Card Spotlight: 8-15-08

1970 Topps Super #3 - Luis Aparicio

This is one of the highlights of a package from Mark at Stats On The Back. A beat up, "loved" garage sale find. I love the powder blue uniforms that the Sox sported back then. Well... there not my absolute favorite, but they rank up there in the oddities of White Sox uniform history. The collared uniforms with shorts will always be the oddest.

This card is huge! I can see why it was put through the wringer. It's thick, too! I stacked up four regular issue 2008 cards against this bad boy. It took four to just about equal the thickness of a Topps Super card.

The card has weird rounded edges. It almost reminds me of am oddly shaped drink coaster. To top it off, the card is slightly miscut. This is an amazing example of an awesome, loved card.

Thanks, Mark! You've saved this week's Card Spotlight from being boring!

White Sox Photoshop Cards: Alexei Ramirez

Card #3 - Alexei Ramirez

"The Cuban Missile" has been an eye-opener for White Sox fans. After initially struggling at the plate, Alexei has adjusted quickly to the majors.

Alexei not only brings his bat, but brings his glove too. Providing stellar defense at second base, shortstop and center field are just a few of the many tools that Ramirez brings to the park. He comes ready to play and ready to tackle any challenge.

I thought this photo was an interesting perspective. It shows Alexei in mid-flight, making a play. It takes on a whole different dimension and feel as a "painting". You don't get to see these kind of plays on a card too often anymore.

A Couple Of Records

The White Sox may finally be reaching their potential. Today, they achieved a club record and a Major League record.

The Club Record:

Back...

to back...
to back...
to back home runs...
by Jim Thome, Paul Konerko, Alexei Ramirez and Juan Uribe!

This would be the first time in White Sox history that the Sox have homered with four straight batters. Toby Hall prevented it from being five in a row by striking out, in case you were wondering.

This is only the sixth time in Major League history that this feat has occurred, but it is the very first time that it has happened with the 5, 6, 7 & 8 hitters.

And now for something completely different...

The Major League Record:

Carlos Quentin has been hit by a pitch in six straight games!

Ouch! No wonder he had two days off before this record breaking game. Plus, Quentin is only one bases loaded hit by pitch from setting that record too. I guess this record shows that Quentin is not intimidated by inside pitches. I can't really think of a more painful record than this. Can you?

White Sox Photoshop Cards: Javier Vazquez

Card #2 - Javier Vazquez

Many consider Mark Buehrle to be the ace of the staff, but Javier Vazquez is doing everything in his power to take that away. Javier quietly builds up great numbers, while others get more of the attention.

Javier has struggled at times in 2008, but can still pull a big game out when needed. In fact, Javier kept the Sox in the playoff hunt in 2007, when they should have been long out of it. Javier did get the first position nod over Buehrle because of his success over the past few years.

I've managed to capture Javier's extremely high leg kick. I'm guessing the bases were empty during this pitch. The crowd almost looks mosaic in the background.

Random Card #31

This is one of the cards from the latest package from Dinged Corners. This card really made me smile. It is my first card of Kurt Brown. It's been a long time coming. Let me tell you, I've been wanting one in the worst way.

If you don't know who Kurt Brown is, I wrote about him in the early days of this blog. He was the fifth pick in the June 1985 draft. Kurt was picked, by the White Sox, one pick before Barry Bonds.

Kurt never made the majors. In hindsight, I would have called him up and sent Ron Karkovice down. Karkovice never hit well and his defensive abilities were more reputation than reality.

Of course we all know what happened to the sixth pick in the June 1985 draft. He ::cough, cough:: became the Major League career home run champion.

I can remember Kurt always being considered for getting the call up, but it always seemed like he was always beat out by a flash in the pan type player that the White Sox were impressed with in the late eighties and early nineties.

Kurt may have gotten the short end of the stick, but he still has some baseball cards to show for it. I'm starting to get a little soft spot for these Star company cards. I used to avoid these cards like the plague. Now I'm finding that they really have some interesting subjects on these quiet little cards.

The design is minimal, but very eighties. I'm not sure how many card Kurt actually has, but I think I could obtain his entire catalogue with minimal cost to me. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It just shows how much the card companies have changed.

