My Favorite Card of 2010 To Date: 2010 National Chicle Richie Ashburn

Don't let the scan fool you. But this card in its subject (Richie "Whitey" Ashburn) and its tonal aspirations creates the best card of 2010 for me. The placid green of the background evokes summer memories and shouts of glee. Also, the background echoes a baseball diamond in spirit as the incremental changing of the green gives notice to the outfield, infield, and foul territory differing grass heights.

The overlay of the subject in a posed followthrough gives credence to the notion that at the end of the bat motion, there is a split-second of calm, a moment of satisfaction after the bat meets the ball.

Ashburn's eyes are following the ball for that moment left in time, just before he speeds down the baseline to a fate that only the sound of the crowd and the stretch of the 1st baseman may foreshadow.

The colors of the Whiz Kid-era uniforms with the ubiquitous pinstripes and floating Phillies cap patch on the sleeve lends the proper nostalgia and wistful notion to the time and place from whence he came. This was a time when baseball men had to only look up, take in the surroundings, and know that they were home.

Phillies Project Phase 2 Wantlist: 1970-1984

1970 Topps- Complete!
56-Joe Lis/Scott Reid
360-Curt Flood
564-Johnny Briggs
591-Mike Ryan
605-Rick Wise
677-Woody Fryman

1971 Topps-2 remaining
533-Mike Ryan
554-Lowell Palmer
574-Jim Bunning
598-Rick Wise
659-Byron Browne
664-Rookie Pitchers-Kevin Reynolds
682-Terry Harmon
705-Dick Selma
728-Rookie Outfielders-Wayne Redmond
739-Barry Lersch

1972 Topps-8 remaining
283-Darrell Brandon
345-Rick Wise
397-Phillies Team
423-Oscar Gamble
453-Barry Lersch
482-Joe Hoerner
528-Ron Stone
587-Billy Wilson
594-Billy Champion
635-Don Money
665-Chris Short
690-Willie Montanez
726-Dick Selma
741-Rookie Stars-Tom Hutton
751-Steve Carlton Traded
768-Denny Doyle

1973 Topps-1 remaining
271-Tom Hutton
467-Mike Ryan
536-Phillies Team
559-Barry Lersch
590-Deron Johnson
619-Billy Wilson
632-Dick Selma
659-Jose Pagan

1974 Topps-Complete!
283-Mike Schmidt

1975 Topps-Complete!
312-Strikeout Leaders:Nolan Ryan/Steve Carlton
615-Rookie Pitchers-Tom Underwood

1976 Topps-Complete!
62 Johnny Oates
195 RBI Leaders-Luzinski
455 Dick Allen
543 Wayne Twitchell

1977 Topps-Complete!
489-Rookie Pitchers-Randy Lerch

1978 Topps-Complete!

1979 Topps-Complete!

1980 Topps-Complete!
526 Dallas Green/Team Card
682 Dickie Noles/Kevin Saucier/Ramon Aviles

1981 Donruss/Fleer/Topps-Complete!

1981 Topps Traded-Complete!
753-Dick Davis
800-Gary Mathews
815-Mike Proly

1982 Donruss/Fleer/Topps-Complete!

1982 Topps Traded-1 remaining
27T-Ivan Dejesus
29T-Bo Diaz
32T-Ed Farmer
59T-Mike Krukow
73T-Sid Monge
100T-Bill Robinson

