Who's Played Right Since Sammy?

Last night, during the madness that was the AL Wild Card tilt (congrats to the Blue Jays, btw), I was scrolling through Twitter for commentary, as I am want to do with interesting games that I'm also not thoroughly motivated to watch.  I mean, I could have gotten up, turned on the TV and flipped through the channels until I found TBS - but, honestly, the AL WC doesn't really grip this NL fan.

That said, I still like to have a general idea about what is going on; thank goodness for Twitter.

Anyway, it was while I was mindlessly scrolling through the feed on my phone that I came across a RT, as part of the constant Orioles chatter, that caught my attention:

Nick says that the Cubs will be forever cursed due to trading his childhood hero, Sammy Sosa. @WatchTheBreaks

— Jaspy's HobbyLand (@JaspysHobbyland) October 5, 2016

Of course, the Cubs jettisoned their beleaguered star to the Baltimore club in February of 2005, in a deal for Jerry Hairston, Jr., Mike Fontenot and Dave Crouthers.  Ironically, it was the blocked semi-prospect in Fontenot who turned out to be the most productive player on either side of the deal.  However, the motivation behind this deal wasn't really to gain more talent - rather, it was to rid Chicago of the drastically declining and increasing distracting home run king.

Gone were the days of 60+ home runs.  In their stead, were days of smashed boom boxes, sneeze induced DL trips, corked bats, steroid controversy and leaving games still in progress without permission.  The honeymoon was over, per se.

Nevertheless, the thirteen years that  Sammy spent on the North Side cemented him as one of the all-time greats of the franchise and his trade, no doubt, left countless young fans disappointed - like the aforementioned Nick in the Tweet above.

                                   1992                                                                               2004



As for the Cubs earning (another) curse for trading the beleaguered former superstar, that's totally ridiculous.  I mean, I may be a Cubs fan; but, I've never once bought into the hoodoo and voodoo that surrounds the infamous billy goat, Bartman, the black cat or the trade of Ron Santo...

Wait a minute...  the trade of Ron Santo to the Crosstown White Sox in December of 1973 opened up a gigantic black hole at the hot corner, one that wasn't truly plugged up until the acquisition of Aramis Ramirez thirty years later.  It wasn't a "curse" per se; that said, it definitely felt like a jinxed position.  For a rundown of the 100+ players who played third in Chicago in that span, please see my handy music video.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, this similarity got me thinking.  After all, the Cubs have churned through an awful lot of right fielders since Sammy was sent packing to the east coast.  Is it possible that we are in the midst of another Santo situation here at Wrigley Field?  Let's take a look, shall we?

For the purpose of this exercise, I will be showcasing the starters (according to the most games played) in right for each Cubs season post-Sammy and the main backups.  Additionally, any man who appeared in less than ten games in right field per season will be notated as a "cameo," in order to weed out emergency replacements, September call-ups and such.  I feel like if you're trotted out to a position ten or more times, you're seen as a legitimate option, but that's just me.

Without any further ado, I present to you a comprehensive look at Cubs in right since 2005:

2005

This was the first year since 1991 that Sammy didn't suit up in Cubbie blue and it certainly felt weird; after all, he was the face of the franchise (and the only player worth watching) for so long and, suddenly, *poof* he was gone.  In his place, was some bald-headed journeyman who was coming off a career year in Colorado (always a bad sign) at the age of 35.  Oh the Hendry "rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic" years...

To Jeromy's credit though, he had a modestly productive season at the plate and was exceptionally durable, playing in 160 games.  Thus, there wasn't a whole lot of need for anyone else to venture out into right.

Cameos:

Jose Macias

Todd Hollandsworth

Matt Lawton

Jody Gerut

Jerry Hairston, Jr.

Of course, Jeromy departed via free agency after the season and was done in the Major Leagues after just one more campaign with the Pirates.  Therefore, this initial patch on the position was never meant to last.  So, the Cubs dipped into the free agent market yet again to find a replacement.

_______________________________________________________________________

2006

To say that Jacque Jones' time spent in Chicago was rocky would be generous.  Coming off a few seasons as a semi-star in Minnesota, big things were expected from the new right fielder.  Unfortunately, Jacque got off to a very slow start, earning the ire of fans - a relationship which was never truly repaired, despite his statistics eventually rebounding.

