Dodgers at Phillies: June 9th to June 11th

2014 Topps Heritage #219

2014 Topps Heritage #119

Friday 7:05, Saturday 4:05, Sunday 1:35
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

At the Ballpark:  All fans in attendance tonight will receive a fantastic looking Dick Allen bobble head, and there will be a Dick Allen pre-game tribute with several of his former teammates in attendance.  On Saturday night, AJR will perform in a postgame concert.  And on Sunday, all men 15 and over will receive a Phillies hat for Father's Appreciation Day.

Dodgers 36-27
2nd Place in the N.L. West, 1 1/2 games behind the Diamondbacks

Dodgers Probables
Michael Grove (0-2, 8.14)
Bobby Miller (2-0, 1.06)
Julio Urias (5-4, 4.39)

Dodgers Leaders
Average:  Freddie Freeman - .333
Runs:  Freddie Freeman - 53
Home Runs:  Max Muncy - 18
RBIs:  Max Muncy - 44
Stolen Bases:  Freddie Freeman -8

Wins:  Clayton Kershaw - 8
ERA:  Clayton Kershaw - 2.95

Strikeouts:  Clayton Kershaw - 93
Saves:  Evan Phillips - 7

Phillies 30-32
3rd Place in the N.L. East, 8 games behind the Braves

Phillies Probables
Ranger Suarez (1-2, 5.47)
Aaron Nola (5-4, 4.30)
Taijuan Walker (5-3, 5.04)

Phillies Leaders
Average:  Nick Castellanos - .315
Runs:  Nick Castellanos - 38
Home Runs:  Kyle Schwarber - 16
RBIs:  Alec Bohm - 37
Stolen Bases:  Bryson Stott - 9

Wins:  Aaron Nola and Taijuan Walker - 5
ERA:  Zack Wheeler - 3.91

Strikeouts:  Zack Wheeler - 87
Saves:  Craig Kimbrel - 9

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

2013 Topps Phillies

2013 Topps #625

2013 Topps #26

2013 Topps #637

2013 Topps #367

Over the past few years, I've fallen into a pattern with these Topps Phillies posts where I ignore them throughout the year and then I rattle off a few years during the Phillies-less postseason.  The patten continues again this season.  While trying to stay up for Game 1 of the Dodgers-Mets N.L.D.S., I somehow found myself flipping through my 2013 Phillies binder.

2013 Topps #367 (Back)

The wheels completely fell off the Phillies in 2013 as they endured their first losing season since 2002.  Manager Charlie Manuel was dumped in mid-August right after winning his 1,000th career game and the non-productive Ryne Sandberg era began.

The Set
Number of cards in the set:  Both Series 1 and Series 2 have 330 cards with #7 once again omitted in honor of Mickey Mantle.  As such, the full set is numbered to 661.  The Update Series once again contains 330 cards.
My very brief thoughts on the set:  I was underwhelmed by the 2013 Topps set when it first came out, and almost three years later I find the set, like the 2013 Phillies season, fairly forgettable.  Night Owl Cards christened the set the "sea turtle set" since the curved home plate and baseball diamond in the bottom left corner vaguely resemble an abstract swimming turtle.  Once you see the turtle in the set's front border design, you can never un-see it.

2013 Topps #6

2013 Topps Update #US90

2013 Topps Update #US242

2013 Topps #206

2013 Phillies
Record and finish:  The Phillies finished fourth in the N.L. East, 23 games behind the Braves, with a record of 73-89.  As mentioned previously, Manuel was dismissed in mid-August and the brief Sandberg era began.
Key players:  Domonic Brown made his first and only All-Star team and he'd finish the season with a .272 average and team leading 27 home runs and 83 RBIs.  He hasn't touched those numbers since. Chase Utley hit .284 over 131 games and was second on the team in both home runs (18) and RBIs (69).  Carlos Ruiz (.268) had a solid year behind the plate while newcomer Ben Revere hit .305 with 22 stolen bases.

