2010 Chachi Ex-Phillies #X8 Scott Eyre

This Chachi card of retired reliever Scott Eyre carries one important message:  Chillax.  Postseason posting to commence shortly.

(Game 162 summary also coming soon.)

2010 Chachi Prototype #RH Roy Halladay

Phillies 5, Braves 3
Game 152 - Tuesday Night, September 21st in Philadelphia

Let's cut to the chase:  The Phillies won their ninth straight game last night, increasing their lead in the NL East to five games, and cutting their Magic Number to clinch down to six with ten games remaining.  The team is 30 games over .500 for the first time since 1993.  It's a very good time to be a Phillies fan.  (Should "Magic Number" be capitalized?  I'm making an executive decision here and capitalizing it.)

Roy Halladay methodically mowed down the Braves through seven innings, surrendering three runs on seven hits while striking out just three.  He became the first Phillie to win 20 games in a season since Steve Carlton did it way back in 1982.  He became the first right-handed Phillie pitcher to reach the milestone since Robin Roberts in 1955.  Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge pitched the final two innings for the Phils, looking very 2008-esque in the process.  Lidge recorded his 25th save of the season.

The Phils jumped on the board first with Jayson Werth's 3-run home run to left center in the 3rd.  It was Werth's 25th home run of the year.  Fortunately, they added two more runs in the 6th when Raul Ibañez hit a clutch 2-out, 2-run double, scoring Ryan Howard and Werth.  The Phillies should have scored a lot more in this game, but they went only 2 for 14 with runners in scoring position.  They had at least two baserunners reach in all but the 5th, 7th and 8th innings.

Roy Oswalt goes for the series sweep (!) tonight, hoping to drop the Magic Number down to 4.  Go Phils!

1971 Topps:  I really like this set.  But do I like it more than the 1983 Topps set?  I'll be honest, this is going to be a tough call this year for the 2011 Chachi Set Planning Committee.  I've already used my all-time favorite Topps designs from the '70s and '80s (1975, 1981, 1976, 1980, 1977) for previous Chachi sets, so now we're getting into designs that I don't love, but I really like.  If you catch my drift.  Decisions, decisions.

2010 Chachi Prototype #RO Roy Oswalt

Phillies 9, Nationals 1
Game 148 - Friday Night, September 17th in Philadelphia

The Phillies staked Roy Oswalt a 5-run lead in the 1st inning, and that's all the Phillies' starter would need on the way to his 7th win as a Phillie.  Since joining the Phils in July, Oswalt is now 7-1 with a 1.94 ERA.  He even drove in his first run of 2010 last night, singling home the team's 5th run in the 1st last night and chasing Nationals' starter Jason Marquis.  Marquis recorded just one out in his shortened outing.

The Phils added 3 more runs after their 6-run 1st inning outburst.  Jayson Werth hit a solo home run in the 5th, his 22nd, and Carlos Ruiz added a 2-run shot in the 8th.  (Chooch's home run came off former Phillie Joe Bisenius.)  The win dropped the Phils' Magic Number to 12.

1988 Topps:  Why is the design of this set growing on me?  I have thousands of these cards and I believe I personally hand-collated at least 3 different '88 Topps sets back in the day.  (I'm pretty sure Jenna has her own '88 Topps set around here somewhere too.)  The Phillies cards are saddled with the same purple and green color combination Topps somehow assigned to the Phillies throughout the late '80s and early '90s, but I like the clean design and the prominence of the "PHILLIES" team name floating behind the players' pictures.  However, when it comes right down to it, I wouldn't be able to choose this set design for the 2011 Chachi set over the designs of the '71 and '83 Topps sets.

2010 Chachi Ex-Phillies #X7 Matt Stairs

Padres 6, Phillies 5 (10 Innings)

Game 55 - Sunday Afternoon, June 6th in Philadelphia

The Phils let one get away from them this afternoon, as the Padres scored 3 unanswered runs to eventually win in 10 innings. The game started on an ominous note as starter Joe Blanton surrendered 3 first inning runs to the Padres. The Phillies responded with a run of their own in the 1st, followed by 4 runs in the 2nd, chasing Padres' starter Kevin Correia. The mini-explosion in the 2nd came courtesy of a 2-out, 2-run single by Placido Polanco, followed by a 2-run sort of single by Ryan Howard. (Padres' 2nd baseman Lance Zawadzki misplayed the ball, but the home town scorer ruled it a hit for Howard.)

