waiting for bills

i hope you didn't overdo the spending this past holiday season.  i think i did ok, so the title of this post isn't in reference to having to pay the piper in january.  rather, it refers to the lack of a healthy chad billingsley on the dodger roster.

i was at the game in august of 2012 wherein billingsley was injured.  as he walked off the mound in the fourth inning, i hoped that it was nothing serious.  he wound up missing the rest of the season.  billingsley was able to avoid surgery, however, and returned in april of last year.  two starts into the season he was shut down and underwent tommy john surgery.

billingsley will start the 2014 season on the 60-day dl, but should be back in time for the stretch run.  it would be great for the dodgers to get a pitcher of his caliber at that time in the season, so i hope he comes back, and comes back healthy and effective.

i have a bunch of billingsley cards that i've scanned at one time or another that haven't made it to print yet.  today is their lucky day.  this one is from 2009 topps ticket to stardom, and it features billingsley, a piece of his jersey, and a piece of a dodger game ticket stub.

this is the second one of these that i have - the other one looks the same but the ticket stub is from a different game - one in which billingsley actually started.  i assumed that they were all that way, but the game that this stub is from was a brad penny game.

here's a bills rookie card from 2006 upper deck update. 

that set has a few key dodger rookies in it - broxton, kemp, ethier, martin.  i recall buying a couple of packs when it hit the shelves, but didn't really pay much attention to it.  when i went back a couple of years ago to fill my dodger team set, i lamented the fact that i hadn't bothered to buy more packs at the time.

here's a 2010 topps turkey red insert

i am glad that we've seen the last of the turkey red cards.  except that i just remembered that they were still around in 2013 - you just had to go online to buy them.

this is a 2011 topps update toppstown insert

are we done with these, too?  i miss a base set without a ton (or any) inserts.

i sent some cards to billingsley back in 2010, and he signed them for me in fairly short order.

2007 fleer

2007 topps

2009 topps 206

and 2009 upper deck sp legendary cuts

billingsley has a pretty hefty team option on his contract for 2015, and his uncertain status makes it all the more tempting for the dodgers to pay the buyout.  like i mentioned up top, i hope that he comes back healthy and effective, and makes his contract decision a little tougher for ned.

thanks for signing my cards chad!

what's this guy doing here?

i recently picked up a few lots of dodger autos and relics on the cheap.  in amongst the dodger goodness of one lot was this 2011 bowman platinum auto of clint robinson

clint robinson happens to be a member of the kansas city royals' organization.  he debuted this past season and was dfa'd just a few days ago.  bummer.

on to the dodger stuff - there was this 2009 topps 206 autograph of scott elbert

i get elbert and eric stults mixed up all the time.  elbert is still with the dodgers while stults is down in san diego.

there were also a couple of cards from 2009 topps ticket to stardom.  first, here's a chad billingsley jersey and ticket stub card

topps makes this too easy.  on june 22, 2008, chad billingsley got the win against the indians.  i was totally not expecting that - kudos to topps for matching up the ticket stub with the appropriate player.  as an aside, the dodgers' starting second baseman that day was someone named luis maza.

now let's check out this russell martin card from the same set

on june 10, 2008, russell martin was 3 for 5 with 3 rbi as the dodgers beat the padres 7-2.  not sure who's rear that is on the padres' ticket stub, but greg maddux started the game for the pads.  the leg kick looks too high to be maddux.  the dodgers' starter that evening was clayton kershaw, who was making his 4th career start.  neither pitcher figured in the decision.

here's a 2009 tristar projections josh lindblom auto

tristar did not project that lindblom would be traded to the phillies for a shane victorino rental.

also from 2009, here's an upper deck sp authentic james mcdonald autographed card

hindsight is 20/20, but this was another bad trade by ned. he sent mcdonald and andrew lambo to the pirates in 2010 for octavio dotel.  a month and a half later, ned flipped dotel to the rockies for a non-prospect minor league outfielder.

here's a prospect that ned hasn't traded away yet - angelo songco - on a 2001 donruss elite card

songco might make the jump to aa this year.  i hope he is able to bounce back from his leg injury that limited his production last year.

finally, we have an andre ethier relic card from 2011 topps update

it's from one of those workout jerseys that only exist to populate relic cards that wind up going for cheap in a team lot.  like this one.

in my ongoing crusade to collect dodger cards...

...i received some cards from jeff at my sports obsession.  these cards were sent to me a looong time ago, and they have sat in my scanned folder for far too long.  sorry jeff.  here's a shiny 2002 donruss rookie crusade card of victor alvarez.

alvarez, you might recall, is the guy with the interesting signature.  putting a sticker on this card, however, would probably be too much.  although something tells me that donruss did just that.  hold on - yep, they did. gross.

here's a 2004 donruss card of dave roberts

it's a career stat line parallel, so it too is shiny and even serial numbered.

there were some more recent cards in the package, too, like this 2008 upper deck timeline chin-lung hu card

hu got a ton of cards in 2008.  now, four years later, i thought he was out of baseball after being released by the indians earlier this year, but he is playing in an independent league.

here are a couple of cards from 2009 topps ticket to stardom - chad billingsley

and manny ramirez.

remember him?

here's a 2010 bowman card of carlos monasterios

monasterios spent the entire 2010 season on the dodgers' 25-man roster as a rule v draftee (acquired via a trade with the mets).  to date, that is the only season in which he has pitched in the big leagues.  he underwent tommy john surgery in 2011 and had another surgery earlier this year.  the dodgers released him in april, and it will be interesting to see if he lands with another team.

here's one of those shiny refractor things from (i think) a cereal box or blaster of 2010 topps

another jackie for the collection.

i think when i received the package, this was a newly issued card.  no joke.  it's a 2011 topps heritage andre ethier card

i think i may have scanned it because it was the first of the 2011 heritage cards i had seen.  thanks for the trade, jeff!

