Giants at Phillies: October 23 through October 24th

NLCS Games 6 and 7
Saturday and Sunday 7:57

2010 Topps Allen & Ginter
Mini Black #228

What's What:  The Phillies need to win two in a row to defeat the Giants in the NLCS and advance to the World Series for the third year in a row.  Much has been made of this feat, as they would become the first National League team to pull this off since the 1942-1944 St. Louis Cardinals.  They'd face the Texas Rangers in their first World Series and the Yankees will be watching from home.  Tensions will be high in my household this weekend.

Message for the Phillies:  Just win.

Updated Prediction:  Phillies in 7.

Giants Probables: Jonathan Sanchez and Matt Cain
Phillies Probables: Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels

Phillies at Giants: October 19th through October 21st

NLCS Games 3, 4 and 5
Tuesday 4:19, Wednesday and Thursday 7:57

What's What:  The series is tied at one game a piece after the Giants and Phillies split at Citizens Bank Park.  It's now a best of five series and the Phillies need to take two out of three in San Francisco.  Three out of three would be awesome, but I don't want to appear greedy.

2010 Chachi Update:  I still need to find a few spare moments to create card #66 in this year's Chachi set for NLCS Game 2.  I'd like to feature the stars of the game, Roy Oswalt and Jimmy Rollins, on the card.  Any ideas for the tagline to use for the card?  Roy O. and J. Roll Deliver Victory?  Phils Take Game 2 Behind Roy & Jimmy?  I Would Have Rather Had Tickets for Game 2?

2010 Topps #372

Work It:  A busy work schedule has curtailed my ability to post more regularly during the NLCS.  However, I was successful in scheduling just one meeting today, from 10 until 2.  Shortly after the meeting ends, I will politely excuse myself as I deal with the cold/stomach virus/hangnail/headache I've recently contracted.  In my office, this illness is unofficially referred to as Red Phever.  Red Phever can only be cured by disconnecting from work and focusing on a Phillies' baseball game.  You can look it up.

King Cole and Big Brown: Cole Hamels hopes to build upon his NLDS Game 3 shutout and shut down the Giants' offense.  Ryan Howard hopes to find his power stroke and connect for his first home run of the Postseason.  (Although Howard's hitting .429 in the NLCS with two doubles, he has yet to drive in a run.)

Phillies Probables: Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, Roy Halladay
Giants Probables: Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner, Tim Lincecum

Giants at Phillies: October 16th through October 17th

NLCS Games 1 and 2
Saturday 7:57 and Sunday 8:19

Why not just go with 8:00 and 8:20?  Seems silly.

How they got here:  The NL East Champion Phillies swept the Reds in the NLDS, 3 games to none.  They pitched brilliantly, but didn't hit much.  The NL West Champion Giants defeated the Braves in the NLDS, 4 games to one.  They pitched brilliantly, but didn't hit much. 

Roster Moves:  The Phils dropped Phillies Room favorite Greg Dobbs from the NLCS roster and added pitcher Kyle Kendrick, opting to go with 11 pitchers for the potential 7-game series.  Dobbs was one of five Phillies, along with Ross Gload, Brian Schneider, Joe Blanton and Antonio Bastardo to be on the NLDS roster, but not appear in a game.

2010 Topps Legendary Lineage #LL1

Other Stuff:  The last time these two teams faced each other, in mid-August, they were actually both battling for the NL Wild Card.  Since then, the Giants overcame a 3½ game deficit to knock the Padres out of the Postseason completely and the Phillies quickly erased the two games separating them with the Braves.

1975 Topps #PR1

The Phils and Giants have never faced each other in the Postseason, although they came very close in 1993, when the Giants finished just one game behind the Braves in the NL West.

First Pitch:  Former Giant (1972-1975) and Phillie (1975-1986) Garry Maddox will throw out the first pitch prior to Game 1.  Maddox was traded from the Giants to the Phillies in May 1975 for Willie Montanez.  Maddox was featured with the Giants in the 1975 Topps set, so I've presented here the 1975 Topps Traded card that should have been.  I've used a picture from the Phillies' 1976 Yearbook for this card.

