i will be keeping these cards

a while back, i asked the question 'should i keep this card?' regarding a nolan ryan card that mentioned steve garvey on the back.  i already knew my answer when i wrote the post (i will not keep that card), and the four of you who commented all came to the same conclusion.  i don't have checklists in my garvey collection, although i do have the topps team cards in which he appears (for some reason, it looks like he missed the photo that appears in the 1981 set) in the binders.

there is a card that mentions steve garvey on the back which i will keep in the collection.

that's because the cartoon you see above is on the back of garvey's 1972 topps card

i suppose it makes sense for a ballplayer to get married in the winter since that is their offseason.  i have to say, with the temperatures i am experiencing right now, i am not sure i would attend anybody's winter wedding.

moving on, there is another card that features garvey as the answer to the cartoon trivia question on the back that will remain in my collection.  take a look at the back of garvey's 1975 o-pee-chee card

that fine example of canadian cardmanship came to me thanks to kerry from cards on cards.  in fact, all of the cards (except for the 1972 topps card up top) were sent by kerry in what was a most generous trade package.

there was another 1975 o-pee-chee card in the mix - the 1974 mvp card

two horizontal cards don't make a right, unfortunately.  when this card goes in the binder, poor garvey is upside down.

here are some of the other goodies - 2003 bowman draft prospects xavier paul

paul was recently non-tendered by the reds.  i hope he is picked up by another team.

2009 topps jackie robinson turkey red insert

pretty sure that photo is from a shot inside the dodger clubhouse, not out on a field.  nice to see it colorized, though.

2010 bowman matt kemp 1992 throwback

and 2011 topps lineage matt kemp diamond anniversary refractor

i will be quite upset if kemp is traded this week, or at any time for that matter.

chad billngsley's lineage refractor also came along for the ride

kerry was nice enough to hit the nefarious 9 (my most wanted cards) as well.  he sent a copy of former number 1 most wanted 2000 upper deck victory koyie hill (as seen in this post), but also sent a 2003 bowman heritage fred mcgriff black bordered facsimile autograph parallel

and a 1998 fleer tradition dennis reyes card

both from the list.  a list i need to update...

thanks kerry! you really outdid yourself with these cards!

sports cards that blew my mind

sometimes when i will try to initiate a trade, i'll get a response along the lines of 'i don't think i have anything that you would want for that card'.  that's ok - no problem.  of course, it usually doesn't take much to get  stuff from me, but if you have sent all of your dodgers to any of the other dodger collectors out there in our blogosphere, that's ok.  i understand.

i don't have a trade bait page, and conversely not all of my want lists are up to date or even comprehensive.  maybe i can be tough to trade with from that aspect.  still, i have been able to complete a number of trades over the past few months and i have not been disappointed.  hopefully, my trading partners can say the same.

case in point, i contacted scott at sport cards ate my brain and offered a vintage brave and some others for some random dodgers.  then i noticed his trade bait page (maybe i have to get me one of those) and i asked about a couple of cards he had listed.  he agreed to send me the cards i inquired about, along with some other dodger cards.  um, yeah.

here's one of the cards that caught my eye - a 2008 topps co-signers dual sticker auto card of andy laroche and chin-lung hu

in addition to the cards i specifically requested, he sent some bowman.  gold bowman

shiny bowman

refractor bowman

crazy xfractor bowman

photoshopped shiny confusing set name bowman (of the son of the dodgers' third base coach)

seriously, what is this set?  2009 bowman chrome draft? 2009 bowman chrome draft picks and prospects? 2009 bowman chrome draft picks, prospects, and wbc?  put the name of the set on the back like upper-freakin'-deck did in the last few years of their existence.  that would be a big help.

here's a 2008 upper deck goudey card that i must have even though it didn't look familiar to me at all.

do ken griffey jr. super collectors include the national league cards from this set in their collections?  just curious.

there was even a 1995 classic 5 sport auto card of roger cedeno in the package.

but the coolest card in the package was probably this 2010 topps update manufactured bat barrel card of manny ramirez

thinking back, i asked if the manny 'relic' or the laroche/hu auto would be available.  scott sent them both.  that is several kinds of awesome.

consider my brain eaten, or mind blown.  just a great trade.  thanks scott!

the blue and the gold from a pwe

rhubarb runner surprised me this week with an envelope in my mailbox.  we completed a trade a couple of weeks ago, but he apparently found some more dodgers and sent them my way.  i'm glad he did.

2008 upper deck documentary nomar garciaparra

and greg maddux

i think david has opened more documentary than anyone else on the planet.  in game 152, nomar started and went 2 for 3 with a double, a run, and a run-batted-in.  he left the game in the 5th inning, but upper deck still managed to get this card right.  game 153 was started by clayton kershaw.  maddog did not appear.  documentary is still a huge disappointment.

speaking of disappointments, here's orlando hudson on a 2009 topps update gold parallel card

two years in a row i have had high hopes for the o-dog, and two years in a row he has disappointed.  hopefully he can stay healthy next year, although i won't really be following him now that he's not a dodger or a twin.
finally, here's a 2009 topps update gold parallel xavier paul card

i am really hoping paul comes through this spring (and beyond) so ned doesn't do something stupid and bring in johnny damon for 2 years/$14 million.

thanks david!

they came from left field

it looks like it will be another year of photoshopping for topps and scott podsednik (just like this 2010 topps update card)

as he declined his option and became a free agent and will likely be wearing some other uniform in 2011. 

meanwhile, john moses, the dodgers aaa hitting coach got canned because xavier paul didn't progress enough at the plate or in the field.

aside from jamie carroll, who at either level outperformed expectations?  i really thought that paul could be our left fielder nex year, but it sounds like they're down on him.  on a tangentially related note, i wonder if chili davis will get a look to fill moses' old job.

still, the dodgers did re-sign jay gibbons the other day

gibbons could be our leftfielder, but if paul isn't ready, then i'm hoping that ned brings in a better option in left, in which case gibbons becomes the main lefty off the bench.  shouldn't be too hard to top ga's performance this year.

nefarious9 from mariner1

larry aka mariner1 over at emerald city diamond gems sent me some gems from my nefarious 9, as well as a few other cool cards.  here's a quick sampling

1990 topps glenn wilson

this card is fantastic.  the border, wilson's jersey, and the dodger stadium pavilion come together in a confluence of color goodness.

1991 fleer ultra eddie murray

eddie is swinging from his heels.  or heel. 

2009 topps update and highlights xavier paul

paul just got sent down when manny was activated off of the disabled list.  i wonder if paul will be able to win the left field job next year with manny being done or sent somewhere else.

1976 topps texas rangers team

sweet.  one of the few i have left to complete the set.

thanks larry! you should be getting some cards in the mail any day.  and for everyone else, the list is updated and ready for further destruction.

cleaning out the rest of my goose joak files

here are the rest of my active player 2009 goose joak originals so far. i hope to eventually have a card for each member of the 40 man roster, and i am getting close.

first, a classic combo type of manny and vlad.no doubt exchanging hair styling tips.

xavier paul. a recent call up - splitting time with juan pierre in left while manny is out.

another recent call up, brent leach.with russell martin congratulating him after his major league debut.

delwyn (not delmon) young.

i understand he was traded to the pirates a while back. oh well, i made this card a long time ago, and it's not going to be wasted.

jason repko.the oft-injured repko. the braves showed some interest in acquiring repko recently, according to ken rosenthal. i wonder why.

a couple more 40 man roster guys - lucas may.

stuck behind russell martin.

and jamie hoffmann.
a local kid from new ulm, mn. he has a few bowman cards already, and was recently promoted to aaa.