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. 

Nice Finish in Last Home Game of the Year

Season: 84-53; Games Remaining: 7
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

For the last home game of the season, the 2013 Bulls showed back up at the park, at least the offensive side of their game. I’m not talking about the hitting, that wasn’t normal, that was way above normal. The last time they’ve put 27 total bases in the box score was back in June. The typical part of the hitting was that they did it with no home runs.

What they did that we’ve seen so much of this year was to  pounce on their opponents’ lapses. The Bulls drew 8 walks and stole 6 bases. You’d think 6 stolen bases ought to be a record, but it isn’t. They stole 8 back on June 6 up in Indianapolis.

All sorts of other great things happened in the game — Brandon Guyer got back over .300; Jason Bourgeois was back on the squad and got 2 hits, drew 2 BB, 2 RBI, and scored a run; Kevin Kiermaier had a double and a triple and stole 2 bases; Tim Beckham went 3 for 5 with a walk, a double, two stolen bases, 2 RBI. Just a big, big day.

A tiny cloud was Frank De Los Santos’ weak appearance in the 6th inning. Worrisome. He really has not been himself all year. But Buschmann’s start and Gomes’, Lueke’s, and Yates’ finish were very, very nice.

The 40-Man Roster & the Bulls in September

It’s eight days to the end of August and we Bulls fans are beginning to worry about what Labor Day will look like — and we would expect the same is true for a few Durham Bulls.

The basics are these: For most of the season the Tampa Bay Rays can only have 25 players on their active roster. That is, any player who goes onto the field has to be among those 25 players. However, there’s a larger 40-man roster from which the players on the 25-man roster are drawn. For Bulls fans the key point is that none of the guys we’re watching can play for the Rays unless they are first on the 40-man roster.

The current Rays 40-man roster is here. Players on the 60-day disabled list don’t count. They can play in minor league games as part of a rehabilitation assignment, but I don’t know the rules there.

In September, any of the players on the 40-man can suit up and play for the Rays. If they go into the playoffs, the Rays have to go back to 25, but that's a month away.

The Durham Bulls have 7 pitchers and two position players on the 40-man. Also note that it's fairly common for the Rays to call up a pitcher whom we've seen as a starter and use him as a reliever (e.g., Alex Torres), although the reverse has never happened in my experience.

• LHP Jeff Beliveau 
• RHP Alex Colome (The Bulls carry Colome as on the DL, the Rays do not. Last seen pitching at the DBAP on June 17)
• LHP Frank De Los Santos
• RHP Brandon Gomes
• RHP Josh Lueke
• LHP Mike Montgomery
• RHP Jake Odorizzi

• Catcher Chris Gimenez
• Infielder Tim Beckham

As for any of the other 16 players on the Bulls roster, unless some manipulation is done they cannot be called up in September. But don’t ever underestimate the Rays' deviousness. Remember that when they wanted/needed Jason Bourgeois they got him on the 40-man and into uniform.

From a Bulls fan perspective it’s fair to wonder about Leslie Anderson or Vince Belnome or Cole Figueroa; or J.D. Martin or Kirby Yates. But the Rays have to need them seriously enough to clear a space on the 40-man.

Maybe, just maybe, the Rays will leave the roster alone until the playoffs are over, but don’t bet on it. They’ve got a pennant to win and they are definitely in the hunt. I’m guessing that Gomes and maybe Lueke go up almost immediately. So the Bulls bullpen is going to need some help. Juan Sandoval over in Montgomery, among others, might be available. Undoubtedly the Rays will want a spare catcher, so Chris Gimenez will likely leave, but WDBB hopes not before mid-September. Similarly, it’s time for Tim Beckham to get his “taste” of the big leagues. So he could go up for a few ABs. Again, would like to seem him stay with the Bulls through the playoffs.

As regular readers will know, making guesses about this sort of thing isn’t my strong point. How about your guesses?

And who else over in Montgomery could be showing up to lend a hand? Mahtook? Casali?

Durham Bulls Win International League South Division

Season: 82-50; Games Remaining: 12; Home Games: 4
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Bulls win South Division of the International League! No other team in the Division can possibly catch up over the next 12 games. Victory!

Even though winning the South has seemed inevitable for a long time, particularly when Norfolk fell off a cliff back in mid-June (see the chart below), this is a big deal for Bulls fans. From the photos floating around, that’s true for the players as well. They deserve the celebration. They have worked very, very hard to get to this end.

This is the victory that matters in AAA ball. Yes, the Governors’ Cup is a great prize, but the teams who end up facing each other in the playoffs next month are likely to be quite a bit different from the ones who worked to get to the playoffs in the first place.

The Knights were snakebit last night, giving up a bunch (5) of unearned runs. But credit the Bulls for some hard base running to help force the errors.

When Shelley Duncan hit his home run in the 4th inning I finally noticed how much help he’s been to the team even without his usual power this year. He’s got 51 RBI, and that’s a big deal for a team of essentially patient singles hitters.

Merrill Kelly looked particularly sharp last night, ending his 7 inning with an impressive striking out of the side. Frank De Los Santos, who last pitched on the 14th, got in two good innings to wrap it up.

