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The winning caption is…

The winning caption was submitted by Matt of Bacon & Biscuits! Matt, send me an email and I’ll get you your “Mystery Prize”

OinK!

After watching our IronPigs take a 2-0 lead in the best of 5 series against the Pawtucket Red Sox Friday night, four brave IronPig fans decided to make a spontaneous decision to road trip to Pawtucket for Game 3. While the trip was a series of obstacles, delays and heartbreaks along the way.. us fans made it to the game and saw the IronPigs win their way into the International League Championship series vs. Columbus.

The below is a true account of the trip:

10:00am – Dan’s house
Sara Haydt (Full name used), Jason DiPro and our driver Jay arrive.

All seemed well. While loading the car.. our official Road Trip mascot had a fatal fall onto the concrete and was left behind.

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The next blow to the trip came early as well as the Mix-CD of crowd participation stadium music (that I spent an hour making the night before) would not work in the car’s player. We left with a resounding version of “Yakkety Yak” and got on our way at 10:30am.

Below is some footage of us enjoying the Noise Nation’s iPhone app (courtesy of Enter.Net) and Driver Jay mistaking our cheers for driving directions.

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We had a slight snafu entering NYC… there was one ticket lane and 20 Easy pass lanes. Guess we’ll pay that toll by mail.

Then tragedy struck, or so we thought. While heading up 95 North, DiPro’s rear side window came down to a crashing end. The official prognosis was that the window came out of its slide but DiPro sat in the furious wind like a champ. Luckily we happened upon a Home Depot…

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So we were back on the road again with a slight delay. No worries at this point. We enjoyed a nice rest stop lunch of McDonalds.

We stopped for a nice view of the Mystic River.

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We were cruising along 95 about an hour short of Pawtucket when this conversation happened:

Jay – “Uh guys, the battery light just went on”

Dan – “Keep driving”

DiPro – “Googling BMW Dealers in the area, found one calling now”

(5 minutes pass)

Jay – “Look the brake light came on… now the transmission light.. now the other lights are coming on”

(5 more minutes pass)

Jay – “Ummmmmm yeah I can’t shift the car”

DiPro – “I WILL GET TO THE GAME!”

Yes, we broke down.

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So we had some decisions to make. We were going to make it to the game no matter what. AAA (The auto version) was called and a truck dispatched.

Our plan:
1. Get towed to BMW dealer
2. Have rental car waiting there
3. Drive to Pawtucket
4. Watch Pigs win

What actually happened:

1. The tow truck driver arrives in 15 minutes. (Yes, impressive)
2. Driver informs us he can take only 2 people with him.
3. He will not leave the other 2 on the side of the road. Suggests 2 of us walk to a nearby road.
4. Sara Haydt (full name) and Jay head out with the driver
5. DiPro and myself begin the hike to the road where it was not illegal to be a pedestrian on.

Now this road wasn’t quite just a short jaunt from 95. We thought a nice nature walk would be wonderful. The 200 yards of thick brush and (according to DiPro) snake and bear infested woods led us to our safe haven. After some tripping, stumbling, branches flying into faces (I “really” didn’t do that on purpose:-) we found a small clearing near the road with some rocks to sit on.

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This is what I heard every 2 minutes while stranded…

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Meanwhile, while DiPro and I were having our own version of IronPig Survivor…

Jay and Sara arrived at the Dealership. They called the rental place to ask where their car was and were told they wouldn’t be delivered that they would have to pick it up at the airport. Sara swiftly got on the phone for a cab and (insert Sara’s not-so-family environment speech to the taxi agency) a cab soon arrived. Plagued by constant update requests from the Noise Nation tribal members, they literally sprinted through the airport and aquired a rental car and headed back to pick us up and it was none too soon…

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We got back on the road and arrived mid-first inning!

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The Pigs won! The folks in Pawtucket were great! We were particularly impressed with Pawtucket’s game program and scorecard. It did cost $3 but it is nice. The large pages, roughly 8×10 inches, were in full color and had a full page profile of each player that would be great for autographs. Also included was a large 2 page spread scoresheet with current rosters for both teams. If we pull anything back from our experience in Pawtucket to bring back as a suggestion to the IronPigs it would be this wonderful game day program.

