Category Archives: Uncategorized

Anyone who saw the Indians play at CCP in 2008 or 2009 got to see a great ball player. OF Andrew McCutchen put on a show for us each time he visited and that hustle and determination earned him Rookie of the Year honors.

The Indians finished 2009 with a 70-73 record, one win short of the Ironpig’s record. A respectable season, enough to give any city hopes for a playoff run in 2010.

Who to look out for in 2010

Pedro Alvarez, 3B – Pittsburgh’s #1 Prospect should start the season in Indianapolis for some seasoning. A power hitter, Alvarez is looking at a spot on the Pirates roster later this season.

Jose Tabata, OF – Tabata has potential but needs to work on increasing power and maturing at AAA before he gets to the bigs.

Brad Lincoln, RHP – Lincoln started 12 games for the Indians in 2009 with 6 wins, 2 losses and a 4.70 ERA. Has the potential to be a mid-season call up.

2009 Batting Statistics
Player	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
Tom Gorzelanny	.667	3	3	0	2	0	0	0	1	1	0	0
Brad Lincoln	.571	3	7	0	4	0	0	0	1	0	2	0
Jonel Pacheco	.400	7	15	2	6	3	0	0	4	2	6	0
Lastings Milledge	.333	17	60	7	20	6	0	0	7	8	10	3
Andy Phillips	.333	7	27	2	9	0	0	1	2	2	4	0
Jack Wilson	.333	2	6	0	2	2	0	0	3	0	2	0
Yoslan Herrera	.333	2	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Brian Myrow	.330	62	206	37	68	12	1	8	34	43	33	3
Garrett Jones	.307	72	277	44	85	18	0	12	50	18	47	14
Andrew McCutchen	.303	49	201	41	61	10	8	4	20	17	24	10
Tagg Bozied	.288	56	215	32	62	17	1	5	18	21	60	4
Steve Pearce	.286	77	273	37	78	18	1	13	54	34	46	3
Jose Tabata	.276	32	134	21	37	7	1	3	10	10	18	4
Brian Bixler	.275	108	403	71	111	23	8	9	43	35	128	13
Pedro Lopez	.275	42	142	16	39	5	0	0	13	9	20	0
Erik Kratz	.273	93	319	45	87	30	0	11	43	31	72	7
Jeff Salazar	.270	84	315	43	85	7	3	10	39	30	57	16
Hector Gimenez	.268	48	168	16	45	12	0	2	20	13	35	0
Neil Walker	.264	95	356	38	94	31	2	14	69	26	60	5
Robinzon Diaz	.262	44	149	18	39	4	0	3	15	9	12	0
Luis Cruz	.253	66	229	28	58	15	0	3	23	6	26	3
Virgil Vasquez	.250	11	20	3	5	0	0	0	1	3	7	0
Larry Broadway	.233	69	206	21	48	10	0	8	27	17	64	0
Argenis Diaz	.233	43	146	14	34	1	0	0	8	8	27	1
Jeff Clement	.224	27	98	16	22	2	0	7	22	12	27	1
Eric Hacker	.211	9	19	0	4	2	0	0	4	0	7	0
Chris Barnwell	.193	87	270	24	52	13	0	2	15	17	61	3
Shelby Ford	.188	86	298	34	56	11	2	4	27	14	58	8
Miguel Perez	.182	7	22	2	4	0	0	0	1	1	9	0
Adam Melhuse	.176	17	51	6	9	2	0	0	2	9	13	0
Anderson Machado	.125	4	8	1	1	0	1	0	0	1	6	0
Chris Snelling	.123	19	57	5	7	0	0	0	4	8	14	0
Ryan Doumit	.118	5	17	1	2	0	0	0	0	1	3	0
Daniel McCutchen	.118	10	17	1	2	0	0	0	0	1	10	0
Jeremy Powell	.091	12	11	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	5	0
Ty Taubenheim	.000	8	9	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	4	0
Jason Delaney	.000	2	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	0
Corey Hamman	.000	9	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Bobby Livingston	.000	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Juan Mateo	.000	18	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Charlie Morton	.000	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Brian Slocum	.000	9	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Ian Snell	.000	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Denny Bautista	.000	15	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Evan Meek	.000	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Sean Smith	.000	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Jeff Sues	.000	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Chris Bootcheck	—	14	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jason Davis	—	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Phil Dumatrait	—	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Steven Jackson	—	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jorge Julio	—	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jeff Karstens	—	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Mike Koplove	—	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jean Machi	—	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
John Meloan	—	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Romulo Sanchez	—	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Donald Veal	—	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

