Bob Casale 1952-2014: Founding member of Devo

Yesterday Gerald Casale of Devo announced through the bands website that his brother Bob had died of Heart Failure.

1993 Collect-A-Card American Bandstand #98 Devo

For a variety of reasons, I will always look upon Devo fondly. There music may have been a bit kitsch, but I think they went beyond novelty. If it wasn't for the video age, I suppose I may never have heard of Devo, but I won't hold that against them. I am glad they found there way onto the pop culture map and I am glad that I heard more from them than "Whip It" and the funny hats.

1993 Collect-A-Card American Bandstand #98 Devo (b-side)

This card is from the 1993 American Bandstand set which was compoased of cards of Dick Clark, Show features, People/couples from the show, and of course bands that were on the program. I picked up the 100 card set a while ago, and was amused that Devo was among the bands that had performed. As you can see on the B-side there is a nice capsule bio, mentioning several of their hits and also naming the five members of the band.

Phillies Connection
He wasn't a Phiillie anymore but last year Shane Victorino was part of an ESPN photo shoot that recreated the album cover from the Devo Album "Freedom of Choice"

MLB as Devo: Justin Upton, Evan Longoria, Brandon Phillips, Giancarlo Stanton, Shane Victorino(Swiped from ESPN)

2008 UD Goudey #143 Shane Victorino

During our playoff frenzy we have been featuring a lot of non-Phillies material. The Phils are no longer in the mix and I wanted to feature some of the players that are getting a chance to perform on the big stage of postseason baseball. Tonight we feature a Phils card and a playoff participant!

2008 UD Goudey #143 Shane Victorino

Similar to his tenure in Philadelphia, Shane Victorino has become a fan favorite in Boston.  It hasn't hurt that he has had a terrific year. Having a Centerfielder playing one of the corner OF positions is a nice bonus.

With the Phils out of the postseason Victorino gives me a player to cheer for on the Red Sox.  For Phils fans that haven't been paying attention to the playoffs, you may be interested to know that Victoriino has given up switch hitting.  He is a righty only currently. It will be interesting to see if he continues to bat strictly RH in the future. 

2013 PostSeason Tigers
Miguel Cabrera
Max Scherzer
Jose Iglesias (Red Sox Card)

2013 PostSeason Red Sox
Clay Buchholz
David Ortiz
Dustin Pedroia 


Sources
baseballcardpedia
baseball reference

Bucket or Chuck-It: 2011 Topps Allen & GInter Bargain Blaster

Your results may vary but a recent Bargain Blaster was definitely a Winner for team Phungo.

So yes if you get the chance to pick up a Bargain Blaster of 2011 A&G Bucket List it:

The box went for $11.99 + Tax at a local big box store. 

Phillies

2011 Topps Allen & Ginter
#31 Jimmy Rollins
mini #249 Carlos Ruiz
#179 Shane Victorino

3 Phillies cards one of which is a Chooch Mini.  The Box is a #Winner right there.

Minis

2011 Allen & Ginter Minis
Ginter Back #113 Miguel Montero
#171 John Lackey 
#137 Black Border Carlos Beltran
Pemultimacy #PP7 Antonio Salieri
Uninvited Guests #UG8 Winchester Mystery House
Worlds Most Mysterious Figures #WMF5 DB Cooper

I think 2011 is the last year for 1/pack minis in AnG. Starting last year I think the popular minis dropped to 1:2 packs with several insert sets moving to the conventional card size.

Nice set of non-baseball minis in ths box. I think I was actually at the Winchester Mystery House when I was a younger. It is kind of creepy cool if your a kid. That was during my first visit to California, and is likely the first time I had Tacos. Salieri is the Character played by F Murray Abraham in Amadeus - 2014 will mark the 30th anniversary of the films release. Abraham is still active at age 73.   


Box Hit??

2011 Allen & Ginter Mini NNO James Shields

This card is listed as #222 for the base version.  Not sure if this is a box hit or not. According to Baseball-CardPedia there are No Numbered Minis seeded 1:190 packs, but those are supposed to be serialed to /50. This card of course as no serial so I am confused.  Any Help Gintermaniacs?


Non-Baseball Relic

2011 Allen & Ginter #AGR-JNA Jim Nantz Jacket Relic

Kind of cool picking up this relic card coinciding with the US Open coming to Merion in nearby Ardmore PA. Also Nantz put together a Father's day related book and that sort of fits the present calendar.

2011 Topps Allen & Ginter Crack the Code #104 Huston Street

Special Crack/Code card with funkcy corners that make it look like somebody wrote on them.

