1958 Hires Root Beer #29 Stan Lopata

Pirates 6, Phillies 2
Game 88 - Sunday Afternoon, July 6th in Pittsburgh
Record - 37-51, 5th Place, 12 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies were completely over matched once again, losing the game 6-2 and allowing the Pirates to complete the easy sweep.

What It Means:  I would think some moves need to be made at this point.  But then again, I'm not in charge.  The Phils travel to Milwaukee to play the Brewers for four games.  The Brewers have the best record in the National League.

What Happened:  At least Marlon Byrd is still trying.  Byrd had half of the team's four hits, including a solo home run in the seventh inning.  Every time he bats at this point, I have to wonder if it's his final at-bat with the club.

Featured Card:  I had a few options for this post.  I could have gone with a Phillies card from 2002, as this was the first time the Phillies were swept in a three-game series in Pittsburgh since April 2002.  I could have gone with a Phillies card from 1982, as the last time the Phillies were held to 11 or fewer hits in a three-game series was back in September 1982 against the Cardinals.  (Hat tip to Reuben Frank.)

Instead, here's another vintage Phillies card I recently added to my collection.  This Stan Lopata card has absolutely nothing to do with the 2014 Phillies and their current woes, but it's an awesome baseball card using the knothole design that was one of the finalists for the never produced 1956 Bowman baseball card set.  I wonder if my Dad ever owned this card at some point?  He collected baseball cards in his youth and he loved root beer, so there's a good chance this card was in his collection that was unfortunately part of the Great Oak Street Purge of 1962.

Crackin Wax Charity Case Break

Hopefully by now you've donated to this great cause, but if not, now's your chance!  The fine folks over at Crackin Wax are hosting a charity case break of 2014 Topps Allen & Ginter's with $1,000 being donated to Big Brothers Big Sisters.

The team slots for the case break are sold out, but you can still donate for a chance to win one of two mystery prizes.  Please click this link for details.

And since I felt the need to feature a Phillies card in this post, here's the 2009 Gameday Graphers card of short-time Phillie Brad Harman.  Other 2009 Non-Twins cards created by Crackin Wax can be found here.

1950 Bowman #176 Sylvester Donnelly

Pirates 3, Phillies 2
Game 87 - Saturday Afternoon, July 5th in Pittsburgh
Record - 37-50, 5th Place, 12 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The team's struggles continued as they dropped the second game of the series to the Pirates by a score of 3-2.

What It Means:  The Phillies are in the midst of a 3-12 stretch in which they've hit .210 as a team while hitting .142 (15 for 106) with runners in scoring position.  (Hat tip to Todd Zolecki.)

What Happened:  David Buchanan had a decent outing (3 runs in 6 innings pitched), but the Phillies offense was mostly quiet yet again.  Cody Asche and Marlon Byrd hit solo home runs to account for the team's two runs in this game.

Featured Card:  Is the Phillies season beyond repair?  Are we as Phillies fans going to be subjected to substandard play for the remainder of the season while the veterans of the team are unceremoniously traded off to contending teams for prospects?  Will the remaining game summary posts on this blog from now until late September slowly devolve into a rambling, incoherent babble of complaints and woe is us drivel?

Some possible responses to the above questions are:  Yes, probably.  Yes, probably again.  And no, not at all.

There's no denying that I'm frustrated and unhappy at the direction this season has gone.  But I'm a Phillies fan.  I've been a Phillies fan my whole life, and the performances on the field from the Adam Eaton's or the Delmon Young's or the Domonic Brown's aren't going to change that.  More importantly, my seven-year-old son Doug has taken his first steps into the world of being a lifelong Phillies fan this season.

Each morning, he asks what time the Phillies are playing.  He asks if their opponent is any good.  He asks if Cameron Rupp or Koyie Hill is catching that day.  He asks if I think it's possible for the Phillies to trade Jeff Manship and John Mayberry, Jr. to the Angels for Mike Trout.  And yesterday when I received a small envelope in the mail containing a few vintage Phillies cards I had recently ordered, he wanted to look at them with me.

"That card's cool," he said when I showed him this gorgeous 1950 Bowman baseball card of former Phillies pitcher Blix Donnelly.  It sure is.  And while I'm bummed that the Phillies season is most likely a bust, I'm thrilled that Doug can now appreciate a great baseball card.  It makes me smile when he asks if we can turn on the TV around six so that he doesn't miss the Phillies pre-game show.  And he's probably the only seven-year-old in town who knows who Jeff Manship and Koyie Hill are.  That's my boy.

2012 Topps Tier One On the Rise Autographs #OR-VWO Vance Worley

Pirates 8, Phillies 2
Game 86 - Friday Afternoon, July 4th in Pittsburgh
Record - 37-49

One Sentence Summary:  Roberto Hernandez spotted the Pirates a four-run lead in the first and the Phillies never came close to recovering in an 8-2 loss to the Pirates.

What It Means:  Something's got to give sooner or later, right?

What Happened:  Hernandez was awful in the first, barely escaping with only the four runs allowed.  The offense, in a complete and total show of their futility, managed two singles against Pirates pitching.

Featured Card:  In a sign that the game was completely under control by the Pirates, former Phillie and current Pirates starting pitcher Vance Worley pinch-hit for reliever Justin Wilson in the seventh inning.  Worley grounded out to third.  Worley was traded to the Twins in December 2012 for Ben Revere, and he struggled mightily in the American League, going 1-5 with a 7.21 ERA in 10 starts last season.

The Pirates purchased Worley from the Twins in late March and in four starts so far this season he's 2-1 with a 2.28 ERA.  On Thursday, he took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning in his start against the Diamondbacks.  I believe I added this 2012 Topps Tier One autograph card of Worley's after he had already left town.  The way the Phillies starting pitching has been recently, I kind of wish he'd come back.

Transaction:  Prior to the game, Domonic Brown rejoined the team after spending two games on the paternity-leave list.  Aaron Altherr was optioned back to Double-A Reading.

Phillies at Pirates: July 4th to July 6th

Friday 5:05, Saturday 4:05 and Sunday 1:35
PNC Park - Pittsburgh, PA

Phillies 37-48, Tied for 4th in the N.L. East, 10 games behind the Braves
Pirates 44-41, 3rd Place in the N.L. Central, 6 1/2 games behind the Brewers

Phillies Probables:  Roberto Hernandez (3-7, 4.26), David Buchanan (4-4, 4.86), A.J. Burnett (5-7, 3.92)
Pirates Probables:  Gerrit Cole (6-4, 4.02), Edinson Volquez (6-6, 4.07), Jeff Locke (1-1, 3.46)

At the Ballpark:  Happy 4th of July!  The first 25,000 fans at PNC Park this afternoon will receive a Pirates t-shirt as part of their season-long Free Shirt Friday promotion.  On Sunday, all kids will receive an Andrew McCutchen poster.

Phillies Leaders

Average:  Ben Revere - .293

Runs:  Chase Utley - 46

Home Runs:  Marlon Byrd - 16

RBIs:  Ryan Howard - 51

Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 24

Wins:  A.J. Burnett - 5

ERA:  Cole Hamels - 2.98

Strikeouts:  A.J. Burnett - 95

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 19

1988 Topps #543 and #349

1988 Topps Appreciation:  For the entire 1984 season and the first few weeks of the 1985 season, Kent Tekulve and Bob Walk were teammates on the Pirates.  Tekulve came over to the Phillies on April 20, 1985 in a deal that sent Al Holland and minor leaguer Frankie Griffin to Pittsburgh.  I was ecstatic at news of this trade.  Growing up, I was a Phillies fan first and a Kent Tekulve fan second and when the two came together as I was wrapping up fifth grade, I honestly couldn't believe my good fortune.  I've written about Teke a lot over the life of this blog, but here are a few posts in which I tried to explain my affection for the lanky, bespectacled reliever.

As I wrote almost five years ago, Walk pitched in only 28 games for the Phillies, but he's best remembered as the rookie who started Game 1 of the 1980 World Series.  When he won the game, he became just the second Philadelphia Phillies' player to win a World Series game, and the first since Grover Cleveland Alexander had won a game in the 1915 World Series.

In March 1981, Walk was shipped to the Atlanta Braves for Gary Matthews.  He pitched three years in Atlanta before signing as a free agent with the Pirates.  He'd pitch ten seasons with the Pirates, including three NLCS appearances with the team from 1990 through 1992.  Following the 1993 season and after a 14-year career in which he collected 105 wins, Walk retired, eventually joining the Pirates' broadcast booth.

2014 Donruss The Rookies #11 Cameron Rupp

Phillies 5, Marlins 4
Game 85 - Thursday Night, July 3rd in Miami
Record - 37-48, Tied for 4th Place, 10 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies showed some life and battled back in the late innings to win the series finale against the Marlins, 5-4.

What It Means:  It means the six game losing streak is over and the Phillies will head to Pittsburgh to open a three game holiday weekend series tomorrow.

What Happened:  Catcher Cameron Rupp keyed the three-run sixth inning with a two-run double that gave the Phillies their first lead in this game, 3-2.  Rupp also threw out Christian Yelich in the seventh trying to steal second.  The Marlins battled back to take the lead against Jake Diekman in the eighth, 4-3.

2013 Bowman Draft Scout
Breakouts #BSB-AAL

But uncharacteristically for the 2014 Phillies, the offense put together some good at-bats in the top of the ninth to retake the lead, and eventually win the ballgame 5-4.  Tony Gwynn, Jr. walked to start the inning, went to third on Ben Revere's single and scored on Jimmy Rollins' fielder's choice to second.  Chase Utley grounded out one batter later, but Revere scored the eventual winning run on Utley's ground-out.
 
Featured Cards:  Rupp earned the featured card in this post for being the first Phillie in what seemed like weeks to come up with a clutch hit.  Rupp has several cards in this year's Panini offerings, including this 1988 Donruss inspired The Rookies insert card.

I also wanted to feature a card for outfielder Aaron Altherr, who made his first Major League start in this game, playing left field.  Altherr went 0 for 4 at the plate and was optioned back to Reading following the game.

1978 Topps #297 Warren Brusstar

Marlins 5, Phillies 0
Game 84 - Wednesday Night, July 2nd in Miami
Record - 36-48, 10 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The free-fall continued as Cole Hamels and the offense struggled in Miami, falling to the Marlins 5-0.

What It Means:  The Phillies are now a season worst 12 games under .500, and this was their sixth loss in a row.

What Happened:  Hamels lasted only five innings and was uncharacteristically wild, walking four batters.  The offense had five singles and went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position, including a second and third situation in the first with no outs in which both runners were left stranded.

Featured Cards:  With things going so poorly on the field these days for the Phillies, my mind has already started drifting ahead to the 2015 season and more specifically, the 2015 Chachi set.  If you track the history of the Chachi sets, I've covered every Topps base set design between the golden age (for me) of 1973 through 1981 with the exception of one year - 1978.

1978 Topps #675

I'm leaning towards [SPOILER ALERT] rectifying that situation in 2015 by using the 1978 Topps design as the basis for the 10th anniversary Chachi set, which would also be the 11th overall set that I've created.  Back when the 2010 Chachi Set Planning Committee was holding its initial meetings, the 1978 Topps set was quickly dismissed as a candidate for the upcoming set's design and I wrote a few years ago about my realization that the 1978 set was probably my least favorite of all the sets from the '70s.  For some of you, that statement could be considered blasphemy and I feel the same way whenever someone dismisses the gloriously wonderful 1981 Topps set and its little mini team hats.

In any event, one of the things holding me back from declaring the 1978 Topps design as the design for the 2015 Chachi set is the fact that I like to show the players who switch teams in the offseason on cards featuring their new teams.  (See here for examples.)  As astutely pointed out on a recent very special dispatch from The Shlabotnik Report, perhaps one of the reasons Topps itself has not gone back to the 1978 Topps well is because it's having trouble recreating the cursive team name font for the teams not around in 1978 - the Marlins, Rockies, Rays, Diamondbacks and Nationals.

So as the downward spiral continues for the 2014 Phillies, I'll continue to ponder this baseball card font-related dilemma.  It's way more fun than trying to picture what the Phillies line-up is going to look like come August.

Transaction:  Left fielder Domonic Brown was placed on the paternity leave list and outfielder Aaron Altherr was recalled from Double-A Reading.

2014 Chachi #40 Cole Hamels

#35

Colbert Michael Hamels

Starting Pitcher

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  195

Born:  December 27, 1983, San Diego, CA

Home:  Philadelphia, PA

Drafted:  Selected by Phillies in 1st round of June 2002 draft

Teams:  Phillies 2006-

Acquired:  Via draft

Phillies Cards in My Collection:

#1 - 2003 Topps #671

#247 - 2014 Topps 60th Anniversary 5 x 7

First Chachi Card:  2006 Chachi #35

1991 Stadium Club #163 Charlie Hayes

Marlins 5, Phillies 4 (11 Innings)
Game 83 - Tuesday Night, July 1st in Miami
Record - 36-47, 5th Place, 9 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies rallied late to tie up this ballgame, only to lose in extra innings to the Marlins, 5-4.

What It Means:  I just don't know anymore.  The team has lost five in a row and nine of their last eleven.

What Happened:  With the Marlins holding a two-run lead in the eighth, Marlon Byrd and Cody Asche hit back-to-back home runs to tie up the game.  The Phils weren't able to push across any additional runs before the Marlins walked off with the win, scoring in the 11th against Justin De Fratus.

Featured Card:  It's definitely getting harder and harder to find an appropriate card to represent the mood or some painful facet of each particular Phillies loss.  The game recap from the Phillies website mentions that the 2014 club is hitting .241 with a .672 OPS, which is the lowest in both categories since the 1991 season.  I decided to flip through my 1991 Phillies binder, and this card of Charlie Hayes wildly swinging and missing at a pitch somehow seemed perfectly appropriate for this post.

Phillies at Marlins: July 1st to July 3rd

Tuesday and Wednesday 7:10, Thursday 6:10
Marlins Park - Miami, FL

Phillies 36-46, 5th Place, 8 1/2 games behind the Braves
Marlins 39-43, 3rd Place, 5 1/2 games behind the Braves

Phillies Probables:  A.J. Burnett (5-7, 3.89), Cole Hamels (2-4, 2.84), Kyle Kendrick (3-8, 4.22)
Marlins Probables:  Henderson Alvarez (5-3, 2.32), Tom Koehler (5-6, 3.70), Nathan Eovaldi (5-3, 3.71)

At the Ballpark:  Other than some ticket specials and fireworks following the game on Thursday night, the only thing happening at Marlins Park is two floundering N.L. East teams squaring off against one another.

Phillies Leaders

Average:  Chase Utley - .293

Runs:  Chase Utley - 45

Home Runs:  Marlon Byrd - 15

RBIs:  Ryan Howard - 51

Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 23

Wins:  A.J. Burnett - 5

ERA:  Cole Hamels - 2.84

Strikeouts:  Cole Hamels - 91

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 18

1988 Topps Traded #30T and #71T

1988 Topps Appreciation:  I touched on my disdain for the Team USA cards found within the 1988 Topps Traded set in my last series preview post, but the upcoming 4th of July holiday has me in a patriotic mood and I'm willing to briefly forgive Topps for not including a Phillies card for Bob Dernier within its 1988 set.

Counting Jim Poole, who pitched briefly for the Phillies in 1999, there are three future Phillies within the 1988 Topps Traded USA team set.

Pitcher Pat Combs was already Phillies property by the time the Topps Traded set was released, having been drafted by the team that June and signing shortly thereafter.  He made his Major League debut in September 1989, and had everyone extremely excited for the 1990 season when he went 4-0 in six starts with a 2.09 ERA.  Combs showed flashes of brilliance during the next three seasons with the Phils, but arm troubles precluded him from ever regaining the nearly untouchable status he attained in September 1989.

Second baseman Mickey Morandini was also selected by the Phillies in the June 1988 draft, but he waited until September 1990 to make his big league debut.  Morandini played with the Phillies for nine seasons, and he's now a coach for the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

$611 and My First T206

For the first time since 2008, I decided to save up and buy as many boxes of Topps Heritage as reasonably possible when the set was released in March.  I checked around and found a decent deal on six hobby boxes at Blowout Cards, so I pulled the trigger and the boxes were mine.  My wife, my oldest son and I took our time with the boxes, and it probably took us a little over two weeks to open every pack.  It was early May before I got around to sorting and checklist-ing the cards, and I posted my want and trade lists on this blog back on May 3rd.

One of the cards I listed as trade bait was the throwback uniform variation card of Derek Jeter.  Fortunately for me, reader Steve F. alerted me immediately to the card's scarcity and I listed the card on eBay with a starting price of $0.99.  The card sold a week later for $611, making it the single most expensive baseball card I ever owned, albeit briefly.

It's not my place to judge a collector who would spend $611 on a purposefully short-printed card that's less than three months old.  But to say I was absolutely stunned that the card went for that much is a huge understatement.  I decided to use a small portion of the proceeds to buy a vintage Phillies card and the card at the top of this post is what I ended up adding to my collection for about $25.

The T206 set, released between 1909 and 1911, is considered by many to be the crown jewel of vintage baseball card sets.  The 524-card set contains perhaps the most famous baseball card of all-time - the T206 Honus Wagner.  Fortunately, I'm not a Pirates team collector, so I have no need to add the Wagner card to my collection.  

The Mickey Doolan card seen here is one of three Doolan cards to be found in the T206 set.  Specifically, this is the "batting" with Polar Bear back variation of the Doolan card.  It's actually the second contemporary card of Doolan's in my collection, as Matthew from 14,000 Phillies sent me Doolan's T205 Gold Border card a few years ago.

I was going to do a brief write-up on Doolan and his career, but the excerpt below from the fantastic book, The T206 Collection - The Players & Their Stories, said everything I would have wanted to say.

Thanks to Topps, Derek Jeter, and a super collector willing to part with $611, I have my first T206 Phillies card in my collection.  Perhaps there's still enough left over from my proceeds to hunt down a second . . .