Phun Stuff from The Phillies Room

2008 Topps #443 Greg Dobbs

Recently Jim from The Phillies Room has put up some want lists for Phillies that are missing from his collection and I was able to find some cards that he needed. And Jim was good enough to check out my want list and send out a bunch of cards I needed.

He sent over two more cards from my 08 Topps Series 2 Want List, Including the Greg Dobbs Card above. For those of you scoring at home I am down to my final THREE Topps Series 2 base cards, any contributions are greatly appreciated. Here is a list of the final 3.

529 Masahide Kobayashi
533 Kyle McClellan
586 Coco Crisp

Jim also sent out a couple of inserts from the 08 Topps Set, A whole bunch o cards from the 07 Bowman Heritage set that I have been slowly building. and as a bonus some great 71 vintage:

1971 Topps #586 Dick Woodson
1971 Topps #7 Jim Holt
1971 Topps #168 Bruce Del Canton (click to enlarge)

Thanks a Lot Jim! and Go Phils!!

Phungo Cards - Ryan Madson & Brad Lidge

2009 Phungo #63 Ryan Madson
2009 Phungo #54 Brad Lidge

Brad Lidge has had a rough time as the closer this season after saving 48 consecutive gamese last season including the clinching game of the 2008 World Series. He has appeared in the 9th for the Phillies in their last 4 games and is likely unavailable tonight after blowing a save versus the Pittsburgh Pirates last night.

Ryan Madson had an opportunity to close for the Phils earliar this season and struggled somewhat. I hope that if the situation arises again that Madson is able to get the job done.

Tonight I am posting the Madson and Lidge cards from the 09 Phils set hoping to get the Phils some closer Mojo. Both Photos were taken during last years playoffs. The first card features Ryan Madson warming up during game one of the NLCS. Madson got Manny Ramirez to line out in a key at bat of the 1 run ball game and only gave up 1 hit during his inning that night.

The picture of Brad Lidge was taken during game two of the NLDS, The Brett Myers/Shane Victorino game - Lidge pitched a perfect innng versus the Brewers that day.

Ricky Bottalico Honored by the Reading Phillies

1997 UD SP #136 Ricky Bottalico (B-Side)

Tonight Ricky Botallico is being honored by the Reading Phillies by being inducted into their Hall of Fame. Botallico was the Phils closer during the 1996 and 97 season, for his career he logged 72 saves as a Phil (116 overall between 6 teams including the Phils). His tenure with the Reading Phillies (AA Eastern Lg) consisted of parts of two very good seasons in which he logged a combined 42 saves.

Ricky was the sole Phillies member to represented the team at the 1996 All-Star Game which was held in Philadelphia. Bottalico did well contributing to the NLs Shutout of the AL that night. He shutout the junior circuit during the 5th inning, the only blemish an error by Ken Caminiti on a Brady Anderson grounder. Botallico struck out Pudge Rodriguez and then Got Future Hall of Famer Cal Ripken to fly Out. With two outs Anderson reached on the error, which was followed by a Jay Buhner line out.

That was over 13 years ago and remains the most recent NL All-Star game victory.

I hope Rickey enjoys his night - He currently does a lot of pre- and post- game work for the Phils. His analysis is often excellent, and almost always entertaining. He was present at the Phils alumni night and was good enough to sign autographs for the fans.

That is part of the reason I chose to post the b-Side of the abve 97 SP card. It shows Bottalico signing some cards for the fans. I would have to think those are the minor league issue cards as there could not have been to many cards of Ricky at the time.

BC Sports Collectibles Returns?

BC Sports Collectibles has their Website back up and running and apparently is reopening a few retail outlets.

There is no mention of any changes at the store and things appear the same - although they may have changed their name to just BC Sports.

BC Collectibles was always a bit high-end for my tastes, but it may be a welcome return for folks with greater means then this humble blogger.

According to the BC Sports Site they will honor gift certificates, but it did not specify if points earned through prior purchases would also remain valid.

