2010 Topps National Chicle #251 Richie Ashburn

After the rough week or so endured by Phillies fans which included a dearth of offense, a plethora of shaky pitching and a salt in the wound pitching performance from ex-Phillie Cliff Lee last night, it's time to cleanse the palate. Yes, the Phillies find themselves in 3rd place this afternoon, behind the first place Mets and the second place Nationals. But Roy Halladay is on the mound today, the sun is shining and the team is due.

April 2010 is over and May 2010 is here. Time to fire up the grill, prepare Doug's sandbox for the summer, mute this afternoon's Fox broadcast and turn up the radio. I have a feeling May is going to be a very good month.

To start the month off right, I'm presenting my new favorite baseball card of 2010. Topps National Chicle was released last week. The set is based off the Diamond Stars set produced by the National Chicle (rhymes with pickle) chewing gum company from 1934 to 1936 and the entire set features current and retired baseball stars as painted by noted artists. This Richie Ashburn card is a beauty, as are the Chase Utley and Jayson Werth cards. (I'm sure those cards will be featured in future posts.) There are two Ryne Sandberg Phillies cards in the set - one featuring him in his 1981 Phillies uniform and the other portraying him wearing a batting practice jersey and modern helmet from 2010. It's a fun little twist to the normal shots used for retired superstars.

Happy May Day and Go Phils!