Phillies-Brewers Retro Night

It was Retro Night at the Phillies-Brewers game in Milwaukee last Friday night. The first photo from the game was this:Whoa! What is he wearing? That's a 1970-1980s vintage uniform. The retro look wasn't complete as the Phillies wore maroon batting helmets back then.
Jamie Moyer got the win, as the Phillies won 9-5 in a slugfest. Moyer is now 5-2 on the season, even though he gave up the 500th and 501st home run of his career. Only the late Robin Roberts has given up more home runs in his career, at 505. Moyer seems destined to eclipse that mark. Of course, in 24 years you can rack up a lot of stats, both good and bad.
Jayson Werth watches home run 500 in the 2nd inning. It was hit by George Kottaras.
Ryan Howard hit a home run of his own in the first, his 6th of the season and 228th of his career. It's weird to see those uniforms. Personally, I always thought that the Phillies road uniforms from that period were not very attractive, and I never really liked the maroon that they started wearing when Veteran's Stadium opened up. I was happy when they went back to red in the early 1990s.
And of course the Brewers were in their 1970s home unis. Here's Ryan Braun breaking his bat in the 6th. It's funny that the Brewers picked a night when the Phillies were in town to have a 1970s retro look. Back then, the only time the Phillies would have played each other would have been if they met in the World Series. Which they didn't.

Photo credits: Morry Gash/AP

Song of the Week - Spinning Wheel by Blood, Sweat & Tears

Blood Sweat & Tears got their start in 1967, just about the same time as Chicago. Both bands were similar in that their sound was a fusion of rock, jazz and blues. It was quite innovative at the time. I loved the first 3 Chicago albums and I loved this album by BS&T. But I lost interest in both over the years. BS&T are still touring, although it doesn't look as iff they've produced an album of new material since 1980, and no new albums at all since about 1995. According to Wikipedia, BS&T has had 132 members over the years.

Thursday Night at the Movies - Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2 is one of those movies you're either planning to see or you're not interested in it at all. Certainly if you liked the first movie (and a lot of you did) you'll go to this one. And I don't think you'll be disappointed. The first movie was the origins story. This one is the crisis of confidence story. Maybe you wouldn't think that a guy like Tony Stark would suffer from a lack of confidence but he's got real problems here, problems that Iron Man can't solve. And I'll give Robert Downey, Jr. credit, he does a pretty good job as the trobuled Tony Stark.Samuel L. Jackson is back as Nick Fury, with a larger, although tangential, part of the story. Scarlett Johansson is there to look good and kick ass. You've seen her do some of that in the trailers. Gwyneth Paltrow reprises her thankless roll as Pepper Potts.

In the reviews I read a lot is made of an actor with the stature of Don Cheadle being in the movie. I haven't see too many of his movies so I can't speak much about his chops as an actor. In this he mainly gets to look pensive. But most of the time he's in the big War Machine suit with the heads-up display reflected on his face. Not much room for acting in there.

Mickey Rourke is pretty good as the mad Russian scientist and brute who designs his own suit and almost brings Iron Man to his knees. Sam Rockwell plays Justin Hammer, the owner of Hammer Enterprises, Tony Stark's biggest competitor. I was not real impressed with this stereotypical character as portrayed by Rockwell.

The movie is quite preposterous, of course. You'll be suspending belief all over the place. Why doesn't Tony Stark end up as a bloody paste after some of the punishment he takes in the Iron Man suit? How is he able to build a miniature cyclotron in his living room, overnight, from parts he found in his garage? How does his chief of security get repeatedly punched in the face and not have a mark on him? Why is Gwyneth Paltrow completely wasted in this movie? Stop asking yourself those questions and enjoy the movie.

Song of the Week - Your Mother Should Know by The Beatles

Happy Mother's Day.

Robin Roberts

Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts died this morning. He was 83 years old. He broke into the National League as one of the original Phillies Whiz Kids. He played for the Phillies from 1948 through 1961 compiling a 286-248 record with a 3.46 ERA, mostly for Phillies teams that weren't very good. Here is most of my Robin Roberts card collection. I only have one card which was actually issued during his career.

1959 Topps #121999 Sports Illustrated Greats of the Game Autographs
On of my favorite cards. I also have the unsigned version of this card.

2003 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites #8
2003 Topps Shoebox #8
2004 Bowman Heritage Black and White TV #171
2007 SP Legendary Cuts #73
2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Mini #112
April 2005 issue of American Scientist magazine
Longtime Phillies fans will recognize the Ballantine Beer logo on the scoreboard. This issue contained a very interesting article on the physics of throwing a baseball. The article can be found on-line here. The article also features Roger Clemens.
And finally, a photo of me with the Robin Roberts statue at the Phillies Citizen's Bank Ball Park.

National Chicle Phillies

I bought 4 packs of Toops National Chicle at the baseball card shop last Friday. I think I like these cards. I didn't get a single Phillie or Astro. I was thinking of buying a hobby box on eBay but decided to try for team sets instead. I managed to score the 12-card Phillies and 7-card Astros set for not a lot of dough. Here are the Phillies.

Rual Ibanez #12One thing I like is that the paintings are by different artists so there is quite a varied look to the set. This card is by Chris Henderson.

#21 J. A Happ
This painting is by Ken Branch and the style is way different than the Ibanez card. I like Happ but I wish they'd included Jamie Moyer instead. Did you see his bases loaded walk on Sunday night that started the unraveling of Johan Santana?

#23 Shane Victorino
Painting by Dave Hobrecht. After Moyer walked, Victorino hit a grand slam to complete Santana's undoing.

#31 Jayson Werth
Another card by Hobrecht.

#37 Ryan Howard
Another painting by Ken Branch. There is a short-print Howard card, in, of all things, an A's uniform. I've won an auction for that card but haven't received it yet.

#92 Cole Hamels
This card was also painted by Branch. The Happ and Howard cards are similar but the style of this card is different.

#122 Roy Halladay
Painting by Paul Lempa. Reminds me of the Turkey Red backgrounds. My first 2010 Halladay as a Phillie card.

#157 Jimmy Rollins
A completely different style by Mike Kupka. I have a couple of others by him with the same theme.

#191 Chase Utley
This painting by Brian Kong reminds me a bit of the Ibanez card above.

#225 Mike Schmidt
As is usually the case in these 'retro' sets, a lot of veterans show up. The Phillies may not be one of the most successful baseball franchises but at least they have some great players in their past. Another card by Kong.

#251 Richie Ashburn
Another Phillie great from the past. I never saw him play but loved his play-by-play on the Phillies broadcasts. This painting by Don Higgins.

#253 Ryne Sandberg
Well, Sandberg was a great player but he only had 6 at bats for the Phillies in 1981. The painting is by Monty Sheldon. There is a second Sandberg card in this set, #297. I'm guessing he's pictured as a Cub on that one. Since Sandberg only had 6 at bats as a Phillie, photos of him batting in a Phillie must be pretty rare. So it wouldn't surprise me if this photo was lifted from another baseball card. There weren't many baseball cards with Sandberg as a Phillie either. I only know of two, a 1994 Topps Traded card and this one.

2005 Upper Deck Classics Star Retro Rookie #125
Look familiar?

Song of the Week - 100 Days, 100 Nights by Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings