Game 14 - Phils Falter in City Connect Uniform Debut

2023 Topps Heritage #314

Pirates 5, Phillies 2
Game 14 - Friday Night, April 12th in Philadelphia
Record - 7-7, 2nd Place, 2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies dropped a sloppy game against the Pirates on the night they debuted their long-awaited City Connect uniforms.

What It Means:  With the series now tied, the Phillies will try to recover and win a pair of weekend afternoon games today and tomorrow.

What Happened:  The energy generated by the new uniforms was not replicated on the field.  The Phillies were trailing 2-0 in the fifth when Brandon Marsh doubled and Bryson Stott singled him home.  Down 5-1, they loaded the bases in the eighth and came away with only one more run from a bases loaded walk issued to Alec Bohm.  Cristopher Sanchez was shaky on the mound, but did battle through six innings, allowing an unearned run (the error was his) on four hits while striking out six.  Yunior Marte and Ricardo Pinto allowed three more runs to score in relief.

Featured Card:  Bailey Falter started for the Pirates and took the win.  He gave up a run on four hits in his five innings of work, besting Sanchez, who essentially replaced him in the Phillies' starting pitching rotation last season.

Field Report:  Doug and I took in this game from Section 315, and we contributed to the Phillies' merchandise revenue with several City Connect related purchases.  I've long been a fan of the Phillies' blue and yellow uniform combinations from the 1930s, and I personally love the blue and yellow color combination of their new City Connect uniforms.  I would have tweaked a few things, and maybe not had the all-black pants, but overall they're not bad.  I love the hat and the yellow highlights, and I'm also a fan of the Declaration of Independence-style "Philly" font prominent on the fronts of the jerseys.

We're also happy to report our first visit to Bull's BBQ for 2024 was a success, and we're looking forward to many repeat visits throughout the summer and fall.

2024 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2024 Season Summary Index / 2024 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 107 - Phils Storm Back in 9th for Win; Acquire Lorenzen, Castro

2023 Topps Heritage #134

Phillies 3, Marlins 1
Game 107 - Tuesday Night, August 1st in Miami
Record - 58-49, 2nd Place, 11 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies were held scoreless and mostly lifeless until a three-run outburst in the ninth inning, capped by a Nick Castellanos two-run home run, sent them to this 3-1 win.

What It Means:  A statement was needed against the division rival Marlins, and after this game things looked to be headed in the right direction.

What Happened:  Phillies' batters were thrilled to see Marlins' starter Sandy Alcantara exit the game after nine innings.  Alcantara shut down the Phillies through eight, allowing four hits and striking out five.  Phillies' starter Ranger Suarez was hit often, but somehow managed to give up only a run on 10 hits and a pair of walks in 6 1/3 innings.  

Down to their final at-bat, trailing 1-0 in the top of the 9th, Kyle Schwarber led off the inning with a walk drawn from new Marlins' closer David Robertson.  Bryce Harper would double home pinch-runner Jake Cave a batter later, tying the game.  Castellanos then delivered his 15th home run of the year to give the Phillies a 3-1 lead.  Seranthony Dominguez was perfect in the bottom of the ninth, recording his first save of the season.

Featured Card:  Here's this year's Topps Heritage card for the Phillies' All-Star, who had bee struggling mightily before his big home run.

2023 Topps #564

2023 Bowman Prospects #BP-52

2023 Topps #484

2023 Topps #643

Transactions:  On trade deadline day, the Phillies pulled off two deals.  First, Michael Lorenzen (rhp) was acquired from the Tigers for prospect Hao-Yu Lee (inf).  Lorenzen was an All-Star this year in his first year with the Tigers.  He's a veteran of nine big league seasons, where he's been primarily a starter in only his first year, 2015 with the Reds, and these past two seasons with the Angels and Tigers.  He's 36-36 lifetime with a 4.02 ERA in 331 games pitched.  A threat at the plate too, he's a lifetime .233 batter with seven home runs, including two against the Phillies.  Lee was batting .283 in 64 games this season with the Low-A Jersey Shore BlueClaws.

Second, the Phillies traded Bailey Falter (lhp) to the Pirates for Rodolfo Castro (inf).  In 2 1/2 seasons with the Pirates, Castro batted .226 in 180 games with 22 home runs and 57 RBIs.  Falter showed flashes of brilliance during his two-plus years with the Phillies, but overall he was 8-12 with a 4.56 ERA in 50 games, including 24 starts.  He was lit up by the Padres in last year's NLCS Game 4, allowing four runs in the first in a game the Phillies would ultimately win, 10-6.

Josh Harrison (inf) was designated for assignment to make room for Lorenzen on the 40-man roster, meaning the Phillies played with an open roster spot in this game.