'these are a few of my favorite things'

a 2000 bowman chrome randey dorame 'fa-so-la-ti-doe'. 

get it? favorite things? dorame? as in doe-ray-me-fa-so-la-ti?  sound of music?  okay, okay - enough.  i recently completed one trade with dodger fan michael, and he has already sent me a second package that i need to recompense.  he sent the card above along with some other cool and shiny (but not all shiny) cards.  like a 2010 topps chrome john ely orange refractor

and a regular 2010 topps chrome john ely refractor

here's a 2010 topps 206 of russell martin

he has an oval head.  i guess now i can go back to thinking of orel hershiser when i think of 55 rather than russell martin.  or sammy hagar.

another martin - 2009 topps ticket to stardom

more like ticket out of town.

yet another russell martin card - 2010 topps

i hope martin does well in the bronx, but by most accounts his time is limited as the yankees have a couple of stud prospects who also wear the tools of ignorance knocking at the door. i wonder if he regrets not taking ned's final offer knowing that his competition here is rod barajas and dioner navarro.

2010 topps national chicle manny ramirez

kind of an odd perspective in the painting.  something about the helmet is not quite right.  here's another manny - 2010 topps finest

now i can go back to thinking of gretzky when i think of 99.

2010 bowman dpp jake lemmerman

i don't know too much about lemmerman except that he went to duke and he was the dodgers' 5th round pick last year.  maybe that's enough.

finally, a 2010 topps 206 vladimir guerrero

is vlad riding off into the sunset?  hard to believe, based on last year's performance, that manny has a deal for 2011 and big daddy vladdy does not.  hopefully that changes soon.

thanks michael!  i am working on getting another package ready to send.

getting caught up with the out of place guys

as fas as out of place guys go, luis gonzalez didn't have that bad of a season with the dodgers in 2007

however, we dodger fans resented him for blocking matt kemp and then complaining about losing playing time late in the season to the bison.  after 15 home runs and a .278 average, gonzalez went back to florida.
that opened the door for ned to inexplicably sign andruw jones for the 2008 season

jones hit .158 in 75 soul sucking games for the dodgers.  it's hard to believe how long it took joe torre to sit andruw down.

thankfully, ned resisted the urge to sign some other washed up outfielder for the 2009 season.  instead, he brought in orlando hudson to replace jeff kent. 

things started out well for hudson - he hit the first dodger cycle since 1970 in the dodgers' home opener and made the all star team.  but, as the season went on, he fell out of favor and was actually benched in favor of ronnie belliard.  he and his gold glove wound up in minnesota.

along with another out of place guy from 2009 - jim thome

ned wanted a matt stairs of his very own, and got thome from the white sox just before rosters expanded.  in 17 games, which means 17 pinch hit appearances, thome had 4 hits (all singles), 3 rbi and 7 strikeouts.  he was also 1 for 3 in the postseason (also just a single).  still, it's cool that there are a number of cards featuring thome as a dodger and i am happy he is doing so well in minnesota this year.

that brings us up to date with the evolution of the out of place guys (i profiled this year's entry garret anderson previously).  i can't wait to see who ned brings on board next year...

thoughtful cards from thoughts and sox

it is always a pleasure to open the mailbox and see unexpected padded envelopes.  especially when they hold treasures such as those sent to me recently by adam at thoughts and sox!  behold the unforeseen greatness with nary a bipping in sight!  (first let me applaud adam on his $2 ($2!!!!) purchase of a 1954 bowman preacher roe!  we should all be so lucky).

1960 topps norm larker

larker had the season of his life in 1960, batting .323 to finish 2nd in the nl batting average race (dick groat hit .325).  he essentially took over first base from gil hodges, and then yielded it to ron fairly as he was selected by the houston colt .45's in the expansion draft after the 1961 season.

2009 upper deck danny ardoin

ardoin has bounced around a bit since signing with the a's in 1995.  he debuted with the twins in 2000, then went to kansas city (but didn't make it to the bigs), signed with the rangers (appeared in 6 games), signed with the rockies (115 games over 2 seasons), picked up on waivers by the orioles (5 games), signed by the nationals (no big league appearances), traded to the astros (ditto), traded to the cardinals (no dice), and finally signed by the dodgers ( 24 games in 2008, although none in 2009).  that is quite a ride around professional baseball.

2009 topps ticket to stardom matt kemp

i believe matt kemp's ticket has been cashed.

2009 ud goudey 4 in 1 matt kemp, russell martin, andre ethier, rafael furcal

i like the 4 in 1 cards, although there are too many variations.  i might have to do one of these for the infield.

2008 donruss threads duke snider (century legends)

always nice to get a new card of the duke, although the photos are rarely new.  i think i've seen this image on several cards now.

2008 donruss sports legends paul molitor

adam also hit on one of my favorite non-dodgers (more expansive post coming soon).  i was a big molly fan for quite a while.

thanks adam!  i am compiling some red sox to send you as i type!