2013 Chachi #7 John Mayberry, Jr.

#15

John Claiborn Mayberry, Jr.

Right Field

Bats: Right  Throws: Right  Height: 6'6"  Weight: 225

Born: December 21, 1983, Kansas City, MO

Home: Overland Park, KS

Drafted: Selected by Texas Rangers in 1st round of June 2005 draft

Teams: Phillies 2009-

Acquired: Acquired from the Texas Rangers for Greg Golson, November 20, 2008

Contract Status: Pre-arbitration eligible

1987 Drake's #23 Mike Schmidt

Cardinals 4, Phillies 3
Game 16 - Thursday Night, April 18th in Philadelphia
Record - 6-10, 4th Place, 7 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies couldn't come up with a clutch hit in the ninth (or even a sacrifice fly) as the Cardinals took the series opener, 4-3.

What It Means:  This is the fourth Phillies loss in a row.  The Phillies are closer in the standings to the last place Marlins, who are 10 1/2 back, than the first place Braves.

What Went Wrong:  With the Cardinals up by a run, the Phillies opened the bottom of the ninth with runners at first and third and nobody out.  Pinch-hitter Kevin Frandsen swung at the first pitch he saw and grounded out to short.  Jimmy Rollins whiffed and Freddy Galvis grounded to second and the game was over.

Both teams traded runs until the Cards went ahead for good when Carlos Beltran homered to left off Phillies reliever Mike Adams.  Starting pitcher Cole Hamels lowered his ERA to 6.46 by allowing three runs in his seven innings of work.

Featured Card:  It was 26 years ago yesterday, on April 18, 1987, that Mike Schmidt hit his 500th home run off the Pirates Don Robinson.  I could have gone with a more commonly known Fleer, Donruss or Topps card from 1987 for this post, but I was feeling a bit oddballish.  This is Schmidt's very skillfully hand-cut card from the 1987 Drake's set, which began its life as part of a box holding a delicious collection of Yodels.

Why do I have a feeling I'll be featuring more vintage cards this year in these game summary posts than cards of current Phillies players?

Cardinals at Phillies: April 18th to April 21st

Thursday, Friday and Saturday 7:05, Sunday 8:05
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

Cardinals 8-6, 1st Place in the N.L. Central, 1/2 game ahead of the Reds
Phillies 6-9, 4th Place in the N.L. East, 6 1/2 games behind the Braves

Cardinals Probables:  Adam Wainwright (2-1, 2.05), Jaime Garcia (1-0, 1.86), Lance Lynn (2-0, 5.40)
Phillies Probables:  Cole Hamels (0-2, 7.56), Roy Halladay (1-2, 7.63), Cliff Lee (2-0, 1.52)

At the Ballpark:  All fans will receive a 2013 schedule magnet tonight and the Phillies host their Jackie Robinson tribute on Friday night.  Sunday is the Phanatic's birthday celebration (is it a little early this year?) with all kids receiving a Time Travelin' Phanatic DVD.

Phillies Leaders

Average:  Michael Young - .346

Runs:  Chase Utley - 9

Home Runs:  Chase Utley - 3

RBIs:  Chase Utley - 12

Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 5

Wins:  Cliff Lee - 2

ERA:  Cliff Lee - 1.52

Strikeouts:  Cliff Lee - 18

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 3

1973 Topps #364 and #300

1973 Topps Flashback:  Rick Wise and Steve Carlton were traded for each other in a straight-up pitcher for pitcher deal in February 1972.  Both pitchers received "Traded" cards within the 1972 Topps high series, but the 1973 Topps set contained their first proper base cards with their new teams.  Over the short-term and eventually over the long-term, it's safe to say the Phillies got the better end of the deal.

Wise lasted two seasons in St. Louis, going a combined 32-28 in 70 games and making the All-Star team in 1973.  He enjoyed one of his best seasons as a member of the 1975 Red Sox when he went 19-12 and helped the Sox reach the World Series.  Lefty's first season in Philly marks perhaps one of the best single-season pitching performances in the game's history.  Pitching for a horrendous 1972 Phillies squad, Carlton went 27-10 with a 1.97 ERA and 310 strikeouts in 346 1/3 innings.  His 27 wins represented almost half of the team's 59 wins for the entire season.

