Category Archives: Uncategorized

One of my best memories of the Norfolk Tide involved a game last summer played in Norfolk. I was listening to the Ironpig’s Radio Network and every other pitch there was a comment about the impending weather. Norfolk was notorious for rain outs last year and this game was no different. At one point the Pigs took the lead and had something like a 10 run innning just before the game became official and ended with a downpour. One of the best broadcast performances I’ve heard.

Memories aside, on to who the Tide might wash into CCP this season:

Josh Bell, 3B – Slated to replace Garret Atkins at some point this season, Bell should hear some of the Noise Nation ringing this summer.

Jake Arrieta, RHP – A workhorse of an inning eater pitcher, there is a possibility he transfers to the bullpen. We shall see.

Brandon Snyder, 1B – Split time between AA and AAA in 2009. Expect him to spend most of 2010 at AAA.

2009 Batting Statistics
Player	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
Lou Montanez	.429	10	42	8	18	3	0	0	3	5	9	3
Nolan Reimold	.394	31	109	21	43	11	0	9	27	18	25	6
Dave Krynzel	.379	8	29	6	11	0	1	1	3	3	4	4
Oscar Salazar	.372	50	199	31	74	17	1	10	43	13	27	0
Jonathan Tucker	.348	7	23	4	8	1	1	0	4	6	4	3
Joey Gathright	.329	80	322	49	106	11	2	0	20	27	41	24
Jeff Fiorentino	.312	102	365	70	114	26	5	12	67	48	62	13
Matt Wieters	.305	39	141	25	43	9	2	5	30	20	30	0
Justin Turner	.300	108	387	54	116	28	0	2	43	34	37	9
Brandon Pinckney	.291	71	254	27	74	10	2	1	21	5	36	0
Michael Aubrey	.287	44	164	14	47	13	0	3	23	11	13	1
Justin Christian	.270	88	356	54	96	18	5	3	25	20	51	26
Rhyne Hughes	.264	20	72	9	19	2	1	3	7	7	22	0
Jolbert Cabrera	.262	78	294	30	77	18	1	7	50	12	60	9
Melvin Dorta	.252	94	321	31	81	13	0	3	23	23	43	8
Scott Moore	.252	32	123	19	31	7	0	7	21	8	22	1
Brandon Snyder	.248	73	262	36	65	18	2	2	43	24	64	3
Steve Torrealba	.247	33	89	6	22	7	0	2	11	10	19	0
Ambiorix Concepcion	.241	8	29	3	7	0	1	1	6	0	8	1
Victor Diaz	.229	31	109	12	25	5	0	1	9	8	36	1
Guillermo Rodriguez	.222	18	72	4	16	6	0	0	9	1	11	0
Donnie Murphy	.222	3	9	1	2	0	0	1	1	1	3	0
Blake Davis	.211	55	180	21	38	4	2	1	14	14	40	3
Robby Hammock	.209	82	278	28	58	16	0	4	26	25	63	2
Mike Costanzo	.206	22	68	8	14	4	2	0	8	13	21	0
Chad Moeller	.203	35	118	7	24	6	0	0	10	5	22	0
Freddy Guzman	.192	20	73	7	14	1	1	0	3	5	9	13
Carlos Rojas	.179	74	223	18	40	5	1	0	13	18	30	2
Zach Booker	.000	2	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	0

