Ok it’s almost the afternoon after but hey, it feels like the “Morning After”
The only thought for the day comes from Kram:
“It wasn’t as bad as it looked, though, I mean, a touchdown, 2-pt, then onsides kick and field-goal and we’re right back in it.”
Pigs look to pull things together tonight.
Don’t forget to vote for the Noise Nation in the Morning Call’s My Choice Voice Best Blogs contest! We are nominated in the Entertainment, Misfits and Sports categories. You can vote for all three categories every day until April 22nd. Help us become the Best Blog in the Lehigh Valley! Vote by clicking here.
There’s always tomorrow. Another game. Where the hits, runs, errors and all other game stats go back to zero. Another have at it.
That’s true of games 1 through 143… at 144 it changes to “There’s always next season” (yeah yeah, I know playoffs could impact the game count. Really I don’t care about that now)
The game started off rough. (Not Darin Ruf)
The Pigs were no hit until Cody Asche broke up the multi-pitcher no hit bid in the 7th inning. By then the damage had been done. Syracuse posted 11 runs on 11 hits at this point capitalizing on the IronPig’s 5, count em 5 errors.
Final score Syracuse 11 – IronPigs 0
On another note.. We are happy to announce DiPro’s new player identification contest. Photos will be posted and you will have to identify the player by photo only. Just imagine how embarrassed a Staff Writer for the Noise Nation’s blog would be if they sat next to an actual IronPig at lunch and had no idea… could you imagine? 🙂
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Stay tuned for tomorrow’s edition of “The Morning After” for a collective list of post game and pre game thoughts.
Also, don’t forget to vote for the Noise Nation in the Morning Call’s My Choice Voice Best Blogs contest! We are nominated in the Entertainment, Misfits and Sports categories. You can vote for all three categories every day until April 22nd. Help us become the Best Blog in the Lehigh Valley! Vote by clicking here.
The mumbling and grumbling continued into this morning over last night’s IronPig loss to the Syracuse Chiefs. Fear not IronPig fans, it isn’t 2008. We haven’t gone 2 weeks without a win… yet. I don’t think we will.
Some notes from the staff indicate some optimism and a bit of humor:
– Young team on the field. Playing prospects for experience rather than the “best” team.
– Still getting a feel for the best use/combination of players. These guys are just about a completely different team from 2012. Expecting them to meld into a machine in a couple weeks is expecting a lot. Give them some time.
– How much difference does a catcher make in a pitcher’s performance? A lot. New pitching batteries need time to get in sync as well.
– Didn’t notice any lines for the urinal games but there was one guy who had clearly been hogging it for “a while”
– Syracuse came out swinging. They hit the ball, the IronPigs seemed more selective and hit less. It happens.
– The line for a free blanket was insane. Still don’t understand getting there 5 hours early.
– $1 hot dogs were hard to find and the only line I could locate was so long by the time I got to the front $1 hot dogs were $2 again.
– The Soda bottles are 4 ounces smaller than last year. If I remember correctly, the cost was raised to $3.75 from $3.50 last season. The cost is back to $3.50 this year. I’d have paid an extra quarter to delay a trip to the concession stand. It’s not like the park isn’t called… but in reality grocery stores have been doing this for years. Why not CCP too.
– It was the IronPig staff’s first day as well. We looked back at the recent exodus of IronPig employees this past off season. It happens. LOTS of new faces out there and got to say things could have went smoother but it was the first night.
I call a Mulligan! For those of us born before 1990.. DO OVER! Face it, I could tape a 20 minute video of DiPro explaining how It does get better.. but I will just let you see for yourself.
I’m going to keep my notes brief tonight. I did bail out in the 7th inning but was able to keep posted via Pigs Radio.
The day had all of the aspects of previous Opening Days… The Hobo band was there, Eddie Munster threw out the first pitch and a circling small plane kinda gave us a fly over during the National Anthem.
It did lack the monumental feel of Opening Days past but perhaps we’ve become spoiled with EVERY game at Coca Cola Park feeling like opening day.
One thing that I will note is the dedication of the Press box to the late Mr. Walson of Service Electric. Well done IronPigs.
The bat broke like our hopes for an Opening Day Win. Photo by Cheryl Pursell
The game got off to a rough start for our Pigs. Syracuse started the game with a run then added 5 more in the third inning, a 6th run in the 4th and 3 more in the 8th. The Chiefs added one more in the top of the 9th.
The Pigs squeaked out a single run in the 8th then one more in the 9th.
