Scorched

Box, Wrap, Herald-Sun

I was not able to attend, or watch, or listen to the game. Probably a good thing.

Season: 38-45; Home Stand: 5-3; Bulls v. Chiefs: 2-6; Standings

Box, Indy Week

Bulls fans know that the pitching this year has been awful. The Bulls’ team ERA is the IL’s worst at 4.64. However, if you separate out the starters from the relievers you get a slightly less awful 4.25 for the relievers. That has meant that once the ball gets handed off to the bullpen, the Bulls have a chance. 

Not last night.

Starter Matt Buschmann handed off a 4-4 tie to his compatriots. They coughed up seven runs. The usually reliable Bryan Augenstein  — 2, new guy Frank De Los Santos — 2, and Shane Dyer in his first relief appearance — 3, brutally hot and not pretty at all.

See “outside the game” for some future hope in the bullpen.

On the interesting stuff side, Tim Beckham started at shortstop, had a double and a home run, reached on an error and scored three runs. So he’s looking pretty good. Reid Brignac went 0-5, every single one was a batted ball going right to the Chiefs first baseman for unassisted outs. Cole Figueroa playing third base made two very slick plays. 

Outside the game —

• Rays Index speculated on who will be coming to the Bulls in a couple of days. And they were right, Brandon Gomes and Cesar Ramos will be back in a couple of days.
• That means at least two current Bulls will need to go, possibly three. Since major leaguers coming down get a couple of days to make the trip, no telling when we will hear. 
• Jim Donten is back in business with his Charlotte Stone Crabs (Rays Single A Team) Claw Digest.

Road to .500

A while back we asserted that a .500 season would be a reasonable goal for the 2012 Durham Bulls and we started a chart that showed progress toward that goal. This looks much better than last time. The Bulls did reach the “path”, but then fell off it the last two nights. The Bulls have 61 games left to play and need to win 34 of them to reach the .500 target. That’s .558 baseball over July and August. 

click to view larger chart

Big Season Mid-Point Win

Season: 31-41; Trip: 3-2; Bulls v. Red Wings: 1-0; Standings

Box, Wrap, Rochester Democrat

The Bulls rode the bus(es), the rehabbing major leaguers Jeff Keppinger and Evan Longoria rode the plane, but everyone made it to Rochester to play the Red Wings for the midpoint game of the Bulls season (more about that in another post). For everyone except Evan Longoria, it was a great game. He left after his first at bat and Tampa Bay sources are saying that he’s headed back to the team to continue his rehab under Rays’ trainers. Couple of interesting photos at the Rochester Democrat link.

In the meantime the Bulls hitters had one of their finest nights of the season. The Bulls' 16 hits included four doubles and a home run. Every Bull who started the game except for Longoria got at least one hit and Stephen Vogt, Jeff Keppinger, Leslie Anderson, Brandon Allen, and Reid Brignac (!) got multiple hits. In fact, Brignac’s 3 hit, 3 RBI night has got to be his best of the year (not counting his grand slam a while back). Brandon Allen’s contribution of 3 hits is particularly welcome. Nice to have another hitter on the team.

I can’t avoid mentioning Leslie Anderson’s continued hammering at Tampa Bay’s door: his batting average and number of hits are the best in the entire International League!

To make the evening even better, Jim Paduch’s performance was his best in a month and came after a very long dry spell and a disastrous last outing. 

Outside the game

• I guessed right! Rich Thompson is headed for Washington, DC to fill a roster spot for the Rays/Nationals series. Here’s hoping he gets a chance to play. Maybe he caught a ride on the same plane as Longoria.
• As mentioned yesterday, Brandon Gomes is headed back to the Bulls. However, in one of those asymmetries between minor league and major league baseball, a guy coming “down” gets a couple of days to get there while a guy going “up” moves right away. The practical effect for the Bulls is that they would be two players short in the dugout without the presence of rehabbing Keppinger and lurking Hudson Valley player Craig Albernaz.
• Speaking of Keppinger, he played first base last night. Wonder why?
• Also reported last night was a move to put Alexander Torres back into the starting rotation. He will swap with Shane Dyer who has not been particularly impressive. But neither has Torres as either a starter or reliever. Is this the last hurrah for Mr. Torres?
• Noted on the field was former Bull Matt Carson now playing for the Red Wings.
• Speaking of former Bulls, Russ Canzler was named IL Player of the Week for his 3 home run, 13 RBI performance with the Columbus Clippers last week ... sigh ...
• Fascinating look at the prospects in the Rays system at Rays Prospects. Not many Bulls on the list.

