2008 Timelines Nick Blackburn

Who is this? Twins pitcher Nick Blackburn.

What is this? An autograph card from 2008 Upper Deck Timelines, card number 201.

Where'd I get it? Retail pack from Wal-Mart.

How much did it cost? $1.99 for the pack.

Why is this so special? Last night I realized I hadn't bought the onions for Thanksgiving. I needed to bring a side to dinner and I was going to bring some creamed onions. I like onions, it's easy to make and it's something that no one else would make. Here's how to make it:

1lb pearl onions
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 cups milk
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Get about a pound of pearl onions. I bought two packages of them at Wal-Mart which I think was a pound.
Boil some water. Put the onions in the water for about three minutes. A little longer will make them more tender, but harder to work with.
Take out the onions and rinse them in a cold water bath until they are cool.
Cut off the top and bottom of each onion and remove the peel.
Once the onions are all peeled, melt the butter in a pan on low heat.
When the butter is melted, slowly add the flour, stirring the whole time to make a roux. I didn't exactly measure the flour and butter, I just kind of eyeballed it. Don't cook too long because burned roux is not Good Eats. Stir it until it combines into a golden paste.
Sloooowly add the milk, stirring like mad the whole time. If you add the milk too fast you'll have lumpy gravy. Great album, lousy dinner. This I eyeballed as well, just add milk to the roux until it's the thickness you want. I like it thick.
Add salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste and stir in the parmesan.
Once the sauce is complete, add the onions and let it simmer for a few minutes.
Plate and eat!

So the plan was to make that, but I had no onions. I trucked out to Wally World late last night grumbling the whole way since I hadn't planned this out properly as usual. I got the onions, a couple of other things I was low on and swung by the card aisle, hoping to find some Stadium Club. No dice. This Wal-Mart always gets things two or three weeks after everyone else. They had some Timelines though, so I picked up three packs hoping to get a Timeless Teams short print to add to my Stadium collection. I got home and ripped. First pack, CC Sabathia with a Miller park back, sweet! Second pack, Jed Lowell, Fenway back. Dang, I've got Jacoby Ellsbury already. Third pack, rats. '94 All-Time Heroes Ryan Braun. No stadium back in that pack. Well, let's look at the other short print - whaaa? Autograph?

So that's how my Thanksgiving creamed onions dish got me an autographed card of Nick Blackburn, who looks like he could be a pretty decent major league pitcher for the Twins. It's a nice readable blue autograph on a shiny clear sticker that is placed in the dead center of a lightned space on the card reserved for the signature. Not bad, eh? There's one more reason to love onions.

corey koskie has a message

Who is this? former twins third baseman corey koskie

What is this? A 2001 topps base card signed by koskie

Where'd I get it? this was a through the mail success (took about a year, though)

How much did it cost? i think i got the card in a hobby pack, so i'm going to say about $0.20 plus a couple of stamps

Why is this so special? my son was born in 2000. i took him to his first game on july 1, 2001 - tigers vs. twins at the metrodome. we got there a little late (hey, i'm from southern california), and the twins were already at bat in the bottom of the first. the first batter we saw was corey koskie, who promptly hit a home run.

i have to admit that, even prior to the game, i felt a certain kinship to koskie, a manitoban, as my parents are both canadian. afterwards, i thought it would be nice to have a koskie memento from the game, and so i mailed a couple of cards to him at the metrodome. about a year later, he returned both cards. they were both signed, with an extra notation - matt 11:28-30.

the autograph itself is not so nice, in fact, the scripture notation is clearer on both cards. this is due, in part, to the cards i chose - there is a darkness to the background that makes the pen difficult to see.

corey had his best season that year, going 20/20 with over 100 rbi. after a few more years with the twins, he went on to play for the blue jays and the brewers before suffering a concussion in 2006 on a freak play. he hasn't played since, which is too bad. the last time i saw him was at twinsfest last year - not as a former player signing autographs, but as a father with his kids enjoying the activities on the field of the metrodome.

i have to admit, i still haven't looked up the scripture. sorry corey.

