Off the map

Hey, guess what?

I'm working right now! Which means that, yes, I will probably be missing the bulk of the Pirates-Cubs Wild Card game tonight (if not the entire thing). I don't usually work Wednesdays, but, of course, I just so happen to be doing so this Wednesday, on the day of the most important game the Cubs have played in about eight years.

But as is life. On the bright side of things, it allows me to partake in a little social experiment. I'll be taping tomorrow's game, which means that I'm going to do my darndest to stay off the map to avoid finding out anything about the outcome.

I know it won't be easy, considering I work at the airport and I'll likely be working at a store that's right next to a Chicago Cubs Bar & Grill.

I don't have high hopes, and I'm kind of expecting to fail because of how hard it is to remove oneself from anything relevant in today's technological age.

I'm writing this post the night before because I need a little comfort in the fact that I'll be missing the game I've been looking forward to all year. Baseball cards are, of course, a great source for comfort, because why else would I have this blog?

Opening a shiny new trade package is perhaps the most soothing experience I've come across in this hobby, and it's especially nice when one shows up from a longtime blogger buddy, like Marcus of the terrific blog "All the Way to the Backstop...".

Marcus and I have traded for a long time now, and he always puts together great batches of cardboard. I was especially fond of these hits off of my 2015 want lists. The Machado is a short-print, and the Tulo doesn't look like Tulo because of that strange #14.

The Will Ferrell is another step in my sorry quest to complete his insert set...I'm up to a whopping two now.

Airbrushed throwbacks make my heart hurt, but Jose Abreu cards always make me happy.

When he's not fighting with Jonathan Papelbon, Bryce Harper is appearing on shiny baseball cards.

Which reminds me...my Nationals-Mariners World Series pick isn't looking to good right now.

I will forever be a supporter of shiny baseball cards.

Although I'll be the first to admit that they look a little out of place in a supposed "retro" set like Archives.

Shiny legends are even better.

That spectacular Brooks Robinson is reminding me just how much I miss the wacky liquorfractors of 2011.

My newfound lust for Paulie cards has caused my collection of his to grow by leaps and bounds these past few months.

Marcus added a new Konerko with this nifty A&G insert from a few years back. Paulie hails from Rhode Island, the smallest state in the Union. Other former big-league Rhode Islanders include Nap Lajoie, Rocco Baldelli, and Gabby Hartnett.

And there's your useless piece of trivia for the day.

Marcus knows you can never go wrong with sending me early '90s Stadium Club.

I'm not usually a fan of the backwards-hat look, but Griffey is the obvious exception to that rule.

Either Cal Ripken Jr. enjoys wearing generic trucker hats, or these are both unlicensed oddballs.

I'm leaning towards the latter.

I've found that I get oddly giddy whenever I unearth a new Michael Jordan baseball card.

But not as giddy as I got upon discovering High School Jeets. The sight of it made me laugh out loud as I was digging through this stack of cards from Marcus.

Save for the baseball garb, it looks a lot like my senior yearbook photo...cheesy and expressionless.

This is why I love minor league cards.

Where else would you find strength trainers and mascots together in the same set?

For whatever reason, Seaver and the Goose make for a nice combo when scanned together.

The Seaver is actually a reprint from 2001 Topps, and, despite what I initially thought, I actually don't own a real copy of Tom Terrific's 1978 Topps issue. I was shocked to find out such a thing.

It's on the Dime Box Dozen list as we speak.

Here's where Marcus started to pull out all the stops.

I used to have a disdain for multi-player cards that I honestly can't explain. Sure, they don't exactly cope well with my player-centric organizing method, but that doesn't mean they can't be cool.

Because I think we'd all agree that anything with Harmon Killebrew on it is indeed cool.

It's always a shock when Kellogg's cards fall out of trade packages, and even more of a shock when they feature Hall of Famers.

But that's exactly what we have here with this '74 Bert Blyleven that Marcus was generous enough to throw my way.

Everything Marcus sent was terrific, of course, but I think this one stole the show. Kellogg's has a tendency to do that.

And yet I'm still thinking about the fact that I'll be missing the game tonight. Sigh. Looks like I'll be in constant worry of the game being spoiled from about seven at night to the time I get home around ten.

Of course, I won't care about any of that if the Cubs win.