Durham Bulls Sweep Chiefs; Bisons in Town; Charts!

Syracuse came to Durham on a six-game winning streak. They left town on a three-game losing streak. Last night the Bulls' bats simply got very, very hot — especially Patrick Leonard who is now at .413 on the season!

Disturbingly, the Bulls pitching roster is short two starters and one of the fill-ins, newcomer Edwin Fierro left the game with an injury last night.

Time for some charts. All can be expanded by clicking on the image.

The Bulls lead the IL South and have the best won-loss record in the league.

Pitching is better than the league average, with the relief crew doing a simply superb job.

As are the hitters, with last night's game being their best effort of the year.

Tonight the Bisons are in town. The Blue Jays' Triple-A team leads the International League North and is arriving after splitting a series with Norfolk (and putting up with much of the same weather we've seen this last week).

Familiar faces on the Bisons include pitcher Jeff Beliveau from 2013 and 2014, catcher Luke Maile who was with the Bulls for much of 2015 and 2016; and infielder Jake Elmore, who had 57 games with the Bulls (and 51 with the Rays) in 2015.

Last Minute Loss; More Rosterization

Season: 6-8; Home Stand: 2-1
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun [paywall]

I wasn’t able to make it to the park last night. Was able to listen to the 9th inning. Exciting, but the Knights closer did what closer’s do.

In the meantime...

Rosterization —

• One Rays blogger is now referring to his team as the Tampa Bay Bulls, seems apt. 
• Ryan Brett, who started the season with the Bulls and played in 7 games, then went to the Rays and played in 3 games, hurt his shoulder and went on the Rays' DL.
• Which led to  the Bulls' Jake Elmore going up to the Rays yesterday. Elmore had a pinch hit home run in his one and only at bat last night. That puts him into the statistical stratosphere of an OPS of 5.000! At least until his next AB.
• To make room on the Tampa Bay 40-man roster, they moved former Bull Jeff Beliveau to the 60 day disabled list as he heads for the operating room today to fix a shoulder problem.
• Why wasn’t Hak-Ju Lee, who is on the 40-man called up? Hard to say. But Elmore’s stats, team best OBP and third best OPS, were much better than Lee’s. 
• To fill Elmore’s slot on the Bulls, Leonardo Reginatto, a youngish infielder from Brazil who has been working his way up through the Rays system is up from Montgomery to get his first taste of AAA ball. [stats]

Outside the game —

• From time to time we get questions about the pay for minor leaguers. Turns out that at least some of them are taking the bizarre position that they should be paid at least the federal minimum wage! Imagine that! And they have filed a lawsuit. See today's feature in USA Today for more.

Several 2014 Durham Bulls Make the Rays Starting Roster

The Tampa Bay Rays announced their opening day roster [Tampa Bay Times, Rays Index] and several players with substantial recent experience with the Durham Bulls are on it.

Congratulations!

The purest rookie of the bunch is middle infielder Tim Beckham. He did get a few at bats with the Rays at the end of the 2013 season, but his on and off status in recent years has been mostly with the Bulls. He got in a few games at the end of 2011, came to the party late in 2012 after a 50-game drug suspension to play in 72 games, put in a full year in 2013, but blew out his knee just prior to spring training in 2014 and did not show up with the Bulls until late in the season. We think it’s great that he’s starting off with the Rays. At a guess, however, he mostly a placeholder for Nick Franklin who is starting the season on the disabled list. We could be seeing Mr. Beckham back with the Bulls by the end of the month. Probably not for the whole season, though, since he seems to be coming into his own and will likely go back to the Rays to stay by the end of the year.

The rest of the recent Bulls list are pitchers, but they are all interesting guys.

Kirby Yates had a terrific year with the Bulls in 2013, banged the door open to the Rays in early 2014, and never looked back. Happy to see him stick with the Rays.

A case could be made that Steve Geltz was the Durham Bulls’ finest reliever in 2013. In 2014 he screwed up and sat out a 50-game suspension before throwing 40+ games in relief and earning a callup (the Bulls could have used him in the playoffs).

We were thoroughly unimpressed with Nathan Karns last year. That goes to show you what we know. He’s in the starting rotation for the Rays this year. Nevertheless, I’d guess that after the platoon of Rays on the disabled list get healthy, he will be back in Durham.

Jeff Beliveau, on the other hand, was a big help to the Bulls in both 2013 and 2014. He went up to the Rays a couple of times in 2013 and put it a good bit of bench/travel time. He had a breakout year in 2014 with the Bulls and went up to the Rays to stay in late July.

Then there’s Matt Andriese, who also did not impress us in 2014, but we did note that he was the best of a not very stellar Bulls starting rotation. However, he won two of the playoff games and he’s now with the Rays as a reliever.

Will we see any of these fellows this year? Probably. The Rays have 5 (count ‘em - 5!) pitchers with various forms of disabledness.

Meanwhile, again, congratulations. Very, very few ballplayers make it to opening day in the major leagues. Have fun.

Trade Deadline Bothers Bulls

Ray Olmedo slides into third, safe, 29 July 2014.
Photo by Robert Lahser, Charlotte Observer

Season: 58-51; Trip: 0-1

Wrap, Box, Charlotte Observer

We missed the broadcast intro last night. But it sure looks like the Tampa Bay Rays’ indecision/secretiveness as they approach the trading deadline cost the Bulls a game last night. How was that? Well, Merrill Kelly started the game and, while we think the world of Mr. Kelly, it hardly seems fair to put him up against the best hitting team in the IL in a hitter-friendly park when he has not started game since 28 June. Since then he’s has only thrown 90 pitches over 4⅓ innings in five relief appearances. 

