The continuing case of the disappearing umpire

OK, class, when we last left off we were talking about Manny Ramirez and the case of the disappearing umpire.

Remember the 2008 Topps Stadium Club card? Manny Ramirez was photoshopped into a Dodgers uniform and the entire stadium was transformed into Dodger Stadium (it's actually Fenway Park). And the poor umpire was erased from the photo altogether, because of licensing issues.

And you remember why that was wrong, right? In photojournalism circles this is a No.1 no-no. A good way to earn your pink slip. But even for a card company, it's bad news because it's deceptive. And we all know that card companies have trust issues when it comes to their customer base these days. (Not to mention, when have you ever seen a photo of a hitter at the plate during a game without the umpire in the shot?)

All right, for those of you who remember all that, I apologize for the rehash. That was for the benefit of the rest of the class that may be a little, um, slow, or were in the principal's office that day.

Now, we'll get everyone up to date with a 2009 Bowman card of Manny Ramirez, sent to me by Jeff at Card Junkie:

I'm showing it nice and big so you can take in the photo. It's a nice shot, and unlike the Stadium Club card, Ramirez appears to be wearing an actual Dodger uniform. (EDIT: But I have no idea where it was played. Manny is in a home uniform, the catcher is in a road uniform, but that does not look like Dodger Stadium).

But look at Ramirez's feet. Now look to the right of Ramirez's feet. See the umpire's foot and a small part of his leg? OK, now pan up a little bit. Where is the rest of the umpire? He's not there is he?

My goodness, Topps rubbed out the umpire but left his leg to send a message!!!!! You don't want to mess with these Topps guys. They're bad news.

Actually, what happened here appears to be another sloppy photo-tinkering performance. Thanks to the incomplete erasing job, it looks as if Ramirez is growing a third foot out of his leg (a PED side-effect, perhaps?) The ump is gone again because of licensing issues, but they forget to get rid of the foot! Can the umpire sue because Topps used his foot without permission? Hmmmm.

Jeff also sent a few other Bowman Dodgers. No funny business going on in these cards.

The awe-inspiring Matt Kemp. He still strikes out too much, but he's valuable in the lineup, and he's made some great outfield plays this season.

My man Clayton Kershaw. I like the signature. Kershaw's doing his part in a patchwork Dodgers rotation. I guess he was prepared to relieve Monday night if Hiroki Kuroda couldn't go five in his return to the rotation. I was relieved they didn't have to use Kershaw.

Tonight's starter, Chad Billingsley. Boy, Bowman didn't mess around with which players to pick with the non-prospects did they? You couldn't find four finer Dodgers. Billingsley has fallen off a little since his great start, but part of that is because he hasn't gotten a lot of run support.

Jeff, thanks for the cards, especially the very entertaining Ramirez card. I didn't even notice the disappearing umpire when you showed it on your video.