Los is coming home!!!!

The compa is one happy lady. News here.

The Best of Topps Photoshop: Carlos Peña

So I'm sitting there the other day going through the compa's Peña collection. Who knows why, but the following two card jumped out at me.

As everyone knows, card companies recycling photos is nothing new. I'm guessing I never noticed these two before because a) the cropping makes for a radically different card and b) because someone photoshopped the bejeesus out of one of them (my vote is for the second). 

Unlike other (well, most) airbrush/photoshop jobs you see Topps take on, this one is well done 

enough. You don't get the feeling that Los just emerged from a nuclear reactor, that his jersey is melting off, or that part of him is floating in the aether. Like I said, I never noticed the photoshop until I noticed these cards were identical.

So, Topps, well done here!

Have a good one everybody and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

Happy New Year: Reflective Ranger

Well, it's been a heck of year. As I write this snow is pouring down in my town. We were supposed to go to a NYE party tonight but compa has put the kibosh on that. Nothing to do but ebay binge, blog, and reminisce.

The year had it's good (Rays win the AL East), bad (Rays lose to the Rangers), and ugly (Rays lose Peña and CC to free agency). There were some personal milestones, also a mixed bag. For the first time in a LONG time I didn't make it to a game this summer, major league or otherwise, and that won't happen this year. Hopefully.

In a nod to the Rangers' victory of the Rays, here is a pensive looking Ranger I grabbed from a vintage commons box for 20 cents. Gotta love those things.

Here we have Dave Nelson kneeling in the on deck circle, looking back up past the stadium and into the night. He's coming off of his two finest seasons during which he stole over 90 bases and made the AS team in 1973. In these seasons he played in more games and established or came close to careers highs in almost every meaningful offensive category (SB, AVG, OBP, SLG, HR, 2B, 3B, H). His star didn't continue to rise, however, as his production quickly fell off and his playing days were over a scant four years later.

In a lot of ways this card speaks to the old "baseball as metaphor for life" cliché a lot of us point to when discussing our love of the game. Nelson, waiting his turn at bat, turning for a moment to the heavens. We have the bright promise of playing career on the rise that, seen from today, has already peaked.

Today Dave broadcasts for the Brewers, working alongside Bob Uecker. I'm sure that's hardly the future he was pondering when this photo was taken in 1973, but I'm also sure he has no complaints about how things shook out.

This is just a meandering way of saying a Happy New Year! Many thanks to everyone in the blogging community and beyond. Who knows what the future holds, but here's to a great 2011!

Good night Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

Wicked Trade: (Long Over Due)

I could blame it on my slow scanner. Or pure laziness. Or my fondness for wine within 5 minutes of hitting the door when I get home from work. Or all of it, take your pick.

At any rate, I've fallen behind in trade posts, starting with an epic trade from Wicked Ortega. Well, this is my end.

A 1956 Doby:

I'm not a huge Miggy fan, but he's one of the best players in the game and it would have taken something pretty badass to pry that card from me. Well, this is more than sufficiently badass. Since Doby is from SC I pick up his cards whenever I can afford them, and this was a score. I'll go into it in more depth this summer when I do Larry Doby week again, but for now I'll just say "YEAH!"

Worked out in the trade were some other Rays cards.

I don't get too much into the high end stuff (is Sweet Spot High End? Low End? Mid Range? Hell, they sell is at Wal Mart, right?) or even serial numbered cards because of the cost. So: I'd never seen this card or one like it before and have/had no idea of it's value. First: that's not a bat chip. It's a 1/2 inch thick piece of bat embedded in a card that's more like a shadow box. Pretty awesome, and I had no idea what I was getting.

Then this CC jersey:

CC jerseys are always good, CC jerseys with Derek Jeter on them....I just don't know.

And most importantly, as a throw in for the person who tolerates my collection (and has yet to see my recent ebay purchase come up on the credit card bill):

It's the smile himself, Mr. Carlos Peña. It was immediately one of the compa's favorite cards and it's her first minor league CP. Thanks for throwing that in, Wicked, and for the epic trade in general.

Have a good one everybody and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

Trading Post: Halloween Cards from the Wicked One

Not Satan but Ortega, Wicked Ortega.

Between work and working in the yard, blogging about baseball cards has taken a momentary backseat. But I'm back, at least until compa wants my butt outside again.

A few trades have come in in the past few days, and multiple shout outs are in order. First up: some CCs and assorted Rays from Wicked Ortega.

