This blog was intended to be a chronicle of my progress in my novel writing. Instead, it has become a way to avoid that writing. As I continue to procrastinate, I will continue to post here. Postings cover a wide range of topics, from baseball cards to hard rock, from comic books to vampire movies. It is basically whatever is on my mind at the moment. Like it? Great. Hate it? Tell me why.
That’s the best way to spend the 4th of July. My family spent the afternoon at GABP watching the Reds beat the Cardinals 5-2. It was a rainy day, so I didn’t get to take many pictures. I sought shelter during one of Albert Pujols’ at-bats so I could get a few shots of the greatest player in the game today and one of the all-time greats.
He hit a single, so he ended up at first base with one of my family’s favorite current Reds: Joey Votto.
Do you ever wonder what these guys say to each other in between pitches? Are they making dinner plans? Is Votto asking for hitting advice? Is Pujols mocking Votto’s mortality?
One of the best parts of going to the ballpark is coming home with something. Today was Jay Bruuuuuuuce bobblehead day. We missed out on the Votto game, and will be out of town when they are giving away Volquez. But Bruuuuuuuce is obviously the most popular of the bunch.
This is the American holiday, and I intend to spend it in the most American way possible: watching Baseball at Great American Ball Park.
The St. Louis Cardinals are in town, trying to make it two in a row against my beloved Cincinnati Reds. The Reds should be safe today, though. Since David Weathers pitched last night, he shouldn’t pitch again this afternoon. So the Reds should win. As long as Dusty doesn’t put Weathers in.
No, I’m not a major league scout, and I don’t have the credentials to properly judge talent. I just know that every time Weathers pitches, the Reds either lose or come real close to losing.
Why is he still on the roster?
Argh.
“All your
blown saves
are belong to me.
Har har.
David Weathers.”
John of The Pursuit of 80’s(ness) recently sent over a package for my boys and I, full of goodies that I’m sure the kids will love to tear into. First, of course, there were several Reds cards, many of which were missing from the collection, including…
A two-sport megastar…
A 2010 Hall of Famer (fingers crossed)…
A shoo-in Hall of Famer five years after his retirement (no finger crossing needed)…
A low-key superstar overshadowed by his Cardinals counterpart…
Also included in the package were several packs of “English” stickers and cards. I’m interested to see these, but I am waiting for the boys to get home to let them tear into them. It might make for an interesting episode of “Derek America.” Among the packs were…
The boys have really gotten into playing soccer this past year, so opening those should be a blast for them. Even though we don’t watch soccer on the tele (as the British might say, or might not, I don’t know), I’m sure they’ll like seeing what their future might hold if they stick with the sport. Although I will have to explain the difference between English football and American football.
But of course, being kids, they also love cartoons. And one of their favorites is “Ben 10.” I’ll admit it, I’ve watched a few dozen episodes (probably every single one made), and it’s a good show. So I’m sure the boys will absolutely love this pack…
Thanks John, and your cards will be on their way shortly.
But when others make a parody video involving KISS, I’m still drawn to it.
Perhaps the new KISS album will restore my faith in the once-loved band. Or perhaps Ace’s solo album will put all debates to rest, showing that he is the true and only Mr. Space Ace.
Thanks to Hard Rock Hideout for bringing this video to my attention.
The Orioles pull into the lead with a nice little package. I don’t understand the obsession with oversized baseball cards…why not the standard 2.5 x 3.5? I can’t fit these into my binder. These are actually pretty cool though, with photos on both sides. There are no stats to be found, so you can pretend every player is a superstar! I also got a Camden Yards postcard and a couple of huge stickers from the Birds. I love stickers.
Ranking the pack:
Pocket schedules: 1 point (1 schedule)
Stickers: 2
Baseball cards: 3 (Luke Scott, Adam Jones, The Bird)
Other high-quality goodies: 1 (Camden Yards postcard)
Other stuff: 0
Timeliness: 9 (received July 1)
While looking for a scan of a baseball card on Google images, I stumbled across a baseball card blog I have never witness before. Nerd Baseball. The guy even ponied up some cash for a domain name, so it’s not Blogspot or WordPress…it’s just nerdbaseball.com.
