Night Owl Cards

A few people have noticed: I changed the way the blog looked with zero fanfare earlier this week. I've changed my blog appearance, I think, six times now, although one was just a header swap. Just about all of those came with a bit of a warning or explanation. I didn't think that was necessary this time, mostly because I've been doing this for over a decade, am pretty established, and don't think I need to justify my decisions here. But also I thought that people were familiar with the general changes in web sites over the last two, three, four years and wouldn't be that affected by it. For the most part that seems to be true -- or, no one cares and they're all looking at pretty instagram pictures. I've received a couple of questions though and just because I hate the feeling that some readers are lost, I'll explain what I can. The changes, like many web site changes, are related to mobile phone use. I've been irked by the way my blog ...

Yes, I've changed the blog look again. I realize that you think this makes me an indecisive malcontent who is never satisfied with anything. You know me well. Actually, that's only partially true. The reason I changed the blog template again is because blogger has this new template design thing with more options, and I finally found what I was looking for back when I changed the template the first time. I wanted a dark "night owl" look that wouldn't be too difficult to read. For a long time there was nothing like that. Now there is. I'd like to say this is the last change I'll make. But I'm not ready to make that commitment. I'll only say that this is my last change -- until I like something better. But while I'm in my present euphoria over the new look (this is all starting to sound like finding a new girlfriend), I should christen it properly. And the proper way to do these things is a trade post. Trade posts are the foundation on which ...

(Yes, I've done some blog remodeling. Glad you noticed. More on that later. But right now it's time for Cardboard Appreciation. This is the 58th in a series): In celebration of a new look, I've decided to feature my favorite subset of all-time. It is the 1968 World Series subset in 1969 Topps. And according to me, it is without flaw. Let us count the ways: 1. A newspaper format. Cards that use newspaper themes kick significant ass. 2. Photos that actually appear to be from the World Series game in question. We all know that Topps sometimes has problems in this area. 3. A great newspaper layout. As someone who has produced thousands of sports newspaper covers, that is a simple, striking layout. 4. Topps follows the headline rules! No split modifiers, no ending top lines in prepositions. The editor is smiling. (Wait -- not smiling anymore. What's with the random semi-colon at the end of the second line?) 5. OK, back to collecting: there is a c...

I don't know how to react to this news about my team. I write so much more easily when they suck. But the Dodgers sit a healthy distance from suck. They have the best record in baseball. They just set a franchise mark for winning their first 10 games at home. And they've made the rest of the NL West their poor, pathetic bitch. I don't remember a start like this by the Dodgers since 1977, when my favorite player of all-time, Ron Cey, set a record for RBIs in April with 29 and L.A. went 17-3. I was a beaming sixth grader back then. The Dodgers were perennial postseason contenders, and I was new to baseball. I didn't know how good I had it. But after so many mediocre seasons, this is so different, although not entirely unexpected. Many Dodger fans may remember the 2005 Jacksonville Suns. They were the Dodgers' Class AA team, and they were named Baseball America's team of the year. I don't follow minor league teams as much as I should, but I took notice of this ...