frankendodger sheet 66 (cards 586-594) - get your kicks...

here's sheet number 66 of my dodger frankenset - cards numbered 586-594:

and the back:

these cards are:

586. 1978 topps ed goodson
587. 1994 topps stadium club dave hansen
588. 2012 topps mark ellis
589. 1995 topps pedro astacio
590. 1993 donruss lenny harris
591. 1992 bowman jamie mcandrew
592. 1986 donruss franklin stubbs
593. 1974 topps steve yeager
594. 2013 topps carl crawford

the "no brainer" of the day:

i wanted to get a card from 1992 bowman into the set, seeing as how it was such a big deal. i ignored it at the time, but did go back and complete my dodger team set a few years ago.  i recall buying a pack at a card store in orange county around 1996 - the only pack i ever bought - for a high price, hoping for a piazza rookie. i got a charles johnson gold foil card, which at the time wasn't too bad. still didn't pay for the pack.  anyway, jamie mcandrew's card was not a no brainer, but the set it represents was, so that will have to do for this sheet.

about the cards:

i suppose ed goodson's 1978 topps card could have been the no brainer.  i have a history with it, trying to find an autographed copy for my modest 1978 topps dodger autograph project. i am still pretty happy about finding one and buying it before anyone else jumped on it.

it must have been a hot day in vero beach when they took the photo for dave hansen's 1994 stadium club card - there aren't too many folks in the seats.

mark ellis' 2012 topps card features some bad photoshopping of his uniform. he's a rockie (or maybe still an athletic) in the original photo.

i bought a lot of 1995 topps. maybe it was because of the strike and i needed a baseball fix. it wasn't because of the design - i didn't get the frayed edges of the photos or the font used for player names.  anyway, this pedro astacio card is the first '95 topps card in the set which says a lot about how much i don't care for it.

lenny harris is turning two on his 1993 donruss card against the braves. that is obviously david justice sliding in. it could be a play from the 5th inning of the september 7, 1992 game between the clubs - harris was at second when sid bream hit a ball to short with justice on first. the 6-4-3 double play was successful.

jamie mcandrew did not pitch for the dodgers in the big leagues.  shortly after his 1992 bowman card was released, he was taken by the colorado rockies in the 1993 expansion draft. the rockies later traded him to the brewers, and he made it to the bigs with milwaukee in 1995.

there's not much to say about franklin stubbs' 1986 donruss card, or steve yeager's 1974 topps card for that matter. we've seen plenty of cards from these sets and of these players in the set already.  yeager's card, however, has a couple of things going for it - a cartoon (steve enjoys art), and a couple of interesting facts about his experience in a game played on august 8, 1972. the card says that yeager had an extra-inning record 22 putouts in that game, and that he also had a record 24 chances in the same game. it was a 19 inning affair against the reds, and dodger pitchers struck out 22 batters accounting for yeager's putouts, and he caught two runners stealing, giving him 2 assists and 24 chances.  this game was the sixth game of yeager's big league career, and he had caught complete games in the dodgers' previous five contests. yeager caught all 19 innings of this game, and started the next day, too, although he only made it to the 7th inning.

last card on the sheet is carl crawford's 2013 topps card, which, like the ellis earlier, features some obvious photoshopping.

cards that didn't make the cut:

1996 upper deck collector's choice mike blowers

at number 586, 1984 donruss bill russell at number 587, 1989 score mario soto

at number 588, 1993 topps carlos hernandez at number 589, 1991 topps eddie murray at number 590, 1991 bowman bob ojeda at number 591, 1985 donruss ken howell at number 592, 2003 upper deck masao kida at number 593, and 1975 sspc checklist (carl erskine, ralph branca, and pee wee reese)

at number 594.

my favorite card on the page:

the goodson card has some meaning to me, but i like the hansen card the best out of this group.