Cliff Lee (14-8, 2.87) and Cole Hamels (8-14, 3.60) led the pitching staff and third starter Kyle Kendrick contributed 10 wins.  In his final season, Roy Halladay struggled mightily, going 4-5 with a 6.82 ERA in 13 starts.  Jonathan Papelbon led the team with 29 saves with Antonio Bastardo (2.32 ERA, 2 saves) and Jake Diekman (2.58 ERA) serving as reliable relievers.

Key events:  Looking at the Chachi Highlight cards for the season, the most notable events include Halladay winning his 200th career game and walk-off home runs from Freddy Galvis and John Mayberry, Jr.  Outfielder Casper Wells and infielder John McDonald both pitched in an 18-inning loss to the Diamondbacks in August.

2013 Phillies in 2013 Topps
Who's in:  Series 1 and Series 2 each include 10 Phillies cards, with the Update Series adding 10 more for a total of 30.  There are three short-printed variation cards for Howard, Utley and John Kruk (in the Update Series).

• Cards of the eight starting position players - 8 cards

#367 Carlos Ruiz (c), #6 Ryan Howard (1b), #26 Chase Utley (2b), #206 Jimmy Rollins (ss), #US90 Michael Young, #625 Domonic Brown (lf), #637 Ben Revere (cf), #US242 Delmon Young (rf)

Michael Young's card is baffling, as it features a photo of him scoring the winning run in a thrilling 4-3 win over the Royals on April 6th.  We get a nice look at Young's back and short-term Phillie Ezequiel Carrera is to his left, but Young's face is completely obscured.

2013 Topps #33

2013 Topps #332

2013 Topps #71

2013 Topps #410

• Cards of the starting pitching rotation - 5 cards

#33 Cliff Lee, #332 Cole Hamels, #71 Kyle Kendrick, #US281 Jonathan Pettibone, #US280 John Lannan

• Base cards of players who played with the Phillies in 2013 - 12 cards

#83 Darin Ruf, #197 Tyler Cloyd, #361 Erik Kratz, #410 Roy Halladay, #424 Steven Lerud, #472 John Mayberry, #514 Jonathan Papelbon, #646 Phillippe Aumont, #US30 Mike Adams, #US58 Kevin Frandsen, #US71 Cody Asche, #US156 Laynce Nix

• Base cards of players who did not play with the Phillies in 2013 - 2 cards

#152 Jose Contreras, #249 Vance Worley

• 2013 National League All-Star cards - 2 cards, #US188 Cliff Lee, #US309 Domonic Brown
• 2013 Record Chase cards - 1 card, #264 Roy Halladay

The Record Chase card doubles as a checklist for cards 264 to 331 and calls attention to Halladay's chase of 200 wins.

2013 Topps #514

2013 Topps #472

2013 Topps Update #US58

2013 Topps #83

Who's Out:  Infielder Galvis got left out of the set for the second year in a row and the entire bullpen, except Papelbon, was ignored.  The top four relievers in terms of number of appearances could have merited cards in the set - Justin De Fratus, Bastardo, Diekman and Jeremy Horst.
Phillies on other teams:  Delmon Young (#121, Tigers) and Michael Young (#320, Rangers) both appear with their former teams in the base set.  Wells (#US247, White Sox) appears in the Update Series as well as the Mariners retail team set (#SEA11).

What's he doing here:  Contreras and Worley both departed during the off-season so it makes sense they'd appear in Series 1 with the Phillies.  As has been the case with the past few years of Topps sets, I really don't have any issues with their Phillies player selections.  Back-up catcher Lerud is a surprising inclusion, as he appeared in three games with the Phillies in 2012 and just six more games in 2013.
Cards that never were candidates:  Galvis, De Fratus, Basardo and Diekman.
Favorite Phillies card:  Phillies Room Favorite Frandsen finally received a Topps card, and the photo is perfect - Frandsen is smiling on his way up to the plate with his filthy, pine tar stained helmet on full display.  Easily my least favorite Phillies card, and perhaps my least favorite Phillies card ever, is Papelon's card showing him in mid-maniacal scream.

