Night Owl Cards

This was going to be a post about the one thing that I do like about the 2011 Allen and Ginter design -- the color-coded team logo in the corner. Add a splash of purple watercolor behind Huston Street and there is no doubt that this is a Rockies card. Very nice. I'll reserve comment about purple and sports teams. But after a little research, my post was derailed by the sight of this: That is not one, but two Topps 2011 cards of the Rockies' Jason Hammel, who got smacked around by the Dodgers last night. The card on the left is #338 and the card on the right is #642. BOTH of these cards are in Topps Series 2. Neither card is some sort of leader card or "season highlight card" (Hammel is a career 5.00 ERA pitcher, you know). These are two different BASE cards of a No. 4 starter from Colorado. Here are the backs: Except for the card number, the head shot at top left, and the blurb on the right about whatever random card shares Hammel's TWO card numbe...

First, I have to remember, the Dodgers are in the playoffs. Even if they get swept this weekend, they'll still own a postseason berth. Playing either the Cardinals or the Phillies is a tough task. It doesn't matter much which team they play. If I repeat that to myself over and over again this weekend, I just might be able to get through the season-ending series between the Dodgers and the Rockies. I'm going to need something because if I'm being honest on my own blog, I have to say: I hate the Rockies. I've never liked them. You know where they rank on my 30 teams . I hate them even more when they go on winning streaks like the one they're on now, or the one in 2007, and all of a sudden they think they're legitimate contenders, and what's more, that they have "fans." Where did the Rockies fans come from? The Rockies have been playing baseball for a whole 16 years, and I haven't met a single Rockies fan in my entire life. I have pile...

It's the end of a long, draining work week for me. One that was filled with all kinds of computer-related malfunctions, failures and issues. I'm tired and really not in the mood to deal with anything of the computer persuasion. So I'll make this quick and snappy and fall back on the multiple choice question. Here it is. This card is an Awesome Night Card because: a) It's a night card of someone named "Yorvit" b) It's a night card of one of those cool mask cards c) It's a night card of someone who can laugh and chew gum at the same time d) It's the happiest night card that you will ever see. Congratulations to all of you who picked "d." It is indeed the happiest night card that you will ever see. And to those of you who are asking "what about all those World Series celebration cards that feature night photos," I say, "it was easy for THEM to be happy. They just won a World Series." What does Yorvit have to smile about...

We're all familiar with Topps' methods of dealing with cards of players who were traded during the offseason. Back in the '50s, the pictures were paintings and they would simply repaint the cap on the picture. During the '60s, they would get a shot of the player without his cap and crop the photo tight so you couldn't see the player's old uniform. During the '70s, Topps constantly featured players staring up into the sky, as if they had just spotted a spaceship (is that what I think it is?), so their cap logo wouldn't show. And of course, there was airbrushing. Topps airbrushed the caps on seemingly half of the 1969 set after baseball expanded by four teams. During the '70s and '80s, Topps attempted to draw the new team logo onto the players' caps with some spectacularly horrid results . I often wondered if Topps employees hung those card photos on their refrigerator doors at home because the logos looked like children drew them. (Che...

Everyone has seen this year's Topps Chrome offering, I'm sure. But I'm a sucker for a pack-ripping, as I know a few others out there are, too. A Pack A Day is the best. Set up a ripping of 1991 Donruss and I'm there. So anyway, I picked up a couple of packs Sunday. Lest anyone think I wasted precious gas on cards only, let it be known that the family also purchased toothpaste, cake frosting, a CD for my daughter, spray paint and a pet bed. Now that's one fulfilling afternoon. It's all about the Yankees tonight, so I'll try to keep it in a New York State of Mind: Too late. First one out of the gate is a Dodger, albeit an injured one. I don't know if Brad Penny is ever going to get back to his former self, and that's too bad because he was my favorite player during that year-and-a-half with L.A. when he was just bad ass. And that was before he started dating her . OK, the Yankee theme can start with Mr. Cocky. If this guy stays in a Red Sox uni...