IronPigs Fall in Finals, New Life For Six

Facing elimination in the Triple-A International League Governor's Cup Finals at Allentown's Coca Cola Park, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs were hoping to get some offensive production after scoring just three total runs in their losses in games 2 and 3 against the defending league champions, the Columbus Clippers (Indians affiliate).

Also needed was a solid outing from starting right-hander Ryan Edell, who had been a strong contributor all season long. At two levels of the Phillies' system this season, the left-handed Edell posted a 10-6 record with a 3.38 ERA.

Unfortunately for Lehigh Valley, the offensive improvements never came and the Clippers' pitcher proved better than Edell on this night.

Right-hander Paolo Espino, Cleveland's 10th round pick from the 2006 draft, allowed just 4 hits and 1 run over 7 innings while striking out 5 batters and walking only 1 to earn the win.

The 4-1 defeat ended the IronPigs' season and locked down a repeat as champion for the Clippers, who won the best-of-five series in four games.

Columbus got the scoring started in the 2nd inning when shortstop Juan Diaz and catcher Paul Phillips each smacked a run scoring hit off of Edell. In the next frame, the Clippers increased their lead to 3-0 when third baseman Jared Goedert smacked a solo homerun to deep left field.

Lehigh Valley notched its lone run in the 7th inning when postseason powerhouse Brandon Moss smacked his 4th playoff homerun. Moss, the 'Pigs' right fielder who would receive some good news later in the night, finished the postseason with a .385 batting average in 7 games played.

The 28-year-old Edell took the loss, going five innings while allowing 3 runs on 6 hits.

Following the defeat, the Phillies announced that they would be adding five players from the IronPigs' roster. Outfielder Domonic Brown and right-handed hurler Justin De Fratus were recalled, while the team selected the contracts of left-handed pitcher Joe Savery, catcher Erik Kratz and Moss.

Lehigh Valley manager Ryne Sandberg will also join the Phillies for the remainder of the season, as an extra coach. The 51-year-old Sandberg, a baseball Hall of Famer, led the IronPigs to the International League final in his first season back in the Philadelphia organization since he was traded to the Cubs in 1982.

In order to make room on the 40-man roster, pitchers Mike Zagurski, Juan Perez and Drew Naylor were all designated for assignment.

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Hockey Taking Over CBP

The takeover has begun. As the holiday season approaches and winter becomes more imminent, January 2nd, the date of this season's NHL Winter Classic draws nearer. In 2012, Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park will play host to the annual regular season hockey contest that is broadcast on national television. The ballpark is otherwise home to Major League Baseball's Phillies. In the upcoming game, the Flyers will take on New York Rangers. It will be New York's first Winter Classic appearance, while the Flyers, who lost at Boston in 2010, will be seeing action in the annual event for the second time. This will mark the fifth year for the NHL's premiere regular season contest, which first took place in 2008 at Buffalo's Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the NFL's Bills. The process to convert the baseball playing field into an ice rink, in time for the week of hockey events set to take place at CBP, began this week. In addition to the January 2nd regular season...

Division Lead Back to 3 Games

Six shut out innings by the bullpen, a diving catch by Jayson Werth and two homeruns by Chase Utley won the game for the Phillies and got their lead in the NL East back to 3 games over the Metropolitans. It was a surprising effort from the bullpen as Scott Eyre, JC Romero, Jack Taschner, Chad Durbin, Ryan Madson and even Chan Ho Park shut down the Mets lineup in the extra inning victory. It was a risky play by Werth, who could have allowed the winning run to score if he hadn't made the catch on the ball batted by David Wright. It was clutch hitting by Utley, who, with his second homerun of the game, gave the Phillies an 11th inning lead that they would not let up. Huge win for the Phillies! ------------------------- Stats to ponder- Jimmy Rollins in the lead off spot this season- 49 games, .208 avg (47-for-226), .244 OBP, 1 HR, 29 runs. Jimmy Rollins batting any place else in the lineup this season- 7 games, .409 avg (9-for-22), .440 OBP, 3 HR, 6 runs. Carlos Ruiz against the Mets ...

Ryan Madson is acting questionable

I've seen similar types of "poking fun" entries on other Phillies blogs. When this picture came across my desk today, I figured, "Why not...?" Ryan Madson was out on the town (Manayunk) over the weekend and was photographed acting pretty with a purse slung over his shoulder and being chummy with a friend of mine. Can I really call him a friend, if he's actually my friends' friend , and I only prank called him once? Sure, why the heck not?!

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