The Durham Bulls in 2011 — The Pitchers: Part I

Thirty-three ballplayers pitched in a Durham Bulls uniform in 2011, six more than in 2010. We'll take three of those off the list since they were position players thrown to the wolves in losing games (Craig Albernaz, Omar Luna, and J.J. Furmaniak). That leaves 30 to talk about. For those who were with the Bulls at the end of the season, we've charted their performance. Turmoil in July is mentioned several times. See the post from July 22 for more about what that was like.

Players listed in order of number of innings pitched.

Alexander Torres (23), LHP, 27 games, all starts, 146⅓ innings, 9-7, ERA-3.08, 6th year in pro ball, 1st in AAA.

• Alex Torres was the only Bulls starter who was with the team the entire year (how's that for trivia?). He had a few innings with the Bulls in last year's playoffs, but otherwise he's had two years with the Biscuits and now a year with the Bulls. He led the International League in strikeouts with 156. Unfortunately, he also lead the league in walks with 83. That pretty much tells you what kind a pitcher he is. Nevertheless, he seemed to be getting a little bit better as the season progressed. He was called up to the Rays at the end of the Bulls' season but at this writing has pitched only 1 inning in relief. Very likely to be back with the Bulls next season to be part of a very strong starting rotation.
• Stats

Brian Baker (28), RHP, 25 games, 20 starts, 104⅔ innings, 7-9, ERA-6.62, 7th year in pro ball, 2nd year in AAA.

• Brian Baker was supposed to be the Bulls' long reliever this season. Instead he ended up spending most of the year in the starting rotation. He appeared to run out of steam at the end of August and his numbers really soared in his last few games. Not sure that he is physically up to the task of pitching in AAA.
• Stats

Dane De La Rosa (28), RHP, 52 games, all in relief, 70⅓ innings, 6-5, 6 saves, ERA-3.20, 8 seasons, 1st in AAA.

• A break-through year for Mr. De La Rosa after a long time working his way up. First came to my attention with his 1-pitch appearance at the DAP in early May. He was ejected and had a four-game suspension. Before and after that event, he did a terrific job for the Bulls, a real stalwart in the bullpen in a year where starting pitching was in confusion. Had a one-inning, mid-season call-up in July and is back up for September with the Rays (three brief appearances so far). One of the good guys. Hope the Bulls get him back next year, if he doesn't stick with the Rays.
• Stats

Mike Ekstrom (27), RHP, 46 games, 1 start, 68⅓ innings, 6-4, 5 saves, ERA-4.35, 8 seasons, 3rd with AAA time.

• Mike Ekstrom did a pretty good job for the Bulls this year, if not nearly as good as last year (ERA-2.79 over 58 innings in 2010). Last year he had a lot of back-and-forth with the Rays. This year he pretty much stuck with the Bulls. At the end of the season there was some roster shuffling going on with the end result that he was off the 40-man of the Rays. He was not claimed, but hard to tell if he will be back for 2012.
• Stats

Rob Delaney (26), RHP, 51 games, all in relief, 67⅔ innings, 4-2, 13 saves, ERA-1.86, 6 seasons, 3rd in AAA (1st w/Bulls).

• A terrific ball-player that really helped the Bulls this year. He had a brief visit with the Rays, but was taken off the 40-man in September. Hard to tell if he will be back next year. I hope so. Sort of this year's Winston Abreu, and that's a compliment to Mr. Delaney.
• Stats

Alex Cobb (23), RHP, 12 games, all starts, 67⅓ innings, 5-1, ERA-1.87, 6 seasons, 1st in AAA.

• Cobb is a brilliant young pitcher. He was called up to the Rays in mid-April for one game, in late May as a substitute for the injured Jeff Niemann, and finally in July until he went on the Rays DL in early August. All reports are that surgery was successful and he will be back in form for 2012. That's good news because, unless the Rays do some trading in the off-season, he could start with the Bulls.
• Stats

Matt Torra (27), RHP, 11 games, all starts, 61⅓ innings, 5-1, ERA-3.67, 7 seasons, 3 in AAA, 1st w/Bulls.

• In some ways, Matt Torra was the complement to Alex Cobb for the second half of the season. Signed out of the Diamondbacks system, his first start was in early July. He began slow, but finished very strong with his numbers improving game by game. Not particularly flashy, he looks very competent and durable. He'd be an asset to the 2012 Bulls.
• Stats

Dirk Hayhurst (30), RHP, 11 games, all starts, 59 innings, 4-2, ERA-4.12, 8 seasons, 3 in AAA, 1 w/Bulls, missed 2010 while recovering from surgery.

• Dirk had a decent start to his season but an elbow problem cropped up in April. He was back in June for 7 starts before going back on the DL. In a bit of what sounded like contractual finagling, he was pronounced fit to play and then released at the end of August. As a fellow blogger (albeit Dirk is much more famous and certainly much better), I can only wish him the best. His new book is due out sometime "soon".
• Stats

Chris Bootcheck (32), RHP, 16 games, 7 starts, 58 innings, 3-2, 1 save, ERA-3.57. 10 pro seasons, parts of 8 seasons in AAA, 1 w/Bulls.

• It probably isn't fair to blame the players for opt-out contracts, but Bootcheck was yet another who opted out this year, at the end of June. I've heard, but haven't confirmed, that he is pitching in Korea. He was helpful while here.
• Stats.

Andy Sonnanstine (28), RHP, 10 games, 9 starts, 56 innings, 3-6, ERA-4.82. 7 pro seasons, parts of 3 seasons in AAA, all with Durham. Much of five seasons with the Rays (stats).

• It seemed odd for Sonnanstine to be sent down to the Bulls in mid-July, but that was a confusing month for everyone in Rays baseball. As a practical matter, the Rays don't seem to know what they want from Mr. Sonnanstine (ML Stats). He had a couple of good moments for the Bulls and filled in when they needed a starter. But is he a starter, long reliever, or what? Doubt that he will be sticking in the Rays system next year.
• Stats.

Ryan Reid (26), RHP, 26 games, 5 starts, 55⅓ innings, 1-1, ERA-4.55, 6 pro seasons, 1st in AAA.