Cool Idea:  Over at Capewood's Collections, you can track the baseball cards of all the key players from the Phillies' play-off teams, position by position.  Matt's doing the same for his Giants over at A Giant Blog.

Prediction:  So my plan this week to post the remaining 2010 Chachi cards (up to this point) fizzled.  Maybe I'll catch up during the Phillies' off days between the NLCS and World Series?  Phillies over the Giants in 5.

This is going to be fun.  Go Phils!

Giants Probables: Tim Lincecum and Jonathan Sanchez

Phillies Probables: Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt

Phillies at Reds: October 10th through October 11th

NLDS Game 3 & 4 (if necessary)
Sunday 8:07 & Monday 5:07

What's what:  The Phillies have a 2-0 lead in the best of five series.  If needed, and God willing it won't be, the two teams will come back to Philly for a Game 5 on Wednesday night.

1976 Topps #610

The Phillies as a team have done very little to win these first two games against the Reds.  Roy Halladay's no-hitter in Game 1 made the relative lack of offense by the Phillies (other than Shane Victorino) a non-story.  The Phillies had absolutely no business winning Game 2, but the Reds' pitchers' decision to go wild and the Reds' shoddy defense conspired to hand the game over to the home team.

To date, the only Phillies' home run against the Reds in the Postseason came back on October 10, 1976, 34 years ago today, when Greg Luzinski hit a solo 5th inning home run against Pat Zachry in Game 2 of the '76 NLCS at the Vet.  Let's hope The Bull gets some company in that category today.

Same prediction:  Phillies in 3.

Phillies Probables: Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay (probably not necessary)
Reds Probables: Johnny Cueto, Edinson Volquez

Reds at Phillies: October 6th through October 8th

NLDS Games 1 & 2
Wednesday 5:07 & Friday 6:07

How they got here: Reds, NL Central Champions; Phillies, NL East Champions

Reds Postseason Appearances: 1919, 1939, 1940, 1961, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1990, 1995, 2010

Phillies Postseason Appearances: 1915, 1950, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1993, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

1976 Topps #407



This is the second time these teams have met in Postseason play, with the Reds sweeping the Phils, 3-0, in the 1976 NLCS.  The '76 Reds would go on to sweep the Yankees in the World Series, 4-0, as the Big Red Machine won their second straight title.

When Roy Halladay throws his first pitch on Wednesday afternoon, it will be the first pitch thrown by a Phillies' pitcher to a Reds' batter in the play-offs since Tom Underwood allowed a ninth inning single to Ken Griffey back on October 12, 1976.  Griffey's single scored Davey Concepcion from third and capped a 3-run inning by the Reds, sending them to a 7-6 victory.  The bottom of the 9th had started with the Phils holding a 6-4 lead.  However, Ron Reed allowed back-to-back home runs to George Foster and Johnny Bench to allow the Reds to tie the game.

Prediction: Phillies in 3. (This is The Phillies Room, after all.  What did you expect?)

Reds Probables: Edison Volquez, Bronson Arroyo

Phillies Probables: Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt

Phillies at Braves: October 1st through October 3rd

Friday 7:35, Saturday 4:10, Sunday 1:35

Records: Phillies 95-64, 1st Place in NL East (5 games ahead of the Braves); Braves 90-69, 2nd Place in NL East (5 games behind the Phillies).  The Phils have clinched the NL East, and the Braves currently have a game and a half lead over the Padres for the NL Wild Card.

1984 Fleer #182

This is it.  At the beginning of the summer, this Braves' series loomed ominously as the final series of the season.  I had visions of the Phils being three back with just these three games to play and having my stomach tied in knots for the weekend.  Instead, for the Phillies, the games are essentially meaningless.  With the division clinched and home field advantage secured, all that remains is to figure out which team will be flying into Philly to start the NLDS on Wednesday.  Any combination of Braves wins and Padres losses totalling three, and the Phils will play the Reds in the NLDS.  If that doesn't happen, it gets too confusing for me to decipher here, but there's the possibility the Phils could face off against either the Giants or Padres in the NLDS instead.

