Your My Dogg, Dog

When card collectors get together, we often talk about the different aspects of the  hobby.  We have conversations about what cards we have just picked up or maybe a sweet, victorious Ebay win.  The collecting world is so diverse and many cardboard hounds spend their days in various realms tracking down cards for their collection.

Some collectors go to sports card shops or card shows to purchase cards.  Other collectors order cards online and swing a deal with collectors hundreds of miles away.  We all may spend times in these different venues to acquire cards but, we also have our preferences, our little niche and comfort zone in our expansive hobby.

One of my friends is a high-end guy.  He busts expensive, classy hobby boxes of the major sports and sells the cards that he doesn't need online for some extra cash.  Selling on Ebay and opening high-end product is completely foreign to me, even though we both are involved in collecting the same Dodger cards.

We often exchange questions about our different corners of the hobby.  He asks me about the blog world and one of the questions that he asked was, "Who do you trade with the most?"  My answer was that I usually swap cards with fans of the big city teams with large fan bases.  Fans of the big clubs are the ones that collect their teams the most.

One team that doesn't really fall into the category of "big market team" is the San Diego Padres.  Over the past year, some Padres blogs have been popping up.  The NL West wasn't as well represented when I first started the Platter.  There was always a fair amount of Dodger blogs but, the other teams in the division weren't as prevalent in the blog world as they are today.

Padre cards used to just build up in my trade box until guys like the Underdog Card Collector started popping up.

 
The Under Dog must be able to appreciate a good under dog team like the Brooklyn Dodgers even though he is a Padres fan.  The Brooklyn Dodgers were the scrappy, lovable loser team of the first half of the 20th century.  While the Dodgers were in Brooklyn, the team endured much heartbreak and crushing World Series defeats.  The Dodgers only won the World Series once while in Brooklyn and that year was the classic victory over the New York Yankees in 1955.

The Under Dog sent me a nice stack of Brooklyn Cards like this Preacher Roe.  Many of the Brooklyn cards that he sent my way were from sets that are lacking in my collection.

An old school looking Topps card with some 2001 gold-ness splashed on the borders.  Campy is also painted to look dolled up and with enough make-up to be on his way to a stage on Broadway.

I also got some cards of macho looking ballplayers that aren't painted with a rosy hue.  Kirk Gibson looks like a bad ass with a blank blue cap while playing in a weekend beer league softball game.  Gibson was just chugging beers and eating Cap'N Crunch before his four homer game during his '88 beer league season.  You can never go wrong with a mustache and Cap'N Crunch.

This trade package was sent to me sometime ago and I am glad that I finally had the time to post about it.  The Gibson card alone makes this trade superb in my mind.

Thanks for the trade!

Late Night, Early Morning Read

I just got back from tonight's Dodger game.  Clayton Kershaw outdueled Tim Lincecum again.  Kershaw is no 5-0 against the Giants this season and is 4-0 against Lincecum head to head.  He has been dominating the rivals up north this season.

The atmosphere was pretty good at Dodger Stadium tonight.  There was more electricity in the air as opposed to other games that I have attended this year.  People were pumped for Kershaw vs. Lincecum.  My favorite match-up to watch.  This was also the last game that I am going to this year.  It was a night that I got to witness Kershaw getting win number 20 against the hated ones.  It was a great final live game for me.  I don't think that I will be going to any games next season as long as Frank McCourt is in control.  I won't be renewing my mini plan but, I could still see myself going to a handful of games next year.  Just, much less than in previous years.

I haven't posted in a while.  So, lets see some cool cards that I have gotten recently.  That's what I came on to blogger tonight to show you some of the good stuff. 

I am just rewinding from a thrilling baseball game.  My adreneline from the game has given me the energy for some night time posting.

Wicked Ortega hosted a group break done draft style on his blog.  His blog is called My past time...I love it. 

Wicked had a wide range of game used, autos, and vintage to choose from.  Most of my picks are going into my PC.  I picked up some trade and sale bait that I may show you guys at another time. 

Since the Dodgers won tonight by beating the Giants, let me start by showing you guys the only Dodger that I picked up from Wicked Ortega.  This card is a 1968 Topps Dodgers team card.  The condition is really solid.

Don Drysdale and Don Sutton are lurking on this card somewhere.  This photo may not have ever been taken.  The faces are impossible to make out.  The players may have been painted in a generic fashion from a far distant.  That is a fact over here at the Platter.

