Game 111 - Sanchez, Duran Shut Down Tigers in 2-0 Win

Detroit Tigers	0
Philadelphia Phillies	2

2025 Topps Now #514

Sunday Night, August 3rd

Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA
63-48, 1st Place, 1/2 game ahead of the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  Cristopher Sanchez threw only 84 pitches in eight innings and Jhoan Duran topped 103mph as the two pitching stars combined to shutout the Tigers, 2-0.

What It Means:  This was an impressive series win, given the Tigers are a first place team, and it's exciting to think the Phillies will have these two pitchers for several more years.  Duran can be a free agent following the 2027 season and Sanchez is signed through 2028.

What Happened:  Sanchez picked up his team-leading 10th win, allowing five hits and striking out six.  For the second time over the weekend, Duran entered the ballpark in the dark, flames shooting across all screens, accompanied by his signature song.  He needed 12 pitches to record his second save with the Phillies.  Max Kepler knocked in the first run with an RBI ground out in the second, and Kyle Schwarber hit a towering solo home run in the eighth, for what turned out to be an unneeded insurance run.

2025 Chachi
Friendly Encounters #3

Featured Card:  Two saves, two Topps Now cards for Duran.

Field Report:  Jenna and I attended our third game of the weekend, taking our oldest son Doug and his girlfriend.  Thanks to a hot tip from fellow collector Rick, we knew the Phillies would have two autograph stations inside the ballpark as part of their Alumni Day festivities.  Manny Trillo was stationed in the Hall of Fame Club, while Jamie Moyer and Ben Francisco manned a table outside the Phillies Authentics store.  Gone are the days when a dozen or so players would agree to sign before these games, stationed throughout the ballpark.  Trillo sat at his table with plenty of Sharpies, but nothing to sign.  First in line, he was kind enough to pose for a photo with me.  The Moyer/Francisco tandem only signed for about 20 minutes, with Moyer departing earlier than Francisco.  Doug and his girlfriend were able to get me a signed Francisco photo card, the same card that's been available since 2019, and they grabbed a few autograph-less Moyer cards as well.

The pregame ceremony was once again fantastic, with alumni lining up along the third base line.  Robin Roberts' grandson and Richie Ashburn's son threw out ceremonial first pitches as the Phillies paid tribute to the 75th anniversary of the 1950 Whiz Kids.

2025 Virtual Phillies Wall / 2025 Season Summary Index / 2025 Chachi Set Checklist

Series Preview - Rays at Phillies: August 24th to August 25th

2021 Chachi Fan Favorites #9

1986 Topps #453

Tuesday and Wednesday 7:05
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

At the Ballpark:  It's Scooby Doo Night tonight at the ballpark, and if you purchased a special theme night ticket, you'll receive a Phillies Scooby Doo bobblehead.  Wednesday is a rare August Dollar Dog Night.

Rays 77-48
1st Place in the A.L. East, 4 games ahead of the Yankees

Rays Probables
Drew Rasmussen (1-0, 3.30)
TBD

Rays Leaders
Average:  Randy Arozarena - .274
Runs:  Brandon Lowe - 76
Home Runs:  Brandon Lowe - 29
RBIs:  Austin Meadows - 88
Stolen Bases:  Brett Phillips - 12

Wins:  Josh Fleming - 10
ERA:  N/A

Strikeouts:  Tyler Glasnow - 123
Saves:  Diego Castillo - 14

Phillies 63-61
2nd Place in the N.L. East, 4 1/2 games behind the Braves

Phillies Probables
Ranger Suarez (5-4, 1.47)
Zack Wheeler (10-8, 2.77)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Jean Segura - .295
Runs:  Bryce Harper - 71
Home Runs:  Rhys Hoskins - 26
RBIs:  Rhys Hoskins - 70
Stolen Bases:  Bryce Harper - 12

Wins:  Zack Wheeler - 10
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 2.77
Strikeouts:  Zack Wheeler - 194
Saves:  Hector Neris - 12

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

2010 Topps Phillies

2010 Topps #590, #334, 2010 Topps Update #US245 and 2010 Topps #23

Why am I having so much trouble starting and finishing the last few posts in my ongoing Topps Phillies series?  I flew through the initial posts a few years ago, churning out a post a week up through the late 1990s.  And then I stalled out.  I dug back in and made my way up through the mid-2000s before stalling out again.  The 2008 and 2009 posts were fun to put together, but I haven't been able to sufficiently motivate myself to wrap up the series with a look at the Topps Phillies cards from 2010, 2011, 2012 and most recently, 2013. 

I think, and this is only a theory, it's because these cards hold no real historical or sentimental interest to me personally, at least not yet.  Maybe in ten or twenty years' time, I'll look back at the 2010 Topps set with a sense of nostalgia, but that's a long ways off.

