When Cellophane Was King

Aloha, everybody, 

Here are some more goodies from my big box o' prizes that I scored from the Big Fun Game. Let's rip some packs (and a box)!

This was the first Victory pack I ripped. I was surprised to find said Victory cards and Upper Deck Choice cards in the same pack. Was that a usual thing? 

I'll bet it wasn;t usual to pull a Dodger from each of the brands...

The rack pack gave up a few cool cards. I don't remember Omar Vizquel playing for the Mariners. 

It's a couple more Dodgers! 

These packs are great for old school unis. From Score...

Yowza! Mike Scioscia in a rare batting photo...

Finally, a mixed batch from the 1987 Fleer League Leaders set. Check out Goose with the Roy Krok sleeve patch, Brett and Schmidtty in baby blue, and keeping my Dodgers streak alive, Bob Welch in the photo Fleer didn't even bother to center correctly. 

More cool packs and cards and stuff to come from my big prize box soon. 

Aloha! 

Bet You Don't Have One of These...or One of These...or These

Aloha, everybody, 

Last week I ran the Lucky 13 Game. Thanks to those who participated, from the first try at joining the 13, and to those who played along to the end. 

I hit the post office today with the first load of packages and a box. Keep your eyes open out there for your prizes. There are just a couple remaining that need to be packaged up and sent out. 

As I mentioned when I started the game, I was influenced by a couple of games before mine. The first being run by the Big Daddy of Traders, JayBarkerFan, my friend and brother, Wes. 

As if to underline the fact he's the Big Daddy, Wes announced today the World Cup of Trading, coming soon to his blog, Willinghammer Rising. 

But I digress....I won a big box o' fun in Wes' Big Fun Game, and as promised, I'm here to show off some more of the loot from my prize. Have you got one of these...

I've got autographed balls from Tommy Lasorda, Sandy Koufax, Nolan Ryan, and a couple of others, but this ball is going to take its place right alongside those storied names. JBF is just as much a legend in our community, and this was the favorite thing to come out of that box. 

That said, there was a whole lotta other stuff (here's the link to the first peek at that big box). Have a gander at this...

Inside was a couple of brand new vintage boxes of 1986 Topps Baseball Champion Superstars - with gum! 

The cards are slightly curved after sitting for 30 years in the boxes, but once freed, you can see they are pristine and glossy. Mint and surprisingly beautiful. 

Pete Rose is wearing the same face he probabbly made when the Hall of Fame turned down his petition to be on the ballot this year. How about The Kid flashing his Million Dollar Smile?

Check out Madlock as a Dodger, and Reggie as an Angel. 

Classic Scmidtty, Mattingly wearing the same blank look he had as the Dodgers manager, and the gum! Even that's in mint condition. This is a very cool box of cards. 

I have two boxes, so check out the checklist, and maybe someone out there wants to trade for the other box. 

I'll be showing off more goodies from this big box prize as the days go by. 

Aloha! 

Binder Page Heroes - Vintage New York Yankees Edition

Aloha, everybody, 

I'm home sick today, battling a very annoying head cold. Most annoying, perhaps, was this condition forced the cancellation of tonight's poker game. 

Now that I'm home sick, with nothing to do and nowhere to go, I figure I'll make myself useful and get a blog post up. 

As a Dodger fan, I certainly don't have much love for the damn Yankees, but as a collector, I've got plenty of love for timeless players captured on cardboard.  

Presenting more Binder Page Heroes, led off by my very small PC of Yankees legend, Thurman Munson. 

I love vintage "in action" shots. There's something about that old-time film processing vs today's digital shots that grabs a different part of my collecting heart.

 The tools of ignorance in full splendor, with optional New Yawk style sideburns. 


Coming up, one of the best baseball cards, ever...
 

 Once again, it's the grittiness of the photo that delivers the impact on these old slices of cardboard. The past becomes an almost tangible element of the card as well. 

How about an oddball Yank?

 This here is a 1984 Fun Foods pin of a very young Don Mattingly. Speaking of the quality of photography, this image looks like it was lifted from videotape. 

Some might not consider the medium, but the player to be the oddball...

But how can you not love good ol' Dock, the holder of a baseball accomplishment that will most likely never, ever be repeated?

Nor should those shark sideburns fading into the fu-man-chu style mustache ever be repeated either. 
 

I love it when two classic players share such a great looking card. 

The following Yankee single-handedly stopped almost every single Dodger rally in the 1978 World Series. At least, it felt like it at the time. I hate the guy, but his awesome World Series play earned my respect and a place in my collection...
 

Did I mention my love for timeless baseball figures captured on vintage cardboard?

 1959 Topps Casey Stengel and Don "Perfect WS Game" Larsen.

I don't know about Larsen, but had I pitched a perfect game in the World Series, I would have worn a permanent smile on my face for the rest of my life - even while sleeping. 

