Trade With Bob Walk the Plank: Konerko and Lopes Autos Highlight Stack of Cardboard Goodness

I completed my second trade with Matt from Bob Walk the Plank. Matt sent these cards along as a complete surprise at the end of March, but I wanted to wait and post them once I had accumulated some stuff to send back his way. Matt once again outdid himself, and hopefully what heads his way will be to his liking.

My second Paul Konerko auto, and both are on-card and picture him in his Blue Crew uniform. This is definitely my favorite of the two as the more important parts of his jersey are visible.

Hey, it's my first Davey Lopes signature! Or Dave Lopes, as he and Topps went with. I'm not a fan of the Archives set but I do like the autos from it. I am still in need of Davey's signature on my Great Infield 8x10 project.

Ugh, what a terrible scan. It's my first Paul Lo Duca relic (I think) and it commemorates his 6-6 game on May 28th of 2001. Lo Duca actually follows me on Twitter and once responded to me, which is pretty cool.

Next up, a pair of new Kemps and a pair of new Kershaws.

Finally, randomness in the form of a Kevin Brown relic; a Shawn Green Dodgers/D-Backs swatch that will end up with Alex, as he'll appreciate it more than I will; a Duke Snider /100; and Snider and Jackie Gypsy Queen base cards.

Thanks for another great swap Matt!

My First Dime Box.

Way back in March of 2012 I hit up my first Dime Box on a trip to Spiegel's LCS. I spent a grand total of $2 but, as with so many Dime Box experiences you read about in the blogging world, I was able to pick up some really cool cards. So thanks, Nick, for the idea. The scans look terrible unless you click on each, for some reason. So click on each.

 
I'll start with rookies of a Hall of Famer and a not Hall of Famer. Sam, the Bagwell is yours if you need it. Roy-Z, let me know if you're interested in the Delgado.

I found some pretty cool metal/promotional cards in the large Dime Box. The Jones has not been peeled and the Wood says "Promotional Sample" on the back.

I had to represent for the Jewish people when I saw multiple Shawn Greens. Roy, let me know if you want one of the Greens.

I plucked a couple of '70s cards from the clutches of the 10 cent bin. The Boone has already been dealt to Brad R. I love the colorful design of '75 Topps. This paragraph is Night Owl-approved.

Though I don't consider '70s cards to be vintage, two of the above definitely fall in the vintage category. The Martin slipped into the wrong scan.
 

Back to some '70s cardboard with another trio of ten penny pieces. Sam, are you in need of some Lemonjello?

Three modern-day "rookies."  At least I assume there's a good chance more than one, if not all, aren't the prescribed rookie card for each player. Not that I particularly care.

And finally, a card I only picked up due to name recognition. A need for you, Roy?

All in all, it was an enjoyable adventure digging through rows and rows of ten cent cardboard. An adventure I look forward to undertaking again and again.

A Plethora Of Contest Wins and Thanks.

I wanted to say thanks to a few bloggers who recently held contests I was fortunate enough to win. First up, I won a week or two's worth of "hey everybody, guess the serial-numbering" over at Jaybarkerfan's Junk. Wes sent along some really cool stuff, highlighted by my newest Matt Kemp hit.

I really dig these All-Star Game relics. The next card of note is my second certified James McDonald auto, and my fourth overall (one a Dodgers' note-card, the other a TTM Ginter auto).

The best of the rest is below, and I love the variety of these great new additions to my collection. The Magill is a refractor and numbered /799, while the Blake Smith is a sweet blue parallel /500. Thanks for the great stuff Wes!

Next up is Kevin from The Diamond King. Kevin held a contest to keep us readers motivated, and I was the first to meet his requirement for victory.

Kevin sent along a ton of awesome stuff, beginning with the above Shawn Green relic, numbered 226/250. It has quite the thorough COA on the back with a picture of the jersey the swatch came from. Love it, as well as the overall card design.

 
A Claude Osteen TTM? Sweet. I was without an Osteen auto, and it was a most welcome surprise. The black sharpie really pops.

