Javy Lopez, 2004 Fleer Ultra #233

Javy Lopez doing sexy lunges? Javy Lopez doing sexy lunges.

Javy Lopez, 2004 Bowman Heritage #56

The stands behind Javy Lopez are empty because this photo was taken during Spring Training in Fort Lauderdale. But tomorrow, due to the continuing unrest in Baltimore, the Orioles and White Sox will play the first game in MLB history to be closed to the public. It will be televised on MASN, and it will be a bizarre spectacle to see the O's playing in an empty Camden Yards. Even though the Birds have lost four home games (this weekend's series vs. the Rays is being moved to Tropicana Field) and a scheduled off day (an Orioles-White Sox makeup doubleheader has been scheduled for May 28), it's important to remember that there are people in our city who have lost much more, and that is at the center of this week's upheaval. Hopefully we can take steps to right the things that have gone wrong in Baltimore.

Javy Lopez, 2004 Donruss World Series #WS-18

The January 20 weather report from Baltimore: Gray. Chilly. Rainy. But I took an important step towards Spring this morning my booking a flight for Sarasota. At the end of March, my wife, my sister, and I will be spending a long weekend on the west coast of central Florida. We're staying with my wife's brother while we're down there, and catching a Grapefruit League game or two at Ed Smith Stadium. I'll be counting the days over the coming weeks until I can see for myself just how much the Orioles have improved their spring training situation since I last went south in 2007. Back then, the Birds were still hosted by Fort Lauderdale, where the home park was across the street from a ramshackle soccer stadium and down the road a piece from a Wendy's with an ant infestation. As you can see, Javy Lopez put on a brave face in 2004 for his first preseason in Lauderdale, but it must have been a shock to his system after previously training with the Braves at Disney World. The O's might not have digs at the Happiest Place on Earth, but at least they're not doing their weight training in a tent in the parking lot any more. (Yes, that really happened.)

Javy Lopez, 2005 Playoff Prestige #18

A few thoughts on a Sunday afternoon:

-Need a unique, dynamic photo for your baseball card? Why not go with a power-hitting catcher jogging back across the infield after making an out? (At least that's what this looks like. Wouldn't be my first choice.)

-Javy Lopez is wearing a mid-1970s throwback uniform, though it always bugged me when the Orioles didn't bother with throwback batting helmets. Go all-out or don't do it at all.

-I didn't realize how much I liked the orange jerseys until the O's finally brought them back a few years ago. I don't think it's a coincidence that Baltimore's return to respectability went hand-in-hand with the revival of orange jerseys and the cartoon bird. I'm only half-joking.

-Look at this dull-as-dishwater card design and tell me why Donruss (who oversaw the Playoff brand) went belly-up.

Javy Lopez, 2004 Upper Deck Sweet Spot #39

Today is Javy Lopez's 43rd birthday. Time flies, don't it? The former Oriole catcher played his last game seven years ago, and it's been a few months shy of a decade since he cashed in on an anomalous .328/.378/.687 season (with 43 home runs, no less) and inked a three-year, $22.5 million free agent deal with the Birds. Though Javy was a big-name player and I've got dozens of his cards from his 2004-2006 tenure in Baltimore, I've only featured him seven times in the near-six-year lifespan of this blog. I've come to the realization that I don't have any strong affection for Lopez, nor do I bear any antipathy. He didn't have any strong personality traits that I could tell, and there wasn't much that was memorable about his stint with the Bad Old Orioles of the decade past. He came, he hit well (.293/.343/.468, 46 HR in 329 games), he fielded poorly, he got pushed out the door by Ramon Hernandez. I understand that many fans of the female persuasion found him pleasing to the eyes. But he was not energic and tempermental like Miguel Tejada. He was not an overachieving fan favorite like Melvin Mora. He was just sort of there, until he wasn't.

Javy Lopez, 2004 Upper Deck Etchings Bat Relic #BE-JL

As a collector, sometimes I don't know that a certain something is missing from my collection until it's in my hands. Just yesterday, card enthusiast and blogger par excellence Max sent along a small packet with a half-dozen O's cards that he'd recently picked up at a hobby show. Included was this Javy Lopez card, and I feel safe in declaring that it's the first bat relic in my collection to feature the team logo stamped on the lumber shaving. It's kind of nifty looking, the card isn't freakishly thick to the point of distraction, and I'm not even that broken up about the wanton destruction and defacement of a tangible piece of baseball history - it's at least even-odds that Upper Deck didn't use an authentic Javy bat to decorate this card, no matter what the boilerplate on the card back claims. Also included in the padded envelope were a couple of shiny new Adam Jones cards, a 2012 Topps Frank Robinson insert, a 1983 O-Pee-Chee Eddie Murray, and a 1993 Stadium Club Sherman Obando (presumably added to the stack for giggles). Thanks, Max!

