Feast Or Famine

Game 59, June 8, Coca-Cola Park, Allentown, PA
Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs 6, Durham Bulls 0
Season: 32-27; Last 10: 5-5; Trip: 1-1
Wrap, Box, Bacon and Biscuits, The Morning Call

I sure wish we could blame rehabbing Jeff Neimann for this one. He did, after all, give up four runs in the first three innings. But, as one of our former leaders of the free world once said, "That would be wrong."

The reality is that the Bulls had their worst night at bat of the year, only three hits, and suffered their second shut-out of the season. With a brief nod to the Iron Pigs pitching, lets move on to the interesting/quirky stuff.

Broadcaster Neil Solondz reported that for his rehab start Jeff Niemann was using "major league baseballs". I didn't know that there was a difference, unless it was the printing on the cowhide (they don't use horsehide any more). And I tried to figure out how that happened. Here's my guess: About an hour before game time a kid shows up at the gate looking like your typical pizza delivery guy—tattoos, piercings, baseball cap on backwards, driving a clapped out Honda Civic. The difference is that the sign on the top of the car and the stitching on his hat says Rawlings. Instead of pizzas he's carrying several of those flat boxes of baseballs. He raps on the gate and reads from the ticket. "Baseballs for Mr. Niemann. Says right here I gotta deliver them personal to the umpires."

Of the three hits, all three were doubles (one by Brandon Guyer, two by Dan Johnson).

The Iron Pigs are, as far as I know, the only other team in minor league baseball with a fan-driven blog, Bacon and Biscuits. I did an interview with them yesterday. As you will note, I made one of my spectacularly wrong predictions.

The News and Observer ran an interesting piece on Russ Canzler this morning.

Over on the Rays website there was a item about the depth of the Rays system and some of the players who have come up this year.

Some Rays fans are getting really antsy to see Desmond Jennings. Here's an item that lays out some of the obscure financial reasoning behind keeping him in Durham. It even includes a countdown clock.

Last night former Bull Reid Brignac did his best Ozzie Smith imitation. Pretty play. Left out the backflip, though.