Maile Makes Good

Season: 48-43; At Home: 22-21; This Home Stand: 2-2
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Home plate umpire Brian De Brauwere had his hands full last night. He was on the crew (at first base) back on May 1st when the Bulls played the PawSox up in Pawtucket. Veteran catcher for the PawSox, Humberto Quintero, chunked a full-strength throw into Bulls catcher Luke Maile’s gut and later in the game spiked Hak-Ju Lee. We summarized the aftermath at the end of a post back on May 3.

De Brauwere's first big challenge came in the 2nd inning. Cory Brown was attempting to score from second base and to everyone (except the one guy who mattered) it sure seemed like Brown made it past the tag. So we’d have to say he (De Brauwere) missed his first chance.

Corey Brown slides under Humberto Quinetero's tag
Photo by Sue Roth

If Quintero got a gift then, the Bulls Maile in the 5th did not. Again, folks in the stands figured that Boog Powell in left field made a perfect throw home to catch the runner. De Brauwere did not agree.

Maile tags Jamile Weeks
Photo by Sue Roth

However, as they say in some circles, payback …

Even after wearing out the grass between home and the pitcher's mound — Quintero must have gone out the mound 15 or 20 times last night trying to sort out the PawSox pitching crew; he was the main reason the game went on for 3½ hours — in the 8th the Bulls managed to load the bases. Luke Maile hit a very pretty double that cleared the bases putting three runs across and putting the Bulls ahead 8-7.

Even more fun in addition to Maile's 3 RBI ensued. Boog Powell singled and Maile moved to third base. Ryan Brett and Mikie Mahtook struck out and J.P. Arencibia came to bat. Boog Powell attempted a steal of second base. On the throw, Luke Maile headed for home. So we were seeing double steal in action. Powell beat the throw to second and the second baseman threw home. Quintero blocked the plate without the ball as he waited for the throw (remember he’s an old-school guy). Catcher’s interference was called and the run scored. Luke Maile, the young catcher Quintero had essentially slugged in the gut back in May had three RBI plus had stolen home for a fourth run (in the books it will go down as an error on the catcher)! So, in the eyes of WDBB, umpire Brian De Brauwere had redeemed himself.

It got better when he threw PawSox manager Kevin Boles out of the game a few minutes later. Boles was last seen flipping a bird at the ump. Here’s hoping he gets whacked with a serious fine for that bit of childishness.

Lots of other thrills in last night’s game as the Bulls seem refreshed from their break. Richie Shaffer showed a ton of plate discipline as he drew three walks and got a RBI on a bloop single. Corey Brown got two doubles. The team batted around twice and came from behind twice, something not typical in this year’s Bulls.

Roberto Zarate actually looked very good for 4⅔ innings, but that previously mentioned call at home and then an uncharacteristic error by Corey Brown messed things up for him. Similarly, C.J. Riefenhauser got some solid defense from catcher Luke Maile and almost got out of a bad start to the 8th. But then a 3-run homer had him with at least a blown save. He ended up, however, with the oddity of a blown save stat and a win stat.

Best of all from the pitching side is that, at least for this game, the Kirby Yates of 2014 came out of the bullpen and struck out the side. That is a very, very good sign for the Bulls.

Outside the game —

• Scanning down the Pawtucket roster we see our old friend Ronald Belisario looking very odd in his brand new PawSox hat. Expect we’ll see him the next day or so.
• Last night the paid attendance 10, 370 and it looked like almost all of them actually came to the game. Good vibe, even if some of them were members of the Red Sox Nation.

Capacity Crowd; Relievers Ragged

A, Mostly, Fun Fourth

Our Heaven Born BannerPatriotic print based on Frederic Edwin Church's small oil painting "Our Banner in the Sky"

Season: 43-39; Home Stand: 0-1
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Yet another flurry of transactions led to right-hander Bradin Hagens starting the game in front of a record DBAP crowd. Hagins had a couple of starts at AAA last year in Reno for the Diamondback franchise. He was up from Montgomery a couple of weeks ago for a couple of innings in relief, then he went back. He did just fine (Game Score = 62). Plus he got home runs from Richie Shaffer, Taylor Motter, and J.P. Arencibia before he left the game after five innings.

After all our complaining about the starting pitching over the last few weeks it’s odd to be pointing out how poorly the bullpen did last night. After Hagens shut out the Tides for five innings, four relievers gave up five runs on 10 hits. In just one game the relievers’ ERA for the season went from 3.39 to 3.49, the worst it’s been since the very beginning of the year. Led off by José Dominguez, who gave up 2 runs in the 6th (and left two on base), each following pitcher gave up a run until in the 9th the winning run came across. Meanwhile the Bulls were baffled by a knuckleballer (Eddie Gamboa) and held runless for the rest of the game.

