Looking at the radar moments ago gave me a chill. Around 7:00-8:00pm tonight there is a big thunderstorm rolling into the Lehigh Valley. It’s going to be cool and wet for sure. Depending on the speed of the front approaching from the west, we might get a little of the game in but I am skeptical to say that there will be 4+ innings played.

One thing for sure is that the 4th annual hot dog eating contest will be held at Coca Cola Park tonight! The Noise Nation has our candidate returning to the contest after a strong finish last year. Steve Richter will be looking to go double digits in weiner consumption as he eyes the title he so cherishes. Go get em Steve! We also have word that another member of the Noise Nation might be in the contest as well.. show up a little early tonight and check out the competition!

Our very own Desk of Decal added this to the comments last night regarding the young pitcher Gwinnett will send to the mound tonight:

It’s always fun seeing some of the top prospects in baseball pass through Coca-Cola Park and one of the best will be on display Monday night when the Ironpigs face Julio Teheran and the Gwinnett Braves. The 20 year old righthander is generally considered the best pitcher not to start 2011 in the major leagues. Teheran is 3-1 1.91 for Gwinnett this year and has also made 2 starts for Atlanta, one of them against the Phillies on May 7. He has drawn comparisons to a young Pedro Martinez.

Facing him to start will be a rehabbing Contreras. Expect him to toss an inning or two before Nate Bump comes in to take over. (That’s if we get that far with the weather)

Fun times and good people! Let’s get to the park and have some fun!

First the Transactions & Announcements…

Pitcher Joe Blanton is heading to the Disabled list and the Phillies recalled Vance Worley again. Word is Bump will start tomorrow for the Pigs and Bonine is back to the rotation again.

Also, the Phillies have signed Scott Posednik to a minor league deal. Another outfielder is just what we need. Thinking it could be a replacement if they want to send Brown back to us. Of note, the deal is pending a physical.

To add more to the mix, the Phillies have sent Pete Orr our way to activate Chase Utley. Another infielder.

How nice is it to have TOO MANY good players? 🙂

***

Also got to see our favorite Dance Team out at the Applebees today! Got the car washed by the Precious Metals Dance Team to benefit The Race for Adam! It was a little cooler than it could have been and word is they are planning another one soon! Thanks to all who came out today!

At the Carwash with the Precious Metals Dance Team and Jimmy T! (Photo by JJ Horvath)

***

Just saw this on the Hog Blog by Jeff Schuler – Contreras will be having a rehab stint with the Pigs tomorrow. If you think you see him, you probably are seeing him.

***

Today the Ironpig’s continued their winning ways and defeated the G-Braves 8 to 6. This team is really impressing me. Not used to all this winning! They are currently 5 games ahead of both Pawtucket and SWB in the North Division and the 27-16 record is second only to the Columbus Clippers.

Good times!

Whew! What a weekend so far. Lots to cover tonight so I’m going to start in the beginning…

Friday night we made our annual trip to Moosic, PA to see the Ironpigs take on the SWB Yankees. It was supposed to rain hard and rain all night.. guess what? It didn’t. After an hours delay the game got started and it sprinkled on us occasionally but nothing to be bothered by. We got there to see smiling faces and friendly folks who genuinely were happy to see us there. About 25 in our group and we had to be the loudest cheering fans in the park. They have opened up the right field pavilion to the general fan base and with food specials and $1 drafts everyone seemed to gravitate there. Three of our Noise Nation members were selected to participate in on field events and all had a great time. The game started out well for the Ironpigs. Brian Bocock homered to get the Pigs up early and they quickly ran up a 4-0 lead until the 7th inning when they gave up a long triple that cleared the bases giving Scranton a 5 run inning and the lead. Coming into the 9th Tagg Bozied double and Erik Kratz sent a long ball into the rocks over right field that put the Pigs back in the lead. Michael Schwimer pitched a great 8th and 9th inning and took home the win. I can’t say enough how great the fans and staff at PNC Field are. We joked and smiled and even met a group visiting from Sweden! We even had offers to join the SWB Yankees booster club who regularly helps out the staff at Yankee home games. We have not yet declined, but I think it would be too long of a commute for each game.. (I’m kidding.. I’m kidding)