Even prettier, however, was the nice running catch of Kevin Kiermaier to end the game.

Well done!

 Outside the game —

• WDBB favorite Elliot Johnson will be putting on an Atlanta Braves uniform and rejoining his former Bulls teammate B.J. Upton. Both of them came out pretty well in our look at all-time Bulls hitters last January. EJ was not having all that good a year with the Royals, but maybe he’ll find a better fit with the Braves. Hope so.
• Speaking of inevitability, the Bulls were even ready to go with the T-shirt. 

Path to the South Championship

Split

Season: 69-41; Trip: 2-2
Wrap, Box, Columbus Dispatch

Mike Montgomery did not pitch a very good game last night, a couple of the 5 walks he gave up scored. And yet he did leave the game with a tie score, two outs, and a runner on first. He did have a shot at a no-decision. Not to be. Frank de los Santos tossed a pickoff throw into right field and the runner at first went all around the bases to score. Montgomery got the loss. Gotta give some credit to smart, aggressive base running by Columbus' Carrera.

We haven’t been very impressed with Mr. Montgomery this year. He has the worst numbers of any pitcher on the roster (ERA: 4.26, FIP: 4.53, WHIP: 1.41). Nevertheless, a little luck last night would have been nice.

This was the first two-home run game for the Bulls since July 20th (they lost that one to the Pawtucket Red Sox 9-6). Base running was off by a good bit, and that could have made a big difference. Tim Beckham and Jason Bourgeois both got caught stealing, and Bourgeois got picked off. Not a good night.

Matchup Durham Bulls vs. Toledo Mud Hens

The second most famous team in minor league baseball, the Toledo Mud Hens, is not having a good year. They are also something of a poster child for the limits of what the stats can tell you, because most of their stats say they should be doing better than they are. They are 15 games below .500 and yet are in the middle of the pack on hitting and pitching within the IL. Without diving into the numbers we’d have to guess they must have some problems with their relievers and perhaps roster turmoil.

Another Shut Out

Season: 61-35; Streak: 6-0
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Cole Figueroa hit his third home run. Merrill Kelly hit two batters. Brandon Guyer threw out a runner trying for home. The Bulls won their sixth game in a row to reach a stunning 61-35 record. It didn’t rain (well, not too much). Does it get any better? Rumor has it the sun may come out today.

I like watching Cole Figueroa play baseball. The 26 year old does everything well. A home run was just icing on the cake as he pushed his batting average over .300 yesterday (and he carries a very nice wOBA of .343). He’s .415 in his last 10 games, with 5 doubles and the home run to go with his 11 singles and only 2 strikeouts. To top it off, playing 3B last night he made a tricky bouncing ground ball to his left look routine as he handled it and got the second out in the 9th. Fun to have him with the Bulls this year.

Mr. Kelly did more than just hit batters, of course. He’s been with the Bulls a little less than a month, made 6 starts, won 4 of them, and has a nifty 1.70 ERA. Very nice.

Outside the game —

• Alex Colome has been placed on the DL and sent to Florida. Could be serious trouble.
• To replace him, recently signed Ramon Ramirez is coming up from Port Charlotte where he made one 3-inning appearance with the Stone Crabs.
• Speaking of transactions, this is a clever way to show the Triple-A All-Star game.
• Interesting profile of Frank De Los Santos over at DNA of Sports
• At Bull City Summer, Adam Sobsey speculates on how the Bulls season might run out.

Pitching

Another way to look at pitching performance, this chart shows the game-by-game ERA of Bulls pitching over the last 20 games, then plots a simple trend line for starters, relievers, and the team as a whole. What jumps out is that there were five games with no earned runs at all (with the additional oddity that in one of those games the Bulls lost, June 23). The pretty part of the trend is that, for the most part, neither starters nor relievers are allowing many runs. Of course, the Bulls won 14 out of those 20 games, an amazing number in its own right.

Bulls Beat Bulls

Season: 55-34
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Former Bulls Russ Canzler (2011) and Jason Pridie (2007) accounted for a couple of last night’s runs, including one in that ugly, ugly 3rd inning. Jake Odorizzi had very, very good 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th innings. But somehow when he gave up the single at the top of the 3rd for his first runner on base, things went awry. By the time he was back on track four runs were across.

Meanwhile the Tides’ Tsuyoshi Wada was essentially untouchable for most of the first six innings. And when he was touched early his fielders pulled off double plays.

The result? A big crowd saw a decent ball game and a couple of exciting plays (see catcher/left fielder Chris Gimenez’ play below).

Bulls fans got to see Frank De Los Santos back. Except for the Pridie home run, looked OK for his two innings. Ryan Roberts’ gear must’ve shown up. He was at 2B and got the games’ sole RBI for the Bulls.

Outside the game —

• Leslie Anderson reported to be working his way back.
• Two years ago the Bulls were down in Georgia. Alex Torres started and got the win in a rain-shortened 3-1 game. Other familiar names in the box score: Leslie Anderson, Desmond Jennings, and Brandon Guyer.
• Nuke the puppet continues to find interesting ways to lose races.

