Before someone loses it and throws all my cards away ...

My recent vow to make every trade its own post has been a welcome challenge. It's forced me to find something unique about the cards, or at least one card, and write about it. I like that. It's good for me. Like peas and cauliflower and (*gag, wretch*) beets.

But it's also causing issues. I'm in major backlog mode. Both physically and mentally. The mental part is that I've got a crapload of ideas from these cards and they're all lined up waiting for their stories to be told. But I have zero time. Zer-O. You don't know how often I wish I was independently wealthy. Not because of the money. But because of the TIME. I need to become a college student again.

The physical part is there are cards from trades stacked up all over in the living room waiting, just waiting for somebody, anybody to, for the love of god, DO SOMETHING. The line of card stacks is getting longer and longer and longer. I can I hear the stacks crabbing about the stacks in front of them and how the stacks in front of them have too many cards and should go to another line. Plus, I keep taking wary glances toward my wife in case she makes a sudden move, whips a garbage bag from out behind the sofa, knocks all the card stacks into the bag, and makes a run for the trash bin.

It could happen. She may act all sweet and charming.

So, to ease some of the pressure, and my rampant paranoia, I'm pulling out the semi-massive trade post.

Really, it's for the greater good.

Get ready for some awesome cards:

Wait, wait! Come back! ...

OK, OK, you doubt me already. I understand that. But this was a Nebulous 9 need. One of the many junk wax era cards that somehow escaped me. Now my 1988 Topps Traded Dodgers set is complete. You can appreciate that, right? Many thanks to Chris of Project '62.

Chris deals in vintage cards, which means I love getting cards from him. When I know that cards from him are in the mail, I set up a camp site on my porch and wait for the mailman to arrive. There's a tent, a fire, sleeping bags, the whole thing. We sing folk songs. Oh, the neighbors hate us. But I'm too anxious for vintage to notice the jeering.

This tremendous '58 card of Carl Furillo, with what appears to be an "L.A." crudely drawn on his cap, is from Chris. So was the '65 Wes Parker at the top of the post.

So is this equally great '59 Rip Repulski card. Chris is my supplier of Rip Repulski cards. I have three in my collection now. Two came from Chris. This card is great not only because of the name, but because there is no indication that Repulski plays for the Dodgers other than the lettering and logo on the bottom. He's obviously wearing a Phillies jersey. And the color border was not used with the Dodgers in '59 at all. So he stands out, like ... like, someone named Rip Repulski. Or someone named Eldon.

Yes, everyone, breathe a sigh of relief. Night Owl is never going to whine about not having this card again. I think I've lamented about this card more than any other. Apparently, Chris knows that. In fact, there was a note on the back that said, "HERE! Here's your damn 1981 Traded Fernando Valenzuela card! Now SHUT UP!"

OK, there was no note like that. And my wife has no trash bag behind the sofa.

But my boss is out to get me. That part is true.

Do you remember these things? What a flashback rush I received when I pulled this out of a package from faithful reader Eggrocket.

Any boy in our neighborhood wanted these Sportscaster cards. A friend of mine had them, and my brother and I were extremely jealous. In fact I think my brother ended up ordering some similar animal cards just so he could have something like the Sportscaster cards.

I even found myself staring longingly at those "recipe-a-week" cards that I'd see in commercials, since they were similar, except for the fact that they had, um, pictures of food on them instead of athletes.

We were desperate, desperate kids.

Eggrocket was kind enough to send one with a Dodger on it -- in this case Rick Rhoden (with Davey Lopes in the background). Unfortunately, Rhoden is giving up what is called "a gopher ball." The back of the Sportscaster card informs me that a "gopher ball" is a "pitch that is hit for a home run" when a player "decides to 'go for' the fences."

Ha, ha, that crazy baseball lingo.

Eggrocket also sent some fine vintage Dodgers. I think I have them all, but they'll come in handy as they're quite vintagey, and there are always uses for those.

Ooooh! Ow! That's jarring isn't it? Going from an old, awkward '70s card to crazy late '90s graphics on something called Ionix? That's not recommended.

This card is from Jon at Community Gum. I swung a trade from his recent group break.

I've been very selective on my group breaks recently, because it's a time of year when I need to squirrel away funds. Fortunately, I was able to arrange a much more cost-effective deal for the Dodgers from this group break. In other words, we worked out a trade.

This is what you get when you don't pay for your cards. A brown-bordered Chin-lung Hu Masterpieces card. I wanted this card. Really.

I don't know why the Dodgers still have Hu. Please someone tell me. I don't think anyone knows. The Dodgers certainly don't. They know nothing.

A card set with issues featuring past Dodgers with issues. See how nicely it goes together?

2004 Upper Deck Vintage might be the dullest card set of the last 10 years. Even worse than Spectrum.

Here's the '04 Vintage card that throws off the curve. I'm pretty sure the scan of this card isn't selling it. But in person this jersey card is the height of awesomeness.

If you can imagine a jersey card made in 1963, this is what it would look like. Sort of. It's tremendous.

Oh, yeah, and here are some 1997 Fleer cards. They're OK, but ....

Let's go back to the Nomo Vintage jersey card.

How do I convince my family that the image of this card should be blown up, framed and hung in the living room?

All right, enough of my slobbering.

Take a look at this:

This was sent to me by TJ of All Your Base Cards Belong to Us (no, TJ, I did not delete your blog from my list).

It's a fantastic gesture, if I am correct in my assuming.

This autographed card of my favorite player was part of a prize package that TJ won from the Chronicles of Fuji. I'm pretty sure I'm right because I saw that card, saw that I wouldn't win it, and emitted an "oh well, I have four TTM autos of Cey already" sigh.

And then this card arrived to me in the mail.

There are now nine Ron Cey autograph cards in my collection. I love each one of them. Very cool, TJ. Very cool.

OK, you think I'm caught up now?

Not even close.

There is some more crazy stuff to show, but hopefully I can space it out a little more.

If you see another combined trade post, then you know I've spied something behind the sofa.