Nevertheless, despite being in the fans' doghouse, Jacquey never lost Dusty Baker's trust, playing in 149 games, batting .285 with 27 homers on a team with no offensive prowess.

For the few innings where Jones wasn't manning right, the main option off of the bench was a last minute, depth purchase by the name of Angel Pagan.  Who knew that the extra outfielder would still be playing at a star level today?  Trading Angel away was truly an underrated blunder in recent Cubs history.

Cameos:

Freddie Bynum

John Mabry

Jerry Hairston, Jr.

Phil Nevin

Buck Coats

Michael Restovich

As solid of a presence that Jacque Jones was for the Cubs, both in right and at the dish, the last place Cubs needed a offensive boost.  So, in the offseason, the Cubs broke the bank to sign Alfonso Soriano, necessitating a shifting of the outfield.

_______________________________________________________________________

2007

Originally signed to be a key bench bat, veteran Cliff Floyd ended up as the starter in right during the 2007 season.  While an Alfonso Soriano in center field experiment crashed and burned, Alf was shift over to left with Jacque Jones going to center and Cliff taking up residence in right.

Unfortunately, at age 34, the injury prone Floyd wasn't getting anymore durable.  As such, a couple of DL stints opened the door for several different players to see significant time in his stead:

Jacque and Angel are repeat offenders here; but Matt Murton, Mark DeRosa and Daryle Ward were also employed in the Sosa-blackhole during the 2007 season.  

Cameos:

Craig Monroe

Sam Fuld

Jake Fox

Ryan Theriot

Koyie Hill

Lotsa a players at a key position for a Division Champion team, isn't it?  Like Burnitz, Floyd wasn't long for the Major Leagues after this season and spent one more year in Tampa Bay.  Seeking consistency and a steady, top-of-the-order presence, the Cubs expanded their horizons in the offseason free-agent market

_______________________________________________________________________

2008

Like, really expanded their horizons, going all the way to Japan to lure top international free agent Kosuke Fukudome to a four year, $48 million deal.  He may be listed as an All-Star on this card; but, after a hot first half to begin the 2008 season, the league's pitchers caught up to his corkscrew swing and Fukudome never came close to living up to the hype.

However, Kosuke was screwed into right field for the vast majority of the year, needing only a spell here and there.  Of course, during the second half, he probably should have been reduced to a platoon.  Nevertheless, the Cubs still repeated as NL Central Division winners.

Mark DeRosa was the Ben Zobrist of his day, so when Fukudome required a sub, DeRo would slide from the infield to the outfield and take the reigns.

Cameos:

Micah Hoffpauir

Reed Johnson

Daryle Ward

Matt Murton

Now here is where the newly-competitive North Side squad jumped the shark.  Upon their second straight ouster from the NLDS, the front office and manager Lou Piniella got it in their heads that they needed to get more left-handed.  With that in mind, a series of dumb moves ensued, including the trade of DeRosa and...

_______________________________________________________________________

2009

...the signing of one of the most troubled players in recent memory, Milton Bradley.  The switch-hitting slugger was inked after he promised GM Jim Hendry over dinner that he wouldn't be a problem anymore... yea, okay.  

Fukudome shifted to centerfield (a la Jacque Jones) and Bradley stepped into right.  Predictably, the surly Bradley did not get along with his teammates, his manager or the fans, which lead to prolonged absences and even a team-imposed suspension to end the year.

When Bradley was having his temper tantrums, Fuku slid back over to right or Micah Hoffpauir, who was really more of a first baseman, came off of the bench to take his place.  However, since Bradley was often MIA, the door was opened for plenty of cameo appearances:

Cameos:

Reed Johnson

Bobby Scales

Jake Fox

Ryan Freel

So Taguchi

Sam Fuld

The Cubs quest to get more lefty torpedoed their roster, playoff aspirations and tarnished their image.  Luckily, they were able to swap the mal-tempered Bradley to Seattle (where he truly proved just how terrible a person he is).  Despite that fact, the damage had been done and the Cubs entered into a period of dearth.

