Monthly Archives: May 2010

Yeah, I know it’s cheesy. I wanted to put showers and Mayberry in the same sentence but was aiming for something like.. “Hit the showers Mayberry”

I keep watching this guy in wonder. I hear things like “Big prospect” or “Top notch” or “Future of the Phillies Outfield!” I just don’t see it.

Let me explain.

A number of years ago I heard an interview by former major leaguer Jose Canseco. He said something to the point of not even liking baseball but it was a quick and easy buck. I suppose the steroids he used were an afterthought but one call from a game in Charlotte last week made me think back to that interview.

“The ball one hops the outfield wall and Mayberry headed to score.. no he gets the stop sign.. he wasn’t running at full speed.”

I really wonder… Does John Mayberry Jr. really like baseball? Has he lost interest in baseball? Looking at his life, he grew up in the game. His father was an All Star and growing up he had a head start in the game. Being around baseball then growing into an athlete’s body pushed him towards the game, a career, following in dad’s footsteps. A lot of people take on their parents careers and some do that reluctantly. I wonder if Mayberry falls into this category.

Now I know he is hitting .276 with 5 homeruns and 21 RBI this season. He can hit the ball alright, but this guy does not hustle. From right center field you get to see a lot of Mayberry and he lopes after fly balls, half heartedly jogs around the bases and only really runs when the Pigs get 3 outs and he heads back to the bench.

Needless to say but I will anyway, John Mayberry does not impress me.

If anyone knows.. leave us a comment. Let us know. Does Mayberry love the game or is he just trying to make other people happy? He has talent, he has the athletic prowess needed to play, he has the opportunity..

What’s missing? Could it be the same syndrome Carlos Carrasco had last season? For those who missed it Carrasco was very upset at not starting the season at Philadelphia and it reflected in his play. He did the same thing in Reading the year before. He struggled until he was promoted and then was lights out with the Pigs in 2008.

I know some of you out there love this guy, and even I hope he turns his play up a few notches.. but until I see some hustle out of this guy he’s on my list of disappointments.

The Pigs pulled off a win against the Braves this afternoon winning 3 to 1.

Rich Thompson rode the bench again. Nothing like sitting your hottest players.

DeWayne Wise homered.

Brian Mazone tripled. Yeah, tripled. He also went 5 scoreless innings. Sometimes you just have to stand and applaud a good performance. Kudo’s to Huppert for pulling him after 5 and resisting the temptation to let him collapse later in the game.

The Braves only run came off of Scott Mathieson who gave two innings in relief for his 6th save of the season.

Via Twitter, Pigs radio made a statement that Andy Tracy was “day to day” and that usually means injury. Let’s hope it’s nothing serious as he is one of the good guys.

That’s all I got tonight.. keep on oinking on!

As the Phillies pulled Bastardo back to their roster, the Pigs will activate Concepcion off of the DL.

Also of note.. Andy Tracy pulled himself from last night’s game after 1 at bat. Hitting around .200 all season, you can say slow starter all you want, this move makes any fan worried.. looking back a few number of years when John Kruk retired mid-game to end his career really makes me say Hmmm. I don’t see Andy leaving any time soon but this cannot be a good sign.

Rich Thompson had a hit tonight. Unfortunately, he didn’t start and could probably be quoted saying, “My only regret is that I have but one at bat to give to my team.”

The Pigs were capable of one hit before the ninth inning where 3 singles allowed them to score once in the 9th inning. Their “mini” rally was squashed when Maza hit into a double play.

Memories of the movie Major League come to mind and I keep thinking.. Who are these ^%#&! guys? Do they even like playing baseball? Is Huppert losing his fire that brought around the 2008 team? (Remember, after 2 months they were playing .500 ball until pieced apart by call ups)

Man, this stinks.. this really stinks. I feel like I am one of the biggest fans of the Ironpigs but even I want to give them a collective BOOO when they return on Tuesday.

They’ve given me nothing positive to write about. No errors tonight so that’s a positive.

Brad Lidge hit the DL hard again, Bastardo up. Hoping we bring back someone from Reading who wants to play. Kinda hoping that Wasserman goes down and sends us someone worth watching too.

Also for those following prospects, Aroldis Chapman may make an appearance at CCP this week. Rumor has it that wednesday should be his start in the rotation.

Another rumor is that Jimmy Rollins will not make any rehab appearances with the Pigs. He played in Clearwater and will probably make the jump back to the big team soon. Not sure if we will get Valdez back yet though.

On a completely off topic note.. Stooges Bar & Grill makes a great Cuban sandwich. Try it sometime.

