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A number of years ago an old man from Kentucky pulled me aside and gave me some great advice.

He said,

“Son.. in life there will be little things that bother you. There are a lot of little things each and every day that will make you angry, make you sad, make you want to fight. Let these little things go. They mean nothing and will go away on their own. You do this because there will a few times when you will need to stand up and put your foot down. When you put your foot down, people will know you are serious. If you get upset over every little thing, they won’t”

I think about that advice every so often.

***
The “fireworks” issue that has been providing local media with a spectacle this past week is one of those things where we have to look at it and make that decision where it is a little thing or something you put your foot down on.

Let’s look at where this is going.

The Morning Call has published two stories on this. The first tells us that the local police department has received 5 complaints. 5 complaints.. sounds small to me. The Ironpigs responded by saying they would be good neighbors and scale back the shows but not eliminate them.

This looks to be a little thing for the Ironpigs.

To the man who rents a hotel room on fireworks nights… well this is a Foot putting down thing. To you, sir, I say… Really? Make this a little thing. You’ll enjoy life a lot more if you don’t let things like this grate on you.

To the Ironpigs… well, you responded to a complaint. We appreciate that. We really do. By the way.. we still don’t like the new mascot outfits. I have seen far more than 5 complaints concerning that.

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There was a song recorded a while back by Aaron Tippin in 1990 called, “You’ve Got to Stand for Something”.

You’ve got to stand for something, or you’ll fall for anything
You’ve got to be your own man, not a puppet on a string
Never compromise what’s right
And uphold your family name
You’ve got to stand for something, or you’ll fall for anything

My opinion on this is that the Ironpigs need to stand up for themselves on this one. They are the shining jewel of the Lehigh Valley. No other place can match it in popularity, cleanliness, safety and… AND attendance.

Does the Lehigh Valley have other attractions? Yes

Does the Lehigh Valley have other nice places? Yes

Does the Lehigh Valley support those other places? No

I know fully well that in the past 3 years that this organization will respond to complaints, even if just one person. We saw plastic horns banned well before this years World Cup soccer tournament. We saw the mascot’s name changed. Did you notice the staircase that appeared in the outfield grass this season?

Let’s give the Ironpigs this one. They deserve it.

Stand up Ironpigs.. put your foot down on this one. We’ll stand beside you!

The Pigs lost today. Not a terrible game, but the hitting just wasn’t there.

It turned out to be an absolutely beautiful evening for baseball. The weather and the calm feel of the park was enough to keep many of the fans late into the game.

One thing of note was Matt Rizzotti’s display of pain at each at bat. He flexed and stretched his hand between each pitch and even in the outfield you could see the grimace on his face. He was pulled later in the game and rumor has it that he was inside “Diggity” the racing hot dog during the pork races. Diggity was taller than normal and was sporting Ironpigs pants, cleats and blue sports shirt. He also made many gestures to the Ironpigs dugout whose roar of laughter could be heard out in right center field. Rookie hazing stunt? Possibly…

The Ironpig employee who fell off the dugout at yesterdays game is ok. I was told that he suffered a few minor injuries and nothing serious. That is great news as a fall like that could have had disastrous results. I was praying when I saw him go over the edge and hopefully he will be more careful in the future.

Not too much going on right now. We will have the season ticket party on thursday and sunday will be Pigapalooza. I need to look for my ticket.. I have it somewhere around here. The Pigs released a new lineup for that day. More former Phillies were added and most of the sportswriters were removed. Luzinski also won’t be there, as announced. Complete list of activities is on the Ironpigs website.

Until tomorrow… OinK!

After the past month or so of terrible baseball.. the Pigs have a 3 game winning streak! Yikes!

Looking at the standings, the Pigs are now 4.5 games ahead of Rochester who is sitting in the International League Basement.

But when you look up you will see that Pawtucket has lost their past 3 games and hold only a 3 game lead on the Lehigh Valley for 4th place.

Can the Pigs set a goal to push into 4th and actually make it?

Is this one of those midnight blog posts where I try to see something positive out of this season?

With two more games against the Red Wings this series.. I would say yes to both questions.

Last year the team finished just under .500 and in 3rd place in their division. This year, they are worse than the team was in 2008. The difference is that Rochester has been worse. Let’s put Pawtucket into that category too!

I think they can do it.. especially with call ups about to happen.

What do you think?

OinK!

I, for one, am happy to see that Ryan Howard will not be making a rehab appearance with the Ironpigs tonight.

He’s healthy enough to return to the active lineup and that’s cool by me.

What, you say? You went out of your way to get tickets to tonight’s game JUST to see Ryan Howard? Well, that stinks for you.

While it would have been nice to see him play live, it is much better to know he is healthy.

So, as we all know… and have heard countless times over the past 3 years..

THE IRONPIGS ARE AT WHIMS OF THE PHILLIES!

The IRONPIGS are at the whims of the Phillies!

The Ironpigs are AT the whims of the Phillies!