Phungo Cards - Player of the Week Jayson Werth

2009 Phungo #28 Jayson Werth

Jayson Werth was named the most recent NL Player week. His 11-25 (.440) week included five homers, 2 of which occurred in a game covered by team Phungo last week.

Charlie Manuel took a little heat for putting Werth on the All-star team this year. The selections was not an egregious violation - The other most likely player was likely the also very deserving Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants. Manuel only took two extra Phillies, Werth and slugger Ryan Howard. Howard is likely a perenial all-star, Werth may not be but right now he has 29 homers (7th in the league) and a respectable .271 average - along with an impressive .372 OBP.

The photo from todays Phungo Card was taken on September 11th 2008, prior to the first of four games the Phils 4 game series with the Brewers. That game is where it all started for the 08 Phils. They were 4 games behind the Brewers for the wild card and would end the weekend tied with Milwaukee for the Wild Card lead. To honor and remember the victims the September 11th attacks the Phils as well as all other Major League teams wore their patriotic caps for the weekend series - that is why Werth has a blue Phils cap on. The Phungo Card lists Werth's specific position of RF, and he got his uniform number, 28, for a card number.

Jim Bouton is a Big Mouth.

"The Great American Baseball Card Flipping Trading and Bubble Gum Book" Page 100 - Jim Bouton (Click to Enlarge)


"Jim Bouton is a Big Mouth."

That is the sole line that is devoted to Jim Bouton's 1964 card on page 100 of "The Great American Baseball Card Flipping, Trading and Bubble Gum Book"

Oddly for whatever reason the text to the right of Bouton's card is dedicated to Eddie Lebaron, Who is not featured in the book at all.

I am not positive what exactly prompted authors Brendan C Boyd and Fred C Harris to make this comment about Jim Bouton, but it is likely due to Jim Bouton's own book "Ball Four".

Tonight MLB Network will be broadcasting an interview with Bouton on their Studio 42 Program hosted by Bob Costas. If you have had enough of the Yankees and Red Sox this weekend, I suggest you tune in, I am sure the show will not be dull.

And if you are a baseball card blogger and don't have a copy of TGABCFTaBGB it is definitely worth finding. It is baseball card snark 30+ years before blogging.

Sources and Links
Jim Bouton Index

Phungo Game Report - 2009 08 20 - Diamondbacks 1 @ Phillies 8

At the outset the D-Backs Phils matchup which featured Aces Dan Haren and Cliff Lee appeared to be a premier pitchers duel. In the end only one of the Pitchers lived up to the billing. Cliff Lee threw a 2 hit complete game allowing a single unearned run as the Phils cruised to a 8-1 victory. Haren gave up 6 runs over 5 innings. 6 of the 7 runs came on a trio of homers by Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Jayson Werth. Werth added a second homer in the 7th inning. Jayson Werth is running away with the 2009 Phungo HR chase as he has homered 6 times in Phungo games so far this season.

It was a hot humid and muggy night in South Philadelphia, but a dominating win from the Phils new Ace plus a bunch of dingers from the Phils biggest sluggers made for a great evening. Here are some pictures and comments from the evening.

Over at Phillies Room, Jim was mentioning that there was not yet a starting lineup card for Pedro Martinez. Well this one is for you Jim, the Phils did have a Cliff Lee Starting Line Up card:

They also had one for mid-season acquisition backup catcher Paul Bako.

Cliff Lee demonstrating his dominant form on the mound:

Dan Haren tossing for the bad guys:

Good Guy Awards go out to several Arizona Diamondbacks including this Guy:

Yes the Bench Coach for the D-Backs is Kirk Gibson who signed about a eight to ten autos - at the top of the frame you can see a pen that Gibson is tossing back to a fan. Other D-Back GGAs go out to Max Scherzer, Daniel Schlereth, Doug Davis and Stephen Drew (just 2) who all were spotted signing autographs on Wednesday night. I didn't see any Phils signing last night and they have been far less visible pregame this season.

