Does It Include Brian?

Yesterday it was announced that the Cubs awarded 60 full shares of playoff money.  It comes to $368,605.94 per person.  That's a pretty tidy sum for the minor leaguers, part-time players, and clubhouse staff.  The Cubs also awards 8.7 partial shares and four cash awards.

My question is this...

How much did Brian Matusz get?

Do you remember Brian?  He started one game for the Cubs on July 31.  He allowed six runs in three innings.  He was released the next day.  Luckily the Cubs were able to come back and win the game he started, with Jon Lester laying down a walk off bunt in the 12th inning.

So the Cubs won the one and only game Matusz pitched.  Is that worth a full share?  partial share?  Two bucks?

All I've Got of Him: Rich Hill

Three years for $48 million for a 36 year old?  Yikes!

A guy who was pitching in independent ball just a couple seasons ago sure hit paydirt.  The Dodgers keep shelling out dollars.

Rich Hill was originally Cubs property and came up in 2005.  There was all sorts of hype about his curveball.  I actually was at Wrigley Field when he made his debut, on June 15, 2005.  Greg Maddux started against the Marlins and got shelled.    He pitched an inning and got two strikeouts...and gave up three hits and two runs.

A few years later I saw him pitch in the second to last game of the 2007 season in Cincinnati.  The Cubs had clinched the division the day before, so the position players were mostly bench guys.  Hill pitched but the game was seen as a warmup to the playoffs.  He dominated, giving up just one hit in six innings of work.  In fact, the hit came in the sixth inning, so he was working on a no-no until then.

In the playoffs he gave up three runs in 3+ innings of work in game 3 as the Diamondbacks completed their sweep.

The next season he lost his command.  He pitched 19 innings for the Cubs and gave up 18 walks.  By early May he was sent to the minors where he continued walking batters at an unhealthy rate.  He was sold to the Orioles over the winter.  The Rich Hill Era in Chicago was over.

During his four years with the Cubs I ended up with 27 of his cards.  He was in quite a few products including Ginter, Baseball Heroes, Bowman, Fleer, Goudey, Heritage, Masterpieces, Opening Day, Topps, and Upper Deck.

Regretting? Um, No!

Someone posted a thread in one of the card forums with the title "Cubs Regretting Chapman Trade??"  His premise is that Gleyber Torres, the main piece to the Yankees in the Chapman trade, tore things up in the Arizona Fall League and the the Cubs paid too high of a rental price.

Obviously the writer is not a Cubs fan.

Chapman helped lead the Cubs to a World Championship.

I don't care if Torres ends up some day in Cooperstown.  It was still a great deal for the Cubs.  

It's not like the Cubs were mortgaging the future for the present.  Their infield is loaded with young stars and is set for years to come. They are also under club control for the next several years.

Having a loaded farm system and an All Star infield means you can trade the prospects to fill holes. Theo did just that.  It was a no-brainer.

Five Random Cubs Cards

I've got 14,496 Cubs cards from 109 different brands listed on a spreadsheet. A random number generator picked five cards, one each from the past several decades.

1900s - 1970s: 1911 T201 John Kling Leonard Cole  This is a reprint from the T201 set. The cards were two-in-one.  By folding the top over you got a card of Leonard Cole.  Lift up the Cole top and you have a card of John Kling.  Pretty clever.

1980s: 1987 Topps #383 Ron Davis Davis was drafted by the Cubs in 1976, traded to the Yankees in the Ken Holtzman trade in 1978, had several good years with the Yankees, moved on to the Twins, and then the Cubs reacquire him in August, 1986.  His best days were behind him as he posted an ERA over six during his time with the Cubs.

1990s: 1996 Collectors Choice #80 Mark Grace This horizontal card gives a clear look at the Cubs Cuba road jerseys. I'm glad these didn't last very long.

2000s: 2005 Topps Chrome Autograph #223 Chad Balsko  Yes, no Cubs collection is complete unless you have an autographed card of Chad Blasko.  The guy was injured and didn't pitch in 2005 or 2006.  He resurfaced in independent ball in 2007.

2010s: 2016 Berger's Best #2016 Kyle Schwarber It seems kinda silly to have a reprint of a card from the same year the card was released.  But silly has never stopped Topps.

1978 Vs Topps Then and Now

Just a quick look at the original 1978 managers card and the 2016 Topps Now version

It's pretty close, but as always, there are differences.

• The biggest difference would be that the original was for one person, while the new version has two.
• The font used on the top of the  card is different. The original is more stylized, while the new is pretty plain
• The font on the bottom of the original card was larger and bolder than on the new card
• The original Cubs name was thicker and a darker shade compared to the updated version.

Then and Now Billy Williams

I've stayed away from Topps Now thus far.  The initial price per card scared me away, and then with the success the Cubs had, more and more cards were made and I quickly realized that I'd never be able to afford to catch up.

I did make an exception, though.

This was picked up for my Billy Williams collection.  It comes from the special Thursday Then and Now cards.  I got mine second hand, off of Ebay instead of from Topps, which I believe saved me a few bucks.

While I'm happy to add another Billy card, I'm still scratching my head Topps pairing of him with Ben Zobrist...

• Billy spent almost his entire career with the Cubs; Zobrist has been with the team for one.
• Billy was a left handed batter while Zobrist is  a switch hitter
• Billy had a sweet swing, while Zobrist has that funky wiggle before he takes a rip.
• Billy played left field while Zobrist spent most of the season at second base, with a little outfield thrown in.
• Billy hit for power, averaging 28 homers per season, Zobrist averages ten less
• Billy is in the Hall of Fame, Zobrist would only make the Hall of Versatility.

And what do they have in common?

• Billy played for the Cubs, Zobrist played for the Cubs.

I guess that is good enough.

All I've Got of Them: The Other Williams'

I have the same problem with Billy Williams as I do with Ernie Banks...other Cub players with the same last name.  In fact, with Billy the problem is five times worse....there are five other Williams in my collection besides Billy.

You could probably name two of them...

...Mitch Williams and Jerome Williams.

But the other three, no.  We're talking seriously hard-core fans to come up with them.  In fact, I have just one card for each of the three.

This one was from this year's Heritage Minor, so there is a very slight chance you'd remember Ryan Williams.

 

If you said you knew Cy Williams and Dana Williams....I don't believe you!

I've got a total of 34 other Williams in my collection.  The cards in the tile are arranged alphabetically by their first name.