An ugly 1-5 week for Lehigh Valley, a team that continues to be decimated because of call ups to the Big Club (that being said, they were not very good even before the decimation). The ‘Pigs are now 45-66, in 5th place of the Northern Division of the International League, 20 games behind division leading Scranton.
‘Pigs leaders (include only members on active roster) Hitting: Andy Tracy is 2nd in walks (58), 5th in OBP (.389), and 8th in SLG (.486); Pitching: Nate Bump is 6th in ERA (3.33); Brian Mazone leads the league with 22 starts, is 8th in WHIP (1.17), 8th in HR allowed (16) and is 3rd in IP (130.2); Scott Mathieson is 2nd in saves (20) .
Monday–The losing streak continues with a 7-3 drubbing by Buffalo on Monday evening bringing the streak to eight games. It was an unusually bad outing for starter Brandon Duckworth (5-4) who lasted just 4.1 innings, giving up 5 runs on 4 hits. He also walked 4 batters. Two separate two run doubles by Nick Evans gave Buffalo a 5-2 after five innings, a lead impossible to recover from for the Lehigh Valley, a team hitting just .188 during their losing streak. The lone bright spot offensively was Paul Hoover, who was 2-4 with 2 runs scored.
Tuesday–Lehigh Valley finally got a win on Tuesday night, breaking their 8 game losing streak with their 6-1 victory over Buffalo, ending their road trip. An RBI single by Melvin Dorta got the ‘Pigs on the board in the 3rd inning, however Buffalo bounced right back with a run of their own off of starter Brian Mazone (6-11). Mazone pitched well, giving up just that run in his 7 innings of work. He allowed 7 hits, while walking one and striking out 4. Lehigh Valley took the lead for good in the 5th on a Chris Aguila RBI single. Lehigh Valley added two more in the 6th, the key hit being another RBi single by Melvin Dorta making it 4-1. A two run double by Neil Sellers in the 8th gave the ‘Pigs their final margin of victory. Scott Mathieson was strong, pitching two scoreless innings in relief, striking out 3. Melvin Dorta had a huge night offensively with 4 hits. Both Ozzie CHavez and Brian Bocock also chipped in with two hits apiece.
Wednesday–OFF
‘Pigs Prospects
Antonio Bastardo still has not allowed an earned run during his time with Lehigh Valley, which is now at 14 games. 12.1 IP, 4H 19K. Dominant at AAA.
Michael Schwimer has thrown just once since the last report, taking a loss in Buffalo. For the ‘Pigs, 10 games, 2-2 with a 1.46 ERA. 12.1 IP 8H 5BB 10K, opp. avg. is .182.
Mike Stutes has now completed his first month at AAA, throwing in 16 games at going 2-0 with a 3.80 ERA. In his 21.1 innings, he has allowed 21 hits, walked 13 and struck out 23. Opponents are hitting .259 against him. He has stranded all five inherited runners on base when he has come into games. Control remains his biggest obstacle.
Drew Carpenter had a rough outing his last time out going six innings and giving up 5 runs, all earned. Over his last 10 starts, Carpenter has one 2-3 with a 3.86 ERA and a WHIP of 1.37.
Vance Worley–Went 12 scoreless innings in his first two starts for Lehigh Valley, before a Fernando Martinez homer ended the scoreless streak. He has looked outstanding in his first two AAA starts, after making the All Star team this season in AA.
Matt Rizzotti was called up today from AA Reading, started at first base and hit cleanup for Lehigh Valley.
Scott Mathieson has not allowed a run in 12 of his last 14 appearances, with 8 saves over that time frame. He has now pitched 2 innings on 11 occasions with an ERA of 0.41 in those outings (1 er in 22 innings). Currently, Mathieson is 2nd in the league in saves with 20.
Notes: At 20 games behind Scranton, Lehigh Valley is at their largest deficit since ending the ’08 season 33 games back.
–Outfielder Rich Thompson has hit in his last 8 games including 5 with Reading.
–Since returning from the disabled list last week, Melvin Dorta has hit in 6 of 7 games (.423)
–Lehigh Valley has lost 10 games in walk off fashion, with just one win.
Transactions: WIth the call up of John Mayberry to the Phillies, Lehigh Valley was once again shorthanded in the OF. This made necessary a call to Rich Thompson, who was called up from AA Reading. Thompson, as expected was performing very well for the RPhils, hitting around .300, playing good defense and stealing bases.
Probables: Friday: Bump, Saturday: Worley, Sunday: Duckworth
Phuture Phillies 
At least there are still a couple pitching prospects at AAA. Good, cheap relievers needed for the Phils in the coming months/years. Hoping Mathieson can be a closer in waiting, Bastardo can stay healthy and trust his stuff, and Schwimer can be a reliable set-up guy. Stutes and Herndon look to be fringe relievers.
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Rizzotti grounder up the middle on 3rd AB…First AAA hit!