In a time honored baseball tradition the bullpens newest member is honored by his D-Back brethren:

Yes that is former NFL player and current ESPN talkie Mark Schlereth's son, Daniel, sporting the pink backpack.

Anybody get a Cooler Word Verification then this one today???

I'm All Shook Up after getting this WordVer when posting a comment to Sports Locker.

Tribe Cards Allen Ginter Group Break - The Phils and other Phun Stuff

Dave over at Tribe Cards hosted a great box break that was right in my wheelhouse. For a mere $5 one could get all the cards of a certain team out of a Hobby Box of Allen & Ginter. I obviously picked the Phils and was very happy with the results.

2009 Allen & Ginter #162 Shane Victorino
2009 Allen & Ginter Black Border Mini #151 Cole Hamels
2009 Allen & Ginter A&G Back Mini #68 Jamie Moyer


Love the Cole Mini and nice to get the A&G back Moyer mini also. The remainder of the PHils included Chase Utley, Jayson Werth, Jamie Moyer Base Card and Brett Myers.

There are obviously cards in Allen Ginter that are not associated with any team. These were divided randomly amongst the break participants.

2009 Allen & Ginter #297 Bowling Champion Kolan McConiughey
2009 Allen & Ginter #2 Zack Greinke

And some teams were unclaimed - that is how KC Royal Greinke ended up in the Phungo Collection. Bringham Young and Justin Moreneau were some of the other bonus cards that were sent my way.

Dave did a tremendous job as usual with the break. He went the extra mile by reinserting the cards in an Allen Ginter wrapper (pictured above) which gave me the excitement of opening a pack. He also designed a Special Tribe Cards Allen Ginter Return Addy sticker:


Thanks again, and good luck to the Indians - 2009 looks shot, but hopefully some of the former Phils prospects will be able to contribute to Clevelands Future.

Michael Vick the RIGHT move for the Eagles

There are several reasons that the Eagles signed Michael Vick. Yes, this is a controversial move but I think many folks outside the Philadelphia area fail to understand wny this is the right move for the the Philadelphia Eagles, the Philadelphia Community and the NFL.

1) Many from other towns with larger traditional fan bases probably don't get this but the Eagles need Superstars like Michael Vick to bring in fans. The aging Eagles franchise doesn't have the rabid fan base of say the Panthers or Jaguars - In fact the Eagles have not sold out a game since August 13th of 2009 - remember those days??

2) The Talent Level: The Eagles need to field a playoff caliber team - keep this in mind the Eagles have not been involved in an NFL postsason game since the played the Arizona Cardinals on January 18th of 2009. To give you an idea of how long that has been, the rest of the NFL has played one yes One post season game since then. Obviously the Eagles roster was not good enough without Vick.

3) The Value of the Eagles: The Eagles are estimated to be valued at only 1.024 Billion Dollars, lingering way down at 5th on the NFL list. Really to remain viable it is necessary for the Eagles to sign an impact player like Vick to catch up with the rest of the NFL.

4) It's time to jettison players that the fans have grown tired of like Brian Dawkins and infuse the team with some new talent that hasn't been so involved in the community. I mean what kind of loyal fan is going to risk his dream job with the Eagles by mouthing off about how much the Eagles need to keep Mike Vick.

5) Isn't it time that the Eagles give the #7 to another QB. A whole generation of fans has grown up thinking that number belongs to a single player.

Those are all good reason and I think you will find some agreement when you consider things from a different veiwpoint. And as everyone knows the Eagles are the "Gold Standard".

Phungo Cards - Pedro Martinez

2009 Phungo #45 Pedro Martinez

Good Luck Pedro!

Hopefully tomorrow we will have something good to report about the next chapter in the Future Hall of Famers career.

Phils @ Cubs Wednesday August 12 2009, National coverage by ESPN.

Go Phils!

