Photo of the Game: 25/162

4/29/2011: Game #25. Phillies 10 Mets 3

Rookie Vance Worley was called up from the minors to start for the injured Joe Blanton and pitched six shutout innings to beat the Mets. Ryan Howard led the offense with two homeruns and 6 RBIs, including a grand slam. It was the 10th grand slam of his career, a franchise best. Howard is now tied with Del Ennis in second place for career homeruns as a Phil (259) behind only Mike Schmidt (548). Photo by Steven M. Falk / Philly.com
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On Deck

I snapped this image on Tuesday night, at the time I was struck by the incredible depth of field. It looks great as my computer wallpaper.

The player is actually Roger Clemen's son, Koby. He currently plays firstbase for the Oklahoma City RedHawks. On Tuesday night he hit two HRs in the same inning.

Photo of the Game: 24/162

4/27/2011: Game #24. Phillies 8 DBacks 4

Jimmy Rollins trots around the bases after hitting a home run in the fifth inning. It was Rollins first HR of the season and at the time put the Phillies ahead 6-1. The Phils salvaged the last game of the three game series in Arizona winning 8-4. Placido Polanco led the offense with 4 hits and Rollins, Victorino, and Howard each blasted HRs. Cole Hamels started and pitched seven inning to get the win. Photo by Christian Petersen / Getty Images.

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Minor stars: DiamondBacks

Continuing the theme I started last weekend with the players the Phillies are playing against, Here are a couple of current Arizona DBacks I have shot over the last few years when they were in the minors.

Photo of the Game: 23/162

4/26/2011: Game #23. Phillies 5 DBacks 7

Arizona Diamondback Miguel Montero slides home around catcher Brian Schneider following an RBI single by Gerardo Parra in the second inning of the 5-7 loss in Arizona. Starter Roy Oswalt lasted only 3 innings and was handed his first ever loss in a Phillies uniform. Photo by Matt York / AP

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Photo of the Game: 22/162

4/25/2011: Game #22. Phillies 0 D-Backs 4

Raul Ibanez tosses his bat after striking out against Ian Kennedy. Kennedy pitched the first complete game of his career, shutting out the Phillies 4-0 while only allowing 3 hits. He also had 10 strikeouts, including Victorino, Rollins, and Howard twice each. Cliff Lee struck out 12 Diamondbacks in the losing effort. Photo by Ross D. Franklin / AP.

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1981 Custom redux: Phillies pitching staff

Rather than spin out each pitcher individually from this 1981 redux Phillies set, I decided to throw them all into one post and get it over with, I still have the non-pitcher reserves to go. Here is most of the pitchers from the 1980 World Champions. I am still working on finding a decent Lerrin LaGrow image to make this staff terrifyingly complete.

Photo of the Game: 21/162

4/24/2011: Game #21. Phillies 3 Padres 1

Shane Victorino slides head first at home following his 7th inning inside the park home run, putting the Phillies up 3-0. Starter Roy Halladay matched his career high of 14 strikeouts as he pitched 8 2/3 innings for the win and the series sweep. The last time the Phillies swept 4 games in San Diego against the Padres was 1979. Antonio Bastardo came in to throw one pitch and record the last out for the save. Photo by Sean M. Hafey / San Diego Union Tribune.

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Photo of the Game: 20/162

4/23/2011: Game #20. Phillies 4 Padres 2 (11 innings)

Ryan Howard follows through on his 11th inning opposite field double that drove in the two winning runs of the 4-2 victory. Howard had been 0-4 with 4 strikeouts when the Padres chose to intentionally walked Jimmy Rollins to get to him. With the win the Phillies, who have won 10 straight games in Petco Park going back to the 2008 season, put Roy Halladay on the mound this afternoon to go for the 4 game sweep in San Diego. Photo by Lenny Ignelzi/AP.

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Minor stars: Padres

Watching the Phils play the Padres this weekend has made me realize that I have seen (and photographed) many of these San Diego Padres play in the minor leagues with other franchises.

Cameron Maybin with the Tigers

Jorge Cantu with the Rays

Brad Hawpe with the Rockies

Chad Qualls with the Astros

Photo of the Game: 19/162

4/22/2011: Game #19. Phillies 2 Padres 0

Ryan Howard slides headfirst into third base completing his third inning two run triple. These runs were all the Phils needed to beat the Padres on Friday night in San Diego. Cole Hamels started and got the win after he pitched eight shutout innings. Ryan Madson made an appearance in for the ninth to get the save. The Padres have now been shutout in two straight games against the Phils. Photo by Lenny Ignelzi / AP

Game Story

Familiar Faces / Strange Places: Fred Lynn / Padres

In 1975 Fred Lynn burst into the big leagues winning the AL Rookie of the Year and the Most Valuable Player award, becoming the first player to ever win both awards in the same season. He also led his Boston Red Sox to the World Series where they lost to the Reds in seven exciting games. Combined with fellow Red Sox rookie Jim Rice, they were called the "gold dust twins".