Aloha!

Rediscovered Vintage - The Last Of The Cardboard Gold

We've made it to the final installment of my rediscovered vintage - cards that I found in a long forgotten shoebox.  

Thanks to those of you who read along with this series and especially to those of you who commented on the coolness of what I found. I was just as excited to reexamine and reread each card as you were to see and read about it here. It was great bounty, indeed. 

 Let's see what other cardboard surprises await.

One of the best things about these cards is the number of iconic players on classic cardboard images I found. 

I saved Brooks Robinson's 1969 Topps issue for today's installment because it should stand on its own, away from the other cards of the decade.  

The circle of the name balloon mimics the rounded old time batting helmet, which matches the cartoon Oriole's logo. And how about Brooks' mother-lovin' smile? 

For some reason the contents of the shoebox completely skipped the '70's (all of the Dodger cards skipped the 70's as well), but they pick up again in the 80's with a couple of doozies...

 How about a Rickey Henderson Rookie Card for a doozie? 

Talk about a card that defines the hobby.  Young Rickey silhouetted at the plate, full of promise and potential, coiled and ready to strike at the entire league.  

But one RC doesn't make a great shoebox, how about one more...

I'm not a big fan of Damn Mattingly, the manager, but I'm certainly a fan of Donnie Baseball.  No, this one doesn't have the highest "book value" of his three RC's (Fleer, Donruss, Topps), the big money card is the Donruss release, but this one is my favorite. 

This card has everything for a lover of the 80's on cardboard. We get a portrait in the insert and a full image of Mattingly at the ready, on the bag. Old time stirrups and flip-down shades complete the look.  

Finally, a couple of inserts from the 90's. I recall back in the day these Topps Finest refractors were the shite. And you couldn't do much better than refractor reprints of these next two guys.
 

 When I first got into collecting, Mickey Mantle was the king of cardboard. 

Conversations went like this - 
 Collector A: "I got a Big Hurt Lumberjacks insert!"
Collector B: "Yeah, that's cool and all, but I got Mickey Mantle!!"
All other collectors (in unison): "WOOOOOOOOOW!!" 
And the Mick hadn't touched a baseball diamond in more than 25 years. However, I don't think he has as much juice with this generation of collectors. 

Batting cleanup for the box of rediscovered cardboard...

Bat barrel - Check!
Roberto, not "Bob" - Check!
Old timey stadium tiers - Check! 
One of the greatest to ever play the game - Double Check! 

That closes out the old shoebox.  Thanks for readin', gang!

My Top Ten Predictions For the Dodgers In The NLDS

 Happy days are here again as my favorite team is about to face off against the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS, which begins on Thursday.  We haven't faced each other in the postseason for 16 years, so this should be a good one.

Here come my predictions of what to look forward to and what to watch out for:

Bleachersports.com

 10. Andre Ethier will make the playoff roster and will start Game 1 in center field. His sore ankle won't be much of a factor in the field because his ability to get good jumps off of batted balls will allow him to run straight lines at fly balls. He'll go on to bat over .300 with three home runs in the series.

Can anyone here manage this game?                   en.wikipedia.org

9. Don Mattingly will continue to fumble the batting order and use the wrong pinch hitters in the wrong ways under the wrong circumstances. Despite these and other questionable game strategies, the national media will push Mattingly forward as a serious candidate for Manager of the Year, as though his on-field decisions aren't part of the criteria for the award.

Flickr/Dan4th Nicholas

8. Channeling Ronnie Lott, Nick Punto will have his troublesome ingrown toenail completely removed. In an extra show of grit, he'll then wear that toenail around his neck, sparking a new baseball necklace fad.

rntv.com

7. Channeling former FEMA Director, "Heckuva Job Brownie", teflon-coated Dodgers Batting Coach Mark McGwire will continue to send batters to the plate with no viable or visible action plan.

billyball.com

6. Magic Johnson will show up for Game 1 at a deserted Dodger Stadium, under the mistaken belief it's his scheduled bobblehead night.

ilovefoodblog.blogspot.com

5. Starting pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu will launch a food blog dedicated to the culinary treats offered at the Atlanta Braves' home stadium. Under the pen name "The Bloated Glove", his goal will be to sample every food item offered at Turner Field, even when that means he has to pitch an inning with a box of Tomahawk Chop Fried Tomatoes sitting behind the mound. Ryu will go on to pitch 7 innings and win Game 3.

cbsnews.com

 4. Beleaguered Bison, Matt Kemp will seemingly make it safely to Atlanta, where he will spontaneously combust upon the plane's arrival at the airport terminal.

www.latimes.com

3. Rock steady Adrian Gonzalez, El Jaguar, will continue onward as the most reliable and productive Dodger, playing every inning of every game, leading the team in home runs, RBI's and clutch hits over the series. The national - and the local Los Angeles media, for that matter - will continue to ignore his invaluable contributions.

www.youtube.com

2. Speedster Dee Gordon will not make the playoff roster, but will still make it to Atlanta, smuggled onto the Dodger's plane inside of Juan Uribe's cheek.

