2007 Choice Williamsport Crosscutters #8 Freddy Galvis

Phillies 4, Tigers 3
Spring Training Game 19 - Monday Afternoon, March 19th in Clearwater
Record - 8-9-2

One Sentence Summary:  On the day he was named the team's probable opening day second baseman, Freddy Galvis paced the offense with a two-run triple, leading the Phils over the Tigers, 4-3.

What It Means:  This was a nice little come from behind win for the Phils.  They needed the pick-me-up given the bad news on Chase Utley's knees (see below), and Galvis delivered on queue.

What Went Right:  After starter Scott Elarton was roughed up in his start, allowing three runs in 2 1/3 innings, the leftys in the bullpen shut down the Tigers over the next six innings.  Particularly impressive were the performances of Raul Valdes (two strikeouts, while lowering his ERA to 1.35) and Jake Diekman.  Diekman, who has an outside shot of making the team, has yet to allow a run over four appearances.

2012 Chachi Almost #2

Featured Cards:  The news was grim out of Clearwater yesterday as it was announced that Utley had left camp to meet with a knee specialist.  Utley has yet to see any time on the field, in game action or otherwise, so far this year.  GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. admitted that it's "doubtful" Utley will be ready by opening day.  This means that Galvis, an infield prospect who has never played professionally at second base, is most likely the team's opening day second baseman unless Amaro can swing a deal between now and then.  This is the oldest Galvis card in my collection, featuring the Venezuelan infielder as an 18-year-old in his first year of professional baseball.

My biggest fear with Utley?  What if he can't come back at all?  What if his damaged knees have had enough and he can never return to the All-Star form he displayed from 2005 through 2010?  And what if I have to include Utley in the 2012 Chachi Almost insert set as a result of him missing the entire season?

The Chachi Almost set added its second member yesterday when the team announced the release of pitcher Joel Pineiro.  Pineiro made it into three games this spring, allowing seven hits and three earned runs in six innings pitched.  He didn't pitch poorly, but with little chance of making the Opening Day roster, the team released him to allow him time to try to catch on elsewhere.

Camp Headcount:  45

2012 Topps Heritage Phillies vs. 1963 Topps Phillies

1963 Topps #455 and 2012 Topps Heritage #455

Blue Jays 10, Phillies 2
Spring Training Game 18 - Sunday Afternoon, March 18th in Dunedin
Record - 7-9-2

One Sentence Summary:  Cole Hamels struggled in his latest spring start as the Phils fell to the Jays, 10-2.

What It Means:  I listened to most of this game on the radio, and the announcers were quick to point out that although Hamels surrendered eight hits in 3 1/3 innings, none of the hits were necessary a result of hard-hit balls.  So I'm going with a glass half full approach on this one.

What Went Wrong:  On the other hand, Jose Contreras was lit up in his spring debut, allowing four runs in 1/3 of an inning pitched.  The offense managed runs in the first and ninth and they were generally quiet throughout the bulk of the ballgame.

The red-hot Lou Montanez added three more hits to his spring tally, raising his average to .448.

Featured Cards:  Once again, the cards featured here have absolutely nothing to do with yesterday's game.  I'm still digesting my first packs of 2012 Topps Heritage, and I've enjoyed comparing and contrasting the set to the original - the 1963 Topps set.

1963 Topps #341

So how did Topps do with matching up the 2012 Phillies with their counterparts on the original 1963 cards?  Based on my very scientific analysis - they did good.  As the chart below shows, the folks at Topps did a nice job of matching up the modern Phillies with their counterparts from yesteryear, with the exception of only a few cards.  It may be a stretch to say that Vance Worley matches up with Jim Brosnan, but I'm throwing the card into the "Hit" column.  I also considered the guys who switched teams during the offseason as "Hits," such as Jonathan Papelbon, Jim Thome and Ryan Madson.  Their 1963 counterparts are guys from their former teams.

The Jack Baldschun card featured here has a white slash running across the black and white mini-picture, which I believe could have been caused by a printing mishap.  Back in 1963, Topps attempted to correct the error by releasing a Baldschun card with black dots filling in the white slash and the "slash repair" variation was born.  With its 2012 Topps Heritage release, Madson's card pays homage to this variation by being available in three versions - the regular no slash version, the super short print white slash variation and the crazy super short print red slash variation.  For the record, had Madson stayed with the Phillies, I would have felt zero desire to pursue these variation cards for my Phillies collection.  I would have obtained the "normal" Madson card and stopped there.

Given the fact that the Diamondbacks, Mariners, Marlins and Blue Jays (along with a few other teams) didn't exist in 1963, it's only natural that players on these teams would have to replace players on the teams that did exist back in 1963.  And as far as I can tell, Topps stayed true to each card's color combination no matter which team was featured.  So nice job with this, Topps.  Even though the short-prints will keep me away from collecting the set, I can appreciate that at least some thought went into creating the set.

Well, except for this nonsense.

1997 Topps Phillies

1997 Topps #268, #56, #64 and #302

I graduated from college in 1997 and spent my last, true career-free summer working at a t-shirt store on the Promenade in Sea Isle City.  I made just enough money to pay for food, sunscreen and a few books, but not enough money to buy many baseball cards.  The 1997 season for the Phillies was another disappointment, but I was thrilled to be able to watch or listen to the games again on a nightly basis after being away from home for the past few summers.

