Night Owl Cards

All right, the postseason is beginning tonight and I'll be hard at work with little time to jeer who I need to jeer. Yes, it's going to be another one of THOSE postseasons again. But before I get into the teams involved, first a little thanks for who is not in the postseason. (ThankyouforseeingtoitthattheGiantsreallywereonlyaoneyearflukejustasIsuspectedandthatwewillneverseeanotherBrianWilson'sbeardcommercialeveragain.) OK. The good thing about my new little work schedule is that I'm off on the weekend and Saturday -- glorious Saturday -- there are four games on tap. Four wonderful games to view. There's no "well, I guess I could watch college football ." It'll be baseball all day and all night. At this time of year, I like to go over in my mind all of the possible World Series matchups involving the eight postseason teams. It's a fun little exercise, although it always uncovers some horrifying pairings. So, let's see the possibil...

Well, it's the offseason finally. The "once-proud" franchise won its final game of the year. The National League Cy Young Award winner will likely be a player from the "once-proud" franchise, and the N.L. MVP -- if people are thinking clearly -- will also go to a player from the "once-proud" franchise. The "once-proud" team seems to have found a legitimate closer, a reliable starting staff, a shortstop for the future, and some decent role players (and, no, I'm not talking about Eugenio Velez). "Once-proud," my team managed to finish above .500 and in third place -- nothing more, but nothing less than what I expected at the start of the season. For all of the June doom-and-gloom, I think the "once-proud" team produced some truly exciting moments, and two of the best individual performances that I have seen from my "once-proud" favorite club since I started following baseball 35 years ago. I'm pret...

Some of you need some cheering up . I think I have the perfect thing. I rarely wish that I was capable of video on this blog. But this is the one time that I do. I received a gift in the mail a couple of weeks ago from Andy of the Baseball-Reference.com blog . It was a thank you for my blog work and contributions to the B-R blog. The gift was one of the coolest items that I have received since blogging, and probably years before that. You're looking at the gift right now. The scan that you see is a scan of an unopened wax package of 1975 Topps MINIS . A 36-year-old wax pack dating back to the very first year that I opened packs of cards. And we're going to open it. I expect it to be something like this: Except, you know, more manly, with beer and babes and bazookas. But first we're going to take a look at the back of the wrapper, all nerdy-like. What a wonderful sight. Sealed just for me, and packaged with just the right amount of dextrose and B...

(One of the best quotes about appreciation: "The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one." -- Oscar Wilde. I can't believe I haven't used this before. It's time for Cardboard Appreciation. This is the 120th in a series): The "We Are Family" Pittsburgh Pirates are known for a variety of characteristics: the 1979 World Series title, the gold stars, the crazy black-and-gold uniform combinations, "Pops," "The Cobra," "Teke," Sister Sledge, etc. They also wore those funny, square caps from 1976-86. Their fashion choices became the darlings of the "Those Were the Days," crowd. Remember the '70s? Remember the bizarre clothes we used to wear? Remember the PIRATES? Oh my god, what freaky caps they wore!!! Of course, cap connoisseurs -- and they're out there -- know that the Pirates' cap choice began as a tribute to the National League's centennial season in 1976. They wore t...

I often find myself in the middle of never-ending debates concerning vintage vs. modern, or retail vs. online. Periodically, when I feature a modern set that may not be up to my standards, commenters will jump on my negative vibe and say something like, "thanks for reminding me why I don't waste my money on the garbage they're putting out today." Ooooo-kay! I wasn't really saying "this set has flaws, therefore burn all of your post-1994 cards." I was just saying "this set has flaws." Or I'll feature a beloved vintage card of some sort and the response will be *crickets.* Not enough modern innovation for the mojo crowd, I guess. The same goes for retail vs. online. Although I haven't really come across a ton of collectors advocating for retail, I do come across plenty advocating the online route. Their main clinching argument is: "and that's what I picked up for the price of a blaster." It's a pretty good arg...