Playing Catch Up

Just when you think everything has calmed down, the flood gates re-open things get crazy all over again.

Working in IT for a local school district is usually a pretty sweet gig... except for the first few of weeks of the school year which is basically hell month.  Forgotten passwords, broken and missing equipment, rushed implementation of new technology... it's pure chaos.  It doesn't help that I've assumed command of a second school either and we've seen massive turnover on the staff district-wide.  In short, work has been bonkers and the last thing I want to do after a long day at the office is log onto yet another computer and blog.

However, things seem to have *knocks on wood* finally settled down... of course, I've said that before.  With a tenuous peace at hand, I'm going to take full advantage and bang out a quick blog post to cover what I've neglected during my unintended hiatus.  With that in mind, let's get to it before a server blows up or something and I get sucked back into the technological madness.

via GIPHY

This will be my first blog post this month... I know, it's been a while.  Of course, September is a big month in the world of Wrigley Roster Jenga as rosters officially expand to include up to 40 Major League players per team.  Of course, no club activates their full forty-man roll-call; but, all teams supplement their core with top prospects and veteran depth pieces, whether they're battling for a playoff spot or just trying to make it to the the end of the regular season.  My Cubs are no exception, meaning this expansion puts me on high-alert for new faces to add to my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection.

While in years past the lovable losers would use this expanded roster to audition minor leaguers for upcoming campaigns in a low-pressure setting, these ain't your daddy's Cubs.  Now on the verge of their fourth straight 90-win campaign and playoff berth, Theo and Co. are using September baseball to find any competitive advantage that can be gained over the 30-day period, valuable tools that just don't quite fit onto the regular roster.  During this golden era of Cubs baseball, they've almost always made sure to add a speedster, a guy who can swipe that extra base late in close games.

2018 is no exception.  On September 1st, the team activated Terrance Gore from AAA-Iowa with no purpose other than to run like the wind.  With 26 stolen bases in 57 career games, Terrance is pretty good at that; he was even good enough to earn his way onto the playoff roster for the World Series Champion Royals in 2015.  Hopefully he can "steal" another ring in 2018.

Gore's contract had actually been purchased from Kansas City back in mid-August, although he was told he'd be activated as soon as September rolled around.  Theo and Jed always plan ahead and so do I.  When I read about the transaction, I went right out and "swiped" the 2015 Topps single you see above from my LCS - now it rests comfortably in my CATRC binder.

So far, in a Cubs uniform, Terrance has already nabbed five bases in just eight contests.  Also, just for good measure, he's 1-for-3 at the plate.  Having seen partial MLB action since 2014, the famously inept hitter was 0-for-his career before blowing into the Windy City.  Then, on September 8th, he uncorked a single in our nation's capital, against Max Scherzer, of all people.  Baseball is weird.

While Gore had already been in the Cubs system for half a month before the roster expansion, the Cubs also did some last-minute shopping.  Not only do rosters expand on the first, but anyone eligible for the postseason roster must be with their respective organization by then.  So, in an effort to make sure all of their needs were covered with layers and layers of depth, the Chicago front office did some late dumpster diving as August wound down.

Having just been designated for assignment and released by the Blue Jays after a horrid season in their starting rotation, on August 31st, the Cubs inked Jaime Garcia to a minor league deal at the league minimum.  While his ERA was over six and half in the Toronto rotation, the former Cardinals star still managed to hold lefties to a meager .186 batting average along the way.  It never hurts to have an effective LOOGY stashed away, just in case.

He wasn't activated right away, but he was eventually activated on the fourth, after an intended audition with Iowa was rained out.  So far, he's made three appearances in Cubbie blue - one disastrous spot start in which he was only able to record a single out and two scoreless appearances out of the bullpen. Moral of the story - keep him away from the starting rotation and he can still be effective.

