The Durham Bulls in 2012 — The Hitters: Part 2

In addition to the 12 ballplayers profiled in our last post, 20 other ballplayers came to bat for the Durham Bulls in 2012. Players are listed in order of number of games played. The “slash line” is Batting Average/On-Base Percentage/Slugging. An asterisk after a player’s name indicates he bats left-handed, a # sign indicates he is a switch hitter. Basic 2012 Bulls stats are here and here.

Short-Timers

Will Rhymes* (29) played in 46 games (194 times at the plate) in his two stretches with the Bulls. He was mostly at second base.

• Decent, but not particularly helpful hitting numbers, .256/.326/.361 with 21 RBI, an OK wOBA of .320 and a slightly negative wRAA of -0.9. Rhymes was an infielder-in-waiting all year for the Rays as they moved folks on and off the disabled list. Mostly Rhymes stayed with the Rays. However, the Rays dumped him off the 40-man at the end of the Bulls season, when the Rays designated him for assignment. I was mildly surprised to see him pass through waivers.
• Will the Rays want Rhymes back next year? A larger question might be, does Rhymes want to come back? Hard to tell. My guess is that everything will depend on how the Rays are looking at their future infield. 
• Stats

Juan Miranda* (29) started the season with the Bulls, then was moved on in early June. He was in 44 games (176 PA) primarily at first base.

• Miranda is one of the poster children for the Rays not treating the Bulls right this year. Signed at the last minute, he stuck with Rays through spring training then was assigned to the Bulls. He went 0-5 with three strikeouts on opening day back in April. He stayed until June when he was released to make room for Brandon Allen (see below). 
• His numbers: .187/.307/.273 with only 8 RBI. His wOBA was .279 and his wRAA was -6.3.
• Stats

Nevin Ashley (27) was one of the Bulls I was looking forward to watching this year. But he broke his hand in April and didn’t make it back until late July. He got into 35 games with 130 plate appearances.

• We are getting into small sample size issues here, take everything hereafter with a grain of salt. Decent numbers. Slash line: .245/.357/.455 with 13 RBI. His wOBA was a decent .363 and his wRAA was 3.8.
• If anyone didn’t think that catching was a tough job, they should look at what happened to the Rays this year. At least Mr. Ashley got back into a lineup. Robinson Chirinos spent the entire year on the DL.
• Stats.

Kyle Hudson* (25) was traded to the Phillies system for Rich Thompson. He started the season with the Bulls and played in 31 games (133 PA).

• As a Bull he had some decent numbers, .291/.378/.318, wOBA .327, wRAA 0.2. However, the rest of the year got pretty ugly for him as an Iron Pig with a wOBA of 281 and wRAA of -11.5. 
• Stats.

Brandon Allen* (26) was the last of the collection of late signers that showed up in Durham (following Feliciano, Salazar, Mangini, and Miranda). He played in 29 games (129 plate appearances) after being sent down by the Rays.

• His numbers are OK. Again, please note we are venturing well into small sample size territory here. His .263/.295/.451, 14 RBI, wOBA of .327,  and wRAA of .2 reflect end of tenure improvement, because his start wasn’t very good.
• Allen was off to play in Japan in late July.
• Stats.

Early, Late, and Mid-Season

Brandon Guyer (26) is a terrific young ballplayer who started the season with the Bulls (22 games), got called up, messed up his shoulder, and was on the disabled list for the rest of the year. Maybe in 2013.

Brooks Conrad (32) was a mid-season hire by the Rays who finished the season with the Bulls (25 games. He was very helpful at the end. Not likely to be back.

Hideki Matsui* (38) was one of the odder moments in Bulls history. He was signed by the Rays and sent to the Bulls to get in condition. He played in 13 games and apparently helped the Bulls out quite a bit on the financial side. Otherwise, his numbers were pitiful, .170/.231/.444. For a while it was fun having him around. But also a little sad.

