It's not often that you win 2 out of 3 games from a division opponent and you leave the weekend with sadness, but that's how I find myself today. I was seated out in left field for Saturday's Mariners-Angels tilt. A game that should have been known by Halo fans as the Kendry walk-off grand slam game, but will instead be known by all of baseball as the Day the Walk-off Celebration Died.

I'd like to tell you that I was there for the dramatics, but unfortunately over 7 innings of blistering sun, I was broken down by the whinings of wife and child and we headed for the parking lot and a chance to return to home with a refreshing pool and a few cousins to play with. I would have loved to have been there for the excitement of Kendry circling the bases and high fives with strangers, but watching your best player carted off the field just minutes later would have made it all for naught. Oh yeah, did I mention that Kendry Morales is clearly the best player on the Angels team now. It's not even close. I couldn't come up with an offensive player right now who is even close to his level. Saturday the Angels ran out a team with only two players hitting over .255. One, Torii Hunter was injured by a pitch hitting his hand early in the game, the other is now not likely to play until September at the earliest.

It's been a rough season for the Halo faithful. Year after year we are pounded in the offseason by sabermetricians and their ilk who tell us how bad our team is and how this is the year the Mariners or A's or Rangers will overtake us and leave us forever in the dust. Year after year we quietly fume and then yell out, "What now?!" on September as our squad flies another division championship flag. Of course the what now is quickly followed by "Ugh" as we're taken out by one of the big boys from the AL East. So when the Angels got off to a rough start eerily reminiscent of last year, I quietly observed and knew the boys would turn it around. What has seemed like a team with one foot in the grave for the last two months, now may be laying down with dirt shoveled on top of them. The one saving grace, the boys play in the AL West, a division that at the moment does not host a dominant presence. In fact, as of today, the Halos only find themselves 2 and a half games out of first.

2.5 games is nothing...until you realize that we may be treated to two months of Robb Quinlan seeing significant time at first base. Never a good sign when a player who you let walk is unable to get a sniff from another team and then ends up playing a significant role for your team. Maybe Quinlan will recapture the magic of 2006. Or not.

Oh and did I mention the Angels hit another walk-off home run today? Yup, I'm sure you saw it. In what may the most closely watched non-celebration of all-time, Howie Kendrick crossed home to a placid group of teammates all trying their best to avoid any physical contact with him.

So 2 days, 2 walk-off homers against a division opponent, 2.5 games back of first place Texas and I have a knot in my stomach.

Hmmm, I need to look for some positives.
1. Chone Figgins is hitting under .200. Sure, his replacement Brandon Wood has been horrible this season, but at least we're not paying him 8.5 million to suck.
2. John Lackey has an ERA approaching 5 and the worst WHIP of his career.
3. I've attended three baseball games this year. Two in Anaheim, one in San Diego and all 3 of them have been decided by walk-off hits by the home team. That has to be some sort of record. Put your money down on the Angels July 4th, when they'll almost certainly beat the Royals via walk-off.
4. My sun burn from yesterday's game has already started to morph into a sweet tan.
5. The AL West stinks. Every single hitter in our lineup is currently underachieving and outside of Weaver and Santana, the starting pitching hasn't been much better. If even a few players can start turning things around, we may be able to hang in there.
6. Most importantly, after all of the heartache of the weekend, my 4 year-old daughter informed me today that "All the other teams are stupid. That's why I like the Angels". I couldn't have said it better myself.

Go Halos!

The blogosphere has been inundated by Million Card Giveaway posts, but one more won't hurt. After posting my 14 card haul on the first day of card unlocking mania, I came across one last code card. As I read post after post I noticed a common phrase showing up time and again.

"Everyone and their mom is doing it."

Well, that got my gears spinning and I wondered just how many moms were actually participating in this madness. In what may go down in card blogging history as a first, I had my mom actually redeem a card for me. So now when you read that everyone and their mom is doing it, you can know that at least one mom is doing it and with pretty good results.

