The Color of Money

Don't worry - I haven't given up my collection of Cubs cards to go and pursue a career as a pool shark.  The only kind of "pool" I can handle involves water wings and a nose plug, after all.

Nor have I decided to start an accumulation of billiard trading cards; I'm pretty sure such things do not exist.  Although, there is a national billiards champion in my CATRC.  Can you guess who?  Scroll to the bottom of the post for the answer.

No no no.  Recently I came across a large cache of 1995 Conlon collection.  This set is significant for a few reasons:  A)  It was the last Conlon set released.  B)  It was intended to be released in two series; but, only one got out before the strike sounded the set's death bell.  C)  It has GREEN borders and gold foil!

Even Conlon was starting to fall victim to the 90's fad of random colors and unnecessary foil.  Though, I must admit, the forest green does mesh quite well with Charles Conlon's crisp black & white photography.

This set doesn't bubble up very often, in fact, this was the first time I had seen them in a brick & mortar store.  Even better, the binder in which I uncovered these forgotten beauties included several new Cubbies for my All-Time collection - such as the Raffensberger you see above.

The long-time starter spent a couple of years in Wrigley (1940-41) before moving on to "green"er pastures in Cincinnati.

A couple of outfielders were also added to my CATRC.  Tuck played for 13 seasons as a spare outfielder for 7 teams, one of which was the Cubs from 1934-37.  The two highlights of his time in Chicago were starting a benches-clearing brawl in the 1935 World Series by getting lippy with an umpire and being traded to the Cardinals for Dizzy Dean.

The Leiber (no relation to Jon) on the right belongs to one of the Collection's many subsets.  The 3x All-Star burst onto the scene in a big way with the Giants in the mid-30's.  But, after getting beaned in the noggin by the flame-throwing Bob Feller, he was never quite the same due to a damaged optic nerve.

However, he was able to come back to earn two of his All-Star selections after the incident before fading out completely, thus his inclusion in "Beating the Odds."

Mr. Wolter had been out of baseball for four years when he suddenly became a regular outfielder for the 1917 Cubs, batting .249 in 117 games.  What caused his absence and why did he randomly come back?  I wish I could tell you.

Interestingly, the picture used seems to depict his experimentation on the pitching mound.  He took the mound 15 times (9 starts) over the course of his career with a 3.75 ERA.  Remember, this is the Dead Ball era - that number was not acceptable then!

While that did it for entirely new players, I was still able to make a Cubgrade as well.

Rabbit was only with the Cubs for one season in 1925, but in that time he managed to become player-manager as well.  However, by all accounts, he had some problems with acting as an authority figure and often behaved as immaturely as the worst of his rambunctious players - which lead to his departure on the waiver-wire that November.  

As far as I'm aware, this lovely Conlon piece is the only card that documents his time in Chicago.  It also spotlights his service time in WWI, as the subset ribbon notates.

This one wasn't a Cubgrade, just a plain ol' upgrade in my personal opinion.  I detailed the story behind the Tom Barker game card reprints (left) that I found in the same LCS in a post a while back.  You can also find some background info on Nixey there, if you're so inclined.  

As novel as they are, I still feel like a reprint is not as authentic as a release that stands on it's own.  Is that just me?

In addition, I think I can safely say that the card on the right is the only one in my entire collection that lists the subject's position as "business manager;" that's pretty unique.

But, I've actually saved the best find for last:

That is not a facsimile - that's authentic ink pen right there!

Jurges is an interesting figure in the annals of baseball history.  He was a key cog in the Cubs World Series teams of the 1930's, he was the victim of a shooting very similar to that of the mythical Roy Hobbs and a bit of a troublemaker.  He once got into a fight on his own bench after making wisecracks about the Civil War and managed to get a full freight-car wheel into the birth of teammate Lon Warneke while on the road.

He was eventually traded to the Giants after the 1938 season for Hank Leiber.  Does that name sound familiar?  

All in all, a pretty cool guy to have an auto for.  Unfortunately, I can't be entirely sure that it's authentic, nor could the shop owner.

Conlon touted auto cards being inserted into their products; however, the examples I have seen lack the certification found on modern auto cards.  If it was in-person, well, there is even less certainty.