2009 Pitching Statistics
Player	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Daniel McCutchen	13	6	3.47	24	24	0	0	142.2	145	63	55	10	29	110
Eric Hacker	5	5	4.02	21	21	0	0	116.1	135	57	52	6	46	82
Virgil Vasquez	7	4	3.93	19	19	1	0	107.2	116	50	47	14	16	72
Ty Taubenheim	7	9	3.65	26	19	0	0	106.0	108	53	43	8	37	63
Jeremy Powell	4	7	3.74	34	10	0	2	98.2	114	48	41	9	26	61
Tom Gorzelanny	4	3	2.48	15	15	2	0	87.0	73	31	24	3	30	85
Juan Mateo	7	7	3.79	48	0	0	4	71.1	69	33	30	4	16	45
Jason Davis	0	8	6.06	35	7	0	0	62.1	72	51	42	2	36	25
Brad Lincoln	6	2	4.70	12	12	0	0	61.1	72	37	32	7	10	42
Denny Bautista	2	3	4.88	36	0	0	1	48.0	54	29	26	2	34	58
Chris Bootcheck	3	2	3.38	40	0	0	20	42.2	40	16	16	1	7	55
Ian Snell	2	2	0.96	6	6	1	0	37.1	28	7	4	0	13	47
Brian Slocum	1	3	3.94	19	0	0	2	32.0	30	14	14	1	19	28
Mike Koplove	3	1	2.35	22	0	0	2	30.2	27	8	8	0	10	20
Corey Hamman	1	2	8.01	26	0	0	0	30.1	38	30	27	2	15	32
Steven Jackson	1	0	6.50	12	0	0	0	18.0	23	14	13	1	5	17
Jean Machi	1	1	2.12	13	0	0	6	17.0	8	4	4	1	6	12
Yoslan Herrera	1	1	2.30	4	2	0	0	15.2	12	4	4	1	7	7
Phil Dumatrait	0	2	4.20	4	2	0	0	15.0	16	11	7	2	4	5
Donald Veal	0	1	6.43	9	1	0	0	14.0	6	10	10	0	16	13
Romulo Sanchez	1	0	4.38	10	0	0	0	12.1	11	6	6	1	5	15
Jeff Sues	0	0	6.00	8	0	0	0	12.0	13	10	8	1	8	12
Sean Smith	1	0	0.93	3	1	0	0	9.2	8	1	1	0	3	9
Evan Meek	0	0	1.04	6	0	0	0	8.2	3	1	1	0	7	7
John Meloan	0	0	1.17	6	0	0	0	7.2	3	1	1	1	1	8
Bobby Livingston	0	0	1.29	1	1	0	0	7.0	6	2	1	0	2	3
Charlie Morton	0	0	0.00	1	1	0	0	7.0	4	0	0	0	1	7
Jose Ascanio	0	1	2.70	1	1	0	0	6.2	6	2	2	1	1	9
Jeff Karstens	0	0	0.00	3	0	0	0	6.0	4	0	0	0	0	7
Jorge Julio	0	2	6.75	4	0	0	0	5.1	8	7	4	0	2	7
Dave Davidson	0	1	4.15	3	0	0	0	4.1	3	2	2	0	1	4
Larry Broadway	0	0	4.91	4	0	0	0	3.2	6	2	2	0	1	2
Chris Barnwell	0	0	4.50	2	0	0	0	2.0	2	1	1	1	3	1
Jimmy Barthmaier	0	0	—	1	1	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	2	0

As anti-doping researchers have been frantically working to develop an accurate test to detect the use of HGH, Major League Baseball is looking to negotiate with the player’s union to allow use of the test, when available.

I’m all for testing. Honestly, I could care less if they destroy their bodies and shorten their life by 10-20 years. That’s their choice. Look at how many NFL All Pro players from the 70’s and 80’s are dying under the age of 60. These athletes know the risks. They know what they face if caught.

The problem I have is when they lie about it. If you do it, be up front about it. Look at the controversy that ensued when Phil Mickelson pulled out a golf club that was 20 years old because it fit into a loophole in a new rule prohibiting a specific club that gave a golfer a huge advantage. Mickelson said he was going to use it, and that it was a legal club. He didn’t shy away. He didn’t say no comment. He didn’t wait 6 years to come out and say he was ready to admit to it.

So with testing the union has a legitimate concern in quality and accuracy of a test. One false positive and a kid’s career is tainted if not over. A higher profile player risks losing playing time, multi year contracts and endorsement deals. It could become a huge liability if these tests are implemented and turn out inaccurate.

I also want to point out that testing is going to be fanatical. Talk to Olympic athletes. These anti-doping agencies are on top of things. Thinking locally, the Velodrome in Trexlertown showcases premier cyclists of the world. Many of these folks live and work in the area. I’ve personally seen a waiter/cyclist approached at work being told he must perform the test immediatly or risk a suspension. To say these testing agents are on the ball is an understatement.

To set the record clear, I am FOR testing. I am AGAINST any test that has not been 100% validated as effective.

Being reported in St. Louis by STLToday.com, the Kansas City Royals mascot Sluggerrrr is being sued for throwing a hot dog that injured a man.

The report goes on to say that Sluggerrr jumped atop the 3rd base dugout and was firing hot dogs from an air cannon and then switched to simply throwing the dogs into the stands. Unfortunately for one fan, he was hit in the eye with a good bit of injury.

I’m going through my thought process on this….

1. A big mascot standing in front of you throwing hotdogs, at you.
2. People yelling, cheering, waving for said macot to throw a hot dog at them.
3. Seeing a hot dog coming right at you and not only don’t you catch it, but it slips through your fingers and pokes you in the eye.
4. You forgot to blink.

Middle school principals around the nation have been vindicated.

Now the man is suing saying the mascot has not been properly trained to throw a hot dog professionally. Personally, I missed this event in the Olympics but there are a lot of weird sports I haven’t heard of. Sound to me like another, “I spilled coffee on myself and didn’t know it was hot” lawsuit. Everyone looking for an easy buck.

Fortunately for Major League Baseball, the Kansas City Royals and poor ole Sluggerrr each and every ticket to a professional baseball game includes this disclaimer:

“The ticket holder assumes all risk and danger incidental to the game of Baseball, including specifically (but not exclusively) the danger of being injured by thrown bats and thrown or batted balls, and agrees that the Commissioner, the Participating Clubs, their Agents and Players are not liable for injuries resulting from such causes.”

Now you can say this was not incidental, but the MLB policy on fan injuries has been rock solid since time began. Even a woman slammed by a broken bat in Pittsburgh resulting in a multitude of life altering injuries has been denied compensation from the courts.

