Some Features Will Be Offline Temporarily

I am aware of issues getting to the whitesoxcards.net features. I am assured they will be all resolved within the next twenty-four hours. Sorry for any inconvenience these issues may have caused.

***UPDATE***

Things seem to have come back online much quicker than anticipated. Hopefully, that will be the end of the issues.

This Year Is Flying By

An elusive photograph of Harold Baines making a leaping catch has made its way onto eBay. Very few seem to remember Baines as an outfield threat, just as a clutch hitter. Almost every baseball card I have of Harold features him either hitting, standing or somewhere on the base paths. One even included him sliding into a base! Very few cards show him in the outfield, where he roamed before his knees weakened and forced him into an almost full time DH role. So it's nice to see photographic evidence that my memories were not tainted as a kid. Everyone seems to recall the hitting prowess, but that always eclipses the fielding skills in most people's memories.

I'm fully aware that I haven't been posting much. It's not that I have lost interest in the White Sox, baseball or baseball cards... I haven't. Time has a way of slipping away quickly when there are multiple projects taking your time. The biggest and most important project on the horizon is my wedding, which takes place in less than two months. Those of you that are friends with me on Facebook may have noticed numbers popping up on my personal page. The countdown is in full swing!

I'm happy to report that the wedding is baseball themed and it takes place within walking distance of a baseball card shop. The card shop proximity wasn't planned, but I take that as a wonderful sign.

Work has also taken a lot of my time lately. Not only am I loving my job, but I've been working on multiple books that are all getting nearer to completion. Of course family takes up time too and with a lovely soon to be wife and a wonderful step-daughter to spend time with, I get away from the blog more than I probably should. With 2,750 previous posts, I think there is plenty to rediscover on the days I don't get to posting.

Catching Up This Week

I apologize for the lack of updates over the weekend. Those of you who are personal or Facebook friends already know that there was a death in the family that took priority over the blog. Things should be up to date by mid-week.

An Explanation

Blog posts have been significantly down on this site the past few months. Many of you may think that it was tied into the White Sox painful dive into mediocrity at about the same time. No. It's just a coincidence. The truth is, a lot of changes have been happening on my end. And no, I have not become a Cubs fan. Thank you for your concern.

A chain reaction of events have kicked off an unexpected path. Well, not so much unexpected. Let's say severely delayed. The timing was unexpected.

I plan to still finish off the Season Pass cards, but they are not a top priority for me. Things will still be posted here, but not with the same type of frequency as before. At least for the time being.

I want to thank the few people that have sent packages in the past month. I have really appreciated them, but I haven't had time to fully dive into each package. I'm just starting to pick apart a package sent by Project '62. That was sent back in late August.

The catalyst was my fiancee, or rather my ex-fiancee now. We both needed to concentrate on getting our own lives in order and for some odd reason, she was convinced that we couldn't do that while still being engaged. It came out of left field for me, but I can still respect that. Mind you, I am not happy about it, but I can respect it. I can appreciate that we're just as good of friends as before, just not together.

As luck would have it, I landed a job right after that. My employment has been sporadic the past few years and the hours each day of filling out applications finally paid off. I was a little out of my comfort zone with the job I did get, driving a taxi, but I really enjoyed the work. A monkey wrench in the works was the area. I was driving in the Cicero/Berwyn area, which was fine, but I wasn't overly familiar with the area. Thank heavens for GPS! The real problem was the pay. To say it was inconsistent would be comparable to claiming that the Pope was Catholic. Most days, I barely made enough to cover the lease and the gas that I used. With travel time to and from work, we're looking at a fourteen hour day. It wasn't the best situation, but it was work and I stuck with it. The people (passengers and co-workers) I met on that job were all great and I am a better person for meeting them.

At the same time, I went back to inquire about how close I was to an Associates degree at my local community college. I was intending to start in the spring semester and work my way through the core classes that I still needed. Well, when I met with an advisor, I found that I had accumulated 87 credits. I knew I had a lot, but I didn't think it was that many. As it stands, I have four classes to complete and I will have my degree.

