Monthly Archives: April 2011

We had a lot of fun in the outfield today. The Pigs got stomped. Nothing more to say about that.

The excitement started with the Ryne Sandberg bobble head giveaway.. I got there around 4:00 to check out the crowd and by the time the gates opened there was about 5,000 people in line behind me.

One special note to the person who thought of cutting off part of the upper parking lot to accomodate the overflow from the lines at the gate.. BRILLIANT! I’ve never seen a line as orderly and content before at The Coke! Good job!

Other than that, just a nice warm, breezy night for baseball, friends and an overall good time.

This is our town… this is our team.. we triumph no matter what!

OinK!

First things first.. there is a slight chance of passing thunderstorms tonight. There is more than adequate cover at the park, just be prepared to move under the concourse in case of a storm coming by. Anything that happens won’t last long.

For the game we get our first look at the 2011 Pawtucket Pawsox. They have been been on a hot streak of late winning 8 of their last 10 games following a 3 win / 5 loss start. The Pawsox are currently 1 game behind the division leader SWB Yankees and 2 games ahead of the Ironpigs.

Taking the mound for the Pigs will be the solid Shoeless Eddie Bonine. Bonine has had some bad luck in the last couple games and is sitting atop a 1-2 record with a decent 2.60 ERA.

Opposing him tonight will be Pawtucket’s Andrew Miller. Miller boasts a 1.32 ERA and has allowed only 8 hits in his previous 3 starts. Miller was a part of the 2007 deal that sent Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera to the Detroit Tigers. Let’s hope the Ironpig batters can put a show on for us tonight!

OinK!

In regards to my letter emailed last evening, I received a response from the International League President Randy Mobley.

I have to say, I am impressed. To have a letter from a fan answered so professionally and quickly is a classy and admirable act.

In the response, Mobley confirmed that the existing rules were followed and also added:

… I would like to make it clear that while field maintenance judgments did need to be made thought the course of this game, including when to cover the field, these were all in the hands of the umpires as opposed to anyone associated with the Buffalo team. So, when you suggest suspicions you need to direct that comment at the umpires. I can assure you that while working 8-10 years in the minor leagues for a chance at a major league umpiring position the last thing these or any Triple-A umpires would choose to do is intentionally put themselves in this type situation. While you may disagree with the judgments made by the umpires in their care for the field, your disagreement should be in the same vain as you would disagree with a ball/strike call or an out/safe call. You can rest assured that suspicions related to the decisions they make would be unwarranted.

Ok, so Buffalo Bison.. I apologize. I can admit when my frustrations were misdirected. I am truly sorry for suggesting that the organization is less than reputable following the rain shortened game yesterday.

As for umpires Gerard Ascani, David Rackley and Toby Basner… I wish you the best in your quest to become a Major League Umpire. Take this experience as a lesson learned.

To the International League,

I am writing in reference to the game played earlier today between the Lehigh Valley Ironpigs and Buffalo Bison. The game ended as the result of inclement weather and in a controversial way.

To summarize, the game had a steady light rain throughout the game and into the ninth inning when, during a legitimate rally on the part of the Ironpigs, the grounds crew pulled the tarp onto the field effectively ending the game. With only one out and the bases loaded, it was very likely the Ironpigs could have tied or even taken the lead in this game.

While I am familiar with the rule that any game not completed due to weather is considered final if past the 5th inning, I would suggest this rule might be adjusted to meet the circumstances of the specific game.

For example: In the 2008 World Series, Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig stated that no playoff game would be rain shortened, and a new rule was made.

Baseball history is full of new rules stemming from players, teams and coaches trying to gain an advantage while still keeping within the existing rules. When Ty Cobb perfected a bunt that landed in fair territory and would ricochet far behind the catcher, a new rule was created to prevent that trickery. When players like Eddie Stanky would place themselves several yards up the left field line on a fly ball, then running at full speed timing his touch of 3rd base with the catch of the fly, a new rule was created.

The circumstances of why the field in Buffalo was not properly tended during the game and the timeliness of the tarp being pulled raise many suspicions to all involved.

Let’s clear this up and create a rule that states a game can be suspended if the circumstances, like the above, would provide for it.

Respectfully submitted,

Dan Kehl

Just saw from a mass Twitter explosion. Contreras to the DL, Ironpig Michael Stutes gets the call.

He will join Mike Zagurski as the 2nd Ironpig called up this season.

Zagurski & Stutes Reunite in Philly!

OinK!

The Ironpigs won again today increasing their record to 9 wins 8 losses. For those keeping track, this places them in a solid 3rd place, 2 games behind Scranton and Pawtucket who are separated by .5 game.

Being economical on their hitting today, the Pigs scored 7 runs on 6 hits in a 7 to 5 victory over the Buffalo Bison!