Luckily, I can confirm that Billy was alive at the time of the products release (he died in 1997) and other examples of his John Hancock prove to be quite similar:

Thanks Baseball Almanac!

Not a perfect match though - most notably in the "J" and the fact that the pen was lifted in between the "r" and the "g" on my card.  That said, I will pin my hopes on the fact that an 86 year old man's signature cannot be counted on to be smooth and/or consistent.

For $2, it was worth the gamble.

It made for a very nice way to close out an already bountiful shopping trip, that's for sure.  

I really wish that Conlon Collection had kept going beyond 1995, even if they started to stray from their original path.  Regardless, the strike ruined a lot of things about baseball, the least of which was the Conlon Collection.

There are plenty of retro and "Golden Age" inspired product on the shelves today, but none delve nearly as deep into the past as Conlon did on each release with names like Stainback, Callahan, Wolter, etc. 

There are over 140 years of professional baseball history to be mined and yet we usually just see the same recycled names from the days of yore:  Ruth, Banks, Aaron, Koufax, etc.  Let's mix it up a little bit, huh?

Until then, I hope I can find more binders filled with Conlon to tide me over!

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Oh yea, I almost forgot!  The answer to my earlier trivia question:

Johnny Kling.  The catcher for the back-to-back World Series champions sat out the 1909 season after a salary dispute and pursued a career on the felt table in the interim.  He competed against and defeated Charles "Cowboy" Weston, thereby winning the world's championship of pool before being given a contract to his liking by the Cubs.

Bobbin' For Cards

Sometimes, when it comes to pursuing my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection, it kind of feels like bobbing for apples.

There are so many players with cards on the market, just plainly floating in front of my face.  But, when I throw myself into the market to grab one, I often come up empty.

Of course, there aren't actually cards floating in a bucket anywhere in my house - that would be counter productive.

Then again, sometimes I come up with a nice, big ol' Granny Smith.  Or a Bob Smith, anyway:

The proprietor of one of my LCS's kindly set this card aside for me as he is acutely aware of my collecting habits - the man is a saint!

Bob Smith's 1958 Topps high-number has dodged me several times, most recently when I was sniped on Listia by just a few credits about a month ago.  The prospect of adding a vintage high-number to my binder for exactly $0.00 was just so damn appealing; it was such a let down.

No matter, this time I'm clutching it in my teeth... errr hands - that metaphor is over with.

"Riverboat" here was one of three men to suit up for the Cubbies who bore the name "Bob Smith."  Further complicating matters, there was another contemporary infielder who also played for the Red Sox with the same name.  Despite this web, I've managed to track down the correct guy.

Will the real Bob Smith please stand up, please stand up?

Thankfully, I already added these two to my binder

 Bob was a lefty pitcher who got two years in the Show and exactly one game with the Cubs.

Traded by the Red Sox for future manager Chuck Tanner in 1959, he pitched exactly 2/3 of an inning on April 29th and was lit up by the Redlegs; he was torched for six earned runs!

He soon found himself swapped to Cleveland so that "Handsome Ransom" Jackson could finish his farewell tour with his original franchise and out of the Bigs for good.

Soooo the fact that he had such a common name, a terrible track record and only one known baseball card (a high number, at that) made this a tough rectangle to track down.

Just finding this gem (one of my favorite sets!) would have been enough for me to call this "bob"bing session a success; but then I noticed a nice stack of Target Dodgers:

This team-issued set sponsored by the big box retailer was released to celebrate 100 years of the Dodger franchise and aimed to include a card of every man to ever suit up for them.  Seeing as they are almost as old as the Cubs, there is a lot of helpful player overlap.

I should take a second to mention that GCRL has done a tremendous job spotlighting this oddball set, including this very card.  Thank you for that!

Jack had two brief stints as a serviceable extra outfielder in 1900 and from 1903-04 (a Cubs Double Dipper, as GCRL might say) before he was eventually traded to Brooklyn for future World Series cog Jimmy Sheckard.

Now, maybe this is just me, but that picture doesn't look right to me.  It looks too sharp and clear to be of the correct era.  Plus, the jersey looks more like the style that was worn in the 30's and 40's.  This set is plagued with picture errors - is it possible that this is another?  Or am I just loco?

Personally, I thought I was going loco with all my luck, especially when I noticed a couple of singles in the discount bin that I had been wanting to pick up.

