Night Owl Cards

  As an adult with a home, bills, family and job, there is nothing quite like the feeling of no commitments.   I'm never totally free of every commitment. There's always a bill or some hovering work thing, but I happen to be in a period in life in which a couple of problems that I have fretted over since adulthood began are no longer an issue. That's a tremendous feeling. It's like a Saturday afternoon in the summer with no responsibilities and the sun shining away.   But I'm a responsible person, who feels responsible, so there is always something I Must Do, even in the hobby.   Usually that hobby commitment is sending return envelopes to those who have sent me cards. I don't get in a yank about that as much as I once did. You should have seen me in 2008: "What? He's sending me cards for nothing? Oh the guilt . MUST RECIPROCATE. MUST RECIPROCATE."   I don't do that anymore. But I do like to be nice and respond when I get a card from someone. S...

Without really knowing it, I categorize Dodger eras into the three categories of "good," "bad," or "indifferent." And, by association, my attitude toward certain Dodgers players, past or present, is colored by whether they appeared in a good, bad or indifferent Dodger era. For example, take this fine card of George "Shotgun" Shuba, supplied to me by the Junior Junkie (all of the card you will see here are from the Junior Junkie, by the way). Shuba was hardly an exceptional player. He was a utility man. But because he played at a time when the Dodgers were perennial contenders, when they were breaking racial barriers, and because he had such a cool nickname, he is a favorite. Shuba is known for the symbolic gesture of shaking Jackie Robinson's hand in the minor leagues. He's also well-documented in the book "Boys Of Summer." And he hit a pinch-hit homer in the 1955 World Series. Through circumstance, he shined. He came ...

This will probably be my last 2012 Topps analysis post. I'm running out of things to say about the cards, and I know how quickly people get bored these days. The cards have been out for -- what, four days? -- I could have tweeted about 7,000 different subjects in that amount of time. But I've already purchased the hanger box, so I've got to show you what was in that. It's my obligation. The key thing about hanger boxes is that you buy one. Only one. If you buy more, you're going to enter collation hell. Collation can be an issue no matter what packaging you prefer, but for some reason it seems much more condensed and apparent in hanger boxes. I almost live in fear of when the series of horizontal cards pops up because I know I'm going to get duped in the head. Fortunately, I kept it to one box and I avoided doubles. Except one. One that you wouldn't expect. But you'll have to wait on that. We must go in order. This here is exactly how I pulled...