These are also the final regular season games to be managed by Braves' manager Bobby Cox.  While I don't have a Phillies-themed Bobby Cox baseball card to feature here, I do have this lovely card of Braves' current first base coach, Glenn Hubbard.  This picture appears to have been taken during one of the Phanatic's early '80s birthday celebrations, typically held on a Sunday, and typically featuring a circus-like atmosphere.

Phillies Probables: Kyle Kendrick, TBD (maybe Cole Hamels), TBD (maybe Vance Worley)
Braves Probables: Brandon Beachy, Tommy Hanson, Tim Hudson

Charlie Manuel has already announced that Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt will not pitch again during the regular season.

Phillies at Nationals: September 27th through September 29th

Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday 7:05

Records: Phillies 93-63, 1st Place in NL East (6 games ahead of the Braves); Nationals 67-89, 5th Place in NL East (26 games behind the Phillies)

1968 Topps #122

Roy Halladay and the Phils will try to clinch the NL East tonight in D.C.  They've already clinched a play-off berth, so there's no danger in me jinxing the team by posting a Gene Mauch card recently purchased at the Valley Forge baseball card show.  Mauch was the first manager of the Nationals' predecessors, the Montral Expos, and when I posted a Mauch card in the last Nationals' series preview post, the Phillies went out and swept them.  A sweep would be nice, but we're really only looking for one more win.  Go Phils!  (I'm assuming that's what Mauch is yelling in this photo.)

Phillies Probables: Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, Joe Blanton
Nationals Probables: John Lannan, Jason Marquis, Ross Detwiler

Mets at Phillies: September 24th through September 25th

Friday & Saturday 7:05, Sunday 1:35

 

2008 Topps Allen & Ginter
Cabinet Boxloader #BH3



Records: Mets 74-48, 4th Place in NL East (17½ games behind the Phillies); Phillies 92-61, 1st Place in NL East (6 games ahead of the Braves)

Remember when the Phillies won their first of three consecutive division titles on the last day of the 2007 season?  When they were seven games behind the Mets with 17 games to play?  And the Mets completely collapsed down the stretch going 5 and 12 and allowing the Phils to creep back in?  Remember that?  That was awesome.

Mets Probables: R.A. Dickey, Dillon Gee, Pat Misch

Phillies Probables: Joe Blanton, Kyle Kendrick, Cole Hamels

Braves at Phillies: September 20th through September 22nd

Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday 7:05

Records: Braves 86-64, 2nd Place in NL East (3 games behind the Phillies); Phillies 89-61, 1st Place in NL East (3 games ahead of the Braves)

This is a ginormously huge series.  Its importance is monumental.  This is big, folks.  The Phillies currently hold a 3-game lead over the Atlanta Braves in the NL East with 12 games to play.  The Braves, who spent the entire summer in first place, have been struggling of late, but they're coming off a 3-game sweep of the more craptastic than usual Mets.  The Phillies have steamrolled through the past 6 weeks, overcoming what was a 7-game deficit on July 22nd.

2010 Topps Heritage #443

Todd Zolecki summed up the stakes nicely:  "If [the Phillies] win two of three against Atlanta, they will have a four-game lead with just nine games to play. Even if the Phillies would finish 4-5, the Braves would have to finish 8-1 just to tie."  And if the Phils should sweep . . . the mind boggles.

Braves Probables: Jair Jurrjens, Mike Minor, Tommy Hanson

Phillies Probables: Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt

Nationals at Phillies: September 17th through September 19th

Friday & Saturday 7:05, Sunday 1:35

Records:  Nationals 62-84, 5th Place in NL East (23½ games behind the Phillies); Phillies 86-61, 1st Place in NL East (3 games ahead of the Braves)

Former Phillie Cal McLish passed away last month at the age of 84.  He's featured here as the Expos' first pitching coach under manager Gene Mauch.  (Also featured is former Phillies' coach Dave Bristol.)  McLish finished his 15-season Major League career with three seasons with the Phillies from 1962 until 1964.  Primarily a starting pitcher, McLish went 24-17 in 66 games with the Phils, compiling a 3.68 ERA.  Following his playing days, Mauch added him to the Phillies' coaching staff in 1965 and 1966, and he served as a Phillies' scout in 1967 and 1968.  When Mauch became the first manager of the Expos, he brought McLish with him and McLish coached with the Expos until Mauch's dismissal in 1975.

