2014 Stadium Club #184 Cliff Lee

Orioles 16, Phillies 4
Spring Training Game 15 - Monday Afternoon, March 16th in Clearwater
Record - 8-6-1

One Sentence Summary:  Cole Hamels, Mike Nesseth and Cesar Jimenez got shellacked by the Orioles offense in a 16-4 drubbing.

What It Means:  It was not a good day to be a Phillies fan.  Hamels had an awful outing and Cliff Lee was lost for the indefinite future.

What Happened:  Hamels allowed five runs on six hits in his two innings of work.  Nesseth and Jimenez combined to allow eight more runs in their three innings of work.  Cord Phelps had a few more hits to raise his spring average to .389 and make people start to wonder if he'll beat out Cesar Hernandez for an infield bench spot.

2015 Chachi Almost #1

Featured Cards:  The day's top news went to Lee (see below) but I thought I'd create a Chachi Almost card to commemorate Xavier Paul's very short time with the organization (also see below).

Camp Head Count:  59 - 10 = 49.  The roster moves came in three waves on Monday.  Prior to the start of the game, pitchers Jesse Biddle, Ethan Martin and Adam Morgan along with outfielder Aaron Altherr were all optioned to minor league camp.  Pitcher Sean O'Sullivan and catcher John Hester were reassigned while outfielder Paul was released.  Paul went 1 for 9 with a solo home run for the Phils this spring.

Following the game, in a hastily called press conference, it was announced that Lee would be going on the 60-day disabled list to start the season.  He will avoid surgery (for now) and hope that rest will heal his bum elbow.

Finally, pitchers Nesseth and Seth Rosin were reassigned to minor league camp following Lee's depressing press conference.

Update Your Scorecards - New Uniform Numbers are Here!

They're a little late this year, but I noticed yesterday that the team's roster on the Phillies website had finally been updated to assign new uniform numbers to the rogues' gallery of players who will report to Clearwater in a few weeks.  As cynical as I am at this point about the team's chances in 2015, I can't help to get a little giddy knowing that we're so close to kicking off a new season.

Here's a look at the new number assignments and a few other random thoughts.

New Players - Under 60 Division
#3 Jeff Francouer - The outfield hopeful, who last wore a single digit with the Braves in 2009 (#7) assumes Marlon Byrd's number.
#15 Jordan Danks - John Mayberry, Jr. had worn #15 for the Phillies since 2011.  Danks had been #20 with the White Sox, but that number is permanently taken in Philadelphia.
#17 Brian Bogusevic - Bogusevic takes over the number worn by Reid Brignac last season.
#19 Darin Mastroianni - Tony Gwynn, Jr. wore #19 last season for the Phils in honor of his late, great father.
#27 Chris Nelson - The infielder takes over the number worn for half a season last year by Roberto Hernandez.
#28 Xavier Paul - This number went unoccupied last season after Kevin Frandsen departed for Washington.
#34 Aaron Harang - It looked as if #34 would be unofficially retired by the Phillies last spring in honor of Roy Halladay, but A.J. Burnett took the number when he joined the club.
#37 Odubel Herrera - Reliver Mike Adams wore #37 last season.
#46 Jeanmar Gomez - This number also went unused in 2014, and Raul Valdes was the last #46 for the Phillies in 2013.
#52 Andy Oliver - Hopefully Oliver has more luck wearing #52 this season than Jeff Manship did last season.
#59 Kevin Slowey - If Slowey makes the team, he'll take over the number last worn by Antonio Bastardo.

New Numbers
I'm a little disappointed this year that not one holdover from last year decided (or was given the option to) change his number.  There's usually a little shuffling of the numbers each offseason but this year's returning players all opted to stick with their 2014 numbers.  Boring.

Other Stuff
- Non-roster invitee infielder Chris McGuiness wins the award for the highest spring uniform number with #77.  Zach Collier had been the previous recipient of this award for the #80 he sported in 2013 and 2014.

- I noted in last year's post that prospect Maikel Franco, who had been assigned #74 in spring training, would make an excellent #7.  That was the uniform number he was assigned when he made his debut with the Phillies in September.

- Between 1 and 60, the only non-retired numbers currently unassigned are #11, #21, #38, #39 and #41.  The Phillies have long had an unofficial policy of not assigning numbers of recently departed franchise icons.  For that reason, I would seriously doubt we'll see anyone wear #11 (Jimmy Rollins) or #41 (Charlie Manuel) in 2015.  The same can not be said for #21 (Wil Nieves), #38 (Kyle Kendrick) or #39 (B.J. Rosenberg).

- The cards featured here are from the fantastic, virtual 2014 Quarry Unlimited set created by Cards from the Quarry.  This is the third year in a row a complete set of cards has been created for every single player to have suited up during the season.  Check out the whole set!

Memory Lane

2012 New Numbers

2013 New Numbers
2014 New Numbers - Part One and Part Two

Gomez was a late addition to the list of non-roster invitees, so this post will also serve to update the list which now stands at 17.

Player (position) - 2014 Organization - Last Major Baseball Card Appearance
1.  Andres Blanco (inf) - Phillies - 2007 Topps #659 (Royals)
2.  Brian Bogusevic (of) - Marlins - 2014 Topps #524 (Marlins)
3.  Russ Canzler (inf) - Yankees/Phillies - N/A
4.  Chase d'Arnaud (inf) - Pirates - 2012 Topps Heritage #323 (Pirates)
5.  Jeff Francoeur (of) - Padres - 2014 Topps Update #US-167 (Padres)
6.  John Hester (c) - Angels - 2010 Upper Deck #31 (Diamondbacks)
7.  Darin Mastroianni (of) - Twins/Blue Jays - 2013 Topps #528 (Twins)
8.  Xavier Paul (of) - Orioles/Diamondbacks - 2013 Topps Update #US-194 (Reds)
9.  Paul Clemens (rhp) - Astros - 2013 Panini Prizm #213 (Astros)
10.  Rene Garcia (c) - Astros - 2009 Bowman Prospects #BP81 (Astros)
11.  Koyie Hill (c) - Phillies - 2011 Topps Update #US13 (Cubs)
12.  Chris Nelson (inf) - Reds/Padres - 2014 Topps #101 (Angels)
13.  Cord Phelps (inf) - Orioles - N/A
14.  Chris McGuiness (1b) - Pirates - 2010 Topps Pro Debut #411 (Rangers)
15.  Sean O'Sullivan (rhp) - Phillies - 2011 Topps Update #US89 (Royals)
16.  Kevin Slowey (rhp) - Marlins - 2012 Topps Update #US94 (Indians)
17.  Jeanmar Gomez (rhp) - Pirates - 2013 Topps Update #US92 (Pirates)