More fun with photoshop

Ever since photoshopping became commonplace, Topps has been going to town, putting players into their new team's uniforms, putting fences in front of bat boys on team cards, removing umpires out of photographs, you know, basically playing God with photographs.

You would think I would have a huge issue with this given that my job includes discussions about The Journalistic Integrity of Photographs. And it's true, I actually have a difficult time with certain Topps photoshopping, mostly erasing people from the photo or moving an entire crowd of fans into a different stadium.

But I don't have an issue with altering the uniforms. Topps has been doing this for decades -- back when it was called airbrushing -- and it doesn't bother me, probably because I've been seeing it since I was 9. Even though I mentioned in the last post the photos that were photoshopped out of my blaster of Opening Day, it was only for informational purposes. It wasn't because I had an issue with it.

All of those cases involved a player who had changed teams in the offseason. Topps photoshopped the player into his new team's uniform. Nothing earthshaking. It's been done numerous times.

But the Ricky Nolasco card that you see here  made me pause. That's because I know Ricky Nolasco (not true), I'm good friends with Ricky Nolasco (also not true), and that's not the Marlins uniform that Ricky Nolasco is wearing on his Topps base card.

See the two cards side-by-side:

The Opening Day card on the left features Nolasco photoshopped into the new Marlins uniforms. The regular Topps card on the right has the new Marlins logo in the corner, but Nolasco's uniform is now considered "old school."

Here is another example. Topps placed Anibal Sanchez in his new Marlins uniform for the Opening Day card on the left. That tired, old jersey with the turquoise outline is on the base card at right.

Topps even changed the color border for the Opening Day Marlins cards. The border is blue instead of turquoise. The same thing for the card backs. OD Marlins backs are blue, not turquoise like Topps base Marlins.

Topps even went as far as changing the photo for Hanley Ramirez's Opening Day card. This is the Topps base card.

And here is Ramirez's photoshopped Opening Day card.

My guess is that Topps completely changed the photo because photoshopping all of the players in the background of the regular Topps Ramirez card would be too difficult/work-intensive/it's quitting time.

I just think it's amusing that Topps went through THAT amount of trouble to make sure that, in the Opening Day set, the Marlins were wearing the uniforms that they had yet to wear. They actually switched photos to get gosh darn "Miami" on the uniform.

Kind of neat, I guess. But not really necessary.

I just keep wondering what would happen if we pulled that kind of stunt at the newspaper. I can think of at least four or five people who wouldn't have jobs anymore.

Opening Day ... because there was no Heritage

Baseball cards will get me to Target or Walmart under only three circumstances.

1. The first cards of the year have arrived.
2. Heritage has arrived.
3. Allen & Ginter has arrived.

That's it. For purchases of any other baseball card product, I am in the store already, either buying something else or being dragged through it by significant others.

But today, for some stupid reason, I went to Target/Walmart because I thought there might be some 2012 Heritage there. I knew very well there wouldn't. This is the first week that Heritage hit select store shelves but my area of residence is never a "select area."

So, there I was, in the card aisle that I shouldn't have been in in the first place, ready to spend money.

I spied one lonely blaster of 2012 Opening Day. Unlike last year -- when OD featured those cool Stadium Lights cards and I actually had a reason to buy it -- there is no reason for me to buy OD. But the blaster was only $10.48 and I can't resist blasters that aren't $19.98. So, I bought it.

Opening Day is always much cheaper than Topps flagship and I don't know why. Is foil really worth $9.50 extra per blaster? I suppose it's the fact that there are more cards in the base Topps set. More inserts, too. Please don't tell me it's entirely because of foil stamping.

Anyway, I'm going to list the cards that I pulled out of the one-and-only OD blaster I'll buy this year. I won't show many of the cards, because most are images we've seen in Series 1 already. But if there is a card that hasn't been in Series 1 and you'd like to see the image, let me know, and I'll update this post when I get a chance.

The blaster wasn't a total bust, as you'll see. But the complete lack of Dodgers made me ill.