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no reason worely, matheison and bastardo shouldnt all be in the big league pen right now
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Bill Conlin wrote in an on-line chat on philly.com (in David Murphy’s High Cheese blog) that Singleton and Worley are the Phillies top 2 prospects still in the minor leagues and I agree. I believe that Worley’s progress this year allowed the Phillies to trade Happ for Oswalt. Unlike Bastardo and Matheison (who may not even be eligible for consideration on prospect lists any more), Worley is a starter and has no significant injury history. Unlike the Phillies Lakewood prospects, Worley has made it through Clearwater and Reading and has had success in his so far very limited opportunities in AAA and MLB. Worley needs to remain a starter getting regular turns and AAA experience so he could be called on if one of the Philadelphia Phillies starting pitchers goes down.
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Diverting the discussion for just a second, but what’s going on in LHV is really pretty bad. I realize that winning comes secondary in the minors, and I’m fine with that, but since their inception 3 years ago, LHV has been downright dreadful.
It’s amazing they continue to draw 10K a night, and I think that’s more of a testament to their new ballpark and the general Phillies success lately. Gregg would have a better finger on the pulse than anyone else here, but I wonder how much longer the success (in terms of attendance) continues? 2 years, 3 years? After a while, you would think with this product on the field, it would have to tail off sometime.
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The Lehigh Valley front office does an outstanding job of promoting a cheap night out at the ballpark. Tons of promotions, and it is legitimately a good time, with alot going on around the park to divert the attention from the horrible play on the field. As a huge baseball fan, there are times where it is legitimately difficult to watch as the fundamentals are not there or have been forgotten. The Lehigh Valley IronPigs have zero control of the product that is placed on the field. The Phillies have total control of that, which makes the efforts of the Lehigh Valley front office that much more laudable in getting people in the park. If there are 10,000 people at the park, I would say that less than 10% actually care who wins or loses, its just a night out. For the remaining fans, I am sure it is frustrating to see the consistently bad level of play over the past three years.
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As somebody who lives in a minor league town in New York where the team itself has had two winning seasons in the past ten, minor league ball is all about the atmosphere. In spite of the lousy team, they set new records every year for attendance. It’s just fun to go to the game, and most people realize it doesn’t matter who wins the games in the minors.
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Gregg – Point well taken. I’ve heard great things about the LHV staff.
Huppert has been the manager since inception, correct? I wonder if it’s time for a change in the offseason. Granted, the stable of AAAA guys he’s been given haven’t been the greatest, but as you mention, the fundamentals aren’t being followed.
I realize that AAA isn’t really a development league as much as it is a holding tank for the pro squad, but is it too much to ask for .500 baseball?
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All those walkoff losses suggest bullpen problems. Sound familiar? Hard for the Phillies to fix a problem at LHV that their major league team also suffers from.
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Well guys if you look at the talent the phils have in A ball the iron pigs may be pretty good in a few years.
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its the hitting that really sucks in LHV. the pitching is near top in the league they loose every game buy one run if the starter give up 2 runs they loose. mazone is in the top 5 in era and has the most loses in the league.
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The bullpen is the bets part of the ironpigs, and the phillies bullpen is there worst part.
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Winning is important when you are developing talent. But the phillies have no positon talent at lhv, except for maybe rizzotti now, so they should have people who are good enough to win, remember these guys are the replacement for injury players at the big league level. I dont understand how you go watch a bad team play year after year,
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Matt-
I think the number of one run losses says it all as far as the manager goes. A team is not 11-30 in one run games without some blame on the shoulders of the manager, no matter if the talent level is low or not. You simply have to pull out half those games.
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Gregg – Do you think they’ll make a change in the offseason, or do you think the Phillies really don’t care either way about AAA (it sure seems that way by their actions).
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If the current player development philosophy prevails, I doubt the IPigs will ever be much good. As I said before, AAA is a finishing school for good prospects and, it mostly serves as a big league taxi squad with mediocre players who can be plugged in in the event of an injury at the major league level. The Phillies do not park most of their good prospects at AAA and the only reason the IPig bullpen is so good is due to a lack of openings at the big league level. Sorry LvH fans, but I think what you are getting is what you are going to keep getting for the forseeable future.
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Matt–
I think they have to consider revamping the coaching staff. We have been over time and again on the site that the minor leagues are for developing players, and not for winning, but winning is certainly an attitude. It forces the team to play as a team and not as individuals. 400 straight games below .500 with the current coaching staff should say it all.
I also think there is something to be said for what Dave Huppert, the ‘Pigs manager has complained of, which is too many six year free agents and not enough players coming through the system. When a player comes through the system, I would hope he develops some pride in the system and for the organization that has spent $$ on him. The six year free agents are playing for themselves. You cant blame them because those are the cards they are dealt. However, a guy coming up through the organization may want to move a runner over just a little more (and take an out), knowing he has a job next year to come back to.
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As for Dave Huppert – to me, he’s a bit of whiner. He seems not to understand the purpose of his specific team within the context of the organization. He should stop complaining, seek another job within the organization or move on – he’s fighting the paradigm. He doesn’t get it.
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Another option would be for Huppert to actually manage and not play guys who appear to be selfish and lay down the law during spring training. Isn’t that the sort of thing that effective managers do? It should be especially effective here because a AAAA player who is languishing on a team who isn’t playing him is really in a bad situation. The player can extricate himself from the bad situation by playing less selfishly. Sounds like a plan, no?
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