Card Show Finds Part 3 - Random Phillies

More finds from the big Tristar card show in Houston a week or so ago. One dealer had boxes of cards arranged by team. He had a bunch of Phillies cards. I picked up 40 Phillies cards I didn't have. Some of them were even types of cards I didn't have. All the cards were from mid-level to high end sets or inserts. I paid $15 for 40 cards including these.

2005 Bowman Heritage #27 Jon LieberI've liked most years of Bowman Heritage but somehow I completely missed out on the 2005 set. The 2005 set was based on the 1951 Bowman set. I had lots of cards from every other year of Bowman Heritage but none of 2005. In addition to this Lieber card I also get the Jimmy Rollins card. Lieber was 17-13 for the Phillies in 2005. He had signed a $21MM free agent contract in December 2004. After the 2005 season he began to deteriorate, going only 9-11 in 2006 and 3-6 in 2007.

2005 Bowman Heritage Mini Jon Lieber #27
I also got the mini card of Rollins as well. The minis are the size of the original 1951 set.

2001 Pacific Private Stock PS-206 Action #44 Pat Burrell
This was a 60-card insert to the 2001 Pacific Private Stock set. Pacific had a similar mini card insert in 2000. That would be 2 years before Topps produced mini cards in the 2002 Topps 206 set.

2005 Zenith Mozaics #9 Thome/Abreu/Burrell
2005 was the last year that Donruss had a contract with MLB to produce cards. Zenith was their last chance at official excess. The 250-card base set had 61 inserts and parallels. There were 16 cards in this insert set, each one featuring a different team. Why there wasn't a card for every team stumps me. The card is heavy with foil printing.

2005 Topps Gallery #11 Pat Burrell
Another set I didn't have any off. In addition to Burrell I also picked up Abreu and Rollins. I've always liked the Topps Gallery cards of the years I had but I'm not too fond of these.

2008 Topps Triple Threads Emerald #133 Tom Gordon
This is only the third Topps Triple Thread card of any year or type that I've owned. The other two are 2 Steve Carlton cards (the base card and a parallel) from 2006. It's not a set I know much about. This is a parallel (numbered to 240) of the base set.

2006 Topps Finest #124 Brett Myers
Topps Finest is another set that I don't buy much of. I never see it at the local big box stores. Most of the cards from recent years that I are Phillies I've bought on eBay or got in trades. Myers was a free agent after last summer and the Astros have signed him.

2007 Bowman's Best #24 Ryan Howard
Another set I never see for sale anywhere and I think this was the last year for Bowman's Best. This is the only card from this set I have. In my opinion, you can't go wrong with a Ryan Howard card.

Phillies Transformation 2005 to 2008 Finale

Part 4 of series. How did the 2005 Phillies become the 2008 World Champion Phillies?

Rob Tejeda (2004 Bowman)
Tejeda was signed by the Phillies in 1998 and was finally called up in 2005. He was 4-3 with the Phillies in 2005 before being traded to the Rangers with Jack Blalock for David Dellucci. Blalock is Hank Blalock's brother and is apparently playing in Italy this year. Dellucci spend 2006 with the Phillies as an outfielder. He hit .292 and with 13 home runs in 132 games. He was a free agent at the end of 2006 and doesn't seem to have played since. No impact for Tejeda on the 2008 team.

Jim Thome (2005 Prime Parches Portraits Team Logo Patch)

Jim was in the 3rd and last year of a $36.5 million contract with the Phillies. He was hurt most of the season so the Phillies had to turn to a guy named Ryan Howard to fill in at 1st base.

Michael Tucker (2005 Topps Update)
Tucker was acquired by the Phillies in August 2005 from the Giants for Kelvin Pichardo. He had 18 at bats for the Phillies hitting .222. Then he was released at the end of the season. I uploaded the cards for this post a few weeks ago and I must have had some reason for showing the back of this card instead of the front but I'll be darned if I can remember what it was.

Ugueth Urbina (2005 Topps Update)
Urbina was acquired in another mid-season trade, this one with the Tigers for Olacido Polanco. He was also a free agent at the end of the season. He was 4-3 with one save as a reliever in 2005 for the Phillies.

Chase Utley (2005 Fleer Authentix)
After 2 years of sharing 2nd base with Placido Polanco Utley became the Phillies staring 2nd baseman in 2005. He responded with a .291 season and 28 home runs. 2006-2008 were excellent years for Chase as he established himself as one of the best 2nd basemen in the league. He earned a Silver Slugger award and was on the All-Star team each year. He was a big part of the 2005 team, a huge part of the 2008 World Series team and continues to be a great player.

