30/29? Good enough for me..

Why are no Rangers being mentioned as AL MVP candidates?  I take that back.  Michael Young has sort of been mentioned, here and there and deservedly so.  But the guy who I think has been the most valuable to the team this year is Ian Kinsler.  Part of that is my own anecdotal evidence from the many times I've watched  the Rangers play on TV.  It seems like every time I happened to be watching and something positive happened for the Rangers, Kinsler was in the middle of it.  Twice I saw him end a close game with a spectacular defensive play.    Seemingly every time I watched him hit, something good happened as well, whether it was a leadoff homerun, an extra base hit, or a stolen base to turn a single into an extra base hit.  

Kinsler just needs one more stolen base tonight to put him in the 30/30 club (30 HRs and 30 steals) for the second time in his young career.  With only two games to go, he might not get it.  But 29 steals is close enough for me.  I’m not suggesting that he should win the MVP, but from my eyeball test, he’s one of the best players in baseball.  

And my Kinsler collection is building up pretty nicely I must say.   This little beauty came in the mail this week:

 

Doonboggle: My Contribution to the Cardboard Lexicon

 Doon-bogg-le: [doon-bog-uhl, -baw-guhl]  noun,verb

noun
1.  A serious misjudgement regarding the potential value of a sports card.  Usually occurs as an over-reaction to a hot streak by a player, in which the collector freaks out and buys an expensive card of said player and soon realizes he/she made a big mistake.  
2.  The point after purchase or trade in which a collector asks: "Why do I have this card?"

verb
1.  The actual act of misjudging the potential value of a sports card.   This can include overspending of money towards a card, or the act of submitting a worthless card for grading, among other actions.  The failing end of the process of prospecting.

Perhaps there already is a term out in cardboard land for what I am getting at above.   I like "doonboggle" myself, and hope it catches on like "bipping".  What was my inspiration for this post?  I was petting my cards this evening and came across this thing: 

It's a graded card of Kris Benson.  Keep in mind, it is not my motif to make fun of players, past or present, if I can help it.  Benson was a darn good pitcher for a while,  so I don't mean any disrespect towards him.  And it's a sharp looking card, too.  But.... what in the holy hell am I doing with a graded card of Kris Benson?  I didn't send it in for grading, but obviously I bought this along the way somewhere in my collecting life.  I don't remember when or why I bought this, and I really hope I only got it because it basically a gimmee on eBay or part of a lot or something.  Whatever the back story, there it was, sitting with some other graded cards in one of my boxes.  I needed a word to explain what I had here, and doonboggle seemed to fit.


I am comforted by the thought that I can't be the only person out there that has committed at least one doonboggle in my collecting life.  So I invite you all to submit your doonboggle stories.  I'm going to tie this into a blogger/reader profile series that will have a place on the sidebar of my blog.  If you have a doonboggle you would like to share (it's cathartic, trust me) please shoot me a note. 

eTopps offering 9/26

Great week from eTopps this week.  The Ingram and Peterson are great buys for the game, and of course I'm stoked about the former Razorback Mallett getting a card.  It's a little strange to offer Mallett a week after Brady, so I won't be totally shocked if the Mallett gets nixed between now and IPO time (1 pm est).

Contest Winnings From Cheap Card Collecting

I'm a little slow on the draw, but I wanted to send out a big thank you to Anthony at  Cheap Card Collecting.   I entered a drawing a few weeks ago at this wonderful blog, and the randomizer smiled upon me.  My winnings arrived and they are beauties:

These are from 1991 Topps Archives, reprints of 1953 Topps, one of the great sets of all time.  The above were my favorites that Anthony sent.   These are really neat cards!  The backs are great too:

Cards or no cards, reading the Cheap Card Collecting blog is a prize itself, with great posts and lots of good "heads ups" of the best pricing for cards on the Internet.  Thank you for the much appreciated cards!

Rangers are the 2011 AL West Champions!

And it's all because I went to the game tonight... 

Luck, nay, destiny had your pal Napkin in Dallas this weekend on business.  When the opportunity to see the Rangers and Mariners play Friday night, I was all over it like a guy... who likes baseball... is on tickets for a baseball game..

I could sense some magic in the air as I approached this gorgeous baseball cathedral..

I love the Ballpark in Arlington.  It's a really pretty place to look at, and it is humongous.  Well, I guess humongous is a relative term.  to wit-

Right across the way from the Rangers Ballpark is Jerry World.  This thing has to be seen to be believed.  A little picture from my cell phone doesn't come close to doing it justice.  I hear parking is $75 here.  Parking for the Rangers game was $5.  But I digress.

Since I was on the company's dime, we shelled out dough for good seats and sat up a little ways behind home plate, in a covered section.  It was a great view of the field.  Unfortunately, my tale will not have the benefit of compelling photos, because the camera on my phone stinks.  But here are a few pics:

 We didn't get to see the Rangers take BP, but saw the Mariners "sluggers" lace some singles around the outfield.

