Congrats, Phils

Breaking News! The Phillies have won the 2008 World Series! Okay, well, you likely don't come to Cards on Cards to get all the latest news, so I don't feel like I'm slighting anyone by not posting this until more than 30 hours after the final out. Truth be told, I felt the end of the series was rather lousy and not because it wasn't the Rays who won. I wanted to see more baseball, and furthermore, I wanted to see an entire baseball game. I'm sure it was cookie cutter perfect for those who don't have the attention span for a full baseball game, but it had the opposite effect on me. I was hoping for either a ton of extra innings or for the series to be extended so that, whatever the outcome, the series could end with a normal game.

The Vet makes me think of the Eagles, their punishing defense, and descriptions of the turf, which by all accounts was like concrete and shards of broken glass with a little bit of green fuzz on top. Oh, yeah, and the fans... the same Philly fans that saw fit to boo every single Rays player that came to bat. I think I'm only on board with the rampant booing and unruly behavior when the Cowboys are in town.

I was hoping to find a Charlie Manuel card to show with this post, but it looks like my first Portland Beavers team set was from 1988 and not 1987 like I had previously thought. The Beavers were actually the Phillies AAA affiliate in the mid-80s (if you perform a vertical flip on the sticker logo above you basically get the Beavers Phils-era logo) but had just signed on with the Twins during their championship year in '87 and designated Manuel as their new manager. His players included current Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, Billy "Moneyball" Beane, and Pat Casey, the Oregon State Beavers coach who has recently won back to back NCAA titles. You can read more about that team here and here.