1997 Topps #368 (Back)

The Set

Number of cards in the set:  We got 55 more cards than the prior year in the 1997 Topps set, as the complete set included 495 cards - 275 from the first series and 220 in a second series.  (Note this was the first year Topps "retired" card #7 for Mickey Mantle, so while the set is numbered to 496, there are only 495 cards.)  For the second year in a row, there was no traded set.  I would imagine baseball card sales were still down as a result of the 1994 strike, and it would take a steroid-fueled home run barrage in 1998 to start to bring the collectors back.

My very brief thoughts on the set:  I first mentioned the concept of adding color to borders a few posts back when I was discussing the design of the 2012 Topps cards, and this concept holds true for the 1997 Topps set.  Like the 1996 set, the design is very simplistic - name in block letters across the bottom and a team logo.  How much better would the cards look had Topps color coded the cards based on team colors?  Topps assigned green to all National League base cards and red to all American League base cards and they stopped there.  (Why not blue for all National League base cards?  I think that simple change would have vastly improved the design as well.  Everyone knows that the color blue is associated with the National League.  Right Night Owl?)

Notable competition:  Flipping through my 1997 Phillies binder, I definitely get the sense that the card manufacturers were grasping for any way to possibly connect with their consumers.  There's a lot of foil and gloss and some on-card autographs, but there's no set from 1997 that really distances itself from the herd.  Honestly, my favorite cards from that year were the reprints of older cards which were inserted into packs of Topps Stars.  Topps must have realized that collectors were yearning for more "classic" cards - be they reprints or otherwise - as they would soon start experimenting with various releases featuring vintage designs and themes.  The first Topps Heritage set was only four years away at this point.

1997 Topps #384, #289 and #229

1997 Phillies

Record and finish:  New manager Terry Francona guided his team to one more win than the previous year, as the Phils finished with a 68-94 record and in last place (again).

Key players:  This was the first year of the Scott Rolen Era, as the eventual National League Rookie of the Year hit .283 with 21 home runs and 92 RBIs.  Mike Lieberthal became the team's every day backstop and while his average was low (.246) he managed 20 home runs and 77 RBIs.  New first baseman Rico Brogna also had a decent year (.252, 20 home runs, 81 RBIs) as did Mickey Morandini (.295).  Brogna also provided stellar defense at first.  Curt Schilling re-established himself as a premier pitcher, going 17-11 with 319 strikeouts (a new club record) and a 2.97 ERA.  He'd finish fourth in the National League Cy Young voting.  Other than Schilling's fine performance, the pitching was a complete debacle.  Only Ricky Bottalico's 34 saves merits mention, although he blew 7 saves. And if I recall correctly, a few of those blown saves were recorded in spectacular self-imploding fashion.

Key events:  The Phils drafted J.D. Drew in June, but they were unable to come to terms with the Scott Boras client and Drew eventually signed with the Cardinals.  (Booo!)  Darren Daulton was the team's regular right fielder until a July trade sent him to Florida for Billy McMillon.  Daulton would earn a World Series ring wearing the teal and black of the Marlins.  Interleague play began and the Phillies swept a thrilling three-game series against the Yankees at the Vet in early September.  And sadly, long-time Phillies player and announcer Richie Ashburn passed away on September 9th.

1997 Phillies in 1997 Topps

Cards needed for a complete team set:  There are 18 Phillies cards needed for a complete 1997 Topps team set.  That matches the low tally from 1996, meaning that the 1996 and 1997 Topps sets have the least amount of Phillies cards since 1955.

Who’s in:

• Cards of the eight starting position players - 5 cards

#56 Mike Lieberthal (c), #64 Mickey Morandini (2b), #384 Kevin Stocker (ss), #268 Scott Rolen (3b), #229 Gregg Jefferies (lf)

Regular first baseman Brogna is featured in the set with the Mets.  Center fielder Midre Cummings and right fielder Daulton were omitted from the set completely.  What a quick descent for Dutch.  Daulton was a baseball card force in 1994, and just four short years later he finds himself completely left out of the Topps set.

• Cards of the starting pitching rotation - 1 card

#368 Curt Schilling

This is probably an all-time low as well.  The Phillies used 15 different starting pitchers in 1997.  Schilling is the only one of the top five on that list to merit a card.  Mark Leiter, Matt Beech, Garrett Stephenson and Tyler Green were all left out, although Leiter does appear on a card with the Expos.  Have I mentioned lately how much I truly appreciate the current Phillies starting pitching rotation?

1997 Topps #368, #327, #14 and #242

• Base cards of players who played with the Phillies in 1997 - 5 cards

#14 Ricky Bottalico, #106 Ricky Otero, #144 Ken Ryan, #242 Mike Grace, #302 Wendell Magee, Jr. 

• Base cards of players who didn't play with the Phillies in 1997 - 4 cards (with new teams listed)

#82 Benito Santiago (Blue Jays), #161 Jim Eisenreich (Marlins), #299 Sid Fernandez (Astros), #413 Lenny Dykstra (injured)

This would be Dykstra's last Topps baseball card as an active player.  Following his wonderful 1993 season, the Phils extended Dykstra's contract, paying him $24.4 million for the 1995 through 1998 seasons.  (The team held a club option for 1999.)  The oft-injured Dude played in 84 games in 1994, 62 games in 1995, 40 games in 1996, and then he was done.  Unfortunately, it's been downhill ever since for Dykstra.

• Phillies appearing on multi-player Prospects cards - 2 cards

#205 Bobby Estallela, #492 Ron Blazier

Both actually appeared with the Phillies during the 1997 season, so I have no problem with their selection for these cards.

• Phillies appearing on multi-player Draft Picks cards - 1 card

#479 Adam Eaton

Spoiler alert - This is going to be my pick for the "What's he doing here" segment of this post.  