2011 AnG Various Inserts/Notables

I think 2011 might be the first year that AnG had the full size inserts including the Floating Fortress (Le Napoleon) , Minds that Made (Dmitri Mendeleev - Periodic Table), and Ascent of Man.

#Winner
As I noted above 3 Phils including a mini out of a blaster makes the box a W for Team Phungo.

Unlike most other folks, I am not a huge fan of AnG. I find the design theme bland, but do enjoy seeing it each year. That being said, I find 2011 Ginter a bit busy designwise.

Another oddity is I find that Ginter is insert heavy, which I do find fun, but for whatever reason that doesn't seem to annoy collectors as much as it does for other Topps releases.

OtherWords - Other reviews of 2011 Allen & Ginter
Daily Dimwit - Hobby Box
Stale Gum - Video
References
Baseball CardPedia - 2011 Topps Allen & Ginter

Opening Day Notes - Phillies AND Orioles

The Phillies got their season off to a good start today, winning a pitchers duel 1-0 over the cross-state rival Pittsburgh Pirates.  Hopefully the Phils figure out a way to score some more runs this year, but a Win is a Win and I am sure they will take it.

Team Phungo will be doing an Opening Day tour this weekend.  First off, on Friday we will be at Camden Yards checking in with those Baltimore Orioles as they host the Minnesota Twins.

Then on Monday we plan on checking in with the local 9 as they host the brand new Miami Marlins (who can't buy a run right now)

If your going to be at either game let me know - love to check in w/ some other collectors and bloggers.


To celebrate Opening Day and Today's W, we are posting this Shane Victorino Topps Opening Day Card

 2010 Topps Opening Day Shane Victorino.  

Go O's Go Phils!!!

Junk of the Month - February 2012

Easy JotM - ok if your a Cardinals Fan, I am sure this card is fine. 

But if your a Phils Fan, the above Chris Carpenter NLDS game 5 is definitely Junk of the Month.

Honorable Mention 

Hate these - and check out the backs.    

 Half of these guys aren't even in the AL anymore. 

JOHAN SANTANA HASN'T PITCHED IN THE AL SINCE 2007!!!!


Pull of the Month

Any of the above cards featuring Phillies is a good pick for Pull of the Month.

Not a big fan of the 87 minis, but I suppose I would have to go with the Victorino as the favorite of this months picks.

Looking Back

Junk of the Month - January 2012

Shane Victorino on Hawaii Five-O

I am a fan of goofy stuff where athletes and other celebrities cross disciplines and attempt something a bit out of their comfort zone. 

For that reason even though I have never seen Hawaii Five-O (the new one, not Jack Lord) I will be watching tonight as Phils Centerfielder Shane Victorino makes an appearance. 

2012 Phungo #18 Shane Victorino

I believe Five-O appears at 10p on CBS here on the East Coast.  From What I understand Olympic Speedskater Appolo Ohno will also be on the show.

2012 Topps Hanger Pack - The Phillies

Warning - Team Phungo will be piling on the 2012 Topps this week.

Apparently these are referred to as Hanger Packs, not Kindle Packs, or Nook Packs as I wanted to call them.  Just for the record at my local big box the packs were not on Hangers.  They were instead in a box on the bottom shelf in the card aisle.

Today we will look at the 3+ Phillies cards that I got in the pack.

2012 Topps
NL League Leaders HR - Kemp, Prince, Ryan Howard
1987 mini Shane Victorino
Red Target parallel Antonio Bastardo 
Base Vance Worley

Good mix of cards here.  Getting two inserts of Phils more than makes up for getting only one base card.  One reason to pick up at Target rather than Walmart is that the retail specifc red insert works better for the Phils then the blue from Wal Mart.

I am with Night Owl regarding League Leaders cards.  The format doesn't work and now they have added the rather odd AL and NL active leaders cards to the mix.  And hey Topps lets put the LL cards back together rather than scattering them throughout the set. 

There was one other noteworthy sort of Phillies card in the Hanger, that was the Jim Thome Checklist card which commemorates his 600th Home Run.  Thome is pictured as a Twin on the card, as that was the uni he was wearing the day of the Milestone homer. 

2010 Pull N Junk Playoffs: Best Pull - First Quarter Final

Ok now that the Junk Playoffs have reached the Finals We will start up the Best Pull Playoffs.  These aren't quite as much fun, and I will hopefully run through them much quicker then the Junk Playoffs.

