Sorry for the delay on this, just got the message from the Ironpig’s media dept.

THIRD TIME IS NOT A CHARM; PHILS’ TRIPLE-A SPRING LOSES FIRST GAME, 9-2

After starting with back-to-back wins this spring training, the Phillies’ Triple-A squad(2-1) dropped their first game Thursday — falling 9-2 to the Triple-A Tigers at Carpenter Complex in Clearwater.

Following two terrific offensive performances, the squad was outhit, 12-6, while also committing all three of the game’s errors in the field.

RHP Ryan Feierabend was the starter and losing pitcher, allowing three earned runs on five hits in three innings. The next two pitchers — RHP Brian Bass (3 ip, 3 h, 1 r, 0 er, 3 bb, 3 k) and RHP Jason Grilli (1 ip, 0 h, 0 r, 0 bb, 1 k) — had the most effective lines of any of the five hurlers who appeared Thursday.

The offense was highlighted by OF Chris Frey, who went 2-4 with an RBI out of the leadoff spot. SS Troy Hanzawa (2-3) also collected two hits and the lineup’s other RBI. Former IronPig C John Suomi doubled in his only AB for the squad’s lone extra base hit.

Team next plays a rematch against the Triple-A Tigers at 1 PM on Friday at Tigertown Complex in Lakeland, Fla.

TRIPLE-A TIGERS 9, TRIPLE-A PHILLIES 2 (Unofficial Box):

PLAYERS AB R H RBI
1. FREY, CHRISTOPHER-LF 4 0 2 1
2. GARCIA, HAROLD-2B 4 0 0 0
3. RIZZOTTI, MATTHEW-DH 3 0 1 0
VALLE, SEBASTIAN-DH 1 0 0 0
4. BOZIED, TAGG-1B 3 0 0 0
KENNELLY, TIMOTHY-DH 1 0 0 0
5. RIVERO, CARLOS-3B 4 0 0 0
6. HUDSON, KYRELL-CF 2 0 0 0
7. MILLER, MATTHEW-RF 3 0 0 0
8. NAUGHTON, JOEL-C 2 0 0 0
SUOMI, JOHN-C 1 1 1 0
9. HANZAWA, TROY-SS 3 1 2 1

E – Hanzawa 2 (2). 2B – Suomi (1).

PITCHERS IP H R ER BB KO
FEIERABEND, RYAN L, 0-1 3 5 3 3 2 1
BASS, BRIAN 3 3 1 0 3 3
GRILLI, JASON 1 0 0 0 0 1
LOOP, DERRICK 1 2 1 1 0 1
ANDERSON, MATT 1 2 4 4 2 0

Some transactions for the Phillies organization today:

Catcher Ryan Gugel and first baseman Robb Quinlan were released.

Pitcher Drew Naylor was optioned to the AAA squad.

Pitchers Justin DeFratus and J.C. Ramirez were optioned to AA.

Shortstop Carlos Rivero optioned to AA.

Second baseman Harold Garcia optioned to AA.

Second baseman Cesar Hernandez optioned to High Class A.

First baseman Matt Rizzotti optioned to AA.

Yes, Rizzotti to the AA squad. It was nice meeting him at the Ironpig’s winter banquet and I’m looking forward to seeing him fill the gaping hole left at first base when Andy Tracy left, but it looks like the Phillies player development folks may have other ideas. Possibly just feeling him out, possibly the AAA squad is overflowing with first basement right now. We’ll know for sure in early April so I wouldn’t worry too much Amanda. (Rizzotti’s superfan)

OinK!

From @Pigsradio’s own Matt Provence:

The Phils’ Triple-A squad improved to 2-0 w/ a 7-5 win over the Triple-A Pirates today. Roy Halladay started, but the bats were again story.
1B Matt Rizzotti (2-4, R) & LF Tim Kennelly (2-3, HR, R) paced a 10-hit attack w/ 2 hits & 2 RBI apiece. DH Sebastian Valle (1-2) and SS Troy Hanzawa (1-4, 2B) had an RBI each… Halladay’s line (5 ip, 7 h, 4 r, 3 er, bb, 3 k) wasn’t as pretty as RHP Eddie Bonine’s (3 ip, 4 h, r, er, bb, 3 k). Drew Carpenter — working in relief this season — tossed a 10-pitch, perfect 9th inning for the SV.

