We may have philosophical differences, but I'm not stupid

I may consider Bowman a rip-off, one of the worst value-per-card products ever produced (unless you are gifted enough to land the mojo man of the moment), but I'd have to be an idiot to avoid it altogether.

First, there is this.

Secondly, there is this.

Since we are going through a replay of last June, I owe it to myself to at least try to duplicate the phenomenon thoroughly. There is no rational thought when it comes to this product. So why not attempt to fleece ... er, acquire something so many people want? I can throw 8 bucks at that, right?

Besides, I must sample every kind of card made available to me. It is a sickness.

So, I grabbed a single rack pack and a single loose pack. I could have had my choice of anything. Blasters, too. But I have no interest in becoming one of the crazy people. I have restraint. Somewhat.

The rack pack was the usual Bowman borefest.

Here is the best of what came from that:

This is very Christmasy in that ugly kind of Bowman way (If Bowman was fashion, it would make the worst-dressed list every year). This green parallel card is numbered to 450 and on its way to Sooz because she works much too hard.

My lone Dodger. Ynoa? No, I don't Knowa. But the back says he helped save a motorcycle crash victim one year ago this month. That's cool, ynoa?

On to the loose pack.

I'm going to show all 10 cards, because someone else beat me to A Pack To Be Named Later post. Posting here will be better. I won't have to do research on any of the prospects here.

#BP67 - Dan Klein, Orioles. Supposed to be pretty good. Have no idea who he is. That's 30 cents down the drain.

#BP59 - Ronald Bermudez. Don't know who he is either. This is why I consider Bowman an atrocious value. I like all of the cards in the pack to mean something to me. With a set like OPC or Heritage or whatever, I can attach a specific memory or some knowledge to every card. Jeremy Sowers? Cla Meredith? Josh Willingham? Not big names, but at least they are bouncing around in my baseball consciousness and they have some value.

These Bowman "prospect" guys go in a box, and unless they are one of the lucky 10 percent, they mean absolutely nothing to me forever. They might as well be a dummy card. I don't like paying 30 cents for a dummy card.

#109 - Evan Longoria. Nothing on the back about him once owning an AK-47. Before it was stolen.

#98 - Starlin Castro. He is so far away that you can see all the Dodger fans in the stands.

#25 - Grady Sizemore. I like the foil team logo in the corner.

#36 - Johan Santana. All the while that I am posting these cards, "Define the Design" ideas are running through my head. It's got a plasma TV vibe.

#165 - Jaime Garcia. Awwwwww. They like each other.

#BCP36 - Marcell Ozuna. He led the New York-Penn League in home runs last year, but I don't know who he is. The back says he shares the same hometown as Manny Ramirez. Ramirez was born in Santo Domingo. Santo Domingo is the capital of the Dominican Republic. So Ozuna also shares his hometown with more than 2 million other people.

(*gasp* *wheeez*)

(*runs to ebay to see how many thousands are to be earned*)

(*realizes he doesn't have to run because he is sitting at his computer already*)

(*frantically checks prices, because THE FEVER has hit the bay*)

("... autographed Harper, red bordered Harper, blue bordered Harper, refractor Harper, ah, here it is, Bowman's Best Bryce Har ...*)

(oh.)

OK, so not every Bryce Harper card is selling for banana bucks.

Oh, well.

Didn't really want to go through that again anyway.

(*aimlessly stares into space*)

Oh, I forgot:

#BBP1 - Bryce Harper, Nationals, Bowman's Best insert

And there's one more card ...

#21 - Jason Heward, Braves, gold

Now, that, to me is the best card of the pack. At least the man has made it.

Overall, a pretty good pack in the Bowman scheme of things. It doesn't change my view of Bowman, which is that it still is not my cup of tea, and can annoy me perpetually. Bowman has done a lot better job with inserts the last couple of years, but I don't chase prospects and I don't chase inserts. And if I hadn't pulled a Harper, I wouldn't have bought more Bowman to chase one down. Because all he means to me is a chance to get something for him.

Meanwhile, I'm sure that the next time I go to Walmart, all of the Bowman product will have disappeared.

All that will be left is Heritage, and Opening Day, and those value boxes.

I still don't understand why the value boxes stay on the shelf for so long. I grabbed another one. It yielded yet another hit, which is going in the future contest prize pile.

Also, here is what I redeemed with one of my code cards:

Yes, this is the fourth Diamond Cut card I have redeemed. And it's a pretty good one. Already getting crazy offers for it.

Can you imagine if Topps made a Diamond Cut card of Bryce Harper?

Don't you think Topps hasn't thought of it yet.