Too bad, because early in the game we were also treated to some wonderful defensive play including a 1B (Arencibia) to 3B (Shaffer) that cut down a lead runner in the 3rd; a perfect Maile to Franklin caught stealing; and near-perfect Boog Powell (left field) to Luke Maile at home. Unfortunately, the runner was in the way and he got nipped by the ball, so the throw ended up counting as an error (something not right about that, it seems).

Dylan Floro is up this afternoon. He has not done well in his last four games. Maybe today?

Rosterification —

The changes are just relentless. Just for the record

• The aforementioned Bradin Hagens is up from Montgomery.
• Pitcher Everett Teaford has gone to Tampa Bay
• Reliever Andy Oliver has opted out of his contract and gone for free agency. Decent job for the Bulls. 25 games, 28 innings, 5 holds, 1 save. He got the win over in Norfolk Friday. Maybe he wanted to go out on a high note? More likely watching all those guys going back and forth to St. Petersburg started working on his head.
• Jordan Norberto was moved to the “temporarily inactive” list. Have no idea what that means.
• C.J. Riefenhauser is on his way back from Tampa Bay
• Kirby Yates is back from Tampa Bay
• Infielder (1B) Marc Krause’s status was changed from being optioned to Durham to a Designated for Assignment, meaning he will come off the 40-man (and could possibly by claimed). That was to make room for Teaford.
• Reliever Ronald Belisario opted for free agency rather than come back to Durham.

Not Too Soon, Bulls Leave Ohio

Wrap, Box

Season: 43-38; Trip: 2-4
Wrap, Box, Toledo Blade

The Bulls finished off their trip to Ohio with a bang, three home runs (Arencibia, Motter, and Shaffer), and a fine pitching effort by Scott Diamond.

Their travels and travails these last couple of weeks may not be over as more roster moves have happened and likely more are coming. We have to admire the skills of Jared Sandberg even keeping a halfway decent team on the field during this period. And we have to admire the players whose every day starts and ends with uncertainty about their future. You have to think that their only thought is just to get out between the lines and play some baseball.

Nice to see Luke Maile back in the lineup yesterday. He’d been missing for a couple of days.

The Bulls will play Norfolk in Norfolk for two games, then come to Durham for a couple of games. Norfolk is now in the lead in the International League South Division. Their run up pretty much matches the Bulls’ fall over the same time period. See chart below for a picture of this season.

Moves —

• Pitchers C.J. Riefenhauser and Preston Guilmet to Tampa Bay
• Pitcher Kirby Yates to Durham
• First Baseman Marc Krause to Durham. Marc Krause played 4 games and got one hit for the Rays before getting sent to the Bulls . As a first baseman, he’s going to find a crowd over in that corner of the field — Shaffer, Arencibia, Belnome (and the recently departed Alan Dykstra) — unless the Rays make some room. July seems to be the month for dumping folks as the Rays invalid list seems to be improving. Stats.
• Ronald Belisario who did so well for the Bulls this year, has been DFA’d by the Rays. Will he end up back with the Bulls? Who knows.

click on chart for larger image

Before the Rain

Season: 39-29; Home Stand: 0-1
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

According to Brook Pryor over at the Herald-Sun, Dylan Floro’s problem was that his two-seam fastball wasn’t working and he didn’t switch to his four-seamer soon enough. Well, something sure happened in the first two innings and that makes as good a sense as anything else. In the meantime, Columbus’ Michael Roth was doing a very good job of keeping the Bulls in check.

One of those games where it was OK to see the storm coming.

New to me was to see manager Sandberg staying in the dugout when the Bulls were at bat. Hitting coach Dave Myers took 3B and infielder Vince Belnome took 1B.

Roster summary —

• Matt Buschmann took his opt out and we have not heard if he has signed with anyone else yet.
• Ronald Belisario got added to the Tampa Bay roster.
• Catcher Bobby Wilson “accepted the assignment” from the Rays to the Bulls. Saw him in the dugout last night.
• Catcher Mayo Acosta was taken off the roster, but was seen in the bullpen.
• Pitcher Ernesto Frieri, who’d been sent down from Tampa Bay, is on the disabled list.
• Pitcher Bradin Hagens was called up from the Biscuits. He’s got some interesting stats. No word on whether he is to be a starter or reliever. He’s done both at Montgomery this year.

