Pull of the Month - September 2010

2009 Goodwin Champions Mini #112 Robin Roberts

This is from a Blaster Break featured just a week ago. I have been on a mini-kick this summer and anytime I get one of a Phils HoF player that goes straight to the head of the class. There were a lot of nice cards in that break - basically a mini a pack. I suppose most other folks would consider the Black Yogi Mini or the Chipper Relic the Hit of the blaster, but for me it was Mr Roberts.


Junk of the Month

2010 Topps T-206 #257 Ryan Howard

There is nothing wrong with this Ryan Howard card. In fact as a Phils fan I am always happy to pull a Howard card from any pack.

But I do have an issue with the card:



2010 Topps T-206 #257 Ryan Howard (b-side)

Can you tell what it is? Apparently Topps is to righteous to mention a certain non-Hall of Fame Player. I suppose the unnamed player is contracted to another company and Topps isn't even aloud to name him in their copy. If so for goodness sake come up with another fun fact, maybe something to do with Home Runs or being an MVP having won a World Series. I don't think it's that tough.

Past Pull and Junk of the Month entries

2010 August
2010 July
2010 June
2010 May
2010 April
2010 March

2010 February

2010 January

Card Show Report 2010 09 25 - Philly Show @ Valley Forge Convention Center

This edition of the Philly Show for me was a pretty good one. I had a totally free day, I was only marginally exhausted - I think for the rest of my life I will always be at least a little bit tired. I had a couple of want lists and actually knocked some things off them.

One of the highlights was the 1951 Topps Seminick in the previous post here are some others.


1959 Topps
1959 Topps #147 Cubs Clubbers

I was able to knock out four cards from my 1959 Topps Collection. I am down to my last 42 cards, and any time you can find four in one day at this stage of the game, you have accomplished something. This card which features Hall of Famer Ernie Banks went for the rather nice price of $2


Vintage Phils

1975 Topps Mini #267 Dick Ruthven
1959 Topps #352 Robin Roberts

I already had the Robin Roberts card, but I could not let him set in the $2 bin. I seem to pick up at least one or two 1975 minis at each Philly show. This time it was Dick Ruthven. Typically I only go 25 cents on these, but for Ruthven I went to 50 cents.


1952 Topps and a Vintage HOF

1952 Topps #75 Wes Westrum
1956 Topps #195 George Kell
1942 Topps #117 Sherman Lollar

If you want to start building a vintage collection on the cheap, you may want to look into some Wes Westrum cards. I seem to keep coming across him in budget bins. George Kell is a Hall of Famer that you may not know about - he was a 10 time all-star who played 3b with five different clubs including the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia A's.

All three of these cards went for $2. There is some creasing and the Lollar card has some surface issues, but the price was right. Good Rules of thumb 1950s HOF player for $2 - thats a buy. 1952 Topps fro $2 also a Buy.


Retros


These Retro cards all came out of a Dime box. Pretty much anytime I see a Heritage insert in a Dime box, it goes in the Phungo Collection. Same thing goes for the 2006 Allen & Ginter's. The Tim Duncan is from the 2007+ Topps Hoop set that I have bee slowly building. 2007 BowHer Tex is also a set builder - almost over the 50/50 mark on that set. I just think the Beckham card looks cool. hmm how bout that good day for Chisox Cards I guess.

Phungo Challenge - Card Show Edition Results

And the Winner is:

1951 Topps Red Back #45 Andy Seminick

Chris of Vintage Sportscards guessed 1953 Topps and was the closest. Dan picked 1940 Play Ball, and I definitely looked at some of those - but they were all a little out of my price range. Night Owl went with 1956 Topps - I did pick up a bunch of those including a Hall of Famer.

This is my first Phillies 1951 Topps Card. Seminick is the only Phillies player in the Red back portion of the 1951 Set, which means that Team Phungo has completed the Red half of the 1951 Set!! WhooHoo.

