Well here it is finally – mostly…
The 2012 SWB Yankees will play their home schedule in the following stadiums: Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester, Pawtucket, Lehigh Valley and Batavia. (Batavia, NY is 55 miles E of Buffalo)
Rochester will host 37 of those 72 games.
Looks like a home “away” opener and a total of 8 extra games at CCP!
Schedules to follow.
Bring the noise!
OinK On!
Filed under DiPro's Dish
Recent IronPig post-season call ups Domonic Brown and relievers Joe Savery and Justin De Fratus were told they would be sent to Clearwater, to stay sharp just in case of injuries. Outfielder Brandon Moss and reliever Michael Schwimer were sent home after Wednesday’s season conclusion.
Erik Kratz while not eligible for the post-season roster may still travel with the team.
Finally it appears unless one of the other Philadelphia coaches is hired away by another team there will be no spot for Coach Sandberg on the Phils.
Good luck to all the IronPigs and we can only hope that ‘Pig fans will have the pleasure to watch them next season either for the ‘Pigs or the Bigs.
OinK On!
Filed under DiPro's Dish
Speculation continues on the fate of the 2012 SWB Yankees’ season. Latest reports reveal SWB may remain in Moosic at PNC Field in 2012. Renovations would either be postponed until 2013 or construction would occur during the season (sounds awful for attendance). Yet another option is to schedule the construction over a 2 year period (and remain in Moosic) thus adding $1.4 million to the construction budget.
The NY Mets have recently blocked SWB from playing at Newark’s Riverfront Stadium due to territorial issues. Oddly enough the newest report has the Yankees AAA team splitting time between Buffalo, Syracuse, and Rochester. So, the Mets block the Yankees from Newark and now they are going to end up at their own AAA team in Buffalo? (The Buffalo Bisons are the IL AAA team of the NY Mets).
For the record, Coca-Cola Park was not mentioned in any recent reports. At the same time it doesn’t appear it’s been ruled out either.
The three way split doesn’t seem very palatable at all for IronPigs fans who hoped to start their season on April 5th with two away games at SWB or perhaps a home “away” opener at Coca-Cola Park.
Buffalo: 327 mi, 5 hours 48 mins
Rochester: 272 mi, 4 hours 56 mins
Syracuse: 205 mi, 3 hours 35 mins
All are quite a bit farther than Moosic but not quite as far as the “middle of the woods in Rhode Island”!
Who’s up for a chilly NY road trip in April?
OinK On!
Filed under Coca Cola Park, DiPro's Dish
Rumors have been rampant on the future of Coach Sandberg’s coaching career. While we would enjoy nothing more than Sandberg’s return to the IronPigs for 2012, unfortunately that appears unlikely.
It’s well known that Ryno wants to manage in the Majors and has been engineering his successful MiLB managerial career along that track. The IronPigs have been lucky to be stop-over along the way. The following are brief summaries regarding recent rumors on the next destination of the Ryno Train – All aboard!
Chicago White Sox
Shortly after the release/trade of Ozzie Guillen, the rumors began circulating of Sandberg taking the Sox managerial position. However, there have been no concrete reports about Sandberg moving to the cross town rivals. As of Monday, Phillies GM Rubén Amaro, Jr. stated no other team has approached the Phillies about retaining Coach Sandberg’s services for 2012 and beyond.
Even our old friend Mitch Williams has perpetrated this rumor stating “Cubs fans would become Sox fans if Ryno was the coach.” – Cubs fans aren’t having any of that! Surely, this has raised a lot of ire with Cubs fans and seems to be the main purpose of this rumor.
Chicago Cubs
A recent report from the Chicago Sun Times states the Cubs are likely to reconcile with Ryne Sandberg. However, owner Tom Ricketts would most likely need to replace fired GM Jim Hendry before searching for a new team manager and this could certainly take a while.
It was Jim Hendry who hired Mike Quade (also now released) over Ryno last fall. With Hendry removed and Ricketts reportedly being Sandberg friendly, is this enough to bring Sandberg back to the Windy City? Perhaps Ricketts will hire Sandberg before replacing Hendry. At this point, still just rumor fodder.
