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 →

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.

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 →

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).

Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →