Sunday, September 2, 2012

1998 Circa Thunder Boss #18 Scott Rolen

Braves 8, Phillies 7
Game 134 - Sunday Afternoon, September 2nd in Atlanta
Record - 64-70, Tied for 3rd Place, 17 1/2 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  Capped by Chipper Jones' walk-off home run, the Braves completely stunned the Phillies by scoring five times in the bottom of the ninth inning for the win.

What It Means:  Any thoughts of the Phillies making a thrilling run for the second Wild Card should be completely erased after the bullpen gave this one up.

What Went Wrong:  Jonathan Papelbon came into the game in the ninth with runners on 1st and 2nd, one out, and the Phillies holding a 7-3 lead.  He walked off the mound a short time later having suffered his fourth blown save after Jones hit a bomb to right center off him.  Stinkin' Chipper.  Should have retired last year.

The crappy loss negated Cole Hamels' gutty six innings of work and two-run double in the third.  And the feel-good, five-run first inning was also just a distant memory.  Back in happier times in the first, Ryan Howard plated two with a double and Erik Kratz followed a few batters later with a three-run double.

Featured Card:  Meanwhile, in Philly . . . Bruce Springsteen has just taken the stage situated in the outfield at Citizens Bank Park.  In honor of The Boss, who will most likely play his song Thunder Road at some point tonight, here's a 1998 Circa Thunder Boss card of the 1997 National League Rookie of the Year.

Stinkin' Chipper.

3 comments:

Play at the Plate said...

Circa Thunder is almost as crazy as Skybox Metal. Almost.

Dawgbones said...

you had me at papelBOMB!!

Jim said...

Maybe the Red Sox would take him back? They seem to have some room in their budget now.

And the only set name crazier than SkyBox Metal is SkyBox Molten Metal.

Stinkin' Chipper.