2013 Phillies Team Issue #12 Humberto Quintero

Phillies 5, Braves 4
Game 87 - Friday Night, July 5th in Philadelphia
Record - 42-45, 3rd Place, 7 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Humberto Quintero was the unlikely offensive star tonight, as the back-up catcher supported Cliff Lee's fine outing with three RBIs.

What It Means:  The Phillies took game one of this important series, and they'll try for their third straight win behind Kyle Kendrick tonight.

What Went Right:  Quintero hit a two-run home run in the second and added an RBI-double in the sixth.  The struggling Ryan Howard hit a solo shot to center in the third for his 11th home run of the season.  It should also be noted that Ben Revere's two-hit night raised his average to .293 and he's hitting .337 since May 1st.

Lee cruised through six innings before faltering in the seventh.  The bullpen trio of J.C. Ramirez, Antonio Bastardo and Jonathan Papelbon were able to hold the lead for Lee, giving him his 10th win.  Ramirez has yet to allow a run in his five appearances.

Featured Card:  Back-up catchers usually don't receive much cardboard appreciation and third string catchers receive even less.  So it's no surprise that Quintero's sole Phillies baseball card to date comes in the team's postcard set available for sale at the stadium.  I've seen a few recent eBay auctions for the second series of this set, which the team seemingly released a bit early this year.  I plan to pick up a set this weekend and I'll have a full report once I have the set in hand.

2013 Chachi #10 Humberto Quintero

#12

Humberto Jose Quintero

Catcher

Bats: Right  Throws: Right  Height: 5'9"  Weight: 214

Born: August 2, 1979, Maracaibo, Venezuela

Home: Pearland, TX

Signed: Signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent, January 16, 1997

Teams: San Diego Padres 2003-2004, Houston Astros 2005-2011, Kansas City Royals 2012, Phillies 2013

Acquired: Signed as a minor league free agent, formerly with the Milwaukee Brewers' organization, December 3, 2012

Contract Status: Signed through the 2012 season

2013 Phillies Team Issue #28 Kevin Frandsen

Phillies 4, Royals 3
Game 5 - Saturday Night, April 6th in Philadelphia
Record - 2-3, 4th Place, 2 games behind the Nationals and Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Kevin Frandsen hit a three-run, walk-off double to give the Phillies a thrilling 4-3 victory.

What It Means:  Thanks to Frandsen and some patient batters in the ninth, it meant the Phillies finally gave the fans in attendance at Citizens Bank Park a reason to cheer.

What Went Right:  Frandsen's heroics were set up when Royals closer Greg Holland walked Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Michael Young to start the bottom of the ninth.  The Phillies had managed to score only once in the first eight innings but Frandsen's double to left center cleared the bases and started the celebration.

Not to be overlooked in this big win is the fact that fifth starter John Lannan pitched remarkably well.  He no-hit the Royals through four and pitched seven solid innings while allowing three runs on five hits.  He struck out five.

Featured Card:  What's a guy gotta do to get a Topps Phillies card?  Frandsen has only two Phillies cards to date, both coming within the Phillies team issued sets.  I'd love to see him with a card in Topps Series Two or even the update series.  If Fleer and Upper Deck were still around, Frandsen definitely would have had a standard sized card by now.

Field Report:  For the second game in a row, we were there.  It was a cold and at times boring game, but it was nice to even my personal Phillies record this year to 1-1.  Prior to the game, I took a picture of the 2011 Topps-style giant cards of Humberto Quintero and Lannan, as featured in the game's starting line-up in Ashburn Alley.  We also cheered as Jimmy Rollins received his fourth Gold Glove.

Non-Roster Invitees - The First 9

2012 Grandstand Reading Phillies #18, 2012 Topps #64,
2012 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs Update #15 and 2012 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs #2

Much like the Rule 5 draft, the first announcement of non-roster invitees to Spring Training always excites me a little.  Slowly but surely, we're marching towards a new spring and a new season.  Last year, Kevin Frandsen and Raul Valdes were in the first batch of invitees, and they both ended up playing key roles on the 2012 Phillies.  Which of the following nine players will earn a roster spot in 2013?

Here are the first nine, with their 2012 organization and their last major cardboard appearance listed:

Player (position) - 2012 Organization - Last Major Cardboard Appearance
1.  Steven Lerud (c) - Phillies - 2004 Bowman #160 (Pirates)
2.  Michael Martinez (inf) - Phillies - 2012 Topps #64 (Phillies)
3.  Pete Orr (inf) - Phillies - 2008 Topps Update #UH72 (Nationals)

2012 Topps #590

These three players each spent time with the Phillies in 2012.  They've been removed from the 40-man roster and they'll try once against to make it back to the bigs.  This is Orr's third straight invitation to Spring Training as a non-roster player.  Lerud is the early favorite for the non-roster invitee with the longest time since his last major baseball card release.

4.  Cesar Jimenez (lhp) - Mariners - 2009 Upper Deck #857 (Mariners)
5.  Zach Miner (rhp) - Tigers - 2009 O-Pee-Chee #314 (Tigers)
6.  Humberto Quintero (c) - Royals/Marlins/Brewers - 2012 Topps #590 (Astros)
7.  Andres Blanco (inf) - Phillies - 2007 Topps #659 (Royals)
8.  Josh Fields (3b) - Dodgers - 2010 Topps #387 (Royals)
9.  Jermaine Mitchell (of) - Athletics - 2012 Bowman Platinum Prospects Autographs #JM (Athletics)

Of the nine players listed, Quintero has the best chance of making the opening day roster in light of the 50-game suspension being served by Carlos Ruiz in April and May.

* * *

I composed this post with a heavy heart after the horrific news that came out of Connecticut yesterday.  I gave my boys an extra hug before they went to bed last night.  My prayers and thoughts are with the families of the victims.