Night Owl Cards

Not a lot to say about this card, other than that when I see Andre Ethier cards now, I think about how people are writing that Ethier should be platooned next year because he's hit lefties so poorly this season. This seems odd to me given how much money and years the new Dodgers owners invested in Ethier earlier this year. And Ethier struggling against lefties is no surprise. He's had his this issue his whole career. But if the new regime treats money the way it has so far, then maybe the Dodgers are about to feature the most expensive platoon players, pinch-hitters, loogies and concession workers in the history of the game. Anyway, this card and these two others ... ... came from Brian, who has his own baseball card blog. It's called Cardnomics , and it's a very different approach to cards that I could never do. But it's interesting and I'm glad someone is looking at cards in this way. Brian is also a regular user of Listia and the first blog...

When I was back living at home and we had leftovers for dinner, my dad would call them "skip," as in: "What's for dinner?" "Skip" I don't know the explanation for that term, other than he got it from his family when he was growing up. But I still think of it whenever leftovers are on the menu or whenever anyone talks about "hand-me-downs." In my head, they're known as "skip." So, that is what you're going to get here -- skip. My mom used to call dinner leftovers "this and that," and that's appropriate here, too. A post of "this and that," "leftovers" and "skip." Let's dig in: 1. TOPPS UPDATE The checklist for the 2012 Topps Update set is on the street and I counted up 16 Dodgers cards. Here's the list: US3 - Adam Kennedy US4 - Matt Treanor US38 - Elian Herrera US52 - Clayton Kershaw US57 - Hanley Ramirez US102 - Brandon League US107 - Randy Cho...

I've been on Twitter for three weeks now, and I have to say the second time around is going a little better than the first. Twitter can still be annoying as hell, but I think my approach to it is better this time. I've kept to my "rule" of only tweeting about cards -- for the most part -- and I've chosen to emphasize the usefulness of the tool, rather than the crap that's too easy to obsess over. One thing that Twitter is useful for is trades. That's not the reason I got back on there again. I'm not searching for new trade partners by any means -- I'm perfectly happy with the many that I have now and I can barely keep up with them as it is. But I've been involved in three or four transactions since my return to Twitter. Two of the fellow tweeters have card blogs. Two don't. The first Twitter trade (or #TwitterTrade, as the kids are saying) involved @SWLVguy , who charmed me with his friendliness and enthusiasm for cards right away....

There goes Night Owl, trotting out the big words again. I have a fascination with words that I don't know. "Redux" is a key one for me. I first read the word in the chapter title of a Roger Angell article when I was a teenager, and the word bounced around in my head for years. "RE-ducks. RE-ducks." I didn't even know if I was pronouncing it right. (turns out I was). Anyway, the word means "restored." It's a great word for this blog, and my other ones, because I do a lot of "restoring," otherwise known as "waxing nostalgic." My favorite thing to "redux," if I can use it as a verb, is the 1975 Topps set. As you know, I think it's the greatest thing ever. In fact, one year go yesterday, I posted the last card on the 1975 Topps blog that I created. A complete set blog from beginning to end, which hasn't been done very often. Even though I've moved on to the 1971 and 1985 Topps sets in blog-form,...

I'm going to try something here and it's probably the first and last time that I am going to do it. I am going to write a post without any accompanying photos. Don't groan. You'll all live. I'll try to make it interesting even without the pretty pictures. So ... There are a lot of people out there who read blogs and don't have a blog of their own. Some of them probably think that blogging isn't that tough. What's the big deal, right? You just click on the computer, open up a page, and write. Anybody can do it, stupid. Well, yeah, Stupid is here, admitting that anybody can do it. And just about anybody has. But not just anybody can stick with it. There are endless examples of bloggers, or wanna-be-bloggers, quitting after 2 years, 1 year, 6 months, 3 months, one month, even one week. Blogging, more than anything, takes dedication. If you're not dedicated, if it's a problem for you, you're not going to be a successful blogger. Take ...

Now don't get excited. If I found pages to fit my 1975 minis, the whole post would be in capital letters. No, all I've got for you are mini pages that fit Allen & Ginter minis, sent to me by Ryan at O No!!! Another Orioles Blog . Believe me, that's exciting enough for me. In fact, when Ryan announced that he had a bunch of A&G minis from the last few years of Allen & Ginter, the most thrilling part of his announcement was that he would send mini pages along with the cards. I am forever running out of mini pages, and too cheap to search them out on my own. So I signed up quickly. I am so grateful for the pages that I am featuring the cards I received inside the pages, just how Ryan sent them to me. A couple of '07 minis of two guys that caused Dodger fans more frustration than anything else. We fans are never satisfied. A surprise Dee Gordon Gypsy Queen black Dee Gordon mini joins two former Dodger favorites from '07. Martin's hittin...

I have finally whittled down my list of cards for "The Best Dodger Card Ever Made" Countdown to an even 100 cards. That means I can begin the countdown. But not now. I'm sleepy and cranky. And before I get dopey, I need my rest. So I'll just show you the final three cards to miss the cut. And you can leave your outraged comments about how you can't BELIEVE that card won't be in the top 100 and how you're never reading this blog again!!! But I won't care as I'll be in a peaceful dream haze. So, quickly, because I feel myself nodding off, here are the cards that got the final boot: 2006 Upper Deck Greg Maddux Back when Maddux joined the Dodgers -- the first time -- I couldn't wait to get a card of him in a Dodger uniform. But Topps kept foiling me by producing cards of Maddux photoshopped into a Dodger uniform. And photoshopped poorly, I might add. I don't consider that a true Maddux Dodger card. Upper Deck featured the fi...

I go for a walk about five times a week. It's a requirement if I'm going to take ownership of my health again. I used to think a walk was the dullest human activity that was ever devised. But I've come around on that, and do enjoy a semi-strenuous amble, provided that I'm not walking during peak outdoor times (i.e: when everyone within a 3-mile radius walks their dog). My regular route takes me behind the local high school. As with any high school, because teenagers are the messiest people alive, you can expect to see your share of discarded items on the side of the road. Half-eat bags of Cheetos, dented energy drink cans, McDonald's wrappers. The usual. But because it's a high school, the litter can be a lot more exotic than junk food remnants. I've seen parts of bicycles, clothing, lipstick containers, you name it. Today, I saw a giant, furry hood to a winter coat, and it's not even winter yet. I look forward to seeing what I'll come acr...