Monthly Archives: March 2010

Ok, we’ve all seen the loudmouth drunk at the game and most of us agree that is unacceptable behavior at a ballgame, and we all have read the rules in the programs and posted around the stadium so we know most of the rules already.

If you need a refresher, the Ironpig’s Stadium rules can be viewed by clicking here.

Now that we’ve refreshed on the standard rules, let’s look at a few unwritten rules of being a baseball fan.

1. Stand for the entire singing/playing of the National Anthem and men remove your headgear. I say men as women are patriotically exempt from this tradition. Don’t believe me? Look it up. Also, don’t talk during this time either. It’s just rude. If you forget, it happens, I’ve done it, and someone reminds you.. thank them and correct yourself.

2. Do not leave or enter your seats while the ball is in play. Most stadiums and older ushers will not allow you in or out of the stands until an at bat is over.

I remember going to Reading Phillies games as a kid and this was strictly enforced. I also saw this at Citizen’s Bank and the old Yankee Stadium. Noone wants to miss a great hit or great play because you were standing in front of them trying to decide between a soft pretzel or nachos.

3. Tip the vendor’s in the stand. Chances are you will get better service and it’s just the right thing to do.

4. Get to the game on time and stay for the whole game (if you can). You paid to attend, get your money’s worth.

5. Throw away your trash. Each night the team employees get in line and have to clean up the trash. Be respectful. Coca Cola Park is beautiful, lets keep it that way.

6. If you do happen to get a foul ball or home run, give it to a kid. Really, what do you need a ball for? These balls won’t be on any ebay auctions so cough it up. If you have a kid at home, sure that’s ok, but don’t wrestle a kid to get it. Also, if the other team hits a home run… toss it back. Who really wants a ball that gave runs to the other team.

These are just a few that come to mind. Any other thoughts out there?

The Pawsox ended the 2009 season in 5th place in the IL North with a 61-82 record. The team that dominated the Ironpigs in 2008 was decimated by call ups and injuries. Always a big draw from local Red Sox fans, look for these to be some exciting games in 2010.

Who might appear at CCP:

Josh Reddick, OF – Splitting 2009 with AA Portland and Pawtucket, Reddick should have a shot at playing left field for the Red Sox this season. If not, he will be in a Pawsox uniform.

Ryan Kalish, OF – Reddick’s main competition for a spot on the Major League roster, Kalish also could show up in AAA.

Junichi Tazawa, RHP – The Red Sox want this guy to get more seasoning in the minors. Hopefully he will take it easy on the Pig hitters.

2009 Pitching Statistics
Player	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Enrique Gonzalez	8	11	5.12	26	23	0	0	139.0	159	85	79	20	53	99
Charlie Zink	6	15	5.59	27	23	1	0	135.1	134	88	84	10	93	47
Michael Bowden	4	6	3.13	24	24	0	0	126.1	106	47	44	11	47	88
Clay Buchholz	7	2	2.36	17	16	1	0	99.0	67	30	26	7	30	89
Kris Johnson	3	13	6.35	22	22	0	0	96.1	128	77	68	8	44	65
Billy Traber	7	8	3.52	38	7	0	0	84.1	88	36	33	8	25	33
Marcus McBeth	2	3	2.69	44	1	0	3	67.0	43	20	20	5	30	66
Jose Vaquedano	4	2	3.76	43	0	0	3	64.2	52	33	27	6	41	34
Rocky Cherry	3	1	2.57	38	1	0	0	63.0	63	22	18	1	36	44
Randor Bierd	3	1	4.55	25	7	0	0	61.1	68	37	31	7	21	55
Hunter Jones	4	3	4.25	36	0	0	2	53.0	45	27	25	7	24	39
Fernando Cabrera	0	3	1.71	43	0	0	22	52.2	40	11	10	3	22	51
Javier Lopez	1	1	3.18	38	0	0	0	39.2	35	15	14	2	13	23
Adam Mills	2	2	3.48	6	6	0	0	31.0	39	15	12	1	4	16
T.J. Large	3	4	7.04	22	0	0	1	30.2	38	26	24	1	22	10
Chris George	1	0	4.79	12	0	0	0	20.2	21	14	11	2	6	10
Daniel Bard	1	0	1.13	11	0	0	6	16.0	6	2	2	2	5	29
Daisuke Matsuzaka	0	1	2.25	4	4	0	0	16.0	13	4	4	2	6	17
John Smoltz	1	1	3.38	3	3	1	0	16.0	10	6	6	2	4	11
Junichi Tazawa	0	2	2.38	2	2	0	0	11.1	7	4	3	0	1	6
Paul Byrd	0	1	3.27	2	2	0	0	11.0	9	4	4	1	1	7
Dustin Richardson	0	0	1.69	7	0	0	0	10.2	8	2	2	1	2	16
Tim Wakefield	1	1	2.89	2	2	0	0	9.1	5	3	3	1	2	7
Robert Coello	0	0	0.00	1	0	0	0	1.1	1	0	0	0	0	1
Devern Hansack	0	0	9.00	1	0	0	0	1.0	2	1	1	0	0	0
Carlos Maldonado	0	1	#INF	1	0	0	0	0.0	1	2	2	1	1	0