Nevertheless, Kelly did just fine if it weren’t for the two home runs. He was followed by his colleague Doug Mathis who did not let another run in, although he did provide some thrills with his 3 Ks.

The larger question is why the Bulls, who are already short a reliever in the bullpen (Jeff Beliveau was never replaced) had to use one of them to start a game? A plausible answer is that the Rays may be about to do some trading and want maximum flexibility. So who’s up tonight? 

Yes, the Bulls did have their chances, but the Rays made it tough on them.

Outside the game —

• WDBB got 15 seconds of fame the other day when one of our charts got posted on the Rays Index. Big deal in the blogging world.
• The Process Report, another Rays blog, has taken a look at WDBB favorites Kirby Yates and Jeff Beliveau, who are now with the Rays. 
• Isn’t that a nice shot of Ray Olmedo?

7th Inning, Again?

Season: 56-50; Home Stand: 1-4; Home Game Remaining: 18
Wrap, Box

What is it about the 7th inning? Déjà vu. And not as if it should have been unexpected. Enny Romero has only gone past 6 innings once this year, back on 1 June. Going into the 7th his pitch count was low at 79 pitches, so that must have been why he went out to face famous home run hitter Mike Hessman. Bad decision. Hessman hit a home run. Two more hits and one more run later the Bulls were three runs behind and had even less of a prayer of winning than before.

Because the Bulls simply have not been hitting lately, as yesterday’s chart showed. Last night Toledo’s pitchers tied them in knots. Only 5 hits, all singles, a walk, and a hit batsman. That’s just seven base runners. Plus the one time they did get a runner to second base (Mike Fontenot in the 4th), he was thrown out trying to steal third base. And the Mud Hens were able to pull off three double plays, which did away with three of those guys who got as far as first.

Outside the game —

• The Norfolk Tides have won six in a row and are coming on strong as the Gwinnett Braves fall off the edge of the cliff (see chart below and the standings) The Bulls’ lead in the South Division of the IL looks much less comfortable.
• Juan Carlos Oviedo is a Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher who started the season with the Durham Bulls. Technically he was on a rehab assignment and never counted against the roster. He made 7 appearances for the Bulls, pitching one inning in each appearance.[ Bulls stats]  A short reliever for the Rays, he made 32 appearances for 31.2 innings down there. Stats. I mention him because he has been designated for assignment by the Rays. That means that he could show up in Durham. The Bulls are short one man and the Rays did not send Jeff Beliveau back. Could be Beliveau is going to stay for a while. 
• Dan Johnson’s still up with the Blue Jays and “blasted” a 70-foot infield hit for a go-ahead RBI. He followed that with a 3-run, 9th inning homer to win a game against the Yankees. 

Ugly, Ugly, Ugly

Wrap, Box, Rochester

Season: 56-48; Home Stand: 1-2; Standings
Wrap, Box, Rochester

The Rochester Red Wings did not score one earned run last night.

And that just about says it all. Plenty of blame to go around, but this was the worst, by far, game of the year for Durham Bulls defense. Prior to last night, the most errors in one game had been two. This set a new record. Another new record was strikeouts, 16, but in an 11-inning game that’s bad, but not the worst of the year. That would be 15 K’s in a 7-inning game on May 16 against Charlotte. Buy, hey, the Bulls won that game 6-2. So it wasn’t the K’s, it was the E’s.

Outside the game —

• You have to think that Neil Allen must have puffed up with pride when he looked at the Rays/Cardinals box score yesterday morning. All the pitchers were former Durham Bulls and 3 out of 4 from this year. 
• Jeff Beliveau was among them. He’s been called up for the 4th time this year. He’s only made three game appearances, though.
• No replacement for Beliveau has been named. The Bulls are operating one relief pitcher short in the bullpen and used three last night.

Charts — Durham Bulls Pitchers

The Bulls have had lot of pitchers so far this year, including a couple who are with Tampa Bay at the moment. The charts include ones with them now, or ones who might be coming back.

• Erik Bedard only pitched one game before being called up.
• Kirby Yates put in 21appearances and I’m leaving him on the charts because he could be back.
• Brad Boxberger is on his third visit to Tampa Bay and looks like he’s going to stick. 
• Juan Carlos Oviedo’s seven 1-inning appearances with the Bulls were officially rehab status.
• Jeff Beliveau has made three trips to join Tampa Bay (he’s pitched 2 innings for them).
• Juan Sandoval was released back near the end of May.
• C.J. Riefenhauser has made one trip to Tampa Bay and was on the disabled list for a couple of weeks in May.
• Jim Patterson came up from Montgomery, made 5 reasonably successful appearances, and went back.
• Braulio Lara came up from Montgomery, made 9 not very successful appearances, and went back.
• Brandon Gomes was optioned down from the Rays near the end of May.
• Josh Lueke came down in mid-June.

