the only card that would reach me was this card of the preacher man

it helps if you channel your inner dusty springfield when you read that title.

i was too late to claim the fantastic 1954 bowman don newcombe card that joe at the sandlot used as trade bait, but i was able to claim this 1953 topps preacher roe card.

i was able to obtain that slice of cardboard goodness for some ny metropolitans that joe needed.  he added a few other cards to the package, including this 1998 topps gallery eric young card

that does a better job of correlating the subject and the text (in this case, 'expressionists') than fleer did with their emotion releases.  not quite the same concept, i know, but still.  night owl sent me an emotions card (trade post coming soon) of raul mondesi that said 'pounding' on it.

this 2008 bowman chrome prospects jaime pedroza card was also part of the trade fodder

pedroza made it to aa for the dodgers in 2010 and 2011, and spent the last two seasons in the braves organization.  2014 will be his age 27 season, so the clock is ticking on this prospect.

here's a james mcdonald 2009 topps card

mcdonald was traded to the pirates at the trade deadline in 2011 for short-timer octavio dotel.  he is currently a free agent after a disappointing second half in 2012 and a shortened season in 2013.  he's only 28, and it would seem that he is worth a flyer.  i'm hoping he lands somewhere and returns to his early 2011 form.

here's a true 'prospects' card from 2001 topps opening day

back then, these were three of the hottest prospects around.  i was super excited about chin-feng chen, and i know cub fans were drooling over the corey patterson hype.  and then there was the number 1 pick josh hamilton.  unfortunately for the dodgers, chen was a bust.  patterson has managed to have a career in the big leagues, and of course josh hamilton pulled things together and has had the greatest success of this prospect triumvirate.

last but not least, joe included a 2013 topps chipz clayton kershaw chip.  it had the dodger logo sticker on it

kershaw was underneath

 here's the back, just to be complete about things.

i bought a pack or two of these things but got rid of the ones i pulled - either by trade or sale - since they weren't dodgers.  i'll hang on to kershaw.

thanks for the trade joe!

cards from 15 years ago

yes, i am still trying to clear out the scanned folder.  here are some cards that were brand new in 1998 - the year of the piazza trade.  i'll start with my lone paul konerko autograph.  it's an on card auto from 1998 upper deck sp chirography

konerko just finished up his 15th season as the white sox's first baseman.  15 years.  that's 5 more seasons than steve garvey played first for the dodgers.  seven more than wes parker.  four more than eric karros.  even gil hodges was the dodgers' first baseman for only about 14 seasons.  what if the dodgers had not traded konerko?  it boggles the mind.

1998 upper deck collector's choice todd zeile

that card pleases me, aesthetically.

also from 1998 upper deck collector's choice, ramon martinez

not as striking of a card as the zeile.

here's the back of gary sheffield's 1998 upper deck card

looks like it's camera day at dodger stadium.  camera day circa 1978 was the first time i was on the field at dodger stadium.  i wonder where the pictures we took that day wound up.  i might have to do some digging.  also, there's that date - 5/15/98.  the day that fox traded mike piazza to the marlins.  brutal.

1998 topps gallery eric karros

and 1998 fleer ultra eric young

here's a 1998 donruss mike piazza 'spirit of the game' subsert card

donruss went somewhat o-pee-chee with the 'traded to mets' text.  i guess spending only a week in miami doesn't really count.

1998 fleer tradition todd hollandsworth

just how many cards does holly have showing him at the fence?  it seems like a lot.

i hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane and that the memory of piazza getting dealt wasn't too painful for you fellow dodger fans.

all hands on deck

this week's installment of the 1979 post raisin bran steve garvey's baseball tips is a little 'pie in the sky' if you ask me.  i never had a whole lot of time in the on deck circle to make a lot of observations.  guys i hit behind went up there hacking.  things must be different in the pros, i guess.

on deck images of players are fairly boring, so there aren't too many that i am aware of.  usually when you see someone on deck, it's because they are in the background of someone at the plate, like on this 1998 upper deck bobby bonilla card

 or this 1999 pacific matt luke card

but there are some on deck cards nonetheless. perhaps the best example is the 1972 topps/o-pee-chee willie davis card (this is the o-pee-chee version)

although willie doesn't seem to be following the game too intently.  to me, it looks like he's enjoying some down time in the sun.

here's mike piazza's 1998 topps gallery card

piazza is getting his bat ready as the garv suggests, but will he have time to study the pitcher?  well, in 1997 i remember he was hitting behind raul mondesi who wasn't the most patient hitter, so i will guess that the answer is 'no'.

only about 5 weeks until spring training!