The Winter banquet (formerly Phillies Caravan) was nice last night. Just like last year, lots of good people, Charlie Manuel proved to tell some great stories and I even won a poster sized copy of Pork Illustrated featuring 2008 Ironpig Cedric Bowers. There was a lot of friendly faces we haven’t seen since September and notably missing was Ironpig’s General Manager Kurt Landes. Heard a rumor he is under the weather and best wishes and prayers that he recovers quickly. Also was able to meet Jeff Schuler who writes the Hog Blog on the Morning Call website. Charlie Manuel and Reuben Amaro hinted heavily that the Phillies right field spot was Domonic Brown’s to lose.
After the banquet, I was really impressed with Matt Rizzotti. He seemed to be lingering around and within minutes a group of small kids came running over and he enthusiastically greeted them with high fives, autographs and photos. Rizzotti looked comfortable in his place tonight with such a prominant staff of honored guests tonight. He should fill the shoes of our former first basement with no problem… even making jokes about random hecklers who made their preference of Andy Tracy known last season. I almost guarantee in May people will be saying, Andy who?
Good time and good cause.
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What struck me harder last night was realizing that this season will be a first for the Ironpigs. Although PA Announcer Tim Chorones announced mascot FeFe as the first lady of the Ironpigs, we have a true first lady now with the arrival of Margaret Sandberg. As stated many times last night by Ryne Sandberg and others, Mrs. Sandberg has proven herself to be very community and charity oriented. This is an element the Ironpigs have lacked in the previous 3 years. I truly look forward to her efforts here in the Lehigh Valley.
OinK!
noisenation.mlblogs.com 
Margaret Sandberg is a class act. Your players’ wives might want to start some offseason workouts now to be sure they can keep up with her this spring. 🙂
But the big question is…..was it FeFe I, FeFe II, or FeFe III? Inquiring minds want to know!
I saw a piece on 69 News last night and they asked Rizzotti what he thinks of the right field porch. His eyes lit up and he said, “I love the right field porch”.
I’ll also stand by my original opinion that Domonic Brown starts the season in AAA. It’s better to start him in the minors, let him play well for a month and then promote him rather than to start him in the major leagues, have him struggle and then have to send him down.
I believe it was FeFe II… it didn’t look much different and the coat was still a light grey. Rizzotti is a great guy. I can say enough how friendly he was with everyone. Even submitted a recipe for the cookbook today. I agree that Brown should start in AAA.
I’m glad to hear Rizzotti is a cool guy for the fans to interact with, but, I highly doubt anyone will forget the one and only Andy Tracy – ever.
If anything, it seems to me as if Rizzotti has learned a thing or two from the greatest player in the illustrious history of the AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs and that’s cool, too.
dude–you got to spell the GM’s name right—-a couple local taverns are going to miss AT
Good catch! Spelling and penmanship have always been my downfall. Must have been hungry when I typed that 🙂
Unless the Phillies are prepared to play Brown everyday, it is pointless at this stage of his developing career to have him in Philadelphia.
The problem is, Kehl has too much German heritage.
“x,y,z des Landes” = “x,y,z of the country”
The IronPigs are kind of like Kehl’s country.
I flipped over to the Two’s telecast of the banquet from the Sixers game Sunday (30) — when the Charities checks were being handed out — and stayed for the speeches. Did I hear an “Ooh!” from someone in the crowd while Sandberg was speaking?
Alright Kehl, try this one out :
My own GM confusion stems from the fact there is only one baseball team (the IronPigs) and, thus, only one General Manager whose name whose name is important!
I know what you mean… I hear Ruben Amaro Jr. and my mind drifts into corn beef, sauerkraut and russian dressing.