What can the Pigs do to win a game? I’m not really sure but I will still go back to my gut feeling that there is a bad apple corrupting the barrell. Who knows, really. They seem to hit and score a lot of runs when pitchers are lights out and then don’t hit at all when their pitchers struggle.

One pitcher who has struggled is Joe Savery. Watching him pitch is a little league coach’s nightmare. Not sure how much of a view of his delivery can be seen from the seating bowl but from centerfield you will notice the beginning of his delivery is textbook.. then he stops, hitches his throwing arm and tries to muscle the ball in. I imagine that could have something to do with his “lower” velocity and lack of dominant control. I was always taught that using the legs to pitch was a solid way to reign in power and endurance. Where is Rod Nichols? With his delivery as it is I would not be surprised to see him on the DL sometime this season.

Hoover and Valdez have been pulling their weight with the Phillies this week. Hoover had a hit last night and today led off an inning and later scored the Phil’s first run scoring from 2nd on Victorino’s base hit.

Rich Thompson lost his consecutive game hitting streak last night from the bench. He was sent in as a pinch hitter in the 8th ending a good run. Makes you wonder why you would sit somebody for a days rest, as hot as he was, and then toss him in cold. I know, I know.. these streaks are only looked at fondly by us fans but I put that managerial move right up there with bunting in the 9th inning of a potential perfect game.

I didn’t post game notes last night. I just couldn’t. I also can’t join on the bandwagon that Nate Bump is the team’s ace. An ace just exemplifies qualities that Bump isn’t. This team needs to wake up and wake up soon.

Pigs lost another 1 run game. Not really news there.

Rich Thompson did extend his hitting streak to 11 games. The current Ironpig streak record is held by Mike Cervenak at 18 games.

DeWayne Wise hit his league leading 5th triple.

Brian Bocock had a 2 hit night! Holy cow!

Bump and Wasserman each gave up a run with Wasserman taking the loss. He is now 0-3 and being 0-3 this early in the season is a bad bad thing.

Tomorrow is another day and the Ironpigs travel to Gwinnett tomorrow.

With the Lehigh Valley hosting the 2010 AAA All Star game between the Pacific Coast League and International League I thought it would benefit us all to look at details of the game.

The first AAA All Star game was held in Buffalo, NY in 1988.

The original format was American League affiliate players vs. National League affiliate players. (At the time there were 3 Triple A leagues. When the American Association folded after the 2007 season it became a head to head match between leagues)

The League who wins the All Star game gets home field advantage at the single game Triple A – National Championship game that showcases both League’s respective champions in one game to determine the overall AAA champion.

The Home team is determined by the stadium chosen. This year the International League will be considered at Home as the game with be played at Coca Cola Park.. home to our Ironpigs.

Each team is selected as voted on by fans, the media, team managers and general managers. (I haven’t seen the voting website yet, but will post as soon as I do. Last year there were 4 or 5 options for each position and a field for write ins)

• 1988–1997: American League vs. National League (Attendance)
  • 1988 – Buffalo, NY (19,500)
  • 1989 – Columbus, OH (14,131)
  • 1990 – Las Vegas, NV (10,323)
  • 1991 – Louisville, KY (20,725)
  • 1992 – Richmond, VA (12,186)
  • 1993 – Albuquerque, NM (10,541)
  • 1994 – Nashville, TN (11,601)
  • 1995 – Moosic, PA (10,965)
  • 1996 – Salt Lake City, UT (15,500)
  • 1997 – Des Moines, IA

  (11,183)

• 1998–present: International League vs. Pacific Coast League
  • 1998 – Norfolk, VA (11,049)
  • 1999 – Metairie, LA (8,895)
  • 2000 – Rochester, NY (12,810)
  • 2001 – Indianapolis, IN (15,868)
  • 2002 – Oklahoma City, OK (11,343)
  • 2003 – Memphis, TN (15,214)
  • 2004 – Pawtucket, RI (11,192)
  • 2005 – Sacramento, CA (14,414)
  • 2006 – Toledo, OH (11,300)
  • 2007 – Albuquerque, NM (12,367)
  • 2008 – Louisville, KY (13,131)
  • 2009 – Portland, OR

  (16,637)

American League vs. National League Results 88-97
1988 – AL 2 – NL 1
1989 – AL 3 – NL 8
1990 – AL 6 – NL 8
1991 – AL 5 – NL 6
1992 – AL 2 – NL 1
1993 – AL 3 – NL 14
1994 – AL 5 – NL 8
1995 – AL 9 – NL 0
1996 – AL 1 – NL 2
1997 – AL 5 – NL 3

International League vs. Pacific Coast League 1998 – Present
1998 – IL 8 – PCL 4
1999 – IL 5 – PCL 9
2000 – IL 2 – PCL 8
2001 – IL 5 – PCL 9
2002 – IL 0 – PCL 5
2003 – IL 13 – PCL 9
2004 – IL 4 – PCL 3
2005 – IL 5 – PCL 11
2006 – IL 6 – PCL 0
2007 – IL 7 – PCL 5
2008 – IL 5 – PCL 6
2009 – IL 6 – PCL 5

The current IL/PCL series is tied at 6 wins each.

