The Durham Bulls in 2011 — The Pitchers: Part II

Matt Moore (22), LHP, 9 games, 9 starts, 52⅔ innings, 4-0, ERA-1.37, 5 pro seasons, 1st season in AAA.

• I was surprised to see how many innings Matt Moore was able to pitch since his first game with the Bulls on July 22nd. Added to his 18 games and 122 innings he had with the Montgomery Biscuits, his year was busy even before going up to finish it out with the Rays. Very, very impressive young pitcher. If we're lucky, we will be watching him a lot as a Bull in 2012.
• Stats

Lance Cormier (31), RHP, 20 games, 4 starts, 47⅓ innings, 4-3, ERA-5.51. 8 pro seasons, 7 in AAA, 1st w/Bulls, most of 2008-2010 in majors (ML stats).

• Released by the LA Dodgers, Cormier was signed by the Rays to a minor league contract in early June and spent the rest of the season with the Bulls. Nothing about his stats as a Bull is particularly impressive although he did take several for the team in spot starts as the season went along. At a guess, the Rays were buying insurance for their relief cadre and stashing him in Durham. Not likely to return next year.
• Stats

Jay Buente (27), RHP, 24 games, 4 starts, 42⅔ innings, 1-3, 1 save, ERA-5.70, 6 pro seasons, 3 in AAA, 1/Bulls.

• The Rays outsmarted themselves when they claimed Mr. Buente off waivers as the Marlins were trying to send him back to their AAA team in New Orleans this May. As a Bull he had a rough beginning losing three out of four starts. In relief from early July to the end of the season he did OK, but not good enough to avoid being released at the end of the season to make room on the 40-man of the Rays.
• Stats

Cory Wade (28), RHP, 22 games, all in relief, 36⅔ innings, 3-1, ERA-1.17, 8 pro seasons, 3 in AAA, 1 w/Bulls.

• Cory Wade did a brilliant job for the Bulls in the first two months of the season. As with others on the Bulls this year, he had an opt-out contract and he pitched his last game in early June. Unfortunately for the Rays, Mr. Wade is now pitching in relief for the New York Yankees where he has an impressive 6-1 record and 1.98 ERA (ML Stats).
• Stats

R.J. Swindle (28), LHP, 39 games, all in relief, 34⅔ innings, 2-0, 1 save, ERA-4.15, 8 pro seasons, 5 in AAA, 2 w/Bulls.

• Yet another Bull with an opt-out contract. In Swindle's case the Rays were obviously taking a look at him as a left-handed relief specialist. Eighteen of his appearances were for less than an inning, often for just one out. R.J. is famous for his unique slow curve and in 2010 he was great fun to watch. But the slow curve wasn't working this year and he really wasn't helping the Bulls. After his opt-out, no report of him catching on with another team.
• Stats

Jake McGee (25), LHP, 24 games, relief, 33⅓ innings, 4-2, 9 saves, ERA-2.70, 8 pro seasons, parts of 2 in AAA, all w/Bulls.

• Jake McGee was with the Bulls at the very end of 2010 and up until essentially the All-Star break in 2011. Then he was off to the Rays where he's doing OK, but not as well as I would have expected (ML Stats). His superb work in the bullpen was very helpful in keeping the Bulls in the South Division race for the first half of the season.
• Stats

Brandon Gomes (27), RHP, 20 games, relief, 25⅓ innings, 0-1, 7 saves, ERA-1.07, 5 pro seasons, 1 AAA w/Bulls.

• Bradon Gomes' Triple-A career was very short. He left the Bulls just before the 4th of July with his stellar 1.07 ERA and 7 saves. He appears to be doing just fine with the Rays (ML stats). We probably won't see him back. With McGee, he kept the Bulls in the race in May and June.
• Stats

Joe Bateman (31), RHP, 15 games, relief, 21 innings, 1-3, ERA-4.71, 9 pro seasons, 3 in AAA, 2 w/Bulls.

• We really like sidewinding Joe Bateman. We liked him in 2009. We liked him in 2010. And we could not have been happier to see the Rays sign him out of the Oakland system in late July. That said, he wasn't quite the same Joe we knew from the last two years. Used mainly in short relief, he wasn't as sharp, especially against righties. Charlie Montoyo apparently likes him. So do we. And he was better than a couple others the Bulls had this year. He may not make it back in 2012.
• Stats

Jeremy Hall (28), RHP, 5 games, 4 starts, 17 innings, 0-2, ERA-8.47, 5 pro seasons, 1 AAA, w/Bulls.

• Jeremy Hall started the year with the Montgomery Biscuits and came up to Durham at the end of April when Dirk Hayhurst went on the disabled list. He wasn't very successful and he decided to retire.
• Stats

Adam Russell (28), RHP, 15 games, relief, 17 innings, 0-1, 1 save, ERA-4.24, 8 seasons, 4 in AAA, 1 w/Bulls.

• Adam Russell started the season with the Rays (36 games) and did not come to the Bulls until the end of July. His numbers with the Bulls are skewed by a truly awful ⅔ of a inning when he let 4 runs score. With this small sample we really don't know much about him as a AAA ballplayer. I don't think I understand enough about his status to speculate on his future with the Bulls. He looks better that a couple of the guys we saw this year, though.
• Stats

Rehabbers

Jeff Neimann and J.P. Howell of the Tampa Bay Rays put in some time with the Bulls on rehab assignments this year. Neimann started 2 games and put in 9⅓ innings, allowed 4 earned runs, and put up a win and a loss. Nice to see Jeff again. J.P. Howell coming off a long layoff appeared in 4 games for 3⅔ innings. He didn't allow any earned runs.

Short Visits

Chris Archer (22), RHP, 2 games, 17 innings, 1-0, ERA-0.69. Chris put in an impressive two game (plus one in playoffs) appearance with the Bulls at the end of the season. We hope for him to be back for 2012. Stats.

