Night Owl Cards

  Last month I pulled this card after purchasing the first cards I had seen for sale in a full aisle display since the early days of the pandemic. It's stunning when you think of it, that out of all the chrome refractor parallels numbered to 673 -- hundreds of possibilities -- I would pick the Wander Franco card. It's just as stunning the price it went for after I put it up for sale. It sold for $258.07. That blows my mind. It also boggles my mind that there were 87 watchers and 463 page views. None of this makes sense. I would never pay that kind of money for a card unless I had invested a lot of time into that player (or that set) over a number of years -- not somebody who just burst onto the scene in the last year or two. But that's our hobby now and thank goodness in at least one way -- I got to spend almost $200 on cards I actually want! You're gonna see them. All told, I ended up with 65 cards for a single card. I won't show all of them, just the stuff that...

I've been trying to hold off a bit on diving into 2019 card product in the quest for Dodgers because I know those cards will be coming to me via various traders more often than other cards. It's a bit of a struggle for me because the pull of retail is quite strong. It's right there! Down the street! Calling to me! "Niggggghhhht Oowwwwlll! Ohhhh, Niggggghhhtt Owwwwwlll!!!! Freshly stocked caaard merchandiiisse is waaitting for yoooooooooouuuu!!!" I'm powerless to ignore that call when flagship or Heritage or Ginter reaches retail aisles. And that lack of willpower doesn't bother me a lot because what I don't need is often quite handy to send along to others. But I do realize the benefits of holding back and waiting, especially at this point in the card calendar. This is what I call the "Card Brands Of No Use To Night Owl Season". There is no retail pull at this time of year. Spring signals the release of Gypsy Queen and Bowman and P...

(One year ago today, the Dodgers signed Aaron Harang for their 7th pick up of the offseason. They had already signed Jerry Hairston Jr., Chris Capuano, Juan Rivera, Matt Treanor, Mark Ellis and Adam Kennedy. This offseason, they have signed no one to this point, because they're waiting to see where Zack Greinke's former cheerleader wife wants to live. Such is life as a fan of the No. 2 payroll team. Time for Cardboard appreciation. This is the 167th in a series): Green doesn't go with the Dodgers very well. Sure, it's a pretty card -- supplied by The Angels, In Order -- and one I desperately wanted. But it's not the Dodgers' color. I think of this every time I see one of these parallels. Green. Red. Orange. They're all very nice. Exotic, even.  And I love colored parallels. But they don't go with the Dodgers. Angels In Order sent this parallel, too. Purple doesn't work any better with the Dodgers. Blake Smith looks like he's battin...

(Did you know it's hot in the Northeast? You'd think people never heard of summer around here. Bring on the heat! I love it. In fact I appreciate it. It's time for Cardboard Appreciation. This is the 71st in a series): I have decided that I will not collect the Topps Chrome set this year. Was that an audible gasp? Yes, I am aware that this is a bit of a change of direction for me. I attempted to collect both the 2008 and 2009 Chrome sets, because I so love the shiny. But I failed miserably on the '08 set, and even though I can buy a pack of '09 Chrome at my Target (at FULL PRICE) anytime I want, it looks like I won't be finishing off the '09 set. Given those two warning signs, even bozo here can figure out that collecting 2010 Chrome is not the wisest move. But there is another reason for my refraining from purchasing all but a stray pack of Chrome -- and, of course picking up all the Dodgers. That reason is Chrome will never be as good as it wa...