I feel in love with the Alcantara card the first time I saw it scanned on the blogosphere.  I adore those late-60's Cubs throwback uniforms, the photo selection works well with the excellent 2015 design and the "Future Stars" designation is icing on the cake.  I hope Arismendy turns out at least half as well as this card!

Motte is one of the new guys on the Cubs roster, brought in to bring some veteran leadership to an otherwise young bullpen.  While, he is sporting some severe "pitcher's face," I appreciate that the photo wasn't cropped so tightly that that's all we could see.  Not to mention, I like the design of 2011 Topps infinitely better than the train-wreck of a design that was 2014 Topps that was holding Motte's spot in my collection.

Tightly cropped and a hodge podge of a layout. Ugh.

At this point, time was getting short and it was time for me to be on my merry way.  But, I couldn't resist the urge to rip open a pack.  So, I bought a single pack of Heritage.

I didn't pull any hits, short prints, gum stains or anything like that,but lo and behold, resting right on top was another guy I needed for my CATRC:

Jokisch is a lefty starter who made his debut late last season.  He looked pretty good - 1.88 ERA in 14.1 innings and 10 K's, but there are still lingering doubts about his durability and his stuff in extended action.  He'll probably be riding the shuttle from Des Moines to Chicago a few times this year.

Spencer Patton?  Sorry, I'm not too concerned with you.  Or the rest of the pack's contents:

See anything you like?

My attention was taken by the fact that an impulsive stop to my LCS (which I keep thinking I've fished clean out) produced three new additions to my CATRC.  

That doesn't happen much anymore, over ten years into this project.

I may usually come up empty when I go bobbin' in the LCS; but, today I came up with not one - not two - but three, shiny apples in my clutches.

That certainly brightened my Monday!

Hey Tony, Can We Go Thrift Shopping?

Thrift stores are pretty much my favorite places to kill some time - outside of the card shop of course - you just never know what you are going to come across.

This was quite apparent a couple of days ago when I stopped in the local Goodwill to drop off a few donations; the girlfriend was able to part with some clothing, which is no small feat!

So, I decided to peruse the isles a little bit, since I was already there and had nowhere to be.  I did not find any baseball cards ( I never do), but I was able to come away with some sweet baseball merchandise anyway.

Yes - I located a t-shirt of the Yokohama (DeNA) BayStars of Japan's Central League on a rack in a Joliet thrift shop.  The world never ceases to amaze me!

I was initially disappointed when I saw the size as XL because I'm usually a medium.  However, when I tried it on, it fit perfectly.  So, now I know what t-shirt size I am in Japan!  For $3, this was definitely coming home with me.

Now, as a Cubs fan, it's sort of fitting that I should find a shirt for this team.  Turns out that the BayStars were formerly known as the Whales and were believed to have been cursed by the spirits of the dead animals.  Their former parent company, Maruha Corp., was heavily involved in the whaling industry.  It wasn't until after they changed the name that the franchise won their first Japanese series title in their 38 year existence in 1998.

I think the curse of the whales sounds much more intimidating than the curse of the goat, but what do I know?

Also, in the course of my research, I discovered that the BayStars currently have one former Cub and one almost-Cub currently on their roster:

What the chrome nameplate is keeping you from reading is Hisanori Takahashi.  The Cubs brought the former high-profile Japanese import to camp with them in 2013 upon signing another high-profile import in Kyuji Fujikawa,

He made the team because the bullpen was so thin and probably to serve as a buddy for Fuji.  When Fuji was lost to Tommy John surgery nearly right away, Hisanori was gone with the wind. having only appeared in 3 games.  He was back in Japan by the next season.

This 2010 Bowman that dates from his initial crossing of the Pacific represents him in my CATRC.

Mr. Moscoso was part of the roster jenga from which this blogs takes its name.  He was one of many waiver claims made by TheoJed in the course of the past few seasons.  Like Hisanori, he came to camp in 2013.  Unlike, Hisanori, he did not make the team and was sent to Iowa as rotation depth.

Guilermo went unneeded in Chicago, but his performance (7-5, 3.93 ERA in 17 starts) did not go unnoticed. That summer, he was sold to San Francisco, where he was immediately inserted in their bullpen as a long-man and spot-starter.