Also ran into two of our favorite IronPig employees there to support the team!

After the game we went outside to congratulate our guys and waited with PawSox fans by the bus. Made some great new friends up there and many Pig players came by to talk and sign autographs for the folks waiting. Sandberg signed for a few, Mathieson for almost 20 minutes and we witnessed a very happy Zagurski trip and nearly faceplant coming out of the stadium doors. Daniel Nava of the PawSox also stayed and chatted with fans for close to an hour and Moss was happy to see some old friends from his days in Pawtucket.

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We also noticed that Matt Provence hadn’t yet boarded the bus… it closed its doors and pulled away! We texted him and despair not, he had gotten a ride home from his good buddy Jon Schaeffer.

So the ride home began…

(Queezy readers, stop here)

Now, to flash back to earlier in the day, there was some contention that I was responsible for the window breaking. Granted I didn’t intend for the window to break (Jay had a similiar problem with the car this past summer) but the finger was pointed or should I say their noses were pointed away from my general direction. While we stopped to fill up with gas early in the trip there was no need for me to do the same… the sudden opening of all 4 windows was in direct correlation with an “event” that happened just moments before the window crashed into the door frame. I will leave it to your imagination to understand what happened….

So on the ride home we stopped at Wendy’s for a bathroom break and I had an idea for a prank. Jay and I were the only to go inside and I obtained a container of chili. Yes, chili. Jay set me up with a “You will not believe what he ordered!” comment and when I got to the car I held it up and announced.. “EXTRA CHEESE, EXTRA SOUR CREAM!!!”

DiPro looked like he was going to cry, Sara pleaded with me not to eat it.

The joke was on them though.. the chili bowl was empty.

The windows remained up for the rest of the trip home.

We arrived safely home at 3:30 am and had nothing but smiles. I cannot overstate what a great time it was and how great Sara Haydt (full name), DiPro and Jay were during all of the above. We laughed, sometimes to the point of tears, and all took everything in stride.

I think I will hear DiPro screaming “I’m STUCK in the middle of the WOODS in RHODE ISLAND!” for many days ahead..

OinK!

It’s no secret that some IronPig Faithful made a trip to Pawtucket yesterday, stay tuned for the full story chocked full of video, photos and insanity later. I am still recovering so will wait until my head clears a bit to gather all the info together. (Trust me you don’t want to miss this)

So to keep this short, I want to say Congratulations to our IronPigs!

I also want to say thank you to the Pawtucket Red Sox and their fans. A very classy organization up there with awesome fans. They welcomed us with open arms and it couldn’t have been a more beautiful night for baseball. Also, very impressed with the game day programs.

Stay tuned… Oink!

The IronPigs took a thriller home tonight winning game 2 of this 5 game series in the 10th inning by a score of 3-2!

I will save the stats, I’m sure you’ve heard or looked at the box score but the 10th inning…

Galvis got it started with a single. Rich Thompson then went to sacrifice bunt but the ball was bobbled and he ended up on first. Posednik was successful with his sac bunt leaving the Pig’s two fastest runners on second and third with one out. Frandsen was intentionally walked and up came Brandon Moss Hogg. With the infield in he hit a dribbling ball up the middle that got through and the Pigs walked off with a victory pushing a 2-0 series into Pawtucket tomorrow!

Speaking of Moss.. he was Mr. IronPig tonight! He got the Pigs on the board early with a solo HR and narrowly missed a second HR for only an RBI double.

The crowd was into this game even more than last night! I love it! A comment was made to me that it was so loud that it was hard to hear the Noise Nation and that’s how I like it! The crowd really felt like the end of the movie Major League.. everyone on their feet, clapping and waving what ever they could.

In other news, Columbus completed their sweep of Durham tonight. They await the end of the Pig/Pawsox series.

OINKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!

Game 2 is nearly here… this just in from http://www.weei.com/sports/boston/this-just-in/21138026/atchison-rejoins-red-sox-tampa-bay

Reliever Scott Atchison has joined the Red Sox in Tampa Bay and will be called up for the sixth time this year prior to the start of Friday’s game. The 35-year-old has a 4.42 ERA, 10 strikeouts and three walks in 18 1/3 innings spanning 10 big league appearances this year. Most recently, he was called up on Aug. 26, allowed one run in three innings of relief that night and then was sent back down to Triple-A Pawtucket the following day.