2008 Bowman Jose Mijares

Who is this? Twins pitcher Jose Mijares.

What is this? An autograph card from 2008 Bowman, card number SOF-JM.

Where'd I get it? It was a redemption card from Topps.

How much did it cost? One buck for the redemption card.

Why is this so special? One of my two favorite card shops in Atlanta has a couple of auto-relic binders on the counter for all the low-end hit cards that aren't quite caseworthy. The first page or two of each binder (one is for baseball, the other everything else) has cards for a dollar, the rest of the cards range from three to fifteen. When I went last week there was a UD Ballpark with a quad jersey (very similar to a quad laser, actually) with Griffey, Schmidt, and a couple of other dudes that was tempting, but I passed in favor of a Tony Gwynn rookie. I think I made the right choice, but Michael Jack is one of my weaknesses. At any rate, whenever I go there I make a point of getting at least one or two dollar autos to use as posts here and for trade fodder. We all love opening a package and pulling an autograph, and for a buck it's a cheap way of sweetening the pot on some trades. I got five of 'em when I went last week, and I got this redemption card when I went the month before. Most of the cheapo autos are late '90s to early '00s minor league stuff like this, but someone apparently busted a box or two of Bowman recently and there was some '08 stuff in there including the redemption. Everyone hates redemption cards as much as they love autographs so I got one cheap. Delayed gratification paid off today as Tristar Fulfillment came through for me today.

When I first sent this card off, it looked like Jose was a minor league relief pitcher who was injured. While this card was being processed, Jose got called up to the bigs and debuted against the Orioles on September 13th. Jose is getting a good, hard look by manager Ron Gardenhire, and has been thrown in some high pressure set up situations so far. He's pitched really well too, and is making a case to be on the 2009 roster. The Twins don't need a closer right now as Joe Nathan is signed through 2011, but a dominant setup man is just as critical in today's game. Plus closers generally have pretty short lifespans in the bigs and it's always good to have one waiting in the wings, especially a young one that isn't going to require a huge contract. Jose has only pitched 6 games in the majors so it's a little early to anoint him as a future elite closer but it looks like he'll be interesting to watch anyway. He does have an elite signature though, look at that work of art. An elegant, unique, legible autograph from a twenty-three year old? That's big league stuff right there.

1999 Hillshire Farms Harmon Killebrew

Who is this? Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew.

What is this? An autograph card available as a promotion from from Hillshire Farms.

Where'd I get it? EBay seller larryvan.

How much did it cost? $2.99.

Why is this so special? A Killer autograph for three bucks? WTF? Yep, just three bucks for this card. This was originally a promotion from Hillshire Farms where you send in four bucks and some proofs of purchase and you can get an autographed Hall of Famer card. The four choices were Killer, Ernie Banks, Frank Robinson and Willie Stargell. How did I miss all these card promotions in the '90s?? I would have bought some smoked sausage for an autograph of Pops. These cards don't seem to be real popular now though. There were several companies who did similar promos and the cards can usually be found for well under 20 bucks. Try finding a Killebrew autograph out of Sweet Spot or Goudey for that price, I'll never happen. I'ts a good looking card too, there's a gold foil border and name around the picture that doesn't show up too well and there's full career stats and a short bio on the back. Yeah, the Twins logo is airbrushed out. Suck it up. It's an autograph of Killer! He hit 573 home runs, and you can find an autograph from him online right now for the price of a pack of Bowman Chrome. And it's a Hall of Fame signature too, just look at that beauty. The card isn't even wilkerized, not that there's anything wrong with that. I don't understand this hobby sometimes. People snap up Bowman SuperMegaCrazyFractors of Double-A pitchers recovering from Tommy John surgery, and leave oddball food cards from Hall of Famers in the bargain bin to gather dust. I'll take Harmon any day.