Unlocking this card was my mom's shot at redemption. Although she'll never admit to it, she's one of those mothers that Topps is warning us all about. A mom that at one time threw cards out. Sure, she'll tell you that I misplaced the boxes or that she hasn't gone near that crap in years, but I know the truth. My retirement fund aka "that box of junk commons from the 80's" currently resides in a landfill somewhere in Southern California.

So just what did my mom unlock? Was she able to reverse karma and nail down the '52 Mantle? Not quite, but I did get a rookie card of a Rookie of the Year winner. You can keep your '52 Mantle, that bum never won the ROY.


Read 'em and weep.

1965 Orioles Rookie Stars featuring John Miller and 1965 AL Rookie of the Year Curt Blefary.

Not too bad for a reformed card thrower outer. A special thank you to the woman who raised me for participating in this highly unnecessary, but productive event.

Go Halos!

Not since the great Billy Ripken F#@* Face fiasco of 1989 has there been this much buzz about obtaining commons. Not that I'm scoffing. I was right there with the rest of the obsessives reloading the Topps site over and over waiting for my chance to complete a 1987 Topps set merely through these redemptions.

So what were my results? We'll count down in reverse chronological order. For those of you tired of looking at commons from the last 20 years, scroll down a bit.

14. 2008 Jamie Moyer


13. 2005 Cleveland Indians Team Card


12. 2005 Oscar Viarreal


11. 1999 Andy Pettite


10. 1993 Cris Colon


9. 1987 Ozzie Smith


8. 1987 Rod Scurry


7. 1987 Joe Hesketh


6. 1985 Dave Von Ohlen


5. 1985 Gary Redus


4. 1975 Dave LaRoche


3. 1971 Steve Hargan


2. 1960 Bob Oldis


1. 1956 "Bud" Podbielan


Not the most amazing haul and certainly no huge scores, but I was pretty excited to see a couple of cards from the 70s show up, so then seeing a 1960 and a 1956 were just awesome. 1956 Topps is easily on of my favorite baseball card sets ever, so getting a card, even of a very marginal player, is pretty sweet.

Go Halos!

Photos are decent. The design works pretty well for me, I'm a sucker for team logos incorporated into the design. The inserts are far too numerous, but I like a few of them. Pictures on the front and back, but to top it off, the pictures are different. A definite plus. Add it all up, and we've got a pretty good base set to chase after.

All of this is nice, but I didn't discover the best part of 2010 Topps until I started sorting my cards tonight and flipped them over. Believe it or not, you can actually read the numbers of each card on the back. And I'm not talking by having every light in your home on, bifocals in place and straining your eyes. All you have to do is glance at the number and you instantly know what it is. A big white number, surrounded by a black background. Thank you Topps. This is quickly becoming one of the few sorting experiences I've truly enjoyed.

Hopefully you're enjoying your 2010 Topps experience as well. As you come across those Angels inserts, gold cards, black cards, etc. just remember your buddy over at I Heart Halos. He'd be happy to send you whatever he can in return. You see he has made the stupid decision to chase after an Angels master set, short of any 1/1s.

Go Halos!

Finally, after a week of watching everyone east of California open packs of 2010 Topps found at their local Target, yesterday I was able to get a handful of packs for myself. I ripped them open with glee, happy to have my hands on a new product and a new set to pursue. New Angel cards to look at with happiness, really like the look of the Howie Kendrick and Kendry Morales cards, and also a few to look at with disgust, f'n Lackey.

After going through my stack a few times, I was excited to scan a few cards, put my thoughts down on the ol' I Heart Halos blog and entertain the world with my thoughts. I hooked up the scanner to my old laptop (the only one that's compatible with the scanner) and set off to work. Then...nothing.

All the excitement was quickly drained from my body as I stared at error message after error message, telling me my scanner was unable to connect to the computer. All my fantastic insights and clever musings would have to remain in my head and never be shared with the world. Truly a tragic day and this is a problem that must be remedied. The quests for a new scanner shall begin shortly and if I'm able to obtain one before too long, you just may be privy to my delightful musings.

Go Halos!

First Figgy heads off to our rivals in the greater Northwest. You kinda knew he was going, but it still stings a little. Seeing him play against us will be painful, especially since we probably won't have the same luck in throwing him out while stealing that every other team seems to have.

Then, Lackey bolts for Boston and goes from adored winner of Game 7, to hated turncoat. Nice to know being in ace in Anaheim wasn't nearly as important as being a #3 in Beantown. Whatever.

Finally, the last of the big 3 is headed out of town and of course going to another division rival, this time Texas. I know that statistically Matsui should be an upgrade, but it just doesn't feel right. Vlad was fun to cheer for and of course incredibly frustrating at times as well. You can only watch him swing at pitches 2 feet out of the strike zone so many times before you start to question his hitting IQ.

The bigger problem with Vlad was that he was the face of the franchise. Sure, he had no business hitting cleanup for the last half of the season, but would it have been so hard to just move him down in the order and reap the benefits of a hitter in the 6th or 7th hole who had some pop?


One less smiling face to adorn Angel cards in 2010.

As far as baseball decisions, I can understand letting Figgy and Vladdy leave, I can even make the case that Lackey wasn't worth nearly that much money, especially over 5 years, but the problem is I'm a fan. And so is my daughter. Every time she sees me watching football she asks when the Angels will be back on. I try to explain the calendar how there is a season, but that has little effect. So as she scampers away she chirps about seeing Figgy and Vlad. Not sure that explaining the free market and the dynamics of free agency is going to go over well.

We're gonna miss you Vlad and Figgy. Hope you choke on your chowder Big John.

Go Halos!

Needless to say, this is a dark time in the I Heart Halos home.

Reason #283 it's rough to live and die with your team.

It started over at Dinged Corners and has since spread like wildfire through the card blogging world. The question they posed, "What are your 3 favorite on card autographs?". I was intrigued immediately, but realized right away, I'd never be able to narrow to just 3. So, being the rule breaker that I am, I decided to break mine into categories. My 4 categories: Angels autos, Baseball outside of Anaheim, Football and non-sports.

Today: Baseball Outside of Anaheim

I know it's hard to believe, but they do play baseball outside of Anaheim and over the years I've liked and respected a number of players who never donned the Halo.

1. Kirby Puckett

This card is one of my favorites for a number of reasons. The 1985 Topps Puckett was one of the first big rookie cards I ever got my hands on in my early days of collecting. It's almost impossible for a young kid to not be won over by a chubby guy named Kirby and when he ends up being an extremely exciting player at bat and in the field, you've got a perfect combination. This actual card is of course a reprint from the 2001 Topps Archives release and features a huge autograph from Kirby. This autograph couldn't be a better match to the man. Large, bold and rounded.

2. Bip Roberts

Readers of this gutty, little blog are well aware of my infatuation with Leon "Bip" Roberts. This card was sent to me by Rob of Padrographs and instantly became one of my favorites. Before Rod, I was Bipless in the autograph department, but thanks to his generosity I now have 2. Bold signature - Check. Hat placed lazily atop head - Check. The grin of a young man who knows he's destined for greatness - Check. What's not to love?

3. Ken Griffey Jr.

This card will get a more proper treatment in the near future, but I couldn't just ignore this card when it comes to favorite on card autographs. As you might be able to tell by the monolithic encasement, this card is my holy grail. At the age of 12 my father took me to my first baseball card show in Anaheim and the headliners doing the signing were Ken Griffey Jr. and his father. I had no interest in Sr., sorry to the old-timers, but he wasn't even on my radar. For me it was all about The Kid. This card went from Ken's hand, to mine and within minutes into this monstrosity of a case. Ever since that moment I've been paralyzed by fear every time I've even considered removing it. Because of the case, the scan is horrible, but trust me, this card is as good as it gets.


And so ends my on card autograph journey. Thanks to the ladies of Dinged Corners for making this all a reality with their fabulous idea.

Go Halos!