Good Pitching & Hitting, Umpire Thins Out Opposition

Season: 39-27; Trip: 4-1
Wrap, Box

With last night’s win the Durham Bulls went 12 games above .500, the best so far this year. Mid-season is only 6 games away (AAA only plays 144 games) and we have to say that the team’s record is terrific.

One reason is that they are getting good pitching from odd places. Last night reliever Jordan Norberto got his second start in a row and lasted even longer than last time. He essentially set the stage for Jim Miller, who got a win even though his stint was not impressive. Then the new guys, Robert Zarate and Kyle Winkler, pitched one inning each of shut out ball and semi-new guy Preston Guilmet (he seems to spend a lot of time on the Rays-Bulls shuttle) got his second save.

Another reason is youngster Richie Shaffer is just pounding the ball. I saw his shot last night and he just crushed a ball in that oddly shaped stadium. At the DBAP it might have gone over the Bull.

Maybe, just maybe, Alan Dykstra is coming out of his season-long slump. He was 3 for 4 last night and made his way above the Mendoza Line to .210. And there’s Cory Brown, who was named the International League Hitter of the Week yesterday. He had a very timely triple in the 6th that won the game for the Bulls.

For oddity, how about this? The home plate umpire threw out three Indians last night, all for grousing about balls and strikes. First it was hitting coach Butch Wynegar in the 3rd. Then in the 9th it was catcher Tony Sanchez, followed by manager Dean Treanor. The Bulls have seen a lot of this particular umpiring crew, 16 games this season. Last night it was a four-man version. It strikes me as particularly stupid for a catcher to argue balls and strikes on the first game of a three-game series.

Rostering —

• Two Bulls pitchers had Jun 15th opt-out clauses in their contracts: Matt Buschmann and Ronald Belisario. Just what circumstances were involved in the clauses aren’t clear (typically assignment to the 25-man active squad). Nevertheless, according to Broadcaster Patrick Kinas, both have exercised their options. That means the Rays have 48 hours to do some kind of deal or both players are gone. No matter what happens, it would seem that neither player will be back in a Bulls uniform. Also according to Kinas, both players were still with the team last night as they wait for decisions down in St. Petersburg.
• Too bad for the Bulls. Buschmann was the front end and Belisario was the back end of quite a few Bulls wins this year. Belisario is probably the best closer in the International League and Buschmann, while he’s never made it to the major leagues, is certainly an above average pitcher.  
• Meanwhile, catcher Bobby Wilson, the Rays backup catcher all this year, has accepted an assignment to the Bulls and should show up in a couple of days. That could add a lot of experience and depth to the team. Stats.
• And then there’s Grady Sizemore, who was signed yesterday by the Rays. He’ll probably show up with the Bulls after spending some time with the Stone Crabs. Not sure about that one. Stats.
• Additional commentary here and here, 

Bye Bats; Hello Indians

Wrap, Box, Louisville Courier-Journal

Richie Shaffer got three home runs in a game where both teams beat up on each other.

Wrap, Box

First loss after a 6-game winning streak. Mikie Mahtook back in the lineup. See that J.P. Arencibia put on catcher’s gear for the first time in a long while for top of the 9th. Wonder if he’s been carrying his mitt around with him all year?

Unusually poor outing by Matt Buschmann

Season: 38-27; Trip: 3-1
Wrap, Box, Louisville Courier Journal

The basic take on the game by the Bats’ manager, Delino DeShields, was, “We wuz robbed!” Seems like a foul ball in the 9th should have been fair (in his view). And that would have led to a Bats win. Then he goes on to complain about the whole series. I wonder if the same umpiring crew is going to be in Louisville for a couple of days?

But the Bulls did get 3 out of 4 on the road. Pretty darn good, especially with the turnover and turmoil.

Scott Diamond got his seventh win. Kirby Yates got his first K since coming off of rehab. Mikie Mahtook, Richie Shaffer, and Luke Maile got the RBIs.

Outside the game —

• According to the radio, this was the last game as a Bull for Ronald Belisario. He has an opt-out contract and the guessing is that he’s going to execute it unless the Rays call him up. He has been huge help to the Bulls with 17 saves over 27 appearances, 30+ innings, two losses and a blown save (all when his pitch count got up). A decent WHIP of 1.22. Out of 11 runners he inherited, only one of them scored! Good luck!
• To my great surprise, the local N&O actually had some Durham Bulls coverage. Two feature articles by Nick Gray. One is about the increasing use of shifts in AAA ball and interviews Bull Alan Dykstra on their effect on his hitting. The second is about the Bulls new star Richie Shaffer. Good reporting. Nice to see some coverage.
• Ballpark Digest is conducting some sort of poll on favorite ballparks. The DBAP is still in the running.