Tyler Cloyd had a rough night allowing 7 runs on 9 hits over 3 innings. He walked one and struck out four.
Final score – Chiefs 11, IronPigs 2
The highlight of the night for me was meeting the friendly Kate Orme of the new social media “PorkCenter” located behind the 3rd base side of the concourse. Welcoming many cold fans in to enjoy a bit of warmth while showcasing the ins and outs of social media available at CCP.
Make sure to visit the Pork Center Social Media room!
Kate Orme is in her first season with the IronPigs and second in baseball. From Sydney, Australia, she worked for the Sydney Blue Sox in the Australian Baseball League for the 2012-2013 season and earned her degree from the University of Technology, Sydney in 2012.
Note: I successfully resisted the urge to quote the movie “Dumb and Dumber.”
Stay tuned for more thoughts and information on this game with tomorrow’s edition of “The Morning After”
While I didn’t make it to the game tonight, the 30 degree wind chill estimate at Coca Cola Park tonight makes me feel even warmer as I type out these notes with the heat up and my dog sleeping soundly at my feet. The 222 Classic (it’s almost a classic being it’s 6th year) is often overlooked as one of the greater traditions since the IronPigs arrived in the Lehigh Valley.
IronPig Lineup
Gillies CF
Hernandez 2B
Asche 3B
Ruf LF
Joseph C
Fields DH
Castro RF
Overbeck 1B
Martinez SS
Reading Lineup
Cartwright 2B
Duran SS
Collier CF
Murphy 1B
Henson 3B
Valle C
Mitchell LF
Welty DH
Hewitt RF
The game started off with a walk but was quickly nullified by IronPig catcher Tommy Joseph’s strong throw to second to catch a Reading Player trying to steal.
Tyson Gillies got the IronPigs started in the bottom of the first, lining a single then stealing second base. He later scored on a Darin Ruf RBI single!
1-0 IronPigs
Reading struck back in the 4th when Valley hit a 2 run double setting up a 2-1 lead for Reading. Mitchell followed up with a single moving Valle to third. A delayed steal allowed Valle to score.
3-1 Reading
Reading picked up a fourth run on a strike out wild pitch in the 7th.
4-1 Reading
I took the dog outside and missed the 5th and 6th runs.
6-1 Reading in the 8th.
The Pigs tacked on 3 in the 9th but still fall to the Reading Team by a final of 6-4.
Not sure if we’ll get box scores or stats for this but it’s April and I’m happy happy!
Stay tuned for more details, game notes and overall thoughts in tomorrow’s “The Morning After” post game wrap up and preview!
Special thanks to Cheryl for the camera work. She did a pretty good job keeping me off screen, which is important for the safety of all involved. Also, I swear I don’t sound like that, but that’s what everyone says. Darn. Maybe I’ll take up smoking…
Worry not, though. I’ve got a good day job so this is all just for fun:
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First, we spoke with Ethan Martin about the title “Best Hair on the Team,” which was vacated when Michael Schwimer was traded:
He also shared that he’ll be pitching three innings in tonight’s exhibition with Reading. He didn’t say he’d be the starter…
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Next, a few words with Jon Pettibone, who will start on Friday:
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I had that seen BJ Rosenberg had had some arm difficulty early in spring training, but was happy to read that he would be “stretched out” to become a starter with the IronPigs. I asked him about it:
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A few words about wind, with Jake Diekman:
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I was a little nervous about speaking with Pete Orr. Not that I’ve heard anything bad about him, but as one of the last to come down from Philly, I didn’t know if he’d be too thrilled with starting the year at AAA. The truth is, he couldn’t have been nicer. Cheryl even got him talking about the WBC brawl with Mexico:
And a few questions from me about his role on the team, leadership, and…housing?!?
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The Josh Fields Story. It’s been told before here on these pages. And Dan tells it much better. I think Decal wrote about it too. It’s the thing of Coca Cola Park legend at this point. Heck, I should have let Josh tell it:
and some stuff about wine. Don’t ever get me talking about wine, crimony:
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A few words with JMitch. I had read about the injury, and there had been some speculation that the injury at the end of 2011 had impacted his performance last season. He’s a former top-10 prospect from the A’s system. He sounds like he’s ready to go. I think we’re going to like this guy:
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A few words about minor league history, and bullpen roles, with Zach Miner:
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Asking GM Kurt Landes the tough questions…and I broke my promise not to talk about urinals…
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It might not be the best, but I gotta say it was a blast. Special thanks to Matt Provence and his staff for including us in Media Day 2013!
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