This also means that I finally have picked up a Phils card from every Topps Issue. I had a couple of Braves from the 1951 Set, but had not picked up a Phils card till now.

This card was likely also my bargain of the day, as it went for 75 cents and then on top of that the dealer gave me a volume discount as I picked out several 53 and 54 Topps cards off the same table.

Later this week I will post some other highlights from the show. Until then check out the fine show review over at The Phillies Room.


Previous Phungo Challenge Winners

PatSeacher from In Search of Pat the Bat
Rod from Padrographs
NicoLax from NR-MT
BA Benny from BABenny Baseball Card Buffet
zMan40 from Autograph Cards
Community Gum from Community Gum
Chris S From Vintage Sportscards

George Blanda 1927-2010

CNNSI.com has reported that Hall of Fame QB/Kicker George Blanda has passed away at the age of 83.

Here is a link to the Phungo STS profile on Blanda from November of 2009.

Phungo Challenge - Card Show Edition

I will be off to the Philly Sports Cards Show shortly where I will be spending this beautiful Saturday.

Your challenge is to guess the earliest card Team Phungo will come home with. If you have been following along here for a while you should have a feel for what I collect and be able to make an educated guess. First one in with the correct answer wins the challenge - duplicate answers will be tossed to the bit bucket.

guessing ends when I get a card posted up here later 2nite - or maybe tomorrow depending how burnt out I am.

Previous Phungo Challenge Winners

PatSeacher from In Search of Pat the Bat

Rod from Padrographs
NicoLax from NR-MT
BA Benny from BABenny Baseball Card Buffet
zMan40 from Autograph Cards
Community Gum from Community Gum

2009 UD Goodwin Champions Bargain Blaster

On a recent trip to Target I found a bargain blaster of 2009 UD Goodwin Champions. The blaster was half price ($10.59 w/ tax). I hadn't opened many if any packs of Goodwin last year so I figured I'd give it a shot.

This blaster contains 12 packs of 4 cards each. The Base Set consists 150 cards followed by 40 short prints and then 20 super short prints - and then another set of mini-exclusive cards - I don't know you figure that one out. There are a number of parallels including a set of minis that fall about 1/pack.

The Goodwin set was probably developed to compete w/ Topps Allen & Ginter - and it shows. Lets take a look -

Phillies



Howard - Roberts - Lefty - Nice Selection there - 2 World Champions. 2 Hall of Famers. Good Lookin Cards. All of the Current Phils cards have the World Series Banner which is a nice touch. Some of the cards have a "special" team logo - note the Liberty Bell on the Robin Roberts mini.


HOFs & Minis
The Minis are Tex, CC, Junior, Phil Niekro, and Stinkin Jonathan Toews of the stupid Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks.

The HOFs Gwynn, Ripken, Ozzie, Teddy Ballgame, and Paul Molitor.

The Niekro photo is a familiar shot that we have seen in UDs other retro product, Goudey - That image was already borrowed from Fleer I think. UD was already mailing it in a year ago.

Griffey is card #1, which is only fitting as he returned to Seattle - the team for which Griffey was on the original UD #1 card back in 1989. As it turned out Goodwin Champions was one of UDs last Baseball products.
One More Mini


A Nice Black Bordered Mini of Yogi Berra. I am assuming that the special back minis have the black borders. This is a pretty sharp looking card of an Iconic player.


Plebians
MJ, Bobby Orr, Peggy Fleming, Dave Scott

Like Allen & Ginter GWChamps contains other Notables who were not blessed with the abilities to play the great game of baseball.

Dave Scott is the original Triathlete or something like that - this card is a Short Print, the picture is different then all the rest of the cards. The cards all have a criss-cross pattern to their Backgrounds. For whatever reason the Scott card is all the painting - or photoshop of the painting anyway. Peggy Fleming looks really evil in this picture.

Base Cards

I decided to show off the base cards by constructing an All-Star team from the blaster.