1997 Topps #106, #492 and #413

Who’s out:  The entire bench, save Otero and Magee got left out.  Outfielder Ruben Amaro, Jr. appeared in 117 games.  Infielders Kevin Jordan (84 games) and Kevin Sefcik (61 games) saw significant playing time, as did outfielders Derrick May (83 games) and Tony Barron (57 games).  I mentioned above how four-fifths of the pitching rotation didn't receive Phillies cards, but the bullpen wasn't well represented either.  Jerry Spradlin (76 games), Reggie Harris (50 games) and Wayne Gomes (37 games) went without Topps cards.

1997 Topps #78

Phillies on other teams:  There are six members of the 1997 squad featured in the Topps sets on their former teams - #33 Mark Portugal (Reds), #78 Danny Tartabull (White Sox), #206 Billy McMillon (Marlins, on a multi-player Prospects card), #254 Rex Hudler (Angels), #289 Rico Brogna (Mets) and #327 Mark Leiter (Expos)

What’s he doing here:  Adam Eaton.  I feel this needs no explanation.

Cards that never were candidates:  There were no manager cards in the set, but I'd come up with something for Francona's first year.  I came up with nine players from 1996 who should have cards, so I'll do the same for 1997 - Brogna, Cummings, Daulton, Leiter, Beech, Stephenson, Spradlin, Amaro and Jordan.

Favorite Phillies card:  It's Rolen's card.  Philly fans were absolutely in love with Rolen and his style of play back in 1997.  A few short years later, we learned that Rolen was actually a fairly grumpy guy who would rather play elsewhere.

Other Stuff

Recycled:  As far as I know, Topps hasn't re-used its 1997 design for any recent releases.

Blogs/Websites:  A little over a year ago, Capewood ran a nice post featuring a few of his favorite cards from the set on his Capewood's Collections blog.

Did You Know?:  Perhaps as a cost cutting measure, the Phillies released their 1997 Yearbook as an insert within its Phillies Magazine publication.  This really bothered me back in 1997 and it still bothers me today.  I have a nice collection of Phillies Yearbooks dating back to 1969, and the 1997 "Yearbook" throws off the whole feng shui of the collection.

1981 Fleer #7 Tug McGraw

Phillies 4, Blue Jays 3 (10)
Spring Training Game 17 - Saturday Afternoon, March 17th in Clearwater
Record - 7-8-2

One Sentence Summary:  Hector Luna drove in two of the team's four runs, including the game-winner in the tenth.

What It Means:  In honor of St. Patrick's day (and indirectly Tug McGraw), the Phillies won in their green jerseys.

What Went Right:  Vance Worley pitched four shutout innings, lowering his spring ERA to 1.80.  Former Phillie Brian Bocock hit a home run in the ninth off Michael Stutes to give the Blue Jays the temporary lead, but Freddy Galvis countered with a solo home run in the bottom of the inning to send the game to extras.

Jimmy Rollins started the game with a lead-off homer.

Featured Card:  If I had any more of Luna's cards, other than the one I've already featured, he'd be featured in this post.  Instead, since I'm all Luna'd out, I'll pay tribute to the man who first started the whole green jersey tradition back in the early 1980s.  Paul Hagen wrote about it last year, and more recently Tug's original green jersey was referenced in a tribute post over at Dick Allen Hall of Fame.  I can't help but smile whenever I see a Tug McGraw baseball card.

St. Patrick's Day Posts from the Past:
2010 - Mike Schmidt and the entire 1986 team go green.
2011 - Chase Utley models the green jerseys worn during Spring Training 2006.

Halladay Goes Green (AP)

2012 Chachi Almost #1 Dontrelle Willis

Pirates 3, Phillies 2
Spring Training Game 16 - Friday Afternoon, March 16th in Bradenton
Record - 6-8-2

One Sentence Summary:  Cliff Lee surrendered two home runs and the Phillies bats were quiet (again) as the Bucs downed the Phils, 3-2.

What It Means:  We've reached that point in the spring where I start to worry a little.  Happens every year.

What Went Wrong:  The Phillies offense, still without Ryan Howard (for a while yet) and Chase Utley (for who knows how much longer) managed just two hits through the first six innings.

Lee got hit around a little (5 hits, 3 runs in 4 2/3 innings), but Kyle Kendrick pitched 3 1/3 innings of no-run, no-hit ball while striking out five.

Featured Card:  The Phillies released left-handed reliever Dontrelle Willis yesterday.  I didn't see it coming, but in retrospect it's not really shocking.  Willis appeared in three spring games with the Phillies, allowing 9 of the 16 batters he faced to reach base.  His ERA after only 2 2/3 innings was 16.87, and he missed a week of action with arm fatigue.

2012 Topps #89

This leaves me with a collecting dilemma.  One of my collecting quirks is that I collect cards of Phillies players for the years they play with the Phillies, whether or not they actually appear as Phillies on their cards.  (Got that?)  In Willis' case, his 2012 Topps card, featuring him with the Reds, was already reserved a space in my 2012 Phillies binder.  So what should I do?  My collecting logic dictates that this card should not appear within the binder, since Willis will not be a member of the 2012 Phillies.  But I've never actually  pulled a card from its spot before.  I shall have to ponder this further.

In any event, Willis becomes the first card in the returning Chachi Almost insert set, which pays tribute to those players who got close to becoming official Phillies during the year, but they didn't quite get there.

