Phillies at Pirates: July 1st through July 4th

Thursday, Friday & Saturday 7:05, Sunday 1:35

Records: Phillies 41-35, 3rd Place in NL East (3½ games behind the Braves); Pirates 27-51, 5th Place in NL Central (16½ games behind the Reds)

2007 Choice Ottawa Lynx #28 John Russell MG

I've begun my annual hunt for the Phillies minor league team sets.  Since the mid-'90s, I've managed to track down just about every baseball card set issued throughout the team's minor league organization, from their rookie league team to their AAA team.  So far this year, I've added the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (AAA) and Reading Phillies (AA) sets, but I haven't been able to track down any of the others.  The teams' on-line stores are the first place I look, but it's surprising how several of the Phillies' minor league teams don't seem to update their on-line inventory throughout the summer. 

This John Russell card is from the 2007 Ottawa Lynx team set.  The Phillies' AAA franchise played their final year in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2006 before playing a year in Ottawa while they waited for their new facility in Allentown to be built.  The IronPigs opened Coca-Cola park in 2008, just as Russell was beginning his Major League tenure as manager of the Pirates.

Phillies Probables: Cole Hamels, Jamie Moyer, Kyle Kendrick, Joe Blanton
Pirates Probables: Daniel McCutchen, Ross Ohlendorf, Paul Maholm, Jeff Karstens