Monthly Archives: April 2011

April 15, 2011 · 10:01 am

Ironpig Results 4-14-11, R-Phil’s Home Opener!

The Ironpigs split their doubleheader yesterday in Rochester.

Game one’s result spoiled a great pitching effort by Vance Worley. The Pigs threatened in the 7th with 1 hit, 2 walks and a hit by pitch but couldn’t capitalize and the Redwings took the game in the bottom of the 7th with a walk off homerun. 1-3 Redwings win.

Game two looked a little better for the Pigs. Rich Thompson hit his first long ball of the season to tie the game at three and the Pigs added two more in the 8th (extra inning for the double header) to win 5 to 3. Stutes got the win and Zagurski the save.

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Yesterday I made the trip out to Reading to check out the results of their renovations. The new gate set up was awesome! No more 1/2 mile long lines slowly moving through the front door. Folks moved in, around and about easily in the new concourse. Food options were boosted as I saw freshly made sushi, racks of ribs amongst the traditional ball park fare. The best part of the transistion was that they kept the historical feel of the park keeping true to the claim of the Best Minor League ballpark in all of baseball.

I did see one unidentified R-Phil player watching the crowd in awe and making the statement, “It’s like a block party with a baseball game next to it.”

Ran into a bunch of our Ironpig Front Office friends at the game as well as owner Stein and Chuck Domino wandering within the excited crowd of fans. Glad to see them out there taking it in.

The pregame started with some great things. We had an introduction of Frank Rickenbach, who at age 94, has attended every home opener since the Park in Reading opened! That’s 1951 for those keeping track and 60 years of Reading baseball in that very park. I’m sure Frank has seen many changes come and go and can appreciate dedication of that level!

The National Anthem was sung by Kane Kalas, son of the late great Harry Kalas. He was tremendous! I cannot say enough of how well, and respectfully, he sang our country’s National Anthem. Almost brought a tear to my eye…

Kane Kalas - Photo courtesy of the Reading Phillies - by Frank Trout

The game started out a pitcher’s duel and continued with a scoreless 7 innings until the top of the 8th when an errant throw over 1st Baseman Matt Rizzotti’s head opened the floodgates for the Akron Aeros who closed the frame plating 5 runs. Final score, Aeros 5 – RPhils 0. Bummer for a great opening day.

As far as food, I wanted to try the popular Churger sandwich… a burger with a slab of chicken included and it was just that. Some folks might like it but I could have done without the chicken… but I did try it so I can say a solid yes or no if I like it and my answer this morning is no. Not a strong no, but just not for me.

Did see some familiar faces on the R-Phil roster. Rizzotti, John Suomi, Tuffy Goeswisch and Mike Spidale were all at the park last night.

Possibly the most exciting moment of the game happened right over my head. A screaming foul ball cleared the backstop with enough backspin to send it in our direction. Luckily it missed the fans but a press box window took the brunt of it.

New stadium, one night to break something...

When the shock of the crash and falling glass passed a roar of applause rolled through the crowd and a slightly dazed Tommy V poked his head out of the press box in amazement. I don’t believe anyone was hurt and the glass was quickly cleaned up and the window removed.

Altogether a great time! I got a new Ryan Howard garden gnome but did not win the 500lbs version. Would like to add that Reading has included about 20 motorcycle sized parking spots within a short distance from the gate and I felt that is a great idea. A lot of bikes are very expensive and very susceptable to damage by larger vehicles. Their own protected parking area greatly decreases this risk. Could Coca Cola Park create something like this? Perhaps a special “Hog” parking area? It sure beats parking in the yellow lines at the end of each lot..

OinK!

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April 13, 2011 · 9:20 pm

Details on Tomorrow’s Double Header

In Game One, RHP Vance Worley (1-0, 0.00) will start for LHV against RHP Eric Hacker (1-0, 0.00).

In Game Two, LHP Ryan Feierabend (4-7, 5.30 w/ TAC) will start for LHV against RHP Kyle Gibson (0-0, 9.00).

Both games will be 7 innings (minor league thing) and first pitch for Game 1 is 12:05pm. The second game usually starts about 45 minutes after the conclusion of the first.