Battery

McCann, Liriano, Lincecum, Thome

Two of these guys are already in the playoffs, and the other two could also get in. Notice that the McCann card is one of the ones carrying a special logo. I stuck Thome in with the Pitchers and Catchers because it was where I had space to put a DH.

Infield

Pedroia, Jeter, Bill Hall, Morneau

Ok Bill Hall is not an All-Star, but he is a short print so he got the nod as the Blaster 3rd baseman. Both Morneau and Pedroia have won MVP awards, Jeter has not.


Outfield


Manny, Josh Hamilton, Johnny Damon, Ichiro

The Manny Card is pretty cool looking - You can see the storm clouds coming in on the edge of ending his Sunny LA Days. The Ichiro card is also a winner. I am pretty sure that the Hamilton card is straight out of Goudey.

Etc
Card back of Steve Carlton - one issue with GWChamps is the font on the back. It is plain goofy looking. the lower case T's are particularly odd. I do like that UD did go to the trouble of creating a back for these cards. Every other UD product has identical backs - this reduces the personality of a set. The Phils logo here is from the 70s era Phils teams for which Carlton played.

I paired the B-Side here with a 20th anniversary card - if you pick up an UD blaster from 2009 you are bound to find a few of these. This card the Red Wings winning the 2007-08 Stanley Cup. The photo'd player is Henrik Zetterberg I think.

Mojo


Chipper Relic- mojo. Not sure what the M stands for my guess is Memorabilia or Mojo.

Overall I enjoyed the blaster. The half price is key. 4 card packs always seem weak to me. but opening 12 of them with a good mix of oddballs and minis added to the fun. Unfortunately the box was marred by the fact that maybe half of the cards had a dinged upper left corner. Regardless it was still fun to open.

I picked up 36 cards from the 150 card base set (24%). The 7 minis were all unique vs the base cards giving me 43 of 150 (27% of a whacky FrankenSet). So I could consider building a set relatively cheaply.

The 5 cards of 48 from the 12 packs of 4 are - 1&2) the 2 short prints, 3) the Chipper Relic, 4) the 20th aniv card, and 5) 1 card forfeited from the Chipper pack.

I doubt I will go to the trouble of building the set. I will more likely keep about half for various collecting projects - Phils collection, Hall of Famers, Player Collections (Thome n Damon), minis, My WBC collection (Ichiro), and My Plebes Collection.

Philadelphia Sports Card and Memorabilia Show is this Weekend!!!

1973 Topps #166 Terry Harmon

The Philly Show is this weekend September 24-26. The Admission at the most recent show was $8 I think. The local papers usually contain a $1 off admission coupon in the Fri-Sat-Sun editions.

It's not quite the National, but the Philly Show is good size. I imagine most collectors will find something they enjoy. I would estimate there are around a hundred dealers. Lots of vintage, Lots of autos, inserts , Dime Boxes, Junk autos. There are always a couple of dealers selling new hobby boxes and some older hobby boxes - but selection varies.

This weekends show has several autograph signers spread over Saturday and Sunday. Saturday is 93 Phillies Day, while Sunday is Hall of Famer Day.

Among the signers on Saturday are Curt Schilling $79, Darren Daulton $20, Wes Chamberlain $15, and Tommy Greene $12.

Sunday has a bunch of Big Names: Dr J, Reggie, and Andre Dawson @ $149, $89, $59 respectively.

The complimentary autos are Terry Harmon on Saturday and Ricky Bottalico on Sunday.

For reports on some of the past Philly Shows click the dates below

2010 03 13
2009 12 05
2009 12 05 (special 1959 Topps Edition)
2009 09 27

In past years I have spent a great deal of time at Table 1009 on the map - great dime and 3-fer-a-buck boxes. I will likely be sporting my WBC T-Shirt. If you see me definitely stop by and say Hi.