Many nights, while waiting for fares to call in, I spent my time studying the college catalog. I plotted my course and found a short term class that started in November for one of my four remaining classes. Unfortunately, that one was full up, but I found an alternate short term class at an extension center in Blue Island and I'll be starting that class on Monday.

After I figured out what I needed to still accomplish at a community college, I started to think about where I wanted to go after. I settled on a path that most people I've met have told me I am a natural for; therapist. Specifically an LCSW. After researching costs and programs, I settled on Governors State University. I should be entering their psychology program the fall of 2012, barring the use of grants.

While I was happy to be working, I was displeased at the cab job. The stability was not there and I needed a steady paycheck if I was to get my schooling done. Having so many credits, I was not eligible for assistance. Like the other 87 credits, I would have to pay for them out of pocket.

I e-mailed an old boss, mostly out of desperation, to inquire if there were any clients available that I could work with. I used to work with disabled HIV patients. The work was rewarding, but the last client I had turned into a 24/7 job that was on call. I had gotten sucked into going well beyond the scope of my job description. By the time the client required full time hospitalization, I was burned out.

Shortly after that, I started this blog, struggled with dead end or short term jobs, and got my writing career off to a non-paying beginning. All while it was harder to get and keep even the crappiest job because of the declining economy.

As luck would have it, my old boss called me back a few days later. He had a client looking for help, although it was about forty-five minutes from my house, without too much traffic. I accepted it and began the process of meeting the client. After a pleasant phone call and a great visit, the client approved me and I start that job the same day I start my class in Blue Island. So, I'll be working during the day and going to class at night. I still have the cab job, if I feel like taking a slim chance for extra pocket money.

Serendipity must be working overtime. My new job is slightly over three miles from where I'll be going to school next fall and the client has agreed to work around whatever school schedule I have. Things are definitely on an upswing, but all this activity sadly leaves less time for this blog. The good thing is that I haven't abandoned this blog. It is something that I love to do and I get great enjoyment from this extension of my hobby. It just has to be left mostly on the back burner for awhile.

In addition to two jobs and school, I'm still writing short stories and continuing work on my various novels that I have half written. Another short story will be published in an upcoming anthology called Code Z, available through KnightWatch Press.

I've even inquired on getting the band back together... again. Not just to play and recall our past glories from the garage, but to actually flesh out some of the reams of lyrics that I have written over the years. I have grandiose ideas and I'll be a happy man if a few of them actually make it past my brain someday.

To make matters more complicated, during all this transitioning, the White Sox manager situation came to a head and blew up, leading to the short lived Don Cooper era. Although some say that the Don Copper era will continue under the figurehead of Robin Ventura. We'll see how that scenario plays out.

So... yeah. That's what has been going on here on my end, which has been disrupting the natural flow of the blog. When I settle into a routine, expect a little more content. Until then, feel free to explore the over 2,000 previous posts. You never know what you may find. Like cards trapped in jars and an original WSC Venture Bros adventure.

Just A Quick Note

The Season Pass cards will be delayed a bit, while I focus on the start of a new job. Don't worry, they'll all be there, but I have to put them on the back burner temporarily. The plan is to be all caught up with them by the middle of next week.

What More Could Possibly Happen This Season?

The White Sox got off to a huge start on Opening Day. Then, perhaps the largest collapse in team history happened. A combination of bonehead plays, bad luck, a bullpen meltdown and an anemic offense, that was capped by a no-hitter thrown against the team.

There have been signs of life all season, but usually those glimpses into what the fans were sold have been offset by one of the four main culprits from above. The level of talent that the Sox have and the money dedicated to that talent have made things very frustrating for the fans, who had sky high expectations. I'm sure it's even more frustrating for the players and employees of the team watching this carefully crafted component fail, time after time, in an array of endless ways.

The Sox have naturally responded by... going with a six man rotation? For now, yes. Jake Peavy has returned, and pitched decently in his season debut. Peavy's short term replacement, Phil Humber, has pitched so well, that no one wants to dethrone his starting position. The other four starters (the law firm of Buehrle, Danks, Floyd and Jackson) aren't going to the bullpen, and they have pitched well this season. Even tough luck John Danks' first poor outing was just the other day. It might not have been that poor if the offense showed up that day.