2009 Batting Statistics
Player	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
John Otness	.320	8	25	2	8	2	0	0	3	4	5	0
Mark Kotsay	.303	10	33	2	10	1	0	0	5	0	1	1
Chris Carter	.294	116	428	50	126	25	0	16	61	42	63	0
George Kottaras	.292	10	24	1	7	3	0	0	0	6	6	0
Jeff Natale	.282	58	170	23	48	9	1	3	19	31	26	0
Dusty Brown	.264	86	295	22	78	13	0	2	23	37	74	0
Jeff Bailey	.262	63	229	34	60	7	0	10	27	35	51	2
Chip Ambres	.259	52	185	18	48	9	1	3	18	21	38	2
Angel Chavez	.253	127	442	41	112	23	0	4	39	18	48	3
Sean Danielson	.240	52	154	18	37	6	1	1	19	21	33	9
Travis Denker	.238	117	400	43	95	25	1	5	43	48	85	3
Julio Lugo	.235	4	17	1	4	1	0	0	0	2	5	0
Paul McAnulty	.233	90	326	36	76	20	1	11	48	45	83	0
Freddy Guzman	.229	62	214	25	49	6	2	2	10	13	35	21
Ivan Ochoa	.227	45	128	25	29	3	2	2	8	20	22	9
Carlos Maldonado	.225	24	80	9	18	2	0	2	15	10	14	0
Jon Van Every	.215	20	65	7	14	4	0	4	10	16	25	0
Mark Wagner	.214	43	154	12	33	12	0	3	20	11	29	0
Aaron Bates	.213	76	272	28	58	10	0	5	18	22	59	0
Bubba Bell	.208	71	240	24	50	8	2	1	18	31	53	2
Brian Anderson	.200	24	80	9	16	4	0	4	8	7	22	0
Joey Gathright	.200	3	10	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Gil Velazquez	.193	93	290	26	56	13	0	3	18	19	49	3
Chris Duncan	.188	27	85	8	16	3	0	2	10	7	20	0
Jed Lowrie	.176	22	68	9	12	3	0	3	8	13	13	0
Zach Daeges	.172	9	29	1	5	2	0	0	1	3	6	0
Iggy Suarez	.167	20	60	5	10	2	0	1	8	8	16	1
Chris Woodward	.129	12	31	1	4	0	0	0	0	5	7	0
Jeff Corsaletti	.128	13	39	3	5	0	0	0	1	3	8	1
Josh Reddick	.127	18	71	1	9	0	2	0	6	6	13	0
Sandy Madera	.125	5	16	0	2	0	0	0	0	2	3	0
Brad Wilkerson	.111	2	9	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	4	0
Rocco Baldelli	.077	4	13	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	5	0
Kevin Youkilis	.000	2	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	0
Zach Borowiak	.000	2	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0

Check out the Ironpig’s Examiner Blog by Stephen Gross!

http://www.examiner.com/x-18103-Lehigh-Valley-IronPigs-Examiner

Good information about the Ironpigs!

35 days…

The Phillies have signed infielder Keoni DeRenne.

