Something, ANYTHING from the draft folder

I gotta get that politics post off the top of my blog. Here's an aborted post from 2009 with a bunch of images. I think I was going to compare a pack of 2009 Topps206 to one from 2002, but never got around to it. I think we can all agree that 2002 was the winner here, Jimmie Foxx not withstanding.













I really wish I could tell you the blog is about to get back to normal, but I gotta admit I'm still a freaking mess right now.

SUPA TOOSDAYE

See this?

Do you want this to happen? Do you want this to NOT happen? Do you have an opinion at all and happen to be a citizen of the United States over 18 years of age registered to vote and not residing in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida, Nevada, Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, Maine Arizona, Michigan, Wyoming or Washington?

THEN GO OUT AND VOTE YOU SLACKASSES!!!

There are primaries going on all over the goddamn place and the Republicans have absolutely no friggin' clue who the hell they want as their nominee and even if you don't give a crap about who becomes President your congressional representatives are most likely in a primary race and the way they've been reaming us all up the azz without the decency to even give us a little reacharound just as a common courtesy don't you want to vote that lousy motherscratcher out of office as soon as possible? HERE'S YOUR CHANCE. Here's when ya vote! Utah's a bunch of slackers! Go vote, stupid! or even go vote stupid! Here's my choice for our next ruthless fascist dictator President:

The Mostly Honorable Vermin Supreme!

Free PONIES and all I have to do is brush my teeth every day under penalty of DEATH!


VOTE VERMIN LYRA SUPREME by ~dream-quill on deviantART

Dude, seriously, ponies. FREE ONES. As part of a Mandatory Federal Pony ID program. Plus he can turn people gay with magical sprinkle dust. How can you ask for a better candidate?

Oh wait, he's a Democrat. I'm voting in the Republican Primary because that's the only party we have anymore in my district. I wonder if Herman Cain will give me a pony...?

UPDATE: Herman Cain wasn't even on the ballot!

Oh well, ended up voting for Gary Johnson since there's a decent chance I'll end up voting for him in the general anyway as the Libertarian candidate. What? I've never voted for an incumbent President in my life, why start now? Besides, I live in GEORGIA. The only way Barack Obama is winning this state is if he leads the Dawgs to the BCS Title.

Oh yeah one other thing on the ballot: Sunday liquor sales.

Maybe my state can finally join the 20th century!

1965 Topps Al Downing

Here's the last of the '65s mainly because it's the last card in the set.

Al is mostly known for giving up Hank Aaron's 715th home run today, but he was a pretty solid pitcher for the Yankees and Dodgers. Check out the strikeout line on his '64 stats below, those 217 strikeouts led the league. He would go on to be an All-star in 1967 and win 20 games for the Dodgers in 1971.

But I'm still having a major mental block writing about baseball cards so here's Big Al Downing (no relation) playing Mr. Jones live in 2004.



Aw yeah, this is real country right here.

Found it!

Took three months, but I finally got the thing in my graphite-stained hands...

Looks like I'm gonna be doing some reading this weekend. Found it at Bookmiser up in Roswell when I stopped by just to pick up this book:

I went to this bookstore in December looking for Fear and Loathing, couldn't find it, but found this book instead. I had just read Still Life With Woodpecker and was interested in it so I flipped open to a random page. It happened to be this page:

Literally the first word I saw was....

I have a problem. A SERIOUS PROBLEM. The only reason I didn't buy it right then and there is because I had no cash, couldn't find a second book and didn't want to use a credit card for a two dollar purchase. But the forsaken ponies haunted me and I had to stop by again today when I had the chance. And waddya know, there was Mr. Thompson waiting for me. Good thing too, I've been pathetic about reading lately. I got one chapter into that Moe Berg Book before it was time to return it to the library. To be fair, it was a good chapter.

(am I ever going to post another baseball card on this dang blog??!?!)

Six Months Later

So on September 1st I decided to draw something every day. Somehow I've managed to keep it up. Here's the first sketch I did that day, Casey Stengel. Here's what I drew last night instead of all those sketch cards I owe people.

Looking forward to seeing what I draw this September 1st.

REALLY REALLY WANT

Quite possibly the best sketch card ever created:

The only way this could be better is if Deadpool was brushing Pinkie Pie instead of Rarity. Of course it has been suggested that Deadpool is actually Pinkie Pie in disguise (or perhaps vice versa) so that might not even be a possibility. Here's the artist Peter Nguyen's DA page if you'e interested.