Shane Victorino (2007 Topps Heritage)
Shane was drafted by the Phillies from the Dodgers in the 2004 Rule V draft. He only appeared in 24 games in 2005 but became a started in 2006. He was one of the core players on the 2008 team.

Billy Wagner (2005 Donruss)
Wagner signed a 2-year $17 million contract with the Phillies in 2004. He was coming off some big years with the Astros (he saved 44 games for the Astros in 2003) but never really caught on with the Phillies. He was hurt part of the time as well. He saved 21 games in 2004 and 38 in 2005. He signed a 3-year, $31.5 million deal with the Mets after the 2005 season. He did pretty well with the Mets but I'm not sure what has happened to him. He has no stats for 2009. Billy had no impact on the 2008 Phillies.

Randy Woolf (2005 Bowman)
Randy was 6-4 in 13 starts with an ERA of 4.39 for the 2005 Phillies. He was 4-0 in limited action in 2006 and then became a free agent, signing with the Dodgers. No impact on the 2008 Phillies.

Tim Worrell (2005 Topps Heritage)
At 37, Todd was one of the oldest Phillies in 2005. He saved 19 games for the Phillies in 2003 but he only appeared in 19 games in 2005 before being traded to the D-backs for Matt Kata. Kata appeared in 10 games in 2005. He's knocked around since then and in 2008 was playing minor league ball in the Pirates system. This year he's with the Astros. No impact on the 2008 team.

So where does that leave us? Of the 40 men who played some part of the season with the 2005 Phillies, only 7 were still with the team in 2008. These were Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Pat Burrell, Shane Victorino, Brett Myers and Ryan Madson. In 2005, the offensive core of the 2008 Phillies was already with the team. All they had to do was just about completely revamp the pitching staff.

Phillies Transformation 2005 to 2008 Part 3

Part 3 of a series. How did the 2005 Phillies become the 2008 World Champion Phillies?

2005 Topps Total Jason Michaels #564
Jason Michaels was the Phillies #4 draft pick in 1998. He broke into the majors in 2001. From 2002-2005 he was a part time outfielder for the Phils. In 2005 he hit .304 in 289 AB. In January 2006 he was traded to the Indians for pitcher Arthur Rhodes. Rhodes was 0-5 for the Phillies in 2006 and then was a free agent. So Mr. Michaels didn't have any direct on the 2008 Phillies.

2005 Topps Cracker Jack Brett Myers #159
Myers was the Phillies 1st round draft pick in 1999. He came up to the majors in 2002 and by 2005 was an established pitcher, going 13-8 that year. In 2007, the Phillies made him a reliever and he got 21 saves. But with the acquisition of Brad Lidge after the 2007 season, he was again a starter in 2008. His 2008 record was an unimpressive 10-13. Most of the losses were in the 1st half of the season when he was 3 and 9. He accepted a temporary demotion to the minors in mid-season, and came back a much better pitcher. He was 7 and 4 in the 2nd half of the season.

2005 Topps Opening Day Vincent Padilla #151
In July 2000, the Phillies traded Curt Schilling to the Diamondbacks for Padilla, Omar Daal, Nelson Figueroa and Travis Lee. Of the 4, only Padilla was still with the Phillies in 2005. Padilla was a middle reliever when the Phillies got him but was made a starter in 2002. He was 14-11 in '02 and 14-12 in '03. But he started slipping, going 9-12 in 2005. In December 2005 the Phillies traded him to the Rangers for Ricardo Rodriguez. As near as I can tell, Rodriguez never played for the Phillies at any level and is currently in the Mexican League. No impact of the 2008 Phillies by Vincente Padilla.

2005 Topps Total Tomas Perez #81
Since I live in Texas I can't follow the Phillies in great detail. Perez is one of those players who I only know because they have a baseball card. He was a free agent signing in December 1999 and released in April 2006. During that time he appeared in 504 games with a .250 average. He played center field, right field, shortstop, 2nd base, 3rd base and 1st base. He even pitched a third of an inning 2002. The definition of a utility player. No impact on the 2008 Phillies.

2005 Topps Total Placido Polanco #25
With a name that makes him sound more like a opera singer than a baseball player, Polanco was a free agent middle IF utility guy in 2002 and traded to the Tigers in 2005. The Phillies got Ramon Martinez (not the pitcher but another infielder) who was released after the 2005 season, and Ugueth Urtain Urbina, a pitcher who was 4-3 in 2005 and released. Urbina surely must be the only baseball player whose initials are UUU. His nickname was Oogie.