I say this as a die hard fan. I agree some casual game attenders might get bored or distracted and miss some of the game or look away at an inopportune time. It happens.

My advice to those people is learn how to keep score. Score cards are in every Ironpig program (free) and bigger/better scorecards can be obtained from the Fan Services booth at no cost. It helps you to pay attention, follow the game and more throughly enjoy the game.

That’s all I have to say about that.

With the signing of Brad Wilkerson to a minor league contract, the Phillies have created some questions as far as who plays first base for the Ironpigs in 2010.

Yes, Noise Nation, I hear the collective screaming, “Say it ain’t so!”

Yet, it is baseball and at the minor leagues anything could be so.

Let’s make a comparison:

• Both were brought up in the Expos farm system when it was producing players like Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, Vlad Guerrero.

• Both are power hitting left handed first basemen.
Tracy throws Right, Wilkerson throws Left. One point to Wilkerson.

• Career Major League Stats:
Tracy – 5 seasons, 149 games, .231 avg, 13 HR, 2 Triples
Wilkerson – 9 seasons, 972 games, .247 avg, 122 HR, 28 Triples

• Andy Tracy pitched one inning in 2008, striking out one allowing no hits or runs.

•Wilkerson has hit for the cycle twice.

• Nicknames:
The Might Tracy! or The Last Expo.
I’ll let you decide on that one..

Could Wilkerson replace Tracy as the Pig’s 1st baseman? Possibly.

Could they alternate as 1st baseman and designated hitter? Possibly.

Could Wilkerson find himself as a bat off the bench role for the Phillies? Possibly.

Could Wilkerson replace Andy Tracy in the hearts of Ironpig fans? Not likely.

Is it April yet? OINK!

Andy Tracy, Brian Schneider, Brad Wilkerson & Milton Bradley?

One of these players is not like the other….

Ok, so you have Andy Tracy. Mr. Ironpig himself.

You have Brian Schneider who had some great seasons in the bigs and recently signed with the Phillies organization.

You have Brad Wilkerson who came out of a brief retirement to sign a minor league contract with the Phillies.

And you have Milton Bradley.. he likes to play games, I’ll leave my personal opinions to the side tonight.

What do they all have in common? According to the archives of the Harrisburg Patriot News website these players all played on a team which became legendary at the AA level of minor league ball.

All of them played for the Harrisburg Senators, then AA affiliate of the Montreal Expos. This team started out like the 2008 Ironpigs and were laughable to say the least but unlike those inaugural Pigs, the 1999 Senators played hard ball and recovered enough to make the playoffs and win their league title.

One game that makes the story a legend.

Taken from The Patriot News Website:
The Senators trailed Norwich 11-7 entering the bottom half of the ninth. Navigators reliever Ozwaldo Mairena opened the inning by pitching to Senators third baseman Andy Tracy
* Tracy singled
* Jon Tucker walked, Tracy to second
* Brad Wilkerson walked, Tracy to third, Tucker to second
* Joe Lisio, who led the league with 33 saves, relieved Mairena
* Jeremy Ware popped out
* Brian Schneider struck out on three pitches
* Jason Camilli grounded an infield single to third, Tracy scored, Tucker to third, Wilkerson to second
* Milton Bradley, 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, lined a 3-2 fastball over the wall, Tucker, Wilkerson and Camilli scored
FINAL SCORE: Harrisburg Senators 12, Norwich Navigators 11

Why is this significant for Ironpig fans?

Tracy, Schneider and Wilkerson can be reunited this summer in a Lehigh Valley uniform. Hopefully, Milton Bradley will not. Stranger things have happened though…

“Bottom of the 9th, down by 3, 3-2 count, 2 outs, bases loaded… he swings and it’s a long drive to….”

Thanks to Decal for passing this story on to us.

The Gwinnett Braves took hold in their new Georgia home tallying an 81-63 record in what is now known as Coolray Field. The Braves didn’t accomplish much in the playoffs but a bittersweet memory was seeing prospect Tommy Hansen pitch, albeit one of those pitches broke Mike Cervenak’s wrist putting him on the DL for an extended period of time.

Who to look for in Gwinnett in 2010:

Jason Heyward, OF – Atlanta’s #1 prospect this year he should start in AAA and get a promotion mid season. Heyward started 2009 in the Hi-A level splitting time in Myrtle Beach(Hi-A), Mississippi(AA) and added 3 games in Gwinnett.

Craig Kimbrel, RHP – Also a fast mover through the system, his professional experience goes back to 2008. Look for him at AAA to gain experience.

