We all remember the deal that the Phillies made with the Indians not so long ago to bring Cliff Lee to Philadelphia.
So far, the Ironpig three who went in exchange for Lee are playing key roles for their team.
Jason Donald is with Columbus, who the Ironpigs will face this evening. He’s hitting .412 at the moment. Not too shabby for a team with a league leading 21 and 5 record.
Speaking of a league leading record we can look at the Big Tribe up in Cleveland. With a 20-9 record they are leading the American League and tied with our beloved Philles for the best records in MLB. I took a moment and looked at the roster that the Indians have put together and it is solid.
Former Ironpig Lou Marson has established himself in the backup catcher role to Carlos Santana. Some other names familiar to us International League fans include outfielder Michael Brantley, DH Shelley (Ironpig destroyer) Duncan, Justin Masterson (aquired via trade from the Red Sox) and former Ironpig Carlos Carrasco.
As for Carrasco, he has been on the 15 day disabled list for elbow problems in his throwing arm. The Indian’s website stated he could rehab as early as this Friday, but fear not.. it will most likely be with AA Akron not the Clippers.
Tonight’s game in Columbus is slated to start at 6:30PM, the weather will be cool and clear and hopefully the Pigs can pull a few wins out of this series. Brian Gordon will make his second start of the season and he appears to be inked in as the 5th starter in our rotation. In his last start on April 29th, Gordon went 3 innings allowing 3 hits and 1 walk while striking out 1 batter. You have to keep in mind that he started against the Pawtucket squad who had been on a tear up until that point. Going into that game the Pawsox were 7 and 3 in their last 10 games. Hopefully Gordon can spark the Ironpigs to break the Clippers spirit tonight.
Opposite Gordon on the lineup will be Columbus’ Corey Kluber. In 4 starts this season Kluber is 0-2, with a 6.50 ERA. If history speaks for itself, the Ironpigs might not do well against a pitcher with a line score of that quality. Us fans have noticed that the Pigs seem to come alive against the pitchers who have better stats and struggle against those high ERA throwers. Let’s make tonight the exception to the rule!
Tonight will also be the first “Virtual Road Trip Live Chat!”
This is how it works. Click on this link:
http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/ironpigs/index.ssf/2011/05/lehigh_valley_ironpigs_at_colu.html
You will see the post as listed on Lehigh Valley Live.com. Towards the bottom you will see instructions how to join the live chat.
A login setup will take a few moments to get in but it is painless.
A few notes of this live chat…
– Profanity will not be allowed. $%#^! should suffice if you feel the need to express yourself in this way.
– Topics not of the game or otherwise not related to fans or sports in general will not be included.
– Comments will be filtered and approved.
With that said, stop out tonight during the game and enjoy the friendship and camaraderie with fellow Pig Fans!
OinK!
noisenation.mlblogs.com 
I wont be able to get on tonight for the virtual road trip, but sounds awesome! Good Luck with it and cant wait to hear about it!! GO PIGS!!!!