Rehabbers

Evan Longoria, Jeff Keppinger, Sam Fuld, Jose Lobaton, Desmond Jennings, Luke Scott, and Matt Joyce all had rehab assignments. Other than having the opportunity to see the big leaguers on the field, an unfortunate reality of minor league baseball is that these fellows aren’t much help to the team. As a group they played in 31 games, had 125 plate appearances, and only managed 8 hits (.198) with a grand total of 8 RBI, half of those on Luke Scott’s two home runs.

Oddities

Catcher Craig Albernaz (29) was essentially with the Bulls all year, but only saw action in 23 games, 6 of those as a pitcher in the waning innings of a losing game.

Catcher Mayo Acosta (24) came up from Montgomery to lend a hand for a couple of games (9) in May. He had a decent year overall. Very good chance that he will be in a Bulls uniform at some time next year.

Infielder Sean Rodriguez (27) was sent down for two games at the end of the Bulls season in some roster maneuvering by the Rays. He won a game for the Bulls with a home run, then broke his hand in some sort of locker room incident.

Latecomers

At the very end of the season two players were jumped all the way up from the Charlotte Stone Crabs played a couple of games, then went on to help Montgomery in their playoffs.

Kevin Kiermaier* (22) played in four games and was the one and only young outfielder to play for the Durham Bulls in 2012. At a guess he’ll be playing in Montgomery next year.

Robby Price* (24) is an infielder who played only in the last two games that were played in Charlotte. He went 3 for 6 in a promising start.

Being By a Bay is Better

Season: 51-58; Road Trip: 3-2; Bulls v. Tides: 6-5; Standings

Box, Wrap

For those interested in numerical anomalies we must note that the Bulls began this road trip by allowing their opponent to score 8 runs per game for three games in a row. Fortunately for the Bulls, the Bulls scored more than 8 runs in the first two games (10-8 and 16-8). Not so fortunate was the third game when the Bulls only scored one run (1-8) and really not so fortunate for the fourth game when the streak was broken in a 1-13 blowout down in Gwinnett.

After a trek across the Carolinas, the Bulls scored 8 runs for themselves over in Harbor Park, and the pitching achieved a rare shutout (only 7 shutouts in 109 games).

Chris Archer continued his comeback from his muscle strain. Talk about being cautious: 17 pitches on July 7 (date twinge was noted), 41 pitches on July 22, and 60 pitches in 4 innings last night (July 28). I was not able to listen, but the stats look very good, only 1 hit, 1 walk, and 3 Ks.

I guess I need to quit calling Frank De Los Santos a new guy. He has become a bright light in the bullpen. When he came up from Montgomery on June 22 he was handled as if he were going to be a lefty specialist. Possibly making a virtue of necessity, he’s been having mostly longer outings recently, picking up two holds and two wins in his last five outings. He’s up to 14 appearances, 17 innings, a 1.38 FIP, and an ERA of 1.58. Here’s hoping he stays healthy to the end.

Rich Thompson had a terrific night at bat: 4 hits, 2 RBI, 1 runs scored. Henry Wrigley continued on his tear going 2-4, with a sac fly and a RBI. No 

Outside the Game —

• Rich Thompson got some love from the N&O this morning
• With his single and double last night, Henry Wrigley moves into some interesting company among fellow Rays prospects.
• The mystery of Brandon Allen’s trip to the inactive list has been solved. Apparently he is off to Japan. Too bad. I thought he showed a lot of potential to help the Bulls this year, even if there’s a crowd at first base.
• I missed the last couple of games, thank goodness. Has anyone heard what the story is on Matt Mangini? Last time seen in a game on 10 days ago, he’s been on the inactive list since.

Brandon Allen Shows His Stuff

Season: 35-42; Home Stand: 2-0; Bulls v. Bisons: 2-0; Standings

Box, Wrap, Herald-Sun

By the time the first three Bulls hitters in the 1st inning were done, the Bulls were ahead 3-0. They never looked back. Jeff Salazar hit a lead-off home run (his 5th, and he had a terrific night in the field). Catcher Stephen Vogt hit a single. Henry Wrigley hit his 6th homer (and collected his 21st and 22nd RBI). A good start and it got better. 

