Showing posts with label Savery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Savery. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Wrapping Up Chachi Set Odds & Ends

2014 Chachi Transactions #17
2014 Chachi Transactions #19
2014 Chachi Transactions #20
2014 Chachi Transactions #22
I have a number of special Chachi insert cards that have been sitting in my draft folder for a few months as I've had no real good reason to post them.  I figured with the entire staff and management team of The Phillies Room away on spring break this week, this would be a good opportunity to feature all these cards together and wrap up a few loose ends.

First up is a quartet of players who joined the ranks of ex-Phillies this past offseason.  Zach Miner and Mauricio Robles were short-timers with the Phillies last season with Miner appearing in 16 games (three as a starter) and going 0-2 with a 4.40 ERA and Robles making it into just three games and pitching 4 2/3 innings.

Miner signed a minor league deal with the Mariners in the offseason, and unbeknownst to me Robles signed with the White Sox organization in November.  Had I known about the Robles signing, he would have been featured sooner in the Chachi Transaction insert set, but as it is he's most likely the last card in the set.

Joe Savery was the club's #1 pick back in 2007 and he first appeared with the Phillies in 2011.  In parts of three seasons, Savery went 3-2 in 41 games with a 4.15 ERA.  I first posted about Savery and his long and winding journey to the Majors in this post after he had made his Phillies debut.

Sadly, Phillies Room favorite Kevin Frandsen is now a member of the rival Nationals.  Presumably the odd man out this past spring, Frandsen landed himself a guaranteed contract with the Nationals, where he'll undoubtedly and repeatedly punish the Phillies throughout this season.

2014 Chachi Preview #3
2014 Chachi Almost #1
2014 Chachi #49
2014 Chachi Almost #3
Finally, here are four cards only a die-hard Phillies and virtual Phillies baseball card aficionado would enjoy.  (All seven or so of us.)  John McDonald probably doesn't need to have another virtual Phillies card, but I loved this photo of him in a throw-back uniform so I went ahead and gave him a card.  Michael Stutes was one of the team's best relievers in 2011, but injuries have hampered his career and he's currently out of baseball following his release a few weeks ago.

Kevin Munson was the team's offseason Rule V draft pick, and he made it part-way through the spring before being sent back to the Diamondbacks.  And veteran infielder Ronny Cedeno was attempting to latch on as bench player with the club, but (thankfully) the Phillies decided to stick with their younger guys and Cedeno was released.  He's since come back to the organization and is playing with the IronPigs.

UPDATE, 6/7/14 - In an unprecedented event, Cedeno will actually have a card in this year's regular Chachi base set.  Following Cedeno's departure at the end of spring training, he was quickly brought back into the fold by the organization and he had his contract selected from the IronPigs in early June.  I will update the official checklist to show this once "Almost" card as an actual "Chachi" card.

The first reader to comment on this lapse in The Phillies Room continuum will receive a coveted The Phillies Room No-Prize.

Saturday, June 1, 2013

2013 Chachi #32 Joe Savery

#55
Joseph Cain Savery
Relief Pitcher

Bats: Left  Throws: Left  Height: 6'3"  Weight: 235
Born: November 4, 1985, Houston, TX
Home: Bellaire, TX
Drafted: Selected by Phillies in 1st round of June 2007 draft
Teams: Phillies 2011-
Acquired: Via draft
Contract Status: Pre-arbitration eligible

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

2012 Chachi #20 Joe Savery

#55
Joseph Cain Savery
Relief Pitcher

Bats: Left  Throws: Left  Height: 6'3"  Weight: 235
Born: November 4, 1985, Houston, TX
Home: Bellaire, TX
Drafted: Selected by Phillies in 1st round of June 2007 draft
Teams: Phillies 2011-
Acquired: Via draft
Contract Status: Pre-arbitration eligible

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

The Spring Training 57 (+1): Where They Went

2012 Topps Heritage #29
It's Opening Day Eve, one of the most magical nights of the year.  The Phillies have set their 25-man roster and they're preparing to play the Pirates tomorrow afternoon in Pittsburgh.  One of the bigger surprises when the final roster was announced late last night was the inclusion of lefty reliever Joe Savery.  The only 2011 baseball card I have of Savery, lists his position as "1B/LHP," which is not an error.  As summarized today in David Hale's Philled In blog post:

"The story of Joe Savery is nothing short of amazing. A year ago, he was trying to make it as a first baseman/DH in Class A ball, having given up on pitching after two straight disastrous minor-league seasons.
Suddenly, Savery’s arm began feeling better, he got back on the mound and was throwing better, and by year’s end he was in the big leagues. 
Odds are that when Jose Contreras comes off the DL (he’s eligible April 10), Savery could be the guy shipped out, but at this point the 26-year-old lefty has established himself as a big-league pitcher, and that’s borderline astonishing."
Astonishing is right. Savery is featured on a few multi-player Rookie Stars in this year's Topps Heritage set, including the card I've posted here.  He shares this card with teammate and disabled list-bound Justin De Fratus.

The other slight surprise was that Pete Orr beat out Hector Luna for the final infielder spot on the roster.  Although Luna had a nice spring with his bat, leading the team with three home runs, Orr just offers more in terms of defense and speed on the basepaths.

So the Phils are down to their 25-man roster, but what happened to the other 32 guys who broke camp with the team back on February 18th?  I'm glad you asked:

2012 Topps Heritage #32
Disabled List (5):  Pitchers Contreras and De Fratus; Infielders Ryan Howard, Michael Martinez and Chase Utley

Released (2):  Pitchers Dontrelle Willis and Joel Pineiro

AAA - Lehigh Valley IronPigs (18):  Pitchers Phillippe Aumont, Dave Bush, Jake Diekman, Scott Elarton, Jeremy Horst, Austin Hyatt, Pat Misch, David Purcey, Brian Sanches, Michael Schwimer and Raul Valdes; Catchers Tuffy Gosewisch and Erik Kratz; Infielders Kevin Frandsen and Luna; Outfielders Domonic Brown, Lou Montanez and Scott Podsednik

AA - Reading Phillies (7):  Pitchers J.C. Ramirez and B.J. Rosenberg; Catchers Steven Lerud and Sebastian Valle; Infielders Harold Garcia and Cesar Hernandez; Outfielder Tyson Gillies

Infielder Tim Kennelly, who was added to the roster half-way through Spring Training, will also start the season in Reading.

Friday, September 30, 2011

2011 Chachi #54 Joe Savery

#55
Joseph Cain Savery
Relief Pitcher

Bats: Left  Throws: Left  Height: 6'3"  Weight: 215
Born: November 4, 1985, Houston, TX
Home: Bellaire, TX
Drafted: Selected by Phillies in 1st round of June 2007 draft
Teams: Phillies 2011-
Acquired: Via draft
Contract Status: Pre-arbitration eligible

Complete Topps Base Set Checklist:
Savery has yet to appear in a base Topps set.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

2011 Grandstand Clearwater Threshers Joe Savery

Nationals 4, Phillies 3 (Game 1 - 10 Innings)
Game 153 - Tuesday Afternoon, September 20th in Philadelphia

One Sentence Summary:  The Nationals defeated a line-up consisting of C-List Phillies in the opening game of a day-night double header.

What It Means:  The Phillies drop to 98-55.

What Went Wrong:  Other than a pinch-hit three-run home run from Raul Ibanez in the seventh inning, the offense was completely lethargic once again.  With John Bowker, Brandon Moss, Erik Kratz and Pete Orr getting some playing time, the Phils managed 10 hits - Ibanez' homer, a double from Kratz and eight singles.

Starter Kyle Kendrick turned in a decent outing, throwing six strong shutout innings while allowing just four hits and striking out four.  Most of the damage came off reliever Michael Schwimer, who allowed three runs in the seventh.  Michael Stutes (6-2) was tagged with the loss as he continues to struggle with his command.

Featured Card:  Lefty reliever Joe Savery made his Major League debut in the eighth inning.  He allowed a single to Chris Marrero and a sacrifice bunt from Brian Bixler before being lifted for Brad Lidge.  Savery's long and winding road to the Majors is an impressive study in perseverance and endurance, as the former first-round draft pick started the 2011 season as the starting first baseman for the Class-A Clearwater Threshers.  This is his cards from the Threshers team set, and it's not often you'll see a player's position on a card listed as "1B/LHP".