Adding the box score at 6:46pm EDST
TRIPLE-A PHILLIES, 7-5 (Unofficial Box):

PLAYER AB R H RBI

1. Garcia, Harold-SB 5 1 1 0

2. Gosewisch, Tuffy-C 3 0 0 0

Naughton, Joel-C 2 0 1 0

3. Rivero, Carlos-3B 4 1 1 0

4. Rizzotti, Matt-1B 4 1 2 2

Murphy, James-1B 1 1 1 0

5. Valle, Sebastian-DH 2 0 1 1

Bozied, Tagg-DH 3 1 0 0

6. Kennelly, Tim-LF 3 1 2 2

7. Sullivan, Cory-RF 2 0 0 0

Miller, Matt-RF 2 1 0 0

8. Hanzawa, Troy-SS 4 0 1 1

9. Frey, Chris-CF 2 0 0 0

Thompson, Rich-CF 2 0 0 0

E – Gosewisch (1). 2B – Hanzawa (1). HR – Kennelly (1).

PITCHER IP H R ER BB K

Halladay, Roy 5.0 7 4 3 1 3

Bonine, Eddie 3.0 4 1 1 1 3

Carpenter, Drew (SV, 1) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0

The Ironpig’s just announced that photo’s were available on their website of most of the promotions and giveaways for the 2011 season. You can view them here.

I also noticed something new scheduled for Saturday July 30th.

The “Wild Thang” Tim Lepard and his traveling rodeo Team Ghost Riders will be making an appearance at The Coke!

Yeah, I thought the same thing you are now… Who?

I looked them up and get this… it’s a group of monkeys riding dogs, rodeo style. Monkeys riding dogs!

From Tim Lepard’s website:

My accomplishments include the (IFR) International Finals Rodeo, 3 Time Winner for “Comedy Act of the Year”, 3 Time Winner for “Dress Act of the Year”, and 1 Time Winner for “Barrel man of the Year”. I am the only showman that has performed in all 3 coliseums in Oklahoma City at the IFR and the only person to win all 3 awards in the same year. In the IFR Showcase, I won “Comedy & Dress Act” a total of 6 times. I have participated in the Columbus Ohio Pet Expo and have been featured on America’s Funniest Home Videos, FHM Magazine, Sports Illustrated and had a scheduled appearance on the Jay Leno Show and Steve Harvey’s “Big Show”. I also served on the Board of Directors of the Mississippi Stock Dog Association.

Lepard has been in the rodeo world for over 28 years, is a champion bull fighter and was influence by the late great Lane Frost.

I think this is going to be the best this year.. what do you think?

.. is the answer I received when inquiring if Opening Day at the Coke (Coca Cola Park for the newer readers) was sold out.

I also haven’t seen any mention of ticket sales in local media as I remember in the past. With just three weeks to go until the gates at The Coke open for the exhibition game with the Reading Phillies, it seems that the initial onrush of ticket seekers has not yet depleted the 10,000 ticket maximum for attendance.

The Ironpig’s have been pulling in some serious attendance figures since 2008. Last year the organization led the entire minor leagues in average per game attendance. In 2009 we came in second. What will attendance look like in 2011?

Several factors could lead to the not-yet-sellout of the first game of our beloved Ironpigs. First, the team’s newness has clearly worn off. This is season number 4 and I rarely speak to anyone in the Valley who has not been to at least one game. Next you have the pre-All Star break schedule stocked full of home games in the less than weather friendly months of April, May and early June. From someone like myself who sits in the wind facing the sun, I can say it gets cold out there. Really cold. Of course the team could have something to do with it too. Spending only 1 game with a winning percentage at .500 and never over .500 it could be the lack of competativeness by the team affecting the sales.

So we ask ourselves:

Is it worth sitting in the cold to see the team lose anyway?

Should I spend the cash to go out and freeze?

It’s the first game, there are 71 more games this season that could be warmer.. why bother?