Since the Rays are coming off of back-to-back winning seasons, I really dig this card. How bad were they only a few years ago? 518-775 bad, as in Little League mercy rule bad. As in terrible. Carl, however, looks like he knows something we don't in this photo. Maybe it's that the brick and ivy backdrop is ridiculous given that the Rays play in an ultramodern dome? Or better, that the Rays would be ruling the division the following year.

I'm digging the UD Masterpieces, albeit about 18 months late. This particular card might have been better done sideways to get a full body shot of the slide, the catcher, the ball coming in, etc., to give a fuller sense of the drama unfolding here, but who am I to complain? It's a solid B in a world full of F- cards, so I'll take it. And how does everyone feel about the parallels? We have a red frame and a black frame, but they are essentially the same card.

Mario over at Wax Heaven did a hatchet job a while back on UD X if I remember correctly, and I kind of get it. The "X" is a design, but I'm not sure how it's been sustained over multiple years. The formula seems to be "Player plus x equals new design." Next year: rinse, repeat. Love the die cuts, like the idea and the design...just not maybe every year. This is a well-done, solid card....but would I want the same basic card design next year?

Finally, wicked sent over some Peñas. I've gone into some depth about the compa's Peña-love, and these cards only added fuel to the fire. Thanks wicked. I guess. That said, check these out:

The compa laughed out loud at these. "He looks like he's dancing!" When I think of all the goofy baseball action shots out there, this card is definitely near the top, and leads me to believe that there simply aren't enough goofy action shots on baseball cards. Sure, Peña's not putting on the most heroic of moves, and this catch is beyond awkward, but it's a solid reminder that he's a GG first baseman. It takes A LOT of talent to look that crazy making a catch that difficult.

Thanks again for the CCs and Rays, Wicked!

Have a great one everybody, and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

Trading Post: Priceless Gems from the Priceless Pursuit

So, a while back I caught this post over at the Priceless Pursuit. He had pulled this CC in a pack, and I left a comment asking if he's be willing to part with it.

He was game, and we got the deal done! Now, I really appreciate his willingness to part with a #'d card without asking for a king's ransom in return. I don't have too many #'d CC, and my collecting budget just can't hang with the guys who will throw down for #'d cards on the 'bay. Long story short, I don't actively seek them out or feel compelled to, but I'm INCREDIBLY stoked when a fellow blogger passes one along.

BUT that's not all sent sent. He also sent along a two more Peñas for someone else's collection:

For all the HRs one tends to forget that Peña is also a Gold Glove 1st Baseman, so the Fleer Platinum is a +1 in the compa's book.

Next, three Delmons, all of which actually sport pictures of the man in question, without any mystery men popping up.

That's my first Delmon #'ed card, and was an incredible bonus to get. Don't forget to check out the bottom of this post and help me figure out with this person NOT named Delmon Young could be.

Finally, he included a RC of the man, the legend, the off-again, on-again pro-wrestler and CCC fave, Jonny Gomes. Nice shot of Jonny running the bases in what looks to be a Spring Training Game.

Thanks for the Trade, Priceless! Hope you enjoyed the cards I sent as much as I enjoyed these.

Have a great one, everybody and goodnight Pumpsie Green, wherever you are!

Trading Post: Many Thanks to the Troll and a Delmon Mystery!!!

Daddy D cleared out at about 5:30 this morning, so things are settling back down. The dogs no longer have a ready source of table food and multiple walks per day, and compa no longer has someone to keep me in line.

So, I can turn to some of the awesome packages I've gotten in the past week, starting with Msr. Troll. He sent a 13-inch stack of cards, so these will only be selections from the amazing number of Rays he hooked me up with.

First, he included several Peñas. These, of course, are for the compa's growing collection, and which she has promised will be organized...any...day...now. According to her, this one stands out because a) it give him a cardboard showcase for his great smile and b) it does not have Capt'n intangibles on the front screwing the whole thing up.

Next, he included some Jeff Niemann. I've posted about Jeff a couple of times, and can honestly say I'm real happy that he had a lot of success in the Bigs this year. Having haunted the Durham Bulls Athletic Park from 2003-2008, I've seen a lot of guys come through, and a lot of Jeff Niemann in particular. Moreover, he's a player I'll always associate with this epic trip the compa and I took up to Baltimore for a Rays/O's double header last September. Great guy, and a lot of great Durham memories.

Then, we have a couple of cards of Justin Ruggiano. Since I try to keep things focused on the Big club I haven't written about Ruggi before, Troll had no way of knowing the Ruggi is one of my favorite Bulls. Moreover, since I don't rip wax, I had exactly ONE Ruggiano card that I scores of ebay in my collection before this package. He's a player the Rays STOLE from the Dodgers a while back, and an unfortunate victim of the insane depth of the Rays farm system. His 2007 and 2008 numbers are solid and to be honest, he's never gotten a full shot to be an everyday player at the Big League level. His production in '09 dropped off, but his wife gave birth to their first kid in-season, so I'm sure that had something to do with it.

