Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
Reds 18-21, 3rd Place in the N.L. Central, 7 games behind the Brewers
Phillies 17-21, 5th Place in the N.L. East, 4 1/2 games behind the Braves
Reds Probables: Alfredo Simon (4-2, 2.89), Homer Bailey (3-2, 4.72), Mike Leake (2-3, 3.09)
Phillies Probables: Kyle Kendrick (0-3, 3.98), Cole Hamels (0-2, 5.32), Cliff Lee (3-4, 3.23)
At the Ballpark: Assuming tonight's game isn't rained out, and that's a huge assumption given the amount of rain expected to fall tonight, it's Irish Heritage night at the ballpark. Former Phillie Geoff Jenkins will throw out the first pitch on Saturday night and sign autographs in the concourse prior to the game. The Phanatic's birthday party is on Sunday with all kids receiving a set of Phillie Phanatic Phun Glasses. Truth be told, I wouldn't mind having a pair.
Phillies Leaders
Average: Chase Utley - .343
Runs: Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley - 21
Home Runs: Ryan Howard - 7
RBIs: Marlon Byrd - 23
Stolen Bases: Ben Revere - 12
Wins: Antonio Bastardo and Cliff Lee - 3
ERA: A.J. Burnett - 3.13
Strikeouts: Cliff Lee - 58
Saves: Jonathan Papelbon - 11
1988 Topps Appreciation: As much as I liked the pairing in the previous series preview post, I like this one better. Before there was a Phillies Room (both actual and virtual) and before I had my Phillies baseball card collection neatly organized by year in binders, I had a "Phillies Book."
The Phillies Book was a Tastykake Phillies binder that was a Vet Stadium give-away in the late 1970s and I lovingly added a few dozen Enor nine-pocket pages to the binder to house my fledgling Phillies baseball card collection. At the very front of the binder were pages containing nothing but cards of my two favorite Phillies players at the time - Mike Schmidt and Pete Rose.
1988 was to be Rose's last full year as manager of the Reds, as he was suspended part way through the 1989 season for allegations that he had bet on baseball games. As a result, this is his penultimate Topps card and even though he hadn't played since 1986, I still remember the thrill of pulling this card from packs of 1988 Topps.
Schmidt's career would also come crashing to a halt in 1989, as the greatest third baseman of all time announced his retirement in late May that season after struggling through 42 games. The future Hall of Famer played in only 108 games in 1988, hitting .249 with just 12 home runs.
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| 1988 Topps #475 and #600 |
The Phillies Book was a Tastykake Phillies binder that was a Vet Stadium give-away in the late 1970s and I lovingly added a few dozen Enor nine-pocket pages to the binder to house my fledgling Phillies baseball card collection. At the very front of the binder were pages containing nothing but cards of my two favorite Phillies players at the time - Mike Schmidt and Pete Rose.
1988 was to be Rose's last full year as manager of the Reds, as he was suspended part way through the 1989 season for allegations that he had bet on baseball games. As a result, this is his penultimate Topps card and even though he hadn't played since 1986, I still remember the thrill of pulling this card from packs of 1988 Topps.
Schmidt's career would also come crashing to a halt in 1989, as the greatest third baseman of all time announced his retirement in late May that season after struggling through 42 games. The future Hall of Famer played in only 108 games in 1988, hitting .249 with just 12 home runs.
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