2013 Topps Phillies #PHI-1

2013 Topps Phillies #PHI-9

2013 Topps Phillies #PHI-10

2013 Topps #424

Other Stuff
Variations:  There are a few variations to be found in the Chrome, Opening Day and retail team set as shown on the table below.  I'd love to pick the brain of the Topps photo-selection committee and ask them why Revere had different photos on his flagship and Chrome cards, both showing him making a diving catch.  Both Young's received Photoshopped Phillies uniforms in the retail team set.

2013 Phillies Team Issue - 1st Edition

Number of Cards:  41
Card Size:  4" x 6"
Description:  This is the first of four straight team issued sets featuring basically the same design elements.  The player's name, number and position are listed at the bottom of the card in a red and blue design with the Phillies script logo appearing in one of the top corners.  All photos used for this set were taken during spring training 2013.  The horizontal card backs feature biographical information and complete career statistics.

How Distributed:  The 41-card set was available for sale at the ballpark up until early July when an entirely new set with a new design was issued.  I picked up my set on March 29th during one of the on-deck exhibition game with the Blue Jays.

Complete Standard Checklist:  The cards are unnumbered, but I've presented them below ordered by uniform number.

2 - Ben Revere 3 - Delmon Young 5 - Steve Henderson CO 6 - Ryan Howard 8 - Juan Samuel CO 9 - Domonic Brown 10 - Michael Young 11 - Jimmy Rollins 12 - Humberto Quintero 13 - Freddy Galvis 15 - John Mayberry, Jr. 17 - Mick Billmeyer CO 18 - Darin Ruf 19 - Laynce Nix 21 - Wally Joyner CO 23 - Ryne Sandberg CO 25 - Yuniesky Betancourt 26 - Chase Utley 27 - John Lannan 28 - Kevin Frandsen 30 - Rich Dubee CO

31 - Erik Kratz 33 - Cliff Lee 34 - Roy Halladay 35 - Cole Hamels 37 - Mike Adams 38 - Kyle Kendrick 40 - Michael Stutes 41 - Charlie Manuel MG 43 - Ender Inciarte 45 - Chad Durbin 46 - Raul Valdes 47 - Jeremy Horst 48 - Phillippe Aumont 51 - Carlos Ruiz 54 - Rod Nichols CO 58 - Jonathan Papelbon 59 - Antonio Bastardo 79 - Justin De Fratus Phillie Phanatic Phillies Broadcasters

One and Done (3):  Betancourt, Inciarte, Quintero
First Appearances (8):  Adams, Aumont, De Fratus, Lannan, Revere, Ruf, D. Young, M. Young
Returning Players (20):  Bastardo, Brown, Durbin, Frandsen, Galvis, Halladay, Hamels, Horst, Howard, Kendrick, Kratz, Lee, Mayberry Jr., Nix, Papelbon, Rollins, Ruiz, Stutes, Utley, Valdes

Betancourt and Inciarte never appeared in a game with the Phillies.  Betancourt was released in late March.  Inciarte was a Rule 5 pick from the Diamondbacks and he made the opening day roster.  However, the Phillies signed Ezequiel Carrera on the second day of the season and Inciarte was shipped back to Arizona having never officially appeared in a game with the Phillies.  The final One and Done is Quintero who appeared in 24 games with the Phillies before parting ways with the club in July.

The First Appearance designation is for players who have never before appeared within a Phillies team issued set.  These players may have already appeared on other Phillies baseball cards.

Manager (1):  Manuel
Coaches (7):  Billmeyer, Dubee, Henderson, Joyner, Nichols, Samuel, Sandberg
Phillie Phanatic (1)
Broadcasters (1):  The card features Tom McCarthy, Scott Franzke, Larry Andersen, Gary Matthews, Chris Wheeler, Gregg Murphy and Jim Jackson in their spring training gear.
Commemorative Cards (0)

Variations/Rarities:  Cards for Adams, Henderson and Kendrick exist with a Phillies script logo on the card backs.  Thanks to tips from fellow collectors Steve F. and Rick in December 2016, I was able to add these three (autographed) cards to my collection.

In December 2019, Rick also found logo-backed cards for Papelbon for sale at the annual Phillies holiday sale.

