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All-Star game nearing

ALLENTOWN - Once again fans get to choose who will participate in the Triple-A All-Star game that pits the International League All-Stars against the Pacific Coast League All-Stars.

Results of voting thus far has shown that many of the IronPigs could be busy during All-Star week at Coca-Cola Park.First baseman Andy Tracy, third baseman Cody Ransom, outfielder John Mayberry are position players who are currently penciled in to start.Drew Carpenter is the leading vote getter among starting pitchers and Scott Mathieson and Mike Zagurski sit 1-2 in the voting for relief pitcher.The All-Star game will take place at the home of the IronPigs on Wednesday, July 14 with a home run contest and a Pigapalooza event scheduled in the days prior to game.If you would like to cast your vote for your favorite player, go to the International League site at minorleaguebaseball. com. Online voting will conclude June 25.Scoreless inLehigh ValleyManager Dave Huppert I am sure is sick of talking about it, but it is ironic that the best National League Team in the majors and its Triple-A affiliate are suffering from a dead-bats disease that makes winning games extremely tough.Before last night's game, the IronPigs batted just .200 and scored a whopping eight total runs. Their output gives them a terrible record (6-19) in one run games. The SWB Yankees are 17-5 in one run games.Cody Ransom leads Lehigh Valley with 13 home runs and 40 runs batted in. The only other IronPig over 30 RBI is John Mayberry (33). That may sound good but he also carries an unimpressive .268 average and has struck out 73 times in just 60 games.This is matched by suspect defense that has Ransom leading the team by committing 15 errors at in the first two-and-a-half months of the season. That places him in second place behind the full-season record of futility set by Mike Rouse (18 errors).The IronPigs are currently on a pace to match their 55-89 record in 2008. I would not expect that trend to continue. Unlike the 2008 team, these IronPigs are actually in games that they can win primarily due to a pitching staff that is posting the league's second best ERA (3.59).Tracy catching onAndy Tracy, who normally hits well in June, is starting to show why he the Phillies are holding on to the 36-year old. In Thursday's double-header, the Toledo Mudhens were unable to get Tracy out. In the first game Tracy walked in all three appearances and in the nightcap the lefty-slugger went 3-for-3 with a homerun.Since coming off the disabled list in the end of May, Tracy's on-base percentage is .617 as he reached safely in 37 of his 60 plate appearances.This output comes at a clutch time as prospect John Mayberry left last Saturday's game with a sore left knee. He has not played since and is still day-to-day.The Yanks arecoming….After shuffling off to Buffalo, the IronPigs come home to face the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees for a four game series starting next Thursday.