• Ryan Reid did a decent job for the Bulls this year in his first AAA season. He came up from Montgomery in the beginning of May, went back for a couple of weeks in early July, and didn't pitch at all after August 15. Since the Bulls are not particularly forthcoming about their ballplayers we don't know if there was an issue or if he was just the victim of minor league roster shuffling. I'd worry some about his fitness, but he did put in 16 more innings at Montgomery. Next year? Probably. But on the disabled list at the end of the season.
• Stats

Edgar Gonzalez (28), RHP, 11 games, 11 starts, 53⅓ innings, 3-3, ERA-4.56, 8 pro seasons, parts of 7 in AAA, parts of all seasons in ML.

• Veteran Gonzalez started the season with the Bulls and did OK at first. However, he rarely went more than five innings and seemed to have persistent back problems. He was released in June and caught on with the Rockies system. He put in another 80 innings with their AAA team in Colorado Springs.
• Stats

Roster Updates and More

Two of the three Biscuits who came up to Durham from Montgomery have gone on the Bulls' roster.

We reported earlier that that RHP Jim Paduch and RHRP Matt Bush were on their way but that there was not, at that time, a place for them on the roster. Now there is, Brian Baker and Lance Cormier had been "assigned" to Montgomery.

What does this do for the Bulls? Potentially quite a bit. It does not solve the lack of a left-handed relief pitcher — the Bulls don't have one. But Paduch is a solid replacement for the reportedly arm-weary fifth starter Baker and Cormier has not been all that sharp while Bush can be a very scary guy on the mound. Besides, I'll bet that both Cormier and Baker are going to be hanging out in Bulls' uniforms for the series. If needed, they'll likely be back on the roster.

Surfing around I found this post by a Cleveland blogger. Pretty good, even if he, like most, thinks that Russ Canzler is a third baseman. Heck, that's what he made the IL All-Star team as. We'll just stay quiet about that. OK?

Tarp is still off the field. Weather radar is quiet. Looking good!

Hitting Ending

Game 142, Monday, September 5, Harbor Park, Norfolk, VA
Norfolk Tides 8, Durham Bulls 5
Season: 80-62
Wrap, Box

The Bulls went out with a bang, 18 hits, but they left most of them on base (11). The optimist in me says that the hitting on Monday, along with the 10 hits on Sunday, says good things about the playoffs. As yesterday's table showed, most of the Bulls have been having trouble at bat the last couple of weeks (the table didn't include Monday's game). What we can hope for is that this game shows them beginning to connect. Certainly J.J. Furmaniak's 4 for 4, Stephen Vogt's 4 for 5, and Russ Canzler's 3 for 5 are good signs.

As for the game itself, the Tides came out swinging and Brian Baker wasn't ready. They jumped on him for six runs (two home runs) in the first inning and that would be enough.

According to Stacy Long over in Montgomery, three Biscuits will be joining the Bulls for the playoffs. [Biscuit Crumbs] They are pitchers Jim Paduch (stats) and Matt Bush (stats), and infielder Cole Figueroa (stats). As regular readers will surely have learned by now, I am no expert in such things, but I think that these fellows will dress out, but will not play unless someone were to go on the disabled list during the playoffs. They way I read it, the Bulls roster is currently full and I think I heard Neil Solondz say that pitcher Ryan Reid (on the DL) is ready to play. Nevertheless, as noted several times, the Rays are past masters at manipulating the roster system. Maybe we will see one or two of these guys.

Speaking just for myself and my own superstitions, I really want to see Jim Paduch around. He was the starting pitcher for the Bulls back on July 21 up in Rochester. The Bulls scored 18 runs in that game on 20 hits, 7 home runs, and 44 (!) total bases. [story] He was sent back to Montgomery the next day.

I've been waiting to see Matt Bush for a long time. I'd give up at least one of our relievers (e.g., Lance Cormier) to see what he could do for the Bulls in the playoffs.

Don't know a thing about Mr. Figueroa, but will chase him down if he gets in a game.

Stats and charts coming up soon.

Clouds & Rain?

NOAA radar, September 5, 2011

Game 140, Saturday, September 3, Harbor Park, Norfolk, VA
Norfolk Tides 7, Durham Bulls 6 (10 innings)
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Game 141, Sunday, September 4
Durham Bulls 3, Norfolk Tides 2
Season: 80-61; Games Remaining: 1
Wrap, Box

We are going to be looking at radar images of Tropical Storm Lee for a couple of days as we worry about Wednesday's game. At first I was thinking that the Bulls and Clippers should just swap locations for the start, but maybe, just maybe, this is going to pass us by and the DBAP will be ready for the start of the playoffs.

In the meantime, the Bulls have been going back and forth with the Tides this weekend and will wrap the season up with a game at noon today.

The first 8½ innings on Saturday were vintage Bulls baseball. Decent start by Alex Torres, then Joe Bateman and Adam Russell taking the game to the 9th. In the meantime, Matt Carson got a three-run homer in the 3rd inning and in the 6th a Dan Johnson home run led a 3 run 6th. The last half of the 9th was all Norfolk as they came back with five runs and then had a walk-off sixth run in the 10th.

Yesterday was better. Matt Torra started it off with a 3-pitch, 3-out first inning and hung in there until leaving a bit of a mess for Dane De La Rosa in the 8th (runners on second and third, no outs, one run in). I'm not a big fan of the "save" statistic, but this was one. De La Rosa let one run in, but two K's and a ground out limited damage. He let two runners on in the 9th, but a double play finished things off.

Russ Canzler and Dan Johnson got the Bulls' RBIs. That augers well for Wednesday.

Up in the North Division the IronPigs were working hard to get the Wild Card berth. Issue is not absolutely resolved in their favor over the Gwinnett Braves. But it does look like they have the edge going into the last games of the season.

While I was looking the other way, Charlie Montoyo and Neil Allen have done some very sneaky/thoughtful juggling of the starting pitching rotation. Brian Baker has today's start. With Tuesday off, and assuming a preference for a 5-day gap, they can now choose between Chris Archer (RHP) or Matt Moore (LHP) to open the playoffs. They have also flipped the Matt Torra (RHP)/Alex Torres (LHP) sequence. That gives them right-handed and left-handed choices for the first four games instead of being stuck with a specific sequence. How carefully will Montoyo and his crew be looking at the Columbus lineup? Can't tell. Charlie famously looks at things from day to day (for the press at least), but no doubt he will be looking at the Columbus crew very carefully now.

Waiting for Irene

Hurricane Fran comes ashore, September 6, 1996

Irene is coming and will likely come ashore in eastern North Carolina sometime tomorrow. Last night could be the last baseball we see before Sunday or even Monday. However, maybe, just maybe, we'll get a game in tonight. If so, and if you were not here back in 1996 when Hurricane Fran came through, take a moment to ask your neighbor what it was like. Trust me, you will hear a couple of terrific stories — chainsawing paths out of neighborhoods, huge neighborhood cookouts to prevent the waste of food thawing out in freezers, steamy un-airconditioned evenings, and more. They've been waiting for someone to listen to their stories.