This idea of a six man rotation might hold water, if each starter is available for an inning on their side day. If not, this is the worst idea since the hybrid field of Sox Sod, installed before the 1969 season. The Sox already sent down Lastings Milledge because the bullpen needed bolstering after the first week. I agree Phil Humber deserves a spot in the rotation. If the starters are made available in the bullpen on their sides day, there may be traction for this idea.

Last night's game featured a bit of everything. A medical first coming back to play. Horrible defensive blunders. A season high fifteen men stranded on base! When all seemed lost, the Sox scratched and clawed their way back, in the eighth and ninth innings, to tie the game.

The tenth inning was something out of a Marx Brothers movie. While intentionally walking Paul Konerko, a Kevin Jepsen pitch sailed over catcher Hank Conger's head, causing Alexei Ramirez to score. To add insult to injury, when Konerko got on base, he stole second.

I'll admit, I had a bad feeling when Matt Thornton came into the game, in the bottom of the tenth. The Sox were up by two and I had seen the team's Opening Day closer blow many saves this season. With two out and Torii Hunter at the plate, Thornton induced a ground ball to Paul Konerko, who then flipped the ball behind his back to a running Matt Thornton, who caught Paulie's throw barehanded, for the final out.

Matt Thornton recorded his first save of the season. Konerko must have gotten a mojo boost from the pink shoes he wore on Mother's Day, because that was the most athletic final out I can ever recall seeing. Hopefully, this will be the turning point for Thornton this season. How does the Konerko/Thornton play ranks on the Buehrle-meter? Through the legs. Behind the back. The White Sox must practice these plays to make them seem that routine.

I am officially ready for anything this White Sox season.

Lack Of Posting This Week

The lack of posting this week has a lot to do with last minute free White Sox tickets through my friend, Steve. I was at Tuesday's 11-0 convincing win over Ryan Rowland-Smith and the Mariners.
Those tickets were a section over from the left field foul pole along the third base line. An older lady snagged a ball two seats in front of me. in the first inning. After nearly thirty years of attending ball games, that is the closest a ball has ever come by me during a game.
Not only was there a great view of the action, but we saw a nice view of the White Sox bullpen. Yes, I cringed every time I saw Scott Linebrink move. He has been mostly effective lately, but I'm still not comfortable seeing him enter a game, even with an eleven run lead.
I'll be going again tonight, with this guy, to see the same Mariners team.
I know the picture is small and crappy, but I'm not paying $15 for a bigger photo of me with my friend. Tonight, we'll be sitting in home run territory, on the other side of the White Sox bullpen. I'm hoping that I'll see a sweep tonight.

Updates

In the past couple weeks it seems like I've been everywhere and nowhere at the same time. I've done posts, but mostly they have been updates on custom cards. There have been other posts, but those stick out in my mind the most.

I finally tracked down a photo of the elusive Ray Shook, who only played one game, with no at-bats, in 1916. As soon as the photo was emailed to me, I had to get to work on the card and the corresponding information. How could I not? This marked the end of almost a year of searching.

The Goose Joak templates were released and I have been having a blast working with that wonderful design. I've been collecting photos during Spring Training, so it's been easier this year. Preparation always makes these type of projects easier.

A big thank you goes out to Marie for sending Sox cards. All I had to do was pay shipping. A great deal! I already spotted cards that I needed. The want lists will be updated in the next few days, hopefully.

On Wednesday, I mailed out long overdue packages to Tom and Doc T. Sorry for the delay. I've been rearranging my boxes by team and cards are everywhere! I hope to get through that project soon.

A great big thank you goes out to Noah. I received an unexpected package from him yesterday. I need to stockpile Mets. As soon as I do, expect a return package.

Most of the changes have been behind the scenes lately. I've been putting a lot of grunt work into the Facebook page and putting my two cents in on Twitter. And of course, watching baseball that counts! Every game that I can see without the MLB Network.

Attention Traders! The State Of The Blog

I need your addresses. Please e-mail them to me. Even if you never intend to trade with me again, I'd like to have those addresses replaced. Plus who knows, I've been known to send stuff at random.

