2013 Chachi #57b Casper Wells

Diamondbacks 12, Phillies 7 (18 Innings)
Game 129 - Saturday Night, August 24th in Philadelphia
Record - 58-71, 4th Place, 19 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies managed to tie up this game in the eighth, only to eventually lose ten innings later in the 18th after reliever Casper Wells couldn't stop the Diamondbacks.

What It Means:  It means I'm tired.  I decided to stay up and watch this entire game, finally turning off the TV around 2:30 Sunday morning.

2013 Phillies Team Issue 2 #50

What Went Wrong:  This is one of those historical wacky games that merits a bullet-pointed list in lieu of the standard sentence and paragraph format:

• Starting pitcher Ethan Martin threw just 44 pitches in his outing, retiring only two batters before getting the hook in the first.  He allowed three runs on three hits while walking three.  Relievers Luis Garcia and Zach Miner gave up a pair of runs each to put the game pretty much out of reach for the Phils.  Or so it seemed . . .

• Down 6-0 heading to the bottom of the fifth, the Phillies crept back into the ballgame and eventually tied it at seven on Darin Ruf's two-run home run in the eighth.

• From the seventh through the 17th innings, the Phillies bullpen held the Diamondbacks scoreless.  The scheduled starter for Sunday's game, Tyler Cloyd, entered in the 12th and pitched five scoreless innings.  He also ripped a double to lead off the 16th, but the the Phils weren't able to get him home.

• With the bullpen used up and only starting pitchers left in the stable, interim manager Ryne Sandberg opted to use outfielder Wells to pitch the 18th.  Wells retired the first two batters he faced, but then allowed a series of walks and hits to give the Diamondbacks the lead.  Fellow position player John McDonald relieved Wells and recorded the final out of the inning, but only after the Diamondbacks had scored five runs.

• Wells had one of the worst single game performances in recent history.  He went 0 for 7 at the plate with four strikeouts and allowed five runs in relief.  That's a rough day at the ballyard.

• The time of game of 7:06 made this the longest game in franchise history.

2012 Choice Lehigh Valley
IronPigs Update #9

Featured Cards:  The Wells card featured here is an extremely rare, super short-printed Chachi card available only as inserts in random box tops of the 2013 Chachi set.  Wells' more readily available Chachi card was published early this morning as the game was drawing to a close.

Former Phillie farmhand Tuffy Gosewisch spent 7 1/2 years toiling in the team's minor league system before being sold "for no compensation" to the Toronto Blue Jays last July.  He finally made it to the big leagues with the Diamondbacks earlier this month.  Gosewisch made two outs in the 18th inning, off non-pitchers Wells and McDonald.  He's got to be the first person in history to accomplish that feat.

Memory Lane - Other Recent Lengthy/Wacky Phillies Games
August 24, 2010 - Astros 4, Phillies 2 (16 Innings) - Roy Oswalt plays left field.
May 25, 2011 - Phillies 5, Reds 4 (19 Innings) - Wilson Valdez earns the win in relief.

Non-Roster Invitees - The First 8

2007 Topps Heritage #474, 2011 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs Series 2 #13 and #23,
2011 Multi-Ad Reading Phillies #13

Earlier this week, the Phillies announced they had signed eight minor league free agents and given them invitations to Spring Training.  A few of the faces who will be wearing red pinstripes and numbers in the 60’s are very familiar to the organization.  Here’s a quick look at the eight along with their last known cardboard appearances.

Player (position) – 2011 Organization – Last Major Cardboard Appearance
1.  Scott Elarton (rhp) – Out of baseball – 2007 Upper Deck #132 (Royals)
2.  Pat Misch (lhp) – Mets – 2010 Upper Deck #338 (Mets)
3.  Brian Sanches (rhp) – Marlins – 2007 Topps Heritage #474 (Phillies)
4.  Raul Valdes (lhp) – Cardinals/Yankees – 2006 Bowman Prospects #B90 (Cubs)

The long-shot here is Elarton.  He’s attempting a comeback after sitting out the entire 2011 season.  Elarton last pitched in the Majors in 2008 with the Indians and he was the first-round draft pick of the Astros back in 2004.  His best season by far was back in 2000 when he won 17 games for the Astros.  Sanches is no stranger to the organization, having pitched in 30 games with the Phils in 2006 and 2007.  He developed into a steady middle inning reliever with the Marlins over the past three seasons.  Misch and Valdes are lefties, which of course means they’ll get long looks during the spring to see if they can be this year’s J.C. Romero or Mike Zagurski or even Juan Perez.