Rich Thompson had two hits and Worley, Carpenter, Grilli and Perez had good innings on the mound.

One rough spot was Scott Mathieson in the 9th. He allowed 3 earned runs in .2 innings and was pulled for Perez with one out to go. I wouldn’t feel too bad, though, Roy Halladay was pulled with one out in the bottom of the 9th today too. I missed this, as a thunderstorm rolled in with 2 outs in the bottom of the ninth and my TV signal plummeted.

All that aside, let’s look at Jeff Larish. He added two more HR’s to his total of 6 for this season along with 4 RBI. (11 total on the season). This guy is on fire!

A member of the 2003 Team USA and came home with a silver medal after losing the final game to Cuba. He was drafted by the Dodgers in the 13th round of the 2004 draft but turned it down to complete college at Arizona State. Later, he was chosen by the Tigers in the 5th round of the 2005 draft.

Larish has played in 101 games at the Major league level with the Tigers and A’s batting .224 over 3 seasons.

Expect to see more good things out of him throughout the 2011 season!

OinK!

The Ironpigs pulled out a nail biter up in Buffalo this afternoon winning 7 to 5 against the Bison!

Again, the Bison got on the board with one run in the first inning but the Pigs came right back and tied the score in the 2nd. In the 5th inning catcher Erik Kratz returned in a big way to the lineup, hitting the first of his 2 home runs of the day! The eventual game winning RBI went to 1st baseman Jeff Larish whose 2 run homer in the 7th gave the Pigs the lead for the final time of the day.

For the hitters:
Barfield was 3 for 5 with 1 run scored
Frandsen had a hit and RBI
Young added a hit and RBI as well
Larish 1 for 5 with 2 RBI
Moss had a hit and RBI
Kratz 2 for 3 with 2 solo HR

Quite a team effort today!

Today’s starter Feierabend lasted 4 innings allowing 4 runs (3 earned) and struck out 5 compared to 2 walks.

The bullpen held strong between Schwimer (Who was awarded his first win of the season), Perez with a hold and Stutes came on for the save. Together the 3 relievers allowed 4 hits and one run striking out 5. In fact, the only run scored against the pen was a solo home run off of Michael Schwimer.

I could get used to them winning…

OinK!

A dozen Philly Pretzel twists have been a lot hotter than Ironpig bats lately so a challenge has been issued!

“LET’S CALL IT THE PHILLY PRETZEL DOZEN—————EVERYTIME THE PIGS GET 12 HITS OR MORE—-PHILLY PRETZEL WILL DONATE $12 TO THE ROLLER GIRLS AND $12 TO DAN FOR THE BRAIN TUMOR FUND——LET’S SEE SOME OF THE OTHER BUSINESSES ON TIS PAGE MATCH IT, SO GETTING A DOZEN HITS WILL PAY BIG CASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

This deal makes everyone happy; Pig Fans, Roller Girls and our fundraiser for the National Brain Tumor Society!

Great incentive Bert! Thank you and hopefully the Pigs will meet that challenge!

Get your Philly Pretzels at:
1302 Hanover Avenue, Bldg A, Suite 6
Allentown, PA 18109
Phone: (610) 821-7000

Any other sponsors out there want to match this challenge?

OinK!

Well it hasn’t been pretty. In the past six games the Ironpigs have allowed their opponents to score in the first inning. Not only that, the bad guys have scored first in 12 of the 15 games this season. While being able to hover around .500, this certainly needs to change if we expect them to stay around .500.

Tonight seems to be another continuing trend as listening to the radio broadcast we heard that both teams were disagreeing with home plate umpire Gerard Ascani. Both Kevin Frandsen and Ryne Sandberg were ejected for arguing a call and several others were gathering a temper when not given time when asked for.

The Pigs went quickly into the hole in the bottom of the first allowing 2 runs with some scattered hits and a walk. They came back with one run in the 2nd but only scraped out one hit from the 3rd through the 7th. Going into the 8th Rich Thompson whacked a pinch hit double and scored on a throwing error allowing Barfield to get on base.

For the pitchers, starter Brian Bass lasted 4 innings tonight allowing 7 hits and 3 runs. The biggest line number for him is the 5 walks. 52 of his 87 pitches were strikes but the walks allowed him to burn out sooner rather than later and to the bullpen went Ryne Sandberg. In came Brian Gordon fresh off of the disabled list, followed by Mathieson and Stutes.

It did no good though, the Pigs fell 2 to 4 to the Bison. They fall below .500 again and are looking for the bats to come alive. Perhaps tomorrow…

Another note of the recent absence of catcher Erik Kratz, revealed by @Pigsradio on Twitter, that he had a toenail issue and a return will be soon. Sounds a lot like an injured Valendia… an Actual injured Valendia.

OinK!