Michael's Dodger Buffet

Yesterday we began to look at some of the highlights from a trade package that I recently received from Michael of Nomo's Sushi Platter. Today we move from mini-collection gems to Dodgers, Dodgers, and more Dodgers.

1993 Ted Williams Card Company Ron Cey LAD #10

Michael sent cards from three card-collecting eras. The Penguin was the anomaly as a player, coming from my childhood collecting era. But the card itself comes from the "junk wax" or "overproduction" era, which represented one grouping of cards in the package. The amazing thing about it, though, is that I needed something like 90% of the cards that he sent from this era, which would be hard to accomplish even had he some idea of what I already had.

1991 Leaf Gold Rookies Henry Rodriguez LAD #BC8
1996 Upper Deck SP Karim Garcia Premier Prospects LAD #15

Here are a couple of powerful outfielders who made their name away from Chavez Ravine. Henry Rodriguez was briefly the biggest bopper in Montreal, before the emergence of Vladimir Guerrero. Unlike Reggie Jackson, he didn't have a candy bar named after him. But fans adopted the Oh Henry! bar as a tribute to Rodriguez, throwing them on the field when he would homer. Rodriguez was also the Cubs' primary cleanup hitter in 1998, providing the protection for Sammy Sosa's drugs to work their "magic" on the record books. Garcia's career turned out to be less impressive. I remember him best for jumping into the Red Sox bullpen at Fenway to fight with a groundskeeper during the 2003 ALCS.

1996 Topps Stadium Club Chad Fonville LAD #31
1996 Pacific Brett Butler LAD #112

I couldn't tell you exactly why, but I always kinda liked Chad Fonville. He was a speedy little utility infielder type. I love this card for a number of other reasons. The elemental background, featuring the infield dirt and the green ivy of Wrigley Field, is fantastic. Also, with Hal McRae's son Brian barreling down on Fonville as he tries to turn two, it kinda reminds me of that oft-played video of Hal McRae trying to kill a young Willie Randolph of the Yankees with a take-out slide. Brett Butler, of course, was a class act (despite his time with the Giants) and one of the top players for the Dodgers in the 1990s, a decade in which they did no better than a couple of division series appearances in which they were swept. Also, I have very few Pacific cards from any year, so these are always welcome.

1996 Upper Deck Nomo Highlights Hideo Nomo LAD #2
1994 Score Mike Piazza LAD #476

Now we step into superstar territory. Nomomania was the highlight of 90s Dodger baseball for me. I've been eying this particular five-card insert set for a long time, so I'm very thankful to Michael for starting me down the path toward adding them to my collection. And then there's Piazza. Only the fact that I lived in New York for the majority of his time with the Mets helps to mitigate against the pain of the Dodgers letting him go. I usually can't stand catchers who are all-offense with little defense. So Piazza had to be a pretty special player for me to be the fan of his that I became.

2000 Donruss Gary Sheffield LAD #40
2002 Donruss Chan Ho Park LAD #91

Now we move into the next collecting era, a black hole for me (and many other collectors) that extends from about 1997-2007. During this period, I kept buying the Topps base sets (some retroactively), but that's about it. My collection is only now coming to include some of the many things that I missed at the time. Among these, turn-of-the-century Donruss issues have become a surprise favorite of mine. Except for a few odd sets, here and there, I was never much of a Donruss fan during my first collecting period. But these things are pretty sweet, particularly the backs (which I didn't scan for some reason). Nothing was worse than Donruss card backs in the 1980s. It's been many years since I've felt compelled to turn one of those things over. These, on the other hand, are the equal to anything Upper Deck has put out. I'm really looking forward to slowly accumulating cards from these sets, and these Dodgers from Michael are highly appreciated.