Here we go:

PACK 1

176 - Geovany Soto, Cubs

Love the non-foil

110 - Scott Rolen, Reds
164 - Nyjer Morgan, Brewers

FS-3 - Adrian Gonzalez, Red Sox, Fantasy Squad

Here is one of the inserts. As you can see, even Opening Day can't go entirely without foil.

66 - Adam Jones, Orioles
91 - Jayson Werth, Nationals
144 - Andrew McCutchen, Pirates

PACK 2

139 - Trevor Cahill, Diamondbacks (photoshopped)
43 - Angel Pagan, Giants (photoshopped)

49 - Melky Cabrera, Giants (photoshopped)

It's a photoshop trifecta!

ES-16 - Joey Votto, Reds, Elite Skills Player

You can't read the foil that runs up the left side. It says "On-Deck Preperation." Each of these Elite Skills inserts has a phrase describing some aspect of the game. It's actually a nice-looking insert set.

174 - Brian McCann, Braves
96 - Chris Carpenter, Cardinals

16 - Torii Hunter, Angels

2012 Topps stickers ad

PACK 3

94 - Doug Fister, Tigers
97 - David Price, Rays
124 - Grady Sizemore, Indians

SC-3 Dan Uggla, Braves, Superstar Celebrations

9 - Chris Young, Diamondbacks
145 - CC Sabathia, Yankees
39 - Michael Cuddyer, Rockies (photoshopped -- not too bad)

PACK 4

131 - Scott Baker, Twins
152 - Neil Walker, Pirates

179 - Zack Greinke, Brewers, blue parallel (I just saw another blogger pull this very same card)

M-20 - Swinging Friar mascot, Padres

He looks like a member of the Flinstones.

149 - Adrian Gonzalez, Red Sox
142 - Tommy Hanson, Braves
69 - Tim Lincecum, Giants

PACK 5

127 - J.P. Arencibia, Blue Jays
48 - Adrian Beltre, Rangers

FS-4 - Robinson Cano, Yankees, Fantasy Squad

ODS-5 - Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies, Opening Day Stars

This will be headed to hiflew.

162 - Ricky Romero, Blue Jays
63 - Pablo Sandoval, Giants
64 - Dan Haren, Angels

PACK 6

125 - Matt Cain, Giants
13 - Bobby Abreu, Angels
210 - Freddie Freeman, Braves

ES-17 - Joe Mauer, Twins, Elite Skills Player (title says "Throw Out the Runner")

206 - David Freese, Cardinals
62 - Ervin Santana, Angels
60 - Adam Wainwright, Cardinals

PACK 7

133 - Sergio Santos, Blue Jays
119 - Ricky Nolasco, Marlins
25 - Eric Hosmer, Blue Jays

SC-4 Geovanny Soto, Cubs, Superstar Celebrations

151 - Johnny Cueto, Reds
27 - Chase Utley, Phillies
No number - Carlos Lee, Astros (the card has no number on the back at all. Just a blank black space where the number should be)

PACK 8

216 - Jason Kipnis, Indians
86 - Jon Lester, Red Sox
71 - Ian Kennedy, Diamondbacks

M-21 - White Sox mascot

The White Sox's mascot is named "Southpaw," yet there is no reference to the name on the front and the write-up on the back is very vague.

How can you not get the rights to a mascot's name?

ODA-AE Alcides Escobar, Royals, autograph

An autograph out of Opening Day? First, one out of a discounted pack and then one out of Opening Day. I have no right to be proud of myself, but I am.

58 - Justin Masterson, Indians
31 - Evan Longoria, Rays

Stickers, stickers! ad

PACK 9

170 - Brian Wilson, Giants
150 - Jose Bautista, Blue Jays
24 - Brandon Morrow, Blue Jays

FS-5 - Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox, Fantasy Squad

188 - Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks
34 - James McDonald, Pirates
212 - Daniel Hudson, Diamondbacks

PACK 10

136 - Justin Morneau, Twins
89 - Drew Pomeranz, Rockies

#108 - Roy Oswalt, Phillies, blue parallel

ES-18 - Mark Teixeira, Yankees, Elite Skills Player (Title says "Hold the Runner")

There are two current players that when I pull their card I want to get it out of the house as quick as possible. One is Brian Wilson, the other is Teixeira. Lucky me, I got both in this blaster.