2023 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2023 Season Summary Index / 2023 Chachi Set Checklist

2023 Chachi #16 Bailey Falter

#70

Bailey Falter
Starting Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'4"  Weight:  175
Opening Day Age:  25

Born:  April 24, 1997, Chino Hills, CA
Acquired:  Drafted by the Phillies in the 5th round of the 2015 amateur draft, June 9, 2015

Contract Status:  Arbitration eligible 2025
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Phillies 2021-2023

Bailey Falter has battled injuries and inconsistency since joining the Phillies organization in 2015 as the team's 5th round draft pick.  A starting pitcher throughout his minor league career, he was first used as a reliever in 2021 by the Phillies appearing in 22 games throughout the season.  He'd make 16 starts with the 2022 Phillies, and appear in 20 games overall, going 6-4 with a 3.86 ERA.  His sole postseason appearance came in Game 4 of the NLCS, and he didn't make it out of the first inning.  Falter has started the 2023 season with an 0-7 record, and he was optioned to Lehigh Valley on May 16th in order to hopefully turn things around.

2017 Chachi BlueClaws Signing Autographs #2

2021 Chachi #39

2022 Chachi #19

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  2015 Bowman Draft #3
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A
Newest Card Added to My Phillies Collection:  2023 Topps Phillies #PHI-8
Total Cards in My Phillies Collection:  12 as of 5/16/23.

Complete Chachi Checklist
2017 Chachi BlueClaws Signing Autographs #2

2021 Chachi #39 
2022 Chachi #19

2023 Chachi #16

2023 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2023 Season Summary Index / 2023 Chachi Set Checklist

2023 Chachi #15 Zack Wheeler / 2023 Chachi #17 Taijuan Walker

Game 34 - Falter Falters Against Sox; Losing Streak Hits 6 Games

2023 Topps Phillies #PHI-8

Red Sox 7, Phillies 4
Game 34 - Saturday Night, May 6th in Philadelphia
Record - 15-19, 4th Place, 8 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The backwards slide continued as Bailey Falter and the Phillies couldn't overcome the surging Sox, losing 7-4.

What It Means:  The losing streak is at six, and the Phils will try to avoid a series sweep behind Taijuan Walker this afternoon.

What Happened:  Falter dropped to 0-6.  He was perfect through the first three innings, setting done nine Red Sox batters in order.  The wheels completely fell off in the fourth, as Falter allowed five runs to score and departed the game.  Bryce Harper connected for his first home run of 2023 in the fifth inning, and Trea Turner hit his fourth home run in the seventh.  Leadoff batter Kyle Schwarber saw his average drop to .176 after an 0 for 5 outing.

Featured Card:  The 17-card Topps Phillies team sets are out, and this set is once again a nice complement to the regular Topps flagship release.  The sets serve as previews to cards we'll eventually see in Series Two, or contain cards that may never make it to the main flagship release.  This Falter card may or may not appear in Series Two, but it's nice to have a standard mainstream Phillies baseball card for the pitcher, even though he's struggling right now.  Topps has released these sets every years since 2006, skipping 2021 as the world (and the baseball card market) recovered from the pandemic.

Field Report:  Doug and I made it through the seventh inning of this game before opting to beat the traffic and head home.  We enjoyed Bull's BBQ for dinner, picked up the aforementioned Topps Phillies team set, and added a few more Phillies Kids Club cards to Doug's brother Ben's set.  The Bull's BBQ, the sights and the company were excellent, the game not so much.

2023 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2023 Season Summary Index / 2023 Chachi Set Checklist

Game 120 - Falter Halts the Mets as Phils Win

2022 Phillies Photo Cards #70

Phillies 4, Mets 1 (Game 2)
Game 120 - Saturday Night, August 20th in Philadelphia
Record - 66-54, 3rd Place, 11 games behind the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Bailey Falter pitched the best game of his young career, as the Phillies held on to beat the Mets, 4-1.

What It Means:  The Phillies will go for a series split in this afternoon's series finale.

What Happened:  Falter went six strong innings, allowing a run on two hits and two walks.  The Mets run scored in the first inning on a wild pitch.  The Phillies received big, much-needed hits from J.T. Realmuto, singling in the first to tie the game, and Alec Bohm, doubling in the third to drive in a pair of runs and give the Phillies a 3-1 lead.  Rhys Hoskins added an insurance run with an RBI-single in the eighth.  With Seranthony Dominguez apparently experiencing tightness in his triceps, David Robertson secured the two-inning save.

Featured Card:  It's got to be Falter, and this is his team-issued photo card, still available for sale at the ballpark at $6 for the set.

