Tonight will be Dave Huppert’s last game as manager of the Ironpigs but it could be lasts for a lot of these guys.
Most of the Pig team will not return. There are prospects.. mostly in the bullpen and John Mayberry.. maybe even the rule 5 draft Herndon will be a Pig in 2011 but the one we will miss.. and most likely not see in an Ironpig uniform again will be Andy Tracy.
He’s 36.. was plagued by injuries this year.. and hasn’t gotten his call to the Phillies. My gut feeling is that he won’t be in tonight’s game either.
Last night’s game almost had a story book ending. Bottom of the ninth.. tie game.. the slugger in what could be his last at bat with the team… and he didn’t hit the home run. We’ve had a lot of good memories with Andy… but I think he’s ready to move on.
To distract ourselves from this thought.. enjoy the below video.
noisenation.mlblogs.com 
Mayberry’s getting a little long in the tooth to really be considered a true prospect.
This is his third year at the AAA level and he’s not any better on the offensive side then his first year.
His defense is superb and he could easily give the Phillies better “D” then Werth and Ibanez give them currently.
But, he has struck out over 100 times in four of his six minor league season while only having marginal power.
It’s one thing to whiff 100 times plus a year if you’re hitting homers like Mark Reynolds or Ryan Howard.
But when your doing it while you’re only hitting 15 and your average is in the .250-.260 range that’s not overly appealing to many teams.
To me Mayberry right now is not even in the Phillies plans and he is a career AAA outfielder the same as Tracy is a career AAA first baseman, or at best Mayberry is a platoon guy.
He sure as hell is not getting a starting job anywhere on the major league level until he learns how to hit off-speed pitching better and to have better pitch selection and make more contact.
Man you’re trigger happy this week Lefty 🙂
There are prospects, mostly in the bullpen(insert comma) and John Mayberry. He hasn’t hit that 6 year free agent status yet so he’ll most likely be back.
I agree. He is AAA all the way.
I’m trying to go out with a bang.
Mayberry’s defense is superb? He has lacked hustle most of the time defensively. Someone must have talked to him about this, or has been working with him, because ever since Brown went to Philly, he has been better defensivley. Maybe the light bulb finally turned on for him.
Yup, correct all around above. And, Tracy’s not in the lineup today. Last night was his last game, then, perhaps. Mayberry’s hustle lacks…although, on a couple last night he just seemed to have some trouble picking up the ball coming out of the shadows in the early innings of the game. I was just thinking, on the way home from pitching BP for my son, that I’ve seen enough of Mayberry. Perhaps he’ll be back, but that doesn’t make me look forward to it. Perhaps he can re-dedicate over the summer and look different in the spring?
Off to the game…
ANDY TRACY FOR IRONPIGS MANAGER!!
Mayberry has run his course with the Philadelphia organization – the Phillies outfield is too tough for him, particulary now that Brown has emerged.
Mayberry, for his flaws with strikeouts and a lack of hustle on defense, still has some Major League power. He isn’t necessarily a “prospect” anymore, but, then again, he is not in his mid-30s, either.
If Mayberry chose, he could continue to work on his batting eye (he showed some improvement last year but regressed this season) and anybody can hustle at all times like Andy Tracy.
A lesser team can probably get some mileage out of Mayberry.
If I were Mayberry, I would not be holding out for a six-figure minor league split.
He got that this year and was a monster disappointment for the IronPigs, in my opinion.
Perhaps the key is what Kehl touched on it early in the season — Mayberry needs to make up his mind once and for all with respect to whether or not he really wants to play.
Tracy would probably make an excellent manager some day. I have seen profiles in which Tracy says he wants to coach after his playing days…
If nothing else, Tracy would probably be good at making sure his players all have a good work ethic day in and day out, hustle at all times (like chasing balls that will clearly make the seats) and be aware of the game-situations at all times.