2010 was the first full year I maintained this here blog.  It was the year we welcomed our second son Benjamin into our lives, and he's been amazing us ever since.  2010 was also the year we began to realize that my Dad's health was failing, and the Phillies and their baseball cards provided a welcome haven from the real world.

The Set

2010 Topps #334 (Back)

Number of cards in the set:  Without counting the short-printed variations and gimmick cards, there are 660 cards in both series one and series two and 331 cards in the update series.  The extra card in the update series is the much sought after (at the time) Stephen Strasburg rookie card.
My very brief thoughts on the set:  I think this is one of my favorite Topps sets from recent years becuase (1) it's so different from any of the other generic, over-modern designs they've used recently and (2) the team logo is just freakin' huge on the fronts of the cards.  Revisiting the set for this post, I'm also struck by how good the photography is on most of the cards.
Notable competition:  This is the first year that Topps held its exclusive license with MLB, and it flaunted it by displaying large team logos on the fronts and backs of its base cards.  Upper Deck attempted to release a set with obscured or non-visible team logos on the photos, but it just wasn't an attractive or popular set.

2010 Topps #122, #300, #403 and #630

2010 Phillies
Record and finish:  The Phillies were flat-out awesome in 2010, and it was fun to watch them play every day.  They won their fourth consecutive N.L. East pennant, going 97-65 and finishing six games ahead of the Braves.  They swept the Reds in the N.L.D.S. only to have the Giants put an unceremonious end to their run in Game 6 of the N.L.C.S.  The card I created to memorialize the Game 6 loss is one of the most depressing cards in the entire Chachi series.  Why didn't Ryan Howard at least swing the bat?

Key players:  Despite his let-down in the N.L.C.S., Howard enjoyed a fantastic regular season.  He led the team with 108 RBIs and 31 home runs while hitting .276.  He was manager Charlie Manuel's choice as the starting designated hitter for the N.L. All-Star squad.  The outfield trio of Raul Ibanez (.275, 16, 83), Shane Victorino (.259, 18, 69, 34 stolen bases) and Jayson Werth (.296, 27, 85) could run circles around what the team plans to field in 2014.  Returning third baseman Placido Polanco and catcher Carlos Ruiz stabilized an already strong line-up and provided steady defense in the field.

The newly acquired Roy Halladay delivered one of the most dominant seasons by a Phillies pitcher in their franchise history.  On the way to winning the N.L. Cy Young Award, Halladay went 21-10 with a 2.44 ERA and 219 strikeouts.  Cole Hamels pitched much better than his 12-11 record, striking out 211 and compiling a 3.06 ERA.  On June 29th, the Phillies acquired Roy Oswalt and he went 7-1 with a 1.74 ERA in his 13 games with the club.  Brad Lidge bounced back from an awful 2009 with 27 saves and Ryan Madson continued to impress as one of the best set-up men in baseball.

2010 Topps #486, #134 and 2010 Topps Update #US100

Key events:  Following the 2009 season, general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. orchestrated two blockbuster trades, bringing in Halladay from the Blue Jays and inexplicably trading away Cliff Lee to the Mariners.  Lee would return to the organization via free agency following the 2010 season.  Halladay announced his arrival to the National League by pitching the 20th perfect game in Major League history on May 29th.  A few weeks earlier, on May 7th, Jamie Moyer became the oldest player in history to throw a complete game shutout.  And of course, Halladay started off the 2010 postseason by hurling a no-hitter against the Reds in Game 1 of the N.L.D.S.  (See below for links to all the 2010 postseason Chachi cards.)

2010 Phillies in 2010 Topps
Cards needed for a complete team set:  There are 20 Phillies cards in the base set and another seven Phillies cards in the update series.  There are also three veteran variation cards for Richie Ashburn, Steve Carlton and Robin Roberts.
Who's in:

• Cards of the eight starting position players - 8 cards

#122 Carlos Ruiz (c), #590 Ryan Howard (1b), #300 Chase Utley (2b), #403 Jimmy Rollins (ss), #US245 Placido Polanco (3b), #486 Raul Ibanez (lf), #23 Shane Victorino (cf), #334 Jayson Werth (rf)

Topps has a nice little streak going at this point, as the last time they didn't include all regular eight starting position players was with its 2001 set.  That was the year starting catcher Johnny Estrada was completely overlooked by Topps.