Well, I think it’s worth it. You see football fans out there every winter freezing away in snow, rain and sleet. Why not baseball too? It’s not about the team, it’s not about the free plastic stuff handed out.. it’s about the people. The friends that you have gotten to know over the last 4 years. It’s about the atmosphere of baseball here in our back yards. It’s about that first undercooked hotdog and a flat warm beer. It’s about America’s pasttime.

Get out there and get your tickets… tomorrow I may post that Opening Day has sold out and then you will be.. well not out in the cold, but you will probably be at home wishing you had tickets.

OinK!

From Eric Pettis’ blog, “just a MINOR perspective”

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Routine
A lot about being an athlete revolves around the word routine. Outside of the actual performance on the field, most of an athlete’s life deals with a routine. Whether it’s sticking to a routine, or practicing to make difficult things seem routine, or tweaking a routine to improve it, the word routine keeps popping up. The better an athlete can stay within the confines of a routine the better they can deal with unexpected things that might be thrown at them. Look at it this way, if you are trying to remember a phone number and then someone tells you four more numbers to remember then that task becomes more difficult. But, if that original phone number is already memorized (in other words, part of a routine), remembering those extra four numbers will now be pretty easy. Well, it’s the same thing in sports. The harder you work to make things second nature, the better you will be able to cope when those “extra” things that will inevitably happen in every game.

The idea for this post came to me because of two things at practice today. As I woke up this morning I looked outside and saw that it was pouring rain. Now, as a native southern Californian, the mere sight of rain usually disrupts my normal routine. Most SoCal people shut down their lives on the few days a year that we see a sprinkle. But today it didn’t affect me. I got to the field, though soaking wet, and went through my normal routine. I lifted a few weights, did a few arm exercises, ate some breakfast, and was ready to go. And as I stood under one of the covered areas of the facility doing my arm bands it really hit me, “hey this is pretty cool”. Personally, I am huge into routines and like get myself into good habits. So, as I watched the rain hit the asphalt I thought to myself that my day was surprisingly unaffected by it. At that moment I was just really appreciative that the Phillies provide us with the facilities necessary to get into a good routine and stick to it. It might seem trivial, but to an athlete who is trying to get better every day it’s huge.

The second instance at practice where the idea of routine hit me might be a little bit of a stretch, but try to stay with me. Like I said it had rained earlier in the day, and after practice we had to condition. Today was a semi-light day of 8 poles followed by pick-ups. So, as I was running my poles on the warning track I noticed that the inside path on the track was muddy while the outside path was much dryer. Now, having the weird psychological/philosophical brain that I do, this got me thinking about routine. I likened the condition of the warning track to people’s path in life. While the shorter path on the track might look as if it will get you to where you want to go with less work, you’ll get “muddy” in the process. If you take the longer path, it might be a bit more difficult but you will come out the other side “cleaner”. Trading less running for getting “muddy” is like trading doing less work for better chance of failure. While, trading more running for being “clean” is like doing more work for better chance at success. In other words, in life and especially in sports, there are no shortcuts. You have to put in the work to get the results. The harder you work within the confines of your routine, the “cleaner” and better prepared you will be for what life and sports has to throw at you.

Whether you buy in to my babble or not doesn’t really matter. Because I buy into it. And that’s what a routine is all about. It is something that YOU know YOU can do every day and believe will make YOU better for the ware. And as an athlete, routine really is the name of the game.

Phillies prospect Eric Pettis is detailing his minor league experience on his blog, “just a MINOR perspective.” Special to the Horn & Bell, we will be following Eric in his first season in the Phillies organization.

As reported by the Ironpig’s media office:

The Phillies’ Triple-A spring training squad (1-0) won its opener over the Triple-A Blue Jays, 6-5, at Carpenter Complex on Monday.

The bats provided the headlines, as the team belted out a 13-hit, six-run performance.

1B Tagg Bozied paced the attack, going 2-4 with a HR and 2 RBI. CF Rich Thompson (1-3) also contributed 2 RBI and a team-high 2 stolen bases. Former Colorado farmhand OFs Matt Miller (2-5) and Chris Frey (2-2, 2B) also collected multi-hit games.

