Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Turfdiggers Tues...er...Wednesday

This week's update comes on Wednesday instead of Tuesday because of the Vikings/Eagles game.  I don't know how the rest of the world feels about the delay, but for my Turfdiggers, it paid off.

Vick earned 14.41 points for the team, but what really boosted the team into the fight for 5th was the performances by Danny Woodhead (12.25 points) and Mike Williams (14.20 points).  Those guys rocked it out this past week, carrying the Turfdiggers to a victory over Stumbling Blox.

This week's matchup pits the Turfdiggers against the Fighting Foxhounds for the 5th place league finish.  I'm hoping the Turfdiggers can pull it off!  In fact, I've got to go set my roster...

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

The Magic Screen

One of the perks of being employed where I am: gadgets and gizmos.  As a technology coordinator charged with teaching tech to teachers, I am sometimes blessed with a device for use in my day-to-day life that I might not normally be able to afford.  Enter the iPad.


I have been using one for a month or so now.  Oh, I know you're wondering how this is related to Tribecards.  I'm getting there.  The first thing I wanted to show off, though, is the Etch-A-Sketch case my wife got for me for Christmas for the device.  I love it!  And, it displays the ol' web page pretty nicely.  And, now that FlipBoard supports Google Reader, I have been following along with the folks in the "Clubhouse" anywhere I take the thing (well, anywhere that has wi-fi. No 3G version here!).

There are a couple free baseball-related apps for the iPad and iPod/iPhone.  One such app is "Vintage Baseball Cards" from OldBaseball.  It has large images of cards from days gone by (specifically, from 1910 in this case).  There was a card-flipping simulation app at one point (still in Apps store) but it is "no longer available."  If I had to guess, the creator ran into copyright/licensing issues.


In other Christmas+Baseball news, I received a slew of 2010 Topps cards and a very nice Indians polo shirt (the slick silky kind)!

I hope everyone had a nice Christmas/holiday this year!

Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas, Tribecards Style

This year, I have to resort to an online/virtual Christmas card for all my card-collecting friends.  I hope you each have a wonderful, blessed holiday season, and a very merry Christmas!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Turfdiggers Tuesday - End of Regular Season

In what has become all too familiar, the Tribecards Turfdiggers fell to the Gold Sox this past week in the Super Secret League fantasy football program.  This mean the Turfdiggers end the regular season in 7th out of 8 places, beating out only the Fighting Foxhounds overall.

Last season, the team then known as the Trouncers, also finished 7th, but that was out of 10 teams instead of eight.  Amazingly, the Turfdiggers and the Trouncers amassed the exact same record: 5-10-0.  At least I've proven to be consistent.

As things turn out, in the consolation round of the 2010 playoffs, the Turfdiggers and the Gold Sox could face each other again to determine who goes on to finish in 5th place for the league.  Here's how things line up:  Turfdiggers vs Stumbling Blox and Fighting Foxhounds vs Gold Sox, the winners of each of those matchups will play each other for 5th place overall.

The Turfdiggers started the season with a 3-game winning streak.  In the 4th week, that was snapped by the league-leading Red Grange Halls and continued for five additional weeks.  No other team in the league (not even last-place Foxhounds) had a 6-week losing streak.  Trades, drops and adds took place in which the team hoped to pull themselves out of the free fall.  Finally, at wit's end in desperation, much of the team was dropped and new players added.  While this resulted in a win the week the shake-up occurred, the relief was short-lived.  The three weeks following that win were met wit with frustrating losses.

The number one issue with the team this season seemed to be one of timing.  Many of the weeks in which the Turfdiggers lost, the team could have won if benched players had been played.  That is the luck and life of any fantasy football team manager.  We are at the mercy of the players we hold and the decisions (some of which are last-minute game day decisions) we make in playing or benching our guys.  It is also why we love to come back season after season to try it again.

I'd love for the Turfdiggers to pull off a 5th place overall finish.  Heck, I'd even take 6th at this point.  Haha, yeah, if you know me, I'm just happy not to be in last.  Though, that could actually still happen if the Foxhounds win and the Turfdiggers lose in the consolation round.  Let's not even think about that. 

It is Christmas, after all.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Christmas balls and Christmas cards

A co-worker of mine came in the office last week and handed me a small gift bag.  She said, "I know you collect baseball cards and stuff, so we though you'd like these."  Her and her husband have different kinds of cards and stuff stored in boxes and when they uncover (rediscover, find, you get the idea) some, Terry sometimes brings them to me to see if I'd like to have them.  Seeing as how I am not one to turn down much of anything in the way of "free," I happily accepted my Christmas gift.  Here's what I found inside!

A baseball signed by Ken Howell:

A baseball signed by Pat Combs:
 I haven't asked about the balls, but I need to find out if Terry knows how these were acquired (in-person, store, etc).  Though, it doesn't really matter, it would be nice to know.  I am going on the assumption that both guys were Phillies has something to do with it.  The Combs auto looks a LOT like Pat Corrales' auto and for a while, that's who I thought it was.  What changed my mind?  A little sticker on the ball's box that reads, "Pat Combs."  Yeah, I'm all observant like that.

