Weekend update

I was going to track down a photo of Dennis Miller to go with the post title. But those people who claim to have been born in 1985 (and we all know that's an impossibility) would say, "hey isn't that the guy who used big words on Monday Night Football"? And then I'd have to explain that he was using big words much earlier much later (you follow?), and I'd get sidetracked about what I really wanted to write about, which is, uh, basically, nothing.

So, instead, we've got a photo of Ms. Fey and Ms. Pohler to appease the young'uns, and we can get to the point of the post much quicker.

The point is I always seem to have a bunch of unrelated items to write about on the weekend. So, I'm going to gather them all together here in one tidy post. I'm warning you though: the Dodgers could take sole possession of first place while I'm writing this (they have already won tonight and San Diego and Philadelphia are tied 5-5 in the 9th). And if they do, I will have to interrupt whatever I'm writing to perform a first-place victory dance.

Brace yourselves.

So, the first item of business is (ah, crap, I just double-checked and San Diego is in the middle of a four-run top of the ninth) the boxes of cards I have in a room upstairs. I'm not super disorganized, but I'm not obsessive either. I only have binders for my Dodgers, my sets and certain card years that I value over others. The rest of the cards go in boxes.

I often buy card brands I care nothing about (Piece of History, Documentary) just to see what Dodgers I can find. The rest usually go in a box for trades or to never be looked at again. Bowman is a big example of this. I have no relationship with Bowman because the design of the cards is usually terrible, and most of the time I don't know who the players are.

But I was going through one of my boxes a couple of days ago and I found this:

A 2008 Bowman Chrome card of the recently passed Nick Adenhart. Before his death, my only knowledge of Nick came from the Stadium Club cards I had of him. But just to remember the guy, I will be taking this card and putting it in a place of honor in one of my binders. If someone asks why this is the only Bowman card I have in my binder, I will tell them.

On to something completely different. I asked for people's opinions on what card I should send to Fernando Valenzuela to get autographed. Out of the four choices, a slight majority picked this 1986 Topps card. I happen to agree. So, I'll be sending this card out in the next few days on its way to the great Fernando.

Meanwhile, I have entered my 12th week of waiting for my Johnny Cueto redemption card autograph. According to my note from Topps, the Cueto card should be arriving at my mailing address in 12-to-15 weeks. So we're coming up on play-or-go-home time. Could be interesting if I end up with autographs from Ron Cey, Duke Snider and Fernando Valenzuela all before I get the Cueto autograph, and all without any of Topps' help.

(Phillies just blew it. Padres win 8-5. San Diego still tied with L.A. No victory dance tonight).

Finally, I thought I'd show the highlights of the last couple of dollar store bags that I received, These were part of my Easter gift (instead of the hobby store, we go to the dollar store. Money's tight).

The more of these dollar store bags I get, the more that I realize that this is pretty much "Let's Make a Deal." Except, instead of doors and Monty Hall, you have ziplock bags and the 15-year-old gum chewer at the checkout counter. You never know what you're going to get. You could get the 24 Todd Burns cards (or the 26 1989 Topps Dave West cards I got in another bag). Or you could get this dandy 1991 Fleer Ultra card of Greg Olson, who looks like he's sprinting out of the blocks in the 100-yard dash, but wearing way too much equipment.

I also pulled three different Graig Nettles cards, featuring him wearing three different uniforms. This was a period of desperation for Nettles, when he was just trying to hang onto his career. I don't even remember him playing for the Expos.

I'm not 100 percent sure where this card came from, but I have a pretty good idea. I think it was from the Starting Lineup Electronic baseball game that I remember being advertised in the late '80s. I was too old to be playing games like this at the time, but I'm sure if I was a kid then I would be right there with the kids saying "Awesome!" in the commercials.

But I have no idea what these Jim Abbott cards are. One of them says it's made by Pacific. The other doesn't say anything, but they're obviously from the same maker. Anyone know? I'm sure there are a ton of Jim Abbott collectors out there.

I realize cards from the '80s aren't rare at all. But whenever I can get a card from a dollar store that's from a 27-year-old set and it's a card I DON'T HAVE, then that's worth all the late '80s Dave West cards I have to dig through to get it. And it's a Tom Brunansky rookie card, which probably meant something at the time.

Finally, a 1996 Fleer Traded card of Rickey Henderson. It's an "old-technology" card that I'm guessing Dinged Corners has already. But if not, I'll be sending it on its way. Because who better to have talking on an ancient cordless phone than the newest member of the Baseball Hall of Fame?

Thanks for joining me for my ramblings. I'll settle on a single topic the next time.