Now, the card companies charge to get the high draft picks on as many cards as possible. Then they parallel the hell out of them. Back then, you were really lucky if a minor league player got his own "major label" card. To my knowledge, Kurt never got the major label card. Only Minor League cards.

I don't know. I think there's something comforting in this card. It's not every card that looks like it was taken at my local park. I could have been sitting on the folding chair behind the batting cage, the day before.

White Sox Photoshop Cards: Ken Griffey Jr.

Card #1 - Ken Griffey Jr.

I'm trying my hand at creating a virtual baseball card for every member of the 2008 White Sox. It doesn't matter if they only played in one game, they will be part of this virtual set. I thought I'd start with the guy who made the biggest headlines coming to Chicago, Ken Griffey Jr.

I'll be taking real photographs and running them through various filters in Photoshop and Image Ready to make the images look almost like paintings.

I hope to get an image of Chris Getz getting his first Major League hit from Tuesday night. The only player I believe I am lacking is Esteban Loaiza. I can't seen to find a photograph of one of his three White Sox appearances this year. I really don't want to use a photograph from his first stint with the White Sox. He had a different number. If anyone can locate a good size game image from one of his 2008 White Sox appearances, let me know.

Believe me, I know I'm not a card designer. When in doubt, go with team colors.

I thought I'd try to use images that you may not see on a baseball card, mixed in with the usual suspects. I think this image of Griffey shows his instant camaraderie with his new team. I think it speaks volumes more than a catch or a hit could ever do.

Bringing The Awesome: A Stats On The Back Package

Did you ever have one of those days? You know, the ones that go great and then... POOF! Everything that fell into place so easily just disappears in a click of the mouse. Yeah, I'm having one of those days today.

I just finished with a nice long, witty post on this package that came from Mark at Stats On The Back. I went to publish it and it disappeared. Gone in an instant. It went into the ether of cyberspace, never to be seen again.

I will do the short version of the post that I just lost.

The package instantly separated itself from the others with the first item I pulled out of the package. A Frank Thomas keychain. It was bendy and flexy and awesome.

Next up was a garage sale find, or so Mark wrote. A mangled loved 1970 Topps Super card of Luis Aparicio. It's a card. It's a coaster. It's Topps Super! Awesomey goodness.

Next up was a Dover Reprint of a 1933 Jimmy Dykes card. I don't have any of these and I am unsure as to what year they were actually produced. Awesome awesome. (That would be reprint awesome)

Four 1986 Fleer Update cards. Already have the update set, but not the regular base set for some odd reason.

1986 Topps Traded Bobby Bonilla
The Sox made a lot of bad moves in the mid-eighties. Trading Bobby Bonilla was one of them.

1989 Star - Robin Ventura

I had just started to collect these late eighties and early nineties Star cards. Starry awesome.

1991 Conlon cards. I LOVE Conlon cards! This almost completes the 1991 Conlon White Sox team set for me. Classic awesome!

1992 Donruss. It looks like someone was looking at my want list and completed my 1992 Donruss White Sox team set! Studying awesome!

1994 Conlon Burgundy 1309 - Larry Rosenthal
I already have it, but I don't care. I LOVE these cards!

1996 Donruss Harold Baines
Harold is always welcome in this house.

2008 Topps Chrome Blue Refractor
Orlando Cabrera

2008 Topps Chrome Copper Refractor
Nick Swisher

2008 Topps Heritage Chrome Refractor
Orlando Cabrera

So there you have it, the short version. I really dislike computers on some days. No matter how frustrated I am at blogger.com and computers in general, it does not kill the buzz that I felt with this package of cards. Thanks, Mark! I will look at your list in great detail and try to come up with something worth your while.

August 8-11, 2008: Red Sox @ White Sox

August 8-11, 2008 - Chicago, Illinois

August 8: Red Sox 3 - White Sox 5
August 9: Red Sox 6 - White Sox 2
August 10: Red Sox 5 - White Sox 6
August 11: Red Sox 5 - White Sox 1

Split!

