Phungo 5 Returns with Capewood's Collections

I am very happy to debut the 2010 season of Phungo 5 with our favorite Phillies/Astros fan Cliff from Capewood Collections. The Phils are currently in the middle of an early season three game set with the struggling Astros.

These must be interesting times for Cliff as a baseball fans - the Astros are starting to look like Phillies West with tons of former Phightins' on the club. We Cover a lot of ground here - Books Music and of course Baseball Cards.


1) Do you have any Baseball Books on your upcoming "to read" list?

I usually read at least one baseball book a summer but I haven't really started looking for anything yet this year. However I am planning to read "Mint Condition: How Baseball Cards Became an American Obsession" by Dave Jamieson. I've seen some good reviews on it on other blogs. I wouldn't say that I was obsessed with baseball cards although my wife and children might disagree.

2008 Phungo #39 Brett Myers v Paul LoDuca

2) What former Phil are you most anxious to see perform for the Astros? And what is with Pedro Feliz wearing #77?

I'd like to see Brett Myers do well. I always like him as a Phillie even though he seems to be an erratic talent. And I'd like to see Michael Bourn have a really breakout season. I have no clue as to why Feliz is sporting #77. He got the first hit of the season for the Astros this year.

3) You are currently doing a retrospective on the different 1998 card sets. Do any stand out as a fun set/subset/inser to collect on a budget?

There were a lot of cards issued in 1998. As near as I can tell almost any of them are available pretty cheaply on eBay. At least base cards and most inserts. A lot of sets were including numbered inserts and parallels which are pretty pricey today if you can even find them. I was real partial to Upper Deck Collector's Choice. They utilized a number of different styles in the sets, and had some interesting subsets and inserts.

4) Can you get a Texas Tommy in Texas?

I was pretty sure that a Texas Tommy is a hot dog but I had to look it up on-line to be sure. I've never heard of a hot dog referred to as a Texas Tommy down here so I don't suppose you can get one, at least not in Houston. Maybe up in Dallas where they do things a bit differently. According to Wikipedia, a Texas Tommy is also some sort of dance that originated in San Francisco around 1910.

5) Why "Everybody Knows this is Nowhere"?

I imagine you're referring to the Neil Young album cover in my blog banner. I call my blog Capewood's Collections because I try to feature other things that I'm interested in other than just baseball cards. Music is one of those things. Over the years I've acquired a fair amount of music (enough to power my Song of the Week feature pretty much forever). Neil Young has always been one of my favorite artists and probably the musical artist I've consistently followed the longest. I was a fan of Buffalo Springfield in the late 1960s (where he got his start), a fan of his solo career and a fan of his collaborations with Crosby, Stills & Nash. Everybody Knows This is Nowhere was his second solo album and the first of his I bought. I own just about everything he has released.

Phungo 5 Box Score

Thanks Cliff - Awesome way to start out Phungo 5 in 2010. I have very mixed emotions about Brett Myers - but will give the point here - despite all the on and off the field troubles he has had, I still root for Myers. Buffalo Springfield's "Retrospective" is among my first albums, and I still have it today. Bonus Points to Team Capewood for bringing back some great memories. And for my money "Down by the River" is as good as any song ever recorded - among my friends we refer to it as the "Shot her Dead" song.

Final Score: 6 out 5 with a Bonus added for the Buffalo Springfield reference!

Thanks Cliff, keep up the good work and Go Phils!

Phungo Profile - Brett Myers

2000 Topps Traded #25 Brett Myers

Brett Myers went on the DL last week with an "Inflamed Right Hip" which will require surgery. The timetable for the injury is 10 to 12 weeks. I am not sure, but I think that is the amount of time he will be out before he can begin resuming pitching workouts. This means that there is a fair chance that Myers is done for the year.

I have mixed emotions about Myers. He has pitched well in stretches, and has also had sequences of equally miserable outings. He has had his share of grumbles and he may have only grudgingly accepted his assignments from the Phillies - but whenever he finally did accept whatever role that may be, Myers often excelled. He has been an innings eater, a Quality Starter, and a Closer and done all of those things well at times. His 2008 post season accomplishments included beating C C Sabathia both as a Pitcher and as a Hitter in game 2 of the 2008 NLDS.

And then there is the off the field Brett Myers, who once was arrested for a public altercation with his wife outside of Fenway Park in Boston. He has always been emotionally charged, which works both for and against him as a pitcher. I am not sure that he is any better at keeping those emotions in check off the field.

Brett Myers is in a contract year, and his season may be over. This means that there is a chance he may have thrown his last pitch as a Phillie. That doesn't sound fair, but that is part of the game.

