2012 Topps #449 Shane Victorino

Braves 6, Phillies 2
Game 102 - Sunday Afternoon, July 29th in Atlanta
Record - 45-57, 5th Place, 16 1/2 games behind the Nationals

Another Massive, Vacation-Related Catch-Up, Part 2 of 7

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies were swept by the Braves in Atlanta as they hit rock bottom. 

What It Means:  It means the end of the road for several Phillies rumored to be moving on before the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline.  At the time, it looked as if Shane Victorino, Joe Blanton and Juan Pierre were the most likely to be traded.  With Cliff Lee, Hunter Pence, Jimmy Rollins and Ty Wigginton rumored to be headed to contenders as well.  We now know that only Victorino, Pence and later Blanton were traded (for now).

What Went Wrong:  Same old, same old - namely lack of clutch hitting and so-so pitching.  Victorino, in his final game as a Phillie, went 3 for 4 with a home run and a stolen base.  Pence entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the sixth and went 2 for 2.

Featured Card:  I get why two-thirds of the starting outfield was dealt, but it still bums me out.  As I pointed out in my post from earlier this week, the Flyin' Hawaiian was my son Doug's favorite player and he was one of the last remaining connections to the World Championship 2008 team.  This is one of his final Phillies cards as an active player and I love that it's a shot of him hustling home to score another run.