 It was pretty cool seeing Ichiro up close.  He's a charismatic dude, and still had lots of fans screaming for his attention.

It wouldn't be a post from me without a picture of a hot dog would it?

The game went along pretty quickly.  I kid you not, before the game I told my co-worker that Adrian Beltre would go deep.  Bottom of the second, he proved me right.

Here's Beltre crossing the plate after his home run.  This would have been so much more fun to write if the picture won't so crappy.

Soon after, Josh Hamilton followed with a blast of his own.  But the best part of the night was former Razorback, Craig Gentry, hitting an inside the park home run, his first home run of his career.  Gentry is a fast mother.  He almost caught Nelson Cruz who was on base and running home ahead of him.

After the bullpen followed up a pretty solid outing by Matt Harrison with 3 shutout innings, we headed back to our hotel, the haunted Adolphus, and saw the A's finish off the Angels, at least as far as the AL West is concerned.

Bring on the playoffs!!! 

I'm so happy right now...

Rangers Mariners

Shiny Rangers

I'm headed to Dallas on business today.  I'm hoping to see the Rangers play Friday night.  I intend to go by the stadium at some point no matter what, and hope to have some good blog material while I'm away.  In the meantime, I received some new set pickups in the mail this week:

I picked up the sepia, black and blue Michael Young chrome parallels.  The sepia is nice, but I have to say, I think I like the plain ole' base card of '11 chrome the best.  I'm anxious to see one of the atomic refractor cards though.

This is my first look at Topps Marquee, and I'm kind of relieved that it doesn't do anything for me.  The photo is pretty cool though, with Ichiro horning in on the action.

Cleve's Auction Night: "Nice cards, babe!"

I couldn't make the Tuesday night auction at Cleve's this week, but I put in a few write in bids beforehand.  I was thrilled to see today that I won most of what I wanted (last week I was shut out).  I picked them up this afternoon and brought them home.  My wife blinked, smiled a pretty little smile and said "Nice cards, babe!"

Wait... what?

Could it be that the lovely wife now realizes what a shrewd purchaser I am and is coming around to my auction power?  Nah... I don't think so either.  She is either feeling guilty about something she bought, has something she wants me to do that she thinks I won't want to do, or she is SO REALLY, REALLY mad at me that she has skidded all the way off the anger charts and being nice is the only way she can express her feelings.  Like a fire that is so hot it becomes blue and looks cool to the touch.   The supportive words above may have been dripping with sarcasm and I was too dense to figure it out.  But, I'll take it all the same and enjoy the non-scolding.

And who wouldn't be impressed at this haul?  LOOK AT THIS!!!!

 Michael Young Triple Threads Auto/Relic Bonanza

This card instantly becomes my best Michael Young card.   I am so excited to get this I may not be able to sleep tonight.  In fact, I'm still in a bit of shock that I have it.  Numbered to 18, it has 4 pcs of jersey and 2 pcs of bat, PLUS and auto.  Awesome, awesome, awesome card. 

Topps Tribute Clayton Kershaw auto/relic

 

I really did not expect to get this card with a $6 bid.   But here it is.  This guy will be good great for a long, long time I think.  I'm not sure yet if I want to keep it, flip it or trade it.  Maybe I can use this to spur a trade with the famous Night Owl.

 

 1960 Fleer Lot of 3

I don't consider a haul from Cleve's a success unless I pick up some vintage.  I got these three 1960 Fleer for $1 each.  The Cochrane is mis-cut but I don't care.  

Topps Pristine Uncirculated Robinson Cano

From the "why not" category, comes this uncirculated Robinson Cano.  I figured $3 would be a steal for an uncirculated, numbered refractor of a superstar.  And Cano is a superstar.  

Grades:

Topps Triple Threads Michael Young auto/relic $10:  A+  Instantly my best Michael Young card, and a beautiful card to look at.  I would have been happy paying $20 for this awesome card of my favorite player.

Topps Tribute Clayton Kershaw auto/relic $6:  A-  A tremendous value in my opinion, that will only get better as he gets more recognition.

1960 Fleer Lot $3:  B  I'm actually a bit on the fence about building this set now. But these are still cool cards that didn't cost much at all.

2003 Pristine Uncirc. Robinson Cano $3:  A-  I'm a sucker for uncirculated cards, and don't have any great rookies of Cano.  This covers both wants.

Blog Dog Championship Semifinal:

Sam’s Club vs. White Oak Station

The votes are in as to whether or not I should continue my hot dog tournament.  You have spoken, and I am your humble servant.  I wish I knew who the lone dissenter was who voted for me to stop doing this so I could thank them for trying.  The rest of you don’t know what you are putting me through. 