I'm very disappointed with the back of this 1974 Topps card as it doesn't feature McLish's full name.  On the back of this card (and on the back of the 1973 Topps' Expos manager and coaches card), McLish's name is listed as Calvin Coolidge McLish.  However, his full legal name was actually Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma McLish.  You can look it up.

Nationals Probables: Jason Marquis, Jordan Zimmerman, Yunesky Maya
Phillies Probables: Roy Oswalt, Kyle Kendrick, Joe Blanton

Kendrick and Oswalt swapped their spots in the rotation, to allow Charlie Manuel to pitch the Big 3 (Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Oswalt) against the Braves in their upcoming series starting on Monday night.

Phillies at Marlins: September 13th through September 15th

Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday 7:10

Records:  Phillies 83-61, 1st Place in NL East (1 game ahead of the Braves); Marlins 73-69, 3rd Place in NL East (9 games behind the Phillies)

Short-Timers:  When the Phillies unceremoniously released lefty reliever Nate Robertson last week, I started thinking about other former Phillies with extremely short tenures.  Robertson started the season with the Marlins, but he was released at the end of July.  He pitched for a few weeks in August for the Cardinals' AAA club in Memphis before requesting his release there.  The Phils picked him up on August 24th and he pitched in 2 games for the AAA IronPigs before finding himself wearing #31 for the Phillies upon his recall on September 6th.  Robertson was on the team's active roster for all of 4 days, appearing in 2 games and running up an impressive 54.00 ERA in an inning of work.  That's 6 earned runs in 1 inning.  He was released on September 9th.

2006 Chachi #42

So who else had been a Phillie for a week or less in recent memory?  My brain almost immediately thought of Adam Bernero (scary, isn't it?) who started one lone game for the Phils back on June 30, 2006.  He lasted just 2 innings, allowing 8 runs on 7 hits, including 3 home runs to the Blue Jays.  A few days later, he was designated for assignment and eventually released.

Honorable mentions:  Steven Register was on the active roster for 5 games in 2009 and he appeared in just 1 game, pitching 2 innings.  For the World Championship year of 2008, there was R.J. Swindle (3 games, 7.71 ERA) and Chris Snelling (4 games, 2 for 4 with a home run).  And who could ever forget Anderson Garcia's 9 days on the Phils' roster back in 2007?  He appeared in 1 game, pitching two-thirds of an inning and allowing a run for a 13.50 ERA.

Phillies Probables:  Joe Blanton, Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay
Marlins Probables:  Andrew Miller, Adalberto Mendez, Alex Sanabia

Phillies at Mets: September 10th through September 12th

Friday 7:10, Saturday 4:10, Sunday 1:10

Records: Phillies 81-60, 1st Place in the NL East (1 game ahead of the Braves); Mets 69-71, 4th Place in the NL East 11½ games behind the Phillies).  The Phils' Magic Number to clinch the East is 21.

After a long, dreary, busy period at my chosen profession, it's almost time to relax, enjoy the stretch run and contemplate former Phillie Jose Cardenal's afro.  Once again, it's days and weeks like these that make me ponder life as a pumpkin farmer.  Last year at this time, right after the deadlines passed and normal life resumed, I took a few days off to decompress and write about my appreciation for Cardenal's 1978 and 1979 Topps cards.  As the Phillies get ready to open a 3-game series with the Mets, and as I approach the end of another busy season, I do believe this is the perfect opportunity to feature Cardenal's 1980 Topps card.

1980 Topps #512

After the storm clears, along with the non-baseball card related essential to-do's of a normal life, I have a few non-essential things I'd like to check off my blog to-do list: 

1.  Post a game summary of Wednesday night's bashing of the Marlins and Nate Robertson's farewell tour.
2.  Update my wantlists for recent purchases from 2010 Topps 206 and a few choice Phillies cards obtained from the 1962 Topps and 1963 Fleer sets.  (Has anyone dubbed the 2010 Topps 206 set as the "Safety Dance" set yet?  Think about it.)
3.  Post the remaining 2010 Chachi set cards (up to 51 cards now).

