Word Association Games: A Zippy Zapping

I sometimes think that I have an oddly organized brain. It stores random trivia and song lyrics at a frightening pace, for instance. Weird connections between the two make it so that the song generator in my head kicks off if you say a random word to me. Do that, and pretty soon I can't stop hearing the song "Requiem for a Dying Song" in my head for hours. 

For whatever reason, one of those word associations in my head has attached Pearl Jam's song "Whipping" to the card-collecting-world-famous Zippy Zappings from Kenny, the proprietor of Torren' Up Cards. 

Other than the ending of each word being "pping", I have no idea why my brain ties these two disparate things together. Hell, the song is almost as old as Kenny is. But, that's the way things work for me. 

So, after a long week away in planning meetings and, also, a fair amount of fun too, let's see where my brain goes with this Zapping. 

Kenny sent me a package with four portions: three "packs" of cards, and a "loose" pack. Let's start "loose" and go from there:

These are from a 2008 Upper Deck/Kellogg's promotion from Japan. Ryan from "This Card Is Cool" mentioned this set (along with the related sets from 2007, 2009, and 2010) on his blog in March of 2015. I am not surprised that, as best I can tell, there are not any Milwaukee Brewers in any of these sets. Disappointed, perhaps, but not surprised.

In typing that paragraph up, my brain went to a very dark place. 

Now, let me defend my brain. I spent Wednesday through Saturday this week at a planning retreat for the American Bar Association Forum on Construction Law group. I'm a division chair within that organization, and our planning retreat was held at the Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, North Carolina. I'm not a golfer, so on Friday my wife and I headed to the pool -- not to bake in the sun, mind you, but rather to get a beer, hang out, people watch a bit, and generally decompress. 

It didn't suck. Well, until this damn song came on over the music at the pool. So, for the first time in about 8 years, I heard it and it got stuck in my brain for a little while. Then, the dark thoughts about no Brewers come up and there you are.

Next!

This is the 1990 version of the ACE Novelty MVP pin. Like most things that are Robin Yount items, I need not look any further than the Cynical Buddha for more information to share with you. CB's post shows the full packaging in which this pin came. Indeed, I have an unopened package that I purchased somewhere and at some point in the last two years.

Where's this go? 

My wondering where I got the unopened pin leads me here. Someone apparently took a digital video of the movie "An American Tail" as seen through a fishtank and posted this video.

Next?

I love the Sega Card Gen cards, and Kenny sent me two Jonathan Lucroy cards (from 2011 and 2012) along with this K-Rod card. K-Rod features, though, because seeing the card flipped a switch in my head.

If you listen to a bit of the song, you'll know why I couldn't avoid this link. 

This Kraft Singles Superstars is from Canada. I swear that Kenny's mailings might cover the most actual countries of origin than nearly any other trader I've ever met. I'm just waiting for him to unearth some Korean cards.  

Another natural association. Canadian. Kraft Dinners. It's nearly a Pavlovian response in my head. It seems so obvious to me that I'm afraid people will think my head is filled with cliches.



Topps's airbrushing in the 1970s was often clumsy and terrible. This is as opposed to its Photoshopping in its current cards where it's not quite as obvious that the photo has been changed except for the actual facts about the player pictured -- you know, showing game action of a draft pick in the major league uniform, for existence. 

Making the 1970s clumsiness more obvious is that Money is in pinstripes. Milwaukee's uniforms did not have pinstripes until 1978; Money's team in 1972 -- the Phillies -- did. Ken Berry's change on his uniform isn't as obvious (though Milwaukee did not wear gray any year that I can see), but that hat is a clear airbrush job since Berry had not played for Milwaukee when the card was issued in 1974.

The satin hats led my brain to old, old school country music and Jeannie Pruett's signature song, "Satin Sheets." I guess the oddity is that this song is in my head at all in the first place, though it did spend three weeks atop the Country Music charts in 1973. My mom's listening to country music in the 1970s must have put it into my RAM around then.



In prospecting circles, most people recognize 21-year-old Brewers prospect Orlando Arcia as one of the top prospects in the minor leagues. Intriguingly, the Brewers have been playing Orlando at second base in the past week, leading me to wonder if the team might keep Jonathan Villar (currently leading the National League in stolen bases...and also in caught stealing...but generally having an excellent season) at short for a little while and break Arcia in at short. But, in the story about Arcia, Brewers GM David Stearns denied any position change was in the works.

We'll see.

But, where does my head go with that Bowman yellow Orlando staring at me?