At this point, we've had five different starters in five different seasons in the post-Slammin' Sammy era.  However, a familiar face reclaimed right after Bradley's ousting and provided some semblance of stability for the next two years.

_______________________________________________________________________

2010-11

Now Kosuke's keen eye and corkscrew swing never did fully translate to prolonged success in the Majors; however, on an aging, talent-challenged roster, he still presented the best starting option for rightfield.  With that in mind, he provided decent service as 1.2 WAR player for 2010 and part of 2011.  He was traded at the July deadline in an ill-fated fire sale during the latter campaign.

During those two seasons, Xavier Nady was the first man off of the bench in 2010, his only season with the Cubs, and Reed Johnson was the same in 2011.  Along the way, prospects like Tyler Colvin and decidedly non-prospects like Lou Montanez took a lot of reps in the outfield while the listless Cubs were caught in competitive purgatory.
 

Cameos:

Jeff Baker (2010-11)

Brad Snyder (2010)

Micah Hoffpauir (2010)

Bryan LaHair (2011)

Tony Campana (2011)

With the kinds of names you see above as legitimate options on the depth chart, you can see why the front office was given the boot going into the 2012 season.

Taking Jim Hendry and Co.'s place was Theo Epstein and his band of baseball know-it-alls and, seeing the state the franchise was in, decidedly on a total top-to-bottom rebuild.  They were tearing down the house and building a more modern one in it's place.

_______________________________________________________________________

2012

Knowing they likely wouldn't be competitive for several season yet, the club signed David DeJesus to a two-year deal as a stopgap for Sammy's former spot.  DeJesus represented a decent bat and good defense with good character, which was perfect for the time.

DeJesus also represented the weak Major League club's most versatile outfielder and ended being shifted around a fair amount.  Accordingly, many a scrub temporarily planted down in Wrigley's right field:

Cameo:

Tony Campana

Yuck, Reed Johnson was the only actual Big Leaguer among that cast of misfits.  This truly was one of the bleakest periods of Cubs fandom.

Going into 2013, like Jacque Jones and Kosuke Fukudome before him, David's versatility lead to him being moved over to centerfield to make way for another free agent signing during the offseason.

_______________________________________________________________________

2013-14

Okay - so big might be overselling it; at any rate, DeJesus spent his last year with Chicago in centerfield, while Nate Schierholtz was brought in to serve as trade bait in right.  With Fukudome, he was the only other man to serve as the starter in the right field vacuum for multiple seasons.

The first season was a modest success (.251/.301/.470) and with no trade offers to their liking, Theo and crew kept Nate around for one more go round.  Unfortunately, the second year of Nate's contract was a total disaster (.192/.240/.300), leading to his outright release in August.

Now we're starting to see some familiar faces.  While Scott Hairston and Cole Gillespie spelled Nate occasionally in 2013, it was blue-chip prospect Jorge Soler who pushed the envelope and forced Nate off of the rest in 2014.  Furthermore, Matt Szczur is also still around today and the fourth outfielder.  The rest of those guys...

Cameos:

Darnell McDonald (2013)

Dave Sappelt (2013)

Julio Borbon (2013)

Ryan Sweeney (2013)

Brian Bogusevic (2013)

Chris Coghlan (2014)

Logan Watkins (2014)

Junior Lake (2014)

The Cubs were fully focused on roster jenga at this time (hence the name of this blog) and a lot of waiver claims and minor league free agents made cameo appearances during these two seasons.  At least they got Chris Coghlan out of all those scrubs.

_______________________________________________________________________

2015

As I mentioned earlier, it was Jorge Soler who seized control of the reigns to right field late in the 2014 schedule and he held onto them for the 2015 season as well.  But, after his promising late season debut, the magic was gone for large chunks of the next year.  Jorge was inconsistent and injury prone, opening the door for playing time to some of the bench men.

Thankfully, pretty much everyone else on the roster had themselves a good year and, with the promotion of several more of Jorge's blue chip brethren, the Cubs jolted themselves back into competition and surprised us all to take the NL Wild Card. 