2009 Pitching Statistics
Player	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Todd Redmond	9	6	4.41	27	24	0	0	145.0	152	85	71	21	47	106
Jonny Venters	4	7	5.62	17	17	0	0	91.1	103	64	57	7	42	58
John Halama	4	7	4.48	16	13	0	0	90.1	92	47	45	8	33	54
Vladimir Nunez	3	2	2.16	45	2	0	5	83.1	69	23	20	7	37	79
Mariano Gomez	8	4	1.99	47	0	0	8	72.1	51	18	16	3	29	36
Luis Valdez	5	4	3.28	58	0	0	27	71.1	66	37	26	4	19	75
Tommy Hanson	3	3	1.49	11	11	0	0	66.1	40	16	11	5	17	90
Jo-Jo Reyes	4	2	2.86	15	14	0	0	66.0	68	23	21	6	24	32
Charlie Morton	7	2	2.51	10	10	1	0	64.2	52	18	18	3	16	55
Tony Armas	1	2	4.37	13	11	0	0	59.2	67	40	29	8	22	38
Juan Perez	2	4	3.47	47	0	0	1	57.0	40	28	22	7	36	59
Bobby Brownlie	5	2	4.13	14	7	0	0	56.2	60	26	26	7	17	47
Francisley Bueno	4	1	3.13	33	5	0	1	54.2	47	21	19	1	21	33
Jon Huber	4	0	4.25	27	0	0	1	42.1	44	20	20	3	7	42
Kris Medlen	5	0	1.19	8	6	0	0	37.2	20	5	5	0	10	44
Boone Logan	4	2	3.28	29	0	0	2	35.2	26	15	13	2	17	39
James Parr	1	1	5.40	7	6	0	0	30.0	34	18	18	5	5	20
Manny Acosta	1	3	2.63	18	0	0	2	27.1	21	8	8	4	13	25
Deunte Heath	0	1	9.64	7	2	0	0	18.2	27	21	20	2	12	18
Tim Hudson	1	0	3.38	4	4	0	0	18.2	24	7	7	0	2	11
Jerome Gamble	1	3	5.60	6	4	0	0	17.2	25	24	11	3	13	17
Buddy Carlyle	3	1	1.76	12	1	0	0	15.1	13	3	3	0	1	23
Jeff Lyman	0	2	4.91	5	2	0	0	11.0	11	6	6	0	10	11
Rafael Cruz	1	1	0.00	8	0	0	1	8.2	6	1	0	0	2	5
Tom Glavine	1	0	3.38	2	2	0	0	8.0	11	3	3	1	2	3
Stephen Marek	0	1	7.94	6	0	0	0	5.2	7	5	5	1	7	4
Ryne Reynoso	0	1	10.80	1	1	0	0	5.0	7	6	6	1	2	0
Jorge Campillo	0	0	6.00	1	0	0	1	3.0	4	2	2	1	0	1
Kevin Gunderson	0	0	13.50	4	0	0	0	2.2	3	4	4	0	3	2
Jeff Bennett	0	1	18.00	2	2	0	0	2.0	5	4	4	0	1	0
Craig Kimbrel	0	0	0.00	2	0	0	0	2.0	0	0	0	0	4	3

2009 Batting Statistics
Player	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
Francisley Bueno	.667	9	3	1	2	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
Kris Medlen	.500	3	4	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jason Heyward	.364	3	11	3	4	0	0	0	2	2	2	1
Omar Infante	.333	1	3	1	1	0	0	1	2	0	0	0
Brian McCann	.333	1	3	0	1	1	0	0	1	1	0	0
Greg Norton	.324	12	37	3	12	0	1	1	10	3	7	1
Diory Hernandez	.319	54	204	18	65	16	1	1	32	21	34	8
Kelly Johnson	.308	13	52	9	16	2	2	3	16	4	8	1
Barbaro Canizares	.294	130	506	55	149	31	2	12	79	52	67	2
Kody Kirkland	.289	13	38	5	11	2	0	1	2	4	13	1
Reid Gorecki	.286	106	371	57	106	27	6	9	49	34	73	14
Chris Burke	.285	73	274	39	78	19	2	3	32	22	46	13
Wes Timmons	.283	105	322	62	91	20	2	1	31	62	36	12
J.C. Holt	.282	81	266	44	75	12	3	0	30	27	50	14
Brandon Jones	.281	107	384	50	108	28	2	7	57	50	76	6
Brooks Conrad	.269	110	398	66	107	25	0	12	64	53	108	13
Brian Barton	.266	114	369	47	98	17	4	7	46	45	101	17
Alvin Colina	.262	67	225	31	59	12	0	8	42	25	55	1
J.C. Boscan	.250	13	44	5	11	4	0	0	2	2	9	0
John Halama	.250	4	4	0	1	0	0	0	1	1	1	0
Jordan Schafer	.229	9	35	6	8	0	0	2	3	2	10	3
Gregor Blanco	.228	90	333	54	76	9	1	2	30	50	70	10
Clint Sammons	.214	80	299	34	64	12	0	9	37	20	61	7
Van Pope	.202	106	322	39	65	15	0	4	28	33	62	2
Matt Young	.192	7	26	6	5	1	0	1	3	3	5	1
Antonio Perez	.190	49	126	18	24	5	2	1	8	13	23	4
Todd Redmond	.167	9	18	2	3	0	0	0	0	1	9	0
Jonny Venters	.143	4	7	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	3	0
Tony Armas	.125	6	8	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Tommy Hanson	.125	4	8	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Benji Johnson	.125	3	8	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	3	0
Joe Borchard	.119	12	42	5	5	1	0	1	5	6	14	0
Charlie Morton	.000	3	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
Casey Kotchman	.000	2	3	2	0	0	0	0	3	1	1	0
James Parr	.000	2	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Bobby Brownlie	.000	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jerome Gamble	.000	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Tom Glavine	.000	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Mariano Gomez	.000	13	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jon Huber	.000	7	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Tim Hudson	.000	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jeff Lyman	.000	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Vladimir Nunez	.000	12	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jo-Jo Reyes	.000	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Luis Valdez	.000	19	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Manny Acosta	—	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jeff Bennett	—	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Buddy Carlyle	—	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Rafael Cruz	—	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Deunte Heath	—	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Boone Logan	—	12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Stephen Marek	—	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Juan Perez	—	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

The 2009 Durham Bulls were AAA Baseball’s Champion. Possibly the second most well known team, behind the Toledo Mudhens, the Bulls look to the new season with only one way to go.

Last season was quite enjoyable with Noise Nation favorite Matt Joyce starting in Center Field and although he refused to sign “his K” we all still had a good time. Class act of a guy, Joyce should be in Tampa but we might again be privilaged to see him in CCP again.

