Night Owl Cards

No Heritage, no time. But, don't worry, I got this for ya. A few posts ago, I thought I had all of the 2011 Topps base set diamond parallels for the Dodgers, only to realize the long-forgotten Marcus Thames had eluded my clutches. In stepped Commish Bob , scary prompt-like, and Thames arrived outside my door in no time flat. So, now ... now, I do have all of the 2011 Topps base set diamond parallels for the Dodgers. And I can now do this: See how they sparkle and shine? I have a few SPs, too. I don't know if I have them all, probably not.   But Koufax, Campanella and Robinson is pretty good. With those rascals complete, it's time to move on to the 2011 Update diamond parallel Dodgers. I need three of them still. Jamey Carroll, Matt Guerrier and Juan Uribe are now on the Nebulous 9 list (I probably won't have that thing back up to a full nine for a few more weeks -- I've got some cards coming in and a card show coming up). Of co...

I am trying to rid myself of the habit of referring to certain major league ballplayers as "nobodies." I know it's a common phrase used by baseball fans. It refers to players who are on the fringe of the major leagues. They could be rookies, and others not so hopeful, who are called to the bigs. They could be pinch-hitters, mid-inning relievers, and late-inning substitutions. But the phrase has gotten myself into trouble a few times. In this hyper-sensitive world, some people have objected to reading my reference of a player as a "nobody." The protests usually come from those connected to the player -- family members, etc. -- or those connected to the team, fans proud of their knowledge of their squad and eager to share it with the less informed. I'm not trying to rid myself of the term because of those people. Those are their hang-ups, not mine. I'm trying to do so because calling players "nobodies" is in direct opposition to my colle...

I think this is going to serve as my "cardboard appreciation" post of the week. "Cardboard appreciations" might be my favorite posts to write, but considering this is a list of the "best" of the packs that I bought over the last two months, it's basically several "cardboard appreciations" all rolled into one. And it cuts down on some work for me! Sweet! Remember that I'll be giving away the cards featured here in this post and all of the ones listed along the sidebar under "Win these packs!" For the rules on how to enter, just go here , and enter your guesses. This, by the way, is just one of the card contests going on right now. "Spot the Sig ," over at Phungo is still going strong. Dan from Saints of the Cheap Seats is giving away autos and relics for merely answering a trivia question. And Wax Heaven is keeping us all in suspense with an upcoming contest . So, anyway, here is what I liked about the packs I bought f...

(Some more "appreciation days": Bike Messenger Appreciation Day (Oct. 9), Neighbor Appreciation Day (Seattle only), Elephant Appreciation Day (Sept. 22). But still no BASEBALL CARD COLLECTORS APPRECIATION DAY. Oh well, on to appreciating the cards. This is the 10th in a series): What is it about cards that feature scoreboards that make the cards so much more interesting? Is it the fact that it gives us something to read on the front as well as the back ? Is it the fact that we're so accustomed to seeing sky and stadium seats in the background that this is a welcome relief? I think it's the fact that there is nothing quite so eye-catching as a stadium scoreboard. When I go to a game, it is one of the first things I look at, whether the scoreboard is electronic or manually operated. Scoreboards are full of immediate information, and the modern-day bells and whistles are a plus. All the pretty lights and colors tickle my fancy! One person who is not tickled by the scor...