Grady's Card From Dinged Corners

About 2 weeks ago Grady got his first card. If you are reading this you probably read a lot of baseball card blogs and will not be surprised at all by who the card came from. It was sent by Patricia and Lucy from Dinged Corners, two of the all time great Blog People. I knew it was coming. Not long after I wrote about Grady being born I got an email from Patricia to tell me that a card would be in the mail soon. After a short scare that it might be lost in the mail (as well as the disturbing possibility that I may have somehow forgotten where I live and given them the wrong address) it arrived. I immediately emailed Patricia that we had gotten the card and I promised a post about it the next day. That was only 2 weeks ago. Time, I am finding out, manifests itself strangely when there is an infant about.

Waiting for the card to arrive, I knew it would be something great. Anybody who is familiar with Dinged Corners knows this. That still didn’t stop me from being overwhelmed when it got here. Patricia and Lucy saw the card in a card shop (only the 2nd time they’ve ever been to one) and thought of Grady. Imagine that, they bought a card for someone they’ve never met because his dad writes a silly little blog about baseball cards featuring players with gold teeth and two ear flaps. I can only hope that I am half as thoughtful.

The card is a 2008 Upper Deck – A Piece of History –Stadium Scenes Grady Sizemore Jersey Card numbered 23/25. It is a truly awesome card. Some players are more important to a team than numbers reflect. While Sizemore’s numbers are very good, he is one of those players, and as an Indians fan, there is no player I’d rather have on my team. I feel very lucky that I get to watch him play every day during the season.

Also, and I’m sure this comes as no surprise, Grady Sizemore is my son Grady’s favorite player.

“Seriously Mike, there’s no way you could know who his favorite player is. The kid’s only 6 weeks old and doesn’t even know what baseball is.”

Yeah, well, I’ve talked to him a lot about baseball and the Indians and Sizemore already. Also, Grady has given me no indication that Sizemore ISN’T his favorite player. I’m his father and I think I know him best. Until someone comes at me with Nate Silver like numbers indicating something else, I think it’s a safe assumption. And don’t even joke about him being a Yankee’s fan. Seriously, that isn’t funny.

The card also came with a very nice note and a picture drawn by Lucy. If I had any idea how to use photoshop, I’m sure I could get a better scan of the letter. As it stands I’m kind of an idiot so I’ll just type what it says in case it is difficult to read due to my poor scanning capabilities.

“Dear Michal, we are excited about the baby. And we hope you guys like the card we are sending you. Enjoy! - Lucy from Dinged Corners

This is followed by a nice picture of me hitting a ball to Grady. Let’s just hope that he turns out to be a better fielder than his old man was.

Lucy and Patricia – Thank you very much for the letter and the card. It was very thoughtful and very much appreciated.

Grady’s Favorite Cards

In accordance with what my son’s opinions very well may be, I’ve decided to start a collection of some of his very favorite cards. You might be saying to yourself: “He’s only -6 weeks old. How in the world can you know what he likes? Heck, he might be a Yankees fan.” To which my reply would be: Sure he’s young, but he’s a reasonable kid, and any reasonable kid would love these cards. As far as that crack about the Yankees; I’ll let it slide this time. But, don’t push your luck Buster.

The card for today is none other than John Henry Johnson 1982 Fleer #321

JJ, as we like to call him around the clubhouse, had a pretty unspectacular career, mostly as a relief pitcher. His biggest accomplishment may be that, in spite of his name, he never evolved in to some sort of lone nut ball assassin. To tell you the truth, I’m not sure I had ever heard of him prior to Grady pointing out this card.

So, I want you to look closely at the card to see if you can figure out what’s so great about it. Go ahead, I’ll wait………..give up yet?..........IT”S THE HAIR. Just look at it. It’s glorious. It’s so uniform, symmetric, and geometrical. If there’s a white Bake McBride out there, it’s probably JJ. On some levels I wish he had his hat on in this card, just to see what it would look like. But, I think that might obscure the full glory of this magnificent coiffeur. No, I think this card is perfect just the way it is.

