Sunday, September 15, 2013

2013 Topps Gypsy Queen Autographs #GQA-CR Carlos Ruiz

Phillies 5, Nationals 4
Game 148 - Saturday Night, September 14th in Washington
Record - 69-79, 3rd Place, 20 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies embraced their spoiler role, defeating the Nationals by a score of 5-4 and making the Nats' attempt to win a postseason spot even more improbable.

What It Means:  But make no mistake about it - I'd rather be in the Nationals position right now than the Phillies position.  The words "Phillies" and "spoiler role" haven't gone together in a sentence since 2004.  When the Reds won their game yesterday afternoon, the Phillies were mathematically eliminated from postseason consideration.

What Went Right:  Starting pitcher Cole Hamels earned his eighth win with six strong innings, allowing just four runs (three earned) and striking out five.  The bullpen again preserved the lead and Jonathan Papelbon survived a shaky ninth to record his 27th save.

Carlos Ruiz continued his strong second half with two doubles and three RBIs.

Featured Card:  My choices for the featured card for this post were Hamels or Ruiz.  Having featured only two of Chooch's cards this season, I decided to show off another his 2013 cards in lieu of posting another card of Hamels.  By my tally, Ruiz has had certified autograph cards in this year's Gypsy Queen, Topps Tier One and Topps Tribute sets.  This is his Gypsy Queen autographed card and its the first certified autograph card of his that I've added to my collection since the magical 2008 season.

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