Cameos:

Kris Bryant

Kyle Schwarber

Matt Szczur

Quinton Berry

While Jorge flipped the switch during the playoffs and suddenly channeled his inner Ted Williams during the NLDS against the Cardinals, the Cubs brass still felt they couldn't trust Soler to nail down a regular spot just yet.  With that in mind, they might have been paying a little extra attention to the guy manning rightfield for the Cards during that series.

_______________________________________________________________________

2016

And here we are today, with Jason Heyward as our starting rightfielder.  His ten-year contract was a massive financial commitment and provides a great deal of hope when it comes to stabilizing the right side of Wrigley's outfield.  Then again, his struggles during this season have been very well documented.  Fingers crossed that he goes all "Jorge" during the playoffs.

Now, manager/mad scientist Joe Maddon values versatility and loves to mix and match all over the diamond.  So, it was inevitable that some other faces would pop up in right throughout the course of the year.

Kris has silenced the critics about his defense at third base; additionally, he's one-upped them by proving himself adept at several positions, including right field.  Meanwhile, everyone and their mother knows about how versatile Ben Zobrist is.

Cameos:

Jorge Soler

Chris Coghlan

Albert Almora, Jr.

Ryan Kalish

_______________________________________________________________________

So, there you have it; a complete and thorough run down of everybody who has manned rightfield since the day Sammy Sosa walked out on his teammates during the last game of the 2004 season.  From the amount of people highlighted in the post above, we can safely say that this is not an exclusive club.

The totals:   

• 9 different starters in 12 seasons
• 35 players saw significant time at the position (>10 games)
• 63 players total saw time at the position. 

In conclusion, there are definitely no such thing as curses, but astronomers might be intrigued to find out that there's definitely a big ol' positional black hole in the Wrigley outfield.  Here's hoping that "J-Hey" can settle in and turn things around; otherwise, the Cubs are going to have to try and find yet another plug to cap that hole.

Say it ain't So-sa.

           

All Cracker Jacked Up

Few brand names enjoy as cozy of a relationship as Cracker Jack does with baseball.  Outside of a hotdog with all the proper dressings, can you name a concession item that screams baseball louder than Sailor Jack and his dog Bingo's caramel popcorn and peanut mixture?  I mean, we ritually sing about this crunchy treat in the middle of the seventh inning at pretty much every major, minor and college ballpark across the country, after all.

Now, who among us didn't get excited for a bag of Cracker Jack when we were kids?  As tasty as the treat is, I think we can all agree that it wasn't the popcorn that got us all riled up (though that wasn't bad either).  Of course, it was the promissory prize contained within that iconic red, white and blue packaging which had our full attention.

Since the product's inception in 1896, kids have been able to pull decoder rings, stickers, temporary tattoos, and, best of all, baseball cards from the sticky boxes and bags.  At some point, I'm pretty sure that they also gave away driver's licenses, based on the way some people drive around Chicago.

While wandering the aisles of the local grocer over the weekend, the inner kid in me was craving some junk food and, coincidentally, noticed a proclamation calling out for attention from a bag of baseball's best foodie friend:

*NEW* prize inside, you say?  Well, do tell me more Mr. Sailor Jack - you've caught my interest:

Hmmm... it appears as though the 19th century treat is now dabbling with 21st century technology.  It's good to see them getting back to their baseball roots with their prizes and I'm sure kids today are more interested in something new they can play with on their smart phone than a lousy foil sticker; that said, my eyes were immediately drawn to one of those games in particular.  I've highlighted it above with a bold, red arrow.

"Get Carded - Virtual Card Creator!"

Okay, that sounds like something I can get behind.  I mean, I was going to buy a snack anyway - why not make some custom baseball cards along with it?  That's a pretty nice bonus, in my humble opinion.  So, once I got home, I opened the bag, scarfed it all down like a hungry dog and then examined my prize.

Seems a bit unnecessary to tell me about the new prize inside on the packet, since I'm already holding said prize; but, what do I know?

Apparently, in order to use this service, I had to download an augmented reality application knwon as "Blipp."  It's similar to Pokemon Go, in this app, you aim your camera at the world around you and you can see stuff that isn't really there.  Once you open up "Blipp" and aim the camera on your smart phone at the sticker to the right, a graphic appears and you are presented with the option of playing one of the four advertised, baseball-themed games.

