arrueba… arruebarr… arruebarr-ain't playing here no more (for this year, anyway)

so, it's tough to get a verbal joke across with written text (think office space), but i saw recently that dodger infielder erisbel arruebarrena had been suspended by the team indefinitely for some sort of infraction. it could be that he refused to report to triple-a after clearing waivers and being removed fromt he 40-man roster.  he's still under contract, however, so he could be back next season.

for some reason, arruebarrena was given a short print photo variation in 2014 topps update

and, as you can imagine, i was able to pick one up on the (very) cheap even before the suspension was announced.

ever since the 2012 topps traded super short print dodger card debacle i no longer strive to get all of these flagship/traded sp's, especially since the puig and kershaw sp's don't seem to have had their bin prices reduced even with an extended disabled list stint for puig and a slow-ish start for kershaw.

baseball is back, sort of

hockey and basketball may still be on the air, but baseball is back. i've seen some 2015 topps cards leak into the populace, so it's officially time to turn our attention to the national pastime.  and, with 2015 stuff out, i should show some of the 2014 cards that have been languishing in my scanned folder.

this is a 2014 bowman yasiel puig 1989 bowman is back insert

thankfully, unlike actual 1989 bowman cards, this one is standard sized.  topps just trimmed the top and bottom margins.  it would look better if they widened the photo frame to have equal sized margins all around the card - they way they did it makes it look trimmed.

these cards were inserted throughout bowman releases.  this one, of alex guerrero,

comes from bowman chrome, i believe.  these next few cards also come from bowman chrome - here's guerrero

along with erisbel arruebarrena

and hanley ramirez

this is a 2014 bowman platinum zack greinke card

greinke is the anti-marshawn lynch. he talks to reporters and speaks his mind. it's hard to tell what he's thinking these days, but i hope he sticks around for a while.

i have to admit that i bought a couple of packs of 2014 donruss at the dollar store.  no dodgers, but i did pick up this puig base

and his power plus insert

through other means over the course of last year.

i've had some of the pastime's pastimes 2014 topps allen & ginter inserts scanned for a while, but never got around to show them off.  here's puig

ramirez

jackie robinson

and hyun-jin ryu

puig's pastime is being a jokester

and one of his main joke partners is ryu.  i don't think they understand what the other is saying, but they make for good comic relief together.

here's a 2014 topps chrome puig card

and a ryu xfractor, too

i only have one 2014 topps heritage card ready to show, and it's carl crawford's

i'll be interested to see 2015 heritage.  i wasn't expecting much in 2013, but the 1964 design redux grew on me.  i'm left wondering if seeing the 1966 topps design modernized will incite any interest.  i'm guessing not.

here are a bunch of dodgers from the 2014 topps stickers release - jackie, puig, matt kemp, clayton kershaw, ryu, and greinke

there were no newer photos of kershaw, so topps had to use one from 2011.

i bought a pack of 2014 topps update a couple of weeks ago while succumbing to pack withdrawal.  at least it contained this yasiel puig all-star game access insert

with mini-miguel cabrera.

also from last year's update, here's a hanley power players insert

it feels good to get these 2014 cards out of the scanned folder and make some room for some 2015 cards.

a five star trade of four infielders

matthew from bob walk the plank gave me a heads up that yet another package was on it's way, and it was a nice one.  my first look at a 2014 topps five star card leaves me wondering 'why is it so thick?'  anyway, it's nice to have an alex guerrero auto in the collection 

the card says that guerrero plays second base.  the dodgers used him as a pinch-hitter and left fielder in 2014.  of course, that only amounted to a handful of appearances, and guerrero did spend the bulk of the season playing second in albuquerque.  the dodgers didn't think he was ready for the big leagues at the start of the season, so that's why dee gordon became the starter at second.

here's dee's 2014 topps update gold parallel

gordon did well enough to earn a spot on the all-star team in 2014 and also generate trade interest from the marlins.  the dodgers still don't think guerrero is ready, because howie kendrick will be playing second in 2015.  

as you'll recall, the reason that gordon was bumped from shortstop was the arrival of hanley ramirez in 2012, whose 2014 topps update 1989 die-cut mini card was also included in the package.

the fourth and final card of the package was this 2014 topps update erisbel arruebarrena gold parallel

like guerrero, arruebarrena is on the outside looking in, as jimmy rolllins will be playing shortstop this coming season.

thanks for the cards matthew - i'll be sending something back to you shortly!

the joy of a completed team set!

