Night Owl Cards

That's right, I just turned "jurickson" into a verb. This is the stuff that I can't do in my real writing job. You are the beneficiary. I'm thinking of using this term for those times when you pull multiple versions of the same player in a short period of time, don't give a damn about the cards, find someone who does give a damn about the cards, and get something wonderful for those damn cards. (Sorry about all the "damns"; it's been a rough week). This phenomenon has happened to me more than a few times. I suppose with the wide variety of parallels and the sheer number of sets that almost duplicate other sets (Chrome, Opening Day, minis, etc.) that it's bound to happen. And I think that this occurrence needs a name. So, "jurickson" or "pulling a jurickson" or "YOU GOT JURICKSONED" is now part of the English language. Go and use likewise. The inspiration for all of this is, of course, is some ball-pl...

November is a terrible time for buying cards. It's even worse than December because in December you've either already purchased all your holiday gifts and are ready to treat yourself with the leftover final pennies, or you've given up hope and are waving the credit card at every checkout clerk who even glances your way. But in November, there is A Plan. You're going to focus on buying for other people. You have lists and a budget and are a Very Careful Shopper. This is important for someone like me with a job like mine. Cards enter my head only fleetingly and then are dismissed as sinful. Be gone, card thoughts! I'm shopping for OTHERS. This is also the time that I stop looking on ebay or COMC or anywhere else for cards. Collecting goals are on hold until the day after December 25th. When I do pick up some cards, it's always from a retail store, it's always during a trip when I'm Christmas shopping, and it's always something cheap. Thus, t...

I don't keep up on the current major league baseball scene as much as I should. There are fantasy geeks and seamheads and stadium junkies. And then there's me -- a lover of baseball who tries to keep pace in a crazy, modern world, but knows it's impossible to memorize the No. 4 starter for the Oakland A's. When I get a chance to review the league leaders -- which happens about, oh, once a month (I remember when it used to happen once a day) -- I am perpetually amazed by who is in the top 10. Josh Willingham has 35 homers? Paul Goldschmidt has 42 doubles? Marco Scutaro has 180 hits? Fans of the teams who field those players may chortle, but it's a damn, fine feat that I even know who they are given what blows up on a daily basis around here. Mostly what I do is try to grab a few names as I rush out the door, hoping that they'll stick in my brain. Like Jurickson Profar. That name stuck. And I'm lucky it did. Because Matthew at Number 5 Type Collection...