Archive for November, 2009

« Older Entries

Countdown 2010

Monday, November 30th, 2009

This, as you can see with this picture, will be the 10th season in BlueClaws history, and we’re going to do some special things to celebrate. One of those things is a weekly countdown Top Tens in BlueClaws History leading up to April and the 2010 baseball season.

Categories include the following:

  • Giveaways
  • Pictures
  • Food Items
  • Entertainers
  • MLB Moments for Former ‘Claws
  • Events/Concerts
  • Moments
  • Playoff Moments
  • Field Cut Photos
  • Awards
  • Celebrities in Attendance
  • Home Runs

We’re going to solicit your help here, on our Facebook/Twitter pages, and through our weekly newsletter to help pick them out, and then we’ll unveil the top tens one at a time, one each week, beginning in January.

Any early suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments section, but stay tuned, we’re going to start shortly!

Posted in Countdown 2010 | 1 Comment »

Kids Eat Free Recognized by Ballpark Digest

Monday, November 30th, 2009

We broke down the numbers at the end of the season…Almost eight miles of hot dogs given away by the BlueClaws as part of the Kids Eat Free, at every game, promotion done in 2009. This one-of-a-kind promotion was recognized recently by Ballpark Digest as its 2009 Promotion of the Year!

“A great promotion should do more than just draw attention to the team; it should excite fans and give them something of value,” said Kevin Reichard, publisher of ballparkdigest.com, the Internet’s leading resource on the culture and business of baseball. “In the midst of a terrible economy Trenton and Lakewood enhanced the lives of thousands of kids with a bold promotion that went way beyond what anyone else in baseball was doing.”

Kids Eat Free in Lakewood gave out the equivilents of the following:

  • In hot dogs, 7.95 miles, or 24 laps around the FirstEnergy Park concourse, four trips across Midtown Manhattan, 14.5 trips up and down the Willis Tower
  • If he ate at the same rate, it would take Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Champ Joey Chestnut 7 days, 8 hours, 26 minutes to reach teh 71,000+ hot dogs
  • In potato chips, the equivilent of 28,044 bobblehead dolls or 8.5 Volkswagon Beetles
  • In liquid (soda), enough to water the average lawn for 65 hours

Full release below the fold…

(more…)

Posted in Kids Eat Free, Lakewood BlueClaws | No Comments »

A BlueClaws Thanksgiving

Wednesday, November 25th, 2009

Certainly the 2009 baseball season was a a special one for BlueClaws fans, seeing the home team win a second SAL title, and a month later seeing some former BlueClaws on the Phillies World Series roster. So for Thanksgiving, we decided to list a few highlights for us, moments that we were thankful we got to see during the 2009 baseball season at the Jersey Shore.

  • Anthony Gose spending about $600 of his own money bidding on BlueClaws red jerseys during our live auction for the American Cancer Society
  • The spirited bidding war over Jim Murphy’s pink jersey on Mother’s Day, with the winner being the Susan G. Komen Foundation
  • Brendan Akashian hitting his first (and only) affiliated baseball home run with his father in attendance on Father’s Day at FirstEnergy Park
  • Jason Knapp in a complete zone, striking out 14 Lake County Captains over seven shutout innings to tie Robinson Tejeda’s franchise record, though the BlueClaws would lose the April 21st game 2-0
  • Seeing hitting coach Greg Legg win his first minor league championship in 27(!) years in the organization
  • A special day in BlueClaws history: August 24th, 2009…not only does Brett Myers do a rehab appearance during a BlueClaws double-header against Lake County, but between games, Matthew Currie (age 7) of Toms River becomes the 4-millionth fan in BlueClaws history
  • 27 straight scoreless innings by reliever BJ Rosenberg before a deserved promotion to Reading
  • Pedro Martinez
  • The Cha-Cha Claws (see below)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Posted in 2009 BlueClaws, Anthony Gose, BJ Rosenberg, Jason Knapp, Jim Murphy | No Comments »

Howard Third in MVP Voting

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

No surprise, Ryan Howard, a BlueClaw in 2002, finished 3rd in the 2009 National League MVP balloting behind unanimous winner Albert Pujols of St Louis and Florida shortstop Hanley Ramirez.

Howard hit .279 with 37 doubles, four triples, 45 home runs and a Major League-leading 141 RBIs this season. He also had a career-high eight stolen bases. He ranked first in baseball with 43 go-ahead RBIs, second with 86 in extra-base hits and game-winning RBIs (22), third in homers and total bases (352) and fifth in slugging percentage (.571). (from MLB.com)

If Howard hits another 40 home runs next year he will become the 2nd player (Babe Ruth) to have 40 home runs in five consecutive seasons.

