2012 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #10 Kevin Frandsen

Phillies 8, Nationals 0
Game 103 - Tuesday Night, July 31st in Washington
Record - 46-57, 5th Place, 15 1/2 games behind the Nationals

Another Massive, Vacation-Related Catch-Up, Part 3 of 7

One Sentence Summary:  A new era of Phillies baseball was ushered in (an "improving" era) and of course the new-look Phils crushed the Nationals, 8-0.

What It Means:  With Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence dealt to contending West Coast teams earlier on this day, it became official that the Phillies are going to use the remaining few months of the 2012 season as an extended audition for the 2013 season.  This season officially stinks.

What Went Right:  Cliff Lee pitched like Cliff Lee, throwing seven shutout innings and striking out seven on the way to just his second win of the season.   Jimmy Rollins paced the offense with an inside-the-park home run in the fourth, following Kevin Frandsen's two-run home run in the second.  Frandsen also provided nice defense at third.

2012 Topps #63

Featured Cards:  It appears as if Frandsen will get an extended audition at third as Placido Polanco spends yet more time on the disabled list.  This is his card from this year’s Lehigh Valley IronPigs set. Frandsen joins the 2012 Missing Links list as he has yet to appear on a Phillies baseball card.

For the time being, the newly acquired Josh Lindblom and Nate Schierholtz can be added to the list although I’m curious as to whether or not the Phillies will issue a few update cards to their team-issued postcard set.  Here's a quick summary of the newest Phillies and their recent cardboard representations:

From Dodgers
Josh Lindblom (rhp) - No cards in 2012, but Lindblom was in the 2011 Bowman Draft set
Ethan Martin (rhp with AA Chattanooga) - Martin was in the 2011 Topps Pro Debut and 2011 Bowman Prospects set

From Giants
Nate Schierholtz (rf) - 2012 Topps #63, 2012 Topps Heritage #270
Tommy Joseph (c with AA Richmond) - 2012 Topps Pro Debut #117
Seth Rosin (rhp with High A San Jose) - No recent cards, but Rosin had cards in the 2010 Bowman Draft, 2010 Donruss Elite Extra Edition and 2012 Topps Pro Debut sets