2010 Topps #70, #474, #188 and 2010 Topps Update #US95

• Cards of the starting pitching rotation - 5 cards

#US100 Roy Halladay, #70 Cole Hamels, #474 Kyle Kendrick, #188 Joe Blanton, #US95 Jamie Moyer

• Base cards of players who played with the Phillies in 2010 - 7 cards

#89 J.A. Happ, #424 David Herndon, #500 Brad Lidge, #630 Ben Francisco, #655 Ryan Madson, #US21 Roy Oswalt, #US318 Domonic Brown

• Base cards of players who did not play with the Phillies in 2010 - 2 cards

#132 Cliff Lee, #154 Pedro Feliz

• 2009 National League Leaders card - 1 card, #42 Ryan Howard (RBIs)
• Franchise History card - 1 card, #372 Ryan Howard and Cole Hamels

This was a nice little subset added by Topps in its 2010 set.  The front of the card features Howard and Hamels following the conclusion of the 2008 World Series and the back of the card contains a listing of the franchise's all-time, active and prior season leaders in various statistical categories.

• 2010 National League All-Star cards - 2 cards, #US30 Roy Halladay and #US265 Ryan Howard
• Team/Manager card - 1 card, #134 Victorino, Rollins, Utley and Howard on front, Charlie Manuel on back

2010 Topps #500, #655, 2010 Topps Phillies #PHI17 and 2010 Topps Update #US21

Who's out:  The bench guys were largely ignored in the set - Wilson Valdez, Greg Dobbs, Brian Schneider and Ross Gload.  Key bullpen cogs Chad Durbin, Jose Contreras, J.C. Romero and Danys Baez were also omitted, although Romero received a card in the Topps Phillies retail set.

2010 Topps #372

Phillies on other teams:  There's a bunch of these given all the moves made by the Phillies during the offseason and within the regular season.  Halladay (#200, Blue Jays), Polanco (#263, Tigers) and Oswalt (#586, Astros) would appear on Phillies cards within the Update set.  Short timers Nate Robertson (#84, Tigers) and Mike Sweeney (#157, Mariners) would not ever appear on a (non-virtual) Phillies baseball card.
What's he doing here:  I guess it's a little puzzling that Feliz was given a Phillies card in series one, as he became a free agent on November 9, 2009 and signed with the Astros in early December.  By then, the Phils had tabbed Polanco to be their new starting third baseman.

Cards that never were candidates:  If you want a team set featuring the 25-man postseason roster, cards are needed for Gload, Sweeney, Valdez, Schneider, Durbin, Contreras and Antonio Bastardo.
Favorite Phillies card:  It's a tie between the Franchise History card with Hamels and Howard, and the team card featuring key Phillies players following one of their many wins from this era.

2010 Topps #200, 2010 Topps Opening Day #89, 2010 Topps Phillies #PHI7 and 2010 Topps Phillies Factory Set Bonus #PHI1

Other Stuff
Recycled:  This was the year of the Halladay #32/#34 debacle.  Once Halladay was acquired from the Blue Jays in December 2009, the graphic guys at Topps went to work transforming the photo used on his series one card into a Phillies card for their Opening Day set.  Except they neglected to look up that Halladay's #32 was retired by the Phillies thanks to Hall of Famer Carlton's stellar career.  They remedied the issue with a third card found within the Topps Phillies retail set.  Finally, here's a handy little reference to the different 2010 Topps-related Phillies variations available across four different sets and the bonus five-card set found within the special Phillies-themed factory set.  Any variation from the card appearing in the flagship set is noted.

Updates to the Above Chart:  The Halladay factory set bonus card actually features a vertical photograph, unlike his base card.  Brown also has a 2010 Topps-style card in the Red Hot Rookie Redemptions set, featuring a different photo than his base card.

Memory Lane:  After each and every postseason game, I created a Chachi card (complete with backs!) and posted a game summary.

N.L.D.S. Game 1 - Phillies 4, Reds 0 - Doctober Begins with No-Hitter
N.L.D.S. Game 2 - Phillies 7, Reds 4 - Reds Deliver Gift-Wrapped Win to Phils
N.L.D.S. Game 3 - Phillies 2, Reds 0 - Hamels Shuts Down the Reds
N.L.D.S. Clincher

N.L.C.S. Game 1 - Giants 4, Phillies 3 - Phils Undone by Lincecum, Ross & Burrell
N.L.C.S. Game 2 - Phillies 6, Giants 1 - Phils Even Up Series Behind Oswalt & Rollins
N.L.C.S. Game 3 - Giants 3, Phillies 0 - Phils Offense Goes AWOL
N.L.C.S. Game 4 - Giants 6, Phillies 5 - Phillies Fall Short in Game 4
N.L.C.S. Game 5 - Phillies 4, Giants 2 - Doc Gives the Giants Their Medicine
N.L.C.S. Game 6 - Giants 3, Phillies 2 - Giants Stun Phillies

2009 Topps Phillies

2009 Topps #500, #200, #557 and #73

In the latter part of 2008 into the early part of 2009, all was right with the world if you were a Phillies fan.  The team had just been crowned World Champions and we were all living in the afterglow of the magical 2008 season.  My fellow Phillies fans wanted to talk about the team and relive the memorable moments from the championship season.  The Philadelphia Comcast station constantly re-ran the key games from the 2008 postseason, and played interviews with all our new heroes.  For me personally, I wanted to find a way to somehow connect with fellow Phillies fans and baseball card collectors.  I wanted to keep the magic going and show off some of the cool custom baseball cards I was creating.  So on the evening of March 30, 2009, I started this blog.