Next up are some cards I had never seen. Little Debbie "Our Game" cards (the first two in the scan below).  The other cards come from the 1992 MegaCards Babe Ruth Collection:
 Of course, I didn't put anything together in any form that makes sense. That would just be crazy talk!  So, below we have more samples of the Babe Ruth and Little Debbie cards:
 There are 15 cards in the LD series, and I now own 11 or 12 of them! Not bad for never having heard of it before, eh?  What fallows is a series of (mostly) 1987 Topps cards.  See if you recognize any of the guys:
 My apologies, but evidently, my scanner needs a bit of a cleaning. Some of these came out quite blurry. Or maybe that's just the Topps photography of the day...
 As kids, my brother and I called these "The Wood Kind."
 To my surpise, it wasn't just baseball cards in the bag.  There are also some football cards, including one Jerome Bettis before he was "The Bus" in da Burgh!
 For the record, I am not a fan of photos where the player is pictured with his legs spread apart for the camera.  Seriously, could you not find a better pose?
 And, the crown jewel of the gift bag.  This one is actually in a screw-down holder:

A *HUGE* thanks goes out to Terry for my Christmas gift bag! 

Thursday, December 16, 2010

One of baseball's greatest pitchers passes away. So long, Mr. Feller.





On December 15, 2010, "Rapid Rob" Bob Feller passed away at the age of 92 after battling leukemia.  Bob Feller is one of Cleveland's most beloved baseball heroes.  To the baseball world at large, he was one of the sports greatest ambassadors.  He loved the game, loved the fans.  And, we loved him right back.

Bob Feller was one of those players I have always wanted to meet in person and shake his hand.  Ever since I was a child, first learning just who the Indians were and building my love for the team, Bob Feller was a name I always connected with anything related to the Tribe.  Though I never did get to meet him, I feel as though I have have lost a long-time friend.  

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family. 

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Turfdiggers Tuesday

It's been a few weeks since I last posted about the Turfdiggers.  Basically, the team had been falling down and down without any glimmer of hope.  Or so I thought.  This past week, the Turfdiggers pulled a decisive win over the Stumbling Blox, nabbing 74.10 points.

The number one reason for the win? The Steelers defense - 3 INTs and 2 TDs. Gotta love the Black-n-Gold!

As usual, though, I benched most of the highest-performing players on my team.  I truly have no knack for knowing which players to play and which to bench.  For me, the whole thing is a crap shoot, and usually that is exactly what I come up with.  This week, I put Hines Ward and Felix Jones on the sidelines. Not smart.

Well, with the win, the Turfdiggers find themselves alone in 7th place (er, yeah, out of 8 teams).  Last season, I was also in 7th place. Back then, we had 10 teams though, so it didn't feel quite so close to the bottom.  With one weeks left, I could theoretically move up to 5th place.  I'll be facing off against Gold Sox.  This will be the third time our two teams play and the series is split. 

If the Gold Sox and Stumbling Blox both lose, we would have the same record three ways (6-9-0) but I should pull ahead in points to take the 5th place spot.  Sure, there's no playoffs for that spot, but it would be the highest finish the team has had yet! Okay, okay, I know the team has only been around two seasons, but still.  Plus, if the Commissioner feels generous, I could move up.

I'm hoping to keep improving so I can eventually move up to the Red Headed League! (That's the "Upper Echelon" bracket for the group that takes part in this two-tier league).

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Bowman Chrome Redemption WIN


Not long ago, I received my take from the "Cardboard Problem" Bowman Chrome break.  One of the items I won was an autographed Kipnis.  I logged in to Topps and entered the code, then was told it would be 6-8 weeks, or maybe 14 weeks. I don't remember now.

In any case, the card arrived already in the mail today! Wahoo!  I like these sig-on-card autos, though this specific auto has much left to be desired.  I have no idea if the name on the card is really Kipnis' or not.  You just can't make out his chicken scratch.  Granted, after 500 of these, I'd be a bit a worn out, too.  But, mine is numbered 097/500, so he wasn't even 20% of the way through the stack when he did this one.  That means he signs his name this way.  Really?  Ah well, at least it is a cool card and an auto of a Triber. And, I got it pretty dang fast:-)

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

2011 Indians Uniforms


There they are... The 2011 Cleveland Indians uniforms.  I am a HUGE fan of the right-most styling: Wahoo on the hat, Indians script on the front, name on the back.  The leftmost blue ones are okay, I suppose, and are a much better choice than the red ones we've seen in the past.

The two in the middle, though? UGH.  Seriously, can we not ditch the whole stupid retro thing already?  It was played out five years ago.  My understanding is that some of the uniforms will not have names on them, just numbers.  I can understand that to a certain extent, given how many Tribers never stay around long enough since they get traded once they reach stardom or get hurt before anyone knows their names, but still... For the fans, PLEASE put the names on jerseys.  You know, names were put on in the first place because people watching didn't know which player was which just by the jersey number.  In today's Indians situation, that holds truer more than it ever has.  Really.  We want to know the names without resorting to web searches or, heaven forbid, paper programs and scorecards.