Add another rehab and a couple of position players thrown to the wolves and all together, 24 different ball players have been on the mound of the Durham Bulls this year. In 2013, 26 different guys pitched. The Bulls are on their way a new record? By the way, the Rays have had 20 different pitchers this year.

click on chart for larger image

I’m not a big fan of the Fielding Independent Pitching stat for minor leaguers for a couple of reasons, one of them being that I’m not sure I trust the constant value (in this case 3.2). Still, if FIP is an estimate of future performance then Adam Liberatore and Brandon Gomes are looking good. A couple of others, not so much. What jumps out is that two of the starters, Enny Romero and Nate Karns, simply aren’t doing very well no matter how you measure their performance. And the starters as a whole are a full 1.5 runs worse than the relievers as a group.

Walks/Hits per Inning Pitched is an interesting pitching stat and sometimes brings a different perspective. In this case, the bottom three (Mathis, Gomes, and Thompson) seemed to be doing better in terms of overall results. Not surprised to see Romero and Karns near the bottom though.

Lastly, in the just for fun category, is a chart of pitches made per out. Our home-brewed measure of efficiency. Sample size (Gomes and Geltz) may matter quite a bit here, but certainly Romero and Mathis are working awfully hard to get through their innings.

Another Nice Sunday in the Park

Mike Fontenot chases Norfolk's Jamile Weeks out of the base path for an out (he then tossed to 1B for double play)
Photo by Christine T. Nguyen, Durham Herald-Sun

Season: 49-43; Home Stand: 1-0; Last 10: 4-6
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

After tonight the Bulls will not play another game in the DBAP until July 21. That’s 13 days without seeing the Bulls play at home. We will not be without baseball, of course, but it will only (only!) be the All-Star Game on July 16. This will be the longest stretch without a home Bulls game this entire season. What to do?

Well, we could go to a Mudcats game. The Cleveland Advanced A team will be home on July 11-14. Or drive over to Burlington to take a look at the Kansas City Royals Rookie League team the Burlington Royals, who will be home from July 9 to 14. Or combine a trip to the mountains with a couple of games in Asheville, watching the Asheville Tourists. The Single A team of the Colorado Rockies will be playing at home July 8-9 and 15-17. In between here and the mountains you’ve also got the Greensboro Grasshoppers and the Winston-Salem Dash (both Carolina League Teams). Lastly, if you’re headed to the beach, there’s the Wilmington Sharks (Coastal Plain League, wooden bat collegiate league), July 11-12 or the Wilmington Blue Rocks, Single A, Royals July 11 thru 14.

Meanwhile, last night’s game was yet another chance for Nathan Karns to show his stuff. He did OK, and made it through a rough spot in the 5th. However, as manager Charlie Montoyo was quoted in the Herald-Sun,

“Every time we scored, he didn’t stop them,” Montoyo said. “He went into the sixth, but I expect better from him. … Too many pitches up in the zone. At this level and the next, they’re going to make you pay.”

This has not been a year for big guns, but Wilson Betemit and new(ish) guy Jeremy Moore are making noise recently and they both got homers last night. The Bulls only have 65 home runs on the year (6th in the league), and even though that is hardly a good measure of a team (Charlotte with the worst won-loss numbers in the league has the most home runs) it is still nice to fun to see the ball sail out of the park.

Outside the game —

• Jeremy Hellickson is to start a game Tuesday with the Tampa Bay Rays. Guess that means he won't be back in a Bulls jersey next week.
• Vince Belnome and Jeff Beliveau are being sent back to the Durham Bulls. Belnome got in one game as a designated hitter and went 0 for 3. Beliveau did not throw a pitch during his visit this time.
• Cole Figueroa remains with the Rays. He's been in 3 games this visit, 8 plate appearances, no hits.

Tough Trip; Now Gwinnett

Game 84; 28 June; Bulls 4 - Pawsox 6
Wrap, Box

Game 85; 29 June; Bulls 4 - Pawsox 7
Wrap, Box

Game 86; 30 June; Bulls 0 - Pawsox 10
Wrap, Box

Game 87; 1 July, Durham Bulls 5 - Pawtucket Red Sox 3
Season: 46-41; Trip: 1-3
Wrap, Box, Providence Journal

The worrisome Durham Bulls come back to Durham for a short two-game visit in the midst of a tough stretch that began back on the 16th of June up in Louisville when the Bulls were 14 games above .500 and 7½ games ahead of Gwinnett in the South Division. Since that time the Bulls have lost 12 games and won just 3 (including last night). Fortunately for the Bulls' standings in the South, the Gwinnett Braves have not been doing much better and the Bulls are still 5 games ahead of them.

What’s gone wrong? Mostly starting pitching, as the chart of the running totals of ERA over the last 15 games shows.

Matt Andriese's work last night was the exception. And maybe, just maybe, Hak-Ju Lee’s bat has come to life. Lee went 3 for 4 including a home run, for what was, I think, his best one-game performance this year.

Andriese gave up two home runs (to the same guy, Pawtucket’s Corey Brown), but otherwise seemed in control.

Outside the game —

• Alex Colome has been optioned back to the Bulls after a fine performance for the Rays against Baltimore.
• Jeff Beliveau has been called up. Speculation is that he won’t stay long, but that the Rays may come looking for a position player. At the moment, only Hak-Ju Lee, Ali Solis, and Vince Belnome are on the Rays 40-man. But the Rays are past masters at manipulating that, so hard to tell if someone will be moving up soon.

Matchup

Gwinnett has been having a tough year, but nothing wrong with their hitting. If the Bulls pitching does not get in order, this could be a difficult series for the home team.

