8/21/09–Andy Tracy continued swinging a very hot bat, leading Lehigh Valley to their 9-1 victory over Scranton on Friday evening. Tracy was 3-4 with 2 runs scored, a homer (24) and 3 RBI’s, and hit his 4th homer over the last three games. Kyle Kendrick (7-7) started and was very strong, going 6 innings, and giving up just a run on 3 hits. It was a night when the ‘Pigs hit in the clutch, going 7-17 with RISP, with Mike Cervenak and Jason Ellison helping lead the way, both with multi hit games.
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Lehigh Valley Weekly Report
Pretty much an awful week for Lehigh Valley, who went 2-5 and are now at 59-66, 11.5 games behind division leading Scranton as well as 11.5 games out of the wild card spot with less than 3 weeks left in the season.
‘Pig hitting leaders include Andy Tracy who is 5th in runs (67), 2nd in homers (23), 2nd in RBI’s (81), and leads the league in walks (63) ,as well as Rich Thompson who is 6th in triples (5) and 7th in stolen bases (24). Lehigh Valley pitching leaders include Drew Carpenter who is 4th in wins (10), 4th in ERA (3.20), 3rd in innings (138), 3rd in homers allowed (17), and 5th in strikeouts (111) Kyle Kendrick is 9th in WHIP (1.21).
September Call Ups
With September 1 quickly approaching, decision time comes once again for the Phillies, this time to decide who from the minor league system warrants a September recall. As we know, there are a number of factors in addition to minor league performance that are considered in the decision making process. The current 40 man roster, along with the cost of $67,000 per player in salary are probably the considerations on the forefront of managements mind. In order to recall someone who is not on the 40 man, space must be cleared, by removing a player, subjecting them to waivers. The other alternative is moving someone from the 15 day to the 60 day disabled list (i.e. Bastardo), which means that even though they are on the 40 man, their spot doesnt’t count against the 40 man.
Looking at the 40 man roster, I would anticipate a first move of moving Bastardo from the 15 day DL to the 60 day DL, effectively creating one spot. The 40 man roster spots of Joe Bisenius, Brad Harmon, Joel Naughton, and maybe even Drew Naylor appear to be in some jeopardy depending upon how much help the Phils decide they need. All four have been disappointing, Bisenius and Harmon certainly much more so than Naughton and Naylor. Continue reading September Call Ups
Stutes, Taylor Named Players of the Week, Taylor Day to Day with Injury
Michael Taylor was named IL player of the week for the week ending August 16, after a week in which he hit .417, including hitting for the cycle. the first time that has been done in Lehigh Valley history. Additionally, Taylor became the first IronPig to record two OF assists in the same inning. Taylor has missed games both Sunday and Monday after suffering an oblique injury. He is currently being called “day to day”.
In Reading, Mike Stutes was named EL Pitcher of the Week for the same time period after two starts in which he allowed just 1 earned run over 13 innings. Stutes, 22, was the Phils 11th round pick in the ’08 draft. He struck out 15 over those 13 innings.
‘Pigs Weekend Update
8/14/09–Michael Taylor and Andy Tracy continued carrying the Lehigh Valley offense as they opened a series in Buffalo with a 12-6 win. A four run first inning was highlighted by an RBI Single by Mike Cervenak, RBI double by Andy Tracy, and RBI single by Taylor. The ‘Pigs added another run in the 3rd on another RBI single by Michael Taylor. After Buffalo cut the lead to 5-3, the ‘Pigs added a run in the fourth, two in the fifth (Mayberry, 9th homer), and four in the sixth (Taylor (5) solo homer, and Tracy(20) 3 run homer), making the lead 12-5 and putting the game finally out of reach. Rodrigo Lopez (6-4) made his first start since returning from the Phils and was not sharp, going 5 innings and giving up 5 runs (4 earned) on 11 hits. Jake Woods continued doing whatever the club asked of him, pitching 4 innings in relief to earn his 2nd save. Rich Thompson was 2-4 with 3 runs scored and 2 stolen bases (21,22), while both Andy Tracy and Michael Taylor had multi hit games as well. Continue reading ‘Pigs Weekend Update
Lehigh Valley Weekly Report
With the season reaching its final three weeks, Lehigh Valley went through another mediocre week going 3-4, and have watched their chances for a playoff berth continue to dwindle with their 57-61 record. They are 9.5 games behind dvision leading Scranton, and are 8.5 games out of a wild card spot. Taking this weeks look at ‘Pigs among league leaders, Andy Tracy is 4th in homers (19), 3rd in RBI’s (72), and 2nd in walks (54), Mike Cervenak is 9th in RBI’s (59), Rich Thompson is 9th in stolen bases (20). On the mound, Drew Carpenter is 4th in wins (9), 5th in ERA (2.86), 7th in IP(126) and 6th in homers allowed (14).
