There are only ten Cubs among the 330 card set. That's a little lower than the past couple years. The one glaring omission is lefty reliever Sean Marshall. Poor Sean gets no respect from Topps. They placed him in the traded set three of the previous four sets, the base set only once. This is despite the fact that he has averaged 62 appearance over that past four seasons. And he has been a very good pitcher, too. Yet in 2011 he gets completely left out. I don't get it?
One good thing about the updated set is that it is easier to peg the dates of the pictures on the cards, since most were taken in the early part of the 2011 season. I was able to make a good guess on seven of the ten.
Tony Campana, picture taken June 4 against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. And if you don't believe me, check this out!
Welington Castillo, May 12. He played in only two games at Wrigley. This looks like a day game; his other home appearance was at night.
Starlin Castro, obviously the All Star Game. This is the fifth inning. Castro pinch ran for Troy Tulowitzki and stole second and third base before being thrown out at home on a fielders choice. The card also gives a good look at the #10 Santo patch, that was moved from his right sleeve, replaced by the All Star patch.
Casey Coleman....Not a clue when this was taken!
Koyie Hill....I could only narrow it down to three dates, May 27-29. That is the Pirates Chris Snyder in the on deck circle. Hill and Snyder caught all three games, all day games. Nothing else in the card helps me get a more specific date.
Reed Johnson, April 21...Johnson hit a walk off homer in the 11th inning against the Padres and this is him celebrating on his way around the bases. The back of the card also mentions the homer.
D.J. LeMahieu, June 20. This is the 4th inning of the game against the Sox at the Cell. A.J. is sliding into D.J, but the double play was completed.
Carlos Pena...not a clue here!
James Russell, some time after May when the ivy bloomed, otherwise, no idea.
Kerry Wood, on Opening Day, April 1. As the team was introduced, Wood got a great hand and the fans welcomed the prodigal back home. Look down the line a bit and you'll see Reed Johnson wearing the Ron Santo hat. All the players wore them during BP and warm-ups that day.
Like Rain Man with baseball cards (and a computer). "May the 12th, definitely May the 12th. Day game. May the 12th" You're the best, man. :) I think word verification was making a comment. It was reedif.
ReplyDeleteDamn, thats crazy that you can tell which game the picture is from. Totally awesome.
ReplyDeleteSean Marshall was one of the best set-up men in the game this year. I would rather have him in the 2011 set than Nady, Silva, Gorzelanny, Mateo, or Beef.
ReplyDeleteLove the Reed card! I'm glad Topps would capture a bright spot in an otherwise forgettable season.
That's cool, regarding the Hill card. I was there the 29th vs. Pittsburgh and again on Monday, Memorial Day vs. the Astros. Maybe I'm at that very game, lol. Memorial Day was pretty cool, with the eagle landing during the national anthem, the jets blowing over the stadium and the glowing green Chicago relish on my hot dogs. Looking forward to another weekend in Chicago to catch a few games in 2012.
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