However, it appears as though you only get access to one per purchase, which makes sense from Cracker Jack's point of view.  Good thing I got that card generator or I'd have been uber disappointed.  I can't stand that the dance cam, kiss cam, flex cam or what have you at real, live baseball games, let alone some virtual simulation at home.  Yuck.

So, I know you're wondering, how does generator work, eh?  Well, as I fully expected from a free prize in a bag of Cracker Jack, there's not much to it and you do not get much creative freedom:

You type in your name, pick a pose (but you don't get to truly pick your position), describe your playing style and your jersey number.  As you can see in the screen capture above, I opted for a picture at the plate, the attitude of Johnny (definitely not Charlie) Hustle, and the number with the best mojo in Chicago sports:  23.  Those two digits have graced the backs of such Windy City greats as Michael Jordan, Ryne Sandberg, Devin Hester and Jermaine Dye.  Obviously, there's something about that number.

At this point, the app asks you to stop and take a picture of your face. Then, your Cracker Jack/Blipp/Get Carded master computer takes all that data, crunches the numbers and spits out your very own custom baseball card!

Okay - it's definitely no Rookies App; nevertheless, it's pretty nifty for a Cracker Jack bonus.  

Also, let's not gloss over those fantastic numbers that I put up during the 2015 baseball season:  .738 batting average, 98 homers and 120% hustle (whatever that means - I think Hawk Harrelson had some creative input).  Reality be damned - I'm like Josh Gibson, Ted Williams and Pete Rose all rolled into one.

Predictably, you're then invited to plaster this image across all social media platforms (free advertising!).  As far as a physical copy goes, there's no option to buy a print of your custom card; I'm sure the offices of Frito Lay aren't prepared to deal with that.

At any rate, I decided to take that sticker and affix it to the side of one of my storage boxes, just in case I feel the urge to create a quick, statistically outlandish baseball card of anyone else I know.  I already tried with the fiancee, but she was decidedly unimpressed.

All in all, I got more enjoyment out of this Cracker Jack prize than I did the bits of trivia and riddles  on scraps of paper that they were attempting to pass off as prizes when I was a kid.  That said, I'm still holding on to that desperate hope that the brand will someday resuscitate it's baseball card giveaways, something it hasn't done since 1992.  Although, I'm sure the licensing rights would keep that from being a profitable venture.

Oh well - at least the confectionery is still tasty... and I learned that I have the slugging ability of Herman Munster.

Things That Go Bump in the Afternoon

As of yesterday, the calendar has officially turned to October.  You know what that means - it's time to wake up Billie Joe Armstrong, stock up on pumpkin spice flavored everything and slip into the Halloween "spirit."  The season of spooks, ghouls and goblins is officially upon us and all of the pop-up costume stores in what used to be Sports Authority's will attest to that fact.  Adam from Cardboard Clubhouse is showing us all up and certainly embracing his inner monster.

As you know, frights, haunts and scares are the name of the game when it comes to Halloween.  Scary movies populate the late night television listings, haunted houses make money hand over fist and even entire amusement parks fill out their grounds with actors in terrifying costumes.  Things that go bump in the night are lurking around each and every corner this time of year; one must always be attentive.

However, there is one bump that is decidedly not scary - Trevor's Bump and Run Football Card Blog. Of course, that's because he sends out PWE's full of free cards and mail is delivered in the middle of the afternoon and not in the middle of the night (the witching hour).

Trevor wanted to make some blogging patrons aware of his new address, so he sent out a round of PWE's.  I think we can all agree that the stationary he used for the explanatory note is decidedly not scary and only further disarming.  Hopefully this isn't all a trap to lull me into a sense of false security.

In his message, Trevor apologizes for using such "juvenile paper."  Don't worry Trev - I work at a school, so this just looks normal to me!

