Trade with My Cardboard Mistress

A few weeks ago, Adam (aka Spankee) over at My Cardboard Mistress posted about breaking a hobby box of 2010 Upper Deck. Coincidentally, I had picked up a few dozen packs as my free gift from Dave and Adam's Card World when I made large purchases for my group box breaks. I asked him to contact me when he was done sorting through his dupes and needs and a trade was born.

His package arrived over the weekend and mine is on its way to him right now. Adam took good care of my Want Lists from a couple of different 2012 sets. What I am about to show doesn't do the package justice but these are among my favorites.

A handful of Gypsy Queen (remember that set?) The reason I'm showing the Ryne Sandberg should be obvious but why Storen, Ackley and Beltre? The other 6-7 cards were all National League Central rivals. What are the odds of that? So they get the nod.

There were two cards from Archives so I figured I'd show them both even if one is on the Brewers. I'm down to my final 9 from the base set so if you think you can help, let me know!

Between Bowman and 1st Bowman Cards, there were easily 50+ in the package. That made a huuuuge dent in my Want List. Featured above is former Cubs pitcher Ted Lilly and former Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs pitcher (where Ryne Sandberg was his manager) Vance Worley. Kind of a big stretch to tie it in but hey, he's got a cool name too.

A couple of Carolina League veterans. Ian Gac is shown with the Braves although he did not play for the Lynchburg Hillcats. In fact, he was a member of the Winston-Salem Dash (White Sox affiliate), won the Carolina League MVP award in 2011 but was released? Matt Purke and Zach Walters have both played for my local team, the Potomac Nationals. 

And finally a couple of Cubs prospects. I don't know much about these guys yet but I wish them the best. Dillon Maples recently started playing for the AZL Cubs and has only pitched 2.2 innings in 2 appearances so far. Richard Jones is playing for the Daytona Cubs and has played in 59 games this season.

Thanks for the trade Adam! 

Cubs Shakeup

Like just about every other team this time of year, the Cubs are going through some changes. I understand them but that doesn't mean I have to like them. The timing is also odd seeing that the Cubs were 7-1-1 in their last nine series but 0-2 since the shakeup, including a current 5 game losing streak.

Those who follow this blog know that I enjoy the style of play Tony Campana brings to the game. Well, he was sent back down to AAA Iowa on Sunday. I know he hasn't had much playing time so going back to AAA should get him more and help his game but it still sucks.

On the bright side, they did play a decent game on Sunday, despite the loss. There were several lead changes and the Cubs didn't necessarily implode. Two of the top Cubs prospects also made their Major League debuts. The announcers said during Sunday's broadcast that Josh Vitters would probably make his debut Monday but he ended up pinch hitting in the pitcher's spot in the 7th inning.

The bigger debut was that of starting center fielder Brett Jackson. Although his first at-bat was an awkward foul-ball-off-his-foot-ruled-fair and thrown out, he did move the lead runner, David DeJesus into scoring position which helped when the next batter, Anthony Rizzo drove him in with a single. He followed that up with a walk and 2 singles before bring his day to a close with a strikeout.

He also scored his first run with an awkward slide on an Alfonso Soriano double in the 7th inning. Not sure what happened but it looked like he wanted to slide and tackle the catcher and it became a head first slide turned sideways barrel roll? Granted its his MLB debut but I would think sliding is taught earlier than that. If I can find a .gif later today, I'll add one.

Here a couple of cards I have been lucky enough to have signed by Brett Jackson. I sent them to someone who regularly 'graphs the Iowa Cubs last season and he got them done very promptly. Thanks Doug!

2010 Topps Pro Debut Brett Jackson

2011 Topps Pro Debut Brett Jackson

2009 Donruss Elite College Ties Brett Jackson & Jeff Kobernus

I picked up two College Ties cards and got them both signed by Jeff Kobernus when he was with the Potomac Nationals last season. I sent them both to Doug to get signed by Jackson, allowing him to keep one of them. Nice way to get a dual signed card! Not sure why they scanned so dark this time but they all look great in person.

I hope the Cubs can work out the kinks and take advantage of all of these prospects they seem to be getting in these trades. Waiting until next year is getting old (and I don't mean Waiting 'til Next Year, that one is cool). I guess only time will tell...

Sandberg Sunday - Porcelain Rookie

Sorry, forgot to "publish" this post on time.

This piece is one of the oldest in my collection but I have no memory of how or when I obtained it. It is still in its original package which is a good thing. Had it been opened, it probably would not have survived the numerous moves I've made in the last 20 years or so that I've had it.