2003 Fleer Platinum Dave Roberts LAD #107
1999 SkyBox E-X Century Todd Hundley LAD #74

Despite what "Red Sox Nation" may think, Dave Roberts' entire career didn't consist of a single pinch-running appearance. Though I was actually surprised when I took a look at his career stats to find that he was only a Dodger for two and a half years. I had also forgotten that the Dodgers not only acquired Todd Hundley, but brought him back after he'd left to play for the Cubs. Not the brightest moment for the LA front office. Then again, the franchise wasn't exactly firing on all cylinders at this time. Sweet card, though. A first for me. I dig the way the name plate casts a shadow through the translucent plastic on the scan.

2000 Topps Gold Label Class 2 Kevin Brown LAD #12
2003 Fleer Showcase Hideo Nomo LAD #6

The surly Mr. Brown here is my first sample of Topps Gold Label. Nice cards. The turn of the century seems to have been awash in high-end multiple parallel sets. When I start to think that Topps has gotten a little too cute about that these days, I can remember that it's apparently nothing new. Although I dropped out a bit before this time, I hear that the never-ending chase aspect of collecting in this period drove some people away. Unlike with Hundley, the return of Hideo Nomo after a few vagabond years was more than welcome.

2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces James Loney LAD #44
2008 Upper Deck Spectrum Takashi Saito LAD #50

Now we arrive at the third and final collecting era that Michael treated me to: the "Resurgence Era," as I just now decided to call it. By this I mean from about the time I began to be exited about cards again up to the present. It's a little weird to think of James Loney and Takashi Saito as representative of my team's past. Time moves by way too quickly, and there's nothing like baseball to remind you of that fact. I was happy for Loney's success in Tampa Bay. I always really liked him, and considered him every bit the equal of Ethier and Kemp as the Dodgers began to return to their winning ways.

2007 Topps Co-Signers Andre Ethier LAD #32

Speaking of Ethier, I'll end this post with one of the more puzzling cards I've seen. I can understand a negative getting reversed, or Topps simply getting a Photoshopped uniform number wrong. But what the heck is going on here!? Maybe Ethier wore 61 in spring training? But there he is on the back of the card, in the same picture, wearing his familiar #16. Don't get it. Just plain weird. Any ideas, anyone?

I only showed a few cards here from the "Resurgence Era" because I want to save the rest for my final post about Michael's generous trade package. There's an excellent chance that I saved the best for last, though frankly it's all the best to me. Thanks again, Michael!

Extra Innings (Gotta Love 'Em)

As I explained when I launched this site in early July, the blog's name is an homage to my Grandmother, who raised me, and who used to exasperate me as a kid by insisting on calling my serious collecting activities, "playing with my cards." My Grandmother is now 87 years old. After a couple of falls and hip surgery, she's been in a care home for about two years now. I visit her every morning before work, every night after work, and for what we call "play days" on my days off. We play cards and go for walks (me pushing her in her wheelchair) when the weather is good. She insists on buying me baseball cards when we find ourselves at Rite Aid or the dollar store. I sort baseball cards while she plays bingo. Simply put, she's awesome and I love her very much.

Given her age, I feel very grateful for the amount of time that I've been able to enjoy her presence in my life. Last week (on what proved to be the final day of baseball for the 2013 season, in fact) it looked like my time with her was about to come to an end. At least that's what the doctors kept telling me. She had a heart attack about ten years ago, and her heart function has been in steady decline since. Last week she developed pneumonia and went into the hospital, where the doctors told me to prepare for the worst.

Knowing her the way I do, I probably should have known that the doctors had no idea what they were talking about. There's never been any slowing her down. Less than a week after I thought I was watching her final fitful breaths in the ER, she's already back at her care home, refusing to be put into bed to rest because she doesn't want to miss bingo, or flower arranging, or getting her nails done.