The Ironpigs were 2-6 in double headers last season. They split 2 couples and were swept in 2. All time the Pigs are 9 wins, 17 losses in a two game day.

OinK!

Fan Appreciation Night & Wailing Waters!

The Steelhawks have stepped up their promotions and bring us some halftime entertainment for this Saturday’s home game against the Chicago Slaughter! You heard it.. the Slaughter! Sounds kind of cool doesn’t it? Not as cool as our Steelhawks though…

Anyways, the Wailing Waters are lead by American Idol contestant Tyler Grady. The duo Waters is becoming one of the region’s most talked about talented and entertaining bands. Tyler was a Top 24 American Idol finalist out of hundreds of thousands contestants. His two celebrated appearances on American Idol was seen by over 30 million people. Tyler and the band have recently won three 2010 Lehigh Valley Music Awards: BEST NEW ARTIST/BAND, BEST ALL-AROUND PERFORMER and BEST MALE VOCALIST.

It’s also Fan Appreciation night at Stabler Arena! Come on out and join the Noise Nation in their support of the Lehigh Valley’s best indoor football team! (This may be the only football we see if those greedy folks in the NFL don’t get their act together)

More details of the game provided from the Steelhawks:

The Lehigh Valley Steelhawks are at home for the 2nd of 3 straight home contests on Fox Point Programs Field, inside Stabler Arena. The team will face the Chicago Slaughter in a non-divisional matchup on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. In their last game, the Steelhawks offense struggled against the Bloomington Extreme but their defense kept them in the game.
The Slaughter (4-2) are a strong offensive team, lead by wide receivers Shatone Powers and James Robinson, along with running back Daniel DuFrene. But IFL Veteran Quarterback Ben Sankey will have to deal with a Steelhawks’ pass defense that is among the top 5 in the IFL.
The Steelhawks (1-4) are trying to get back on track with a win this week. The defense will once again need to come out strong, but will be Quarterback AJ Roque, who has led the team to average more then 40 points per contest returns to the lineup looking to provide a spark on offense. His primary target Irani DeAraujo remains out with a neck injury, so look for Roque to rely heavily on Pius X Graduate Quintin Lopez and Dom Stewart. Defensively look for linebackers Adrian McLeod and Lehigh University product Matt Cohen to continually put pressure on Sankey.
Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. with doors opening at 6:00 p.m. Saturday’s game will be Fan Appreciation night with giveaways throughout the night.

Giveaways! You guys love those! Come on out! Yeah, I’m cheerleading again but I like this organization and want it to stay around for a while. Our support will keep them here!

What Pigs Do When it Rains?

From Jason Grilli’s twitter account @GrillCheese49

"What you get when you cross an Ironpig with a Redwing."

This group has a great personality this year!

OinK!

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April 13, 2011 · 12:24 pm

Kram’s Korner – Thoughts on the Opening Homestand

So I thought I’d share a few thoughts about the six opening games of Season IV: The Season of Winning. Except, two of the games were rained out. And, I showed up late for one of them. Also, I left early once. But, the winning has been equal to the losing, and here I am to comment on two games plus parts of two others.

I’m happy, as always, with the stadium and the staff. It’s good to see the ushers and the folks from the section. There are some new faces, and some in different seats, but in all it felt comfortable. It felt good. It felt like the opening theme from Cheers.

Things I liked during the opening series:

1. Bypass lane. Worked very well. Twice. And Lefty33, I’ll be happy to pay the $.99 from now on without complaining.

2. Biergarten. This was a wonderful idea. I also like the additional non-beer adult beverages. I’m trying to decide if I want to collect a whole set of those mugs. My wife says ‘no,’ but that never stopped me before.

3. Hats. There’s a nice selection of New Era caps in the store right now. I only bought one so far, but I can’t stop thinking about them.

4. 32 oz beer. The popularity is unmistakable. These need to be more widely available.

5. Philly Pretzels! The kids are hooked. Again. Worth the walk.

6. The iPhone App. I needed a new phone anyway, and when my old Blackberry wouldn’t load the Bypass App, well, it was a logical choice. The ‘Pigs app is great. As Dan pointed out, it has almost everything that I asked for in my technology suggestion box. The next, logical, addition is to incorporate ticketing and/or season ticket account management better. Just scan the code from my phone, right?