Chart of the Day

Pitching efficiency. A simple metric that displays how many pitches it takes to get an out. I'm not picking on Torres, really I'm not. They are his numbers after all.

Bulls Lose Game and Miranda

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

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

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

Outside the game

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

Chart/Table of the Day

OPS

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

Great Road Trip; Coming Home

 Box, Wrap

Season: 26-33; Trip: 6-4; Bulls vs. Bats: 6-2; Standings
Box, Wrap

Not much to say about Sunday’s game. The Bulls were shut out by the Bats’ Jeff Francis and Chris Archer got his third straight loss. As meaningless as wins and losses are supposed to be, Mr. Archer really isn’t having a very good year. Should we start worrying?

Meanwhile Mr. Francis and the Reds decided to part ways sometime after Sunday’s complete game shutout. I’ll probably do my annual rant about opt-out contracts someday soon, but not now. Let’s wait until they start having an effect on the Bulls. Francis (and his agent, most likely) must have decided that it was time to pull the plug. Who knows? Maybe, as commenter Doug Milhoan said, he could end up in a Rays/Bulls uniform in a few days.

Tonight’s game was a certainly nice win. Young Shane Dyer got his first AAA win. Stephen Vogt got his third home run (his OPS has snuck up to .692; is he getting his 2011 eye back?).

Desmond Jennings got his second hit (2-12) in his rehab assignment and is reportedly heading back to the Rays. Bye.

Brandon Gomes is never going to be the equal of either WDBB favorites Winston Abreu or Joe Bateman for sheer on-the-mound presence and outright thrills. But he sure can pitch! He got his fourth save since his return from Tampa Bay on May 11th, and he’s picked up three wins during that same period (he’s 4-0 on the year). An ERA of 0.45 (he’s only given up one earned run this year!), a FIP of 1.35, a WHIP of 0.85. So I guess we can do without the twitches of Abreu or the thrill of Joe Bateman walking two or three batters before striking out the side. We’ll just settle for Mr. Gomes, and be thankful for his presence in a Bulls uniform.

Cannot complain about a 6-4 road trip. Congrats to the Bulls!

Outside the game

• Matt Torra has been put on the disabled list and Jhonny Nunez is to start Tuesday night. Did anyone hear why? I was only been able to listen to bits and pieces of the game.

Personal note: For those of you who have noticed that that there’s been an empty seat beside me most of this year, Fran's back has been giving her fits. She went in for surgery today and is doing quite well. Probably a long rehab, but should be back in her seat before the end of the season. My posting/game attendance is likely to be a bit erratic over the next couple of weeks as well, but I will be there some of the time. And eventually both of us will be there cheering on the Bulls as usual. 


And don't forget to raise a glass and/or just simply sing along in remembrance of Doc Watson during Tuesday night's 7th Inning Stretch!

A Loss, Then a Win

 Box, Wrap

Season: 23-31; Trip: 3-2; Bulls vs. Indians: 2-5
Box, Wrap, Wrap (Indianapolis)

Jeff Salazar is one of the many Bulls that needs to show his stuff if Durham is to get above .500. He did that this afternoon with a bizarre 10th inning inside-the-park home run. As described in the wraps, the ball essentially parked itself underneath the bullpen bench and by the time the Indy outfielder got the ball out, Salazar was home.

Before that, however, new guy Shane Dyer had another ugly early inning, giving up four runs in the 1st, then did a fine job for the next four. In the Bulls 6th some razzle-dazzle base running (and a bad throw) scored one run. A single by Leslie Anderson brought in another. And a home run by Juan Miranda (!) brought in two more. Bulls pitching, Romulo Sanchez and Brandon Gomes, kept the Indians in check until Salazar’s heroics. Dane De La Rosa closed it out.

Monday’s game has little to recommend it. The Bulls left a bunch of guys on base. The old Alex Torres peeked out with 3 BBs in 1 inning (but no runs scored on him).

Outside the game:

• As we guessed, Mayo Acosta was sent to Montgomery. He did a good job. We will be seeing more of him I am sure.
• Chris Gimenez and Stephen Vogt were in the house. Vogt pinch hit for Albernaz in the 7th and stayed in the game at catcher.
• BurGi at Rays Prospects has done another of his analytical pieces, this one on Rays’ system pitching. Nice work.
• Ms. Van Deren is on Ocracoke Island!