The 1968 Topps Dodger team card was the only Dodger that I added to my collection from this break.  I did however manage to get some nice cards of players that have worn Dodger Blue.

Kirk Gibson will always be remebered in Dodger lore for what he did in the 1988 World Series.  I had to pick this card even though it is him as a Detroit Tiger.  Gibson is a Dodger legend, who is now managing the Arizona Diamondbacks to a division title.

2007 Upper Deck Sweet Spot has some sweet looking GUs.  This is the Upper Deck set that I would like to see some back.  The autos are cool looking from this set also.

Here is another card featuring a dude that has played for the Dodgers.  This is a 1999 Just Minors autograph of Jayson Werth.  The auto is on-card and features Werth as an Oriole.

Werth was a player that I really liked on the Dodgers in the mid-2000s.  I was always happy to see him have success when he went to the Philadelphia Phillies.  Werth is now struggling after signing a huge contract with the Washington Nationals.  He traded away winning with the Phils for losing and a lot more cash.  I just hope that his performance picks up to at least warrant the kind of deal that was given to him.

This is my first Mike Piazza relic.  It is a bat relic to boot!  But, it is Piazza has an Oakland A.  I give that just a 1/2 notch below him as a Dodger.  But, it is better than seeing him as a Met or Padre. 

Bowman Heritage was nice enough to print Piazza's full name on the card.  I find it important to know Piazza's middle name.  It is an added sign of respect to the greatest hitting catcher.  Check out his stats for the 1997 season.  It was his last full season as a Dodger and it was a year only a beast can have.

Thank you for 1997 Mike Joseph Piazza.

Since, I have other PCs other than ones that involve the Dodgers, I picked up this Dice-K GU.  Dice-K is a future Ned Colletti signing.  I feel it in my gut.

Dice-K is a "name" player.  He is also on the downside of his career.  Dice-K has also had surgery this year.  That sounds like a Colletti signing this offseason.  So, this card will be of more interest to me in 2012 when Dice-K is donning Dodger Blue.

This was a preemptive pick for my PC.

Where Did It Go Wrong?

The Dodgers put up another clunker of a performance tonight.  They lost 6-0 to the New York Mets in a vacant Dodger Stadium.  It was another pathetic output by a flawed roster that is so typical of the 2011 Dodgers.  How did it get to this? 

The easy answer is Frank McCourt.  He is the cause of most of the problems the Dodgers have.  McCourt doesn't seem to care about wins or losses on the field.  These days he is more concerned about court appearances.  Even before his divorce, he seemed to care more about money and smiling in front of cameras.  He always came across as a politician.  McCourt always wanted to say what he thought was the right thing to say rather than do the correct thing with his actions.  He still doesn't get understand that he is supposed to be more of a caretaker of the Dodgers as opposed to being an owner. 

The poor decisions made by Dodger ownership is not just a McCourt disease.  Fox, which owned the team before they sold hit to McCourt, made an awful move by dumping Mike Scioscia.  Now Scioscia has been the manager of the Anaheim Angels for about a decade.  He has won a ring and always seems to have a pretty good team. 

I would love to blame Frank McCourt for Scioscia managing the Angels but, that would be unreasonable.  When Fox was dumping him and Scioscia was teaching the Angels how to win games, McCourt hadn't even known baseball was played west of Chicago.  This move by Fox totally changed the modern Dodger history books.  Things would be different if Mike Scioscia stayed in the Dodger organization.

Jim Tracy managed the Dodgers in the first half of the 2000s.  Except for the 2004 Dodgers, most of Tracy's teams would come close to a playoff spot and then fall just short.  The teams he managed always seemed to fall apart in the second half.  He seemed like a nice man though.  But, nice guys finish second, I guess. 

Tracy is probably happy to be out of LA.  I don't blame him.  I wouldn't want to work for an owner that views winning as not the main goal.  Winning for Frank McCourt is down on his list of priorities between buying a third country club membership and hiring a tenth public relations person.

When Joe Torre was hired as a manager prior to the 2008 season, he brought over his coaching staff from the Yankees.  Don Matingly tagged along and for some reason McCourt promised that he would be next in line to manage the Dodgers.  Once again, Matingly seems like a nice guy and a smart baseball man.  He has done an okay job given the flawed roster that GM Ned Colletti put together.  It just seems like pure laziness that you would give a man a manger's position despite having no experience at that job on any level.