Mark Buehrle was simply awesome in game one. He needed to rebound from a series of so-so outings. He came back in a big way. The most disturbing trend seems to be the Sox relying on the home run more and more. That's fine to use that as a weapon, but it shouldn't be a crutch. The late nineties Sox teams used the home run as their only tool and you can see how well that worked out.

The good:
Mark Buehrle's outstanding performance in game 1.

The Sox continue to be homer happy.

The bad:
Two errors in game 3.

The Sox have an all or nothing approach to offense lately.

The ugly:
Jose Contreras' ruptured Achilles tendon in game 2.

John Danks lost his no-hitter and the game with a few poorly placed pitches in game 4.

The biggest disappointment was seeing Jose Contreras rupture his Achilles tendon in game two. It happened while Jose was covering first base. While DJ Carrasco was an awesome replacement from the bullpen, it's a bit sad to see Jose out for the season with a possible career ending injury. Jose seemed to have his decent stuff in his outing. This comes as a big blow to the Sox staff.

At least the White Sox were able to split the series with Boston.

Smiley Smiles: A Dinged Corners Trade

Patricia & Lucy are awesome. Simply put, they find out what you like, send out a bunch of it and throw in a little personal touch. Simply awesome.

This package did not disappoint. I was greeted by two bundled plastic sandwich bags wrapped in blue tape. Classic Dinged Corners style. On top of those two bags, there was a card of Angelica from Rugrats pointing down at me.

"Listen up, babies!", the card read. As if two bags of White Sox related card treasures would not be enough to grab my attention. This begged to be noticed and respected. It definitely has both from me.

There was a massive amount of cards. Rather than list all of them, I'll list what cards I didn't have. The highlights of cards that I did have were many 2007 cards, a Ron Karkovice Topps rookie, Ken Griffey Jr., Sean Tracey, some 1989 Topps and a few 2008 cards, among others.

Here's what I didn't already have.

1986 Topps - Ozzie Guillen
1989 Sarasota White Sox Star - Kurt Brown (AWESOME!)
1989 Topps Rookies - Dave Gallagher
1991 Studio - Tim Rock Raines (in a perfect pose)
1992 Donruss - Ron Karkovice
1993 Flair - Lance Johnson
1994 Score Rookie Traded - Scott Sanderson
1994 Topps - James Baldwin, Rod Bolton
1995 Donruss - Joey Cora (my first '95 Donruss White Sox card)
1995 Donruss - Jose DeLeon (followed by my second)
1995 Donruss - Darrin Jackson (and third)
1996 Bowman - Bill Simas
1996 Upper Deck - Lyle Mouton
1998 Pacific Home Run Heroes - Albert Belle
2001 Upper Deck Gold Glove - Carlos Lee
2002 Studio - Magglio Ordonez
2003 Donruss - Mitch Wylie (I wonder if his nickname was coyote)
2003 Donruss - Paul Konerko
2003 Topps All-Star FanFest - Bartolo Colon (shiny and awesome!)
2003 Upper Deck - Esteban Loaiza
2003 Upper Deck First Pitch - Paul Konerko (why did first pitch morph into first edition?)
2004 Topps Opening Day - Frank Thomas
2004 Topps Opening Day - Carl Everett
2005 Fleer Platinum - Magglio Ordonez
2006 Fleer - Orlando Hernandez (pictured in a Sox uniform)
2006 Fleer Team Leaders - Paul Konerko, Mark Buehrle
2007 Bowman Heritage - Jermaine Dye (last card for the non SP team set!)
2007 Topps 52 - Ryan Sweeney (last card for the team set!)
2007 Topps Hit Parade - Jim Thome (the one I didn't have!)
2007 Goudey Green - Darin Erstad (last card I need for the base team set!)
2008 Bowman - Orlando Cabrera
2008 Bowman - Paul Konerko
2008 Bowman - Jermaine Dye
2008 Bowman Chrome Prospects - Francisco Hernandez
2008 Bowman Prospects - Francisco Hernandez
2008 Topps Opening Day - Jermaine Dye
2008 Topps Opening Day - Paul Konerko

I finished off a few sets with this bounty of cards. There are always some unexpected hidden treasures in packages from Dinged Corners. I absolutely love the Kurt Brown card! I still think the White Sox made the correct decision in picking Kurt before Barry Bonds.

Thank you, Patricia and Lucy! I always love the cards you pick out! There should be a package arriving at your house soon. The broader the spectrum of collecting, the faster I can usually ship things out.

Over And Out

Fresh from the DL, for completely unrelated issues, Jose Contreras ran into bad luck covering first base. He injured his Achilles. Ouch!

You could see Jose grimacing in extreme pain, after the slip. Jose is not normally one to show any type of pain on the field. This was definitely the exception.

Contreras will be out for at least the season. This might be a career ending injury, considering his age and the type of injury. We shall see next season.

I know the White Sox were counting on him for the home stretch. The small tragedy of it all, is that Jose was starting strong in this outing.

I hope Contreras can at least heal enough to live a pain-free life. The best teams keep their momentum going even after devastating losses. Hopefully, this will be the gameplan for the Sox the rest of the way.

Get well soon, Jose!

Hot Buttered Soul Gone Cold

The second post in a row that has to do with a recently deceased celebrity. That has to be a record for this blog. This one has even less to do with the White Sox.

Isaac Hayes was found dead today, at the age of 65. Why is this on a blog about the White Sox and baseball cards? Well, there are other things in the world besides baseball cards and the White Sox. Sometimes it just doesn't seem that way.

Isaac Hayes helped shape me into who I am today. Not that he would know it, I never met him either. I do a pretty good Chef impression, or so I am told. South Park's humor was a big part of my life in the past decade. A lot of that had to do with Isaac's portrayal of Jerome "Chef" McElroy.

But it goes a little deeper than that. I probably heard the theme from Shaft from the time I was in utero. Isaac always popped up in movies that I liked. Escape From New York, Robin Hood: Men In Tights and I'm Gonna Git You Sucka are just three of the many movies that he stood out in.

Although things got a little murky the past few years, I could look past all that and just appreciate his work, on its own merits. I was secretly hoping that he would appear back on South Park somewhere down the line. At least now, I can still catch him in reruns... and on the radio... and in old favorite movies.

The White Sox Lost A Huge Fan

There doesn't seem to be a lot of celebrity White Sox fans. It's not as glamorous as being a celebrity Cubs fan or a Red Sox fan or a Yankees fan. They are out there, quietly watching the games and rooting for the South Side.

Today, there is one less. One of the more vocal White Sox celebrity fans was Bernie Mac. You can see him decked out in Sox gear at the 2005 World Series.

This wasn't one of those "celebrity" moments, where they show up to get some exposure on national television. Bernie loved his White Sox team. He was there through good times and bad. How do I know this? I don't know him personally.

I did go to a technical college with one of his nieces. Bernie paid the bills. He made sure his family was taken care of. He was that type of a man. He had the money, so his family was well provided for, because of that fact.

In the case of his niece, it made her a bit spoiled. But from speaking with her at great lengths during our schooling together, I could tell that the family structure was a caring nurturing environment. Bernie provided that stability with his success.

I didn't care for a lot of Bernie's work. I did like his baseball movie and when he had the right cameo, it worked. I never got into his television show, but I could still respect a man that cared that much for his family.

My thoughts go out to his family. There is one less Sox fan, and more importantly, one less family man in the world today. I am grateful that I got to see a little bit of the personal side of his life, through his family.

Cards From John, Cards From Eric

A lot of unexpected packages have been appearing in my mailbox this week. So far, one a day. On Wednesday, technically on Thursday morning at 7:30, I received John's package of cards. I assume it went to a neighbor first, who dropped it off at the mailbox early Thursday morning.

I always love getting cards from John. As soon as I see the UK postage on the envelope, I know I'm in for a treat.