You’d think that the hair would be enough. You’d be wrong. There’s something else wonderful about this card, and it’s a little more difficult to pick out. Rather than try to explain it, I’d like to try a little demonstration, you know, for the kids. C’mon, It’ll be fun.

OK, I want everyone to stand up…you too Gellman.
Dave, pick yourself up off the floor and quit your crying. There’s 4 more games.
Great, I see Patricia and Lucy are on their feet.
Dayf, you’re excused due to your wonderful package.

Everybody ready?

OK, now just hang your arms down at your sides. Pull your pants all the way up to your elbows, and walk around like that the rest of the day. Good times, right?

Maybe he would have pitched a little better if his pants were below his belly button. Who knows. What I do know is JJ didn’t supplement his income by working construction. The dude was a superhero! There are a lot worse ways to spend the off season than fighting crime. Hey, maybe that’s why Grady likes this card so much.

A package from Cardboard Junkie

About a month ago Dayf, over at Cardboard Junkie, sent me a package. He did this for no other reason than I commented that I was a fan of Dan Gable. Because Dayf (which I have recently learned is nihilist for “Dave”) is good dude, he sent me a few Gable cards and a bunch of Indians. Aren’t the Blog People great?

Well, it only took a month, but I’m finally getting a thank you up on my blog. Here are some scans of Dayf’s package and a few thoughts on it. (Go back and read that last sentence again!)


1. 1991 Impel US Olympic Hall Of Fame Dan Gable #32
I have no idea what set this is, but it is a sweet card. I was a wrestler for 6 years and was pretty average. I didn’t have the proper mindset. I’d get so nervous for matches that I would almost puke. I think it’s safe to say that Gable had no such problems. Here are a few stats on Gable:
· 64 – 0 in High School
· 118 – 1 at Iowa State. The only match he ever lost was his last one, in the NCAA final, to Larry Owings of Washington, who somehow managed to psyche out Gable.
· 1972 Olympic Gold Medalist, without surrendering a point
· Won 21 straight Big ten titles as head coach at Iowa
· Won 9 straight NCAA championships at Iowa
Yes, Dan Gable was a super bad ass extraordinaire. I remember hearing a story about a Russian wrestler quiting in the middle of a match against him. We’re not talking about some 7 year old kid who’s dad is forcing him to wrestle. We’re talking about a guy who’s good enough to wrestle on the international stage. And the guy freakin’ quit! Anyway, if you don’t know much about him, I would recommend setting your DVR to record ESPN’s “Beyond the Glory” on Gable. The guy is truly amazing.

Back to the card. I don’t know exactly what kind of hold Gable has that poor bastard in, I just know that he’s in a tight spot. Meanwhile, Gable seems to be kicking his ass without breaking much of a sweat, while his face is held together with tape. Total Bad Ass.

2. 1974 Topps Jack Brohamer #586 – I just love that name. And look at those chops! Yes, Jack Brohamer was one handsome man.

3. 2008 A+G Masa Kobayashi #83 – Cleveland’s Japanese reliever. Not the one who did the Japanese gay porn. The other one. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

4. 2007 Topps Shin-Soo Choo #343 – One of my favorite current Indians and Grandmaster of the Council On The Double Ear Flap. Not to mention that he’s learning cursive.

5. 2008 Goudey Victor Martinez #61 – I like Goudey. Who doesn’t. Let’s see what Derek Jeter has to say about Victor. “As the Indians rolled to the 2007…” You know what? Fuck what Derek Jeter has to say. He didn’t say it anyway.

6. 1987 Topps Julio Franco #160 – As kids playing waffle ball, there wasn’t anyone’s batting stance more emulated than Julio’s. The back informs us that Julio was a standout baseball player in high school. No shit? Just once I want to read about the guy that really sucked it up in high school but came on strong once he reached Double A.

7. 1994 Sportflics Carlos Baerga #71 – I absolutely love Sportflics (or Sportflix, depending on the year I think). It was a sad day in Cleveland when Baerga got traded. And for Jeff Kent too. That guy sucks. He’ll never amount to anything. Not to mention the fact that I lost my blow connection.