Ok, we got all the stats and history out of the way. Let’s look at the teams themselves. Granted, each team will most likely have at least one representative. That’s just respect to the organization and marketing. No players on the team means less viewing of the game on hometown TV’s and less viewers equal less advertising.

The fans, managers, general managers and media all get votes. Who do we pick? Well, to me an All Star is the best player at that position up to the All Star game date. Voting in popular players because of past performance is not my idea of accurate selections. If someone plays well enough, regardless of past performance or future potential, they should make the team. Of course, there are folks who have a point when they say, at the AAA level, they want to see future stars and prospects out there. Being in the international league, us Pig fans don’t get the chance to see pacific coast league players often and to see their top prospects would be a treat. However, and this is where my opinion comes in.. it’s an All star game, not a Futures or Top Prospects game. Those do sound like a good idea though! So if a 35 year old AAAA level player hits .375 with 15 homeruns to make the squad… good for them. I would also like to see prospects but this is All Star time. I feel the same way about the MLB Hall of Fame. It’s not the Hall of Honor.. it’s a hall of fame. That’s a whole different topic but if you need ammunition, just compare someone like Ty Cobb to anyone else who has ever played the game and you will see that honor was not included in the initial criteria to be registered as a Hall of Famer.

Anyways, read this, enjoy… hope to see you at CCP on July 14th!

Luck finally fell the Ironpigs way as the defeated the Charlotte Knights 6 to 5 at Knight’s Stadium. The Pigs loaded the bases in the 9th with a walk, hit by pitch and a hard single off the backend of Knight’s pitcher Ryan Braun. John Mayberry came up and drove a ball well over the left field wall for a grand slam giving the Pigs their first lead of the night and with that lead Scott Mathieson closed the game out for his 2nd win of the season.

Good’s
Cody Ransom homered again. He also committed no errors and made it through the entire game. He leads the Pigs with 8 HR this season.

DeWayne Wise was hitting the ball hard tonight going 3 for 5 with 2 doubles.

Rich Thompson continues to show us why he should be in the All Star game here at CCP later this summer. Rich went 2 for 4 keeping his average at .350 even.

John Mayberry came through in the clutch (finally) and hit a go ahead grand slam in the top of the ninth with the Pigs down by 3 runs.

The Pig’s bullpen came through and tossed 6.1 scoreless innings

Not so Good’s
Ryan Vogelsong gave up 5 earned runs on 4 hits in 2.2 innings. He walked 3 and struck out 4 allowing 3 home runs.

Brian Bocock went 0 for 2 with a walk and 1 RBI. He is now hitting .150. Any bets on how soon he goes sub .100?

Side Notes:
Dane Sardinha was pulled from the lineup today. With an injury to Carlos Ruiz this afternoon in Colorado, it leaves Paul Hoover as the only catcher on the Phillies roster. Emergency catcher is rumored to be Jason Werth.

Wilson Valdez, who is playing with the Phillies in place of the injured Jimmy Rollins took a lot of blame in the Phillies loss today. Hopefully he can shake off the aggravation and continue to play well.

Everyone roots for an underdog. Especially when their team isn’t the opposing team and the opponent a great team. Where would expections for future success have been, had the Ironpigs been a winning team? Who would come to the games and cheer on our beloved Pigs?

Imagine if, in 2008, the Ironpigs finished above .500, qualified for the playoffs and/or won the AAA Championship. Success, right? Wrong. That first year would have seen the stadium sellout over and over. Money flying in left and right. Then a theoretical 2009 season would have been a complete disappointment had the new team not matched the success of 2008. The stands would have been lean.

Let’s take a look at the Pork Races held at every Ironpig’s home game. Who’s favorite is Diggity (the hot dog) or Chris P. Bacon (the Bacon)? Not many. Now that Hambone even has a “Fan Club.” Fans root on Hambone to keep trying and trying and never give up. His only win this season came with the assistance of a former pro wrestler. Hambone has exhibited vanity, promiscuity and lack of direction in most of his races and doesn’t win often.. yet the fans love Hambone! We love underdogs.

