2012 Phillies Team Issue 2 #13 Freddy Galvis

Phillies 10, Rays 1
Spring Training Game 30 - Tuesday Afternoon, March 26th in Clearwater
Record - 14-15-1

One Sentence Summary:  Freddy Galvis and Kevin Frandsen drove in a combined six runs as the Phillies defeated the Rays, 10-1.

What It Means:  Enough already.  Let's start this season!

What Went Right:  For the first time in his professional career, Galvis started in left field and by all accounts he looked fairly comfortable out there.  The super utility player hit a two-run home run in the fifth.

Domonic Brown enjoyed a three-hit day, and he's now hitting .373 this spring.  Led by Raul Valdes, the Phillies bullpen combined to allow just one Rays run on three hits.

Featured Cards:  At the start of the 2012 season, Galvis was forced into a starting role at second baseChase Utley's lingering knee issues.  In 58 games through early June, Galvis was hitting .226 and playing excellent defense when a back injury landed him on the disabled list.  A few weeks later, it was announced that Galvis had tested positive for a banned substance and he was suspended for 50 games.  When he suits up for the Phils in April, it will be his first Major League action since last June 6th.

2013 Chachi Almost #3

due to

Even though he was the team's opening day second baseman last year, Galvis received no cardboard appreciation from Topps.  Other than a few cards in the non-licensed Panini sets, Galvis' only 2012 baseball cards can be found in the team issued postcard-sized sets.

Camp Head Count:  32 minus 1 = 31.  Pitcher and non-roster invitee Aaron Cook was released yesterday morning.  Cook had a decent spring (3.38 ERA in six appearances) but the Phillies appear to have more confidence in their young pitchers at Triple-A than they did in Cook in terms of starting pitching depth.  Elsewhere, infiedler Yuniesky Betancourt, released a few days ago by the Phillies, signed a Major League deal with the Brewers.

2012 Quarry Unlimited - Aaron Cook

The Phillies added two more non-roster invitees to their growing list last week, bringing the tally up to 12 players hoping to head north at the end of March.  Aaron Cook, who had just a plain awful season last year with the Red Sox and Juan Cruz, not to be confused with former Phillie Juan Perez, join the recently signed Rodrigo Lopez as veteran rightys who will get an extended look in Clearwater.

Cook spent the first 10 years of his career with the Rockies before signing with the Red Sox prior to the '12 season.  In 18 starts, he went 4-11 with a 5.65 ERA.  Over the past three seasons, he's 13-29 in 58 starts with a 5.54 ERA.  This is what is referred to as a low risk, high reward signing and if Cook can return to his All-Star form of 2008, everyone will be happy.  (Everyone except maybe Tyler Cloyd and John Lannan who are both hoping to earn the fifth spot in the rotation.)

Much to the disappointment (I'm sure) of the fans in Section 36, it appears as if Cook never received a proper Red Sox baseball card to memorialize his time in Boston.  This gave me a great excuse to feature a card from the fantastic, and comprehensive, 2012 Quarry Unlimited custom set created by the Cards from the Quarry blog.  If you haven't already checked out this awesome project, click here, and make sure you have a good half hour or so to browse the complete set.  You should also take the time to vote for your choice of the top 10 cards from the set.  I sincerely hope this project makes a return appearance in 2013.

Cruz has bounced around since 2001, pitching with the Cubs, Braves, A's, Diamondbacks, Royals, Rays and Pirates.  The Pirates released him in August last season after he refused to report to AAA following his demotion.  In 43 games with the Pirates, he pitched to a respectable 2.78 ERA over 35 2/3 innings.

Player (position) - 2012 Organization - Last Major Cardboard Appearance

1.  Steven Lerud (c) - Phillies - 2004 Bowman #160 (Pirates)

2.  Michael Martinez (inf) - Phillies - 2012 Topps #64 (Phillies)

3.  Pete Orr (inf) - Phillies - 2008 Topps Update #UH72 (Nationals)

4.  Cesar Jimenez (lhp) - Mariners - 2009 Upper Deck #857 (Mariners)

5.  Zach Miner (rhp) - Tigers - 2009 O-Pee-Chee #314 (Tigers)

6.  Humberto Quintero (c) - Royals/Marlins/Brewers - 2012 Topps #590 (Astros)

7.  Andres Blanco (inf) - Phillies - 2007 Topps #659 (Royals)

8.  Josh Fields (3b) - Dodgers - 2010 Topps #387 (Royals)

9.  Jermaine Mitchell (of) - Athletics - 2012 Bowman Platinum Prospects Autographs #JM (Athletics)

10.  Rodrigo Lopez (rhp) - Cubs - 2007 Topps #348 (Rockies)

11.  Juan Cruz (rhp) - Pirates - 2012 Topps Update #US36 (Pirates)

12.  Aaron Cook (rhp) - Red Sox - 2011 Topps #230 (Rockies)