It's the weekend: live a little

I am joining trade post forces today.

I know I said I'd do less of this, but these trades are perfect for a combined trade post. There aren't a lot of cards I need to show for any of them, and yet everyone deserves their turn. Besides, it's the weekend. Time to relax the rules.

So let's smush all these trade packages together and see what we get.

Up first is a giveaway package from Grand Cards. He had lots and lots of junk wax/current cards to give away, including Dodgers.

I thought a long time about this before I took the plunge and said I wanted the cards. I have enough junk wax Dodgers to keep a fire going until the next time the Cubs win the World Series. But I went ahead and told the delivery truck that "yes, this IS the correct address."

And boy did I get a bunch of Dodger goodness. Unfortunately, I've seen just about all of it before right in my very own home. Strangely, the only cards that I did not have had a Russell Martin theme.

There is the card up top, which I actually do have, but need another one to go into my 2006 Topps Completist collection.

Then there are these items:

Ah, inserts and parallels, placed upon this earth to ensure that you will never complete another set for the rest of your life.

Even the 2007 red-letter variations had a Russell J. theme.

So I'm glad I said yes to Grand Cards. Even receiving one card that I don't have is worth throwing a party over.

As another example, here is a card I received from Ryan of "O" No!!! Another Orioles Blog. (That's three exclamation points to you, sir).

It is the 2010 short-print card of Pee Wee Reese. This sure caught my eye when I saw it on his blog.

It's a weird-looking card. It's obviously colorized as Reese appears to be fielding a ball at a newly carpeted Wrigley Field. Didn't they have any dirt on the field in the 1950s?

Ryan couldn't leave me with just this one card though. He had to see what 2010 base cards I was missing and sent me a mess of want-list needs:

Those aren't all of them, just some of my favorites. That Cardinals shot in the upper left corner may be one of the best cards of the year. Very impressive.

Jon, of RGB Cards, delivered in much the same way that Ryan did. He sent a key card that I didn't have:

It's a paralleled Nomar card from 2008 Baseball Heroes. That's "silver," I believe. Nomar is making appearances on Baseball Tonight if I can believe the one time I tuned into the program in the last month. There was Nomar talking about baseball, so I'm guessing it's true. I still think anyone with any baseball analyzing talent left on ESPN should get the hell over to the MLB Network.

Jon checked the 2010 Topps want list, too, and like Ryan, these aren't all the cards that he sent. Just some of the better ones.

I've got to send some cards in return to Jon. I think I have to wait until he gets back to Australia or something. You bloggers are so worldly.

Finally, a mere two cards from Anthony at the former Mike Pelfrey's Collectibles blog. It now has a new name!

Anthony is leaving the baseball card scene for a new collecting love. I wish him the best, and I'm glad I was able to snag a few key cards before they disappeared forever.

These two cards are about as different as cards can get.

First, a card from one of my favorite sets:

It's Danny Frisella IN ACTION. Remember when "action" was a novelty? Something to be capitalized and italicized? I miss those days.

This is what replaced IN ACTION. It's a four-swatch card of four completely unrelated ballplayers! That will make you forget about boring old "action."

Of course, I grabbed this card because Matt Kemp is on it. I don't even care about the other three. One plays on a team that sucks, one plays on an American League team -- that sucks -- and one swings at pitches that bounce 14 times before they get to home plate.

All I see is Mr. Rihanna. I hope she doesn't totally ruin your 2010, Mr. Kemp.

There's your combined trade post -- a growing rarity here at Night Owl Cards.

Maybe.

We'll see.

Sometimes I like to change my mind.