DeRenne has spent the past 3 seasons in an Independant league and last played affiliated ball for Boston’s AAA team and International League rival, Pawtucket. If DeRenne is slated to play for the Phillies organization in 2010 he could likely fill one of the middle infield vacancies for the Ironpigs.

The Phillies also released RHP Reginal Simon.

35 days to wait. The Park is almost ready. The players are warming up in Florida and we are waiting. Waiting. Waiting like a rain delay.

Anyone who attended the rehab start by Boston’s Dice K can recall the anticipation and the waiting. The monsoon that swept through Coca Cola Park that night left the fans wondering when the game would start and if Dice K would still take the mound. The crowd hung on through an almost 2 hour delay and a few power outages and we did enjoy a great game that day.

35 Days…

********

A little known fact about Coca Cola Park history…

… happened during the very first game played in the stadium. Before the Phillies/Ironpigs exhibition game, Jimmy Rollins was signing autographs for a large group of fans and got a big laugh from the crowd when he realized he had just signed the top of the fence. Chris Coste, not to be outdone, saw Rollins’ autograph and added his next to it. The photo isn’t great but this is one of those memories that gets lost in time.

I went out to Coca Cola Park this afternoon to pick up my season tickets. What a beautiful day! The sun was shining and the temperature was close to 60 degrees. You could smell baseball in the air. The grass on the field is getting greener. Friendly smiles from a brand new bunch of interns. The new Aw Shucks corn stand, (yes they are adding a second booth this year), looks to be under construction. I took a moment to stand at the front gate and just gaze at the field. The tarp was off of the infield and I passed a few minutes trying to figure out if any of the outfield signs had changed.

The Ironpigs took season ticket holder appreciation a step further this year. For each season ticket ordered a fan received a nice pint glass and a coupon book with offers from local businesses. I am usually a skeptic of coupon books but this one has a coupon for one free beer at the Pig Pen.. so I can’t say anything but good things about this!

36 days Pig Fans… 36 days.

I am really feeling spring training fever. The season is so close you can smell it in the air! 50 degree weather and a ball game on tv usually brings this out so when I longingly checked the Ironpig’s schedule this afternoon I had a revelation.

Why wait until April 14th to see the Pigs when I can drive to Syracuse and see them the 8th to the 11th! Great idea right? Ha! I looked up travel info just for kicks and what I found surprised me.

Yahoo Maps places the trip Allentown, PA to Syracuse at 209 miles with a 3.5 hour drive time. Not too bad. It’s mostly highway… the NE Extension PA Turnpike to Scranton then Route 81 the rest of the way. Highway miles could cut back that 3.5 hour drive.

Also, I noticed that about halfway is Binghamton, NY. Home of the Mets AA team who just happen to have a home stand that weekend! Could it be too good to be true to see the R-Phils in Binghamton? Yes, too good to be true. The B-Mets open the season at home against Akron.

Itinerary:
Friday, 9th
3:00pm – Leave Allentown
5:00pm – Arrive in Binghamton
7:00pm – Attend game in Binghamton
TBD – Find hotel

Saturday, 10th
10:00am – Leave Binghamton
12:00pm – Arrive in Syracuse
2:00pm – Gametime for Pigs at Syracuse
TBD – Depart for Allentown

Of course you could stay another night and catch the Sunday game too. Crazier things have happened.

I’m considering it.. it could be fun.

When I clicked on the link to start watching today’s spring training game between the Phillies and Yankees, it brought back memories of 2008.

The date was March 30th, 2008. Coca Cola Park opened its doors for the very first game to be played on the new diamond. Fans packed the concourse waiting to get in. Looking at online auctions, some fans paid as much as $200 for a single ticket to this game. I had seats in section 103, 3rd row. It was cold. It was really cold and windy. The Phillies fresh from Florida were all bundled up hiding in the outfield, shy to autograph requests that would require them to remove their gloves.

What I remember from that day:
– Geoff Jenkins dropping a ball into the centerfield mulch area.
– The elderly woman wearing pajamas two seats away who complained the whole 3 innings she stayed.
– How distant the Phillies team was towards the fans

Yes, those great Phillies of 2008. The World ^%$# ‘in Champions! Three players signed autographs that day. Cole Hamels (Who was he before 2008?), then reigning MVP Jimmy Rollins and Chris Coste. The rest stayed well into the outfield and avoided eye contact at all costs. You may think I sound bitter about this experience and you would be right. The game was fun, the fans were ready and the teams were not.

