Cards from the Friendly Confines

...of On Card Autos! I'll take this opportunity to thank Chris of the aforementioned blog for banging out an epic trade here.I arrived at the post office yesterday to ship out another trade package, and the annoyed clerk handed me three packages, one of which was a box (yes, a box, not a padded envelope) stuffed with 9 team bags of Rockies and Jays from Chris. Awesome trade. Well worth the Aramis Ramirez jersey that left sunny NY. Enough smalltalk, let's get to the cardstock:

The highlights -
I first saw '05 in a pack rip by Beardy, and I wasn't impressed. This card, however, is awesome. The scan doesn't do it justice. The blue is a nicer, lighter shade. The insert name is terrible, however.
Josh Newman auto, via '08 SPx. I've been offered this card a couple times. Josh Newman is, well, hasn't yet been successful, and this card doesn't carry much "resale/book/Beckett" value, but whatever. I like it. I love autos. It's on a sticker, but hardly noticible. Nice card, but UD didn't pop out all the cardboard in the bottom triangle of the "X".
My new favorite Ubaldo. Sometimes the blackout cards work better than others, and for teams like the Rockies and Jays, they work perfect. Might make a run at both team sets. Also got a Barmes throwing a big "Westsiiiide" motion up but forgot to scan. It will make an appearance soon enough.
Antoher Ubaldo. This time, a Rookie. I like the rookie card logos. Especially the new ones. Except the Upper Deck ones. Bad, bad Upper Deck. They got their comeuppance (here, here and here.) (I didn't know that comeuppance was a real word.)
Lifetime gold-glover and HOF snub, Robby.
Stieb, straight outta my birth year set. Neat. Gotta put this set together, really.
Big-game Stieb.
After every Romero win this year, expect a "RICK ROLLED!!" post. You've been warned.
Keeping with the '10 Topps theme, here's Ryan Spilborghs. My favorite from this set so far. Blacked out, this would be epic. I love cards that feature emotion on player's faces. I bet this was from a walk-off, as his pants are getting damn close to being completely undone.
I miss him already. Kick ass in Seattle, man. You deserve to be on a winning team through the arbitration years. League is often called one of the hardest pitchers to hit in the AL. Why? 96 MPH sinking fastball. No, you cannot hit it. Don't even try.
I selected this card for one reason: Robert's arms. Tats!
Bam. Silver Slugger. Once again Chris, thanks for the cards. I got lots of new Rockies and Jays...however, there was one thing...


It seems, and Chris may not have even noticed this when throwing this package together...I have been stealth-bipped by the worst closer in baseball, Brian Fuentes:
Eep. Three 2007 Upper Deck, Four 2007 Topps, four 2008 Topps. Way too many dots and circles. I won't forget this. Bip abides.

Still, awesome trade. Hit Chris up at On Card Autos.

Maybe I'll Make The Trip

So, Whitey Herzog may or may not be as frustrated as I am that Robby Alomar and "The Dutchman" Bert Blyleven didn't make the HOF vote today. Andre Dawson did, and YES, he deserves it.

But John Heyman just made a good point on (last night's) this morning's MLB Hot Stove. Andre Dawson is soft-spoken and the other inductee, Umpire Doug Harvey is in poor health and will probably not give a speech. What does this mean for fans of baseball, within driving distance of Cooperstown, who need a reason to head down this July? Whitey Herzog. As Heyman noted "Whitey will tell any story, of any length, on any subject" (paraphrased). Sounds like it's worth the trip to me. Plus, seeing as the last year I went to induction was 2001 - ahem: Kirby Puckett, Bill Mazeroski, Dave Winfield; I am hoping for slightly less traffic this time. And yes, I will find a cozy place in the woods around Coop and set up a tent.

More on Whitey Herzog

I firmly believe that it is impossible to argue with the Veteran's Committee selections. Take a look at who decides:

• Hall of Famers: Jim Bunning, Tommy Lasorda, Eddie Murray, Phil Niekro, Tony Pérez, Robin Roberts, Ryne Sandberg, Ozzie Smith, Billy Williams, Dick Williams
• Executives: Jim Frey (retired), Roland Hemond, Bob Watson
• Media: Tim Kurkjian, Jack O'Connell, Tom Verducci

It's copied from Wikipedia, so there are active links. Hate Wikipedia? I don't care.
Oh. Wait. Whitey Herzog.

Let's just quote him a bit:

"If you don't have outstanding relief pitching, you might as well piss on the fire and call the dogs."

"I'm not buddy-buddy with the players. If they need a buddy, let them buy a dog."

"Some people asked me if I would be interested in managing the A's. I said a definite no thank you. At night, that place is a graveyard with lights."

"The only thing bad about winning the pennant is that you have to manage the All-Star Game the next year. I'd rather go fishing for three days."

"The only way to make money as a manager is to win in one place, get fired and hired somewhere else."

"The rules are changed now, there's not any way to build a team today. It's just how much money you want to spend. You could be the world champions and somebody else makes a key acquisition or two and you're through."

"The way we have been playing, I might tell my players not to cross the picket line (umpire strike of 1979)."

"We need just two players to be a contender. Just Babe Ruth and Sandy Koufax."

"We need three kinds of pitching: left handed, right handed, and relief."

"What counts aren't the number of double plays, but the ones you should have had and missed."

"You sweat out the free agent thing in November then you make the trades in December. Then you struggle to sign the guys left in January and in February I get down to sewing all the new numbers on the uniforms."