It started over at Dinged Corners and has since spread like wildfire through the card blogging world. The question they posed, "What are your 3 favorite on card autographs?". I was intrigued immediately, but realized right away, I'd never be able to narrow to just 3. So, being the rule breaker that I am, I decided to break mine into categories. My 4 categories: Angels autos, Baseball outside of Anaheim, Football and non-sports.

Today: The Angel Autos

Choosing just 3 Angel on card autographs proved to be too difficult for me, so I went with 3 and an honorable mention. Even so, I could have filled up this page with another dozen. Restraint isn't exactly one the traits that come to mind when speaking of me.

We'll start with the honorable mention, Wally Joyner.

The scan doesn't do this card justice, but since it's still encased in the plastic tomb provided by Topps, this was the best I could do. In person, this card just looks so clean and the signature pops out. Speaking of the signature, would you expect anything less elegant from the Mormon slugger?

Now onto the main event. In no particular order.
1. Jim Abbott

Unfortunately, this is another card in which the scan does it no justice. For whatever reason, chrome and scanners never quite work correctly. Had I been a bit less lazy, I'd have used the camera, but oh well, this is what you get with me. Love the signature, love the uniform, love the pose. There was something about watching Abbott as he transitioned from pitcher to fielder that just left you in awe. I still can't figure out how a guy with one hand makes the decision to become a pitcher and then not only does so, but becomes a successful major leaguer.

2. Garret Anderson

I've already espoused my love for Garret Anderson, but this card is cool for more than just the player featured. The card is a commemoration of perhaps the greatest moment for us Halo fans, the 2002 World Series. If you're an Angel fan you already know why Garret is labeled as "World Series Hero" on this card, if you're not an Angel fan, well, you should be.

3. Luis Polonia

Was there really any doubt that this card and this player would end up on my list? This card was the first ever entry in my series of "Cards that Define Me". A series that never really took off and I really need to get back to. Luis signed the card for me at a fan appreciation day and instantly became a centerpiece of my collection. I could go on, but there's no need. Spend more than two minutes on my site and you'll become fully aware of my love for the man with the jheri curl mullet.

There you have it, 4 Angel on card autos for the price of 3. How could you go wrong?

Go Halos!

It started over at Dinged Corners and has since spread like wildfire through the card blogging world. The question they posed, "What are your 3 favorite on card autographs?". I was intrigued immediately, but realized right away, I'd never be able to narrow to just 3. So, being the rule breaker that I am, I decided to break mine into categories. My 4 categories: Angels autos, Baseball outside of Anaheim, Football and non-sports.

Today: The Football Autos

I don't dabble in the collecting of football cards too much. I just don't have the funds or desire to chase it all down. That being said, I have added a few autographs over the years and a couple of them standout.

1. Marshall Faulk.

My love for Marshall Faulk has nothing to do with the uniform he's wearing on this card, but rather the uniform he wore for three years prior to entering the NFl. The scarlet and black of San Diego State University. As an Aztec alum, we don't have the opportunity to cheer for our football team all that often. But what we do have is Marshall Faulk. One of the greatest running backs in NCAA and NFL history. I could throw stats at you, but there's no need. Marshall Faulk is simply a beast.

2. Henry Ellard

You can have your Jerry Rice and John Taylor, your Mark Clayton and Mark Duper or any other combo you choose. For me, it was all about Henry Ellard and Willie "Flipper" Anderson. A dynamic duo of epic proportions. Hell, these two made Jim Everett into a Pro Bowler. It was a sad day in Anaheim when the Rams left town, but thank God they did. I don't how many more years of multi-purpose stadium baseball I could have made it through.

3. Christian Okoye

For those of us who grew up playing Tecmo Super Bowl on the Nintendo, Bo Jackson was easily the most dominant video game figure in our lives. The problem was that when you played against your friends, Bo wasn't exactly a secret and you'd inevitably get into a tussle over who got to play with the Raiders and who was left with a lesser team. The "Nigerian Nightmare" was a more than adequate backup plan for me. Oh yeah, and he wasn't exactly boring to watch on the real field as well.