Strike 'Em Out; Throw 'Em Out

Season: 35-23; Home Stand: 3-0
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

The thrill of the game (for me, at least) came on the very last play(s). Jeff Beliveau on the mound in the 9th inning (he of the 0.00 ERA). Runner on 1B by way of a lead-off walk. But Mr. Beliveau gets to two outs an out (fly ball to left field) and up to 3-2 on the batter. Runner goes. Batter strikes out looking. Catcher Curt Casali pegs out the runner. Games ends on a strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out double play that was a kick. Beliveau’s ERA still 0.00 and he now has 6 saves.

Meanwhile, earlier in the game, Enny Romero had his best start is a very long time. Just one earned run over 6⅔ innings. Vast improvement over his last game, actually over his last seven games. And then Brandon Gomes had a nice outing of four K’s after giving up a hit. He’s a real asset to the Bulls, but you have to think he won’t be with the team all that long.

I made a note to myself that the IronPigs can’t seem to sort out their middle infield crew, and yet they also kept the ‘Pigs in the game with two very timely double plays. So could be just a matter of the manager making do with a short roster.

All the Bulls' scoring came in the 2nd, when they put up four runs on a walk, single, and two doubles.

The oddity of the game was seeing infielder Jason Nix at 1B and Wilson Betemit playing 3B. There is no reference to Nix ever playing 1B in his minor or major league career. But he did a decent job. Wonder where he got his glove?

For Betemit, however, he just hasn’t played much 3B for the Bulls. He’s played that position quite a bit over the years and looked just fine at it yesterday.

Outside the game —

• Meanwhile the Gwinnett Braves lost again. The Bulls are now 12 games above .500 (the best so far this year) and 4.5 games ahead of the Braves in the standings.
• The Rays continue their downward slide. Unfortunately the three most recent additions from the Bulls — Sands, Kiermaier, and Solis — have not been able to help very much. Sands and Kiermaier were hitless yesterday and Solis did not play (although he was report to be OK after the boink into his nose on Saturday.
• I think I mentioned that the Rays found a place on their 40-man by putting infielder Tim Beckham on the 60-day Disabled List. At one point we were worried that the middle infield could get a bit crowded with Fontenot, Olmedo, Nix, Lee, and Price leaving little room for Beckham. But that problem has been put off for a while.
• A note yesterday pointed out that the 11 callups so far this year match the total number of callups for all of last year.

Sweep, On to Toledo, Colome Back

Wrap, Box

Nate Karns pitched very well; Vince Belnome hit a home run; Kirby Yates got his 13th save; 12,000 fans. Great day at the park.

Season: 30-21; Trip: 4-0

Wrap, Box

Mike Montgomery continued to show the world how much he is developing. In this case a solid 7 inning, 2 hit, 94 pitch win. Meanwhile Jeff Beliveau is becoming a closer-in-waiting with his 4th save when the Clippers showed some life in the 9th. His ERA remains at 0.00.

On the other hand, inept fielding by the Clippers themselves killed any chance they could stay in the game. Note that there were only 2 earned runs. Mikie Mahtook did not wait for any gifts. His single, double, and home run accounted for all but one of the runs (Jerry Sands’ single was the other.

Outside the game —

• Alex Colome comes off his 50-game suspension today and will start against Toledo. He had three “rehab” starts with the Charlotte (Port Charlotte, Florida) Stone Crabs: 11 innings, ERA-1.64; WHIP-1.091. No word (that I’ve heard yet) on what the Bulls will do to the rotation. If anyone heard anything, please chime in.
• I noticed that Kevin Kiermaier was pulled late in the game on Saturday evening and did not play yesterday. Unlikely to be anything significant, and probably mentioned on radio. If someone did hear an explanation, please pass it on.

Matchup

The Toledo Mud Hens are just down the road from their parent club, the Detroit Tigers. The second-most famous club in minor league baseball, they have not done all that well in recent years. Is that because they are so close to parent club and it's just easy to move folks around?

For those who are into those things, note that the Mud Hens' Pythagorean Expectation won-loss is quite different (and much better) than their actual won-loss. That is, they should be a .500 team based on their runs scored and runs allowed record, but they are not. The most typical explanation for that is: relief pitching and bad luck leading to losses in close games. But the PE observation is based on thousands of games over decades of baseball. For our purposes, let's just say that it looks like the Mud Hens are a better ball club than their record indicates.

Durham Bulls Back in First Place

Wrap, Box, Columbus Dispatch

Season: 28-21; Trip: 2-0

Wrap, Box

Last week, last Saturday to be exact, the Bulls lost to Indianapolis and fell out of first place in the International League South Division. They’re back. With last night’s win (and Gwinnett’s loss) they are ½ game in front. [IL Standings] Good news.

Back at the beginning of the season I had the opportunity for a short chat with a couple of Bulls players. I asked them which pitcher should I watch this year. Who had an “arm”. One of them just shrugged, but the other thought for a moment and then said, “Andriese.” After these last three starts of his, it may be that he was on to something. Last night Matt Andriese went 7 innings (100 pitches) and it sounded like he was in control almost all of the way. That let Adam Liberatore come on in the 8th and strike out the side and Jeff Beliveau, he of the astounding ERA after 14 appearances (0.00) came on and added his 3 Ks to the total.