Sources and Links
Pedro Martinez HoF Index 

Phungo Cards - Chad Durbin

2009 Phungo #37 Chad Durbin

Last night Chad Durbin earned his 2nd save of the season by pitching a scoreless 12th inning versus the Cubs. It was a pretty intresting game involving 2 reigning division champs who are both potential playoff teams in 2009.

Cubs starter Rich Harden was perfect through 5 1/3 with a 2-0 lead when things just went awry for him. He gave up a walk to the 8 hitter (Carlos Ruiz) losing the perfect game. Later that inning he lost the no-hitter and shutout when he gave up a game tying homer to Jimmy Rollins.

The Cubs bullpen let them down in the eighth when Carlos Marmol walked in the go-ahead run after walking/HBP the bases loaded.

In the 9th Brad Lidge came on to get the save but could not convert when he walked the leadoff batter (Fukudome) who scored on a Milton Bradley single.

Finally in the 12th, newest Phillie, Ben Francisco hit a homer off Cubs closer Kevin Gregg to give the Phils the lead. Following that Chad Durbin shut down the Cubs and got the save.

It was only Durbin's 4th career save, 2 of which were of the 3 inning variety.

This is one of my favorite Phungo Cards. The photo was taken during the post game celebration of the 2008 World Series. I was standing in an area behind the centerfield bleachers above the bullpens. Durbin and Scott Eyre were out there gathering up dirt as souveniers and signing autographs - generally enjoying themselves. Someone called down to Chad as he was leaving the area - he looked up and waved and I got the shot.

I framed the shot to show that Chad is enjoying an adult bevarage. I think it is humourous that this guy just won the World Series and here he is drinking a light beer FROM A CAN. I am sure that it was all provided by a sponser but I still find it very funny.

We have a Winner!!!

First the answers

A - Sammy Sosa with Wrigley Field Logo - Ferris Bueller
B - John Cusack - he was in Sixteen Candles
C - Pac Man Champ - I was going for Ferris Bueller here. Ed Rooney is in an arcade and he is spit upon and the death sound from Pac Man gets played - I don't think the game that actually being played was Pac Man. some of the other picks may have been better but it's my game, my rules.
D - Grand Canyon - Vacation
E - Vernon Wells - Weird Science - Biker Actor shares name with the Jays outfielder
F - Bruce Jenner - Breakfast of Champions - Breakfast Club
G - Gordie Howe - Jersey worn by Cameron in - Ferris Bueller
H - Ducks - I was looking for Duckie from Pretty in Pink here. Everybody else followed Dayf's lead and went with Long Duk Dong from Sixteen Candles. Sorry Duckie was a more major character and I am sticking with my choice.
I - Cowboys and Lions - Thanksgiving - Planes Trains and Automobiles
J - George Bush - go to the 3:30 point in the video. "something d-o-o economics"

And here are your results of the John Hughes Memorial Trading Card Trivia Contest:

Representing the Tigers Trammell to Whitaker scored 1 run on a single and a double. (4 correct answers, but two after the third out)
Bucos Rep and vintage fan 1972 Topps Set Scored 3 Runs (5 correct overall)
Representin the Bravos perenial trivia buff Cardboard Junkie scored 4 Runs (6 correct)


and the Winner and "King of the Eighties" is

White Sox Cards!!!

Congrats to Steve who basically won on the Dayf's err of picking "Pretty in Pink" over "Sixteen Candles" for the Cusack film.

For the Record Steve got 7 of the 10 questions and the last correct answer was good for a Homer which meant all 7 of his correct answers scored.

To honor White Sox Cards todays feature card is a White Sox Card and an 80s Card:

1982 Topps #684 Harold Baines

and check out the second half of the cartoon on the back of the Baines Card.

1982 Topps #684 Harold Baines (b-side)

Bringing it all back to the Phils, It Hall of Fame Third Baseman Mike Schmidt, Sweet!

**********

Well done all, I would like to thank everyone for playing and hope that the John Hughes Memorial brought back some good memories for everyone.

I am also glad that everyone figured out some of my oddball connections and I hope that no one is to bummed out about my stretches.

