Night Owl Cards

(Cars, household appliances, property are subject to depreciation. What a sad word: depreciation. Let's talk "appreciation," and something that never depreciates -- at least in the mind of collectors -- BASEBALL CARDS! These are the cards I appreciate: my all-time favorites. Here is another edition of Cardboard Appreciation. This is the third in a series): Long before I knew the sad story of Paul Lindblad, that he suffered through a 12-year battle with Alzheimer's Disease and was confined to a nursing home for almost a decade before his eventual death a couple of years ago, I felt sorry for him for a far more trivial reason. Look at this card. Lindblad is at maximum effort, pouring his heart and soul into this pitch, all in front of seemingly no one. Aren't those folded-up bleacher seats in the background? (I'm asking, I don't know for sure). It seems that if Lindblad is going to make like Mitch Williams and practically trip himself up into an ass-over-ba...

What? I enjoy alliteration. Even if it is merely using the same word over and over. I just completed a team trade -- Cardinals for Dodgers -- with madding of Cards on Cards and A Pack a Day . Team trades are the best, because each of you get nothing but cards you want. Even if you get dupes, you don't mind so much (or at least I don't). I live on one side of the country and madding the other, so these Cardinals and Dodgers each took a transcontinental journey. The Cardinals and Dodgers have been fairly regular trade partners over the years. Joe Ferguson for Reggie Smith (advantage Dodgers). Pedro Guerrero for John Tudor (advantage Cardinals). So it makes sense that their fans should swap cards. Among the cards I received on Thursday were five different Brad Pennys and four different Jeff Kents. Maybe madding's a closet Dodger fan? Or more probably he just has loads of cards. Here's a look at the L.A. highlights, obtained all the way from Oregon Ducks country: Hey! Let...

Sweet, isn't it? I've gone back and forth about this "card," beautifully created by PunkRockPaint. Is it a glimpse of a future that never was? Or is it a look into a past that could have been? That's the beauty of this creation. I imagined the possibility and PunkRockPaint (a.k.a. Travis) made it reality, and now I get to ponder Koufax's plight some more. A couple of posts ago, I lamented the sudden end to Koufax's career in 1966. Wouldn't it have been great if he pitched another 10 years, and I could've pulled a 1975 Topps Koufax that first year I started collecting cards? Travis read the post and quickly sent his creation to me in an email. He said he rushed it, only having time to add some gray to Koufax's hair (Koufax would have been 39 during the 1974 season -- not exactly old, but I'm sure many of you know he has sported gray hair for years and years). But, man, what a job Travis did. Rush job or no, his execution was flawless. I lik...

Are these the two most hated men in the country right now? Seriously, is there anyone a close second? At least in the circles that I run in, whether at work or in everday life, I keep hearing from people who wish these two guys would go away. And on the Internet? Woo-boy. He doesn't like them, and they aren't too fond of them, and although I can't find any particular related posts at this late hour, I do know that he and he and he don't like the guy on the right at all. And for the sake of full disclosure, I'm not crazy about him either. So my question is, what in particular don't you like about Buck or McCarver? Or about Buckmccarver? I've seen general complaints, but I'm curious to see if there are one or two major common complaints about these two. So, please, I'd very interested in what you have to say. Let loose! What bugs you the most about them? It'll be a nice, cathartic release before you have to sit through them all over again Sat...

Isn't that an amazing card? Wow, I can't get over how much I like this card. The kind, talented folks at Dinged Corners sent this card over, along with a few other treats as part of their "We're Organized!" party. Card bloggers across the nation are benefitting from their "down with clutter" stance. This card, of course, is from the 2007 Upper Deck Masterpieces set. I'm on the fence about Masterpieces. I've mentioned before how I'm not crazy about cards that feature paintings instead of photographs. I'm a stickler for accuracy on my cards, and sometimes the paintings miss the mark. But every once in awhile a card like this one comes along, or this one , and I. Must. Have. It. I guess that's the beauty of artistry. When you hit a home run, you really hit a home run. The card above reminds me of this photo: That's Sandy during the 1965 World Series, which the Dodgers won over the Twins. The photo is from the 1966 Dodgers' yea...

Watch out want lists! Dan from Saints of the Cheap Seats is out to get you. He will track you down like a dog and gut you like a fish. When he's done with you, you poor, wretched excuse for being, you will wish that you were never born. My want list, for example, was once a healthy, robust 234 lines. It is now a feeble, whimpering 116 lines, thanks to Dan. The package I received from him on Monday was shocking in its completeness. He hit almost every major sector of my want list. He was like Batman in the fight scenes of the old '60s TV show, taking out '78 Topps here and '08 Heritage there. BAM! POW! KABLOOEY! Here's a rundown of the "damage": 2008 Topps Heritage. I received 40 cards. KER-POW! A nice pick-up, considering Game 1 of the World Series. I don't think Hamels received enough credit in the media reports after the game. He won some praise, but it seems like the major media is reluctant to focus on pitchers after strong outings, like they don...

First, a public service message about the contest. If you haven't tuned in within the last 24 hours, you'll want to know that I'm giving away free baseball cards. (Free baseball cards! Is there any better word combination than that?) You may scoff at '93 Upper Deck, but I'm quite fond of this edition, and I'm giving away 15 packs worth (that's 225 cards, baby) of Series Two. They're straight from the hobby box. Not a pack searcher in sight (but, sadly, no relics either). Here's your chance to win rookie cards of Midre Cummings, Matt Walbeck and Tony Tarasco! Or, put another way, here's your chance to win Derek Jeter's rookie card. Or cards of Barry Bonds and Greg Maddux. All you have to do is answer the two-part question in the previous post. It's fun, it's festive, and it's free cards! Just leave your guess in the comment section in the previous post. If you don't have an email address readily available in your profile, the...