Not So Much Closing Day

Andy and I just took in a Cubs game together. The Cubs defeated the reigning champion Giants 4-3, but not after some come-to-be-expected drama from the Cubs bullpen.

We entered the 9th inning leading 2-0 thanks to solo homers by David DeJesus (which the announcer pronounced Da-Hey-Juice) and Starlin “Still No Walks” Castro.  You may have heard that Carlos Marmol was relieved of his closer duties.  For some reason it was big baseball news.  Locally, sure, I understand.  But nationally?  Why would most people really care what’s happening in the bullpen of a probably last place team?

Anyway, Marmol was replaced by the newest Japanese bidding war import Fujikawa.  He sucked.  He’s probably worse than Marmol and a huge waste of money so far.  He, along with a couple of very close plays that rightfully went SF’s way, allowed three runs.

Somehow, a pinch hitter with a .083 average hit a home run off of a legitimate closer with 6 saves and 0.00 ERA to tie the game (before it happened I told Andy that he was due.  Don’t question me!) and Castro ripped a double off the wall to score the walk-off hit.  It was a roller coaster ride.

Let’s just say that the Cubs bullpen is in shambles.  None of them would be drinking coffee if Alec Baldwin had anything to say about it.

This is from the Cubs team set and looks better than his eventual 2012 card

As far as my collection goes, I’m giving my vote of confidence to Carlos Marmol. He’s still my closer, and will be for the long haul.

That's it! Build up your confidence

There’re a couple reasons why I’m continuing my collection, despite his obvious deterioration.

You're going to see this picture a couple more times in this post

Despite his unfulfilled promise, he still holds claim to a couple really amazing seasons as an unhittable closer.  It was a spot that he earned and deserved.

Your regular, run of the mill mini

So, he may have peaked, or lost his control, or teams have simply figured him out, but his past successes are still enough in my mind to make this quest worthwhile.

One of many swatches in my home

The other big reason is that my collection is relatively big.  I have 68 of a possible 144 cards that are on my want list.  That’s 47.22% of all Marmol cards with a print run of 50 or higher.  How can I turn off that faucet?

I still need a few more variations, but this is the big one out of the way

Besides, I can get things like this no numbered mini for cheap, because other people are abandoning their collections or don’t want to add him to anything they are chasing.

I ain't rubbing nothin'!

Something like this Venezuelan back was had for the bare minimum.  I know a lot of these were going cheaply early on, but for a card with an estimated print run of only 64, that’s really not too bad.  Especially on release week.  The benefits of a fallen star.

This completes my 2008 Triple Threads rainbow!

Hey look!  I got a hit off of Marmol, too!  Hopefully, I’ll continue to rack them up.  This is the last one in my folder to show off.  You’ve seen all 68 on this blog throughout the years.

I guess that means I’ve done something that Carlos couldn’t do, and that’s close something out.  Although I still need 76 more cards to finish what I started.  I’m up for the challenge, even if Marmol turns out not to be.