I once had quite a list, but that went with my crashed hard drive. I can understand someone who gets frustrated enough to shave off hair. I've been going through that for the past few days. It's a good thing that the time of wearing my hair past the middle of my back are long gone or I might think drastic thoughts.

After switching out a power supply on a computer I have been building over the past year, I find out that the graphics card is missing a cord and the burner is DOA. Everything else worked, but there was no workaround for the graphics card and without the cord in place, it will not boot up.

Instead of sinking more money into the pit, I decided to scrap it and sell off the parts. This was made easier by my computer expert having a working, fairly new computer that he was doing nothing with. He gave me an unbelievable deal on it, so I swiped it up. It's not my ideal computer, but it is better than the previous one.

On the old computer, I was able to switch out the hard drives that crashed, but could not extract any information off of them. So, I have a running temporary computer, until the other one arrives in the morning light. Up until this afternoon, I could live by the old adage, "If it wasn't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all". Thankfully, my luck seems to be improving.

Slowly, things are getting back to normal here. Please help me get back to normalcy a bit quicker by sending those addresses. My sanity thanks you.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Welcome, Juan Pierre! You'll love it here!

Black Wednesday

Sorry for my recent absence. I'm afraid it will be longer. The current epidemic of crashing hard drives hit me Wednesday night. I should be up and running again by the end of the month.

Congrats to J.J. Putz for signing with the White Sox. You'll love it here and you'll be able to continue your bromance with Matt Thornton.

As a result of the crashed hard drive, all regular features will be put on hold, as if you haven't already noticed. If I didn't need all the information that was on the hard drives, I'd already be back up and running. Yes, I do back up, but I can't back everything up. The sudden loss of the hard drives made backing everything up an impossibility.

For those of you who e-mailed with your concern, thank you. If I can't get back before December 25th, please have a happy holiday. I'm hoping my computer guy can squeeze me in before then.

Updates And Nonsensical Things

I'm still sick with a sinus infection and I'm not happy. I feel like a cat, sleeping most of the day away. I'm not getting any work done and I hope to rectify that soon. We'll see.

Most of my waking hours, I feel like the photo of Scott Podsednik. I feel off balance, out of step, out of time. It seems like I'll never make it to my destination because of the clumsiness of my own body. Welcome to Sinusland, population; me.

I'm still waiting to get this Geocities thing straightened out. Until then, my want list and a few other things may be unavailable.

Fortunately, while I try to conduct myself in a healthy manner, Johngy wrote a post about my Squires card. If you're really jonesing for new-ish content, head over there. I hope to get a few things posted soon, but my energy seems sapped.

At least I don't have a doctor like this.

Coming Up

I'm under the weather today. My sinuses are killing me, my voice is nearly gone and I barely have any energy. Still, I figured I'd show off the box topper from the box of Obak that I received yesterday. And here I thought that the Dukes only dealt in frozen concentrated orange juice. I learn something new everyday.

I intend to do a pack by pack breakdown of the hobby box of Obak. I'm still stuck in Amish country as far as computer related video equipment goes, or else I would have filmed the break. I'm very pleased with the contents of the box, but I'm sure everyone may not feel that way. I'll say this, if I hadn't already decided that I wanted a certain autograph, I probably would have been less than thrilled when pulling it.

Sometime I also want to create posts about two packages I've gotten in the mail. One from Mark at Stats On The Back and the second from Ryan at The Great Orioles Autograph Project. Both packages were great and I will thank each of them properly with their own posts. Just not today.

I'm going to have a nice, hot meal and wash it down with some Wild Berry Zinger tea. I'll leave you with something entertaining at least.

A Preview Of The Next Few Posts

This weekend should be interesting enough. I am going to take a nice break and take in a movie with my mom this afternoon. She wanted to see "Julie & Julia" and invited me to tag along. I figured that the cast was decent enough and it sounds like a somewhat different idea for a movie, so why not?

I'll get the card spotlight up sometime this evening. This weekend should bring a discussion about the licensing bombshell that gave Topps the only company with rights to the players' likenesses and the team logos.

There will be a memorial card up on the site this weekend. It's someone most of you know, but probably don't realize that you know. That's all the information I will be giving on that one right now.