Things looked pretty dire over the weekend, though. My stress levels were high. I wasn't sure it was possible, but I'd hoped to find a temporary diversion to take my mind off of things. You can guess where I turned. But I'm not sure I would have been able to really enjoy the diversion were it not for a package I'd received from Michael of Nomo's Sushi Platter. He'd sent me an email a couple of weeks back, asking if I'd be interested in a trade. Naturally, I was all for it, but with everything going on it had slipped to the back of my mind. By the time I'd gone through everything that Michael had sent, said mind was officially blown. He went the extra mile.

2013 Topps Gold A.J. Ellis (w/ Clayton Kershaw) LAD #314 (1677/2013)

This might be my favorite of the cards that he sent. But it might not. There were so many fabulous finds. I'm going to divide my presentation of this package into three posts. This first shows some of the great mini-collection cards that Michael managed to hit me with.

I have the base version of this card, but the gold is sweet. And I didn't really appreciate how great the card was until I received this one from Michael. Part of the reason is that I've always considered this kind of star cameo to be a bit tacky. But this one is different (at least to me). It features my two favorite active players. And, rather than taking the spotlight off of Ellis, I think it highlights his importance to Kershaw's and to his team's success. On top of that, I hadn't really realized until I received this card that it's an excellent "Rubbing Up the Ball" variation of a Getting a Grip card.

1998 Score Ramon Martinez LAD #140
2001 Upper Deck Prospect Premieres Kole Strayhorn LAD #35

Speaking of Getting a Grip, here we have Pedro's older brother, the Dodger ace between Hershiser and Nomo. Then we get a kid who never quite made it to The Show. I really dig 'em both. There were lots of Dodgers in the package, mini-collection hits and otherwise. We'll see a large selection of them in Part II. Michael even sent two cards that will be inducted into the most important collection I have: Playing With My Dodgers. So look forward to those in the near future, as well.

1998 Topps Larry Rodriguez/John Patterson ARI #253

I love this card because it's a combo that includes both Getting a Grip and an example of what is likely to be the next mini-collection that I commit to: "Balls in the Air."

In all, Michael managed to expand the Getting a Grip collection by a whopping eight cards. He may have thought that number would be eleven. And he may not have. Whether or not he had intended to challenge the parameters of the collection, he did. And that's just plain fun. Two cards featured players gripping a ball, but didn't qualify for the collection because they featured position players, not pitchers. Then there's this one:

1991 Upper Deck Bruce Hurst SDP #602

To qualify for the collection, the pitcher must be holding the ball in a pitching grip, not simply holding a ball. Not a Grip, but Michael paid attention to my affinity for veteran pitchers, so I dig it just the same.

1990 Bowman Joe Magrane STL #183
1993 Upper Deck George Brett KCR #56

He didn't ignore the other mini-collections, either, contributing three Turtlenecks and four Doughnuts. These cards do double duty in the realm of catering to my tastes. Magrane is another thinking man's pitcher. And Michael probably paid attention to the fact that I was there for Brett's 3000th hit.

Believe me, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Michael put a great deal of thought into the cards that he sent me. So much so, that I'm going to have a nearly impossible time coming up with an appropriate package to send to him in return. But I'm sure gonna enjoy trying.

Early Bird's Night Owl Haul: Pack #14

What's this? Find out here.

We'll start out with a little tribute to the NL Champion St. Louis Cardinals, as we continue with the post-season healing process.

1977 Topps Jerry White MON #557
1977 Topps Gary Lavelle SFG #423
1977 Topps Bob Forsch STL #381

Just chillin' in spring training, feeling the Florida wind blow through his feathered hair and keeping an eye on his pea-soup-colored station wagon out in the parking lot. Good times.