I tracked every game of the 2009 campaign on this blog, including the team's return to the postseason for the third straight season.  I discovered other baseball card and Phillies-related blogs and I've made some genuine friends along the way.  The 2009 season didn't end the way I wanted it to end, but I definitely enjoyed the ride.

The Set

2009 Topps #525 (Back)

Number of cards in the set:  Remember the good old days, when Topps base sets had 792 cards, and 792 cards only?  There weren't any gimmicks, no short-printed cards sharing the same number in the set as another card and once you had all 792 cards - you stopped?  Topps rolled out two series of 330 cards in 2009 (for a total of 660 cards), but they added 35 short-printed cards of various Hall of Famers and one gimmick card of C.C. Sabathia with his new team, the Yankees.  The update set added 330 regular cards and 25 short-printed cards.
My very brief thoughts on the set:  This set's design has really grown on me.  My one complaint would be that the silver foil text on the front of the cards is a little too difficult to read, particularly on the postseason highlight or league leaders cards.
Notable competition:  Sadly, this was the final year Upper Deck held a MLB license.  They produced some memorable sets in their final year with a license, including the retro (and popular) O-Pee-Chee set and the super-retro Goudey set.  For the record, I'm still trying to complete a 2009 Upper Deck set.

2009 Topps #397, #525, #107 and 2009 Topps Update #UH203

2009 Phillies
Record and finish:  For the first time in franchise history, the Phillies reached the World Series in consecutive seasons.  Their 93-69 record was a game better than their record in 2008, and they finished 6 games ahead of the Marlins in the N.L. East.  The Phillies defeated the Rockies in four games in the N.L.D.S. and they once again took out the Dodgers in five games in the N.L.C.S.  Unfortunately, the Yankees trumped the Phils in six games in the World Series, and a repeat was not to be.  Neither the Phillies or the Yankees have been back to the World Series since.

Key players:  The Phillies had four big bats in the middle of their line-up that carried the offense throughout the season.  Chase Utley batted third most of the season, and he finished with a .282 average, 31 home runs and 93 RBIs.  Batting clean-up, Ryan Howard once again had a huge season, hitting 45 home runs while driving in 141.  Jayson Werth continued his emergence, hitting .268 with 36 home runs and 99 RBIs, while newcomer Raul Ibanez contributed 34 home runs and 93 RBIs.

On the mound, Joe Blanton, J.A. Happ and Jamie Moyer each finished with 12 wins.  Cole Hamels suffered from poor run support (a recurring theme) and finished with a 10-11 record and a 4.32 ERA.  Hamels led the team with 168 strikeouts.  The Phils added two key starting pitchers for the second half of the season.  Cliff Lee (see key events below) went 7-4 with a 3.39 ERA in his 12 starts.  Future Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez joined the rotation in mid-August and went 5-1 with a 3.63 ERA in 9 starts.  Brad Lidge struggled mightily after his perfect 2008, converting 31 of 42 save opportunities and owning an astronomical ERA of 7.21.  Ryan Madson continued to impress with 10 saves.

Key events:  On April 13th, long-time Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Kalas passed away before the Phillies game at Nationals Park.  The team honored Kalas with several moving memorial ceremonies and the players and coaches wore a black circle bearing the initials "HK" on the fronts of their jerseys for the remainder of the 2009 season.  Howard became the fastest player in Major League history to hit 200 home runs on July 16th, breaking Ralph Kiner's record.  Prior to the non-waiver trade deadline, the Phils pulled off a blockbuster deal, acquiring starting pitcher Lee and outfielder Ben Francisco from the Cleveland Indians for four prospects.

