Monthly Archives: September 2011

See below for a (yet to be confirmed) article from The Times Leader the Dispatch stating the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees will play their 2012 home games in the Lehigh Valley.

SWB will be gone in 2012, but were unforgettable in ’11

Posted: September 18
Updated: Today at 12:50 AM

Tommy Romanelli Special for The Dispatch 

They will be back next season, of course, but their 2011 season has come to an end. Unfortunately for us, they will be going to Lehigh Valley for at least the 2012 season.

The Yankees and Lackawanna County have decided to do some much-needed renovations on PNC field. This is going to be a refreshing change to the sorry looking stadium and a great idea on their part.

With the Yankees temporarily away, a burning question should come to mind to you. Have you missed out?

This past season the SWB Yankees have definitely underachieved. They missed the playoffs this season for the first time under the Yankees name and they did it with, what I think, is the best team they’ve put together since they’ve come to the Scranton area.

They came into the season with a ton of promise. An all-prospect starting rotation, their top hitting prospect in Jesus Montero starting at catcher, and some veteran players to help along the way. How could they not finish on top again?

It seemed to me, even though the team was so good, they just never gelled together. They never had that chemistry it takes to win. Even after the games in the clubhouse, whether they won or lost, it was for the most part quiet. I definitely think that was a huge reason why they didn’t live up to the potential that was there.

I don’t put the entire blame on them for the lack of chemistry on the team, though. The New York Yankees had so many injuries to fill that the SWB roster was almost changing daily. It’s hard to establish chemistry when there’s a new guy sitting next you every other day.

Just because the team didn’t win as much as it could have doesn’t mean it still wasn’t worth going out for the games. The team had its share of highlights this season.

Jorge Vazquez set a new SWB franchise record for homeruns in the regular season with 32.

Jesus Montero was the starting catcher all season up until September 1st. He is expected to be a Major League superstar. He’s now getting a lot of playing time at the MLB level and he is doing very well.

SWB has also seen a handful of Major League players rehabbing from injuries including Phil Coke, Magglio Ordonez, Delmon Young, Freddy Garcia, Raphael Soriano, and of course Alex Rodriguez.

There were plenty of reasons to come out and watch the SWB Yankees and there will be in the future too.

They should have most of their pitching prospects returning next season. Brandon Laird will be back refining his game, but he could be called up sometime next year. The most interesting part of next year, though, will be top pitching prospects Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances in their first full Triple-A season.

Hopefully you haven’t missed out on this season but even if you have, the SWB Yankees will be back in a year or two and, with a new stadium and great prospects, they’ll be better than ever.

Tommy Romanelli is a Wyoming Area grad and a sophomore at LCCC. He writes for pinstripesplus.com. His thoughts on the SWB Yankees appeared in The Dispatch through the 2011 season.

For winning their 5th consecutive NL East Championship!

Six IronPigs got the big call after Friday night’s game, including new Philadelphia Phillies Coach Ryne Sandberg. (Wrigley just shook a little). It will be interesting to follow along with what options are presented to Coach Sandberg and which he will ultimately choose.

Texas born, 25-year-old Joe Savery and 23-year-old California native Justin De Fratus both first timers in a MLB uniform and they wind up spraying champagne in the Philadelphia locker room. How cool is that?

What a baseball story for Joe Savery – from Clearwater (where he hit .307) before returning to Reading then on to the Lehigh Valley mainly as a pitcher (4-0 1.80 ERA) and finally on to the big show all in 2011. (please click here for required reading)

Imagine for a moment you are 23 years old. Now dream you are celebrating as a player in the Phils locker room with existing and perhaps future Hall of Famers (and you’re only 23).  What an experience it must have been for this young man. @ToddZolecki with another great article, this time about Justin De Fratus and it’s right here.

Domonic Brown from Florida, 24 and 31-year-old PA native Erik Kratz pop corks in the locker room of the NL East Champions. What a feeling it must have been for these two. After reading this article and there may be those that disagree but the club house last night might just have been the perfect place for Domonic to be.

Georgia Punch, 28-year-old Brandon Moss “Hogg” certainly deserved to make it back to the show after his year in the Lehigh Valley and his one-man-show in the IL Playoffs. What a better way to celebrate than to grab a division winning stogie and just cruise around CBP.

