Royals Sweep the Angels

I just back from watching the Royals sweep the Angels in Anaheim this weekend to go to 6-0 on the year.  I think my thoughts on the matter are adequately summarized thusly:

Favorite 2015 Topps Card - David Cone

2015 Topps - Free Agent 40 - #F40-13 - David Cone

What makes a good card?  Photo?  Color?  Design?  Subject?

I think it's a little of each of those, which is why my favorite card thus far this year is the David Cone  "Free Agent 40" card shown above. 

David Cone is a guy who isn't really "on-the-map" for current cards, so it was great to see one of him in this current release, especially in a Royals uni (rather than a Mets one).  The scan does not do justice to the colors on this one -- they are very saturated, and the glossy finish plus the foil make it really pop.  And it's all in delicious Royals blue. 

Last-In, First-Out

When dealing with inputs/outputs, you have to decide how to process them.  You can process them either as First-In, First-Out (FIFO) or Last-In, First-Out (LIFO).  FIFO is used by grocery stores to stock their shelves so that you buy whatever is oldest before you buy the new stuff.  LIFO is what you use for stacking plates in your kitchen cabinet...whatever you just cleaned gets put on the top of the stack and used first the next time.  Selling stocks can use either method, depending on what you want your basis to be.

Why am I talking about this?  I think most bloggers (myself included) try to use a FIFO method for posting our trade packages.  If someone sent me something 5 weeks ago, I want to show that off before I show the stuff I got today.  However, I am hopelessly behind (I have a 1-year-old....it's been a crazy year) on a bunch of the stuff that has been sent to me (including the JBFJ "Ton of Bricks" that he sent me WAY LAST YEAR and I still need to show off), but I still want to post some of the recent stuff in a timely manner. 

I won a recent contest run by Arpsmith.  He and I are neighbors.  Well, not next-door neighbors, but with our recent moves, we now live in the same 'burb.  We haven't met yet (I can't be friends with a Giants fan after last October ;-)), but we are card buddies.  From his contest he sent a bunch of 2015 Topps and some Royals goodies.

First of all, a bunch of 2015 Topps base:

Next, he gave me the two relics from his box that were NOT Nolan Ryan:

Finally, he tossed me a package of  Royals that I needed...my favorite of which makes me want to go for a sprint:

How happy did all this make me?  Very happy.  Like....SALVY-HAPPY.

Thanks, Adam!

Just Relax

I'm not dead yet.

That's the good news.  I posted right before Game 7 of the World Series, and have been absent from the blog ever since.  While the loss for KC that night was heart-breaking, it was not what sent me away.  I was gone because of LIFE.  Full-time work + wife + two little boys + holidays + church involvement + sleep push the ol' blog farther back on the priority list.  I still am reading everything (and don't even have a #WalletCard yet), but just haven't been posting.

One thing that I saw around New Year's Day was the proliferation of "Goals" posts.  "How I did on my 2014 Goals"- and "These are my brand-spanking-new 2015 Goals"-type posts filled my feed for about a week.  It's fun to see what people are collecting, but each of them made me feel a little....sad.  This is because every recap features FAILURE.  I didn't see a single one where someone said "10-for-10....it was a perfect year in my collection!!"  It was more like "I only added 1 auto of Player A instead of 3, and am only 62% done on my 19xx Topps set.  What a bummer."

May I offer some advice?  JUST RELAX.   You're not a "BAD COLLECTOR" because you didn't meet the arbitrary standard you set for yourself.  Our human nature is to try to prove to ourselves by our own performance that we are valuable and that we belong at the cool table.  However, this hobby is not something where you have to earn your way in.  It's a big table with room for everyone.  Don't stress and don't feel bad if things don't go as you planned.  It's OK.  I will read your posts no matter how frequently you post them or whether you have finally organized your card desk.  This is all for fun - you don't have card-obligations to anyone else....we can give each other grace not to be "perfect collectors" all the time.  However, I do chuckle/cringe whenever I see the "I'm sorry I only posted 5 times instead of 7 last week" posts....that will never be me.

Can we do that?  Can we just enjoy our cards, have fun, help each other out when we can, and let the Chipz fall where they may?

Win It For Them

One game.

One chance for the Royals to finish this great season tonight with an incredible flourish.

One chance to win it for all those to have loved this team and worked over the years to make it what it is.  Win it for them.

Win it for Mike Sweeney - who gave the Royals everything he had, even when it clearly wasn't enough.

Win it for Billy Butler - who saw us through some lean years but is hitting in the heart of the order in the most-important game of his life.

Win it for Frank White - whose analysis on the broadcasts rekindled my wife's love of baseball and eased her conversion from an Angels fan to a Royals fan.

Win it for all the KC fans spread across the country - the small contingent who show up for road games in places like Anaheim, San Diego, and Seattle to cheer on the team they love.

Win it for Sung Woo Lee - who loved this team from across the globe.

Win it for all the guys who contributed this year, but aren't on the WS roster - Colon, Chen, Hendricks, Crow, Ibanez, and Giavotella.

Win it for those players that hustled for teams who could never catch a break - David DeJesus, Joakim Soria, Kevin Appier, Gil Meche, Joe Randa, Mark Teahen, and John Buck.

But most of all, win it for my son, James - who saw his first live KC game this past Memorial Day, wore his Alex Gordon shirt for preschool picture day, and snuggles up to me on the couch to catch an inning or two every night before bedtime.  I can assure you, there will be no bedtime enforcement tonight. 

#TakeTheCrown

Where are we going?

Yes.  Yes we are.

Best Game Ever

2014 AL Wild Card Game Win Probabilities

Speed Kills.