2009 Phillies in 2009 Topps
Cards needed for a complete team set:  Thanks to appearances on various postseaon highlight and league leaders cards, the complete Phillies team set from 2009 Topps consists of  41 cards.
Who's in:

• Cards of the eight starting position players - 8 cards

#397 Carlos Ruiz (c), #500 Ryan Howard (1b), #200 Chase Utley (2b), #525 Jimmy Rollins (ss), #107 Pedro Feliz (3b), #UH150 Raul Ibanez (lf), #73 Shane Victorino (cf), #557 Jayson Werth

2009 Topps #650, #207, 2009 Topps Update #UH30 and 2009 Topps #428

• Cards of the starting pitching rotation - 5 cards

#207 Joe Blanton, #650 Cole Hamels, #UH30 J.A. Happ, #428 Jamie Moyer, #UH218 Cliff Lee

• Base cards of players who played with the Phillies in 2009 - 12 cards

#12 Drew Carpenter, #20 Brad Lidge, #103 Kyle Kendrick, #186 Ryan Madson, #291 Chris Coste, #632 Brett Myers, #UH72 John Mayberry, Jr., #UH80 Matt Stairs, #UH93 Pedro Martinez, #UH203 Ben Francisco, #UH248 Chan Ho Park, #UH267 Miguel Cairo

• Base cards of players who didn't play with the Phillies in 2009 - 2 cards

#44 Geoff Jenkins, #245 Pat Burrell

• Postseason Highlights cards - 4 cards

#139 Matt Stairs (N.L.C.S. Game 4), #191 Shane Victorino (N.L.D.S. Game 2), #278 Brad Lidge (World Champs), #299 Cole Hamels (World Series Recap)

• 2008 National League Leaders cards - 2 cards

#81 Ryan Howard (Home Run Leaders), #147 Ryan Howard (RBI Leaders)

• Classic Combos cards - 1 card, #601 Ryan Howard & Jimmy Rollins
• 2009 MLB Home Run Derby cards - 1 card, #UH26 Ryan Howard
• 2009 National League All-Star cards - 5 cards

#UH71 Chase Utley, #UH129 Shane Victorino, #UH136 Raul Ibanez, #UH151 Jayson Werth, #UH260 Ryan Howard

• Manager card - 1 card, #496 Charlie Manuel

2009 Topps Update #UH218, #UH93, 2009 Topps #20 and 2009 Topps Phillies #PHI13

Who's out:  Pinch-hitter extraordinaire Greg Dobbs is the biggest Phillies omission from the 2009 Topps set.  Dobbs appeared in 97 games and hit .247 in 154 at-bats.  Back-ups Paul Bako (44 games) and Eric Bruntlett (72 games) should have also appeared on cards.  Bruntlett could have earned a card solely on the important role he played in the 2008 postseason.  (The light-hitting infielder scored the winning run in World Series Game 3.)  Four key relievers also got omitted:  Chad Durbin (4.39 ERA in 59 games), Clay Condrey (3.00 ERA in 45 games), Tyler Walker (3.06 ERA in 32 games) and Scott Eyre (1.50 ERA in 42 games).

Phillies on other teams:  A number of players appearing as Phillies in the update set had cards in the base set with their former teams - Ibanez (#6 with the Mariners), Cairo (#82 with the Mariners), Lee (#180 with the Indians), Park (#272 with the Dodgers) and Francisco (#624 with the Indians).  Bako appears with the Reds on card #491.  (I altered Bako's Topps Heritage card here to give him his sole Phillies Topps card, in virtual form only.)
What's he doing here:  I have no complaints with Topps giving cards to both Jenkins and Burrell.  This would be Burrell's final Phillies card before departing for Tampa Bay, and Jenkins provided a key hit in the clinching World Series Game 5 in '08.
Cards that never were candidates:  There are six players who were on the 2009 Phillies World Series roster who didn't have base or update Topps cards - Bruntlett, Dobbs, Bako, Durbin, Eyre and rookie reliever Antonio Bastardo.
Favorite Phillies card:  Without a doubt, it's card #278, featuring Lidge in the midst of the celebration following the final out of the 2008 World Series.

2009 Topps Update #UH150, 2009 Topps #278 and 2009 Topps Update #UH248

Other Stuff
Recycled:  Until flipping through my 2009 Phillies binder in preparation for this post, I had completely forgotten that Topps didn't issue an Opening Day set in 2009.  The set debuted in 2005, took the year off in 2009, and came back in 2010.  It's worth noting that the 15-card Topps Phillies retail set contains nine cards with player pictures different from what ended up in the flagship set.  I was happy to see this when I bought the set, and I wish they'd make this a regular occurrence.
Memory Lane:  In the early spring of 2009, I booked a trip to Walt Disney World for our family beginning on Halloween.  I picked that arrival date figuring the World Series would be over and I could even attend the World Series parade if the Phillies were lucky enough to repeat.  However, thanks to the money grab that is the World Baseball Classic, the whole season got pushed back a week and we arrived in Disney just in time to for me to watch Games 3 through 6 while on vacation.  I chronicled the 2009 World Series, and our Disney trip, in a series of November 2009 posts:

