Marlins Catch: Pack #3

What's this? Find out here.

Returning, more or less, to our regularly-scheduled programming, it's time again to take a look at highlights from another "pack" of Marlins that were caught and released by Kerry from Cards on Cards. This package was all about recent Topps product.

Opening Day 2011 looks a lot different than September 2013, which is great from a Dodgers fan perspective...

2011 Topps Opening Day Rickey Nolasco FLA #211
2011 Topps Opening Day Hanley Ramirez FLA #8

From clean and legible, though slightly dull and with a huge logo that draws away too much attention, to glossy and shiny and (unlike many years) only slightly less legible '11 flagship cards. In this case it's the end of the line for a couple of stars. Not superstars. But stars, nonetheless.

2012 Topps Javier Vazquez FLA #458
2012 Topps Update Mike Cameron FLA #US141

Vazquez was a double-digit winner in each of the final twelve years of his big-league career, finishing with over 2,500 strikeouts. Cameron, seen here doing what he did best, with verdant midsummer Wrigley ivy as a backdrop, was a three-time Gold Glove Award winner, a man who was traded for Ken Griffey, Jr., and smasher of four home runs in a single game. With a player like Mariano Rivera, you get a season-long goodbye. With solid players like these two, you just look up a year or two later and notice that there aren't any new baseball cards of them. The old cardboard bestows an opportunity for deserved remembrance.

Sometimes, however, it's simply all about the aesthetics.

2012 Topps Update Michael Dunn FLA #US215

Why were there so many years when Topps limited itself to base cards of a vertical orientation? I'm glad they seem to have gotten over this unnecessary challenge to artistic excellence.

2009 Topps Cameron Maybin FLA #398

But here's a pretty sweet vertical card, too (complete illegibility of the player's name notwithstanding). The future Padre uses two hands to (presumably) complete his running catch on a fine spring day, neatly framed by the warning track and post of the chain-link outfield fence. A card this warm will soon draw envy from those of us in areas prone to the occasional snow flurry as the days grow shorter. But for now, bring on the autumn chill, because we all know what that means...

...though certainly not for the Marlins this year.

I haven't been sharing the blog love much lately, being all Random and in flux around here, so let's take a moment to give a shout out (the kids don't say that anymore, do they?) to a couple o' new kids on the blog.

First of all (and I probably should have mentioned this earlier because the break is about to close), Chris over at View from the Skybox has a pretty sweet 2012 Panini Prizm group break going on, so pop over there quick to see if there's a team you like still available.

Baseball Card Breakdown is a spiffy new blog, and they're currently trying to give away some cards, including one that's had the pleasure of sitting on a pizza. (You'll just have to go check it out.)

And finally, here's a plug for The Chronicles of Fuji, which looks to be a really fun read. It's a selfish plug, because it's gonna get me more entries in his current contest, but it's a quality blog so I can endorse with integrity. Go check it out.

Marlins Catch: Pack #2

What's this? Find out here.

Saturday night was Marlins night (thanks again to Kerry from Cards on Cards). It's time again to see if one man's trash is another man's treasure. (Spoiler alert: if it's baseball cards, it's treasure). Let's play...

2006 Topps Florida Marlins #605

2006 Topps Update Anibal Sanchez FLA #UH142
2007 Bowman Anibal Sanchez FLA #111

This second pack of cards started off with an avalanche of Anibals. He's good, so he's no longer in Miami. I had half expected the Dodgers to sign Sanchez when he was a free agent this off season. But we did track down another pitcher who was too good to remain in Florida when we traded for Ricky Nolasco. Maybe there will be some cards of Ricky in the next pack.

Marlins, Marlins, Marlins... Reds?

1989 Topps Rob Murphy CIN #446

Rob Murphy finished his career with the Marlins, appearing in eight games at the tail end of the 1995 season (after being released by the Dodgers, incidentally). I prefer to think that that has nothing to do with this card being here, though. I'm going with the theory that it was an accident. That way I can dream of finding an accidental Koufax or something like that in a later pack. Of course, I'd tell Kerry about it first, in case he wanted his Koufax back. Any chance you want your Murphy back, Kerry?

2005 Upper Deck Update A.J. Burnett FLA #1

As I've mentioned, except for buying the Topps factory sets, I was essentially oblivious to what was going on with baseball cards from the late '90s until about 2007. So I'm seeing a lot of these card designs for the first time. These UD Updates are awesome. Not because they look great, or anything, but because they give us a snapshot of the culture of its time, showing us the "hot technology" of the day. In 2013, having a handheld device that's more powerful than the average home computer is as common as wearing underwear. Though I'm not on that bandwagon myself. (The handheld thing, that is. I am wearing underwear. Because that's something you want to know about, right...? Geeze, back to baseball cards!) Anyway, like the old '55 Bowmans, with their snappy new "Color TV" borders, these things capture a moment in time. I like that.

2005 Upper Deck Pros & Prospects Josh Beckett FLA #5

One of the biggest bummers about this whole Marlins thing is that it seems like all of the best-looking cards belong to this jerk. I haven't missed him at all during his DL stint this season. I kinda wish we hadn't just designated Ted Lilly for assignment. That just means the Dodgers are one step closer to possibly needing to lean on Beckett, who is not as svelte and talented as the dude you see here with the flowing locks.

Let's end this fishing expedition with a Jekyll & Hyde look at a couple of '05 Donruss products.