Moscoso did not capitalize on the opportunity with an ERA over 5, which lead to his signing with Yokohama for 2014.

This 2014 Iowa Cubs team-issued card comes from the annual set printed by Brandt.  Since Guilermo never made it up to the MLB Cubs, it currently sits in my miscellaneous minor-leaguers collection (which reminds me, I need to organize that).

So, there are some Cubs connections to go along with my super cool new t-shirt.  In fact, over the course of both franchises histories, several players have been shared by their rosters.

In their Whales days, men such as Pete LaCock, Jim Tracy & Mike Lum played for each franchise.  More recent luminaries include:

A couple of forgotten (justifiably so) middle-relievers.  Regardless, that shiny Chiasson from 2002 Bowman Chrome is awfully pretty.  So it was worth bringing these guys up just to show that off.

In researching this post, I think I've decided to start a new mini-collection - Japanese cards of Cubs players who have played in Japan.  I already have a few to start with that will probably get spotlighted in an upcoming post.

But there are a lot of names that I have an irrational fondness for that would keep my interest in this project:  "Mighty Matt" Murton, Julio Zuleta, Micah Hoffpauir, Bryan LaHair...  where can I find some cheap BBM/Calbee singles?

But, back to the thrift shop - I've wandered way off-topic!

I was able to dig up another interesting, baseball-related t-shirt off of the same rack:

What seemed like a run-of-the-mill White Sox throwback first turned out to be a pretty nifty concert shirt.  I like me some 311 and I love the "Winning Ugly" era White Sox imagery.  This was a perfect match for me, I only wish I could have gone to that show!

*Note* The concert was actually at Northerly Island, not at US Cellular Field, as one might think.

I may be a Cubs fan, but I grew up on the South Side, so I definitely have an appreciation for that other team in town.

So, I might have been able to convince my girlfriend to let go of some of her under-used clothing; unfortunately, I think I undermined that process by taking in more unnecessary garb for my side of the closet.  Oopsy.

It's probably a good thing that I didn't buy this one then:

He who pees on his own hands was the first player not named Sammy Sosa that I declared my favorite, upon my re-discovery of baseball in junior high.  So, despite the fact that he had an up-and-down Cubs tenure, it would have been a sentimental purchase more than anything else.

Plus, $6 for an authentic Cubs jersey is hard to turn down, unless it's a Milton Bradley or Todd Hundley top.

Alas, it was an XL and, unlike the BayStar shirt, I was pretty much swimming in it.  C'est la vie.

That's the beauty of the thrift store though,  you just never know what you'll find.  It's truly a shopping adventure!

Has anybody else made any interesting expenditures at the local secondhand store lately?  Perhaps a KBO Samsung Lions jacket?  A tank top that blends Sublime with the Dodgers?  A Moises jersey for one of the million other teams he played for?

Ok, six other teams - I exaggerate.

Everybody Plays the Fool

Well, we all know what today is and surely someone you know has or will attempt to pull some sort of silly prank on you or some poor sap nearby.

Now, I'm not necessarily above such behavior myself; however, the prank would have to be unique and played on the right subject.  My favorite piece of trickery was when, in college, the radio station staff and I completely flipped the format from alt/rock to country over night - complete with bogus show promos and fake personalities.

Today, I have no original ideas and the people around me barely know my name.

Thus, I will settle for an April Fool's Day themed post on my blog instead... 'cause I'm cool like that.

Don't worry - I'm not going to try and convince you all that I've suddenly decided to start collecting Cardinals or that Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant have been traded for Bartolo Colon.  Instead, I'm going to showcase some times when my own collection made a fool out of me.

Tough to believe right?..  Don't answer that.

Dimebox Nick has whipped up some excellent features regarding his "Zero Year" collection - cards that depict a player on a team that he has never actually played for.

On several occasions, in my quest to collect a card of every player who has appeared on the diamond for the Cubs, this sort of tom-foolery has tricked me into picking up cards that I didn't need.  It doesn't count if the player never got into a real game with the North Siders.

This 1957 Jablonski was the first card that I remember pulling the wool over my young eyes.  Purchased from my first foray into one of my LCS's, 10th grade me didn't realize that Jabbo here only used Chicago as a stopover in his move from Cincinatti to St. Louis that offseason.