Brandon Allen has some huge career stats which makes me wonder why he wasn’t claimed by another team when he was DFA’d (probably some aspect to the rule that I don’t understand). True, he was having a rough start up in Tampa and started slow with the Bulls as well. But look at him now! Two home runs (his first with the Bulls) and 4 RBI last night. Since his first game early in the month he has put up a batting average of .416 and a stellar OPS of 1.098. Plus he’s been playing a lot of outfield (Tampa Bays’ call?) instead of his usual first base. Glad to have him on the team.

Jim Paduch is certainly a workhorse. He threw 104 pitches last night and kept the Bisons to just one run (and that was unearned). That’s two very solid outings in a row. Here’s hoping he can keep it up.

Tim Beckham started at shortstop with Reid Brignac at second. Beckham did OK at the plate, 1 for 4, and threw one away for his first error since returning. 

This was the first four-homer game for the Bulls this year. 

Romulo Sanchez faced two batters in the 8th inning, walked them both, and left the game. The Herald-Sun is reporting “shoulder tightness.” That’s the second pitcher in three days who has left the game with a problem (Bryan Augenstein left Thursday’s Rochester game early). With Torres being called up, the Bulls may have some serious problems (or more serious than usual) in the pitching department. All the more important for the hitters to keep at it.

Outside the game

• With Beckham’s return, the Bulls had an unusually strong bench: Gimenez, Anderson, Thompson, and O’Malley were sitting out the game.
• See last night’s post regarding Alex Torres and Matt Buschmann.
• Some early versions of this year’s Bulls schedule had Monday’s start time at 1:00pm. That’s changed. It will be 12:05 to accommodate MLB telecast. 

Chart

South Division Standings

There have been some surprising changes in the International League South Division in the five days since we last looked at this chart. The Bulls have won 4 out of 5, the Gwinnett Braves have fallen off the face of the earth; Charlotte is stalled; and Norfolk is on a run. Interesting times.

Big Night for Brignac

Season: 34-42; Home Stand: 1-0; Bulls v. Bisons: 1-0; Standings

Box, Wrap, Herald-Sun

This has been a tough year for Reid Brignac. He had a great game, so let’s celebrate it.

The night didn’t start all that well for him. He came up in the 2nd with men on first and third and hit into a double play. When he came up in the 5th as the leadoff batter, the Bulls were behind 0-2. He hit a grounder through the middle, went to second base on a wild pitch, and came home on a Cole Figueroa single. In the top of the 6th, he started a very clean double play for the first two outs of a scoreless inning. By the time he came up in the bottom of the inning, runners were on first and second with one out. Brignac singled, sending the Chris Gimenez home as the tying run. Later in the inning, Cole Figueroa (again) hit a sacrifice fly to bring him across as the third run of the inning and the Bulls were ahead 4-2. In the 7th inning Brignac came to bat with runners on first and third and hit a double for his second RBI of the night. By the end of that inning, the Bulls were ahead 6-3. In the 8th there was a blemish on his night when he grounded out with the bases loaded. However, in the 9th he made a spectacular move to start a crucial double play that got Dane De La Rosa out of trouble.

Three hits, 2 RBI, 2 runs scored, two double plays started. Darn good evening at the park.

In the meantime, the rest of the game was just plain fun once the rain stopped and the first couple of pretty dull innings got past us. Lance Pendleton worked really hard (99 pitches) to get his first win in a while. Frank De Los Santos, the Bulls new left-hander made his first AAA appearance and faced just three batters at the end of the 7th. With a man on first he gave up a triple, then an intentional walk,  followed by a strikeout. Not great, but OK. With a string of right-handed batters coming up, Dane De La Rosa came in for a two inning save. He did that, but it was a struggle. He was pitching with no rest from the day before, and it showed, especially in the 9th inning. 

Overall, the Bulls festival of hitting continued. They went through 6 Bison pitchers and collected 13 hits, all but one singles. In addition to Brignac, new guy Brandon Allen, Cole Figueroa, and Chris Gimenez had multi-hit games.

