Quick post today - it's Friday and I've somehow manage to survive another emotionally and physically toiling week, so I don't feel much like writing. But, the show must go on! Abbreviated though it may be.
I picked up this beauty at my LCS the other day. This is my first sampling of Panini/Donruss' 2015 edition of Diamond Kings and they are quite nice indeed. The simulated feel of canvas texture on these cards really adds an extra oomph to the painted backgrounds and filtered images.
It's such a shame that they don't have a license from MLB because logos really would make this a hard set to top for the year. *Sigh* - maybe someday the monopoly will cease...
Anyway, not only is this my first '15 DK; but this is my first solo card of Eric Jokisch, actually pronounced "yoke-ish" (it's a soft J), and only his second mass-produced card, period. The spot starter was included in this years run of Heritage, but he had company:
I don't know much about Spencer Patton other than he isn't a Cub and I prefer all of my CATRC entries to be solo cards. So, this card got the bounce and the DK is king of the hill.
I find his inclusion in either of these sets to be a bit peculiar; Jokisch is not a notable prospect and has been severely buried on the Cubs rotation depth chart. However, he is a lefty and that alone gives him a chance at a lengthy career in the bullpen if he never cracks the starting five anywhere.
At the very least, he now has his first solo Major League Baseball trading card and that's much more than I can say for myself. So, he has that going for him.
The debate rages on in the card collecting world about whether or not game cards count as true baseball cards. OK - well, not really "raging," moreso it's a common topic.
Playing cards with pictures on them, MLB Showdown, Topps Attax, Cadaco Discs... the list goes on and on. Personally, I consider anything with the player's likeness on it to be a baseball card, regardless of it's intended use.
So, with that in mind, what the heck do I do with these?
APBA is a long-running baseball simulation game (in the mold of Cadaco and Strat-O-Matic) in card form. I do not know how to play this particular game; but, according to Wikipedia:
"The company's first offering was a baseball simulation table game using cards to represent each major league player, boards to represent different on-base scenarios (e.g. 'Bases Empty', 'Runners on First and Third,' 'Bases Loaded'), and dice to generate random numbers."
Good enough for me - I'll probably never play it, to be completely honest.
I saw a Cubs team set of these game cards sitting around all lonely-like on Ebay with free shipping and a two buck asking price; obviously, curiosity got the best of me.
And what a team set it was! The 1929 Cubs were the class of the National League and started a trend of winning the pennant every three years ('29, '32, '35 & '38). If I'm going to experiment, I might as well experiment with good stuff, right?
Upon opening this conveniently included envelope, I found four Cubs players for whom I did not previously have any sort of baseball card for:
As you can see, you get your basic baseball card info and some game play notations on the front, but no picture. So, I have so very generously provided one for you so you can get the full experience. I'm just that awesome.
Clyde Beck was mostly a utility infielder for the Cubs from 1926-30 and for the '29 squad, he played in just 54 games and batted a weak .211 with just 7 extra-base hits. His lack of production earned him exactly 0 appearances in the World Series.
"Footsie" was another spare infielder for the Cubs that season in his debut campaign. Unlike Clyde, he did a little more damage with his bat, batting .319 in 26 games, though he made an out in his only World Series at-bat.
He earned the starting gig at second base the following season after Rogers Hornsby broke his ankle early in the year; but, he was relegated back to the bench after "Rajah" healed and was out of the Majors for good after 1931.
I would love to know how he got the nickname "Footsie;" however, the internet is letting me down.
As you can see from the scan, Mr. Carlson was a local boy, having hailed from Rockford. That said, his best success came in a long run in the rotations of both Pennsylvania teams: 1917-1927. Once he came to Chicago, he became something of a pumpkin, with an ERA over 5 in 3 of his 4 seasons.
But, he never did get a full chance to make up for it. Carlson died suddenly in the middle of the 1930 season after complaining of stomach pains. While being transferred to the hospital, Hal died of a stomach hemorrhage. The poor guy was only 38.