The Bull says there is less than 24 hours left in the John Hughes Memorial Trading Card Contest!

Team Phungo brings you another Photo from the Phils Alumni Weekend. This is Greg Luzinski signing autographs for fans at the Bulls BBQ Competition stand. Each year the Bull's Teammate Garry Maddox hosts a charity Barbecue competition and since Luzinski lends his name to a BBQ establishment at the Phils Ballpark he always has a stand at the event.

While singing a youngsters hat the Bull was mentioning how important it was for everyone to enter the...

John Hughes Memorial Trading Card Trivia Contest!

So far we have entries by Dayf, White Sox Cards, and 72 Topps Baseball.

The Phungo Judges have assured me that none of these trivia aficianados have run the table however and you can still win the competition and be declared the King or Queen of the Eighties!

Why watch the Bosox and Yanks tonight when you can spend it combing the internet for John Hughes Facts?

Phillies 2009 Alumni Night

First off I want to let everyone know that there is still time to get involved in the

John Hughes Memorial Trading Card Trivia Contest!

It's looking like a crummy weather day here in the Northeast, I'm sure there are some 80s trivia buffs out there who could waste 20 minutes on the net finding the answers, and someone has to challenge Dayf.

Moving on to the present post:

Alumni Night was a bit of a bummer for several reasons. The Phils lost for the 2nd game in a row v the 2nd place Marlins. The Phils appeared to have a favorable pitching matchup (Cole Hamels v Sean West). The Alumni accessibility was not as good as expected. And finally we got caught up in a traffic jam on the way home.

Within the game itself the Marlins were terribly sloppy but the Phils let the Fish off the hook several times by going about 2 for 20 with runners on base. The Marlins won 6-4. Dingers were hit for the bad guys by Chris Coghlan (member of Phungo Fantasy Squad at least) and Cody Ross. Former Phil Brian Sanches got the W in relief, Cole Hamels was unimpressive in yet another loss and failed to go 6 innings. On a positive note Ryan Howard looked good without hitting a homer - a rare event. He has not been hitting well recently, hopefully his 4-4 night gets him out of his slump.

Despite the frustrating loss, I did have a good time and I am glad I went. I was able to pick up a couple of autos and got a couple of decent pictures.

Here are some of the hilights (all pix can be clicked to enlarge):

Harry Kalas was this years inductee to the Phillies Wall of Fame, this is his brand new plaque.


Phils New Addition:
Anybody notice anything odd about the above picture?



Mickey Morandini


Jim Eisenreich



National Anthem with Phillies Alumni and Current Phillies on the field

Close Up of Alums including all four Phils living HOFs

And I got some shots of the bad guys.



This is what Chris Coghlan looks like right before he hits a homer to center field

and Marlins Pitcher Sean West:


I met West's Aunt and Uncle at a local restaurant last year and have been following him a bit since then. He is young and has had mixed starts this year. Last night he was fair at best, he was able to get out of a few jams, but lasted less than 5 innings. The Marlins bullpen did a great job of holding the Phils in check and along with Chris Coghlan were the stars of the game.

John Hughes Memorial Trading Card Trivia Contest

In honor of the work of John Hughes, Team Phungo presents the

John Hughes Memorial Trading Card Trivia Contest!

I have 10 cards listed below and your job is to connect them to the correct movie. I have basically stuck to the movies Hughes directed and wrote during his mid to late 80s period.

I would like to run this as a contest, similar to Spot the Sig I have given each card a base hit value, if one accumulates enough hits they will score runs. Whoever scores the most runs wins.

There are some caveats:
-You must answer the movies in order and answer all of the movies
-If you miss a movie thats an out
-If you accumulate 3 outs you are done scoring
-Some movies are mentioned more than once and some not at all.

A perfect game would be 10 runs. Some of the Homers are distant connections that may only make sense in my own twisted mind, but it's my game so I make up the rules. Answer in the comments. Winner gets crowned King or Queen of the 80s and pile of junk cards from their favorite team.


