Baseball Every Night

Pitchers and catchers have reported, position players are due in by tomorrow, and we are just over a week away from Spring Training games being played in ballparks across Arizona and Florida.  Weather-wise, spring has sprung a touch early here in Chicago, as well, with temperatures in the 60's all throughout the weekend.  Isn't all of this lovely?

Soon, we'll be back to having baseball every night.  In advance of that joyous inevitability, Peter, from the ever-so-properly named blog Baseball Every Night, was kind enough to offer up some Cubbies from the newly-released Flagship set, in return for some goodies that I sent his way a little while ago.  Apparently, Peter had some good luck with the Chicago cards in his dealings with 2017 Topps, so far.  I, of course, am never going to turn down free baseball cards, so I gladly took him up on his generous offer:

We begin with a pair of live-armed, normally reliable relievers who had a bit of a rough second half  in 2016.  Here's hoping that Pedro "Hats to the Left" Strop and Hector Rondon can right the ship and return to their spots as key, late-inning set up men for new closer Wade Davis.  "Stropey" sure looks enthused about his prospects for the upcoming season.

Next, the team card for your 2016 World Series Champions, the Chicago Cubs.  This photo appears to show the club walking back to the dugout after one of their 103 regular season wins; as such, you get a great view of a handful of players' and coaches' backs.  As annoying as that is for a card that is supposed to showcase the whole team, at least we get a great look at one of those ubiquitous "W" flags, as it's proudly displayed by an enthused North Side fan.

Moving right along, here we have a pair of stars from the League Leaders subset.  Hate it or love it, the traditional, three-player cards are gone, in favor of singular cards for the top three in each category.  I, a team collector who would prefer not to have other, random teams infiltrate my collection, am entirely in favor of this.  However, I would like it if these individual cards showcased the player's ranking in their respective category on the front side; that's my only gripe.

Lastly, to close the PWE out, here's a lovely piece from the 2016 World Series Highlights subset, a set which I still have trouble believing that the Cubs are a part of.  This particular gem, showcases Addison Russell's stadium-shaking grand salami from Game Six of the World Series, a game in which the blossoming, young shortstop knocked in six total runs in a do-or die situation.  This is how stars are born.

Thank you, Peter for sending these gems my way - your kindness is greatly appreciated.  I know you said that I didn't have to send anything back to you; that said, if I were you, I wouldn't be surprised if a return envelope hit your mailbox in the next few weeks.  Anyway, between Peter, Dimebox Nick, and my own ripping experiences, I have to be getting close to the full 2017 team set by now.  Perhaps I should actually sit down and do some listing and compiling this weekend?

Maybe.  It depends on if this 60 degree weather actually holds out.  Hurry up, baseball season!