Unnamed Sources

During the MLB winter meetings, numerous rumors are floated around to the media.  The writers, bloggers and tweeters of the sports world discuss these rumors to the mass public.  Almost all the people that read about various rumored free agent signings and trades have no idea where these ideas came from or how factual the reporting really is.

This time of year baseball fans are yearning for some games to be played and passing the time gossiping about the latest hot stove news.  

Dodger fans have been hearing a lot of different scenarios involving additions and subtractions from their team.  Some may have some truth to them and some may be flat out false.  I have a few rumors to spread of my own that came from sources with no name.

An unnamed source told me that Matt Kemp is about to sign a contract extension with the Dodgers.  This deal is worth a reported $245 million dollars spread out over 10 years.  This new extension will make Kemp a Dodger until the year 2029.  This deal allows the Dodgers to buy out Kemp's retirement years.

Another source of mine, that will go nameless, has confirmed to me that the contract also includes a Hollywood nightclub.  Kemp will become the sole owner of a flashy nightspot.  His club, which is also currently unnamed, will also have an upstairs loft that will serve as Kemp's home away from home.

Dodger non-prospect, Pratt Maynard, is going to be traded just before opening day according to some dude that seeks minor league autographs in Ogden, Utah.  This source claims that Maynard and his .670 OPS in Single-A last year will be shipped off to the New York Mets for third baseman David Wright.  This trade will take place just before opening day after the Wilpons will have conned enough New Yorkers into buying season tickets and will then dump the huge salary of Wright to the Dodgers for a scrub minor league catcher.

Unnamed sources have given me information about possible trade rumors involving Dee Gordon.  This information was told to me by a guy who's name I have forgotten and he claims to have read these reports in an actual newspaper delivered to his home.

This source claims that Gordon may be shipped off to another team for a third baseman or a relief pitcher or maybe even a starter.  Gordon may also be just a small piece in a bigger trade involving more than 5 players.

Oh wait, this last one about Gordon may be true.  At least some parts of what I wrote may actually happen.

These cards were sent to me by the Wax Captain and he is a Rangers collector.  The Wax Captian's Dugout is a somewhat newer blog and you guys should check it out.  

Wax Captian, thanks for the cards and I will let you know soon when I am mailing out a return package.

Retail Satisfaction

During the baseball off season, card purchasing plummets for me.  When the baseball season ends, I kind of need a break from watching baseball as well as collecting cards of the sport.  My time with my collection is used mostly for organizing and getting ready for 2013 Topps.  I will be ready and prepared for that day.

I haven't bought much 2012 Topps Update, even though I have enjoyed the last two editions.  I like seeing players on fresh cardboard, featured with their new team.  This is a thought that I believed to be 100% true.  That is until I picked up a 2012 Topps Update blaster just to try and acquire the many Dodgers and inserts that I still need.

This Ichiro card doesn't bother me too much.  I already have a couple of his cards that feature him in a Yankee uniform.

Ichiro looks happy to be announced as a Yankee.  Playing in Seattle the last few years or so has had to be awful.  This Ichiro card will stay in my collection.  The Yankee-ness isn't too prevalent to annoy me.

This card here is way too Yankee for me.  I love watching Ichiro play but, that huge manupatch NY logo is just obnoxious.

Sorry, Ichiro, but this card is for trade.  Anyone that wants to trade me a Dodger manupatch or a Hall of Fame manupatch, please let me know.

This was my guaranteed fake patch in the blaster.  This isn't a bad one to pull with enough Ichiro fans out there that will be interested in this card.

Now onto cards that I pulled that will stay in my collection.  Matt Kemp baseball cards will always be welcome at the Platter.  This is a nice looking card of Matt Kemp celebrating a walk off victory.  He is also probably in a joyous mood because he knows that he will have his pick of the ladies at a Hollywood night club post game.

This card is of a golden moment that took place on April 28, 2012.  Kemp crushed a 10th inning home run to give the Dodgers a 4-3 win over the Washington Nationals.  This game is also significant because this was Kemp's 11th home run in the month of April.  This feat moved him past Gary Sheffield for most ever in the month of April by a Doyer.  Knocking Sheffield down the Dodger record books is always a good thing.