In 36 appearances with the PawSox, Atchison is 6-2 with a 2.64 ERA, 72 strikeouts and nine walks in 61 1/3 innings. The right-hander is in his second year in the Red Sox organization, but his last season with minor league options that would permit the Sox to shuttle him freely between the majors and minors without running the risk that another organization would grab him off waivers.

News of Atchison rejoining the Sox was first reported by Ian Browne of MLB.com (via twitter). For complete Red Sox coverage, visit weei.com/redsox.

The crowd at The Coke tonight was announced at 5,088 but I would put a bet on it being louder than any capacity crowd I’ve seen there. If the crowd was in the game, the IronPigs were rolling as they took game one of this best of 5 series vs. Pawtucket by a score of 4-2.

The Pigs used some small ball tactics in the first combining a Rich Thompson single, stolen base, bunt and Frandsen ground out into a 1-0 lead.

They added another run in the 2nd inning on an Erik Kratz line drive over the left field wall. (Jimmy T called this one)

In the 4th inning Brandon Moss Hogg hit what I see as the longest home run in Coca Cola Park history. The former longest HR was hit by Andy Tracy smashing the lower neon lights on the Service Electric sign. Moss’ shot cleared that sign easily by 10 feet. Estimating the final distance of the HR, by my calculations, that ball was hit 463 feet. (Horizontal distance + (elevation * 1.2))

Freddy Galvis also hit his first AAA HR into the trough right in front of the Noise Nation to put the Pigs up 4-2.

Dave Bush made the start tonight, earning the win and the hearts of IronPigs fans. He lasted 6.2 innings and left to a standing ovation. Bush allowed 1 run on 5 hits (the run was a solo HR), struck out 6 and walked just 1.

Savery and Aumont earned holds and Justin DeFratus came on for the save.

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While the crowd was one of the smallest at this park, the fans were unbelievable. Cheers all around to our fellow Pig fans! We earned a playoff win supporting this team for better or worse and that worse has become better!

Game 2 will be held tomorrow. Ryan Edell for the Pigs and Tony Pena Jr. for the Pawsox.

OinK!!!!!

Yesterday turned out to be a very odd day.

Finally have the IronPigs made the playoffs… and it rains. A LOT of rain. In fact, it’s still raining. Weather for tonight’s game is sitting on a report of 50-60% chance of rain all night.

Then you have poor John Mayberry. He wanted to ask a pretty girl to a ballgame and used his agent to extend that offer. Much to the amusement of his teammates, the NY Post got ahold of the emails sent. Read more about it here.

@HunterPence3 “So does anybody want a date with Mayberry?….He’s Stanford educated….”

Really, this has to happen a lot. Ballplayers who do nothing but baseball from April through September don’t meet actresses and super models by just sitting around hoping. My hat goes off to John. He tried. Granted, a trip to Google may have prevented this as the gal is married with a child, but the guy sent a feeler out and was hopeful. Who hasn’t done this? And honestly, who has a better online dating profile than Mayberry?

Occupation: Phillies outfielder
Salary: See occupation and guess
Look: Tall, Dark, Handsome
Education: Stanford

What I think happened was the NY Post found something potentially embarassing for a first place Phillies player to distract him from his game when he’s on a roll. Gee, who would have imagined a NY published paper going after a Phillie…

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In other news, former IronPig and current Oakland A Michael Taylor got his first hit this week. He also got thrown out at first base from right field yesterday too. I told you it was a strange day. Read more about Taylor here.

This post is by no means intended to criticize or demean anyone, just used to make an example for other fans to understand this topic.

There are two real kinds of players at the AAA level of baseball.

You have the Prospects. The players who are touted by Baseball America, their organizations and scouts and fans alike.

Then there are Professionals. These are the guys who have been around a while, their talent and skill level is widely known.

