"Big Z" reaches 100

Carlos Alberto Zambrano of the Chicago Cubs reached victory 100 last night ! Now I know that his 100 wins is over shadowed by Randy Johnson reaching 300 wins earlier this week but the Cubs and Zambrano should celebrate just a little bit.

Zambrano becomes only the fourth Chicago Cub pitcher in the last fifty years to reach that plateau with the club; thats right he is now in the company of HOF'r Ferguson Jenkins, soon to be HOF'r Greg Maddux and the powerful Rick Reuschel as the only Cub pitchers in the modern era to garner 100 wins wearing Cubbie Blue.

Zambrano also hit his franchise record 18th career homerun to help the Cubs win 2 - 1 while allowing only 2 hits through 6 2 /3 innings. He celebrated his 28th birthday last week; comes off his suspension, hits a homerun, pitches a gem and then announces he "wants to retire when his current contract expires" in 2012.

It bothers me that after a strong performance on the mound (and at the plate), reaching a minor milestone (100 wins is minor in the overall scheme of things) this three time all-star and two time silver slugger awardee is bombarded with questions concerning reaching 300 wins. I guess that is the state of the game these days - the constant comparison and pressure to achieve stratosphere status. Zambrano makes $ 16 million this year, will make upwards of $ 50 million more by the time his contract runs out . . . why should he even contemplate pitching after he turns 32 ? ! He is the state of the game - play hard, play to win, play with emotion and energy, get paid buckets of money and "retire" !

I like to celebrate "little" things like; a beautiful Florida sunset, an unsolicited hug or "I love you" from my daughter, finding an extra $ 20 in my pocket, receiving a bubble mailer with baseball cards from the mail box, and a Chicago Cub pitcher reaching 100 wins !

Congratulations "Big Z", this Cubs fan wants you to pitch strong, hard and win as many more games as you can. Never mind personal milestones, lets get the World Series Ring . . . then you can "retire".

my first relic

in a trade that was completed a couple of weeks back, Matt from heartbreaking cards of staggering genius sent me (4) 1970 Topps cards I needed from my want list - I had previously sent him (4) 1971 Topps from his list. However, that was not enough as Matt included a post-it note stating "here are some bonus Cubs for you".

The words "some" and "bonus" do not adequately describe what he sent: about 50 cards from some early eighties (1981 Fleer Jim Tracey; 1983 Donruss Gary Woods and Dave Henderson, and 1985 Donruss Leaf Jody Davis and Keith Moreland) to "modern" cards of today including: 2009 Topps Heritage (a new favorite of mine since they correspond to the Topps 1960's set, my birth year - this set is also on my birthday wish list given to my wife and daughter, birthday being in May). Hopefully they read my blog . . .

and my first A & G Relic bat card: Derrek Lee ! This mini card is in a single screw plastic holder which adds thickness to the scan so that is why it is a little blurry. I like this card, especially the colorful palm tree leaves in the corners (reminds me of my life in Florida especially while I am indoors writing and reading blogs).

All of the other cards Matt sent have now been added to my team sets, year by year binders and greatly appreciated.

Thank you Matt for adding a new definition to the words "some"and "bonus" ! And especially for my first relic card !