You never count the last day.. that’s just a wake up. 100 Days and a Wake Up for Ironpig’s opening day in 2011!
I can already smell the grills being fired up. Winter grasping for its last breath and sunny skies trying to remind us that spring is around the corner.
The first day of baseball at Coca Cola Park has the same feel each year. The new interns rushing around madly to make sure everything is in its place. The concessions workers standing, waiting proudly for the surge of hungry fans. The scoreboard revealing new “themes” for the new season. The scoreboard time and temperature will serve as a reminder that it still is April. Smiles will be everywhere.
As for the team, we won’t know for a while. The roster is usually announced a week or so before opening day. Until then we have a few milestones to look forward to.
Pitchers and catchers report to spring training starting around February 11th. That’s only 46 days away!
We’ll still see some straggling transactions. By this time most of the key players have signed. Teams will look to just fill out their rosters. Still no word if Mike Cervenak has been signed anywhere.
The Ironpig’s winter banquet (formerly the Phillies caravan) is on January 27th. Just a short month away.
You still have time to submit a recipe to the Noise Nation cookbook!
We have a long winter to think of things like making our own homemade version of Monopoly…
Let’s see what else comes up until then.
100 Days and a wake up!
OinK!
noisenation.mlblogs.com 
There’s an eBay seller with a Monopoly-like game for about $45. This was made more than ten years ago, I believe; sadly, not a very-big picture.
“Let’s see what else comes up until then.”
With J.C. Romero back with the Phillies it looks like Mike Zagurski may be destined for another year at Coca-Cola Park.
Just happened to check the standings of the American Hockey League to see how the former Philadelphia Phantoms, current Adirondack Phantoms and possibly the future Lehigh Valley Phantoms are doing. As of Monday, December 27th they are 6-24-2 for a total of 14 points which puts them 34 points behind the 1st place Wilkes-Barre Penguins. Has there been any recent news about the indoor arena in Allentown?
I haven’t heard anything recently. I believe cash for a stadium is key. Allentown’s leadership seems to be encouraging a downtown site where Easton folks want it on 33. Realistically, with Allentown’s mayor pushing this with soon to be former PA Governor Rendell, it could be one of those last minute things at the end of his term but I think it is more likely to find itself on the agenda of Governor elect Corbett. Personally, if it’s on 33 I would attend a few games but not be a season ticket holder. If downtown, where the city wants it.. I might go in on a ticket plan. If it’s next door or in the general vicinity of Coca Cola Park.. I’ll be a season ticket holder. I named this fan club the Noise Nation, as not to be centric to the Ironpigs, for the very reason of the Phantoms moving to the Lehigh Valley. I would be disappointed if it was in a less than favorable locale.
I know that it’s far from a done deal, but I was under the impression that the site was secured across the river from the IronPigs. They key is building the bridge to get folks there, which is why it’s been delayed. Trying to avoid parking/driving boondoggle. Could get cancelled or moved, I imagine, secondary to lack of funds or political whims.
Last thing I read was Morning Call June 25 (or thereabouts).
Parking and traffic would make that ‘across the river’ spot terrible. I live about 3-4 miles from Coca Cola Park.. as the city person walks. Last summer I took the city route 4 times while raining, and 3 of the 4 times it took me over an hour to drive those 4 miles. The 4th time took 45 minutes. Imagine that traffic with an additional 2-3,000 vehicles. Everyone knows the best spot for the hockey arena is next to Coca Cola Park, it’s the people thinking of money that want it elsewhere.
On a side note, last year I contacted my congressman and there was a “tax area” established in the immediate riverfront location that basically gave a free pass to any business willing to build there.
I saw that Phantoms record the other day, and thought, “well, they’ll feel right at home next door to the ‘pigs.” I guess the only difference is that I’m a Penguins fan, so I won’t feel so bad getting killed by the SWB team.
Last I heard of the arena, they wanted to get the bridge in place first, so that’s gonna push it back to the 2013 season, I believe.
Love the Monopoly idea for The Coke.
Here’s a copy of a stab I took at the ’11 ‘Pigs roster in an old thread. It’s early; I made lots of guesses. What do you think?
—
OF (4):
Thompson
Brown
Matt Miller
Brandon Moss
(notes: Mayberry starts with Philly, then switches with Brown and sulks his way through the second half of 2011 in Allentown one more time)
INF (5)
Matt Rizzotti
Brian Bocock
Josh Barfield
Jeff Larish
Pete Orr
(notes: Overbeck, Garcia, Bozied, outside chance Galvis may see time up from Reading. Valdez starts the season in Philly. Schoenberger on the outside looking in.)