1974 Johnny Pro Phillies Bob Boone

Reds 11, Phillies 2
Game 15 - Wednesday Night, April 17th in Cincinnati
Record - 6-9, 4th Place, 6 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  After dropping the first two games of the series, the Phillies flamed out in spectacular fashion as the Reds won this game, 11-2, and swept the struggling team right on out of town.

What It Means:  It's too early in the season for me to be this grumpy about the Phillies.  Right?

What Went Wrong:  Starter John Lannan couldn't escape the second inning.  In 1 2/3 innings of work, he allowed six runs on eight hits.  Long-man Raul Valdes didn't fare much better, allowing five more runs in his 3 1/3 innings.

The Phillies had just two hits through the first six innings of this game.

Featured Card:  It's so hard sometimes to find the appropriate card for games like these.  So here's another card I recently added from the 1974 Johnny Pro Phillies set.  It has absolutely no connection to this game whatsoever.  It's just cool.

It seems as I get older, I find myself gravitating more and more towards oddball cards from yesteryear.  I now need just three more cards - Mike Schmidt, Del Unser and Jim Lonborg - for a complete 12-card 1974 Johnny Pro Phillies set.  I have a feeling the Unser and Lonborg cards will come a little easier than the Schmidt card.

2006 Topps Fan Appreciation Day #12 Rick White

Reds 1, Phillies 0
Game 14 - Tuesday Night (and Wednesday Afternoon), April 16th (and 17th) in Cincinnati
Record - 6-8, 4th Place, 6 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The punchless Phillies lost 1-0 to the Reds in a game that was suspended on Tuesday night and completed in under ten minutes on Wednesday afternoon.

What It Means:  I'm writing this as the Phils are being completely demolished by the Reds in the final game of the series.  Where's the offense?  Through 2 1/2 games against the Reds, the Phillies have managed two runs.  They had two hits in this game and they have two hits through six innings in tonight's game.

What Went Wrong:  This game was initially delayed by rain and then heavy rain started to fall as the Reds were about to bat in the bottom of the ninth with the score tied at one.  The game was suspended and resumed at 5:30 this afternoon.  The Reds quickly loaded the bases against Phillippe Aumont, aided by a crucial error from center fielder Ben Revere, and Jay Bruce singled home the winning run without Aumont ever retiring a batter.

Kyle Kendrick pitched very well in the losing effort.  In seven innings, Kendrick allowed just two hits while striking out four.

Featured Card:  Steve F. had a fantastic idea for a card for part one of this game.  Two players have worn #00 in franchise history - Omar Olivares in 1995 and Rick White in 2006.  Olivares never made it onto a Phillies baseball card, and White's only Phillies baseball card appearance was on the card featured here.

2010 Topps The Cards Your Mom Threw Out #CMT-25 Mike Schmidt

A very happy birthday to my Mom today!

By 2010, the novelty of Topps reprinting cards from its vintage sets had just about worn off.  Since the early 2000s, collectors had been inundated with reprints of iconic Topps cards, usually made available as special inserts within packs of the company's various sets.  To mix things up a little in 2010, Topps called its latest iteration of the reprint set, "The Cards Your Mom Threw Out."  There are 174 cards in the set, with each card an (almost) exact reprint of (mostly) classic Topps cards from 1952 through 2009.  The Mike Schmidt card featured here is a close approximation of his original 1976 Topps card.

When I read about the name of this set back in 2010, I actually said out loud to myself, "My Mom never threw out any of my cards."

And she didn't.  She encouraged my collecting habit, just like she's encouraged me in every single endeavor throughout my life.  Over the past few years, she's tracked down stunning older Phillies cards for my collection, much to my amazement.  So not only did my Mom never throw out any of my older cards, she's still making sure I'm adding older cards to my growing collection.

While the name of this baseball card set is cute, it's completely inaccurate in my case.  For that, and for more reasons than could ever fit on this blog, I'm forever grateful to my Mom.