I also kinda sorta want one of these. Maybe I should skip work on June 29th and head down I-75.

My conversation with Davy Jones

University of Georgia, early '90s, autograph session after a Real Live Brady Bunch performance.

Me: Hi.
Davy: Hello.
Me: I thought you were really cool in Head.
Davy: Thanks, that was a fun movie to make.
Yokel behind me in line: HEY LOOK THIS GUY JUST MET DAVY JONES
Me: thanks
Davy: Thanks for coming to the show!



Thanks Davy.

I am completely incapable of writing about baseball cards right now

Salvador Dali and Man Ray are shocked and dismayed to hear this news.

Don't worry, this happens a couple times a year. I wish it wasn't happening when I have so much to do, but them's the breaks. Maybe I'll get my mojo back after the Fluttershy episode this weekend.

1965 Topps More Twins Rookie Stars

Oh wait, this blog is about baseball cards, right? (and the occasional pony I guess). Guess I better post one, eh? Card, not pony.

Joe Nossek, Dick Reese and John Sevcik. Of these people, I know nothing. To the Googles!

Joe bounced around the league for 6 years, then coached in the bigs for twenty more years after that. His nickname was "Coffee and Juice". Remember that the next time you complain that there are no more good nicknames in baseball anymore.

Dick apparently goes by Rich which is why I didn't find his B-R page until his fifth page of Google results. Rich is obviously not a Dead Milkmen fan. Rick was originally signed by the tiger, then drafted by the Twins in the expansion draft, he then played 9 years with he Twins, the Tigers purchased his contract for the 1973 season and the Twins snatched him back up after Detroit released him in August. Dich's best season was in 1969 when he hit 16 dingers and batted .322.

John Sevcik played 12 games for the Twins in 1965. He went on to be an executive at the Jim Beam company, which is almost as good as being a professional baseball player. While his picture looks more like a painting than a photograph, there is another John Sevcik that actually does paintings. I don't think he did a painting for this card though. Also, ever since The Googles became self-aware and realized I was doing art now my ads and searches have been chock full of art and artists. Thus, John Sevcik the Artist was results #1 and #2 on my search while John Sevcik the Catcher was #3 and #4. I love Big Brother.

Also the Great 1965 Topps Project has done all these posts way better than me, so you should go check it out.

I never knew Spiderman was a Yuengling fan

I gave up trying to write about baseball card or draw ponies or do anything constructive whatsoever today and just drank bourbon and coke and watched the Angry Video Game Nerd all day long. If this doesn't recharge my batteries, I'm utterly screwed.

Actually this post is slightly relevant to 2011 Allen & Ginter. 

He'd rather have a buffalo take a diarrhea dump in his ear than solve the Ginter code!
(Has anyone solved that damn thing yet?)

Ryan Braun's Wayward Sample

Someone has to have made this joke already.

Hey Bud, You seen that Ryan Braun sample anywhere?

Moral of the story: poorly managed kneejerk drug testing policies leave a bad taste in your mouth. As does Milwaukee's Best.

Great article on all this boolsheet over at Grantland.

1965 Topps AL Rookie Stars

By the time they got to the high series, Topps had so many rookie stars they couldn't fit 'em all on the team rookie cards. Here's a AL rookie Stars card featuring Darold Knowles, lefty reliever who pitched 16 years for 6 different teams. Seven if you choose to differentiate the Washington Senators and Texas Rangers.

Richie Scheinblum had almost as many uniform numbers as Darold as he bounced around to six different teams in his eight-year career.

Don Buschhorn pitched in 12 games for the Athletics as a 19 year old and never pitched in the majors again. The year before he was in A-ball. The year after he was in Double-A, and would not advance higher. A team would never EVER bring up a 19 year old kid from A-ball to the bigs in one year nowadays, would they? They'd at least make a token effort to rush him through at least Double-A first. I've seen a couple of kids in the '60s brought up for a cup of coffee when they were a teenager never to be seen in the majors again while looking up these players. I really want to know what the deal with these cases was now. Was it a bonus thing? Did the kid catch the GM in a bar with some floozy? Did they not really know about/care about prospect development back then? Have baseball talent evaluators turned into a bunch of over analytical stat-obsessed weenies who demand that prospects are just so before they can play in the bigs due to complicated roster rules and arbitration time clocks? Of course the average age on my favorite team if you drop Huddy, Chipper and Uggla is about 22 and a half, so maybe at least in my neck of the woods the kids are getting to play like in the '60s.