Matchup

The Bulls roll up the road to Indianapolis to face what could be their toughest out-of-division opponent this year. The Triple-A club of the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Indianapolis Indians are 6 ½ games ahead in the International League North Division. The have an edge on the Bulls in most statistical categories; have won 9 of their last 10 games; and just won 3 out of 4 against the Gwinnett Braves.

The only statistical flaw that jumps out is that their run differential is awfully low for their won-loss record. In fact, if you crank it through the Pythagorean Expectation (PE) equation their won-loss record “should” be just 36-29. That is, they should have lost 5 more games than they have. Typically two explanations are given for these oddities: luck and relief pitching. We will have to see. Over the course of a season, the PE come spookily close to matching the actual won-loss.

[Note: the Bulls’ PE is also anomalous. Won-loss “should” be 35-30. That is, they should have lost 3 more games than they have.]

How to Win a Marathon

Season: 35-26; Home Stand: 3-0
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

The finish of this longest game of the year (4:12) is well-covered at the links, including the heroics of infielder Leonardo Reginatto who now has a place in the 2015 Durham Bulls record books as a pitcher.

But how in the world did they get there when they had a 7-3 lead going into the 6th inning? Well, I’d like to blame the Tampa Bay Rays, who told the Bulls not to start Matt Andriese, so they had to go with Jordan Norberto who had never started a game in his professional career, and who was, by WDBB’s measures, the Bulls’ worst reliever. But Norberto got out of his 2+ innings in decent shape. The Rays also took away a reliever, Preston Guilmet, which came into play later on.

But we have to admit that the first big mistake was leaving generally superb reliever Jim Miller in the game with two outs in the 6th. Jared Sandberg was ready to take him out since he was over 50 pitches and C.J. Riefenhauser was ready to go. Sandberg, who seems to be quicker with the hook that Charlie Montoyo, even went out to the mound. But Miller apparently talked Sandberg out of pulling him. Didn’t work. The very next batter hit a home run and the IronPigs were then 4 runs back at 7-3. Riefenhauser came in to finish out the 6th.

Andy Oliver, not the Bulls’ best reliever, but not the worst either, came on in the 8th, struck out a batter, then loaded the bases with three quick walks. The last man standing in the Bulls’ bullpen was closer Ronald Belisario. Yes, it was true that this would be his 12th appearance in the last 21 Bulls’ games, but that’s what closers do, right? This was to be, however, a 5-out save and Belisaro had only attempted that twice before this year: one save and one loss. On the other hand, the Bulls really did not have a choice in the matter. The bullpen was empty.

A run scored on an infield out at first and the next batter flied out. The Bulls got the run back on a Reginatto double in the bottom of the inning, so they went into the 9th with a comfortable 3-run lead. After all, Belisario does lead the IL in saves.

A walk, a single, and a home run (by former Bull Russ Canzler), and the game was tied. The marathon began. Young Brazilian infielder Reginatto kept the Bulls in the game until the IronPigs pitching faded in the bottom of the 12th. Note that the rules of the game meant Reginatto also had to keep on coming to bat, which he did in the 12th. He was hit by a pitch and was on 2nd base when Taylor Motter’s home run brought home Hak-Ju Lee to win the game.

Outside the game —

• As mentioned, Preston Guilmet has been called up. Enny Romero is coming back. Kirby Yates was taken off his rehab status and is coming on to the Bulls roster.

In the wings —

• According to the Tampa Tribune’s Roger Mooney, Matt Moore will have a rehab start with the Durham Bulls on June 18. That would be their first home game after the Bulls get back from their current trip.

The Bulls are now alone in first place in the International League South Division.

Arencibia/Casali Rule!

Season: 31-24; Home Stand: 7-2
Wrap, Box

Bulls fans could not have hoped for a better home stand than what we just went through. Nine games in eleven days; seven wins; good crowds, over 65,000 fans; decent, but not great, weather. Not only that, the Bulls end the stand back in a three-way tie with Charlotte and Norfolk for first place in the International League South Division.

They are off to Lawrenceville, Georgia to play the Braves for three games, then back to the DBAP. This is the first real break for the DBAP’s turf in a very, very  long time.

The fun part of last night’s game was watching J.P. Arencibia and Curt Casali shine. Neither of them is having a particularly good year at bat, but times could be changing. Arencibia played first base and batted 4th. Casali was the DH and batted fifth. Between them they accounted for 6 of the Bulls' 9 hits, 2 of the RBI, and all of the runs scored.