Although, I was never too upset by that due to the excellent on-deck shot with a rarely seen Cubs uniform.  Ray must have been attempting his best Ted Kluszewski impression, however the farmer's tan and ridiculously hairy arms undermine that.

Bobby here was still a clean-cut, young star on the rise when the Cubs acquired him from the Indians after the 1961 season.

Apparently, he was no "Locke" to make the roster, as he was moved along to St. Louis right as the team broke camp.

Again, this is a fact I was unaware of when I saw this card listed for spare change on Ebay and thought to myself, "hey I don't have him yet!"  Turns out there was a reason for that, but impulses suck.

Unlike the previous two subjects, this MLB veteran actually appeared in some official games for the Cubs organization - but, those games came for their AAA affiliate in 1959.

He was purchased from Cleveland in May that year and stuck around as rotation depth until, of all days, April 1st, 1960, when he was sold to Toronto of the International League.  

So, that was 65 years ago today - did you remember that anniversary?

Topps' crystal ball must have been broken going into 1960, as they must have thought he was going to go north.  That said, he did end up going north - wayyyyyy up north.

Believe it or not, "Zero Year" club members aren't the only cards that have gotten the best of me - sometimes guys who didn't even have a Cubs card issued end up in my binder.

My Cubs roster archive source material initially included many players who appeared in spring training or random minor-leaguers in it's compilation, for some reason or another.  I had to go through each entry and confirm whether or not the player warranted inclusion in the project.

With over 2000 players all-time and countless hours of plugging names on BBref, it was inevitable that some names slip through the cracks.

Thus, last year, when my archive told me I needed Allen Battle, I found a Battle.  It wasn't until later that I happened upon his career stats and noticed no mention of Chicago.  He spent some time in Iowa in 1999, but never ascended to the major league Cubs.  Drat, now I'm stuck with a Cards card.

Thankfully, the next time this issue came up, I caught the gaffe before I pulled the trigger.  Just as I was about to place this Classic into my Ebay cart, I ran across this Gajkowski retrospective post on The Greatest 21 Days.  What are the chances of that, huh?

That's not the only way that my archive has fooled me either - it's a cheeky bastard.

My source material listed a "Ray Webster" as having played for the Cubs in 1971 as an infielder.  So, as I was idly flipping through a vintage discount box and I came across this 1960 single, I figured this must be the guy.

It's not hard to believe a guy playing in 1960 could still be playing 11 years later, especially the way the Cubs like to bring in washed-up veterans at the very end of their career.

But, when I got the card home and did some research, I could find only one entry on BBref for a "Ray Webster" in MLB history - and while he played for Cleveland and Boston, he never called Chicago home.

What gives?

This gives.  Apparently, Ray was actually a Ramon who once supplanted Chicago icon Hawk Harrelson at first base on the A's until leg injuries derailed his career and he finished his time in the majors as a pinch hitter with the Cubs.

I guess that, like Bob Clemente, sometimes writers and fans liked to Americanize the Panamanian's name.  Therein lies my confusion.

Luckily, I was able to come across a card of the correct Webster on discount not much later.  I know they don't get a lot of love, but I like the burlap borders of 1968 Topps - it's different and matches the color scheme of the Cubs uniform and team bubble really well.

What I don't like is that my record keeping is a little sloppy.  Ugh.

My database might look well-organized, but that's just what it wants you to think!

In conclusion, though nobody has lived up to the spirit of the holiday and made me look like a total fool yet today (the day is young), my card collection has certainly taken up the mantle over the course of time.

Does anyone else out there have any stories about how their cardboard accumulation has played tricks on them?  I'm certain that I can't be the only one.

Right?

Happy April Fools Day everyone; keep your head on a swivel.

Play me out Marvin!

Tuesdays with Morrie

Don't worry; you might be having flashbacks to high school reading assignments reading a post title like that, but this has nothing to do with literary masterpieces by Mitch Albom.

Rather, this post is intended to shine the spotlight on a former Cubs pitcher who had a masterpiece of a run in Chicago - or, at least a pretty nice go of it anyway.

Morrie Steevens (yes, that is how his name is spelled) is the latest addition to my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection.

  

To the best of my knowledge, this lovely portrait from TCMA's 1978 nostalgia-based set "The 1960's" is Morrie's only solo appearance on a baseball card.  He shares a space on a multi-player rookie card from 1965 with Dave Bennett, but I prefer cards with only one subject.

