Lehigh Valley has lost 12 of their last 20 games, with very erratic starting pitching combined with a lack of clutch hitting leading to their slide from first place.  Currently, the ‘Pigs stand at 70-55 and in 2nd place of the Northern Division, 1 game behind division leading Pawtucket.  Lehigh Valley remains 2.5 games ahead of Gwinnett for a wild card spot with 17 games remaining in the season. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

Lehigh Valley reliever Michael Schwimer has gotten called up to Philadelphia to take Placido Polanco’s roster spot.  With Cole Hamels on the shelf for a start and the necessity to move Kyle Kendrick into the rotation, another arm in the bullpen is necessary over the next several days for the Phils, and Schwim has gotten the long-awaited, and much deserved call. Continue reading Schwimer to the Show →

The Phillies have signed veteran RHP Dave Bush to a minor league contract, and he is expected to report to AAA Lehigh Valley tomorrow. Bush, 31, a local product from Conestoga High School pitched for Texas earlier this year and was 0-1 with a 5.79 ERA in 17 games (3 starts) for the Rangers. AFter his release from Texas, Bush was pitching for the Cubs AAA affiliate and went 1-1 with a 6.14 ERA in 5 starts. Bush opted out of his minor league deal with Chicago on Friday. Originally a 2nd round pick of the BlueJays in the 2002 draft out of Wake Forest, Bush has spent over 5 years in the majors, compiling a 56-69 career record with a 4.70 ERA, spending the bulk of his career with Milwaukee.

A look back at the time period of August 5-11.  Random Observations, Trevor May dominating again…Buchanan with a solid move up to High A…JC Ramirez and Brody Colvin with continued struggles…Rosenberg opening eyes back in the bullpen…Lots of new names on the hot hitter list…Altherr making things happen…and the first rough week for Dom Brown in AAA. Continue reading Hot or Not →

Lehigh Valley has shown some resiliency, refusing to give up first place to a scalding hot Pawtucket team as the ‘Pigs remain tied for first in the Northern Division of the International League with a 67-51 record with 24 games remaining in the season. Lehigh Valley returns home Friday to begin a 6 game homestand after they finish their remaining two games in Norfolk against the Tides. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

Recap:  It’s been a while since I last managed to cobble one of these together, so this report will cover all of July and the first week of August.  The Threshers have gone 19-15 over that stretch, and currently sit 1 game behind the division-leading Tampa Yankees at 22-20.  Including the first half, Clearwater is 61-50, the second-best mark in the FSL.  In personnel moves since the last update, David Buchanon was promoted from Lakewood, Tyson Gillies and Leandro Castro still haven’t played, and Jarred Cosart and Jonathan Singleton have moved on.

Continue reading Clearwater Threshers Report (8/7/11) →

A look back at the one week time period ending last August 4th.  Talking points include Tyler CLoyd’s consistency, Trevor May racking up the k’s once again, Brody Colvin spending another week on the cold list, Schwim, a nice week for young OF’s (Alvarez/Santana/Altherr), and a rough week for the newly signed Tyler Greene. Note: A few pitchers appear on two lists, because of their ever changing roles.

Starting Pitchers, Hot: Josh Warner (6IP 4H 0ER 2BB 5K); Garrett Claypool (6IP 5H 0ER 2BB 5): Tyler Cloyd (12IP 9H 1ER 2BB 12K)Trevor May (12.1IP 6H 3ER 6BB 18K); Lino Martinez (6IP 3H 1ER 2BB 7K); Austin Hyatt (6IP 3H 1ER 0BB 12): Austin Wright (6IP 6H 1ER 1BB 5K);Bryan Morgado (4IP 4H 0ER 1BB 5K); Adam Morgan (10.2IP 9H 3ER 4BB 6K). Honorable Mention: Ramon Oviedo; Mike Nesseth, Julio Rodriguez Continue reading Hot or Not →

Lehigh Valley

Michael Schwimer, 25, 42 games, 7-1 with a 1.76 ERA; 9 saves; 61.1IP 45H 19BB 79K; 1.04 WHIP; 0.79 GO/AO; .199 opp. avg., .289 vs. LH, .140 vs. RH, .159 with RISP. 2-1 with a 1.08 ERA since July 1st.  Has been simply dominant.

Drew Carpenter, 26, 26 games, 5-1 with a 1.66 ERA; 48.2IP 36H 9BB 52K; 1.46 GO/AO; .202 opp avg; 0.92 WHIP; .221 vs. LH, .191 vs RH, .216 with RISP; Carpenter has been excellent out of the ‘Pigs pen, however that success hasn’t translated in his limited action with the Phils.

Mike Zagurski, 28, 35 games, 3-0 with a 2.27 ERA and 10 saves; 39.2IP 31H 22BB 49K; 1.34WHIP; 5.0BB/11.1K rates; .244 vs. RH, .219 vs. LH, .200 with RISP; 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in 11 games since July 1.  Zagurski has been very good, albeit with some limited control issues.  Continue reading Around the System, Bullpen, Top Half →

Lehigh Valley has seen their division lead dwindle to just a half game over second place Pawtucket after losing two out of three in Scranton and now stand at 63-49 with 30 games left in the season.  Their half game lead is their smallest lead since May 17th. The ‘Pigs begin a long road trip in Durham on Thursday.

‘Pigs Leaders: Hitting: Rich Thompson is 6th in runs (62), is 5th in triples (5) and 2nd in steals (33); Brandon Moss is 3rd in homers (20), 9th in RBI’s (62),5th in SLG (.514), 9th in OPS (.868)and 8th in walks (50); Erik Kratz is 8th in OBP (.383). Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

Well, it appears that it has finally happened. The Phillies have been linked to Hunter Pence for the better part of the last 2 months, with Charlie Manuel openly campaigning for a righthanded batter. In the last few days, talks intensified, rumors began to fly wildly, and the deal has finally concluded. According to reports, the Phillies are parting ways with 1B prospect Jon Singleton, RHP Jarred Cosart, and 2 PTBNL, neither thought to be major prospects. As I start writing this, hopefully we get names and I can update it. I’m going to try and tackle this trade from both sides, just as I did the Roy Oswalt and Cliff Lee deals the last two years. There are 2 sides to every trade, and its normally never as simple as “Team A won and Team B lost”. There are tons of variables here, so lets address them one by one. If you want to simply react and say “this sucks” or “this is great”, feel free to use the instant reaction post here. I’d hope that if you come here, you’re interested in what I have to say, so I’ll give it a go.

Continue reading The Phillies acquire Hunter Pence →