random cards from the scanned folder are like a box of chocolates

look deep into scott erickson's eyes on his 2005 topps total card

he'll make you forget that this is a post of cards thrown together with little to no thought or common theme.  just a bunch of cards i have scanned over the years, but not posted for one reason or another.  as an aside, i forgot all about this card when i went to a signing that erickson attended three years ago when the twins celebrated the 1991 world series team.  that's ok - his wife was there, and i forgot all about baseball cards for a moment.

now it's time for some edwin jackson.  this is a 2005 topps turkey red card

and this is a 2005 upper deck all-star classics

jackson made his big league debut on his 20th birthday (9/9/03), squaring off against randy johnson and the diamondbacks.  the dodgers made him a winner that day, and again a couple of weeks later in san francisco (a game that i attended).  jackson was wild in that game, walking 8, but he struck out barry bonds and allowed no runs and only 2 hits in his 6 innings of work.  jackson was back with the dodgers for a handful of games in 2004 and 2005, but was traded to the devil rays prior to the 2006 season.  in his 12-year career (so far), jackson has pitched for 8 teams.

2005 upper deck espn cesar izturis web gems

izturis won a gold glove in 2004 which largely explains his appearance in an insert set

2011 panini playoff contenders chris reed

reed was the dodgers' first round pick in 2011.  he was born in london, but attended high school in socal and went to stanford after that.  he's currently a double-a chattanooga. 

2011 bowman andre ethier gold parallel

and 2011 bowman ted lilly gold parallel

ethier only gets one parallel in this post, but lilly gets three.

2011 topps ted lilly diamond anniversary platinum parallel

and 2011 topps update ted lilly cognac parallel

i still prefer lilly's 2013 topps card.

here's a few more from 2011 topps update.  remember javy guerra?

who comes in cognac form

and platinum parallel fashion as well

guerra was picked up on waivers by the white sox earlier this year, so he and ronald belisario are making it deja vu all over again in the chisox bullpen.

one more from 2011 topps update - it's matt guerrier

guerrier was dealt to the cubs last year for carlos marmol, but signed with the twins prior to this season. he was just recently dfa'd by the club, although aside from his last outing he hadn't pitched that poorly.  i was a fan - as much as one can be of a non-closer reliever.

in other news, chris capuano is now a yankee.  here's his 2012 topps update card

and his 2013 topps gypsy queen white framed parallel

he had started the season with the red sox after two years with the dodgers, but was released on july 1. after a short stint with the rockies' organization, capuano had his contract purchased by the yankees and made a start for them just the other day.  he turned in a quality start, but didn't get a decision.

what a difference not quite a year makes

before 2013 topps update gets here, i guess i should get last year's update cards out of the purgatory that is my scanned folder.  i have shown a few of the dodger cards that i picked up out of last year's release, but never got around to showcasing these for some reason.  hopefully in a couple of weeks i will have cards of yasiel puig, michael young, ricky nolasco, and maybe even a non-ssp nick punto to show.  but first, 2012 takes the stage.

here's hanley

and his 'blockbusters' insert

hanley was the biggest dodger acquisition in the set that wasn't a ridiculous super short print.  i still don't have any of those, nor do i expect to ever have any.  those four cards are the only holes in my dodger topps flagship/update team sets from 1956 to date.  stupid shenanigans, topps.

there was another blockbuster involving a guy named ramirez, too

and then there were the all-star game cards - clayton kershaw

and matt kemp

plus kemp's home run derby card

this year, only kershaw will be featured.  assuming topps continues to make all-star cards a part of the update set.

on to the 'traded' or at least the more traditional part of update - here's jamey wright

wright joined the dodgers as a free agent and left as a free agent after the season ended.  he's currently in tampa bay where he put together a pretty decent season for the rays.

shane victorino

in victorino's third term with the dodger organization, he actually appeared in the majors wearing dodger blue for the first time.  for 53 games of the flyin' hawaiian, the dodgers gave up ethan martin and josh lindblom, plus a minor leaguer.  these days, victorino is in the postseason with the red sox.

matt treanor

became a free agent after the season ended and did not sign with another team.

matt guerrier

was sent to the cubs this year for carlos marmol.  guerrier pitched in 15 games for chicago, and had a 2-1 record with a 2.13 era in those appearances.  he's a free agent now (or will be once the postseason is done) and i hope he lands somewhere.

scott elbert

topps gave us a flagship card of elbert in 2009, but since then we have only seen him in 2012 update.  i would assume that he shows up again this year, as he pitched for the dodgers in 43 games, but we will have to wait and see.

elian herrera

herrera won't be back in update, as he only appeared in 4 games for the dodgers in 2013.

brandon league

was included in the flagship set this year.  he's got two more years, plus an option for 2016, on his contract with the dodgers.

aj ellis, et al.

that's a fun card.  here's the gold parallel

and the other parallel

lastly, here's the jackie robinson 1987 mini

perhaps topps will once again give us update minis this year.  i am actually looking forward to the release of update.  i might even buy a box for the first time in years.

they came from spring training. and also from the twins' bullpen.

matt guerrier and pat neshek have a few things in common.  they are both right-handed major league relief pitchers for starters.  they also used to be teammates in the late 2000's, working out of the twins bullpen.  in fact, in 2007, neshek and guerrier were one-two in games pitched for the twins (neshek appeared in 74 games and guerrier pitched in 73 contests).  they are also both great signers who each returned some cards to me last week.

first up is guerrier, who signed and returned a 2012 topps update card from camelback ranch.

guerrier was one of those guys who often signed autographs before games at the metrodome.  i know my son has a few of his autographs in his team yearbooks as a result.  good to see him still signing away.  he was injured in april of last season but did return for september.  hopefully he can stay healthy all season this year.