Norm had played for 3 teams in 3 years and had been out of the Bigs completely for four years when he came to the Cubs in 1928 and became the surprise starter for the pennant winners the next season. The player whom he succeeded? The aforementioned Clyde Beck.
McMillan is most notable for hitting what is probably the shortest home run in MLB history, according to TSN:
“I hit a ball that bounded over third base... It bounced foul and into the Cubs’ bullpen and slipped up inside the discarded jacket of relief pitcher Ken Penner, which had been lying on the ground about ten feet behind the base. As it turned out, the ball went up the sleeve of the jacket and while the Reds’ left fielder, third baseman, and shortstop were all looking for the ball, we all raced home.”
This is why you don't leave you clothes laying on the floor, kiddies. Listen to your mother!
That was it for new names; however, here is the handy-dandy little roster that was included with the game cards if you're curious as to who else was in the deck:
Well, now here's the kicker - do these count as baseball cards and should they be included in my CATRC?
For now, I think I'm going to include these four - mostly just because I want to cross some names off of my list and I already spent the money. That said, what would you do in this situation. Am I stretching or cheating?
That said, I will undoubtedly replace them if and when I should acquire more "traditional" baseball cards of the above players. All of them have at least one floating around out there; that is, except for Norm McMillan, at least to the best of my knowledge.
Dammit Norm! Screwing up my compromise of a plan.
The games people play, you take it or you leave it.
There's ghosts in this here post! But don't worry, there's no need to summon Ghost Hunters or Ghost Adventures or Ghostbusters or whatever reality TV show ghost-hunting crew you want to name... what's that? Ghostbusters wasn't a documentary? Well then, this is awkward...
Anyway, the ghosts in this post are more of the baseball variety. These ghosts are men who suited up for the Cubs and were placed on the active roster; yet, they never actually appeared in an official game. Spooky!
I picked up this 1963 Topps Cookie Rojas card from my LCS in order to fill a gap in my Cubs coaches collection. You see, the 5-time All-Star and 16 year veteran was signed on as a player-coach for the September stretch run in 1978 on the first day of roster expansion.
As it turned out, despite sitting on the active roster for 30 days, Cookie never fulfilled the latter portion of that title. The middle infielder was blocked by starters Manny Trillo & Ivan DeJesus, backups Mick Kelleher & Rudy Meoli and call-up Mike Sember.
Cookie was miffed at the Cubs for leading him on; nevertheless, he stayed on exclusively as a coach through the 1981 season.
This is the kind of ghost that I'm talking about, players who haunted the Major League bench for the Cubs and, yet, never were able to "cross-over" into the light... I mean, the field. Picking up this card got me curious as to how many similar cases there have been:
Here are two, much more recent examples from just earlier this season. They were added to and deleted from the roster so quickly that I wasn't even able to acquire a card for them; so, I had to swipe these images from COMC.
Both of there bullpen arms were waiver claims; Varvaro from the Red Sox and Rowen from the Orioles. Anthony was claimed, added to the roster and DFA'ed in May and promptly accepted an AAA assignment. However, it was discovered that he was nursing a previously undisclosed injury and sent right back to the Sawx before the month was out. We hardly knew ye!
I already covered Rowen's backstory here. He was DFA'ed as a result of the trade deadline acquisitions and was quickly claimed by the Blue Jays. Hopefully the guy gets to stick around there for a while and maybe unpack his bags for a change.
Meanwhile, this next guy still has a chance to change his ghost status, Casper-style - I think.
Bard's rapid descent from productive bullpen arm to out of baseball has been well-documented. Since he's a Theo guy, the Cubs claimed him off waivers and activated him going into September of 2013 to see if they could solve his control issues. However, outside of a single bullpen session, Bard never made it to a mound at Wrigley Field and was granted free agency at the end of the year.
After completely falling out of baseball and spending his free time cycling around Europe, Bard underwent thoracic outlet syndrome surgery as a last ditch effort to figure out why he went full Steve Blass.