1983 Donruss-1 remaining
525 Julio Franco RC

1983 Fleer-3 remaining
153, 158, 160, 161, 163, 167, 168, 170, 650

1983 Topps-Complete!
complete

1983 Topps Traded-Complete!
36T, 40T, 45T, 46T, 61T, 72T, 77T, 85T

1984 Donruss-Complete!
82, 137, 163, 204, 233, 355, 381, 407, 427, 448, 477, 503, 545, 549

1984 Fleer-3 remaining
26, 27, 29, 30, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 47, 627, 643, 648

1984 Fleer Update-Complete!
23, 64, 94, 111, 128, 129

1984 Topps-Complete!
135, 138, 705

1984 Topps Traded-Complete!
22T, 64T, 105T, 129T, 130T

Phillies Project Update: 1970 Topps Phillies

I've reached a new phase of the Phillies project. I am now only 23 cards short of the "get every card as a Phillie+rookie card" of the 1980 Phillies World Series roster (not including the Rose, Schmidt, and Carlton rookies, those are long term goals). The binder looks excellent. At the end of this year, I will scan in the pages and do card retrospectives of all the players who graced a Phillies uniform in a game in 1980.

The new phase of the project is to get all the cards (major issues) from 1970-1984. The previous phase encompassed a lot of these cards, so it would only be natural to want to fill in the blanks, so to speak.

What better way to start than at the beginning of the time epoch. These are the notable looking cards from the 1970 team set I have begun to collate. The 1970 set is decidedly gray; it reminds me of a summer day in the Bay Area.

Deron Johnson: Spring training photo with a classic batting glove. Led the 1970 Phillies in HR, TB, RBI, BB, 2B, and hits.
Tony Taylor: This is a unique pose for this era. Is he putting a bat away or picking it up inspection. The sun must have been bright that day. Led 1970 Phillies in SLG, OBP, OPS, and 3B.
Larry Hisle: It amazes me how many Phillies have received the Topps All-Star Rookie designation. He's better known as a Twin and Brewer than a Phillie. Somehow, he was traded to the Dodgers after the '71 season, did not play in the majors in '72, was traded to St Louis and Minnesota before '73 and then went on to have a 114 OPS+ in '73.
Lowell Palmer: Has sunglasses in the harsh Florida sun. He did have an eye condition that necessitated this. He was also very wild; he had 14 wild pitches in 1970.
Chris Short: Decided to go with the stare in the distance look. Was 3rd in the league in losses in 1970 with 16.
Don Money: Excellent, another Topps All-Star Rookie, waiting for a ball that would never come. 1970 was his best year in a Phillies uniform, hitting .295/.361/.463 (122 OPS+) with 14 HR and 66 RBI.
Jim Bunning: The first Phillies pitcher with a perfect game.
1970 was a homecoming of sorts, pitching his last 200 IP season; he never did have a 20 game season in the NL. Grant Jackson: Seems to be smirking at the photographer. He did not have a fruitful year in 1970, going 5-15 with a 5.29 ERA and 1.54 WHIP, it would be his last in Philadelphia.

More collecting and cards to come as the saga expands its presence in my burgeoning collection.

2009 Topps Heritage Base Set Journey-completed

Well, the quest has ended with great assists from giveaways and trades in the sports card blogtopia. These last contributions were from Brian at Play at the Plate and Chris from Budget Baseball Cardboarding. Thank you to all those who were patient enough to trade with me.

Robinson Cano is looking sleepy and Aaron Boone is looking smug.
David Price has gone from a rookie star to an all-star starter and he's pushing the Rays to the top with the effervescent Evan Longoria
Derek Jeter is still the face of the Yankees, Alex Rios is having a renaissance this year with the White Sox, and Jay Bruce is always swinging for the fences.
This is a Geovany Soto All-star SP, Corey Hart has decided to remain with the Brew Crew, and Gavin Floyd is enjoying a breakthrough season in 2010.

As for the cards, I love the varying designs of the subsets (all-star, all-rookie team, rookies, managers, World Series, team) and though the photos are mostly portraits, nothing looks washed out or is too bright for the homage like it has in past Heritage editions (such as 2007).

Of course, I only have 4 out of 71 SPs. So those are welcome in any future trades, though I will not pursue them with much vigor.

Play at the Plate: 500th Post Contest

Brian at Play at the Plate is celebrating his 500th post with a very nice contest and prize. Check it out! Extend his dedication to his craft for another 500! Good luck!

non-HOF Profile Derby #16: Graig Nettles

Next, is yet another in a series of undervalued third baseman, Graig Nettles.