Of course. It's Tony Orlando and Dawn with their song about coming home after three years in prison, "Tie a Yellow Ribbon." There's nothing like a good soft-rock song about an ex-con making demands on his girlfriend/family, is there?

After listening to the song and knowing its words, it strikes me as a bit off that this song -- and its yellow ribbons -- got co-opted to become a national symbol for soldiers off at war or even people being held as hostages. As that Library of Congress website explains, its symbolism extends well back into the U.S. Civil War, so it's not quite as obvious or crazy as it first may seem.

Thank you, Kenny, for the great cards -- only a few of which I've shared here. They are excellent!

Gimme a Smack

It's funny how cereal companies no longer tout their sweetness by incorporating the word "Sugar" into its name. Remember "Super Sugar Crisp"? That cereal went from being "Post Super Sugar Crisp" to now being "Post Golden Crisp." According to this survey, Golden Crisp is comprised of 52% sugar. That one is just second on the list of highest sugar content, though.

Topping the list is another of these name changers. Checking in at a whopping 57% sugar is the inaptly named "Honey Smacks." I remember eating these as "Sugar Smacks" -- like in the commercial from 1981 below.  It didn't hurt that I'd usually get baseball cards in these cereals, but I do wonder whether I developed my sweet tooth thanks to these breakfast cereals.

These days, the only "Smack" that I don't have any remorse in dealing with is Jimmy from Talking Smack Cards. Jimmy does not post a ton, but he keeps his want lists up to date (so, I shall be trying to find a few cards I can send his way soon).  Jimmy sent me an email to let me know that he had a few cards I needed off my wantlist, and those cards arrived from California while I was in California. How appropriate.

Jimmy made a nice dent in my 2009 Topps wantlist and obliterated my 2015 Topps Update list.  Let's start with the recent cards first:

The top row features two players who are still Milwaukee Brewers, while the bottom row features new Detroit Tiger K-Rod and new Seattle Mariner Luis Sardinas. K-Rod apparently had photos of former GM Doug Melvin in a compromising position, as that is the only real way to explain why Melvin kept resigning him while new GM David Stearns basically gave Rodriguez to the Tigers for a shortstop in A-ball and a player to be named.

Sardinas was theoretically the centerpiece of the trade with the Rangers last offseason for Yovani Gallardo. In reality, Corey Knebel is looking more like that centerpiece. Some folks are saying that the 23-year-old Knebel should close for the Brewers in 2016; I tend to think Jeremy Jeffress should do that, because it would be easier to trade Jeffress if he turns out good at it.  Anyway, in exchange for Sardinas, the Brewers received former Yankee prospect Ramon Flores.  Flores has shown a good batting eye in his minor league time -- slashing in his 7 minor league seasons at .275/.363/.405. He doesn't really hit for power or steal basis, though, so his value is entirely dependent on his batting average.

You can't have cookies for breakfast!!! 

But, you can get 2009 Topps cards out and check them out!

I loved Cookie Crisp.

Of course, we haven't been able to pull baseball cards from cereal boxes for something like 20 years now, and you can eat all the Cookie Crisp cereal you want. 

This world is upside down, if you ask me. 

Of the guys pictured above, two of them are still with the Brewers -- Braun and his manager Craig Counsell. With the news that the Brewers signed Chris Capuano to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training, though, I'm thinking Manny Parra can't be far behind. I mean, he is a free agent. Let the memory live again -- the memory of Manny Parra as the next great lefty in Milwaukee -- okay, first great lefty in Milwaukee (because Dan Plesac and Mike Caldwell don't count)....

Sing it, Grizabella! 

Jimmy, thank you very much for the great cards!

Junk Wax from The Astrodome

A week or so ago, I found a few spare minutes to read a couple of blogs. In the past, that was not a rare event.  Indeed, since I started this blog back in February of 2014, I've had a lot more free time than I really should have had.  By that, I mean that my job in 2014 was incredibly slow, and trying to develop my law practice in 2015 took a lot of energy, but I still had a fair amount of free time.

Not any more.

Work has buried me.  For the first time in at least 3 or 4 years, I have so much to do at work that I almost feel bad not getting in earlier (today, 7:20) and then for leaving when I do (tonight, at 6:30). It's because it feels like I'm still behind.  Because I am.

But, I have to be honest -- it's a good feeling as well.  It's stressful, no doubt, but it's also a great challenge too.  