7. I told you: Diggity is a cheater.

8. The go-karts are cool. I wonder if they are remote controlled somehow to regulate winning and losing—or if it’s a real race.

9. The Twitter contest. Good idea last night with tweeting your seat location for $10 added ticket value. That’s the kind of thing I was thinking of in my su ggestions.

10. The Blast Burger. Very nicely done. A little messy, but I knew what I was getting into.

Things I didn’t like about the opening series (I’m not complaining, just providing balance):

1. I miss the Roast Beef. I know Arby’s is in trouble financially, so we need to come up with another stadium-wide promotion where folks can chant and I can have the possibility of getting free food. Really. People love it. OK, I love it. I love free food. There. I said it.

2. I don’t have the bartenders trained yet. Now that they serve bar food at the FMO Painting bar, the wait time has increased.

(BTW, here’s a funny exchange from Sunday: Me: “I’d like a Cabernet and a Sprite. Also, could you please put the wine in a larger cup than usual?” Bartender: “Oh, are you going to mix them?” Me: “GOOD GOD NO! Sorry. I mean, I’d like to be able to carry the wine without spilling it.”)

3. The Porking Spaces. It’s just too goofy, and I can’t stop thinking of inappropriate jokes to make. Plus, I have enough trouble parking as it is.

4. The Blue lot. I prefer the LSI lower lot and had my parking and exit strategy perfected. So far, my egress from the blue lot has been less than efficient. I’m still working on it, though.

5. If it’s true that the pretzel burger is gone, then that is too bad. I liked it on the third base side so that I could eat whilst the kids pester the players for autographs.

6. Twitter. OK, be careful what you ask for, right? I don’t need fourteen different people to tell me that the centerfielder just dropped the ball. I saw it myself. What I want is an explanation as to why. Or, a snarky comment. Or, inside information about players who lack depth perception. Or, a free Butterfinger candy bar from Wawa next inning if an opposing player drops the ball. You know, that kind of thing.

7. Can a guy get a beer vendor in the stands periodically? Perhaps he’ll be up when the weather gets nicer. Until then, I’m thinking of ordering beer with my Bypass app so that I don’t have to wait for the bartenders to make drinks which require 5 different steps for people who don’t care about the fact that there’s a baseball game going on outside–or for them to fetch chicken wings from the kitchen. I’m parched over here. I really don’t want to start ordering beer two or three at a time. I might, though. I’ve got a driver this year.

The Team:
The play on the field has been a bit sloppy, but that works two ways. I still like this team, and I love the manager. I also like that the lineup has been in flux a bit for the first few games. It’s a nice change from the static lineup card that Hup would turn in all season long. It might be time to get some of these guys settled in to a spot, though—at least until the roster starts turning over. Here’s my suggested lineup for the Rochester series (three games):

1. Thompson CF
2. Young RF
3. Belliard 3B
4. Larish 1B
5. Moss DH
6. Sullivan LF
7. Barfield 2B
8. Kratz C
9. Frandsen SS

I want Young and Belliard batting in the first inning, regardless. I know Ryno wants multiple guys who can run at the top, but the running doesn’t do any good without the hitting. It won’t happen, as Young and Belliard seem to be the only two who don’t move. Whatever. And I would hope that Delwyn wouldn’t get upset at me for moving him out of cleanup—especially since he’s my wife’s favorite player this year. But I think he and Belliard can hold their own on the bases, based on what I’ve seen so far. The above lineup should be able to run and hit all the way through. Disclaimer: I didn’t take into account Right or Left or Switch batting.

Hat’s off to the pitchers; they’ve certainly done well enough to be undefeated at this juncture. Hope it can continue. We didn’t get to see Feierabend, but he had a nice start for the ML team in the spring, so I’ve got my hopes up.

I’m really looking forward to the Yankees series starting on Monday. I expect to do better with my attendance; I should be at all 5 games in 4 days, weather permitting (or even if not, perhaps).

Kiddos get the bobble vans for Monday’s doubleheader.
I’ll stop over after work on Tuesday, and get a new hat for my trouble.
My wife works late on Wednesday, so it’s Boy’s Night Out.
Thursday I’m hosting a mini-group of friends from Philadelphia. We’ll be tailgating when the lots open, then sitting in section 108.

