Monthly Archives: February 2010

Columbus Clippers.. how well we know a few of them! The big trade that brought Cliff Lee to Philadelphia sent several of our prospects to Cleveland’s farm system.

Columbus prospects likely to make an appearance at CCP.

Carlos Santana, C – It’s just a matter of time until he becomes the Indian’s #1 backstop. Figure he will see at least some action in Columbus before getting the call. Barring any injuries, I would say he makes the big team at the All Star break, possibly sooner.

Carlos Carrasco, RHP – Who can’t remember Carrasco’s inconsistancy for the Pigs last season. He did great until something didn’t go his way. Rumor had it he felt slighted by not making the Phillies team and his game play could confirm that. Carrasco found out the hard way in Cleveland going 0-4 with an 8.87 ERA in 5 starts.

Lou Marson, C – Marson was one of the Pig fan’s favorites last year. He should start the year in Cleveland as their starting catcher but be relegated to a back up role once Santana takes over. He most likely will be moved back to Columbus or trade bait if the Indians are looking to improve themselves.

Jason Donald, INF – Donald was also a fan favorite here in the Lehigh Valley. In its first incarnation, the Noise Nation was known as Jason Donald’s Ducks. Oh the memories. Donald looks to be a solid starter for Columbus and scouting reports show his future to be a utility player somewhere.

2009 Pitching Statistics
Player	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Zach Jackson	4	8	6.05	30	14	0	0	99.2	128	76	67	13	33	67
Chuck Lofgren	6	10	5.31	17	17	0	0	98.1	94	63	58	15	33	62
Jack Cassel	5	7	5.78	15	15	2	0	90.1	109	63	58	11	38	51
Ken Ray	2	10	6.90	20	15	0	0	90.0	127	85	69	12	33	68
Kirk Saarloos	3	10	5.61	15	15	2	0	86.2	112	67	54	14	35	53
Frank Herrmann	2	3	2.96	44	0	0	2	76.0	83	33	25	3	13	50
Hector Rondon	4	5	4.00	12	12	0	0	74.1	83	38	33	8	13	64
Tomo Ohka	3	3	3.42	9	9	0	0	52.2	53	20	20	6	9	26
Ryan Edell	0	6	6.36	15	6	0	0	46.2	68	35	33	7	15	37
John Meloan	0	0	5.52	25	2	0	0	44.0	52	27	27	6	17	37
Carlos Carrasco	5	1	3.19	6	6	0	0	42.1	31	18	15	3	7	36
Rich Rundles	2	2	4.75	45	0	0	1	41.2	54	29	22	3	17	36
David Huff	5	1	4.35	7	7	0	0	39.1	35	19	19	5	16	32
Jeremy Sowers	2	2	2.89	6	6	0	0	37.1	36	12	12	2	9	27
Fausto Carmona	1	3	3.55	5	5	0	0	33.0	32	13	13	5	6	27
Mike Gosling	0	3	5.29	8	4	0	0	32.1	45	21	19	5	7	30
Greg Aquino	1	2	3.13	30	1	0	16	31.2	26	15	11	3	15	27
Vinnie Chulk	1	0	2.08	18	0	0	4	21.2	22	7	5	0	7	16
Rafael Perez	1	0	0.83	16	0	0	3	21.2	23	3	2	0	5	23
Masa Kobayashi	2	2	4.66	18	0	0	1	19.1	28	10	10	4	7	11
Jensen Lewis	1	0	0.00	12	0	0	0	18.2	13	0	0	0	7	28
Michael Tejera	0	0	7.79	8	0	0	0	17.1	24	15	15	2	6	10
Tony Sipp	1	0	3.71	12	0	0	1	17.0	17	8	7	1	6	22
Yohan Pino	2	0	1.29	2	2	0	0	14.0	12	2	2	0	2	14
Blaine Neal	0	1	6.07	12	0	0	0	13.1	21	11	9	2	7	5
Aaron Laffey	0	2	11.32	3	3	0	0	10.1	21	13	13	2	5	4
Matt Herges	1	2	5.40	11	0	0	4	10.0	12	6	6	0	5	7
Jose Veras	0	1	1.29	7	0	0	0	7.0	3	1	1	1	2	9
R.J. Swindle	1	0	4.05	6	0	0	0	6.2	9	4	3	2	3	5
Steve Wright	0	0	4.76	2	1	0	0	5.2	5	3	3	0	0	4
Scott Roehl	0	0	3.38	3	0	0	1	5.1	5	2	2	0	3	6
Joe Smith	0	0	0.00	5	0	0	0	5.0	4	0	0	0	1	6
Jess Todd	0	0	0.00	3	0	0	1	4.0	1	0	0	0	0	7
Rafael Betancourt	1	0	0.00	3	0	0	0	3.1	0	0	0	0	1	4
Bobby Livingston	0	0	12.00	1	0	0	0	3.0	6	6	4	1	1	3
Brian Grening	0	0	0.00	1	1	0	0	2.1	1	0	0	0	2	5
Matt Meyer	1	0	4.50	2	0	0	0	2.0	3	1	1	0	1	1
Scott Lewis	0	1	18.00	1	1	0	0	2.0	5	4	4	1	1	2
Randy Newsom	0	0	5.40	2	0	0	0	1.2	3	1	1	1	1	0
Juan Salas	0	0	0.00	1	0	0	0	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	1