‘Pigs Weekend Update
8/07/09–Terry Tiffee had a huge night going 4-4 with a double in the ‘Pigs 4-0 win over Scranton. Gustavo Chacin (7-3) continued pitching well in his quest for a major league rotation spot next year, going six shutout innings, giving up just 5 hits. He walked 3 and struck out 5. A Paul Hoover RBI double got Lehigh Valley on the board in the 4th and a sacrifice fly by Hoover tacked on another run for the ‘Pigs in the 6th. A two run 7th featuring RBI singles by Tiffee and John Mayberry put the game away for Lehigh Valley. Both Mike Cervenak and Rich Thompson added two hits apiece. Continue reading ‘Pigs Weekend Update
Daily Discussion
Pablo Ozuna was released by the Phillies organization after serving his 50 game suspension for testing positive for a banned substance.
Brian Rosenberg made his AA debut on Friday evening and pitched two scoreless innings for Reading. Scott Mathieson followed that up with another scoreless inning of his own.
Down in Clearwater, friend of Phuture Phillies, Michael Schwimer has not given up an earned run in his last nine appearances, spanning 12 innings, He has struck out 18 during the same period.
Jason Knapp was listed as the #4 prospect in the Indian system, while Carlos Carrasco was ranked 10th by Jim Calis of Baseball America in his recent list of the Top 10 prospects in the Indians organization. Both Marson and Donald were not on the list.
Kyle Drabek went 5 innings and gave up 4 runs on 6 hits tonight against Binghamton. Here is one vote for shutting him down or significantly limiting his innings for the remainder of the year. He is currently at 140 IP.
Slayden retires, Susdorf promoted
In a somewhat surprising move, 27 year old OF Jeremy Slayden has announced his retirement according to readingphillies.com. Slayden has had a tough year after being demoted from AAA Lehigh Valley back down to Reading after struggling both at the plate and in the field for the IronPigs. His production has picked up at the plate in Reading, and was hitting .281 with 9 HR and 30 RBI for the RPHILS, while seeing limited action in the field. While having a fair amount of success through his minor league career at the plate, SLayden was a defensive liability because of a weak arm and a lack of speed. After a solid season last year at AA Reading, SLayden was left exposed in the Rule 5 draft, however, was not taken.
Taking Slayden’s place on the Reading roster is 23 year old Fresno State product Steve Susdorf. Susdorf started the year at (A) Lakewood, and hit .333 in 78 at bats before getting called up to Clearwater. In CLearwater, Susdorf hit .373 with 3 HR and 22 RBI, with a .423 OBP. He hit a huge .467 with RISP. With Domonic Brown/Quintin Berry/Susdorf in the Reading outfield, it becomes an area of alot of interest.
Tyson Brummett was placed on the Reading DL with elbow inflammation, making room on the roster for Brian Rosenberg.
Rosenberg Double Bumped
Brian Rosenberg, 23, was promoted from (A) Lakewood to (AA) Reading on Friday, jumping over Clearwater. Rosenberg was dominant for the BlueClaws this season, earning 19 saves with a microscopic 0.89 ERA in 50 plus innings of work. The 6’2 RHP from Kentucky was a 13th round pick out of Louisville in the 2008 draft.
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