93 - Tim Hudson, Braves
18 - David Ortiz, Red Sox
15 - Jeremy Hellickson, Rays

PACK 11

79 - Hanley Ramirez, Marlins
32 - Anibal Sanchez, Marlins
6 - Bud Norris, Astros

SC-5 - Joey Votto, Reds, Superstar Celebrations


103 - Mike Leake, Reds
61 - C.J. Wilson, Angels (photoshopped)
26 - Drew Stubbs, Reds

And that's the end.

Three Reds in the last pack and no Dodgers.
Two Joey Vottos and two Geovanny Sotos and no Dodgers.
Four Diamondbacks and no Dodgers.

This is why I'm buying less and less at the store.

Can't beat the thrill of pulling a surprise auto, though.

Like always, any and all Opening Day cards are up for trade. I just can't get that interested in this set.

Now, if Opening Day came out before Topps base, we might have something there.

Bite-size card packages

During busy months like these -- during what is literally the busiest week of the year -- I appreciate small card packages.

Yes, small. As in, a lesser amount of cards. As in few. Tiny. Micro. The least amount possible.

Bite-size, if you will. But not "fun size." Because that just pissed us off as kids.

Something that I can open quickly, admire, and then be off to whatever godforsaken task that awaits me.

Fortunately, I've received several such small packages lately.

None were smaller than the envelope I encountered unexpectedly from JayBee a few days ago. I had no idea what card could be inside. It turns out it was the James Loney gold-glazed card (what are we calling these things?). I, unfortunately, had come across this card just a couple days prior. But, as you know, there are a number of Dodger bloggers with an insatiable thirst for cards like this. It will find a happy destination.

This card is a former Nebulous 9 need. It sat on my list for a good long time. No one wants to give up Konerko's rookie card. Or pre-rookie card, or whatever it is. I don't speak rookie collector speak.

The person who finally crossed the card off the list is Jeff. He runs a website you may know. Here is his card:

I use his site at least twice a day. I wrote a post a month-and-a-half ago in which I pointed out some glitches on the site. We came to an understanding -- Jeff and I -- that I would alert him to any errors I see on the site in the future. And, oh, he had a couple cards for me!

That's another one. Also from the elusive '94 Topps Traded set. Very cool.

I've said this many times, but if you haven't checked out Jeff's site, especially if you are a team collector, then you are missing out on a whole world out there.

This is the final Dodger card I needed from Series 1 of 2012 Topps. It's that rascally Ted Lilly, who I hope doesn't get lit up too many times this year.

Ernest of Blue Heaven sent me this final card. He had entered a Topps case break and I begged him for his leftover Dodgers because at the time I had no idea if I'd be buying many 2012 cards. It turns out I bought a little bit, and there were a lot of collectors who had 2012 Dodgers to send me. So Lilly was all I needed.

Well, I guess I needed these cards, too. And -- good news -- I've officially collected all 5 lame cards from each of the two Dodgers in this lame ass insert set. I was expecting that I might finish this off in November, because I just don't care about them. But here it is, the end of March and I never have to think about these again.

This most excellent Matt Kemp rookie card arrived from Nick at Dime Boxes. Like the Loney card it came in a plain white envelope. I could see part of the card peaking out of a rip in the envelope.

I was immediately giddy because I have the gold version of this card and the chrome version of this card, but not the plain old regular version of this card. Arghhhhh, that was frustrating.

So, Nick, nicely done. And nice job finding 2012 Heritage before just about anyone else. No chance of that happening here.

Finally, I have this beauty. It's from Sewingmachineguy.