Just a few days more of this . . .

Phillies Probables: Roy Halladay, Kyle Kendrick or Vance Worley, Roy Oswalt
Mets Probables: Jenrry Mejia, Mike Pelfrey, Jon Niese

Marlins at Phillies: September 6th through September 8th

Monday 1:05 & 7:05, Tuesday & Wednesday 7:05

Records: Marlins 69-66, 3rd Place in the NL East (9 games behind the Braves); Phillies 78-59, 2nd Place in NL East (1 game behind the Braves).  The Phils have a 2 game lead over the Giants in the NL Wild Card race, and their magic number to clinch is 24.

2010 Multi-Ad Reading
Phillies #29

Vance Worley will make his first Major League start this afternoon in a game originally scheduled for June 9th, but postponed because of rain.  Worley made the jump from AA Reading to AAA Lehigh Valley earlier this year.  In 27 minor league starts, he's 10-7 with a 3.36 ERA and a 119 to 46 strikeout to walk ratio.  The fine folks over at Phuture Phillies will be doing a live blog this afternoon to discuss Worley's start.

The Phils also recalled pitcher Mike Zagurski from Lehigh Valley today and selected the contract of pitcher Nate Robertson - both leftys.  The Phillies are Robertson's 4th organization this year.  Late in Spring Training, the Tigers (with whom he pitched for 7 seasons) traded him to the Marlins.  He started 18 games for the Marlins going 6-8 with a 5.47 ERA and earning his release on July 27th.  (Interestingly enough, his best start of the season came against the Phillies on April 18th, when he pitched 6.1 innings of shutout ball for the win.)  The Cardinals signed him to a minor league deal, but it included an opt-out clause if Robertson wasn't with the big club by August 23rd.  He wasn't, the Cardinals released him and he signed with the Phillies.  He's expected to pitch middle relief for the Phils down the stretch and he'll be card #51 in this year's Chachi set.

Happy Labor Day and Go Phils!

Marlins Probables: Adalberto Mendez, Anibal Sanchez, Chris Volstad, Andrew Miller
Phillies Probables: Vance Worley, Roy Oswalt, Joe Blanton, Cole Hamels

Brewers at Phillies: September 3rd through September 5th

Friday & Saturday 7:05, Sunday 1:35

Records: Brewers 62-71, Tied for 3rd Place in NL Central (16 games behind the Reds); Phillies 76-58, 2nd Place in NL East (2 games behind the Braves).  The Phils are 2 games ahead of the Giants in the NL Wild Card standings, and their Magic Number to clinch is now 27.

These Phillies Were Brewers?:  Ricky Bottalico (40 games in 2005, 2-2 with 4.53 ERA); Deron Johnson (49 games in 1974, .151 with 6 home runs); Chris Short (42 games in 1973, 3-5 with 5.12 ERA), Wayne Twitchell (2 games in 1970, 10.59 ERA); John Vukovich (93 games in 1973 and 1974, .149 with 5 home runs).

1974 Topps #349

One of the tools on Baseball Reference that I like to use is their Multi-Franchise feature to see how many players have played with the Phillies and another franchise.  According to this nifty little tool, there have been 74 baseball players to wear both the Phillies' and Brewers' uniforms in their careers, including the 5 notable Phillies above.

For the record, there are 3 players to have played for both the Seattle Pilots (the Brewers' predecessors) and the Phillies - pitcher Darrell "Bucky" Brandon (1969 with the Pilots, 1971-1973 with the Phils); infielder Ron Clark (1969 with the Pilots, 1975 with the Phils for 1 game); and pitcher John Morris (1966 with the Phils, 1969 with the Pilots).  And now you know.