Those 5 runs would be it for the Phils, as the Padres bullpen shut them down between the 3rd and 10th innings. The Padres tied things up at 5 a piece in the 5th, and took the lead in the 10th when they scored a run off reliever Danys Baez. The Phils tried to get something going in the bottom of the 10th, but Polanco was thrown out at 3rd for the 2nd out of the inning and Jayson Werth later struck out to end the game with runners on 1st and 3rd.

Old friend Matt Stairs started in left for the Padres, going 1 for 4 and knocking in the 3rd of the Padres' 1st inning runs.

2010 Chachi Special Edition #GL Greg Luzinski

Play ball! We attended our first ballgame of 2010 tonight. Well, we attended our first ballgame pre-game of 2010 tonight. By the time the exhibition between the Phillies and Pirates began at Citizens Bank Park, we had already been at the ballpark for about 2 hours. Doug had already inhaled a piece of pizza and most of an ice cream in a helmet. (Why does ice cream always taste better when it comes in a helmet?) We made it to about an hour past his bedtime, decided we should not tempt the growing threat of toddler fatigue and meltdown, and we exited early.

One of the highlights of my night was getting Doug's picture taken with Greg Luzinski. The Bull is the namesake of Bull's BBQ at the far end of Ashburn Alley. I haven't been to a game yet when Luzinski hasn't been seated off to the side of the check-out line, patiently posing for pictures and signing autographs. I explained to Doug I wanted to have his picture taken with someone who used to play for the Phillies. Doug, having recently posed with the Easter Bunny, figured this must be the week to get his picture taken with large, somewhat intimidating people/bunnies. I plan to get this picture blown up to an 8 x 10 and take it back at some point this summer for The Bull's autograph.

The Phillies Room Recommends: I believe I've discussed my appreciation for Bull's BBQ on more than one occasion. If you visit Citizens Bank Park, come hungry, and order the 3-Way Sampler at Bull's. You create your own sampler from half a dozen menu items. I'd go with the pit-roasted turkey slider, the pulled beef BBQ sandwich, and the Bull Dog - a giant kielbasa which requires the addition of Bull's BBQ sauce and chopped onions. If you're feeling lucky, go with the platter which adds on baked beans and cole slaw. Tell 'em Jim sent you.

2010 Chachi Mike Schmidt Special #MS5 1988-1990

The Mike Schmidt Special insert set concludes with the slugger's last two regularly issued Topps baseball cards and a "card that never was" from the 1990 Topps set. Schmidt announced his retirement on May 29, 1989, after struggling at the start of the 1989 season and concluding he could no longer play at the level to which he was accustomed. Despite his retirement, the fans voted Schmidt to be the starting third baseman at the 1989 All-Star Game. He graciously accepted and took part in the pre-game ceremonies. (The Mets' Howard Johnson got the starting nod in Schmidt's stead.)

The 1990 Topps set is easily one of my least favorite Topps sets of all-time, taking its rightful place alongside sets from 1995 and 1999. Topps could have redeemed itself (slightly) for using such a ghastly design by including a final card of Mike Schmidt, which would have featured his complete career statistics on the back. I'm already aware of one other custom-made 1990 Topps Mike Schmidt card, which was perfectly executed, but I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring with the card featured here. I used the picture from the 1989 Phillies Yearbook for the card.

Finally, I had a few great suggestions as to what to put in the 4th spot on this card. I love the idea of doing a Then and Now card, or featuring a picture from Schmidt's 500th home run. I also love the idea of having Schmidt thinking about one of the great third baseman of yesteryear (Pinky Whitney?) similar to what Topps did with its 1986 tribute to Pete Rose by incorporating Ty Cobb in a bubble over Rose's head. In the end though, I decided to go with his Hall of Fame plaque, which I thought served as a fitting bookend to the overall tribute.

2010 Chachi Mike Schmidt Special #MS4 1984-1987

Mike Schmidt won the NL MVP honors three times in his career, and each year he won the award (1980, 1981 and 1986) he appeared on a great-looking baseball card. I've never been a huge fan of the 1986 Topps design, but there's no denying that's a great shot of the slugger on his '86 card.

