Happy Birthday, Greg!

No, not that Greg who also celebrated his birthday yesterday. Greg of Plaschke, Thy Sweater is Argyle gets to celebrate his birth today. What better way to celebrate a fellow blogger's birthday, than by showing off some awesome cards he passed along my way earlier this week at the Dodger game. Of course, you can celebrate by harassing Greg on Twitter or just visiting his awesome blog.

Although Greg and I have been in contact since the inception of my blog almost a year ago, this is only our second trade. And boy, the first one (so good it required two posts) was just a sign of things to come when dealing with Greg. 

The centerpiece of this deal was a swap of autographs from the Parks and Recreation set by Press Pass. Both Greg and I are attempting to put the entire autographed set, and we were able to help each other out by flipping some of our excess autographs. This time around I was able to pick up the hilarious Joan Callamezzo portrayed by Mo Collins. I now have 5 out of the 13 autos in the set, still needing the big ones like Amy Poehler and Rob Lowe. With the prices those seem to be sitting at, it may be beneficial to just buy a hobby box and hope for the best. 

Greg also tossed in my very first autograph of former Dodger, Blake DeWitt. Although he was traded for Ted Lilly back in 2010, DeWitt remained one of my favorite players. From the looks of it, DeWitt is a free agent. Ahem....you know what to do Dodgers.

Moving from a former Dodger, to a soon to be former Dodger, Greg threw in this sweet relic of Andre Ethier. Look, I love Ethier, but his production has dropped off immensely the past two seasons. With Joc Pederson knocking on the door in Triple-A, one of Ethier or Carl Crawford will most likely be moved before the start of 2015. The Dodgers will either have to give away one of the players for some mediocre prospects, or take on another albatross contract in return. Jonathan Papelbon's name was thrown around yesterday, and even though I dislike Papelbon, it would probably benefit the team in the long run. 

Hell, the Dodgers could trade either of their overpriced outfielders for dirt and sign Shawn Green and I'd be happy. We know that would never happen, but a man can dream right? Greg threw in two Green relics into this trade package, though I decided to just scan the one. This one is #'d 226/250 and joins its brothers in my box box of Greens.

Speaking of former Dodgers I'd like to see make a return to LA, here is a sweet swatch of Russell Martin. Considering it is a fairly low numbered relic of one of Greg's favorite players, I am assuming he had a spare. If so, I don't blame him for having more than one of these spectacular cards. 

It seems like this post has turned into me clamoring for former Dodgers to make their return to the magic castle that is Dodger Stadium. However, I don't only want former Dodgers to return. It would be nice to have Withrow at the back of the Dodgers bullpen, but he is just one of many Tommy John victims this year. 

Of course, relievers tend to be expendable and with the Dodgers depth, they aren't horribly effected by Withrow's loss. The Dodgers showed off how expendable relievers can be by shipping off Josh Lindblom to Philly in the deal for Shane Victorino in 2012. In a strange sequence of events, the Phillies then traded Lindblom to the Rangers for Michael Young after the 2012 season. The Dodgers then traded for Young in August of last season to bring the trade full circle. 

Moving away from the hits that Greg exchanged with me, we have three new Matt Kemp cards for my #BEASTMODE PC. There is just something about those Triple Play cards that grabs my attention. They are wonderful. 

Triple Play is one of the low-end products, so Greg made sure to include a new Matty Ice card from one of the high-end sets. This Kemp marks four new cards Greg added to my collection, which now sits at 165 unique cards. 

Greg was also kind enough to toss in a couple of Shawn Green cards, one better than the other. I'll let you guess which one don't like. 

Though I tend to hate cards of Shawn Green featured as a D-Back, I'll take any card of Jonathan Broxton. I have always been a big fan of the big man, even after Joe Torre killed him back in the Yankees series in 2010. Broxton was one of the most dominant relievers in the game during a four year stretch from 2006-2009. After that ill-fated series against the Yankees, in which Broxton pitched in 4 out of 5 games, and warmed up in the other one, Broxton was never the same. By the way, Broxton (a closer mind you) threw 99 pitches in a span of five days. As Mike Petriello, then of Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness pointed out, Jonathan Broxton is a starting pitcher now, I guess. I need to get all of my Broxton cards together and officially add him to my tertiary PC's, but that means I actually have to do something when I'm not at work.

A vertical card next to a horizontal one is not very pleasing to the eyes, but this is my blog and I can do whatever I want. All joking aside, Greg managed to throw in a pair of sweet Bryce Harper cards that I did not have somehow. 

Greg also threw in a ton of other great cards, including a ton of mini collection hits, other hits, and some Dodgers. Unfortunately, I forgot Greg's side of the deal when I took my trip to LA over the weekend, but Greg will be happy to know that his cards are en route. He probably won't get them today, but a belated birthday gift tomorrow should be expected.

Thanks again for all of the wonderful cards Greg! Be sure to enjoy your birthday amigo!