Brewers Probables: Chris Campuano, Dave Bush, Randy Wolf
Phillies Probables: Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay, Kyle Kendrick

Phillies at Rockies: September 2nd

Thursday 7:10

This is a make-up of the game postponed back on May 11th due to freezing rain/snow in Denver.  The game was originally rescheduled as part of a double header on May 12th, but the Phils and Rockies only got in one game before Mother Nature forced the cancellation of Game 2.

1978 Kellogg's #28

And this is glorious 3D baseball card of the former Secretary of Defense, Garry Maddox, recently purchased from Checkoutmycards.com.  It has nothing to do with today's game, but it's a fantastic card and I felt like sharing.

Records: Phillies 75-58, 2nd Place in the NL East (3 games behind the Braves); Rockies 69-63, 3rd Place in the NL West (7 games behind the Padres).  The Phils have a 1½ game lead over the Giants in the NL Wild Card race, and their magic number to clinch the Wild Card is 28.  That's right - I'm breaking out the Magic Number.  Go Phils!

Phillies Probable: Joe Blanton
Rockies Probable: Jhoulys Chacin

Phillies at Dodgers: August 30th through September 1st

Monday & Tuesday 10:10, Wednesday 3:10

Records: Phillies 73-57, 2nd Place in the NL East (2 games behind the Braves); Dodgers 67-64, 4th Place in the NL West (10 games behind the Padres).  The Phillies currently lead the NL Wild Card, with a 1½ game lead over the Giants:

2010 Topps Allen & Ginter
Baseball Highlight Sketches
#AGHS9

Not Gonna Do It (Maybe):  I'm going to bed at decent hours on Monday and Tuesday nights.  I have a busy week at work, responsibilites to attend to, and I need my sleep.  I'm going to watch the first few innings, turn off the TV and be in bed by 11.  Unless it's a close game.  And then maybe I'll watch a little bit more, turn off the TV and be in bed by 11:15, 11:30 at the latest.  Unless the Phils are leading and there's just a few more innings to go and then maybe I'll get ready for bed, but watch another inning.  And then I'll turn off the TV and go straight to bed.  Unless the Phils are behind by less than 6 runs going into the 9th and the Dodgers are bringing in Jonathan Broxton.  Then I'll watch the 9th inning dramatic comeback and go straight to bed. 

I'm going to be tired at work this week.

(This baseball card of course features Jimmy Rollins' game-winning walk-off double in Game 4 of the 2009 NLCS.  The hit came off Broxton, the Dodgers' closer.  I love that guy.)

Phillies Probables: Roy Halladay, Kyle Kendrick, Roy Oswalt
Dodgers Probables: Hiroki Kuroda, Carlos Monasterios, Clayton Kershaw

Phillies at Padres: August 27th through August 29th

Friday 10:05, Saturday 4:10, Sunday 4:05

Records: Phillies 70-57, 2nd Place in NL East (3 games behind the Braves); Padres 76-49, 1st Place in NL West (6 games ahead of the Giants).  The Phils are now a half game behind the Giants in the NL Wild Card standings.

I'm going to be optimistic.  There are 35 games left on the Phillies' schedule for 2010, and they have 35 games to clinch one of two readily available play-off berths.  Coming off a 4-game sweep to the Astros, and on the heels of yet another multi-week offensive outage, it's easy to be down on this team and write them off.  But the one thing the Phillies have taught me since 2007 is that it's not over until the little "x" appears next to your team's name in the standings.  At the 127-game mark over the past 3 seasons, here's where the Phillies stood and where they ended up:

2007 - 66-61, 6 games behind the Mets in the NL East, won the NL East by 1 game over the Mets
2008 - 68-59, 2½ games behind the Mets, won the World Series
2009 - 74-53, 7 games ahead of the Braves, won the NL Championship

2010 Topps #134

Now I'd gladly trade places with where we were this time last year, but given that 16 of our players have been disabled this year and that most of the team appears to be playing hurt at this point, 3 games back with 35 to go isn't too shabby.  Are the Braves that good?  Are the Phillies this mediocre?  We'll find out over the next month-plus of games.  The schedule favors the Phils - After a West Coast swing with the Padres (3 games), Dodgers (3 games) and Rockies (1 make-up game), and a 3-game series with the Brewers at home, the team's remaining 25 games are against other NL East teams.  Most importantly, 6 of their final 12 games are against the Braves.

