Here is a baseball riddle; If a baseball team – in this case, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs – have played 73 games, how can their record be 0-0? Because Major League Baseball continues to tinker with the game. Starting this season, MLB split the minor league season into two halves and the first half concluded Sunday when the IronPigs lost in Worcester and finished the first half at 36-37.

The theory is that the change will keep fans interested later in the season. In other words, even if your team was horrible through the first half, they might magically be much better in the second half. It can happen in minor league baseball where players are continually moving up and down through the various levels of the minors. For instance, the Phillies moved a group of players around, including promoting four players from Clearwater to Jersey Shore for the second half of the season. A roster change or two is possible at Lehigh Valley before they take to the field Wednesday against Rochester.

Even though the International League has two divisions, only the best team from the league gets a pass into the IL League Championship Series (LCS). The Norfolk Tides (48-26) claimed the title of first half champion in the IL, which means that the league’s LCS will open in Norfolk in September.

So, what happens if Norfolk wins the second half title? In that event, the team with the second-best overall record advances to play the Tides. The winner of that three-game series would go on to play for the Triple-A National Championship in Las Vegas against the Pacific Coast League champion from that league’s best-of-three LCS. Oklahoma City (50-23) won the first half title in the PCL. Norfolk is the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, while Oklahoma City is affiliated with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Of course, one large fly in the ointment is that MLB teams can expand their rosters in September, which can leave affiliated teams without some of their best players late in the season, including for the National League Championship Series.

The flaws: Winning your division means absolutely nothing and unless a bad first half team has a huge turnaround and finishes with the best overall second half record, they still are not likely to make the postseason because they will not be so good that they will not have the next best overall record by the end of the regular season on September 24. The second half champion gets zero home games in the playoffs. All three games of the LCS are played in the ballpark of the first half champion.

The good points: For a team like Lehigh Valley that finished at 36-37 and 11 ½ games behind Norfolk, it is conceivable that they could put together a second half run and reach the playoffs.

One final note. The second half, which starts this week, does not start on a Tuesday as the minor league schedule normally does. Because the Fourth of July falls on a Tuesday this summer and the IL guarantees each team a home game on either July third or fourth, the opening series against Rochester will run from Wednesday through Monday (July 3) at Coca-Cola Park. The IronPigs then travel up the Northeast Extension to play at Scranton beginning Tuesday July 4. The league then returns to their normal Tuesday through Sunday schedule.

HALL IS OFFICIALLY A PIG... The Phillies activated Darick Hall from the injured list and immediately optioned him to Lehigh Valley, but for how long? The Phillies have suffered through a power outage and could use a big bat to either come off the bench or play every day at first base, leaving speculation that Hall will be promoted back to Philadelphia quickly. For now, Kody Clemens stays with the Phillies thanks primarily to his ability to play multiple positions. Two weeks ago, Hall hit one of the longest home runs in the history of Coca-Cola Park when he hit a ball over the advertising board in right field and onto IronPigs Way outside the ballpark.

MEMORIES OF ROCHESTER... IronPigs fans may remember that Rochester was where IronPigs third baseman Daniel Brito collapsed on the field. Still just 25 years old, Brito is working his way back toward playing in affiliated ball as a member of the Charleston Dirty Birds in the independent Atlantic League. Brito is batting .212 and playing both second and third base. The Birds come into Lancaster Aug. 1-3 to play the Lancaster Barnstormers.