Other Prospects who might show up at CCP in 2010

Desmond Jennings, OF – The Rays top prospect of 2010 has a likely future as an All Star quality centerfielder. Let’s hope we see him as he won’t be at AAA long.

Jeremy Hellickson, RHP – Rays #2 prospect went 6-1 with a 2.51 ERA in 9 starts for Durham in 2009. Look for him as a post All star break call up.

2009 Batting Statistics
Player	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
Desmond Jennings	.325	32	114	23	37	6	2	3	17	19	15	15
Rhyne Hughes	.313	56	214	31	67	22	2	7	26	12	69	0
Rashad Eldridge	.305	26	105	13	32	5	0	1	7	12	14	5
Akinori Iwamura	.303	11	33	9	10	3	0	0	2	9	7	0
Jon Weber	.302	117	451	63	136	46	0	14	69	56	98	3
Reid Brignac	.282	96	415	51	117	28	2	8	44	27	69	5
Adam Kennedy	.280	23	82	11	23	4	0	3	9	10	12	2
Fernando Perez	.278	13	36	10	10	3	0	0	2	7	17	8
Henry Mateo	.277	82	307	41	85	17	4	3	23	37	63	13
Matt Joyce	.273	111	417	73	114	35	2	16	66	67	98	14
Brandon Chaves	.271	18	59	7	16	2	0	0	7	11	9	0
John Jaso	.266	104	331	42	88	14	2	5	30	46	49	1
Chris Richard	.263	100	365	56	96	22	0	24	75	52	83	2
Elliot Johnson	.262	63	233	31	61	9	1	11	35	17	56	7
Justin Ruggiano	.253	123	471	71	119	28	1	15	72	51	147	23
Ray Olmedo	.250	115	412	40	103	13	2	6	47	20	73	8
Joe Dillon	.244	35	123	18	30	5	0	2	13	14	17	4
Chris Nowak	.228	64	228	22	52	13	1	4	23	18	54	2
Ray Sadler	.216	86	319	39	69	11	1	13	47	27	86	5
Shawn Riggans	.200	11	40	4	8	2	0	1	5	1	7	0
Sean Rodriguez	.200	5	20	6	4	2	0	1	5	4	3	0
Michel Hernandez	.196	13	46	2	9	0	0	0	6	6	7	0
Matt Hall	.190	8	21	2	4	1	0	0	3	1	5	0
Craig Albernaz	.183	48	120	15	22	4	2	0	10	12	29	1
Alex Jamieson	.107	10	28	3	3	0	0	0	1	3	9	0
Winston Abreu	—	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

2009 Pitching Statistics
Player	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Wade Davis	10	8	3.40	28	28	0	0	158.2	139	71	60	14	60	140
Carlos Hernandez	7	6	3.29	21	21	0	0	112.0	100	45	41	8	42	81
Jason Cromer	7	3	2.25	20	19	0	0	112.0	106	32	28	5	36	67
James Houser	4	5	5.16	18	15	0	0	82.0	83	52	47	10	50	44
Jason Childers	9	6	4.44	55	1	0	5	79.0	83	41	39	10	24	63
Julio DePaula	2	3	3.87	48	2	0	1	79.0	82	40	34	6	40	57
Dale Thayer	2	5	2.27	51	0	0	17	63.1	59	24	16	3	15	44
Joe Bateman	6	2	3.02	44	2	0	4	62.2	43	21	21	0	35	64
Matt DeSalvo	0	4	6.44	13	11	0	0	57.1	56	45	41	5	39	36
Jeremy Hellickson	6	1	2.51	9	9	0	0	57.1	31	19	16	4	15	70
Andy Sonnanstine	5	3	4.40	9	9	0	0	57.1	68	29	28	4	9	36
Mitch Talbot	4	4	4.47	10	10	0	0	54.1	67	29	27	3	18	40
Calvin Medlock	4	1	2.98	24	2	0	0	51.1	46	19	17	6	12	43
Winston Abreu	3	1	1.94	37	0	0	15	51.0	23	11	11	4	16	77
David Price	1	4	3.93	8	8	0	0	34.1	28	20	15	5	18	35
Chad Orvella	0	1	6.12	19	0	0	0	32.1	36	22	22	5	11	24
Dewon Day	3	1	4.76	22	0	0	1	28.1	35	19	15	3	15	21
Jorge Julio	0	1	5.96	19	0	0	0	22.2	22	16	15	2	15	24
Randy Choate	3	0	3.72	21	0	0	0	19.1	16	8	8	0	9	15
Joe Nelson	2	2	6.23	13	0	0	0	17.1	22	14	12	4	11	14
John Meloan	0	0	3.38	10	0	0	0	13.1	13	5	5	2	10	15
Jeff Bennett	1	0	4.76	3	3	0	0	11.1	14	6	6	1	5	8
Rayner Oliveros	1	0	3.48	2	1	0	0	10.1	10	5	4	0	3	13
Paul Phillips	0	0	0.00	2	1	0	0	7.2	4	0	0	0	3	3
Jason Isringhausen	0	0	5.14	6	0	0	0	7.0	7	4	4	0	2	0
Heath Rollins	0	0	6.00	3	0	0	0	6.0	7	7	4	1	4	4
Scott Kazmir	1	0	1.50	1	1	0	0	6.0	5	1	1	0	0	5
Chad Bradford	1	0	5.79	4	0	0	0	4.2	7	3	3	0	1	2
Chris Mason	0	0	9.00	1	1	0	0	4.0	8	4	4	1	1	3
Ray Olmedo	1	0	4.50	1	0	0	0	2.0	2	2	1	1	1	0
Mike Wlodarczyk	0	0	0.00	1	0	0	0	2.0	0	0	0	0	0	2
Alex Jamieson	0	0	10.80	2	0	0	0	1.2	4	2	2	0	1	0
Craig Albernaz	0	0	0.00	1	0	0	0	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Matt Hall	0	0	0.00	1	0	0	0	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0

Ever wonder how teams pull that off? I did, and I did some digging and figured it out.

