Aardvark Mail

Is that like Snail Mail? Yes, but better, because Aardvark Mail include baseball cards!

Kris of Cards in the Attic sent me a bunch of cards from several sets that seem to be more of my focus lately. For some reason, many people are finding their doubles, or giving up their collections, of 2007 Heritage and 2007 Topps 52 Rookies, to my benefit. I've made a severe dent in my Topps 52 collection, and I am steadily making headway on the Heritage.

First, Kris sent a schedule of the Albuquerque Isotopes, the Dodgers AAA affiliate. It looks like a beautiful ballpark, and they probably get much better weather there than they do here at Frontier Field, home of the Rochester Red Wings, the Minnesota Twins AAA affiliate. Being a physics-kind-of-guy, I love the name and seeing all the scientific-related advertisements in the schedule, such as the Sandia Resort & Casino. "Sandia" means the atomic laboratory to me, not gambling! A merchandise ad states "Get Your Topes Gear!" Not Isotopes, not 'Topes, just "Topes." Sounds like a stoner convention! Their logo is fantastic, too! Did you know that if you buy two large bottles of Powerade, you get a free reserved level ticket?!?! Maybe the Yankees should try that promo with their premier seats behind home plate. "Buy two bottles of Powerade and a Hummer H2 and get one free seat behind home plate for a game against the Indians or Royals!" Sounds good to me.

The 2007 Heritage he sent were all short prints. Those SPs are nasty. In '07, they are seeded throughout the set, generally every eighth and ninth card, so that every page of cards in your binder is incomplete until you start getting the short prints. Mean!

Kris also sent this SP of Fausto, who is having another terrible year, along with the rest of the Indians. He is 2-6 with a 7.42 ERA and a WHIP of 1.81. It is looking more and more that his 2007 season was a fluke. Too bad. The Tribe has the worst record in the A.L., and has already thrown in the towel on this season, trading their new clubhouse leader, Mark Derosa, to the Cardinals for some towels and a flat-screen TV. Are Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez far behind? How did the Tribe fall so far so fast? They were within one out of the World Series in 2007, and since then they've been not much better than KC or Washington. Everyone has been hurt, slumping and underachieving. It's very depressing. I'm hoping that they do not go into another 40 year slump.

Finally, the 2007 Topps 52 Rookies. I like these cards the more I look at them. The staged shots, poses and backgrounds make this a great retro set. It's too bad they only did this for two years. This would be one set that would work every year or two. Not too many short prints and variations in it. Only 10 variations and the standard #7 card short print of The Mick. The variations are great action shots of the same player, and includes the likes of Daisuke Matsuzaka, Ryan Braun, Hunter Pence and Tim Lincecum. The Cardboard Junkie has a checklist online.

Thanks, Kris.

Trolling for cards for my sets

The Collective Troll knew I was pining for some cards for my set, so I tricked . . . er . . . um . . . bribed him with some Brewers cards, some HOFers, and some set-builders. I return, he sent me an oversized package filled with '07 Topps 52, '07 Heritage, and a few '08 Heritage and '08 Topps. The '07 52 Rookies cards are now more than 3/4 done, and I'm steadily making ground on the Heritages.

I think I figured out why I like the "old-style" cards like Heritage, 52, A&G, Goudey, etc. They are printed on heavy stock, and are nice thick cards that have some heft to them. You feel that if you put them in your spokes, they will make a much more solid sound than the thin flappiness of an '08 Topps Year in Review! The pictures/animations/cartoons/whatever you call that Photoshopped image on the 52 Rookies are more interesting than most of the cards out there, although this year's Topps flagship is very good.

Here is a smattering of the old-style beauties that the Troll sent.

The '07 Heritage are pretty nice. The short prints are a bit annoying, but not too bad. Troll even sent me the Yellow Team Name SP of Mark Buehrle. I know Lucy probably loves the David Wright. The group shot of the Cards is one of my favorites from the set, and I like the design of the Then & Now cards from this year more than some of the other years.

The 2007 52 Rookes is a nice set, with great photographs of the players in front of some, well, rather questionable backdrops. Lots of the Reds are in front of the drapes, and although it is not shown here, the A's seem to be standing in the middle of the Arizona desert! "Hey, lets go a few miles this way and take some pictures, guys!" Uh, no thanks!

The Pence action shot is a SP, also. There are a few in this set: Pence, Matsuzaka, Braun, Okajima, Tulowitzki, Young, Lincecum, all in action shots versus the standard posed shots.

Thanks, Troll.