Camp Headcount:  46

Lost in the news of Willis' release was the announcement that catcher Steven Lerud was reassigned to minor league camp.  Also, watching highlights of Thursday's game, I realized that Freddy Galvis has switched his uniform number from #71 to the more big-leagueish #13.

2012 Topps Heritage #13 Phillies Team Card

Phillies 6, Braves 4
Spring Training Game 14 - Thursday Afternoon, March 15th in Clearwater

Phillies 6, Rays 6
Spring Training Game 15 - Thursday Afternoon, March 15th in Port Charlotte
Record - 6-7-2

One Sentence Summary:  It was another split squad day, resulting in a tie and a win.

What It Means:  How many more days until the regular season starts?

What Went Kind of Right:  Joe Blanton pitched so-so against the Braves, allowing three runs in his five innings of work.  Five different Phillies, including Jim Thome and Scott Podsednik, had multi-hit games.  Podsednik has been drawing a lot of attention lately and his great play so far this spring may have bumped Juan Pierre from a roster spot.

But meanwhile, over in Port Charlotte . . . Pierre enjoyed a multi-hit game while driving in two and scoring twice.

Featured Card:  And speaking of split squads, what in the heck is going on in the Phillies team card from the Topps Heritage set?  It's definitely got an optical illusion, Escher painting kind of quality to it.  I can clearly make out the first row featuring Charlie Manuel seated with his coaching staff.  Behind them is a row of easily discernible standing Phillies.  And then things get weird.  If you start at the left with Vance Worley's bespectacled visage, and attempt to move right, it's nearly impossible to follow a straight line of heads without going cross-eyed.  At first, I thought Cliff Lee's head was in there twice.  And that's Blanton's head peaking out at the top right of the card.

So here's what the folks at Topps did.  They took the team picture as featured in the program from last year's N.L.D.S. (see below), cut out everyone that wasn't in uniform, and re-arranged the cut-out heads and shoulders into an awkward, disproportionate group shot.  Here's a break-down of who made it on to the team card as best as I can tell:

Front Row:  Mick Billmeyer (coach), Juan Samuel (coach), Pete Mackanin (coach), Charlie Manuel (manager), Rich Dubee (coach), Sam Perlozzo (coach), Greg Gross (coach)
Second Row (standing):  Michael Stutes, Wilson Valdez, Shane Victorino, Carlos Ruiz, Jimmy Rollins, Antonio Bastardo, Michael Martinez
Thirdish Row (floating heads):  Vance Worley, John Bowker, Pete Orr, Brian Schneider, Ben Francisco, Chase Utley
Fourth Row Sort Of:  Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay, Ryan Madson, Raul Ibanez, John Mayberry, Jr., Michael Schwimer, Ryan Howard, Cliff Lee
Fifth Row I Think:  Hunter Pence, Brad Lidge, David Herndon, Jesus Tiamo (bullpen catcher), Placido Polanco, Ali Modami (batting practice pitcher)
Sixth Row:  Roy Oswalt and Ross Gload
Penthouse Suite:  Kyle Kendrick and Joe Blanton

Tiamo and Modami made the cut although I have to imagine Topps doesn't have the rights to feature either of them on cards.  Bowker and Orr are featured too, which is probably the closest either of them will ever get to appearing as a Phillie on a Topps card.  And one last thing . . . To fix the problem of Charlie Manuel's legs being blocked by a bat boy in the original photo, Topps cut and pasted Mick Billmeyer's legs onto Manuel.  I have now officially scrutinized this card for way too long.

1963 Topps #139 Earl Averill

Twins 6, Phillies 4
Spring Training Game 13 - Wednesday Afternoon, March 14th
Record - 5-7-1

One Sentence Summary:  Roy Halladay's spring troubles continued as the Phils lost to the Twins, 6-4.

What It Means:  Halladay didn't make it out of the third inning.  He allowed five runs on seven hits (including two home runs) and a walk.  His spring ERA is now 10.57.  Yikes.

What Went Wrong:  Let's just move on.  Nothing to see here.  Everything is fine.

Featured Card:  Today's featured card has absolutely nothing to do with yesterday's game.  I've got the 1963 Topps set on my mind as 2012 Topps Heritage is now live.  Topps has been releasing its Heritage sets since 2001, chronologically featuring each of the company's baseball card designs since its first major release in 1952.  Jenna and I went crazy the first few years Heritage was released, buying boxes of the stuff at a time, but we've since become a little more fiscally responsible.  Having two small boys and a mortgage will do that to a married couple.  That being said, I know I'll at least buy a blaster of Heritage the next time I just happen to find myself in the baseball card aisle at Target.

One of the cards that intrigues me from this year's Heritage set is a reprint of the card featured here, autographed by Earl Averill himself.  (There may be other Phillies featured in the Real One Autographs insert set, but Averill's is the only card I've stumbled upon on eBay so far.)  I love that Topps has tracked down players who appeared in the original 1963 set and has had them autograph a bunch of cards.  Who would have thought that a 2012 baseball card autographed by a Phillies bench guy from 1963 would be my first "must have" of the 2012 baseball card season?

Camp Headcount:  48

In the first cuts of the spring, nine players were reassigned to minor league camp or optioned out.  Infielder Harold Garcia was outrighted off the 40-man roster.  As a result of his knee surgery last week, he's expected to miss significant time this season.  Also reassigned or optioned were pitchers Dave Bush, Austin Hyatt, Pat Misch, J.C. Ramirez and B.J. Rosenberg, infielder Cesar Hernandez, outfielder Tyson Gillies and catcher Sebastian Valle.