8. 1972 Topps Bo Scott #187 – What strikes me about this card is that it’s only 8 years removed from Cleveland’s last NFL Championship (championship of any kind actually). 8 years isn’t too long. It would be years before we came to the realization that we are a city of losers. We still have no idea how the hell it happened.

9. 1980 Topps Wayne Cage #208 – Do you think he’s really fielding a grounder?

10. 2008 UD Heroes Rulon Gardner #258 - Russia had their own Dan Gable in Alexander Karelin. The only difference is the USA had a guy who eventually beat him. I remember watching that match. Then he was in a plane crash and lost in the wilderness and lost a few toes to frostbite or something. The man’s led a strange life.

11. 2004 Leaf Certified Materials Travis Hafner #191 – Look how shiny it is! I love Hafner and am really pulling for him to turn is around. For some reason I always had an idea that he got that big and strong the same way that Conan did; just pushing a big wheel around for years and years for no apparent reason.

12. 2008 M+M Jim Thome #85 083/150 – Come to think of it, maybe that’s how Thome got that big too. Naw, he just ate a lot of steak, eggs, cornbread, and milk. He hit a hell of a lot of HR’s too. In Cleveland he gets booed because after hitting like 300 hrs for us, someone else gave him many more million dollars to play for their team. HE OWES US! He should play for Cleveland for free forever. Otherwise he’s a jerk.

13. 1973 Topps Ray Fosse #226 – On the back it says: “Ray considers his most interesting baseball experience to be ‘the collision’ at home plate with Pete Rose in the 1970 All-Star Game.” Yeah…I’m sure that’s what he called it…”interesting”

Some thoughts on the rest

I love 1975 Topps. I think everyone does.
I heard that Giles likes to walk around the clubhouse with “Charlie” hanging out.
Will there ever come a time when I get tired of Bert Blyleven’s beard?
Alex Johnson…I got nothin’. Sorry
Dan Gable looks like an accountant. A bad ass accountant who can kill you with his pinky, but an accountant none-the-less.

I like Dave Nelson’s sleeveless jersey, but they really do that best in Cinci Now-a-days
I like Peralta at 3rd base for the Tribe. Too bad he plays SS
I can’t believe the 86 Tribe finished 5th with Jerry Willard
Josh Barfield looks good. Why isn’t he?
Thank you Ben. We love Shin-Soo Choo.
Why doesn’t David Justice get more love? I’m just talking about baseball too. He was really good. That isn’t even mentioning the fact that he used to sleep with Halle Berry.

There you have it. I can’t thank Dayf enough for his package (I just love saying that). It really was great. I promise I will get something together soon.

The Flyin’ Hawaiian

So I invent the Council On The Double Ear Flap, and I’m pretty pleased with myself that I’ve found something so exceedingly rare. I make a cute little post about Grandmaster Shoo and I head off to work. After work I stop by the hospital to see Grady and meet Katie. We decide to stop off at a little Irish pub, PJ McIntyres, for a burger and a beer so we can catch some of game one

Well, we sit down and order a drink; I look up at the TV: and who’s standing on second base staring at me? The Flyin’ Hawaiian, Shane Victorino, that’s who, in all of his double ear flap glory.

Well, I got so damn excited about it, it wasn’t until later that I realized what a jackass it makes me look at. But no matter, me being a jackass comes as no surprise to anyone reading this blog…or my wife. What matters here is that Shane Victorino just became the second member of the Council On The Double Ear Flap.

This is good. Shane’s a descent player who’s had a hell of a postseason. I just didn’t realize how smart he is, but hey, check out the big brain on Shane.

Good for you Shane. Welcome to the Council.

Council On The Double Ear Flap: GrandMaster Choo

Who here has played some sort of organized baseball? Everybody, right? OK, who had two ear flaps on their helmet?

So why in the world do major leaguers wear helmets with only one ear flap? In a league where teams most likely (Marge Schott’s Reds being the exception) are willing to get each player their own helmet, the double ear flap is seen as rarely as Barry Zito sees the ninth inning. I guess that switch hitters must somehow strong-arm their respective teams into buying them two different helmets. It must be in the contracts somewhere. (I wonder if the equipment managers on teams with a high percentage of switch hitters get paid more.)