So, back to the set up. I had a few minutes to read some blogs and saw that Bru from Remember the Astrodome has a post called "Free Junk Wax!"  I swear, seeing that declaration was not all that different than being hungry in the morning and seeing this sign:

It's tough to turn those down.

Okay, I'll admit that despite the fact that this month marks the 20th anniversary of me moving to Georgia, I'm very much more of a Dunkin Donuts fan than I am Krispy Kreme...

But I digress.

Bru was kind enough to fill some 1989-1991 Upper Deck needs for me.

The great thing is that, other than the two Brewers error cards in the 1989 Upper Deck Set (the "upside down" SS on Gary Sheffield's rookie card and the photo of Ronn Reynolds on the back of Bill Schroeder's card), these four cards combined to complete my 1989, 1990, and 1991 Upper Deck sets.  And, as an aside, I'm only four years of sets away from having that Upper Deck Want List completely populated.

To me, that would have been a great PWE if Bru had stopped there. Instead, he was kind enough to throw in a few cards from this year that I did not have.

I haven't opened many packs this year. I decided against it. Perhaps the one set that I miss most as a result, though, is Allen & Ginter.  Everyone else is moving on to talk about 2016 Topps or the Chrome set that is coming out, but I just got my first 2015 A&G!

Of course, these two cards are reminders of why the Brewers are where they are this year. Frankly, karma in giving a two-year, highly overpriced contract to a closer who has a history of domestic violence dictated that the Brewers should suck.  Here's more on how K-Rod is a nimrod. If you believe in karma, that is.  

I don't put Ryan Braun's steroids in this category -- he just cheated and now he's about to pass Robin Yount for the all-time franchise lead in home runs.  But, let's be clear -- Braun doesn't beat up people.

Then there's this year's version of Marco Estrada -- Kyle "Tater Tot" Lohse. Lohse was good in 2013 and 2014 for the Brewers, but this year -- thankfully in the final year of his contract -- he's been brutal.  Every single one of his 87 runs allowed have been earned.  That's because runs allowed on home runs are earned (he's giving up 1.8 HR per 9 innings). But, hey, he's a Brewer on this card so I'll put him in my collection.

Finally, Bru sent me a card that was a lot less depressing:

I barely know when Topps's release dates are, so I have no chance with Panini. I'm guessing that I missed the 2015 Prizm release at some point in May or June.  Of course, let's be honest, I wouldn't have bought it. 

Also, is this the exact same design as last year, or is that just my eyes and prejudices deceiving me? But it's great to add a new card to the Lucroy collection while the Brewers still have him on the roster.

Thanks a ton, Bru, for the finished team sets and the 2015 cards as well -- I appreciate them!

Texas Rangers Cards

A few weeks back, Spiff from Texas Rangers Cards left a comment on my blog saying that he had some Brewers that he wanted to send my way. Always being up for a blind trade, I said in response that I'd be happy to give those Brewers a good home.

A week or so later, a package came containing several cards that I needed for my player and/or team collections.

Let's start with the Topps Update that Spiff sent my way:

We get two K-Rods and a Lucroy. Sadly, Topps was too busy chasing "prospects" and including Juan Francisco -- who didn't make it to Opening Day with the club -- to include Francisco Rodriguez in either of the first two series in any way.  So, as a result, K-Rod gets the two angles on his pitching motion look.

As for Lucroy, I defy anyone to explain to me how or why Yadier Molina and his 110 games played got the Gold Glove over him. It's not like Molina had a better year with the bat either.

More catchers -- Johnny Estrada, whose final full season in the major leagues came in his 120-game stint with the Brewers in 2007, and Jason Kendall, who replaced Estrada in 2008 and 2009. Thank God Jonathan Lucroy hit the majors in 2010. Neither of these guys were helping at all at the plate.

Here, we get two recent relievers. First, it's John Axford, who's cut off the mullet and trimmed back the fu-manchu mustache significantly as of late for Movember. Then, it's Brandon Kintzler, who was excellent in 2013 but was not as excellent in 2014 thanks to losing 2 strikeouts per 9 innings.

Strangely enough, I needed this Rob Deer 1989 Bowman Is Too Big card for my Brewers team set.

Nick Bucci is a Canadian from Sarnia, Ontario, whom the Brewers drafted in 2008 out of high school. He made it as high as Double-A Huntsville as an 18-year-old for 4 innings in 2009 before the Brewers tried to find a level he could master. He was released in 2013, a year after he and his 2011 Pan American Games-winning teammates were inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. He was inducted in the same Canadian Baseball HOF class as Brewers GM Doug Melvin.