2009 Batting Statistics
Player	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
Cristo Arnal	.500	3	8	2	4	2	0	0	1	0	0	0
David Dellucci	.414	7	29	7	12	1	1	0	2	3	4	2
George Lombard	.368	8	19	5	7	3	0	0	4	2	7	2
Donnie Webb	.367	7	30	3	11	4	0	0	6	2	7	1
Jordan Brown	.336	111	417	65	140	35	1	15	67	30	64	2
Travis Hafner	.333	12	39	6	13	4	0	1	8	9	3	0
Andy Marte	.327	82	300	48	98	24	1	18	66	22	50	3
Luis Valbuena	.321	22	78	15	25	4	2	3	13	16	13	3
Matt LaPorta	.299	93	338	63	101	23	2	17	60	42	56	1
Trevor Crowe	.297	49	185	27	55	11	1	2	20	30	31	14
Michael Aubrey	.292	57	212	27	62	16	1	5	29	9	25	1
Wyatt Toregas	.284	60	208	22	59	10	0	7	29	16	43	0
Jesus Merchan	.280	27	100	9	28	5	1	0	8	4	15	1
Jamey Carroll	.273	3	11	2	3	1	0	0	0	0	3	0
Andy Cannizaro	.269	50	160	13	43	10	0	1	19	15	19	0
Michael Brantley	.267	116	457	80	122	21	2	6	37	59	48	46
Wes Hodges	.265	86	332	33	88	24	0	5	38	19	64	8
Tony Graffanino	.264	69	261	39	69	24	0	6	40	17	46	3
Damaso Espino	.261	49	176	19	46	10	0	2	14	13	15	0
Jason Donald	.257	10	35	10	9	2	0	1	1	3	11	1
Niuman Romero	.254	81	252	34	64	10	1	1	27	21	27	10
Josh Barfield	.252	73	305	27	77	15	0	3	35	8	48	5
Stephen Head	.246	74	280	28	69	16	0	6	31	17	34	1
Lou Marson	.243	28	103	10	25	5	1	1	9	10	19	1
Chris Gimenez	.235	39	136	20	32	8	0	6	15	15	40	0
Ryan Blair	.200	4	10	1	2	0	1	0	1	0	5	0
Wilson Valdez	.198	41	121	17	24	1	0	0	6	10	19	5
Mickey Hall	.159	49	145	13	23	5	3	2	8	15	45	1
Rob Mackowiak	.156	13	45	1	7	1	0	0	3	3	9	0
Dwight Childs	—	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Last season the Charlotte Knights finished dead last in the International League South Division. Their record of 67-76 was enough to beat out Pawtucket, Buffalo and Columbus to avoid being in the I.L. basement.

Other than new Assistant GM Danny Tetzlaff, here are some players who might make it to Coca Cola Park with the Knights and would be worth watching.

Tyler Flowers, C – We’re going to have some fun with him although he might not hear us from behind the plate. If only he was a center fielder…

Dan Hudson, RHP – Considered Chicago’s 3rd best prospect he played 5 games in AAA last season to go with 6 games with the White Sox in the show.

Jordan Danks, OF – Should start the season at AA but looks to be in Charlotte mid-season if not earlier.

Clevelan Santeliz, RHP – Fastball can reach as high as 95-96 mph. Figures to begin at Charlotte to work on developing other pitches.

I only have good memories of Charlotte visiting Coca Cola park. Let’s keep this going in 2010!

2009 Pitching Statistics
Player	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Wes Whisler	10	12	4.01	26	26	1	0	152.2	165	83	68	10	56	77
Carlos Torres	10	4	2.39	23	20	2	1	128.0	96	38	34	4	56	130
Jack Egbert	6	11	5.05	30	18	0	1	108.2	132	73	61	13	33	78
Kelvin Jimenez	6	3	4.02	40	4	0	1	78.1	97	40	35	11	20	55
John Van Benschoten	2	8	6.35	22	13	0	0	78.0	97	66	55	9	30	67
Justin Cassel	3	9	5.06	18	12	0	0	74.2	86	47	42	10	27	53
Lucas Harrell	4	1	3.29	11	11	0	0	65.2	58	26	24	3	37	42
Ehren Wassermann	7	3	3.68	43	0	0	1	63.2	72	30	26	3	18	57
Derek Rodriguez	0	3	3.49	36	1	0	2	56.2	56	24	22	3	23	44
Jon Link	1	2	3.99	48	0	0	13	56.1	55	26	25	5	27	66
Adam Russell	2	2	3.20	34	0	0	5	56.1	39	20	20	5	18	51
Jeff Marquez	2	8	9.85	11	11	0	0	45.2	72	51	50	12	22	27
Randy Williams	3	0	3.44	33	0	0	1	36.2	31	17	14	3	11	40
Jose Contreras	3	1	2.70	5	5	1	0	33.1	19	12	10	2	16	27
Jhonny Nunez	2	0	3.33	16	0	0	1	24.1	19	9	9	3	5	22
Dan Hudson	2	0	3.00	5	5	0	0	24.0	22	10	8	1	9	24
Fernando Hernandez	1	1	1.59	13	0	0	0	17.0	11	4	3	0	8	17
Lance Broadway	0	2	5.63	3	3	0	0	16.0	18	11	10	2	4	15
Matt Zaleski	0	1	2.25	3	3	0	0	16.0	13	4	4	2	3	15
Jake Peavy	1	1	2.93	4	4	0	0	15.1	14	6	5	1	4	17
Jimmy Gobble	0	1	5.25	11	0	0	1	12.0	8	8	7	2	4	19
Bartolo Colon	1	1	3.75	2	2	0	0	12.0	10	5	5	2	4	1
Aaron Poreda	0	0	3.60	2	2	0	0	10.0	8	4	4	0	3	9
Brandon Hynick	1	0	1.29	1	1	0	0	7.0	4	1	1	0	2	2
Freddy Garcia	0	1	3.00	1	1	0	0	6.0	8	2	2	1	0	9
Brian Omogrosso	0	0	15.88	4	0	0	0	5.2	12	10	10	2	3	6
Sergio Santos	0	1	9.00	3	0	0	0	5.0	5	5	5	0	7	7
Matt Long	0	0	5.40	1	1	0	0	5.0	7	3	3	0	1	6
Mike Johnston	0	0	0.00	5	0	0	0	4.2	5	0	0	0	2	1
Ryan Rote	0	0	1.93	3	0	0	0	4.2	3	2	1	0	5	4
Taylor Thompson	0	0	0.00	2	0	0	0	4.0	2	0	0	0	4	1
Kevin Asselin	0	0	12.00	2	0	0	0	3.0	3	4	4	1	2	4
Brent DeFoor	0	0	6.75	2	0	0	0	2.2	2	2	2	0	2	4
Danny Wiltz	0	0	162.00	1	0	0	0	0.1	6	6	6	1	3	1