Nice to see Kevin Kiermaier back in center field (he delivered the winning hit as a pinch hitter the previous night). Vince Belnome continued his return to form with a 1 for 2 and 2BB night. Nice to see everyone on the roster above the Mendoza line (.200). That’s a recent, and very welcome, development.

Outside the game —

• Not sure we’ve mentioned all these roster changes: Pitcher Jim Patterson has been sent back to the Montgomery Biscuits. Pitcher Doug Mathis has been assigned to extended spring training. Brandon Gomes is with the Bulls and pitching in relief. Kevin Kiermaier is back.
• Long time WDBB favorite Elliot Johnson is playing for the Columbus Clippers. He started the season with the Cleveland Indians, was designated for assignment, passed through waivers, and accepted assignment to the Clippers early in the month. Mr. Johnson put in most of three years with the Durham Bulls and stands very high on WDBB’s Greatest Bulls Hitters leaderboard. [WDBB] Since leaving the Bulls he has played in the majors for the Rays, the Royals, Atlanta and Cleveland. [Baseball Ref]
• Speaking of former Bulls, Shelley Duncan, a important part of last year’s championship team [WDBB], is back in the game and playing in the International League. He just signed with the Reds and is now playing for the Louisville Bats, joining with Jason Bourgeois on that team, also of the 2013 Durham Bulls championship team. [MLB Rumors]
• Cole Figueroa had a spectacular moment last night playing for the Rays. Just check out the game video and you’ll see. [MLB.com] He came on in the bottom of the 9th as a pinch-hitter and hit a game-winning RBI double.

Swept; Move on Down the Road

Season: 20-15; Trip: 0-4
Wrap, Box, Syracuse.com

The Durham Bulls wrapped up a thoroughly discouraging visit to Syracuse with another loss. Dollar Day got 3,369 fans into the park, so that foul balls didn’t rattle around in the stands for more than five minutes or so before getting picked up.

Have to wonder about Mike Montgomery’s comedown from his no-hitter on April 26. On May 2 he gave up 3 runs on 7 hits in 5⅓ innings. Yesterday he gave up 7 runs on 11 hits in 4⅔ innings. Worrisome.

Jim Patterson, Jeff Beliveau and Juan Sandoval closed things out, but coming back from 8 runs down is tough. Kevin Kiermaier did get a home run, though.

After the game, they hit the road for Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, straight down I-85 from Syracuse.

By the way, Gwinnett’s been winning. They are only one game back in the South Division.

Matchup

Speaking of the no-hitter, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders are the team that Montgomery no-hit. The Bulls took 3 out of 4 from them at the beginning of the last home stand. Assuming the rotation stays intact, Montgomery probably won’t pitch while at their house.

The RailRiders are only 1½ games back in the very tight North Division. They are 7-3 on their last 10 games and have won the last 5 in a row, just finishing a sweep of the Indianapolis Indians. This will not be an easy run for the Bulls.

Hitting?

Season: 18-11; Home Stand: 3-3

Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

There was a traffic jam around first base with 1 out in the top of the 6th and by the time it was sorted out two runs had scored. That was enough to tie the game that the Clippers went on to win when they scored a run in the 8th. 

With runners on 2B and 3B, Bulls first baseman Wilson Betemit fielded a grounder and flipped it to Mike Montgomery covering first. He got turned around, the runner knocked the ball out of his glove, which gave the runners on second and third time enough to score.

Meanwhile the Bulls bats were mostly very, very cold. The team wOBA for the game was a miserable .261. Not as bad as Thursday’s .117, but on a par with the team’s three losses up in Charlotte last week. (See the chart from a couple of days ago).

And then there’s the oddity that the starting pitching has had five no-decisions in a row. They have had two wins in that streak, but we can hope that this is simply early in the season, not quite ready arms. 

Bright light? Jeff Beliveau still has not had a run scored on him. After 12 innings in relief his ERA is still 0.00 and his WHIP a stunning 0.58. He’s also had two appearances with the Rays: 2 innings, no hits, walks, or runs.

Outside the game — 

• I’m not sure, but I think I saw Mikie Mahtook in the dugout last night.
• If so, good to have him back. Have not seen a transaction putting him on the DL, so guess he must be OK.
• Caught a small piece of a Kinas’ interview on the way to the game last night. Sure wish they’d make those available as podcasts.
• Brad Boxberger is reportedly back, or on his way back, from his one-day stint with the Rays.

Seven in a Row!

Mikie Mahtook

Season: 10-3; Road: 5-0

Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

The Bulls had an amazing 16 hits last night for a stunning 32 total bases (3 doubles, 2 triples, 3 home runs). Leading the charge was Jerry Sands with two home runs, and Mikie Mahtook with a double, triple, and two singles. His 11 hits in a row were close to an IL record, but he K’d in the 8th to end the streak. It was, by the way, 45º when they reached that point and the stands were reportedly empty. But it was a stellar night for the hitters.

Meanwhile, Enny Romero, who had be held out from his regular start on Monday because the Rays thought they might need him, got the start and the win. Matt Adriese, who was to have started the game in his ordinary rotation instead came in the game in relief and went two innings. Jeff Beliveau closed it out. Very astute management of the pitching crew, I’d say.

Outside the game —

• The Bulls have a new pitcher. Doug Mathis has been signed after leaving the Rangers system a couple of days ago. The Bulls need the arm. So we can hope.
• The Bulls are the first team in the IL to reach 10 victories, but that’s partly due to the fact that they are one of only two teams that have played the full 13 games. Other than Charlotte, every other team has had at least one game postponed. Columbus has only managed to play a total of 10 games. Buffalo has played just 9 games. It’s ugly out up there. 

