All posts by gregg

Lehigh Valley Weekly Report

7. Lehigh Valley

Another 3-4 week for Lehigh Valley, who are now 16, -24, 8.5 games behind division leading Scranton in the Northern Division of the International League.

League Leaders, thru 5/19; Hitting: DeWayne Wise is leading the league in triples (5); Cody Ransom is tied for 3rd in homers, is 3rd in the league in strikeouts (49)and is 10th in RBIS (26);  John Mayberry is tied for 9th in homers (6); Rich Thompson is 3rd in the league in average (.337).  Pitching: Nate Bump is tied for 5th in Wins (4), tied for 4th in the league in starts (8), 3rd in IP (51), 5th in WHIP (1.12) and 4th in ERA (2.29); Scott Mathieson is 6th in the league in saves (6).  Ryan Vogelsong is 8th in the league in strikeouts(43). Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

‘Pigs Weekend Update

Other Stuff

A look at the ‘Pigs weekend with a few notes below.

Friday–Another night with little offense as Lehigh Valley opened a series against Gwinnett and were shut out 3-0.  Three early runs by Gwinnett off of starter Joe Savery, and the fact that the ‘Pigs couldnt move a runner past second base all night led to the loss. After giving up 3 runs in the first inning, Savery (0-3) settled down, but his line was a fairly typical line, 6IP 4H 3ER 5BB 3K. John Mayberry was 2-4 for Lehigh Valley who left 13 runners on base and have now fallen to 8 games below .500. Continue reading ‘Pigs Weekend Update →

Bastardo Back to Philly, Lidge to the DL

Other Stuff

Brad Lidge was placed on the DL once again with right elbow inflammation, retroactive to May 9, after making just 4 appearances for the Phils.  Called up from Lehigh Valley to take his roster spot is LHP Antonio Bastardo, who has allowed just 1 hit, and no earned runs in his 5 appearances in Lehigh Valley since being sent down a couple of weeks ago.  Bastardo has struck out 8 in 3.2 innings or work for Lehigh Valley.

Update: The corresponding Lehigh Valley roster move has RHP Alex Concepcion been activated from the DL (turf toe).

One more notable transaction today, Reading reliever Chance Chapman was placed on the DL with a Right Oblique Strain.  P Tyson Brummett, who has been exclusively in releif this year, and quite well for CLearwater was called up to Reading.

Josh Zeid Q and A

Other Stuff

You asked and Josh Zeid answered. A huge thank you goes out to Lakewood BlueCLaws Media Relations Director Greg Giombarrese for arranging this and asking your questions, and obviously to Josh Zeid who took time away from his day to answer your questions. Check out http://www.blog.blueclaws.com/   for all your Lakewood BlueClaws info including audio of the transcript below.

How has the bullpen been so far, and how do you prepare mentally as compared to your role as a starter? I enjoy it a little bit more because I like to come to the field knowing I’m going to play almost every day.That plays a big part in the happiness of my pro career so far.  To prepare mentally, you have to work hard every day because it might be the day you pitch, or the next day or the next day. You have to stay prepared every day. Continue reading Josh Zeid Q and A →

Lehigh Valley Weekly Report

7. Lehigh Valley

A very bad week for Lehigh Valley, who were 2-5 on the week, and now stand at 13-20, in 5th place in the Northern Division, 7.5 games behind division leading Syracuse.

League Leaders, thru 5/12: Hitters: DeWayne Wise is tied for 4th in the league in doubles (11),9th in slugging (.550) and leading the league in triples (4).  Cody Ransom is tied for 4th in homers (8) and 2nd in strikeouts (40), Andy Tracy is tied for 9th in Walks (18), Rich Thompson is 4th in batting average (.350).

Pitchers:Nate Bump is tied for 3rd with 4 wins; Scott Mathieson is 8th in saves (5); Brian Mazone is tied for 4th in homers allowed (6); Ryan Vogelsong leads the league in hitters walked (25) and is 7th in K’s (37). Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

Around the System–Relief Pitching

Around the System

A first look at the success or lack of success seen in the systems relief pitching with some comments added.  As always, take these comments as what they are.  Observations based on the first 5 weeks of the minor league season.  Feel free to discuss.

Lehigh Valley

Scott Mathieson, 26–13 games; 2-0 with an 0.54 ERA; 5 saves; 16.2 IP 9H 1 ER 4BB 18K; 0.84 WHIP; .185 vs. LH, .179 vs. RH; .182 with RISP.  Mathieson has been simply dominant coming off two Tommy John surgeries.  WHile Ruben Amaro was recently quoted as saying Mathieson was not major league ready and needed to work on his command, I simply couldn’t disagree more.  He has been consistently in the mid 90’s and is the power pitcher the Phils need in the back of the bullpen right now.