Nearer in time, as it was back in September, 2010, what we Bulls fans really care about is what effect Irene might have on this weekend. Based on the home stand to date, how could it get worse? So it's gotta get better, right?

Game 129, August 24, DBAP
Norfolk Tides 4, Durham Bulls 3
Wrap, Box

Game 130, August 25, DBAP
Charlotte Knights (White Sox) 12, Durham Bulls (Rays) 7
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Examiner, Indy Week
Season: 74-56; Streak: 0-3; Home Games Left: 6

Brian Baker took the loss last night, but he deserved better. The performances of relievers Lance Cormier and Mike Ekstrom were just pitiful. The Bulls had an oh-so-tenuous lead when Cormier came on with two runners on base. Cormier let those two guys in, plus four more. That put the game pretty much out of reach. And it was surely so after Mike Ekstrom let four more runs across. Except for a flurry of activity in the bottom of the 9th, that was about it.

Nice to see Justin Ruggiano on the field. Noted that he was announcing his major leaguer status by wearing long trousers. Guess that's sort of cool, but maybe a bit of showing off in front of the guys he played with for a long time? If so, then he ought to collect a couple more hits.

Have I mentioned that this has been a miserable home stand so far? Guess what? Among the 60+ games so far this year, the Raleigh News & Observer decided to write up last night. Well, not actually a write-up. More a cut-and-paste from the Bulls website. My hometown paper doesn't even deserve a link from WDBB for that. Of course, they don't do any better with the Mudcats over on the other side of town.

Back to the threat from Irene. We can expect the Bulls website to do a good job regarding tonight and then tomorrow's double header. Last look implied that we are on the edge of this storm, so seems like a good chance that three games could get rained out with no chance of makeup. Since Gwinnett has been beating the teams the Bulls are getting beat by (Gwinnett has two wins over Charlotte and one over Norfolk in recent days) the season is at risk. The Monday and Tuesday games against Gwinnett are suddenly very important to those of us obsessing about the Governors' Cup.

Good-Bye to PNC Field

Game 125, Friday, August 19, PNC Field, Moosic, PA
Durham Bulls 7, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees 4
Season: 73-52; Trip: 6-2; Streak: 6-0; Games Remaining: 17
Wrap, Box, Times-Tribune

Don't get me wrong, I'll take a win anywhere, anytime. But I am just a bit wistful that this beautiful run hasn't taken place at the DBAP. After all, home is where teams are supposed to play their best, right? This year the Bulls don't seem to care where they're playing. They are 37-26 at home and 36-26 on the road.

Last night started off worrisome. We expressed some concern about Brian Baker yesterday and the very beginning of the game bore that out. The Bulls got a run in the top of the first, but the first three Yankees to bat had a single, a double and a home run. Not good. But, as hoped, the Bulls bats were with them and they got two runs back in the top of the 2nd off a bases-loaded double by Brandon Guyer. Unfortunately, the leadoff batter for the Yankees in their 2nd hit a home run to put the Yankees back ahead. This was beginning to look like a very long game for all concerned (and it did end up going almost 3 hours).

What helped a lot was that the Yankees pitcher was having as much or more trouble as Baker. Dan Johnson led off the Bulls' 3rd with a homer, Baker settled down for the 3rd and 4th. The Bulls picked up two more runs in the 4th.

Brandon Guyer had a terrific night: triple, double, two singles, 4 RBI. Stephen Vogt played 1B (Anderson still out, Dan Johnson DHing) and had a double, single, and 1 RBI. Dan Johnson had a homer, double, and single. 13 hits in all for the Bulls.

The Bullpen: They have really stepped up for this streak. As noted in the wrap, but worth repeating here, in this six game run the relievers have put in 20 2/3 innings and only allowed one earned run!

This might have been the last game the Bulls play at PNC Field for a couple of years. Apparently a major renovation is in the works and the Yankees may play no games at home next year. Interesting that it was first reported in Baseball America, not the local newspaper.

What I'd hope for is that with a renovation they'll also hire a television crew. For most of the games of this session your subscription to MiLB.TV got you a fixed, wide-angle camera shot from high above home plate. Bit like watching a video game with figures scurrying around on the ground way below you. At first kinda cute, since audio feed of Neil Solondz was on a 45-second delay. You would see folks scurrying around and then wait for the play-by-play. In the end, however, it was just irritating. They had regular TV coverage for one of A-Rod's games, but that was the only time. Too bad.

The Bulls got on the bus to head for two games in Norfolk, then a day off, and then the last home stand. Can't wait.

Russ Goes Home

Game 124, Thursday, August 18, PNC Field, Moosic, PA

Durham Bulls 5, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees 1 

Season: 72-52; Trip: 5-2; Streak: 5-0, Games Left in Regular Season: 18

Wrap, Box, Wild Card 

The 10,000+ fans who came to see Alex Rodriguez on Wednesday dwindled to 3,000+ for Thursday. Apparently most of those came to see the Bulls' Russ Canzler. He put on a show for them and got some love in the local newspaper. Deservedly so. The local lad (from nearby Hazelton) had three hits, including a big home run in the 8th. 

Every year it seems the Bulls have a non-40-man roster guy who is beating on the door of the Rays in August. This year it's Russ Canzler. We can hope that the Rays are listening — just wait for the playoffs to be over, if you don't mind. 

Meanwhile the Bulls infield continued with some simply stellar baseball. Six double plays! OK, two of them came after errors by Bulls' infielders that let runners on in the first place, but six in one game has to be some sort of season high. (Am I too lazy to go leafing through all the box score? You bet I am.) Ray Olmedo's hitting might have fallen off a cliff since coming to Pennsylvania (0-8), but he and Tim Beckham make one heck of a pair out there at short and second. Pretty to watch them. Beckham, by the way, got his second home run of his brief AAA career. His rep was not as a batsman, but 7 RBI in 8 games for a leadoff batter is quite an accomplishment.  

With that kind of defense, as long as you're not giving up home runs, a pitcher can do just fine. Alex Torres went seven innings, Jay Buente finished off the last two. 