2009 Batting Statistics
Player	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
Lee Fischer	.500	1	2	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	0
Gordon Beckham	.464	7	28	6	13	6	0	0	3	0	2	1
Jayson Nix	.450	5	20	4	9	1	0	0	5	4	0	1
Carlos Quentin	.378	12	37	10	14	3	0	1	9	5	2	0
Dewayne Wise	.333	7	27	2	9	3	1	0	3	1	4	0
Norris Hopper	.329	20	76	12	25	3	0	0	5	7	4	3
Justin Fuller	.308	5	13	1	4	0	0	0	1	3	4	1
Andy Phillips	.295	49	190	24	56	9	1	5	27	15	26	1
Michael Restovich	.290	135	489	83	142	36	3	21	61	58	118	0
Tyler Flowers	.286	31	105	13	30	10	0	2	13	10	32	0
Brian Anderson	.279	11	43	6	12	1	1	2	5	2	16	0
Miguel Negron	.279	103	384	41	107	15	3	4	38	26	62	14
Brian Myrow	.277	48	159	23	44	10	0	7	25	22	37	0
Josh Kroeger	.267	128	501	59	134	27	0	17	56	36	86	23
Chris Getz	.267	5	15	4	4	0	0	0	0	3	1	2
Stefan Gartrell	.265	31	113	14	30	11	1	4	19	7	29	0
Josh Fields	.265	27	98	15	26	5	0	5	13	13	22	1
Brandon Allen	.262	15	61	6	16	4	0	1	8	0	13	0
Javier Castillo	.262	47	168	16	44	11	2	2	15	13	40	0
Scott Podsednik	.262	10	42	6	11	4	0	0	2	5	5	1
Keith Ginter	.262	107	363	35	95	22	1	6	33	39	71	2
Daryle Ward	.255	69	247	31	63	11	0	8	36	31	49	2
Cole Armstrong	.252	69	246	28	62	13	0	10	32	12	51	0
Brent Lillibridge	.252	67	246	34	62	9	4	3	24	29	57	17
Wilson Betemit	.241	72	261	36	63	19	0	11	49	21	73	2
Eider Torres	.240	92	359	36	86	12	1	1	29	24	63	13
Gookie Dawkins	.229	20	70	6	16	6	0	0	1	2	17	2
Justin Knoedler	.222	8	27	3	6	0	0	1	1	0	7	0
Donny Lucy	.216	45	153	14	33	8	0	2	10	10	38	2
Andy Cannizaro	.208	22	77	5	16	3	0	0	4	5	11	0
David Cook	.192	7	26	2	5	0	0	1	2	1	9	0
Miguel Gonzalez	.182	3	11	1	2	0	0	0	1	0	2	0
Jose Fulgencio	.174	7	23	2	4	0	0	0	0	0	5	1
Kent Gerst	.148	8	27	1	4	0	0	1	4	2	9	1
Corky Miller	.143	4	7	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	2	0
Jerry Owens	.143	2	7	1	1	0	0	0	2	1	3	0
Ben Broussard	.130	7	23	0	3	0	0	0	2	3	5	1
Brady Shoemaker	.103	8	29	3	3	1	0	1	2	1	8	0

I believe I have watched more of this year’s Olympics than I have of any previous years. I don’t have too many Olympic memories but I have grown fond of the “sport” of curling. (See my personal definitions of sport below)

Listening to the broadcasts you hear horns, you hear cowbells, you hear chants and cheers. There are FLAGS BEING WAVED! How great is this! The Noise Nation would fit in well!

So as I shared my interest in curling with a friend, he suggested I only liked it because of how attractive most of the female curlers were. Their appearance aside, yum, I do find the sport interesting.

Just a few moments ago I saw news that disturbed me. Let me post the headline.

“Canadian curling fans leave Danish player in tears” – 1

In Tears? IN TEARS? Ok, a pretty girl cried. That bothers me. I don’t like making anyone cry, no less a girl. Call me what you want, I’m just saying.

My own personal definition of competition:
Sport – An event that involves two or more opponents that has an offense and defense that directly affects the outcome of the event. Example: Baseball, Football, Hockey

Game – An event where individuals or teams play to achieve a score that is better than their opponent(s). No defense included. Examples: Golf, Bowling,

Racing is a whole category of its own.

Competition – any event where a judges opinion has an impact on the results. Not doubting athletic ability, just not a sport.

I suppose the Noise Nation would be welcome at the Olympics but not at curling. Take a look at the original article. The statements made by this competitor do show the “home field effect” of crowd noise in respect to performance.

Just ask Drew Stubbs how it impacted him last year at CCP…

1 – From Yahoo News
http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/vancouver/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/Candian-curling-fans-leave-Danish-player-in-tear?urn=oly,221320

Just a quick update for today. I’ve been neglecting the blog for a few days so thought I would just leave you with this thought…

“SPRING TRAINING IS HERE!!!!”

We just need some of this snow to melt and the season will soon be here!

Former Ironpig Travis Blackley signed with the Mets organization.

Phillies signed:
RHP Oscar Villarreal
C Zak Farkes
C John Purdom
1B Gaby Martinez

J.J. Furmaniak signed with Tampa Bay Rays. Will he return to CCP with Durham so we can hear the Maniak cheers again?

4 days to Pitchers and Catchers!

It’s that time of year again!

The Lehigh Valley Ironpigs have announced ticket sales will commence at 9:00am Eastern on Saturday, February 27th!

Looking at all that is available here is amazing. You can get a great seat anywhere in the field level for $9. Hungry? Try the picnic area. Kids need room to move around and play? Try the Blue Cross Lawn seating for $6. Yes! $6 a ticket! You can also make group reservations for the Picnic Patio and Dugout suites.