Matchup

Norfolk is off to an awful start this season. They really got bashed last night down at Gwinnett (15-0). Obvious problems with their pitching so far.

Sweep on the Road; Where's Jeff?

Season: 8-3; Trip: 3-0
Wrap, Box, Gwinnett Daily Post

The Durham Bulls did a nice job of messing up the Gwinnett Braves home opening series by sweeping them. They are up to five in a row.

Nate Karns showed off his talent for the first time in a Bulls uniform and was very impressive in his first AAA win.

The quirk of the game was the Bulls’ 12 hits, all singles. That was enough, but if they had lost I’m sure we’d have been writing about the 16 runners who got left on base. In addition to the 12 singles, 7 BB and 1 HBP, put a lot of guys on base.

Outside the game —

Where’s Jeff?

So far this year Jeff Beliveau has pitched 6 innings in relief, 4 for the Bulls and 2 for the Rays. But there’s really no telling how many frequent flier miles he’s piled up. His first game (2 innings) was in Durham on April 5th. Then he was off to pitch an inning for the Rays in Kansas City on Wednesday, April 9th. He was back with the Bulls in Georgia to pitch a couple of innings on Friday the 11th, then off to pitch an inning for the Rays in Cincinnati yesterday (the 13th). At at guess he’ll stick with them for a while. Hard to tell given the turmoil in the Rays’ starting pitching ranks. How’s he doing? Not bad. ERA of 0.00 overall. 1 hit, 0 BB, 7Ks.

Matchup

The Bulls are off to Charlotte to take a look at their shiny new stadium. The Knights’ pitching is the best in the International League, but the Bulls are improving. These two teams may turn out to be the key matchup in the IL South for 2014. After these two games, the Bulls will be back in Charlotte for four more games next week and then won’t play them again until May 13th, in Durham.

Triples

Season: 6-3; Trip: 1-0
Wrap, Box, Gwinnett Daily Post

A triple is an unusual hit in baseball. Three in a game is very unusual.

Last night’s first, by Mikie Mahtook, drove in Jerry Sands. The second, by catcher Roman Ali Solis, put him on 3B and he came home on a Ray Olmedo single. The third, by Justin Christian, drove in two runs and blew the game open. Christian came home on a sacrifice fly of Wilson Betemit.

Meanwhile Mike Montgomery continues to look very good in a 5-inning, 5K, 1ER performance. Jeff Beliveau came back from Tampa Bay and put in a solid two innings. C.J. Riefenhauser and Kirby Yates closed it out.

Outside the game —

• Kevin Kiermaier is in the starting lineup for todays game in Cincinatti.
• Merrill Kelly is tonight’s starting pitcher (He did that 14 times last year. He was, in fact, the 5th man in last year’s rotation.)
• As to why, well reports have Durham Bull Erik Bedard being called up even though Cesar Ramos is listed at Tampa Bay’s starter and no corresponding roster move has been announced.
• Charlotte's new park opened last night. Background story here.

Pitching Matters

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

Charlotte’s Scott Carroll kept the Bulls off the bases, helped by some fine defense. The Bull’s Nate Karns had an extremely erratic  day, not helped by his defense. That’s a bit oversimplified, but not much. To his credit Karns did have 9 K’s and only 3 BB

From the stands we can’t really tell much about young Mr. Karns, who came to the Bulls via the trade of Jose Lobaton to the Nationals. We know that this is his first time in Triple A and, judging by the quotes in the Herald-Sun article above, Charlie thinks a lot of him. So lets just wait.

Meanwhile, somewhat tongue in cheek, consider the arm of the Bulls new catcher, Roman Ali Solis. On a pickoff play he missed 1B Vince Belnome and the ball went way past the bullpen, letting the runner get to 3B. As it happened, however, the runner never made it home.

More game trivia: Montoyo drew the infield in three times last night. Karns pitched his way out of the first one, but a sac fly and a double brought in a total of three runs the other two times.

Outside the game —

• Left-handed reliever Jeff Beliveau went off to join the Rays in Kansas City. The reported reason is that pitcher Mike Moore is going on the disabled list for at least 15 days. Now as to why a reliever is going up when a starter gets hurt, lets just say that the Rays never go without 25 guys in the house.
• Beliveau’s promotion means that a guy who’s been wearing a sweatshirt all season gets to take it off and appear in a game. Catcher Mayo Acosta has actually been here all year but hasn’t been on the Bulls playing roster until yesterday. Last time we saw him was back in 2012. He had a brief appearance in the game last night.
• Robby Price started at 3B last night in the place of Cole Figueroa. Figueroa reported a muscle tightness after yesterday’s batting practice and was scratches. But I’d been wondering why Price’s name was familiar to me. Dug around today and finally remembered. Price was one of the winners of the 2012 WDBB Moonlight Graham award. And here he is! Good to see him in a Bulls uniform and on the field in the DBAP. 
• Last, and most important, WDBB favorite Craig Albernaz has been located. He's playing for the Erie Sea Wolves, the Detroit Tigers AA team.

