Joe Maddon, the Mad Scientist pt2

On Sunday Night, Joe Maddon had his Chicago Cubs team arrive in Houston wearing throwback basketball uniforms.  Since it's (Throwback) Thursday and the NBA Finals will kick off let's review what was worn.

We begin with Jon Lester sporting a Penny Hardaway pinstripe jersey and the old school Penny sneakers.

This may have been my personal favorite of the bunch considering that Penny was one of my three favorite basketball players growing up.  The others being Reggie Miller and Tim Hardaway.

I just showed off my Lester autograph last week when I questioned the impact prospects have on our hobby.

This wins best original concept award.  Cole Hamels as Jackie Moon sporting a Flint Tropics jersey made famous by Will Ferrell.  FANTASTIC CHOICE MR. HAMELS!

Here is another Just Minors dual signature card I have of Cutch, this time featuring Cole Hamels.

Also a printing plate featuring McCutchen and Hamels

Since it is Chicago, what kind of team would the Cubs be if they didn't support an All-Time Great and Chicago Bulls Legend, Michael Jordan?  Jason Heyward stepped up to the plate and he looks like he could actually ball.

Yet, another Just Minors dual auto card.

But wait, there's more...
Cutch, Heyward, another Maddon favorite, David Price

A dual History of Game card

And a printing plate from Just Minors

And a sexta jersey booklet

Want more basketball jerseys?  How about Albert Amora and Anthony Rizzo both sporting recently retired Dwayne Wade Miami Vice jerseys.

Plenty of Rizzo cards to go around which I've already shown off here.

And to wrap things up, the greatest act of all.  El Mago, the Magician Javy Baez, doing his checkups as the Doctor, Julius Erving.

And we finish with a sexta autograph booklet featuring autographs of Anthony Rendon, Javy Baez, Josh Bell, Ryan Zimmerman, Starlin Castro, and of course Cutch.

Who are you rooting for in the NBA Finals?

I Wander What's Better? To have Moore or Lester?

I like being punny sometimes, but I was looking at the pre 2012 prospect ratings (Mainly because I was tracking Josh Bell's minor league lack of hype) and noticed a crazy name at the top of the list.

That name was Matt Moore.  Now granted he had just come off a memorable post season and was primed to be the next guy up in the long list of Tampa Bay Rays future aces.  Below Moore on the list were a few guys named Mike Trout and Bryce Harper.

Harper has been a bit of a disappointment excluding that one Ruthian season in 2015 when he had a WAR over 10 for the season.  Consequently that one season matches his other 6 years in WAR over his career.

Andrew McCutchen and the Phillies will face off against Jon Lester, who has quietly put together a Hall of Fame caliber career.  He will certainly get to 200 wins before he retires and if he can hold on and pitch for another 4 more seasons he should be able to become just the 4th left handed pitcher to amass 3,000 strikeouts.

Lester was a 2nd round pick in the 2002 draft, but never made any top 100 prospects lists until just before the 2006 season when he was ranked 22nd overall.  During the 2006 season, Lester would go on to exceed rookie status.  He is a 5 time All-Star and 3 time World Series Champion.  He has finished in the top 10 of the Cy Young voting FOUR times in fourteen years.

Other guys from the top 5 prospects heading into the 2006 season include: Delmon Young, Brandon Wood, Jeremy Hermida, and Stephen Drew.  To say those four turned in great careers would be a lie as the four of them equal what number two prospect, Justin Upton has compiled over his career.

This is my only Jon Lester autograph.   It is from an uncirculated 2005 Just Minors black printing plate that pairs him up with Andrew McCutchen.  Just Minors cards are great for getting dual (and even triple) autos of players you normally wouldn't expect to be paired up on a card together.

Prospects are a strange thing and oddly have become like stocks in this hobby.  People are paying outrageous prices to horde the next big thing.  Personally I can't get into it.

That being said I do have nearly 400 base cards of Lolo Sanchez that I got for about $50.  I am hoping to get a bunch of them signed this minor league season.

So to put it all in perspective, don't get caught up in all those prospect ratings.  Most fail to live up to the hype and some fail to get hype, but go on to have great careers.

I am still shaking my head that a Wander Franco autograph sold for over $20,000.  Some others have sold for over $10,000 recently on eBay.

 The kid is only 18 years old and hasn't played an inning above A ball yet.  I don't want to jinx the Franco kid or anything, but Gregg Jefferies put up much better numbers in the minors at that age.