Now, I say I think he still has a chance at fixing his Cubbie ghost status because the club signed him to again to a minor league deal this past off-season. However, he has no 2015 stats - but I cannot find any indication that the Cubs released him either. Maybe he had an publicized set-back? At any rate, I did find that he's Rule 5 eligible this off-season; so, regardless, the odds of him officially becoming a Cub are rather slim.
All of this being covered, we aren't out of the haunted house yet. The most famous (infamous?) Cub ghost of all-time is this guy:
Thanks again, COMC!
Why is Mark more notable than the previous few names? Well, despite getting the call to join the Cubs in 1987, never appeared in the Major Leagues whatsoever. While our previous friends at least saw action in other cities, Marky Mark here wasn't so fortunate.
The skinny reliever was part of one of the worst Cubs trades of all-time, brought in when the future HOF'er Dennis Eckersley was sent to Oakland for a trio of unimpressive prospects (none of whom made the majors, btw).
His stay was expected to be brief that June, as injured pitcher Scott Sanderson was due back any day. His time on the roster amounted to only four days and, despite being teased with warming up on at least one occasion, never did get sent in. Who knew that the 25 year old would never again have that opportunity?
Somehow, someone managed to snap a picture before he disappeared
It is here we can conclude our paranormal investigation; I can find no other examples of ghosts on the Cubs' MLB roster. Now, that doesn't mean that there haven't been other cases. In fact, I'd wager that there have been several more in the franchise's long history, especially in the earlier days of the sport with looser roster rules and shoddier record-keeping.
Is anyone else aware of any similar instances? Let me know!
In the meantime, since these guys were never "official" Cubs players, they unfortunately do not reside in my CATRC binder (except for Cookie, due to his coaching days). Ain't that a shame? Perhaps I should start another side-collection...
Don't worry - no dancing hamsters or cameos by LMFAO are going to me made on this blog post. Blech.
No; but, that song lyric is the first thing that popped into my mind as I started reading about the latest addition to my CATRC - "Shufflin' Phil" Douglas. Damn that catchy tune!
What we have here looks like an ultra-vintage piece of cardboard; however, sadly that is only an illusion. This is a 1922 E121-120 series American Caramel card.... that was reprinted by TCMA in 1972. Still old, but not THAT old.
Hey, I have a budget you know.
These cards, like many of the cards of it's day, has some odd dimensions - 2" x 3-3/16". They were originally distributed with American Caramels' titular confection and then TCMA did their thing with them several decades later.
As you can see from the back, my Douglas reprint is modeled on the 120 card issue and you can also see that TCMA wasn't trying to fool anyone either. Additionally, the dimensions have been kept as they were way back when.
This particular card depicts Douglas' tenure with the Giants, one of several teams he "shuffled" to and from in the first half of the 20th century. Originally coming up with the White Sox in the same year that the Titanic sank, he also spent time with the Reds, Dodgers, Cubs, back to the minors, Cubs again (including their 1918 World Series appearance - more on that later), and then the Giants through the 1922 season.
But, that's not how he earned his moniker, "Shufflin' Phil" was known for dragging his feet and taking his time when leaving the bullpen to take the mound. You can't rush greatness, after all.
With a career 2.80 ERA, mostly as a starter, he was a quality arm (he even lead the league in ERA in his final season); so why did he bounce around so often? Well, as one contemporary journalist put it, "drinking wasn't a habit for Douglas - it was a disease."
Known for showing up to games and team meetings drunk as a skunk, Phil quickly wore out his welcome in every town he shuffled through. Even still, that wasn't what spelled the end of Douglas' career.
Earning a suspension from John McGraw for his drunkeness in the waning days of the 1922 season, Phil sent the following letter to Cardinals outfielder and former Cubs teammate Leslie Mann:
"I want to leave here but I want some inducement. I don't want this guy to win the pennant and I feel if I stay here I will win it for him. If you want to send a man over here with the goods, I will leave for home on next train. I will go down to fishing camp and stay there."
