Phungo: Phungo 5 with Night Owl Cards

The Phillies are out on the West Coast which means today we are very fortunate to have Night Owl Cards in the house to discuss the LA Dodgers. Despite a tough weekend the Dodgers are surprisingly in the playoff mix as we begin the second half of 2012.

1) Who or What has been the Dodgers Biggest surprise this season?

Wow. There are so many. Elian Herrerra actually producing for the Dodgers after 9 years in the minors. Chris Capuano being the starting staff's most consistent pitcher. The Dodgers getting rid of Frank McCourt so efficiently (it only took 2 billion!) But I think the biggest surprise is the most obvious one -- that the Dodgers still lead the NL West in mid-July despite anyone who is any good being on the DL.

2) How would you rank the Designs of the last 5 Topps Sets (2008 - 2012)

1. 2009. One of the best ever.

2. 2011. I think I'll like it even more years from now.

3. 2010. I know a lot of people hate it. But I like colorful sets, and that one had color everywhere.

4. 2012. I still don't understand the design. It will always be The Tumor Set to me.

5. 2008. One of the worst ever. The photos were almost an after-thought.

3) Will the DH be used throughout MLB baseball in 2013?

(*Gasp*) what have you heard? I hope not. How are we going to collect cards of pitcher's batting if they never get to bat? The wonderful moment of surprise seeing a pitcher hit a home run or a double will be gone forever. I think pitchers batting can be fun.

4) Mattlingly or Torre?

They're both ex-Yankees, but for some reason I associate Torre more with the Yankees than Mattingly. I got the impression that Torre was with the Dodgers because it was as far away from the Yankees as he could get. Mattingly just seems like he wants a job and he wants to be good at it. So, I'll say Mattingly.

2012 06 05 Don Mattingly, Dee Gordon, Clayton Kershaw during BP

5) In which journey have you learned more baseball - 1971 or 1975 Topps.

I'd say 1975, only because I'm only 70 cards into the 1971 blog. But it'll probably end up being '71 because there are so many players in that set that I never knew. It was five years before I started following baseball.

Score Card

Good work by NOC as always - Glad to see someone else out there that doesn't hate 2010 Topps. Looking forward to seeing more on the 1971 topps blog.

Replay - 2012 Phungo 5 Postings

Philadelphia Phillies - The Phillies Room.

Atlanta Braves - Cardboard Junkie

Miami Marlins - 30-Year Old Cardboard

New York Mets - Paul's Random Baseball Stuff

Chicago Cubs - Wrigley Wax

Pittsburgh Pirates - Pirates Treasure Room

San Diego Padres - Padrographs

Kansas City Roayls - Autograph Cards

Oakland A's - The Fuji Chronicles