Then there was Shawn O’Malley essentially outrunning the Bison pitcher to beat him out covering first base for a single. That was fun. And Charley Montoyo should pat himself on the back for a 9th inning defensive move. He took Matt Mangini out of the game, moved Stephen Vogt from left field to first and Jeff Salazar came in to play left. Vogt made a spectacular play (following Brignac’s double play mentioned earlier) to end the game. 

Outside the game

• Tim Beckham is supposed to start today
• With Beckham back and Drew Sutton DFA’d and Thompson coming back, who’s out and where are they going? Stay tuned.

Bulls Bash 'Em; Coming Home

Season: 33-42; Trip: 5-3; Bulls v. Red Wings: 3-1

Box, Wrap

These last four games were by far the most productive of the year. 65 hits, 92 total bases, and 34 runs. Today’s game just topped it off with the most hits and most runs of the year. Every Bull got at least one hit, most got a bunch, Stephen Vogt got four. Amazing, amazing few days. 

Montoyo keeps moving guys around. So much so that it will be hard to put a position label on these guys. Today Chris Gimenez, normally a catcher, played outfield. Brandon Allen, very much a first baseman in his career, played outfield until today, when he started at 1B. Rehabbing Jeff Keppinger DH’d today, but he played 3B for a couple of days and 1B in the first game of the series. 

This was the first really hot day of the season and, according to broadcaster Patrick Kinas, the players were feeling it. Certainly the heat seemed to take a toll on the pitchers. Between Rochester and Durham, they used up 10 of them. 

Can we look forward to a better home series than last time? I sure hope so. I hope even more that I’ll be able to get out to the games.

Outside the game

• Left-handed relief pitcher Frank de los Santos is coming to Durham from the Montgomery Biscuits. Stats and more stats. He’s not on any top prospect lists that I’ve seen, but it looks like he’s having a good year. It will be his first time at AAA. The Bulls have a vacancy in their roster and will probably have another now that Rays reliever Joel Peralta has been given an 8-game suspension.
• The Rays claimed an infielder, Brooks Conrad, from Milwaukee. Coming to Durham? Can’t tell.

Chart/Table of the Day

Yesterday I mentioned that regular reader Chris D has been looking at Bulls hitters’ OPS numbers and comparing them to their historical averages. Several weeks ago most were well below their average performance. Chris has updated their numbers, with additions and subtractions. Just about everyone is still below average. Note: this table does not include today’s performances. Except for Vogt, who was not with the Bulls back then, I’d guess there was some, but not too much, movement. Thanks, Chris!

Nice Win; Tough Loss

Box, Wrap, Rochester Democrat

Season: 32-42; Trip: 4-3; Bulls v. Red Wings: 2-1; Standings

Box, Wrap, Herald-Sun, Rochester Democrat

These last games have been great baseball for the Durham Bulls. Yes, they lost last night in the bottom of the 9th, but look at all those hits — 16 hits on Monday, 14 on Tuesday, 15 last night. We, of course, must give some credit to Red Wings pitching; nevertheless, I sure wish I’d been able to see the Bulls at work.

Among other highlights, Reid Brignac climbed up above the Mendoza line on Tuesday and stayed there yesterday. Leslie Anderson had an outage last night, but remains the top hitter in the IL. Chris Gimenez got his first home run of the season. Stephen Vogt got one hit to go with his season-best 4-hit night on Tuesday. Shawn O’Malley got an RBI as a pinch-hitter! Brandon Allen’s hitting well, Henry Wrigley’s doing OK, Matt Mangini’s looking good. 

Is it a turnaround for the team? Well, no, because pitching is still the heart of the game and the Bulls' starters are trouble there. But for the first time this year, the hitters are making a difference. And that makes for fun baseball.

Have to point out that the two runs scored against Brandon Gomes last night are the first runs he’s allowed since the 21st of May and that the run on that date was the only run he’s allowed this entire season! Bad luck and a good eye by Rochester’s Wilkin Ramirez made the difference in the game.

Outside the game

• The kerfuffle over Rays reliever Joel Peralta’s pine tarred glove will affect the Bulls. Assuming he’s suspended, we can expect the Rays to call up a reliever to fill in. Unless I misunderstand the rules (probable) Brandon Gomes has to stay here for a while before he can be called back. That leaves Dane De La Rosa, Alex Torres, and Josh Lueke available without messing with the Rays 40-man.
• Rich Thompson hasn’t left the bench yet.
• Chris Archer did just fine in his debut. He looked terrific, but suffered some bad luck in the first inning when former Bulls Johnson and Rodriguez botched a play. He went on to strike out 7 Nationals and did not allow a run after the first inning.
• BurGi over at Rays Prospects has updated his analysis of pitchers in the Rays system. Nice work.
• I have to admit that it sort of creeps me out to see folks measure luck, but that's what's out there over at Rays Index. Interesting analysis of Rays hitting this year. Hard to bring that kind of analysis into minor league ball, but not too different from what Chris D did for us a while back.

A Loss; But Then a Nice Win for Torra

Game 69, Friday, June 14, Coca-Cola Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Iron Pigs 4; Bulls 1
Box, Wrap

Game 70, Saturday, June 15, Coca-Cola Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Durham Bulls 3; Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs 0
Season 30-40; Trip: 2-1, Bulls v. Iron Pigs: 2-1; Standings
Box, Wrap, Herald-Sun, Lehigh Valley Morning Call

The Bulls’ bats, which had been so hot on Thursday, chilled out on Friday and didn’t heat up until the 7th inning last night. And then for only one run. But that was enough.

“Pitchers’ Duel” is an overworked cliche, but what else can you say when Matt Torra goes head to head with the Iron Pigs’ Matt Wright for six scoreless and near hitless innings? At the top of the 7th  Leslie Anderson (who else?) singled, got to third on a Stephen Vogt single, and came home on a Brandon Allen sacrifice fly. That would be enough, although the Bulls picked up two more runs in the 9th when the Pigs third baseman dropped a foul ball, Allen and Brignac singled, and Cole Figuaroa doubled them home.

Matt Torra has won four of his last five games and has only allowed one run in those four wins. Has he turned a corner? Did that brief stretch on the DL help? Sure hope so.

My new favorite pitcher, Bryan Augenstein, got the first save of his career with two-hit, three strikeout 9th, after Dane De La Rosa handled the last of the 7th and the 8th innings.

Oh yeah, rehabbing Evan Longoria was 1-4 at DH and Jeff Keppinger did not play.

Today's game is at 1:35.

Outside the game

• Pitcher Chris Archer got some love from the News & Observer yesterday
• Have to admit that the folks in Lehigh Valley love their Iron Pigs. Sellout crowds (10,100) Friday and Saturday nights. They lead the International League in average home game attendance.
• Former Bull Jason Pridie talks about his coming off his 50-game suspension
• Former Bull beat former Bull in the 15th inning last night down in the St. Petersburg bandbox by the bay. Brandon Gomes came on in relief in the 14th and had a quick 3 up, 3 down. But in the 15th, with one out, former Bull, now Marlin, Justin Ruggiano hit a double. The next batter hit a triple sending Ruggiano home, and that turned out to be the winning run as the Marlins beat the Rays 4-3.

Brignac Bangs One!

Game 66, Monday, June 11, DBAP
Durham Bulls (Rays) 6; Toledo Mud Hens (Tigers) 3
Season: 28-38; Home Stand: 2-5; Bulls v. Mud Hens: 2-1; Standings
Box, Wrap, Herald-Sun

Reid Brignac’s grand slam is the story here. As it should be. It was, reportedly, his first professional slam, so it must have been a huge thrill for him. It sure was for us. By us, I mean anyone who was watching TV or listening to the game. Besides Wool E. Bull, the rain apparently chased all but a few die hard fans away. Congratulations to the fans who stayed and got to watch the hit in person and to Mr. Brignac for the hit.

The beginning of the game was all too familiar. After a nearly two-hour rain delay the Mud Hens got two runs in the 1st inning and another in the 2nd. But then Toledo’s Thad Weber gifted the Bulls with two walks and a hit batter (new guy Brandon Allen) to set up Brignac’s heroics. Following the big hit, Shawn O’Malley bunted his way on and then scored all the way from first base on other new guy Rich Thompson’s double.

Lance Pendleton worked awfully hard through four innings (93 pitches) and he was pulled before he was eligible for the win, which went to Ryan Reid. Once again the team of Augenstein and Gomes did a masterful job of closing out a game.

Outside the game

• New guys Brandon Allen and Rich Thompson are likely to be just the beginning of changes to the Bulls’ roster. Rays infielder Longoria and pitcher Farnsworth are getting close to returning; infielder Keppinger is looking to be playing by the end of the month; outfielder Fuld and catcher Chirinos may be getting ready; and Bulls infielder Beckham is nearing the end of his 50-game suspension. In almost every case, if a player gets activated we will see a ripple effect in Durham. Make sure you pick up a program on your way in to the next home game. No telling who will be on the team.
• After today’s game, the Bulls won’t be back in town until June 22nd. Lunch at the park today sounds good to me ... if the rain holds off.
• Ever wonder about spitballs? Former Durham Bull pitcher and, briefly, Italian League prospective star Dirk Hayhurst has some comments on his blog.

Bulls Lose Game and Miranda

Game 64, Saturday, June 9, DBAP
Toledo Mud Hens (Detroit) 11, Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay) 1
Season: 26-38; Home Stand: 0-5; Bulls vs. Mud Hens: 0-1; Standings
Box, Wrap

The two most famous teams in minor league baseball usually have a good series, but it’s off to a bad start for the Bulls. Shane Dyer who, if not terrific, looked OK his last start, got blown off the mound early when he gave up six runs. Jhonny Nunez kept things under control, but Josh Lueke gave up four more runs. Who had the best ERA the night's crew coming into the game? Catcher Craig Albernaz at 0.00. Who had the best ERA leaving the game? Catcher Craig Albernaz, although it had ballooned up to 2.25.

I’m watching all the games of this home stand, so far, on television, so I get to see Albernaz up close. He’s taking this job pretty seriously. Mostly, the idea of a catcher coming out in relief is essentially a stunt to save the bullpen for another day. Certainly that was the case last night when the score was already 10-1. But he’s been up 4 times already this year (twice this week). That is very disturbing. Don’t take this wrong Mr. Albernaz, but I really don’t want to see you on the mound again.

Outside the game

• Juan Miranda was released to make room for Brandon Allen. I didn’t really expect that to happen, because I am notoriously poor at guessing roster moves, but he was the obvious choice. Allen is supposed to be in Durham today.

Chart/Table of the Day

OPS

OPS, on base percentage plus slugging, is a pretty good stat, although the sabermetrics guys like wOBA better. Here’s the current Bulls roster. Only three Bulls hitters are above the “average” cut line of .700 and four are below the “poor” cutline of .600. Most are in the "poor" range of 600-700. To be fair, Rich Thompson hasn’t had much of a chance yet.

Losing, But Looking Good

Game 63, Friday, June 8, DBAP
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees 3; Durham Bulls 1
Season: 26-37; Home Stand: 0-4; Bulls vs. Yankees: 3-5; Standings
Box, Wrap, Herald-Sun

Here I am on the hill. Let’s make sure I’ve got it right. Hat just slightly off center? Check. Jersey just slightly untucked all around? Check. Top button or two unbuttoned? Check. OK. I’m lookin’ good! Ready to pitch. Ooops! Single. No problem. I’ll just pick him off. Is that shirt tuck looking just right? Check. Ooops! Just threw that sucker right past the first baseman and hit the ump. No problem. Gotta get that hat looking just right. Well, that’s not good, runner on second got to third on that ground out. Is my jersey looking right? You know I’ve got to be looking just so. Well shoot. Walked that guy. Then the next guy. Will you look at that, bases are loaded and I’ve only gotten one out. Better bear down a bit. Oops! Another single, but hey, only one run scored. Bases still loaded. Better bear down some more. Oops, oops, oops, oops. Four-pitch walk. Guess I better quit worrying about how I look...

Afterwards Chris Archer was quoted in the Herald-Sun as saying: “I started to rush a little bit down the hill,” Archer said of his approach to the game. “Everything was, like, all over the place.”

That’s what is known as a blinding glimpse of the obvious. Clearly Mr. Archer has some talent, but if he spent less time trying to master the slightly disheveled look that seems to be so important to him and get focused on the game, then his won-loss record (3-8) might be more in line with his fairly decent overall stats.

In the meantime, watching this one on TV I got some closeups of two guys who are really helping the Bulls (instead of digging holes they can't get out of), Bryan Augenstein and Brandon Gomes. Augenstein, signed out of the Cardinals system, pitched one game as a starter back on April 7th, but then went on the disabled list. He came back in a relief role and made his first appearance on May 22. Since then he has put in 11 innings in relief and has not allowed a single run (he only allowed 1 run in that start back in April). His ERA is slightly behind Brandon Gomes (0.53 to 0.43), but he leads the team in all other categories.

I mentioned Brandon Gomes a couple of days ago. Gomes appeared in 5 games back in April, went up to Tampa Bay for a while, then came back the second week of May. He was doing fine before he went to the Rays. He’s been spectacular since his return. In 11 appearances he’s pitched 15 innings for four saves and three wins. Overall, his won-loss record (4-0) is the best of any Bulls pitcher. (As a closer! How sad is that?).

Lest we get our hopes up, note that the one run the Bulls got last night was on a bases-loaded balk by a Yankees reliever.

Outside the game

• Brandon Allen is coming to Bulls. Any guesses on who’s going to be leaving?

Chart

Fielding Independent Pitching is one of these relatively new bits of sabermetric thinking. I don’t like the idea of a constant creeping into any stat, but it purports to be relatively independent of the skill of the defense. With any minor league stats, and at this time of the season, sample size is important and for some of these guys the sample is pretty small. Bases on balls and home runs will kill your FIP stat (as they should, but as with early in the season runs and ERA, early season homers skew the stat).

click on chart for larger image

Unwelcome Home

I sure hope so!

Game 60; Tuesday, June 5, Durham Bulls Athletic Park, Durham, NC
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees 12; Durham Bulls 8
Box, Wrap

Game 61, Wednesday, June 6, DBAP
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees 9; Durham Bulls 4
Box, Wrap

Games 62; Thursday, June 7, DBAP
Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees 6, Durham Bulls 2
Season: 26-36; Home Stand: 0-3; Bulls vs Yankees: 3-4; Standings
Box, Wrap, Herald-Sun, Indy Week

Independent Weekly writer Sam Stephenson was driven to quote a friend who said the food at the DBAP was just right for pregnant folks. Can’t blame him for using the quote. Who would want to write about the baseball in the last three games?

So how about a modest rant about one of the players who really isn’t helping the Bulls, Juan Miranda? The last time he got on base was back on Tuesday when he got hit by a pitch. I don’t have the stats at hand, but it sure seems like someone’s usually on base when he comes to bat, but he’s only managed to knock 8 of them home this year. For a guy who was hired for his power, his OPS of .580 is just pitiful. Two years ago when he was playing for these very same Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees his OPS was .866 over 80 games. Broadcaster Kinas keeps saying nice things about him and his performance in batting practice. Wonder why his game is being left in the batting cage?

The Rays have designated 1B Brandon Allen for assignment after he came off the disabled list (he went on for a quad strain). He has some pretty spectacular minor league stats. Hmmmm. If he makes it through waivers, then ...

New guy Rich Thompson played center field last night. Looked uncomfortable on the TV. Not his first time at the DBAP, though. A couple of hits and a stolen base. So, welcome to Durham, Rich! Happy to have someone with speed out there. In fact, with Feliciano, Salazar and Thompson, the Bulls have a pretty speedy bunch.

Update: Brandon Allen has reportedly been outrighted to the Bulls.