Card #5 - Carlos ZambranoBorn: June 1, 1981
After a late Spring Training trade, "Big Z" has landed on the White Sox. Finally, Carlos realizes his dream of being on the team that he grew up loving. The trade is the best of both worlds for Zambrano. He gets to stay in Chicago, where he has a built in following and he gets to play for his childhood favorite.
The White Sox traded speedy outfielder Jerry Owens, hard throwing closer Mike MacDougal, and a second round draft pick for the big ace. With Bartolo Colon and Jose Contreras still slight question marks, Kenny Williams pulled off the trade to solidify his rotation.
Carlos will pitch third in the rotation, according to Ozzie Guillen.
"This kid is the real deal. We're going to pitch him third, between Floyd and Danks. We want to break up those two kids from going back to back. Buehrle is still my number one, my ace, but we gotta give everybody a different look out there".
Pitching coach Don Cooper had this to say about the surprising transaction.
"This guy is coming in and all I have to do is keep his temper under control. He gets the job done out there. I don't have to follow him around showing him the ropes. He knows what to do".
Mark Buehrle chimed in, in his own playful way.
"Anytime you get a guy with these credentials, it's a shot in the arm for your rotation. If you believe that we got this guy, then you're a big April fool. Maybe we'll get him down the line, but right now it's not in the cards. We got you good though, right? Yeah, we got you good".
So there you have it. Carlos Zambrano is now a member of the Chicago White Sox.
Ooooh. Big Z and Ozzie on the same team. That would be some kind of entertainment.
ReplyDeleteIt's starting to be just a bit depressing looking at some of these birth year cards. I was born just a day shy of a month before Carlos here (5/2/81). Why aren't I playing in the major leagues yet?
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I'm swiping this card to keep in the folder with the rest of my '81 Topps scans.
Keep up the good work, I'm enjoying these cards.
Wow that was a lot of work for an April Fools' Day joke. :)
ReplyDeleteIt was late and I was too half asleep to realize that you put him in a White Sox uniform. Heh. It's still going in my '81 Topps scans, but I changed the name to gimick.
ReplyDeleteThings make a lot more sense when I'm wide awake.
It's still depressing that this guy has been in the Majors for eight years and I'm a month older than him and have yet to play my first professional game.
And I kid you not, but my word verification for this comment is "feces"
What a "crappy" word verification!
ReplyDeleteI know how you feel. Konerko's less than a year older than me and Pierzynski is a little over two months younger.
Carlos looks unhappy in a White Sox uniform. Well, he always looks that way. Good April Fool's post!
ReplyDeleteWell done, great picture.
ReplyDeleteI love these birth year cards you're doing. If they were an insert set in Topps I'd be chasing them.
ReplyDeleteGood work on that man. Happy April Fool's!
ReplyDelete