2009 Pitching Statistics
Player	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
David Pauley	9	12	4.37	27	26	1	0	152.1	171	87	74	15	45	108
Chris Waters	9	7	4.49	29	20	0	0	114.1	114	66	57	12	47	71
Andy Mitchell	11	5	5.24	37	13	0	0	113.1	126	73	66	13	52	58
Chris Tillman	8	6	2.70	18	18	0	0	96.2	85	36	29	5	26	99
Jake Arrieta	5	8	3.93	17	17	0	0	91.2	97	46	40	9	33	78
Ross Wolf	4	2	3.95	47	0	0	1	82.0	70	38	36	5	33	73
Jim Miller	4	4	2.64	54	0	0	17	64.2	64	20	19	3	19	59
Bob McCrory	0	3	3.88	50	0	0	5	62.2	66	28	27	6	24	43
David Hernandez	3	2	3.30	11	11	0	0	57.1	42	26	21	5	18	79
Alberto Castillo	2	3	2.77	50	0	0	13	52.0	49	23	16	2	17	54
Troy Patton	1	3	6.45	9	9	0	0	44.2	62	35	32	12	14	26
Radhames Liz	0	3	5.68	17	6	0	0	44.1	56	31	28	2	12	37
Kam Mickolio	3	3	3.50	35	0	0	0	43.2	32	21	17	4	16	52
Josh Perrault	1	2	2.53	24	0	0	2	32.0	27	11	9	4	9	33
Chris George	1	1	1.86	5	5	0	0	29.0	27	6	6	2	3	19
Jason Berken	2	0	1.05	5	5	0	0	25.2	19	3	3	1	6	16
Bobby Livingston	1	0	1.80	3	3	0	0	20.0	21	5	4	2	1	11
Fredy Deza	2	1	5.14	5	1	0	1	14.0	16	10	8	2	8	5
Rich Hill	1	1	1.35	3	3	0	0	13.1	5	2	2	1	9	14
Dennis Sarfate	1	1	6.39	12	0	0	0	12.2	13	10	9	4	2	13
Matt Albers	1	0	5.68	10	0	0	0	12.2	19	11	8	1	5	12
Chris Ray	0	1	2.25	8	0	0	1	12.0	5	3	3	0	4	13
Chris Lambert	1	2	6.94	3	3	0	0	11.2	18	9	9	3	3	9
Brad Bergesen	1	1	2.45	2	2	0	0	11.0	6	4	3	0	3	9
Zach Clark	0	0	3.86	2	0	0	0	4.2	5	2	2	0	3	3
Scott Chiasson	0	0	0.00	3	0	0	0	3.1	0	0	0	0	0	3
Brandon Pinckney	0	0	3.00	3	0	0	0	3.0	6	1	1	0	0	1

Today the Noise Nation noticed a new face in the Ironpig’s front office.

We welcome Garrett Fahrmann who will be serving as the Ironpig’s Director of Operations.

From Ironpigsbaseball.com Staff Directory:
2010 will be Garrett Fahrmann’s first as the IronPigs Director of Stadium Operations after spending the last six seasons with the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, the Fresno Grizzlies. In this capacity he will oversee all baseball operations, team travel, and facility maintenance at Coca-Cola Park, one of the most used and versatile sporting venues in the Lehigh Valley. Following a collegiate baseball career, Fahrmann spent three seasons as a coach at Concord College in Athens, WV. Then he went on to Slippery Rock University where he earned a Masters Degree in Sport Management. Fahrmann’s first season in Minor League Baseball was in 2003 where he served as the Stadium Operations Manager for the Potomac Cannons in the Carolina League. He then moved onto Chukchansi Park where he spent six seasons working for the Fresno Grizzlies of the Pacific Coast League prior to moving across country to start his new venture in the Lehigh Valley. A native of Latimer, IA, Fahrmann lives in Allentown with his wife, Natalie, and their dog Pepper.

Coming from the Fresno Grizzlies, Fahrmann will be missed out on the left coast as seen in this video tribute found on youtube.com..

We look forward to meeting you this season and welcome to the Lehigh Valley!

As a result of the ongoing investigation on the use and risks of maple wood bats, minor league baseball has issued new rules on bat wood type and specifications. With the much publicized shattering of the maple bats, this is not surprising. The minor league took the first steps as the MLB players association did not have to approve.

Noteable:

Existing bats can be used. (I wonder how long any of these bats will stay intact)

Silver and Red Maple bats will be completely eliminated from production.

Wood quality studies on the grain of maple bats has helped to reduce shattering.

Maximum diameter of the barrel – From 2.75 inches to 2.61 inches

Minimum size of bat handles increased about 1/50th of an inch.

Feel safer sports fans…

I did my best to research everyone on the Ironpig’s all time roster to note which organization they are currently in. There are a few who I could not find any info beyond 2008 and a few are free agents. If you have info on any of these, either corrections or new info, please share in the comment section. Enjoy!

Brad Eldred signs with Colorado Rockies – Why is this important to Pig fans? Because Eldred always seemed to send balls way out of Coca Cola Park. Enjoy the Pacific Coast League Big Country!

Brandon Watson signed with the Dodgers

Rick Guttormson, RHP – signed by the Phillies. Spent most of his career in Japan and Korea.

Jack Taschner signed with the Pirates.

Matt Stairs signed with the Padres.

Louisville, (I was once told that it is not pronounced Louie-ville but Luh-ih-vall), finished the regular season in 2009 with the best record in the International League. 84-58 is nothing to laugh at but getting creamed in the first round of the playoffs is. The Bats, other than creating havoc in the Ironpig’s press box, look to succeed further this year by returning to and winning in the playoffs.