A - 2003 Doruss Studio #113 Sammy Sosa
single



B - 1988 Pacific Eight Men Out #34 "Buck Weaver"
single

C - 2008 Allen Ginter #119 Billy Mitchell
double

D - 2008 Allen Ginter #144 Grand Canyon
single


E - 2005 UD ESPN #90 Vernon Wells
triple


F - 2008 Goudey #276 Bruce Jenner - Sports Royalty
Home Run!!!


G - 2008 Goudey #HPC-10 Mr Hockey - Hit Parade of Champions
triple



H - 1997 Donurss #203 Frank Banham
Home Run!!!



I - 2008 Topps #297 Tony Romo Pro Bowl QB and
2006 Fleer #33 Kevin Jones
Home Run!!!



J - 2007 Topps #DS28 George Bush - Distinguished Service
Home Run!!!

There you go have fun and good luck.

Since this is a weekend I will give till 6pm (eastern) on Monday 8/10 for folks to get their guesses in.

If there is a tie, the first entry will win.

The comments are open, so one can wait and vulture answers or try and get an entry in quick in an effort to be the first to get all 10 movies.

Phungo Cards - Joe Blanton

2009 Phungo #56 Joe Blanton

The Phils and Marlins have a 3 game set this wkend in which I see the Phils taking 2 of 3 games. Often the final game of a 3 game series is referred to as the rubber game - or deciding game of the series. This weekend I see tonights game 1 as the rubber match. Cole Hamels faces Sean West on Saturday, I give the Phils the edge in that one and despite his mastery of the Fish, I don't think Jamie Moyer will have enough to beat the underrated Josh Johnson in the finale. If those games split that means game 1 is the difference maker.

Game 1 has an interesting pitching matchup also. Rickey Nolasco v Joe Blanton. Both have subpar numbers for 09 but both have pitched well recently. Nolasco is a former high level prospect and a key member of the Marlins talented young rotation. Blanton who I panned a year ago has become a rock in the Phils rotation and went pitch for pitch against Tim Lincecum for most of the game last Saturday Night.

Joe Blanton has emerged as a bit of a folk hero in town. It's not just because he was a member of the World Champions - there are several factors. He was the stepchild in the 08 CC Sabathia - Rich Harden trade deadline sweepstakes. There is the John Kruk factor - He is a big guy. And there is the homer he hit during the World Series.

Blanton has been 13-5 (including Post Season) since coming over to the Phils. Harden has won 12 games for the Cubs, CC won 11 for the Brew Crew before he went to New York via Free Agency. As a sidenote has anybody noticed that CC has won 22 games since last years trade deadline.

imdb's Got the Wrong Breakfast Club

Click to Enlarge

It's been a few years since I have seen the film but IMDB's got a couple of the stars switched, - maybe I got it mixed up but Nelson was Bender, right?

As with anyone my age, I saw quite a few John Hughes films when I was a kid and they made for countless hours of enjoyment.

Thanks for the good times and the memories.

Hall of Fame Thursday - Carl Yastrzemski

1972 Topps #38 Carl Yastrzemski In Action

20 years ago today the Boston Red Sox retired Carl Yastrzemski's #8.

Carl Yastrzemski played 23 seasons for the Boston Red Sox. His 3308 games played is 2nd on the all-time list behind only Pete Rose. Yaz played more games with one team than anyone in the history of the game. During those 3000+ games he racked up 3419 hits (6th all time), 452 Homers (33rd), 1816 runs (16th), 1844 RBIs 12th, 5539 total bases (8th).

In 1967 Yaz was the last player to win the triple crown. He batted .326 with 44 homers and 121 RBIs (OPS+ of 193). This year Albert Pujols is positioned to make a run at the rare accomplishment. After Wednesday's games Pujols led the league in Homers(36) and RBIs(97) and was 5th in BA at .324. He is behind Hanley Ramirez who is batting .340 and a few others.