Howard was just 16 points behind Ramirez for second place and appeared on 31 of 32 ballots.

BlueClaws Blog says: No surprise at all. Pujols was magnificent (.327-47-124). It’s his 3rd MVP.

Posted in Past BlueClaws, Phillies, Ryan Howard | No Comments »

Blue Friday Sale Details

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

bluefridaysale2010Same great holiday shopping without the headaches. The annual Blue Friday Sale at the ClawsCove returns this week, 10 am - 5 pm on Friday. Details as follows:

  • $45 game-used jackets and $80 game-worn jerseys (about 35% off)
  • $10 bobble-head dolls
  • 50% off all old logo merchandise (which, when it goes, it’s gone)
  • 10% off everything else

You can shop online here but these prices are only for those that shop in person on Friday.

Posted in ClawsCove | No Comments »

Final Fall League Update

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

That’s it, another season in the books down in the Arizona Fall League, and a relatively productive one for the former BlueClaws that took part. Here’s how they did (parentheses refers to year with Lakewood)…First the hitters…

  • OF Domonic Brown (2008): .229, 2 HRs, 18 RBIs, 9 doubles…finished 0-20, dropping his final average from .276…headed to Lehigh Valley to open 2010, perhaps his final season in the minors
  • C Tuffy Gosewisch (2007): .318 (14-44), 0 HRs, 5 RBIs…Ready to catch every day with Lehigh Valley next year
  • SS Troy Hanzawa (2009): 2-25, 0 HRs, 3 RBIs…tough when you’re only active one day a week as Troy was.
  • OF Steve Susdorf (2009): 11-55, 2 HRs, 6 RBIs…lefty will be in either Reading or Lehigh Valley when baseball opens next year

And the pitchers…

  • Michael Cisco (2008): 1-2, 3.38, 18.2 IP, 14 H, 8 BB, 13 K…A nice fall for the  2008 draftee…allowed four of his seven earned runs in second outing, and gave up just three earned runs over his last 14.2 innings pitched
  • Edgar Garcia (2007): 2-2, 5.29, 17 IP, 23 H, 4 BB, 10 K…Continues to throw strikes and wasn’t a bad ending to a strange year for Garcia that started with visa problems in the Dominican Republic
  • Scott Mathieston (2004): 0-0, 2.84, 12.2 IP, 10 H, 8 BB, 15 K…Began with 7.2 scoreless innings…off of second Tommy John Surgery…is on the 40-man roster and he’ll have an outside shot to make big league club out of camp
  • Michael Schwimer (skipped Lakewood): 0-0, 4.26, 12.2 IP, 12 H, 8 BB, 8 K…Like Mathieson, too many walks, but like Susdorf and Cisco, just his second year in pro baseball, which ended with Double-A Reading. Part of a promising bullpen prospect group for the Phillies

Posted in Arizona Fall League, Domonic Brown, Past BlueClaws, Steve Susdorf, Troy Hanzawa, Tuffy Gosewisch | No Comments »

Three Out of Twenty-Six

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

Here’s a prospect ranking list we just found from during the season (MLB.com). It has three Phillies (and former BlueClaws) ranked among the top 30 prospects in all of baseball.

  • 20. Michael Taylor (2008)
  • 24. Domonic Brown (2008)
  • 26. Kyle Drabek (2007)

This list was released two days after the Cliff Lee trade, and 2009 BlueClaws pitcher Jason Knapp comes in ranked 39th.

Think of this update as more of a glimpse into what the list heading into the 2010 season might look like when the usual polling is completed. The rankings here reflect more of a assessment than a representation of what the baseball industry thinks.

Posted in Around the Farm, Domonic Brown, Jason Knapp, Kyle Drabek, Michael Taylor, Past BlueClaws | No Comments »

In Focus: Martial Arts Night

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

martialartsnightContinuing our “In Focus” series on group theme nights for the 2010 season, Martial Arts Night.

When: Sunday, June 6th (Kids Eat Free) and Thursday, August 12th (Thirsty Thursday)

What: On Martial Arts Night, we bring out different Martial Arts Academies from across Ocean and Monmouth Counties. There is discounted seating for all groups plus:

  • Groups of 50 or more are given a table on the concourse to promote their academy
  • Groups of 100 or more are given a table plus the chance to perform on the field before the game (like this)

Call Ross, 732-901-7000 ext 110 with any questions or to reserve an outing.

Previously: Faith Night, Adult Softball League Night, Scout Night, Education Days

Posted in In Focus | No Comments »

« Older Entries