Unfortunately for Red Sox fans, he couldn't maintain the same level of his rookie season. Lynn still excelled beyond your average major leaguer, winning three more Gold Gloves in 1978-80 and finishing 4th in the 1979 MVP voting and was elected to the All-Star team for nine straight seasons.

Having attended college at USC, Lynn had a strong desire to play in California. The Sox traded him the the Angels after the 1980 season. He performed well on a team that included 4 different MVPs. He was named MVP of the 1982 ALCS, becoming the first player to ever win the award for the losing team. In 1983, he hit the only grand slam in All-Star history and was named MVP in what turned out to be his last All Star game. His four home runs in All-Star games ranks second behind only to Stan Musial. One thing about Fred Lynn, he was incredibly predictable and consistent with his power production. From 1982-1988, his home run totals were 21-22-23-23-23-23-25.

After the 1984 season Lynn became a free agent and signed a fat contract with the Orioles, but never lived up to the very high expectations placed on him. He was traded to the Tigers in a 1988 deadline deal -- and played a single full in a stadium seemingly designed for this left handed swing. But, injuries and time had taken their toll. His once seemingly clear road to Cooperstown was detoured to a dead end.

Lynn wrapped up his career with one season with San Diego in 1990, retiring at the age of 38 with 306 career home runs and 1111 RBIs. He was elected to the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2002 and College World Series Hall of Fame in 2007. You can check out his own personal web site here.

Photo of the Game: 18/162

4/21/2011: Game #17. Phillies 3 Padres 0

Roy Oswalt pitched 6 one hit innings in San Diego leading the Phils to a 3-0 win in the first game of a seven game west coast road trip. Oswalt's stellar performance comes after leaving the game with a strained back during his last start. He is 10-1 with a 1.77 ERA since he joined the Phillies via a trade deadline deal last July. Ben Francisco and Brian Schneider hit solo home runs of Padres starter Matt Latos. Photo by Lenny Ignelzi/AP

Game Story

Happy John Kennedy Day !

It was on April 22nd, 1957 that John Kennedy made his major league debut and became the first black player in Philadelphia Phillies history. The game was played in Jersey City, New Jersey at Roosevelt Stadium, the sometimes home of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Kennedy entered the game in the top of the 8th inning as a pinch runner for Solly Hemus, who had doubled, but did not score. The Dodgers won, 5-1.

This date was exactly 10 years to the day after manager Ben Chapman's Phillies had infamously made the headlines because of the way he and his team taunted rookie Jackie Robinson in Brooklyn. The Phillies were the last team in the National League to field a black player. Only the American League's Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox were left.

Kennedy's next game was two days later, playing against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Connie Mack Stadium. He entered the game in the bottom of the 6th as a pinch runner for Harry Anderson, who had singled, and later scored on a bases-loaded triple by Ed Bouchee. The Phillies won, 8-5. He got into a total of just five games, the last one on May 3, 1957. At the plate he was 0-for-2, including one strikeout. In his two appearances at shortstop he had one assist, one error, and participated in one double play.

According to this 2008 story from Jacksonville.com:

Kennedy stayed in professional baseball for three more years, but he had to quit to support his wife, Betty, and their children. He took a job distributing newspapers in Jacksonville and went to Ohio in the 1970s to work in a steel mill.

No matter where Kennedy went, baseball stayed with him. He was haunted by the feeling of a job unfinished in the sport, and Tazena Kennedy said her father had a recurring dream of walking into Philadelphia's Connie Mack Stadium as his teammates were taking infield practice, but he couldn't find the locker room or his way down to the field. Whenever the dream version of Kennedy found someone to point him in the right direction, he would wake up, never quite making it to his destination.

Beat the Streak update #1

Normalcy. We have reached the point of the season when the games are coming and going at a rapid pace. The weather in the north is starting to warm up. The Mets are in last place. And, the early season slumps and hot streaks are starting to return back to a normal distribution curve.

It is also the time when you stop making moves every ten minutes for your fantasy team and stop making daily choices for Beat the Streak.

There is still plenty of time for you to join our DICK ALLEN HALL OF FAME BEAT THE STREAK GROUP. Just sign up for the game at MLB.com and search for the group "Dick Allen HOF".

It is free. It is easy. It is fun. You can win.

