Tuesday, May 12, 2009

The Bulls Are Back in Town

Game 30: Bulls 4, Braves 3
Wrap, Box
Game 31: Bulls 0, Braves 4
Season: 18-13
Wrap, Box

The Bulls are home with something of a new look on the field.

Tonight David Price is pitching against the Louisville Bats and Jonny Gomes. Louisville, the Reds AAA team, leads the IL’s West Division and has won their last three games.

Not much to say about yesterday’s game. We got outpitched. Mitch Talbot is having a lot of trouble keeping guys off base in his last two games. Yesterday his OBA was .435 with 6 hits and 4 walks in 5 innings.

A bunch of transactions while the Bulls were on the road. I don’t know anything about these guys yet, but I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough. In the case of Matt Hall, though, maybe not.

  • Matt Hall comes to us from the Rays’ Charlotte Stone Crabs (as in Port Charlotte, Florida). He started at 3rd in yesterday’s game and was 0-3. However, according to something I heard just this morning, he’s been sent back. Have no idea what’s going on there. Maybe Montoyo didn't like what he saw.
  • Reliever Joe Bateman comes to us from Hudson Valley. To be honest, I’m not sure that’s even a real team. Maybe somebody can help me out with that. He pitched in the 9th yesterday and, according to the box score, struck out two looking and got the third out on a foul pop-up. Welcome to the Bulls, Joe!
  • Joe Dillon comes to us in the Adam Kennedy trade from Sacramento in the Pacific Coast League. As far as I can tell, he hasn’t played this year. An infielder.
  • Lastly, showing on the transaction list is Alex Jamieson going to Hudson Valley. That doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s actually gone anywhere. It does mean that he can’t play in a Bulls game. Look to see him warming up pitchers in the bullpen.

Webworld:

  • It looks like Stacy Long came over from Montgomery to interview David Price. Price is supposedly working on a new pitch called a “spike curve”. Cork Gaines thinks that is the new name for the knuckle curve. Whatever works, I say.
  • Justin Ruggiano talked about his three-homer game with Bulls broadcaster Neil Solondz. What I found interesting was his comments about Carlos Hernandez later in the interview. Not to put too fine a point on it, a pitcher who works quickly keeps the outfielders from getting bored out there.
  • For more on the transactions (particularly Joe Dillon), see Adam Sobsky over at Indy Week.

4 comments:

  1. Looks like we're playing "Charlie checkers" with our guys again - lots of movement from one level to the next.

    Let's hope that Price has gotten over the jitters or whatever has afflicted him during his last outings at home.

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  2. Price looks like he's not striding correctly -- almost like he's aiming the ball too much. I hate to quote the fictional "Crash Davis" but: "Don't think, just throw."

    He's leaving it up and fat over the plate and that is certainly no way to get up to the majors.

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  3. After a shaky first inning, Price looked a lot -- WAY LOT -- better last night. He had excellent velocity and movement and was changing speeds nicely. He may be coming around.

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  4. I agree. Much better control. If the radar gun was even close to being right, his velocity was way up. Trouble hitting spots with changeup, but that's a work in progress anyhow. No walks, I think that's a first. Too bad about the ninth inning, because it was really one of their better games up till then.

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