4/26/2011 LEHIGH VALLEY IRONPIGS VS PAWTUCKET RED SOX

L 2-8

@ Coca Cola Park (Allentown, PA)

with Sam Fields

Almost Iron

The quest for a free giveaway leads you down a dangerous path. At least a stressful one. On Tuesday, Myself and Sam set out to attain a Ryne Sandberg bobblehead at the Lehigh Valley Ironpigs, the Phillies AAA affiliate, who were playing the Pawtucket Red Sox, the Red Sox AAA affiliate (obviously.) They call the AAA level of baseball the mini-show, since you're at the level just below the Big Show of the major leagues. AAA is basically the back-ups of your backups, in case there's some sort of injury. Therefore, its a lot of guys who have been in the majors and weren't good enough to stick around, or are washed up, with a few up and coming prospects. The Ironpigs, who started in the Lehigh Valley in 2008 after two decades of Scranton/Wilkes-barre Red Barons serving as the Phils' top farm team, have quickly led all of the minor leagues in attendance, despite also having one of the worst records in that time. This perplexes Sam, since Allentown couldn't support an independent Atlantic League team before that, but I think affiliating with the Phillies and having solid major league backing from a nearby popular Major League team helps a lot. Phillies fan, are, well, phanatical. Oh, that hurts just writing that.

Anyway, after a frustrating drive up to Allentown in which I almost tore off Sam's head in a dumb argument about traffic or something, we arrived an hour before the game was to start. Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg, who is now the Manager of the Ironpigs, and probable successor to Charlie Manuel whenever Uncle Cholly decides to step down, also was Sam's idol growing up, because Sam is a traitor to his homeland of Michigan and grew up a big White Sox and Cubs fan. Even though we arrived an hour early, they were already out of bobbleheads. Fuck! Next bobblehead I try to get, on May 16th, the Harry Kalas bobblehead at Lehigh, I'm going to get there TWO hours ahead of time. 

Coca Cola Park, the home of the Ironpigs, is nothing special. First, the name. I bet you there's a dozen Coca Cola Parks in the United States. The overall feel of the park is kind of stale, and overly corporate. There's very little space anywhere that doesn't have some kind of advertisement, somewhere. For instance, I learned that night that "Pert Plus" is the official shampoo of the Ironpigs. Woopee! Its one of the few minor league stadiums I've seen that has a second level for people who pay more. There were about a million annoying homerisms, like "Doink!" everytime a ball would go foul. I can do without that crap. Its not the worst I've ever seen, but certainly nothing exciting.

That said, they do have some decent foods and beers there. For instance, I got an "Aw Shucks" roasted corn on the cob, which became my dinner, as well as a fruity lemony beer. It was "kung fu" night, meaning a million kids from the local karate team ran onto the field for something or other. There was also a bunch of 10 year old cheerleaders who did a routine. Remember how I complained about cheerleaders at baseball games? This was a hundred times more creepy. And last but not least, the grounds crew, which I suppose is some kind of annual thing, stripped to "I'm Too Sexy", which at least made up for the previously mentioned creepiness.

Onto the game itself. The Ironpigs have very few potential future Phillies, consistenting mostly of career minor leaguers or wash-outs, or just-not-good-enough-for-the-majors players. The main exception is the bullpen, in which Michael Schwimer, Andrew Carpenter, and Scott Mathieson all have a shot at making the Phils' bullpen in the next few years (Michael Stutes and Mike Zagurski are already filling in while Contreras and Romero heal on the DL), though Starting Pitcher Vance Worley also has a shot. That night, Eddie Bonine started for the 'pigs, who was a starter for Detroit last year for a bit and crashed and burned. He gave up four runs over six innings, not the worst showing in the world, except the Ironpigs can't seem to hit. Michael Schwimer came in relief. Now, I really like this guy. He writes a regular column over at phuturephillies.com, a blog that follows the Phillies' farm system. Tuesday night, he kind of melted down. It took him forty-one pitches to get two guys out, loading up the bases and allowing two runs. At this point, Sam exclaimed loudly, "This is like watching a funeral!"

I wonder if anyone knows the answer to this: I noticed there was a different First Base Coach every inning, always a player from the bench. Is that common in the minors?

The Pawtucket Red Sox did impress me on one thing. You almost never see fans of opposing teams at minor league games. There were, however, a fair showing of Red Sox fans in attendance. I hope at least some of them had made the trip from Boston or Rhode Island or whatever county in the state of New England they're from. (That was my attempt at insulting the small states).

Well, it's April, and I've been to five baseball games. I'm fucking 1-4. I must be a real sucker, because I've already had a hell of a lot of fun.