We have four cards from the first quarter of 2010

January

2009 Topps T206 #138 mini Elvis Andrus (SP)

The first mini is the SP, the latter card is the Base, shown here for reference.  I like Andrus and this SP mini is even cooler after the Rangers got into the World Series. 

For more information on these cards click:

2010 January

February

1963 Topps #318 Gene Mauch

I actually just traded this card away MCG tradeathon over at Play at the Plate.  I still have 2 codes to redeem - and meant to prior to the tradeathon closing but haven't gotten around to it.  

The 63 Mauch is a great vintage card from my favorite team, but in the end I couldn't justify the cost of shipping the card.  

PATP running the Tradeathon is a great idea.  To me this is what the cardblogosphere is about - We share a common interest and can join together and get a couple of really great cards rather than a walking away with nothing.       

For more information on this cards click:

2010 February

March

2010 Topps Opening Day #13 Shane Victorino (#d 0782/2010)

2010 Topps Heritage #61RM-13 Maris Chase '61 13th Homer

For more information on these cards click:

2010 March

VOTE

There you have our four contenders for the first quarter of 2010.  Please vote in the comments.

Pull of the Month - March 2010 - An Opening Day Card!

I picked up maybe a half dozen packs this month but was fortunate enough to get a numbered insert card of a Phil.

2010 Topps Opening Day #13 Shane Victorino (#d 0782/2010)

Today is April 5 2010 and this is an Topps Opening Day Card. The card actually specifies the Phils opening day as April 5, 2010. Definitely looks like it will be a beautiful day for baseball in DC. Go Phils!!

For another collector the Roger Maris HR Chase card featured on 3/22 would likely be the winner.

2010 Topps Heritage #61RM-13 Maris Chase '61 13th Homer

For the Collector
These cards have come down to more reasonable prices on ebay. Just two weeks ago we reported the low sale on ebay as $7, now they are going for under $3, with one sale at $1.49.

The Meh of the Month would definitely be Mr Met.

2010 Topps Opening Day #M15 Mr Met

For a look pack at previous Pulls of the Month click the links Below:

2010 February

2010 January

2010 Topps Opening Day - First Pack

I am sure you are aware of this product. I picked up a single pack at Target, 7 Cards $1.05 including PA Sales Tax I am guessing.

First Opening Day Card of the Year:

Daniel Hudson. I actually like this card and drew it in the half dozen or so retail packs of regular Topps I picked up a few weeks back. It is probably the only rookie card that I don't mind the RC logo on. Unfortunately the additional opening day pushes the red white and blue from a nice small touch to two dueling logos.

Phils Cards

Unlike those half dozen packs of 2010 flagship Topps which yielded only one Phils card, this pack produced 2 including a serial numbered Shane Victorino insert. The light blue does nothing for me. Well certainly not as much as the Red did back in 2008 - which bordered the Phils cards perfectly.

The Rest

Other than stinkin Mr Met, A nice selection of cards. The Oswalt is a particularly good looking shot - Swoosh meshes into the card well - only draw back is Miller Lite ad in the background.

Swag from Rhubarb_Runner

I highly Recommend trading with Twins fan Rhubarb_Runner from é rayhahn, rayhahn


Need I say anything more?!?!

Oh and he sent me some Phillies Cards too.

The New

2010 Topps #23 Shane Victorino
2010 Topps #300 Chase Utley
2002 Post #14 Scott Rolen
2010 Topps #146 Jimmy Rollins

I only picked up a couple packs of 2010 Topps so far, and really haven't gotten many Phils. It was great to get the three of these, who are all stars - The J-Roll card is my first Opening Day card of 2010.

The Rolen card is of course from the Post set of a few years ago. I have posted it here for comparison.

The Vintage
1963 Topps #29 Rookie Stars Including Ray Culp and John Boozer
1961 Topps #179 Joe Koppe
1963 Topps #13 Phillies Team Card

David knocked out several cards from my vintage want lists including the above gems from the early 60s.

The Retro
2010 Topps Peak Performance #PP-6 Steve Carlton

This Carlton card is an insert from 2010 Topps. It honors Carlton's 1972 Cy Young Season. Every once in a while you learn something from a baseball card. Carlton threw THIRTY Complete Games in 1972. It has not been done since in the National League, and likely will not be done again. Catfish Hunter completed 30 for the 1975 Yankees and is the only player to accomplish the fete in the Junior circuit.