The 1987 Topps set featured a return to the wood-grained background first featured with the 1962 Topps set, also known as 2011 Topps Heritage.

Coming next: The Mike Schmidt Special insert set wraps up with the final two cards from his career and a 1990 Topps card that never was, and probably never should have been. (So that fills 3 of the 4 spaces on the final card. Any suggestions as to what to use to fill the 4th space?)

2010 Chachi Mike Schmidt Special #MS3 1980-1983

The early '80s were very good to Mike Schmidt. He helped lead the Phillies to their first World Championship. He won back-to-back NL MVP honors in 1981 and 1982. He was in the midst of six straight All-Star Game appearances. And he appeared on a ton of baseball cards. The entrance of Donruss and Fleer into the hobby in 1981 meant even more Mike Schmidt cards.

Any pack of baseball cards yielding a Mike Schmidt card in the early '80s was instantly a great pack. I didn't own his 1980 card until years later, but I had a few versions of his Burger King card which was virtually the same thing. I always loved the 1981 card - the eye black, the mini Phillies hat in the corner, the baby blue road uniform, the fact he was yelling something important to someone on the field. The 1982 card is probably my least favorite of the bunch, and it seemed as if Topps used variations of this posed shot on at least 5 or 6 of its 1982 issues. The 1983 card was never one of my favorites either, solely for the fact it appears as if the mighty Michael Jack has just grounded weakly to short.

2010 Chachi Special Edition #MS Mike Schmidt

A year ago tonight, I started this blog with an auspicious debut post stating, "Welcome to The Phillies Room blog! That's right, I'm blogging. Bloggity blog blog." I like to think it's been all uphill from there.

I've always had an outlet to chronicle my passion, my hobby of following the Phillies and collecting their baseball cards. Whether it was pictures I would draw as a youngster, or scrapbooks I'd compile during my formidable years, or even baseball cards I'd create to show off to my wife and family members - I always had an outlet. Last year, the launch of a blog seemed like the natural next step in this progression.

I had a few informal rules in mind as I started the blog, and I'd like to think I've stuck to them:

1. Feature a Phillies baseball card in every post.

2. Write about what I know and what I care about, and don't weigh in on topics where I don't have all the facts or I'm simply ambivalent.

3. There's no obligation for a routine or a deadline or even a daily posting. If a day or a few days are missed, so be it. Never apologize for this.

4. Don't complain or whine.

5. Have fun. Baseball is a great game and this is a fun hobby. As soon as blogging becomes burdensome or annoying, the whole point is lost. Besides, baseball cards and burdensome belong no where near each other in the same conversation.

6. Become the predominant source on the internet for random past and present anecdotes about the Phillies, coupled with homemade baseball cards named after a very special dog, who in turn was named after Arthur Fonzarelli's favorite cousin.

Along the way, I've met some wonderful fellow-bloggers, baseball fans and baseball card collectors. I've traded baseball cards for the first time since I was in elementary school. I've been able to ask my Dad the daily question, "Have you seen the blog yet?" and it's allowed us to reminisce about collecting the '56s or the '75s or going to the Ocean City baseball card shows. It's been fun, and I'll keep it up as long as it continues to be fun. Here's to Year 2 of The Phillies Room and I sincerely thank you for reading.

2010 Chachi Mike Schmidt Special #MS2 1976-1979

I've seen images of these Mike Schmidt cards thousands of times, but there's still something inherently pleasing about seeing these four cards together. Continuing with the 2010 Chachi Mike Schmidt Special insert set, card #2 in the 5-card series brings together Schmidt's Topps cards from what I will henceforth refer to as the Star Wars years.

The Phillies won back-to-back-to-back NL East titles in 1976, 1977 and 1978, but during those years my world was all Star Wars, all the time. Tonight, my Mom brought over three huge moving boxes filled with my old Star Wars playsets and vehicles. As I removed everything from the boxes, with my 3-year-old son looking on eagerly, I couldn't help but think back to how it first felt, some 30-plus years ago, to play with these toys for the first time. Doug's patience was severely tried each time I slowed down the unpacking process to admire an old Dewback or to try and remember how to open the top of the Jawa Sandcrawler. I get the same warm and fuzzy feeling looking back on these old toys as I do each and every time I see a Mike Schmidt baseball card from the '70s.