2005 Topps Total Todd Pratt #217
Pratt was a career long back-up catcher who had two stints with the Phillies, 1992-1994 and 2002-2005. No impact on the 2008 Phillies.

2005 Topps Opening Day MLB Game Worn Jersey Collection Jimmy Rollins
I was lucky enough to pull this card from a blaster box, exclusive to Target, of Topps Opening Day. Rollins was the Phillies #2 draft pick in 1996 and made the big club in 2000. He's been the starting short stop since 2001. He is one of the key Phillies, one of the players who makes the team go. In 2005 he hit .290 with 47 SB and 115 runs scored. His best year was 2007 when he won the NL MVP. 2008 wasn't as good as 2007 but he was still a key player. He's gotten off to a slow start this year but his average has been rising lately.

2006 Topps Danny Sandoval #306

Sandoval played 3 games for the Phillies in 2004 and 28 in 2005 and that was it. No impact on much of anything.

Phillies Transformation 2005 to 2008 Part 2

Who were those 2005 Phillies and how did they become the 2008 Phillies? Part 2 of a series.


Rheal Cormier/Aaron Fultz - Topps Total #667Cormier appeared in 363 games for the Phillies, all in relief, from 2001 into 2006. He was 28-21 with 2 saves. In 2006, he was traded to the Reds for Justin Germano. Germano didn't pitch for the Phillies at all and was picked off waivers by the Padres in 2007. Fultz was 7-1 in 128 relief appearances with the Phillies in 2005-2006. He was a free agent at the end of 2006. No impact by either of these two guys on the 2008 Phillies,

Geoff Geary - 2006 Upper Deck #739
Another relief specailist, Geary was 13-4 with 1 save for the Phillies in 216 appearances. Geary was traded to the Astros after the 2007 season with Michael Bourn for Eric Brunlett and Brad Lidge. Its hard to underestimate Lidge's value to the 2008 team so, while Geary had no direct impact on the 2008 Phillies, the Phillies got a good deal for him which really helped the club.

Ryan Howard - Ultra Gold Medalion #213
Ryan who? Howard was the NL Rookie of the Year in 2005. In 2006 he won the NL Hank Aaron Award, was the Major League Player of the Year and the NL MVP. But what have you done for me lately? In 2008, he hit 48 home runs, a .251 average, and 146 RBIs in 700 plate appearances. He was runner up for the NL MVP. In the playoffs he was pretty quite until the World Series. He hit 3 homers in the World Series. Clearly, one of the reasons for the Phillies 2008 success.

Jon Lieber - Topps Total Silver #179
Lieber was 29-30 as a starter for the Phillies from 2005-2007. He was a free agent after the 2007 season.

Cory Lidle - Topps Total Silver #429
Lidle was 26-20 with the Phillies from 2004-2006. In July of 2006, he was traded with Bobby Abreu to the Yankees for 4 players who have yet to play for the Phillies. The sad part of this story is that Lidle was killed in October 2006 when the small plane he was piloting crashed into a New York City apartment building.

Mike Lieberthal - Leather & Lumber #99
Lieberthal was the Phillies #1 draft pick in 1990. He made it to the Phillies in 1994, the year after their 1993 World Series bid. He played for a lot of bad Phillies teams until the team started to get good, right about 2005. He was not signed after the 2006 season and became a free agent, signing with the Dodgers, appearing in only 38 games for the Dodgers in 2007. In a nice gesture, the Phillies signed him to a one-day contract on June 1, 2008. He threw out the first pitch and retired. Other than perhaps an emotional impact he had no impact on the 2008 Phillies.

Tim Worrell/Pedro Liriano - Topps Total #592
Worrell was pretty much at the end of his career when the Phillies signed him in 2004 and in 2005 they traded him to the Diamondbacks for Matt Kata, who in turned was picked off waivers by the Reds. Liriano was also at the end of his career (all 2 years of it) in 2005, appearing in 5 games in relief.

Kenny Lofton - Donruss Team Heroes #343
Between 2002 and 2007 (his final year), Lofton played for 9 different teams. He was with the Phillies for 110 games in 2005. He hit .335 for the Phillies and stole 22 bases. He was a free agent at the end of the season and signed with the Dodgers for 2006. By 2008, it was hard to remember that Lofton had been with the team.