1963 Topps #318 Gene Mauch MG

Astros 6, Phillies 5 (10)
Spring Training Game 12 - Tuesday Afternoon, March 13th in Kissimmee
Record - 5-6-1

One Sentence Summary:  Brian Bixler's walk-off three run home run in the bottom of the tenth negated Domonic Brown’s blast from the top of the inning and gave the Astros a 6-5 win.

What It Means:  The offense was held in check by Astros pitcher Livan Hernandez, who pitched five scoreless innings.  Cole Hamels pitched well too, allowing just a run over his five innings of work.

What Went Wrong:  The Phils kept trying to maintain the lead, but a trio of non-roster invitee relievers – Raul Valdes, Brian Sanches and Jeremy Horst – allowed runs in the seventh, eighth and tenth innings.  Horst was on the receiving end of Bixler’s walk-off home run after he had allowed two men to reach.

Brown's tenth inning home run partially redeemed the rough day he had in left as he misplayed a few balls.  Despite his defensive struggles, he's now 5 for 16 this spring at the plate with two triples and yesterday's homer.

Featured Card:  My Dad liked to often tell the story of how he visited Spring Training in Florida in the summer of 1969 and struck up a conversation with then-Expos manager Gene Mauch.  The Expos were in their first year of existence, and Mauch was at the helm.  Knowing my Dad, there's a good chance he and Mauch just politely nodded in each other's direction upon making eye contact.  But each time Dad told the story, I noticed his conversation with Mauch grew longer and more robust.  I've been thinking of my Dad a lot lately, so the card featured here today is for him, in honor of his one and only Spring Training visit.  In recent years, we often talked about jumping on a plane and heading down to Clearwater for a few games, but we never did.  Granted, we definitely saw our share of Phillies games together at The Vet and Citizens Bank Park over the years, but it would have been nice to have shared a beer with him at Frenchy's.  If we had, I'm sure at some point, Dad would have turned to me and asked, "Did I ever tell you the story about the time I met Gene Mauch?"

2004 Fleer Platinum #99 Jim Thome

Phillies 4, Pirates 1
Spring Training Game 11 - Monday Afternoon, March 12th in Bradenton
Record - 5-5-1

One Sentence Summary:  Vance Worley dominated the Pirates, pitching four perfect innings and striking out eight, as the Phils won 4-1.

What It Means:  I didn't see or listen to any of this game, but by all written accounts, Worley had his nasty stuff working yesterday.  Worley will either be the team's number four or number five starter, depending on where manager Charlie Manuel slots him and Joe Blanton.

What Went Right:  To go along with Worley's fine performance, Pat Misch contributed two scoreless innings and lowered his spring ERA to 2.25.  Hector Luna and Jimmy Rollins each hit solo home runs in the victory.

Featured Card:  Probably one of the more interesting side stories from yesterday is Jim Thome's starting nod at first base in a minor league game.  He played four innings in the field, marking the first time since 2007 that he had donned a first baseman's mitt in game action.  And of course, he booted the first ball hit to him.  With Ryan Howard expected to miss significant time at the start of the season, the hope is that Thome can provide some occasional relief at first while getting the opportunity for more at-bats.

Appropriately enough, most of Thome's baseball cards feature the slugger . . . slugging.  For this post, I had to spend some time flipping through my 2003-2005 Phillies binders to find a nice card featuring Thome playing the field.  I settled on the Fleer Platinum card featured here since it features Thome in an awesome throw-back uniform and the card itself is loosely based on Fleer's own 1984 set.

2011 Topps Heritage #374 Charlie Manuel MG

Phillies 4, Tigers 4 (10)
Spring Training Game 9 - Sunday Afternoon, March 11th in Clearwater

Yankees 3, Phillies 0
Spring Training Game 10 - Sunday Afternoon, March 11th in Tampa
Record - 4-5-1

One Sentence Summary:  The Phils split their squad on Sunday, ending in a tie against the Tigers and losing to the Yankees.

What It Means:  For Cliff Lee, who started against the Tigers and gave up two runs on six hits over three innings, it meant he's "building up endurance" and heading "in the right direction."  For Kyle Kendrick, who started against the Yankees, it meant pitching three innings of scoreless baseball.  Kendrick has yet to allow a run this spring.

What Went Wrong:  The Phils managed just three hits against the Yankees en route to getting shut out.  They fared better against the Tigers as Freddy Galvis drove in a pair and Pete Orr and Laynce Nix enjoyed multi-hit games.  But as Philly beat writer David Murphy points out, yesterday was the annual CMGPOATOD which was a direct result of the Phils going 2 for 14 with runners in scoring position against the Tigers.  Here's hoping that Charlie Manuel's annual spring rite results in an offensive explosion this afternoon against the Pirates.

Featured Card:  Over the weekend, I made reference to Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt calling the "Charlie Manuel Era" the greatest in Phillies history.  I haven't featured a lot of Manuel's baseball cards on this blog, although he's had his share since taking over at the helm in 2005.  His one mainstream baseball card from 2011, from the 1962 Topps-inspired Heritage set, is featured here.

High Maintenance:  How do I get Blogger to give me back the labels at the bottom of each of my posts?  They completely disappeared over the weekend.

2011 Topps Pro Debut #43 Freddy Galvis

Orioles 1, Phillies 0
Spring Training Game 8 - Saturday Afternoon, March 10th in Clearwater
Record - 4-4

One Sentence Summary:  The Phils were shut out and held to just six hits against Brian Matusz and the Orioles.

What It Means: What it means is we're another day closer to the regular season.  Also, it's hard to come up with something meaningful to write for these spring training game summary posts.

