2013 Chachi #64 Ryne Sandberg HL

Mets 4, Phillies 3
Game 155 - Sunday Afternoon, September 22nd in Philadelphia
Record - 71-84, Tied for 3rd Place, 21 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  On the day Ryne Sandberg signed a three-year contract to manage the Phillies, his team lost 4-3, getting swept by the Mets in their final home series of 2013.

What It Means:  The game was secondary to the big news that Sandberg would officially be at the helm through the 2016 season with a team option for 2017.  His next task will be assembling a coaching staff for 2014, as it appears as if he'll go with his own guys instead of sticking with the staff cobbled together by former manager Charlie Manuel.

I'd love to see Larry Bowa back in a Phillies uniform, and I read yesterday that my all-time favorite player, Bob Dernier, could be a fit as a coach as well:

Ex-Phillie Bob Dernier along with former big leaguer, Doug Dascenzo, could be a candidate for a coaching position, too. Dernier, another former teammate of Sandberg in the Phillies’ minor-league system and with the Cubs, was Chicago’s first base coach in 2011.

What Went Wrong:  In the game itself, the Mets took the lead when Domonic Brown overran a ball in left field in the seventh inning.  Cliff Lee pitched well again, allowing three runs (two earned) in his seven innings of work, but the offense could only come up with three runs to support his effort.

Featured Card:  This will be Sandberg's third card in the 2013 Chachi set.  He first appeared as a coach on an early season card, then as an interim manager, and I thought his official appointment merited a season highlight card as well.

2013 Pinnacle Rookie Autographs #TY Tyler Cloyd

Mets 5, Phillies 4 (6 Innings)
Game 154 - Saturday Night, September 21st in Philadelphia
Record - 71-83, 3rd Place, 20 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  As a result of another shaky start from Tyler Cloyd, the Phillies lost a rain-shortened game to the Mets, 5-4.

What It Means:  The game was delayed by rain with one out in the top of the seventh, and it was officially called over an hour after the delay began.  The Phillies will try to salvage a game against the Mets today in their last home game of the season.

What Went Wrong:  Cloyd allowed five runs on six hits in his five innings of work.  The Phils battled back to within a run with one of their bigger hits coming from Jimmy Rollins who had an RBI double in the bottom of the sixth.

Featured Card:  Cloyd has struggled mightily this year after a promising season last year.  In 10 starts this season, Cloyd is now 2-6 with a 5.40 ERA, and I'd have to think his chances of returning to the rotation in 2014 are slim.  I just added this autographed Cloyd card to my collection, from the recently released, and un-MLB licensed, Pinnacle set.

2002 Fleer Maximum #194 Brandon Duckworth

Mets 6, Phillies 4
Game 153 - Friday Night, September 20th in Philadelphia
Record - 71-82, 3rd Place, 20 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Cole Hamels and the Phillies offense couldn't overcome the Mets and Daisuke Matsuzaka.

What It Means:  It means the Phillies have officially clinched their first losing season since 2002.

What Went Wrong:  Hamels was roughed up early, allowing three first inning runs and never really recovering.  In his seven innings of work, Hamels allowed six runs on 10 hits while striking out eight.  Darin Ruf had the big hit in this ballgame, with a two-run double in the fourth.  A third run scored on the play after an Eric Young error, and that was pretty much it for the excitement provided by the Phillies.

Featured Card:  I opted to go with a Brandon Duckworth card from 2002 to properly represent the futility of both the 2002 and 2013 Phillies seasons.  (No offense, Brandon.)

Field Report:  We were there, and it was our last game of the 2013 season.  My personal record this year at Phillies games was 5-9, which wasn't much better than my 2012 personal record of 4-8.

Before leaving the ballpark, Jenna and I walked around the team's close-out sale tent, which featured significantly marked down Phillies merchandise.  The tent had the atmosphere of a post-Christmas Target, trying to unload the last unwanted remnants of a season that was gone too soon.

Most telling (promising?) was the sight of all Jonathan Papelbon t-shirts and jerseys on sale for 75% off their original prices.  There were no T-shirts or jerseys of Roy Halladay and Carlos Ruiz in the discount tent, at least not when we got there, and those players are more likely to depart this offseason than Papelbon.  So what do the Phillies sales people know at this point that we don't know?

Of course, the team could have every intention of bringing back Papelbon, but they've just figured out that no one wants to buy his shirts.

