Lehigh Valley enters the last week plus of the season at 75-60 and in 2nd place of the Northern Division, 1.5 games behind first place Pawtucket.  The ‘Pigs remain two games ahead of Gwinnett for the wildcard position with their magic number being nine to clinch a playoff spot.  Lehigh Valley return home for a six game home stand with two each against Syracuse, Scranton and Buffalo before closing out the regular season with two games in Syracuse next Sunday and Labor Day. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Report →

A look back at the time period of Aug 19-26th. Look for the last edition of Hot and Not on Labor Day.  Musings of the week…When will Tyler Cloyd get some real publicity?….JuRod doing it again…Biddle staying strong…Brody Colvin’s woes continue another week….DeFratus/Cisco putting up noticeable numbers, while after a rough start is Diekman the LOOGY to watch in 2012?

A fantastic week for Cesar Hernandez….Cody Overbeck coming around….Tyler Greene ready for the step up next year….and of course, Freddy Galvis doing what he does, hit?…Strong year for Valle and Mitchell but falling off a bit.

Hot Starters: Julio Rodriguez (14IP 8H 0ER 1BB 17K); Tyler Cloyd (14IP 13H 2ER 1BB 17K); Jesse Biddle (5IP 1H 0ER 3BB 2K); Austin Hyatt (11IP 7H 1ER 4BB 6K); Austin Wright (8IP 4H 1ER 1BB 12K); Paul Cusick (5IP 2H 0ER 0BB 4K); Jon Pettibone (7IP 3H 1BB 0BB 6K); Joe Esposito (5.2IP 4H 0ER 2BB 2K); Ervis Manzanillo (5.1IP 2H 0ER 1BB 2K); Adam Morgan (5IP 4H 0ER 0BB 4K) Honorable Mention: Edell, Buchanan, Bonilla, Garner Continue reading Hot or Not →

Another week in the books.  Talking points: Scott Mathieson with several good starts in a row…Perci Garner’s first hot list mention…Jesse Biddle bouncing back from his hip injury…continued troubles for JC Ramirez…Joe Savery earning his first save…Is Brandon Moss the answer for a left-handed bat off the bench for the Phils?…Kyrell Hudson streaking…and some troublesome names on the not hot list (Brown, Franco, Collier).

As I will be on vacation next week, Hot or Not will be condensed into two reports, spanning the last three weeks of the season.  Look for the next report Sunday the 28th or Monday the 29th. Continue reading Hot or Not →

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 →