Really, what are the chances of a player, on a specific night, hitting for the cycle. The odds must be insane but if someone just happens to have a lucky day… well the team needs to cough up the cash. Sounds like a bad idea right? Not really.

Now I remember several games where the Ironpigs had Inside the Park Home Run contests or Hit a Home Run through the Bullseye contests but haven’t seen the feat accomplished on those days yet.

For those keeping record, there have been two inside the park homeruns in Ironpigs history. Rich Thompson hit the first in an away game in 2008 followed by Javon Moran legging out the round tripper in front of 10,000 screaming school children on an early day education game. Only once has the bullseye been hit since the Park opened and that was when Charlotte’s Josh Fields hit the bottom of it in a 2008 game. (Ask me the story of that game, you will like it) Although Fields shot did hit the bullseye, it did not go in the bullseye net to record the score.

Back to my point. On February 12, 2010 the International League announced a partnership with Odds On Promotions. Odds On Promotions is an insurance company for contests, games, etc. The random chance happens, they pay the tab. I’m sure they get a reasonable premium to open and maintain these insurance policies where we the fan are the benefactors.

Good stuff!

Columbus Clippers.. how well we know a few of them! The big trade that brought Cliff Lee to Philadelphia sent several of our prospects to Cleveland’s farm system.

Columbus prospects likely to make an appearance at CCP.

Carlos Santana, C – It’s just a matter of time until he becomes the Indian’s #1 backstop. Figure he will see at least some action in Columbus before getting the call. Barring any injuries, I would say he makes the big team at the All Star break, possibly sooner.

Carlos Carrasco, RHP – Who can’t remember Carrasco’s inconsistancy for the Pigs last season. He did great until something didn’t go his way. Rumor had it he felt slighted by not making the Phillies team and his game play could confirm that. Carrasco found out the hard way in Cleveland going 0-4 with an 8.87 ERA in 5 starts.

Lou Marson, C – Marson was one of the Pig fan’s favorites last year. He should start the year in Cleveland as their starting catcher but be relegated to a back up role once Santana takes over. He most likely will be moved back to Columbus or trade bait if the Indians are looking to improve themselves.

Jason Donald, INF – Donald was also a fan favorite here in the Lehigh Valley. In its first incarnation, the Noise Nation was known as Jason Donald’s Ducks. Oh the memories. Donald looks to be a solid starter for Columbus and scouting reports show his future to be a utility player somewhere.

2009 Pitching Statistics
Player	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Zach Jackson	4	8	6.05	30	14	0	0	99.2	128	76	67	13	33	67
Chuck Lofgren	6	10	5.31	17	17	0	0	98.1	94	63	58	15	33	62
Jack Cassel	5	7	5.78	15	15	2	0	90.1	109	63	58	11	38	51
Ken Ray	2	10	6.90	20	15	0	0	90.0	127	85	69	12	33	68
Kirk Saarloos	3	10	5.61	15	15	2	0	86.2	112	67	54	14	35	53
Frank Herrmann	2	3	2.96	44	0	0	2	76.0	83	33	25	3	13	50
Hector Rondon	4	5	4.00	12	12	0	0	74.1	83	38	33	8	13	64
Tomo Ohka	3	3	3.42	9	9	0	0	52.2	53	20	20	6	9	26
Ryan Edell	0	6	6.36	15	6	0	0	46.2	68	35	33	7	15	37
John Meloan	0	0	5.52	25	2	0	0	44.0	52	27	27	6	17	37
Carlos Carrasco	5	1	3.19	6	6	0	0	42.1	31	18	15	3	7	36
Rich Rundles	2	2	4.75	45	0	0	1	41.2	54	29	22	3	17	36
David Huff	5	1	4.35	7	7	0	0	39.1	35	19	19	5	16	32
Jeremy Sowers	2	2	2.89	6	6	0	0	37.1	36	12	12	2	9	27
Fausto Carmona	1	3	3.55	5	5	0	0	33.0	32	13	13	5	6	27
Mike Gosling	0	3	5.29	8	4	0	0	32.1	45	21	19	5	7	30
Greg Aquino	1	2	3.13	30	1	0	16	31.2	26	15	11	3	15	27
Vinnie Chulk	1	0	2.08	18	0	0	4	21.2	22	7	5	0	7	16
Rafael Perez	1	0	0.83	16	0	0	3	21.2	23	3	2	0	5	23
Masa Kobayashi	2	2	4.66	18	0	0	1	19.1	28	10	10	4	7	11
Jensen Lewis	1	0	0.00	12	0	0	0	18.2	13	0	0	0	7	28
Michael Tejera	0	0	7.79	8	0	0	0	17.1	24	15	15	2	6	10
Tony Sipp	1	0	3.71	12	0	0	1	17.0	17	8	7	1	6	22
Yohan Pino	2	0	1.29	2	2	0	0	14.0	12	2	2	0	2	14
Blaine Neal	0	1	6.07	12	0	0	0	13.1	21	11	9	2	7	5
Aaron Laffey	0	2	11.32	3	3	0	0	10.1	21	13	13	2	5	4
Matt Herges	1	2	5.40	11	0	0	4	10.0	12	6	6	0	5	7
Jose Veras	0	1	1.29	7	0	0	0	7.0	3	1	1	1	2	9
R.J. Swindle	1	0	4.05	6	0	0	0	6.2	9	4	3	2	3	5
Steve Wright	0	0	4.76	2	1	0	0	5.2	5	3	3	0	0	4
Scott Roehl	0	0	3.38	3	0	0	1	5.1	5	2	2	0	3	6
Joe Smith	0	0	0.00	5	0	0	0	5.0	4	0	0	0	1	6
Jess Todd	0	0	0.00	3	0	0	1	4.0	1	0	0	0	0	7
Rafael Betancourt	1	0	0.00	3	0	0	0	3.1	0	0	0	0	1	4
Bobby Livingston	0	0	12.00	1	0	0	0	3.0	6	6	4	1	1	3
Brian Grening	0	0	0.00	1	1	0	0	2.1	1	0	0	0	2	5
Matt Meyer	1	0	4.50	2	0	0	0	2.0	3	1	1	0	1	1
Scott Lewis	0	1	18.00	1	1	0	0	2.0	5	4	4	1	1	2
Randy Newsom	0	0	5.40	2	0	0	0	1.2	3	1	1	1	1	0
Juan Salas	0	0	0.00	1	0	0	0	1.0	1	0	0	0	1	1