1965 Topps Astros Rookies

ROOKIES, ROOKIES EVERYWHERE

WITH STARS ON THEIR HATS

A British artist, a go-cart drag racer, and a kid who struck out 4 times in 4 at bats, was traded to the Braves and never heard from again.

(note - links for Coombs and McClure may not be a 100% accurate summary of their baseball careers)

1965 Topps Cubs Rookies

This picture of Glenn Beckert looks like it could be the first known photograph of Slenderman. Just slap a black suit and some tentacles on him and you're set.

Doesn't help that Roberto Pena's nickname was 'baby'.

Yes, I automatically associate Cubs with nightmarish terrors. Doesn't everyone?

1965 Topps White Sox Rookies

I know nothing about Greg Bollo or Bob Locker, although it looks like Bob had a pretty darn good career as a reliever.

I do know that due to my infatuation with Dr. Demento every time I see a name that rhymes with Dan Blocker I get this song stuck in my head for 47 days.

So I'm good 'till April thanks to Bob Locker, Dan Blocker, Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, Pernell Roberts.

(seriously, don't click on that video)
(that way lies madness)
(probably should have put this bit first)

1965 Topps More Angels Rookies

You can tell it's the end of the season and Topps just wants to get the set over and done with when they start cramming in extra rookies on their Rookie Stars cards.

This one has three rooks instead of two and is set up like their League Leader cards. Marcelino Lopez is the Angels' rookie leader. He gets a yellow background instead of a blue sky!

Marcelino actually was a Rookie Star as he won 14 games for the Halos in 1965 and won a spot on the Topps Rookie Cup team. Sadly, he fell off the map after that and only won 16 more games the rest of his career. Rudy May is actually the star of the card, going on to win 152 games with the Angels, Yankees Orioles and Expos.

Phil Roof doesn't even belong on the list as he already had a rookie card in the 1963 set. I know because he played two games for the Milwaukee Braves to start his career and I need that dang card for my team set.

1965 Topps Yankees Team

"But I have to charge $50 for it, that's an original Mickey Mantle card!"

"It's a team card."

"But look! HE'S RIGHT THERE"

(yes i have had this conversation before)

1965 Topps Indians Rookies

Ever notice that vintage Topps cards seem to have an awful lot of airbrushed logos on hats? Ever wanted to know how artists were able to transform almost any hat into any other hat? Or why they were never able to pull this off with the uniforms? Ever wanted to know if there was a special photography trick they used to facilitate such transmogrifications? Check out Ralph Gagliano's headgear for a look behind the scenes:

The baseball cap version of a green screen. Or possibly the original prototype of a trucker's hat. Topps didn't worry about their trade secrets getting out with this card since it was a high number and no one ever bought those things anyway. Not like they had any competition to steal their secrets anyway...

Now ya know. And knowing is half the battle.

1965 Topps Angels Rookies

So is is Los Angeles Angels... or California Angels... or Anaheim Angels... Ana Ng Angels maybe?

The world may never know...

So what did these guys ever do? Tom caught Nolan's 3rd no-hitter. Pat may or may not be related to Joe.

(ok, so I got nothin') 
(I've made it abundantly clear I'm in a blogger funk right now)

1965 Topps Elston Howard

You know what ya dumb Veteran's Committee? DON'T put Elston Howard in the Hall of Fame.

It's nice to have one superstar vintage Yankee player to collect that DOESN'T cost an arm and a leg to acquire.

See those stats? See his MVP season in 1963? Oh yeah, Elston was an MVP. He was also a great defensive catcher. He also integrated the Yankees. Oh, but he doesn't really have the stats to go into the Hall of Fame. Maybe because he had to play in the Negro Leagues for three years. And didn't make his MLB debut until he was 26. And was stuck behind Yogi once he hit the bigs. AND served two years in Korea.

OoooOOOOooooohhhh... but he don't have the StaaaAAAAaaaats....

BECAUSE THE HALL OF FAME IS ABOUT NOTHING BUT STATS

HE ALSO INVENTED THE BATTING DONUT FOR PETE'S SAKE

PUT HIM IN THA HALL OF FAME YOU LOUSY VOTING BASTARDS

(sorry the Pinkie Pie episode got me feeling all joyful and smiling this morning so I had to go on a crazed rant real quick to balance out the force)