Phungo Game Snapshot - 2010 09 20 Atlanta Braves @ Philadelphia Phillies

Cole Hamels v Jason Heyward (click to enlarge)

Great night at the ballpark, Phils Win - Cole Hamels turns in another fine effort, Lidge closes the game out. Phils defense turned in a couple of key DPs. Phils offense only came up with 5 hits, but the 6 walks helped and they were able to score 2 runs on ground outs.

Magic Number is now 8.

If I get some time later in the week, I will file a more complete game report.

2010 Topps T206 Case - Group Break Results - Twins

I couldn't get the Phillies in the T206 Case break over at A Cardboard Problem, so I took the Twins - They always have good young talent and plus guys Like Morneau Mauer and Liriano.

This is may be the first break I participated in this year and the first one I have ever watched live through the magic of UStream. Unfortunately one of the aspects of the break we were looking forward to was cashing in on a Strasburgmania - of course as luck would have it Strasburg would have Tommy John Surgery basically the day of the case break.

Still it was fun to watch the break as Marie performed the marathon of opening 140+ packs.

The Draw of the Twins cards included 2 Relic Cards of Kevin Slowey and a Cycle Mini of Jason Kubel

Click to enlarge
2010 Topps T206
#27 Jason Kubel (Cycle back #d 72/99)
#TR-KS Kevin Slowey Relic

I think they could have come up with a nicer way to stamp the Cycle cards. The numbers run right over the bottom of the first C. It is as if serial numbering the cards was an afterthought.

There were actually 2 Slowey Relics in the break. The one that has the b-side displayed here also has a stripe on it, but it is a bit crooked.


#228 Francisco Liriano
#349 Joe Mauer/Checklist #214-#257
#204 Justin Morneau (gold)

I have no idea what building Morneau is supposed to be looks like an older dorm at southern school. The Mauer card is a checklist, I also picked up a Mauer Base card in the break.

Minis
#127 Nick Blackburn (mini-Piedmont back)
#204 Justin Morneau (mini-Polar Bear back)

I am on a bit of a mini kick right now and enjoyed these. I am particularly fond of Polar Bear minis and will likely turn collecting those into some sort of obsession at some point.

There were a bunch of non-Twins base cards that I got including one Phils card.

#285 Jayson Werth

Bit of a fan favorite - especially among the ladies - this is likely one of the last cards that will be issues of Werth in a Phils uniform. Jayson will be a free agent after the season and is likely to head elsewhere for big bucks.


Thanks again to Marie over at A Cardboard Problem for running the break.

MLB 2011 Schedule has been announced.

As rumored the season will start prior to the April 1 weekend. It appears the Cincinnati Reds have the years first game on Thursday March 31 at home versus the Brewers.

The Phillies Open at Home on Friday April 1st versus the Houston Astros (Phillies Central). The Phils face the AL West in inter-league play Hosting Texas in May and Oakland in June. They will also Host Boston - their AL rivalry team - The visit Seattle and Toronto. I did not see the Angels on the Phils schedule.

The Phils are only home for Labor Day among the 3 summer holidays, when they host the Atlanta Braves.

The season ends about 4 days earlier on September 28th. The Phils close on the road with division series at the Mets and at Atlanta.

Phils Story

You can find the 2011 schedule via the same schedules on MLB.com where the 2010 games are located. Just change the drop down to 2011.

Card Show Report 2010 09 11 - Concorde Mall, Wilmington DE

Even before I got to looking around at cards I met Greg from In Search of Pat the Bat. He was good enough to give me this fine 57 year old Al Glossop Photo Card.

1943 Philadelphia Phillies Photo Pack "Al Glossop"

Al Glossop was a journeyman infielder spent 1 season of his 5 year career with the Phils. There were not many baseball cards issued during the 1940s, so I always enjoy adding something from that era to the Phungo Collection.

According to the Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards there are 40 known Photos from the 1943 Photo pack. Other players from the set Include Chuck Klein and Lloyd Waner.

I also heard a rumor that In Search of Pat the Bat may be back up and running in the near future.