final thoughts:

sheet 66 makes me think of historic route 66 and yasiel puig (and, i suppose, mario lemieux).  i've driven parts of route 66 over the years, but never made the full run from chicago to santa monica.  i have gotten some kicks, mostly in 2013, from watching yasiel puig play, but i am more and more resigned to the fact that he won't recapture that dynamic anytime soon. with the hamstring injuries and trade rumors swirling, i don't know whether puig finishes out the season as a dodger, let alone on an active roster.  we may know more later today...

frankendodger sheet 51 (cards 451-459) - that is possibly the worst baseball card photo pose...

here's sheet number 51 of my dodger frankenset - cards numbered 451-459:

and the back:

these cards are:

451. 1995 score jeff treadway
452. 1987 fleer bill russell
453. 1998 upper deck mike piazza
454. 1994 bowman delino deshields
455. 1988 topps shawn hillegas
456. 2006 topps turkey red rafael furcal
457. 1968 topps jim lefebvre
458. 1993 donruss kevin gross
459. 1984 donruss burt hooton

the "no brainer" of the day:

i suppose the 1987 fleer bill russell 'final tribute' card is about as close as we get to a no brainer on this page.

about the cards:

i think the 1995 score treadway would have worked better as a vertical card. at least that way, terry shumpert's head wouldn't have been cut off. bill russell's elbows might be cropped out of the photo on his 1987 fleer card, but with the angle of the image we get somewhat of a 'hero' shot on russell's final fleer card.  the shortstop of the team of my youth played in his last game in 1986, and i am pleased that two of the three major card companies (shame on you, donruss) came through with final tributes in 1987.

mike piazza had 7 cards in the 1998 upper deck set, not counting inserts.  all but one of those show piazza as a dodger, with the last having both a mets and marlins version.  so, all of the piazza cards in this set remind me of the trade that sent the strongest man in socal away.  i don't know what the 'upper echelon' foil on the front of this particular card from that set is all about, but i do appreciate the photo on the back. with all of the boring spring training photos we've been subjected to since the beginning of card creation, it's nice to see a different aspect of the dodgers' time in vero beach.

delino deshields looks a little washed out on his 1994 bowman card which makes me think of all the times that i heard vin scully refer to the 'shirtsleeves' crowd when a fielder missed a line drive.  shawn hillegas's 1988 topps card, however, makes me think of the fact that hillegas was traded to the white sox during the 1988 season, and so he missed out on, to paraphrase scully, the impossible happening.

next up is rafael furcal on a 2006 topps turkey red card.  furcal is displaying the worst pose ever used on a baseball card, in my opinion.  in the interest of full disclosure, however, there is a photo of me somewhere at my parents house wherein i am displaying the same unnatural baseball pose while standing in front of the outfield wall at dodger stadium.  ah, camera day.

speaking of poses, jim lefebvre's pose in the photo used for his 1968 topps card is different than the type of pose we usually see from infielders in that he has his glove turned the other way.  just an observation.  another observation i have is that the pitch kevin gross has thrown on his 1993 donruss cards looks like it is going to be high, but it is hard to tell for sure.

the last card of the page is a 1984 donruss burt hooton card that catches him throwing his signature knuckle-curve, along with his lean.  check out that grip!  and, is there another pitcher that leans back the way hooton used to? i can't think of anyone off the top of my head.

cards that didn't make the cut:

some of the cards that i passed up include 2015 topps clayton kershaw

at number 451, 1993 fleer bob ojeda at number 452, 1991 topps lenny harris at number 453, 1994 pinnacle pedro astacio

at number 454, 2001 topps eric karros at number 455, 1995 topps stadium club tom candiotti at number 456, 2009 upper deck dodgers leaders (chad billingsley, matt kemp, james loney) at number 457, 1999 upper deck victory mike piazza

at number 458, and 1985 donruss mike scioscia at number 459.

my favorite card on the page:

since the piazza card makes me kind of sad, i'll say that the russell card is my favorite of these nine cards.

final thoughts:

the all-star break is here, and the dodgers have been playing well as of late.  unfortunately for us dodger fans, so have the giants.  i am hoping that kershaw is able to return right after the break, and also that corey seager doesn't lose his swing by participating in the home run derby.