The Bulls have won five in a row. The Yankees have lost eight in a row. Brian Baker is starting tonight. Time for the big bats to roll out, cause Baker is gonna give up a couple of runs. We like Mr. Baker a lot, but he has only pitched 3 innings since July 25. We hope he's ready to come back. 

Speaking of coming back, catcher Robinson Chirinos, last seen in a Bulls uniform in Pawtucket on July 16, is coming back. John Jaso has finished his rehab and went to St. Petersburg yesterday. With Brandon Guyer back and covering center field, outfielder John Matulia was sent to Montgomery. Hope he's ready to come back, because I'm guessing the Rays are gonna want to take a look at Guyer in September. 

Pleased to read that Alex Cobb's surgery was successful.

Chart 

What we're looking at here is the team wOBAs for each of the last 15 games. The green bars are the Bulls, the red bars are the Bulls' opponents. The Bulls won 10 of the last 15 games and the widening gap between the trend lines helps explain why — pitching and defense has been just terrific.  By the way, the Bulls are now 20 games over .500, the best they've been all year.

Ups ... and Downs

Game 115, Tuesday, August 9, DBAP
Durham Bulls 10, Rochester Red Wings 6
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Indy Week

Game 116, Wednesday, August 10, DBAP
Red Wings 11, Bulls 3
Season: 66-50; Home Games Remaining: 10
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Examiner

The lights flickered on Tuesday night, but all was well in the end.

But last night. Last night. Last night. Oh, woe. Oh, woe. Let's just tell the worst of it and move on to something else. The scoring summary gives a clue. Durham: 12 hits and 3 runs. Rochester: 8 hits and 11 runs. How can that be? Good question.

It all started in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Bulls starter Ryan Reid's "troubles" began with a two-out walk to Rochester right fielder Rene Tosoni. Reid then proceeded to walk the bases full, but got off the hook with a grounder to third.

The 3rd inning was possibly the worst inning I've seen the Bulls play this year. Mr. Reid walked the first two batters. Ray Olmedo (at shortstop) bobbled a grounder from the third batter and the bases were loaded. Reid then walked in a run and was pulled.

Brian Baker came in for his first appearance since July 25th. (Note to broadcaster Steve Barnes — love the stories you and Scott Pose tell each other, but love background on players more. No background on Baker's long vacation from baseball. Had to look it up after I got home.) Baker induced an easy ground ball and I'm thinking, OK another run but things will be OK. But Olmedo committed his second error of the inning and two runs scored, leaving runners on first and second. Double, single and three more runs were in. Three runs on two hits. It would have been worse except for an accurate throw from outfielder John Matulia to home that caught an overaggressive Rochester baserunner trying to score from first on the third hit off of Baker. But, I have to note that the run saved by Matulia was given back with a throw into the dugout after a Rochester double in the 7th. That runner then scored — a "Little League Home Run."

Last note before going on to other things: The 11 walks awarded by Bulls pitching was the most in a game this year and, to explain the rest of that odd scoring summary, Rochester's four double plays meant that a lot of the Bulls hits didn't lead to runs.

Web World

• Over on Rays Prospects their analysis of hitting prospects has been updated.
• Ever wonder what the Arizona Fall League was about? DRaysBay has the answer.
• A fire almost got to 620's broadcast tower the other day.
• Reid Brignac gets an enthusiastic welcome back into the loving arms of Rays Manager Maddon. And honestly, if you were sitting on a jury, would you believe that story about Ruggiano's knee? I didn't think so.
• Here's a listing of the top 25 minor league ballparks in the country. Two in North Carolina make the list. The DBAP isn't one of them.
• I really like Nicole Johnson's Life of the Baseball Wife blog. Here are a couple of recent stories. Coping with "sportmanship"; a day in the life; and dealing with the other love.

Baseball in the Steam Room

Game 113, August 7, DBAP, Durham, North Carolina
Durham Bulls 6, Lehigh Valley IronPigs 4
Season: 64-49; Home Games Remaining: 13
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Examiner, Wild Card

Matt Moore showed himself to be human last night, allowing two runs in the 7th inning of what turned out to be a 6-4 game. But he also had a bit of bad luck up at the scoring table. Yes, he did start the inning by giving up a double and a single, putting runners on first and third. But Reid Brignac really did botch the grounder hit to him by Lehigh Valley's Josh Barfield — probably getting ahead of himself going for a double play. Instead of what should have been an E6, the grounder was scored as a hit. That meant that the run scoring from third was scored an earned run and on the books against Moore. If an error then the run goes on the books as unearned. The next run that scored (on a wild pitch from Jay Buente) might also have been unearned. And Moore's fabulous numbers would have been even better. Oh well, Moore will just have to live with the awful 1.09 ERA. Nice to see Moore's work so well recognized by Bulls fans as he left in the 7th. Gonna have to work on his hat tip, though.

This series with the IronPigs tested the mettle of the roster that we are likely to see through August and the end of the season. Although the changes are far from over, as you'll see below, we can hope that the pace of change will dampen down some. Russ Canzler rediscovered both his power and plate discipline last night with a single, double, home run, and a walk. Stephen Vogt's home run turned out to be very important. John Matulia's bat is hidden somewhere on the other side of Magnum St. Reid Brignac laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt, but still isn't hitting all that well. Dan Johnson had the day off. My point is that this is the team we'll be watching for the rest of the month and they are playing pretty well, with each having his ups and downs. Given the brutal heat, that has to be expected.

Speaking of the heat, yesterday was just awful. Again, all praise to the conditioning of these young men.

The Bulls gained a game on Gwinnett and are now 2 1/2 games ahead of Gwinnett.

Roster changes. Brian Baker is back from his stay on the Hudson Valley roster. As noted in an earlier post, Cesar Ramos went back to St. Petersburg. The Bulls have no left-handers in the bullpen at all. John Jaso is coming back to the Bulls for what may be an extended rehab assignment. Should be in the lineup by tomorrow. That will help out a lot.

Question of the day: Who is the catcher who's been warming up pitchers while Ashley's been behind the plate and Vogt's been in left field? Not Craig Albernaz, too tall, too much hair. No name on his jersey. Anybody know? Anonymous answers welcome.

Last roster change: Broadcaster Neil Solondz has been called up to St. Petersburg for a few days. He's expected to rejoin the Bulls in Buffalo where he can spend the evening telling Fernando Perez stories.

Update: Oops! Forgot to put up the link to the fabulous Brignac-Johnson play on the 6th. 

6000!