2013 Chachi #6 Domonic Brown

#9

Domonic Larun Brown

Left Field

Bats: Left  Throws: Left  Height: 6'5"  Weight: 205

Born: September 3, 1987, Zephyrhills, FL

Home: Clearwater, FL

Drafted: Selected by Phillies in 20th round of June 2006 draft

Teams: Phillies 2010-

Acquired: Via draft

Contract Status: Pre-arbitration eligible

Pray for Boston

Ben Revere's glove from last night's game

Reds 4, Phillies 2 
Game 13 - Monday Night, April 15th in Cincinnati
Record - 6-7, 4th Place, 5 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  With all players wearing #42 to celebrate Jackie Robinson Day, the Reds scored twice in the eighth to defeat the Phillies, 4-2.

What It Means:  Given the events in Boston earlier in the day, this loss really doesn't mean all that much.

2007 Topps Co-Signers #42

What Went Wrong:  Cliff Lee pitched a solid ballgame, but faltered in the seventh.  Lee's final line was two runs on five hits in seven innings, with a walk, four strike outs and a costly wild pitch that led to the first Reds run.  The Phillies were held in check by Reds starter Bronson Arroyo, with their only runs coming courtesy of a game tying, two-run pinch-hit home run from Chase Utley in the eighth.
 
The game didn't stay tied for long as Jeremy Horst allowed two runners to start the bottom of the eighth, and both would come around to score.

Other than Utley's home run, the other big highlight for the Phillies was the amazing catch made by Ben Revere in the second inning.  Revere wore the message "Pray for Boston" taped to his glove.

Featured Card:  Jimmy Rollins broke out a pair of blue high-top cleats for the first half of the game, emblazoned with Robinson's #42.  Unfortunately, the cleats didn't help him at the plate as he went 0 for 4 with a strikeout.  This is the sole Rollins card in my collection to bear the #42.

Like many of you, I watched last night's game with a heavy heart due to the terrorist attack in Boston earlier in the day.  Our family's thoughts and prayers go out to the victims, their families, the runners in the Boston Marathon, the first responders and the city of Boston.

Phillies at Reds: April 15th to April 17th

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 7:10
Great American Ball Park - Cincinnati, OH

Phillies 6-6, 4th Place in the N.L. East, 5 games behind the Braves
Reds 5-7, 3rd Place in the N.L. Central, 2 games behind the Cardinals

Phillies Probables:  Cliff Lee (2-0, 1.08), Kyle Kendrick (1-1, 5.40), John Lannan (0-0, 2.77)
Reds Probables:  Bronson Arroyo (1-1, 5.25), Homer Bailey (1-1, 5.73), Mike Leake (0-0, 6.75)

At the Ballpark:  All players will once again wear #42 in today's games to celebrate the life and legacy of Jackie Robinson.  On a much lesser note, tomorrow night is the first Bark in the Park night at Great American Ball Park.  Ticket holders will be allowed to bring their dogs to the game.  Woof.

Phillies Leaders

Average:  Michael Young - .357

Runs:  Chase Utley - 8

Home Runs:  Domonic Brown, Laynce Nix and Chase Utley - 2

RBIs:  Chase Utley - 10

Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 5

Wins:  Cliff Lee - 2

ERA:  Cliff Lee - 1.08

Strikeouts:  Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee - 14

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 3

1973 Topps #130, #230 and #275

1973 Topps Flashback:  For today's flashback, here are three cards of members of the Big Red Machine of the '70s.  Pete Rose, Joe Morgan and Tony Perez would help lead the Reds to consecutive World Series titles in 1975 and 1976.  They would reunite in 1983 to try to win their third title together, this time as members of the Phillies.  That group of aging veterans assembled by the Phillies were affectionately known as the Wheeze Kids and unfortunately their title hopes were dashed in five games by the Baltimore Orioles.

Morgan and Perez each appeared on a number of 1983 and 1984 baseball cards, marking their one year with the Phils.  Rose appeared on a ton of Phillies cards between 1979 and 1984, and based on my Zistle database, I have 84 Rose cards in my collection.

This past Saturday marked the 50th anniversary of Rose's first Major League hit, on April 13, 1963 against the Pirates' Al McBean.  Yesterday, Rose celebrated his 72nd birthday.  To mark both occasions, Mike Schmidt wrote a brief article to celebrate Rose's career and to once again lobby for the removal of Rose's lifetime ban from baseball.