Also See:  2013 Phillies Survival Guide
Trivia:  Beckett omits this set from its online database.
Resources:  14,000 Phillies; The Trading Card Database

2013 Chachi #65 Batting Leaders - Chase Utley & Michael Young

I already have my sights set on the 2014 season, but I want to post these 2013 team leaders cards before the hot stove season kicks into high gear.  I'm going to keep the narrative to a minimum and for each statistical category I'll list the top five from 2013 and then the top and bottom five from the past 40 years.

Given the team's poor performance during 2013, I thought looking at the leaders in the bottom five since 1973 would give me some perspective on just how bad the team actually performed when viewed in a historical context.

2013 Leaders
1.  Chase Utley - .284
2.  Michael Young - .276
3.  Domonic Brown - .272
4.  Jimmy Rollins - .252

Top 5 Since 1973
1996 - Jim Eisenreich - .361
1999 - Bobby Abreu - .335
2007 - Chase Utley - .332
1979 - Pete Rose - .331
1976 - Garry Maddox - .330

Bottom 5 Since 1973
2012 - Jimmy Rollins - .250
1983 - Gary Matthews - .258
2011 - Shane Victorino - .279
1985 - Mike Schmidt - .277
1989 - Tommy Herr - .287

Goodbye Young, Hello BlueClaws

2013 Bowman Platinum #38

Cubs 4, Phillies 3
Game 136 - Saturday Afternoon, August 31st in Chicago
Record - 62-74, 4th Place, 21 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Cubs came from behind twice to down the Phils, 4-3.

What It Means:  The Phillies will try for the series win this afternoon and then head home for a series with the Nationals.

What Went Wrong:  Cliff Lee struggled through his five innings of work, allowing three runs (two earned) on nine hits while walking three.  Zach Miner allowed the Cubs to take the lead for good on the second pitch he threw in the sixth when Starlin Castro homered to center.

Michael Young had three hits and a costly error, which serves as a perfect microcosm of his Phillies career.

Featured Card:  When I woke up on Sunday morning, I learned that Young had been traded away to the Dodgers.  Last night, we learned of John McDonald's departure (to the Red Sox) from Vin Scully while listening to the Dodgers game driving home from the Lakewood BlueClaws game.  I'll have more on the BlueClaws game below.

Young hit .272 in 125 games for the Phillies this season and to say his defense at third was shaky would be extremely favorable.  Still, his presence on the team did gain him a few fans - most notably my wife and my six-year-old son, Doug.  Both were sad when I informed them this morning that Young, with McDonald, were now ex-Phillies.

With the exception of Topps Archives, Young had Phillies cards in all the major Topps releases this year.  This is perhaps his final Phillies card, from the Bowman Platinum set.

2013 Brandt Lakwood BlueClaws #5, #9, #17 and #31

Doug and Art Charles

Field Report:  We packed up the boys and made the 90-minute trek to Lakewood, NJ on Saturday night to take in a Single-A Lakewood BlueClaws game.  An inning into the game, I was telling my wife that we definitely need to go to more minor league games.

Our seats were awesome, the food was good, the tickets were cheap, the players were nice and the boys had fun.  On top of that, we got to see some good baseball and get more familiar with players who could be appearing in Chachi sets by 2015 or 2016.  In particular, this year's first round pick, J.P. Crawford, looked fantastic on a few plays at short.

I bought Doug a BlueClaws team set and he had fun before the game tracking down autographs of several BlueClaws players and former Phillie (now coach) Aaron Fultz.  Art Charles, Larry Greene, Jr., and Chace Numata were very accommodating with their autographs and they helped to make my son's night.

We'll be going back to a game next season as the 90-minute drive was definitely well worth it.

2013 Topps Allen & Ginter #257 Michael Young

Phillies 4, Rockies 3
Game 126 - Wednesday Night, August 21st in Philadelphia 
Record - 56-70, 4th Place, 21 games behind the Braves 

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies walked off with an improbable 4-3 win over the Rockies, courtesy of clutch ninth inning hits from Carlos Ruiz and Michael Young.

