Viewer mail

I am always surprised by who is reading this blog. It's not that I don't have any confidence in what I write here, it's just that I wonder who besides card collectors could possibly find it interesting.

A few days ago I received an email from a woman who merely wanted to comment on my reference to former player Steve Brye. I had stupidly mentioned that when we were kids, my brother made Brye the favorite player of his stuffed lion. Well, this woman found that amusing. She left a light-hearted email to tell me so. She also said that her husband is Brye's cousin. Of course, that makes me wonder if that bit of information I wrote will ever get back to Brye. In which case I will have gotten my brother back for every single time he got me in trouble with the parents.

Anyway, I am going to feature some other viewer mail, namely card packages from viewers of my blog! Once again, I'm showing three packages at once, because I am at least a week behind on these things. After these three, there are several backed up, ones that I know are on their way, and who knows what kind of surprises lying in wait. (Did you read that article about how the post office is removing some of its mailboxes from street corners because there isn't as much mail as there used to be? That's definitely not the case at my house).

The first batch of goodies are from Steve of White Sox Cards. He recently found some cards from my 2009 wants. I wish I had all my 2009 wants updated. Still haven't gotten to some sets yet. Maybe by November.

These are the only two cards on this post that aren't Dodgers. (I don't think God is a Dodger, no matter what Lasorda says). Two Allen & Ginter cards off the want list.

The second Russell Martin of the Upper Deck base set. Martin and the rest of the Dodgers didn't play very well Sunday afternoon against the Braves. Did a lot of stupid stuff.

I thought I had this card of Ramon Troncoso already. But I didn't. Fortunately, I caught Steve in time before he mailed the package out minus the Troncoso card. He happily returned it to the pile.

One of the non-weird photos in O-Pee-Chee. Loretta isn't doing what I thought he'd do when the Dodgers acquired him. Hitting about .220 right now.

Russell Martin, OPC Face of the Franchise insert. I've seen some praise for this insert set. I find it quite bland. OPC is very hit-and-miss for me. It's interesting enough for me to keep buying, but I end up staring at half the cards with a "what were they thinking" look on my face.

Finally from Steve, the one 4-in-1 Goudey card that I wanted from this year's set. (Yeah, there's a blue and green and something else version, but I'm not chasing all that stuff). I think Ethier, Kershaw and Martin have each lasted longer with the Dodgers than Gibson did (not quite sure about Kershaw, and I'm too tired to research it). Thanks, Steve!

Next are some cards from Bud, a Night Owl Cards reader and Mariners fan, who has his own blog. Did you know Mr. Met was traded to Cleveland? I'll open with a Topps Finest card of Mike Piazza, just to prepare you for the Piazza fest to follow.

Chad Billingsley is still with the Dodgers. I'm so glad I can write that sentence. And I love 2006 Fleer Tradition. Quite colorful.

This is colorful, too, in an odd way. Why neon green for a subset called "Grass Roots"? If I see grass like that, I'm assuming toxic waste and heading in the opposite direction.

A great chrome card of Rickey Henderson as a Dodger. Do I have all the Rickey as a Dodger cards now? Probably not. But I'm happy with three right now.

A numbered Tommy John card from '02 Upper Deck Past Time Pennants. Why is it numbered? Beats me.

Some golden cards of two guys with exceptional athletic ability, but some obvious character issues. That's my second '08 Ramirez gold card, which automatically triggers the "should I collect every serial-numbered version of the card" reflex.

Two of the many Fleer cards from earlier in this decade recognizing the all-time greats. It's a rather odd photo selection of Campanella. You can't tell if he's wearing a Baltimore jersey.

Two interesting Pee Wee Reese cards. A Chrome card of Pee Wee just looks wrong. The Play Ball remake card from Upper Deck looks much more authentic.

I will end the Bud portion of this post with a Topps Fan Favorites chrome variation card of Ron Cey, because you get pretend bonus points for sending me a Cey card I don't have! Yay! Thanks, Bud.

I'm starting the cards I received from reader Brian with one of the fancy ones. Brian is a frequent commenter on my blog, and he sent some nifty notes to guide me through the card package. What a nice package it was, too.

I'll ignore the whole "is he a Brave or is he a Dodger" question with this card. Because he's a Dodger. It's obvious.

Ah, memories of the early 1980s, when I thought that every player that came out of Albuquerque would become a future Dodger star, just like the card says. At least the guys on the ends turned out pretty well. Didn't match my expectations, but that was my problem.

I've said it before, but 1995 Fleer cracks me up. Can you pick out the players in this mess? It's Gary Ingram, Rudy Seanez, Billy Ashley and Rafael Bournigal. What a strange time the mid-90s was, both for baseball cards and the Dodgers.

Still. With. The. Dodgers. An Upper Deck Icon card. I need bloggers to come through, because I don't want to buy any more of this stuff.

Fortunately, I have the 1972 Topps version of this card already. It always irks me when I have an Archive reprint of an older Dodger card, but don't have the actual version.

More serial-numbered confusion. 2002 Upper Deck Plus. Yeah, whatever.

This is a Mike Piazza card. I know you can't tell from the front, but he's all over the back, and if you opened the jersey -- which I'm not going to do -- you'd see Mike there, too. It's a weird card. I find it unnerving. Do I have a problem with simulating the opening of a guy's jersey? Yes, I do. I'm fine with that. Why can't you be?

That's much better. A whole bunch of Piazza cards that I needed. I especially like the hologram, 3-D Collector's Choice thing way at the top right. These are the most Piazza cards I've received at once since I bought a bunch at a garage sale a couple months ago. I feel like I'm finally making progress on the Piazzas.

A 1998 Leaf Fractal Matrix Z-Axis Die-Cut card. I can barely write that with a straight face. As if the design and name wasn't loud enough, it's also bright, shiny gold. I don't know what the design is supposed to be. If they made a few more cuts, they could turn it into a throwing star and really do some damage.

Have I mentioned how much I like Fleer Authentix? Cool stuff. Is that an actual ticket in there? Kind of looks like it. I prefer a ticket to a lot of other stuff they put in cards, like wall pieces and seat cushions.

Oooooh. 1975 Topps mini. Very nice. I have this card, but it has a bunch of creases, including a horizontal one right through Mantle's face. This one is in great shape.

Lastly, my first Bill Buckner-autographed card. Awesome. Brian, you sure know what you're doing with your trade packages.

Thanks again for staying around until the end. I have packages prepared for Steve and Brian, and Bud's has already been sent out. If nothing else interferes (which is highly likely), I should be able to get to the rest of you other folks by the end of this week.