With apologies to www.zimbio.com

1. Rookie sensation Yasiel Puig will swing so hard on the first pitch he sees in Game 1, that his head will literally explode. His playful smile will then reappear in place, chesire cat-like. Puig will go on to steal 3 bases, hit 2 doubles and a home run - all in Game 1.

Bonus Prediction: L.A. Dodgers win it in 5. Let's go, Dodgers!

Question Answered - Loud And Clear !

Greetings readers and trade partners,

Away back on  June 22nd I wrote a post that essentially called out my team, and laid forth this 239 million dollar question...

At the time, my beloved Dodgers and the 2013 season were pretty much absolute failures.  The Boys had a record of 30-42, were sitting in last place, the homer announcers on the Dodger TV broadcast were all out of excuses and were finally calling it as they saw it ("Abysmal"),  and even die hard Dodger fans were admitting defeat.

I wrote that June post as a challenge...a call to arms if you will...a plea to my team to WAKE UP!  and get their collective shite together!  I'm very happy to report that I did my part to contribute to the success of the Dodger's 2013 campaign, and it seems my humble little post worked.

Since that writing the Dodgers have won 20 of their last 25, and are looking every bit like the bad-ass juggernaut that all those payroll millions were supposed to deliver.  Hallelujah, I say!

I'm not here to analyze what caused that turnaround.  The beat writers and stat bloggers can write all about that - and they have.  Let's simply take a look at who I called out as a bum in that past post and see what's happened since.

STILL A BUM

Brandon "I Only Pitch In Blow Outs Or If Absolutely, Positively Everyone Else has Already Pitched, And The Umps Won't Let Coach Rick Honnecut Pitch" League

 Mattingly finally had to admit this guy has as much business on a mound as Korean pop star Jessica Jung.  League's been relegated to the absolute back of the line for pitching eligibility.  In yesterday's extra-inning, nail biting, close game with the Nationals, Mattingly used every single bullpen pitcher available, except for League.  You could almost feel the ache in the Skip's stomach as he hoped closer Kenley Jansen would not lose the lead, forcing him to bring in this bum.

At least he wasn't traded away like this guy...

STILL A BUM

Matt Guerrier was traded away to the Cubs.  I heard Ned "Bum To Be Mentioned Later" Colletti quoted a scene from the classic film "On The Waterfront" when he sent Matt packing to the Windy City.  It comes near the end when the gangsters have left Marlon Brando beaten to a pulp behind their headquarters.  The mob boss spits out his words full of venom and spite - as Colletti probably did to the Cubs - "You wantum?  You can haveum!!"

SEEMINGLY SNAPPED OUT OF BUMDOM

With Man Monster Puig tearing up shite in RF, Ethier found himself patrolling Center.  He's got his mind right, has been playing well enough in the field, and has started hitting the ball again.  As an extra bonus, he's actually starting to get his power groove on as well.  In the Dodger's first game back after the All Star break, Ethier blasted a 9th inning HR to lead the Dodgers to a 3-2 victory over the Nats.

STILL A BUM 

Some of the writers have been fooled out there by the Dodger's big turnaround, and are actually saying things like Mattingly was making genius moves all along; it was simply the players that weren't executing.  Hogwash!

While it's true many of the players finally got healthy and began doing well, this guy is still making stupid field management decisions.

Case in point: Bison's first game back from the disabled list.  He was absolutely Thee Bison, going 3 for 4, with a homer and 3 RBIs.  It was the 9th inning, in a 9-3 blowout against the Nats. 

All Mattingly had to do was let us all bask in the glory of Kemp's awesome return, and pull him off the bases after his last at-bat in the 9th.  The INJURY PRONE Kemp, in his FIRST GAME OFF THE DL, could have come off the field a hero, to celebratory high fives from all in the dugout.

Nope, after Kemp's 9th inning walk, Damn Mattingly, "Super Genius", left him in to run the bases and stupidly twist his ankle at home plate.  Injured, yet again!  Pulling an injury-prone player, in the 9th, in a blowout, is what smart managers do.  Ya haven't fooled me, Skipper.

RECENT VICTORIES, STILL A BUM

Speaking of guys that have had their careers reignited by the vapors of the surging Dodgers, Slick Nick here dropped some of the dead wood that he previously signed, and did make a couple of decent pick ups (see Ricky Nolasco) to buy some time with the new Dodger ownership.

It's my prediction that at the end of the season, if push comes to shove, Ned will throw Damn Mattingly under the team bus, and roll on as our god-awful G.M.

