Sunday, July 1, 2012

2012 Topps #371 Jim Thome

Marlins 3, Phillies 2
Game 80 - Saturday Afternoon, June 30th in Miami
Record - 36-44, 5th Place, 10 games behind the Nationals

Vacation Catch-Up - Part 9 of 9

One Sentence Summary:  Mark Buehrle pitched a better game than Cole Hamels as the Phillies lost to the Marlins again, 3-2.

What It Means:  Each loss at this point drops the Phillies to a new season low.  They went 9-19 in June.  That's not good.

What Went Wrong:  Hamels battled through seven innings, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out five.  Buehrle allowed one fewer run in his seven innings of work.  Hunter Pence contributed three hits, including a solo homer in the seventh.  Carlos Ruiz added two more hits to raise his average to .358.

Featured Card:  I started this mega day of catch-up posting with a Jim Thome card, so it's kind of fitting that I'm ending it with another card of the newest member of the Baltimore Orioles.  Following the loss on Saturday, the Phillies announced that Thome had been traded to the Orioles for two prospects - catcher Gabriel Lino and right-handed pitcher Kyle Simon.  (Simon has a card in this year's Bowman Prospects set while Lino has yet to have his first major cardboard appearance.)

Thome is featured here on perhaps his last Phillies baseball card as an active player.  He'll be missed and I'm grateful that I got to see him play live.  It's a move that makes sense for the Phillies and Thome, as he's no longer able to play the field.  He'll receive regular playing time with the Orioles as their primary DH.

I only hope that the trade of Gentleman Jim doesn't signal the start of more trades to come for the Phillies - unless the trades are to bolster the roster for a play-off run.  (Staying positive.)

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Regardless of the fact he can't really play the field any more - that is a cool card.

Steve F. said...

Bummer for those of us hoping to get an autograph at the ALS Phestival!

I wish him well in Baltimore. He'll be a well-deserved Hall-of-Famer in his first year of eligibility.

Jim said...

I agree with both comments!