1954 Topps #174 Tom Qualters

One of my favorite dime box dealers was featuring vintage for the first time. Most of the stuff I see at shows is going for a lot more than what I can find in on-line sales and I end up just window shopping those tables. The rest of the 54s were priced at around $5 I think, but this one was a little off in condition and marked as a buck. That's Phungo Quality.

Phillies Dime Box
The Phils dimers included a Mike Schmidt Coca-Cola variation. I didn't realize that some of the Opening day cards had different photos on them until I cam across this Raul Ibanez card. The B-side is the OPC version of the 1978 Bake McBride card.

Phillies Super Vets
This is an interesting set which I am slowly collecting. Brian from 30-Year old Cardboard chronicled his experience building this set earlier this year.

WBC Cards
I have been putting whatever WBC cards I find into a binder, not sure what I am going to do with them. I am one of the few collectors that has any interest in the event so the cards are usually easy to find and in low-demand. The Gavin Floyd card isn't really a WBC card, but I have grouped any card featuring the Players country in my WBC binder.

Dime Box
I really like the Franchise History cards and expect to collect all of them eventually - I already had the base version of the Padres card, but couldn't resist the Gold version for a dime.

The Brent Dlugach card is from the 2010 National Chicle Rookie Renditions subset. This set consists of 20 rookies on (mostly) Classic Topps designs that are painted.

Right now I pick up almost any Mini I see in a dime box. The Dempster card is an A&G back.

Happy Anniversary NFL Champion 1960 Philadelphia Eagles

The 1960 NFL Champion Philadelphia Eagles are being honored prior to the teams 2010 Season opener today.

On the day after Christmas in 1960 the Eagles Defeated the Green Bay Packers 17-13. I believe it is the only playoff loss of Vince Lombardi's coaching career.

Today the 2010 edition of the Eagles are hosting the Packers once again. The Eagles will be wearing throwback uniforms to mark the occasion. I am certainly hoping they look good and play well - partially because I enjoy following the Eagles, and also as a Vikings fan I have a vested interest in rooting against the Packers.

2008 UD Masterpieces #14 Chuck Bednarik

I really loved a many of the historical shots from all four (2 baseball, 08 NFL, 08 NHL) of the Masterpieces releases. It is a shame that the product is no longer being made.

Chuck Bednarik was one of three Hall of Famers (Tommy McDonald, Norm Van Brocklin) from the 1960 Eagles team. For more info on Bednarik and this great card check my Philadelphia HOF posting from January of 2009.

Card Show Report 2010 08 27 - Exton Mall, Exton PA

First off before I get to the last card show I was at, I would like to mention that there is a Card Show at the Concorde Mall in Wilmington Delaware this weekend. Team Phungo will be there on Saturday probably after 2pm. I will be wearing my World Baseball Classic Shirt - thats my card show shirt - if you spot me say hello - I will likely be hunched over a dime box in a daze.

Card Show Report 2010 08 27
Now to recap the last show I was at only two weeks ago. I am really mailing this one in, but it will give you an idea of some of the stuff that is moving for cheap right now.

There were only 8-10 tables at the Exton show a few weeks back, but there were at least 4 cheap-o boxes just for me.

Phillies

The Rollins Card was $1 - this is the Green Bordered version of Rollins 09 UD Heads up card. The Alexander was a Quarter. The Rest are dimes. Those are fairly old-school minis from the 1999 and 2000 Pacific Private Stock sets. Those cards are just slim enough to fit into a mini-sheet

Dime Serials Yum

picked up about 30 topps gold cards from various years in a dime box. The Uggla is of the #/29 variety - I don't care if it is M&M, for a dime it goes in the Phungo Collection.

25/Dollar
The Hunt card had some paper loss on the back. Reggie is soft all around - but I love any card with a box score on the b-side. The Torii Hunter cards is sharp looking and will find it's way into my type collection. I have no idea who Dusty Brown is, but I love Knothole cards.

Are you Ready for Some Football??

