The Pigs took down the Rochester Redwings tonight by a final score of 10 to 2.
The bigger news is the possible return of 2008 Ironpigs Les Walrond! It’s been flying all over Twitter that the Phillies have signed the man who struck out a team record of 17 opposing batters in 2008 and have assigned him to Reading. Seeing the transaction train moving along it might not be long before we see Walrond back at CCP.
Walrond spent two seasons in Japan in 2009 and 2010, with Yokohama and Doosan. With a combined 12-19 record for those season, I hope Les can get back to the standard he set for the dismal Ironpigs so long ago.
I will be attending the Steelhawks final home game of their first season tomorrow at Stabler Arena. The Hawks are hoping to win their 3rd straight game and although playoffs don’t appear in the near future it will be a great way to end the season with a few wins.
See you tomorrow!
noisenation.mlblogs.com 
Walrond had been pitching exclusively in relief for Lancaster. It will be interesting to see if he remains in that role.
Trivia: The only player in the starting lineup for Louisville to not be struck out by Walrond in his 17 K performance was current Reds shortstop Paul Janish.
The other news heard tonight was the retirement of Matt Miller. A lifetime .321 hitter in AAA, Miller never got it going in the Phillies organization.
I heard this second hand but it’s probably accurate: the Ironpigs are 21-8 when Erik Kratz is catching, 8-10 when he isn’t.
I’ve also heard rumors of a Hoover retirement. Nothing official though.
However, we’ll still hear Miller’s dulcet tones occasionally coming out of commercials on radio till the end of this season. 🙂
And we’ll always remember him from the 2010 All-Star Game.
While I’m cheering for Walrond as well, I hope we’re not pinning our hopes and dreams for the 2011 ‘Pigs’ season on him. There’s probably a reason why he was pitching for Lancaster. Good luck to him, though. Sometimes all you need is an opportunity…
And, perhaps this wasn’t the right opportunity for Matt Miller. He just never got it going. I have a feeling he might come back with a fresh start in 2012 somewhere if he can get an invite. Feels like one of those Slayden-type deals–but I’m purely speculating.
Love Erik Kratz. I was happy when the signed him and I love watching him work, defensively as well as at the plate. Those figures are probably accurate, as similar stats have been in the game notes of recent. Not to mention the drop-off to #2 C has been pretty high, by my opinion.
Now, off to a baseball tournament. It’s an all-star team, but will likely not do well. A nice opportunity for my young catcher, though. Long day in the sun and we will probably skip the ‘Pigs tonight. I’ve got some Choice Strips to throw on the grill after…
Podsednik replacing Sullivan on the Ironpigs roster.
Podsednik replacing Sullivan is a good move by the organization, even if he does not work out. I hoped Walrond has something left. At this point, Blanton is no sure thing to come back, and the Phillies may take another arm from the Pigs, so Walrond could fill that spot….OINK, OINK, OINK!!!