Pharm Phriday: Kyle Kendrick Punk'd Again

Remember when Brett Myers pulled an awesome prank on Kyle Kendrick which led Kendrick to believing he was traded to Japan? Awesome times, right? Remember when Kendrick was called up for one game this season and blew the game? Not so awesome times. Either way, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs brought out their best attire which may have fooled the man they call "KK"

By now, we all know that Cole Hamels married Heidi Strobel, a former "Survivor" contestant. Well, maybe he started a trend. Kendrick proposed to his girlfriend, Stephanie LaGrossa, another "Survivor" contestant.

A few days later, after the news was out, the IronPigs sported a tuxedo jersey. KK, being as gullible as what-ever is gullible these days, thought it was in his honor.

"It was kind of weird just getting engaged and then having to wear those things
the first time back," Kendrick said. "I had no idea what was going on until I
got here."

Silly Kendrick, the tuxedo's are for the team's second annual Ball Park Wedding Night! Before the game, a happy couple exchanged their wedding vowels.

Although the IronPigs looked dandy, these tuxedo jersey's are a one time deal. They will be auctioned for charity.

Oh yeah, besides the fancy looks, there was a game. Michael Taylor went 0-3 in his IronPigs debut and Kendrick pitched eight innings, allowing just two runs in the IronPigs' win.

SOURCE: Big League Stew

Pharm Phriday: All Star Edition

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs have three players headed to the All Star Game. Andrew Carpenter, Mike Cervenak and Andy Tracy were selected to represent the International League All Stars.

Carpenter is 7-1 with a 2.75 earned run average in 14 games. Carpenter earned his first Major League win when he was called up earlier this season to start against the Washington Nationals.

Cervenak is batting .311 with 10 home runs and 66 runs batted in. Cervenak, 33, was selected to be an All Star last season, but did not play due to his promotion to the Major Leagues. Tracy is tied for second in the International League in home runs with 14.

IRONPIGPEN gives the complete I.L Roster.

The Reading Phillies have four players selected for the Eastern League: Joe Savery, Neil Sellers, Michael Taylor, and Vance Worley.

Savery and Taylor were selected by the fans. Savery leads the Eastern League with 10 wins. He also has a 3.08 ERA Taylor leads the league with a .348 batting average. Taylor is second in the league with a 1.009 on-base plus slugging percentage.

Sellers is batting .300 with 8 home runs and 44 RBI.

Worley is 5-4 with a 3.63 ERA. As always, Phoul Ballz gives a great interview with his most recent being with Worley.

Both All Star games will be held on July 15.

Pharm Phriday: 6/12

In this edition of Pharm Phriday, IRONPIGPEN brought in some of his insight on the IronPigs.

Lehigh Valley IronPigs (AAA): 24-35, 5th in INT North

Pablo Ozuna was suspended 50 games for using perfomance enhancing drugs.

Carlos Carrasco: 1-7/ 5.56 ERA/ 1.42 WHIP/ 67 SO/ 66.1 IP

IRONPIGPEN: I think a book was published and distributed throughtout International League on Carrasco and everyone has now read it. I think Carrasco is a strikeout, hard-thrower type, but doesn’t know how to “pitch” – use off speed, locate stuff and have a “trick pitch.” And I think when things start to go bad he loses concentration and starts to unravel quick. The veteran hitters in AAA are killing him. This is like 11 or 12 starts now so…

Andrew Carpenter: 5-0/ 2.75 ERA/ 68.2 IP/ 1.15 WHIP/ 45 SO

IRONPIGPEN: He really has done well since coming back after Washington game; I don’t think he’s flashy SO guy like Carrasco but I think he’s learning to get guys out.

Reading Phillies (AA): 35-23, 2nd in EAS South

Joe Savery: 7-1/ 3.78 ERA/ 1.38 WHIP/ 47 SO/ 66.2 IP

Kyle Drabek: 2-0/ 1.50 ERA/ 12 IP/ 7 SO/ 1.50 WHIP

Clearwater Threshers (A+): 28-28, 2nd in FSL North

The Threshers had to cancel all Phillies related giveaways due to Major League Baseball's policy. No minor league affilaite can sell or give away merchandise more than 60 miles away from its parent team after Spring Training.

Tim Kennelly: .311 AVG/ 3 HR/ 32 RBI/ .859 OPS

Lakewood Blue Claws (A): 34-24, 1st in SAL North

Jim Murphy: .315 AVG/ 6 HR/ .934 OPS/ 28 RBI

Pharm Phriday: 5/29

Lehigh Valley IronPigs (AAA): 19-27, 5th in INT North

Miguel Cairo, who was just designated for assignment has joined the IronPigs and is batting .357 with 1 HR and 5 RBI.

