Lizard's Rant

Apparently Upper Deck is a little bitter about not acquiring Topps. For some reason they decided to design and produce “Michael Buysner” rookie cards and intentionally insert them in to 2007 Sweet Spot Baseball. Several cards have already hit eBay and sold for several hundred dollars. According to Beckett, the card - shown below - has the following written on the back:

Upper Deck welcomes this season’s newest rookie, Michael Buysner. After humble origins as a page for a top TV network and stints that included crashing a hamboni machine at an Anaheim hockey arena, he is now the topp dog searching for a way to bring Bazonka Joe into the 21st century. As Big Cheese of his own cardboard kingdom, he is enthusiastically searching for the baseball cards his mom threw away and no one will be surprised to see a new big budget film titled, ‘Bazonka Joe and the Temple of Lost Trading Cards’ in the very near future. Upper Deck wishes Buysner well – in the candy business.

Of course, in true Michael Vick, President Bush/Mickey Mantle, and Alex Gordon fashion, Upper Deck denies intentionally releasing the product:

It has come to our attention that 2007 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Baseball contains cards that should not have been included in the product release. Accordingly, the Upper Deck Company has sent notices to its customers requiring them to return any and all 2007 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Baseball product that they have received and/or that they may receive in the coming days.

Liar. SOMEONE in your organization OK’d the production and insertion of them into packs. They don’t just magically end up on the assembly line. And why were you wasting company time designing and printing that card in the first place? You don’t have anything better to do with your time than take cheap shots at the competition. I love how that statement says “cards that should not have been included in the product release”. What did you intend to do with the cards? Pass them out at your Holiday Party?

Just tell us the truth from now on.