Predictably, the stars played the first few innings and then the Reading Phillies (in Phillies uniforms) took over for the remainer of the game. Understand you don’t want the stars to get hurt but its a rare season ending injury incurred by a sharpie.

Anyway, my point is that exhibition games should be about fun. In 2008 and 2009 the Ironpigs traveled to Reading to play the R-Phils to benefit Baseballtown Charities. The game was light hearted and fun. When an Ironpig home run lifted out of the park, at the players next at bat it was shown on the scoreboard as “Wind assisted HR”. It was a great time and could have become a nice friendly rivalry between cities and fans. Sadly, it will not become a tradition as the game will not be played this year. Who really loses here? The fans, the players or the charity. I think we all do.

One of my best memories of the Norfolk Tide involved a game last summer played in Norfolk. I was listening to the Ironpig’s Radio Network and every other pitch there was a comment about the impending weather. Norfolk was notorious for rain outs last year and this game was no different. At one point the Pigs took the lead and had something like a 10 run innning just before the game became official and ended with a downpour. One of the best broadcast performances I’ve heard.

Memories aside, on to who the Tide might wash into CCP this season:

Josh Bell, 3B – Slated to replace Garret Atkins at some point this season, Bell should hear some of the Noise Nation ringing this summer.

Jake Arrieta, RHP – A workhorse of an inning eater pitcher, there is a possibility he transfers to the bullpen. We shall see.

Brandon Snyder, 1B – Split time between AA and AAA in 2009. Expect him to spend most of 2010 at AAA.

2009 Batting Statistics
Player	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
Lou Montanez	.429	10	42	8	18	3	0	0	3	5	9	3
Nolan Reimold	.394	31	109	21	43	11	0	9	27	18	25	6
Dave Krynzel	.379	8	29	6	11	0	1	1	3	3	4	4
Oscar Salazar	.372	50	199	31	74	17	1	10	43	13	27	0
Jonathan Tucker	.348	7	23	4	8	1	1	0	4	6	4	3
Joey Gathright	.329	80	322	49	106	11	2	0	20	27	41	24
Jeff Fiorentino	.312	102	365	70	114	26	5	12	67	48	62	13
Matt Wieters	.305	39	141	25	43	9	2	5	30	20	30	0
Justin Turner	.300	108	387	54	116	28	0	2	43	34	37	9
Brandon Pinckney	.291	71	254	27	74	10	2	1	21	5	36	0
Michael Aubrey	.287	44	164	14	47	13	0	3	23	11	13	1
Justin Christian	.270	88	356	54	96	18	5	3	25	20	51	26
Rhyne Hughes	.264	20	72	9	19	2	1	3	7	7	22	0
Jolbert Cabrera	.262	78	294	30	77	18	1	7	50	12	60	9
Melvin Dorta	.252	94	321	31	81	13	0	3	23	23	43	8
Scott Moore	.252	32	123	19	31	7	0	7	21	8	22	1
Brandon Snyder	.248	73	262	36	65	18	2	2	43	24	64	3
Steve Torrealba	.247	33	89	6	22	7	0	2	11	10	19	0
Ambiorix Concepcion	.241	8	29	3	7	0	1	1	6	0	8	1
Victor Diaz	.229	31	109	12	25	5	0	1	9	8	36	1
Guillermo Rodriguez	.222	18	72	4	16	6	0	0	9	1	11	0
Donnie Murphy	.222	3	9	1	2	0	0	1	1	1	3	0
Blake Davis	.211	55	180	21	38	4	2	1	14	14	40	3
Robby Hammock	.209	82	278	28	58	16	0	4	26	25	63	2
Mike Costanzo	.206	22	68	8	14	4	2	0	8	13	21	0
Chad Moeller	.203	35	118	7	24	6	0	0	10	5	22	0
Freddy Guzman	.192	20	73	7	14	1	1	0	3	5	9	13
Carlos Rojas	.179	74	223	18	40	5	1	0	13	18	30	2
Zach Booker	.000	2	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	0