Javy Lopez, 2005 Fleer Patchworks #28

Javy Lopez will not be returning to the Hall of Fame ballot in 2013, but some misguided soul gave him one lonely vote. Let's not miss out on those kind of important details in the midst of the foofaraw about Jeff Bagwell failing to convince some grandstanding columnists that he never did steroids even though he hit oh so many home runs. I can't wait to watch the thought police of the BBWAA work themselves into logical pretzels next year when Bonds, Clemens, Piazza, Sosa, and Schilling all crash-land on the ballot. The Hall of Fame is about to go full laughingstock, and I'm morbidly curious about the whole thing.

Oh, and congratulations to Barry Larkin, who is a deserving honoree who should rightfully have some more company on the dais this coming summer. Oh well.

P.P.S.: If you come to this blog for your baseball news for any reason, you should know that Rafael Palmeiro stays on the ballot, having seen an incremental gain from 11% to 12.6%. Tim Raines jumped to 49%, which bodes well eventually. Lee Smith was just ahead of him at 50.6%, but he's standing pat.

Javy Lopez, 2004 Bowman Chrome #74

The Hall of Fame ballots for 2012 have been released, and this looks like the last breath of fresh air before things get really messy. All of the first-time candidates are mega-long shots for Cooperstown, and that includes Javy Lopez and his .287/.337/.491 line, 260 home runs, and 864 RBI. Ol' Jav didn't have the longevity, having played for 13 full seasons, and he was never much of a defender. The only newbie who projects to get any support is Bernie Williams, and that's only because of the rings he has at home. If I were a betting man, I'd put my money on Barry Larkin getting into the Hall this year, but probably not anyone else. I wish I could have faith in the voters to give a thumbs-up to Jeff Bagwell, Tim Raines, and maybe even Alan Trammell, but I know better. I don't hold out any hope for Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro, because there are a lot of writers still on their high horses. That means that next year is going to be a real headache. Take a look at the list of players who retired in 2007 and will be eligible in a year's time: Craig Biggio, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mike Piazza, Curt Schilling, and Sammy Sosa. That's not even getting into interesting names like Julio Franco and Kenny Lofton. I already feel a headache coming.

Javy Lopez, 2004 Playoff Honors #28

I was so busy blathering about cards yesterday, that I didn't even mention that spring training has finally begun! All of the Orioles' pitchers (minus Alfredo Simon, of course), catchers, and coaches are already down in Sarasota getting loose and adapting to the first Buck Showalter camp. The rest of the position players will likely be trickling in all week; Brian Roberts and Adam Jones are the most noteworthy early arrivals thus far. As if on cue, Baltimore was graced with temperatures in the mid-50s yesterday. After a dip back into the 40s today, it's supposed to be warmer for the rest of the week, including low 60s on Friday. Be still, my heart! Meanwhile, summer will be here before we know it. Daylight past 8:00 PM, vacation getaways, and short sleeves and shorts. Oh, and Orioles baseball on Eutaw Street, of course.

I've heard raves about the Orioles' new (as of 2010) spring home in Sarasota, which underwent significant renovations in recent months. I can't wait to get a good look at it. If an ancient concrete hovel like Fort Lauderdale Stadium could look as vivid and appealing as it does in the above photo on Javy Lopez's card, just imagine the backdrop that Ed Smith Stadium will provide to the first O's games of 2011.

Javy Lopez, 2005 Bowman Heritage #101

Right, so it was probably foolish of me to think that I would be able to blog in detail about the National AND clean my house and host my birthday party today. But tonight's abbreviated blog post does allow me to build suspense if nothing else. The card above is one of my more economical purchases from Friday's trip to the Convention Center. It's in the style of 1951 Bowman, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite vintage sets. Surprisingly, the handful of 2005 Bowman Heritage cards that I picked up yesterday were my first few cards from that set. To be continued...

Javy Lopez, 2005 Topps Gallery #87

Oh, so that's what Javy Lopez would look like if he were painted by Claude Monet. At least that's the look that Topps was trying to achieve; in all honesty, it bears a closer resemblance to the work of LeRoy Neiman. That's what you get when you rely on PhotoShop filters instead of, you know, an actual artist.

Javy Lopez, 2004 Upper Deck R-Class #7

As you may have heard, former Orioles catcher Javy Lopez announced his retirement yesterday. The 37-year-old hadn't played in the major leagues since being released by the Red Sox in September 2006. After sitting out all of last season, he decided to give it one last try, working out through the winter and convincing the Braves to invite him to Spring Training. Obviously things didn't work out the way that Javy had hoped; his .188 batting average this spring wasn't nearly enough to overcome a logjam behind the plate. But in a way, he got to go out on his own terms. Rather than ending things with an unceremonious dumping at the hands of the Rockies (as was the case in 2007), he got to return to the team that first signed him at the age of seventeen two decades ago. When the Braves let him know that he would have to begin the season in the minor leagues, he walked away with no regrets knowing that he had done his best. A career .287 average and 260 home runs are a pretty good legacy. He won a World Series ring with Atlanta in 1995, and set a record with 42 home runs as a catcher in 2003.

Ride off into the sunset, Javy. You've earned it.