What It Means:  The season is a bust, but games like this at least make us smile and remember that these guys can be exciting every once in a while.

What Went Right:  Down two runs, Erik Kratz led off the ninth with a double and pinch-runner Casper Wells scored the tying run on a double from Chooch.  Young followed that up with a single to left to score Ruiz with the winning run.

Chase Utley hit his 16th home run of the year in the first.  Cliff Lee labored at times, but he still held the Rockies to two runs on nine hits.  Jake Diekman pitched a scoreless ninth, striking out two, and was credited with the win.

Featured Card:  Young shouldn't even be here anymore, as logic had him being traded off to a contender prior to the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline.  He may still find himself playing on a winning team in September as the Phillies have until next Saturday to trade him away.  This is his card from the recently released Allen & Ginter set.

It should also be documented here that friend o' the blog, Pete V. was tossed the ball from Young's game-winning hit by Rockies left fielder Charlie Blackmon.  Pete deftly caught the ball and then promptly handed it off to a little girl sitting in his section.  Bravo, sir.  Well done.

2013 Bowman #31 Michael Young

Phillies 7, Giants 3 
Game 106 - Tuesday Night, July 30th in Philadelphia 
Record - 50-56, 3rd Place, 11 1/2 games behind the Braves 

Another Massive, Post-Vacation, Why Do I Even Bother Catch-Up, Part 3 of 8

One Sentence Summary:  Behind the pitching of John Lannan and home runs from Carlos Ruiz and Michael Young, the Phillies snapped their eight game losing streak and defeated the Giants, 7-3.

What It Means:  This was a nice win in the midst of a horrible streak of baseball for the Phillies.

What Went Right:  Lannan pitched seven strong innings, allowing three runs on seven hits.  Ruiz hit his first home run of the year in the fourth and Young hit his eighth in the sixth inning.  Cody Asche, the team's third baseman of the future, made his Major League debut in the seventh when he pinch-hit for Lannan.  He popped up to second in the at-bat.

Featured Card:  I thought for sure this would be Young's final game in a Phillies uniform, as he was the player most rumored to be leaving town prior to Wednesday's non-waiver trade deadline.  However, General Manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. decided not to trade away available veterans for prospects.

There's still a good chance Young could be dealt at some point in August.

2013 Topps Gypsy Queen #298 Michael Young

Phillies 2, White Sox 1 (Game 2 - 13 Innings)
Game 95 - Saturday Night, July 13th in Philadelphia
Record - 47-48, 3rd Place, 7 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Michael Young ended a very long day of baseball with an RBI-single in the bottom of the 13th, giving the Phillies a 2-1 victory.

What It Means:  The Phils will go for the series win this afternoon, and they'll attempt to enter the All-Star break with a .500 record.

The big news following game one of the double header was the loss of Ben Revere, who broke a bone in his foot when he fouled a pitch off it in the bottom of the 11th.  Since May 1st, Revere had hit .347 and it really stinks that the club is losing his bat, his speed and his glove in the line-up.  Here's hoping for the best for Revere's foot!

What Went Right:  Young's hit scored Jimmy Rollins, who had to make a great head-first slide to avoid the tag of catcher Tyler Flowers.  John Mayberry, Jr. had tied it up in the seventh with a solo home run.

John Lannan pitched his second straight strong game, allowing just a run on four hits in his eight innings of work.  The bullpen was also surprisingly strong, pitching five scoreless innings.

Featured Card:  Young had been one of the names mentioned most frequently in possible Phillies trade scenarios, had they not started winning ballgames over the past few weeks.  At this point, it seems as if the Phils won't sell off pending free agents (like they did last year) and we could see Young on more Phillies baseball cards as the season progresses.  This is card from the Gypsy Queen set, released way back in early April.

2013 Topps Heritage #258 Michael Young

Phillies 5, Reds 3
Game 42 - Friday Night, May 17th in Philadelphia
Record - 20-22, 3rd Place, 3 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies battled back to win late against the Reds, 5-3.

What It Means:  It's easy to feel good about the Phillies when they play like they played last night.  Now if they could only maintain some level of consistency.