1977 Topps Larry Herndon SFG #397
1977 Topps Al Hrabosky STL #495

Ten things that make The Mad Hungarian mad:

• Ted Simmons hasn't given him any "Simmons Stars" for his striped cap.
• Bob Forsch's lame station wagon is parked next to his Harley.
• Bill Greif has been giving him grief.
• Has no idea how to say manager Red Schoendienst's name.
• Manager Red Schoendienst has no idea how to say Hrabosky's name.
• Pete Falcone's pet falcon keeps crapping on his hat.
• Disappointed that teammate Mike Wallace can't get him a spot on 60 Minutes.
• Can't stand the smell of sweaty socks drying in Bake McBride's Easy-Bake Oven.
• Keith Hernandez won't share his stash (and I don't mean lip hair).
• Don Kessinger won't take down nude portrait of himself hanging in the locker room.

1977 Topps Clay Carroll CHW #497
1977 Topps Jack Billingham CIN #512
1977 Topps Larvell Blanks CLE #441
1977 Topps Dave Cash MON #649

It looks like Dave Cash has a headache. Maybe it's because the sun is in his eyes. Or maybe it's the airbrush paint fumes from when Topps decorated him with a cap made of Play-Doh and some powder blue silk pajamas. Or maybe his afro is wound a bit tight? Actually, I think it's probably thanks to the wiseguy who decided to use his hat to make some Jiffy Pop.


Look out...!


That thing's gonna blow at any moment!


In fact...

Yup, that was it, all right.

Popcorn, anyone?

(I learned a little something from the Nachos Grande Blogger Bracket Challenge that I recently competed in. People tend to enjoy pictures more than words. Look out next year! As for 2013, good luck to all of the remaining contestants. And thanks for the fun contest, Chris!)

1977 Topps Jason Thompson DET #291

Speaking of pictures, it's 'toon time. There's a reference to Pete Reiser on the Mad Hungarian's card, which is always welcome. But I've got to go with the back of Jerry White's card for one of my favorite facts (not to mention a Getting a Grip cartoon!):

I think they might have gotten the year wrong, though. From what I've been able to determine, it was actually 1944-1945 when Washington boasted four knuckleballers in their rotation: Dutch Leonard, Roger Wolff, Mickey Haefner and Johnny Niggeling. That must have been a team that hitters loved to face in a series...

Bullpen Time Machine

The 1939 New York Giants finished with a 77-74 (.510) record, good for fifth place in the eight-team National League, 18.5 games behind the pennant-winning Cincinnati Reds. So they weren't playing particularly meaningful ball over the final two months of the season. Yet, play ball they did.

On August 1, the Giants played ten innings in Cincinnati. Three days later, it was eleven innings in Pittsburgh. And they played another eleven-inning game against Boston when they returned home to the Polo Grounds.

Okay. Big deal, right?

The series in Pittsburgh ended with a double header, and the Boston series started with a twin bill. Next up, the Phillies came to town. That series ended with a double header. By the middle of September, the Giants had done double duty seven times since the beginning of August.

Tough. But still reasonable. Until...

September 13, at Pittsburgh: Double Header
September 14, at Cincinnati: Double Header
September 15, at Cincinnati: Double Header
September 17, at St. Louis: Double Header
September 18, at St. Louis: Double Header
September 24, vs. Boston: Double Header
September 26, vs. Brooklyn: Double Header
September 28, at Philadelphia: Double Header

The Giants rotation included future Hall of Famer Carl Hubbell, two-time all-star Hal Schumacher, former 20-game winner Cliff Melton, and promising youngster Bill Lohrman. But the workhorse of the staff was 29-year-old Harry Gumbert.

In 1939, Gumbert started on three days of rest eight times. He started on two days of rest seven times (or so the records say). He even started the first and third games of an August three-game series in Brooklyn, with just a single day of rest in between.

Naturally, it fell to Gumbert to take the hill on the final day of the season, October 1, in Boston against Casey Stengel's Bees. But Gumbert's arm was toast. In fact, not a single Giants pitcher could raise their arm above their head that day, let alone pitch in a big-league ballgame. Manager Bill Terry was in a real bind.