The picture was obviously taken at dusk, which makes for some lighting not usually seen on baseball cards - I'm in favor of that.  But, is the a temporary batting cage, backstop or Pirate ship sail in the background?

I know I picked this up from one of my LCS in the last few weeks, but I cannot remember which one (good problem to have, right?) or the circumstances surrounding it.  I'm going to be a blast when I get old.

But, much has been written about the simple beauty of TCMA's releases from the decade of disco, so I'm very happy to have come across it - wherever that might have been.

Steevens, though he's shown here as a Phillie, initially rose through the Cubs system after being signed out of Salem, IL in 1958.  I guess you could call him a local boy, if you consider a 3-hour drive south local.

Morrie as a bright-eyed rookie, wearing the "correct" uniform

image courtesy of tnfoto at ootpdevelopments.com

Morrie got his initial call to the Bigs in 1962 on the strength of his blazing fastball and he certainly made the most of it.  He made 12 appearances, mostly out of the bullpen, split between April and September and was only scored upon in one contest.

However, like many a flame-thrower, he was a little wild - 11 walks in 15 frames with one hit batsmen - and was thusly returned to the minors to refine his control.  

While there, he managed to limit his walks but then ceased missing bats (an ERA near 5 in AAA) and soon found himself shipped to Philly in exchange for another minor-leaguer (who didn't make it).

Steevens earned a couple of more brief cameos in Philadelphia, but they didn't go nearly as well as his brief stint in Chicago, bottoming out with an era over 16 in 1965.  Plus, he got the pleasure of experiencing one of the most infamous collapses in baseball history in 1964, as his Phillies infamously blew the pennant in the last week of the season.

Bullpen issues are often blamed for the choke job, but Morrie only made it into 4 games, so you can't lay much blame on him.

After all that fun, he hung around for a few more years in the bush leagues, but was out of baseball by '67.

 Morrie wasn't the only future/former Cub on that infamous Phillies team - there were 13 total players, plus 2 future coaches and a GM!  The ex-Cub factor strikes again.

Morrie's story is a common one, a really common one at that.  It's too bad that he was never able to capitalize on his initial promise, but there wasn't a lot of success to be had with the Cubs of the early to mid-60's after all.

With that, we close this chapter with his addition to my CATRC - which I'm sure is the absolute highlight of his time spent in professional baseball.  Thanks to TCMA, he gets a spot of his own.

Now, I hope you payed attention while reading this post - there will be a quiz later!

Changing Clothes

Well, the last few days have been a whirlwind of emotion.

Actually, I guess that statement isn't exactly accurate, as the whirlwind was really just a hurricane of horrible - the only emotion I felt was frustration.

Thankfully, it looks like that figurative storm has passed, along with the actual bad weather that has been plaguing Chicago.  Sun and temps in the 50's has certainly helped my mood.

So, I'm back behind the keyboard to talk cardboard.  In order to ease myself back in, today's post won't require much brain-power on my part.

When it comes to my CATRC, a "Cubgrade" is when I can add a Cubs card of a particular player to my binder who had previously been represented in a different uniform.

Y'know, changing clothes, like so:

Arodys wasn't a Cub for very long and did not live up to the hype that he generated upon his acquisition at the trade deadline 2012 in the Paul Maholm/Reed Johnson deal with the Braves.  The then-top prospect was coming off of Tommy John surgery and represented huge upside should he return healthy.

Unfortunately, he had a few setbacks, was limited to the bullpen and was not able to make it back to the Bigs until September of last year and had been surpassed by several players on the depth chart.  Thus, he was dealt back to whence he came in return for Tommy LaSTELLLLLLAAAAAA!!!!!!

I was lucky enough to land this purple parallel on Listia for less than 100 points.  Score!

(well, uh, Bowman actually. *rimshot*)

Michael Tucker was a MLB journeyman who called Chicago home for one season - 2001.  Like Arodys, he was a mid-season reinforcement, coming in a July trade from the Reds.  However, this time around, the Cubs were actually in the thick of the pennant race.

The outfielder was actually fairly adequate.  He batted .263 in the course of 235 PA's and was worth 1.2 WAR; so, we won't blame the 2001 Cubbie Collapse on Tucker.  After the Cubs choked away the NL Central in the final half of the season, they jettisoned Michael to the Royals for no one of consequence.

