2x3 = More Than You Could Possibly Imagine

I'm just rolling with the punches. In fact, I'm punch drunk. What am I talking about? (Always a reasonable question around these parts.) A couple of days ago I noted how I'm often beaten to the punch by you ambitious bloggers out there who are on the ball in a way that I'm unlikely to ever be. Well, it's been happening again, as I read post after (well-deserved) post, thanking Jeff over at 2x3 Heroes for the awesome 'Tis the Season packages that he recently sent out. Well, here's my thanks, with a tagline that's suitable for all occasions around this blog: "Better late than never."

2011 Topps Lineage Jackie Robinson BRO #42

I'm punch drunk because I'll never cease to be amazed by the generosity of some bloggers. Having signed up early in my young blogging career for Jeff's Club PWE, this wasn't the first time that I'd received cards from the man. But I was not at all prepared for this. Jeff sent a mess of cards. A plethora. Enough to build a small family dwelling.

He sent cool parallels...

2011 Topps All-Black Rafael Furcal LAD #441
2012 Topps Gold Sparkle Ted Lilly LAD #122
1994 Upper Deck Electric Diamond Jose Offerman LAD #236

...aesthetically pleasing cards...

2000 Upper Deck MVP Eric Gagne LAD #67
1995 Upper Deck Collector's Choice Chan Ho Park LAD #232
2007 Upper Deck First Edition Wilson Betemit LAD #227

and a mini-collection hit!

2006 Upper Deck Odalis Perez LAD #250

But this next one really dials up the ol' Randometer...

1992 Front Row Draft Picks Steve Montgomery Pepperdine University #87

...in that the dude has nothing to do with the Dodgers. His Pepperdine uni just looks vaguely similar from afar. But since Random is one of my middle names, I really dig it. Especially since this set includes awesome little league pictures on the back. How many of you have pictures like that, and wished at the time that you'd end up on a baseball card? I know I did.

Back to the Dodgers, though. Jeff sent Dodgers from when I was in college (the first time)...

1990 Fleer Mike Scioscia LAD #407
1995 Topps Stadium Club Todd Worrell LAD #53

...from when I was in New York, sadly ignoring my Dodgers...

2001 Topps Chan Ho Park LAD #424
2005 Donruss Team Heroes Kazuhisa Ishii LAD #164

...from when I was in college (the third time)...

2005 Topps Opening Day Steve Finley LAD #112
2009 Topps Ticket to Stardom Manny Ramirez LAD #19

...and, of course, current (or I wish were current) Dodgers.

2009 Upper Deck Hiroki Kuroda LAD #716
2009 Upper Deck Icons Chad Billingsley LAD #19

If this part of the package had been Kool-Aid, it would have been raspberry, and my tongue would have been blue for a week! It was that sweet.

2012 Topps Heritage Andre Ethier LAD #123
2013 Bowman Chrome Adrian Gonzalez LAD #101

But wait, there's more! The Dodgers made up only half of Jeff's package. Remember that period of time that I said I spent ignoring my Dodgers? Well, I was still paying attention to baseball. And Jeff sent a good strong dose of nostalgia from that part of my life, as well. Stay tuned for the continental shift tomorrow.

And thank you, Jeff! You may not have ended up on a 2x3 piece of cardboard yourself, but you're a hero nonetheless.