Let's fast-forward 54 years by flipping the digits, from '39 to '93. The Giants now call San Francisco home. And, unlike their counterparts, they are playing fantastic baseball. They already have 101 wins with three games left in the season going into their October 1 matchup against the rival Dodgers in Los Angeles. But they aren't running away with a division title. In fact, the Atlanta Braves have matched their record to this point and the Giants find themselves in a real dogfight.

They have the right guy on the mound for them on this Friday night at Chavez Ravine in 21-game winner John Burkett. Or so manager Dusty Baker thought. Times are different. The Giants only double header of the season came and went on June 1. Burkett hasn't made any starts on two days rest. In fact his last start was the first time he'd gone on just three days of rest, which is what he will have going into this game. But, like I said, times are different. And even this workload has taken its toll. Moments before game time, Burkett informs Baker that he can't go. There's nothing left in the tank.

This is where it really gets interesting...

Fortunately for the Giants, 80-year-old Manny Salvo was at Dodger Stadium that night. The California native was one of those tired-armed pitchers for the '39 Giants. As a 27-year-old rookie, Salvo had gone just 4-10, and was not used again after taking the loss in the first game of their September 15 double header at Cincinnati. Most people thought that Salvo got his nickname of "Gyp" (for Gypsy) because of his itinerant baseball career. Not so.

It turns out that Salvo was of Romani descent. In other words, a real Gypsy. Not only that, he was the son of a powerful Chovano (sorcerer). Remembering that October 1, 1939, when his manager Bill Terry was forced to forfeit his team's final game of the year in Boston, and watching Dusty Baker scramble to come up with a starter for this crucial October 1, 1993, matchup with the Dodgers, Salvo set to work...

I don't know exactly how he did it. Salvo passed away three and a half years later, having told no one of what he had done that day... no one but me. I had met Manny at Dodger Stadium in September of 1996, having enjoyed a really nice conversation with him when I found myself in the seat next to his on a Tuesday night game against the Giants. (I think the Dodgers won behind Ramon Martinez, but I'm not sure.) We exchanged numbers that night, and I was pleased when he called me in early February of '97 and invited me to his home in Vallejo for lunch. What he told me that day shocked me.

Manny "Gyp" Salvo claimed that he was able, on the night of October 1, 1993, to somehow "exchange" Harry Gumbert for John Burkett for that day, healing their tired arms in the process. He says that's why "Gumbert" was able to pitch a complete-game four-hit shutout to beat Boston 5-0 on two days of rest to end the 1939 season for the Giants. And that's why "Burkett" was able to tell Dusty Baker that he could take the mound on the night of October 1, 1993, to win his 22nd game of the year and help the Giants keep pace with the Braves.

There were so many questions that I wanted to ask. How had he done it? Couldn't he have simply healed Burkett's arm without "switching" him for Gumbert. How is it that nobody, including Burkett, knows or remembers anything about what happened? Why hadn't he done the same for Solomon Torres two days later? But Manny, whose health was failing, was too tired to continue. We made plans to meet again later in the month, but he passed away shortly thereafter. It was a fascinating story. You can look up the game info, and the information about Salvo, such as it is, and it will all match up. But, naturally, I could never bring myself to fully believe the story. Until I saw this...

If only Manny Salvo were still with us. There's a certain Don Newcombe (1956) for Clayton Kershaw (2013) switch I'd like to try out...

I have to fess up. I made up one or two of the details in this story. But it was for a good cause: an attempt to win a contest! This is my Round One entry in Chris' 2013 Blogger Bracket Challenge at Nachos Grande. Do yourself a favor and hop on over there this weekend to read all of the great entries and cast your votes. A good time is guaranteed for all.

Have a happy and safe Halloween, everyone.