The Ironpigs are at the whims of the PHILLIES!

My point being.. don’t be ignorant.

Don’t complain to the team because you came out to see Ryan Howard.

Don’t complain because that was the only reason you came.

Come out and enjoy a nice evening at the ballpark and have some fun.

Enjoy the food.

Enjoy the activities.

Enjoy the game.

Enjoy the people.

Enjoy the fireworks…… well, go ahead and complain about those.. everyone else these days has been.

Not sure who thinks living in a city is quiet but then again, I’ve lived in the Lehigh Valley most of my life and if people can’t find something to complain about.. they will find anything to complain about.

See you at the Pitcher’s pregame radio show at 5:00… then at the game.

OinK!

According to the St Petersburg Times website….

Tyson Gillies was arrested last night for felony possession of cocaine.

Gillies was aquired in the deal that sent Cliff Lee to Seattle this past offseason. He has been hampered by a hamstring injury this season. Guess that hamstring isn’t the worst of his worries…

It’s all over the place this week. Ryan Howard is set to begin a rehab assignment soon and the Ironpig’s begin a 5 game home stand on Saturday. Will we see him again at The Coke? We just might… The last time he was here was on a cold windy, yet clear, day in March 2008.

I do like to see the occasional rehabbing major league star.. but this season has put a damper to it. We’ve seen TOO many rehabbing stars and, more importantly, we’ve lost our key and best players on the Ironpig’s roster. Is seeing someone for one game worth a losing season? Is it a fair trade off as a fan?

We’ve seen Victorino…. Ruiz.. a few pitchers here and there. Maybe now the high priced Ryan Howard. Is it worth being the 2nd worst team in the league?

At least we aren’t Rochester…

****

On another note, a lot of scuttlebutt about Joe Savery this week. Word on the street, and every blog and online column, is that the Phillies are going to try and convert him to a position player. Not sure what the Phillies are obligated to give Savery but they are giving him a lot of chances.

Savery seems like a cool guy. Last summer he helped orchestrate the great water battle at the last home game. He tries.. that’s all I ask.

We’ll see if this works…

****

One non-baseball note that was brought to my attention by Keith Groller’s blog (Link on the blogroll to the right) is that we might be seeing another indoor league football team here in the Lehigh Valley. The demise of the former team actually helped me make my decision not to purchase season tickets to the now defunct Philly Force softball franchise. With hockey coming one day.. some day.. this could add to our off season adventures.

Speaking of the National Pro Fastpitch season… the four team league is winding down the season soon and memories of the fun last year at Force games still pop up at times. Ironpig fans should be very thankful to the ownership of the Ironpigs who keep this team here and financially sound.

***

I would also like to apologize for the lack of timely posts lately. My health and personal life have been busy lately and the blog has taken the hit. Hopefully will get more up to date soon.

Thanks for reading!!

OinK!

The Pigs had yesterday off and today they start off a 4 game series in Pawtucket with a double header today at 5:35.

Not much going on.. getting a good break from losing baseball by following the Phillies this week.

Like I said.. not much going on in Ironpig land.

oink

There’s a stuntman out there who recently ran the bases while set on fire at a Savannah Sand Gnat’s game. One lucky fan was chosen to light him on fire and he finished the stunt with a headfirst dive into home plate. Best part of the below video is when he steps on third base and leaves a little fire behind.

This is one of those.. you gotta see it at our park!

Original Story can be seen at this link:
http://backporch.fanhouse.com/2010/08/16/savannah-sand-gnats-make-good-on-promise-to-light-a-man-on-fire/?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl4|link5|http%3A%2F%2Fbackporch.fanhouse.com%2F2010%2F08%2F16%2Fsavannah-sand-gnats-make-good-on-promise-to-light-a-man-on-fire%2F

The Ironpigs released the 2011 schedule today.. .opening night is April 7th. I have one thing to say…

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR COLD!

Some side notes for this week as I’m watching the Ironpigs take on Rochester on MLB Network this afternoon.

The two teams are fighting to stay out of the basement and ultimately a last place finish in the International League.

Some things to look forward to next week.

Thursday, August 26th
Coca Cola Park, or The Coke as I call it, will host a Season Ticket holder viewing of the game vs. Scranton that night on the big screen. The Coke will be opened up by invitation only (season ticket holder should have received an invite.. if you haven’t I would contact your ticket rep) and there will be free food and fun.

Keep in mind, free food means long lines and patience is required. Last year the lines were incredibly long and it took almost an hour to get a couple hot dogs.. I sat away from the lines for about an hour and then was able to get through in just a few minutes. Remember that this is a good thing for the organization to do (one of the few advantages that season ticket holders currently get) and we could easily lose it if people act without respect and understanding. Just saying…

Another event that we have all been longing for is Pigapalooza. Yay! That sounded worse than I thought it would as I typed it but it still should be fun. I haven’t seen an updated lineup for who, what, when and how the day will go. As soon as I hear it will be posted.

OinK