Mat Gamel -- the guy the Indians really wanted for CC Sabathia. Not pictured: Michael Brantley, the guy whom the Indians still have from the CC Sabathia trade.

Another card that, oddly enough, I needed. I needed this one for my player collection, though.

BJ Surhoff, Catcher.  Fielding a ground ball at third base.

More Score 1991. For a guy who was on the team for just one year, there sure seems to be a lot of Dave Parker as a Brewer cards.

Two more cards I needed for my team collection. I think that the Kuenn finishes off the "Brewers only" portion. Kuenn looks a bit like my grandfather did in about 1984 in that photo.

Finally, a Cooper 1988 Topps card. I've gone through all my major release cards through 1989, and I'm embarrassed to report that I need a lot of cards from that time. I guess I really didn't collect all the way through high school.

Spiff, thanks a ton for these cards and the others you sent to me. I will be putting a Rangers package together for you soon!

$30 Habits

Before I jump headlong into this post, I wanted to thank all of you for the kind comments about my dog. It really does mean a lot to me to know that a lot of you cared enough to comment and read that post. I didn't have a lot of desire to write anything the past few days other than to talk about that, so thanks for your patience.

Thanks again.

Before the upheaval last week, I had scanned and planned a bunch of posts to try to catch up on all the great packages that have been arriving from bloggers across the country for me. It's been a great month in that respect, and I have a huge pile of envelopes that will be going out in the next few days to try to catch up on all the trades I've been working on over the past couple of months.

One package came in to me from Robért at $30 a Week Habit.  It's such a good package that it needs musical accompaniment:

Yeah, that's one of Pearl Jam's most repetitive songs with a bit of an anti-drug (probably) bent to it. Last year, Rob Neyer mentioned it as one of the songs that Fox probably would not use in its baseball coverage -- especially with respect to, as he put it, "a certain power-hitting shortstop who joined the Seattle club in the 1990s and became addicted to the fast life and the easy availability of certain (supposedly) performance-enhancing drugs?"

I was a huge Pearl Jam fan about 10 years ago or so -- I spent a bunch of money on collecting their bootlegs from their shows on their 2000 and 2003 tours -- and I still enjoy their music a great deal. That said, "Habit" is, to me, just an okay song.

That does not describe the package I got from Robért. It was excellent.  

It started with a big plastic screw-down holder:

Richie Sexson is a guy who might have been a PC for me if he'd lasted longer in America's Dairyland. A big home run hitter with prodigious power and a birthday two days after mine (though he is 3 years younger than me), the Brewers got him for Jason Bere, Steve Woodard, and Bob Wickman in 2000.  

Then, after the 2003 season, Doug Melvin traded him away to the Arizona Diamondbacks (with Shane Nance and Noochie Varner) for half a team -- Chris Capuano, Craig Counsell, Chad Moeller, Lyle Overbay, Jorge De La Rosa, and Junior Spivey. Sexson played 23 games in his one season in the desert before heading to the Pacific Northwest and hitting 105 homers in three-and-a-half seasons for the Mariners.

Sure looks like the Brewers won both of those trades to me.

I also got a shiny golden K-Rod, happily celebrating a save in 2011:

Now, don't get me wrong. Those two cards were awesome and made the package a very good one.

But the final two cards in the package were what made it an over-the-top ridiculously great package for me.  I mean, how do you top receiving two cards from the 1960s of the greatest third baseman not named Mike Schmidt to play major league baseball:

Mr. Ed Mathews, ladies & gentlemen. Mathews definitely was the player who made putting a strong-hitting and decent fielding player at third base part of the requirements for baseball teams. I mean, the only one close from Mathews's era would be Brooks Robinson -- and Mathews was a far better hitter than Brooks was (Mathews OBP/SLG: .376/.509; Robinson: .322/.401).

Before Mathews came along, the best third-baseman in the HOF was Home Run Baker. Baker now would be hard-pressed to make it to the Hall. He's been surpassed (using the JAWS methodology) by Graig Nettles, Edgar Martinez, Adrian Beltre, Scott Rolen, and Chipper Jones -- and that just the players who either are active, not yet eligible, or not yet elected to the Hall.

Yes, Mathews was better than Boggs, better than Brett, better than Santo, better than Robinson, and better than Molitor. More importantly, he was a pioneer of sorts in the way that Robin Yount and Cal Ripken were -- showing that you could play an important fielding position and still be a power hitter.

Robért, thank you very much for these cards. I've got my eyes peeled for some good Jays cards that you need!