2012 Chachi Almost #3 Lou Montanez

Mets 5, Phillies 2
Game 30 - Monday Night, May 7th in Philadelphia
Record - 14-16, 5th Place, 5 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  The Mets stunned the Phillies and Jonathan Papelbon when Jordany Valdespin hit a three-run, ninth inning home run - in his first Major League at-bat - leading the Mets to a 5-2 victory.

What It Means:  Radio announcer Larry Andersen summed it up best when he said, "I have no idea what is happening," following Valdespin's improbable shot.  The Phils are in last place in the division.  This is either the fifth or sixth brutal loss suffered by the team so far this season, which I would presume doubles the amount of brutal losses suffered through all of last season.

What Went Wrong:  Papelbon has appeared in just two games this season in which the Phillies were behind or tied.  In both appearances, including last night, he surrendered home runs.  The Phils had a 2-0 lead heading into the sixth, but starting pitcher Roy Halladay surrendered a two-run double to David Wright to tie up the game.

The Phils loaded the bases in the seventh with one out, but Hunter Pence grounded into a double play to end the rally.  They had runners on second and third in the eighth with no outs, yet failed to plate either runner.

1998 Upper Deck #572

Featured Cards:  Coming up with a card to feature after a gruesome loss is sometimes a difficult task.  So why is there a Chachi card of non-Phillie Lou Montanez featured with this post?

After Valdespin’s ridiculous home run last night, I went searching for a list of all players to have hit a home run in their first Major League at-bat.  According to this page over at the Baseball Almanac, there have now been 110 players to have accomplished this feat.  Lou Montanez is on the list, having hit a homer in his first Major League at-bat with the Orioles back on August 6, 2008.  Montanez got off to a great start in Spring Training this year, only to falter as the month of March progressed.  He was recently released from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, after hitting only .136 in 17 games.  He at least earned a Chachi Almost card for his efforts.

And in case you don’t feel like clicking on the Baseball Almanac link, there are five Phillies on the list:

1. Bill Duggleby – April 21, 1898
2. Heinie Mueller – April 19, 1938
3. Ed Sanicki – September 14, 1949
4. Ricky Jordan – July 17, 1988
5. Marlon Anderson – September 8, 1998

2009 Topps #509 Lou Montanez

Phillies 5, Pirates 4 (10 Innings)
Spring Training Game 6 - Thursday Afternoon, March 8th in Clearwater
Record - 3-3

One Sentence Summary:  Cole Hamels enjoyed his second solid start of the spring as non-roster invitee Lou Montanez won the ballgame in the tenth on a walk-off home run.

What It Means:  In case you're keeping track at home, the Phils are back at .500.

What Went Right:  The bats came to life a little.  Shane Victorino hit a two-run home run, Hunter Pence had two more hits and Ty Wigginton added an RBI-double.

Featured Card:  For the second day in a row, The Phillies Room, a blog focused on the Phillies and their baseball cards, is featuring a non-Phillies baseball card.  It was a walk-off home run in a spring training exhibition game, but still - Montanez' shot to left won the game for the Phils.  Montanez (no relation to Willie) appeared in 93 games with the Orioles over a three-year period from 2008 through 2010.  He saw action in 36 games last year with the Cubs, hitting .222 with a home run and 9 RBIs.  There's an excellent chance Montanez is destined for Lehigh Valley to start the season, but he'll give the team a little more organizational depth in the outfield.  Along with the card featured here, Montanez has cards in the 2009 Topps 206 and the 2010 Upper Deck sets.

I may need to cleanse the blog's palette with a vintage Mike Schmidt Phillies card tomorrow.