it is time for the airing of grievances

ever since i first saw mike ivie on his 1978 topps card after pulling it from a pack at the local 7-11, i have associated him with whining.

it looks like i might have even tried to scratch one of his eyes out, i disliked this card so much.  ivie just appears to be annoyed or complaining about something.  that's definitely not a flattering photo to have indelibly marked on cardboard.  but, perhaps, he was just celebrating festivus.  yes, today is the day to put up the aluminum pole, compete in feats of strength, and eat the festivus meal.  and, of course, one mustn't forget the airing of grievances.

i really don't have anything substantial to complain about, but if i pressed, i will admit that among all the fantastic trade partners i have had over the past 5+ years, there have been a few times when i was stiffed.  i am certain that i am not the only one to whom this has happened, but it's still disappointing.  trade talks sometimes fall through - i get it.  there have been a few times when i've been unable to meet an asking 'price' or sometimes the communication just stops.  that's ok - i don't think trading cards is anybody's top priority in life.  that's not my grievance.  in fact, sometimes you even wind up getting a card after the trade falls through (thanks dhoff!).  that's not my grievance.  another time, i sent the wrong card to my trade partner.  no need to send me anything for a mistake like that.  that's not my grievance either.

since i started trading through the blogosphere, i have tried my best to keep track of trades - from both sides. i will admit that there have been times when i have fallen behind, but i hope i haven't forgotten anyone.  if so, please air your grievance with me and i will make it right.

anyway, what i am talking about here are the times that there have been confirmed 'let's trade' dialogue after which i send cards and then get nothing back.  from 2009 through 2012, i count about 20 different such trades where i have sent cards and received nothing in return.  in one of the trades, i was to receive a printed set of my 1978 topps burger king dodgers/update cards.  no dice (anybody want to print up some cards for me?).  another was to have included a dee gordon auto from back when he was playing fairly well for the dodgers.  once that came to an end, i was able to pick up a 2011 bowman platinum auto on the cheap

but it still would have been nice to have received one in trade.  the root of the majority of these incomplete trades is that i seem to have a knack with sending cards to bloggers just before they decide to stop blogging.

i'm generally not a negative or cynical person, and i have continued to trade (and send first).  in fact, there are a few trade packages i am waiting for that i am confident will arrive.  and, there are a couple of trades that may be in the works with capt kirk and community gum and maybe ptown tom.  besides that, i have trade or giveaway packages from angels in order, arpsmith, fuji, jaybarkerfansjunk, rhubarb runner, swing and a pop up, nick, patp, thorzul, the junior junkie, and the aforementioned dhoff yet to post.  and, i still have cards stacking up to send to 2x3 heroes, arpsmith, madding, the junior junkie, and nick - we are at the point where i don't know who owes whom.  i'm also digging around for a card or two to send to dhoff.  so you see, a few unfulfilled trades won't stop me from continuing to trade.  i know you have a choice in where you send your dodger cards, and i am happy to receive them.  so, let's trade!  i'll even send first.

happy festivus!

cards and things from the diamond king

it's time to show some dodger goodies that came my way a while back as a result of a trade with the diamond king.  i sent some cards for his steroids/scam project, and he sent me cards of honest, hard working dodgers, like hall of famer don sutton on a 2006 fleer greats of the game insert card

i appreciate the inset photo of dodger stadium with the palm trees and the sunset.  unfortunately, the 'dodgers' script seems to be a bit off.  oh well, this is still a great insert set chock full of dodger greats.  obviously.

speaking of dodger greats, here is clayton kershaw on a 2012 bowman draft picks and prospects insert.

he shares space with a padres' southpaw, max fried, who was also a top ten draft pick.

here's a 2011 bowman platinum matt kemp ruby parallel

and a couple of josh beckett parallels from 2013 topps gypsy queen.  the first is the framed blue parallel numbered to 499

and the second is the framed white parallel that is not serial numbered

the dodgers will have beckett back in 2014 for one more season.  he was 0-5 in 2013 before his season was lost to injury.  hopefully he will bounce back in a big way.

another dodger who lost time to injury in 2013, and of whom i received multiple parallels, is andre ethier.  this is his 2013 topps heritage chrome parallel

and this is his 2013 topps heritage chrome refractor parallel

see the difference?

the diamond king sent a couple of double play cards along to keep the dodgers company, which was nice.  here's a 1995 score gold rush parallel of roberto alomar

and a 1999 topps stars card of miguel tejada

the most unusual (and unexpected) item in the package was a 8x10 giveaway sheet commemorating the 1972 oldtimers day at dodger stadium.

that was the day that the dodgers retired the jerseys of jackie robinson, roy campanella, and sandy koufax.  it also marked, i believe, the last time jackie appeared in public, or at least at dodger stadium.  he passed away in october of 1972, about four months after the ceremonies.

thanks for the trade!

the second daily dose of the dimwit

not a group break this time, but rather a good old fashioned trade!  yes, sam at the daily dimwit and i complete a trade recently, and this is some of what he sent my way.

first up,  a well loved 1958 topps pee wee reese card

paired with a largely ignored 1984 topps dave anderson card

i suppose all these cards have in common are the position (although pee wee gets some hot corner cred), the team, and the yellow background.  it's always a nice surprise to get some 1950's stuff in a blind trade package - even better when it's pee wee.

here are some clayton kershaw minis - from 2011 topps allen & ginter

and from 2011 topps gypsy queen

ginter wins.  ted lilly may be seeing his turn as the other dodger starter to be featured in sets coming to a close with the arrival of zack greinke and the dude from asia.  no, not the band asia, the continent.  so, enjoy these 2011

and 2012 topps gypsy queen minis while you can

duke snider is not likely to be removed from the retro set checklists anytime soon.  here's his 2012 topps gypsy queen mini

more gypsy queen stuff was in the package, like this matt kemp parallel

and the mini kemp

and dee gordon sliding stars inserts

kemp looks like he is doing scissor twists.  here's the full size version of the gordon card - i had it laying around

it looks better non-miniaturized.

here's an allen webster card from 2011 bowman platinum

webster is now with the red sox, thanks to the adrian gonzalez deal.  he pitched at aa last year with modest results.

one pitching prospect i hope to goodness that ned doesn't deal away is zach lee

this is a 2012 bowman sterling autographed card - the second lee auto i have in my collection.

thanks sam!

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.

brother, did i spend some dimes

for the first time in a long time, i spent some serious time at a card show with a dime box.  usually i have specific needs i am trying to fill, like vintage dodgers or finishing a set, but earlier today i was willing to do some browsing.  i wound up spending $5 on 50 cards, many of which i did not know existed prior to today.

here's a 2005 donruss elite card featuring kerry wood and shawn green going 'face 2 face'!

it's a serial numbered insert which, instead of telling me how each has done against the other in their career,  discusses wood's 20-strikeout game against houston in 1998 and green's 4-homer game against milwaukee in 2002.

next up is another combo card.  this one is from 2007 topps co-signers and features randy wolf and jason schmidt

at first i thought that topps screwed up and put jason schmidt on a randy wolf card, but then i saw his name at the bottom.  there are seemingly 200 cards of schmidt as a dodger for each of his 3 los angeles wins.

speaking of wins, here's the guy who got the walk-off walk last night, andre ethier

i wish these bowman platinum cards looked this way in person, but they just scan all pretty and blue.

i thought this card was cool, because i think it was taken at just about the same time as the 1998 upper deck vladimir guerrero card i featured in the post from this morning.  it's a 1998 pinnacle inside card

vladdy has the same gold chain; he's holding a baseball; he's in dodger stadium; and i think the guy at his right elbow is the same guy (kid?) to his right on the upper deck card.  here's that card again - you be the judge.

speaking of 1998 upper deck, i picked up a couple of cards from that set, too.  here's tony gwynn's card, which is being totally lurked by eddie murray

eddie, of course, finished up his career in 1997 as a member of the dodgers.  i'll share some more of my dime box finds over the next few days.  i also picked up some discounted vintage dodgers and some cheapie relics, too.