kemp and kershaw go together like a horse and carriage

happy new year!  i'm not making any resolutions, but i would like to see the dodgers' front office resolve to give clayton kershaw what he wants and sign him to an extension, and also resolve to not trade matt kemp.  i am willing to hitch the team's fortunes to these two guys and see what happens.

with that, let's have a look at a few kershaw and kemp cards that i've been scanning but not posting for a while.  we'll start with a 2011 panini playoff contenders combo card of the two

here's another combo card - these two are like peas and carrots - this one is from 2013 topps heritage

now for some shiny solo stuff - 2013 topps finest kershaw

and kemp

and a kemp refractor

2013 topps tribute kershaw

and kemp

here's a 2011 bowman international parallel, reminding us that kershaw is from texas.

kemp's home state of oklahoma also makes an appearance on that card.  see?  they're even neighbors!

here's a matt kemp 2012 topps mini card that was handed out at the national convention

now for a 2010 upper deck biography kershaw

and a 2011 topps marquee kemp - the blue parallel version

here's a 2010 bowman chrome kershaw

and a 2010 bowman platinum kemp

obviously, most of kemp's cards show him with a bat, but he does have a few that show him fielding or on the bases.  pretty much all of kershaw's cards show him pitching.  i'm hoping that 2014 opening day at least shows him at the plate delivering his 2013 opening day home run against the giants.  but if the rest of his cards show him pitching in dodger stadium like this 2011 bowman finest futures card, i won't complain.

here's a black bordered 2008 topps allen & ginter kemp mini that i picked up on sportlots for 18 cents a couple months ago.

and here's a 2009 upper deck goodwin champions kershaw that i've had scanned for a while

just a few more - 2013 bowman platinum kemp

and 2009 upper deck signature stars kershaw

and last but not least - some 2013 topps stickers of kemp

and kershaw

man, do i hope these two stick together with the dodgers.  in 2014 and beyond.

here's a tip: get a grip!

it's time for the fourth installment in our presentation of steve garvey's baseball tips, as distributed by post raisin bran back in 1979.  this tip focuses on the proper way to grip a baseball.

kind of ironic, given garvey's throwing issues early in his career.  i found a couple of other dodger cards that also highlight the grip - here's don newcombe on his 2009 upper deck goodwin champions card

and tom candiotti on his 1992 pinnacle 'grips' card

obivously, it's ok for candy to have a grip that results in 'throwing a ball that sinks or sails' - that's pretty much the point of the knuckleball.

only about 8 weeks until spring training!

pelts of elk and bison and manny, oh my!

i picked up a few dodger autograph and relic lots a while back.  it's great when folks group a bunch of dodger specific stuff together and the price of the whole is less than the sum of the parts.  you know what i mean.  for me, the star of this particular lot was this 2009 upper deck o-pee-chee card featuring andre ethier, james loney, and matt kemp.

this is the 'elk' (ethier, loney, kemp) referred to up in the title.  yes, i was stretching for a catchy post title.  anyway, i like the colors on the card.  i used to have a similar card featuring three non-dodgers, but i traded it away and mildly regretted it ever since.  i have a soft spot for o-pee-chee, don't you know.

speaking of which, here's a 1998 pinnacle plus card of mike piazza that was part of the lot for some reason.  it includes a text line straight out of o-pee-chee's playbook - 'traded to mets 5/22/98'

which, while correct, totally ignores the 8 days he was with the marlins.

back to the relics, here's a 2010 topps allen & ginter matt kemp card

and an andre ethier card from the same set

ethier showed up thrice in the lot thanks to this 2010 upper deck offering

so we've seen the 'elk' and we've seen the bison, that means it must be time for the manny.  this is from 2010 topps national chicle, a set that holds a bit of allure for me.  i have grown to like it a bit more.  not enough to try to complete it or anything like that, but i'm not repulsed by it either.

that is a decent likeness, even if the batting helmet is too clean.  as is the one on this 2009 upper deck goodwin champions card

not sure how that happened, although i suppose it is possible that upper deck cleaned the helmet up a bit.  i like how the storm cards are gathering around manny in 2009 while it is merely cloudy on chad billingsley's card from the same set.

manny served his first suspension in 2009, while chad was doing his usual 190+ innings of work.

finally, for this lot anyway, we have a 2001 bowman relic card from alfredo silverio

who appeared and homered in the 2011 all-star futures game.  he hit .306 in 132 games at aa chattanooga in 2011, but sadly was injured in a car accident in early 2012 forcing him to miss the entire season.  i haven't heard anything lately, but i am hoping he is able to return to the minors this season.

more joe collector group break cards

since he's already done the december box breaks, i should probably post the stuff i got from the october and november 'i am joe collector' events.

here's a 2008 upper deck premier chris carpenter auto

1 of 25. carpenter was the sotd in my fantasy league last year. i took him in the 11th round. i was pleased with myself.

2008 donruss playoff prime cuts shooter hunt what a name. a first rounder, but he hasn't pitched too well so far. a lot of walks.

here's a guy who has pitched better, 2009 topps chrome brian duensing auto duensing was a bit surprising after he got called up, but he certainly earned his stripes down the stretch. too bad he was hit around a bit in the alds, although it was the next guy who relieved him and allowed an inherited runner to score on matsui's homerun

yes, it's francisco liriano on his 2009 upper deck goodwin champions cardcan't wait to see which liriano shows up in 2010.

back to 2009 topps chrome, here's the al mvp joe mauer mvp! mvp! he should be under contract very soon if the twins have any smarts about them.

2009 upper deck goodwin champions justin morneau the twins' other recent mvp. here, morneau ponders baseball in a post-apocalyptic world. must be january 2013.

finally, tony o on a 2006 upper deck sp legendary cuts card i am really looking forward to receiving the december goodies - there was a dodgers sweet spot bonanza!

thanks jeff!

cards and cards and cards and cards from cards on cards

i recently completed a trade with madding at cards on cards. i sent him a box of cardinals, and he returned the favor by sending a great big bunch of dodgers and 1979 topps. yes, he noticed that i had decided to upgrade my 1979 set, and so he sent me 454 of the 726 cards i will need to do so. awesome.

here's rick monday to testify.
if you or someone you know would like to contribute to the 1979 topps upgrade project, here's the want list. thanks in advance!

here are a few of the non-1979 dodgers i received:

2004 mlb showdown fred mcgriff
the crime dog is on the hall of fame ballot for the first time. i wish he could have hit 7 more home runs as a dodger to get to the 500 mark.

1994 topps (gold) dax winsletti wonder how often he is called 'kate'. he pitched in the dodgers' organization for 3 years before going to the cubs in the forgettable trade that brought willie banks to the dodgers. winslett pitched one year at aa, but did not advance beyond that level, unfortunately.

2009 upper deck goodwin champions clayton kershaw
kershaw didn't pitch in aaa either. but for different reasons.

1990 score young superstars chris gwynn
part of the dodgers' 'other brother' collection.

1988 topps uk mini orel hershiseri assume this was an attempt to get the folks across the pond interested in american baseball. so who better to influence the minds of the english than a guy who looks like a librarian.

i also received a couple of checklists. the good kind. like a 1995 donruss brett butler checklist celebrating his 2000th hit

finally, there was this - a 2009 upper deck matt kemp jersey card.very nice.

thanks madding! let's do it again sometime!