Mets at Phillies: September 20th to September 22nd

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

Mets 68-84, 4th Place in the N.L. East, 22 games behind the Braves
Phillies 71-81, 3rd Place in the N.L. East, 19 games behind the Braves

Mets Probables:  Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-3, 6.12), Dillon Gee (11-10, 3.47), Carlos Torres (3-5, 3.39)
Phillies Probables:  Cole Hamels (8-13, 3.48), Tyler Cloyd (2-5, 5.06), Cliff Lee (14-6, 2.95)

At the Ballpark:  This is the final home series of the year for the Phillies.  Saturday night is German Heritage night at the ballpark, and Sunday is the annual Fan Appreciation Day.  All fans will receive a commemorative postcard set, marking highlights of the 2013 season, and a 2014 schedule magnet.

Phillies Leaders

Average:  Chase Utley - .279

Runs:  Chase Utley - 69

Home Runs:  Domonic Brown - 27

RBIs:  Domonic Brown - 81

Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 22

Wins:  Cliff Lee - 14

ERA:  Cliff Lee - 2.95

Strikeouts:  Cliff Lee - 201

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 28

2013 Chachi Transactions #18 Jose Contreras

Similar to a post I ran this time last year, I wanted to record for posterity's sake the 2012-2013 offseason transactions made by the Phillies.  I last updated this list on February 4th and I starred the players below who weren't featured on that list almost eight months ago.

Jose Contreras ended up appearing in seven games with the Pirates in May, but he was released following seven appearances in which he allowed five runs in five innings.  The Red Sox organization picked him up on July 19th, but he was released a month later without ever having appeared with the big club.

And wouldn't it have been nice to have Nate Schierholtz around this year?  Acquired last summer in the Hunter Pence deal, Schierholtz was essentially released by the Phillies in November in order to preserve a roster spot for Laynce Nix.  Nix was released by the Phils in mid-August after posting a .180 average in 81 games.  Schierholtz signed with the Cubs and has had a career year.

Moving On

Jason Pridie (10/6/12) - Filed for free agency (Signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles, 11/6/12).

Tyson Brummett (10/18/12) - Claimed off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays.

David Herndon (10/23/12) - Claimed off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays (Signed a split contract with the New York Yankees, 11/20/12).

Juan Pierre (10/29/12) - Filed for free agency (Signed with the Miami Marlins, 11/17/12).

Brian Schneider (10/29/12) - Filed for free agency (Retired, 1/29/13).

Jose Contreras (10/29/12) - Team option declined (Signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2/23/13).

Placido Polanco (10/29/12) - Team option declined (Signed with the Miami Marlins, 12/20/12).

Ty Wigginton (10/29/12) - Team option declined (Signed with the St. Louis Cardinals, 12/14/12).

Nate Schierholtz (11/30/12) - Non-tendered (Signed with the Chicago Cubs, 12/21/12).

Vance Worley (12/6/12) - Traded to the Minnesota Twins with Trevor May for Ben Revere.

Josh Lindblom (12/8/12) - Traded to the Texas Rangers with Lisalverto Bonilla for Michael Young and cash.

*Michael Schwimer (2/23/13) - Traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for Art Charles.

New Additions

*Zach Miner (12/1/12) - Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the Detroit Tigers organization.
*Cesar Jimenez (12/5/12) - Signed as a minor league free agent formerly with the Seattle Mariners organization.
Ender Inciarte (12/6/12) - Selected in the Rule 5 draft from the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Ben Revere (12/6/12) - Acquired from the Minnesota Twins for Vance Worley and Trevor May.

Michael Young (12/8/12) - Acquired from the Texas Rangers with cash for Josh Lindblom and Lisalverto Bonilla.

Mauricio Robles (12/14/12) - Claimed off waivers from the Seattle Mariners.

John Lannan (12/18/12) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Washington Nationals.

Mike Adams (12/20/12) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Texas Rangers.

Delmon Young (1/22/13) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Detroit Tigers.

Chad Durbin (1/29/13) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Atlanta Braves.
*Luis Garcia (3/25/13) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Newark Bears of the independent Canadian-American Association.

Memory Lane
2011-2012 Offseason Moves

2013 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs Update #15 Zach Miner

Marlins 4, Phillies 3 (10 Innings)
Game 152 - Wednesday Night, September 18th in Philadelphia
Record - 71-81, 3rd Place, 19 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  The Marlins prevailed in ten innings, 4-3, after the Phillies couldn't capitalize on late innings scoring opportunities.

What It Means:  The Phillies weren't able to complete the sweep against the Marlins.  After a day off today, the Mets come to town for the final home series of the season.

What Went Wrong:  The Phils had runners in scoring position in the 8th, 9th and 10th innings, but couldn't get any of them home.  It was a bullpen game for the club, as Zach Miner made the spot start in place of an apparently injured Kyle Kendrick.  Miner threw three scoreless innings in the game.