Field Report:  Doug and I joined roughly 40,000 other fans at this game, getting our new sustainable Phillies hats at the front gate and then heading immediately to Bull's BBQ for dinner.  The biggest shocker of the night was seeing Ron Reed signed Wall of Fame baseballs for sale at the Phillies Authentics stand prior to the start of the game.  We agreed to return to the stand during the game to secure a Reed ball for Doug's collection.  Returning in the eighth inning, we were shocked to learn all Reed balls had been sold out, and I'm assuming he didn't sign many of them.  Lesson learned, and we'll be sure to buy something when first seen from here on out.

2022 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2022 Season Summary Index / 2022 Chachi Set Checklist

2022 Chachi #19 Bailey Falter

#70
Bailey Falter
Relief Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  205
Opening Day Age:  24
Born:  April 24, 1997, Chino Hills, CA
How Obtained:  Selected by Phillies in 5th round of June 2015 amateur player draft
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Phillies 2021-

First Phillies Minor League Card:  2016 Choice Williamsport Crosscutters #9
First Phillies Card:  2015 Bowman Draft #3
Newest Card Added:  2021 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #10
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A

9 - Falter baseball cards in my collection per The Phillies Room Checklist as of 5/10/22.

Complete Chachi Checklist
2017 Chachi BlueClaws Signing Autographs #2

2021 Chachi #39
2022 Chachi #19

2022 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2022 Season Summary Index / 2022 Chachi Set Checklist

2022 Chachi #18 Zack Wheeler / 2022 Chachi #20 Damon Jones

2021 Chachi #39 Bailey Falter

#70
Bailey Falter
Relief Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'3"  Weight:  205
Opening Day Age:  23
Born:  April 24, 1997, Chino Hills, CA
How Obtained:  Selected by Phillies in 5th round of June 2015 amateur player draft
Major League Teams:  Philadelphia Phillies 2021

First Phillies Card:  2015 Bowman Draft #3
First Phillies Minor League Card:  2016 Choice Williamsport Crosscutters #9
First Phillies Team Issued Card:  N/A

Newest Card Added:  2019 Choice Reading Fightin Phils #4

Topps Flagship Set Appearances (0):  N/A

8 - Falter baseball cards in my collection per The Phillies Room Checklist as of 5/29/21.

Complete Chachi Checklist
2017 Chachi BlueClaws Signing Autographs #2

2021 Chachi #39

The Covid-related bullpen shuffle saw the Phillies promote Bailey Falter and Ramon Rosso on April 20th, with Damon Jones and Cristopher Sanchez getting sent back down.  Falter stuck around for five games, pitching two innings in his Major League debut on April 25th.  He allowed four hits and a home run to C.J. Cron in a blow-out loss to the Rockies.  He returned to Lehigh Valley on April 26th and he's currently pitching for the IronPigs.

2021 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2021 Season Summary Index / 2021 Chachi Set Checklist

Prospects Added to 40-Man Roster; Cotham Named New Pitching Coach

2019 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #8

2019 Grandstand Reading Fightin Phils #33

2020 Topps Pro Debut #PD-106

2019 R-Phils Phillies Top 25 Prospects #15

2019 Choice Medusas de Lakewood #20

2019 R-Phils Phillies Top 25 Prospects #17

For the first time since a group of Phillies became free agents following the World Series, there was some movement with the team's roster.  As part of the annual offseason ritual of preparing for the rule 5 draft, teams must add draft-eligible players to their 40-man roster if they're to be protected. The Phillies added six of their top prospects to the 40-man roster yesterday, as summarized below.

Normally I'd include a sentence or two here about each player's prior year minor league performance, but with no minor league baseball in 2020 there's not much to say.

• Kyle Dohy (lhp) - Dohy was a spring training non-roster invitee in 2020, but then left off the 60-player pool over the summer.
• Bailey Falter (lhp) - One of three lefties added, Falter pitched for Reading in 2019.
• Damon Jones (lhp) - Jones was a non-roster invitee and a member of the 60-player pool.
• Nick Maton (inf) - Like Jones, Maton was a non-roster invitee and a member of the 60-player pool.
• Francisco Morales (rhp) - Ranked the team's 4th top prospect by MLB Pipeline, Morales projects as a starting pitcher and he reached Low-A Lakewood in 2019.
• Simon Muzziotti (of) - Center fielder Muzziotti spent all of 2019 with Clearwater and he's apparently an above average defender.

Granted 2020 was a bizarre season, but three of the four prospects (Garrett Cleavinger, Mauricio Llovera and JoJo Romero) added to the 40-man roster this time last year saw action with the Phillies over the summer.

Memory Lane

2009 Additions - Quintin Berry, Yohan Flande and Jesus Sanchez
2010 Additions - Cesar Hernandez, Matt Rizzotti, Harold Garcia, Freddy Galvis and Justin De Fratus
2011 Additions - Phillippe Aumont, Jake Diekman, Tyson Gillies and Sebastian Valle
2012 Additions - Zach Collier, Ethan Martin, Trevor May and Jonathan Pettibone
2013 Additions - Aaron Altherr, Kelly Dugan, Tommy Joseph and Rob Rasmussen
2014 Additions - Jesse Biddle, Adam Morgan and Nefi Ogando
2015 Additions - Jimmy Cordero, Roman Quinn and Edubray Ramos
2016 Additions - 11 prospects
2017 Additions - Seranthony Dominguez, Franklyn Kilome, Ranger Suarez, Jose Taveras and Engelb Vielma
2018 Additions - Arquimedes Gamboa, Edgar Garcia and Adonis Medina
2019 Additions - Garrett Cleavinger, Mauricio Llovera, JoJo Romero and Cristopher Sanchez

2020 Additions - Kyle Dohy, Bailey Falter, Damon Jones, Nick Maton, Francisco Morales and Simon Muzziotti

* * *

2017 Topps #188

Earlier Friday afternoon, the Phillies named Caleb Cotham as their new pitching coach, the team's fifth  pitching coach in as many years.  Admittedly, I know nothing about Cotham other than he appeared in the 2016 and 2017 Topps sets.  He appeared in 35 games (all in relief) with the Yankees in 2015 and the Reds in 2016, going 1-3 with a 7.15 ERA over 34 innings pitched.  His manager with the Yankees in 2015 was current Phillies manager Joe Girardi and his manager with the Reds in 2016 was outgoing Phillies pitching coach Bryan Price.

Cotham had been the Reds assistant pitching coach the past two seasons.  The Phillies are still looking for a new bullpen coach to replace Jim Gott, as Gott's contract was not renewed following the 2020 season.

Phillies Pitching Coaches Since 1970

Ray Rippelmeyer 1970-1978
Herm Starrette 1979-1981
Claude Osteen 1982-1988
Darold Knowles 1989-1990
Johnny Podres 1991-1996
Jim Wright 1996
Galen Cisco 1997-2000
Vern Ruhle 2001-2002
Joe Kerrigan 2003-2004
Rich Dubee 2005-2013
Bob McClure 2014-2017
Rick Kranitz 2018
Chris Young 2019

Bryan Price 2020

Caleb Cotham 2021-

5th Annual Lakewood BlueClaws Outing

Our summer has been slightly more jam packed that our typical summers due to sports, camps, vacations and other fun activities, but we were determined to make it to Lakewood for the fifth year in a row to enjoy a BlueClaws game.  As accommodating as the BlueClaws players have been in the past when it comes to signing autographs, they were even more so last night.  Doug came away with nine player autographs, including two from the Phillies last two top draft picks - Mickey Moniak and Adam Haseley.  Haseley signed Doug's mini BlueClaws bat, which is now being proudly displayed in his bedroom.


At one point, a gaggle of BlueClaws players congregated around a bunch of autograph-seeking kids, helping the kids to find their cards within the BlueClaws team set.  Some of the players were quick to point out that they hadn't made it into the team set.  When the flurry of signing was over, Doug had added autographs from Colby Fitch, Bailey Falter, Darick Hall, Casey Brown, Jonathan Hennigan, Haseley, Moniak, Gustavo Armas and Daniel Brito.


Our youngest son Ben added a few autographs to his collection (including Moniak's) but he was more interested in the playground in left field than autograph seeking.  He was also happy to pose for a picture with Sparky from the Brick, NJ Fire Department.  As usual, we had a blast and we can't wait to return next season!

The BlueClaws prevailed in this game over the Delmarva Shorebirds, 4-3 in 11 innings, thanks to an Austin Listi walk-off single.  Haseley had hit a three-run home run, his first with the BlueClaws, to give the team a 3-1 lead in the eighth.

2017 Choice Lakewood BlueClaws #6

2017 Topps Pro Debut #1

2017 Choice Phillies Top 30 Prospects #5

2017 Choice Lakewood BlueClaws #15

Memory Lane
2013 BlueClaws Game
2014 BlueClaws Game
2015 BlueClaws Game
2016 BlueClaws Game

Meanwhile, in San Francisco . . .

Phillies 12, Giants 9
Game 121 - Saturday Night, August 19th in San Francisco
Record - 44-77, 5th place, 29 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  The offense, capped by a pinch-hit grand slam from Ty Kelly and a three-run home run from Rhys Hoskins, unexpectedly exploded and the Phillies held on to win this game, 12-9.

What It Means:  The six game losing streak is over and the Phillies are now 1-11 in games played in California this season.

What Happened:  Also adding unexpected RBIs were Cameron Perkins and Pedro Florimon. Perkins had an adventure in this game in the outfield that included kicking a Denard Span hit that led to the official scorer giving Span an inside the park home run on the first pitch of the game.  Kelly's pinch-hit grand slam was the first by a Phillies pinch-hitter since Hector Luna did it on May 16, 2012.