Game 108, August 1, Knights Stadium, Fort Mill, South Carolina
Durham Bulls (Rays) 18, Charlotte Knights (White Sox) 3
Season: 61-47; Streak: 2-0; Home Game Remaining: 17
Wrap, Box, MiLB.com

6000 wins is an amazing number. I'm not enough of a Bulls historian to chase down the high points of the history of the franchise, but what cannot be doubted that 6000 wins since 1902 is worthy of a few shouts from the top of the DBAP, the DAP, and all the other places all the other Bulls have played.

In the meantime, the new guys and the vets put on a show over in Charlotte's home park. Matt Carson in his first game went 2-4, 1 RBI; Steven Vogt in his third game hit 3 doubles, 1 RBI; Nevin Ashley went 2-4 with a double and 4 RBI. Not to be outdone, veterans Reid Brignac and Dan Johnson both homered, as did Russ Canzler. They collected 10 RBI between them.

They did this (scored 18 runs) in their last road game. Wish they'd do it at the DBAP some day. Would be fun to watch.

Matt Moore picked up his third win. Montoyo wisely took him out after only 5 innings. He was spending a lot of time on the bench, got in 85 pitches, and the bullpen needed some work with the recent rainout and day off. 9Ks, 1BB, no runs.

Brian Baker got sent off to "Hudson Valley" to make room for Mike Ekstrom. I will be updating my Bulls in August post for the next week or so if the shuffling continues.

Misty Loss

Game 102, July 25, DBAP
Toledo Mud Hens 6, Durham Bulls 2
Season: 58-44; Last 10: 8-2; Home Stand: 3-1
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Indy Week

Both the Herald-Sun and the Indy Week stories quote Charlie Montoyo commenting on Brian Baker's problems invoking the dread term "dead arm". That's scary, and we heard something like that near the end of the season last year. Certainly Baker did not look good last night. His fastball wasn't very fast. His change up wasn't fooling many batters. In our pursuit of the odd and probably irrelevant we have to point out something else about last night — almost all the damage was done by left-handed batters.

After a one hour rain delay (it stayed misty all night) the game finally got going. Until the 3rd inning Baker may not have looked all that good, but he was getting by. Then left-handed batting Toledo catcher Jeff Kunkel hit a home run. The next three batters, all lefties, got two singles and a double and a total of two runs were scored in the inning. The 5th inning started out with two lefties and they both got singles. They both subsequently scored. Later in the inning a lefty hit a single to score a third run. Of the Mud Hen's 12 hits, 10 were made by players batting left-handed.

Does this little statistical anomaly really matter all that much? Maybe not, but you can bet that the next time Baker's on the mound (possibly Charlotte on Saturday), the opposing team will be loading the lineup with lefties, if they can.

Offensively, the Bulls were pretty quiet. J.J. Furmaniak's homer got them on the board, but mostly quiet after that. Need to note that Ryan Reid really did well. Much better than his earlier efforts as a starter.

What Have You Done For the Bulls Lately?

Here's a look at just the last ten games. I chose OPS for the comparison for a couple of reasons, 1) the numbers were readily available and 2) I was too lazy to compute the wOBA, which may be a better stat. However, I was just looking for something that is a reasonable answer to the question in the headline. What jumps out are the two extremes, Felipe Lopez and Ray Olmedo. I had not noticed that Ray was doing so poorly, or that Felipe so well. We can hope that Dan Johnson's numbers stay up there and the Brandon Guyer gets back on track.

Bulls Hitting — OPS for last 10 Games

Today is very likely to see yet more roster turmoil for the Bulls. Rays relief pitcher Alan Russell has passed through waivers and should be available tonight. Infielder Reid Brignac is also expected to be available tonight. The way I read the roster, neither arrival requires a corresponding roster move by the Bulls, but I've been wrong before. Certainly the locker room chatter being reported in the papers doesn't sound promising as it regards Brian Baker. Still, it looks like the Bulls are currently at 12 pitchers and 12 position players. Much of this year they've been at 13 and 11, but it isn't clear if it has been a preference or a necessity.

Finally, Brandon Guyer came out of the game last night with some sort of muscle pull. That's worrisome.

This four-game series with the Braves is a big deal. We should be seeing some great baseball if the heat doesn't get to us. Air and smoke look OK, and current heat index prediction is only 94 and falling during the game.

Sunny Sunday Afternoon

Game 94, July 17, McCoy Stadium, Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Durham Bulls 13, Pawtucket Red Sox 3
Season: 52-42; This Trip: 4-2
Wrap, Box, Pawtucket Times

You're never quite sure what's going to happen this year when Brian Baker gets the start. On June 24 he gave up 7 runs in 4 innings. On July 3 he only gave up 1 run in 5 innings. Then on July 8 he gave up 7 runs in 4 1/3 innings. Yesterday afternoon, before the trek illustrated above, he gave up just 3 runs in 5 innings. Then the Bulls hitters just whomped on the Red Sox after their starter went just a little too long and their relievers never got on track.

It was a great day for the only relievers the Bulls had left, Mike Ekstrom and Jay Buente. Ekstrom went for 3 innings, his longest outing of the year, and only gave up one hit as the Bulls piled on the runs. Buente had a solid ninth inning.

J.J. Furmaniak had the big hit of the day when he broke it open in the 7th with a bases-loaded double. But every Bull in the lineup got at least one hit, included new guy John Matulia, as the Bulls scored the most runs in a game this year, went to 10 games above .500, and picked up a game on Gwinnett.

We've been overlooking Felipe Lopez' performance these last few games. Shouldn't do that. He's been doing well for the Bulls. He had 5 RBIs yesterday and has pushed his average over .300.

Pretty sure that I heard Neil Solondz say that Alexander Torres is pitching tonight. But given the turmoil in the roster (noted elsewhere) no telling just how it's going to shake out.

Pain and Suffering and More Rain

Norfolk Tides 17, Durham Bulls 2
Season: 48-40; Last 10: 5-5
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

From time to time Bulls manager Charlie Montoyo will throw a pitcher(s) under the bus, let one twist in the breeze, hang one out to dry, etc. Pick your metaphor. You get the idea. I've never quite figured out the rationale behind it, except to note that they are never prospects. The pitcher, of course, has little choice but to suck it up, with the exception of a memorable moment some years ago when the pitcher got thrown out of the game for hitting a batter.