Several weeks ago, I admired his acquisition of this /75 item. I inquired about its availability, but didn't expect it to be up for grabs given Gibson's Tigers/Michigan State background and Sewingmachineguy's appreciation for Michigan-related sports teams.

Well, the card unexpectedly appeared in my mailbox not long ago. It will go nicely with my green-bordered and magenta-bordered Gibbys. (I'm not enough of a Masterpieces fan to know all the correct color terminology for the borders).

Since the card's arrival, SMG has taken a different direction in collecting. To tell you the truth, I don't even know if he's welcoming new cards, or if he's even touring the blogs anymore. He seems to be enjoying other pursuits.

That's cool. But I think I'll have to send a card or two anyway.

So, how about that? I got through a bunch of packages in no time at all. I'll even get to bed at a reasonable hour -- for me, anyway.

You can keep sending me a card here and a card there.

That's about all I have time for this month.

Thanks.

Getting personal

I consider myself a pretty average card collector. There are certain things that distinguish me from other collectors, but nothing about my collecting habits are unique. I'll even assume there's another collector out there who accumulates night cards. He probably started long before me, too.

But there are ways of collecting -- or in this case, ways of talking about collecting -- that I don't resemble or even understand.

One phrase that's used all the time by certain collectors is something I've never said in my life:

"My personal collection."

I hear this all the time. From bloggers. From guys at card shows. "That's going in my personal collection." "I have that card in my personal collection."

And every time I think, as I smile blankly, "what does that MEAN?"

I envision a box or a binder with words scrawled in marker that say, "My Personal Collection." Maybe it's a safe deposit box, or the cards are framed up on the wall under a hand-made sign that says "My Personal Collection."

There are really only two kinds of collectors where I think this phrase fits. One kind are the collectors who specifically buy certain cards -- usually off ebay or another online place -- and only those cards. They're usually autograph collectors or hit collectors or player collectors. Those are the only cards in their collection and it's limited to maybe 50 cards. It has a somewhat exclusive vibe so "personal collection" works.

The other kind is the collector who is also a dealer. This must be where the phrase came to be. These collectors accumulate large quantities of cards but keep only a small fraction for, of course, their personal collection. The rest are fodder for collectors, for the right price.

But I've heard collectors who don't sell cards -- or sell very few -- use this phrase. As if almost all of their cards are on the chopping block at all times. Except for those exclusive few, in their personal collection.

I don't think this way. Part of it is because the phrase "my personal collection" sounds almost smarmy and too exclusive to me. It's something the super rich would say while asking someone to survey their fleet of Aston Martins. But these are pieces of cardboard here.

The other part is every single card that I have IS "my personal collection." It's possible that I could sell these cards someday. But until/unless I do that ALL of the cards I have are MINE. They're not intended for anyone else. I own them. I'm not sure how many total cards I have in my collection. I'd guess around 30,000. And that's a personal collection of 30,000 cards.

You saw that 2011 Bowman card of Erik Davis at the top of this post. There are a lot of things that I don't like about that card. It's a Bowman card. It's from a set that I can't define without looking it up. It's a player that I don't know. It's a Padre. There is nothing desirable about this card in terms of any of my collecting interests. Yet, I own it. Therefore it's part of my collection.

Another card in "my personal collection." I don't know who this guy is. I'm not a Royals fan. 1991 Score Rising Stars is not a set that I like or pay attention to in the least. Truthfully, I didn't even know I had this card until I pulled it out of a box for this post. But until I get rid of it somehow, it's in the collection. The collection owned by me. Or, in other words, my personal collection.

Sure, if I'm going to define cards by which ones I will always keep and which ones I have some microfraction of doubt over keeping, then, yeah, the Koufax rookie stays with me in "my personal collection," and the other cards may have to fend for themselves someday.

But I don't like thinking that way. All of my cards have a home with me. Even the Yankees can be assured that I won't put them out on the street unless the time comes that I need to raise some cash. But why would I want to hold that over their head?

Dear cards,

If you currently reside in a box or a binder or a top loader or just lying out their naked on a desk shelf somewhere in my home, then rest assured, you are part of 'my personal collection.' Rest easy my little friends."

