The New Matheny, or, Once, Twice, Three Times a Cardinal

Well, I went and done it:  after picking up the Bronze and Silver versions, I swept the podium and nabbed the gold:

The rarest of the trio, this 1996 Leaf Signature Gold auto of Matheny set me back $13 (after having paid $6 for the silver and $1.50 for the Bronze) and it was totally worth it, because now I can show THIS off on my completed nameplates/rainbows page:

I'm especially proud to have 100% of Matheny's certified autos right now since he's skippered a team with a lot of heart and determination right back into the thick of the playoffs and made them a major threat to repeat.  While I hold out hope for the Tigers, I certainly wouldn't mind seeing a Michigan Man lead a team to a championship (as a backup plan!).  Go Mike, and GO BLUE!

Cards on cards, or, I was told there would be no Matheny

As I'm writing this the Cardinals and Braves are locked in a one-off game to see who goes on to the playoffs and who goes home to play golf.  That actually makes today's post somewhat relevant, because another of my recent eBay pickups is this guy,

Mike Matheny 1996 Leaf Signature Silver auto

Matheny, of course, is the Cardinals' first-year manager, and I'm dying to see how the former Wolverine can get his Pujols-less team into the postseason.  At the same time, I can't help hoping Chipper Jones ends his career with a magical World Series run (but that's only if the Tigers falter!).

If this card looks fairly familiar, that's because I previously picked up the more abundant bronze version and blogged about it here.  That puts me one Gold version away from a nice trifecta, plus 100% of Matheny's hits ever produced.  Not bad at all!

And now I wish a hearty good luck to your favorite MLB playoff team as long as they aren't playing the Tigers.  And screw the Yankees, of course--nobody likes them.