What Went Wrong:  There wasn't enough offense.  Shane Victorino and Tuffy Gosewisch both doubled, but they were stranded on the basepaths.

On a positive note, Joe Blanton and Scott Elarton both pitched well.  Blanton threw three scoreless innings while striking out three.  Elarton, who hasn't pitched in the Majors since 2008, allowed a lead-off home run in the fourth but he then settled in to pitch four perfect innings.

Featured Card:  Eight games into the Grapefruit League schedule and Chase Utley has yet to see game action.  He's nursing a chronic knee injury and the team is in no hurry to rush him along.  But it was still a little surprising that top prospect Freddy Galvis got the start at second for this game.  Galvis came very close to becoming the team's regular shortstop had they not been able to re-sign Jimmy Rollins.  In his five years in the organization, he had never ventured over to the right side of the infield until a few days ago and yesterday marked his first ever start at second.  This of course leads to a lot of speculation as to the true extent of Utley's injury.

How is it that Galvis, regularly ranked at the top of the Phillies top prospects list over the past three or so years, has never been featured in a Bowman set?  Topps picks Low-A prospects and Double-A to Triple-A  suspects for their annual Bowman releases, but Galvis has eluded the Bowman checklist makers so far.  He's appeared in Phillies minor league team sets since 2007, but this is his only mainstream baseball card to date.

Other Stuff:  I have a decent draft together for my 1997 Topps Phillies post, but my non-stop work schedule the past few weeks has left me with little to no time to wrap the thing up.  I've had March 15th circled on my calendar since January as that should be the last day of crazy work malarkey for a little bit.

1980 Kellogg's #2 Mike Schmidt

Phillies 7, Tigers 5
Spring Training Game 7 - Friday Afternoon, March 9th in Lakeland
Record - 4-3

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies overcame a pedestrian performance from Roy Halladay to come from behind and defeat the Tigers, 7-5.

What It Means:  Halladay was just working on some stuff.  (Everyone relax.)  He allowed three runs (two on home runs from Eric Patterson) and four hits in three innings.  He also struck out four.

What Went Right:  Carlos Ruiz hit a three-run home run in the sixth, starting the scoring for the Phils.  The team then scored four more times in the seventh to take the lead for good.  Outfielder Lou Montanez added two more hits to his spring tally, and he's now hitting .556.

Featured Card:  Palette cleansed.  For the 11th year in a row, Mike Schmidt is back in camp this spring as a special hitting instructor.  Here's a recent interview with Schmidt in which he names the current Phillies era (the "Charlie Manuel Era" as he calls it) as the greatest era in Phillies history.  I'm not going to argue with him.

Since it's Saturday morning, and you may be enjoying your favorite breakfast cereal as you're reading this, I thought it would be appropriate to feature a cool Kellogg's card.  I was never lucky enough to pull a Phillies card from any cereal boxes back in the day.  I usually ended up with a Pat Putnam or a Richie Zisk or (gasp!) a Yankee.  I'm lucky enough now to be able to head out to eBay or Checkoutmycards in order to rectify my bad luck from all those years ago, although there are still a few Kellogg's cards I'm trying to hunt down.

2009 Topps #509 Lou Montanez

Phillies 5, Pirates 4 (10 Innings)
Spring Training Game 6 - Thursday Afternoon, March 8th in Clearwater
Record - 3-3

One Sentence Summary:  Cole Hamels enjoyed his second solid start of the spring as non-roster invitee Lou Montanez won the ballgame in the tenth on a walk-off home run.

What It Means:  In case you're keeping track at home, the Phils are back at .500.

What Went Right:  The bats came to life a little.  Shane Victorino hit a two-run home run, Hunter Pence had two more hits and Ty Wigginton added an RBI-double.

Featured Card:  For the second day in a row, The Phillies Room, a blog focused on the Phillies and their baseball cards, is featuring a non-Phillies baseball card.  It was a walk-off home run in a spring training exhibition game, but still - Montanez' shot to left won the game for the Phils.  Montanez (no relation to Willie) appeared in 93 games with the Orioles over a three-year period from 2008 through 2010.  He saw action in 36 games last year with the Cubs, hitting .222 with a home run and 9 RBIs.  There's an excellent chance Montanez is destined for Lehigh Valley to start the season, but he'll give the team a little more organizational depth in the outfield.  Along with the card featured here, Montanez has cards in the 2009 Topps 206 and the 2010 Upper Deck sets.

I may need to cleanse the blog's palette with a vintage Mike Schmidt Phillies card tomorrow.

2005 Topps #617 Hector Luna

Astros 10, Phillies 3
Spring Training Game 5 - Wednesday Afternoon, March 7th in Clearwater
Record - 2-3

One Sentence Summary:  Vance Worley was touched for two runs in his first start of the spring and the Phils were held to just five hits as the Astros won easily, 10-3.

What It Means:  Dontrelle Willis is seriously hurting his chances of making the club after his second rough outing.

What Went Wrong:  Bullpen hopefuls Willis and Pat Misch got roughed up by the Astros, allowing a combined 8 runs (5 earned) over their 2 2/3 innings pitched.  (After the game, it was revealed that Willis' arm is bothering him and he'll be examined today.  He told reporters that he's battling arm fatigue.)

Lou Montanez accounted for two of the Phillies three runs with an eighth inning double.  The red hot Hector Luna added a home run in the ninth.  And Scott Podsednik is now hitting .500 on the spring after his double yesterday.

