Hamilton/Cabrera	#573 Ryan Perry RC	#594 Rick Porcello RC

Inserts The "Face of the Franchise" is the big insert here. The OPC throwback design has a mix of baseball and hockey players, with Detroit getting the hockey end of things. Box Bottoms were found on the side of blasters, at least, I'm not sure about Hobby Boxes and Miguel Cabrera is featured. This is presumably the same as his base card, but until I see it...

#FF-27 Miguel Cabrera	#RM9 Henrik Zetterberg (Red Wings)	Box Bottom #2 Miguel Cabrera

Relics These are all of the "OPC Materials Variety"

#OPC-EFG Ellsbury/Figgens/Granderson	#OPC-HMC Hafner/Morneau/Cabrera
#OPC-PCF Pujols/Cabrera/Fielder	#OPC-VWB Verlander/Weaver Buchholz
#OPC-DLO Dye/Lee/Ordonez

Autographs How refreshing is it to have autographs only seeded at one per case?! Of course, it makes pictures pretty hard to find. Hence:

#OPCS-JB Jeremy Bonderman

Wilkin

Reader, fellow collector and Tigers fan sewingmachineguy said something the other day that many Tigers fans have been thinking ever since the, um, rumors started circulating. In response to me shredding some prospective roster tomfoolery he asks simply, "What about Wilkin Ramirez? He looks like a player."

Ah, so he does.

Seems as though the card companies are throwing their weight behind Wilkin as well. He made his major league debut last season, filling in for the bereaved Magglio Ordonez. At the time, I was firmly in his corner.

I, for one, would like to begin the call now for a Wilkin Ramirez rookie card in Updates and Highlights.

And so it shall be.

2009 Topps Updates & Highlights #UH70 Wilkin Ramirez RC

Topps obliged, either because they are avid readers of the blog, or because they too saw something that they just couldn't resist. It is hard to resist anyone whose first major league hit is a Home Run, after all. Upper Deck saw that and was on the bandwagon too:

2009 Upper Deck Update #U4 Wilkin Ramirez

I wouldn't be surprised if that is actually a shot of him hitting his home run. He only had at bats in four games for the rest of the season, and none until August, and by then, the luster may have worn off. Fortunately, Upper Deck captured the key moment for posterity.

For a guy who has been a prospect in the Tigers system since he was 17, it seems like he may now get his time to shine.

2009 Topps Updates & Highlights #CHR17 Wilkin Ramirez

He's a five tool player, with speed and power and an arm, he is silky-smooth all around.

2009 Topps Updates & Highlights Wilkin Ramirez Silk Collection (#41/50)

But will that be enough? He has holes in his swing, strikes out too often and hasn't shown that he is quite ready to make the jump yet. Not even Lynn Henning, the eternal prospect optimist projects him on the Tigers roster in a couple of years. He has languished among the Top-10 Tigers prospects for years, at least as much as one can languish on a "top 10 list." At least one more keeps him there for another year:

8. Wilkin Ramirez: The tools are still there, but time is beginning to run out. Ramirez has the potential for plus power, and he has some deceptive, workable speed, but he has gaping holes in his swing. And his overly aggressive plate approach isn't doing him any favors. His defense is a liability as well. The odds are stacked against him at this point, but I'm not giving up yet.

None of us are...yet.

But I wonder whether Wilkin can really be the Tigers' Golden Goose

2009 Topps U&H#UH70 Wilkin Ramirez RC Gold (#/2009)

Or if the future of the system lies in a the bat of another.

That remains to be seen. I know for one thing, that I wouldn't put all of my eggs in the Wilkin basket quite yet, but I'll happily pre-order my seat on his bandwagon, just in case.

Tigers Checklist: 2009 Sweet Spot

Master Checklist Here

I find that I'm always mixed about Sweet Spot. Yes, the "sweet spot" autographs on the baseballs are really nice, but I'm still sour on them after the 2007 fading signature fiasco. Ultimately, I guess I'd rather have a signed ball. Still, this year's edition of sweet spot signatures are particularly nice, with larger player photographs and fewer inane parallels (via different stitch/ink color combinations), at least for the Tigers. The base cards are predictably nice looking and underrated--I always like how these end up, but since they are essentially "throw-ins" on the set, they don't get much play. The relic cards...well, you'll see.