I had already picked up more then enough 2010 Topps football, so I found a cheap pack of 08 UD Football to bust for the Opening game between the Saints and Vikings. Hopefully the outcome will be a little different this time around.

2008 UD Football
12 Cards per Pack
$1.68 (incl PA Sales Tax)


#118 Drew Brees
#70 Brett Favre

Got both QBs from tonight's game although Annoying Brett Favre is in the wrong uni.

#253 John David Booty
#211 Caleb Campbell
#SQ4 Starquest Ben Roethlisberger
#14 Steve McNair

Booty was my only Viking. I didn't get any Eagles. Did get the McNair card which brings a pang of sadness to me. Caleb Campbell is still with the Lions and made their practice squad. Ben R is of course suspended.

Go Vikings!

Why is Phungo posting a Ferris Fain Card?

1954 Bowman #214 Ferris Fain

Jump over to A Pack to Be Named Later to find out.

Phungo Game Report - 2010 09 05 Tampa Bay Rays @ Baltimore Orioles - Happy Anniversary Cal Ripken!

For the second day in a row Team Phungo got to go to the ballpark and see a team hit four home runs and lose. Yes on a beautiful day at Camden Yards, the Tampa Bay Rays provided lots of pop, but that was not enough to contain the persistent line up that led the Orioles to an 8-7 victory.

The pitching match-up featured a pair of prospects that each organization is hoping become part of their rotations of the future as the Orioles 22 year old Chris Tillman squared off against Wade Davis (age 24). Neither pitcher dominated, although Tillman pitched well only giving up 1 run through 5 before giving up a 2 run shot to Evan Longoria in the 6th.

The 6th inning was pivotal as the Rays took a 5-4 lead on another 2 run homer - this time by BJ Upton. The Orioles hitters then showed their resilience by battling back to score four runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. The damage was done by three consecutive singles with men in scoring position and a sacrifice fly. The O's Bullpen will give up 2 more runs but hold on for the win.

Notes

Prior to the game the Orioles honored the 15th anniversary of Cal Ripken Jr passing Lou Gehrig in number of consecutive games played. Cal returned to the yard to throw out the first pitch - photo above. Cal is not sporting faux-hawk - that is the white hat of a fan in the stands.

BJ Upton got to test his arm several times yesterday as he attempted to throw runners out at the plate three different times. Unfortunately for him, none of the chances were successful. The day had a couple of just missed plays on D including Orioles CF Corey Patterson just missing in his attempt to pull back Longoria's homer in the 5th.


Fan Favorite Rocco Baldelli had a triumphant return to the Rays as he tagged O's Reliever Mike Gonzalez for a 2 run homer. It was Baldelli's first game as a Ray since the 2008 World Series - Team Phungo was in the house for Rocco's last previous AB for Tampa when he also homered.

I also wanted to mention that we got to see a fan make arguably the best catch I have ever seen at a game. The young man was probably in his late teens, and he had to jump slightly reach over his head and backwards to make a two-handed grab of a line drive down the RF line. Unfortunately I haven't seen any highlights of the catch. Congrats to the young man regardless.


Snapshots


Chris Tillman

Tillman was the 49th overall selection in the 2006 draft. His Start on Saturday was the 19th of his MLB career.

Wade Davis v Brian Roberts (click to enlarge)
Another one of my super-wide pitcher v batter shots. I think this is Roberts first AB in the game. The crowd filled in from base to base in the lower level as the O's drew 28K+ for the game.

Roberts and Markakis

Check it out two base runners on one base. This is actually during a pitching change - The O's 3rd base coach is Gary Allenson.

Looking Back

Yesterday was the most recent Game Report featuring the Brewers and Phillies.

The Last O's Game Report was a few backs when they hosted the Rangers and lit up former Phil Cliff Lee.

This is the first Phungo Game Report on the Rays, although I do have one of my favorite postings from the last time I saw them play.

