Mini Cubs...Well, Some Mini Cubs, Lots of Mini Ex-Cubs

I picked up the Cubs mini team set; though I'm not sure why.  I am officially tired of the mini cards.  Topps put out a test mini set in 1975 and then decided to stick with the 2½" by 3½" cards.  Minis showed up again in 1987 and as they did in 1975, Topps decided to ditch the idea.  So why, now, does it seem like minis show up in every set?  Once, as a homage to the '75s...fine.  But why continue to release them?  The previews of next year's set show that there will be 1972 minis.   The '72 set was funkadelicly great, but there weren't any '72 minis.

Enough with the minis!  or should I say Enough with the minis! 

Not only am I tired of the minis, but when I look through the 23 Cubs in the set, I get to see just what a disaster this season has been.  There are 23 Cubs cards (of 22 players...Castro gets two cards).  Of the 23, only nine are on the active roster right now.  Talk about turnover!

Before I get to the Cubs cards, a little comparison....

A 75 mini next to a 2012 mini....this years' card is just a bit shorter

The mini side by side with the base card

The 2012 mini next to the '87 mini in the 2012 set

OK...on to the Cubs, 

 

  

  

  starting with the eight players (nine cards) on the active roster...Barney, Castro, LaHair, Marmol, Rizzo, Soriano, V0-9lstad, and Samardzija

 

Garza and Stewart are on the DL

  

 

Campana, Dolis, Sappelt, and Wells are all in the minors

 

 

Baker (Tigers), Dempster (Rangers), Johnson (Braves), Maholm (Braves), and Soto (Rangers) were all traded away.

Kerry Wood retired

And Marlon Byrd was retired by the Red Sox after the Cubs sent him to Beantown in April.