Phungo 5 with Paul's Random Stuff

Today the Phils host the Mets in the rubber game of a 3 game set. To fill us in on the Mets and Mets cards, we are checking in with Paul's Random Stuff.

How do you feel about the Mets activities (or lack there of) at the trade deadline?

They made the right decision not to surrender prospects for short-term acquisitions. It may not have finished them off mathematically, but that 2-9 West Coast trip made it pretty clear that the 2010 Mets are not a playoff team. One or two players at the trade deadline really wouldn't have changed that. On the other hand, I'm a little disappointed that they didn't try to find out if they could have gotten a decent prospect for Pedro Feliciano.

Do you miss anything about the Mets playing at Shea Stadium?

CitiField is a wonderful new ballpark, but I do miss Shea. I loved the giant neon ballplayers on the outside of the stadium, and getting that first magical look at the field after walking through the maze of escalators and corridors to get to your seat. And since there were fewer distractions and more affordably-priced seats, it seemed to attract crowds that were more into the game.

What is the best 2 stadium Road Trip one can do for minor league stadiums in the mid-atlantic region?

I haven't actually visited both ballparks, but I'd suggest seeing the Lancaster Barnstormers and York Revolution. The Barnstormers have a beautiful ballpark, one of my favorites that I've visited. The distinguishing feature of the park is a merry-go-round out behind the left field seats. York is also supposed to have a nice field, complete with their take on Boston's Green Monster. If you get bored with baseball, you can check out Amish country and there's a neat-looking railroad museum in Strasburg that I'd like to check out sometime.

On your road trips you get a lot of cards signed, is there any particular set that is good for finding Atlantic League Players?

Any sets that have a high percentage of rookies seem to work well, if you wait a few years after they come out. The change in the rookie card rule after 2005 makes it a little tougher to find cards of Atlantic Leaguers now. Topps Total and the '52 Topps Rookies sets are my favorite choices.

2007 Topps Co-Signers #61 Paul Lo Duca

Favorite Baseball Player named "Paul"

I never really thought about this before... Paul LoDuca, I guess.

2008 Phungo #39 Brett Myers vs Paul Lo Duca (one of my favorite Phungo Cards)

Phungo 5 Box Score A strong 5 out of 5. Paul nailed the Shea Stadium question. These are precisely the same issues I have about the new stadium in Philadelphia. I do love the new ballpark, but I do miss some things about the Vet. No matter how few people were how few people were in the old building you were almost guaranteed to have someone in your section keeping score. Now you can go the whole season without witnessing a scorebook.

Paul Lo Duca was also a player on the Phungo watch list for a while - more as a Dodger than a Met. He was on several of my fantasy squads. I can't remember what it was, but I think his career ended somewhat sourly and that sort of hurt my opinion of him.

The York/Lancaster area is sort of in my old stomping grounds and I do intend to hit both of those ballparks someday - Team Phungo just has to make the time.

5 out of 5 for Paul's Random Stuff.

Looking Back
If you want to check out a previous Phungo 5, click here to check out our conversation with Project '62 click here.

For a Mets related P5 (including some interesting thoughts on the National) with Sports Locker Click here.

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!