Arencibia started in off in the 2nd inning with a single and Casali hit a home run to bring him in (Casali’s second home run in a row since he’d homered Wednesday night in his last at bat).

With one out in the 4th inning Arencibia singled again, Casali singled him to third base, and Richie Shaffer drove him in with a double.

Arencibia led off the 6th with a double, went to third base (again) on a Casali single, and came home on a Corey Brown sacrifice fly.

Scott Diamond kept things quiet until the 5th and Sandberg was quick with the hook. Probably because the relief crew needed the work and they have been exceptional during this home stand. In the last four games they have not allowed a single earned run over those 15+ innings.

In the wings —

• Bulls reliever Kirby Yates made his first rehab appearance with the Charlotte Stone Crabs. One not-very-successful inning. Box.
• Juniel Querecuto has moved to Montgomery. He was 1 for 4 playing shortstop in a Biscuits loss to the Jacksonville Suns. Box. Wrap.

Bulls Relievers

I mentioned the relievers' recent performance above. Here’s a chart that shows how they’ve been doing this year. As with most of the charts so far it’s early days in the season and the sample size is small. This shows the ERA and the Fielding Independent Percentage (FIP) for the relief crew. FIP is one of those newish sabermetric stats that tries to focus on just those things the pitcher controls. As the season goes along FIP and ERA will probably get closer in synch. This chart is sorted by FIP.

A few more caveats: Obviously, José Dominguez’s sample is too small for any kind of conclusion, just 5 innings so far this year. Ronald Belisario’s 14 saves are the best in the International League and he’s coming up on his opt-out date. All who are on the 40-man have seen time with Tampa Bay this year. A couple of players currently with the Rays have seen significant time with the Bulls this year, but aren't on this chart.  Jim Miller and Jhan Mariñez have been really impressive and important to the Bulls this year. Even with all the caveats, for these are mostly very good numbers. The overall ERA for Bulls relievers on the year is 3.10.

click on chart for larger image

Deeefense

Season: 29-23; Home Stand: 5-1
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Yes, the pitching was pretty good, but five pitchers don’t get a shutout without some awfully good defense. Case in point: in the Chief’s 4th they had a man on second base who came around towards home plate on a single to right. Mikie Mahtook threw a very accurate bullet for a very pretty play at home. In the 6th, runner on second, a ground ball to shortstop Leonardo Reginatto’s left, runner goes to towards third, but Reginatto throws to 3B instead of 1B for the out. Then on the next play a sharp grounder to 1B leads to a double play.

In all, the Chiefs left 11 runners on base. Meanwhile, Mikie Mahtook drew a walk and had a very well-hit double. We can hope. Meanwhile, J.P. Arencibia had 3 Ks and his average has dropped to .194. Alan Dykstra continues to tease us. He got another RBI double, but remains well-below .200 at .156.

Apparently Matt Andriese is to be the Bulls 5th starter. See the Herald-Sun link for a review of pitcher management by Jared Sandberg. In the meantime, a bunch of them got their chance last night and several worked their way out of problems.

One difference in this matchup with the Chiefs is that they must have decided to crowd the plate a bit. Bulls pitchers have only accumulated 13 hit batsman calls this year, but 5 of them came during this series with the Syracuse Chiefs. Of course, it’s only fair to point out that Bulls hitters are second in the IL in getting hit, with 21 on the season.

Outside the game —

• There I was, singing away at the stretch, when I realized that I hadn’t had any Cracker Jack this year. I took a quick look at the concession stands and realized that Cracker Jack was not to be found. Awwww! Say it ain't so!
• Tampa Bay Rays infielder Tim Beckham has gone on the disabled list. At the moment the only Bulls position players on the 40-man are catcher Curt Casali, outfielder Mikie Mahtook, and infielder Ryan Brett.
• I heard last night that reliever Ronald Belisario has an “opt-out” contract and the date is coming due soon. Last night was his 13th save (and his third in three days). He leads the IL in saves. So will the Rays do some razzle-dazzle to get him on the 40-man and call him up, or let him go, or will he decide to stay?

In the wings (players who’ve been with the Bulls this year) —

• Infielder Juniel Querecuto played 3B for the Charlotte Stone Crabs, went 1 for 4 with a walk, and scored a run in a 2-0 win. Box

Bulls Win; Nice to See Joe Dillon Back

Dan Johnson, Joe Dillon, Jose Lobaton
Walking back to dugout after a Lobaton home run
July 5, 2010

Season: 28-23; Home Stand: 4-1
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Rays Colored Glasses

What a terrific home stand this is becoming for us fans. Big crowds. Interesting baseball. And a bunch of wins. Plus we have 4 more games to go. Life is good!