There is also one more reason why this game will be noted in the history books for.  This game marked the debut of Bryce Harper.  His first game was at Dodger Stadium with over 54,000 fans in the seats.

The pride of Sherman Oaks, Giancarlo Stanton, is in a tough position.  Stanton is a guy that the Marlins should be building around.  Did you know that Stanton had a slugging percentage of .608 last season?  Did you also know that he is only 22 and hit 37 bombs last year?

This dude is legit and should be on a team with aspirations of winning now and not retooling for the future.  It would be a shame not to see someone of Stanton's talent playing in crucial games in September and getting a chance to play in a pressure packed playoff game in October.

The baseball world will want to see Stanton with those opportunities.

Sinking Into A Bad Habit

If you are forming a poor trait, isn't one of the first steps to bettering yourself is to admit you have a problem?  You would have to notice a bad situation in order to solve it.  The bad habit that is becoming a part of you must be spoken about and solved through discussion.

So, here I am to admit a bad habit that I have acquired.  It is a terrible blogging issue.  I have become a bad trader.  I write up trade posts before I even send a return package.  I have become that guy.  The guy that waits and procrastinates about sending out trade packages.

I need to work through this.  I am sorry for the nice people of the blog world that haven't into the same habit as me and send out their trade packages in a prompt manner.

Not only am I admitting my trading problem so, I can get back into better trade practices, I am also here to show off some cardboard.  The Daily Dimwit made a trade with me and I still have some cards for him sitting on my desk.  They will go out soon.

The Daily Dimwit sent me this Matt Kemp black refractor.  I haven't seen this parallel yet.  The card isn't as shiny as some of the other refractor parallels.  This card will probably get the top left corner of a 9 pocket page.  A brighter version of this card will get the middle pocket.

Framed relics always look sweet.  The frame adds some class to a piece of fabric.  This card will also look nice to get signed.  A lot of  open space on the card surrounding the cloth.

What is Kenji Johjima up to these days?  I know I can just Google this but, I am curious to see if someone just happens to know this.  For all I know, he is the assistant to the traveling secretary for the Seattle Mariners.

Some trade packages have already been sent out.  Some will be on their way soon.  Once again, I am sorry and I promise to get better.

Platter Substitute

Over the course of many years, I have seen many different types of teachers in school.  I have had teachers that are always positive and seem motivated with a high energy level.  There have been some teachers that I have had that seem to be more babysitter types, that just hang out in the class room and coast through lectures just to get it over with.  Teachers that are burnt out and are sick of delivering the same lecture for the thousandth time.

Another type of teacher that I have encountered is the teacher whose style is of a rambler.  The lectures often veer off the point into another zone completely.  The teacher even acknowledges this problem but, still can't control it.  Each discussion can go on for several minutes at a time without the teacher mentioning anything from his outline that he just wrote on the board.

The rambler type is especially fun to have as a history teacher.  The rambler in a history class may start a class by discussing the reconstruction years post Civil War and mention such "key" Civil War figures such as Herodotus, Napolean, and Richard Nixon.  I seem to learn a little bit about every era in a history class like this.

What if a rambling history teacher wrote at the Platter?  Lets find out......

Paul Lo Duca was a pretty good catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1998-2004.  This card, here has a piece of Paul's jersey in it.  I looked at this card closely and studied it.  You can see a speck of blood from a Giant that Paul Lo Duca must have gotten on his jersey after stepping over his rival.

Oh, I almost forgot to introduce myself.  My name is Mr.Dryskell.  I am filling in for Spiegel and taking over his writing duties for the day.  I am a history teacher by trade and always wanted to try my hand at blogging since blogs were invented in 2009.  The Platter is getting to be so big time that Spiegel now can afford a substitute to write for for him as he is off getting into hot night clubs due to his blogger fame.

This card was sent to Spiegel by an individual named Night Owl.  According to my records, this Night Owl guy writes a blog and lives in New York.

Lo Duca was born in Brooklyn,New York.  He was born to be a Dodger because Brooklyn is where the Dodgers were born.

Television and radio icon Larry King became a Dodger fan during the Brooklyn years.  King claims to have been at Jackie Robinson's first game as a Dodger.  Many other folks also make this claim.  Spiegel told me he was also in attendance at this game.