So from the Scranton trip we moved on to the LV Steelhawks game tonight! They faced the Fairbanks Grizzlies. Yes, the Fairbanks from Alaska. Last week the Grizzlies took down our neighbors the Reading Express and things were not looking good early for our 2 win Steelhawks. That changed just before halftime when the Hawks scored two quick touchdowns for a 21-28 halftime deficit. The momentum quickly shifted towards the Steelhawks and the defense held the Grizzlies scoreless in the second half when, after the Hawks went up 31-28, the Grizzlies started a last ditch drive to the end zone culminating in a pass to the end zone with 8 seconds left. From my viewpoint I didn’t see the play but I did see the Steelhawk with the ball tearing back across the field to score a pick 6 interception touchdown as time expired! Stabler arena was on its feet and going crazy! Big win for our beloved Steelhawks and well deserved. With 2 home overtime losses this season the team made sure us fans weren’t let down. One home game left and that is next saturday night! Make sure to come out and check out this rising team.

While at the Steelhawks game, we met up with our new friends from Dan Bell casting out of Los Angeles. Kirk, Nick and Nadine came out to find dedicated Phillies and Eagles fans for their upcoming documentary. Hoping we get selected as it includes some good seats to an upcoming Phillies game!

Tonight’s post would not be complete without the tremendous performance of the Ironpigs of late. While I was not in attendance (Game #5 I missed in 4 seasons) the Pigs gave former Ironpig Rodrigo Lopez his first loss of the season as the streaking Pigs (not Jason Grilli running in the outfield without clothes) pushed their lead in the International League North division to 4 games. Tomorrow’s game is a 1:35 start.

Need something to do before the game? The Steelhawks Dance Team Precious Metals will be holding a charity carwash to benefit the Race for Adam cause. In fact, Adam himself was in attendance at tonight’s Steelhawks game and made a great catch of an errant ball thrown into the stands! The beautiful and talented dancers will be washing cars for a donation at Applebees on Cedar Crest Blvd (At Crest Plaza right off of Rt 22) from 12:00pm to 4:00pm tomorrow. Get a clean car and help a good cause on the way to tomorrow’s Pigs game!

Adding some photos from this weeked for your enjoyment..

Joey goes down hard in the sumo suit! (Heather Mastropieri)

We provided hours of entertainment for the bullpen in Scranton (Heather Mastropieri)

Cool aspect of the Triple that cleared the bases. (Cheryl Pursell)

Nadine, Nick & Kirk are looking for Phillies & Eagles fans!

First off, the Phillies have reportedly optioned Scott Mathieson back to the Ironpigs, called up Herndon to the Phillies and also took Domonic Brown up. Joe Blanton is not reported to have been placed on the Disabled list yet. Welcome home Scott! We’ll miss you Dom.

Also, INF Niuman Romero acquired via trade from Toronto and assigned to LHV.

In other news, pro wrestler Randy “Macho Man” Savage (Randy Poffo) passed away today. Sad news for many a fan who watched in admiration during the 80’s & 90’s. I remember Saturday morning’s where I would be glued to the TV and will never forget the epic match between Savage and Ricky Steamboat in Wrestlemania 3. (I knew it was fake back then too)

A lesser known fact about Randy Poffo is that he played minor league baseball. Yes, that Pomp & Circumstance Slim Jim eating Flair Machine actually was a ballplayer.

From 1971 to 1974 Poffo played for the Cardinal’s and Red’s organization mostly in the Rookie/Class A teams. Playing in 131 overall games, Poffo hit a combined .232 with 9 home runs and 66 RBI. His highlight year was in 1973 with the Gulf Coast League Redbirds, hitting .344 before his promotion to Single A ball.

Mainly an outfielder, Poffo caught one game and played 1st base for an additional 5.

He will be missed.

Word coming out of Philadelphia is that Joe Blanton and Shane Victorino will be heading to the Disabled List.

So Vance Worley goes back up.. what about a quality centerfielder whose been doing well lately? I am really hoping Rich Thompson gets the call.

Thompson has not been with a big league team since 2004 when he was in 6 games for KC with one at bat.