None of this is to say that he hasn't had some great moments in a Rays uni, because he has. It's just that with a starting OF of CC and BJ, then the pressure to play Pat Burrell (contract) and Matt Joyce (justify horrible, terrible, no good Edwin Jackson trade), as well as other minor leaguers like Fernando Perez and Desmond Jennings, things are pretty crowded in Tampa. Dude deserves a shot, but it probably won't come with the Rays.

And finally, Troll included a couple of Delmon Youngs. These are nice cards, but then I turned over the 2004 UD and became a little confused.

I keep taking a closer look, but can't for the life of me figure out who that is. It's NOT Delmon Young, which I find pretty hard to believe insofar as around 2004 D Young was the hottest Minor League player on the planet and everybody knew he he was. Can anybody help me out with this? Who is this man not named Delmon Young?

R.C. Stephens, Pro-softball, and the Future of Carlos Peña

Daddy D is into weird sports stuff. And by weird I mean, "has competed and done well in big money wiffleball tournaments" weird. Anyway, he trotted out this 1959 R.C. Stevens because Stephens is a softball legend on the diamonds of Iowa.

Now, that's pretty cool. I guess he just really dug the game and decided to keep on lacing them up well after his pro-baseball career was over. It's one of those touches that, as a fan, makes you feel good, if only because it's nice to hear that the players love to play the game as much as us lesser talented folks like to watch it.

Later on, while Daddy D was going through the compa's Carlos Peña collection, he found this:

Were these cards separated at birth? More importantly, will Peña start mashing in the cornfields of Iowa when his career goes on the downswing? Pretty creepy: Carlos Peña will be the left-handed R.C. Stevens.

In honor of Carlos Peña and our lost pennant hopes...

the Compa "accidentally" shut her thumb in the door yesterday. Seriously. That's dedication.

In other news:

Gomes: 1-4, HR, 2 RBI

CC: 0-3, BB

It only took till Sept, but at least Gomes is finally getting the playing time he deserves! Hopefully next season he starts in Cincy, stays in Cincy, and has a MONSTER season. Not that the Rays have been recently looking for a right handed power bat to mostly DH and play some OF...oh....wait....

Peñas para la compa:gracias Sr. Troll!

Peña has 2 homers tonight. Nice!

So, I was corresponding with Troll a couple of weeks ago when the compa says, "Ask him if he has any Peña doubles." Which I did. To which Troll responded with an insanely generous number of cards, most of which were no doubles at all but straight from the private stock.

Yep, that's a PSA 9 Topps Chrome RC of the gent in question. But why, you ask, does the compa like Peña? Well, two reasons, both of then coming out of a trip we took to Baltimore for a day-night doubleheader late last summer. Peña plays first, and I sprung the cash for us to sit second row from the field for the games, which is a lot cheaper than you'd think given it was Camden yards.

First thing the compa notices? Peña has a great a$$. That was the one thing she thought was absent from the tremendous cards Troll sent: no shot of Peña's backside. She loves, however, this heroic looking Peña. First question she asks: why'd he drop the bat?

The second thing: the day after we were at the inner harbor talking to a guy who runs a t-shirt shot there. He told us this great story about how Peña had been talking to some folks who ran a restaurant around those parts, and later returned to their place with a bunch of Rays swag and tickets to the games. Pretty awesome guy, and the kind of story that needs to be publicized a lot more.

She looks at this card. It's got the smile, the pose, and...Derek Jeter? Compa: "Why in the *&^% do we have a Yanki on a Rays card?" I tried explaining about the neo-vintage craze, and Gehrig on the original Goudey cards, but she wouldn't relent. A lot of what she said wasn't fit for print, but can be summed up as "Tell these Upper Deck people that only Yanki fans would dig something like that. I don't want Captain Intangibles on my Peña cards, or any Rays cards! It ruins his smile." Message sent.

Check out that expression. Why compa digs it: "He looks cute and goofy running the bases. I guess that's why he's a god of the Three True Outcomes. That way 2/3 of the time he doesn't have to mess with this, but he'll still take a walk just to make the pitcher look bad." In her defense, this year Peña has more homers than singles. It's a fact.

And these are just a few of the awesome cards the generous Troll who lives in Tampa sent to the Compa! Thanks again!