Category Archives: Uncategorized

Tonight myself and Noise Nation faithful Jimmy T headed out to Reading to catch an R-Phils game. They faced the AA affiliate of the Mets led by Wally Backman. It was cool to see Backman, about as exciting as seeing Buffalo manager Tim Teufel but those memories of the 86 season still linger in me.

Something else was unique for me tonight. The R-Phils held their 2011 inductions into the Reading Baseball Hall of Fame. Among the inductees was former major league pitcher Wade Miller.

I have to laugh every time I watch the movie The Sandlot. At the end of the movie it reveals that one of the young friends who played baseball together ended up playing in the Major Leagues. I can relate to that as Wade Miller and I played little league together many years ago in Topton, PA. As we got older we played middle school and high school ball together. While I was not very good, he was simply put, thee best player our area had ever seen. The rest is history. Wade went on to play 9 seasons with the Astros, Red Sox and Cubs. I didn’t get to say hi to him but saw a few former coaches and high school friends around the park and it was a great night.

Oh, The R-Phils got absolutely stomped. Losing 1-11 to the Binghamton Mets. Many thanks to our old friend Tommy Viola for inviting us out to a game and we had a great time. Also want to make mention of the new friends sitting next to us the whole game. Nice meeting you!

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Now onto our Piggies. They won! Yes! They WON! I have to admit I checked my iPhone more often than the away scoreboard posted tonight. (I might add, Reading’s away scoreboard is bigger, more visible to the crowd and is a dedicated away scoreboard vs the small sign inside the bullpens at CCP. If I had a suggestion to the Morning Call’s Bill White’s recent inquiry to fans about improvements to CCP, I would say a better away scoreboard.)

I will save you the details but the Pigs won by a final score of 5-4 and saved the embarrassment of being swept by the 2nd place Pawtucket Red Sox, giving them instead a 2 game lead in the IL North rather than a tie.

Pigs come home tomorrow beginning a monster 10 game home stand and it will be hot. Be prepared. Stay hydrated and I hope the IronPigs will allow water bottles in the park.

Stay cool and to quote the Most Interesting Man in Baseball… “Oink Responsibly little Piggies”

The Pigs lost to Pawtucket again today by a final score of 1 to 2. The pitching staff held the Pawsox to one run until a walkoff hit gave Pawtucket the win. The IronPig’s lead in the IL North is now down to one game and Pawtucket has the chance to come even with the Pigs tomorrow.

This is not good news Pig Fans. Not good at all. Even if the Pigs pull out a win tomorrow they look forward to 4 games vs Columbus. Also, immediately after Columbus the Pigs will face Pawtucket again at home.

Not good at all.

With another huge loss to the Pig’s bullpen yesterday, Jason Grilli was granted his release to sign with the Pirates.

The once bold and strong bullpen now faces some obstacles as this season comes down to the wire. Who will the Phillies pull up or send down? Who does Reading have available if necessary? Will they raid the free agent market again?

Well the Phillies are always a mystery. Currently the Phillies have Carpenter, Herndon, Perez, Stutes and Worley. Looking at the 40-man roster, on Sept. 1st we stand to lose DeFratus, Mathieson, and Zagurski. (I’m thinking Schwimer will be in there somewhere as well)

On the DL for the Phillies pitching staff include Blanton, Contreras, Lidge and Oswalt. We’ll get someone back by then. Think Carpenter for Blanton, Herndon for Contreras and Stutes for Lidge. Keep in mind, it also depends on who/when/if these pitchers return and are effective. They could go right back on the DL.

As of today, the IronPig’s pitching staff:

Brian Bass – 4 and 8 with 4.24 ERA
Tyson Brummett – 1 and 3 with 5.52 ERA
Nate Bump – 2 and 6 with 6.34 ERA
Ryan Feierabend – 9 and 5 with 5.46 ERA
Scott Mathieson – 0 and 1 with 3.16 ERA

Justin DeFratus – 2 and o with 5.50 ERA *Reliever
Ryan Edell – 2 and 2 with 4.23 ERA * Reliever
Joe Savery – 1 and 0 with 4.91 ERA *Reliever
Michael Schwimer – 5 and 0 with 1.71 ERA *Reliever
Les Walrond – 0 and 0 with 0.87 ERA *Reliever
Mike Zagurski – 2 and 0 with 2.43 ERA * Reliever
Aumont – On the DL
For sure, the starters really need to make an impact in these next 2 weeks. Whether the team is hitting or not, the pitching cannot keep giving up 5+ runs each game and expect to win every night.

For Reading, we’ve pretty much yanked (Brian Gordon pun intended) everything we could have from their pitching staff. They still have guys like J.C. Ramirez and B.J. Rosenberg or Austin Hyatt and Michael Cisco… but do we want to destroy their season as well? The Pigs winning is important to us but maybe not to those in charge of player development.