Paul Phillips (27), RHP, 6 games, 11⅓ innings, 1-1, ERA-12.71. Paul came up from Montgomery to lend a hand when Richard De Los Santos went on the DL at the very beginning of the season. Spent the rest of the year in Montgomery. Stats.

Jim Paduch (28), RHP, 1 game, 7 innings, 1-0, ERA-3.86. Jim Paduch was signed out of the independent leagues to Montgomery in June, had a one-game call-up to the Bulls when they were on the road, then went back to Montgomery. Part of the July turmoil. Would like to see him pitch some day. Stats.

Richard De Los Santos (27), RHP, 2 games started, 6 innings, 0-1, ERA-6.00. De Los Santos was a stalwart of the 2010 Bulls. But this year he had four not very good innings in his first game, 2 innings in his second start, and was on the disabled list for the rest of the year. We like him, but have no idea when or if he will return. Stats.

Cesar Ramos (28), LHP, 4 games, relief, 4 innings, 2-0, ERA-4.50. Ramos came down from the Rays in late July (with Adam Russell), appeared in 4 games, and went back to St. Petersburg the first week of August. Was nice to have a lefty in the bullpen for a while. A left-handed specialist for the Rays (57 appearances, 41 innings pitched). Stats

Marquis Fleming (24), RHP, 2 games, relief, 2⅓ innings, 0-0, ERA-0.00. Marquis Fleming joined the Bulls from Montgomery for a couple of games while they were on the road in late July. Then he went back to Montgomery where he had a decent year (41 games, 80 innings). Stats.

Two More Bulls to the Rays

Dan Johnson and Alex Torres got called up to the Rays yesterday.

The Johnson call-up is a modest surprise since he wasn't quite back on track at the end of the year (but getting better) and he wasn't on the Rays 40-man. On the other hand, the Rays owe him a bunch of money and he might as well be sitting on the bench in Boston (where he's had some notable successes) as at home in Minnesota. I'm sure that's where he'd rather be as well.

As far as Alex Torres is concerned, he was the Bulls' busiest pitcher this season (see charts), but he's surely got a couple of major league innings in him. After a full year at Triple-A, the Rays are going to have to make some decisions about Mr. Torres' future this winter. Might as well take a close look at him.

Jay Buente got released to make room on the 40-man for Dan Johnson. Claimed from the Mariners Marlins, Buente was acquired at a time when the Bulls just needed an arm during the mid-season turmoil. Did not work out all that well for the Bulls. One of a couple of not-so-good-for-the-Bulls decisions this year.

Rob Delaney and Mike Ekstrom, who had been designated for assignment in earlier moves, passed through waivers. It will be up to them to decide if they want to stay with the Rays' system.

Meanwhile Matt Moore made his major league debut last night. 1⅓ innings, 27 pitches, 3 hits, 2 ER, 2Ks, 1 HR. ERA — 13.5. Welcome to the big leagues. But the observers loved him.

All this moving up is unprecedented in my watching of the Bulls and Rays. Only three four players from the Rays 40-man are left with the Bulls: pitchers Chris Archer  and Matt Bush (a inning or so in the playoffs his only AAA time) and catchers Robinson Chirinos and Nevin Ashley.

* * * * * 

When the Rays take the field in Boston tonight, one of my all-time favorite Durham Bulls will be sitting on the Red Sox bench — and I'm not talking about Darnell McDonald. Joey Gathright is there. Too bad the Rays can't reach out and put Fernando Perez on their bench so they could have a run-off.

* * * * * 

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs had their 8-game win streak broken last night. They are now tied with the Columbus Clippers 1-1 as the Governors' Cup moves to Pennsylvania. Former Bull Mitch Talbot had a complete game win.

Update: A careful reader has noted some errors/omissions in the original post. Used line in line out to mark corrections. Thanks!

Rob Delaney DFA'd

To make room on their 40-man roster for Matt Moore the Tampa Bay Rays have designated for assignment 26-year old Bulls reliever Rob Delaney.

I'm surprised. Of all the relievers on the Rays 40-man that we've seen with the Bulls this year, Delaney had by far the best numbers. To take just one, Fielding Independent Percentage, Delaney's was 2.77 (the best on the team). Others: Mike Ekstrom - 3.43 (he's been DFA'd already), Dane De La Rosa - 3.57 (called up), and Jay Buente - 3.67. So it wasn't numbers, it must have been something else.

Of course, this could just as easily be a bit of three-card Monte and at the end of the season Rob will still be in the Rays system. As a Bulls fan, however, if it had come down to a choice between Jay Buente (who, to his credit, looked pretty good by the end of the season) and Rob Delaney, it should have been Delaney who was kept and Buente DFA'd.

The Rays are famously astute at picking and keeping overlooked players, especially pitchers. But they blew it with Cory Wade this year (1.23 ERA in 21 appearances with the Bulls, 1.93 ERA in 32 appearances with the Yankees). Have they done it again with Delaney?

What's Next?

How are we going to get through the winter?

First, if you want the 2011 South Division Champions T-shirt you need to check with the DBAP store, because they only had a few printed up. Not sure how many, if any, are left.

Then we can speculate on who might get called up to the Rays. Rays Index is reporting a statement by Joe Maddon that one or two Bulls might be called up right away, mentioning, tongue in cheek I am sure, Dan Johnson and Matt Bush. The Tampa Tribune blogger Roger Mooney also mentions Matt Moore as a possible call-up.

After that, we might watch a couple of Rays games, assuming the local TV folks deign to put them on the air.

