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.

topps serves up some variations again - a side by side comparison of the 2011 topps dodgers

now that 2011 topps update is out, i can finally put this post to bed.  here's a comparison of the dodger cards made by topps and included in the blister team set and their flagship series 1, 2 and update counterparts.  the topps dodger set cards are on the right.

andre ethier

topps isn't messing around.  the topps logo is in the same spot, unlike some cards from previous years.  these card fronts are exactly the same.

chad billingsley

ditto.

clayton kershaw

ditto again

this is getting boring.  here's rafael furcal

very very nice card, but still the same. 

matt kemp

ditto ditto.

hiroki kuroda

finally!  topps eschewed the photo of kuroda with his eyes closed and went for one with his cheeks full of  mashed potatoes.  po-ta-toes!

ted lilly

back to the same ol' grind

rod barajas

even seeing a lurking clayton kershaw twice isn't enough to make me happy for a lack of variation, especially with the dearth of rod barajas dodger cards

vicente padilla

just one variation so far.  so sad.

jay gibbons

hey hey!  mr. mitchell report got a card in the team set, but was off the roster by the time series 2 rolled around.  good that his short time as a dodger was documented, though.

here's double dipper jon garland

same deal as gibbons, except garland got a heritage card. i would guess that garland would have been in series 2 had he not been injured.

james loney

so much for variations.

hong-chih kuo

hong-chih status quo

casey blake

another nice card.  twice as nice?  not really.

juan uribe

uribe's flagship card is from the update set.  i would guess that we will see a few cards next year with the baby blues.  i like the variations going on here - a different position and the fact that topps guessed (wrongly) at the number uribe would wear when they airbrushed his team set card.  he wore 9 for the short time he was actually on the field.

jonathan broxton

two variations in a row!  i think the team set broxton is similar (if not the same) to his chrome card.  i don't have any 2011 topps chrome so i don't know for sure.

finally, we have dodger stadium

there is no equivalent in series 1, 2 or update.  i really like this card.  i'll write more about it in a future post.  so there you have it.  17 cards, 3 photo variations and 3 checklist variations.  topps can do better.

i'm ready for the update

so we've seen what 2012 topps will look like.  yawn.  i still need some 2011 topps update.

i've been waiting patiently for tony gwynn jr and matt guerrier to get some topps dodger love.  checking the checklist at baseballcardpedia, i see that gwynn and guerrier will be joined by jamey carroll (finally), jon garland, mike macdougal, juan uribe and not one, but two jerry sands cards.  sadly, no dioner navarro which will make my upcoming double dipper post difficult. 

there should also be matt kemp, clayton kershaw and andre ethier all-star cards.  i doubt there will be any dodger highlight cards, unless kemp gets to 30-30 here pretty quick.  looking forward to the jim thome 600 home run card though.

i should probably show a card of some sort here, so here's juan uribe's 2011 topps dodger team set card
from which i hope his 2011 topps update card differs substantially.  starting with the jersey number.

2011 topps update is the only thing i really have to look forward to in october this year, unfortunately.

jon garland, double dipper

[this is the fifteenth installment in the double dippers posts.  here are the previous posts - brett butler, omar daal, eric young, nick willhite, chris gwynn, mickey hatcher, dave anderson, don zimmer, rafael landestoy, dave hansen, jose vizcaino, hideo nomo, greg maddux, and mike maddux.]

now that it's official, i'll add jon garland to the list of dodger double dippers.  official, as in garland finally made his first appearance for the dodgers after rejoining them following a year sabbatical in san diego.  you'll recall that garland pitched for the blue over the last couple of months of the 2009 season and did fairly well - he was 3-2 with a 2.72 era.  he was thusly rewarded with this 2010 topps card

later, garland appeared in topps' update series as a padre since he signed a free agent deal with them before the start of the 2010 season

after a 14-win season in san diego, garland was once again a free agent and ned was stocking up on starting pitching.  garland chose to return to los angeles, and he made his first start of the season after a bout of forearm stiffness.  it didn't go so well as he gave up 5 runs against the cardinals, but there's always next time.  as in tomorrow.

garland is featured in 2011 topps heritage as a dodger (sans hat) but i prefer this card from the 2011 topps dodgers team set

welcome back jon!