Roger Kahn wrote a good book about the Brooklyn Dodgers called The Boys of Summer.  I recommend this book.

Photography must be a key component of collecting baseball cards.  I was never much into collecting baseball cards.  I do see the appeal after seeing a photo like this.  This photo is evidence of Shawn Green hitting a home run against the Giants.

The Dodgers and Giants are major rivals.  The games between these two teams are filled with passion, anger and lots of grit.

The Russians and the United States had a huge rivalry during the Cold War.  These two countries fought against spreading one another's ideals across the globe.  The race to build more missiles and the race to have the best space program was also part of the Cold War.

I really enjoy old Civil War photography.  The black and white photos that are now tinted yellow for the most part.  Color photos are okay but, I love seeing the darkness in the eyes of the subjects in old Civil War photos.

Whoa, this is too shiny.  Spiegel must have given me this one to write about because he knew it would temporarily blind me when light reflects off it.  People are pranksters at the offices of the Platter.  There are clowns all over this building.

No wonder Spiegel posts only once a week.

I remember reading a good book about clowns.......ummmmm.......I forget the name now.

I think it was written by a famous writer from the Bay Area.

No, I am way off, the book is called "It" by Stephen King.  He is from a place slightly worse than the Bay Area called Maine.

This card is much classier than that Mike Piazza catastrophe.  A Gypsy Queen card of Matt Kemp with a nice frame.  I researched Spiegel's records and found that he doesn't have many of these framed 2012 Gypsy Queen cards.  That is a shame due to the beauty of these cards.

This card is pure art.  If this was blown up into a big enough size to hang in a living room, I am sure this would be hung up in the White House.  Barack Obama is a big baseball fan.  Obama, probably is a huge Matt Kemp fan even though he pulls for the White Sox.

Night Owl sent Spiegel some very nice cards.  Maybe I can sub for him more often because he has a bunch of other stacks of cards to go through.  The Archives Department at the Platter needs to work extra hard to get through this.

Peter the Great was once the ruler of Russia.  He was a hands on type of leader that would actually help to build ships for his military.

Nickelodean used to have a show on called the Adventures of Pete and Pete.  I just remembered that.  It has nothing to do with the Russian Czar Peter though.

I got sidetracked, I am sorry.

I will end my first post with a thank you from Spiegel to the Night Owl.

High End Trade Partner

Sometimes when I make a trade with a fellow blogger, I get the feeling that the person actually reads my blog.  I know that may sound strange.  You probably just read that first statement and blurted out something like, "Hey Spiegel, if someone is trading baseball card with you, then they must know that by reading your blog.  How else would they know what to send you?"

But, there are some folks that really pay attention to my words and click on other parts of the Platter.  Some trade partners click on my haves lists or have read a post about me chasing the Topps sets of the 70s Dodgers.  That is what I mean.

One of the few readers that are known as Platter Super Fans.

I believe Nick from an awesome blog called Dime Boxes:The Low End Baseball Card Collector's Journey, is a fan of my blog.  I do think he reads my posts from time to time.  He also probably checks out what cards that I already have under my player collections.

I thank him for that effort and care in his trade packages.  Nick and I have made a few trades or so and they have all been a great return.

I totally dig this 2000 Fleer Ultra card of Eric Gagne.  His is slim, wearing a high number, and working on some sort of fielding drill.  He is almost unrecognizable to me.

The size and shape of the 2012 Topps '87 minis is preferred by me as opposed to the size of the Gypsy Queen or Ginter minis.  I just like a little more meat on my minis. You know what I'm saying?

This card features a great shot of Kemp celebrating a home run against the Giants.  Kemp is one of the best hitters in baseball and will probably hit several hundred more homers against the Giants in his career.

I should have a special section at the Platter for Hideo Nomo cards that are super shiny.  I bet Nick will read that and send me a bunch of flashy Nomo cards that he somehow finds in dime boxes.

The flair that this card has will add some class to one of my many binder pages of Nomo cards.  You can never have to much flair.

An aspect of my collection that I have been trying to build up this summer is my hall of fame collection.  Nick helped me out with that by sending me some cards with legends on them.