STILL, AND ALWAYS WILL BE, HONORABLE MENTION BUM 

The less I'm reminded this guy is "leadership" on my team, the better.

On the surface, this may appear to be a negative vibe post, since so many of the bums I mentioned in the original post, still are.

However, on the EXTREMELY POSITIVE side, the 25-man roster, the guys between the chalk lines, my beloved Dodgers, have shaken off those days of bumtacity, and have become the team I don't want to miss a single inning of - nay - I don't want to miss a single pitch, because the Boys are back in town.

The 239 Million Dollar Question

After a 25-year absence from the World Series, it might well be easy from time to time for a casual Dodger fan to declare the team to be terrible and simply walk away, but I'm no casual Dodger fan.

I was born in the shadow of Dodger Stadium.  I've lived my entire life in the Los Angeles area, and I've been a down home, never-say-die, bleedin' Dodger Blue fan ever since I can remember.  If I could have managed it, I would have been born wearing a Dodgers cap.

My life philosophy has been to always live within easy driving distance of Dodger Stadium, and my family knows that when I go, my final wish is to have my ashes strewn over the green, rolling Elysian Park hills that overlook the stadium beyond the outfield walls, so that every summer I'll have the best seat in the house to watch my beloved Boys in Blue.

I've seen my share of bad Dodger teams, and I have 2 sons, the oldest 21, who have only seen their favorite team play in the World Series through videotape.  The Dodgers in the Fall Classic is only a legend to them.  That said, year in and year out, I've never really given up on a team or a season.  I've always supported the Boys and felt, like that brave and wonderful 5th grade Dodger fan in giants country, Casey Johnstone, that win or lose, they're my team, dang it, and "Let's Go, Dodgers!"

But this season - this awful, appalling and horrific season is really something special.

There were Dodger teams in the past that we sort of expected to be bad, and there were teams with the assorted bum sprinkled within.  But this 2013 squad, this $239 million team that was supposed to make a serious run at winning it all, is the definition of dreadful.  They have truly made it painful to watch their games.  Half the guys seem to be sleepwalking, and the other half are just incapable of bringing forth talent they clearly don't possess.  Far too often it seems they themselves don't believe they can win.  I don't think I've ever felt quite like this before. 

WHO'S A BUM? 

This guy, that's who.  He's so bumtastic that he gets shown twice.  Can the Dodgers please stop signing pitchers with  these ridiculous tattoo arm sleeves?  Ronaldo Belisario has sleeve tattoos as well. I'm starting to see a disturbing pattern. 

Here comes another bullpen bum...

No tattoos...but there's plenty of bumtacity running up and down this guy's pitching arm.  And take off Bulldog Hershiser's number, ya bum!

This team's bummitis runs deep.  It's not just on the pitchers, we've got guys that stink at the plate as well....

BUM

While almost everyone around him has been injured, Dre here has had no such excuse.  After signing a huge contract, and being the last man standing of the Dodger veterans, Ethier had a chance to step up and show us all what he's made of.  Apparently, he's made of bummerite.  I showed him without a bat, since he really hasn't had one all season long.

 TOP BUM

I managed to resist the urge to openly call for Damn Mattingly's head most of this season, but he leaves me no choice!  This guy is a bumalicious field manager.

Just a couple of Mattingly's unexplainable, unexcusable recent game decisions: 

A tie game on the line with 2 outs and RISP, both Ellis' and Hanley Ramirez on the bench available to pinch hit, and you let Luis "I only Pop up or Strike out" Cruz bat ???????  With the game on the line?? REALLY?????????????  Result: Cruz strikes out. Dodgers never rally again. We lose.

A tie game on the line in the 7th, with Paco and Howell in the bullpen, and you bring in the aforementioned, proven Bum Guerrier????????????   REALLLYYYYY????????????  Result: Guerrier immediately gives up 2 runs.  Dodgers never recover.  We lose.

Final nail in the coffin.  In a recent interview about the Dodgers - Padres rivalry, Mattingly denied any bad blood between the teams.  He was then   asked if any teams do inspire those deep emotional feelings for the Dodgers.  His answer:  The Red Sox.  REALLY ????????????   Not the guys up north wearing Halloween colors?   The Boston Red Sox ???????????   Fire the bum!

LONG-TIME RESIDENT BUM

Ned Colletti, Dodgers G.M.  Here's the guy who not only assembled this year's collection of Bums 'R' Us, but he's been bringing over a steady stream of overpaid and over-the-hill bumfection to drag my beloved team down for years. 

HONORABLE MENTION BUM

"If they would just let my guys juice up."

Batting Coach.  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!!!


I never thought I would call my team "bums" in any other than that loveable and nostalgic Brooklyn Dodger way, but these guys have earned it.


THANKS for reading!