Sam’s Club- 2^nd Dog

I don’t know why I keep forgetting to take a picture of the outside of Sam’s.  I assume you all know what one looks like?  Sam’s Club put on a scintillating performance in round one, and may have won the overall competition had I not been urged to hold a second round.  I was actually looking forward to my second dog at Sam’s as I handed over my $1.50 +tax and took my huge fountain drink and Nathan’s dog to my seat.  Here was the offering for round two:

Uh….  I guess that’s why we needed to play this out.  This was ok, but not nearly as good as the round 1 dog.  The bread was kind of stale, and the relish had a strange taste to it.  If this had been the round one dog, it would not have beat out the $12 Kobe beef dog at Tusk and Trotter.   Stale buns seem to be the downfall for many of these entrants.   The favorite going into the semifinals is now in big, big trouble.  White Oak Station is going to have to really mess up to lose this one.

White Oak Station- 2^nd Dog

I had to improvise slightly for this contestant, although it was not my fault.  I went in for lunch to White Oak Station, ready to get my dog and wrap up this first semifinal.  However, there were no hot dog holders left, and only two pitiful franks in the warming bin.    I really didn’t want to mess around asking for a container, so I decided to try the smaller White Oak Station nearer my office.  I would have gone to that location for round one as well, but it is smaller and not as nice as the one you saw in round one.  Only the best will do for my hot dog tournament.  I suppose I could have waited another day and tried again at the first White Oak station, but I am travelling again this week, and I need to put this series out your misery.

Here was what I got at the supplemental White Oak Station:

It was pretty good.  Not great, but good enough to beat the substandard offering Sam’s Club gave me this round.    The bun was soft, the meat was just fine, (a bit salty) and the size was about as big as Sam’s Club. 

I sort of expected Sam’s to win this thing in a breeze after their the excellent first round dog, but that’s why you play the games.

White Oak Station goes into the championship against the winner of Five Guys/Chicago Dog. 

Etopps Football!

Etopps starts football offerings today at 1 pm est.  The first week is a strong one with Tom Brady, AJ Green and Titus Young.

The design is sharp!

Not sure what the prices are yet, but the Brady and Green are musts.

I am a little suprised there wasn't a Cam Newton this week though. 

Patches? We Don’t Need No Stinking Patches!

Oh, but I do need some stinking patches, so bought some I did.  The Kinsler is the one I was shooting for on eBay, but the seller of this particular card offered free shipping for additional purchases.  I decided to bid on the Alomar, and got it for only $1 more.  It is for trade if anyone is interested.

GWAG12 Update

My recent travel slowed any momentum I had for my George Will for Allen and Ginter 2012 campaign.  Aside from sending a few cards with trade packages, I hadn't done jack the past week in this endeavor.  However, last night I did set up a GeorgeWill for Allen and Ginter page on Facebook, which will be interesting to watch, along with my own personal profile (Napkin Doon).  I put a post on George Will’s Facebook page, as well as Topps's.  It will be interesting to see if anyone checks it out, or assumes it is some spam garbage.

Hoosier Buddy? Potch at Indianaland that’s Who..

Potch over at Indianaland Picture Cards and I just completed a trade that was seeded by a one for one Bowman Platinum trade.  I was interested in a Jurickson Profar card he picked up (bottom row, right).  He also threw in some additional favorite Rangers of mine:

I love the Opee Chee Moments card of Michael Young, top center.  That expression HAS to be on purpose. 

He also sent some other cards of other players I collect:

I wonder what former Razorback Kevin McReynolds is doing now?  I think he is back in Arkansas.  I bet I could get these autographed.

Anyway, thanks for the nice easy trade Potch, and keep up the great work on a wonderful blog!   I hope you enjoy the cards I sent.

Ho –Ho- Hosmer!

One of the hottest cards in the 2011 Topps Chrome set is the Eric Hosmer rookie, which I guess is his first “true” rookie card, although his eTopps card came out earlier in the year.  I have had no lucking hitting one in the rack packs I’ve picked up so far, and since they are so expensive, I’ll probably knock it off with them for a while.   So when I saw that  Marie from a Cardboard Problem had one and was looking for an Orange parallel card of some nobody named Pujols, which I happened to have, I sent her a quick trade offer. 

Later that day, I went to Cleve’s to check out the upcoming auctions and saw that he had just opened some Chrome himself.   Out of curiosity I asked if he had hit any of the Hosmer cards.  He had, and offered to give me one.  I declined his generous offer, but he assured me it was no big deal, so I was more than happy to accept.    I really would like to dedicate a larger post to just what a great guy Cleve is, and will when my thoughts are more completely formed on the matter.  But for now, let me just say, “Thank You so much Cleve!”

A few hours later, I saw an email from Marie accepting my trade offer.   It was my lucky day!   Two Hosmers are better than one, is what I say, and what I try to instill in others.  So I shipped off the Pujols.  I love trades when both parties are excited about what they are getting.  Thank you for the trade Marie!

I was actually able to see Hosmer play when he was with the Naturals here in NW Arkansas.  I only saw one game (he wasn’t here long), but it was clear pretty quickly that he is a special player.  In fact, let me be so bold as to give you a personal “Napkin Doon Guarantee” that Eric Hosmer will be a perennial All-Star, MVP candidate and first ballot Hall of Famer, and any and all cards you purchase of him will double, nay, triple in value over the next 2-5 years.