Game 1 - Phillies 6, Yankees 1 - Chase & Cliff Bomb Bombers
Game 2 - Yankees 3, Phillies 1 - Phils, Pedro Drop Game 2
Game 3 - Yankees 8, Phillies 5 - Werth's 2 Homers Not Enough
Game 4 - Yankees 7, Phillies 4 - Excruciating Loss: Yanks Up 3-1
Game 5 - Phillies 8, Yankees 6 - Chase Utley, You are the Man!
Game 6 - Yankees 7, Phillies 3 - Repeat Bid Falls Short

2012 Chachi Transactions #5 Ben Francisco

There has been a deal.  The Phillies cleared some roster space and freed up a little cash by trading outfielder Ben Francisco to the Toronto Blue Jays yesterday for left-handed minor league pitcher Frank Gailey.  The Phils opted to move Francisco rather than offer him arbitration before last night's deadline.  Francisco came to the Phillies from the Indians as part of the July 2009 Cliff Lee deal.  In his 2 1/2 seasons with the club, he hit .259 in 225 games with 17 home runs and 75 RBIs.  His most memorable moment in red pinstripes came during Game 3 of last year's N.L.D.S. when his pinch-hit three-run home run gave the Phillies a 3-2 victory.

Moving On

Dane Sardinha (10-11) 10/10/11 - Filed for free agency

Brandon Moss (11) 10/17/11 - Outrighted to Lehigh Valley and filed for free agency (Signed with the Oakland A's organization)

Brad Lidge (08-11) 10/24/11 - Team option declined

Roy Oswalt (10-11) 10/24/11 - Team option declined

Ross Gload (10-11) 10/30/11 - Filed for free agency

Raul Ibanez (09-11) 10/30/11 - Filed for free agency

Ryan Madson (03-11) 10/30/11 - Filed for free agency

Jimmy Rollins (00-11) 10/30/11 - Filed for free agency

Juan Perez (11) 11/2/11 - Became a minor league free agent

Scott Mathieson (06, 10-11) 11/29/11 - Released

Ben Francisco (09-11) 12/12/11 - Traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for pitcher Frank Gailey

Coming Back

Pete Orr (11) 11/3/11 - Re-signed by the Phillies as a minor league free agent with an invitation to Spring Training

Brian Schneider (10-11) 11/17/11 - Re-signed by the Phillies to a one-year contract

New Additions

Jim Thome (03-05) 11/5/11 - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Cleveland Indians

Jonathan Papelbon 11/14/11 - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Boston Red Sox

Ty Wigginton 11/20/11 - Acquired with cash from the Colorado Rockies for a player to be named later or cash

Laynce Nix 12/8/11 - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Washington Nationals

2011 Topps Stickers Wantlist

2011 Topps Stickers #169 to #177

If you live in South Jersey and you find that none of the area Target stores are carrying packs of 2011 Topps Stickers, I would like to apologize to you.  I mentioned I was trying to collect the complete set of stickers to my Mom and my sister, Carol.  Knowing that I was desparately in need of a baseball-related distraction, they canvased the area Targets and bought every single pack of 2011 Topps Stickers they could find.  All told, I think I ended up with two full boxes worth and I spent the last few games of the NLDS-that-should-not-be-mentioned peeling the backs off stickers and placing them in their sticker album.  It was indeed a welcome distraction and I'm grateful to my Mom and sister for the gesture.

(My Mom was happy to continue the tradition started by my grandfather almost thirty years ago - see here for reference.)

The stickers listed below are what I'm missing for a complete album.  I have a ton of stickers to trade, so please let me know if you'd be interested in setting up a sticker-for-sticker swap, or if we could work out something else.

Needed:
12 J.D. Drew
13 Kevin Youklis
16 Adrian Gonzalez
34 Casey Kotchman
50 Alexei Ramirez
62 Carlos Santana
106 Daric Barton
107 Kurt Suzuki
112 Chone Figgins
119 Julio Borbon

130/303 Indians/Phillies

138/301 Brewers/Rangers

141/304 Padres/Cubs
143 Nate McLouth
144 Jason Heyward
153 Mike Stanton
207 Hunter Pence
208 Chris Johnson
225 Garrett Jones
228 Neil Walker
239 Yadier Molina

2011 Chachi #67 NLDS Game 3 - Ben Francisco & Ryan Madson

Phillies 3, Cardinals 2
NLDS Game 3 - Tuesday Night, October 4th in St. Louis

One Sentence Summary:  Ben Francisco's pinch-hit three-run home run in the seventh and gutsy pitching from Cole Hamels and Ryan Madson led to the Game 3 victory.