The USA hockey team beating the powerhouse USSR in the Olympics! (hockey reference for Rolf)

The Marlins beating the Yankees in the World Series!

The Bad News Bears making their championship game!

Almost everybody wants to see that hard work and effort allow anyone to compete and win and in the Ironpigs circumstances there is another factor that contributes to success.

The Phillies. Yes, the Phillies. How many people do you know that have dusted off their Phillies gear and become fans again? I know a few. How many times have you heard that Phillies tickets are hard to come by so they settled for Ironpig games?

The parent team of the Ironpigs has a lot to do with success at Coca Cola Park. Ok, yeah the team isn’t winning and that grates on any true baseball fan but the success I’m talking about it at the gates. The Lehigh Valley Fans currently lead the AAA in average per game attendance.

Not only are fans continuing to pack the stands at CCP.. they have been for 3 straight years! Would these fans still be showing up game after game if the Pigs were big winners or if the Phillies plummeted to the basement for a few season? I doubt it.

Now don’t get me wrong, I absolutely want that AAA trophy on display at our home park… I’m just looking at the (forgive the overused phrase) Perfect Storm that has helped our team and community to grow. I truly believe that keeping the attendance high will keep the prices low for us all.

Another factor, and yes this is already due for the conversation, is 2011. What questions could be asked for 2011?

Will Andy Tracy, “Mr. Ironpig”, return for another season? He is getting up in years.. maybe he will stay on as a coach?

Will other new attractions spark interest in the occasional fan and draw them somewhere else? You have to say Dorney Park, and many other businesses, has seen an impact on sales when the Pigs are in town.

Will those folks who signed 3 year season ticket contracts renew?

Good one right? Shelling out that cash was a no brainer in 2007 when most people had security in their jobs and living expenses hadn’t yet gone up as they did in 2008. I think the answer lies in Season Ticket holder benefits. The big draw for purchasing season tickets for more established teams is an extensive discount and great seats.

Look at the cost of a Reading Phillies season ticket.. in the Blue section normal price of $11 a game. Season pass costs $515 for 70 games, a cost of 7.36 a game. A savings of $3.64 a game. How soon will we see this at CCP? Unfortunately, the savings will most likely be subjected to us when normal ticket prices go up and Season tickets will stay the same. Keeping in perspective.. let’s not get ahead of ourselves. 🙂

So my whole point of this post is… can we, the Lehigh Valley, keep this park full for every home game? I hope so.

The Pigs lost today in a screamer of a game clocked at 2 hours and 2 minutes. The 1,111 fans in attendance must feel a little taken that the game went so fast.

Not much happened. I’m not a fan of Mazone.. he went 7 innings allowing 2 runs on 5 hits.

Rich Thompson extended his hitting streak to 9 games, an Ironpig season high for 2010.

Andy Tracy also had a hit raising his batting average to .229.

On another completely separate note.. off topic and since the game wasn’t too interesting I will hop up on my soapbox and share my dinner experience with you.

Yesterday, for those who frequent the Crest Plaza on Cedar Crest Blvd in Allentown, a new eatery opened next to Saladworks and Duncan Donuts. The place is called “Panino’s.” I thought I would give it a try. I went in to order at 5:25.

The place wasn’t too full.. maybe 10 people inside and in front of me was an elderly woman who asked at least two questions about every item on the menu, ultimately deciding not to order anything and left. The menu looked great. Cheesesteaks (claimed to be Philly style), italian hoagies and about 3 dozen other options both hot and cold.

At 5:33 I ordered a 12 inch cheesesteak, cost $9.21. A little pricey, but it might be a good product and I’m open to trying new foods. So I stand and wait. And wait. I notice about 8 of those customers in the place are also waiting. One by one the folks get called by name to pick up their order. About 5 minutes per sandwich. The apologetic staff kept thanking us for our patience on what they called “the busy time.”

I could go on and on with this experience but the bottom line was that I waited close to 45 minutes for a cheesesteak with only 10 people in the place. There were no platters or large orders clogging up the system nor a real sense of urgency to get the orders filled. I watched as one young woman stood happlessly over her box of aluminum foil.

The sandwich was ok. It had a nice roll and a good quantity of meat. The cheese could have been more. Tastewise.. well it could have been worse, but not much. The meat was tasteless and dry. I wonder if this company ever heard of salt and pepper…

It took 45 minutes to get a dry, tasteless cheesesteak.

Granted, it just opened a few days ago so I may try again in a few weeks.. but don’t count on it.