Finally, what a sight – Ryne Sandberg back in a Philadelphia uniform for the first time in 30 years. Cubs fans are cringing…

In case you missed it, here are a few grabs of our boys enjoying the night. Hopefully, they will all get a well deserved ring!

Coach Sandberg

Holy Kratz

Moss Hogg

Ryno and Moss

Phear The Phro

Moss D-O-Double Gizzle

Schwim - Dom Brown - Moss - Pete Orr (back row)

Justin De Fratus - Moss - Orr

Oh when I look back now
That summer seemed to last forever
And if I had the choice
Ya – I’d always wanna be there
Those were the best days of my life…

Oddly enough, as I drove home tonight despite the last game of the season I found myself sporting a large grin. It was almost inexplicable at first until I thought about why I was smiling.

Some time back in February I recall  Mom saying “Why not get season tickets with us and stop this silly boycott?” Luckily I listened. I was fortunate to spend most of the season with Mom before she passed away on August 30. But that’s not what this post is about. I know Mom is looking down and watching me enjoy the many experiences I’ve had at Coca-Cola Park and thank you Mom for helping to begin a new chapter. For me, CCP became an oasis of sorts – a place where you could forget about the daily grind – a place of solace.

The first highlight of the year occurred on the club level listening to “The Voice of the IronPigs” Matt Provence and John Schaeffer broadcast live. It was almost eerie listening to their voices in person as opposed to their emanations from the truck’s stereo speaker. While I didn’t get on the air that night, I was fortunate to get a few opportunities throughout the year and even call some play-by-play. Thank you Matt, John and Mikey the V for the great times. It will forever hold a special place in my memory.

After spending some time at CCP and one evening upon arriving home I decided to Google IronPigs. During that search I stumbled across the Noise Nation fan club. I studied Dan’s picture until I was sure I would recognize him in person. After stalking searching for Dan, I finally mustered up the nerve to approach him behind the bullpen and grabbed my first bell.  I discovered among other things that the Noise Nation had been around since day one and if I wanted to become a true “hardcore” IronPig’s fan it was going to be with them. Fortunately, the Nation ended up being  my new IronPig’s family and the year would certainly not have been the same without them!

July 15th was my first experience with the IronPig’s charities (a great organization-thank you Sarah Marten) at the State of the Pigs Luncheon. I discovered at that time AAA baseball is much different from the majors. The players were accessible and many embraced the fans and went out of their way to befriend us. Michael “Phear the Phro” Schwimer was one the Nation’s strongest supporters. Moss Hogg, Dweezy, Holy Kratz and Richie T (insert hand gesture here) have been a pleasure to meet and if we don’t see them next year I know we all wish them the best of luck in their careers.

I made it my mission to meet as many park dwellers as possible. From Kristy at the Biergarten to “Fred” and Adam at the FMO Painting bar, the IronPigs employees have been exemplary and Mr. Landes should be proud of the organization he helped to create. Special shout-outs to  Tim and Lindsey (it wouldn’t have been the same without them), Mike S (good luck my brother), Mark and Brian among the many others have certainly helped to make the summer memorable. Jan, I have looked forward to see what the next selection at the Pig Stop was and probably gained 10 lbs. – great stuff Jan! Certainly it would not have been one of the best fields in baseball if not for Bill Butler – thank you Bill!

There were certainly many unforgettable moments of the past summer too numerous to list here. From the “flingo” snapping incident to the Epic trip to Rhode Island to wearing a Phearful Phro to Shelley Duncan and Jeff Salazar (L,R,L,R) it was frankly one of the most memorable of summers.

What I will remember the most from the Summer of 2011 is the old friends I re-connected with and the new friends I’ve met. Certainly a huge thanks to Dan Kehl for allowing me to be a part of the Nation. Of course this post would not be complete without mentioning Jimmy T as well as Ron, Dean, Dr. Mark, Jay, Ed, Steve and his wife, Jill, Deb, Sara, Diamond Jim and the rest of the Noise Nation supporters.

So thanks to all of you – all of you who have been so kind and who have made this season about more than the game of baseball. Thanks for making it more about fun, friendship and camaraderie.

Spent my evenin’s down at the Park
And that’s when I met  you yeah
It was the Summer of 2011…

DiPro Out (for now)

OinK On!

DiPro’s Dish