2009 Batting Statistics
Player	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
Cristo Arnal	.500	3	8	2	4	2	0	0	1	0	0	0
David Dellucci	.414	7	29	7	12	1	1	0	2	3	4	2
George Lombard	.368	8	19	5	7	3	0	0	4	2	7	2
Donnie Webb	.367	7	30	3	11	4	0	0	6	2	7	1
Jordan Brown	.336	111	417	65	140	35	1	15	67	30	64	2
Travis Hafner	.333	12	39	6	13	4	0	1	8	9	3	0
Andy Marte	.327	82	300	48	98	24	1	18	66	22	50	3
Luis Valbuena	.321	22	78	15	25	4	2	3	13	16	13	3
Matt LaPorta	.299	93	338	63	101	23	2	17	60	42	56	1
Trevor Crowe	.297	49	185	27	55	11	1	2	20	30	31	14
Michael Aubrey	.292	57	212	27	62	16	1	5	29	9	25	1
Wyatt Toregas	.284	60	208	22	59	10	0	7	29	16	43	0
Jesus Merchan	.280	27	100	9	28	5	1	0	8	4	15	1
Jamey Carroll	.273	3	11	2	3	1	0	0	0	0	3	0
Andy Cannizaro	.269	50	160	13	43	10	0	1	19	15	19	0
Michael Brantley	.267	116	457	80	122	21	2	6	37	59	48	46
Wes Hodges	.265	86	332	33	88	24	0	5	38	19	64	8
Tony Graffanino	.264	69	261	39	69	24	0	6	40	17	46	3
Damaso Espino	.261	49	176	19	46	10	0	2	14	13	15	0
Jason Donald	.257	10	35	10	9	2	0	1	1	3	11	1
Niuman Romero	.254	81	252	34	64	10	1	1	27	21	27	10
Josh Barfield	.252	73	305	27	77	15	0	3	35	8	48	5
Stephen Head	.246	74	280	28	69	16	0	6	31	17	34	1
Lou Marson	.243	28	103	10	25	5	1	1	9	10	19	1
Chris Gimenez	.235	39	136	20	32	8	0	6	15	15	40	0
Ryan Blair	.200	4	10	1	2	0	1	0	1	0	5	0
Wilson Valdez	.198	41	121	17	24	1	0	0	6	10	19	5
Mickey Hall	.159	49	145	13	23	5	3	2	8	15	45	1
Rob Mackowiak	.156	13	45	1	7	1	0	0	3	3	9	0
Dwight Childs	—	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Last season the Charlotte Knights finished dead last in the International League South Division. Their record of 67-76 was enough to beat out Pawtucket, Buffalo and Columbus to avoid being in the I.L. basement.

Other than new Assistant GM Danny Tetzlaff, here are some players who might make it to Coca Cola Park with the Knights and would be worth watching.

Tyler Flowers, C – We’re going to have some fun with him although he might not hear us from behind the plate. If only he was a center fielder…

Dan Hudson, RHP – Considered Chicago’s 3rd best prospect he played 5 games in AAA last season to go with 6 games with the White Sox in the show.

Jordan Danks, OF – Should start the season at AA but looks to be in Charlotte mid-season if not earlier.

Clevelan Santeliz, RHP – Fastball can reach as high as 95-96 mph. Figures to begin at Charlotte to work on developing other pitches.

I only have good memories of Charlotte visiting Coca Cola park. Let’s keep this going in 2010!