Here’s to more WINNING!

Kram’s Korner is a guest post to the Horn & Bell blog offering a perspective “From the Club Level”

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April 13, 2011 · 12:03 am

Andy Tracy, Third Baseman

As I was checking boxscores from around the minor leagues tonight I noticed that Andy Tracy made his second start of the year for the Reno Aces in the Pacific Coast League. What really surprised me was that he started the game at third base. In 3 years with the Ironpigs I believe Andy only played the hot corner one time. Perhaps it was because the Aces regular third baseman Cody Ransom has just 1 hit in 11 at bats with that 1 hit being a homerun. Andy is now 2-6 on the year and both of his hits have been doubles.

Also of interest, outfielder Wily Taveras is 8-23 .348 at Colorado Springs, pitcher Brandon Duckworth has 1 start with Pawtucket and is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 5 innings of work. Ryan Vogelsong is in the starting rotation for the Fresno Grizzlies and is 2-0 1.59 in his 2 games. In 11 1/3 innings he has 17 strikeouts. Oscar Villarreal is 0-0 6.75 for Albuquerque and outfielder Chris Aguila is 2-4 .143 for the New Orleans Zephyrs. I could find no 2011 statistics for Michael Taylor other than finding him listed with the Sacramento River Cats.

I’m not sure anyone mentioned this before but the Red Sox sent one of Noise Nation’s favorite visiting outfielders, Bubba Bell to the Indians for cash considerations. Bubba is now playing for the Columbus Clippers and is 4-9 .444 after 4 games.

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April 12, 2011 · 11:41 am

Win then Rain, Win then Rain – 4/12 Rained Out

Rain sent a stadium full of school kids back to the classroom today. What a bummer.

Myself, I did get to try the new 1/4 lbs hot dog with coleslaw and bacon bits. Not bad. Still miss the Pretzel burger…

So far this season the Pigs have won two game and both games were followed up by a rain out. Coincidence? Eh, not a great stat but something to talk about on a rainy day.

I wanted to comment more on the new atmosphere at the park today. The team actually seems happy to be here. Really. Noticed that 1st Baseman Jeff Larish has put up Ironpig’s tickets as a prize for his self run Facebook trivia contest. Jason Grilli sends out regular updates on Twitter, @GrillCheese49 and others like Michael Schwimer follow the social media circuit and offer to chat with folks online to answer questions about themselves and/or the team. How many times in the past have you seen this kind of player involvement in the Lehigh Valley?

If you do follow Twitter there are a lot of Ironpig players and media worth reading. You can view the list of who I personally follow here.

The Pigs now go on the road to Rochester and Syracuse before returning Monday the 18th to a 4 game set with SWB Yankees.

OinK!

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April 11, 2011 · 10:40 pm

Ironpig Game Results 4/11/11

They say he who laughs last, laughs best.. tonight the Ironpigs pulled off a 10th inning 4 to 3 win with a wild pitch! In each of the first two games of this series vs. Syracuse the Pigs left what was to be the difference in a loss cross the plate with a passed ball and they got a little luck back tonight!

The game started off with the threat of storms looming. In the first inning we got to see a play that I recall with fondness in little league. With runners on 1st and 3rd Syracuse set the runners in motion and Dane Sardinha fired a strike to second base only to receive the ball and tag out the runner coming in from 3rd. Great stuff!

Then came some lightning and about a 45 minute rain delay. At that point both teams had scraped out 3 runs each and were tightly knotted until the wild pitch sent Victory Pigs flying into the stands!

Cory Sullivan and Ronnie Belliard both had 2 hit nights and the pitching staff was again solid. Starter Bass scattered 6 hits and 1 run over 6 innings with 5 strikeouts. Grilli pitched a solid inning with 2 K’s and Mike Zagurski finished the last 1.1 perfectly striking out 2. The only slight blemish was Scott Mathieson’s 1.2 innings where he allowed 4 hits and 2 runs, however he did come back strong in his second inning hitting 99 MPH on the radar gun.

Tomorrow is kids day and hopefully the rain holds out.

OinK!

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April 11, 2011 · 3:31 pm