The message found it's way to Commissioner Landis and Phil Douglas was banned from baseball for life for gambling.
Did Phil's former teammate "narc" on his friend?
This wasn't his only tie to gambling either. The legitimacy of the 1918 World Series between the Cubs and the Red Sox has often been called into question and Phil's wild pitch in the 8th inning of game 4 handed the Sawx their third victory of the set. While there is no concrete evidence to go on, it seems possible that Douglas could have been on the take.
Perhaps this weighed on Landis' mind when shuffling Douglas out of organized baseball for good. Well, that and the Black Sox scandal was still fresh in the public's mind and he wasn't willing to take any chances, even at a vague threat.
"Shoeless Joe" Jackson, Pete Rose and Phil Douglas. Don't bet on baseball kiddies!
Tragically, Douglas' life spiraled from there on out, into bouts of domestic abuse, even heavier drinking, his wife's death from cancer and multiple strokes - the latter of which eventually claimed his life in 1952.
In the end, I learned an awful lot about a tragic character from baseball's rowdier days from such an unassuming reprint card. That's what I love the most about collecting the way I do, learning about all of these players that time has long since forgotten.
So many players have filtered in and out of the Cubs roster and the Major Leagues since 1876 (and it's precursors); it's just nice to see read about players other than Ryne Sandberg and Billy Williams and to see them immortalized on a baseball card as well.
In the meantime, if any aspiring baseball players are reading this - DO NOT bet on the game. In fact, don't even think about it and certainly don't tell anyone you're thinking about it. It will not end well.
How I feel waking up at the crack of dawn for work every Monday:
Beaten up, worn out, weak, at a loss, basically any adjective you could use to describe this apropos Rick Monday card. Much like me at the beginning of the week, it has seen better days.
I found this well-loved Monday in a small mix of Cubs junk wax at my childhood LCS many moons ago; it stuck out amongst the immaculate, but forever worthless '89 Topps and '92 Donruss with it's vintagey goodness - despite it's flaws. It's still going strong in my collection today.
Anyway, here's hoping we can all survive another despicable Monday, just like this Monday has survived through so many years of abuse!
So, I've beaten the acquisition of Dan Haren into the ground in my last two posts. It's time to properly give due to the second acquisition the Cubs made in the waning minutes of the MLB trade deadline: Tommy Hunter.
I put this one off because, unlike Haren, I didn't have a single card of this bullpen piece, However, yesterday I made a quick pit stop at the LCS to hunt down this 2013 Topps Heritage to represent the fire-baller in my CATRC:
Unlike the last reliever the Cubs added to the roster. Tommy actually made it into a game for the Northsiders before being sent away, making his debut last night in Milwaukee. Not that I thought he'd get the Ben Rowen treatment; but, the irrational side of me gets annoyed when the Cubs do that to a guy - see Varvaro, Anthony and Bard, Daniel as other recent examples.
Anyway, Hunter impressed in his first Cub appearance. Summoned to bail Jason Motte out of a jam with one out in the ninth of a 4-1 game, Hunter lit up the radar gun with 99mph speed and excellent control. Though he allowed an inherited runner to score (on a ground out), he got the job done and earned the save.
One more note on his Cubs debut: apparently, blue shoe are tough to come by on short notice:
Speedy and thrifty, Tim "the Toolman" Taylor would be proud!
Meanwhile, the cost to add Hunter to the roster wasn't particularly steep; but the name going the other way should be familiar:
As frustrating a player as has ever been seen on the Northside. Junior Lake has the athleticism and look of a MLB player, but has yet to capitalize on his flashes of brilliance. He has the tools and makeup, so here's hoping he figures it out in Baltimore.
Junior has never looked as good on the field as he does here on this 2014 Allen & Ginter card.