The offense is the key.  Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard have got to get going - it's just that simple.  The starting pitching has been superb and the bullpen has held their own, but the big boppers have to start putting it together and putting it together now.  Let's go Phils!

Phillies Probables: Roy Oswalt, Joe Blanton, Cole Hamels
Padres Probables: Mat Latos, Jon Garland, Clayton Richard

Astros at Phillies: August 23rd through August 26th

Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday 7:05, Thursday 1:05

Records: Astros 54-69, 4th Place in NL Central (17½ games behind the Reds); Phillies 70-53, 2nd Place in NL East (2½ games behind the Braves) and 1st Place in NL Wild Card (2 games ahead of the Cardinals and Giants)

1975 Topps #334

Just Gross:  It's Alumni Weekend Part II as Ed Wade brings his Phillies' West team to Citizens Bank Park for a 4-game series.  The Astros recently lost a former Phillie with the trade of Pedro Feliz to the division rival Cardinals, but manager Brad Mills will make do with the 5 former Phils on his roster, including 2 of his 4 starting pitchers this week.  (The other 3 are Nelson Figueroa, Michael Bourn and Jason Michaels.)

New Phillies' hitting coach Greg Gross started and finished his career with the Astros.  He was drafted by the team in the 4th round of the 1970 amateur draft, making his Major League debut 3 years later on September 5, 1973.  Following the 1976 season, and having spent the previous 3 seasons as either the Astros' starting right or left fielder, Gross was shipped to the Cubs.  For the bulk of his career, he served as the Phils' primary left-handed bat off the bench, enjoying a decade with the team (1979-1988) before making his way back to the Astros for the 1989 season - the final season in his 17-year playing career.

Astros Probables: Brett Myers, Bud Norris, J.A. Happ, Wandy Rodriguez
Phillies Probables: Joe Blanton, Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay, Kyle Kendrick

Nationals at Phillies: August 20th through August 22nd

Friday & Saturday 7:05, Sunday 1:35

Records: Nationals 52-69, 5th Place in NL East (19 games behind the Braves); Phillies 68-52, 2nd Place in NL East (2½ games behind the Braves)

2002 Multi-Ad Lakewood
BlueClaws #12

Meanwhile, in Lakewood:  Ryan Howard will play in a rehab game tonight for the Low A Lakewood BlueClaws.  Prior to the game, Howard will take part in a pre-game ceremony to retire the #29 he wore as member of the BlueClaws back in 2002.  (The ceremony was scheduled for later in the season, but with Howard in town, why not move things up a little?)  In 135 games with the BlueClaws, Howard hit .280 with 19 home runs and 87 RBIs.  He returned for a 2-game rehab assignment in 2007, going 2 for 6 in 2 games with a home run.  His #29 will be the first number retired by the franchise.

Nationals Probables: Jason Marquis, Stephen Strasburg, Scott Olsen
Phillies Probables: Roy Halladay, Kyle Kendrick, Roy Oswalt

Giants at Phillies: August 17th through August 19th

Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday 7:05

Records: Giants 67-52, 2nd Place in NL West (3½ games behind the Padres); Phillies 66-51, 2nd Place in NL East (2 games behind the Braves)

1975 Topps #79 Gary Matthews

Former Giants with the Phillies: Of everyone currently employed by the Phillies, only Sarge Matthews formerly called San Francisco home, patrolling the outfield at Candlestick between 1972 and 1976. Current IronPigs Brian Bocock (2008) and Cody Ransom (2001-2004) also spent time with the Giants.

Of course, two-thirds of the Giants' starting outfield are former Phillies with Pat Burrell in left and Aaron Roward in center. I have a funny feeling that Burrell would like nothing more than to severely hurt his former team, especially since the Phils and Giants are currently neck and neck atop the NL Wild Card standings.

Giants Probables: Barry Zito, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez
Phillies Probables: Roy Oswalt, Joe Blanton, Cole Hamels