RHP Drew Naylor (3 ip, 4 h, 2 r, 2 er, 2 bb, 3 k) got the start, but it was former IronPigs RHP Nate Bump and RHP Michael Schwimer that provided the pitching highlights. Bump — who entered in the fourth inning — went two scoreless frames, allowing just one hit and one walk. Schwimer dazzled with two perfect innings, fanning four of the six batters he faced to earn the save.

Bozied, 31, is likely to make the IronPigs Opening Day roster after being added to the Phillies’ 40-Man Roster this winter. The Sioux Falls, SD, spent last season at Double-A Reading – where he led Eastern League in AVG (.315) while setting a career best in HR (27) and tying a career high in RBI (92). Among his 2010 accolades, Bozied was selected as a midseason EL All-Star and a participant in HR Derby as well as being named Double-A Hitter of Year by MiLB.com. Signed by Philadelphia as a minor league free agent 1/16/10, Bozied was once a top prospect for the San Diego Padres – who drafted him in the 3rd round of 2001 and promoted him up to Triple-A in just his second affiliated pro season in 2003. But a freak injury derailed his progress in 2004. Bozied was hitting .315-16-58 in 56 G before a season-ending knee injury on 7/19 — which occurred in a team celebration when crossing home plate after hitting a walk-off grand slam. The career .283 hitter is still looking for his first taste of the Major Leagues with what would be his sixth Triple-A franchise, should he stick with Lehigh Valley.

With a camp day tomorrow, the Triple-A Phils will next play Wednesday at the Triple-A Pirates at the Pirate City Complex in Bradenton, Fla. First-pitch is scheduled for 1 PM.

TRIPLE-A PHILLIES, 6-5 (Unofficial Box):

PLAYER AB R H RBI

1 Thompson, Rich-CF 3 1 1 2

Frey, Chris-CF 2 0 2 0

2 Garcia, Harold-2B 4 1 1 1

3 Rizzotti, Matt-DH 3 0 1 0

Slayden, Jeremy-DH 2 0 0 0

4 Bozied, Tagg-1B 4 2 2 2

5 Miller, Matt-RF 5 0 2 0

6 Spidale, Mike-LF 2 0 1 1

Sullivan, Cory-LF 1 0 1 0

7 Rivero, Carlos-3B 3 0 0 0

Kennelly, Tim-3B 1 0 0 0

8 Valle, Sebastian-C 2 1 1 0

Suomi, John-C 2 0 0 0

9 Hanzawa, Troy-SS 4 1 1 0

E – Garcia (1), Bozied (1). 2B – Valle (1), Frey (1). Sullivan (1). 3B – Garcia (1). HR – Bozied (1). SB – Thompson 2 (2), Garcia (1), Rizzotti (1), Spidale (1), Hanzawa (1). HBP – Spidale (1).

PITCHER IP H R ER BB K

Naylor, Drew 3.0 4 2 2 2 3

Bump, Nate 2.0 1 0 0 1 0

Cisco, Michael 2.0 2 3 0 1 1

Schwimer, Michael (SV, 1) 2.0 0 0 0 0 4

For the Latest Scores and Highlights from Phillies’ Triple-A Spring Training, follow @ PigsRadio on Twitter.

The Ironpigs are playing their first minor league game against the Blue Jay’s organization.

Only 24 Days until Opening Day at The Coke.

Only 22 Days until the exhibition game with the R-Phils

While we’re waiting for those days.. we have some stuff to keep us occupied.

Only 5 days until the Home Opener for the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks Indoor Football League at Stabler Arena! Tickets as low as $10! Come out on and help cheer on the team!

The football game on Saturday starts at 7:00pm, but another great activity starts at 7:00am in Coplay! The 2nd annual 8K run / 5K walk to benefit the Pediatric Cancer Foundation of the Lehigh Valley will be held.

Schedule of Events
7:00 – 8:30 am Registration/Packet Pick-Up
8:30 – 8:40 am Welcome
8:40 – 8:50 am Group Warm-Up
9:00 8K Begins
9:15 1/2 Mile Fun Run Begins
9:40 5K Walk Begins
11:00 Awards Ceremony/Raffles raffles drawn during race
11:30 Post-Race Refreshments
More info at http://www.PCFLV.org

Hope to see you this weekend!

OinK!