Last night we had an example. As I was getting out of my car they were pulling the tarp on to the field. After a half-hour or so they pulled the tarp off the field. We then suffered through an execrable rendition of the National Anthem before Brian Baker began to throw. He looked awkward from his first moment. Norfolk's lead off batter, center fielder Matt Angle, who has been giving the Bulls fits all through this series, got a walk, stole a base, moved to third on a ground out, and scored on a sac fly. The 2nd inning began with another walk, then a home run, and after two outs were recorded, Angle got on base on an error and stole second base again. He didn't score, however. The Tides put across two more runs in the 3rd inning. By this time 17 batters had come to the plate and Baker had given up 5 runs on 3 hits, 3 walks, and 1 error.

With JJ Furmaniak at bat in the bottom of the 3rd, a nearby lightning strike brought out the tarp. When this happens you can be sure that the delay will be the duration of the rainstorm plus 30-45 minutes to pull the tarp and prep the field. I closed up my scorebook, packed my bag to leave, and turned to say goodbye to the usuals around me. They'd already gone. Smart folks.

I was home and had the TV on before the tarp came off the field. JJ came back up to the plate and a new Norfolk pitcher was on the mound. The Bulls didn't do much.

But here's where my lead comes in, Brian Baker was still in the game. This after an crummy three innings before the rain when he's already given up five runs. By the time he finally did leave the game in the 5th, after 104 pitches to 24 batters, the Bulls were down 7-0.

Remember the adage, be careful what you wish for? That also played a part in this game. Yesterday I made a plea for Craig Albernaz to get some playing time while he had a place of the Bulls roster. I was very happy to see him behind the plate in the 6th even if Mike Ekstrom was having trouble and gave up two more runs (that's 9-0).

Rob Delaney came in and got through the 8th and the Bulls avoided the skunk by getting two runs in the bottom of the inning on two singles and a Dan Johnson double.

In another move that made little sense to me, Montoyo put Albernaz on the mound to pitch the 9th inning. Why Delaney couldn't go another inning I don't know. It did take him a bunch of pitches to get through the 8th (26 of them), but why not give him a shot? At a guess it was something of a cruel bit of humor. In the event, it was awful, awful, awful. Not helped by two errors that would have ended the inning much earlier, Albernaz gave up 8 runs (only 3 earned) on three homers and a bunch of base hits.

As if to twist the knife, here's what Montoyo had to say about Baker after the game (as reported in the Herald-Sun):

"He needs to locate better," Montoyo said. "He didn't pitch well, and he paid for it."

Talk about tough love.

Well, no baseball at the DBAP for the next thirteen days. Have I mentioned that the 2011 schedule is absurd?

Two games in Norfolk (Charlie Montoyo will be off coaching in the Futures Game). Then there's the Triple A All-Star game on July 13th. Brandon Guyer and Russ Canzler are on the team. So is Desmond Jennings, but he won't be making the trip because of his "contusion" (that's a bruise to us less formal folks) to his finger.

Some Fireworks; Back in First

Happy 4th of July!

(Our Heaven Born Banner, 1861, based on Frederic Church’s Banner in the Sky, more info)

Game 83, July 3, Durham Bulls Athletic Park
Durham Bulls 7, Gwinnett Braves 4
Season: 45-38; Last 10: 4-6
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Indy Week

The Bulls and Braves are back in a tie for first place and will be continuing the series tonight down in Lawrenceville, Georgia. That trek down I-85 has got to be getting old.

Brian Baker seemed to benefit from the extra days off. He hadn't pitched since June 24 and, but for a walk, escaped what was becoming a signature rough 1st inning. I'm guessing that Charlie Montoyo and pitching coach Neil Allen may have decided to keep Baker on a low pitch count since they pulled him after five innings even though he appeared to be doing OK.

The Bulls "batted" around in the 2nd inning although in addition to Canzler's homer, Johnson's double, and singles by Chirinos and Olmedo, you have to give the Braves' pitcher, Erik Cordier some credit. He walked in two of the four runs all on his own.

The risks of carrying only eleven position players almost jumped up and bit the Bulls last night. The Bulls have only two players on the bench most nights. So when a player does something really stupid, as Felipe Lopez did last night, they do not have much depth. When one of them is a catcher, as is often the case, they have even less. When Lopez came to bat in the top of the 3rd inning, he decided to get in umpire Art Thigpen's face about something. He was ejected, of course, and Charlie Montoyo had to find a batter and a second baseman. Inexcusable. After watching him dog running out a dropped third strike on Saturday night, I've got to wonder about Mr. Lopez. In the normal course of affairs, Montoyo sits a player the game after he gets ejected. We'll see.

Fortunately, J.J. Furmaniak was one of the players getting a day off and he was able to step in for Lopez.

At the risk of tempting the gods of baseball, we have to point out that in his last 16 appearances, R.J. Swindle has not allowed a single hit run, only three hits, and has struck out 16 batters. Now it's also true that he has only pitched 12 1/3 innings, and mostly against left-handed batters, but he is making a huge contribution to the Bulls this year. Unlike his difficulties early in the season, he seems to have his slow curve back under control. How beautiful it is to watch that pitch tie up opposing batters. Last night it was turncoat Chris Carter who was the victim. Swindle unleashed the slow curve on a 1-2 count. It drifted across the plate at 53 mph and Carter just barely chipped it over the third base dugout to keep it at 1-2. Carter then stood there and watched Swindle's "fastball" blaze across the plate at 82 mph for a called third strike. That's a 30 mph difference from one pitch to the next! Is it major league stuff? Not sure. Carter thinks he's a major league batter, so maybe so.

New pitcher Matt Torra was in the dugout last night, so have to think he's ready to go. His last start was June 24, so he probably needs to get into the rotation pretty quickly.

[Update: A careful reader has pointed out an error in the Swindle stats. Fixed.]

Great Road Trip

Game 69, June 19, Coolray Field
Durham Bulls 2, Gwinnett Braves 1
Season: 38-31; Trip: 3-1; Since Scott Strickland’s Haircut: 4-1
Wrap, Box

Boy was it fun to see Dan Johnson hit the winning home run yesterday (watched it on MiLB.TV). After the Braves walked him four times the day before, sure was odd that he’d get a good pitch on a 3-2 count. But he did and that was enough.

The real oddity of the game was seeing Chris Carter come to the plate in a Gwinnett Braves uniform. I have to say that I can’t figure out what advantage it was for him to leave the Rays organization for the Braves. Must be something about either the National League or the Braves’ wallets that he liked. He was 0-2 as the DH. I won’t take back the nice things I said about him. Nevertheless, if not a PCL team, couldn’t he at least have signed with someone other than Gwinnett?

