Night Owl Cards

(Greetings, and Happy Moldy Cheese Day. That's right, every Oct. 9th, we celebrate the wonders of moldy cheese. I happen to be a noted fan of moldy cheese. When I was a kid, Santa would actually put blue cheese in my stocking. That's how much I like it. Anyway, time for Cardboard Appreciation. This is the 189th in a series): It's been a rough few months for cardboard heroes. Three of my favorites have passed on since July. First there was George "Boomer" Scott, the man who taught me the meaning of the home run. Then there was Johnny "Yatcha" Logan, who grew up in my hometown. And then there was William "Gates" Brown, who went to jail but smiled at me from his 1975 Topps card the first year I collected. All of them are gone. And now, the guy who graces the first card in the first Topps set has died at age 92. Pafko's status as an iconic baseball card has been handed down from collector to collector these past 60 years. There ...

It's Canada Day today. Since I have lived near our northerly neighbors for more than half my life -- either on the Toronto side or the Montreal side -- I am somewhat aware of Canada Day. In fact, in the very definition of "somewhat aware of Canada Day" I once visited the Canadian capital on Canada Day without even knowing it was Canada Day ("good gosh, what's with all the FLAGS?"). Earlier today, I thought it would be appropriate on Canada's day to do a tribute post involving its lone major league team. So I had an idea for a post ready to go, cards pulled, etc. And then the mail came. Sorry, folks, that Canada Day post will have to wait until 2014. I opened one of the two packages I received and it was quite appropriate given the goings-on up north. It was from Brendan, who I met on Twitter. He had some 2013 Dodgers just lying around and wanted to know if I wanted them. I answered in the affirmative as I often do with that question and re...

Dick Williams is remembered as the manager who led the Impossible Dream Red Sox to the World Series title and the Swingin' A's to back-to-back championships in 1972-73. He's remembered for his hell-raising, do-what-I-say leadership style that worked with the Expos and Padres, too. But Williams was a Bum first. He was a Boy of Summer who hit .309 in 36 games for that Dodger team in 1952. He is immortalized in Roger Kahn's book as a single, free-spirit who joined Kahn in a night of ogling dancing girls during the sportswriter's year of covering the team. Williams, as you know, died Thursday at age 82. The Hall of Famer is the latest of several Brooklyn Dodgers from that period to pass away in the last year. Duke Snider. Clyde King. Billy Loes. Ken Lehman went before him. And, of course, Jackie, Furillo and Hodges are long gone. Each time a Bum leaves this earth, you'll hear or read baseball fans say, with a note of resignation, "that's too bad. T...

Apparently, the Dodgers still believe they're in this thing. I don't necessarily agree, although I applaud their optimism and Ned Colletti's enthusiasm, which was demonstrated in his shocking willingness to cough up once-and-possibly-still key prospects in order to land a relief pitcher. The biggest deal was getting Ted Lilly and Ryan Theriot from the Cubs for Blake DeWitt and a couple of minor leaguers. I don't like the swap at second base of DeWitt for Theriot -- the Dodgers are weaker at that position now. But Lilly I've always liked and wished the Dodgers never gave him up in the Mark Grudzielanek trade way back in 1998. But while every other fan's brain focuses on a mid-season deal in terms of "how will this affect my team now?" I think of it another way. I am always intrigued by the relationships that teams have with each other when it comes time to trading. Most teams go to the same trade partners over and over. The thing that interests...

The Dodgers can gain a spot in the playoffs with a win tonight (or a loss by somebody. I think the Braves. The wild-card stuff gets so messy). It will be the second straight year for them, only the fourth time since I have been alive that the Dodgers have made the postseason in back-to-back years. If they do clinch tonight, I'll be at work, unable to celebrate in a fashion that's reasonable and proper. So, I'll post some cards sent by Bud of First Day Issue -- most of them Dodgers -- and add some salient (*ahem*) commentary, and nobody can say I didn't say anything about the Dodgers on the day they clinched. First, a 2002 Stadium Club card of Paul Lo Duca. You'll note that Lo Duca is carrying his batting gloves while he runs. I've always wondered about this. Swimmers shave just about everything and sprinters wear disturbingly tight garb, all in the name of speed. But ballplayers can just carry around objects while they run? It seems so wonderfully lax. What i...