Jason Donald has been struggling, batting just .234,but has missed the last couple games due to a hamstring injury.

Antonio Bastardo pitched 7 scoreless innings in his last outing. In 13 innings, he is 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA and 1.08 WHIP. IRONPIGPEN predicts that he will be the next prospect to be called up. With Brett Myers injured, that prediction doesn't seem far off.

Reading Phillies (AA): 25-20, 3rd in EAS South

Michael Taylor continues to dominate. His .322 AVG, 8 HR, 33 RBI, and .960 OPS leads the team by far.

Neil Sellers is also having a decent year at third base. He is batting .313 with 5 HR, 19 RBI and a .863 OPS.

Vance Worely has been stellar in the 57.1 innings he has pitched. His ERA is just 2.83. Even more impression his WHIP: 0.91.

Clearwater Threshers (A+): 22-20, 2nd in FSL North

Dominic Brown: .338 AVG/ 6 HR/ 33 RBI/ .989 OPS

Yohan Flande: 5-1/ 3.38 ERA/ 40 SO/ 1.33 WHIP

Kyle Drabek: 3-1/ 2.91 ERA/ 52.2 IP/ 11.5 K per 9 / 1.18 WHIP

Lakewood Blue Claws (A): 27-19, 1st in SAL North

Travis D'Arnaud is batting just .185, but leads the team in RBI with 25. Phoul Ballz has an interview on the catching prospect.

Tyler Cloyd: 5-2/ 3.08 ERA/ 1.07 WHIP/ 8.86 SO/BB

Call of the Day: In July of 1993 Mickey Morandini hit a grand slam off San Francisco's Dave Righetti in the eighth inning of an 8-3 win.

"Righetti stretches... 1-2 pitch... swing and a well-hit ball to deep
right... this ball is a grand slam, a grand slam home run Mickey Morandini and
the Phillies have broken this game wide open!"

Pharm Phriday: 5/15

This edition of Pharm Phriday is a bit more laid back. It was featured on Phillies Nation earlier in the week, but I updated the stats.


The Phillies Triple-A affiliate, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, are 14-19, 5th place in International North League.

Standout Star

Mike Cervenak: .328 AVG/ 3 HR/ 22 RBI/ .832 OPS

Jason Donald and Carlos Carrasco are two minor leaguers that everybody has their eye on. Donald has been up and down so far this season, but is tearing up lefties. He is hitting .421 against them. Overall he is batting .254 with one home run and 13 runs batted in. His on-base plus slugging percentage is .679. He has played the majority of the time at shortstop, but has played a few games at third base.

Carrasco was off to a terrific start, but has struggled in his last four starts. In his first three starts he lacked run support from the IronPigs so he had no wins to show for it. In 35.1 innings, he has 37 strikeouts, but is 0-4 with a 6.62 earned run average and allowed 1.75 walks per innings pitched.

Kyle Kendrick is 2-2 with a 3.75 ERA in seven starts. He has allowed a lot of hits (39 in 36 innings), but has been able to escape jams.

The Double-A Reading Phillies are 18-13, and in 3rd place in the Northern Eastern League.

Standout Stars

Michael Taylor: .310 AVG/ 6 HR/ 23 RBI/ 5 SB/ 9.65 OPS

Vance Worley: 3-0/ 2.11 ERA/ 0.86 WHIP/ 34 SO/ 38.1 IP

Class A Advanced team, the Clearwater Threshers, are 18-15. They are in 2nd place in the Florida State League North.

Standout Star-

Dominic Brown: .317 AVG/ 6 HR/ 26 RBI/ .974 OPS

Dominic Brown has been the standout star by far, but Kyle Drabek is a player to watch. So far he has rebounded nicely from Tommy John surgery. He is 3-0 with a 2.21 ERA and 1.13 WHIP. He has struck out an amazing 51 batters in 40.2 innings.

The Class A Lakewood Blue Claws are 18-14. They are in 2nd place in the Northern South Atlantic League.

Jason Knapp is the player to watch for the Blue Claws. Overall he is 2-3 with a 3.82 ERA and 1.06 WHIP, but was practically lights out in his first four starts. He was rocked in two of his outings, but his 53 strike outs in 37.2 innings is unbelievable.

Pharm Phriday: 5/1

In this edition of Pharm Phriday, Jay from the blog Phoul Ballz helped out with a report about the 2009 Lakewood Blue Claws. IRONPIGPEN joins us again.

Lehigh Valley IronPigs (AAA): 9-11, 4th in INT North League.