Antonio Bastardo, 24–Has made 5 appearances since being sent down from Philadelphia.  0-0 with a 0.00 ERA. 3.2 IP, 1H 3BB 6K. Has struck out 4 of the six batters he has faced with RISP.  Bastardo who was sent down to make room for JC Romero, is simply the more consistent of the two right now. The Phils need to find a way to make room for Bastardo, who, while having some control issues, gets outs when needed. Continue reading Around the System–Relief Pitching →

Gillies Placed on DL, Aumont Update

Other Stuff

Some breaking news out of Reading this morning, OF Tyson Gillies, acquired in the CLiff Lee deal was placed on the DL with a left hamstring strain.  Gillies had been playing better lately after really struggling initially this year.  He had a 7 game hitting streak snapped on Monday, With speed being Gillies game, the Phils are sure to be conservative with this injury.  Gillies was hitting .247 with 2 HR and 6 RBI, to go along with 1 stolen base in his 97 AB’s this season. See below for Aumont commenatry from todays game. Continue reading Gillies Placed on DL, Aumont Update →

Q and A with Josh Zeid

Other Stuff

The Lakewood BlueClaws have been kind enough to arrange for a Question and Answer with reliever Josh Zeid.  Zeid, a 6’4, 210 reliever was named the Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Month for the Month of April.  Zeid, 23,  was chosen in the 10th Round of the 2009 draft out of Tulane University.  Zeid spent the first two seasons of his collegiate career at Vanderbilt, and then transferred to Tulane.  He was the Gatorade Connecticut High School Player of the Year his senior year in high school.

Continue reading Q and A with Josh Zeid →

Around the System–Starting Pitching

Around the System

A first look at starting pitching through the system.  Take this for what it is, statistics for the first 5-6 weeks of the season with brief comments attached. Note: Stats are thru 5/9/10.

Lehigh Valley

Andrew Carpenter, 24, 5 starts; 3-2 with a 4.03 ERA. 22.1IP 24H 11BB 11K; 1.56 WHIP; .186 vs. LH; .385 vs. RH; .192 with RISP. Carpenter started very slow but has picked it up over his last several starts. 

Nate Bump, 33, 6 starts, 4-1 with a 2.75 ERA. 36IP 39 H 9BB 14K; 1.33 WHIP; .274 vs. LH; .288 vs. RH; .262 with RISP.  Has looked good and knows how to pitch.  Far from overpowering however.

Brian Mazone, 33, 6 starts; 2-3 with a 5.63 ERA. 32IP 37H 5BB 22K; 1.31 WHIP; .300 vs. LH; .284 vs. RH; .261 with RIS; 5 HR allowed. Has either looked very good, or very bad and the last two starts have been very bad.  Good control but very hittable, and when he gets hit, the hits come in buckets.

Ryan Vogelsong, 32, 6 starts, 1-1 with a 3.77 ERA. 31IP 28H 22BB 33K; 1.61 WHIP; .224 vs. LH, .259 vs. RH; .273 with RISP.  Has probably the best “stuff” on the Lehigh Valley staff, but there are times he doesnt know where it is going.  Significant command issues have hampered him, drawing many deep counts and walks.

Joe Savery, 24, 5 starts, 0-2 with a 5.00 ERA. 27IP 34H 12BB 16 K; 1.70 WHIP; .383 vs. LH, .282 vs. RH; .370 with bases empty, .211 with RISP. 4 homers allowed.  Savery is an enigma.  See specifically the splits with bases empty and RISP.  He simply runs into too much trouble to be effective in the long term. Continue reading Around the System–Starting Pitching →

‘Pigs Weekend Update

Other Stuff

A look at the Lehigh Valley weekend.  See below for summaries and notes.

Friday–AFter a strong start in which Lehigh Valley took the early lead on a Melvin Dorta RBI single and Ryan Vogelsong struck out 5 of the first 6 hitters he faced, things went downhill quickly in the 6-3 Lehigh Valley loss to Columbus. Columbus took the lead with a two run third, however Lehigh Valley quickly answered with two of their own on a Neil Sellers two run double.  Columbus tied the game in the 4th, off of starter Ryan Vogelsong who went 5 inningd, giving up 3 runs on 5 hits.  He walked 2 and struck out 9.  The wheels fell off in the 8th when a crucial error by Luis Maza led to three unearned runs, sealing the game for the Clippers. Mike Zagurski (0-1) took the loss.  Neil Sellers was 2-3 at the plate with 2 RBI’s, while Cody Ransom was 1-3 with 2 runs scored and 2 stolen bases. Continue reading ‘Pigs Weekend Update →