as for neshek, he signed and returned one of his 2013 topps heritage cards from a's camp in arizona

he added one of his 2003 choice minor league cards

plus one of his 2007 new britain rock cats 25th anniversary set cards

because i also included a signed 1985 topps mike marshall card i had received through the mail a couple of years ago.  it was a dupe, and neshek is working on a signed '85 topps set.  as he does, anytime you send him any autographed card, he'll send one of his back.  i was surprised to get two bonus cards, though.

neshek has had a rough go of things since he was injured and missed the 2009 season.  he pitched really well down the stretch for the a's last year, but suffered a personal tragedy with the loss of his son. hopefully 2013 holds better things in store for him.

thanks matt and pat for signing my cards!

the topps dodgers autograph project - the end of the road

here is the final installment of the topps dodger autograph project - a project that was completed in a sort of happenstance way.  i sent out a bunch of ttm requests, and eventually got back a card from each year that topps has put out cards, with the exception of just three - 1951, 1954, and 1955.  i don't count traded or update sets, but when i have a card from those sets, i add it to the list.  also, no player appears on the list more than once.

here we go!

2009 topps, matt kemp

this card, you might recall, was the result of a 50/50 ttm trade i made with reader cory.  quite a good haul there.  i have also received signed 2009 topps cards from juan pierre, clayton kershaw (as part of that same 50/50 deal, and joe torre.

2009 topps update & highlights, brad ausmus

this ausmus card is the only card from 2009 update that i have received signed through the mail.  thanks for the awesomeness, mr. ausmus!

2010 topps, juan pierre

i have also received 2010 topps cards signed by dodgers casey blake, carl erskine and rocky bridges (on the franchise history card), jon garland, and george sherrill.

2010 topps update & highlights, ronnie belliard

the only other 2010 update card i have had signed through the mail was courtesy of hong-chih kuo, who actually signed two 2010 topps update cards for me (base and all-star).

2011 topps, hong-chih kuo

speak of the devil.  h-ck is also the only dodger to sign and return a copy of his 2011 topps card.

2011 topps update & highlights, matt guerrier

guerrier was known as a good signer when he was with the twins.  he signed for folks before games quite a bit.  jerry sands has also signed and returned his card from 2011 update for me.

2012 topps, nathan eovaldi

i didn't get this card back until i sent it to eovaldi c/o the marlins.  it was the second attempt i had made, with the first one going to the dodgers early in the season.  i was happy to see it come back (in september, i believe) as it is the only 2012 topps card that i have had successfully had signed.

2012 topps update & highlights, matt treanor

this one came back just the other day, and is also the only example i have of a 2012 topps update signed card.  i am really hoping that adam kennedy gets around to sending his card back to me sometime soon, though.

here is the final tally, at least until the 2013 cards come out.

1951 topps - preacher roe (purchased)

1952 topps - rocky bridges

1953 topps - bobby morgan

1954 topps - billy herman (purchased)

1955 topps - don zimmer (purchased)

1956 topps - randy jackson

1957 topps - carl erskine

1958 topps - joe pignatano

1959 topps - fred kipp

1960 topps - chuck essegian

1961 topps - bob aspromonte

1962 topps - norm sherry

1963 topps - ed roebuck

1964 topps - ken mcmullen

1965 topps - dick tracewski

1966 topps - john kennedy

1967 topps - phil regan

1968 topps - jim campanis

1969 topps - jeff torborg

1970 topps - al mcbean

1971 topps - sandy vance

1972 topps - manny mota

1973 topps - wes parker

1974 topps - claude osteen

1974 topps traded - jim wynn

1975 topps - ron cey

1975 topps mini - joe ferguson

1976 topps - bill russell

1976 topps traded - dusty baker

1977 topps - steve garvey

1978 topps - dave lopes

1979 topps - charlie hough

1980 topps - jerry reuss

1981 topps - doug rau

1981 topps traded - ken landreaux

1982 topps - dave goltz

1982 topps traded - jose morales

1983 topps - ron roenicke

1983 topps traded - rafael landestoy

1984 topps - fernando valenzuela

1984 topps traded - mike vail

1985 topps - burt hooton

1986 topps - enos cabell

1987 topps - steve sax

1987 topps traded - matt young

1988 topps - len matuszek

1989 topps - mickey hatcher

1990 topps - kal daniels

1990 topps traded - juan samuel

1991 topps - tim belcher

1992 topps - roger mcdowell

1993 topps - dave hansen

1993 topps traded - tim wallach

1994 topps - jody reed

1995 topps - chris gwynn

1996 topps - todd hollandsworth

1997 topps - brett butler

1998 topps - greg gagne

1999 topps - jose vizcaino

2000 topps - jeff shaw

2001 topps - chan ho park

2002 topps - andy ashby

2002 topps traded - joel hanrahan

2003 topps - jim tracy

2003 topps traded - ron coomer

2004 topps - edwin jackson

2004 topps traded - milton bradley

2005 topps - chad billingsley

2005 topps update & highlights - jason phillips

2006 topps - bill mueller

2007 topps - james loney

2007 topps update & highlights - andy laroche

2008 topps - delwyn young

2008 topps update & highlights - casey blake

2009 topps - matt kemp

2009 topps update & highlights - brad ausmus

2010 topps - juan pierre

2010 topps update & highlights - ronnie belliard

2011 topps - hong-chih kuo

2011 topps update & highlights - matt guerrier

2012 topps - nathan eovaldi

2012 topps update & highlights - matt treanor

thanks to all the players who signed and returned my cards!