A product of the Hendry regime, Lake looks like another in the toolsy mold of Corey Patterson and Felix Pie; who, coincidentally, were also booted off the Baltimore. Interesante.
In the end, I will always hear his name in my head in the voice of Sean Connery:
I can't help it; the Indiana Jones franchise is near and dear to my heart - I even like the fourth one!
Back to baseball, while I've got your attention, the Cubs made a couple of roster moves today as well, DFA'ing Yoervis Medina and Taylor Teagarden to make room for Clayton Richard and Dan Haren:
A couple of spare parts who likely won't be missed much. They may very well clear waivers and be stashed back in AAA; but, just in case, I'll say my goodbyes to them right now - before I forget.
I mean, I did kind of forget that they were on the roster, after all. Teagarden had become the third-string catcher on the call-up of Kyle Freakin' Schwarber and Medina is a reliever who can't be trusted in close games. Both = easily replaceable.
Amusingly, while both were added to the roster today, Haren is essentially the replacement for Richard. Clayton is needed today to make a spot start since Dan already pitched on Thursday; however, this is likely his last appearance in a Cubs uniform. Make it count Clayton!
Thus concludes the roster ramifications of the 2015 MLB non-waiver trading deadline. As the first one in which the Cubs were buyers since 2009, it was certainly an eventful one.
Of course, trades can still be made through waivers and rumor has it the Cubs are seeking to add Chase Utley at some point; so, stay tuned into what's going on, things might yet be intriguing!
Quick post tonight, mostly because I spent all day out catching up with an old friend passing through town and all night at the local minor league baseball game (Windy city Thunderbolts vs. River City Rascals, Frontier League).
Yesterday afternoon, after all of the craziness and when the dust finally settled, the Cubs pulled off two trades; not the blockbuster three-way deal that was rumored with Boston and San Diego, but two deals that will help the club without selling the farm.
Dan Haren has now been added to the rotation to fill out the fifth starters spot, thus I must enter him into my CATRC binder. Since he's been a high-profile starter for more than a decade now, he has had plenty of cards - of which I have several.
But, which one should I use? I leave this up to you, please vote in the comments because I can't decide what card I like best:
First up, we have 2010 Topps National Chicle.
I understand that Topps was trying to evoke the imagery of the pre-WWII era cards, but this looks like it was sketched out by a 10th grade art student.
Next, another painting-ish card in 2009 Upper Deck Goudey.
I definitely like this artistic piece better than the National Chicle above, but Danny looks like he's constipated or someone farted when they took his picture (that was later put through a Photoshop filter).
Let's take a different perspective on this one, a horizontal 2008 UD First Edition.
While I can appreciate a cool (warm?) spring training shot and a lurking cameo by (I believe) Josh Fields, I'm generally not a fan of horizontal cards - i like all of my cards to be oriented the same way.
This one may be the X factor, mostly because it's a 2008 Upper Deck X.
I do like this card, but this set seems like pandering to a younger audience to me. Yo, yo, yo peeps check out how eXtreme UD is. X means XTREME!!!
The card that features him as a D-Back is a 2009 Upper Deck base card.
This, of course, is the set that really got UD in hot water since they didn't have a license with MLB and put pretty much no effort into hiding logos. I mean, it's pretty clear he's not wearing Panini pajamas here. That said, I do like the set design.
Now Haren has a halo on this shiny 2010 Bowman Platinum.
I like shiny cards. I mean, who doesn't like shiny? It's kinda just built into our DNA to be attracted to shiny objects. Why fight it?
The last card I was able to dig up shows a National-ized Haren: 2012 Gypsy Queen.
I'm not really much for Gypsy Queen; there's some good, but there's a lot more bad in this forced-retro series. This one is pretty "meh," although it is way over-filtered. Wouldn't posed, studio shots work with this set anyway, like the original Gypsy Queen photos?
So, help me decide which one makes the CATRC binder. Please vote early and often (it's the Chicago way, after all) in the comments section. I know you're all just dying to see which one makes the cut.