About call-ups:

Current Durham Bulls on the Tampa Bay 40-man roster are: Pitchers Chris Archer, Jay Buente, Matt Bush, Dane De La Rosa, Rob Delaney, Mike Ekstrom, and Alex Torres; Catchers Robinson Chirinos and Nevin Ashley.

Not on this list are a couple of well-regarded Bulls, notably Russ Canzler and Matt Moore (and the third Matt, Matt Torra). If the Rays want to call them up (or anyone else on the Bulls roster) then they’ve got to do a bit of roster manipulation — something they are more than capable of doing.

Here are a couple of guesses. The Rays are going to want to divide up these guys into players they want to look at right now and players they are willing to wait until spring to look at. I see a big decision coming up regarding Alex Torres and a lesser decision regarding Mike Ekstrom, so take another look at them. All but Chris Archer on this list got a “taste” this year, so maybe give him a look.

Who could actually help them? For that they might want to give Jay Buente a real test before putting him back on waivers. Robinson Chirinos has already been up and Jose Lobaton reportedly tweaked his knee again, so look for him to go up. Russ Canzler might be a good guy to give a look, because he will surely be a solid candidate for a different team if he goes back into minor league free agency.

Again, please remember that the possibility that I don’t really understand the business of baseball is very high. I could easily be very, very wrong. Notably, I don't understand the "Rule 5 Draft" rules at all and there could be someone in the system the Rays need to look at before exposing them to that process.

See also other folks' comments over here.

Last note: I loved this year's fan appreciation video until I realized it was missing something — Baseball!

Thrills and a Win

Game 136, Tuesday, August 30, DBAP
Durham Bulls 4, Gwinnett Braves 3
Season: 78-58; Home Stand: 4-5; Games Left in Season: 6
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Examiner

Let's jump right to the thrills.

8th inning. Score tied 3-3. Right-hander Anthony Varvaro came in as the third Gwinnett pitcher of the night. Tim Beckham led off with his third hit, a double to right. Brandon Guyer sacrificed Beckham to third base. Justin Ruggiano struck out. Two outs. Gwinnett decided to give an intentional walk to the 2010 International League MVP, lefty Dan Johnson, who had had two singles (one RBI) and a long flyout so far in the evening. That brought up the 2011 International League MVP, righty Russ Canzler who had had a terrible night, three strikeouts. Canzler took a strike, looked at a ball, hit a foul. 1-2, two out. Single to right! Beckham scored. Johnson was thrown out trying to reach third, but the Bulls were ahead 4-3.

Rob Delaney came on for the 9th. The first Brave hit a foul ball deep to the left side of the outfield, but Canzler chased it down for the first out. Wilkin Ramirez singled. After a called strike to catcher J.C. Boscan, Gwinnett called a hit and run. Ramirez took off as Boscan slapped a low line drive to right. Matt Carson made a diving catch with Ramirez almost to third base. He tossed the ball to Dan Johnson at first. Double play. Game over. The Bulls are 3 1/2 games ahead of Gwinnett in the south.

How did the Bulls get to the 8th tied 3-3? To be honest, it was pretty ugly. Reliever Lance Cormier, not my favorite Bulls pitcher in any circumstance, got thrown into the breach when once again the Bulls can't find a fifth starter. Not sure what happened to Brian Baker or Andy Sonnanstine (maybe the double header messed with Sonnanstine's schedule), but we've all read about Dirk Hayhurst's release by now. Cormier started out with a walk and that runner scored soon after. The redeeming feature of the inning was the two K's with bases loaded to end the inning. The leadoff batter in the 2nd inning got a double and scored and that was it for Cormier, the first of five Bulls pitchers.

Jay Buente had three solid innings to get the Bulls to the 6th. In the meantime the Bulls scored in the first, and picked up two more in the 3rd. But Adam Russell had an ugly 6th (that could have been worse) that let another run in. The Bulls, on the other hand, went from the 4th through the 7th with just one hit.

So, a lot of ups and downs until the sustained thrills of the bottom of the 8th and the top of the 9th.

* * * * *

This was the last home game of the regular season. The Bulls are headed for Charlotte for two games, then over to Norfolk for four games. During that time the South Division championship will surely be decided, along with, very likely, a bunch of roster changes.

But let's savor the fireworks and the win. This was a big one.

Triples!

Game 107, July 31, DBAP
Durham Bulls (Rays) 3, Charlotte Knights (White Sox) 2
Season: 60-47, Home Stand: 5-4, Home Games Remaining: 17
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Indy Week, Examiner

A triple is a rare event in the DBAP. Two by the Bulls in any park has not happened this year — until last night. The first was sort of a freebie. In the 2nd inning, Charlotte center fielder Jordan Danks wasn't wearing his sunglasses, the sun came out, Danks apparently lost the ball in the sun, and Russ Canzler's very high fly ball drifted over his head. By the time Danks chased it down, Canzler was on third base. Atypical of recent days, with a runner on third and none out, a batter (Leslie Anderson in this case) hit him in.

Ray Olmedo's triple in the 7th was more typical of the DBAP. A ball deep into the right field corner took a nasty bounce and Ray, who didn't slow down once, made it to third. In this case things got a bit more tense with the first batter (John Shelby) flying out. But Reid Brignac's double brought Olmedo home with the winning run.

Earlier in the game Russ Canzler hit a double (he had a great night) and Ray Olmedo (Ray had a pretty good night as well) singled him home.

Nice day at the park. After all this awful heat and the rainout, we needed it.

The really big deal was the names on the blue jerseys! So, even if we can't read the numbers, now we can tell who the players are. Thank you!