I just can’t really see the point. As a little leaguer I remember thinking that it must be terribly uncomfortable having an ear flap on one side and none on the other. And aren’t they worried about getting hit in the exposed ear? I know that a ricochet off the backstop into your ear is unlikely, but is it any more unlikely than Tony Pena Jr getting intentionally walked? It just always seemed a little reckless too me.

Well, it seems reckless to Shin-Soo Choo as well. When the Tribe traded for Choo, the first thing I noticed about him was the double ear flap. That’s how rare it is. I was a fan immediately.

He was gotten because the Seattle’s (since fired) GM decided that he was less valuable than Ben Broussard. This was around the same time that he also decided that Eduardo Perez was worth Asdrubal Cabrera. So the Tribe got two very promising young players for their ineffectual, aging first base platoon. It doesn’t surprise me that Bavasi got fired; it surprises me that it took so long.

Back to Choo. He was actually a hell of a pitcher with a mid 90’s fastball. He was signed by Seattle in 2000. Traded to Cleveland in 2006 and on July 28, his first game with the Tribe, he hit his first major league home run against, you guessed it, the Mariners, who I’m sure were thrilled to have either Broussard or Perez at first. This past July, Choo came back from Tommy John surgery and for the rest of the season had on OPS+ of 143. He was the player of the month for September and is in the driver’s seat for a starting job next season.

And he’s doing it all with the double ear flap. Without doing any research, I’m going to make up a year when major leaguers went to the single ear flap. That year is 1933. It is possible that 1933 may be the year that the double earflap became dangerously obsolete, if it was ever used at all above the little league level. I have managed to locate some other cards where players used the DEF. It is my assumption that these players are exceedingly intelligent and use the DEF to protect their massive brains. Smart people are on councils, so these players are anointed members of the Council On The Double Ear Flap. And Choo is their GrandMaster…because I like him a lot.

More members to come.

The Buckeye's Future

There was nothing about what the Buckeyes had accomplished this season that led me to believe that they would be able to beat Michigan State. Yesterday they made a believer out of me again. There's no real need for me to recap what happened as anyone who cares already knows. What I would like to do is just point out a few things about Terrelle Pryor.

1. Terrelle Pryor is an incredible athlete. He's very fluid. His throwing motion looks a little funny, but hopefully the coaches will work that out with time. A lot of people are comparing him to Vince Young, and I thing that's a fair comparison. But, when he runs, he reminds me of another runner. A guy who I had the privilege of watching in high school and is also one of the best RBs ever at Ohio State and in the NFL. Robert Smith.

I'm not trying to imply that Pryor is as good as Robert Smith was. I'm just saying that he's who I think of when Pryor is running. They both have those long strides that make it look like they aren't running very fast at all. It's really beautiful to watch. Let's hope that Pryor ends up being at least half the football player and person that Robert Smith turned out to be.

2. Terrelle Pryor desperately needs a nickname. Usually I'm against the arbitrary assigning of nicknames as I believe the best ones are not forced, but come about naturally. However, Pryor was referred to today in the Cleveland Plain Dealer as "T.P." I don't know about you, but when I hear T.P. I think of toilet paper. We obviously need something better before that one sticks.

I fear that if we leave it up to ESPN he will end up being something like "T. Prod". I've shown my significant ineptitude in this department already. I keep coming back to Skippy McGillicutty. Obviously, I don't have the answer. Let me know what you think reader, man, sir.

This is your new homework Larry.

Take Me Drunk, I'm Home

Bravo, Joba, Bravo. Those pinstripeas are supposed to be vertical, not horizontal.

I guess a cab is a little too much to ask on your salary.

I don't understand how these things happen. I don't think getting a DUI makes you a bad guy. I know a lot of people who either have one, or could have gotten one. I know I probably would have been in trouble a few times if I was pulled over in my younger days.

What I don't get is these athletes. I mean, they have to know that if they get pulled over it will make national headlines in a matter of hours. How these guys end up in these situations is beyond me.

I'll give Joba the benefit of the doubt on this one. It was probably just a dumb mistake that a lot of good people have made before.

Just don't let it happen again.