Featured Card:  I rarely feature non-Phillies baseball cards, but I made a few exceptions during Spring Training last year* and I’m willing to bend the rules again this year.  Michael Martinez may be getting a little nervous about his spot on the roster as the team’s utility infielder.  Luna now leads the team with 5 RBIs and he’s hitting .375 (3 for 8) so far this spring with a double and yesterday’s home run.  Based on the Beckett database, Luna has had his share of baseball cards, having been most recently featured in the 2007 Upper Deck set. This is his base card from the 2005 Topps set, which is the only card I have of the guy.  If he manages to usurp Martinez, there’s a chance he’ll be featured within the 2012 Phillies Team Issue set, but he would be guaranteed to appear in the 2012 Chachi set.

*See non-roster hopefuls Josh Barfield and Delwyn Young from last year's spring coverage, neither of whom ever made it up to the big club.

2011 Finest #57 Cliff Lee

Phillies 7, Blue Jays 0
Spring Training Game 4 - Tuesday Afternoon, March 6th in Dunedin
Record - 2-2

One Sentence Summary:  Cliff Lee, Kyle Kendrick and five other pitchers combined to shutout the Blue Jays in Dunedin, 7-0.

What It Means:  It's only the fourth game of the spring, but this was the strongest performance by the pitching staff so far.

What Went Right:  Lee and Kendrick both pitched two shutout innings.  I listened to the ninth inning at work and announcer Larry Andersen was very impressed with Jake Diekman's stuff.  (Diekman, a lefty, was the last of seven Phillies pitchers used.)

Carlos Ruiz went 2-for-2 in his spring debut and Shane Victorino contributed two RBIs.

Featured Card:  By the time Finest was released last year (in early October), I didn't have any good reasons to post any of the Phillies cards from the set.  I actually like the 2011 Finest design, although admittedly Topps isn't breaking any new ground with this set.  I did find it strange last year that Topps pushed the release of this set into the fall, as traditionally Finest has been a spring release.  Looking at the card release calendar over at the BaseballCardPedia for 2012, it appears as if Topps plans to release its 2012 Finest set in August this year.  So instead of a spring Finest release, we'll have to make due with Topps Opening Day (which appears to already be live on eBay) and Topps Tribute.  And of course, 2012 Topps Heritage is right around the corner too.  To collect Topps Heritage or to not collect Topps Heritage?  That is the question.

2012 Topps #28 Placido Polanco

Phillies 9, Yankees 3
Spring Training Game 3 - Monday Afternoon, March 5th in Clearwater
Record - 1-2

One Sentence Summary:  The Phils won Joe Blanton's spring debut, behind Hector Luna's three-run double and Michael Martinez' two-run home run.

What It Means:  The Phillies notched their first win of the 2012 season*.  Here's hoping their final win of the 2012 season comes in the clinching Game 5 of the 2012 World Series.

*Unless you count the exhibition game against Florida State, which would technically be their first win.  But you catch my drift.

What Went Right:  Blanton recorded five ground ball outs in his two innings of work, which is definitely a good sign for the probable fourth pitcher in the team's rotation.  Luna and Martinez had the big hits, but Jimmy Rollins also enjoyed a two-hit day while stealing a few bases.

Featured Card:  Placido Polanco says he feels completely healthy for the first time in years.  He saw his first action of the spring yesterday, collecting two hits while playing five innings at third.  Polanco's 2012 Topps card is definitely in the early running as one of my favorite Phillies cards from series one, despite the goofy grin on his face.  It reminds me a little of this card, which also featured a sure-handed and steady Phillies infielder picking out his bat with rows of helmets in the background.

2007 Bowman Heritage #48 Freddy Garcia

Yankees 7, Phillies 4
Spring Training Game 2 - Sunday Afternoon, March 4th in Tampa
Record - 0-2

One Sentence Summary:  The Phils committed four errors and dropped a sloppy game in Tampa, as they remain winless in 2012 Grapefruit League play.

What It Means:  Still doesn't really mean anything, other than I'm still thrilled to be able to watch baseball on TV again.

What Went Wrong:  Michael Martinez accounted for half the error tally with a few misplayed balls over at third.  Joel Pineiro and Philippe Aumont were each touched for three runs a piece, although they were each only charged with one earned run.

For the second day in a row, Hunter Pence hit a two-run first inning home run.  Roy Halladay made his spring debut and struck out three in his two innings of work, while also allowing a home run to Alex Rodriguez.  Domonic Brown dropped a ball in the outfield, but he did have a nice day at the plate as he went two for four with a triple.

Featured Card:  Freddy Garcia had an awful one-year stay with the Phillies, starting only 11 games in 2007 and going 1-5 with a 5.90 ERA.  He enters the spring in competition for the Yankees fifth starter job.  Garcia started for the Yankees yesterday and he gave up Pence's home run and three other hits in his two innings of work.  Garcia was featured as a Phillie on a number of baseball cards in 2007, including this homage to the 1952 Bowman set.

1997 Phillies - The Missing Links

1997 Score #448, 1997 Ultra #344, #438 and 1998 Pacific Online #576

My post on the 1997 Topps Phillies cards is still a work in progress and I hope to publish it next Sunday.  It's been a rough week in the coal mine, and there's been little to no time for spending time with the 1997 Topps set.  That being said, I still managed to find time to put together the next Missing Links post, this time looking at the short-timers from the unfortunate 1997 season.

With 46 players appearing with the Phillies in 1997, I honestly thought this post was going to feature a very long list of names.  I'm as surprised as you are that there are only two players from this team with no cardboard proof of their time in red pinstripes.