Philadelphia Phillies
GM Rubén Amaro, Jr. told mlb.com. “He should get an opportunity to be in the big leagues as a coach or manager. I’m certain he has the ability to do that. For his sake, I hope people come calling for him. For our sake, I hope they don’t because we’d love to have him in our organization.”
Sounds like Sandberg is on waivers and Amaro is waiting to see if another team claims him. Last I checked Sandberg is not a player. Perhaps there is someone more wise in the contracting of MLB managers than I that could shed some light on why the Phils couldn’t hire Ryno right now if they so choose.
So far those are the three main teams in the rumor mill at the moment. Much like the SWB Yankees 2012 Season we may not know the result until well after Thanksgiving or beyond. At least the off-season seems full of ongoing speculation and drama.
In the mean time here’s the Rumor Dish to add to the mix: In 2012 Ryne Sandberg will become the coach of the SWB Yankees who will play in the parking lot, in the Bronx before each Yankees’ home game. “Peanuts, Popcorn, Lawn-Chairs”
Filed under DiPro's Dish
Below are the contenders. Voting will continue until 12:00 noon EDST on Monday October 3rd.. You may vote as often as you’d like, but I believe WordPress cuts you off at a certain point.
Can you find anything funny about this photo? (Note - This is Cody Ransom)
1. Uh, was I supposed to catch that?
2. 1,2…Yup, they’re still there!
3. Darn contact lenses…
4. That’s what we call a 7-10 split.
5. Sumo Wrestling anyone?
6. …..I never played for the Lakewood blueclaws but if I did this is what I would look like!
7. Now how did that ball get by me?????????
8. “He just popped his head up, looked around, and grabbed the ball! NOW where is he?”
9. “I should have never entered that hot dog eating contest before the game”
10. “I’m practicing so I can try out for shortstop if the Cubs hire Ryno. All I need are 200 hits and an equal number of errors.”
11. “Grrrrrrrrrr…hmmmmmmm….ehhhhhhh… nope, no brick yet”
Filed under Photo Caption Contests, Uncategorized
I guarantee there are a few folks out there that think I’ve gone off the deep end again and written a musical… I haven’t, but I did stumble across this recently and thought I would share.
Piggy Nation. That’s right, a whole Nation of Piggies. Not the kind of Piggies that steal eggs from angry birds with access to a slingshot nor the kind of Piggies that play baseball like our beloved IronPigs. These Piggies sing!
It all started with a book by author Richard Rosser called “Piggy Nation A Day at Work With Dad.”
Piggy Nation A Day At Work With Dad focuses on piggy behavior in an amusing, colorful update of the Golden Rule. The main character is a piglet named Sammy who joins his Dad on Piggy Patrol. As they search the town for piggies, Sammy learns about rude behavior!
The book and its readings were so popular he created a musical.
During the design process of the children’s book Piggy Nation A Day At Work With Dad, author Richard Rosser began reading his book to elementary school classes, which led to performing assemblies for large groups of students. The kids responded so positively that it inspired Rosser to adapt the story into a full-length musical with twelve songs and a cast of twenty. Expanding on the children’s book, he added elements of romance and treachery. With composer Alec Wells (theoutsidejoke.com), the two crafted a musical richly layered with Blues, Zydeco, Rock, Rap and Gospel influences
Looking at the Soundtrack, this is great. Granted it was written for kids but it can also be enjoyed by us Lehigh Valley IronPig fans as well.
A few of the songs:
Piggy Patrol (We’ve heard this term before at Coca Cola Park)
Blah Blah Blah (ditto)
Heading Home
We’re All Piggies
and my personal favorite…
Stop That Noise Parts 1 & 2
I initially stumbled on the Soundtrack on iTunes (It is available for purchase there) and found their website: http://piggynation.com/
Enjoy Pig Fans!
Filed under Uncategorized
Reports from IL HQ reveal no additional sanctions were served against SWB for missing the previous deadline (Sept 20) other than a new deadline. That new deadline was not specified.
At this time, the IL directors will not huddle again until Baseball’s Winter Meetings in December.
So, it appears the fate of the SWB Yankees will not be sealed until at least the end of the year.
Updates will follow accordingly.
OinK On in 2012!
Filed under Coca Cola Park, DiPro's Dish
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