With Glavine, the Unit, Smoltz all retired or semi-retired and neither Pedro or Bartolo Colon both not hooked up yet - there are only 4 active pitchers with over 30 CAREER CGs (Halladay, Liv Hernandez, Wakefield, and Jamie Moyer)

I could dedicate about 5 posts to the cards David sent me. He has a very comprehensive want list and I recommend you look it over. Plus he is pretty organized and can send you out great trade lists with lots o vintage.

Swag from Bill and Ben

I Wanted to put together a quick post to acknowledge a couple of recent trades.

I am going to lead-off with some a massive contribution that Ben Henry of The Baseball Card Blog made to the Phungo 1959 Topps Set. Ben is going through some serious downsizing and focusing of his collection - I sent some vintage cards Ben's way including the the classic 1971 Topps #5 Thurman Munson card and he sent me back almost 40 cards for the aforementioned 1959 Set.


The 59s included a couple of Phillies, which are hard to find (at reasonable prices) locally and a rare High Number card of Lee Tate as well as 36 other cards that I needed.

This is likely the biggest contribution I have had to the Phungo 1959 Topps Project since I started back in late 2007. If you want to see my 1959 want list as it stands currently or are just so bored you want to check my progress click here. As it stands thanks to Ben I have moved into the final 100 cards of the set, and am well ahead of where I expected to be at this point in 2010 for the project.

Reader Bill

I also made a second trade of vintage cards and other with reader Bill F from Alexandria VA recently. I sent some Padres and a couple 1956 cards his way for a bunch of 1971 Phils and some newer "retro" Phils cards. Bill was also good enough to contribute to the 1959 cause with a Buyback of Claude Osteen.


Loved all these card. I hadn't botthered to pick up any cards from the new T206 or the Goodwin Champs sets. ok maybe I did get T206. Yeah that's right I did get a single pack I think, but it yielded no Phils.

The colors on the Dick Allen make for a pretty sharp looking card. This is a set I probably should of given more of a shot in 2009.

The Barry Lersch card is from the High Numbered Series of 1971 Topps - you can follow Phungo quest for the 1971 Topps Phillies Team Set here.

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.

Phungo Cards - Shane Victorino

2009 Phungo #30 Shane Victorino

This Saturday is Independence Day and it will also mark the 70th anniversary of the "Luckiest man on the Face of the Earth" speech made by Lou Gehrig on July 4th 1939.

This Saturday the Phi Delta Theta International Fraternity of Oxford Ohio will honor Shane Victorino with the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award. The award is given annually to a player that exemplifies the Giving Character of Lou Gehrig.

There was a time a few years ago I would of thought Victorino would never be more than a footnote in Phillies history. I think now that he may one day become one of the teams leaders. Congratulations to Shane, I am glad to see he has earned this honor.

This Phungo card photo was taken during game one of the 08 NLCS. The Phils beat the Dodgers 3-2 that day, Victorino went 0-4 but did score on a Chase Utley Home Run after reaching on a rare Rafael Furcal error. The Phungo Card has the specific position of CF and I gave Shane a hero number of 30.

It has been 68 years since Lou Gehrig died. There remains no cure for ALS better known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Brush Backs - Shane Victorino - Dickie Noles

2006 Upper Deck #750 Shane Victorino

There has been a little bit of inside pitching during the entire NLCS this year. The Phils need to pitch inside to hitters like Manny Ramirez and Russell Martin. Similarly the Phils have batters like Chase Utley who like to stand right on top of the plate and will find inside pitches coming at them.

During game 3 the Dodgers and Phils almost found themselves in a brawl when a ball was thrown near Shane Victorino's head. Victorino saved his best response to the purpose pitch for a crucial at-bat the following night - a game tying homer in the 8th inning. This homer turned around game four and was followed by Matt Stairs mammoth go-ahead home run a few batters later.

Head hunting is nothing new to Phillies Playoff Baseball. During the Phillies Royals World Series in 1980, Dickie Noles only got into one game, a loss in game 4, but he is forever remembered in Phillies lore as the man who knocked down George Brett. Yes, The Phils did lost game 4, but they would take games 5 and 6 to win the pennant. Perhaps it was Noles inside heat that fired up the Phils and pushed them on to the Series victory.

2004 Upper Deck Legends Timeless Teams #193 Memorable Moments - Dickie Noles

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.

Goudey Vs Goudey

07 Goudey v 08 Goudey

Actually it is more like Retail vs Hobby. I picked up 3 packs of 07 Goudey out of the Target Bargain Bin and 3 packs of 08 Goudey Hobby at a card show. Previously I had only picked up 1 pack of each product. The 07 Goudey was a bad experience, I was unimpressed with the cards in that first pack, and it appeared to have already been opened - I have avoided that hobby shop since. I chronicled my first 08 Goudey Pack a few weeks ago, it was awesome - read more here.

The 08 will probably have an advantage because it is Hobby over Retail - Lets see what happens.

First three 07 Goudey Packs

Red

19 Brian Roberts

54 Jason Varitek

61 Jimmy Rollins

68 Justin Morneau

75 Mark Mulder

124 Mark Teahan

126 Carlos Guillen

149 Raul Ibanez

150 Joe Crede

173 Konerko

197 Delmon Young

Green

10 Pettitte

27 Chipper

34 Jeter

38 Eric Chavez

62 Joe Mauer

97 Trevor Hoffman

116 Edwin Encarnacion

132 Ramon Hernandez

143 Luis Gonzalez

156 Scott Podsednik

157 David Eckstein

180 Moises Alou

250 Reggie Jackson SP Heads Up

Now the three 08 Goudey Packs

12 Kelly Johnson

13 Tom Glavine

17 Brian Roberts

19 Jim Palmer

36 Fukudome

39 Luis Aparicio

50 Adam Dunn

64 Garrett Atkins

65 Tulowitzki

70 Miguel Cabrera

91 John Lackey

105 Ryan Braun

114 Justin Morneau

123 Chien-Ming Wang

140 Ryan Howard

142 Chase Utley

143 Shane Victorino

149 Jack Wilson

166 Felix Hernandez

169 Raul Ibanez

180 Akinori Iwamura

219 Dave Winfield (SP)

YSL 1540 August 11th 1942: Charlie Keller, Boston Red Sox 3 @ New York Yankees 2
HPC-22 Nolan Ryan Berk Ross Hit Parade of Champions

Card Design - 2008 - I like the 08s better in general. I prefer the traditional card size, and the sharper color scheme.

Phillies - 2008 - 3 Phils with both Utley and Howard. Easy Win.

Base Cards - 2008 - slight Win for 08, 07 Ramon Hernandez was my one duplicate, and I think I may have 3 of that card now. Liked all of the HOF players in the 08 set.

Inserts/Short Prints - 2007 - Reggie Heads Up beats out Winfield SP and Ryan Berk Ross card. I am not sure what the other Hit Parade of Champions look like, but this one just looks out of place amongst the rest of the Goudeys. The small size makes it feel like a crummy cracker jack prize.

Price - 2007 - $5.06 for 3@ 1.59 each + 6% sales Tax. v 12.00 for 3 08 Goudey @ 4.00 pack

Winner 2008 Despite the price difference, I just like the set better in general. The Three Phillies really put the three 08 packs ahead.

I will be adding some of these to my personal collection, if any of the others are needed by set builders, I am open to offers.

2008 07 27 Braves @ Phillies - Another Victorino

Phils take 2 of 3 crazy games from the Braves. All the games were tight late - The Braves scored 7 in the top of the 9th on Friday to blow open what was a 1-0 nailbiter. But Phils put together a pair of big comebacks on Saturday and Sunday to win the series.

Plus - Two comeback wins. The offense finally shows up.

Minus - The Phils defense lets down Cole Hamels as he throws in a clunker, giving up 9 runs over 3 2/3 innings. Philadelphia Daily News is reporting that Chase Utley has a nagging hip injury.

Meh - Philadelphia Soul win the Arena Bowl.

On Deck - The woeful Washington Nationals. The Nats seem to always play the Phils tough, regardless it's time for the Phils to rack up some wins against the bottom of the Division. Team Phungo will be paying a visit to Nationals Stadium on Thursday for the 3rd game of the set.

Scoop - Phillies Nation is reporting that J A Happ was removed in the 3rd inning of Sunday game. Sounds like he may be a trade chip.

Phungo Commentary - The Shane Victorino/Brian McCann collision perks my interest into Davey Lopes and his style of play. Lopes influence on the Phils success has been immense. Prior to Lopes the Phils could steal bases but not at the success rate they do currently. In 2006 (pre-Lopes) the Phils SB/CS numbers were 92/25 (79%, +67) then the Phils brought in Lopes to coach first and the numbers for 2007 were an incredible 138/19 (87%, +119) - This year that trend continues 87/13 (87%, + 74)

Lopes has made Shane Victorino into a great base-stealer. When Victorino first came to the Phils (a two time rule 5) he was pretty raw and didn't know how to use his speed - now he is a constant threat and rarely gets caught.