Brian Baker was much better than his last time out, and the relief corps continued their stalwart performance, only two runs in the last six games (31 innings). A interesting tidbit from the relievers is that R.J. Swindle hasn’t given up a hit in his 10 appearances since May 26, but then he’s only accumulated a total of 7.2 innings in those 10 appearances.

Have not heard who, if anyone, will be moved to make room for Alex Cobb. But broadcaster Neil Solondz did say that Lance Cormier was being moved into the starting rotation and Jay Buente was moving to the bullpen. So I’m going to have to guess that Ryan Reid is on his way back to Montgomery.

Chart of the Day — South Division Standings

Raht purty as they say back home.

Coming up: The Buffalo Bisons, the Mets affiliate, who crushed Norfolk yesterday 16-2.

[Update: The Bulls have finessed the whole issue of what to do about Cobb's return by putting Jay Buente on the disabled list]

Six Innings, One Hit, Shutout

Game 61, June 10, Coca-Cola Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Durham Bulls 6, Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs 0
Season: 33-28; Trip: 2-2
Wrap, Box, The Morning Call

What a difference good pitching makes. Dirk Hayhurst’s six inning, one hit performance last night was among the best of any Bulls pitcher this year. Only a similar six inning, one hit game by Brian Baker back on April 8th is slightly better (one more K, one less BB). Sure would be great to add another reliable starter to the list.

How weird is that? Hayhurst and Baker, the premier Durham Bulls starting pitchers!

Obviously the whole pitching crew did a great job. Only four singles and four walks (plus a miscue by Hayhurst) allowed anyone on base at all. I’m a bit surprised that Cory Wade was touched for three singles in his stint, but no harm done.

What an odd series: 9-1, 0-6, 5-6, 6-0. Gwinnett stayed up with Durham winning a 14 inning marathon in Toledo, but they are on an unsustainable (I hope) seven-game win streak.

Russ Canzler started in left field last night with J.J. Furmaniak at third. That might be a good place for him. Did not help his hitting, though. He was 0-4 with a walk. The rest of the team was looking good. Most notable were Chris Carter, who got things going with a two-run homer in the 1st and a RBI in the 4th, and Desmond Jennings, who went 3 for 5 with two RBIs.

Rehabbing Elliot Johnson started at shortstop, got a couple of hits, and scored a run. He is apparently on his way back to Baltimore. I think someone has to be turned loose from the Rays’ active roster. But could be wrong. Who? Don’t know. I’m a bit surprised we’re not seeing any speculation among the Rays’ bloggers.

Also love pointing out that the Bulls pulled off four double plays last night, three of them started by Leslie Anderson (actually, Anderson got one of them all by himself by grabbing a line drive and doubling the baserunner on first). We’ve seen him make a couple of good plays at home. Has he emerged as a quality first baseman? Maybe so. He’s certainly a better all-around player than when he first came up from Montgomery last year.

Dan Johnson had a good trip. He may be getting back into his groove. He was 6 for 15 with 5 doubles and 4 BBs. His BA is up to .250 now (and his wOBA is up to .361).

Norfolk@DBAP@7pm. Alex Torres to start. Wonder which Torres will be pitching? The strikeout king or the base on balls specialist?

Canzler Crushes One; Hobbs Strikes Out Whammer

Game 58, June 7, Coca-Cola Park, Allentown, PA
Durham Bulls (Rays) 9, Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (Phillies) 1
Season: 32-26; Trip: 1-0
Wrap, Box, The Morning Call (Allentown, PA), Bacon and Biscuits

Russ Canzler's grand slam in the very first inning set the stage last night for a much more Durham Bulls-like game than we've seen in recent days. Good hitting (13 hits) and good pitching (0 earned runs) made it an all-around great game.

Every Bull in the lineup except Chris Carter got at least one hit. A bit of a puzzle why Dan Johnson is getting so many walks. Guess it's just his reputation. He drew three of them last night (and scored three of the Bulls' runs).

Brian Baker has emerged as our only reliable starter (unless and until Alex Cobb comes back). He's won five of his last six starts. His ERA is still up there (4.80), but that has a lot to do with a three-inning, nine-run disaster against Louisville last month.

Former Bull Jeff Neimann is scheduled to start tonight. Too bad we're going to miss that. He is supposed to get at least two rehab starts before going back to the Rays, so maybe we'll see him on the mound against Norfolk this weekend. No word on his pitch count limitation, but if it isn't too low, it could be good news for the Bulls starters.

Marc Topkin is reporting that Elliot Johnson is going to get in a couple of rehab games with the Bulls. Elliot hurt his knee running the bases a couple of weeks ago. Topkin says Thursday and Friday. If so, that means we won't get to see him (and he won't get to spend a day at his home in Durham).

Alex Cobb got his first big league win last night against the Angels. Congrats to him. Still likely he'll be coming back after Niemann comes off the DL. Hope so.

MiLB.com has a nice article on Desmond Jennings. He's having a good year. Guessing he won't be with us much beyond the All-Star break, if until then.

About the headline —

Careful readers will recall a discussion regarding the music from The Natural early last month. Yesterday I sent in a query/comment to the Bulls regarding that music clip and discovered that up in the booth at the DBAP there is an even more serious baseball movie trivia geek than myself. I got a very nice note back pointing out that early in the film the Robert Redford character, Roy Hobbs, is a pitcher and he goes up against Whammer. Just as Redford is winding up for the third strike, guess what? Or, take a look/listen for yourself about 3 minutes into the clip here. 

So I regretfully have to concede that it is appropriate to play the music from that clip when the Bulls need a strikeout. In our (that would be my and Chris D's) defense, one has to admit that the clip is very similar to the music about 4 minutes into this clip. 

Did I waste a whole lot of time on that bit of trivia? You bet—and I'll never get it back. But I did get to watch some great movie clips.

He's Back!

Game 51, May 31, DBAP
Durham Bulls 4, Columbus Clippers 1
Season: 29-22; Last 10: 5-5; Home Stand: 2-0
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Indy Week

What a terrific feeling it was to see Dan Johnson hit that home run last night. It was the high point of what was a very important and fun to watch ball game for Bulls fans.

Brian Baker had his best game of the year, although if you look back at the last couple of games, good things had been happening for a while (that is, if you overlook his game on May 20 against the Bats). He was never in any real trouble except for the start of the 3rd inning and a timely double play got him out of that problem.

