Night Owl Cards

Long ago, during a year far, far away, Jeff of 2-by-3 Heroes held a "Tis The Season contest in which he was giving away stacks of surplus cards in a variety of categories. I looked at the cards available and immediately targeted the 2013 and 2014 A&G stack as pretty much the only item I wanted. In a case of "why can't be life be like this contest", not only was I selected as a winner, but I got to pick my first choice, the Ginter stack. A short month-and-half later, it arrived at my domicile, and a short two weeks after that, I'm showing my winnings. The best part of card blogging is there are no deadlines. Jeff, was right, the majority of the cards in the stack were 2013 A&G. In fact, since I was fairly close to completing the set even before I won the contest, here are my "extras' of Jeff's "extras": Those are available to whomever would like to make them theirs. I'd prefer sending someone the whole stack, but i...

Now don't get excited. If I found pages to fit my 1975 minis, the whole post would be in capital letters. No, all I've got for you are mini pages that fit Allen & Ginter minis, sent to me by Ryan at O No!!! Another Orioles Blog . Believe me, that's exciting enough for me. In fact, when Ryan announced that he had a bunch of A&G minis from the last few years of Allen & Ginter, the most thrilling part of his announcement was that he would send mini pages along with the cards. I am forever running out of mini pages, and too cheap to search them out on my own. So I signed up quickly. I am so grateful for the pages that I am featuring the cards I received inside the pages, just how Ryan sent them to me. A couple of '07 minis of two guys that caused Dodger fans more frustration than anything else. We fans are never satisfied. A surprise Dee Gordon Gypsy Queen black Dee Gordon mini joins two former Dodger favorites from '07. Martin's hittin...

As I write this, Clayton Kershaw has struck out eight Giants through five innings. That would make me most pleased, except for the fact that the Dodgers are continuing the tradition that they have been known for over the last decade -- leaving abundant runners on base. So, I've decided to write a post during the game that will remind me of why I'm happy to be a Dodger fan, no matter what happens tonight. The following cards come from Mike at Sports Syzygy . I thank him for validating my appreciation for the greatest team on earth. Kirk Gibson. Author of the greatest baseball moment since ESPN hit the airwaves. Really. There were polls to figure this out and everything. We all know that if it's not on ESPN, it didn't happen. Sandy Koufax. Author of the greatest abbreviated pitching career of all-time. I think he has many more fans today than he ever did when he was playing. Roy Campanella. Perhaps the most inspirational baseball player of all-time f...

So, the Dodgers, for some inexplicable reason, did not offer arbitration to Randy Wolf on Tuesday. This, to me, is the most apparent example that the McCourts are going to completely pull this team down with them as they engage in their darling divorce dance. Why would you not offer arbitration to a coveted free agent pitcher unless you're deathly afraid that Wolf will say, "yes," and you'll have to pay him $10 million? (The Dodgers aren't going to be big free agent players, so it's not like they have to worry that Wolf will eat up their spending budget). L.A., not willing to risk the slim chance that Wolf would accept the offer, chose instead to forgo the draft picks that they would earn as compensation by offering him arbitration and having another team sign him. And that's how desperate Frank McCourt is for cash. Brilliant. That's some forward thinking there. Screw the future, eh? And what's our pitching staff going to look like next year? If...

Doesn't Phil look happy to be home? After spending all that time cooped up in a 2 1/2-by-3 1/2-inch kennel, making moony eyes at every collector who leafed through mr. dealer's 1971 Topps binder, someone finally bought his card. You're safe here, Phil. No one's going to sell you now. Rest easy in the left-center pocket of sheet two of your new home. Get to know your neighbor to the right of you, Oscar Gamble, and the guy below you, Cito Gaston. The space above you is still vacant. But I'll give Skip Pitlock a home soon, too. Roof is one the '71 cards that I bought at the card show Sunday. There was a lot to absorb at this show. Things were different. And in an attempt to condense a post that's going to be lengthy as it is, I'll break it down into quick segments and then get to the cards. I didn't bring my camera, so you'll have to rely on my words. I'm a lousy photographer anyway. The show itself: The show was moved to another building at t...