2014 Topps Stadium Club Members Only Johnny Cueto

In my last post about the 2014 Topps Stadium Club Members Only parallels, I mentioned that probably the biggest star I'd been able to acquire was Zack Greinke. In looking at some of the other names I've got I think I may be wrong, since I also have cards of guys like Joe Mauer, Giancarlo Stanton, and Jose Bautista. But Zack Grienke is definitely the biggest pitcher name I'd acquired to that point.

Now I've added another ace to the list, picking up this rare Johnny Cueto card right around the time he got moved to the Royals. I had held out hope that he would find himself on the Astros' roster by the trade deadline, but that deal didn't happen. The Astros did pick up a strong pitcher in Scott Kazmir and an upgrade in the outfield in Carlos Gomez, but it sure would have been nice to snag Cueto as well. Pitching hasn't really been the problem for the Astros lately, though. Over the last few days I've watched them waste several very good pitching efforts because their bats have fallen asleep. They seem to get one or two guys going each game, but they need three or four guys to get big hits if they're going to hold onto the division lead or at least stay in the Wild Card hunt. They got better at the deadline, but I think teams like the Royals and Blue Jays made even bigger jumps talent-wise and Cueto is a big part of that.

Anyway, I like Cueto. It seems like he doesn't get enough hobby love for how good he is. I guess it could be the team he played for or just that he gets overshadowed by other 'name' guys who play in bigger markets like Kershaw, Wainwright, Greinke, and Strasburg. I guess Greinke wasn't that big a name until he became a Dodger. Maybe it's just a perception that I have because I mainly follow AL teams and my knowledge doesn't go too deep on the NL side of things.

In news unrelated to baseball, my wife and I have reached a milestone of sorts. In the last week we reinstalled a ceiling fan, moved some furniture, and put together a piece of IKEA furniture as a team, all without losing our tempers at each other or having to go a day without talking. It wasn't a complete success, though, as our kids were annoying and in the way and we did get a bit short with them, banishing them to the downstairs for the duration of the project.