Night Owl Cards

Stephen Strasburg is facing the Dodgers tonight in his return to the majors. In any situation where the potential for my team to be embarrassed on a national level is high, I am always convinced of the worst. So, Strassy Baby almost certainly will throw a triple no-hitter against my team tonight. The game fits in perfectly with the general air of trepidation that goes with this time of the year. Today is when all the kiddies go back to school in these parts. As a former kiddie, I always hated this day. I don't enjoy it much more now because, for all of the people in my household, our schedule is connected directly to the school schedule. If school is in session, every one of us is much busier and around much more annoying people. If it's not in session, everything is serene. But today, the air is filled with apprehension and dread as we rehearse our comeback lines in front of the mirror. (We will all need them). And don't tell me to work on my attitude. You know what...

Did you read about that study from a few weeks back? Something about Facebook users getting a skewed view of how much fun people are having "elsewhere" and becoming depressed about their own mundane, boring lives? It's true that sometimes interaction through the intertubes can give you an altered perception of reality. Take my favorite topic lately, the Diamond Giveaway site. If you did all of your trading through that site, you would think that trading is a cynical exercise, one whose only goal is getting a lot of something for a lot of nothing. I'd say about 97 percent of the trade offers I get on the site are like that. Either that or a lot of people have an awfully inflated idea of what an '87 Mike Schmidt is worth. Meanwhile, I rarely can get any card that I want on the site unless I offer something of obvious greater value for it. That is how I received the Andre Ethier Diamond Diecut card yesterday. I gave up the Tommy Hanson diecut and a couple othe...

Perhaps you've heard. The country's having a snowstorm. I know. Snow in February. Who thinks up these things? I have to work. So, I'll be out in the oh my GOD is that SNOW? If I return -- and that's a big "if" because you know there is SNOW outside -- I'll have more posts for you to ignore. But if not, I figured I'd leave you a giant trade post to remember me by. Besides, it's not like anyone is leaving the house, what with all that deadliness out there. If you've watched the Weather Channel for even a minute, you're huddled in the corner of your basement clutching a flare and a bag of dehydrated bananas right now (How would people react if it started raining razor blades or something?). So why not settle in and see some cards that people sent me. They were kind enough to send them to me, so the least I can do is be kind enough to show them. Turn up the heat, ignore the fact that HOLY   CRAP, THERE IS SNOW RIGHT OUTSIDE THE ...

One of the curses/blessings about being a Dodger fan is that part of its history is considered what I would call collecting eminent domain. You can be a Twins fan, a Diamondbacks fan, whatever, and still be interested in collecting Dodger cards -- as long as they're Brooklyn Dodger cards. Personally, I don't get that. If I hate a team, I hate it for all of its history. I hate the Yankees from Jack Chesbro to Nick Swisher. They don't get time off for pleasant behavior in the '60s because Elston Howard played for them for a period. I dislike them from start to finish. But I constantly run into collectors who spit on current Dodger blue, but still collect Robinson or Reese or Koufax. I'm trying to embrace that and be happy that my team has some of the most collectible players in the game, as I still desperately try to get the same cards that others are also acquiring. Such is the case with Alfredo of My Past Time ... I Love it ! He has recently announced a decis...