Featured are a number of nerdy-looking baseball players, mostly from the mid- to late-1980s card sets, with some humorous comments sprinkled throughout.
But that’s not all, there are also some scans of the blogger’s attempts at “Funny Cards.” You remember those, right? Back in the 1980s when Beckett was still reliable and people actually read the magazine and it wasn’t simply a big ad for different companies…they actually had real content, you know? They also had these reader-submitted “Funny Cards.” I remember doing a few, but never sent them in. One was Mickey Hatcher, using a 1981 Fleer card, and he was hatching out of an egg. Another was Dennis Cook, using an Upper Deck card…maybe 1990…and he had a frying pan instead of a baseball bat. Yeah, those were the days.
Anyway, check out nerdbaseball.com if you’ve never been there before. It’s an interesting journey, especially for nerds like me.
This is turning into a weekly journey. Ever since I found the place, I want to go every chance I get. Today I went with one player in mind: Dave Concepcion.
To call Concepcion a “Star” is an understatement.
Even to call him an “All-Star Étoile” misses the mark, since those only play one game a year.
I would have settled for “Super Star,” but Kellogg’s said, “No, he’s more than that! He’s a 3-D Super Star!” Honestly, why this guy is not in the Hall of Fame baffles me. He ruled the shortstop position until Ozzie Smith arrived, and though he didn’t do any somersaults, I would pick Davey over the Wizard any day of the week.
What surprised me was that he came out of retirement in 2004 to play in the Red Sox/Cardinals World Series. I’m not sure which team he played for, though, because they let him wear his old Cincinnati uniform. Sadly, I was not following baseball in 2004 so I had no idea this was going on.
Of course, I didn’t stop at Concepcion. I also picked up a 1962 Cincy shortstop…
A few 1983 Topps Reds stickers…
And…
Wait for it…
Oh yeah, baby…a 1963 Rookie Stars featuring the Reds legends…
Sammy Ellis and Jesse Gonder. What, you were expecting someone else?
In addition to these, I got a few packs of randomness, out of which I pulled this oddball Sandberg…
It’s not a Baseball Cards Magazine card like I expected. There is no manufacturer info at all on the back, just Ryno’s 1986-1990 stats. But wait, there’s more! I also got this extremely oddball Bo Jackson…
The flipside actually has another photo of Bo. Again, no manufacturer details, so no telling where this card came from. Maybe Bo knows?
And finally, I took a trip down to the actually baseball card shop as well and picked up a few more packs of 1992 NFL Game Day. I don’t know why I am drawn to these cards. Maybe it’s the 50-cent price tag.
Out of these packs, I got a radio host and a kitchen appliance…
A couple of great 1980’s quarterbacks…
And a couple of highly touted youngsters who never lived up to their potential…
I remember how everyone made a big deal about Dan McGwire, little brother of Mark, but he never really made a mark on the league, did he? And Klingler, of course, was the first in a long line of terrible Bengals QBs. I don’t blame Klingler for his poor play in Cincinnati; I blame the Bengals for throwing everything on one young man’s shoulders and giving him no support whatsoever. Like they did with Akili Smith. And Jeff Blake. And Carson Palmer. Although Palmer has handled it admirably so far. So…far….
This one is a doozy. Andy posted this little snippet:
And we have to figure out which card it is from that? Wow.
I recognized the baseball right away and knew it was 1987 Donruss. Then I asked if it was a part of the regular 660-card set, as opposed to Rookies, Highlights, Opening Day, etc. The answer was “no.”
So it is 1987 Donruss, but not from the regular set.
So what is it? If you have a question, head over to Traded Sets and post it! It has to be a “yes” or “no” question…let’s figure this thing out!
