Brett Myers Sent To Minors

Via a multitude of celebratory instant messages and emails, Brett Myers has been sent down to AAA Lehigh Valley. No word on who’s being called up to take his place, but at least Myers and his 5.84 ERA get to work things out with the IronPigs for a while.

Update: Todd Zolecki writes Myers had to accept the assignment, and did so graciously.

Crash Sends Pigs Onto Rt. 30

CBS 3 reports a pig truck overturned in Chester County. Pigs went all over the runway at around 6 a.m. on the Route 30 bypass in Chester County.

“Tires were squealing,” CBS writes, har de har har. Unfortunately, the members who crashed were not those of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, who lost again last night to drop their record to 4-28.

Pig truck overturns in Chester County [CBS 3]
Toledo 11, Lehigh Valley 7 [MiLB.com]

Break Up The IronPigs!

After opening the season 0-11, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs are on a roll! They now have won two straight after scoring a season-high 4 runs (ha!) last night in a 4-1 win over the Toledo Mud Hens.

And, look! History, according to The Morning Call: “The one obvious mistake by Mazone came in the second when Melian hit a two-out home run into the Bud Light Trough over the right-field fence, the first home run at Coca-Cola Park to exit somewhere other than center field.” Oooh.

Tonight, the IronPigs go for their third straight win, a franchise record (obviously). And despite the warm temperatures today, it’s Eskimo Night at the ballpark, where (really) “[a]ny fan showing a valid I.D. or drivers license from Alaska, Canada or any other province inherit to Eskimos or Inuit’s, will be given free admission to the game. In addition, all fans in attendance will receive free ice when they enter Coca-Cola Park!”

The press release is awful chipper:

“Despite the warm weather, I still guarantee a freezing good time,” exclaimed IronPigs General Manager Kurt Landes. “However, don’t be surprised if we have dogsled…or even pigsled races at one point!”

Ha ha, pig sled. I get it! But, anyway: Free ice and a 2-11 baseball team? Eskimo Night is one hot ticket indeed. (See what I did there?)

IronPigs Apparently Not Pigs

It hasn’t even been a week since the announcement that the new Phillies AAA affiliate will be called the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, and already people are bashing the team’s name.

The Allentown Morning Call detailed the public reaction last week, including Lehigh County commissioner Andy Roman, who called the names — when the voting for the team’s name was still going on — “silly” and actually considered drafting a resolution to express the displeasure with the names. (He didn’t.)

It is, though, as simple as this: Minor league baseball teams wouldn’t, normally, be likely to sell much merchandise except to the diehards and people at the ballpark. With a “wacky” name like IronPigs — or, say, the Lakewood BlueClaws — the team can sell merchandise to all over the country. Hey, it’s business. And IronPigs is a fun nickname! Harry Kalas: “Thompson’s up from Lehigh Valley. He hit .345 with the Pigs this season.” Now that’s fun.

As for why the team’s name is IronPigs and not Iron Pigs? Well, IronPigs president Chuck Domino — aka Fats Berry — has an answer for that:

“We didn’t want the word iron being an adjective to describe pig,” Domino said. “We want it to be one word. That way it’s its own species that we can make into anything we want to make it.”

Chuck Domino: IronPigs president and mad bioengineer intent on creating a new species of animal, perhaps to use as an army for world domination.

IronPigs causing controversy, interest [Allentown Morning Call via PhilliesPhans]
Archives: IronPigs

IronPigs Get Challenge From Iron Pigs

It appears that the Lehigh Valley IronPigs team name may not be set in stone yet.

Yes, the Texas-based Iron Pigs Motorcycle Club is planning to sue to force the team to change its name. The motorcycle club, an offshoot of the Wild Pigs, says it has already defended its trade mark “several times” since its founding in 2000.

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs’ response? “Who the hell is going to confuse the two?!” Well, not really, they just said they already checked with Minor League Baseball and said the name will be able to stand up to challenges. (Perhaps this is why there’s not a space.) But will it stand up to the wrath of angry Lehigh Valley fans confused by the name?

IronPigs Face Name Challenge From Motorcyle Group [AP/CBS 3]
Nov. 13: IronPigs To Get Phillies’ Minor Leaguers Ready To Play For A Team With A Stupid Nickname

Screenshot From IronPigs Website Presented W/O Comment

IronPigs Baseball
Earlier Today: IronPigs To Get Phillies’ Minor Leaguers Ready To Play For A Team With A Stupid Nickname

IronPigs To Get Phillies’ Minor Leaguers Ready To Play For A Team With A Stupid Nickname

Alas (and alack!), Star Trek fans. The Phillies’ AAA affiliate in Allentown won’t be named the Vulcans, as I campaigned for last month despite never having seen an episode of Star Trek all the way through.

The team also won’t be named the Crushers, Gobblers, Keystones, Phantastics, Phillies or Woodchucks. That’s right, sports fans. The Phillies’ new AAA affiliate is none other than the IronPigs. And if it’s not going to be Vulcans, I suppose IronPigs will do.

Yes, it’s written just like that, instead of the traditional way of having spaces inbetween words. But, hey, if Pennsylvania can become a blue state and two men can get married (er, sorry, “civil unioned”) in New Jersey, then, hey, who cares about tradition anyway!

It will be the Allentown Lehigh Valley IronPigs taking the field as the Phils’ AAA affiliate in 2008. While the Lehigh Valley stadium is being built, next year the Phillies’ highest minor league affiliate will be the Ottawa Lynx. Although there was a fan voting contest to determine the “winner” for the team’s name, it appears the name was selected for other purposes:

”This is all going to evolve into a dynamite team logo and concept that people will rally around,” [IronPigs co-owner Joe Finley] said. ”There really is a science behind this. We made a $14 million dollar investment in the team, so it’s not a bunch of guys sitting around picking something out of the air. A lot of research and analysis went into this. It’s going to be wonderful.”

Ha, you stupid fans, thinking you had a say in it. You’ll be cheering for the effing Lehigh Valley IronPigs, dammit, and you’re gonna love cheering for a team that honors the process of making steel. Let’s go pigs!

They’re called what?! Prepare to see ‘IronPigs’ fly [Allentown Morning Call]
Oct. 19: Live Long And Prosper, AAA Affiliate