By the top of the 6th the game was still tied 1-1 and both pitchers (Columbus' Zach McAllister is really, really good) were doing just fine. I mentioned to my seatmate, "We're just waiting for someone to make a mistake." And a moment later that's what happened. The Clippers' shortstop, Luis Valbuena, let a Desmond Jennings grounder get underneath his glove. A perfect sacrifice bunt by Ray Olmedo moved Jennings to second. Jose Lobaton drew a walk. Dan Johnson found his favorite spot in the right centerfield Diamond View seats.

But the home runs (Russ Canzler had one in the 4th inning) and the pitching weren't the only things to watch last night. Ray Olmedo made two very nice plays at shortstop: the first in the 3rd inning where he fielded a ground ball just beside second base with a runner coming from first, swept the bag, and threw to first for the double play; the second a dash to his right and jump throw with a good grab by Johnson for the out. Should I mention his leadoff double in the 8th where he got thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple? No, I didn't think so.

I can't wrap this up without mentioning the damage that Mike Ekstrom did to my cardiovascular system in the 9th. He walked the first two batters, putting the tying run at the plate. Fortunately, a grounder hit right at third baseman Russ Canzler led to a double play (the fifth over these last two games) and a flyout to Jennings in center ended the game.

A rant: Those dark blue jerseys are just terrible. It's not the color, that's OK. It's the numbers. They are illegible. Combined with no names on the backs, it's very hard to figure out who's playing where. The font may have a vague retro look, but please, fire your graphics person and bring in someone who knows about font design and readability. I stared at Lobaton's "5" for a while and wasted several minutes trying to find "8" in the program.

If the fans/bloggers watching the Rays have their way, we might be losing a catcher soon. Folks aren't very happy with the current crew, especially Kelly Shoppach. See comments here and here.

Breakout!

Game 46, 26 May, Fifth Third Field
Durham Bulls (Rays) 12, Toledo Mud Hens (Tigers) 3
Season: 25-21; Last 10: 3-7; Trip: 1-4
Wrap, Box, Toledo Blade

Just about everyone on the Bulls team had a good day on Thursday up in Toledo. Maybe having Wednesday off made a difference. Losing string stopped at five.

Brian Baker, after a shaky first inning, looked a lot like the guy we knew last year.

The Bulls apparently decided to wait out Toledo’s pitching and drew a season high 11 walks. Add in 15 hits (3 doubles, 3 homers) and you have a terrific win. In the table below you will see that Russ Canzler has been really picking it up since the last time we looked a couple of weeks ago (May 11), and yesterday was no exception. He got on base six times (3 walks, 2 singles, and a double) and scored 3 runs. His wOBA has come up 36 points. Brandon Guyer also had a terrific day scoring 4 runs and also picking up 3 hits and 3 walks.

Dan Johnson was in the lineup as the designated hitter and drew 2 walks, scoring one run. It will be interesting to see how long it takes him to get things going.

The table below updates the numbers from May 11th. Since then Justin Ruggiano and Felix Lopez have gone to the Rays. Albernaz and Johnson have been added to the roster, but have very few at bats. Looking at the team as a whole, hitting has improved, with the wOBA rising 13 points. Notable positive changes are Chirinos, Anderson, Olmedo and Canzler. Lobaton’s numbers were unsustainably high; not quite sure what to make of Jennings’ slight drop. Overall, however, the hitting seems to be OK. (Note: the players marked with an asterisk (*) are on the Rays’ 40-man roster.)

About the pitching:

The Rays have “claimed” Marlins pitcher Jay Buente off waivers and assigned him to Durham. Buente had to go onto the Rays 40-man so Rob Delaney was “designated for assignment”. This may take a day or so to sort itself out. For sure Buente will be pitching for the Bulls. The question will be in what role, starter or reliever? Help as a starter would be nice for the Bulls, but could be that the Rays are looking at him as a reliever. Some commentary here and here.

Rob Delaney, who has been doing a decent job for the Bulls (14 appearances, ERA-2.57, FIP-2.58, WHIP-1.29) might end up with the Bulls, just not on the 40-man. If so, I’d guess someone will be heading back to Montgomery. My top candidate would be Jeremy Hall.

Note that by making guesses like this I have yet again an opportunity to demonstrate to the world how little I understand the business of baseball.

Lastly, for your amusement, note that Dirk Hayhurst appears to be going even a bit more nuts down in extended spring training. [DirkHayhurst] On the other hand, he is throwing. That's a good thing.

Explosive Seventh

Game 36: Durham Bulls 9; Syracuse Chiefs 2
Season: 22-14; Last 10: 8-2; Trip: 1-0
Wrap, Box

If the weather prediction is on target, Scotty McCreery may end up singing in the rain today. Don’t know who Scotty McCreery is? You’re not from around here are you?

While we wait for the rain, how about them Bulls in the 7th inning last night? After two outs in the inning, nine more Bulls came to bat against three different pitchers. One got hit by a pitch (Lopez), two hit singles (Luna, Chirinos), three hit doubles (Olmedo, Canzler, Lobaton), and two hit home runs (Jennings, Anderson).

Just two days ago we had a chart up where we worried about Leslie Anderson’s numbers. Last night’s two home runs (3 RBIs) pushed his numbers up quite a bit and they were his first home runs of the year. Omar Luna broke through the Mendoza line and reached .211. Unfortunately, two other hitters of concern, J.J. Furmaniak (0 for 5) and Robinson Chirinos (1 for 5) were not able to participate in the breakout.

An oddity of the game was Anderson and Furmaniak in the outfield. Guessing that Guyer, Ruggiano and Carter up for days off. Given the power those three bring to the lineup, last night’s score is all the more remarkable.

Brian Baker seems to be settling in. Six solid innings last night. His first couple of games as a starter were tough. In those games he was only able to get through 3 or 4 innings and his ERA ballooned up to the mid-7’s. In his last two starts (admittedly against not very strong teams) he’s gone six innings each and has gotten his ERA down to 4.34. Pretty good.

And then there’s Dane De La Rosa, who got his head handed to him in the middle innings at the old DAP earlier this week. A solid two innings.

Chart of the Day

I like this one. It shows the growing difference between the total runs scored by the Bulls and the runs allowed by the Bulls. If these numbers are plugged into the Pythagorean Expectation formula you can come up with the “expectation” that the Bulls won-loss record “should” be 20-16, below its actual 22-14. Traditional explanations for deviations from expectation are luck and/or bullpen performance. I haven’t noticed much luck in the games I’ve witnessed, so I’m going with the bullpen explanation. Yeah for the bullpen!