The Bulls played an afternoon game and have an evening game tomorrow. That means that they can have a night on the town in Indianapolis, Indiana. Indulge me by taking on this true story about an evening I once spent in Indianapolis.

Our team was seeking a place to eat on a Friday night. We were hungry and didn’t want to wait in line. But it seemed like the parking lot of every restaurant we found was full. Finally we found a place that didn’t seem to be too busy and we were able to get a table immediately. 


It wasn’t until after we’d put in our orders to a not-very-efficient waiter that one of us put it together. 


It’s Friday night. Every other restaurant in Indianapolis is busy. This one is not. There’s a message there. The message came with our awful, awful meals. 


Moral for the Bulls: Busy is good.

A Simple Game

Box, Herald-Sun

Season: 18-27; Home Stand: 3-3; Bulls vs. Knights: 3-7; Standings
Box, Wrap, Herald-Sun

Regarding Saturday’s game: Former Bull Alex Cobb went to St. Pete and won a game for Tampa Bay; Montgomery Biscuit Shane Dyer came to Durham and did not.

But let’s talk about Sunday ...

Three home runs, terrific pitching, a 6-0 shutout. This really is a simple game isn’t it?

When Matt Torra took a couple of his warm-up pitches from the stretch I have to admit that I was worried. But it seemed justified. In the first two innings he pitched exactly four pitches from a full windup. However, at the end of those two innings the Knights had not scored a run and had left three runners on base. After that, for the first time since his great game against Louisville on April 30, the 2011 edition of Matt Torra was in the DBAP. Welcome back!

Then John Gaub got his first real test of the season. Gaub has been used for extremely short relief so far this year. Last night he was in there for three full innings and earned a save (again demonstrating I don’t understand the rules. How do you earn a save in a 6-0 shutout?)

Meanwhile infielder Cole Figueroa got his first home run with the Durham Bulls, new catcher Mayo Acosta got his first home run with the Durham Bulls, and Leslie Anderson got his third. As the Herald Sun’s Steve Wiseman wrote:

Sunday felt like old times for the Durham Bulls and their fans at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Other RBI were recorded by Henry Wrigley on a double and a Hedeki Matsui sacrifice fly.

About Hideki Matsui:

First, let me say what a great pleasure it is to have him and his entourage at the DBAP. I don’t think we’ll see its like again. And I don’t think we’ll see a player quite like Matsui here again either. What he is showing us, however, is the tiny differences the years bring to even the greatest talent. He may be only 5% less than the player he once was, but that is a difference. So far he is 3 for 31 in 6 games (.143/,174/.190). He has hit two balls with authority and both were caught. There’s an elegance and smoothness to all his play, but my guess is that it’s a notch below last year, and well below his prime.

For example, he was on first with a single when Henry Wrigley hit his double in the 3rd inning. His run from first to home to score did not have a hitch and his slide was perfect. He wasn’t some lumbering, knee-broken catcher. On the other hand, with even a slightly better throw from centerfield that hadn’t pulled the catcher up the line, he would have been caught.

The chatter is that he may be heading for the Rays as soon as this weekend. Looking at it from the perspective of a Bulls fan, he may be filling the stands, but he’s not helping the Bulls win games. Sorry to say that. He appears to be a great gentleman and a great ballplayer and maybe he just needs to work on his timing more. I hope so.

Outside the game

• Former Bull, switch-hitting catcher Jose Lobaton is rehabbing with the Montgomery Biscuits. He’s appeared in four games so far. In normal times he might be coming through Durham. But yet another catcher left the game early in Tampa Bay last night (Stephen Vogt put on the gear), so he might just head for the Rays when he’s ready. Too bad. I like watching Lobaton play.
• Bulls RHP Bryan Augenstein is off the disabled list. Bryan who? you may ask. That would be understandable. Augenstein pitched one game for the Bulls back on April 7. Did pretty well, but went on the DL. Jhonny Nunez has been “reassigned to Hudson Valley.” Note to new readers: the Hudson Valley Renegades is a real baseball team in the Rays system. However, what this means is that Nunez may be hanging out with the Bulls, but he can’t pitch until he gets assigned back to Durham. In other words, the Bulls are gaming the system. More power to them.
• If I’m reading the plots correctly Dian Van Deren came off the Parkway and made in almost to Pilot Mountain in one day! On foot! I know it was sort of downhill, but, Wow!