2009 Pitching Statistics
Player	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
David Pauley	9	12	4.37	27	26	1	0	152.1	171	87	74	15	45	108
Chris Waters	9	7	4.49	29	20	0	0	114.1	114	66	57	12	47	71
Andy Mitchell	11	5	5.24	37	13	0	0	113.1	126	73	66	13	52	58
Chris Tillman	8	6	2.70	18	18	0	0	96.2	85	36	29	5	26	99
Jake Arrieta	5	8	3.93	17	17	0	0	91.2	97	46	40	9	33	78
Ross Wolf	4	2	3.95	47	0	0	1	82.0	70	38	36	5	33	73
Jim Miller	4	4	2.64	54	0	0	17	64.2	64	20	19	3	19	59
Bob McCrory	0	3	3.88	50	0	0	5	62.2	66	28	27	6	24	43
David Hernandez	3	2	3.30	11	11	0	0	57.1	42	26	21	5	18	79
Alberto Castillo	2	3	2.77	50	0	0	13	52.0	49	23	16	2	17	54
Troy Patton	1	3	6.45	9	9	0	0	44.2	62	35	32	12	14	26
Radhames Liz	0	3	5.68	17	6	0	0	44.1	56	31	28	2	12	37
Kam Mickolio	3	3	3.50	35	0	0	0	43.2	32	21	17	4	16	52
Josh Perrault	1	2	2.53	24	0	0	2	32.0	27	11	9	4	9	33
Chris George	1	1	1.86	5	5	0	0	29.0	27	6	6	2	3	19
Jason Berken	2	0	1.05	5	5	0	0	25.2	19	3	3	1	6	16
Bobby Livingston	1	0	1.80	3	3	0	0	20.0	21	5	4	2	1	11
Fredy Deza	2	1	5.14	5	1	0	1	14.0	16	10	8	2	8	5
Rich Hill	1	1	1.35	3	3	0	0	13.1	5	2	2	1	9	14
Dennis Sarfate	1	1	6.39	12	0	0	0	12.2	13	10	9	4	2	13
Matt Albers	1	0	5.68	10	0	0	0	12.2	19	11	8	1	5	12
Chris Ray	0	1	2.25	8	0	0	1	12.0	5	3	3	0	4	13
Chris Lambert	1	2	6.94	3	3	0	0	11.2	18	9	9	3	3	9
Brad Bergesen	1	1	2.45	2	2	0	0	11.0	6	4	3	0	3	9
Zach Clark	0	0	3.86	2	0	0	0	4.2	5	2	2	0	3	3
Scott Chiasson	0	0	0.00	3	0	0	0	3.1	0	0	0	0	0	3
Brandon Pinckney	0	0	3.00	3	0	0	0	3.0	6	1	1	0	0	1

Today the Noise Nation noticed a new face in the Ironpig’s front office.

We welcome Garrett Fahrmann who will be serving as the Ironpig’s Director of Operations.

From Ironpigsbaseball.com Staff Directory:
2010 will be Garrett Fahrmann’s first as the IronPigs Director of Stadium Operations after spending the last six seasons with the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, the Fresno Grizzlies. In this capacity he will oversee all baseball operations, team travel, and facility maintenance at Coca-Cola Park, one of the most used and versatile sporting venues in the Lehigh Valley. Following a collegiate baseball career, Fahrmann spent three seasons as a coach at Concord College in Athens, WV. Then he went on to Slippery Rock University where he earned a Masters Degree in Sport Management. Fahrmann’s first season in Minor League Baseball was in 2003 where he served as the Stadium Operations Manager for the Potomac Cannons in the Carolina League. He then moved onto Chukchansi Park where he spent six seasons working for the Fresno Grizzlies of the Pacific Coast League prior to moving across country to start his new venture in the Lehigh Valley. A native of Latimer, IA, Fahrmann lives in Allentown with his wife, Natalie, and their dog Pepper.

Coming from the Fresno Grizzlies, Fahrmann will be missed out on the left coast as seen in this video tribute found on youtube.com..

We look forward to meeting you this season and welcome to the Lehigh Valley!