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Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Wrapping Up Chachi Set Odds & Ends

2014 Chachi Transactions #17
2014 Chachi Transactions #19
2014 Chachi Transactions #20
2014 Chachi Transactions #22
I have a number of special Chachi insert cards that have been sitting in my draft folder for a few months as I've had no real good reason to post them.  I figured with the entire staff and management team of The Phillies Room away on spring break this week, this would be a good opportunity to feature all these cards together and wrap up a few loose ends.

First up is a quartet of players who joined the ranks of ex-Phillies this past offseason.  Zach Miner and Mauricio Robles were short-timers with the Phillies last season with Miner appearing in 16 games (three as a starter) and going 0-2 with a 4.40 ERA and Robles making it into just three games and pitching 4 2/3 innings.

Miner signed a minor league deal with the Mariners in the offseason, and unbeknownst to me Robles signed with the White Sox organization in November.  Had I known about the Robles signing, he would have been featured sooner in the Chachi Transaction insert set, but as it is he's most likely the last card in the set.

Joe Savery was the club's #1 pick back in 2007 and he first appeared with the Phillies in 2011.  In parts of three seasons, Savery went 3-2 in 41 games with a 4.15 ERA.  I first posted about Savery and his long and winding journey to the Majors in this post after he had made his Phillies debut.

Sadly, Phillies Room favorite Kevin Frandsen is now a member of the rival Nationals.  Presumably the odd man out this past spring, Frandsen landed himself a guaranteed contract with the Nationals, where he'll undoubtedly and repeatedly punish the Phillies throughout this season.

2014 Chachi Preview #3
2014 Chachi Almost #1
2014 Chachi #49
2014 Chachi Almost #3
Finally, here are four cards only a die-hard Phillies and virtual Phillies baseball card aficionado would enjoy.  (All seven or so of us.)  John McDonald probably doesn't need to have another virtual Phillies card, but I loved this photo of him in a throw-back uniform so I went ahead and gave him a card.  Michael Stutes was one of the team's best relievers in 2011, but injuries have hampered his career and he's currently out of baseball following his release a few weeks ago.

Kevin Munson was the team's offseason Rule V draft pick, and he made it part-way through the spring before being sent back to the Diamondbacks.  And veteran infielder Ronny Cedeno was attempting to latch on as bench player with the club, but (thankfully) the Phillies decided to stick with their younger guys and Cedeno was released.  He's since come back to the organization and is playing with the IronPigs.

UPDATE, 6/7/14 - In an unprecedented event, Cedeno will actually have a card in this year's regular Chachi base set.  Following Cedeno's departure at the end of spring training, he was quickly brought back into the fold by the organization and he had his contract selected from the IronPigs in early June.  I will update the official checklist to show this once "Almost" card as an actual "Chachi" card.

The first reader to comment on this lapse in The Phillies Room continuum will receive a coveted The Phillies Room No-Prize.

4 comments:

  1. As a custom card aficionado, I would like to state my appreciation for two cards: The Kevin Frandsen and the "Ben Is Four!" tribute to your son.

    I would like to point out to the other readers that these two cards feature teams (Nationals & Toddlers) which don't appear in the 1988 set, and yet they were handled without missing a beat.

    Maybe it takes a fellow custom nerd to appreciate this, but I felt it should be given a shout out.

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  2. Nice work on the Chachis generally, and especially the Chachi Almost subset. They all look great--very professional! And I'm glad you didn't have John McDonald pitching, although I did stay up for that game.

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  3. Thanks guys, and thanks to the Shlabotnik Report World HQ for noticing that I tried to keep true to the 1988 Topps design elements.

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