Cobb (Departed); Dyer and Lueke (Arriving)

Most folks who follow the Rays know this already, but for Bulls fans here are transactions #42 thru #44 for this year. The last transaction is speculation. Is somebody keeping track of these frequent flyer miles?

• Alex Cobb to the Rays. Will probably start tomorrow.
• Shane Dyer from the Biscuits to the Bulls. Start tomorrow? Maybe.
• Josh Lueke (probably, somebody’s got to go) from the Rays to the Bulls. But he doesn’t have to leave until Saturday and gets a couple days travel time. Could even pitch for Rays tonight. Who said this system was fair?

Serenity

Season: 16-26; Home Stand: 1-2; vs. Red Sox: 1-6; Standings

Box, Wrap, Herald-Sun, Indy Week

It was pointed out to me yesterday that perhaps I’ve been taking this game too seriously. It was suggested that I relax, try a pose or two, breath, chant, contemplate a crystal ... oooooommm ...

OK. Enough of that. Lets talk about ... Jim Paduch. Paduch had a brilliant outing in front of 10,000 fans, most of whom could have cared less about who he was or how he got there. But we Bulls fans did. Thanks for getting the Bulls out of their funk. His six innings of crafty pitching set up what is only the fourth shutout by Bulls pitchers this year. Followed by fellow indie ball escapee Dane De La Rosa (is he getting his groove back?) and waiting to be called back to the Rays Brandon Gomes, Bulls pitching was superb. Two home runs (a pleasant change) by Bulls hitters was more than enough (Jesus Feliciano and Henry Wrigley). Icing on cake was new guy Mayo Acosta’s sac fly RBI in the 7th.

Obligatory mention of the guys who drew the crowds: Daisuke Matsuzaka (松坂大輔) pitched for the Pawsox, made it through 6⅔ innings and looked OK. Notable that he was wearing a Boston Red Sox uniform, not a Pawtucket Red Sox uniform. Guess that’s a perk of being a major leaguer. Hideki Matsui was 0-3, but yet another catcher’s interference call got him on base and he scored on Wrigley’s homer. I hate to point this out, but he is not running well.

Amid all the Japanese signage, down in front of me was a lady waving the flag of Taiwan, probably for Pawtucket centerfielder Che-Hsuan Lin. Lin is something to watch out there. He’s made three spectacular catches in these games (taking two hits away from Matsui). He’s a reason to come to the park.

As is Pawtucket shortstop Jose Inglesias. If you’ve ever had one of those deep philosophical discussions about whether a shortstop needs a quick release or a strong arm (as if there’s a distinction), Inglesias is a poster-child for the quick release school. The ball simply doesn’t stay in his glove. It simply ends up flowing towards first base. Pretty to watch.

I’ve got to mention the latest spin of the Montoyo Merry-Go-Round that put infielder Shawn O’Malley in right field and new guy Henry Wrigley at first base. I think Wrigley has played a good bit of first base. O’Malley reportedly hasn’t played outfield since high school. They both did just fine in the field and Wrigley showed his power at the plate.

Then there was the mystery man coaching at third base. That was Michael Johns the manager of the Princeton (as in Princeton, West Virginia) Rays. Guess he’s here to keep his head in the game until his team’s season starts next month.

Outside the game

• Stacy Long at Biscuit Crumbs is reporting that RHP Shane Dyer is coming from AA Montgomery to the Bulls. Probably in anticipation of Alex Cobb going to the Rays in a day or so. Pretty good stats.
• I really like the continuing improvements to the big video board. It is now showing the pitch count (and ERA) of the pitchers. And on the board out in right field they are starting to put up the in-game stats for batters. Better and better.
• Elliot Johnson and Reid Brignac: There’s been a flurry of interest in the recents exploits of the well-liked former Durham Bull Elliot Johnson. He’s been having a grand time lately with the Rays. This column looks at EJ’s recent work (with a really gratuitous cheap shot at the end). But this one extends the discussion into concerns about a current Durham Bull whom we’ve mentioned here, Reid Brignac. A bit of armchair psychologizing, but it makes sense to me. Elliot, however, was one of my favorite Bulls and I couldn't be happier to see him succeed. I  have never forgotten Neil Solondz calling EJ’s two homers over in Norfolk, one batting left, the other batting right. Maybe not a record, but certainly worthy of remembering in a blog that celebrates the obscure and quirky. A couple of other mentions of EJ over the years are here (2009) and here (2010).