Charlie Montoyo really had his hook out last night. Probably for several reasons. First, it would be nice to have a win. Second, several simply needed some work. And then Tampa Bay probably wants at least one or two of these guys back, particularly Ramos, as soon as they can get themselves sorted out. Matt Torra was pulled after an unimpressive, but still OK, 4 2/3. Ryan Reid, who was supposed to start on Saturday, finished the 5th and pitched all of the 6th. He's a much better reliever than starter. Jay Buente did 2/3. Cesar Ramos came in for some lefties (and got the win). Dane De La Rosa looked really good for the 1 1/3 inning save.

We've been watching Dan Johnson for a couple of years now and he has never looked this bad at the plate. He went 1-31 in this home stand and drew only five walks. Not like him at all. Here's hoping the day off helps.

New guy Steven Vogt started at catcher and threw an absolute bullet to catch Charlotte's Eduardo Escobar attempting to steal in the 1st. 1 for 4 at bat. Other new guy, John Shelby, went 0-3 in his first AAA game.

As an example of the Bulls simply pushing it a bit too hard during this home stand, they struck out 89 times over the 9 games, close to 10 per game. That compares to their season average of 8 per game.

Enjoy the day off guys!

Bulls Win; Jennings Leaves; Brignac Back

Game 99, July 23, Durham Bulls Athletic Park, Durham, NC

Durham Bulls (Rays) 4, Toledo Mud Hens (Tigers) 3

Season: 56-43; Last 10: 7-3

Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Indy Week, MLB.com

Matt Moore had a terrific first day in AAA baseball, Desmond Jennings (finally) went to the Rays, Reid Brignac is coming back to the Bulls, a ballplayer we've never seen before gets the winning hit, and the Bulls go 13 games over .500 staying in first place in the South Division of the International League. 

But you know what struck me most about the game? The remarkable physical fitness of the players on both teams. The temperature down on the field was easily over 100°. And yet there they were playing their hearts out. 

Young Matt Moore did just fine. His fastball was routinely in the 95-96 range. He struck out 7 over 5 innings. His only shaky moments came after two outs in the 2nd inning when he walked two batters in 9 pitches, but he settled down for the next three innings — with the notable exception of a home run. 

The Mud Hens picked up two more runs when Jay Buente's very first pitch went over the fence in the 6th and in the 7th when a grounder bounced over a drawn-in infield.

Which brings me to the managerial choices that seemed to make all the difference in this game. Montoyo took his starter out after 5 innings and 89 pitches on a blazingly hot day. Toledo manager Phil Nevin left his starting pitcher in to start the 7th inning with a 3-1 lead, but at 96+ pitches. A single, double, run scored on a wild pitch, and a Nevin Ashley single bounced over a drawn-in infield scored another and the game was tied. A reliever was finally called in, but a wild pitch sent Ashley to second, he was sacrificed to third by Ray Olmedo, and came home on John Matulia double.

I'm no fan of Lance Cormier, but he did come in the game in the 7th with two runners on base and only one out. He first gave up a single and loaded the bases, but then got a K and a flyout to get out of the bases loaded situation. In the next inning a leadoff error put a runner on second, but a nifty pickoff got him out. He got through that inning and Rob Delaney got his first save.

How'd the new guys do? John Matulia was a last minute addition to the lineup playing center field and leading off. Two K's, ground out, game-winning double. He's fast. Nevin Ashley started at catcher, batting eighth in the order. He went 2-3 with a run scored and a RBI.

* * * * *

As has been widely reported, Desmond Jennings was pulled from the lineup and then sent to Kansas City to join the Rays. Shortstop Reid Brignac is being sent down. From the Bulls point of view what may matter most are Rays' manager John Maddon's comments. |MLB.com| The way I read that, Brignac arrives with some very specific instructions on how he's to be treated by Montoyo and hitting coach Dave Myers. 

The Bulls now have an abundance of infielders: Brignac, Daniel Mayora, Ray Olmedo, J.J. Furmaniak, Felipe Lopez, and (sort of) Russ Canzler. Assuming that Brignac takes over at shortstop (unless he's to be transitioned to second base) and is to get a bunch of at bats, it sure looks like someone is going to get kicked off the bus. 

* * * * *

Speaking of getting kicked off the bus, Indy Week's Adam Sobsey is reporting that reliever Marquis Fleming, whom we've never seen, is on his way back to Montgomery.

For Joe Bateman fans, here's an interview he did after his return to the Bulls. |Bulls Podcast|

All Hail the Bullpen

The Rochester Red Wing Photo courtesy Baseball Stadium Reviews

Game 95, July 18, Frontier Field, Rochester, New York
Durham Bulls (Rays) 4, Rochester Red Wings (Twins) 1
Season: 53-42; This Trip: 5-2
Wrap, Box, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle

Let's stop obsessing about the roster changes and talk about baseball. How about the Bulls bullpen crew?

Going into the game the fact that the Bulls only had 9 pitchers on the roster hinted that the Bulls best strategy would be to take advantage of the storm clouds out over Lake Ontario. That is, score some runs and pray for rain. Turned out that an even better strategy was to just let the bullpen pitch. Ryan Reid and Lance Cormier combined for six innings. Jay Buente, Rob Delaney, and Dane De La Rosa did one each. Only one run scored. Great job.

New guy catcher Nevin Ashley went 0-4, but his ground out RBI in the 4th started Durham's scoring. In the next inning Brandon Guyer got a rare triple (his second, only the Bulls 11th this year) and then came home on Felipe Lopez's single. The icing on the cake was Dan Johnson's homer in the 8th that brought home Felipe Lopez.

The win guarantees a successful road trip and put the Bulls 11 games above .500, the best level this year. Gwinnett, however, kept on with their winning ways are are still a half-game ahead in the South.

I know it's just listening to the radio, but this game had a team-like feel to it. I like that. Andy Sonnastine starts today. Lets see if he can keep it up.

