when the cards go blue

it's nice when the coloring of a card accentuates elements in the photo, and it is particularly nice when it is dodger blue that is being accentuated.  following up on my recent decision to complete the 2007 topps chrome blue refractor dodger team set (which is not really a recent decision - as a team collector, i had already decided to complete it - it's more like prioritizing), i have picked up a trio of cards.

2007 topps chrome jd drew blue refractor

2007 topps chrome brad penny blue refractor

and 2007 topps chrome juan pierre blue refractor

see what i mean?  jd's helmet, brad's stirrups, and juan's fake blue jersey all look better surrounded by those blue borders.

here are some other blue parallels.

2010 topps finest manny ramirez blue refractor

and 2010 topps opening day manny ramirez toppstown

go ahead. steal the code.

sometimes, the blues don't quite match, which was the case with the walmart parallels that started showing up in 2012.

2012 topps dee gordon walmart blue parallel

2013 topps kenley jansen walmart blue parallel

2014 topps hanley ramirez walmart blue parallel

2014 topps update chone figgins walmart blue parallel

and then there are some blue parallels that sparkle, like this 2013 topps dee gordon silver slate blue sparkle parallel

with dee turning two.

sometimes, the blue is subtle, as is the case with this 2014 panini hall of fame don drysdale blue refractor

numbered 54/75 - one off of his jersey number!  just kidding - that does not excite me, but blue cards featuring the big blue wrecking crew (yes, by that i mean dodgers - not new york football giants) do.

memorial patches for the pohlads

eloise pohlad, the wife of twins' owner carl pohlad, passed away in november of 2003, and the club added memorial patches to their right sleeves for the following season in memory of her.  they were simple patches, with the first name of her signature stitched inside a color coded rectangle - one for the away grays, one for the alternate blues, and one for the home whites.  you can see the gray patch on lew ford's 2005 fleer flair card

and the blue one is visible on torii hunter's 2005 donruss timeless treasures card

both of those cards are in my memorials binder, but i haven't been able to find a card that shows the white patch.  there weren't too many baseball card photographers at the metrodome in 2004, i suppose.  here's a picture of hunter at home from the 2004 alds against the yankees that shows the white patch.

and here's a better look at all three versions of the patch

in 2009, the twins wore a very similar patch for eloise's husband carl, who passed away at the age of 93 in january.  there was only one version of his patch, however.

had there been a white version to go with the home uniforms, we would have had a card showing it, as nick punto's 2010 upper deck card

features a photo from inside the metrodome with nicky wearing the 1983 throwback home whites.  speaking of the metrodome, the patch above the 'carl' patch is the 'final season of the metrodome' patch.  even old, multi-purpose dome stadiums got the commemorative patch treatment.

here's the patch on the alternate blue jersey of joe mauer, courtesy of his 2010 bowman card

looks like joe is on tatooine there.

here's francisco liriano's 2009 topps allen & ginter national pride insert showing the patch on the home white pinstripes

the patch shows up again, this time on the away grays, on alexi casilla's 2010 topps card

on delmon young's 2010 topps card

and on justin morneau's 2010 topps opening day card

and his chrome card

which, even though it uses the same photo as the opening day card, it's cut a little tighter so the patch is a little bigger.

i've got liriano's 2010 allen & ginter card in the binder

carl pohlad was the guy who bought the twins from calvin griffith in 1984 to keep them in minnesota, but he was also the guy who almost sold the team to a north carolina group in 1997, and the guy who was willing to let the team contract in 2001.  still, he was the owner during their run to two world championships (1987 and 1991), and despite his willingness to sell or contract the team,  pohlad oversaw the run of division titles in the 2000's, with the last under his watch coming in 2006.

the construction of target field began in 2007, and although carl pohlad did not live to see it completed, a statue of him and his wife was erected in the plaza outside gate 34 - the main entrance to the stadium.

where's manny?

i thought that manny ramirez would be up with the a's by now - his reduced 50-game suspension expired around memorial day.  i figured the whole reason the a's signed him was to showcase him for a trade deadline deal in which they could amass a prospect or two and move on.  i guess manny isn't doing too well in aaa, and has a mild hamstring issue.  

i have to admit - i have a soft spot for manny.  i'm glad he's no longer a dodger, but i hope he does well.  it's the same sort of fandom i used to have for jose canseco. i wanted him to succeed despite himself.

here's the most recent manny ramirez card to enter my collection - it's from 2009 upper deck ultimate collection and is fancily serial numbered.

it came my way from the wicked ortega/cardboard don/cardfather a while back in a trade.  there were some other serial numbered cards in the package, like this 2009 upper deck icons rafael furcal card

and this 2010 topps opening day orlando hudson card

neither of those middle infielders are with the dodgers anymore.  furcal is lighting it up in saint louis, while the o-dog was released by the padres and is currently on the south side of chicago.  maybe the dodgers were on to something when they chose not to re-sign hudson after his 2009 season, although i was not sold on their choice of ronnie belliard to replace hudson, who had  hit .283 and played in 149 games for the dodgers.

there was also this 2004 upper deck play ball serial numbered card - upper deck's take on those combo cards.

when did players start to cover their mouths on the mound?  it's a fairly recent development.  the only guy i know of who used to read lips and let people know what was being said was vin scully, and he didn't do it that often.  it's not like he would broadcast 'nomo just said that he was going to go with splitters away, and loduca said he was going for the girl in the front row'.  i guess someone got paranoid (probably greg maddux) and the rest is history.

here's one of those walmart black things - a 2011 topps ted lilly walmart black thing

i broke down and bought a blaster of 2012 topps series 2 at target.  i was pretty ticked that two of the packs were the red bordered crap, which are slightly worse than these black cards.  oddly, i would have been ok with the target throwback cards.

wicked collects maury wills, i believe, so he threw in some of the dodger speedsters cards for me - like this 1992 action packed card

and a couple of topps' all-time fan favorites cards - this one is from 2003

and this one is from 2004

the photos are from 1962 at the latest, based on the uniform, but it's nice to see wills as a dodger on a 1967 topps card instead of as a pirate.  i have in my mind to go through and create all of the maury wills cards that should have been but weren't due to his non-existent relationship with topps early in his career.  just another summer project while i'm waiting for manny to resurface.

thanks for the cards wicked!

a streak of 30 ends and now i suffer

andre ethier's hitting streak came to an end today.  30 games.  not 30 consecutive games, but 30 straight in which he played.  i am one of those people who thinks there is a difference.  still, i celebrated each game with andre, 

not just because i wanted him to do well, but because it helped distract me from the mess that the business side of the club is in.  now, with the streak over, the losses piling up, their 'closer' injured, loney slumping, the team losing, and knowing that their two best catchers are playing in cleveland and new york, i have little to be optimistic about.  unless bud kicks mccourt to the curb.  is that what i am reduced to now?  not cheering for a win, but for a coup de tat?  yes.  and i'm not alone.

thanks for providing something to cheer about, andre.  any chance you can do it again?

opening day

assuming everything works out ok today, the dodgers will feature 3 players making their 4th opening day start for the dodgers.  russell martin, rafael furcal, and this guy - andre ethier

4 starts would be the highest total among current dodgers, most recently achieved by jeff kent.  the dodgers' all time leaders in opening day starts are willie davis and bill russell, who are tied at 11.  it would be great to see kemp and ethier and a few others get to 11.

here we go, dodgers, here we go!