Having been a former top-of-the-rotation presence for the Cardinals, unlike Terrance Gore, I did not have to make a special trip just to purchase a Jaime Garcia card for my CATRC.  Alternatively, I had a trio of options stashed away in my trade boxes because the universe always seems to taunt me with Red Bird cards when I rip packs.  Oh well, I guess it sometimes works out in the long run.

However, the decision on which single would be added to my marquee binder was a difficult one.  My favorite of the three is, by far, is the 2012 Opening Day card which showcases a fantastic throwback to the Negro League St. Louis Stars.  Unfortunately, my OCD tendencies just would not let me include a horizontally-oriented card in the binder when I had vertical options.  In the end, I went with 2016 Topps, just because I'm not a huge fan of last year's design.  Hopefully, Jaime does something super awesome in the last couple of weeks here and earns himself a Topps Now card, making this whole inner struggle moot.

Now, Gore and Garcia weren't the only September call-ups made by the Chicago National League Ball Club.  However, so far, all of the rest had already recorded their names in the Cubs' all-time ledger before this month - i.e. Dillon Maples, Taylor Davis, James Norwood, etc. - necessitating no further action for my CATRC.  Of course, despite already being half done with September, the team probably isn't quite done with additions just yet.

Enter the Cubs' new third-string catcher... or, rather, soon to enter, the Cubs' new third-string catcher.

Filling this role for most of 2018 was Chris Gimenez.  Although he had a strong defensive and game-calling reputation and a strong working repertoire with his former Rangers teammate, Yu Darvish, Chris' short time with the North Siders did not go well at all.  The backstop was ineffective with the bat and behind the dish, and got into some hot water with the front office and the clubhouse when he took to the media to say that Darvish felt like "Chicago hates him."  Thus, when it came time to add another catcher for the stretch run, rather than call Chris back up from AAA, they swapped him to the Twins.  It was time for a change of scenery.

Coming back from Minnesota was another signal-caller, Bobby Wilson, who has served as a respected second fiddle with the Angels, D'Backs, Rays, Rangers, Tigers, and Twins, the Cubs over the last decade.  However, as of now, the trade acquisition has not yet been placed on the active roster, despite being acquired back on August 30th.  Why is that?  Why would they trade for him and not utilize him?

Well, Bobby was actually on the 10-day disabled list when the Cubs and Twins got together.  An ankle injury has had him on the shelf since 8/24 and there has been no timetable set for his return.  While the Cubs knew what they were getting, I have to wonder if they didn't understand the extent of the problem, seeing as we are rapidly running out of schedule.  The aforementioned Taylor Davis has been serving as the third catcher in the meantime; however, the Cubs brass still must plan on utilizing Bobby before the month is out, as a locker with his nameplate has been seen in the clubhouse.

Other than that, it's been radio silence in regards to  Mr. Wilson.  Of course, there probably isn't a lot of demand for information about the third-string catcher by people who aren't obsessed with Cubs roster history.

Nevertheless, I decided to hedge my gets and, like with Gore, make a run over to my LCS and pick up a Bobby single for my roster binder.  Like many a backup backstop, Wilson doesn't have a ton of options, so I took what I could get.  That being said, the awkward high five/fist bump found on his 2010 Update rookie card is a fun get.  Also, I should take this opportunity to thank the proprietor of Baseball Dreams & Memories for being a boon to my collection over the last 15 years and for always humoring my odd collecting habit.  Also, thanks for having all of the Topps Flagship sets from this millennium ready and able to be picked apart.  He's the real MVP.

With that, I do believe we've covered all of the Cubs roster movements since I went on my unintentional blogging "vacation."  Nothing too exciting, but a couple of role players were added as part of the annual September call-ups, allowing for a few new faces to be added to my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection.  They may not be super exciting names, but it's always fun for me to add to my favorite collection!

Surprisingly, I was able to get through this entire post without anything going haywire - fingers crossed that this relative calm continues for the foreseeable future and I can get back to blogging with consistency.  I'm sick of playing catch up!

Oh the IT life...