Place on the WAR chart: : Below Ryne Sandberg and Yogi Berra and above Harmon Killebrew

Career Overview and Some Numbers:Played for the Twins (67-69), Indians (70-72), Yankees (73-83), Padres (84-86), Braves (87), and Expos (88). Won 2 Gold Gloves in his career, was a 6 time all-star, and finished in the top-10 MVP voting twice. Led the league in HR once. Had one 100 RBI season and 11 20 HR seasons. Had 4 seasons of greater than 120 OPS+. Most similar players numbers-wise were Darrell Evans, Ron Cey, and Ron Santo.

Consistently a good fielder (and sometimes a great one), he profiled as a power hitting 3rd baseman in a pitcher's era. His power numbers were respectable and his fielding numbers were consistently very good.

Best Season:1976: .254/.327/.475 (134 OPS+), with 32 HR, 93 RBI, 88 R and 11 SB.
The Final Numbers: Hit .248/.329/.421 (110 OPS+) with 390 HR,1314 RBI, 1193 R, 1088/1209 BB/K ratio.

Why He Should be Remembered: He was a large hard-fielding, power wielding 3rd baseman who was strong with the glove and bat. Consistently, an above average hitter and good to great fielder, his game was well-rounded and featured many assets. He had some strong playoff performances as well for inclusion in the Yankee playoff pantheon in the 76, 78, and 81 ALCS performances were pretty awesome (especially 81, when he had a >1400 OPS)

HOF Balloting Performance:4 years on the ballot with a peak of 8.3%
Rookie Card:1969 Topps #99
Modern Cards:1999 Sports Illustrated Greats of the Game Auto, 2008 Upper Deck Goudey Auto, and more

Trade Deadline Reaction: Starting Pitching Edition, another Roy is coming.

The Phillies made a big splash on the trade market today, which puts on hold whatever else I was writing about today.

Roy Oswalt, formerly of the Houston Astros, has joined the Fightin' Phils for the stretch run of the season. He was received in exchange for last year's rookie sensation LHP JA Happ and two minor leaguers Anthony Gose and Jonathan Villar. The minor leaguers are of note only because they are young (18 or 19) unpolished baseball products, which is valuable to a team in a situation like the Astros.

This, however, is a deal fraught with layers of complexity. The Phillies receive another ace-type pitcher, not only for the rest of this year, but also all of 2011 with a mutual option for 2012. That is the simple fact. All the rest is details and the reading of GM's intentions.

About Roy Oswalt
He is a 32 year old right handed starting pitcher who is leading the league in losses this year with 12. How's that for the cynical view? Of course, this is a terrible measure for quantifying pitcher performance over a season. He has a 3.42 ERA, 1.1 WHIP and has 120 K and 34 BB and 129 IP. The K rate is his best since his rookie year in 2001, but he has consistently averaged 6.8-7.5 K/9 over the course of his career. Of his losses this year, 7 were received in quality starts. He's had 12starts where he's pitched at least 7 innings and allowed 3 runs or less. Make-up wise, he's pretty tenacious and is a fastball/slider dominant pitcher. Interestingly, the most similar player on his comparative list is Roy Halladay.

What This Means for the 2010 Standings

This was the reason the deal was made. Oswalt effectively replaces Happ/injury replacement in the rotation. This has the possibility to add an additional 3 wins (my guess)to the Phillies if his performance for the rest of the season mirrors his performance for the Astros in 2010.

What This Means Economically in 2010
There will be no change in the payroll because the Astros are paying the remainder of this year's salary as part of the deal.

What This Means for 2011
Jayson Werth is probably not going to be resigned because he wants his payday (understandably). Oswalt will only be paid $12 million by the Phillies (the rest by the Astros). The rotation will stay intact through 2011.