It comes with a wood base to display it. Sorry, solid wood base. None of that hollow stuff here.

It is licensed by both licensed and MLB. I can't find any manufacturing or copyright date on it other than the 1983 listed on the card. After a quick search on eBay, there was a 1989 Topps Traded Ken Griffey Jr with a similar numbered tag from the back of the package. There was also a 1992 Derek Jeter with a different COA layout, but the same drawing was used and also had hand numbering. So I'm guessing around 1990-1991.

Plus, a "Limited" Edition Card number of at least 107165 screams late '80s-early '90s mass production era. I'd be surprised if there were 107165 copies of a cardboard Ryne Sandberg Topps rookie still around.

Signature Saturday - Jim Frey

I joined the Cubs bandwagon in 1984 at the ripe age of 5 (turning 6). I was really into baseball and had already played two years of T-Ball. My dad was the coach of my older brother's team so when not enough kids showed up, he'd stick me out in right field.

My dad was also in the Army and somehow we ended up in Moline, IL from the summer of 1984 to the summer of 1985. From what I remember, he spent a year in some kind of civilian exchange program and worked for John Deere that year. But what do I know, I was five.

Obviously, anyone who knows Cubs history (or even baseball in general), 1984 was a pretty big year for the team. All my little first grade friends were Cubs fans, so like any good little military brat trying to fit in at a new school, I became one too.

My dad claims we watched "The Sandberg Game" but I do not recall watching it as it happened. Of course I've heard the tale and seen the highlights during various rain delays on WGN over the years. But because I was so young, I'm sure most of my memories from that season are things I've read or heard or saw on TV later and not actual firsthand memories.

In last week's Signature Saturday, I showcased a couple of Bob Dernier autographs I had gotten on some old Unocal prints. I had a different print that somehow survived various moves througout the years and in the early years of eBay, I put together what I think is a complete set, plus a few extras. Some of them feature individual Cubs, past and (at the time) present while others did events. Here are a couple that show former Cubs manager Jim Frey that I mailed to him a couple of years ago and he returned autographed.

There is a white border that goes all around the photo but for some reason my scanner saw the sides and bottom but not the top so the cropping looks weird. I scanned the backs so hopefully you can enlarge them to see what constituted Frey being considered one of the "Great Cubs Managers" and read about his "Victory Lap" in late September 1984.

I don't remember much about his reign as manager, but watching the Cubs teams a few years later when he was made the General Manager are some of the my fondest childhood memories. Frey is a longtime friend of former Cubs manager Don Zimmer and I know I've expressed my favoritism towards the "Boys of Zimmer" before on this blog.

I have a Jim Frey ATCRCS card in the works and hope to get that out in the mail soon.

ATCRCS: First Pitch Friday - Will Ferrell

"It's a simple question, Doctor. Would you eat the moon if it were made of ribs?"

(If you don't get the joke, click the link on the bottom of the post.)

Love him or hate him, Will Ferrell is now part of this set. Some of his work is brilliant while others...let's just say can be a little over the top. Ferrell made his appearance last week promoting his new movie "The Campaign" with his co-star, Zach Galifiankis. Hopefully its not one of those movies where all the best parts are in the preview because it does look pretty funny.

The following is a video of their starting lineup announcements. It starts a little slow but then they kick it up a notch with some embellishments to a few of the players' resumes.

And here we have what I'm pretty sure is a clip from the ESPN documentary on Steve Bartman called Catching Hell. Ferrell is asked to do his impression of Harry Caray calling the Bartman incident.

And finally, I couldn't figure out how to link to this youtube video but its hilarious!

Phillies @ Nationals Game 8/1/2012

This will be one of those random non-Cubs related posts although I'll probably tie it in by the end.

I've mentioned before that my kids are Cubs fans-turning Nationals fans. Its a combination of living in the area, maybe a little peer pressure from their friends, all the Strasburg/Harper hype and taking them to the Potomac Nationals games. But they know enough about the Cubs to keep me happy and its fun to have a little rivalry in the household.

I was given tickets through my work for the Phillies-Nationals game last night. They've been completely spoiled going to Single A baseball games as far as autographs go, so I was a little worried when they wanted to try for autographs at a Major League game. I posted a question over on Sportscollectors.net asking for any tips and got some good responses from other members.

The game time was 7:05 pm. They open the center field gates 2 1/2 hours before game time and the rest of the stadium 1 1/2 hours before. We got there a little before 4:30 so we hit up a street vendor for some cheaper hot dogs and drinks. After we got in, you can hang out in the outfield to watch the Nationals take batting practice. There weren't a ton of people right at 4:30 but the closer it got to the 5:30 time of allowing you to go throughout the stadium, more people were trickling in. I feel like if I had brought a glove and tried, I probably could have come away with a BP home run ball. Several guys looked like they do it a lot and came away with a couple balls each. Maybe next time. 