He sent along so much stuff I couldn't scan it all, so here's just a taste of it above and below this here paragraph. Arno, the Nomos are headed for your pile. I love the mixture of stuff I received: former Dodger backstops, some near-vintage, shiny. The Green "Danger High Voltage" card is NAILS and I love the Piazzas. Thanks Kevin!

Finally, the last round of awesome freebies. Ross from Sports Card Info sent along this cool two-color race-used flag piece, numbered 03/50, of Darrell Waltrip which I won in one of his many contests. Thanks Ross!

Thanks to the aforementioned fine gentlemen for their hospitality and giving nature!

My First Shawn Green Auto, You Goyim.

It gives me great pleasure to honor a great Jew this morning on this, my Sabbath. Well, I rest a lot, in fairness, but Sundays are my kickback days when, on every other Sunday, I play kickball. I'll be off to play said kickball in a few hours, but before I do I must present you with my first Shawn Green auto.

Numbered 057/399, it hails from the Limited Greats subset of 2011 Panini Limited. I love that Shawn included his number 15, and for just a measly 99 cents plus two bucks to ship it, it was stereotypically and awesomely cheap. I now have the great urge to re-watch The Hebrew Hammer and Judy Greer in particular.

Cause You Win Some and Lose Some (Contests), Sandra Bullock: A Few Thank Yous.

Some thank yous are in order. First up, Derek from Tomahawk Chopping - Cardboard & More! held a contest, and I was one of a number of winners. My prize is the massively sweet die-cut Shawn Green jersey relic below. The design of this 2002 Fleer Focus Kings of Swing relic is just amazing. Many thanks Derek (and many more to follow)!

Next, Brian from 30-Year-Old Cardboard held a contest, and the randomizer spit my name out. My prize is the below relic. Thanks for the great contests and the awesome prize Brian!

Next up, my third contest success from the great Andrew over at Sports Card Info. He holds at least a contest a week, and I was fortunate enough to pick up this sweet on-card auto of Flyers' defenseman Erik Gustafsson. His signature reminds me somewhat of the John Hancock of former Flyer, current Duck, and Plaschke favorite Luca Sbisa. Gracias Andrew!

Continuing on, another contest win over at Jaybarkerfan's Junk netted me the below graded rookie card. Jon, Colbey, any interest? Thanks as always for your generosity Wes!

Penultimately, Sam over at The Daily Dimwit held a sly contest that involved reading an entire post of his. I did, and was the first to correctly answer a trivia question which asked how many no-hitters Nolan Ryan threw in his career. My prize is a partial set of 2012 Topps Prime 9 Redemptions. I don't have nearly enough Babe Ruth cards, so the Great Bambino is staying with me. The rest are up for grabs though (on hold temporarily, however, as I'm about to offer them to someone). Thanks Sam!

And finally, the aforementioned Derek sent me a few singles simply because he's a generous dude. No contest involved with this package of cards. First up, a new Kemp and a new Kershaw; it marks my first 2012 card for Kemp, and second for Kershaw.

Also included in the bubbler was a smattering of player collection cards, from Long Beach State Dirtbags to a Chrome J-Hey to a Cole Hamels. Man, Hamels on the Dodgers next year would be sweet. Kershaw, Cole, and Bills. What a dreamy rotation that would be....

Thanks again to all of the above-listed great bloggers!

Trade With Pirates Treasure Room: Kershaw Reigns and Other Fun Stuff.

I completed my second swap with Brian of Pirates Treasure Room, who has the most insane Andrew McCutchen collection I've ever seen and a Gerrit Cole PC I'm massively jealous of. I sent Brian a Bryan Bullington on-card rookie auto a while back, and before our trade could be completed our blogging Brian became severely ill. Thankfully, he's all better now, and I'm happy to see him back and healthy and repping the Pirates. Here's what I got in return for that on-card John Hancock:

A sweet dual relic of the Texas Two-Stepping Kid K with former Padre Jake Peavy, and it's numbered 116/235. It makes relic number seven in my Kershaw PC, and my twenty-fourth hit overall. I have no idea what color the Peavy is due to colorblindness. But it's a nice color regardless, somewhat calming actually. That's the trade we agreed upon. But Brian didn't stop there. He sent me so, so much more, that I will be in debt for quite some time.