Who to look for in 2010

Todd Frazier, OF/2B/3B – Cincinnati’s #1 prospect this year should get some fine tuning at AAA before being called to the Reds.

Chris Heisey, OF – The Red’s #4 prospect could end up in the bigs with a good spring showing but could show up at CCP this season with the Bats.

2009 Pitching Statistics
Player	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Sam LeCure	10	8	4.46	25	25	0	0	143.1	143	76	71	17	44	125
Matt Maloney	9	9	3.08	22	22	3	0	143.0	143	56	49	11	24	125
Ramon A. Ramirez	6	7	4.03	31	20	0	0	127.1	122	68	57	13	50	78
Ben Jukich	9	6	4.10	29	17	0	0	123.0	125	64	56	16	40	106
Homer Bailey	8	5	2.71	14	14	2	0	89.2	87	33	27	10	27	82
Justin Lehr	8	1	2.51	12	11	1	0	75.1	57	22	21	3	10	40
Jeff Kennard	3	1	2.83	40	0	0	2	54.0	45	23	17	4	21	48
Adam Pettyjohn	1	6	4.68	18	6	0	0	50.0	66	35	26	5	22	27
Pedro Viola	2	2	5.47	54	0	0	8	49.1	48	30	30	7	33	57
Travis Wood	4	2	3.14	8	8	0	0	48.2	43	17	17	4	16	32
Robert Manuel	3	4	2.70	36	0	0	10	46.2	37	17	14	2	10	38
Federico Baez	3	1	4.17	30	0	0	0	36.2	48	18	17	4	11	30
Matt Klinker	2	2	2.48	5	5	0	0	29.0	22	10	8	0	13	30
Daryl Thompson	1	2	6.59	8	6	0	0	28.2	34	22	21	3	7	8
Josh Roenicke	1	0	2.57	27	0	0	12	28.0	30	9	8	0	6	32
Enerio Del Rosario	1	0	1.09	15	0	0	4	24.2	24	6	3	1	6	12
Logan Ondrusek	0	0	1.74	19	0	0	12	20.2	16	4	4	1	2	11
Lee Tabor	2	0	3.10	9	0	0	0	20.1	21	7	7	1	6	14
Carlos Fisher	2	0	2.00	13	0	0	2	18.0	11	4	4	0	4	21
Camilo Vazquez	0	0	5.52	5	2	0	0	14.2	25	10	9	1	3	7
Kip Wells	1	0	3.07	5	1	0	0	14.2	12	5	5	2	5	16
Tom Cochran	1	0	3.07	3	3	0	0	14.2	18	7	5	0	9	12
Zach Stewart	0	0	0.73	9	0	0	2	12.1	11	2	1	0	8	16
Jared Burton	3	0	0.82	10	0	0	0	11.0	8	1	1	0	3	10
Micah Owings	1	0	0.87	2	2	0	0	10.1	8	1	1	1	7	5
Greg Atencio	2	1	8.44	4	0	0	0	5.1	7	6	5	0	2	7
Bill Bray	0	0	0.00	3	0	0	0	5.0	2	0	0	0	1	6
Sean Watson	0	1	1.93	4	0	0	0	4.2	4	2	1	1	4	3
Justin Mallett	0	0	0.00	2	0	0	0	4.0	3	0	0	0	0	4
Joseph Krebs	0	0	0.00	2	0	0	0	3.0	1	0	0	0	1	2
Michael Griffin	0	0	0.00	2	0	0	0	2.0	1	0	0	0	1	4
Luis Bolivar	1	0	0.00	1	0	0	0	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	1