I hope that Myers can return to the Phils. His past experience both as a starter and a reliever certainly allows him more avenues to contribute should he be able to return this year. If Myers comes back and is unable to start but can give the Phils some quality relief appearances that is certainly a better option than to having to trade for a Right-Handed Setup guy down the stretch.

Phungo 5 with Tulo Trader - Phillies @ Rockies

2007 Bowman Heritage Rainbow Foil #248 Troy Tulowitzki

This weekend the Phillies play Colorado and for the 2nd installment of Phungo 5 we go out to the Rockies, actually I think we are traveling to the sunshine state as our Phungo 5 Guest is a transplant.

We are getting some help from the Tulo Trader for today's 5. Tulo Trader focuses on the young phenom shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, but also covers the rest of the fine Rockies team. Colorado has several other young players, however they are on the cusp of ushering in an era of change as Matt Holliday has been traded, Todd Helton is getting older and coming off a disappointing 2007. Thanks to Tulo Trader for all his interesting answers and comments.

1) Two years ago the Rockies swept the Phils in the playoffs then their 08 seasons went dramatically different directions. What must the Rockies do to get back on track?

That's the million dollar question and I can't help but look at pitching. The Rockies will have to have a little bit of luck on their side if they want to make another run like 2007 as Coors Field keeps the big pitchers out of town, not so much for the thin air, but for the vast outfield. As we've seen before, the marquee pitchers of the league will stay as far away from Coors Field because they weren't built for it. The Rockies will almost exclusively need to raise sinker-ball pitchers in the farm system and hope for their future big league success. Outside of that, the Rox will have to keep their starting eight healthy. In 2008, Troy Tulowitzki went down early and Todd Helton played only 83 games while playing 154 in 2007. Additionally, with the exit of Matt Holliday prior to the '09 season, the Rockies will have to rely on small-ball tactics to win some games in true National League fashion, though I could see players like Ian Stewart filling that void in the future.

Phungo Note: We are also hoping for big things from Stewart as he was the last batter added to the Phungo Fantasy Squad.

2) I believe that the Rockies are not your home team, how often do you get to see the Rockies.

From 2005-2008 Coors Field was my front yard. Now I'm two time zones away and it is extremely difficult to catch Rockies games. I usually make it back to Denver for at least a few games a year, but outside of that I'm relegated to watch the few nationally televised games on TV at home or run up to the sports bar to cure my fix. Fortunately, I didn't miss much last year.

3) I see that you are a Brett Myers Fan, He has a somewhat checkered history both on and off the field. How did you become a Brett Myers fan.

Ah, Brett Myers. The sole reason as to why I started collecting his cards was because of the infamous "Boom... outta here" interview in 2008. Many thanks to Jim Rome for keeping that going.

4) Is my Joe Koshansky autograph card I picked up for 2 bucks worthless?

I was a little upset to see JoKo go, but the Rockies are inundated with young infielders with big potential that have no place to go. I'm guessing the outlook on Koshansky was that when Todd Helton finally rides off into the sunset, the Rockies would move Garrett Atkins to first base opening up third base for touted prospect Ian Stewart. I have plenty of Koshansky cards as well and I'd like to think that they won't be worthless... of course, a card is only as valuable as its owner holds it.

5) Rocky Mountain Oysters, Yes or No ?

I'm originally from the Chesapeake Bay area... I'll take those oysters over the Rocky Mountain variety any day of the week.

We are awarding another 5 for 5. Good to get some positive feedback regarding Ian Stewart and Joe Koshansky.....I have never experienced the culinary pleasure of Rocky Mountain Oysters but I will defer to TT's opinion.

Thanks to the Tulowitki Trader for writing my column today. If you want to look back at the previous Phungo 5 with Cardboard Junkie Click Here.

C See Ya!!!

2007 Topps #372 Shane Victorino
2006 Topps #432 Brett Myers

Great game. Myers has trouble early gets himself out of a jam, and then in an absolutely key at-bat extends the 2nd inning by working a two out walk. This all leads to a Shane Vicotorino Grand Slam off of C.C. Sabathia.

Game 2

2002 Topps206 #411 Brett Myers

For good reason there has been a lot of talk about how well C.C. Sabathia has been pitching and how he is an old-school workhorse pitcher. Well Brett Myers may not be CC, and is wildly inconsistent, but he does have a lot of bulldog in him and can be pretty old-school himself. With that in mind I am posting this old-school retro-heritage style card in the hopes that the Baseball Gods will smile on Brett Myers today.

With some luck I will get to go to today's game. I have a friend pulling some strings for me and am hoping to get tickets. If it falls together I should have some pictures up tomorrow or over the weekend.