Pictures, Games Stats, and James's Stats under the cut:

The Karate Kids (yuck yuck) for Kung Fu Night

One of several Pig Themed Mascots. There were also Bacon, Ribs, Sausage Mascots. Yup, they played both sides of the meat debate.

The most terrified looking statue ever

Hopefully more of these guys will stay longer than just for a cup of coffee

uhm

Sam looking for Sandberg to sign his jersey

Soooo relaxing

To me, this is heaven.

A quintessential Philly Present

The next five months

People stand for the Corporate Anthem

Ironpigs Bullpen chilling out

Me and my sweet and spicey corn on the cob dinner.

*burp!*

Creepy 10 year old cheerleaders

One of several First Base Coaches that night

Beer break! Also, watching behind home plate time.

Game Stats:

Lehigh Valley

Pitching:

Starter: RHP Eddie Bonine (96 Pitches, 67 Strikes, 6 Innings, 6 Hits, 4 Runs, 4 ER, 1 Homerun, 2 Doubles, 1 Hit Player, 6 Strikeouts, 3.47 ERA) L (1-3)

Relief: RHP Michael Schwimer (41 Pitches, 24 Strikes, .2 Inning, 2 Hits, 2 Runs, 2 ER, 1 Strikeout, 3.72 ERA)

Relief: RHP Jason Grilli (21 Pitches, 13 Strikes, 1.1 Inning, 2 Hits, 1 Run, 1 ER, 1 Double, 2 Strikeouts, 2.25 ERA)

Closing: RHP Scott Mathieson (16 Pitches, 13 Strikes, 1 Inning, 2 Hits, 1 Double, 2 Strikeouts, 5.79 ERA)

Lineup:

1. CF Rich Thompson (3 At-bats, 1 Run, 1 BB, 1 Steal, 1 Strikeout, .245 AVG)

2. SS Kevin Frandsen (4 At-bats, 2 Hits, 1 Double, 1 RBI, .306 AVG)
3. RF Delwyn Young (4 At-bats, 1 Strikeout, .176 AVG)

4. LF Brandon Moss (4 At-bats, 2 Strikeouts, .241 AVG)

5. 3B Ronnie Belliard (2 At-bats, 1 Run, 1 Steal, 1 BB, .270 AVG)

6. DH Matt Miller (3 At-bats, .200 AVG)

7. 1B Jeff Larish (2 At-bats, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 Strikeout, .258 AVG)

8. 2B Josh Barfield (3 At-bats, .194 AVG)

9. C Dane Sardinha (3 At-bats, .088 AVG)

Pawtucket 

Pitching:

Starter: LHP Andrew Miller (81 Pitches, 46 Strikes, 5.2 Innings, 1 Hit, 2 Runs, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 Strikeouts, 1.40 ERA) W (1-1)

Relief: RHP Scott Atchison (30 Pitches, 19 Strikes, 2.1 Innings, 1 BB, 1 Strikeout, 0.61 ERA) H (2)

Closer: LHP Rich Hill (18 Pitches, 12 Strikes, 1 Inning, 1 Hit, 2 Strikeouts, 1.35 ERA)

Lineup:

1. 3B Nate Spears (4 At-bats, 1 Run, 1 Hit, 1 BB, 1 Strikeout, .205 AVG)

2. LF Yamaico Navarro (4 At-bats, 1 Hit, 1 Hit by pitch, .318 AVG)

3. CF Josh Reddick (5 At-bats, 2 Runs, 1 Hit, 1 Homerun, 1 RBI, 1 Steal, 2 Strikeouts, .274 AVG)

4. SS Drew Sutton (5 At-bats, 2 Hits, 1 Double, 2 RBI, 1 Strikeout, .303 AVG)

5. 1B Lars Anderson (5 At-bats, 1 Hit, 2 RBI, 3 Strikeouts, .297 AVG)

6. DH Hector Luna (5 At-bats, 2 Runs, 2 Hits, 2 RBI, .429 AVG)

7. 2B Tony Thomas (4 At-bats, 3 Strikeouts, .311 AVG)

8. C Michael McKenry (3 At-bats, 1 Run, 1 Hit, 1 Double, 1 Steal, 1 BB, .259 AVG)

9. RF Juan Carlos Linare (4 At-bats, 1 Run, 3 Hits, 2 RBI, .262 AVG)

James's Personal Stats

Starting Pitchers:

RHP Roy Oswalt 1

LHP Cole Hamels 1

LHP Ryan Edell (AA) 1

RHP Joe Blanton 1

RHP Eddie Bonine (AAA) 1

Total Games: 5

Minor League: 0-2

Phillies: 1-2

Overall: 1-4