2005 Donruss Zenith Luis Castillo FLA #88
2005 Donruss Diamond Kings Ivan Rodriguez FLA #425

That Zenith crap is easily one of the worst designs a ballplayer's image has subjected to. It almost hurts to look at that thing. One the other hand, this Diamond King set is beautiful. A little research shows that they got out of hand with the parallels in this set, but that's pretty much common procedure these days. Really sweet lookin' cards.

Thanks again, Kerry. These fish don't stink to me!

Marlins Catch: Pack #1

I was in for yet another great surprise on Saturday night. As I was preparing to go into lockdown for Card Night, my daughter, Kara, brought me a large bubble mailer that I'd apparently received earlier in the day. I hadn't ordered anything. I didn't think I was expecting a package this big from anyone. Frankly, I was a little dumbfounded as I opened the package and found eleven plastic-wrapped bricks, encircled by blue tape, each containing about 30-50 cards. Had someone I didn't even know just send me the granddaddy of card bombs? I honestly had no idea what I was looking at. Until this fell out of the package...

2009 A&A/MLBP MLB Baseball Stickers Florida Marlins #11

Then the sluggish synapses in my brain began to fire. A few weeks ago, Kerry from Cards on Cards had offered up his surplus of Marlins cards, thinking that nobody would want them. He apparently hadn't figured on someone like me stumbling by! If it's a baseball card, I want it. So, if anyone else out there is looking to simply get rid of anything, by all means, get in touch with me!

You can see Kerry's thinking, of course. I mean, do the Florida... now Miami Marlins actually have any fans? Or do they, like their good players, simply disappear immediately following their sporadic successes? Why would anyone want these cards?

Well, they're baseball cards, and that's good enough for me, being a completist and a pack rat. But when I opened the first package on Saturday, consisting of about 36 cards, I realized that even Marlins cards can be fun, too. Let's play...

2005 Topps Opening Day Paul Lo Duca FLA #104

This was the first of a short stack of '05 Opening Day cards, and it took me several seconds to register that it wasn't actually a Dodgers card. These were the first cards I'd ever seen from this set, and the blue foil fooled me. Seeing a Lo Duca card makes me a little sad, though. There have been very few "fallen heroes" for me in the whole steroids fiasco. I never much cared for the big men (literally and figuratively) on the list, such as Bonds, McGwire, A-Rod, Sosa, Clemens, etc. Even Eric Gagne, as exciting as his accomplishments as a Dodger were, never really captured the kind of respect that develops into admiration from me. But Lo Duca did. I liked him from the start because he played hard. And, like Mike Piazza, his career path took him away from my Dodgers, but eventually to New York to play for the Mets while I was living in the Big Apple. I started to get the sense that something was wrong one day when he blew up at an umpire after a play at the plate and really overreacted, veins popping from his neck. Shortly thereafter came the news that his name was in the Mitchell Report. Big-time bummer.

2005 Topps Creacker Jack Al Leiter FLA #66

I'm a big Leiter fan from my NY days. Enjoy him on MLB Network, too, even though he can get his motormouth running a bit too fast sometimes. This is a nice-looking card. I really appreciate getting just about anything from around 1997-2007 because I have very little other than the Topps base sets from that era.

2005 Donruss Leaf Josh Beckett FLA #80

Speaking of which, here's a really great looking card from what looks to be a nice year for Leaf. Even though Beckett has joined the Dodgers family, I still can't make myself like the guy, though I certainly respect his accomplishments. He broke my wife's heart, beating her Yankees in 2003, her first year as a baseball fan. Plus he seems like a real prima donna.

2003 Fleer Ultra A.J. Burnett FLA #138

My respect for Burnett has grown since he left New York for Pittsburgh. By all accounts, he's been a really positive veteran presence on the Pirates roster. I'm really hoping that team holds on this year, with not just a winning record (finally) but a playoff berth. By the way, if (when) I do a post about card designs that I should probably hate, but can't help but love, it looks like '03 Fleer Ultra has a real shot at making the list. Having lived through the Y2K, cyber matrix era, I can tell you that these cards do a heck of a job of capturing the moment.

1995 Topps Stadium Club Jesus Tavarez MLB Debut FLA #379

AHHHHHH! Sorry, but Jesus Tavarez just scared the crap out of me! It's not his fault. Closeups are nice, but Topps went a bit too far with this one. Back off, man! I feel like he's peeking through my bathroom window or something. And what's he planning to do with that bat!? I'm calling 911...

2011 Topps Chrome Mike Stanton FLA #85

Kerry didn't weed out the big fish, as evidenced by this shiny pre-Giancarlo Stanton.

2004 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Josh Beckett FLA #48

Here's another example of something I would probably hate if you just described it to me. But, actually looking at it, I can't help but love the thing.

1995 Score Pinnacle Chuck Carr FLA #30
1995 Score Pinnacle Kurt Miller Rookie FLA #161

There were no cards that I spent more time staring at, though, than this pair of '95 Pinnacles. Man, those uniforms are awesome, in that so crazy-bad they're cool kinda way, originally perfected at the MLB level in the late '70s/early '80s. And check out the leg kick on little Chucky Carr. Might be a clue why the dude didn't get on base enough to make his speed work to full advantage, eh?

This was just some of the fun I had opening up only one of eleven little packages of Marlins cards. Who knew? I'll make it a Saturday night tradition until I've gone through them all. I'm also using the spiffy blue tape Kerry wrapped things in to add additional racing stripes to one of the shoe boxes I keep unopened cards in. Dorky, I know. But I'm a card nerd like that. It will help me remember the time I caught a big Marlin (card haul). And I really appreciate Kerry's generosity in feeding the habit by bringin' on the random fun. Thanks, man!