August Highlights the Phillies Catching Depth

Going into the draft this spring, there was a cry for the Phillies to draft a catcher because the team didn’t have an heir for Carlos Ruiz.  Throwing aside that catchers develop too slow to help that quickly, there was public concern over the state of the Phillies’ catching depth.  Right now after some crazy … Read more

Positional Overview: Catcher

Positional Overviews: C|1B|2B|SS|3B|LF/RF|CF|SP (Upper)|SP (Lower) Depth Chart: Age Likely 2015 Level Top 50 Carlos Ruiz 36 MLB Cameron Rupp 26 MLB John Hester 31 AAA Koyie Hill 35 AAA Tommy Joseph 23 AAA Rene Garcia 24 AA Logan Moore 24 AA Gabriel Lino 21 AA Andrew Knapp 23 A+ 23 Chace Numata 22 A+ Jose Mayorga … Read more

2014 Lehigh Valley IronPigs Recap: Interview with KRAM

Before we jump into talking about players why don’t you introduce yourself and where people can find your writing?

I write a column called “Kram’s Korner” for the Horn and Bell Blog of the Lehigh Valley Noise Nation.  “Kram” is an old joke–backwards for my real name–which just kind of stuck.  And, it helps keep my baseball life separate from my real life.  The 209 in my twitter handle refers to my section at Coca Cola Park in Allentown.  I’ve been a full-season ticket holder there since the 2009 season.   Web: www.noisenation.wordpress.com  Twitter: @Kram209

It was not a great year for the Ironpigs statistically or in the standings, but we all know that doesn’t tell the whole story in the minor leagues.   Can you quickly sum up the season for everyone out there?

2014 was the “season of change” for the IronPigs.  The AAA roster was subject to 166 roster transactions over our 144 game schedule.  The turnover was most pronounced at home, with our proximity to Philadelphia and Reading.  I believe this was responsible for our league-worst home record.  The away record, however, was among the league-best, as the roster galvanized a bit on the road trips. While there were plenty of home losses, we saw many players play, and the team continued to play hard throughout the season.  I did feel we had a chance to win every night.  There were seasons in the past where that wasn’t the case.  

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