Chase Utley had a two-run single to give him 68 RBIs for the season.  14 of those RBIs have come in his last seven games.

Featured Card:  Whenever I get around to publishing my 2013 Phillies Missing Links post, there's going to be a whole lot of 2013 Choice Lehigh Valley IronPigs Update cards featured.  Miner may or may not be back with the club in 2014, and the only options for 2013 baseball cards featuring the veteran right-hander are his cards in the IronPigs team sets.

1973 Topps - Phillies Cards

1973 Topps #535, #396, #572 and #394

We're entering that part of the season when it's time to tie up a few loose ends here on the blog, and set our sights on the better and brighter days that lie ahead for the Phillies.  The 2013 Chachi set uses the design of the 1973 Topps set, and I've enjoyed featuring 1973 Topps cards with some connection to each series opponent in my series preview posts.

Almost a year ago to the day, I posted a comprehensive list of cards from the 1979 Topps set that somehow had a Phillies connection.  This post will serve to do the same with the 1973 Topps set, and it will give me an excuse to show off some cards from teams the Phillies did not face during the 2013 season.

There are 112 (out of 726) cards in the 1979 Topps set with Phillies connections* and I've determined the 1973 Topps set has 107 (out of 660) cards with Phillies connections.

*My original post tallied 111 cards in the 1979 Topps set with Phillies connections, but when the team named Steve Henderson its new hitting coach last October, the number jumped up one to 112.

National League East (41 - 10 without Phillies)
Atlanta Braves (5) - #72 Ron Reed, #169 Ron Schueler, #237 Lew Burdette/Ken Silvestri CO, #550 Davey Johnson, #653 Joe Hoerner
Miami Marlins (0)
New York Mets (4) - #30 Tug McGraw, #184 Jerry Koosman, #223 Bud Harrelson, #525 Jim Fregosi
Philadelphia Phillies (31)
Washington Nationals (Montreal Expos) (1) - #377 Gene Mauch MG

National League Central (24)
Chicago Cubs (2) - #180 Fergie Jenkins, #393 Jose Cardenal
Cincinnati Reds (9) - #28 Hal McRae, #52 Denis Menke, #130 Pete Rose, #202 Pete Rose NLCS, #208 Bobby Tolan/Denis Menke NLCS, #230 Joe Morgan, #275 Tony Perez, #296 Sparky Anderson MG, #335 Bobby Tolan
Milwaukee Brewers (7) - #71 Johnny Briggs, #74 Billy Champion, #332 John Felske, #386 Don Money, #451 John Vukovich, #526 Ollie Brown, #646 Harvey Kuenn CO
Pittsburgh Pirates (3) - #2 Rich Hebner, #225 Al Oliver, #397 Dave Cash
St. Louis Cardinals (3) - #128 Ted Sizemore, #269 Tim McCarver, #364 Rick Wise

National League West (10)
Arizona Diamondbacks (0)
Colorado Rockies (0)
Los Angeles Dodgers (3) - #239 Pete Richert, #490 Claude Osteen, #609 Davey Lopes RS
San Diego Padres (4) - #12 Johnny Podres/Bob Skinner CO, #57 Derrel Thomas, #133 Dave Roberts, #542 Pat Corrales
San Francisco Giants (3) - #121 Dave Rader, #322 Garry Maddox, #606 Gary Matthews RS

1973 Topps #9, #20, #301 and #362

American League East (9)
Baltimore Orioles (3) - #9 Johnny Oates, #362 Eddie Watt, #396 Grant Jackson
Boston Red Sox (1) - #317 Danny Cater
New York Yankees (5) - #68 Sparky Lyle LL, #116 Jim Hegan CO, #394 Sparky Lyle, #479 Hal Lanier, #535 Johnny Callison
Tampa Bay Rays (0)
Toronto Blue Jays (0)

American League Central (18)
Chicago White Sox (6) - #20 Stan Bahnsen, #62 Dick Allen LL, #63 Dick Allen LL, #310 Dick Allen, #356 Joe Lonnett CO, #379 Cy Acosta
Cleveland Indians (4) - #247 Del Unser, #272 Ed Farmer, #372 Oscar Gamble, #425 Alex Johnson
Detroit Tigers (3) - #29 Tony Taylor, #146 Woodie Fryman, #369 Lerrin LaGrow
Kansas City Royals (3) - #188 Cookie Rojas, #428 Wayne Simpson, #593 Galen Cisco CO
Minnesota Twins (2) - #530 Jim Kaat, #622 Larry Hisle

American League West (5)
Houston Astros (2) - #242 George Culver, #572 Gary Sutherland
Los Angeles Angels (1) - #301 Billy Grabarkewitz
Oakland Athletics (1) - #274 Darold Knowles
Seattle Mariners (0)
Texas Rangers (1) - #138 Horacio Pina

1973 Topps #12, #208 and #606

Memory Lane

1979 Topps - 111 cards with Phillies connections, plus one more

2008 Topps Chrome T205 #TCCP18 Chase Utley

Phillies 6, Marlins 4
Game 151 - Tuesday Night, September 17th in Philadelphia
Record - 71-80, 3rd Place, 18 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins paced the offense and helped deliver a win for Roy Halladay, who may have been pitching in his final home game at Citizens Bank Park.