2013 Chachi #31 Roy Halladay HL

Phillies 2, Marlins 1
Game 12 - Sunday Afternoon, April 14th in Miami
Record - 6-6, 4th Place, 5 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Roy Halladay pitched eight solid innings in Miami on the way to his 200th career victory and a 2-1 Phillies win.

What It Means:  It wasn't a crisp performance from Doc, and the Marlins are pretty awful, but a win's a win.  The most troubling aspect of this series is the fact that the Phillies only managed to outscore the Marlins in all three games by a combined total of 6-4.

The Phillies open up a three game series tonight in Cincinnati, where they'll try to climb over .500 for the first time this season.

What Went Right:  Halladay allowed a run on five hits while striking out five, and at one point he retired ten Marlins batters in a row.

The Phillies scored their first run in the sixth when Michael Young singled home Ryan Howard, who had reached on a double.  Pinch-hitter Laynce Nix gave the team the lead with a long solo home run to right in the top of the ninth.

1980 Baseball
Immortals #64

Featured Cards:  Halladay won his 199th game in his last start of the 2012 season, back on September 29th.  He had two rough starts to begin the 2013 season, but he pitched well enough to notch career win number 200 in his third start yesterday.  While the franchise boasts a number of Hall of Fame pitchers with over 200 career wins, only four other pitchers have actually won their 200th as a member of the Phillies.  I thought Doc's feat deserved the first of hopefully many 2013 Chachi Highlight cards and I used the Boyhood Photos cards from the 1973 Topps set as the basis for the card.  Here's the list (H/T to Beerleaguer) of pitchers to have won their 200th games as members of the Phillies:

Gus Weyhing - 1893

Chief Bender - June 13, 1913

Robin Roberts - August 1, 1958

Steve Carlton - July 23, 1978

Roy Halladay - April 14, 2013

I've featured quite a few Carlton and Roberts cards on my blog over the years, but this is the blog debut for Bender.  This is the sole Bender card in my collection, as his contemporary cards from the 1900s and 1910s are a bit too rich for my blood.  I've seen this set listed as both the 1980 Baseball Immortals set or the probably more accurate 1980-1987 SSPC HOF set.  The set was originally issued in 1980, containing a card for each Hall of Fame inductee to date.  Update cards were issued every year thereafter until 1987 for each new Hall of Fame class.

Bender spent the tail-end of his 16-year Hall of Fame career with the Phillies, appearing in 47 games with the club in 1916 and 1917.

2004 Upper Deck Vintage #29 Placido Polanco

Marlins 2, Phillies 1
Game 11 - Saturday Night, April 13th in Miami
Record - 5-6, 4th Place, 5 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Rookie pitcher Jose Fernandez shut down the Phillies and the Marlins took advantage of some shaky defense to walk-off with a 2-1 victory.

What It Means:  Each of the team's five losses prior to this game were tough, but this one may have trumped them all.  The Marlins are just an awful team, and the Phillies need a win on Sunday to win the series.

What Went Wrong:  The Marlins scored their first run when Laynce Nix misplayed a ball that led to a triple by Adieny Hechavarria.  He'd come in to score on pitcher Fernandez's first Major League hit and RBI.  Nix had made an amazing diving catch in right earlier in the game.

With the score tied, Phillies reliever Phillippe Aumont started the ninth by walking Placido Polanco.  Polanco moved to third when first baseman Kevin Frandsen couldn't cleanly field a grounder and he scored the winning run when Chase Utley also couldn't cleanly field a ground ball.  Frustrating.

Starting pitcher Cole Hamels didn't allow a Marlins hit until Hechavarria's triple, which came with two outs in the fifth.  The Phillies managed just five hits off Marlins pitching.

Featured Card:  There was a nice article on Philly.com yesterday about Polanco and his thoughts on playing with the Marlins.  This is one of his cards from his first stint with the Phils in which Upper Deck borrowed loosely from the design of the 1954 Red Heart Dog Food set.

1952 Topps #216 Richie Ashburn

It's a good thing I never decided to go into business for myself.