i've completed the dodger team set from 2014 topps chrome update.  the cards were only available in those megaboxes, of which i saw none the few times i glanced at the card aisle in the local targets. anyway, thanks to sportlots, i now have this 2014 topps chrome update erisbel arruebarrena card

and that's it.  no justin turner or paul maholm or scott van slyke or any other dodgers, for that matter.  just arruebarrena, who was designated for assignment on new year's eve to make room for brett anderson on the roster.  since then, arruebarrena has cleared waivers (must have been the large contract) and was outrighted to the dodgers' new triple-a affiliate in oklahoma city.  i still don't understand why he was allowed to wear number 11.

anyway, that's one team set down before the 2015 cards hit...

the star of 2014 topps update is justin turner

in 2011, it was dee gordon.  in 2012, adam kennedy.  last year, nick punto's topps update card was my favorite.  this year, i am getting a kick out of justin turner's card.

that's some good double play turning right there from one of the best free agent signings of last offseason (the best after phil hughes and nelson cruz? or better, since he signed as a minor league free agent?).  oh, there are better cards in update - kurt suzuki has a couple, and i do like pat neshek's all-star card, too - but if there were a card i would chase a rainbow of this year, it's turner's.

after finding only chone figgins and scott vanslyke cards in the update stuff i bought, i went ahead and ordered (most of) the other dodger base cards from sportlots.  have a look.

erisbel arruebarrena

his name didn't fit on the card properly.  still seems weird to see a dodger other than manny mota wear number 11.

dee gordon

if not for jose altuve, i am guessing he would have been the littlest all-star.  nice gatorade cameo, by the way.

zack greinke

not a fan of the all-star caps, except for the teams like the twins and padres who actually have worn caps like that during their existence.

clayton kershaw

almost reminds me of the 1978 topps rick monday card where mo seems to be wiping mustard off of his face.

chris perez

and hello lurking juan uribe

yasiel puig

i hit as many hr derby homers as he did…

chris withrow

now i realize that i forgot to order a paul maholm card.  anyone have an extra?

i did pick up a couple of turner parallels - gold

and red hot foil

i could use another red hot foil for the dp collection…

here's kershaw's red hot foil parallel

and one of the inserts - a fernando valenzuela world series heroes card

el toro was 3-1 in 5 starts in the 1981 postseason, but made only one start in the world series - he threw a complete game in the dodgers' game 3 5-4 win over the yankees.  i had hoped to see a ron cey/pedro guerrero/steve yeager card in this insert set instead of fernando, if i'm being honest.

meanwhile, justin turner parallels and paul maholm have taken over the nefarious nine (see list at right on the web version of the blog).  please, help a blogger out!

chrome blaster time

i didn't make it past the card aisle during a recent trip to target without grabbing some product.  in addition to the 2014 bowman platinum value pack i mentioned this morning, i grabbed a 2014 topps chrome blaster (with purple refractors) and a value pack (with orange refractors), too.  i had one of those topps coupons which took $3 off the blaster price.  good for me.  anyway, i came away with some dodgers

erisbel arruebarrena

welcome to the blog, erisbel.

kenley jansen

matt kemp

that was it for dodgers, unfortunaely.  no blue refractor parallels which are usually so nice.  i used to buy 2 boxes every year of flagship, plus one of chrome, and one of traded.  i haven't done that for a while, but i considered buying a full box of chrome this year.  i think i'll stick with the blaster.  here are some of the other cards i pulled.

a couple of joses - bautista

and fernandez

buster posey

if i don't pull a ryan braun card, i get a buster posey card.  or hunter pence.  i get way too many hunter pence cards.

oscar taveras

dude homered in his first big league game, but only has 2 since.

mike trout

trout's about the same age as taveras (22).  that's what a real phenom looks like.

enny romero refractor

one start in 2013 earned him a card in the set.  ponderous.

ivan nova orange refractor and regular refractor

if i had to get what essentially amounts to doubles of a yankee, i guess i'm glad it's not cc sabathia.

another yankee, jacoby ellsbury, for my die-cut insert

cj cron xfractor

with a phantom high-five

here's a grouping of other refractory things - kyle seager, matt adams xfractor, homer bailey, and jean segura orange refractor

and now the purple refractors from the blaster - hisashi iwakuma, christian yelich, jonathan lucroy, edwin encarnacion

last but not least, an orange refractor that fits into one of my mini collections - a double play turn by jurickson profar

now i'm just waiting for update...