Elsewhere:

• Here's a bit more on the Lobaton injury. |St. Pete Times|
• Fernando Perez is back in professional baseball with the New York Mets. Makes sense. Fernando is something of a New York lad. He has a minor league contract and will be with Buffalo Bisons. The Bulls play the Bisons next month in Buffalo. |Bisons.com|
• Stacy Long over at Biscuit Crumbs keeps track of several players who've gone through the Rays system (scroll down). Note familiar Bulls names such as Jason Cromer, Chris Mason, and others. |Biscuit Crumbs|

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.

Take a Break

Game 90, July 10, Harbor Park, Norfolk Virginia
Durham Bulls 3, Norfolk Tides 1
Season: 50-40; Last 10: 6-4
Wrap, Box, Virginia-Pilot

Am I going to have to start saying nice things about pitchers I’ve been criticizing? Beginning to look that way. At least for today. Alex Torres and Jay Buente took the Bulls into the All-Star break with solid performances. Torres got the win and Buente got the save.

Torres has actually done quite well recently, winning four out of his last five games and getting his tendency to give up bases on balls under control. He's only had 12 walks over those five games. Trust me, for Torres that's great. He (and Buente) were helped a lot by the Bulls defense yesterday when they pulled off 4 double plays. Torres needed them since he gave up 10 hits, but just one double. Buente has made four appearances as a reliever now, 4 2/3 innings, 1 win, 1 save, no runs. Much better.

Meanwhile in the 6th Russ Canzler got on base with a single and Jose Lobaton walked. Robinson Chirinos' double brought them home. In the 7th JJ Furmaniak doubled, stole third, and came home on Felipe Lopez' sac fly.

The Bulls go into the break 10 games above .500 and a half game ahead of Gwinnett. Note that for the Bulls, the break is well past the midpoint of the season. They only have 52 games left in their 142 game season. Half of those will be at the DBAP, the other half on the road. If you haven't seen a game yet, you're running out of time.

Outfielder John Matulia is on his way back to Montgomery and Brandon Guyer is on his way back to the Bulls.

Mr. Matulia didn’t get a hit in his two games with the Bulls, but he did do a fine job in center field, making at least one nice catch that I happened to catch on MiLB.TV. Also managed to not be distracted by the seagulls, who appear to be a problem in Harbor Park. His sacrifice bunt attempt, mishandled by the Tides' pitcher, was the event that opened the door to the Bulls' win late Saturday night. So he did make a difference even if he didn't get credit for an RBI.

I'm guessing that Guyer will go through Salt Lake City for the AAA All-Star game on his way back to Durham.

* * * * * 

Ready for some weirdness (thanks to DRR for the tip)?

Last Saturday the Yuma Scorpions played the Lake County Fielders at the Fielders home field in Zion, Illinois (north of Chicago). They won the game 8-3. Nothing special about that, until you take a look at the box score and check out the battery. The pitcher was former Ray Jose Canseco and the catcher was former Bull Joey Gathright! And Canseco got the win. Gotta admit that's some kind of weird.

But wait! There's more! Why was he pitching in the first place? As reported in the Chicago Sun-Times the Fielders manager and several players had walked out in protest over a pay dispute prior to the game and the Fielders team for the day were mostly pitchers. Player/Manager of the Scorpions, Jose Canseco, decided to make things more even by putting himself in the game to pitch. More details in the Yuma Sun. 

And there's more! An owner of the Fielders is none other than Bull Durham star Kevin Costner.

In addition to the sheer fun of just chasing this one down, I had been wanting to do an update on Joey Gathright. He created a lot of excitement as a Bull several years ago. Good to know that he's still in baseball.

10,000 at the DBAP

Game 82, July 2, Durham Bulls Athletic Park
Gwinnett Braves (Atlanta) 4, Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay) 1
Season: 44-38; Last 10: 4-6
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Indy Week

As I was settling in for the game last night a friend of mind pointed out that I had been ranting a lot lately. On reflection, I realized he was right. I pledged to myself that I would just sit back, enjoy the game, and write about the interesting and positive things going on. After all, the unbeaten Alex Cobb was the starting pitcher.

And then there was the 1st Inning ...

Well, I'm going to stick with my pledge, so here goes:

After an unfortunate 1st inning, Alex Cobb gave up only two more hits in the remaining five innings that he pitched. He was followed by Rob Delaney and Jay Buente who combined to no-hit and shut out the Braves for the rest of the game. The Bulls, however, were not able to generate much offense against an excellent Gwinnett pitching crew.

The Bulls dropped one game behind the Braves in the South Division. However, they will be playing each other three more times in the next three days, so there's plenty of time to come back.

How's that?

* * * * *

Let's review all the roster changes of the last several days, just to get the record straight:

• Pitcher Chris Bootcheck has been released.
• Infielder Omar Luna was sent to the Charlotte Stone Crabs
• Infielder Daniel Mayora was called up from Montgomery
• Pitcher Ryan Reid was sent to Montgomery
• Pitcher Matt Torra was acquired from the Reno Aces (Diamondbacks)
• Pitcher Jay Buente came off the DL

I don't think that I've mentioned that Desmond Jennings, Brandon Guyer, and Russ Canzler were picked for the IL All-Star team. The Bulls' Neil Solondz was named to call the game that will be played in Salt Lake City on July 13. Congratulations to all.

Brandon Guyer was reported to be day-to-day from a back injury. He did not play last night.

Bulls fans should be pleased with the 6th inning of yesterday’s Rays-Cardinals game. The Rays loaded the bases mostly former Bulls: Damon (the sole exception), Matt Joyce, and B.J. Upton. Casey Kotchman (remember he started the season with the Bulls?) cleared the bases with a double. Justin Ruggiano hit a home run to bring Kotchman in. Win was recorded for former Bull Jeff Neimann. As an aside, Ruggiano is looking good at the plate and in the field. Sure is nice to see him doing well.