An awesome Shawn Green dual relic! It took me a while to deduce what the blue jersey swatch was from, since blue on a Dodgers jersey is the team name on the front, and that would make the swatch a patch. But it's as true a jersey piece as a jersey piece could be, and then it dawned on me after actually reading the front of the card: the blue is from a batting practice jersey.

Brian added a second new Kershaw to my collection with the above 4-in-1 red-bordered Goudey. Man, UD put out some beautiful stuff.

Next up, a number of awesome random Dodgers, including RCs of youngsters Jerry Sands and Rubby De La Rosa and a fantastic insert of Dee Gordon. A new Paul Konerko as a Dodger makes an appearance, as does an early Pedro Martinez card, which simultaneously brings back memories and enrages me.

Next up is the Dodgers Legends portion of this post. The Koufax is a genuine '75, which is ridiculously cool. The Jackie Lineage photo is just nails. Nails. I also really love the Heritage Flashbacks featuring Dodger Stadium. A great, great, great shot.

Three more Piazzas to add to my Mikey binder. The 1994 Donruss insert is by far my favorite of the three. Retire his number already Dodgers. Memo to the new owner: that would be a great place to start your overhauling of the team and revamping of the good image the club once had.

Finally, assorted randomness including three sweet Ducks, most prominently my main man Ryan Getzlaf. The Manny '09 OPC says "PREVIEW" on the back. Perhaps Robert (or anyone else) could shed some light?

Thanks for the great trade Brian, and welcome back! Here's to your continued good health!

Trade With Scott Crawford On Cards!: '86-'87 Fleer and Black Diamonds

I completed my first trade with Scott Crawford of Scott Crawford On Cards!. In exchange for a lot of stuff, he sent these awesome cards my way. The trade took a while to finalize, but it was well worth it to trade with a fellow chaser of Brooklyn Dodgers vintage goodness.

 

My first three cards from this legendary set. Chocolate Thunder is always welcome in the Plaschke household. As a man who sometimes goes by White Shadow or Sterling Mallory Archer when I bowl, I can fully appreciate an awesome nickname when I come across one.

I've been chasing this Kershaw for ages. It is now finally mine, and brought along Braun - as well as Miguel Cabrera and Dustin Pedroia - as well.

Scott also sent along cards for a number of my smaller player collections, which are all appreciated.

Thanks for the great deal Scott, I look forward to trading again!

Dodgers All-Decade Team

Dodgers All-Decade Team

C	Russell Martin
1B	James Loney
2B	Jeff Kent
SS	Rafael Furcal
3B	Adrian Beltre
OF	Andre Ethier
OF	Matt Kemp
OF	Shawn Green
SP	Chad Billingsley
SP	Kevin Brown
SP	Derek Lowe
SP	Brad Penny
SP	Chan Ho Park
SU	Jonathan Broxton
CL	Eric Gagne
	Joe Torre

Link.

Notes From Tuesday's Game

1. Randy Wolf was solid (7 IP, 3 ER, 5 Hits, 5 K, 2 BB, 1 HR Allowed, 95 pitches - 62 for strikes), especially considering he was coming off of an injury to his left elbow.
2. Bullpen: 6 IP, 1 Run [o ER], 3 Hits, 8 K, 2 BB [both IBB].
3. Andre Ethier hit his 30th HR and 40th double of the season. He now has 73 XBH (30 HR, 40 Doubles, 3 Triples). The franchise record for doubles in a season is 52, set in 1929 by Johnny Frederick. The franchise record for XBHs in a season is 94, set in 1930 by Babe Herman.
4. Ethier is the first Dodgers' lefty to hit 30 HR in a season since Shawn Green in 2002 , and his HR gives him a major-league high 6 walk-off hits this season, both per Vin on the broadcast.
   
5. Matt Kemp (Double, Single), Ethier (HR, Double), Casey Blake (Triple, BB), and Rafael Furcal (Single, BB) each reached base twice.
   
6. Jonathan Broxton struck out the side in one inning of work. He now has 106 Ks on the season in 69.2 IP (13.79 K/9 IP), and has surpassed his innings total from 2008.
   
7. James McDonald struck out 3 in 3 innings of relief.