New faces in the locker room and clearly a new attitude on the field personify this weeks Iron Pigs as they had an excellent week going 6-1. The ‘Pigs now stand at 11-31, still in last place, but improving, now 17.5 games out of first. Looking at ‘Pigs among the league leaders, Andy Tracy is 7th in homers (7) and 4th in the league in walks (21). Brian Mazone is 7th in the league in wins (4), third in the league in innings (51.2), and 8th in WHIP (1.12). He is also 5th in homers allowed (7). JA Happ is 4th in the league in innings (51.1), and leading the league in strikeouts (61). JD Durbin is 4th in the league in homers allowed (..8..) in only 28 innings.
Category Archives: 7. Lehigh Valley
Lehigh Valley Report Card –Quarter Mark
As the ‘Pigs have won only 6 out of 36 games through the first quarter of the season, dont expect this to be pretty.
1B– Andy Tracy has been improving as of late, trying to undo a very difficult beginning. He currently had a 11 game hitting streak that was just snapped, and many of those hits have been clutch. His power numbers are picking up, as he now has 6 homers and 19 RBI’s, to go along with a .237 average . He is hitting .346 with runners in scoring position, far better than most ‘Pigs. Grade: C
2B– A big season was expected from minor league veteran Casey Smith when he was acquired during the off season and Lehigh Valley has got just next to nothing from him. He is hitting .179 with 2 homers and 9 RBI’s, along with a .216 OBP. Even more startling is his .111 average with RISP. Grade D-.
SS– Oscar Robles was just acquired a week or two ago, and it is too early to grade him, although so far it isnt looking pretty(.160). Grade: Incomplete. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Report Card –Quarter Mark
Iron Pigs– Week 6
Lehigh Valley closed out week six of their season having gone 1-6 on the week, and now at 5-30 on the year, 20 games out of first place in the Northern Division of the IL. The misery clearly continues with no real end or even break in sight. Andy Tracy moved into 6th place in the IL in homers (6) and that wraps it up as far as Lehigh Valley hitting leaders. As far as pitching goes JA Happ is 9th in innings pitched (39.1) and 2nd in strikeouts (42). Brian Mazone is 4th in WIns (4), 2nd in innings (45.2), and third in homers allowed (6). JD Durbin is 2nd in homers allowed (7) in only 24 innings. Continue reading Iron Pigs– Week 6
Iron Pigs– Week 4
Two wins on the bookends of the week, surrounded by five losses in the middle. 4-24, 2-5 this week, 14.5 games out of first, a month into the season. Can it get any worse? Lets hope and pray the answer is no. Every day it seems I say to myself, and I am sure Dave Huppert, the ‘Pigs manager says to himself, “It can’t get any worse, and then it does. Looking at league leaders, Andy Tracy is now 6th in the IL in homers with 5. As far as pitching leaders go, James Happ is 5th in the league with 33.1 innings pitched and 2nd in strikeouts with 37. Brian Mazone is 2nd in the league with 38.1 innings pitched.
Iron Pigs–Week 3
Lehigh Valley lost each and every game since we last spoke and now stand at 2-20, in last place in the Northern Division of the International League, already 12.5 games out of first. The ‘Pigs have no player among the league leaders in hitting. In the pitching categories, JA Happ is 4th in innings (26.1)and first in strikeouts (32). Ron Chiavacci is 3rd in innings pitched (27.1). and 7th in strikeouts with 23. Continue reading Iron Pigs–Week 3
Iron Pigs Review
After the second full week of the International League season the Iron Pigs are mired in last place with a 2-13 record, eight full games behind the divsion leading Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees. While there are no Pigs among the league hitting leaders, Ron Chiavacci leads the league with a 0.52 ERA and is 8th in the league with 17.1 innings pitched. Brian Mazone is 7th in the league with 18 innings pitched, however leads the league in homers allowed with 4. JA Happ is tied for the league lead in strikeouts with 21.
Iron Pigs Week One
The inaugural season of the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs could not have gotten off to any worse of a start, with the Pigs losing their entire initial roadtrip, ending it at 0-8. Currently, the Pigs are in last place, already six full games out of first place in the Northern Division of the International league. Upcoming this weekend is their home opener against the RIchmond Braves. There are very few Pigs among the league leaders however, Brandon Watson is 2nd in the league in hits (11), and Brian Mazone is second in the league in innings(13) and 4th in the league in strikeouts (12). Continue reading Iron Pigs Week One
Pigs Preview
The Inaugural Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs season kicked off Thursday evening in Scranton with the Pigs getting blanked 4-0 by the Scranton Wilkes Barre Yankees. The lone Pigs hit came on a single in the 7th inning by CF Brandon Watson. Kei Igawa started for the Yankees and was literally unhittable, leaving in the 7th inning with a no-hitter. Lefthander J.A. Happ started for the Iron Pigs and was average at best lasting only four innings, and giving up three runs on five hits. Happ walked one and struck out four. While all Pigs hitters struggled, TJ Bohn had the most difficulty, striking out in each of his three at bats.
[ed. note, I added the “read more” part]
Updated Minor League Rosters ST Week 4
Alright gang, here are this week’s updated minor league rosters. You can compare this to the week 3 roster and week 2 rosterand week 1 roster that I had posted earlier if you would like.
Quite a few cuts all in around in the minors this week, with one more round left to go this week before minor league rosters are finalized next Monday.
I’ll keep on the lookout for each new officially posted roster and keep them updated here as needed.
I don’t know how much of a limb I am going out on to project this, but I have updated my Clearwater Threshers website with this (click here) as my projected 2008 line up. The projection is based on the latest 2008 ST roster mixed in with a little intuition. I’m guessing I’ll have about 20 of the 25 players correct, with a few free agent signings thrown in at the last minute just to mess things up and maybe a few other moves in the mix.
Updated 2008 Minor League Rosters (Workout Groups)
I hit the Carpenter Complex to check out the first day of minor league games. It was the Clearwater (Group 3) team and the Lakewood (Group 4) teams against the Orioles. Nothing of terrific interest to report except that I did pick up the newly updated minor league rosters. This version has the guys broken out into five groups not four like the previous version that I had posted a while back. Continue reading Updated 2008 Minor League Rosters (Workout Groups)
Phuture Phillies 