Un Pequeno Trade with Nachos Grande

Wow!  I can’t believe it’s been 11 days since our last post.  Trust me, that wasn’t intentional.  Free time has been virtually non-existent the past couple weeks over here, which is both good and bad.  Good because life matters such as wedding plans and holiday shopping are getting taken care of.  Bad because there’s been very little time for card related stuff.  I not only haven’t posted in a long time, but I personally haven’t so much as looked at a blog in days at this point.  Many days for me it seems to be one or the other. I can post or I can read what other people have posted.  Lately, it’s been neither.  I’d be lying if I said this is likely to change as Christmas nears.

But, I have some time right now, and I have a long overdue trade post (I know…a trade post after an 11-day hiatus, you’ll probably never come back now) that I certainly don’t want to see pushed back to January if I can help it.  After all, Nachos Grande posts regularly and timely, so I can at least attempt to do the same.  I sent off some of my 2004 UD Vintage cards to help with his set needs and he shipped over a few Greg Maddux cards and some other random Cubbies.  Let’s take a look, shall we?

Rainbow Tiger strikes cardboard

Ah, mid ’90s Stadium Club craziness!  How I missed thee!  I’m well versed in the wacky fonts and the “extreme” design concepts thanks to my basketball collecting.  They tried so, so hard to give every card visual pop, when in reality the end result is busy-ness and a odor of trying-too-hard.  It’s the Poochie of the card world.  Yet…I like it.

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It kind of looks like something you would cut out from a magazine to me.  In short, not very “impact”ful.

Fake Facsimile Autograph

His real signature is much more illegible than that.  It must be one of those standard fonts.  It’s always nice to get a Heritage card.  Getting one from about 5-6 years before I knew Heritage existed is even better.  One of the cartoons on the back calls him “Doggie.”  That’s the second time I’ve come across this (the other was 2007 Bowman Heritage).  I am not a fan of the nickname based on a nickname attempt.  What’s wrong with sticking to “Mad Dog?”  If you’re commenting on him getting older, then call him “Bulldog” to account for the drooping jowls.

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I actually already had this card.  I got it in a big lot of Maddux cards I won from ebay.  If anyone needs a copy, let me know.  I don’t know much about this set, but it seems nice enough.  The foil isn’t overdone.  The ribbons with the team colors and the rays of light shooting from the bottom add the pomp to the all-star circumstance.

Ken Griffey Jr. says...trade him! Trade him now!

Along with the Maddux cards for the personal collection, Nachos also sent over some random Cubbies that would make any fan run the gamut of emotions.  Here are a couple players we’re desperately hoping to move, although the likelihood of either going anywhere is low.

Will the Rays trade him for Matt Garza if I throw in the entire mini rainbow?

Z had a great bounce back after his therapy last year.  We can only hope he’ll recreate that success and finally become an ace.  Or, we could ship him off to another club and let some other poor saps worry about such things.  Hey, he threw a no-hitter!  Who wants him?  Comes with 1-year free gatorade machine repair!

Cubs +Pitcher = injury!

And a couple players we want back.  I don’t think Woody is coming back due to Chicago payroll concerns, and he probably wants to be a closer if he’s not setting up for Mariano.  But I know most of us will always leave the door open if he’s interested (in an incentive-laden deal – can’t be too careful with his history).  If he does re-sign with NYY, expect a couple DL stints.  After all, they do have Rothschild as their pitching coach now.

Fingers crossed

Angel also has a history of injury problems.  He also had a very tough year personally with the death of his brother.  I think a lot of people assumed he would never pitch again after the combo hit in spring training this year, but he’s been given a non-roster invitation for 2011.  I’m hoping he can put something together, because he’s very good when not hurt and our bullpen needs a great comeback like him.

Did someone say comeback?

So much hope when he was traded.  So much.  Sigh.

Stumpy has a question for ya

The only reason I’m showing this card is because it confused the hell out of me for several minutes.  It says “the ’06 Cubs set the all-time record for wins with 116.”  That just didn’t sound right.  Did I sleep through that season?  Thankfully my brain finally relieved me and told me they were talking about 1906, since 2006 hadn’t happened yet by the time this card was produced.  Silly fourth dimension.  Always playing tricks on people.

Slidin' Sammy Sosa

Another mid-90s Stadium Club effort.  These pictures are so tiny that you can’t truly see the Cause to go along with the Effect.  To me, it looks like Sammy is diving back to first in the main picture, so him sliding is the cause and the effect should be showcasing the pick-off throw.  If you want to talk about stealing second.  The cause would be a ball in the dirt or a pitcher not paying attention, which causes the effect of the stolen base.  Either way, a pitcher should be featured to complete the equation.

I’ll let you wrap your heads around that some and just say “Thank you” again to Nachos Grande for the trade.  You’ve probably all traded with him at some point, since he’s such a prolific trader and all, but if you haven’t, go check out his want lists.  You’ll be glad you did.

See you all next time (hopefully before another 11 days pass)!

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