How About Them Waiver Claims?

Game 81, July 1, Knights Stadium
Charlotte Knights 7, Durham Bulls 2
Season: 44-37, Trip: 2-2
Wrap, Box

The Tampa Bay Rays have claimed two pitchers off waivers this season and sent them to the Durham Bulls. The first was 27 year-old RHP Jay Buente who was with the Florida Marlins. Buente started in four games before going on the disabled list — 3 losses, 1 no decision, 17 innings, ERA of 9.17. The second was 30 year-old Lance Cormier who was with the LA Dodgers. Cormier has had three starts and two relief appearances — 2 losses, 19 1/3 innings, ERA of 5.59. Cormier and Buente are neck and neck in the competition for the worst in several pitching metrics such as ERA, WHIP, and FIP. Yes, this is a very small sample, but sure doesn't look good for them or the Bulls or the Rays' vaunted ability to pick through the discard pile of other teams.

[Update 9:44 am: As improbable as it may sound, I was wrong about Cormier. He was not a waiver claim. He was acquired as a free agent after his release by the Dodgers. The general drift of my comments, however, stand. Doesn't look like he was a good acquisition.]

As far as last night goes, Knights Stadium is famously kind to home run hitters. That was true last night. Unfortunately, the hitters were the Knights themselves. They got three off of Cormier, including two in the four-run first inning. That was pretty much the game.

By now the Bulls have been back in town for a couple of hours and have been getting some rest. For the next several days they are going to be playing the Gwinnett Braves, with whom they are currently tied for first place. To get ready for that lets take a look at the aggregate hitting and pitching.

Chart of the Day — Hitting and Pitching, Game by Game

The last time we looked at this one was back on June 2. This chart shows the team wOBA (the green bars and trend line) and uses that to represent team hitting and the Bulls' opponents wOBA (the red bars and trend line) is used as to represent team pitching. The last 15 games are plotted. During that time the Bulls won 9 games and lost 6. Pretty good. But an obvious concern is the pitching (red) trend line. And then the hitting trend line is slipping downwards. In combination, not a promising sight.

On the other hand, the Bulls are back! Baseball in the DBAP! Let's go take a look at people instead of numbers.

Anderson Gives His Best

Game 75, June 25, DBAP
SWB Yankees 2, Durham Bulls 1
Season: 42-33; Home Stand: 3-3
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Indy Week

Leslie Anderson did his level best to win the game for the Bulls yesterday, but it wasn’t enough. In the 3rd inning he had a lead-off double and was sacrificed to third by J.J. Furmaniak. At the end of the inning he was still there. In the 5th inning he had another lead-off double and was again sacrificed to third by Furmaniak. At the end of that inning he was still on third base. In the 7th inning he took things into his own hands and hit a leadoff home run. But that wasn’t enough to carry the game. Valiant try on his part.

The rest of the offensive story was the nine other Bulls who also got left on base during the course of the game.

Meanwhile, Chris Bootcheck is emerging as a terrific starting pitcher for the Bulls. He’s going long into games (starts of 7, 7, and 7 1/3 innings) and with even a modest amount of run support would have won his third in a row last night.

A notable moment was Desmond Jennings’ beautiful catch against the centerfield wall in the 4th. He really is a terrific outfielder. He and Guyer make one heck of a team out there.

Chart of the Day — ERA

Not a lot of surprises here. Young Mr. Buente (currently on the DL) is distorting the chart a bit.

Alex Cobb’s last game was while with the Rays against the Marlins on June 18th. Seems to be yet another example of the Rays calling up a pitcher, breaking him, and sending him back (as with Brandon Gomes). In this case Mr. Cobb is reportedly going to pitch on Monday after recovering from flu-like symptoms.

The other day’s disastrous outing by Brian Baker and Ryan Reid are pushing them out. R. J. Swindle’s ERA is falling nicely, but with his extremely short appearances, it wouldn’t take much to push it back up.

Obviously the starters as a group (the Bulls have had 13 different ones) need to do better.

click on image for larger view

Cranky Old Geezer Alert!

Am I the only one who gets blown out of his seat by the noise when they crank up the PA volume for a large crowd? We sit right under one of the corner speakers and that may be it. They may be trying to get their noise out to the Diamond View seats.

I just don’t understand why it’s necessary to try to make 10,000 folks sound even louder than they already do. Am I just of a generation too old to have had his hearing destroyed at rock concerts? Am I alone in wanting to have a conversation with my friends between innings?

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]

Bulls Drop Out of First

Game 66, June 17, Coolray Field, Lawrenceville, GA
Gwinnett Braves (Atlanta) 10; Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay) 2
Wrap, Box, Gwinnett Daily Post

In a before-the-game interview Charlie Montoyo talked a lot about the importance of starting pitching.

The Bulls were five pitches into the game when his point was made. It only took those five pitches for Jay Buente to issue his first walk of the night. That runner got to second on a balk and to third on a ground out. Singles, a double and homer, two errors at third (one re-judged a hit later on), and the Bulls were down 6-0 in the 1st inning.

I’ve commented on Mr. Buente before. It looks as if a lot of time off is not helping. He last pitched on June 9. Maybe go on a shorter rotation (for another team)?

If Jay Buente wasn’t any help, what about returning third baseman, Felipe Lopez? Nope, he mishandled two grounders in that same 1st inning and was 0-2 at bat.

Is there any light? Well, sort of, if not for Bulls fans. The starting Braves pitcher, rehabbing Atlanta Brave Brandon Beachy had this to say:

“It was a lot fun.”

Elsewhere it looks like that in addition to Mr. Buente, the vaunted Rays management may be about to get bitten back back more directly. Remember Cory Wade who was a Bull a couple of days ago? I was, no surprise, wrong, or at least didn't keep track. He’s not pitching for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He just got his first win in his second appearance as a full-fledged New York Yankee.