What Went Right:  First, let's discuss what went wrong.  With the scored tied at two, Antonio Bastardo allowed an eighth-inning, lead-off home run to Joey Votto, giving the Reds a 3-2 lead and completely sucking all the air out of Citizens Bank Park.  The home run cost Cliff Lee, who had pitched well again, a win.

But then in the bottom of the eighth, things went right.  Michael Young worked a 10-pitch walk, Ryan Howard inexplicably reached on a check-swing infield single to the left side of the infield, Delmon Young was plunked, and Domonic Brown reached on an error, scoring Michael Young.  A Carlos Ruiz sac fly brought home Howard a batter later, although replays showed that Howard might have been out.

Featured Card:  Young drew his third walk of the game with his outstanding at-bat in the eighth, and he came around to score the eventual winning run.  I'm still waiting for my Bowman Phillies team set to arrive in the mail, which includes Young's first card wearing an actual Phillies uniform.  (Unless you count his team-issued card featuring him in Spring Training action.)  The Topps Heritage card featured here does a decent job of creating the illusion of a Phillies uniform, and it features a rare Young smile.

2013 Chachi #5 Michael Young

#10

Michael Brian Young

Third Base

Bats: Right  Throws: Right  Height: 6'1"  Weight: 200

Born: October 19, 1976, Covina, CA

Home: Dallas, TX

Drafted: Selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in in the 5th round of the June 1997 draft

Teams: Texas Rangers 2000-2012, Phillies 2013-

Acquired: Acquired from the Texas Rangers for Josh Lindblom and Lisalverto Bonilla, December 9, 2012

Contract Status: Signed through the 2013 season

2013 Topps Opening Day #117 Michael Young

Royals 9, Phillies 8
Game 6 - Sunday Afternoon, April 7th in Philadelphia
Record - 2-4, 4th Place, 3 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  A late offensive surge wasn't enough to overcome yet another poor pitching performance, as the Phillies lost the game to the Royals, 9-8.

What It Means:  This definitely wasn't the start to the season we were hoping for.  The hits have come in spurts, but the pitching has been woeful.  The Phils try to get on track with a three-game home series against the Mets next.

What Went Wrong:  Cole Hamels is now 0-2 with a 10.97 ERA after giving up eight runs in 5 2/3 innings.  Chad Durbin, who actually lowered his ERA to 11.57 after his 1 1/3 innings, has now allowed all five runners he's inherited this season to score while allowing seven of the 11 batters he's faced to reach base.  The Royals Billy Butler did the most damage with seven total RBIs, including a grand slam off Hamels.

This game was eerily similar to the home opener on Friday.  The Phillies scored early, with the starting pitcher faltering in the fifth and the bullpen unable to keep the game close.  Jimmy Rollins made it interesting with a three-run home run in the ninth, but Erik Kratz struck out with the winning run on second base to end the ballgame.

2013 Topps Phillies #PHI-9

Featured Cards:  Michael Young had a four-hit game in the losing effort, raising his early season average all the way up to .333.  Young's defense at third was a concern coming into the season, but he's been fine so far.  As of this writing, featured below is Young's complete Phillies baseball card checklist, not including the parallel versions of each card.  His card in the Topps Phillies team set is identical to his Topps Opening Day card, with the exception of the foil for the name and Topps logo.  For Young's card in Topps series two, I'm hoping they go with an actual photo of Young in a Phillies uniform and not a digitally altered photo.

2013 Phillies Team Issue #10
2013 Topps Gypsy Queen #298
2013 Topps Heritage #258
2013 Topps Opening Day #117
2013 Topps Phillies #PHI-9
2013 Topps Stickers #170

Finally, and most importantly, today is our dog Chachi's ninth birthday.  Happy birthday Chachi and I'll make sure you get plenty of treats today!

2004 Topps Heritage #206 Michael Young

2004 Topps Heritage #206

The Phillies were a little late this year in assigning numbers to their new acquisitions, but I noticed yesterday on the Phillies website that all 60 players scheduled to be in camp this year now have uniform numbers next to their names.  In my mind, the assignment of new uniform numbers is the final milestone to reach prior to the official start of Spring Training.

