Random Card #42

Has it been almost two years since I put a Random Card on the blog? Yep. How time flies.

I'm still on the lookout for a definitive guide on all the variations and bonus cards for Starting Lineup. Beckett's online guide is a good place to start, but it isn't the "be all, end all" that some claim. It is a pretty good start and that's something.

Maybe it's because I didn't collect the Starting Lineup figures, as a kid. Maybe it's because the cards aren't the main attraction. Whatever the case, I'm drawn to these cards like a moth to the flickering light bulb as it mistakes it for the sun and loses all sense of direction. It's a directionless path, but it is rewarding, when you figure out just what is going on. Perhaps that may not be the best analogy for Starting Lineup cards, but it works for me.

I was reminded of this Ozzie Guillen card on Sunday, while listening to 670 The Score in the car. I recently found an image for this card, so this was the freshest card image of Ozzie in my mind. Some weekend fill host was basically filling time on the radio and the general topic was the White Sox. The host may have been a regular, but I rarely listen on the weekends. The impression that I got was that the host didn't get on too often.

The specific topic of conversation was Mark Buehrle's comments about Michael Vick. The host insisted on letting the listening audience know that he was a Cubs fan, several times, but liked Buehrle enough because he stuck by his words. Fair enough. I can admire anyone for sticking with their principles. The show was nothing but caller after caller, which is a good sign that the host is not a regular, or needs a crutch. Then the host took a call from a listener, which left my mouth agape.

This caller wished harm of Mark Buehrle because of the comments he made about Michael Vick. That didn't surprise me in the least. I've heard a few reactions like that. It's a perfectly natural response to a comment which is very specific and precise like he made. The caller then proceeded to inform the host that he already successfully wished harm upon a player last year. Jake Peavy was that player.

Clearly, this guy is about four eggs short of the dozen. The host plays along and asks if he's a Cubs fan. No, the guy replies. The host asks him what team he does root for. The caller says that he'll never tell. The host delves into some time filling guessing game, trying to uncover the team that he roots for. The caller had enough and stopped the host short by claiming that even if he guessed the correct team, he would never say.

The host then asks why he would want harm to come to Buehrle and Peavy. His answer... "Because I don't like their coach."

Straight out of left field. That would be anyone's rational answer to not liking Ozzie Guillen. Bring serious harm to anyone that plays for him. It's those kinds of calls to radio stations that get your phone tapped by the police to make sure that you're not a threat.

Part of me thought the call was hilarious. Part of me thought that the caller sounded like Charles Manson on a tirade. As soon as Ozzie was alluded to, this 1991 Starting Lineup card was the one the popped in my head.

These are the things that make me tune out sports radio on the weekends. This is also why I'm addicted to cards. You learn to take the good with the bad. Especially when the good happens to conjure random cards in your brain.