Links
Phungo Cal Ripken HoF Index

Phungo Game Report - 2010 09 05 Milwaukee Brewers @ Philadelphia Phillies

It was Home Run Derby night at Citizen's Bank Park - The Brewers and Phils combined for 6 dingers. Oddly the games deciding play came on a sacrifice fly and botched throw.

The Phils took the see-saw game 5-4. The odd Sac Fly started on a 1 out fly ball to Ryan Braun by Placido Polanco. The Phils had Carlos Ruiz at third who may have screened rookie catcher Jonathan Lucroy on the throw which bounced away. On the errant throw Phils backup infielder Wilson Valdez came all the way around from 2nd to score the winning run. It was the most exciting play in a night that was filled with Homers and nice defensive efforts.

Prince Fielder, Alcides Escobar, and Core Hart (2) supplied the fireworks for the Brew-Crew. The Good Guys got Homers from Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth. Despite giving up four homers for first time in his career Roy Halladay got the W - makes up for a couple of tough losses he has taken earlier this season. The Phils bullpen pitched 2 innings of spotless relief, with Ryan Madson and J C Romero setting it up for Brad Lidge's 20th save. Kameron Loe took the loss for the Brewers. Local product Dave Bush got the start for the Brewers and pitched well and did not factor in the decision. Carlos Ruiz was 3-3 on the night - The Phils picked up a game on the Braves and are now 20 games over .500 for the first time in 2010.

Snapshots
A Robin
This statue of Robin Roberts guards the first base gate at Citizen's Bank Ballpark.


A Wolf
Former Phil and Phungo Phavorite

A Vegetarian
Prince coming in from BP. Might be Prince's first appearance in Phungo.


and A Jimmy
J-Roll has never been featured on a Phungo Card. He is always batting lead-off - I think I am not quite ready to take a picture when Jimmy is at the plate. Rollins was also spotted at the Red Bull Flugtag earlier on Saturday.

Other Observations
It was a really windy night - blowing left to right - I would have thought anything to Left would have gotten knocked down, but both Escobar's and Werth's Homers were drilled deep. The Bank may have held Fielder's sky-high homer on another night - same with Howard's.

The Brewer's were fairly well represented in the crowd. It is a holiday weekend and I am sure a few fans made the trip to Philadelphia for the series. Most common shirt I spied last night was Ryan Braun, with Prince Fielder not getting as much love as I would of thought.

Every Phillies home game is a sell-out, but there are levels of sell-outs. some are mobbed and some feel like Sell-outs in name only. Surprisingly last night was closer to the Mobbed variety. Lots of college students have returned to town and there was a Penn State promotion which added to the festive evening.

I only caught the tail end of the Brewer BP and they had the reserves swinging that bats. Rookie Lorenzo Cain looked pretty sharp lacing several hard hit liners and popping a long homer to left. Mat Gamel also hit the ball hard several times. Craig Counsell had the most consistent BP knocking several balls sharply up the middle.

Good Guy Awards
Mat Gamel and Willie Randolph were both spotted signing autographs for fans.

Looking Back
For a previous Game Report check here for the Rangers and Orioles (2010/08/21)
For the last Phillies Game Report click here for a game featuring the San Francisco Giants (2010/08/17).

Looking Ahead
The Labor Day Baseball Bonanza continues with the tricky Night Game followed by a Day game as team Phungo travels to Baltimore to see the Orioles host the Rays.

2010 Phungo Cards - Mike Moustakas

2010 Phungo #17 Mike Moustakas

You may not know who Mike Moustakas is right now, but I think you may a year from now.

Moustakas is a Third Base prospect in the Royals system. Earlier this week he had an impressive game for Kansas City's Omaha Franchise. He connected for four hits that night including 3 homers and an incredible 11 RBIs. That's more runs then the Phils have scored in a couple series this year. Click here for the MiLB story on the game.

The picture from the Phungo card above was taken at a Wilmington Blue Rocks game last year. This is the Phungo Game Report from that day that also featured Pirates prospect Pedro Alvarez.