tradewinds have been blowing...

first, thanks to thorzul. i participated in the 'trade me anything' sweepstakes and went the boring route. i sent him 3 cards from 2008 topps updates and highlights he needed plus a mike cameron gold foil from the same set in exchange for these bad boys:

classic combo russell martin and dan haren. another classic combo, according to topps, would be me and the guy in front of me in line at the dry cleaners.

doug mientkiewenvewinicz. sweet dougie. my son has a twins mientkeiwicz shirt. we bought it at the metrodome a couple months after doug was traded to the red sox. it was still full price. this from the same place that had cris carter jerseys half off during his last game at the metrodome.

justin morneau. my favorite canadian. after you, mom and dad. check out the guy old schooling it in the tie and jacket. just like in 1908.

thanks bill!

it's a brave, it's a snake, it's barney rubble?

every now and then, or maybe not so often, you stumble across a card that makes you wonder why? or who was responsible? or what were they thinking? or how did they get approval? the 1984 fleer glenn hubbard is one of those cards. in 1983, glenn had perhaps his best season, hitting 12 home runs, posting an ops+ of 98 and making the all star team. perhaps this is why he felt entitled to abandon the normal baseball card props like a bat, glove, ball or, what i like to call the 'smell the fart' facial pose.

yes, glenn thought out of the box and opted for a large reptile. not only that, he also placed himself so that the phillie phanatic would be visible over his left shoulder and none other than barney rubble on his right. it must have been fruity pebbles day at the vet.

combine those elements with the baby blue uniform, pullover jersey and elastic waistband, and the young kris kringle facial hair, and you've got yourself quite a card.

kudos to you, 1984 fleer.

let's turn two - hall of famer style

jackie. 1997 upper deck. classic.

cal ripken jr. 1996 upper deck collector’s choice.
boring and methodical, but effective.
ryno. 1994 topps. triple exposure extreme!
the wizard of oz. 1990 upper deck.airborne.
red schoendienst. 2003 topps tribute.at least, i think this is a double play turn. that or it’s an elaborate game of shadow puppets, with red and another player doing a reptilian creature of some sort.

those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it...

i understand. rounding second, heading to third, you're tired, panting, hoping to high heaven the third base coach tells you to stop. what's that? there's a throw? slide? what? how? you stumble, graceful as a, well, 300 pound ballplayer. after all, you are 'da meat hook.

ouch. that looks painful. but rejoice! you're safe! your 'slide' will be soon forgotten by the few fans in attendance.

except that fleer had a photographer there. twice.

how many other times were there, dmitri?

snakes on a field

the diamondbacks, of course, make quite a few appearances at dodger stadium each year. sometimes their visits are recorded on cardboard.

2000 fleer ultra travis lee.

featuring todd hundley, i believe.

2000 upper deck steve finley. featuring an unnamed usher whose face is obscured by finley's bat.

2001 fleer ultra luis gonzalez.

featuring his 'gangster lean'.

two of these guys liked the stadium so much, they went on to play for the dodgers.

a classic play at the plate

game 1 of the 1955 world series. jackie robinson steals home. yogi jumps up and down in protest. the dodgers lost the game, but won the series.

how did i miss 2007 upper deck masterpieces?

i can picture the footage of jackie dancing down the line from third waiting to make a break for it. i have to say, though, i don't think i have ever seen a steal of home in person, even on the front end of a double steal.

to this day, yogi maintains he tagged jackie out. in fact, i think yogi will sign pictures of this play with the tagline "he was out".

2008 upper deck timeline - instant karma blaster break

i knew nothing about this set, but as soon as i saw the 2004 timeless teams design on the front of the box, i had to buy it. $14.99 9 pack target blaster; 6 cards per pack - "2 insert cards per pack on average", here we go...

pack 1

justin verlander

derrek lee

daisuke matsuzaka

ross ohlendorf

glen perkins (sp top prospects design die cut)

manny ramirez (1994 all time heroes design)

i am guessing that the "years past" design cards are the inserts, but they seem to be numbered as part of the base set. the manny card above is number 156.

pack 2

jason bay

bj upton

hanley ramirez

craig breslow (1992 design)

josh hamilton (sp top prospects design die cut)

brian mccann (2004 timeless teams design)

3 inserts. not sure what year's design the hamilton is. it's the same as the perkins from the 1st pack.

pack 3

joe mauer

matt holliday

alex gordon

don mattingly yankee stadium legacy game 5130

nick blackburn

chien-ming wang (1994 all time heroes design)

we'll count the mattingly as an insert, obviously.

pack 4

lance berkman

matt kemp

nick markakis

john smoltz

nyjer morgan (1994 sp premier prospects design)

greg smith (1992 design)

pack 5

brandon webb

jake peavy

miguel cabrera

alfonso soriano

yasuhiko yabuta

randy johnson (1994 all time heroes design)

1 insert. we're back to the average!

pack 6

grady sizemore

prince fielder

derek jeter

clayton kershaw

johan santana (1994 all time heroes design)

joey votto (sp top prospects design die cut)
pack 7

mark teixiera

chase utley

jim thome

torii hunter

chris duncan (1992 design)

james loney (2004 timeless teams design)

pack 8

ryan braun

alex rodriguez

vladimir guerrero

clay buchholz

derrek lee (1994 all time heroes design)

geovany soto (2004 timeless teams design - gold 006/100)

pack 9

johan santana

erik bedard

evan longoria (1992 design)

alex rodriguez (2004 timeless teams design)

ian kennedy (sp design)

clayton kershaw (2004 timeless teams design)

4 inserts. there goes the average.

i am pleased with this break - no doubles, 5 dodgers, a few twinkies. i am a sucker for the timeless teams cards, so i may be biased.