Gint-a-Cuffs Packs 17 and 18: In Which there is Lurking Fear

Every big-leaguer has a fear, mostly of failure. I mean, a 70% success rate as a batter is considered great and for a pitcher, it's nearly the same (when a ball is put into play). Some though, give fear to players, managers, or fans (ok, well probably more to fans) based on their skillset of prodigious talent, unpredictability, or underwhelming performance. Who doesn't have a sinking feeling in their stomach when a constantly lit-up reliever strolls into the game? This is fear. When a slugger is at the plate, the manager adjusts strategy? When some people take their hacks or throw their pitches, who doesn't want to cover their eyes? (Eric Bruntlett this year, Adam Eaton in years past). Let's rate the players pulled in these packs in fear quotient on a scale of 1-10 (from an opposing fan's perspective)

Pack 17
261: John Danks-5
287: James Shields-5
30: Ryan Howard +1-9

80: Joe Martinez RC-1
306: Cliff Lee +5-8


Mini Creatures of Legend, Myth, and Terror LMT16: Cerberus +7-10


Sketch Card AGHS15: Jon Lester +3-8

National Pride NP22: David Wright (USA) +4-7 (only Mets player standing)


Pack Total: 20

Pack 18
4: Jorge Posada -1-6
6: Adam Eaton-(negative 100)
114: Hideki Matsui -1-4
126: Trevor Crowe RC-1
81: Willie Williams +2-N/A

Mini 8: Matt Cain-7
307: Hunter Pence +5-5

National Pride NP18: Robinson Cano (Dominican Republic) -1-9 (he'll swing at anything)

Pack Total: 4

Total After 18 Packs:155
On Pace For: 204

This is the first time in a long time that there's a shot that I will surpass 200 points and not be dead last. I was really down until the last few packs; I thought Topps had forgotten to put any interesting cards in here. You will see that that is not true. I love the Cerberus card, I would have been happy with just that.