Night Owl Cards

  I've been watching snippets of spring training the last couple of days. It's a busy time of the year for me, so I can manage only a couple of innings at a sitting usually. But that's enough to get that spring high that I'm so desperate for here in the later stages of winter.   I watch the the spring games and marvel what I see, like it's life on another planet. Spectators in the stands are actually fanning themselves! I take a quick look at the temperature bud on my laptop screen. 18 degrees. Nope, no urge to fan.   I can only imagine what it's like to live near spring. Going to ballgames sure is great. But I'd appreciate the simple, carefree feeling of hopping in the car (without clearing it off or stumbling on ice) and traveling a smooth street to the nearest big box or card shop. Sure, every life has problems, but in some places there is no snow on top of that.   One person who lives near spring is Jeremy of Topps Cards That Never Were . He was able to ...

(Greetings. I have no special opening this time, I just got up from a nap. A thing old people do. Time for Cardboard Appreciation. This is the 329th in a series): My latest sportlots order is working its way to my house. It's down to the final few cards. I don't plan to show much of it on the blog, it's mostly upgrades, a few Dodgers needs and a set filler here and there. If I get desperate maybe I'll show something, but that's what this post is for! One of the cards I got was this 1986 Topps Bob Rodgers. I completed the 1986 set long ago, one of the first that I finished with help from bloggers. But it turns out I never actually finished it. It's been laughing at me -- in a binder -- for 14 years. The 1986 set is the first set in my collecting time that I didn't have memorized ... well, same goes for 1984 and 1985 Topps, but I bought those in their entirety, there was no room for slip-ups. But in '86, I ignored everything cards. And so, I picked up the...

  I went to a card show yesterday. You'll get the whole rundown tomorrow, but right now I'm in "now where do I put all this?" mode. This happens every show and Saturday's haul was a little bulkier than usual. So I need to clear out some space for all the new acquisitions by finally showing off a few cards that have been cooling their jets for too long on valuable real estate. All of these are PWE sends and all were Dodgers needs. Let's get to it. These are two Stadium Club inserts from last year. Will Smith seems to looking up at Mookie wondering "what's he so happy about?" I think I received these from reader Dave, or maybe Dana? Sorry, it's been awhile. I know they came with a nice card and there were a few other cards that I had previously and have already filed. But these are most welcome, even though Stadium Club inserts are totally unnecessary. More MOOKIE! I'm doing pretty well on the 1988 inserts for the team quest. This card show...

Have you voted in the Cardboard Appreciation Hall of Fame first semifinal yet? It's a barn-burner! All you need to do is copy-and-paste this link to vote: https://vote.easypolls.net/62d093b28d44710062531dc2     If you've been following my Twitter account (and, if not, why aren't you?), you know I've been a bit immersed in vintage lately.  There's a big reason for that. I believe it'll all come into focus here in the next few weeks, but in this collecting state, I haven't thought a lot about current Dodgers needs ... or current cards at all really. It seems weird -- and unnecessary -- to even be dealing with them.   I admit, I've been a bad team collector of late. There aren't even that many people on the blogs to shake some sense into me. Once upon a time there were five Mets bloggers alone. There were three or four Indians collectors. There was actually a Rays collector! Two of them! Team collecting was the rage and that enthusiasm rubbed off on ev...

  The cards I am showing here are the polar opposite from the ones I showed on the last post, and that's the theme here. I'm conflicted. I've written many times how I enjoy all kinds of cards and I prefer having a somewhat-open mind toward cards. I don't want to be an old crank who shuns the shiny, and I don't want to be a modern magpie, attracted only to cards of the last 20, 30 years. I try to find things I like in most cards. However, I admit: the cards they're putting out these days? It's so much easier for me to find stuff wrong with those ones. This is the conflict. Why am I collecting cards where the flaws jump out at me? Why not collect cards that make me feel warm-and-fuzzy at all times and always? I battle with my desire to remain updated on the players on the field, especially on my favorite team, and the best way to do that for me -- it's always been this way -- is to collect their cards. So I put on a good front, but actually I'm really ...