buehler?

walker buehler is back on the bump for the dodgers tonight (assuming the game is played starting about 2.5 hours from when this post goes live). if the dodgers don't have a ben stein video on diamondvision before the game, what are they even doing?

here are some cards to mark the end of walker buehler's days off:

2020 topps chrome blue parallel

2021 bowman platinum ice foil parallel

2021 topps 1986 all-star relic

2021 topps chrome pink refractor parallel

2022 topps stars of mlb insert

2022 topps gypsy queen blue parallel

and here's his 2014 topps big league base card

that last card came from cards on cards, along with several more dodgers that hit my want lists on the nose.

this is a 2018 bowman alex verdugo chrome rookie of the year favorites insert

mojo box edition! verdugo did not rate in the roy voting in 2018 as he saw only limited playing time. in fact, he was still a rookie in 2019 when he hit .294 for the dodgers in just over 100 games, but didn't place in the roy voting that year either.

2021 topps uk edition luke raley

raley is playing in seattle now after two seasons in tampa following his 2021 season spent with the dodgers.

2023 topps stadium club mookie betts

and will smith

with these two cards in hand, my 2023 stadium club team set is missing only miguel vargas and jd martinez. 

2024 topps big league shohei ohtani

this might be the first ohtani dodger card i've received in trade. pretty sure it is, in fact, yes, it is.

2024 topps big league emmet sheehan

and emmet sheehan electric orange parallel

the borders of big league make the parallels look dirty and less electric, but i am happy to have an example of the orange parallels.

thanks kerry!

with buehler back in action, all eyes turn to the progression of clayton kershaw, whose 2024 topps big league card i recently picked up

it sounds like he threw off a mound the other day, and hopefully will be back in time to make a run at his 3,000th strikeout. the "k is for kershaw kountdown" will return!

the k is for kershaw kountdown continues - gone fishin' edition

yes, the kountdown to 3,000 strikeouts for clayton kershaw continues as he took the mound against the marlins on tuesday night in miami. he struck out 3 batters to give him 123 strikeouts on the season. those 3 marlins that he k'd increased his career total to 2,930.

in honor of his performance, here are 3 cards from my collection to represent strikeouts 2,928 through 2,930.

2,928 - 2020 panini diamond kings

2,929 - 2020 topps stickers

2,930 - 2021 bowman platinum

kershaw remains in 21st place on the all-time leader board, and he will remain there until he passes zack greinke. greinke, who failed to strike out any red sox in his appearance on sunday, has a career strikeout total of 2,962. kershaw is now 32 k's behind greinke and 70 away from the 3,000 milestone. 

kershaw struggled against the marlins, getting bailed out by the pitcher's best friend (the double play) in two of his five innings. he gave up 5 hits and walked 5 as well, which is uncharacteristic for sure. his whip, while still a nice 1.065, is the highest it's been at this stage of a season since 2010.

it looks like kershaw's next start will come on sunday in washington against the nationals. regardless of when he makes his next start or how many k's he posts, i will be back to update the kountdown soon thereafter. stay tuned!