While having been around for a while doesn’t nearly qualify you to be a professional (I will save 10% of baseball veterans who still see themselves as prospects and act accordingly; Account 10% of prospects who act as professionals)

Granted, these are my observations. Feel free to comment and add your own to the comment section.

Prospects
– Infrequently engage fans. Not likely to sign autographs, acknowledge cheers, wave to someone in the crowd.
– If they haven’t yet made it to the Majors, they will hustle at every opportunity.
– If they’ve just been sent down, they will not hustle at any opportunity.
– Rarely smile

Professionals
– Signs autographs frequently. Will engage fans in conversation, wave to fans in the crowd, toss more than the occasional ball to the stands.
– Hustles all of the time
– See a demotion as a chance for improvement. Happy for the opportunity to be up for the time they were.
– Has fun with the game.

Following two IronPigs in the past couple years.

John Mayberry

We all expected to see great things out of Mayberry when he arrived in the Lehigh Valley. He did alright too. The thing that got me was how many times I heard folks comment about how rarely Mayberry signed autographs. He was all business. From the dugout to the field and back to the dugout. When he finally got the call to the Phillies and hit that home run against the Yankees I was super happy for him. I couldn’t say the same thing about his return to the IronPigs. No hustle. Jogging after fly balls. It was bad. He looked uncomfortable out there and the word sulking comes to mind.

This season Mayberry had a significant amount of time with the Phillies. When he came back to the Pigs mid-season he was smiling, hustling and having fun with the game. His positive attitude and more relaxed approach showed in his improved play on the field. Mayberry is now back with the Phillies and it’s no secret he has been succeeding.

Domonic Brown
Re-read the first paragraph I wrote about John Mayberry.

Brown has been bad since returning to the Pigs. He also earned the most prolific booing I’ve heard at Coca Cola Park since that Magician came out late in the Home Run Derby last summer. Now he’s benched to flu like symptoms. Hey, the guy needs a break. Clear his head and get back into the game.

I truly appreciate the transistion of John Mayberry from a prospect into a professional. It takes time, yes, but it still should be the intended goal of all of these young players.

One thing I’ve noticed about the 2011 team is how many Professionals there are. Look at guys like Rich Thompson, Brandon Moss, Erik Kratz, Delwyn Young.. to name a few. These guys are out there having fun. Watch the three outfielders swipe the mascot’s 4 wheeler and drive to their position before the game or change the lottery numbers on the outfield wall or post fun photos to social media sites… these guys are having a ball.

Yes, winning allows for more fun but I think fun and winning go hand in hand for baseball. The 2011 IronPig season would support that statement.

These are my thoughts… what are yours?

Per Twitter @ironpigs

Tonight’s Game Has Been Postponed. Game A is now on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. and Game B is now Friday at 7:05 p.m. More to come soon…

Have a good safe evening and see you tomorrow!

Below are the contenders. Voting will continue until 12:00 noon EDST on Monday September 12th. You may vote as often as you’d like, but I believe WordPress cuts you off at a certain point.

1. So that’s what a dugout looks like…

2. “wait, so i’m suppose to just hit the ball and run home? because i decided to drive today..”

3. “This photo would look great in one of those funny captions contest. Oh look a guy with a camera…”

4. I’m supposed to do what next….

5. “Tell? Tell me what??”

6. What’s this a winning record and in a playoff race most have been called up to the Phils. Nope this is Coca-Cola Park and this is a Ironpigs cap and jersey I most be dreaming.

7. “…and then I woke up and was like ‘whoa Provence missed the bus’.”

8. Now point to your nose. Your a smart ball player aren’t you?

9. “Am I dreaming, or did the rest of you guys shrink over night?”

10. As Bugs Bunny would say…I knew I shoulda taken that left turn at Albuquerque!

Editor’s note – Albuquerque is the site of the IL vs. PCL Championship game this season.

11. “Man! I didn’t think a lot of places would close the 4th! Where the heck am I gonna get somethin’ for dinner?”

12. “Wish I could find a hat that would fit my head properly.”

13. Am I really tipping my pitches?

14. Should I start growing my playoff beard??

The winner will be announced Monday afternoon. Tiebreaker will be my vote.

The winner will receive a wonderful “Mystery prize” from my collection.