Is there any good news? Well, yes there is. As Chris D pointed out a couple of minutes ago, Matt Moore, a rising young Rays prospect over with the Montgomery Biscuits (AA), pitched a complete game no-hitter yesterday. Stacy Long has the story here, here, and here. We’ll probably see Mr. Moore before the end of the season. Hope so.

In the meantime, the Bulls are out of first place in the South Division for the first time since April 15.

Tough Loss

Game 60, June 9, Coca-Cola Park, Allentown, PA
Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs 6; Durham Bulls 5
Season: 32-28; Trip: 1-2
Wrap, Box

I’m not quite sure what Mr. Buente was supposed to bring to the table when the Rays claimed him off waivers a couple of weeks ago. The history of this 27 year-old is as a reliever, but with the Bulls he’s been a starter. He lost his first two games and then, with an extra day’s rest, he started his third last night. Not pretty. If not for the Bulls’ big 6th inning, he would have been on the hook for his third loss.

As careful readers know, I’m not the most knowledgeable guy regarding the business side of baseball, but seems a waste for Buente to be taking up space on the Rays’ 40-man and the Bulls rosters. Pretty sure if they DFA the guy then he goes back to the Marlins. OK with me.

Speaking of pitchers, does anyone remember Brandon Gomes? He appeared in 11 games for the Bulls and did a great job for the team. Then in early May he went up to the Rays and made 10 appearances there, the last on May 30 (note: there were 9 days between his last two appearances with the Rays). The transaction registry showed him coming back to the Bulls at the end of May and Neil has mentioned him a couple of times. But no Brandon, so far.

And even more about pitchers: Last night Jake McGee came on in the bottom of the 7th, bases loaded, two outs. One pitch, liner to Dan Johnson, and he’s out of the inning. In the 8th he threw 14 pitches to set the side down 1, 2, 3. But then in the 9th, score tied 5-5, Lehigh Valley’s John Mayberry got his first home run of the year on McGee’s second pitch. Odd bookends to a losing night.

I worry a lot about turmoil in the Bulls lineup, but looks like the Iron Pigs are even worse off. The Bulls have had 16 different players come to bat this year, the Iron Pigs have had 31! The pitching side is more equitable. The Bulls have had 22 different pitchers (including two position player appearances), the Iron Pigs have had 18.

Last night’s loss puts the Bulls into a tie for first place in the South Division of the International League. Gwinnett has won its last six games and caught up while the Bulls have been flailing around a bit.

Elliot Johnson was back in a Bulls uniform last night. He’s on a rehabilitation assignment (knee) and was in the designated hitter slot. 0 for 5. Would have been nice for at least one of the guys who came to bat in the 6th with runners on second and third with none out to get a hit. Elliot (along with J.J. Furmaniak and Desmond Jennings) missed his chance to be a hero.

Justin Ruggiano is reportedly happy these days. Guess it has more to do with my personal history than his, but I’d find Maddon’s patronizing comments hard to take. Glad that Justin apparently doesn’t see it that way. Hope he keeps it up. Up in our part of the stands we always thought he was a potential major leaguer, but couldn’t figure out where he fit with the Rays.

Thinking About Third Base

Game 54, June 3, Durham Bulls Athletic Park
Pawtucket Red Sox (Boston) 6, Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay) 3
Season: 30-24; Last 10: 6-4; Home Stand: 3-2
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

What about Russ Canzler? At the moment he is the Bulls best hitter with a stellar wOBA of .415 and he is the Bulls worst fielder with 7 errors at third and 3 at first base. Last night his bobble of a grounder from the Pawsox's first batter got things off to a bad start, but it certainly wasn't the only problem that the Bulls had over the game. This is Canzler's first year in Triple-A. His career stats don't show him spending much time at third until last year. And last year his fielding percentage was worse than this year (.878 vs. .968).

To sit back and get some perspective, however, we Bulls fans put up with Joel Guzman at third base for over a year and B.J. Upton at shortstop for a couple of eternities. Russ Canzler is a better hitter (so far) than either, and a better third baseman than B.J. was a shortstop. OK, last night was painful, but let's cut him some slack.

In the meantime, I'm not sure about young Mr. Beunte. He's new to the Bulls, but he sure wasn't tearing it up last night. The rough start was not his fault, but let's hope for better performance over time.

Have to give Pawtucket's Andrew Miller some credit. Even though the Bulls outhit the Sox 10-7, he didn't let the Bulls put runs across.

Not only is Dirk Hayhurst back in town, he's starting tonight. Look forward to seeing him.

Fans get some modest say in choosing the Triple-A All-Star team (although, unless things have changed, we never find out how we voted). See the press release on how the voting works.

As mentioned earlier, Rays bloggers are not happy with their catching situation. Here's a recent comment from Rays Index. Why should we care? If the Rays front office agrees and doesn't find a catcher somewhere else (which is what they've done in the past), Lobaton or Chirinos could be given a tryout.

Gnashing of Teeth; Being Philosophical

Game 53; June 2, DBAP
Columbus Clippers 2, Durham Bulls 1 (10 innings)
Season: 30-23; Last 10: 6-4; Home Stand: 3-1
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, MiLB, Indy Week

We can be philosophical several hours after the end of a tough loss.

We won't even second guess Charlie Montoyo about the intentional walk loading the bases with one out in the top of the 10th. It looked like it was going to work out when Rob Delaney got the second out of the inning with a strikeout. But the bases-loaded walk that followed was a heart-breaker. Even J.J. Furmaniak's heroic dash into the stands to grab the third out didn't help much. The Bulls could get runners on base in the bottom of the 10th, but couldn't get them across.

