Give me a little cardboard with that jersey

These cards crack me up. There aren't many cards that make me laugh instinctively over the ridiculousness of the card, but these "relics-on-steroids" cards certainly do.

Why in the name of Matt Wieters did they make the jersey swatch so big? Why didn't they just stuff an entire used jersey shirt in a bag and sell it that way? The things people think up.

While I'm at it, when is a jersey a "tool of the trade"? A bat is a tool. A glove is a tool. Mark Teixeira is a tool. But a jersey? That's a garment.

That said, I am appreciative of receiving my first Ron Cey relic card. It came from Greg at Lake Effect Cards, along with some other Dodger goodies. I have received a bunch of generous card packages lately. And I haven't decided how I'll post about all the goodness. I'll either drag it out or cram it into one epic post.

But Greg gets special treatment because he seemed to spark the wave of packages, and because he's threatening to send yet another one, so I better get this out of the way.

How about featuring this shiny Nomo card next? There are many, many, many shiny Nomo cards. This is some sort of "5-Star Finest" subset card from, I believe, 1996 Topps (wasn't collecting then). Apparently Piazza is part of the set. Still need that one.

A 1998 Upper Deck SP foil-stamped card of Chan Ho Park, who apparently didn't learn from the last time he left the Dodgers. He floundered around with the Rangers, Padres and Mets after leaving in 2001. Now he's slumping with the Phillies after leaving on the strength of a decent '08 with L.A.

This card is numbered 4,373/4,500. My Ryan Church 1/1 card just chortled.

I nearly jumped when I saw this card. Bowman needs to be careful when they put '50s players on a '50s-style retro set. I briefly thought this was an actual 1955 Bowman card. But it's still very cool.

One of a few Piazza cards sent by Greg. This is one of those cards that is absolutely lifeless unless you hold it up to the light. Then watch it do its thing. It's almost as entertaining as those bug-zappers. (yeah, I know that doesn't make sense. But it sounded good in my brain).

A 1993 Eric Karros black gold card. I know lots of collectors went gaga over these cards. This was my last year of full-fledged collecting until 2006 and I didn't appreciate the scarcity of these cards. In fact, I should check and see if I have any. I could probably make someone who appreciates them more than me very happy.

Now, this is what makes ME happy. A 1975 Topps mini of the 1974 MVPs from the MVP subset! That Garvey card is one of my all-time favorites and the first time I ever saw it was on this '75 card.

I am really enjoying getting '75 minis in the mail. Possibly more than any other card I receive.

So, Greg, these are very thoughtful cards. I'll be checking out your wants as soon as I climb out of the stack of mail I've received this week.