With the departure of Tim Redding, I don’t believe there will be anymore free agent pickups at the minor league level, barring any season ending injuries to the pitching staff.

Speaking of season ending, it does look like Jeff Larish won’t be returning this season. Larish was hitting .240 with 13 HR and 37 RBI. Although he was sliding a little recently he had a great first half of the year and was certainly a loss for the Pig’s offense. While it could be argued that Frandsen, Bozied and Orr would have taken over the infield, I’m not going to argue that here.

So the next 10 games. The Pigs could seal the deal by winning or could put themselves out of it by losing. They could easily find themselves 4-5 games out of first place by the time this upcoming home stand closes out. Still a lot of games to be played but I’d rather see our team leading the pack and not depending on another team to lose to close out the season.

We will see.

OinK!

This afternoon I enjoyed seeing the work of Service Electric 2’s Ryan Kelly and Tagg Bozied on MLB Network’s Intentional Talk show. Then a fun Noise Nation mini-golf event followed by a trip for an ice cream cone.

The Pigs, however, did not have as great a day as I did. They lost by a final score of 2 to 7 to the Pawsox tonight. 3 more errors for the fielders tonight as well.

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Also, want to mention an email sent out by the IronPig’s organization today regarding season tickets. Tickets are being offered to all Season Ticket holders at the same rate as your current ticket plan (per game) rate by contacting your season ticket representative. Of note, you must purchase all tickets for each potential games. What if the Pigs don’t make the playoffs or the series aren’t played in full? Then the amount of the unused tickets will be transferred to your account for next season.

I don’t like this for a few reasons. First, they haven’t made the playoffs yet. Yes, everyone including myself is very excited at the possibility of playoff baseball. Call me superstitious but with 47 games remaining and that dreaded call up time late in the season the IronPigs stand as much a chance of NOT making the playoffs as they do of making the playoffs.

Looking at them losing 2 straight games to the 2nd place Pawtucket Redsox who now sit only 2 games back. The schedule just gets worse from there. There are two more games against Pawtucket then come home for 4 vs. Columbus who is arguably thee hottest team in AAA most of the season. After Columbus they face Pawtucket for 4 more and a poor showing in these 10 games could find the Pigs in trouble for a playoff spot. The wild card isn’t a lock either with both Durham and Louisville are in contention. Need to win.. plain and simple. So I do feel a ticket announcement is a little premature.

Also, I remember buying NLCS tickets for the Phillies a couple seasons ago. The policy was that if a game was not played, refunds were issued. Baseball frowns upon this but it is standard. No game, No pay. To roll the money into next year’s tickets looks to me like someone doesn’t want to be bothered with refunds. I don’t like this “There’s no risk by ordering your playoff pack as you will receive a credit towards 2012 tickets for any games that are not played.” thing at all. At all. My enthusiasm wanes even further.

So if you agree with me or don’t.. you know how I feel.

OinK!

Thanks to Decal for sharing this…

Per Ken Rosenthal (http://www.yardbarker.com/blog/mlbbuzz/grilli_coming_soon_to_a_team_near_you/5614702)

Phillies Triple A right-hander Jason Grilli will be in the majors within the next few days.

Maybe it will be with the Phillies. Maybe it will be with the Pirates or another club.

Grilli, 34, has received at least one major-league offer, and the Pirates are among the teams interested in him, according to major-league sources.

The Phillies, who must decide within three days of a rival offer whether to promote Grilli or allow him to depart as a free agent, are “on the clock,” one source said.

The Pirates are seeking to add an established eighth-inning reliever. Grilli does not fit that description, but would give the team additional bullpen depth.

Pirates manager Clint Hurdle had Grilli with the Rockies in 2008 and ’09 – and Grilli was especially effective in ’08, producing a 2.93 ERA in 51 games.

Grilli missed all of ‘10 recovering from right knee surgery. He signed a minor-league deal with the Phillies that gave him the right to leave for another team on June 1, but was on the disabled list with a right lat strain at that time.

A scout who saw Grilli recently said he was throwing 93 to 95 mph with a power slider.

Grilli is 4-1 with a 1.93 ERA and three saves in 28 games at Triple A.

While this certainly will hurt the IronPigs bullpen, this is a great opportunity for Jason Grilli.

Personally, I hope the Phillies recognize him for his efforts so far this season with a promotion.

How do you feel?

The IronPigs took on the Pawtucket Red Sox tonight with Scott Mathieson making the start.

Mathieson lasted only 2.2 innings after throwing 69 pitches. (42 for strikes) Scott allowed 2 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 4.

Edell came on to pitch the next 4.1 innings allowing 2 more runs on 4 hits and Mike Zagurski pitched a scoreless 8th inning.

For the batters, the Pigs scraped together 5 hits. The only run came as the result of a dropped fly ball allowing Frandsen to make it to 2nd and then score on Moss Hogg’s single.