Very pleased to see our favorite 2015 Bull, Alexi Casilla, back in the game after some time on the disabled list. Slightly annoyed that WDBB is the only place that recognizes that he’s the best hitter on the team. But maybe they’ll come around.

Ryan Brett DH’d and led off with a home run his first at bat. Things were quiet until the 5th when Richie Shaffer, whose bat had been quiet since his fabulous first game with the Bulls, poked one over the Blue Monster. Unfortunately, a Shaffer error and a single took starter Scott Diamond out of the game. An unimpressive José Dominguez gave up a single and then walked in a run, bringing up some bad memories of all the runs the Chiefs had given the Bulls on Friday night. He got out of the inning, however, with a strikeout and a popup, leaving the bases loaded.

The Rays/Bulls are certainly being cautious with Mr. Dominguez. Since coming off the DL he’s only had 5 appearances, none of them particularly successful.

Jordan Norberto came on for the 7th and it got a bit ugly after two outs. Two singles and Jared Sandberg was quick with the hook, giving the ball to the spectacular young Jhan Mariñez. But Mariñez’ last outing was a one-out save on May 24th. It took him two batters to shake the rust off. First he hit a batter to load the bases, then he walked in the Chief’s second run. He got a ground out and then struck out the side in the 8th. But the game was tied.

It got very interesting in the 8th. Alexi Casilla grounded out. Ryan Brett singled off the pitcher’s glove and Taylor Motter singled to right. Mikie Mahtook struck out and Alan Dykstra came to bat.

When Mahtook came to bat, broadcaster Patrick Kinas began a lengthy exposition on the positioning of Chief’s center fielder Darin Mastroianni, pointing out how shallow he was and that, especially after Mahtook’s K, it didn’t make any sense to play that shallow. Essentially, and I’m sure he has made all his colleagues in the booth aware of it, he called the shot for Dykstra. Dykstra put the 5th pitch he saw over Mastroianni’s head, both runners scored, and the Bulls were up 4-2.

Ronald Belisario, in the grand tradition of Bulls’ closers, gave us some thrills in the 9th. He gave up two singles before Alexi Casilla started one double play, then made a very pretty grab and throw for the third out. It was his 12th save, which ranks him #2 in the International League.

Outside the game —

• About that photo up top. Joe Dillon was one of my favorite Durham Bulls back in 2009 and 2010. What I admired about him in those years was how hard he worked and how much he seemed to love the game. What I like about that photo is how looks to me so much like three guys on their way home from work. The photo says to me, “We’re baseball players, this is what we do.” You can see him tonight, probably out at third base when the Chiefs are at bat. He’s their hitting coach. Nice to see him back at the DBAP.
• When Alexi Casilla came off the DL somebody had to go. After 4 games with the Bulls, Juniel Querecuto went back to the Charlotte Stone Crabs. 
• Tampa Bay Rays infielder Tim Beckham tweaked a hamstring in last night's game in Baltimore. If serious, we can expect ripple effects down here.

One Hit Wonder

Season: 27-23; Home Stand: 3-1
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

This was billed as a pitchers’ duel and, in its way, it was. At least Matt Buschmann showed up for the gunfight. His opponent, the Chiefs' A.J. Cole, decided to commit suicide after the first three innings. I don’t know that I’ve seen a pitcher come so thoroughly unraveled as the Chief’s Cole did in the 4th. After getting a pop-up from J.P.Arencibia to start the inning, he then proceeded to walk the next five, count ‘em, five batters to drive in two runs and leave the bases loaded when he was pulled out at last. And they were not close calls, by the last three BBs the pitches were unreachable by the batters. A ground out by Ryan Brett scored the third run, before the inning ended with another ground out.

And to be clear, the Bulls were not hitting all night. In fact, the team only had 1 hit (by Juniel Querecuto in the 3rd inning) in 23 ABs. That’s a batting average of .043! Throw in the walks and hit batsmen and you get an OPS of .356. Not the worst of the year, but still less that half the league average.

Speaking of hit batsmen, the Bulls' Brett was hit, but Buschmann and Romero combined to hit three Chiefs for a season high.

We are beginning to expect a solid performance from Matt Bushmann, and we got another one last night. His Game Score of 70 is his fourth +50 start in a row and his 8th of the year. He has had only 2 starts with a less than 50 GSc.

Enny Romero is back and showed up in long relief after C.J. Riefenhauser got in his one inning of rehab. Romero had no walks and 4 Ks. And a lot of heat. Several 97 mph fastballs in the mix, but it did take him 50 pitches to get through his 2⅓. Ronald Belisario got his 11th save with a three-pitch, two batter appearance.