Banks on It (Castro, Too)

Remember that redemption card that I pulled out of a pack of 2012 Topps Heritage last month? It turned into this much better looking piece of cardboard:

2012 Topps Heritage Real One Dual Autograph Ernie Banks/Starlin Castro CHC #RODA-BC (17/25)

Nice. So far, I'm deviating from my standard practice and keeping it in its toploader, rather than throwing it into the scrum with the rest o' the cards. It's perdy. I really like the retro design for this. Better than a bunch of foil and stickers and refraction and whatnot.

One of the fun things about getting this card is that I have the matching base cards to make for a nice little group of happy Cubbie cardboard.

1963 Topps Ernie Banks CHC #380
2012 Topps Heritage Starlin Castro CHC #193

I like that they used the same photos. Nice touch. Naturally, I'd prefer this to be a Koufax/Kershaw Dodger fest, but I'm not complaining. Let the investor types worry about what it's all worth. Doesn't matter to me. This was just plain fun to get, and that's all the value that I'm looking to get out of it.

Looks Like We Got Us a World Serious

It didn't look good after game one.

The last two times we were "treated" to the Red Sox in the World Series, the Fall Classic became the ultimate anticlimax. The previous Sox-Cardinals matchup, in 2004? The Series was over before we'd even had a chance to catch our breath following their stunning comeback in the ALCS against the Yankees. And remember that masterpiece against the Rockies in '07? Remember anything about that series at all? Did you forget that the Rockies ever made it to a World Series until I just reminded you? I wouldn't blame you.

It didn't look like 2013 was gonna be much better after game one's snooze-fest.

But give credit to St. Louis (and to anyone in a Red Sox uniform trying to throw from home to third). The Cards haven't allowed Beards to have the same power as Idiots or Bloody Socks. And now we really have a Series, or as my Grandpa always liked to call it, the World Serious. When your team isn't part of the action, all you can ask for is entertaining games and a competitive series. And it looks like we're gonna get that. We've finally got a piece of the pie.

Considering how close we are to the end of meaningful baseball for five months, we should be thankful for it. Even with the unfortunate lack of Dodger Blue on display.

No boring Rex Sox sweep this time. It's good to be "movin' on up." Did I say Serious?

A couple of questions. (Almost certainly rhetorical, given the state of this blog's readership, but I'll ask 'em anyway.)

Why is the play that ended game three being called a "controversial call that will be debated for years to come?" The call was obviously correct from the moment it was made, and none of the constant analysis that we've been subjected to all night and all morning has done anything to change that. Bizzare? Incredible? Frustrating (to Sox fans)? Miraculous (to Cards fans)? Unforgettable? Yes. Controversial? No.

With just two-to-four games left in his Hall-of-Fame-recognized career as a broadcast analyst, I have to ask why there has been so much hatred of Tim McCarver, or at least of the job he has done in that capacity over the years? I can see why he may not be everyone's cup of tea. He certainly has his head-scratcher moments, at times. But I like him. Always have. He certainly doesn't fall short in the category of first-hand knowledge of the game, whether you agree with what he has to say or not. And it's clear that he's passionate about the game we love, and isn't afraid to express his sentiments about it.

Does anyone still think American League rules produce a game anywhere near as exciting as a game played under baseball rules (aka, National League rules)? The designated hitter is great... in the All-Star game. That's about it. But I have a very real fear that the DH will be adopted league-wide in my lifetime, which would be like installing Astroturf in every big-league park, or banning hot dog sales at games. Please don't. Pretty please.

Besides, with the DH in play, rookie pitchers could no longer joyously proclaim "Now we're up in the big leagues, gettin' our turn at bat."

Last question:  Who's got the smaller strike zone, George Jefferson or Ken Rosenthal?

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've gotta get in the kitchen, fry up some fish, keep my beans from burning on the grill, and get ready for game four.

[Edit: As Gavin of Baseball Card Breakdown points out, I managed to confuse Esther Rolle (Big Papita?) of Good Times with Isabel Sanford of The Jeffersons. So, I guess this post ain't as DY-NO-MITE as I'd hoped it would be.]