2009 Pitching Statistics
Player	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Wes Whisler	10	12	4.01	26	26	1	0	152.2	165	83	68	10	56	77
Carlos Torres	10	4	2.39	23	20	2	1	128.0	96	38	34	4	56	130
Jack Egbert	6	11	5.05	30	18	0	1	108.2	132	73	61	13	33	78
Kelvin Jimenez	6	3	4.02	40	4	0	1	78.1	97	40	35	11	20	55
John Van Benschoten	2	8	6.35	22	13	0	0	78.0	97	66	55	9	30	67
Justin Cassel	3	9	5.06	18	12	0	0	74.2	86	47	42	10	27	53
Lucas Harrell	4	1	3.29	11	11	0	0	65.2	58	26	24	3	37	42
Ehren Wassermann	7	3	3.68	43	0	0	1	63.2	72	30	26	3	18	57
Derek Rodriguez	0	3	3.49	36	1	0	2	56.2	56	24	22	3	23	44
Jon Link	1	2	3.99	48	0	0	13	56.1	55	26	25	5	27	66
Adam Russell	2	2	3.20	34	0	0	5	56.1	39	20	20	5	18	51
Jeff Marquez	2	8	9.85	11	11	0	0	45.2	72	51	50	12	22	27
Randy Williams	3	0	3.44	33	0	0	1	36.2	31	17	14	3	11	40
Jose Contreras	3	1	2.70	5	5	1	0	33.1	19	12	10	2	16	27
Jhonny Nunez	2	0	3.33	16	0	0	1	24.1	19	9	9	3	5	22
Dan Hudson	2	0	3.00	5	5	0	0	24.0	22	10	8	1	9	24
Fernando Hernandez	1	1	1.59	13	0	0	0	17.0	11	4	3	0	8	17
Lance Broadway	0	2	5.63	3	3	0	0	16.0	18	11	10	2	4	15
Matt Zaleski	0	1	2.25	3	3	0	0	16.0	13	4	4	2	3	15
Jake Peavy	1	1	2.93	4	4	0	0	15.1	14	6	5	1	4	17
Jimmy Gobble	0	1	5.25	11	0	0	1	12.0	8	8	7	2	4	19
Bartolo Colon	1	1	3.75	2	2	0	0	12.0	10	5	5	2	4	1
Aaron Poreda	0	0	3.60	2	2	0	0	10.0	8	4	4	0	3	9
Brandon Hynick	1	0	1.29	1	1	0	0	7.0	4	1	1	0	2	2
Freddy Garcia	0	1	3.00	1	1	0	0	6.0	8	2	2	1	0	9
Brian Omogrosso	0	0	15.88	4	0	0	0	5.2	12	10	10	2	3	6
Sergio Santos	0	1	9.00	3	0	0	0	5.0	5	5	5	0	7	7
Matt Long	0	0	5.40	1	1	0	0	5.0	7	3	3	0	1	6
Mike Johnston	0	0	0.00	5	0	0	0	4.2	5	0	0	0	2	1
Ryan Rote	0	0	1.93	3	0	0	0	4.2	3	2	1	0	5	4
Taylor Thompson	0	0	0.00	2	0	0	0	4.0	2	0	0	0	4	1
Kevin Asselin	0	0	12.00	2	0	0	0	3.0	3	4	4	1	2	4
Brent DeFoor	0	0	6.75	2	0	0	0	2.2	2	2	2	0	2	4
Danny Wiltz	0	0	162.00	1	0	0	0	0.1	6	6	6	1	3	1

2009 Batting Statistics
Player	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
Lee Fischer	.500	1	2	0	1	1	0	0	0	1	0	0
Gordon Beckham	.464	7	28	6	13	6	0	0	3	0	2	1
Jayson Nix	.450	5	20	4	9	1	0	0	5	4	0	1
Carlos Quentin	.378	12	37	10	14	3	0	1	9	5	2	0
Dewayne Wise	.333	7	27	2	9	3	1	0	3	1	4	0
Norris Hopper	.329	20	76	12	25	3	0	0	5	7	4	3
Justin Fuller	.308	5	13	1	4	0	0	0	1	3	4	1
Andy Phillips	.295	49	190	24	56	9	1	5	27	15	26	1
Michael Restovich	.290	135	489	83	142	36	3	21	61	58	118	0
Tyler Flowers	.286	31	105	13	30	10	0	2	13	10	32	0
Brian Anderson	.279	11	43	6	12	1	1	2	5	2	16	0
Miguel Negron	.279	103	384	41	107	15	3	4	38	26	62	14
Brian Myrow	.277	48	159	23	44	10	0	7	25	22	37	0
Josh Kroeger	.267	128	501	59	134	27	0	17	56	36	86	23
Chris Getz	.267	5	15	4	4	0	0	0	0	3	1	2
Stefan Gartrell	.265	31	113	14	30	11	1	4	19	7	29	0
Josh Fields	.265	27	98	15	26	5	0	5	13	13	22	1
Brandon Allen	.262	15	61	6	16	4	0	1	8	0	13	0
Javier Castillo	.262	47	168	16	44	11	2	2	15	13	40	0
Scott Podsednik	.262	10	42	6	11	4	0	0	2	5	5	1
Keith Ginter	.262	107	363	35	95	22	1	6	33	39	71	2
Daryle Ward	.255	69	247	31	63	11	0	8	36	31	49	2
Cole Armstrong	.252	69	246	28	62	13	0	10	32	12	51	0
Brent Lillibridge	.252	67	246	34	62	9	4	3	24	29	57	17
Wilson Betemit	.241	72	261	36	63	19	0	11	49	21	73	2
Eider Torres	.240	92	359	36	86	12	1	1	29	24	63	13
Gookie Dawkins	.229	20	70	6	16	6	0	0	1	2	17	2
Justin Knoedler	.222	8	27	3	6	0	0	1	1	0	7	0
Donny Lucy	.216	45	153	14	33	8	0	2	10	10	38	2
Andy Cannizaro	.208	22	77	5	16	3	0	0	4	5	11	0
David Cook	.192	7	26	2	5	0	0	1	2	1	9	0
Miguel Gonzalez	.182	3	11	1	2	0	0	0	1	0	2	0
Jose Fulgencio	.174	7	23	2	4	0	0	0	0	0	5	1
Kent Gerst	.148	8	27	1	4	0	0	1	4	2	9	1
Corky Miller	.143	4	7	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	2	0
Jerry Owens	.143	2	7	1	1	0	0	0	2	1	3	0
Ben Broussard	.130	7	23	0	3	0	0	0	2	3	5	1
Brady Shoemaker	.103	8	29	3	3	1	0	1	2	1	8	0