Yup. There's nothing that goes better than your favorite team sinking to the basement and a trade post. The shame. The loyalty. You're ashamed to root for such an inept team yet too loyal to become a bandwagon fan. You're ashamed of dumping another trade post on your readers yet too loyal to your traders, knowing it's the right thing to do.
They go hand in hand! I only wish that the Dodgers were alone in last place (instead of sharing it with a team whose true destiny is the bottom). I wish they held the worst record in baseball so they would get a chance at drafting a hot shot phenom with behavioral and entitlement problems who will never be happy in his life until he realizes that his attitude sucks.
Bring on MLB draft 2012!
(*sarcasm disclaimer here*)
But first: Shame and Loyalty.
I'll start slowly with the rest of the cards I received from GCA. This is a 2005 Bowman gold card of former Dodgers Double A stud Heath Totten. He hasn't pitched professionally since 2008. I'm not proud that I now have this card. Yet, I must collect it.
Once again, shame and loyalty.
A pair of Topps Reserve Dodgers from one of the many sets of a decade ago that confuse me with their name. Reserve? I don't know where that comes from. Are these wild cards living in a protected environment?
Here's another one that baffles me. Absolute Memorabilia. What? The name is fancy but the card still couldn't avoid its UV coating getting stuck to another card on top of it, and now we have foil lackage right next to the proud A.M. logo. You're not so spiffy A.M.
These are some Bazooka stickers sent to me by Brian of 30-Year-Old Cardboard. Three of the four players on this sticker have worn a Dodger uniform. You could play that old Sesame Street "One of These Things" game with this card. Sesame Street really should have utilized baseball cards in its teaching more often.
Everytime I see this card, I like to think that Monday is about to go to the plate and deliver that game-winning home run off Steve Rogers to send the Dodgers to the World Series in 1981. On days when the Dodgers are in last, this card comes in handy.
Brian sent a trio of Steve Garveys. As you know, Garvey and, now Orel Hershiser, is part of a group that is considering their options about possibly attempting to buy the Dodgers. I say go for it. Hell, I'd tell the kid who found a nickel on the sidewalk to see about buying the Dodgers.
We're on to the O-Pee-Chee portion of the Shame and Loyalty Junket. These are from the Thoughts and Sox group break.
These are what I consider the less-fun OPC cards. The "common" OPC cards. The "base" OPC cards, if you will.
This, however, is what OPC is all about. This is OPC Mojo.
Adam also sent a bunch of '87 Leaf Dodgers. I have nothing to say about these except that I think "Leaf" is the best name for a Canadian company ever. Unfortunately, I believe Leaf is mostly a European candy company and has nothing to do with the Canadian maple leaf at all. Bummer.
I have received this card from three different bloggers. This one is from Paul's Random Stuff.
This one is from Play at the Plate.
And this one is from Smed's Baseball Card Blog.
Review each one, if you like, for centering, clarity, sharpness, acidity and bouyancy. But I don't care about that. What I think about when I see this card is that it might be the worst card of all of 2011. I really can't stand it. How did Bowman turn Dre into a middle-aged greaser telling punks to stay away from his bike?
But you can't ever make Duke Snider look bad on a card. These cards are from Adam of Big Sexy Cards. I can't argue that these cards are big and sexy.
A couple of inserts from Gypsy Queen. Not a fan of the design, but nothing wrong with the players.
I do a party dance every time I get one of these Walmart black cards (there needs to be an official name for these cards, by the way). Blasters are so 2008, and I fear I will only get these cards through trades.
I keep hearing that Kuo is almost on his way back to the Dodgers. Meanwhile, L.A.'s bullpen will blow every game until he returns.
Clayton can attest to that.
The Dodgers are in the middle of what I believe is an 11-game series with the Rockies (it will never end). I've stopped hoping that L.A. can turn things around and make a pennant run. In fact, I never started because I knew it'd be a lost season back in January.
So, the shame and loyalty train will keep on running for the foreseeable future.
Long live the Dodgers!
Long live the trade post!
Comments
BTW, the Rockies bullpen did its best to give the Dodgers the game last night.
Peace, Larry the smg
I liked the idea about Sesame Street.