John Mayberry Jr.: .269 AVG/ .956 OPS/ 5 HR/ 14 RBI/ 20 SO/ 18 G/ SB

Kyle Kendrick: 2-1/ 26 IP/ 2.77 ERA/ 15 SO/ 1.42 WHIP

IRONPIGPEN: As far as pitching is concerned, Kendrick has stopped his downwardslide and is quietly regaining his effectiveness. His performance Thursday evening (6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER) was his best effort of the season so far. If his improvement trend continues, it should only be another month or sobefore the conversation turns to when the Phillies might consider another shot for Kendrick in The Show.

Andrew Carpenter: 1-0/ 23.1 IP/ 3.86 ERA/ 14 SO/ 1.33 WHIP

Carlos Carrasco: 21.2 IP/ 0-2/ 4.57 ERA/ 23 SO/ 1.15 WHIP

Jason Donald: .244 AVG/ 1 HR/ 4 RBI/ .669 OPS/ SB

IRONPIGPEN: Meanwhile, the IronPigs bullpen has produced outstanding results since theopening series debacle versus the AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. Mike Koplove (11.2 IP, 0.77 ERA) and Gary Majewski (12 IP, 1.50 ERA) continueto plead their case for a place in the pen at Citizens Bank Park. The mostreliable of all, however, has perhaps been Tyler Walker, the former San Francisco Giant who was signed as a free agent after the season started.

Walker, in five appearances, has been unscored upon and has allowed just one hit in ten innings pitched. The veteran Major Leaguer also sports a standoutratio of zero walks to nine strikeouts.

Reading Phillies (AA): 12-6, 2nd in EAS South

Michael Taylor: . 338 AVG/ .958 OPS/ 3 HR/ 14 RBI/ 5 SB

IRONPIGPEN:

Highly touted outfield prospect Taylor, has apparently put his pedal to the metal in recent weeks. One thing to watch for, should this kind of production continue, would be whether or not Taylor is moved up to AAA at some point in the second half of the season.

Quentin Berry: .245 AVG/ .626 OPS/ 3 RBI/ 9 SB

Antonio Bastardo: 12.1 IP/ 1-0/ 0.73 ERA/ 11 SO/ 0.57 WHIP

IRONPIGPEN: As far as R-Phils pitching goes, the one man who continues to distinguish himself would be middle reliever Matt German. German, graduated from A+ Clearwater this spring, remains unscored upon after no less than eightappearances and 11.2 innings pitched. With just six hits permitted and sixteen batters struck out, German is fast developing into one of the league's more dependable firemen.

Clearwater Threshers (A+): 11-9, 2nd in FSL North

Dominic Brown: .288 AVG/ .893 OPS/ 3 HR/ 14 RBI/ 5 SB

Kyle Draebek: 3-0/ 24.1 IP/ 0.99 WHIP/ 31 SO

Lakewood Blue Claws (A): 12-8, Tied for 2nd in SAL Northern Division

Jason Knapp: 1-2/ 24.1 IP/ 1.85 ERA/ 37 SO/ 0.74 WHIP

Jay: Jason Knapp is a name plenty of Phillies phans became familiar with early last week, when he pitched 7 shut out innings while striking out 14 for Cleveland's low A ball squad, the Lake County Captains. Lakewood pitching coach Bob Milacki told me, "if he stays healthy and keeps improving like he is, Knapp's gonna be a big leaguer in a few years." His fast ball tops off at 97 MPH, and he's developing his already solid command of his curve and change. His strike outs show that he can over power hitters. His record has suffered due to lack of run support in his starts, but his ERA, WHIP, and strike out to walk ratio (37:6) don't lie. Only 18 years old, the 2008 2nd round pick Knapp is expected to spend the full season at Lakewood, but he could very well be a quick riser through the Phillies' system.

Travis D'Arnaud: .230/ 2 HR/ 17 RBI/ .650 OPS

Jay: Travis D'Arnaud is one of the Phillies' top 10 prospects, according to Baseball America. Lakewood's starting catcher has a low batting avg. in the early going, but he has not failed to come through in key situations, as he leads the team in RBI (no other BlueClaw is in double digits in RBI yet). D'Arnaud needs to become more selective with his pitches. 3 walks in 18 games needs improvement. D'Arnaud is a good game caller. He gets credit from his pitching staff as well as coach Bob Milacki for helping the pitchers excel. The 20 year old, D'Arnaud, batted a combined .305 between Williamsport and Lakewood last season, so expect him to have a good time getting that average back where it belongs.

Jesus Villegas: .429 AVG/ 1 HR/ 9 RBI/ 1.020 OPS

Jay: Jesus Villegas Andino leads the team in average and OPS. In his first 11 games, Jesus had 16 hits. His on base percentage (.522) is jaw dropping. The 22 year old Puerto Rican infielder plays both short stop and second base. The 2007 14th round draft pick has been quite a surprise and keeps earning himself more playing time. Not in the opening day lineup, Jesus has hit safely in 9 of his 11 games, and will be one to watch this year, if he stays hot.

