if it were up to him, we'd all be losers!

i am no charlie sheen, but i figure that i am not losing at life.  i've got good friends, a good job, a great family, good health, and a pretty good little baseball card collection.  that last part certainly isn't necessary, but i think it helps in my case.

i don't need any extra motivation to keep going, but if i did, chris coghlan's 2011 topps attax card provides it.

look closely

good golly!  i mustn't lose!  the last thing that i want is for the former rookie of the year (he beat out, among others, andrew mccutcheon that year) to be better at hitting fastballs and change-ups.  maybe if he joined the dodgers, i would wish for it, but certainly not at my expense.

it seems like not too many marlins fans are losing either.  coghlan's stats had been in decline since 2009 until a slight uptick last year.  still, he remains in the majors which is no small feat.  i suspect that whomever is doing the losing (jeffery loria?), chris coghlan thanks you.  it's just not me.

[i forgot to mention that this is my 'round 0' entry in the nachos grande blogger bracket challenge]

great cards given away

like many of you, i recently received a package in the mail from david at tribe cards.  it contained my goodies from his season long pack ripping adventure known as the 182 packs of baseball giveaway.  here's a sampling.

1986 donruss all-stars fernando valenzuela

it's one from the want list, which is doubly nice.  notice how the lines are vertical on these cards as opposed to horizontal on the regular 1986 donruss cards.  it has a slimming effect on el toro, i think.

i picked the dodgers (of course) in the giveaway, but was second or third in the hierarchy. that means that i only got dodger cards if there were doubles or triples.  i still got a few, including a 1997 pinnacle new (or is it new pinnacle?) todd hollandsworth

 and a couple of 1996 leaf cards of delino deshields

 and ramon martinez

my biggest score, however, came from claiming big daddy vladdy.  here is the impaler with miguel cabrera on a 2010 topps update card

the card celebrates the fact that both guererro and cabrera got their start in the national league east. kind of random.

here's a 2008 upper deck piece of history card

 and three starquest cards.  this first one is from 2008 upper deck first edition update, and it is 'common'

the next two are from straight up 2008 upper deck; this one is 'un-common'

and this one is 'rare'

looks 'blue' to me, but whatever.

lastly, we have a 2001 topps attax card with vladdy in his orioles gear

it's an odd sight.

hopefully i'll see some more vladdy cards from david in his 2013 giveaway, as i was able to snag him in the recent draft.

thanks david!

2011 was a good year for dodger stadium, on cardboard anyway

we know that the fans stayed away from dodger stadium in droves as the 2011 season progressed, and i was no exception.  of course, i was only in socal for a short time this summer and probably couldn't have made it to a game if i wanted to.  still, i was able to enjoy chavez ravine vicariously through three different topps 2011 releases.  first, here's a card from topps attax.

this is a recent photo - meaning it's from the mccourt era - as the new dugout seats are visible.  there used to be a lot more foul territory. 
next is a card from 2011 topps heritage

i like this card for a couple of reasons.  it's an angle of dodger stadium that is not usually shown, and the text bars at the bottom of the card kind of replicate the different colored levels of dodger stadium seating.

lastly, there is the card from the topps dodger team set

now this is a view that we don't often see.  it's almost more about downtown than the stadium.  i would sometimes head up to the top of the park during a night game to check out the view behind the stadium, and this card reminds me of that, except that it's not a night card.

so thank you topps, for giving me three solid peeks at dodger stadium this year.  it's better than 2010, when all you gave me was the coliseum

which, while quirky, lacks the style of the dodgers' permanent home.

here's to you, dodger stadium - a new owner and sellout crowds - as long as the dodger dogs are grilled and the organ is used more than the canned music, of course.