Every day, we will ask the IRONPIGPEN questions about the IronPigs or other Phillies prospects. You may already be familiar with him from our counter point series. For more on the IRONPIGPEN himself, please visit his blog, IRONPIGPEN: The Pork Stops Here!Who is the IronPig to watch?
IRONPIGPEN: When I go to Coca-Cola Park, the one I like to watch is Andy Tracy. He is a veteran player and not a ‘prospect’ but Tracy is our clean-up hitter and the IronPigs 2008 Most Valuable Player. Not only was Tracy among the International League leaders in HR, RBI, and average, his glove operates at .997 pct efficiency. In our league, Tracy is a bona-fide difference-maker and worthy of attention. He is also a hustle-at-all-times type player and sets a great example for young players of all ages. Tracy actually got in four games for the Phillies this season so he is a part of the World Series championship season in the history books forever.
What IronPigs do you expect to be called up?
IRONPIGPEN: If [J.A] Happ doesn’t make the Phillies as a starter or reliever, he is the IronPig most ready right now to play in the Majors. Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald, and Lou Marson are the best “prospects”, but I believe the Phillies would rather see these guys play everyday at the AAA level. All three are guaranteed to go to Citizens Bank Park in September at the very least, if they are not needed earlier.
If Pablo Ozuna doesn’t make the Phillies, he will be an experienced Major Leaguer down on the farm. The same could be said about Marcus Giles and I believe Terry Tiffee would be serviceable if Philadelphia had some kind of injury epidemic.
Dave Borkowski and Gary Majewski each pitched a fair amount in the Majors last season and they are in the serviceable category as well. Either pitcher or perhaps even veteran Delaware Blue Hen Mike Koplove might grab a place on the Philadelphia pitching staff this spring. Jake Woods is a left-handed reliever and Joe Bisenius is still a 40-man roster member and looking to rebound from a disappointing 2008.
At some point, I also believe, the Phillies will want to have outfielder John Mayberry exposed to Major League pitching, if only in September.
3 comments:
Go Fe Hams!!!
I know that picture. I got a foul ball at Coca-Cola Park in August and got Tracy to sign it. He hit two home runs that night but they dropped a 3-0 lead and lost 4-3 in extra innings.
I made a trophy out of the ball by mounting it on a few spare pieces of wood that I covered with colored vinyl. I used this picture (mine had more of the bat and was black and white) and laminated it to the vinyl.
I had the ball positioned on the 'trophy' so it looked like Tracy was hitting the ball as he swings the bat.
I gave it to a girl even though she's a Yankee fan.
I wouldn't be completely surprised if Mayberry makes the team out of spring training..
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