The look of the blog may change slightly, if all goes according to plan. Nothing major, just cosmetic stuff.

If you are wondering what the Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend have to do with this post or with this weekend, you'll have to wait just a little bit longer. Maybe they have something to do with it, maybe I just wanted to post a picture of them.

Disco Demolition And Site News

The thirtieth anniversary of the stupidest reason the White Sox ever had to forfeit a game, er... I mean, Disco Demolition, is upon us today. In reality, it's what people remember most from a 1979 White Sox season in which they held a dismal 73-87 record, good enough for fifth place and 14 games back. The Tigers had a much better record, at 85-76, which was only good enough for forth place and 18 games back. Hmmm... methinks the Orioles tore up the AL East that year. The Tigers would have only been three back in the AL West.

Beef up on your history of Disco Demolition here. How does ringmaster Steve Dahl think about the incident thirty years later? Read his self interview here. Still feeling nostalgic? You can listen to Dahl's "Do You Think I'm Disco" here.

***Site News***

Yesterday, I spent most of the day updating and revamping my want list. You'll notice a slightly different look to the main page. It's now grouped by decade and formatted five years across. I think that this is much easier to read and quicker to look particular years up.

I'm still updating the want list itself, but I have added my player collections to the site. They are located after the years, near the bottom of the page. Also, I have added Ryne Sandberg to the player collections. I'm not collecting him, but my longest tenured friend is a huge fan and I want to do something nice for him. So I will accept Sandberg cards in trade as well.

What prompted all of this? My stray card piles are close to swallowing me whole, so I'm organizing against them before they organize against me. Hopefully, when I'm finished, I should be able to locate cards in my collection a bit quicker. That's the plan, anyway.

The Upcoming Week

This week, there will be some slowed down activity. Today, I helped someone move into my friend's house. Didn't have time for blogging. Tomorrow, I'll be off to a baseball game. Won't have much time for blogging.

There are a few trades that are up in the air. I will e-mail my findings to those expecting a response on Wednesday or Thursday. Don't worry, I did not forget about any of you.

I'll be off to the Cubs game on Tuesday night. Like any trip to the North Side, it has to be an all day affair. There is no parking, except for shady individuals charging $20 or more, so my Cubs fan friend, also named Steve, and I will be riding the CTA northward. He works for CTA, so he'll ride for free. At least the tickets were free. All I have to do is pay for a day pass to ride the buses and the L. My guess is some combination of the orange line and the red line will be the way. I am going with the CTA route master, so I'm sure we'll get there.

We'll make a day of it. We'll ride up in the afternoon and grab a bite to eat somewhere in Wrigleyville or near it. We'll get to the park early to get our limited edition Ernie Banks bobblehead. Look for mine on eBay soon. I'd keep it or give it away to one of the many Cubs fan blogging friends out there, but I have bills to pay. I hope they understand.

I don't mind if the Cubs win. I'm not that kind of White Sox fan. I'll be rooting against them for one reason. I don't want to hear that stupid "Go, Cubs, Go" song. It was everywhere I turned the last few years. It was on every street corner and in every sporting place. If I hear that song, I will strongly consider running from Wrigley screaming. Other than that, I'm just there to watch a baseball game with no vested interest.

I've never seen the Padres play, in person, so I will now be able to say that I have. The last time I was at Wrigley was in 1998. The Rockies clobbered the Cubs, but Sosa hit a home run in a particular inning and I won Dunkin' Donuts coffee.

I received a couple of packages in the last few days. I'll be posting the contents of those later in the week. Things should return to normal by Wednesday.

This Weekend

What a weekend!

First of all, congratulations to Carlos Zambrano for his no-hitter on Sunday night. I couldn't escape it, even watching the White Sox on ESPN. He's a great pitcher and rightfully deserves one.

Second of all, the same can be said for the White Sox themselves. They were rained out on Friday. Their doubleheader was rained out on Saturday. Then they swept a doubleheader on Sunday with virtually no break in between. Although, they blew a seven run lead, capped by a grand slam, only to be saved by a DeWayne Wise grand slam later in the game.

What have I been doing most of the weekend? Mopping water at a friends house and getting very little sleep. That's bound to happen with nonstop rain spanning three days. Oh well. The worst is over and I can finally get a decent night's sleep. I hope.

With all the mopping and catnapping, I've missed two opportunities to see The Big Lebowski on cable. My only hope is that The Big Lebowski kills me before the Germans can cut my... um, nevermind.

I know I'll catch it on cable at some point, from the beginning. Mostly because the Dude abides.

"Yes! That's your answer. That's your answer for everything! Tattoo it on your forehead!"

I don't think I'll have to go that far, but that makes me feel very secure, it makes me feel very warm inside.

Everybody's Working For The Weekend

There are two schools of thought when it comes to working on the weekends. One is that it sucks and time with your friends and family are utterly destroyed. The other is that you have time during the week to get things done when it is typically less crowded. I tend to side with the latter more often than the former.

Whenever I was actually off during the weekends, no one wanted to do anything anyway. So, I figured why not get paid for it. Besides, the weekend has less people to deal with at work and the weekdays has less people to deal with on errands. It's a win-win situation for avoiding those annoying people who roam the aisles of Wal-Mart aimlessly, getting in your way. It means less things to get angry at and less chances to run into a complete waste of space.

Before my work week started, I was told of a mythical picture of my paternal grandparents with Tony LaRussa. It seems that one of my aunts is in possession of this picture, but my dad hasn't figured out which one yet. We rarely see my dad's side of the family. Unless someone gets married or dies, we don't see them. It's just the way it's always been.

At some point when my grandparents were living in California, they befriended Tony LaRussa and would go drinking together. They were huge baseball fans and went to every game that they could after my grandfather retired. This was slightly before my time, so I don't have the clearest picture of the timeline. Most stories about my grandparents involve drinking of some sort and people on the cusp of fame. There's a famous one (around our household at least) of Peter Cetera stealing my grandmother's Tavern Pale off the back porch. Peter grew up a few blocks from my dad.

I will find that picture one day. When I do, I am sending two copies to Tony LaRussa. One to be signed and one for him to keep. Then I will post it on this blog.

After that excitement, it was off to work for the week. I knew the time would drag because I had big plans for Sunday night. It was a rare date night for me and Tracey. Where did we go? Of all places, a drive in. The only one, that I know of, left around Chicago. Tracey had never been to one before, so we thought we'd make an evening of it. It was $8.50 for each of us and we got to see a double feature of first run movies. Not bad at all.

The atmosphere was great! There were people tossing squishy baseballs around and other people grilling. I even saw an impromptu volleyball game break out. All of this was going on while commercial free oldies music was pumped through the speakers. If it weren't for the modern cars, I would've thought that I had slipped back in time to the sixties.

The double feature was great. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was the first feature. This was preceded by old fashioned refreshment reels and two trailers. The film was fantastic! It's everything I would expect from an Indy film. I'm sure I'll be seeing the refrigerator scene on Mythbusters in the future. If you've seen the movie, then you'll know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, then I am not even close to spoiling anything. Although, it needs to be said that John Hurt got a wonderful free check out of this role. I don't claim to be anything close to an actor, but I could have done that on screen. The role does fit though, it just doesn't look like very much work.

The second movie was Iron Man. I had my doubts about this one, but it exceeded my expectations. Robert Downey Jr. has found a wonderful vehicle and a possible franchise. He adds so much weight and depth to the character of Tony Stark that I was constantly amazed. It was a great story and a wonderful superhero movie. I'm glad the drive in was packed. If I would've left before the Samuel L. Jackson cameo after the credits, I would've been upset at myself.

The constant lightning show behind the screen actually enhanced the experience. It had been threatening thunderstorms all night, but all that there was to show for it was streaks of lightning across the sky all night long. Then, as if on cue, as the end credits to Iron Man started so did the downpour. It took us 45 minutes to get there from Tracey's house and almost two hours to get back. The movies didn't start until 9, a full half hour after the listed time. We didn't get back home until after 3 AM. By the time I went to sleep, I had been up over 24 hours. But I had fun and wouldn't change a second of it.

Of course, since I was at the drive in, I missed the White Sox game. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had won that evening. All was right in the world again. It's not always about baseball, but life always finds its way back to baseball.