Night Owl Cards

Sometimes it's best to keep memories repressed. I don't ever want to recall that Orel Hershiser pitched for the Giants, let alone get a cardboard reminder in the mail. However, in one way I am glad that this Hershiser card is featured here. Because that means the trade deadline is over, I can exhale, and this is a harmless baseball card trade post, rather than a "why, oh, why did the Dodgers trade half their team for Roy Halladay " post. Halladay is still spending his Loonies in Toronto. As it should be. (Meanwhile, I just read that the Dodgers were supposedly close to a deal with the Padres in which they would have acquired Adrian Gonzalez and Heath Bell for James Loney , Russell Martin, Blake DeWitt , James McDonald and Ivan DeJesus Jr. Holy Smokey! Do people who run the Dodgers know the team has had the best record in baseball for almost the entire season?) The Hershiser nightmare card came to me from Mark of Stats on the Back . He's been giving...

The ballgame turned out to be a lot of fun (was there any doubt?). Beautiful weather. Decent crowd. No parking issues. About the only thing that went wrong was me looking at the wrong roster for the two teams when I wrote the previous post. There were quite a few players I recognized at the game: Daryle Ward (the hecklers' main target), Wilson Betemit , Norris Hopper, Elijah Dukes (hit by a pitch twice), Pete Orr, Saul Rivera and Jorge Sosa (throwing smoke). And Mike Morse was the big hero, hitting a two-run triple in the seventh inning for the game-winning hit as Syracuse rallied to win 5-3. But the biggest news was in the stands, in Section 105, Row 4, seats 5 and 6. Right behind the visitors' dugout. That's where my daughter and I sat. You see, it was quite the entertaining game. Not only was there a comeback win and a two-run triple, but there was also a home run, runners tagged out at the plate in the respective sixth and eighth innings, Charlotte manager Chris Chambl...

I'm headed out to the old ballpark tonight. It's been awhile. I've mentioned before that I don't live close to a major league park. In fact, I don't live close to any ballpark that features professional baseball. In the past, that wouldn't stop me. I'd hop in a car and head to any number of parks within driving distance. But ever since my daughter became old enough to care about where she was going, that practice has stopped. I've mentioned before that my daughter isn't interested in baseball. She jokes around with me about how worthless it is, saying swimming or Hannah Montana or Boogie Superstar (if you have a daughter and a Wii, you know what I'm talking about) is vastly more important. And I won't force her to go to games if she's not interested. But now -- maybe it's her age, or I've finally worn her down -- she's looking forward to a ballgame. And I'm not going to stand around waiting for her to change her mind. So,...

I completed my 2009 Topps base set today, thanks to a card from Jim and two cards from Chris . They also sent several other fine cards that I'll show some other time. I'm also going to delay showing those final three '09 cards until the end of the post, so that I can focus on one notable aspect of this year's Topps cards. The large space for photos and the plentiful action shots means there are a number of cards with advertisements noticeable in the background. The Waldimir Balentien card here is an obvious example. Once upon a time, this would only happen occasionally with spring training photos. Spring training and minor league facilities have been filled with billboard advertising for ages. And if a Coke ad found its way into the card photo, you were amused, because you never saw that in major league parks. In the big leagues, the outfield walls were barren. All of the walls in the stadium were barren. Well, except for that "no pepper allowed" sign. Of c...

Yes, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Hey, Night Owl, bird brain, the National isn't until this weekend. How can you get stuff at the National when it hasn't happened yet?" And I have one word to say to you all- knowing , always-correct, perfect people out there: relax. I'm going somewhere with this. Settle. And enjoy the ride. The truth is, I won't be going to the National, otherwise known as "As Close to Paradise as You Can Get While Still Standing in Cleveland." I'd love to see all the wonderful cards on display during the biggest collectibles show on earth, but I just can't. Something about having to work and being broke and the usual drawbacks to adulthood. Fortunately, I've already had my "National." It arrived in a big box from Joe. You remember Joe , don't you? Well, he wasn't finished sending cards. He sent a ton more and, honestly, the selection was almost as good as what you'd ...