Jon Velasquez: 5-0/ 20 IP/ 2.25 ERA/ 0.95 WHIP/ 13 SO

Jay: Jon Velasquez has already earned a promotion from the bullpen to the starting rotation this month. The 23 year old Bronx, NY native was signed as an undrafted amateur free agent in March, after he was spotted by a Phillies scout at an independent league tryout. His 4-0 record (3 wins in relief) leads the South Atlantic League. Coach Bob feels that Velsquez certainly has the talent to play at higher levels.

Pharm Phriday: 4/17

Every other week, Swing and a Long Drive will take a look at the progress of the Phillies minor league teams. We'll also look at the progress of top rated prospects in baseball. There will be stats, win-loss records, and expert opinions from other bloggers.

IRONPIGPEN has been kind enough to provide analysis on the IronPigs and Reading Phillies.

Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (AAA): 2-5

Jason Donald: .290 AVG/ .333 OBP/ .484 SLG/ .817 OPS/ 4 2B/ 1 RBI

IRONPIGPEN: Jason Donald has been swinging the bat productively since Opening Night and has given the IronPigs offensive production from the shortstop position unparalleled in team history. On defense, the former University of Arizona star has shown good range as well as an outstanding arm. Heading into Thursday night's game, the IronPigs led the International League in double plays, with Donald, naturally, playing a pivotal role.

Carlos Carrasco: 0-0/ 12 IP/ 1.50 ERA/ 0.92 WHIP/ 10 SO

IRONPIGPEN: Carlos Carrasco has been very strong in both of his starts. The Venezuelan has twice given the IronPigs six solid innings and has been very unfortunate to remain winless. Perhaps most importantly, Carrasco has shown good control, as evidenced by zero walks in his twelve innings pitched.

Rich Thompson: .343 AVG/ .361 OBP/ .457 SLG/ .818 OPS/ 5 RBI/ 1 HR

IRONPIGPEN: Perhaps the Lehigh Valley IronPig to be in the best of form right out of spring training would be leadoff batter and centerfielder Rich Thompson, who would not be considered a prospect. An eastern Pennsylvania boy via James Madison University, Thompson went 0 for 5 on Opening Night but has since put things in gear. Thompson has also continued the steady play on defense he demonstrated last season and nailed a runner at home late in the game to help preserve the IronPigs first victory of the season earlier this week. The veteran has also swiped his first two bases of the season and now boasts an impressive 27 for 29 (93.1%) career record for the IronPigs.

John Mayberry Jr.: .222 AVG/ .841 OPS/ 2 HR/ 4 RBI

Mike Cervenak: .286 AVG/ 1 HR/ 2 RBI/ .500 SLG

Kyle Kendrick: 1-0/ 11 IP/ 1.64 ERA/ 1.36 WHIP/ 5 SO

Reading Phillies (AA): 3-3

Gus Milner: .333 AVG/ .400 OBP/ .500 SLG/ .900 OPS/ 1 HR/ 2 RBI/ 1 SB

IRONPIGPEN: Six games into the AA Reading Phillies' new Eastern League season, a pleasant surprise would have to be the play of outfielder Gus Milner. Milner, 25 later this April, beat out more experienced players such as Javon Moran and Wilkin Ruan this spring for an R-Phils roster spot. Last year with the A+ Clearwater Threshers, Milner batted .261 (6 HR 53 RBI) in 132 games. Thus far as a rookie at the AA level, the Phillies' 2006 14th round pick from the University of Kansas is off to a fine start. At least for the time being, he has established himself as a regular in the R-Phils outfield.

Michael Taylor: .278 AVG/ 3 RBI/ .714 OPS/ 2 SB

IRONPIGPEN: As for the one player Philadelphia Phillies fans would probably be most concerned with 23 year old outfielder Michael Taylor, the former Philadelphia 2007 5th round pick from Stanford University can be said to be doing just fine.

Joe Savery: 0-1/ 10 IP/ 3.60 ERA/ 1.30 WHIP/ 11 SO

Clearwater Threshers (A+): 5-2

Dominic Brown: .231 AVG/ .641 OPS/ 2 RBI

Kyle Drabek: 2-0/ 12 IP/ 0.75 WHIP/ 16 SO

Lakewood Blue Claws (A) : 4-4

Zachary Collier: .222 AVG/ .767 OPS/ 2 RBI

Jason Knapp: 0-2/ 11.1 IP/ 3.18 ERA/ 1.06 WHIP/ 16 SO