Ryan Madson - Fleer Tradition #142
Madson was the Phillies 9th round draft pick in 1998 and made the club in 2003. Since 2003 he has mainly been used as a middle reliever. He was a starter in 2006 with an 11-9 record. In 2008, he appeared in 76 games with an ERA of 3.05, a 4-2 record and 1 save. He appeared in 11 games in the playoffs, winning a game against the Dodgers in the NLCS. It's hard for me to judge how important Madson was to the 2008 Phillies, since I don't ofter get to see them play. But, considering he appeared in a lot of games, Manuel must have had confidence in him.

Charlie Manuel - Topps Traded #87
How important is a manager to the success of a club? I'm not going to try and answer that ages old baseball question. Under Terry Francona from 1997 to 2000, the Phillies were a sub-.500 club. Of course, Francona went on to be a genuis in Boston. Larry Bowa took over the team from 2001 through 2004. The Phillies were 86-76 for three of those years. Close enough to almost make a wild-card spot. Under Manual they've been better. 88-74 in 2005, 89-73 and the NL East in 2007, and 92-70 and the World Series in 2008. My opinion is that the Phillies as a team were getting better with guys like Howard and Hamels maturing. I think a manager can have an important role in that sort of development. Larry Bowa was probably the wrong man for the job.

Phillies Transformation 2005 to 2008 Part 1

I recently purchased the 2005 Topps Total Phillies set. This got me wondering about how the just-missed-the-playoffs 2005 Phillies became the 2008 World Champion Phillies.

The 2005 Phillies were 88-74 and just missed getting the NL wild-card spot by one game to the Astros. That last week of the season was nail biting time for me as my two favorite teams vied for a playoff spot. The Astros went on to lose the 2005 World Series to the White Sox and its pretty much been downhill for them ever since. The Phillies just missed the playoffs again in 2006, was first in the NL east in 2007 and 2008, with 2008 being the World Series year. Who were those 2005 Phillies and how did they become the 2008 Phillies?

Bob Abreu (2005 Classic Clippings #64)

Abreu had a pretty decent year in 2005 (24 HR, .286 average). He'd been with the Phillies since 1998. In 2006 the Phillies traded Abreu with Cory Lidle to the Yankees for three minor leaguers and pitcher Matt Smith. Smith appeared in 15 games for the Phillies in 2006 and 2007 before being released. So Abreu didn't contribute anything to the 2008 Phillies

Terry Adams (2005 Topps Total #578)
Adams didn't have much of an impact on the 2005 Phillies (0-2 in 13.3 innings) and was release in May. Although if those two loses were wins, the Phillies would have been in the playoffs in 2005.

David Bell (Topps Heritage #366)
Bell was the Phillies starting third baseman in 2005 and he wasn't reminding anyone of Mike Schmidt. He was traded to the Brewers in 2006 for Wilfride Laureano (who?). No impact on the 2008 Phillies.

Eude Brito (2006 Topps '52 Autograph)
Brito was a spot starter for the Phillies in 2005 and 2006. In seven starts he was 2-4. No impact on the 2008 Phillies.

Pat Burrell (2005 Leaf Century Post Marks Silver #99)
Burrell was in his 6th year with the Phillies in 2005 and had a pretty good year. He hit 32 home runs and batted .281. He also had 117 RBIs. He hit 33 HRs in 2008 and was a big part of the 2008 team.

Marlon Byrd (Fleer Tradition Gray Backs #143)
Byrd was a 10th round pick by the Phillies in 1999. 2005 was his 4th year in the bigs but he was traded 5 games into the season to the Nationals for Endy Chavez, who was a free agent at the end of the 2005 season. No impact on the 2008 Phillies.

Endy Chavez (Topps Update #78)
And speaking of Endy Chavez, he hit .215 for the Phillies in 91 games in 2005. No impact on the 2008 Phillies.

Rheal Cormier (2001 Topps Traded)
Cormier spent 6 years with the Phillies (2001-2006) as a reliever who was involved in a lot of decisions (he was 28-24 over this period). I have only a handful of cards of his cards. In 2006 he was traded to the Reds for Justin Germano (who?). Germano never threw a pitch for the Phillies. So Cormier had no impact on the 2008 Phillies.

Gavin Floyd (Topps Gold #582)
Floyd was a Phillies first round draft pick in 2001 but never really got going with the Phillies. He was traded to the White Sox after the 2006 season for Freddy Garcia, who had a 17-9 record in 2006. He was pretty disappointing with the Phillies in 2007, winning only 1 game in 11 starts. Garcia went free agent after 2007. Meanwhile, Floyd was 17-8 for the 2008 White Sox. So no impact on the 2008 Phillies.

Of the first 10 players, only one player (Pat Burrell) from the 2005 club was still with the team in 2008.