5.  Kevin Frandsen (inf) – Phillies – 2010 Upper Deck #431 (Giants)
6.  Tuffy Gosewisch (c) – Phillies – Only minor league cards so far for Tuffy
7.  Pete Orr (inf) – Phillies – 2008 Topps Update #UH72 (Nationals)
8.  Scott Podsednik (of) – Blue Jays/Phillies – 2010 Topps Update #US226 (Dodgers)

Podsednik missed most of last year while he recovered from a foot injury.  He was the National League stolen base champ in 2004 and won a ring with the White Sox in 2005.  Orr and Frandsen spent all of 2011 in the Phillies system, and both will be back to provide minor league depth in 2012.  Gosewisch is becoming somewhat of a non-roster invitee regular, as this will be his fourth Spring Training with the big club in Clearwater.  He’s currently fourth on the catching depth chart behind Carlos Ruiz, Brian Schneider and Erik Kratz.

Random thought:  "Non-Roster Invitees" would make an awesome band name.

2010 Multi-Ad Reading Phillies #16 Tuffy Gosewisch

Phillies 3, Pirates 2
Spring Training Game 22 - Friday Afternoon, March 18th in Clearwater

One Sentence Summary:  Tuffy Gosewisch singled with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to drive home the tying and winning runs as the Phils walked off against the Pirates, 3-2.

What It Means:  The Phils are now a respectable 14-8 this spring, despite a rash of injuries.  Roy Oswalt pitched six solid innings, allowing two unearned runs on five hits while striking out five.

Top Hitters:  Gosewisch's heroics were set up by back-to-back bunt singles from Ben Francisco and Pete Orr to start the ninth.  Orr had three hits, although it was his error in the third that set up the two unearned Pirates runs.

Top Pitchers:  Four pitchers who figure to be on the opening day roster pitched well this afternoon - Oswalt, Jose Contreras, J.C. Romero and Ryan Madson.  The order the pitchers appeared in the game could be an indication of things to come, especially if Brad Lidge doesn't rebound from his latest arm woes by the start of the regular season.

Featured Card:  I've said it more than once, and I'll say it again - Tuffy Gosewisch has an awesome baseball name.

Other Stuff:  Chase Utley (bad knee) took batting practice today and Lidge (bad biceps) threw a bullpen session . . . Radio broadcaster (and my favorite) Scott Franzke signed a four-year extension today taking him through the 2016 season with the Phils . . . Rumors are circulating that the Phillies might have some interest in the recently-released Luis Castillo.

Transactions:  The Phillies announced their second round of roster cuts -

Non-roster invitees re-assigned to minor league camp - infielder Jeff Larish, outfielder Brandon Moss, pitchers Dan Meyer, Juan Perez and Michael Stutes.

40-man roster players optioned to minor league camp - infielder Freddy Galvis and pitcher Vance Worley.

Twelve more cuts are coming, as the Phils will need to trim their now 37-man roster down to 25 by Opening Day.

2009 Multi-Ad Reading Phillies #11 Tuffy Gosewisch

The Phillies recently announced Spring Training invitations had been extended to 13 more non-roster players. All players listed below played within the Phillies organization in 2009, unless otherwise noted:

Pitcher Phillipe Aumont (Mariners), outfielder Domonic Brown, infielder Ozzie Chavez, infielder Freddy Galvis, outfielder Tyson Gillies (Mariners), catcher Tuffy Gosewisch, catcher Kevin Nelson, pitcher B.J. Rosenberg, catcher Dane Sardinha (Tigers), pitcher Joe Savery, catcher John Suomi (Royals), pitcher Ryan Vogelsong (Japan) and pitcher Ehren Wasserman (White Sox).

Over the past few springs, the Phillies have had a number of non-roster invitees eventually end up with the big club, including Andy Tracy and Paul Hoover last year, Mike Cervenak in 2008 and Chris Coste in 2006. The two former Mariners prospects obtained in the Cliff Lee deal will be interesting to watch. And how can you not root for a minor league catcher named Tuffy Gosewisch?