2009 Batting Statistics
Player	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
Camilo Vazquez	1.000	2	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Ryan Hanigan	.389	5	18	4	7	2	0	0	2	1	0	0
Korey Feiner	.375	2	8	1	3	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
Juan Francisco	.359	22	92	17	33	5	1	5	19	4	24	0
Adam Rosales	.349	30	109	27	38	8	2	5	20	12	15	4
Scott Rolen	.333	2	6	1	2	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
Matt Maloney	.316	10	19	1	6	0	0	1	2	0	3	0
Darnell McDonald	.314	73	280	42	88	22	7	9	40	16	56	8
Chris Denove	.307	25	75	8	23	4	0	1	11	4	19	0
Todd Frazier	.302	16	63	9	19	5	0	2	9	6	12	2
Danny Richar	.290	47	169	20	49	11	1	4	16	10	17	2
Corky Miller	.286	23	77	13	22	5	0	0	8	8	7	0
Kevin Barker	.285	101	354	58	101	22	3	22	69	54	80	1
Jonny Gomes	.282	37	131	18	37	10	1	9	27	12	36	4
Norris Hopper	.280	52	214	22	60	9	3	0	20	14	9	13
Jay Bruce	.278	5	18	3	5	0	0	0	0	2	3	2
Chris Heisey	.278	63	245	37	68	17	1	9	37	14	43	8
Danny Dorn	.275	112	357	45	98	21	1	14	47	30	78	2
Edwin Encarnacion	.270	11	37	5	10	1	0	2	8	8	6	0
Drew Stubbs	.268	107	411	57	110	25	2	3	39	51	104	46
Wes Bankston	.267	122	457	57	122	26	3	17	75	30	88	2
Drew Sutton	.261	44	157	32	41	14	2	5	22	26	39	1
Chris Dickerson	.250	4	12	2	3	0	0	0	1	3	4	2
Travis Wood	.250	5	12	1	3	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
Craig Tatum	.239	64	213	22	51	12	0	3	21	17	55	0
Chris Valaika	.235	95	366	32	86	20	1	6	36	16	76	1
Luis Bolivar	.232	107	353	60	82	16	5	5	32	16	70	28
Wilkin Castillo	.221	37	122	12	27	5	1	2	7	1	20	3
Michael Griffin	.205	64	171	15	35	5	2	2	16	6	33	2
Eric Eymann	.178	33	90	11	16	4	2	1	7	6	19	0
Sam LeCure	.176	9	17	3	3	0	0	0	4	3	6	0
Justin Lehr	.167	5	12	1	2	0	0	0	1	0	5	0
Lew Ford	.158	11	38	6	6	0	1	1	6	7	7	0
Ben Jukich	.158	12	19	1	3	0	0	0	1	0	7	0
Ramon A. Ramirez	.154	11	13	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Brian Peterson	.125	14	32	3	4	1	0	1	2	9	12	0
Alex Gonzalez	.077	4	13	1	1	0	0	0	1	2	1	0
Homer Bailey	.000	3	7	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	0
Enerio Del Rosario	.000	8	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
Lee Tabor	.000	4	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Daryl Thompson	.000	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Tom Cochran	.000	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Jeff Kennard	.000	14	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Matt Klinker	.000	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Micah Owings	.000	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Adam Pettyjohn	.000	6	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Greg Atencio	.000	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Robert Manuel	.000	15	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Kip Wells	.000	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Federico Baez	—	14	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jared Burton	—	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Carlos Fisher	—	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Joseph Krebs	—	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Justin Mallett	—	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Logan Ondrusek	—	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Josh Roenicke	—	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Zach Stewart	—	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Pedro Viola	—	18	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Sean Watson	—	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Provided by Noise Nation member George Kordalski

Pig Fans! Looking to put the order in for the 2010 Noise Nation Tshirts.

Shirts will cost $7 and we need a minimum of 24 to place the order.

Please let me know as soon as you can how many and what size you need.

** Also, because of the 24 shirt minimum, we will be ordering only one design at a time.

This order will have “NOISE NATION” on the front and “NEEDS MORE COWBELL!” on the back.

2009 Front of shirt

2010 Proposed Back of shirt

If you want to get in on this order, email me for more details at editor@lvnoisenation.com .
Future orders will be made for “LEFT RIGHT LEFT” and “GET TO THE CHOPPAH!”

Thanks!
Dan

If you haven’t noticed my review of International League teams has gone alphabetical, well I’m going to let you know now. It is. We are now on to our beloved Ironpigs. The Pigs in 2009 finally got us to .500 but never surpassed that level. They had a good finish to the season and got close but finished at 71 wins and 73 losses. Take one loss, make it a win and we’re .500 for the season but it just wasn’t in the card last year.

Looking ahead we have a lot of competition for jobs here in the minor leagues. Competition breeds a higher level of play and that’s just what Ironpig fans need and want to see. With offseason moves and free agents coming in this could go down to the wire.

Catchers – Expect a battle here. Paul Hoover re-signed, John Suomi is back and the young Tuffy Gosewisch had some time in AAA last year. I’m thinking Hoover and Suomi to start with Gosewisch coming up later in the year.

1st Base – No brainer here. If Andy Tracy isn’t DH’ing, he’ll be on the cold corner this season. With Cervenak and his average fielding off to the Mets, Tracy should see more DH time this year.