What It Means:  I enjoyed watching this game, as the Phillies seemed to be in control from the outset.  Granted, it was against the lowly Marlins and a rookie starting pitcher, but I'll take what I can get.

What Went Right:  Halladay notched just his fourth win of the season after allowing a run over his six innings of work.  Jonathan Papelbon survived yet another shaky ninth to record his 28th save.

Utley had the big hit with a three-run home run in the 5th.  It was the 217th home run of his career, tying him with Cy Williams for 7th place on the franchise's all-time list.  Rollins enjoyed a three hit game and he's now 12 for 27 (.444) in his last seven games.  Carlos Ruiz came through with a two-run single in the third.

Featured Card:  Williams played for the Phillies between 1918 and 1930, so I wanted to feature an Utley card that somehow represented that era.  I got close with this card, modeled after the T205 set released back in 1911.

2013 Topps Allen & Ginter #281 Cliff Lee

Phillies 12, Marlins 2
Game 150 - Monday Night, September 16th in Philadelphia
Record - 70-80, 3rd Place, 19 1/2 games behind the Braves

One Sentence Summary:  It was the Cliff Lee Show in South Philly last night as Lee (and a few others) easily handled the Marlins, 12-2.

What It Means:  Lee is awesome.  One of my main hopes for 2014 is that he and Cole Hamels are able to carry over their successful seasons.

What Went Right:  Lee struck out 14 in his eight innings of work, while allowing just two runs.  He improved his record to 14-6, and lowered his ERA to 2.95 in the process.  Perhaps even more impressive than his mound performance was his 3 for 4 night at the plate, with a triple and four RBIs.  His big night resulted in the most RBIs for a Phillies pitcher since Robert Person had seven RBIs on June 2, 2002.

Chase Utley contributed a three-run home run in the third, his 17th of the season.

Featured Card:  If I had to guess, I'd say I've featured more Lee baseball cards this season than any other player on the Phillies.  This is his base card from this year's Allen & Ginter set.

Marlins at Phillies: September 16th to September 18th

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 7:05
Citizens Bank Park - Philadelphia, PA

Marlins 55-94, 5th Place in the N.L. East, 34 games behind the Braves
Phillies 69-80, 3rd Place in the N.L. East, 20 games behind the Braves

Marlins Probables:  Sam Dyson (0-0, 4.50), Brian Flynn (0-1, 10.13), Nathan Eovaldi (3-6, 3.80)
Phillies Probables:  Cliff Lee (13-6, 2.97), Roy Halladay (3-4, 7.28), Kyle Kendrick (10-13, 4.70)

At the Ballpark:  Tonight is the final Dollar Dog night of the season at Citizens Bank Park.

Phillies Leaders

Average:  Chase Utley - .274*

Runs:  Chase Utley - 66

Home Runs:  Domonic Brown - 27

RBIs:  Domonic Brown - 81

Stolen Bases:  Ben Revere - 22

Wins:  Cliff Lee - 13

ERA:  Cliff Lee - 2.97

Strikeouts:  Cole Hamels - 188

Saves:  Jonathan Papelbon - 27

*Michael Young, now with the Dodgers, has the overall team lead (.276) among players with enough qualifying plate appearances.

1973 Topps #536

1973 Topps Flashback:  A few of the Phillies beat writers recently Tweeted out pictures of the Phillies gathered on the field, assembled for their annual group picture.  (I wanted to link to a few of them, but of course I can't find them now.)  It's kind of odd that they waited until this late in the year, as I had thought the annual team picture was always more of an early season thing.  In any event, I have yet to actually see the official 2013 Phillies team picture available anywhere.

If I did have access to the photo, I'd use it to make a 2013 Chachi team card in the same style as the team card found in the 1973 Topps set.  It's a rather boring design for a team card and probably the highlight of the card is the prominent display of the relatively new jumbo scoreboard at Veterans Stadium.  At the time this photo was taken during the 1972 season, The Vet was only a little more than a year old.