What It Means:  The Phillies are up two games to one with Roy Oswalt taking the mound tomorrow night. Also, and make no mistake about this, I did not enjoy watching this game as the entire three hours and thirteen minutes was way too tense for me.  I would prefer a nice little Phillies blow-out tomorrow.  I'd love to see the Phils score seven or eight runs in the first few innings while Oswalt is working on a shutout.

What Went Right:  Hamels (1-0) ran a lot of deep counts and he had runners on in every inning, but he managed to shut out the Cardinals through six innings.  He struck out eight while walking three and allowing five hits.

The offense was sputtering along until the seventh when Shane Victorino singled to start the inning.  A passed ball moved Victorino to second, but Cardinals starter Jaime Garcia retired the next two batters.  Manager Tony LaRussa opted to intentionally walk Carlos Ruiz and have Garcia go after pinch-hitter Francisco.  Francisco slammed a 1-0 fastball into the Phillies bullpen in left to break the scoreless tie and give the Phils a 3-0 lead.

In the eighth, with the bases loaded and one out, Madson was called upon to preserve the Phillies 3-1 lead and record a five-out save.  He induced an inning-ending double play and then survived an anxiety-filled ninth inning to secure the victory.

Featured Card:  I knew Francisco had to be featured on one of the panels.  His dramatic home run brought to mind the blast from Matt Stairs in Game 4 of the 2008 NLCS.  As much as I wanted to feature Hamels, I thought Madson's performance earned him a spot on the card as well.

Francisco opened the season as the team's regular right fielder, but a very slow start forced him back to the bench.  Phillies radio play-by-play announcer Scott Franzke has often referred to him as the "forgotten Phillie."  So it was great to see him come through and earn his place in Phillies lore.

Quote of the Game:  From Francisco, courtesy of MLB.com's Todd Zolecki - "When you get to the postseason you can change your season . . . That's what I tried to do."

2011 Topps Phillies #PHI12 Ben Francisco

Phillies 1, Athletics 0
Game 77 - Friday Night, June 24th in Philadelphia

One Sentence Summary:  Offense was at a premium for both teams tonight as Ben Francisco's game-winning hit in the ninth gave the Phils the victory, 1-0.

What It Means:  The Phillies improve to 48-29 and they currently have a 4 1/2 game lead over the Braves.

What Went Right:  I don't know if you can call just four singles from the Phils "right," but fortunately the A's offense was even more anemic with only two hits.  Both starting pitchers took no-hitters into the sixth inning.  The A's entered the hit column with two outs in the top of the sixth when old nemesis Hideki Matsui doubled to left off starter Vance Worley.  The Phils added their first hit with one out in the bottom of the inning when Placido Polanco broke up Guillermo Moscoso's no-hitter.

Worley labored (again) through his six innings, striking out four and walking four.  Michael Stutes (3-0) pitched a scoreless ninth for the win.

The Phils put a couple of baserunners on in the ninth against Brian Fuentes (1-8), setting up Francisco's second game-winning RBI this week.

Featured Card:  Here's Francisco's card from the Topps Phillies team set, which appears to show him whiffing on a pitch in Atlanta.

Transactions:  Reliever Scott Mathieson and catcher Brian Schneider rejoined the team this afternoon, taking the roster spots of the disabled Roy Oswalt and catcher Dane Sardinha.

Programming Note:  Posting will be sporadic to non-existent this weekend and throughout the week as I plan to unplug and unwind.  That means you'll have to wait until next week for me to post game summaries from the upcoming Phillies sweep of the Red Sox.

2011 Topps #379 Ben Francisco

Phillies 10, Cardinals 2
Game 74 - Tuesday Night, June 21st in St. Louis

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies piled on nine runs in the eighth to stun the Cardinals and win the ballgame, 10-2.

What It Means:  The Phillies have a 4 1/2 game lead over the Braves in the division, and their record improved to 46-28.

What Went Right:  It wasn't pretty, but we'll take it.  The bats were fairly quiet throughout the first seven innings and they really didn't do all that much in the eighth, but the Phils capitalized on the Cardinal bullpen's meltdown to rally from behind.  The offense victimized five different Cardinals relievers in the inning on five singles, four walks and two hit batters.  Three of the runs scored on two bases-loaded walks and a hit batter.

Before the deluge, the big hit came from pinch-hitter Ben Francisco, who lined a single to left to give the Phillies a 3-2 lead.  After that, things got sloppy and per the team's official Twitter feed, the top of the eigth took 43 minutes and 26 seconds.

Carlos Ruiz was on base all night, going four for four with a walk.