What this Means Psychologically

This feels like a net positive for the Phillies fans and management. Only 2.5 games outside of a playoff spot heading into tonight, the Phillies need the emotional charge from an addition such as this. When their best player (Utley) returns at the beginning of September along with the influx of the injured Victorino and Rollins back to the lineup in August, they will be in a great position for the stretch drive. In addition, there's that prospect, Domonic Brown, that can add valuable at-bats in a platoon or off the bench (once Victorino returns). Also, maybe Phillies fans can know that these two guys are not walking back through the door.




es, dealing Lee will always be considered a mistake, but they reloaded without giving up too much in return.

I give the deal a big thumbs up from a fan's and analyst's point of view.

Now, I'm waiting for the first Oswalt card featuring him on the Phillies.

2002 Topps Gallery Pack Break

This pack was won from a contest over at Play at the Plate when I correctly prognosticated that Ubaldo Jimenez would be the majors' first 10 game winner this year. Other cards were included, but I just felt like opening a pack and scanning all the cards together.

2002 Topps Gallery was the second edition of Gallery with painted card subjects. This time the design had a fading brushstroked border with white space beneath which featured the player and team name. There was a 150 card base set, 151-200 were inserted 1 per pack and included the rookies and retired players. The best rookie card in the set is Joe Mauer (1:50 chance for the Mauer!) Inserts included Topps Gallery Heritage (1:12 packs), Relics (1:85 packs), and Autographs (1:192 packs). The odds are against me.

84-Fred McGriff-"The Crime Dog" in a Cubbies uni
72-JT Snow-who was a better fielder: JT Snow or John Olerud?
172-Tony Fontana: This guy is not Joe Mauer. He never made the majors, though he did have promising minor league stats. He was finished pitching at the age of 23. Was it injuries?
1-Jason Giambi: When Giambi signed with the Yankees, he lost his power just like Samson did. He was not the same force of nature as he was the A's.

3-Bret Boone-coming off a career year in 2001 with .337 AVG, 37 HR, and 141 RBI. That was a come from nowhere season.
9-Jorge Posada- Somehow he still dons the tools of ignorance with the Yankees and still has managed to not get many pictures in the New York Post.

That was a fun pack break...."pick yourself up off the side of the road, with your elevator bones and your whip flash tones..."

And fade to black.

Swapping Cards: Trade with Bud from First Day Issue, etc.

I completed a trade a couple (few?) months ago with Bud of the The First Day Issue. I traded him a few 2008 Masterpieces cards and he sent me a nicely enjoyed package of cards in return. Consider the below a sampling, if you will.

2003 Topps Gallery HOF Mike Schmidt: It's not often you see a mustache-less image of Schmidt. This is one set that I have to take a closer look at; it's right up my alley in terms of retired player subject matter and with hand-painting of the card subjects.
2004 Fleer Greats of the Game Chris Short: This gentleman was overlooked for so long, his first card wasn't until 1967 (see this link). At this point, he had already been an all-star, had a 20 win season, and a season with a 2.20 ERA (158 ERA+).
2001 Topps Gold Label Bobby Abreu: I like to reminisce about the days when the debates among Phillies's fans were whether Abreu was underrated or overrated. I'm still not sure of the answer, probably both.
2000 Metal Scott Rolen: Metal wasn't the same after they took out the comic book images.
2008 Upper Deck Heroes Light Blue Cole Hamels Jersey: There's just something about the Heroes design, still timeless.
1998 Topps Stars (Red) Curt Schilling: Most memorable Curt Schilling moment that I saw live (I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I will anyway). I saw him strike out 16 batters against the Yankees during interleague play at the Vet (ok, I'm going to track down the date now) on September 1, 1997. I hadn't seen that much excitement...in 4 years.
1983 Fleer Gary Matthews: "Sarge" gives voice to the Phillies these days, but in the early '80s he was a high contact, above average LF with good on-base skills.
2001 Upper Deck Decade '70s Garry Maddox: I don't care if I've said this before on here, I'll say it again here. "2/3 of the Earth is covered by water, the other 1/3 is covered by Garry Maddox"2004 Playoff Honors Jim Thome: Thome has the best socks of the decade, no matter which team he's been on. I think he'll reach 600 HR for his career.