In the age of Sabermatic stats is the Triple Crown important? or is it a novelty like hitting for the cycle? With all the new stats avaiable to us clearly Batting Average and RBIs are not held as highly as they were 40 years ago. At a bare minimum I think Batting Average should be replaced by On-Base Percentage. RBIs is always panned by Sabermaticians, but it is a stat I am fond of, to me very few player stats are so easily translated as contributions to the team.

If Pujols wins the triple crown, will Topps create a whole line of cards to commemorate the event, or will they just do a single seasons highlight card? I would love to see a subset featuring Pujols and pair it with another subset of the past triple crown winners.

For the Collector

There is an official Carl Yastrzemski Web Page. It features autographed items as low as $100 but most items are much higher.

Carl Yastrzemski's rookie card is the 1960 Topps #148 which has gone for $44.22 recently. Graded versions have sold for $50.95. Roughly a dozen Yaz rookie cards sold for $56 to $75 over the last few weeks. Mint Condition cards sold for $3000-$5000.

As far as Autograph cards, A Fading 07 Sweet Spot Classic #d to 35 went for $20. There were a handful of other autos out there, (mostly stickers) ranging from $31 to $100.

proposed USPS office Closings

I am not sure if this will affect any of the card traders out there, but this is a link to the offices that our proposed for shutdown.

Phungo Cards - The Phuture is Now

Tomorrow Reigning AL Cy Young award winner Cliff Lee is scheduled to make his first career appearance at Citizen's Bank Ballpark as a Philadelphia Phillie.

A year ago three Players represented the Phillies at the MLB Futures game: Lou Marson, Carlos Carrasco and Jason Donald.

2009 Phungo #9 Jason Donald
2009 Phungo #32 Carlos Carrasco

Last week all three of those players along with pitching prospect Jason Knapp were traded to the Cleveland Indians for Cliff Lee.

The Phils are currently somewhat prospect rich and they could afford the trade player wise. I am happy to have Cliff Lee on board, but I will also miss the homegrown prospects that I have been hearing about and following these last few years. The three prospects were likely not going to factor significantly into the Phils plans this year or next. Things happen quickly in sports and baseball, soon the Phils young core of talent will be aging. There best opportunity to win is now and I am glad to see the organization is going after the type of talent that can help the players that are there succeed.

Both the Phungo Cards feature photos taken at the 07 futures game and the cards are dated as such. It was a great day and I am surprised I didn't take more photos, but I hadn't really gotten the phungo card idea in my head yet at the time. Neither card number is significant, I think other than maybe I had high hopes for Carrasco and gave him Steve Carlton's number - that would have been extremely presumptious.

Sloppy Topps - "Flash" Gordon

2006 Topps #163 Tom Gordon

Nice Job on this one. Topps went to all the trouble of photoshopping/painting a new uniform onto Tom Gordon, they also camouflaged Yankee stadium in red, but then they dropped the ball on the simplest yet most important item.

The card still Identifies Flash Gordon as a Yankee!!

They even managed to get the Phillies logo correct on the back of the card and installed a whole new cartoon that mentions his stature as the Phils new Closer.

2006 Topps #163 Tom Gordon (b-side)

I am not sure if Tom Gordon is identified as Flash on very many cards and suspect that the only reason they used his nickname rather than Tom is that he was expected to be a Yankee. The 05 Topps U&H All-Star card which does correctly identify Gordon as a Phillie has his name listed as Tom.

2006 Topps #UH266 Tom Gordon

And check out the shoes on both cards - does anybody else think that the logo of a certain shoe company looks significantly bigger in the altered photo.

This is definitely not a good enough card for a player worthy of being referenced in the title of a Stephen King novella.

For The Collector

A Tom Gordon Sticker Auto on Ebay has recently gone for $3.99

Gordon's rookie cards are from 1989 Topps #38T, UD #736, Fleer #284 and Donruss #45. The Donruss #45 "Rated Rookie" card can routinely be found in dime boxes.