It's cool to have the memories stirred by a '77 Topps Mike Schmidt card or a still operational Lightsaber flashlight. But what's even cooler is the new memories created when your son asks you to put together an old rickety Death Star Space Station play set so that he and you can help Luke rescue Princess Leia from Darth Vader.

And may the Force be with you, always.

2010 Chachi Mike Schmidt Special #MS1 1972-1975

In 1974, Topps celebrated the newly crowned Home Run Champion by starting off its baseball card set with 6 "Hank Aaron Special" cards. Card #1 commemorated his record-breaking feat and included Hank's career stats on the back. Cards #2 through #6 featured Hank's Topps baseball cards from 1954 through 1973, 4 to a card.

The 2010 Chachi set will debut a week from tomorrow, and the set will borrow the design of the 1974 Topps set. Keeping with the theme of celebrating a home run champ, and using the same design Topps used for its Hank Aaron Special cards, I'm putting together a special 2010 Chachi insert set for the Phillies' all-time home run king - Michael Jack Schmidt.

Card #1 in this 5-card subset features Schmidt's early cards, including two cards that never were. Schmidt made his Phillies debut on September 12, 1972, too late to even be included in the 1972 Topps high-numbered series. To create his 1972 Topps card, I recycled the picture Topps used for Schmidt's 2001 American Pie baseball card. To create the 1973 Topps card featured here, I used the template for the 1973 base cards and blew up the picture from Schmidt's coveted rookie card, #615 in the set. No offense to Ron Cey or John Hilton, but I always thought Schmidt deserved a solo 1973 card.

2010 Chachi Special Edition #JW Jayson Werth

The last time we saw Jayson Werth, being struck out by Mariano Rivera in the 8th inning of Game 6, he was sporting a tidy little soul patch on his chin and a few days' stubble growth.

A little over three months later, Jayson Werth arrived at Spring Training today sporting an impressive collection of new hair. The pure magnificence of his 2010 beard merits a Chachi Special Edition insert card. Eric Bruntlett may be in the Nationals' camp this year, but it's nice to see he bequeathed his beard-wielding rights to Mr. Werth.

Behold the glory.

Ex-Phils on the Move II

2010 Chachi Ex-Phillies #X9 Eric Bruntlett

Since early December, the following former Phillies have found new homes. Most of these transactions involve the players signing minor league contracts with invitations to Spring Training:

Marlon Byrd (2002-2005) - Signed with the Chicago Cubs.

Eric Bruntlett (2008-2009) - Signed a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals.

Jack Taschner (2009) - Signed a minor league deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Rodrigo Lopez (2009) - Signed a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Carlos Silva (2002-2003) - Traded to the Chicago Cubs from the Seattle Mariners for Milton Bradley.

Joe Thurston (2006) - Signed a minor league deal with the Atlanta Braves.

Geoff Geary (2003-2007) - Signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers.

R.J. Swindle (2008) - Signed a minor league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Francisco Rosario (2007) - Signed a minor league deal with the Kansas City Royals.

Mike Cervenak (2008) - Signed a minor league deal with the New York Mets.

T.J. Bohn (2008) - Signed a minor league deal with the Chicago White Sox.

On the heals of the Houston Astros' signing of Pedro Feliz, Eric Bruntlett's departure represents the second player from the 2008 World Championship team to leave Philadelphia so far this offseason.

2010 Chachi Ex-Phillies #X11 Clay Condrey

Almost lost in the shuffle as a result of the Trade of the Decade, The Phillies Room is still sad to bid farewell to relief pitcher Everyday Clay Condrey, who was non-tendered prior to the midnight deadline last Saturday. Essentially, this means the team declined to offer Clay a 2010 contract, making him a free agent. The Phillies still have the ability to re-sign Clay, so this Ex-Phillies card could be a little premature. Clay had been within the Phillies organization since 2004 and he’ll always be remembered for the steady middle-inning relief he provided during the team’s 2008 Championship run.

Dad's Favorite New Phil: Outfielder/first baseman Ross Gload signed a 2-year deal with the Phillies on Tuesday, seemingly finalizing the Phillies bench for 2010. Gload, who turns 34 in April, spent last season with the Marlins where he hit .261 in 125 games, with 6 homers and 30 RBI.