Milwaukee Brewers @ Philadelphia Phillies Citizen's Bank Ballpark, Philadelphia PA. October 2 2008 6:07 PM

Go Phils!!!

2008 08 21 Nationals @ Phillies Series Summary

Phils take 2 of 3 versus the lowly Nationals. This is the second series the Phils have won, but these are 6 games against Washington and San Diego, both of which are poor teams at best.

Plus - Brett Myers is allowed to complete a game and puts up a shutout. Phils get contributions from the bottom of the order to help score some runs. Pedro Feliz returns.

Minus - Rollins hits the ball hard but fails to break out, 1-12 in the series no walks - thats fine lead-off work. Phils waste another good outing by Jamie Moyer.

Meh - It appears that Jayson Werth may have taken over full time duty in right as he is now getting multiple starts versus right-handed pitching.

BlogBlogBlog - West Virginia Cards has come up with an interesting idea for card-forwarding and trading - look it up if your interested in trading cards.

BlahBlahBlah - Taking a look at Rollins numbers....In my opinion J-Roll 08 is the real model and the 2007 MVP Rollins is the anomaly. This year is a lot closer statistically (.261/.326/.421) to his career averages (.276/.331/.440) than last year (.296/.344/.531). Presently his BA OBP and SLG combine to be 39 points off of his career numbers - 2007 is the anomaly when he was 100 points his career numbers. one oddity to note, with all the talk about the Phils striking out to often, Rollins may be striking out to rarely. His BB/K ratio is by far the best of his career (39/42). Maybe 2008 is a growing year for Rollins where he tries to cut down his Ks at the expense of some power - Perhaps this will yield some dividends in the future.

Around the League - The Mets have gone off and swept the injury depleted Braves, So despite winning a series the Phils fall a game further behind New York in the East and are now 2.5 games out of the lead.

On Deck - Los Dodgers come to town for a 4 game set. The phils will get a look at Manny Ramirez for the 2nd time this season. Team Phungo is trying to get down to the ballpark for a game this weekend but not so sure how the ticket sales will go.

2008 07 03 - Phillies @ Braves

Phils return to Atlanta and sweep the Braves on the road for the second time this season.

Plus - Phils back on track? Utley and Howard appear to be hitting better, No Brett Myers to kick around for a little while. Could the Braves be in panic mode?

Minus - No Brett Myers to kick around for a little while

BlahBlahBlah - Something going on with Brett Favre?

Around the League - The Obvious Story is the Devil-Rs - watched them stick it to the Bosox in the 7th on Wednesday night. Hopefully the Tampa fans get on the bandwagon down there.

Off the Diamond - Happy Independence Day

On Deck - Those Hated Mets - The Phungo Crew will be covering Sunday game - Hopefully the Fireworks all belong to the home team this weekend. This is a great opportunity for the Phils to go out and make a statement - If the Phils can take this series I think it could go a long towards sending the Mets back into free-fall. Go Fightins

2008 06 01 Royals 5 @ Orioles 7

Orioles defeat Royals 7-5 behind a quality start by Rookie Rhadames Liz and a big four run 3rd inning.

Plus - First Trip to Camden Yards for 08, Night out w/ crime partner Stove.

Free T-Shirt George Sherill - Closer. Sherill is one of a bunch of players the O's received for Erik Bedard. So far the trade has worked out very well for the O's who have also gotten contributions from CF Adam Jones (the Baseball one, not the one formerly known as PacMan).

O's not drawing real well so we moved down to the rich people seats in about the 5th inning.

Minus - Parking up a dollar at my favorite garage

Shenanigans - Ran out of Free T-Shirts before I got mine.

Meh - $44 night - 15 ticket, 11 for two beers, 8 Parking, 10 food.

BlahBlahBlah - Brett Myers gets sent to AAA - hope the young ladies in the Lehigh Valley have been brushing up on their kickboxing classes.

Around the League - Good night for scoreboard watching, one because they have nice new scoreboards at Camden Yards and two, because the Phils Won and the Marlin lost. Phils lead is now 1.5 games.

Off the Diamond - As an homage to A-Rod/Madonna 'news" local sports radio station starts faux rumour regarding Charlie Manuel and Amy Winehouse - love it.

Useless Info - In Phungo Games Mark Grudzielanek has appeared for 5 different teams (Expos, Dodgers, Cubs, Cards, and now the Royals).

On Deck - The Next Phungo Game is scheduled for Sunday 7/6 as the Phillies host the New York Mets. Probables Odalis Perez v Kyle Kendrick.