2nd Base, Shortstop, 3rd Base – This is where it gets tricky. With J.J. Furmaniak signing with Tampa Bay and no news on Terry Tiffee we have some prospects but noone familiar to the average Pig fan. Vying for some time in the Ironpig infield in 2010 are:

Wilson Valdez – Split time with Columbus, Buffalo and NY Mets in 2009.

Luiz Maza – Career minor leaguer.

Melvin Dorta – Played for Norfolk in 2009

Cody Ransom – Spent 2009 with the NY Yankees backing up Alex Rodriguez

Neil Sellers – Spent 2008 and 2009 with Reading Phillies

Tagg Bozied – Bozied split time in 2009 playing in Taiwan and Indianapolis

Now all these guys have talent. No real prospect value but these guys will play hard and put on a good show. With little room to advance to a healthy Phillies club they will be digging dirt at Coca Cola Park this summer.

Outfielder – What a selection of outfielder the Pigs have this year.

Rich Thompson – 3 year Ironpig veteran and fan favorite will likely be relegated to a platoon position.

John Mayberry – Also a returning Ironpig, Mayberry has a legit shot at making the Phillies roster to ride the bench. I don’t think the Phils will take away from his development and we should see him at CCP most of the season. I have this feeling when Domonic Brown comes up to AAA, John Mayberry goes to the Phillies.

Domonic Brown – Considered the Phillies top overall prospect, this guy is incredible. Stopping at Reading last summer I saw him lauch a ball over Route 61 in right field and he has an absolute cannon for an arm. This guy needs to be competative and get that fine tuning that AA is known for. Might be a later season call up, but if the Pig’s are overloaded on outfielders he might skip the Pigs and find himself warming up to replace Jason Werth in 2011.

Mike Spidale – A great guy who has taken hold in the city of Reading, Spidale will most likely see most of his season there. We might see him if injuries or call ups bring the Pigs up short but otherwise a high energy player with a positive attitude and hustle.

Dewayne Wise, Brad Wilkerson, Freddy Guzman – These guys have been around the Major Leagues are looking to get back. I have a feeling, just call it a feeling, that if they don’t make the Phillies 40 man roster that they will either be released or opt to retire. Wise is known for his defense, Wilkerson has spent his fair share of time in the show and the speedy Guzman would provide a lot of excitement on the basepaths.

Starting Pitchers
Expect to see Brian Mazone back in 2010. Also we are most likely to see Drew Carpenter and Antonio Bastardo in the rotation. Kutztown University alumni Ryan Vogelsong looks to add himself to the roster in a bid to make a come back.

Prospects:
Mike Stutes – Spent 2009 in Reading going 8-8 with a 4.26 ERA. He appears to be on a fasttrack and should earn a trip to the Lehigh Valley in 2010.

Vance Worley – Another 2009 product of Reading should make a few appearance for the Pigs when they are in a bind for starting pitching. He rates higher as a prospect than his numbers show, but he needs work to get his body accustomed to the long season.

Joe Savery – Savery was red hot at Reading last season and earned a trip to the Lehigh Valley midseason. He will be back, oh yes, he will.. be back.

Relievers:
With bullpen struggles last season we really depend on who the Phillies send our way. Scott Mathieson will most likely be in the Phillies bullpen next season. If he doesn’t get there for Opening Day the Pigs should have him until he is needed. It’s just a matter of time. Look for B.J. Rosenburg to answer the call for a closer this season.

I did go to the Ironpig’s Pig Day event today. I have to say it was a great time.

I showed up a minute or two after the 9:00am start time and was met by a long line of folks waiting to buy tickets.

9:00AM

Luckily, there were a bunch of happy and nice people around me and we enjoyed conversations about baseball’s past, prospects and jokes about the snow that came down steadily until around 10. Slowly but surely I navigated the maze of barriers until I got to the ticket booth to buy All Star game tickets for a bunch of friends. I am a season ticket holder so already had mine, but call me a faithful fan and friend.. I did this for fun.

12:30PM

After 3+ hours in line, in snow and cold and wind, I had my tickets. I wandered into the stadium and got myself a free hotdog. By this time the free pork was long gone as was most of the Coca Cola and Philly Pretzels. I bought a few raffle tickets to support our friends in Haiti and then took a few swings in the batting cages.

Batting Cages

Needless to say, I haven’t picked up a baseball bat since I was 17 years old. I got some good contact but my timing was way off. Baseball America can keep me off of their top prospects list, for now.

It was a great day and gave us all a taste of the quality baseball to come on April 14th and all summer.

Note: The Noise Nation received some great news today… stay tuned when we release this information.