Sidenote - I've always appreciated minor league cards for the unfamiliar uniforms, so cards that depict high school teams are even more fascinating!

Todd was a late-inning reliever who had one good year, 1975, where he posted a 2.29 ERA in 122 innings with 12 saves.  Unfortunately, it wasn't with the Cubs.

His Cubs career was much uglier, with an ERA above 9 in just over 30 frames in 1977.

So, maybe we can blame the Cubbie Collapse of 1977 on Todd?  Well, amongst others as well anyway.

Regardless, I'm happy to add him to my CATRC in the proper uniform, even if the sleeve on said uniform has seen better days.

Ah, another 2001 Cub.  Although, this guy was the original edition of Carlos Zambrano.  I mean, not even Big Z was suspended for starting a bench-clearing brawl in a Spring Training game against the Giants!  

Stemming from that, Tavarez attacked the people of San Francisco later that year after being booed enthusiastically. This earned him a nice fine from the Cubs and an order into sensitivity classes by Bud Selig.

It's no coincidence that he played through 11 teams during his 17-year, MLB career.  

Luckily, that '52 Topps design will make any player look good.

"Cool Breeze" blew Chicago pretty quickly back in 1978.  In fact, he blew through a lot of towns over the course of his MLB tenure, being involved in 5 trades in just 8 years.

One in a long, long, loooooong line of third basemen who tried to fill Ron Santo's shoes, Scott lasted only 78 games before being shipped on down the line.  This was likely due to his problems with manager Herman Franks, with whom there was allegedly physical altercation.

Between he and Mr. Tavarez, there's an awful lot of anger in this particular post.

I've always had an affinity for 1978 Topps - it's a no frills design with the old umbrella logo that goes really well the the Cubs color scheme.  Bonus points for the excellent Wrigley Field photo too!

Ah, speaking of anger, in the wake of Bryant, Baez and Russell being sent back to minor league camp, let's examine another top prospect from the Cubs organization in the days of yore.

Unlike the Gary Scotts or Felix Pies, Phil proved useful to the Cubs - as trade fodder.  He was packaged with Calvin Schiraldi and future Sox broadcaster Darrin Jackson in 1989 for playoff-run reinforcements Luis Salazar and Marvell Wynne.

Meanwhile, I really wish Topps would revisit a subset based on players who debuted in the Majors again.  It's be an excellent opportunity to see some fresh faces on cardboard.

I love cards that feature defunct teams and I love these 1974 Topps with the large "traded" stamp (so very 70's). What a dilemma!

Pina was a late-inning fire-baller who had a pretty good career, though, his time on the Cubs was brief.   

The transaction celebrated here brought him to the north side in exchange for Bob Locker; he was only around for 34 games and 47.1 innings before being forwarded to the Angels for local hero Rick Stelmaszek that July.

His best success came in the Mexican League after his time in Chicago. Pina threw a no-hitter in 1975, posted a 21–4 record with a 1.94 ERA and pitched a perfect game in 1978 and gained induction in their Hall of Fame in 1988.

And, saving the best for last....

The very first card issued of our savior Jon Lester in his proper robes!*

This hobby shop exclusive beat his Heritage card to the market by just a few weeks.  It's a beauty too - I love the Cactus League motif in the background and I'm a sucker for all things color coordinated and shiny.

Plus, the Photoshopping isn't even particularly noticeable.  Maybe it's because I've taken several courses on the program, but subtlety seems pretty rare these days.

I've always had a thing for the Spring Fever set, but this is the first one I've been able to add to my collection.

* - excluding his Topps Bunt "card;" call me old school, but if I can't hold it, it ain't a card!

The new golden boy literally changing his clothes

image courtesy of hardballtalk.nbcsports.com

On that note, I'm going to call it a day.  I could use a nice positive spot to end on.

Although, it does always make me happy to add new cards to my CATRC, especially when they depict the best uniform in baseball!

Here's hoping that Lester and Cubs find a way to bring happiness to all of Chicago this season.  If not, I might slip into another mini-blogging slump or two and I don't know if anyone could handle that!

Ok, by anyone, I really just mean myself... and maybe my cat.

Hey - that works two ways!