The Durham Bulls in 2013 — Pitchers — Part 2

This continues our look at the Durham Bulls pitchers for 2013. They are discussed in the innings-pitched sequence shown in the table in Part 1. Charts in this post exclude a couple of pitchers who will be discussed when we get to them: Craig Albernaz, Matt Moore, Austin Hubbard, and Braulio Lara.

Durham Bulls Pitchers, 2013
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Steve Geltz (RHRP) came to the Bulls out of the Angels system and made his first appearance with the team on April 6 (and got one of his 5 wins). He had the most innings of any of the relief corps (67) and appeared in 41 games. He was arguably the best of the relievers (not counting the closer crew of Lueke and Yates, but even there Geltz had 3 saves). Middle relievers are notoriously hard to evaluate. But Geltz has two stats that jump out at you. His Walks and Hits Per Inning Pitched (WHIP) was an impressive 0.85, the best on the team among the regular pitchers, and his ERA was 2.82. The majority of games he appeared in the Bulls won (26 out of 41). The mystery will be, of course, if he can get a contract and an invitation to spring training next year. He should. Stats.

Kirby Yates (RHRP) had a great year, as we’ve discussed a few times. If he seemed a bit tired near the end, he did pick up four (!) saves in postseason play. Stunning WHIP, ERA, and FIP numbers over his 61⅔ innings and 51 appearances. Fortunately for the Bulls, if not for him, he was not on the 40-man, so he was with the Bulls all year. Next year? The Bulls can hope. The Rays may be coming up on a decision time for him. Stats.

Adam Liberatore (LHRP) was in a lot of games (43) for quite a few innings (60) mostly in short relief and occasionally in a left-on-left situation. Most years we have not seen the Bulls play matchup very often, but this year when there were sometimes four lefties available (Liberatore, Beliveau, De Los Santos, and Riefenhauser) we saw more matchup appearances. His numbers are sort of middle of the pack for the 2013 Bulls, which means they are pretty good. A particularly low FIP of 2.42 means that the coaches are likely to be talking about what else he’s got. He could make it to the 40-man or be part of a trade package in the off-season. Stats.

Josh Lueke (RHRP) did a terrific job for the Bulls all year, making him and Kirby Yates an almost unbeatable team at the end of a game. His 17 saves matched up with Yates’ 20. Lueke got called up 4 times during the year. He appeared in 19 games for the Rays with an ERA of 5.06 and a WHIP of 1.64, nothing approaching his numbers for the Bulls. On the other hand, it doesn’t look like the Rays were using him in save situations. A very deliberate presence on the mound, he could be irritating if you were ready to go home, but going home with a win was worth it. Not on first round post-season roster for Rays. Stats.

Chris Archer (RHSP) started the season with the Durham Bulls and pitched in 10 games, not particularly successfully. But he was very likely working on specific pitches and waiting for his opportunity with the Rays. When that came in late May, he was off and not looking back. As a Ray he’s accumulated a very respectable (great!) 9-7 record, ERA 3.22 over 23 starts. He is on the Rays’ post-season roster and will be starting one of the early games of the ALDS. We won’t see him back in Durham except as a visitor. Stats.

Cory Wade (RHRP) was a Bull back in 2011 and we were pleased to see the Bulls pick him up during the confusion of mid-May. We also thought he’d be working hard to get back on a major league team. He did just fine, including several crucial spot starts. His ERA of 2.17 over 30 games and 50 innings was superb, the third best among the regulars. When it apparently became clear to him in late August that he was not going to get added to the Rays’ 40-man, he was released. He finishied out the season with the New York Mets Triple-A team, the Las Vegas 51s. Maybe he will make it back as a Met next year. Stats.

Alex Torres (LHSP/RP) has been with the Bulls for parts of three seasons. We have been quite critical of the young man, especially as he struggled through last season with an ERA of 7.30 over 26 games and 69 innings. Rumor at the beginning of 2013 was that he had worked something out over the winter. That was surely the way it looked in his 9 games he started with the Bulls this spring. His ERA wasn’t great, but his WHIP was, for Torres, an exceptional 1.20. Other metrics looked just fine. The Rays, however, had an eye on him as a left-handed reliever. He went up in mid-May, came back for two games, and went back up after a late May game. With the Rays he’s appeared in 39 games, all in relief. He has had an extraordinary WHIP of 0.90 and an equally exceptional ERA of 1.71. He is on the post-season roster and unlikely to be back in a Bulls uniform any time soon. He is a great example of how fans can almost never really get a grip on a ballplayer’s potential. Folks in the Rays system did not give up on Torres and he has paid them back. Stats.

Jeff Beliveau (LHRP) joined the Bulls a couple of weeks into the season. From the stands we always perceived him as a left-handed reliever-in-waiting and he made numerous trips to the Rays during the season. But he did not get into a game until September, after the Bulls season was over. Used almost exclusively in short relief, at the end of the season we realized, much like Steve Geltz, that he was one the the guys who really made a difference this year. Some of his metrics are on the high end, but he was a pretty reliable guy. Unless he gets involved in some trading activity, we’d guess he’ll be back with Durham next year. Fine with us if he is. Stats.

Jim Paduch (RHSP/RP) didn’t have all that good a year with the Bulls in 2012, but who did? So we weren’t too worried about him coming back this year. He won his first game pitching in relief of Mike Montgomery, but things really did not look all that good in his next several games. His best game was at the end of May, but by then it was too late. He was offered at job in Montgomery, but decided to retire instead. Always seemed like a nice guy to me, and he had a terrific backstory of getting up to AAA by way of several seasons in independent ball. But it wasn’t working out. Good luck, Jim. Stats.