3 on card beauties of 3 fantastic players. An Aztec legend, one of the great receivers of my childhood and maybe the second best Tecmo player ever.

It started over at Dinged Corners and has since spread like wildfire through the card blogging world. The question they posed, "What are your 3 favorite on card autographs?". I was intrigued immediately, but realized right away, I'd never be able to narrow to just 3. So, being the rule breaker that I am, I decided to break mine into categories. My 4 categories: Angels autos, Baseball outside of Anaheim, Football and non-sports.

Today: Non-sports autographs.

1. In today's collecting world, it's almost impossible to talk non-sports autographs and not turn immediately to Allen and Ginter. So where better to start than with this little slice of genius.

First, I love Jeopardy! and can remember spending numerous nights laying on the floor in my family's living room as my parents battled it out over an episode. The show already had a place in my heart, but then Ken Jennings arrived and suddenly Jeopardy! was the biggest part of my television viewing. The wife and I would sit stunned as Ken just obliterated the competition. 74 straight wins, over 3 million in earnings. Truly hall of fame numbers.

2. Sticking with the Allen and Ginter theme, we have a man who I wouldn't even know exists without this card set.

The man is a world champion in the world of beard growing. Did you even know this country had a Beard Team USA before this card was released. As a man who is a fan of the pogonological arts, this man is my hero.

3.Finally, a break from the Allen and Ginter, but that in no way diminishes the sweetness of this autograph.

Adam Carolla can best be described as a comedy God. OK, that may be a bit excessive, but I love the guy's humor. Whether it was as a co-host on Loveline or The Man Show, or his time as a morning radio host, I can't get enough of the guy. Combine that with this card immortalizing his turn as Death of Family Guy and you've got a winner. I was raised on the Simpsons, but I was swept up in Family Guy almost immediately. Now if i could just find a card of the first voice of Death, Norm Macdonald.

There they are, my first of 4 installments of my 3 favorite on-card autographs.

I can't quite understand the feeling deep in my gut. It's sort of a mixture of dread, anger and disappointment. John Lackey's a free agent and from all of the various reports, it doesn't look good for the little team out in Anaheim. For some reason the Angels weren't aggressive in an attempt to re-sign Big John and despite a season of injuries, Lackey finished strong and was absolutely amazing in the postseason. So why exactly are the Angels not the front runner to sign him and keep him as an Angel forever?

Dear God, the man won game 7 of the World Series as a rookie. There should be no question as to his worth. I understand that the Yankees overpaid AJ Burnett and that's now causing to John to look for even more cash, so do it. DO IT!

What's most frustrating is the names that are being thrown around as suitors for Lackey. I get that the Yankees can bid on anyone and instantly become frontrunners, but the Mariners? The Rangers? The Brewers? Are you kidding me? Back up the truck and sign this guy! If I have to watch John Lackey pitch for the Seattle stinkin' Mariners, I'm gonna throw up in my mouth a little bit.

So this is my plea to Arte, sing your ace!!! If we're ever going to overtake the Yankees or the Red Sox, we have to have an ace, a number 1 guy to lead us in the playoffs. That man is Big John Lackey, winner of Game 7 of the 2002 World Series.


Go Halos!

If you watched the playoffs at all and caught an Angels game, you've probably heard ad nauseum that Bobby Abreu was the sole reason for the Angels offensive turn-around and sudden acceptance of the idea of taking a pitch. He did have an impact on the team this year, but I would have appreciated it a bit more if I didn't have Joe Buck telling me everytime Bob stepped to the plate.

Well, he's back for two more years, although the financial details haven't come out quite yet. Abreu was a great bargain signing last season, hopefully this new deal won't turn into a situation where we're overpaying an aging player on his way out. I'll hold out hope that Bobby will continue to produce and we can all look forward to Joe Buck letting us know just how patience Bobby is and how that has revolutionized the game of baseball.

Go Halos!