I abhor the whole retro theme.  At first, it was a neat throwback idea.  Now, it is as old as the retro uniforms they are trying to pay homage to.  Dump them.  Why have four uniform styles anyway?  Give us a cool home uni, a cool road uni and call it good. thanks.

On a side note, it looks like I'll be taking down the "Choo Crew" button since it appears that train will be set for a new destination.  All I can do is shake my head at the Indians organization.  Do the folks running the program there understand that there are folks called "fans" that buy tickets to watch the games, and those tickets help pay salaries??  I'm beginning to wonder.

Talk about retro... Welcome back to the 80's, Tribe fans.  We're going to be here awhile.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Knock, Knock

UPDATE (12/06/10) - Thanks to those of you that pointed me in the right direction! I had my dates messed up, and the voting results for Bert (and Roberto Alomar for that matter, among others) will take place in January. Consider this something of a Christmas Wish post.. :-)


The big announcement comes today (er, in January, actually).  Who will (and who won't)  make it into the Baseball Hall of Fame.  How do you NOT put Bert Blyleven in there?  He's only got this year and next to be included.  It's been a long time coming.

I first heard of him when he came to Pittsburgh.  As a kid in the 'Burgh in the 70's and 80's, it was really the only way for me to have heard of him.  He helped the Bucs take the World Series in the era when Pittsburgh was "the City of Champions."  And then, he moved over to Cleveland.  In 1985, he added another All-Star game to his resume'.  Another? You ask.  Why yes.  You see, before coming to Pittsburgh, he had been an All-Star in '73.  In fact, in his 22-year career, he was on three All-Star teams and made two World Series appearances.

Let's talk about his career.  He finished with a 3.21 overall ERA.  He won 287 games. He pitched 4,790 innings.  He struck out 3,701 batters.  How about 60 shut outs?

He came close to being selected last year, and I hope this year pushes him over the top.

Oh, I know, he's got more than a few, er, issues, that could keep him out.  He flipped off the camera back in his 'Burgh days and he was caught cussing live on air when he thought they were taping.  But, really, what's a Hall of Fame player without a bit of "color?" 

I say, "Circle Him!"

Sunday, December 5, 2010

The 800th Post!

This is it! No, that's not a reference to Coke nor is it a reference to the DVD released by the Michael Jackson estate following his passing.  It is, however, reference to the Tribecards blog!

In some respects, I should have hit 800 posts about a year and a half ago easily.  But, as life has a way of working things out, the 800th post appears now.  There should be some kind of hoopla or fanfare or something, I'm sure, but I am saving that up for my 1000th post.  Well, that is a bit of a stretch, really.  I mean, come on, who really plans such things this far in advance, right?  Hmm, I suppose, though, if I get on the ball this coming year, I could hit 1000 before the World Series next season.

The one thing I want to communicate fully and completely in this post has everything to do with the time of year this post finds itself: Christmas.  For the past several years, I hosted a "12 Days of Christmas" event with TONS of cards given away to anyone and everyone that asked.  This year saw some hard times for the Tribecards family and that was met with some amazing generosity from my friends and readers!

This will be the FIRST and LAST year without a "12 Days Giveaway."  The giveaway brought me more enjoyment and satisfaction than I ever realized before not being able to host it.  I plan to acquire cards in small stages throughout the upcoming year in order to be able to hold the rebirth of the "12 Days Giveaway" next year.  It is so much fun putting together the packages for everyone with favorite teams, players, and surprises - and then to hear about the reactions from each of the recipients!  Yeah, a lot like being Santa Claus.

I have a LOT to accomplish for the Tribecards site: I still want to get that "Best all-time Tribers by Uniform Number" done!  I also want to get all the cards posted in my "From the Collection" series.  I don't know what the next year holds, but starting with post 800, I can tell it *will* hold a "12 Days Giveaway." 

Saturday, December 4, 2010

PunkRockPaint'd - Again!

The other day, I received an envelope in the mail from Punk Rock Paint! This turned out to be filled with things he forgot to include in the last package he sent. Rather than just post scans, I thought I'd give you some "Photo Booth Fun" with them:

First up, we have a Topps Attax Grady Sizemore:

Next, I thought I'd try the"glow" effect with the "Indians team card:"

What better way to show off this Lofton HoloGrFX than to set things on X-Ray:

Let's bust out the "Comic Book" styling for another Indians team card:

Here's me going all "Andy Warhol" on ya with a Jason Donald card:

Playing the retro theme for a little Chooooo:

Aaron Laffey throws the ball in your face in sepia. Why? Why not:

Oooo, another Choooo card:

This Jim Hegan is in great shape! The off-center cut is perfect for the time of the card:

Pulling out the Black and White for Houtteman:

Mr. Hooper, no not the guy from Sesame Street:

Going all thermal for Bobby Avila... What a freaky effect:

A *HUGE* thank you goes out to Travis for these!

I really got to get my trade-able collection built up again so I can send out cards again!  Man, I miss those days.