Will Inman had a decent enough 2012 with the Pawtucket Red Sox, so he seemed a reasonable choice to help fill out the Bulls bullpen this year. But he wasn’t very impressive from the start and, while he didn’t have any truly disastrous innings, over time the bad news seemed to accumulate. By June his ERA was up to 6.47. He left the game with an injury on June 3, pitched in three more after coming off the DL, and was released in late June. Stats.

Frank De Los Santos (LHRP) is a pitcher who seems to have been around a very long time. But he actually hasn’t. He is only 25 years old. He just can’t seem to stay healthy. This year was no exception. He did appear in 26 games, but for just 32 innings. There were a couple of moments in 2012 where he looked very, very good. But we did not see any of that in this year's games. He appeared in 11 games, went on the DL, came back in early July and appeared in 15 more games. He was traded to the Chicago White Sox at season’s end. If he’d ever been truly healthy my guess is that he could have been something special. Stats.

Juan Sandoval (RHRP) spent most of his year with the Montgomery Biscuits (46 games/58 innings). But he sure was handy when he visited the Bulls. The first time was a stretch from late May to late June (11 games/19 innings) when he posted some good numbers and only got in trouble once. Then he came back at the end of the season for a desperately needed spot start in a end-of-season double header. In the Bulls’ post-season he was perfect over 4⅓ innings. At 32, Sandoval is famously coming back from serious injury and a lot of time in the Mexican League. Can he stick at AAA? Maybe we will find out next year. Stats.

C.J. Riefenhauser (LHRP) came up from Montgomery at the beginning of July and yet only appeared in 17 games and just 21 innings. He did OK, but each year of his professional career he’s been pitching fewer and fewer innings (2011 - 138, 2012 - 114, 2013 - 73). That leads to concerns about his fundamental strength and durability. He had one of the better WHIP (1.06) of the Bulls and if his time in Montgomery is included it was superb (0.83). Maybe it’s just a matter of opportunity. We’ll have to see next year. Stats.

Brandon Gomes (RHRP) spent a couple of weeks with the Bulls in August as he was working his way back to the Rays. Probably more time than he really needed, but the Rays were manipulating their roster at the time and Gomes had options left. He was very helpful as he pitched 10⅓ innings over 9 games with a WHIP of just 0.77. Stats.

Enny Romero (LHSP) was in only one regular season game for the Bulls, but that was a brilliant 8-inning shutout of the Norfolk Tides the last game of the year. He went on to pitch 2 innings in relief in the playoffs and after the AAA season’s end got called up to the Rays for one game start against Baltimore where he got a win. He had an excellent year in Montgomery, so we can expect him to start 2014 as a top Rays prospect, possibly with the Bulls. He is now on the Rays’ 40-man, although he was not at the end of the Bulls’ season. Stats.

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Players Not in the Charts

Ramon Ramirez (RHRP) was hired by the Rays in mid-July in what has to be described as a speculative flyer. At the time, however, there were a lot of Rays pitchers with injury problems. Ramirez appeared in just 6 games for the Bulls and pitched only 6 innings before being released at the end of the month. Stats.

Matt Moore (LHSP) had a one-game, 4-inning rehab appearance on August 29. Didn’t do all that great, but the Bulls won the game against the Braves 7-6. Adam Liberatore got the win. Box.

Craig Albernaz is a catcher, not a pitcher, but he did have three appearances on the mound this year and pitched three scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and recording 2 strikeouts. Not one walk. Well done!

Braulio Lara (LHRP) came up from Montgomery at the very end of the season and pitched 3 innings in relief of Juan Sandoval, who had come up to pitch in that same game. He had a busy 45 game, 72 inning year in Montgomery, but did not have all that strong a set of numbers (ERA 4.38, WHIP 1.54). Stats.

Austin Hubbard (RHRP) came up from Single A Charlotte for just one game in mid-May when the Bulls were on the road in Rochester. The Red Wings scored 5 runs off of him in just ⅔ of an inning (they had earlier scored 5 runs in one inning off of Jim Paduch). He then went off to Montgomery where he had 31 more  not particularly good innings on the year. The relentless arithmetic of baseball stats left him with the highest ERA of any Bull this year (67.5) and the lowest number of innings pitched (⅔). No surprise if you think about it. Stats.

It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over

• Tim Beckham’s got a hit in his first big league at bat.
• Jeff Beliveau got called up. Will this one be the charm? It’s the fourth time this season and he has yet to throw a pitch.
• Enny Romero is to put on a Rays uniform for the very first time today. He has just been called up. He came up to the Bulls from the Biscuits to start the Bulls last game of the season over in Norfolk. Eight very solid innings. Then he got a win in relief the first game in Pawtucket for the Governors’ Cup. 
• Frank De Los Santos, on the other hand, is off to the Chicago White Sox organization. He appeared in 26 games for the Bulls this year, but the lefty never really looked quite right. For what it’s worth, the deal probably opens up a 40-man slot for the Rays.
• With the departure of De Los Santos, every Bulls player who was on the Rays’ 40-man roster is now up with the Rays, except for Brandon Guyer—who was a key player in some spectacularly devious rule-bending a few days back—and LHP Mike Montgomery, who was essentially shut down near the end of the season.