1997 Phillies Team Issue #40 and #41

3 Cards or More
38 Players

Perhaps more shocking than the two guys without Phillies baseball cards is the fact that these guys actually have three or more Phillies baseball cards - Midre Cummings, Derrick May, Rex Hudler, Billy McMillon, Jerry Spradlin, Scott Ruffcorn and Billy Brewer.  And by my unofficial tally, Danny Tartabull, who broke his foot in his third game with the Phillies never to play Major League baseball again, is featured on five different Phillies baseball cards.  The mind boggles.

2 Cards
Darrin Winston (7 games in 1997 and 27 games in 1998) - 1998 Pacific Online #576 and 1998 Phillies Team Issue #58

Not to be confused with Darrin Chapin, Winston appeared in 34 games with the Phils, compiling a 4-2 record with a 5.84 ERA.  Sadly, while researching this post, I learned that Winston passed away back in 2008.  I found this article featuring a nice tribute to the former Phillie who left us way too soon.

1 Card
Tony Barron (57 games in 1997) - 1998 Collector's Choice #202
Reggie Harris (50 games in 1997) - 1997 Phillies Team Issue #40
Erik Plantenberg (35 games in 1997) - 1997 Phillies Team Issue #41
Ryan Karp (1 game in 1995 and 15 games in 1997) - 1994 Bowman #552
Edgar Ramos (4 games in 1997) - 1997 Fleer #649

I could have sworn Barron played in more than just 57 games with the Phillies.  It seems as if every game I watched that summer somehow featured Barron.  His tenure with the Phils resulted in just one lone baseball card.  The Phillies Team Issue set comes through again with the only cards of relievers Harris and Plantenberg.  Karp was previously featured on the 1994 Missing Links post.

1998 Collector's Choice #202, 1997 Fleer #649,
1997 Best Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons #9 and #18

0 Cards
Rob Butler (43 games in 1997)
Mike Robertson (22 games in 1997)

Butler actually came to the Phillies organization in December 1994, and he appeared in over 200 games with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons before getting the call to the big club in mid-April 1997.  He was the guy who replaced Tartabull on the roster after the former slugger broke his foot.  Had he cracked the team's opening day roster, he would have presumably at least had a card within the team issued set available at The Vet.

Robertson was acquired from the White Sox in January 1997 for Gene Schall.  His decent numbers with the Red Barons (.298, 12 home runs, 72 RBIs in 121 games) led to a late August call-up, which was too late for him to be featured as a Phillie in any late season baseball card releases.

Past Missing Link Posts

1990 Phillies - Louie Meadows

1991 Phillies - Dave LaPoint

1992 Phillies - Darrin Chapin and Mickey Weston

1993 Phillies - None

1994 Phillies - Tom Edens and Bob Wells

1995 Phillies - Jim Deshaies, Kevin Elster, Omar Olivares, Chuck Ricci and Dennis Springer

1996 Phillies - Glenn Dishman, Bronson Heflin, Manny Martinez and Rafael Quirico

2010 Topps Heritage #488 Raul Ibanez

Yankees 8, Phillies 5
Spring Training Game 1 - Saturday Afternoon, March 3rd in Clearwater
Record - 0-1

One Sentence Summary:  The Phils dropped the official spring opener by a score of 8-5.

What It Means:  I had to work today, but I was fortunate enough to work from home and watch the game on TV (albeit on mute).  It's nice to have baseball back on TV and I'm very pleased there will be a ton of televised Phillies games this spring.

What Went Wrong:  Old friend Raul Ibanez dropped in a bloop double in the first to score the Yankees first run.  New Phillie Chad Qualls was touched for three runs in the seventh.

On a positive note, Hunter Pence hit a two-run home run in the first and Cole Hamels looked good in his two innings of work.

Featured Card:  Raaaaaauul!  It's tough seeing Raul in dark blue pinstripes.  This is one of the 75 short-prints found within the 2010 Topps Heritage set, which borrowed the design of the 1961 Topps set.

1995 UC3 #63 Lenny Dykstra

Much like Lenny Dykstra on this baseball card, I'm taking a breather today.  Spring Training has started, baseball has returned, and I thought I'd take this opportunity to wipe the sweat from my brow and contemplate my bat.

Unlike Lenny Dykstra, I plan on ducking before a huge 3-D baseball conks me in the back of the head.

2011 Bowman Chrome Prospects #BCP63 Austin Hyatt

Phillies 6, Seminoles 1
Spring Training Exhibition - Wednesday Afternoon, February 29th in Clearwater

One Sentence Summary:  The Phillies played baseball yesterday and all is right with the world.

What It Means:  Nothing.  This game doesn't even count towards the official Grapefuit League standings or statistics, but it sure is nice to see a new box score.

What Went Right:  Pitching prospect Austin Hyatt got the nod to start the team's first spring game, and he pitched two perfect innings while striking out three.  The Phils put together a five-run seventh inning, capped by non-roster invitee Hector Luna's two-run home run.

Featured Card:  The expectation is that Hyatt, a Double-A All-Star last year, will start the season with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs.  I've got a few of his minor league cards, but the card featured here is his only card from a major release so far.  (There's also a non-Chrome version of this card, so I guess technically he's got two cards so far.  Which leads to this question - Is the regular non-Chrome version the parallel or is the Chrome version the parallel?  Do you think Hyatt cares?)

Other Stuff:  Ryan Howard suffered a setback in his recovery from his ruptured Achilles, as it was announced that he had an infection surrounding one of his sutures.  As a precaution, he's been shut down for at least a few days.

Camp Headcount:  57