Click here for more information on Ironpig’s tickets.

Coca Cola Park is the only park to offer free bubbles before and free red balloons to every child after the game.

For Ironpig fans, you ask yourself, “What do I care to know about the Buffalo Bison?”

Well, I like seeing future stars and aging veterans so let’s look at some prospects who might find their way to CCP via the Buffalo Bison.

Fenando Martinez – OF
Martinez played 45 games with Buffalo in 2009 and 29 games in NY with the Mets. He hit .290 in the International League with 8 HR and 28 RBI. His young career has been plagued by injury and will compete for a job in the Mets outfield but will most likely end up where the Buffalo outfielders roam.

Ike Davis – 1B
Davis is the son of former major league pitcher Ron Davis. He hit .309 in AA Binghamton last season and looks to start for Buffalo in 2010.

Brad Holt – RHP
Holt split the 2009 season between AA Binghamton and Hi-A St. Lucie recording a 7-7 record overall with 99 SO. Expect him at AAA later in the season if he produces at AA early.

John Niese – LHP
Niese has made several appearances for the Mets in 2008 and 2009. He is a good candidate to make their starting rotation, although if he does not, look for him in Buffalo.

Josh Thole – C
Thole mixed time with AA Binghamton and the NY Mets in 2009 achieving a .328 batting average in the Eastern League. Look for him at either AA or AAA this season.

We all know former Ironpig MIke Cervenak will return to CCP as a Bison in 2010. We know him. We loved him. We wish him well. I’ll have a special “K” reserved for him on the Oink sign prepared.

Up next – The Charlotte Knights

The National Pro Fastpitch 2010 draft was held last night, noteably missing any representation from our Philly Force. I am sad to ask that even if the Force organization does pull itself together, really what kind of team will be fielded? With veteran players moving on in their lives, top stars signing with other NPF teams and missing out on the talent pool of the draft, I really don’t see a quality team out there this summer.

Great times in 09… Not too hopeful for 10.

The Bison finished the 2009 season with a dismal 56 win and 87 loss record placing 14 out of 14 teams in the International League.

Team Stats for 2009
Batting:
Games – 143
AB – 4734
R – 502
H – 1207
2B – 239
3B – 20
HR – 80
RBI – 454
TB – 1726
BB – 335
SO – 785
SB – 49
CS – 24
OBP – .307
SLG – .365
AVG – .255
OPS – .671

Pitching:
ERA – 4.04
G – 143
CG – 9
SHO – 10
SV – 29
IP – 1228.2
H – 1240
R – 606
ER – 551
HR – 108
HB – 44
BB – 422
SO – 932
WHIP – 1.35
HLD – 25
GF -134

2009 Roster(All who played in 2009)
Javier Valentin 1B
Michel Abreu 1B
Alex Cora 2B
Andy Green 2B
Argenis Reyes 2B
Luis Rivera 2B
Ramon Martinez 2B
Javier Castillo 3B
Mike Lamb 3B
Mike Nickeas C
Omir Santos C
Rafael Arroyo C
Rene Rivera C
Robinson Cancel C
Rogelio Del Campo C
Angel Pagan CF
Cory Sullivan CF
Jonathan Malo IF
Jason Dubois LF
Jesus Feliciano LF
Josh Petersen LF
Nick Evans LF
Rob Mackowiak LF
Wily Mo Pena LF
Frank Diaz OF
Matt Watson OF
Bobby Kielty RF
Chip Ambres RF
Emil Brown RF
Fernando Martinez RF
Jason Cooper RF
Angel Berroa SS
Jose Coronado SS
Mark Kiger SS
Wilson Valdez SS
Adam Bostick P
Adam Pettyjohn P
Arturo Lopez P
Brandon Knight P
Carlos Muniz P
Casey Fossum P
Chris Mason P
Connor Robertson P
Derrick Ellison P
Dillon Gee P
Eddie Kunz P
Edgar Ramirez P
Elmer Dessens P
Fernando Nieve P
Freddy Garcia P
Jim Ed Warden P
Jon Niese P
Jon Switzer P
Jose Sanchez P
Ken Takahashi P
Kyle Snyder P
Lance Broadway P
Michael Antonini P
Nelson Figueroa P
Oliver Perez P
Pat Misch P
Tim McNab P
Tim Redding P
Tobi Stoner P

Not much exciting in Buffalo last season.

Up next.. 2010 Preview!