Mikie Mahtook’s 3 strikeout, 0 for 4 night just adds to our worries about the young man. He looked just fine in right field, but May has been ugly at the plate. In his last 44 ABs he has had 19 strikeouts and no walks. In fact, on the year he has drawn just 9 walks and only 1 this month. Yet, from the stands, he does not look all that awkward at the plate as hitters in slumps often do. As with much of the rest of this team, hitting coach Dave Myers has some work to do.

Outside the game —

• Everett Teaford has been sent down to Montgomery. The weakest of the Bulls starting crew, we wish him well.
• Ryan Brett officially came off of his rehab assignment. As we saw, he was in the game at 2B last night. Like essentially everyone else, he was hitless last night, but he did get an RBI as he drew one of the 4th inning walks.

Comparing Bulls Teams

Fifty games into the season, how do these Durham Bulls compare to previous teams? By the net Runs Scored measure, only so-so, but much better than the 2012 gang. Considering all the roster turmoil and injuries, things are doing better than might be expected.

click on chart for larger image

A Win and, How Bad is the DBAP Press Box?

Wrap, Box, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle

Wrap, Box

Season: 21-20; Trip: 1-2
Wrap, Box, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle

At last! A win. A bit ugly what with 3 errors and 12 runners left on base. But a win nonetheless with good jobs turned in by Enny Romero, Jhan Marinez (ERA 0.55 after 8 appearances and 16 innings!), and Ronald Belisario, who came into the game in the 8th with 1 out and runners on 1B and 2B and K’d the Red Wings out. A clean 9th inning got him his 7th save. New guy Preston Guilmet started the 8th and Jared Sandberg had had enough after 3 hits, two runs scored, and only one out.

Alexi Casilla left the game early on for an undisclosed (so far) reason. If anybody hears anything, please add to comments.

Outside the game —

In the “now it can be told” category.

First, let me point out that WDBB is not considered to be part of the "media" and we have never been in the press box or the broadcast booth (old or new) at the DBAP. Never thought to ask, to be honest. They might have let me in, but probably not now. And let me say that from where I sit, I have a hard time telling a curve from a slider from a changeup without checking the speed gun.

Now, on to the story …

I was watching the MiLB TV version of one of the games and listening to the Red Wings' broadcast team since the delay for Patrick Kinas was at least a minute or so and arrived well after the action on the screen. One of the broadcasters, whose name I didn’t catch, went into a fairly lengthy rant about the DBAP broadcast booth.

According to him, it's the worst in all of the International League. No other place in the IL puts the broadcasters where they can’t see the game! He likes the park, hates the booth. As we all know, the broadcasters are high up above first base, so they obviously don't have a very good angle to observe pitches. Nor can they see all of right field. And when the fans stand up, apparently their view is completely blocked. So the broadcasters end up calling the game from the video monitors.

I’ve wondered about that odd configuration myself. As we all can see, with the remodel came a club-like spot up above home plate, which must be really nice for the fans, but ... remember those scenes from “Bull Durham” where the broadcaster is essentially faking his calls?

Just how do folks way up above first base tell exactly where the ball crossed the plate?

Bats Alive in Rhode Island; Hitting Trends

Wrap, Box, Morning Call

Season: 13-10; Trip: 4-1

Wrap, Box, Providence Journal

After a very early day game in Allentown, Pennsylvania the Bulls were off to Pawtucket, Rhode Island. There Jim Patterson flew in from “extended spring training” for his second start of the year. He did just fine. And he was followed by young Jhan Marinez (terrific), Bryce Stowell (premier middle reliever), and Ronald Belesario.

Meanwhile the Bulls hit three home runs, something they’ve only done once before this year. The first was a game-opening hit by Taylor Motter. The second was a three-run affair by J.P. Arencibia. And the third was a solo shot by Corey Brown.

We saw the very ugly, and endlessly replayed, play by Pawsox catcher Humberto Quintero. Mikie Mahtook was on second and attempted a steal of third. Luke Maile was at bat. Maile simply stood in the box and Quintero launched his throw to 3B right into Maile’s gut. Not OK, and Maile obviously felt it. But much worse was Quintero acting as if it was Maile’s fault. Would expect better from a 35 year-old veteran. Then things got very testy after a collision between Quintero and Hak-Ju Lee at second base later on in the game.

It was May 1 and the speed of game changes are in effect. A Pawtucket batter had a strike called in him because he was not in the box when he should have been.