Sincerely,

Night Owl


P.S: I hope that's the last time I use that phrase.

6-1-2, baby!

I am actually giddy that the Dodgers have a 6-1-2 record in spring training as of this writing. I fully realize that spring training records have no meaning. I've known that since I was 11. But I can't help it, because of this:

Dodger spring training records the last six years:

2011: 14-21
2010: 11-17
2009: 15-22
2008: 11-18
2007: 17-16
2006: 15-13
Total: 83-107

The Dodgers haven't had a winning record in spring training since 2007. When there is year after year of losing at the beginning of baseball, it tends to wear on you a little. It's natural. I think that's the reason why fans keep repeating "the records don't mean anything" every year. Because we all feel that panic a little. "Damn, lost again. ... Right, the records don't mean anything."

So, yes, I'm pleased that the Dodgers are 6-1-2 right now, even if all the records go back to zero at the end of the month.

This gets me particularly in the mood to show some more Dodger card acquisitions. Yes, all you non-Dodger fans are going have to suffer through more Dodger cards. But you've suffered along with your favorite team that is not the Dodgers for many years, you're used to it.

Might as well see how the high life lives.

These are the rest of the cards from reader Dave. Lots of key '90s stuff here, and a few other things.

I'll start with the Dodgers' current third base coach. Bowman really had a good thing going, design-wise, in 1992 and 1993. I don't think I've really liked the look of Bowman ever since 1994 hit.

Upper Deck Special Edition from 1995. I only recently realized what these cards were -- a separate set, not an insert set. One day, I will have all of the 1990s cards figured out. I will be in a nursing home, being spoon-fed, but I will have more knowledge of '90s cards than anyone else there.

These things. I'm so confused by these. It appears to be from the '96 Leaf Signature Series set, yet I cannot find numbers on these cards anywhere. And then there is the whole silver and copper stamping. And then there are the signatures that look like real signatures but actually aren't. Never mind what I said about having '90s cards figured out someday. It will never happen.

Wow, that is fancy. A little over-the-top for me with silver everywhere, but I can't argue with a card that celebrates Gibson's epic home run.

And now we're at the point in which we abuse the word "epic." Kevin Brown will never be an epic figure. Epic contract, yes. That's as far as it goes.

God bless Pacific's gold-plated heart.

This is the card that helped Dave get my attention. It's one of those steel cards from '96 Leaf. I am a sucker for cards like this.

I am smitten by this card. A food card. A legend. A Dodger. A card you can pull to make a stand-up figure except we don't do that here. Great stuff.

The back is almost as great.

Moving up a decade into the Aughts, I bestow upon you a terrific-looking Duke Snider card from Fleer Showcase. Wish Fleer was still around.

A card for my dormant pursuit of earlier modern-day A&G Dodgers. I have no idea where I stand in this project.

Every time I obtain a 2002 Kaz Ishii card I can't help but think I have completed my achievement for the day. All I have to do is turn over the card and see that the year-by-year stats all say "Played in Japan" and I feel pride welling up inside me. Yes, I'm weird.

Bleah.

Tommy Lasorda with a Dodger blue border! Numbered to /25! I like it.

I am relieved that the card on the right scanned nice and shiny because for awhile there I thought there was nothing different between the two cards besides the numbering and the "Turn of the Century" caption.

Remember those computer punch-out cards? I think I have a name for the 2004 SPx set.

Dave even threw some cards in from the 1980s. Here is Tom Niedenfuer on an '86 Leaf card, one year after giving up the worst home run of the decade.

Final cards are the only non-Dodgers in the package. But they are two crucial cards to the pursuit of the '84 Donruss set. Just 37 more to go!


So who knows how long I'll get to enjoy the Dodgers' spring training domination. The Dodgers are in first place in the NL standings and tied with the Tigers for the best record in baseball.

It probably is the only time that I'll be able to say this year: "We're No. 1!"

OK, it's out of my system. Roll those records back to zero.