C (2)
Kratz
Sardinha
SP (5)
Bump
Feierabend
Worley
Bonine
Naylor
(notes: I’ve got both KK and Carp in Philly to start the year–with KK as the #5 and Carp as the long reliever. Worley to get regular starts in LHV until/unless injury (big 4) or ineffective (KK+DC). Possibility of some veteran/bum here as well–just guessing on Naylor as next guy up from Reading.)
RP (8):
Herndon
Matheison
Zagurski
Schwimmer
Stutes
DeFratus
Perez
Meyer
(notes: escalona back to reading. )
That’s not a bad roster and it’s probably fairly close based on what is available at the moment. For some reason I don’t think Zagurski is going to be happy with the Phillies signing Romero because it’s probably his ticket back to AAA. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in a different organization by opening day, perhaps even being included in a deal along with Joe Blanton. If I were the Phillies I would hang on to Blanton until spring training. Once teams start seeing what they have (or don’t have) I think Blanton’s value will go up. It also wouldn’t be a big shock to me if they deal Blanton for young minor leaguers.
I also would really like to see Tagg Bozied do well in the Phillies organization. I know it was only AA but he hit .327 against LHP last year and had 12 homers vs. lefties in just 98 at bats. That’s a homerun for every 8 at bats against left handed pitching. Aren’t the Phillies looking for a right handed bat to play vs. lefties? It’s a longshot and I’m not sure how well Bozied can play a corner outfield position but stranger things have happened. Same deal with Matt Miller. This guy has numbers that are off the charts in the minors. My biggest concern with him is that he has been putting up those numbers the past few seasons at Colorado Springs, a hitter’s paradise at 6,000 feet above sea level. You throw Mayberry into that mix too which is legit because he has always hit much better vs LHP. He just strikes out too much.
Okay, I better stop there because I’m already giving away info I was preparing for my player profiles and I don’t want to use all my material here. I have some concerns with what I see so far but on the other hand there are quite a few things I like too.
How do you figure on Kendrick and Carpenter with the Phillies and Worley with the Pigs when Worley actually looked decent in his cup of coffee and Carpenter took a major step backwards from 2009 with Lehigh Valley?
When the Phillies go through the arbitration process with Kendrick and he is making north of a million dollars there is a zero percent chance he is pitching in AAA unless he looks atrocious.
The Phillies are not going to Kei Igawa him and have a guy making seven figures pitching in AAA.
Kendrick has got the fifth spot locked down until he loses it and if he does it’ll be more likely to Worley, not Carpenter.
Well, I agree, but my thinking was that they’d rather have Worley getting regular starts and getting stretched out to either replace KK or to fill in for an injured top 4 rather than have him languish in the BP in Philadelphia scrounging for garbage innings. Let Carp pick up the long relief innings and get Worley ready for real contribution. Just my take on it with no background or inside information.
With respect to the arena, Mr. Kehl, as you know, I had tracked that for some time.
The last time I looked into that situation was late last spring. The Adirondack attendance had been good and the local fans were growing more and more confident that the Phantoms owners, the Brooks Group of Pittsburgh, particularly in light of the funding gap in Allentown, might just keep the team in upstate New York permanently.
The funding gap is real and rather wide, even with the creation of a new, downtown “business tax zone” to help offset costs.
Aside from the fact Rendell is soon to be Governor no more…
The State of Pennsylvania is basically broke and has, apparently, has no money to feed children breakfast before school, much less cash for hockey arenas. Any such project would also have to address new traffic patterns created by the arena (i.e., more construction costs for things like a proposed new bridge) and the public mood would most likely be very much against spending public money on a sports arena with the economy being what is with high unemployment and all — I can see this project dying a quiet death with little fanfare.
Remember this article :
“WHY ARE WE FINANCING STADIUMS?”
The Morning Call – Kristina Gostomski
April 22, 2009
I certainly do…as you are well aware.
Unfortunately, Professor Borrick at $ 43,000-whatever-per-year Muhlenberg College never responded after I conceded defeat and offered him a souvenir IronPigs game ball from the 75th Anniversary Season of the International League in a gesture of sincerity.
Yeah, it was all downhill after that.
Too bad no one else had the guts to stand up for the Park…it was lots of funs taking on all the smarty-pants college professors all by myself.
Thanks IronPigs fans!