Once they let us in to the rest of the stadium at 5:30, we made a beeline to right above the Nats dugout. But the Nats were heading into the locker room so that the Phillies could take BP. The dugout roof is about 6-7 feet deep and they have netting that runs from the dugout to the foul pole on each side during BP so there's not really any way to get autographs unless a player really wants to sign. Ian Desmond eventually came out and signed autographs from the dugout steps. People were throwing balls to him, he'd sign them and unfortunately for those getting them signed, roll them back across the dugout or even lightly toss them and they'd end up bouncing. My kids only had cards and I don't know how they got them to him because I was standing off to the side, but they each ended up getting a card. Also, unfortunately for those with baseballs, he ran with a black sharpie.

That was it for pregame autographs. We didn't see any Phillies sign pregame but weren't necessarily looking over at all times. We weren't allowed by the dugouts during Nationals BP and when the Phillies came out for theirs, they were warming up. When they were done, they all went back in. Not really any opportunity.

The game itself was pretty good but there were a ton of Phillies fans. Hard to tell who was the home team. The Nats scored 2 runs in the first but a solo home run by Jimmy Rollins and then later back-to-back homers by Rollins and Nick Schierholtz (in his Phillies debut) were too much to handle. Starting Nats pitcher Edwin Jackson was thrown out at the plate in a close play early in the game and Danny Espinosa hit a bomb in the bottom of the 9th that was caught at the wall.

We decided to try for some autographs after the game by the players entrance/exit outside the stadium and did pretty well. They're seemed to be some regulars there that were pretty helpful. It was dark out and my night vision is getting to be a little suspect so I wasn't as good at recognizing the players from where we were allowed to stand and wait. We saw just about everybody come out but only a couple of guys stopped to sign. Some ignored us, some were "on the phone" while others acknowledged but said not tonight. Pretty typical would be my guess.

My kids each got one card signed by these guys. 

Ross Detwiler

Gio Gonzalez (seemed like a cool guy, posed for pictures)

Adam LaRoche (the middle one got smeared so I hopped in the line and got one done myself)

Drew Storen (after I got one from LaRoche, my wife wanted to get one too so we ended up with 4 from Storen)

All told, they ended up with 13 autographs from 5 different players. Not too bad for our first try at Nationals Park.

This is how I'm going to tie it in to the Cubs. For Father's Day, my wife got me Diamond Club seats for the Nationals game when the Cubs come to town on Labor Day. So this was kind of a dry run for that game as I will be trying to get some Cubs autographs then. I didn't see many opportunities to get the visiting team so I might have to arrive super early and get them as they come into the stadium. We'll see!

ZAMBRANO-NO!

Last night's near no-hitter of the Cubs by Pittsburgh's AJ Burnett reminded me of a custom card I made a few weeks ago but never posted. In the same series as Darwin Barney's Sweep and Anthony Rizzo's Riz-zonkulous, I bring you:

Of course, Zambrano-no is a play on his last name and the term no-no which is used as slang for a no-hitter. Much of the 2008 season is a blur for me and I'd rather it stayed in the past. It marks the last time the Cubs went to the post-season and the second first round exit in a row. Both sweeps, too. Blech.

And the location listed on the card is no mistake. Zambrano of the Chicago Cubs no-hit the Houston Astros in Milwaukee. The Astros were technically the home team but were displaced because of a hurricane (Ike?) so they played at a "neutral" location. Of course, this was controversial for the Astros because Milwaukee is so close to Chicago that the although the Astros batted second, the Cubs definitely had the crowd behind them for a "home field" advantage.

This would have been the most I have ever seen of a real time no-hitter. I usually only get to see highlights after the fact or maybe the last inning if they do a live cut-in. I tuned in to WGN around the 4th inning so I got to see a good chunk of this game. Stark contrast to Sunday night's slug fest.

After watching Burnett's little hissy fit though, I'm glad Adrian Cardenas was able to poke one through to the outfield. Nowhere near the grace that Armando Galarraga showed during his blown perfect game and the umpire was correct in this game.

There isn't much to cheer about when you almost get no-hit. Except maybe that the Cubs extended their current MLB record of longest time period of not being no-hit (or team hitting streak if you want to call it that). The last time the Cubs were no-hit was Sandy Koufax's perfect game against them on September 9, 1965. So the Cubs may not have won a World Series in my lifetime, but they've hit in every game!