On an annual basis, I enjoy (yes, enjoy) helping friends and family with their respective income tax filings.  I don't expect payment for my services, but sometimes I end up with a nice gift card to a restaurant or a retail establishment or as is usually the case - baseball cards.  Had I opened up my own tax return preparation shop, it would have been difficult to pay the bills in gift certificates and baseball cards.  So remaining outside the challenging world of the self-employed is probably best in my case.

My Mom continues to be my best customer.  This year, my "payment" for helping with her income taxes were several awesome baseball cards.  The highlight was the card featured at the top of this post - a well-loved 1952 Topps Richie Ashburn card.  It's got a noticeable crease through the center, but I honestly don't care.  My 11-year-old self would have messed himself had he known that one day this card would be in his (our?) collection.

My Mom also added the 2004 Bowman Heritage Phillies team set to my collection, which borrowed the wood-grained TV design of the amazing 1955 Bowman set.  Finally, she came across a 1953 Red Man Tobacco Del Ennis card, which joins the other example of this card already in my collection.  This newer version is in slightly better shape than the one I originally owned, so the duplicate is now up for trade.  Drop me a message (comment, e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, smoke signal) if you'd like to trade for a 1953 Red Man Tobacco Del Ennis card.

Thanks again Mom!

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

2007 Topps Phillies #PHI10 Chase Utley

Phillies 3, Marlins 1 (10 Innings)
Game 10 - Friday Night, April 12th in Miami
Record - 5-5, 4th Place, 4 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Chase Utley tripled home the eventual winning run in the 10th inning, helping the Phillies to a 3-1 win over the Marlins.

What It Means:  For the first time this season, the Phillies are at .500 and a win tonight would give them their first winning record.

What Went Right:  Granted, the Marlins don't have the strongest of line-ups, but credit should still be given to John Lannan who pitched another strong game before making way for the bullpen.  In six innings, Lannan allowed a run on three hits.  That lone Marlins run came when Juan Pierre scored on a Placido Polanco single.  Antonio Bastardo, Mike Adams, Phillippe Aumont and Jonathan Papelbon each pitched a scoreless inning of relief.

The Phils got on the board in the sixth when Domonic Brown doubled home Ryan Howard.  The score was knotted at one until Utley tripled down the right field line to bring home Ben Revere, who had reached on single to start the 10th.

2007 Topps Phillies #PHI11

Featured Cards:  Thanks to a tip from reader Burnell, I recently picked up the 2007 Topps Phillies retail set from The Baseball Card Shop Online Store.  I had never dealt with them before, but the set arrived very quickly and very well packaged.  Utley's card from the set does indeed bear a different pose from that of his regular 2007 Topps card, featured back in my 2007 Topps Phillies post.  Jimmy Rollins has a vertical card in the retail set, as opposed to the (cooler) horizontal card found in the regular set.  (Please see Steve F.'s comment within that post for a complete run-down of all 2007 Topps-related variations.)

Now I just need to track down a 2006 Topps Phillies retail team set, and I'll own a complete run of the sets from 2006 to 2013.

Phillies at Marlins: April 12th to April 14th

Friday and Saturday 7:10, Sunday 1:10
Marlins Park - Miami, FL

Phillies 4-5, 4th Place in the N.L. East, 4 games behind the Braves
Marlins 1-8, 5th Place in the N.L. East, 7 games behind the Braves

Phillies Probables:  John Lannan (0-0, 3.86), Cole Hamels (0-2, 10.97), Roy Halladay (0-2, 14.73)
Marlins Probables:  Ricky Nolasco (0-1, 3.97), Jose Fernandez (0-0, 1.80), Kevin Slowey (0-2, 2.19)

At the Ballpark:  Tonight is Dominican Heritage night at Marlins Park with special pre-game festivities and other perks for those fans with tickets in one of the Dominican Heritage sections at the ballpark.  There will also be a post game fireworks show.  On Sunday, the first 15,000 fans will receive a 2013 Marlins calendar.  (I wonder if the calendar starts in January or April?)