So the Yankees have won another World Series. Whoopty Doo!
I should be happy for their fans, but I'm having trouble mustering the fake enthusiasm. I realize you had to "suffer" through a few years in the 80's without a championship, but that doesn't exactly impress me. Let's face it, it's easy to be a Yankee fan. Your team spends ridiculous amounts of money and if you have an off year, you can be guaranteed that your team will throw more money at the issue. This off-season alone, we all know that either Jason Bay or Matt Holliday will likely end up playing left field for you. Oh and that high priced Cuban defector, why do I feel he'll end up at Yankee Stadium next April. And I don't even want to think about the possibility of Lackey or Figgins heading to the Bronx.

But it's time for me to put aside my Yankee negativity and look at one of the few bright spots in Yankee history, at least from this Halos fan's perspective. A little guy who goes by the name of Luis Polonia.






So while I find most everything about the Yankees to be vile, I will celebrate one of the great players of our day, Luis Polonia. Sure, he probably wouldn't fit in with the current crop of multi-millionaires, but he'd at least make them a little more likable.

As for my own team, it was a roller coaster year, but I one I enjoyed immensely. It started with the tragedy of Nick Adenhart, but the season ended with a number of triumphs. Although losing to the Yankees was tough, the sweep of the Red Sox was a really sweet moment. Perhaps my favorite moment of the season was Vladdy's single up the middle against Papelbon, that brought about the comeback victory. All the more satisfying thanks to Boston trotting out Dave Henderson to throw out the first pitch, a slap in the face to all Angel fans.

So for the most part, the season was a success, unfortunately with a number of free agents likely headed out of town, it could be a rough off-season. Oh well, we'll keep the faith and light up the halo again in 2010.

Go Halos!

This has been way too stressful. It doesn't help that our closer is Fuentesaurus Rex and there closer is the greatest of all-time. Was it really necessary for A-Rod to turn into Reggie Jackson this post-season for the first time in his career?

Go Halos!

Man, that was sweet.

The wife and I went to game 1 in Anaheim and had the time of our lives. Today's ninth inning though, was almost as sweet, even from 3,000 miles away. Love those Halos! More to come when I can breathe again.

Go Halos!

For myself and I think most baseball card collectors, the thing that hooked us in wasn't the cardboard as much as it was the sport. We begin as baseball fans and eventually our fanaticism leads us to begin devouring everything baseball related. As a kid it began for me with baseball cards, but then it became collecting mini-helmets and authentic hats, and playing strat-o-matic baseball. As I got older, I gave up on some of my collections and turned to fantasy baseball. And after all these years, i find myself going back to the baseball cards and being excited when I can get ice cream at the stadium, knowing it means a mini Angels helmet.

I love baseball for more reasons than I could possibly begin to count right now, but one of them reared its head this week...rookie hazing. Whereas in other sports, hazing seems to take a financial toll (rookies picking up insane dinner bills for their teammates) or an emotional toll (forcing a guy to buy donuts, etc. every morning while carrying the bags of half the teams), baseball seems to do it the right way. In baseball, hazing is about one thing and one thing only, embarrassment.

I give you, the 2009 Angels rookies in all their glory. What makes this even more special this year was that players had to wear their unique outfits in front of a sold out stadium for the Angels playoff rally.


Chris Pettit in pretty pink dress.


30 year old rookie Matt Palmer, appropriately sports the big baby outfit.


Sean O'Sullivan and Trevol Bell make their way off the field to the bus. Torii Hunter's face is priceless and fits well with a few of his past Allen and Ginter cards.


Trevor Bell is Reno 911 gear is perhaps the best. Very cool to see him embracing the light-hearted fun and not sulking through it.

In a season that spans up to 8 months at times, having some fun and releasing the tension is definitely needed.

Go Halos!

There's a better quality video on mlb.com, but I couldn't figure out how to embed it, so I went the youtube route. Just a cool moment for an Angels fan.



(Of course, I have mixed feelings about guys running out with beers in hand to a memorial for a young man who was killed by a drunk driver, but the sentiment far outweighs that.)

It's enough to make me wanna come out of retirement.

Light up the Halo!

Go Halos!