Night Owl Cards

I recently completed a Topps 2010 insert cards trade with Mike of JD's Wild Cardz . He got my Legendary Lineage and Peak Performance cards, and I got his Tales of the Game and History of the Game cards. One man's trash for another man's rubbish. Or something like that. As I've said, I really like the Tales of the Game insert set. I'm down to needing three more cards: 14, 17, 22. And it just got more difficult to complete as my Target removed any Series I packaging that wasn't a blaster. No more loose packs or rack packs. Nice work, Target. You've just forced me to shop at Wal-Mart. Anyway, the bloody sock Schilling was one more off the want list. I am not collecting the History of the Game cards as feverishly as the Tales cards. I can see why collectors view HOG cards with a glazed look, like they were just plopped into the middle of their sophomore year and an hour-long history class. They are rather dull. So, forgive me for getting dull on you. But...

I don't know why I do the things I do. I know full well that I don't like Upper Deck Spectrum as a product. I think it should be eliminated. In fact I'm on record as saying the color/design irks me, reminds me of unpleasant-tasting cold medicine, and other wacky things that only someone with my confused brain could think up. And I'll blame my confused brain for buying a couple of packs of Spectrum, just to see what it would be like to pull some out of a pack. Maybe they wouldn't be so bad, I thought. Maybe I could find a Dodger or two. Well, right out of the chute I knew it was a waste of five bucks plus tax. Dan Haren last played for Oakland on Sept. 28, 2007. Yet, here he is, in an Oakland uniform on a 2009 card. But I'm not surprised by this. I've seen it several times already with Spectrum. I've even mentioned it before . Spectrum and I don't see eye-to-eye already because I've never been a fan of cards in which the players are taken out ...

Chad Billingsley goes to the mound this afternoon for the Dodgers' home opener against the good-for-nothing Giants. I'm as excited as someone who resides 3,000 miles away can be. But while the opener is less than four hours away, I'm still trying to wrap my head around how the Dodgers scored their first run in yesterday's game against the Diamondbacks. Have you ever heard of the fourth-out rule before yesterday? I hadn't. Neither had a bunch of people playing in Sunday's game. Here is what happened. It is the top of the second inning with one out and Arizona leading 1-0. Juan Pierre is on second base after hitting a one-out single and stealing second. Andre Ethier is on third base after walking and advancing to third on Pierre's single. Randy Wolf, a pretty good hitting pitcher, hits a line drive that Diamondbacks starter Dan Haren catches for the second out. Haren throws to second baseman Felipe Lopez, to force out Juan Pierre, who was caught off secon...