Thanks for the trade Bud!

Card Spotlight: 2007 Exquisite Dual Auto, Brian Bannister/Jeremy Guthrie

This beauty of a card is #d 2/2. Don't let the blurriness fool you. It's only because the holder is so thick, I couldn't get it to sit flat on the scanner bed. What is significant about a card such as this? Well, for one thing (for me) it is not a Phillies card. Another thing is that it shows a not completely distracting way to pull off sticker autographs. A third thing is that neither player is more identified with the team on the card (Bannister=Royals, Guthrie=Orioles). A fourth thing is that both pitchers are not strikeout pitchers (both average around 5 K/9) and can have wildly fluctuating stats from year to year. (Guthrie ERA has ranged from 3.63-5.04, Bannister's ERA has ranged from 3.87-5.76).

Enough about coincidences. The really interesting thing is this card is probably a "case hit" in this product, and this fact is probably solely due to the low serial number. Even in 2007, these were not top of the line prospects. Bannister was never listed on a top 100 prospects list and Guthrie's best showing was #53 in 2004.

Exquisite boxes cost somewhere around $120-160 and do offer a wide variety of autos within each box (I believe 4 of 6 cards are autos). Shouldn't there be given consideration to what the best card pulled in 6 box case should be? Not all people like it, but I do believe it should be a multiple auto prospect (especially in a product called Exquisite Rookies) card with a better connection than they are both pitchers. It should not necessarily be a parallel because that's the only thing differentiating this card from the higher numbered versions.

In a product like this, they probably should be using the top 5 lists for each farm system to derive the case hit checklist. Another idea could be a pairing with the prospect with the modern or retired player, they're most compared to in the scouting reports. It would make it more worthwhile.

I think what I'm trying to say is that value is not always a number on the card (though 2/2 is cool to see). There should be some hope for rookies for the supposed best pull of a case to improve their lot and increase in at least intrinsic value (following the player, seeing growth, hoping for success, etc).

What would the ideal case hit of a high end product like Exquisite or Triple Threads or Topps Tribute or other like-priced/like-styled product be for you? (assuming that price is not an object) Keep in the mind the focus of the given set.

I would appreciate your thoughts.

Contest Over at Nr Mt!

Sign up today for a Price is Right style contest at Nr Mt! Guess the prices of cards and a car (car not guaranteed)could be yours. Remember, the first number of the price is always 1.

1961 Topps Phillies Team Set Chase Part 3

I'm enjoying this much more than chasing down the team set from 2010 Heritage. Plus, sometimes it's a nice change of pace to see frayed corners and know it's a natural part of the condition. Here are the latest.

The two cards presented here represent the Opening Day starters of the Phillies from 1950-1963. These were the proverbial aces. Of course, with the Phillies in this era, I'm not sure what that really says about the pitching quality at that time.


433 Art Mahaffey: Number of years with Phillie: 6 (1960-1965) Best year as Phillie (1962): 19-14 with 3.94 ERA (98 ERA+) with 1.21 WHIP, 177 K/81 BB, and a league leading 36 HR allowed.

Card was given to me by Jim at the The Phillies Room

20 Robin Roberts: Number of years with Phillies: 14 (1948-1961) Best season as a Phillie: (1952): 28-7 with 2.59 ERA (141 ERA+) with 1.02 WHIP, 148 K/45 BB, led league in wins, games started, complete games (30), innings pitched (292), BB/9 (1.2), and K/BB (3.29).

Picking Roberts best season was difficult since he had 4 very similar, incredible seasons from 1952-1955. His full career path will be fleshed out as I acquire more cards of him.

This card was acquired at a card show.

For an updated needs list, check the sidebar.