Anyway, the main attraction in this PWE was, of course, the cards - not the note.  Trevor's blog title might indicate that his forte is football; however, the man is also a noted Cubs fan and collects as such.  So, I can only assume that the card which lead off this mailing was a duplicate:

Don't get me wrong - this is a well-framed picture, a classic design and even features a bonus cameo from short-term Cubs skipper Rick Renteria (who appears to be set to take over the reigns for the other team in town - he deserved another shot at managing), all of which add up to being a nice card. However, Baez and Castro were never really the main double play combination on the North Side of Chicago.

In the spirit of the season, this card is masquerading as something it's not.  That said, it's a nice costume.

Now, the rest of this envelope was populated with new and new(ish) football cards.  Seeing as how I almost never buy modern gridiron product, this was a more than welcome sight for my Bears All-Time Roster Collection:

Here we have a pair of 23's.

First up is a new-to-me 2013 Prestige single of my favorite Bear from my lifetime in Devin "the Windy City Flyer" Hester.  While, he's been inconsistent, at best, as a wide receiver in Chicago and now in Atlanta, as a kick/punt returner, he was among the most explosive and exciting players in the game.  His return of the opening kickoff in Superbowl XLI is definitely one of my favorite sporting memories... as for the rest of that contest, that was far more terrifying than anything the Halloween season can produce.

Speaking of terrifying, the 2016 edition of the Bears makes me cringe worse than a low budget slasher flick.  It doesn't help that their roster is populated with the "walking dead," in that injuries have absolutely battered their ranks.  This unfortunately includes their young cornerback with star potential - Kyle Fuller - who is currently on injured reserve after arthroscopic knee surgery.  

As for the card, I absolutely love that Kyle appears to be staring straight at the camera, despite hauling in a pass in mid-air,  as this photo was taken.  That's some "scary" ability, right there.

Also, R.I.P. Topps Football.

This Topps Platinum single is totally in the Halloween spirit - just look at all that orange!

In total, this is only my second card of Kevin White as a Bear (told you I don't buy any current football) and easily becomes my favorite.  I'm a sucker for anything that's super shiny and makes heavy use of team colors in the background design.

And now it's time for Trevor's grand finale:

My first "Bears" cards of a couple of 2016 rooks from Panini's Prestige line - fifth rounder Jordan Howard and first rounder Leonard Floyd.   There were no tricks and all treats in this particular envelope!

Notably, the Howard is a shiny, foil Extra Points parallel, of which there are several variants. I'm assuming this is the red one, since the purple (#/100), gold (#/50), platinum (#/25) and black (#/10) versions are all numbered.  It sure is pretty!

Thank you Trevor for the excellent PWE - it was filled with more goodies than a bag of fun-size Milky Ways!  Let this be a lesson to us all, not everything that goes "Bump" is frightful.  I'll make sure to return the favor ASAP and stuff and envelope full of Cubs as well as some devilish Packers...

...those are the real ghouls after all.

Getting High in Target

Finally.  

Heritage High Numbers may have only been out a little less than two weeks, but it feels like months; after seeing it all over the blogosphere and not being able to get my hands on any packs, it was starting to drive me up a wall.  Lately, it feels like my LCS refuses to stock anything that's not Flagship, last weekend's card show stock had already been picked through, and none of the big-box retailers in the area were placing any new product on their shelves.  Look, I'm just trying to get my cardboard fix, okay?

At long last, Target finally came through for me yesterday evening.  Any longer and I would have been asking if I could just stock their shelves for them.  They could pay me in cards.

Thank goodness it didn't come to that, huh?  Anyway, the reason I've been so keen on HHN this year is because of one player - Munenori Kawasaki.  The little-used, utility infielder/team mascot defied the odds and made the checklist this fall (despite only playing in two games when the list was finalized)... an obvious testament to his popularity.  After all, he's a pretty amusing dude.

I truly did not expect Mune to receive any cardboard commemoration of his time with the Cubs, since bench players rarely get love; so, when I saw his name, I got a touch carried away.  After all, his slot in my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection binder would look much better filled by a Cubs card than a Blue Jays one.