1989 Fleer - Mike Woodard
1995 Upper Deck - Ozzie Guillen
1997 Collector's Choice - Wilson Alvarez
1997 Topps - Ozzie Guillen
1999 Skybox Premium - Ray Durham
1999 Skybox Premium - Mike Caruso
1999 Skybox Premium - David Lundquist
1999 Skybox Premium - Chris Singleton
1999 Skybox Premium - Carlos Lee
1999 Skybox Thunder - Paul Konerko
1999 UD Black Diamond - Albert Belle
1999 UD Ionix - Albert Belle
2000 UD Black Diamond - Magglio Ordonez
2001 UD Decades - Jim Kaat
2001 UD Decades - Wilbur Wood
2002 Fleer Tradition - Todd Ritchie
2002 Topps Opening Day - Frank Thomas
2005 Donruss Elite - Scott Podsednik
2005 Donruss Elite - Jermaine Dye
2005 Leather & Lumber - Jermaine Dye
2005 UD Classics - Al Lopez
2005 UD Pro Sigs - Casey Rogowski
2005 UD Pro Sigs - Pedro Lopez
2005 Zenith - Scott Podsednik
2005 Zenith - Jermaine Dye
2008 Topps Heritage - Jim Thome
2008 Topps Heritage Black Back - Javier Vazquez

There's quite a few gems in there. Like I said, receiving a package from the UK is always full of surprises!

On Thursday, I received another package from Eric. Another one that I was not expecting. I had already gotten two previous packages from him. I am waiting until he gets settled at his new address before sending off cards for him.

2008 Bowman - Lance Broadway
2008 Topps - John Danks (2)
2008 Topps - Joe Crede
2008 Upper Deck - Jon Garland
2008 Upper Deck - Jim Thome
2008 Allen & Ginter - Ohio Flag (Nick Swisher)

Plus, another huge stack of 2008 Topps Heritage cards! I swear, Eric is going to complete my set single-handedly if he keeps up packages like this one!

Thank you, John! Thank you, Eric! The cards from both of you are awesome!

I received a package on Friday as well, but that will have to wait for another post.

August 5-7, 2008: Tigers @ White Sox

August 5-7, 2008 - Chicago, Illinois

August 5: Tigers 8 - White Sox 10
August 6: Tigers 1 - White Sox 5
August 7: Tigers 8 - White Sox 3

You've come a long way.

Every team seems pesky against the White Sox right now. Especially the teams that are essentially out of contention. The Tigers fought tough, but could only salvage the last game against the Sox.

The good: A come from behind victory for the Sox in the 14th inning of game 1.

The Sox continue to be homer happy.

The bad:
Gavin Floyd ran into some struggles in game 1.

After a strong start, Ken Griffey Jr. has cooled a bit.

The ugly:
Matt Thornton almost blew the game wide open in the top of the 14th inning in game 1 by giving up two runs.

Sox pitching gave up 8 runs in game 3, most by Javier Vazquez.

The important thing is that the Sox won another series. Things got uneasy in game one when the tie was broken in the fourteenth inning by the Tigers. The Sox answered that by scoring enough to win in the bottom of the inning.

The Sox pitching is starting to show more signs of a long season. I'm sure the bullpen wasn't helped by the fourteen inning affair, but Javier Vazquez needed to follow John Danks great game two performance with one of his own.

It doesn't matter how you win, as long as you win. I wonder if this is what Doug Radar meant by winning ugly?

Card Spotlight: 8-8-08

1957 Topps #23 - Sherm Lollar

I found this card in a 1957 Topps White Sox lot that I had purchased on eBay. It was a bit of a surprise, since it wasn't actually listed in the description. This was the "bonus" that the seller had mentioned. I was stoked because I needed it for the collection. And really, who turns down a free 1957 Topps card, even if they had it?

Not only is this a card featuring Sherm Lollar, there is also an unidentified fielder BEHIND Sherman batting. Plus, the colors on the blur indicate that it could possibly be a teammate.

"Hey, Sherm! The field is this way!"

"No kid, I see the opposing pitcher", said Sherm.

"That's because he's in the dugout!"

More than likely, this photo was taken during batting practice or a day set aside for publicity shots. It's still awesome. Thanks to dayf, I now have the word awesome running through my head.

Even with the cards awesomeness set aside, it accomplishes one more thing. It gets my 1957 Topps team set a little closer to completion. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm kind of glad that the White Sox were just on the verge of making the World Series for most of the fifties and sixties. It makes their cards way more affordable. See, another good point for not being a Yankees fan.