Photo of the Game: 17/162

4/20/2011: Game #17. Phillies 4 Brewers 3

Shane Victorino crosses home plate after hitting a HR in the bottom of the eighth inning. This run accounted for the margin of victory in the Phillies 4-3 comeback win over the Brewers. At one point in the fifth inning - the Phils were down 3-0 and had not gotten a hit. Photo by Matt Slocum/AP.

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1981 Custom redux: Bob Boone

1981 Custom redux: Bake McBride

1981 Custom redux: Garry Maddox

1981 Custom redux: Greg Luzinski

1981 Custom redux: Mike Schmidt

I plan on posting a bunch of these today as attempt to move karma towards a Phillies win over the Brewers.

Photo of the Game: 16/162

4/19/2011: Game #16. Phillies 0 Brewers 9
Shortstop Jimmy Rollins watches the ninth inning of the 9-0 demoralizing shutout to the Brewers. Former Phillie Randy Wolf held his old team to 2 hits while his current teammates became the first group to get to and defeat Roy Halladay in 2011. As expected, the offense is sputtering. For the season, Rollins has one RBI in the 16 games batting in the #3 spot in the order normally manned by Chase Utley. Photo by Steven M. Falk / Philly.com

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Photo of the Game: 15/162

4/18/2011: Game #15. Phillies 3 Brewers 6 (12 innings)

Kyle Kendrick watches Ryan Braun's long fly ball that scored the go ahead run in the 12th inning. Kendrick allowed three runs during a painful inning of work that erased a potential comeback win. The nightmare inning looked like this: walk, throwing error, sacrifice fly, hit batter, wild pitch, intentional walk, sacrifice fly, intentional walk, and single. In summary, that was three runs, 20 deep breath sighs, a bloody inside part of my lower lip, and one hit. The only reason the inning ended was Casey McGehee tried to score from second on a single to right and was thrown out. Photo by Michael Bryant / Philly.com.

Game Story

1981 Custom redux: Larry Bowa

1981 Custom redux: Manny Trillo

Photo of the Game: 14/162

4/17/2011: Game #14. Phillies 3 Marlins 2

Placido Polanco celebrates with closer Jose Contreras and catcher Carlos Ruiz after the Phils beat the Marlins on Sunday afternoon. Polanco hit his first HR of the season in the first inning and Ruiz drove in the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning. Cole Hamels went seven innings to get his second win of the season. Photo by David Maialetti/Philly.com

Game Story

CoCo's 'fro

Just in case you have not seen CoCo Crisp's new funky retro hair style from Thursday night. This single act of grooming has vaulted him up on my all-time "greatest stlye" ballplayers list. CoCo now easily resides in the top 10 on both the "style" and "name" lists.

Not sure if this will be a permanent addition to his toolkit, but if so, I give him a standing ovation. Thank goodness for the MLB season ticket package on TV, I now have a reason to turn on the late night Oakland Athletics games before I go to sleep.

Edit: Of course, my friend Dan Epstien is on the case. And sadly, the CoCo's 'fro is not going to a permanent fixture. Sigh. Maybe we should start a "Bring back CoCo's 'fro" petition?

Photo of the Game: 13/162

4/15/2011: Game #13. Phillies 3 Marlins 4

Former Phillie Greg Dobbs breaks his bat while hitting a 2 run bases loaded single during the 7th inning to give the Marlins the lead they would hold on to. Potentially more damaging than the loss is the news that Phillie starter Roy Oswalt left the game with the lead because of a back issue (gulp) in the bottom of the sixth inning while running out a bunt attempt. Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images.

Game Story

Happy Jackie Robinson Day

I am glad to see baseball continues to make a big deal about Jackie Robinson Day. I hope we never forget what he went through to improve this game and this country.

1981 custom redux: Pete Rose

Yesterday was Pete Rose's 70th birthday. When I think about what that means... I really am getting old. Anyway, Happy Birthday PETE!

As I was sitting on another boring conference call this morning, I started playing around with a new 1981 Topps template. I've always liked the 1981 design and remembered reading a cool post from Doc at Baseball Card Recollections that made some slight, yet dramatic improvements on the original design.

I included a couple of his ideas... and viola... a new concept set for me to work on. I give you the first card of my 1980 World Champs project.

Photo of the Game: 12/162

4/14/2011: Game #12. Philles 4 Nationals 0.

This game can be summarized in two words: Cliff Lee.

Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images

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Sunset in Round Rock

I was shooting the Omaha/Round Rock game on Monday night. The game was moving on as normal when I noticed the beautiful glow of the central Texas sunset. I took the time to put on the wide angle lens and move up on the concourse to get a better angle for the image. Just as I was getting ready to return to the camera pit -- Matt Kata of the RR Express hit a HR. You can see the fireworks shooting off.