Anonymous PWE Bomb?

So I came home yesterday to a PWE with no return address and an illegible postmark. Someone who has my address and knows what I collect only limits this to about 50-100 possible candidates. Maybe somebody I myself bombed last week with my "pay it forward" post? Or maybe somebody starting a war who does not want retaliation. Hmmm.

Regardless, I would like to thank my mystery donor publicly since I can't do it personally. Thanks for the Target Red parallels!

We've got a trio of Rookie Cards including one of the best cards of the year below in Blake Parker. I'm starting to think about going after the rainbow on this one.

And a fourth Target Red parallel, this one from Series 2.

An added bonus is that all four cards were new to me. I had a few Reds from Series 1 but that was it. Putting together these parallel sets might get me through the rest of the offesason.

Thanks again, mystery donor!

Sweeping 2013 Under the Rug

With this post I am wrapping up my 2013 custom Cubs team set. This year, I skipped the manager and coaches cards and still managed to come up with 57 cards in the set. That's one for every player who played a game for the Cubs this season (56) and one card commemorating the Cubs lone All-Star (Travis Wood). No Gold Glove card again for Darwin Barney (or Anthony Rizzo, the only other Cubs finalist). And certainly no other major awards that have yet to be announced.

So here are the latest seven players to make their season or Cubs debut in no particular order. Six pitchers and one catcher.

Alberto Cabrera made his MLB debut last season but was called up again this September. He pitched 6 innings over 7 appearances. He did not factor into any decisions but the Cubs were 0-7 in games he appeared in. It's a horrible position to be in to just come off the bench to eat innings.

Brooks Raley also made his debut last year but had two stints with the Cubs this season. And again like Cabrera, Raley ate up some middle innings with no decisions in 9 appearances. The Cubs were 1-8 in those games.

Chang-Yong Lim made his Major League debut this year after playing 12 years in the Korean Baseball Organization and 5 more in the Japan Central League. When he made his Cubs debut, it was the fifth level in the organization he played for this year. Another middle innings guy with no decisions in six appearances.

Let's switch it up a little and go with a catcher. J.C. Boscan signed with the Cubs in the offseason and spent most of 2013 with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs. With Welington Castillo injured towards the end of the season, Boscan spelled backup catched Dioner Navarro a few times and even got a pair of starts. 

Back to pitchers. Justin Grimm came to Cubs in a multiplayer deal with the Rangers for Matt Garza. He went 0-2 in ten appearances but the Cubs went a respectable-for-them 4-6 in those games. Grimm even makes a cameo on the Boscan card above.

Scott Baker signed with the Cubs last November after sitting out most of 2012 to have Tommy John surgery. He should have been ready to this year but had some setbacks. Baker didn't make his Cubs debut until September where pitched 5 innings of shutout, two hit baseball but didn't get a decision as the Cubs offense provided no help in what was ultimately a 3-1 loss to the Brewers.

While Grimm was traded for Matt Garza, Zac Rosscup was traded with Matt Garza from the Tampa Bay Rays prior to the 2011 season. He's been steadily rising through the Cubs ranks since and made his Major League debut on September 3. The Cubs were 0-10 in Rosscup's appearances but he allowed only one run in his 6 2/3 innings pitched for a 1.35 ERA. In those appearances, the Cubs scored 3 runs or less of offensive spport in nine of the ten. Wow.

After that recap, it is probably a little easier to see why it took so long for me to do the writeup on this last group. Ugh. But now it's over and done with. The World Series is over and done with. Bring on 2014!

To see all 57 cards in this set, click here!