So, after much debate in the red bulls-eye card aisle, I decided to try my luck with a 35-card value box.  Would one of those 35 be my coveted Kawasaki??  I did pull two Cubs cards in the first ten out of the box:

Alas, neither were the Cubs' latest Japanese import.  On the bright side though, I was able to land Albert Almora JR's very first Major League card (excluding Bowman product, of course). Apparently, Topps didn't get the memo that Almora has started to specifically include the Jr. as a tribute to his father.  That's okay - they'll catch on by next year, when Albert takes over in center for the inevitably departing Dexter Fowler.

Furthermore, it's also nice to see fourth outfielder Matt Szczur get some recognition; he's been a surprisingly potent bat in the pinch this year.  However, my biggest takeaway from this card is what is that red, white and blue thing on the handle of his bat?  Also, I love the light tower in the background; that just screams classic baseball scene.

That was all when it came to uniformed Cubs; that said, there were a couple more Cubs of a Different Color cards contained within.

Apparently, the trade deadline comes after the deadline for this set, as otherwise the side-arming Joe Smith would be in Cubbie blue.  As such, it appears as though Update is the last hope for a properly-uniformed Smith card.  On a related note, we also have a former Cub in Austin Jackson who was brought in to bolster the playoff roster in August of last year, too late to be added to any products. In the offseason, he decided to cross over to the other side of the Windy City, a fact which the back of this card notates:

After not doing much for the North Siders, he decided to be fair and do nothing for the South Siders either; his season ended in the first week of June, thanks to a torn meniscus.  Here's hoping the former Tigers star heals up and gets his career back on track in 2017.

There was one more card in this value box that fit into a collection of mine, this one slotting into my Coulda Been a Cub binder:

This single also covers this ground with the write up on the back.

Hunter was acquired by the Cubs in the Marlon Byrd trade in 2012 and, despite flashes of greatness, he was never able to put it all together for the organization.  After spending most of 2015 in the independent ranks, he beat the odds and made it up with the rebuilding Braves out of spring training.  Like Smith, his contract switched hands at the Deadline, as he pitched well enough that the contending Marlins wanted his services.

That did it for the Cubs-connections; but, what about the rest of the contents?

A couple of high-profile rookies - not bad pulls at all, especially since that Nomar is a dreaded SP.

Unfortunately, the immediate future of Keon is in doubt; he broke his arm after colliding into the brick wall at Wrigley Field a couple of weeks ago.  That ivy is a disarming danger when tracking fly balls in Chicago - get well soon Keon!

Another notable newbie and my first card of the biggest teen sensation since Britney Spears, Julio Urias.  As beautiful as this card is with the bright, blue sky accentuating the Dodger Blue of the pitcher's jersey and glove, this will be going to one of the blogosphere's plentiful Dodger collectors.  

On the opposite end of the pitching life spectrum, here's a truly odd sight;  "The Freak" in an Angels uniform.  Some day, Tim's short, career reboot-attempting stint with the Angels will be a short term stop Hall of Famer.

Remember when Bartolo's record-breakingfirst career home run at the age of 43 and it's corresponding Topps NOW card broke the internet?  With a little restraint, I didn't end up having to pay $9.99 plus shipping just to get a single card commemorating the feat.  Patience is a virtue, ain't it?

The Now portion of this insert was obviously Bartolo's blast; the Then portion pays note to Jim McGlothlin throwing the first of four shutouts in a six start span in 1967.  Both events occurred on May 7th.  I'd say Bart definitely wins the battle of notoriety here.

Finally, we wrap up the box with a card featuring a local yokel, Tony Cingrani, who hails from New Lenox.  That Chicago suburb is just a 15 minute drive away from where I sit, banging out this post. Seeing as we're about the same ago, I may very well have played against him in my one year of high school baseball.

With guys like Cingrani, Tanner Roark and Mike Foltynewicz in the Majors, the Chicagoland-area must be a good place to grow pitchers.

So, I didn't get my Mune, but it wasn't a total loss.  I ended up with 2 Cubs, 2 Cubs of a Different Color and a Coulda Been a Cub, plus some nice trade-bait; so, that's pretty cool.  What more can you ask of a value box?

If anything you saw above interests you, drop me a line and it's yours.

In the meantime, my obsessive search for Munenori Kawasaki continues.  This wasn't the first time I got High in a Target and, with that goal in mind, it probably won't be the last either!