Looking at who the Ironpigs have to offer, (noting that Brown is said to not be in the running) you have Brandon Moss, Delwyn Young and Cory Sullivan.

I’m rooting for Rich.. who are you hoping to see get the call?

First, if you’re in the mood to get out… the LV Steelhawks and their Precious Metals Dance Team are heading out to Starter’s Riverport (17W. 2nd St., Bethlehem, PA) to raise funds for the Race for Adam Foundation. (www.raceforadam.org).

The Steelhawk family will be bartending and mingling with fans and friends (Is there really a difference over there? The Fans ARE Friends!) and all cash tips will be donated to the Race For Adam Foundation! Good stuff!

If you’re like me tonight, and feel like staying in and listening to the Ironpig’s game in Moosic tonight.. stop by and visit our Live Chat during the game!

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/ironpigs/index.ssf/2011/05/first_place_ironpigs_look_to_c.html

Hopefully this link works.. thanks to Lehigh Valley Live.com for setting this up!

Game and chat begin at 6:35PM tonight!

We can’t yell a Honeymooner’s inspired “NAUGHTON” anymore as the Phillies promoted John Suomi to the Ironpigs and sent Joel Naughton back to Clearwater.

I guess we’ll have to live with “SWO-ME the Money!”

I was just parusing the stats for the Ironpigs. We recently passed the 1st quarter of the season mark and I was curious to see where they stood amongst the rest of the International League, stat-wise.

Hitting:
Batting average – 10th with a team .246 average
Doubles – 12th with 59
Triples – 12th with 5
HR – 6th with 37
RBI – 5th with 171

In fact the Ironpig’s have only one player breaking the top 5 in any positive stat for batters. That would be Rich Thompson, who leads the league with 16 Stolen Bases. The next closest would be Jeff Larish’s 8 HR for 7th in the standings.

Pitching:
ERA – 5th with a 3.66
Strike outs – 4th with 316

The other stats are pretty much the same, innings pitched, wins/losses, etc. Everyone plays the same number of innings and games, not relevant.

Looking at individual stats, keeping in mind minimum participation:
Mike Zagurski riding a solid 6th with 6 saves.
Michael Schwimer leading the league with a whopping 5 holds.

Holds and saves are situational, so it’s not really a great measure of performance and in regards to Schwimer and Zagurski it doesn’t reflect how well they have been pitching.

So barely 2 league leaders and the team stats riding towards the middle-bottom of the league for both hitting and pitching yet still holding the league’s 2nd best record…

How do we explain this?

Teamwork, good leadership, aggressive play and a whole lot of luck… but mostly teamwork.

Really appreciating the effort this team puts out each and every day! Thank you!

Received this info today.. are you up to it? The interview team may even show at the LV Steelhawks game this Saturday! See a game and tell your fan story!

We are casting a documentary on Diehard Phillies and/or Eagles fans… those who live for their teams and can’t get enough clothing and gear to show it; they would go to every game if they could; they schedule life plans around the teams’ games; they aren’t satisfied to watch highlights or read a box score, they need to be watching every pitch and down; they get worked up for every single game, living and dying with each outcome; their team is a religion and a way of life. If this sounds like you or someone you know…we want to hear from you ASAP. Email Sarah at phillydocu@gmail.com. Interviews are THIS WEEKEND in South Philly, location TBD. Looking for groups of people that always watch games together, who have a great rapport and dynamic…friends, families etc. The more the merrier! If your story is chosen, your crew will get kickass tickets to a game June 14,15,or 16!

In an early game, the Ironpigs won an extra inning game today beating the SWB Yankees 5 to 4 in Moosic.

The game went 11 innings and Domonic Brown needed all 11 of them to continue his now 18 game hitting streak. Brown’s single in the 11th scored Erik Kratz and Mike Zagurski came on to earn his 6th save of the season.

Again, these Ironpigs played as a team with no distinct standout player. Larish homered and Moss Hogg collected his first triple of the season.

Of note – the Ironpig’s left 22 runners on base.

With this win the Pigs increase their lead in the IL North to 2 games and guarantee a series split. Game 3 of the 4 game set is scheduled for tomorrow night.

How about this team!