Your 2009 UD Sweet Spot Detroit Tigers look like this:

Base Set

#24 Curtis Granderson	#66 Justin Verlander	#78 Miguel Cabrera

Rookie Signatures (these are numbered as though they are part of the base set, but are autographed and serial numbered. They also have silver parallels that I've chosen to show for the fun of it)

#125 Rick Porcello (#/550)	#126 Ryan Perry (#/199)	#125 Rick Porcello Silver (#/65)

#126 Ryan Perry Silver (#/65)

Relics

#SS-CG Curtis Granderson	#SS-RP Rick Porcello

#DS-PV Verlander/Peavy	#QS-VEN Ordonez/Santana/ Cabrera/Hernandez

I'm not sure that I can describe how terrible I think these relic cards are. They have no redeeming qualities that I can find.

Sweet Spot Signatures

#S-EJ Edwin Jackson (#/350)	#SC-AK Al Kaline (#/99)	Ty Cobb Cut Signature (1/1)

Ooh, boy I love me some Ty Cobb cut signatures. I hope that this surfaces at some point so that I can snag the picture and add it here. These signatures are nice looking as always, but seem to have trouble scanning. The signature is almost always out of register relative to the rest of the card. Perhaps because they are inset?

In all, this is one of those sets where there are some nice things, but a bunch of less desirable filler disguised as "hits". All of the Tigers autographs appear to have many copies available (high serial numbers), making them easy to pick up for a relative pittance, if you're so inclined. I find both the Jackson and the Kaline to be particularly nice cards.

Programming Note

I've been moving offices yesterday and today and am heading out of town for the weekend. I have plenty of posts in the brain, just not enough time to put them to the digital newsprint. Things may be scarce for the next two days, although I may try to get something up to bridge the gap.

Breaking The Crystal Ball

Now things start coming together. For months I have wondered what Lynn Henning has had in mind when constantly preaching that the Tigers must trade Granderson. Today, we are invited into the heart of darkness.

Here's a tentative look at what could be the Tigers' starting lineup on Opening Day 2011:

1. Shortstop (to be determined, acquired via trade)
2. Scott Sizemore, second base
3. Casper Wells, center field
4. Miguel Cabrera, first base
5. Carlos Guillen, designated hitter
6. Alex Avila, catcher
7. Ryan Strieby, left field
8. Brennan Boesch, right field
9. Third base (to be determined, acquired via trade)

This assumes several things: Inge will be gone. Ryan Raburn will either have been traded or will be a starter ahead of one of the three young outfielders. Magglio Ordonez's option for 2011 will not have kicked in. And trades will have provided the missing pieces at shortstop and third base.

Those voids will have been filled, if the 2009 calculations are correct, by a couple of upcoming trades for a couple of players named Granderson and Jackson.

God help us all.

Explain to me for just a second, how that is any different from this? Seriously. Is this is a team that wins in 2011? I really don't think so. This is a team that, if you're lucky, is built for more like 2013 when those players start to come into their own and not 2011 when they are all rookies and second year players. So if this is what you're relying on for a team roster in 2011, as opposed to, you know, one that includes Granderson and an extra $40M in payroll to spend on some well-placed free agents, or high quality players acquired via trade, then I've got some prime swampland real estate that I'm looking to sell.

Let's play a game.

Of the Top 10 Prospects in the Tigers system going into 2007, One (Jair Jurrjens) is in the Major Leagues.

Of the Tigers' Top 10 Prospects going into 2008, One (Rick Porcello) is in the Major Leagues.

Of the Tigers' Top 10 Prospects going into 2009, Two (Porcello and Ryan Perry) are in the Major Leagues.

You're telling me that somehow, the Tigers are going to pull four players from their Minor League System, two prospects from another minor league system and Alex Avila--who was mostly a minor leaguer in 2009--and have SEVEN starting major league players?!?! That is insanity. Keep in mind, that the Tigers have had exactly ZERO position players come through their system and into the regular starting lineup of ANY MAJOR LEAGUE TEAM since Curtis Granderson broke through in 2006. The Tigers system has no phenoms, and no reason to believe that they can assemble a major league team through "The Henning Plan"

And therein lies the problem. When you have players like Granderson and Miguel Cabrera--position players that have proven themselves in the Major Leagues, it just doesn't make sense to deal them and rely on your position player prospects. Sure, Granderson is 29, but that isn't old. That means he has 3-4 years before he starts to decline. I'm not saying that Granderson can't be replaced, but rather that there is no replacement for him. If you're lucky enough to develop one or two major league position players from your current crop of minor leaguers, the team has plenty of holes that they could fill.

I'll say it once more: I don't dispute that there may be scenario in which trading Curtis Granderson may make sense. I just don't know what it is. Lynn Henning has preached and preached that it is the cure to what ails the Tigers. Today, he proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he has absolutely no idea what he is talking about.