Topps Cards That Should Have Been: 2007 Cubs

2007 and 2008 were the little blips on the radar in between the 'we almost made the World Series' year in 2003 and the eventual playoff runs under Joe Maddon for the Chicago Cubs. And that's something I always forget, because this was around the time I was getting into baseball and the hobby. The Cubs were GOOD. Sports Illustrated had a cover like 'THIS YEAR', but in Japanese because this was the Kosuke Fukudome season and everybody thought he'd be a thing past 2008. And while the Cubs couldn't get past the division series either of those years, they still brought forward some piecemeal efforts that do add to my ongoing project to connect the dots of Topps products.

For instance. Geovany Soto has a rookie card in 2006 Topps, and won the Rookie of the Year award in 2008. But he did not have a Topps card in 2007, because the Cubs had Michael Barrett, Jason Kendall, Koyie Hill and Henry Blanco to play catcher. Soto, to his credit, was brought up in September as a backup to mostly Kendall, and in 18 games he hit .389 with 21 hits, 8 RBIs and 3 homers, including another home run in the postseason. Slowly, Soto was becoming more and more of a viable catching option. For 2008, they'd let Kendall sign with Milwaukee, keep Hill and Blanco as backups and go forward with Soto, to great success. 
 

Onto fringier ones. In 2001 and 2002, Wade Miller was one of the most consistent starting pitchers in the NL, and was a big piece of the early 2000s Astros teams. Around 2004, injuries would dull his arm, and he'd make half the appearances he would in his prime, eventually being shuffled to Boston and then Chicago. In his final season, Miller made 3 starts and it was clear that his arm was no longer trustworthy, as he posted a 10.54 ERA with 16 earned runs. 

Steve Trachsel, as strong as a pitcher he was for the Cubs and Mets, is best remembered as the answer to a trivia question, that being 'who gave up Mark McGwire's 62nd home run of 1998'. I think he goes in the same category as Al Downing, a great, consistent starter known by one pitch to one batter. Trachsel was still kicking around in 2007, at age 36, and after a decent start in Baltimore, the Cubs came calling once again. In 4 stretch starts, Trachsel had an 8.31 ERA with, ironically considering Miller, 16 earned runs, and only 11 Ks. Trachsel would return to Baltimore in 2008 with similar results. Ironically again, Topps would document both Orioles stints, but not the Cubs one, despite the sentimental value. 

I'll figure out more of these to pull up. I feel like, given the stubbornness of the MLB owners, I'll be doing these for a bit this spring.