Non-Roster Invitees: The Phillies recently announced they had invited seven minor-league free agents to Spring Training. The seven invitees, with their 2009 organization in parenthesis: outfielder Chris Duffy (Brewers), catcher Paul Hoover (Phillies), infielder Cody Ransom (Yankees), first baseman Andy Tracy (Phillies), infielder Wilson Valdez (Mets), lefty pitcher Bill White (out of baseball in 2009, last pitched with the Rangers organization in 2008), and outfielder DeWayne Wise (White Sox). Cody Ransom is an interesting name. He was the opening day third baseman for the Yankees, as Alex Rodriguez was recovering from hip surgery at the time.

2010 Chachi Special Edition #RH Roy Halladay

The sting of losing Cliff Lee started to fade as soon as I saw Roy Halladay don his new Phillies jersey for the first time. Ironically enough, Roy claimed Lee's #34 as his new number with the Phils. The addition of Halladay bolsters the team's starting rotation and gives us a rock, a stopper, for the next four seasons, quite possibly five.

He said all the right things at his introductory press conference, including his desire to not only win in 2010, but to win in 2011 and 2012:

"This is a dream come true. The longer you play in your carer the
more important (winning) becomes. I've been able to establish myself, achieve things. The more I play, the more I realize how important that is for me. To see a team do it in back-to-back years and have that success says a lot about the players in the clubhouse and people that are putting the team together. It's not an accident. I want to be a part of that. I've heard great things about the people and great things about the organization. That is big for me. The biggest thing is having a chance to win and hopefully do it a couple of times. For me, that was the biggest factor."

Halladay is a 6-time All-Star and a former Cy Young Award winner, having won the award in 2003. In the last four seasons, he's finished in the top five in the American League Cy Young voting, but he's never pitched in a Postseason game. We both hope that changes this year. Pitchers and catchers report February 18th.

2010 Chachi Ex-Phillies #X12 Cliff Lee

There has been a deal.

140 days after he arrived in town as the new ace of the Phillies beleaguered starting rotation, Cliff Lee is on the move again. In a deal designed to free up salary, Lee was officially sent to the Seattle Mariners today for prospects Phillippe Aumont, Tyson Gillies and Juan Ramirez. In a second trade, the Phillies acquired pitcher Roy Halladay and cash from the Toronto Blue Jays for top prospects Kyle Drabek, Michael Taylor and Travis D'Arnaud.

I'm torn here . . . On one hand I'm ecstatic to have Doc Halladay as the ace of the Phillies pitching staff for the next 4, perhaps 5 years. On the other hand, it's tough to see Cliff Lee and Kyle Drabek move on. Cliff was a class act, a professional.

It's cliché, but only time will tell if Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. is a genius or if he got completely fleeced on these deals. When do pitchers and catchers report?

Other Stuff: The Phils play a 3-game series against the Blue Jays the last weekend of June. The last trade between the Phillies and the Mariners occurred in August 2006 when the Phils acquired Jamie Moyer for prospects Andrew Baldwin and Andrew Barb.

2010 Chachi Ex-Phillies

2010 Chachi Ex-Phillies #X1 Brett Myers

2010 Chachi Ex-Phillies #X2 Pedro Martinez

Twenty-eight people cast their votes in the poll to help decide which Topps set should be used as the basis for the 2010 Chachi set. Amazingly enough, the results fell in line with how I was hoping the poll would turn out (voters could vote more than once):

1974 Topps - 11 votes

1983 Topps - 10 votes

1971 Topps - 8 votes

1982 Topps - 2 votes

To commemorate the 1974 Topps set's victory, I'm featuring the first two ex-Phillies of the offseason. Brett Myers and Pedro Martinez filed for free agency on Friday, and they join Miguel Cairo and Pedro Feliz as members of the 2009 NL Champs who most likely won't return next year. I thought Brett Myers had pitched his final game as a Phillie back in May, but to his credit, he worked his way back from injury. It was a fun ride with Pedro, although I'm not convinced he was the right choice to start Game 6.

There's still some unfinished business with the 2009 Chachi set - I need to complete the World Series cards (unfortunately) and a checklist is needed. The 2010 Chachi set will debut on Opening Day, April 5, 2010.