I Was There: The Aaron Boone Game

This is Part VI of a series (and a contest) that was introduced here.

2003 ALCS Game #7, Boston Red Sox @ New York Yankees, Yankee Stadium, 10/16/2003: The Aaron Boone Game

It looked like we were going to see the World Series that broke a famous curse. Either the Cubs were going to win their first championship since 1908, or the Red Sox were going to get Yankee Stadium crowds to stop chanting "1918," the year of their last taste of the title. But Babe Ruth and a billy goat proved too strong to submit to the will of the majority of baseball fandom in 2003. (Who knew that the goat would prove to be stronger than the Bambino? Answer: Cubs fans.)

Steve Bartman, Mark Prior, and one of the Alex Gonzalezes had already done their thing, and the Marlins put the nail in the Cubs coffin the night before. It was time for another game seven, and another opportunity for a curse to reassert its power. Fortunately for me, although it may not have been with the Cubs or the Red Sox, luck was squarely on my side.

It all started on a dreary late-September day at Yankee Stadium. I'm not sure what day it was. The game I'd gone to was meaningless. The Yanks had already clinched the division title. But they were playing and I had the day off, so I went. I don't remember if there was a rain delay, or if I was just kinda bored, but I found myself wandering around the stadium. I'm not sure why I hadn't even considered trying to get tickets for the post season. I guess I figured they'd all be sold out in a matter of minutes and it wasn't worth the hassle. But when I came upon an advance ticket sales window with nobody in line, I figured, what the heck, it can't hurt to ask.

As I'd expected, there were no longer tickets available for the Division Series. World Series tickets weren't on sale yet. Nothing was available for games one or two of a potential Championship Series either. But there were a few left for a game six or seven. So I picked up two tickets for a potential game seven, high above third base in the upper deck, and figured that there wasn't much chance that I'd get the opportunity to use them.

But the Yanks beat the Twins in the Division Series and lined up to face Boston in the ALCS. With the Bombers leading the series, three games to two, I was conflicted about game six. By this time I was an unlikely Yankee fan. I didn't want to see them lose to the friggin' Red Sox. But I sure wanted to go to a game seven. In the end, I got what I wished for.

Cathy, my wife-to-be, was also a Yankee fan. In fact, she was a new baseball fan. She'd only arrived in the U.S. from the Philippines about a year before, with no interest in the game whatsoever. But by the time I'd secured these tickets she was already sporting her Hideki Matsui jersey and ready to cheer her team to victory that night.

I won't rehash the game in detail, because you almost certainly know all about it. Grady Little decides to stick with a tiring Pedro Martinez, and the Yanks rally. Cathy gets to see her favorite player slide across the plate with the tying run in the eighth inning and leap into the air in celebration. Mariano Rivera tosses three scoreless innings...

And by this time, I have to report, my Cathy, the new baseball fan, has run out of steam. It's cold. She's tired. It's been exciting, but she wants to go home. I have to inform her, politely but firmly, that there's not a chance in hell that we're leaving game seven of the Championship Series before it's over, even if it goes 247 innings and lasts another week and a half.

Fortunately, on the first pitch of the eleventh inning, Aaron Boone sends us all home happy.

We've got a real barn-burner in the Surreal Seven contest. Here's the leaderboard as it stands at the end of game six:

SURREAL SEVEN STANDINGS	Correct Guesses	Difficulty Points
Al Kawamoto	2	5
Bo @ Baseball Cards Come to Life!	2	3
Nick @ Dime Boxes	0	0
Marcus @ All the Way to the Backstop	0	0

With one game left, Bo has pulled even with Al, though Al currently holds the tie-breaker on difficulty points. Can Nick or Marcus make a miraculous comeback? (Well, no, actually. That would be impossible.) Can Bo overtake Al at the last moment? Or does Al Kawamoto, mysterious hockey fan, hold on to his lead to take the (long-awaited) prize? Stay tuned.