These Mound Dominance cards from 2012 Topps are cool looking and informational.  The card was made to honor Bob Gibson's 17 strikeout performance against the Detroit Tigers in the opening game of the 1968 World Series.  17 strikeouts in the World Series?!?!?

That dude invented beast mode back in the day.  I hope St.Louis has a statue of him outside their stadium.  I think they have a Stan Musial statue but, I am not sure about Bob Gibson.  Maybe someone in the blog world has an answer to that.

Dodger Stadium has no statues yet.  The only Dodger statue that I know of is a Johnny Podres statue that I made out of melted copper pipes.  It sits in my living room so I can pay homage to his Game 7 pitching victory in 1955.

Thanks for the trade, Nick!

Upper Class Base Cards

Some sets are released by Topps that I never open.  Sets like Topps Tribute and Topps Marquee aren't in my buying price range.  Those cards are way too classy for me.

I am cool with that though.  The upper class base cards of these sets are always available for trade.  Some card collectors are daring enough to bust open boxes or packs of these products.  Those dudes are always willing to trade some glossy finished cards with me.

2011 Topps Marquee cards are a little thicker than the usual base card.  This Sandy Koufax also has a nice gloss and glistens under some artificial light in my bedroom.

Ryan from the blog called "O" No!! Another Orioles Blog sent me a couple 2011 Topps Marquee cards.  This Koufax is my favorite of the two.  The image of Koufax striking out a chump and the Dodger Stadium crowd loving every inning of greatness is splendid.

I don't remember Topps using this image of Jackie Robinson.  This card of a legend seems fresh and modern to me.  Topps must save some random, old school Jackie images for there upper class sets.

After seeing, these two cards, it makes me tempted to seek out some other base cards from this set.  Thank you for opening my eyes to this set, Ryan.

Ryan also sent me some cards of current Dodgers.  This is a nice shade of blue for a Dodger parallel.  Topps should use this color way more often.

Whenever I get a Bowman card, I have to turn over the card to check the year of the set.  I can't tell the sets apart year after year.  Change things up, Bowman. Make your cards unique.  Make them stand out from each other.  I still won't buy packs of Bowman.  It is too prospect heavy for my tastes.

I am just trying to lookout for Bowman collectors.

Also, this card is numbered out of 500.  This Matt Kemp is a great shade of blue and has a nice serial number.  Awesome!

Kevin Youkilis is a player I kind of collect.  I don't seek out his cards too often.  He has a lot of cards out there and I willingly except them in trades.

I just flipped the Matt Kemp Blue Parallel to check the year about a minute ago.  I just did the same thing to check this Youkilis Gold Parallel.  Freaking Bowman!

This card has a really weird color of gold to it.  It has a hint of mustard.  Not a very flattering look.  This card fits into my collection nonetheless and is serial numbered out of 50.

This is a 2006 Upper Deck Kaz Matsui #1062.  Wait.  What!?!?  Card #1062?

That is a big base set.  Surprisingly, I don't see too many cards from this set.  I may not even have all the Dodgers I want from this set.  This is one of my favorite cards that Ryan sent my way.  I love how the photo shows the ball on the way to Matsui's glove. Does he make the play?

That suspense in action makes this card great.

Also, what was the opinion of collectors to have a card set of over 1000 cards like 2006 Upper Deck did?  I imagine some set collectors may have been mad.  But, some team or player collectors may have dug it.  A card set of this size would have cards of players that you normally wouldn't see in your average base set.  I enjoy getting a Doyer card of a middle reliever semi-prospect.

Thank you for the trade!

Where is Ian Kinsler?

I love getting trade packages from the bloggers I regularly trade with.  Julie from Things are Funner Here has made several trades with me.  She always sets good cards aside for me.  There are many Dodger collectors in the blog world that I have to fight with to get good cards in a trade.  Julie has my back and piles up some Dodger cardboard for me.  She probably already has a stack going for me right now.

Julie also sends me a good mix of non-Dodgers that I collect.  I am trying to ease off of Ryan Braun cards but, I am still unsure on the ruling of his appeal.  If he loses his appeal then, Braun is dead to me.  I can live with Dodger players that turned out to be cheats but, I can't live with a cheat Brewer.  But, as of right now please keep the Braun cards coming.