Rosterizing —

• As noted, Jim Patterson is back from extended spring training
• Matt Andriese, who had five appearances with the Rays (two starts)  has been optioned to the Bulls to make room for Alex Colome. Probably will show up soon.
• Grant Balfour, a once great closer, and former Bull, has signed a minor league deal with the Rays and will be coming to the Bulls to see if he can regain the form he had with the Rays and the Athletics. The Australian should be fun to watch.
• Everett Teaford, who went up a couple of days ago, is on his way back.
• I don't think I've mentioned that Kirby Yates has gone on the disabled list. Fits with what we've seen since he came back to the Bulls.

Chart — Hitting

This is one way to look at the Bulls’ hitting performance. I’m using OPS (on base percentage + slugging) as a metric. That’s not my favorite batting stat, but for my purposes of trying to discern team trends, it’s OK. 

What is OPS? Well, it’s a combination of numbers you see on the scoreboard at each game. It is an effort to measure a player’s batting skill beyond batting average. It starts with On Base Percentage, essentially how often a player gets on base when he comes to bat — hit, walk, hit by pitch. And then you add to it the Slugging Average, which is the number of bases per at bat. One way to help understand slugging is that if you look up on the scoreboard and see a batting average that’s the same as the slugging average, it means he’s only hit singles so far this year.

There’s another stat I like better, called Weighted On Base Average, and I plot them both. But as far as trends go, I’m not seeing much difference.

This plots the OPS for each of the last 15 games. Included is the International League average over the last 3 years. The slight upward trend is a good thing. The Bulls’ overall OPS on the season is .690, which ranks them 6th out of 14 teams in the league.

click for larger chart

Motter Runs; First Chart

Season: 11-9; Trip: 2-0
Wrap, Box, Morning Call

All I was able to catch of last night’s game was the 9th inning. The links provide the basics. Have to point out, however, Taylor Motter’s 3 stolen bases, double and two walks. He was playing second base last night.

And there was the thrill of closer Ronald Belisario, after two quick outs, letting runners get to second and third base before getting the third out. Good for the listener’s heart.

First Chart of the Year

As regular readers know, I love trying to put together pictures of how the Bulls are doing. What I mostly like to do is find a way to show a trend, and I prefer trying to describe team stats rather than individual stats.

Today’s chart is an example of that way of thinking. Rather than a static standings box, I like seeing where a team has been by showing games above/below a .500 win/loss average. That gives you a quick look, for example, at the great run the Bulls have been having over the last week. And it’s a quick glance at how they are shaping up against the rest of the division. To relate back to the usual table, each tick mark in the spread between teams is ½ a game. The Bulls are, thus, 2½ games ahead of Gwinnett, a ½ game back of Norfolk, and a full game back of Charlotte, just as it shows in the conventional standings.

click on chart for larger view

Opening Day Dismal; Rosterification

AAAARGH!!!
DBAP 10:15 16 Apr 2015

Season: 3-4; Home Stand: 0-1
Wrap, Box, News & Observer, Herald-Sun

My condolences to: the players, the staff, the ground crew, and to us fans. By far the most miserable home opener in memory. I have to be honest: I was watching the webcam from home and when they had not pulled the tarp by 8:00 I decided not to go to the game.

And that was just the rain and wind ...

First look (via MiLB TV) at 30 year-old Alexi Everett Teaford. He grew up in the KC Royals system, had a decent 2011 with the Royals, so-so 2012, and spent most of 2013 pitching in Korea. [stats] He looks to be a product of the Rays search for value. Last night he had trouble right from the start and never quite recovered.

Meanwhile, the Tides’ Mike Wright pretty much handcuffed Bulls’ hitting.

Outside the game —

• Bulls reliever José Dominguez, whom we’ve never seen, got called up to the Rays and put in a very clean 1⅓ scoreless innings for them last night.
• Veteran Ronald Belisario has been added to the Bulls roster. Thirty-two year-old Belisario was signed to a minor league contract by the Rays and was thought to be in serious contention for a bullpen job until he discovered he’d fractured his off-shoulder in a swimming pool incident earlier this winter. He had a good ⅔ of an inning for the Bulls last night.
• Meanwhile, Mikie Mahtook got his first big league hit and it was a big one a home run. Video here. Story here.
• Lastly, WDBB favorite Kirby Yates is coming back for what could be a very short stay. The way it seems to work is that when a major leaguer gets sent “down” he can take a couple of days to get here. A player going “up” catches the next plane. In Yates’ case he simply was the odd man out as the Rays are attempting to manage a very complicated starter/reliever situation. There’s a chance that he may never pitch an inning for the Bulls.