As I did last year, here's a run-down of who will be wearing new numbers next week in Clearwater:

New Players

#2 Ben Revere - Revere wore #11 with the Twins.  As that number is currently taken by Jimmy Rollins, he's going with #2, worn last year by departed first base coach Sam Perlozzo.

#3 Delmon Young - Young gets a fresh start with Hunter Pence's old #3.  The outfielder had previously worn #21 with the Twins and Tigers.

#10 Michael Young - Young wore this number for a decade with the Rangers.  Juan Pierre wore the number last season for the Phillies.

#27 John Lannan - Lannan was #31 with the Nationals over the past four seasons, but Erik Kratz has that number with the Phils.  New Marlin Placido Polanco had been wearing #27.

#37 Mike Adams - For the second year in a row, Antonio Bastardo was coerced to give up his number to a more veteran pitcher.  Last year, he surrendered #58 to the newly acquired Jonathan Papelbon.  This year, Adams claimed his familiar #37 from Bastardo.
#43 Ender Inciarte - My guess is that Inciarte was just assigned the lowest number left over after the new veterans got their picks.  Josh Lindblom wore #43 last season.
#45 Chad Durbin - Durbin wore #37 during his first stint with the Phillies.  I wonder what made him choose #45, made famous by Tug McGraw, for this go round?  The Phillies haven't assigned #45 to anyone since Pedro Martinez wore it for part of the 2009 season.

1990 Topps #525

New Coaches
#5 Steve Henderson - The new hitting coach assumes former bench coach Pete Mackanin's old number.
#21 Wally Joyner - Joyner wore #21 during his formidable years with the Angels.  Former hitting coach Greg Gross wore the number last season.
#23 Ryne Sandberg - Sandberg made this number famous during his Hall of Fame career with the Cubs.  Brian Schneider's recent retirement made the number available - although I can't imagine Sandberg wearing any other number.
#54 Rod Nichols - The Phillies "unretired" Brad Lidge's #54 for their new bullpen coach.

New Numbers
#8 Juan Samuel - Samuel wore #12 during his first two years as a Phillies coach.  With Shane Victorino's depature last year, Samuel's old #8 was freed up so he made the switch.
#59 Antonio Bastardo - As discussed above, Bastardo's #59 is his third uniform number in three years.

2002 Topps Total #486

Other Stuff
- From 1 to 60, the following non-retired numbers are still available - #49, #56, #57.  These numbers were last worn by Vance Worley, Joe Blanton and David Herndon, respectively.

- New non-roster invitees receiving low numbers include catcher Humbero Quintero (#12), outfielder Joe Mather (#22), infielders Josh Fields (#24) and Yuniesky Betancout (#25) and pitchers Rodrigo Lopez (#16) and Aaron Cook (#29).  Veterans are typically saved the embarrassment of sporting numbers in the 60s and 70s.

- Outfielder Zach Collier wins the prize for the highest number with #80.  The last player I remember being in camp with a number that high was Chase Utley, back when he was a non-roster invitee in 2002.

2013 Chachi Transactions #7 Michael Young

There has been a deal.

A few days after acquiring Ben Revere to man center field for the foreseeable future, the Phillies acquired a new third baseman, at least for the 2013 season.

The Phillies acquired third baseman Michael Young and cash from the Texas Rangers for relief pitcher Josh Lindblom and pitching prospect Lisalverto Bonilla.  The Rangers sent $10 million in cash along with Young, meaning the Phillies are on the hook for just $6 million of his total 2013 salary.  He'll be a free agent following the season.

The right-handed hitting Young came up with the Rangers for a brief, two-game cup of coffee in September 2000 and until yesterday, he never left.  The seven time All-Star is the Rangers all-time leader in games, at-bats, runs, hits, doubles and triples.  In 156 games last season, Young hit .277 with 8 home runs and 67 RBIs.

By all accounts, Young is a class act in the same vein as a Jim Thome or a Raul Ibanez.  I'm looking forward to seeing him in red pinstripes and I'm hoping he gets the Phillies a step closer to returning to the postseason.