Three games out of four against the team with the best record in the International League is nothing to sneeze at. Ryan Reid, who had not pitched since May 22nd, and had not started a game in several years, pitched 5 terrific innings. The R.J. Swindle of 2010 might, just might, be back and we're glad to see him.

The Clippers' pitcher, Jeanmar Gomez, was simply brilliant. He pitched a very solid 8 innings. But for a botched pickoff attempt in the 6th inning, the Bulls wouldn't have scored a run off of him.

Still, it hurts a bit.

* * * *

Dirk Hayhurst was noticed leaning against the rail. Nice to see him there, but would be nicer to see him on the mound.

Jay Buente will start tonight against the Pawtucket Red Sox. This will be our first chance to see him at work.

If you are one of those deep thinkers who worries about long range issues, the baseball draft is coming up soon. The premier site for that in the Rays world is Rays Prospects. Worth keeping an eye on that blog to keep track of what the Rays are up to.

The Bulls iPhone app was updated yesterday to add live audio streaming. I checked it out last night and it worked just fine. I have trouble getting AM 620 on the road or at home, so this will be nice. In the stands, however, hang on to your radios because there's quite a lag between what happens on the field and what comes through your phone. A modest test last night (walking through the garage behind Diamond View II, where 620 is blocked) was successful.

Chart(s) of the Day

Time to check in on the cumulative runs scored-runs allowed status. The last time we looked was back on May 14 (Game 37). The Bulls have had their ups and downs since then, but the trend is running nicely upwards.

The same cannot be said for their parent club, the second chart. Too bad, because just a couple of weeks ago things were looking just fine for the Rays.

(click on chart for larger image)

After the Rain, Two Quick Games

Game 48 (7 Innings), May 29, Toledo, Ohio
Durham Bulls 7, Toledo Mud Hens 4

Game 49 (7 Innings)
Toledo Mud Hens 2, Durham Bulls 1
Season: 27-22; Last 10: 4-6; Trip: 3-5
Wrap, Box (1), Box (2), Toledo Blade

This was not the Bulls best road trip of the year. Nevertheless, after the tough four losses to Columbus, they did very well in Toledo. With a little more luck, they could have tied up the second game last night in the top of the 7th and who knows what might have happened after that? They come home still in first place.

Today's five o'clock game comes after a double-header last night and is against the best team in the league. A real test of the teams' stamina.

This home stand is the only opportunity for local fans of the Cleveland Indians (I think I've met at least one) and Boston Red Sox (two or three) to see their future stars. I'd think that's particularly true of the Indians who seem to have invested a lot of effort into their farm system over the last several years.

Meanwhile, the Bulls team that takes the field today is very different from the one that left town, with more changes coming. Recent roster changes include:

• Outfielder Justin Ruggiano called up to the Rays where he has been working very diligently his dugout sitting skills.
• Infielder Felix Lopez went back up to the Rays where he has similarly spent time on the bench (one game appearance).
• Reliever Rob Delaney came back from the Rays.
• Catcher Craig Albernaz was sent to Hudson Valley.
• Pitcher Jeremy Hall was sent to Hudson Valley
• Infielder Dan Johnson came down from Tampa Bay
• Pitcher Alex Cobb was called up to Tampa Bay
• Pitcher Jay Buente was claimed from the Marlins and sent to the Bulls. He pitched in last night's game and did pretty well.

Have I missed any? There will be more. The Rays have to make at least one move to make room for Cobb and they've got a couple of players with dings and bruises.

The Montgomery Advertiser is reporting that Bulls pitcher Richard De Los Santos had shoulder surgery Friday and is out for the season. We wish him well. Maybe next year.

Looking Better

Game 47, 28 May, First Third Field, Toledo, Ohio.
Durham Bulls 7, Toledo Mud Hens 3
Season: 26-21; Last 10: 4-6; Trip: 2-4
Wrap, Box, Toledo Blade

The Mud Hens are getting turned inside out by their parent club, the Detroit Tigers. See the Toledo Blade link for details. No reason for the Bulls not to take advantage of that, and they did. On the mound was the 32 year-old elder statesman of the Bulls pitching staff, Chris Bootcheck. Have to admire him stepping into the breach until the Rays can find a couple of starters for the Bulls. And he did a decent job, going 4 2/3 innings. This was his second start as a Bull and the first time he’s started games in quite a few years. The last time he saw regular duty as a starter was in 2005 with the Angels AAA team in Salt Lake City. Good job.

Meanwhile Ray Olmedo has slipped into Justin Ruggiano’s #2 spot in the batting order and is acting a bit like Justin. His batting average is up to .293 and yesterday he went two for 5 and scored both times he got on base. Dan Johnson played first and got his first hit. Russ Canzler remains hot, playing third and hitting another homer, just his fourth, but they have been timely. (By the way, Justin Ruggiano has not started a game with the Rays, but did have a little bit of playing time back on May 21st. Guess the Rays are treating him pretty much as usual. Too bad.)

I’m not quite sure what to make of Chris Carter’s day. His hitting helped a lot (two RBIs). But his aggressive base running led to him being thrown out twice trying for third base. And he grounded into two double plays.

Craig Albernaz and Jeremy Hall (I guessed right!) have been taken off the Bulls’ roster and sent to Hudson Valley, making room for Rob Delaney, who passed through waivers, and new guy Jay Buente.

Chart of the Day — Fielding Independent Percentage

This is one of those relatively new numbers that really is a better way of evaluating pitchers than ERA. I like it. It does, however, punish the pitcher who gives up home runs as you can see by the rankings of Swindle (6), Bootcheck (3), and McGee (3) who have pretty high HR/Inning numbers. But, all things considered, that’s seems only fair. An interesting feature of this chart is how well Edgar Gonzalez, today’s starter, comes off. He’s been having back problems recently. We can hope that that sorts itself out.