Roy Halladay was lifted in the seventh for a pinch-hitter.  In his abbreviated (for him) start, he gave up a run on four hits while walking two and striking out five. 

Featured Card:  My Phillies cards from Topps Series 2 are sitting in front of me in a small pile waiting to be checklist'd and added to Zistle.  One of those cards is this Ben Francisco card, which features a different pose from Francisco's card found in the Topps Phillies team set.

2011 Chachi #6 Ben Francisco

#10

Louis Ben Francisco

Right Field

Bats: Right  Throws: Right  Height: 6'1"  Weight: 192

Born: October 23, 1981, Santa Ana, CA

Home: Anaheim, CA

Drafted: Selected by Cleveland Indians in 5th round of June 2002 draft

Teams: Cleveland Indians 2007-2009, Phillies 2009-

Acquired: Acquired from the Cleveland Indians with Cliff Lee for Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald, Jason Knapp and Lou Marson, July 29, 2009

Contract Status: Signed through the 2011 season, arbitration eligible for 2012

Complete Topps Base Set Checklist:

2003 Topps Traded #T202 - Indians

2008 Topps Update #UH305 - Indians

2009 Topps #624 - Indians

2009 Topps Update #UH203 - Phillies

2010 Topps #630 - Phillies

2010 Phillies Team Issue #10 Ben Francisco

Phillies 7, Astros 6
Spring Training Game 33 - Monday Afternoon, March 28th in Clearwater

One Sentence Summary:  In the final Florida Spring Training game of 2011, Ben Francisco's three-run home run provided just enough cushion as the Phillies defeated the Astros, 7-6.

What It Means:  Two things conspired to keep most of the regulars off the field today.  First, I'm guessing neither team wanted to tip its hand as these teams meet up for real on Friday afternoon.  The box scores are littered with guys making only their first or second appearance in a big league game this spring.  I didn't even remember Nate Bump was in the Phillies' system until his name popped up as the starting pitcher for today's game.  Second, the weather in Florida was wet and crappy.  No need to risk injury in one of the last exhibition games of the spring.

Top Hitters:  The big hits were Shane Victorino's two-run single in the first, an RBI-double from Raul Ibanez in the third and Francisco's home run in the fifth.

Top Pitchers:  Bump pitched five effective innings, allowing a run on eight hits.

Featured Card:  I'd love to feature a 2011 Ben Francisco card, but there aren't any.  Francisco, the team's new regular right fielder, has yet to be featured on a 2011 baseball card and here's hoping Topps fixes that problem with one of upcoming releases.

Other Stuff:  Cliff Lee pitched in a minor league game instead of facing the Astros.  Lee is the scheduled starter against the Astros on Saturday night . . . Chase Utley spoke with reporters for the first time in a few weeks this afternoon.  He didn't really give us a whole lot, other than he hopes to be activated prior to the All-Star break.  He won't be placed on the 60-day disabled list, which means the team is hopeful he'll return before June.

2008 Topps Heritage #608 Ben Francisco

Phillies 7, Yankees 0
Spring Training Game 14 - Thursday Afternoon, March 10th in Clearwater

One Sentence Summary:  Roy Halladay mowed down the Yankee line-up for six shutout innings, as the Phils beat the bad guys, 7-0.

What It Means:  The Phillies website uses the verb "dominate" to describe Halladay's performance this afternoon against the Yankees.  As down as I am about Chase Utley's injured knee, at least the starting pitchers have looked very, very good.

Top Hitters:  It's getting redundant, but John Mayberry, Jr. (2-run home run) and Ben Francisco (2 for 4 with an RBI-double) both had nice games again.  While playing the whole game at second base, Josh Barfield went 2 for 3, raising his average to .538 (9 for 16).

Top Pitchers:  Halladay, Michael Stutes, J.C. Ramirez and Michael Schwimer combined for the four-hit shutout.  In his post-game interview, Halladay confirmed he was working on his curve ball throughout the game - with great success.

Featured Card:  I've already featured Halladay's card from the 2008 Topps Heritage set, so I thought I'd show some love for Francisco, who has quietly staked his claim to the job opening in right field.  In 10 spring games, he's hitting .345 and leads the team with 7 RBIs.

Other Stuff:  Prior to the game, the team announced it had extended manager Charlie Manuel's contract through the 2013 season.  He's won 810 games with the Phillies since taking over prior to the 2005 season, including four consecutive division titles and a World Series title in 2008.  By the end of his tenure, he will join former Phillies managers Gene Mauch (1,331 wins) and Danny Ozark (1,105 wins) as the winningest three managers in the franchise's history.  And is "winningest" even a word? . . . Infielder Brian Bocock has left camp and flown back to Philadelphia to have his wrist examined.  He left the game yesterday with the injury.