One of the other non-Dodgers that I collect is Ian Kinsler.  He is one of the better second baseman in baseball but, get overshadowed on his own team by Josh Hamilton, Michael Young and even a team president named Nolan Ryan.

I'd like to build up my Kinsler collection.  This card above is commemorating Kinsler's 6 for 6 day in which he hit for the cycle in 2009.  This 2010 Upper Deck card also doesn't show Kinsler on the front or back.  This card shows a Baltimore Oriole wearing the #42 on Jackie Robinson day.  The choice of photo for this card may have been the key reason for Upper Deck to leave the baseball card business.

This is an awesome Russell Martin card.  Martin had some really cool action cards when he was a Dodger.  He may still have some cool cards as a Yankee but, I don't notice him anymore.

Martin appears to be tagging out a Rockie.  If I get doubles of this card, I will be sure to send one over to the Quarry.

Julie sent me this awesome Ian Kinlser card.  Topps is showing Upper Deck how to make a baseball card that has Kinsler's name on it.  I love getting Triple Threads cards because I have never opened a pack of these before.  This one is really nice with the thick stock and the red background for the Rangers.

I got a lot of serial numbered cards from Julie in this package.  This one is one of my favorites.  It is a Triple Threads card numbered out of 525 and features the real MVP, Matt Kemp.  As far as my Dodger collections go, Kemp cards will probably surpass Andre Ethier cards soon.  Ethier may be leaving after the 2012 season to some other city that will adore him but, Kemp is going to stay in LA and beast it up for the next 8 years.  I will probably have to dedicate an entire binder for Kemp.

The Matt Kemp solo binder will be here soon at the Platter.

Thanks for getting me closer to that goal, Julie!

Funner Than A Group Break

The blog Juuust A Bit Outside recently held a card draft.  Kyle, the man in charge at Juuust A Bit Outside, had a lot of good choices to pick from.  He had hits, vintage, and some nice modern cards.  I love a good card draft!

I think that I may be more selective when joining a group break now.  A group break is always a risky gamble and most of the time I feel lie I am just throwing money away.  I am on a bad luck streak when it comes to group breaks.  You may sense my bitterness.

In a card draft, I am able to preview the items that I may choose.  In a group break, I can only hope and pray to the Cardboard Gods that I will get some sweetness.  I have a better guarantee in a card draft to pick something that fits into my collection.  Every card draft that I have joined brings me some cards that I want.

These two cards of the real MVP, Matt Kemp, fit greatly into my collection.  I get a sweet chromed out refractor serial numbered out of 660 and a Ginter SP that I have been trying to obtain.  I had my heart set on these cards before the draft and luckily I was able to scoop them up.  These cards in now in a happy Doyer home.

Also, I may take down my Ryan Braun haves list that I have on the side bar.  I may replace it with a Matt Kemp haves list.  Now that Kemp will probably be a Doyer for life, he will probably have the most cards in my collection at some point.  Braun brought too much shame to himself and his fans for me to still support him at the Platter.

When I pick well in a card draft, I usually walk away with some nice items to sell or trade.  The card shop that I go to has a lot of Lakers fans.  I am sure that I can plop this up on the bid board and get some cash added to my store credit.  This card is serial numbered out of 50 and is super shiny in person.

This was my first pick in the draft.  I knew that this card is easy trade bait or any easy sell.  I will listen to some offers for this game used card of Mariano Rivera.

Even though he is a Yankee, I still had my eyes set on obtaining this card.  Worst case scenario was selling this on a bid board for a few bucks.  Best case scenario is getting a sweet Dodger game used in return.

Come on Yankee fans make me an offer!

Some group breaks have a variety of different boxes to open.  Some only have multiple boxes of one product.  I prefer a wide variety of cards to select from.  A good host of a card draft makes sure that there is a wide range of years and sets to choose from.

I was able to build on my hall of fame collection.  I am trying to focus on getting cards of past legends from the 60s and 70s.  The 50s is a little out of my price range right now.  I am also looking to trade for some 60s and 70s cards of hall of famers.  Condition isn't too important to me right now.

This 1975 Topps mini Dave Winfield happens to be in excellent condition.  At first I thought that this was from the 2011 Topps Lineage set.  That is how good this card looks.  Are people still opening packs of 1975 Topps?