Pigs lose by a final score of 1-4.

Tomorrow is another day.

From our friends over at SE2. Enjoy!

Oh and Oink Responsibly.

Pigs lost to Syracuse tonight by a score of 4 to 8. It wasn’t pretty.

Tomorrow is another day and an important series against the Pawtucket Red Sox. The Pawsox are now only 4 games behind Lehigh Valley in the IL North Standings.

We will see…

OinK!

The Pigs came out fighting tonight in Syracuse pounding out a quick 5 runs with doubles from Thompson, Frandsen and home runs from Kratz and Bozied. Their next score came on a 3 run HR by Overbeck in the 5th. Although most of their runs came from the long ball tonight, the Pigs totaled 11 hits for the evening. Unfortunately, they also had 2 errors in the line score (Bozied, Young) that accounted for 2 unearned runs for the Chiefs.

Ryan Feierabend earned his 9th win of the season going 6 innings allowing 6 hits and 4 runs (3 earned). Walrond and DeFratus took care of the 7th and 8th while Michael Schwimer earned his 8th save of the season.

Pigs win by a score of 8 to 6.

***

I read a Twitter post earlier and can’t find it now (Insert my poor memory here) so credit to that forgotten author for the concept, but the results are anything but a secret. Looking at some of these younger players coming around for the IronPigs and the success that Pigs are having up with the Phillies. A calmer, cooler and more relaxed John Mayberry making an impact for the Phillies as well as Stutes and Worley are a clear indicator of talent well groomed.

There was a term I learned a while back. “Force Multiplier” I had no idea what it meant and when I found out what it meant, I whole heartedly agreed. It is someone whose mere presence causes others to work harder, try harder and perform beyond their usual abilities. Basically, multiplying the abilities of others just by influencing them.

The impact that Ryne Sandberg has had on the Phillies organization is clearly being seen with the effort of both the Pigs here and the Pigs on the Phillies lineup. It’s also no secret that Sandberg wants a major league job. It’s my gut feeling that he wants it soon. Not saying anything against Charlie Manuel… so save those angry comments for the next bobblehead day, but I think that the Phillies as a whole need to retain him. That’s all I’m saying. Feel free to share your own feelings/opinions/thoughts.

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On another note, I was able to get out to the Lehigh Valley Roller Girls bout tonight in Schnecksville. They absolutely pounded the other team tonight, both by score and by sheer brute force. It got pretty rough there at times and I really enjoyed myself. Sadly, they didn’t have a t-shirt in my size or I would have bought one. (Sorry, the pink tank top just wasn’t going to make it into my jersey rotation). For more details about the Roller Girls check out our friends over at The Corner Seat.

That’s all I got for tonight. OinK!

I first heard about this yesterday and I have to say I am excited for it. IronPigs Charities announced it will be holding the 2011 Pigfest complete with a Cow Plop and Bag Toss on October 2nd at The Coke!

First the cow plop:

This one-of-a-kind fundraiser will feature a grid setup in the outfield with 2′ x 2′ squares. The grid is then randomly numbered. A cow is then let loose in the grid and wherever the cow “plops” determines the winner. If the cow “plops” on your square you are the winner. We will have two cows for a first and second place winner.

Can you imagine 10,000 fans waiting in earnest for two cows to let one fly? I’m sure Groundskeeper Bill Butler is looking forward to the aftermath of this event. I do really like it though. I grew up in the country and this is high quality good old country fun.

Then the Bag Toss:

A fun game that tests your skill and accuracy. Two boards with a hole in each of them that are placed 30 feet apart. Contestants score points by either keeping a bean bag on the board or by making the bag in the hole.

Each team will receive:
Entry into the tournament
Two tickets to PigFest 2011 (required for admission)
Two PigFest t-shirts
Four drink vouchers to be used for alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages

Entry Fees:
$50 per team (pre-registration until 9/15)
$60 per team (9/15-10/1)
$70 per team (day of registration)
$30/individual (pre-registration until 9/15)
$35/individual (9/15-10/1)
$40/individual (day of registration)

Prize Money
Winning team: $1,000/team
2nd place team: $500/team
Toilet Bowl Champion: $500/team

Long Toss Competition

The event will also feature a long toss competition. For $5 per participant you will receive 3 tosses. The longest toss at the end of the day wins half of the pot. So if 200 people enter the contest the winner will receive $500, if 500 people enter the contest, the winner will receive $1250.

I think anyone who’s ever attended a summer picnic has played this game. It looks like the variety of the game that will use boards rather than a triangle shaped clown face with a hole in its mouth.

Oh and yes, you can win CASH MONEY! Good stuff and a lot of fun for a good charity.

Team Noise Nation has formed and will be competing in the bag toss. Jimmy T and I will begin training soon. Anyone out there willing to take us on?

OinK! or should I say… Mooo?