1992 Leaf #473 Dale Sveum

Cubs 5, Phillies 1
Game 20 - Friday Night, April 27th in Philadelphia
Record - 9-11, 4th Place, 5 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  The Phils left their bats in Phoenix as the Cubs handled Roy Halladay, winning 5-1.

What It Means:  So much for the return of the offense.

What Went Wrong:  The Phillies threatened in the first when their first two batters, Juan Pierre and Placido Polanco, reached on singles.  They were both left stranded and their wasn't much more to cheer about until Ty Wigginton's solo home run in the seventh.  Jimmy Rollins, Hunter Pence and Shane Victorino went 0 for 12 in the middle of the line-up.  Cubs starter Paul Maholm, who entered the game with a 8.36 ERA, baffled the Phillies through 6 1/3 innings, allowing five hits while walking none.

Halladay (3-2) allowed three runs on six hits over seven innings, after starting the game by retiring the first 10 batters he faced.  He walked two and struck out five.

1992 Stadium Club #687

Featured Cards:  First year Cubs manager Dale Sveum was traded by the Phillies to the White Sox on August 10, 1992, after hitting .178 in 54 games.  Shortly after the trade, Sveum was asked if he missed Philadelphia, to which he replied, "Like a hole in the head."  When told of this, General Manager Lee Thomas responded, "Did he say anything about the hole in his bat?"

Sveum received four Phillies cards in 1992 for his troubles, including the card featured at the top of this post from the 1992 Leaf set.  His Bowman and Stadium Club cards featured shots of the disgruntled Phillie on the bench, and he was also featured in the team issued postcard set, sponsored by Medford.

Field Report:  Jenna and I were there last night and we were cold.  The Phillies are now 1-1 in games I've attended this year.  It would have been nice to have something to get excited about, but I found myself actually bored throughout portions of this game.  For the first time in years, the crowd seemed flat and there were quite a few empty blue seats despite the announced paid attendance of over 45,000.  It's got to get better.  As soon as the weather warms up.  Soon.