SP Signature David Ortiz

Who is this? Twins first baseman David Ortiz.

What is this? An autograph card from 1999 SP Signature Edition, card number DO.

Where'd I get it? A defunct card shop in Woodstock that I can't remember the name.

How much did it cost? Five bucks.

Why is this so special? I'm going to manage a post a week at least or die trying... I got this card from a shop that was up on Towne Lake parkway up in Woodstock a few years ago. I want to say it was called Double Play or something , but they closed down and it doesn't really matter. They were something like the 4th or 5th shop down my regular list of places to get cards. It wasn't a bad shop, but then again it wasn't utterly spectacular either. It was a little bit out of the way for my usual travels so I didn't get there all that often. They had some good stuff though and you could usually find something cool and obscure on the clearance table.

One day around 2004 or so I was scrounging through their autograph and game used box looking for something good and cheap. Most of the really nice stuff was in a case and the box was filled mostly with underachieving rookies and marginal players. I can't give you an example of who was in that box because I simply don't remember, they were that nondescript. While looking through the pile of unexciting autogamers this card caught my eye. David Ortiz? The guy on the Red Sox who's hitting homers like crazy? Ortiz was definitely a big step above the other cards in the box. So they put Big Papi in the scrub box and put a five dollar price tag on him. Not only that, but they had two of 'em in there. The only rationale for this I can think of is that either Ortiz had not become a big enough star by that point to get moved up to the case, or that those cards had been in there for a few years and no one had touched them. I quit looking at that point because I knew I had found my bargain. I bought this card and left the second one there for any kindred spirits who also like spelunking through the depths of junk boxes for that one diamond.

2007 Topps Chrome Glen Perkins

Who is this? Twins pitcher Glen Perkins.

What is this? An autograph card from 2007 Topps Chrome, card number 348.

Where'd I get it? Flea market binge.

How much did it cost? $2.50.

Why is this so special? This guy's rookie cards were all over the place a couple of years ago and the name stuck with me. He's still a decent prospect for the Twins, but he's started the year in Triple-A. Glen is a homegrown Twins prospect, he was born in St. Paul and went to college at the University of Minnesota. He's throwing well so far in the minors and might get a call up sometime this year, especially since he's a lefty and they're hard to come by. Then again, he might suck and never sniff the majors again, who knows? It's a chrome auto of a legit prospect so what the heck. It's a sticker auto, and the signature kinda looks like a doodle some guy would draw while talking on the phone, and I got a fingerprint or a smudge or something up on the corner but it was in the 4 for $10 box so rock on. Remember, this was the big hit in a box of Chrome for some guy.

2002 Topps206 Cristian Guzman

Who is this? Twins shortstop Cristian Guzman.

What is this? An autograph card from 2002 Topps206, card TA-CG.

Where'd I get it? An eBay auction.

How much did it cost? Probably not much.

Why is this so special? I attempted to build the Topps206 set and I wanted an autograph card for my collection. I got this one cheap. Cristian had a career year in 2001 that he has never come close to matching. Cristian has a lousy looking autograph that is not helped by being cramped up on a mini card. He is currently a member of the Washington Nationals and will be in the mix for the starting shortstop job if healthy.

2006 Allen & Ginter Lew Ford

Who is this? Twins Outfielder Lew Ford.

What is this? An autograph card from 2006 Topps Allen & Ginter, card AGA-LF.

Where'd I get it? eBay.

How much did it cost? A couple bucks or so.

Why is this so special? I'm a big fan of Allen & Ginter cards and I wanted an auto card from the set for my collection. I got this one cheap sometime last year. The frame looks neat and I like the autograph logo on the back with the quill. It kinda looks like an original A&G header with the funky typeface. The autograph looks good even though it is squashed on the tiny card. Lew had a good year in 2004 and then fell of the face of the earth. The Twins released him this offseason and he will be playing in Japan in 2008.