This card draft gave me good bang for my buck.  Certainly more bang for my buck as compared to some of the group breaks that I have failed in.  My card gambling money is mostly going to go towards card drafts now.

This is a 1975 Topps Tom Seaver in great condition.  The corners are good and the card is only slightly off center.  Seaver was a beast.  I have a handful of his cards from the 70s and the number keeps growing.  I seem to be stockpiling cards of some great pitchers of the 60s and 70s.  I have some Jim Palmer cards and some Bob Gibson as well.

I really have a good time in a card draft.  I enjoy seeing what others are selecting and also fighting with other Dodger collectors for the best of the bunch.  I am already in another draft at Cardboard Heaven and will be getting another solid haul of cards that I want.

Thanks for hosting, Kyle.

Wicked Ortega Delivers A Killer Package

Around a month ago I purchased a card from Wicked Ortega and I was only expecting to get a small bubble mailer with one card in it.  To my surprise, he included several cards that will fit nicely into my collection.  I have read some other blogs on how generous Wicked Ortega is and now I have experienced his kindness first hand.

This was the card that I purchased from him.  I collect cards of baseball legends.  I consider a player a legend if, he was a beast and I have never seen him play.  Harmon "Killer" Killebrew fits that criteria.  He is enshrined in Cooperstown and mashed 573 home runs.  Also, according to Baseball Reference, Killebrew was listed at 6 feet and 195 pounds.  That seems small by today's power hitters.  I have seen pictures of him as well as a replay of the 1965 World Series Game 7.  He looked a lot bigger than that.  He had arms like Popeye.  Oh yeah, that Game 7 ended with a Dodgers victory behind a Sandy Koufax shut out.

This card is a game used bat piece #ed/250.  Killebrew hit so many bombs, that I would like to think this piece of wood came from a home run bat.

I believe this was a box topper from 2007 Allen and Ginter.  This box topper features players from Japan such as Ichiro, Kei Igawa, Dice-K and Hideki Matsui.  Wicked Ortega was kind enough to put this card in a giant top loader.  This is the first box topper that I really like.  It will probably be given to my mother so she can display her Japanese pride in the living room.

I also got some shiny Andre Ethier cards!  I love chrome cards that aren't warped like the 2010 Topps Chrome set.  Chrome cards look a lot better than the base sets that they derive from.  I mean they look a lot better when they are flat just like the Bowman or Topps base set. 

Ethier is eligible for free agency after next season.  I have been preparing myself with the news that he will be a Red Sock when that time comes.  That comment may anger some Dodger fans and they may call me a pessimist.  But, the Dodger ownership situation is a complete mess thanks to the McCourts.  Frank McCourt is going to continue to fight for sole ownership of the team.  McCourt doesn't care if his actions affect the players, the fans or even Vin Scully.  I won't be mad at Ethier for leaving when that day comes.  I will be even angrier that Frank McCourt owns the team and is so selfish that he will be hurting everyone in the Dodger world.

As I was digging through the cards that Wicked Ortega sent me, I was so happy to see a 2005 Topps Chrome Black Refractor Jeff Weaver card.  This card is #ed/225!  It has been awhile since I got a super cool card of Weaver.  Thanks!!!

Matt Kemp along with Ethier is another player that is a free agent after next season.  It is going to be sad to see him go east to the Yankees.  Kemp will go to New York and become a national superstar and be shown on ESPN all the time.  Once he becomes a Yankee most of the country will forget that he was ever a Doyer.  This may seem like a doom and gloom scenario but, anyone that has been following the McCourt saga knows that this day is coming.  Please be prepared, Dodger fans.  I am bracing myself for the heartbreak now so, the pain won't be as bad.

I am going to enjoy watching Kemp and Ethier as much as I can before they leave.  Once they leave, I will ignore them because the sight of them in another uniform will be too painful.  I didn't watch Mike Piazza play too often after he was traded and I will give the same treatment to Kemp and Ethier.  I won't be mad at the players, I will just be mad at the hand the Dodgers were dealt by Bud Selig allowing Frank McCourt to get his greasy hands on my beloved team.

Thanks for the cards, Wicked Ortega.  I am excited to get in on your current group break.