I believe Frank McCourt did this to save money.  That always seems to be what drives his decisions.  He was probably too cheap to bring in an experienced manager because they cost more money.  It also probably costs money, time and resources to even interview different candidates. 

He didn't even interview Dodger hero, Kirk Gibson, for the job.  Gibson is now at the helm managing the surprising Arizona D-Backs.  It is kind of similar to the Scioscia situation a decade ago.  Someone with Dodger blue in there blood isn't given a chance to manage the team.  I am sure McCourt probably doesn't even know recent Dodger history and know how much it irks Dodger fans to see Scioscia in Angel red.  Gibson would have been a fine choice over the Yankeeness of Don Matingly.  McCourt blew it again! 

I am just kind of ranting at this point.  This season is already wearing on me.  The McCourt regime is just pissing me off so much.  He is whats wrong with so many things surrounding the Dodgers.

Ok....deep breath...deep breeth....

The card above is from the 1988 Mother's Cookies set.  It shows Kirk Gibson as a player wearing the uniform that he should be wearing now.  Those were happier times in Dodger Land.  It was a time before McCourt was getting weekly $150 haircuts.

Ok...deep breath....deep breath....

This is a blog about baseball cards not about raging against Frank McCourt.  There are many other great sites doing that a lot better than me.  The first half of this post may have lost some people expecting just to see some cardboard and a couple remarks about each card.  I'll get on track towards the end here.

Tommy Lasorda has been quiet while the McCourt mess has been going on.  Which is surprising because he is always loud and opinionated.  I also wonder what he has been thinking about the current state of the Dodgers.  I view Tommy as the president of Dodger Land.  He seems so happy on this card.  Once again, this card is from a happier time not the 2000s.

Fernando isn't a current or former major league manager like the guys shown previously.  He is now a Dodger broadcaster on Spanish radio.  When I first started writing this post, I was hoping that it would be about the wrong choices the Dodgers have made with managers.  It was a half assed attempt with a lot of anger and negativity.  So, I wanted to end it with a card of a smiling Fernando.  It is a smile that would light up Dodger Stadium whenever he would take the mound.

I also wonder if Fernando would be smiling if he unloaded his famous screwball right at Frank McCourt's face.  That would be awesome!  Frank McCourtColletti!  He passed over Kirk Gibson!  He put the team in poor financial standing!  Oh no, the anger is coming back.  Sorry!

Ok....deep breath....deep breath.....

The Diamond King Sends Some Cards To The Platter

The Diamond King is a fairly new card blog that is run by a cool dude named Kevin.  But, I enjoy referring to him as The Diamond King.  That is such a cool name of a blog.  I am surprised that there aren't a dozen blogs named Diamond King.  Please go and check out his blog.  The Diamond King even has the time to post about everyday, which is awesome.

The Diamond King posted about this card a few days ago.  I commented on how sweet it is and then we worked out a deal for it.  Of course, I like this card, it is of 1988 World Series Game 1 hero, Kirk Gibson.  This is my first relic of Gibson.  He is now coaching up the Arizona Diamondbacks who are surprising a lot of people by playing fairly well. 

As part of the trade, the Diamond King also sent me some nice PC cards.  He sent me a retro looking Kirk Gibson from the 2003 Topps set.  It is weird seeing Gibson so clean cut.  I thought he was born with a mustache.  He also sent me this shiny Shawn Green.

The Diamond King must have done a ton of collecting in the 90s.  He sent me a lot of Hideo Nomo and Mike Piazza cards from the greatest decade.  I love the 90s!  The inserts were so much more creative.  This is an awesome Piazza card.  It kind of reminds me of the cards that Denny's used to give out when you ordered a grand slam breakfast.

The Diamond King also held a contest when he first started in order to get some buzz for his blog.  I feel like I should hold a contest at the Platter.  I have an excess amount of cards that I could easily give away.  I'll try to think of a sweet idea and get a contest going.  Anyways, I won this O.J. Mayo relic from his blog.  I am not a USC Trojan fan.  I am a UCLA supporter.  I do like a Trojan that gets the school into hot water though.  Mayo got paid well for his one season as a Trojan and the NCAA wasn't happy about that.  I was happy about that though.  It gives me some verbal ammunition when chatting with Trojan fans.

Thanks for the trade.  Long live the Diamond King!!!