A Relic from the WBC

I appreciate all of the comments and messages I received on my recent posts about the loss of our baby. Today was better than yesterday, although that's not really saying much. Probably 99.9% of my days will be better than the last couple of days have been. We had to go to the funeral home today to make some arrangements there, and also talk to each other about what comes next. I've tried to spend some quality time with each of our other three kids during my time away from work. They seem to appreciate the attention. I guess on Monday I will be mostly ready to go back to the office. Things are piling up there, and I can't hide from my responsibilities outside the home forever. My wife has already had to deal with some of that, as she had an exam in school today and she's got homework due throughout next week. She is a strong woman, and I am lucky to be married to her.

I don't follow the World Baseball Classic much, but I am aware that it is going on right now. Apparently the team out of Israel is doing pretty well, with much fanfare from the Topps Now program. I haven't purchased any of those cards, but I did pick up this older WBC card from 2006 Upper Deck SPx. I think this Winning Materials insert was from the actual SPx product and not a 2006 World Baseball Classic box set that apparently exists. I don't know for sure, though, as I wasn't collecting in 2006.

Munenori Kawasaki was one of the players featured on the Winning Materials checklist. I think this is my second WBC relic card featuring him, with the other being from the regular Upper Deck product. He's had a pretty good Spring Training so far for the Cubs, if the numbers are any indication, but I find it hard to believe that he will be on the roster once the real games start, barring some sort of injury to other players.