Phillies Leaders

Average:  Michael Young - .375

Runs:  Chase Utley - 7

Home Runs:  Domonic Brown and Chase Utley - 2

RBIs:  Chase Utley - 9

Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 4

Wins:  Cliff Lee - 2

ERA:  Cliff Lee - 1.08

Strikeouts:  Cliff Lee - 14

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 1

1973 Topps #271

1973 Topps Flashback:  The Marlins didn't play their first game until 1993, but I did find an appropriate subject for this flashback.  Former Phillie Tommy Hutton has been broadcasting Marlins games since the 1997 season.  Prior to joining the Marlins, he spent time as a broadcaster with the Expos (1982-1986), Yankees (1987-1989) and Blue Jays (1990-1996).  Given the Marlins woeful state these days, I wonder if he's daydreamed at all this season about once again calling the games for the Nationals, Yankees or Blue Jays.

I've already featured this card way back in the blog's infancy, as it's one of my favorite Phillies cards from the 1970s.  When they upgraded the seats at the the Vet to all blue, it was definitely a step in the right direction.  However, I can't help but feel nostalgic whenever I see a picture of the old, original multi-color seats at the Vet.

1993 Medford Phillies Variations - Update

1993 Medford Phillies #12 x 2

This is one of those posts that's probably only of interest to a few of us, but I'm happy to report that I recently picked up the second of the five late season variations to the 1993 Medford Phillies set.  The Mickey Morandini card on the left is the more readily available version of the second baseman's card, while the card on the right is the "update" version, available only in the late season set.  I stumbled upon this card on eBay and I was one of only two bidders.  Fortunately, my bid won out.

The search continues for the Darren Daulton, Tommy Greene and Bobby Thigpen cards from the late season set.  For further reading, please see my original post on these variations.

2013 Chachi #1 Ben Revere

For this year's Chachi set, I'm trying to use a few quirky photos as a tribute to the original 1973 Topps set.  I thought this shot of Ben Revere from last night's game fit the bill.

#2

Ben Daniel Revere

Center Field

Bats: Left  Throws: Right  Height: 5'9"  Weight: 170

Born: May 3, 1988, Atlanta, GA

Home: Richmond, KY

Drafted: Selected by the Minnesota Twins in in the 1st round of the June 2007 draft

Teams: Minnesota Twins 2010-2012, Phillies 2013-

Acquired: Acquired from the Minnesota Twins for Vance Worley and Trevor May, December 6, 2012

Contract Status: Pre-arbitration eligible

2013 Topps Phillies #PHI-13 Domonic Brown

Phillies 7, Mets 3
Game 9 - Wednesday Night, April 10th in Philadelphia
Record - 4-5, 4th Place, 4 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The offense showed up for the second night in a row as the Phillies won the game, 7-3, and won their first series of the year.

What It Means:  The Phillies have an off-day today and then open a three game series against the Marlins in Miami.  After the last two games, and with the Marlins struggling mightily, the team has to be thinking series win at least and series sweep at most.

What Went Right:  All the Phillies runs came courtesy of the long ball as Chase Utley hit a two-run home run in the first and Domonic Brown followed that with a three-run upper deck shot of his own.  Laynce Nix capped the night with a two-run pinch-hit home run in the sixth.

Kyle Kendrick contributed a quality start, winning his first game of the season.  In six innings, including a half hour rain delay, he allowed two runs on eight hits while striking out six.

Featured Card:  Brown doesn't appear in the first series of this year's Topps flagship set, but he does have the card featured here from the 17-card Topps Phillies retail set.  Similar to 2011, Topps has used the same exact Getty photo of Brown for their 2013 card as I chose for my 2013 Chachi card, yet to be featured on the blog.  Here's Brown's 2011 Topps card and his 2011 Chachi card.

Doug's Contribution:  My six-year-old son Doug saw me typing away at my computer a few nights ago and he asked what I was doing.  I told him I was writing about the Phillies.  "For fun?," he asked.  Yes, I told him, I like to write about the Phillies for fun.  I explained that it was one of my hobbies and it makes me happy.  I could see his wheels turning and he came home from Kindergarten yesterday with the piece of paper to the right.  He's decided he'd like to write about the Phillies too and this is his summary of Tuesday night's game against the Mets.  Have I mentioned lately how incredibly proud I am of him?