Almost Slip Slided Away

Game 86, July 2, Durham Bulls Athletic Park, 10 innings
Durham Bulls (Rays) 6; Columbus Clippers (Indians) 5
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Indy Week

This year’s Bulls are not a home run hitting team. In fact, they are last in the International League in home runs. Last night was the exception. Leslie Anderson hit the Bulls' first home run since June 26 in the 4th inning. When Shelley Duncan hit a homer in the 6th it was the first time the Bulls had hit multiple homers since June 17th. They were needed, because what looked to be a comfortable 5-2 lead was given away by reliever Steve Geltz in the top of the 7th. A walk, a single, and another walk loaded the bases. Another single put a run in and a sac fly brought in another. Jeff Beliveau came in with runners on first and third. A sac fly scored the tying run.

The score stayed 5-5 until the bottom of the 10th when Leslie Anderson singled past a drawn-in infield and Tim Beckham (running for Vince Belnome) scored. Kirby Yates had pitched the last of the 9th and all the 10th to get the win.

Newcomer Merrill Kelly (subject of an interesting, unattributed article in a local website) looked just fine. A solid 6 innings with only a small spot of trouble in the 5th. He seems comfortable at Triple-A.

The fabled Daisuke Matsuzaka has lost more than a step, certainly a ghost of the guy who made a big difference to the Red Sox a few years ago. His return to the big leagues does not seem likely.

Newcomer Evan Frey got his first Bulls hit and seems to cover center field quite well. Cole Figueroa played shortstop for the first time (I think) this season.

Very small crowd at the game. No surprise given the weather we’ve been having lately. We were among the missing, watching the fans with their umbrellas from the comfort of our home. Reported misty rain throughout the game.

Outside the game —

• Broadcaster Kinas said that Jason Bourgeois will be/has gone on the disabled list.
• Pitcher Frank De Los Santos (remember him?) is off the disabled list and is pitching for the Florida Stone Crabs. Three innings so far, and has allowed only one hit. Looking good.
• Weird schedule sends the Bulls to South Carolina tonight, back to Durham for two games, then off to Lawrenceville, Georgia.

Why Don’t We Know What Happened To …

A good bit of sports writing is simply gossip. Nevertheless, in the end baseball is about the players and fans are very interested in the men who play this game. I’m not sure the Bulls (more likely the Rays) respect that interest when it comes to minor league ballplayers.

David Price is feeling good and that’s making headlines. I get that. A lot of media reps are watching the Rays and especially the progress of one of their stars. Downstream, however, things are very different. The Durham Bulls have five players on the disabled list and you would be hard-pressed to get any information at all about their status.

I don’t think that the information is completely unavailable, it is just that it’s limited to a single source coming through an ephemeral medium. That is, at some point in his broadcast each evening the Bulls broadcaster Patrick Kinas may provide an injury update. However, even fans as obsessed with the Bulls as we are don’t listen to every game, and couldn’t the Bulls do more for their fans anyhow?

Cases in point —

• Whatever happened to Hak-Ju Lee? In his case we know why he’s on the disabled list, but what’s happened since then? 
• Or Frank De Los Santos? In his case, as far as I know, fans were never informed regarding why he is on the DL, and certainly no prediction of his return to the team. 
• Will Inman? Excluding broadcast comment, all fans know is that he’s on the DL. Why? Is he with the team? 
• What about catcher Chris Gimenez? In his case we don’t even know why he’s on the list, something to do with his left hand? 
• And lastly the player who brought this rant on, Rich Thompson. A close reading of the June 6th Indy-Bulls play-by-play shows that he caught a fly ball in the bottom of the 4th inning and then left the game. That’s it as far as information available in non-broadcast media. Hearing a comment on the radio, WDBB queried Thompson over Twitter and got the response (thanks, Rich) that he could be out for the year. But why? What happened? 

I suppose I should take my complaint to the local newspapers. They are, after all, the only real reporters around here. But the only regular reportage of the Bulls comes from just one newspaper, Durham’s Herald-Sun. And their coverage isn’t actually a regular “beat” since it rotates through a couple of writers and is limited to home games. Yes, there’s a daily news story of away games in the Raleigh News & Observer and the Herald-Sun, but that’s just a cut and paste from the Bulls’ own release.

My guess is that the Rays and the Bulls figure that folks really don’t much care what a blogger thinks and that’s fair. But I really think there are more fans than just WDBB who would like to know what happened to these young men and what the prospects are of seeing them on the field in the future.

What’s the fix? Pretty straightforward it seems to me. An injury update press release from time to time would work just fine.

Durham Bulls Pitching ... and Today's Matchup

Catcher Craig Albernaz made his first 2013 appearance as a pitcher last night. I like Mr. Albernaz and I think he’s actually a decent pitcher, but his presence on the mound speaks to more than just the perception that the game was a lost cause.

Let’s try to track the changes among the Bulls pitching staff. Josh Lueke was called up when when the Rays’ Brandon Gomes went on the DL. He’s had three appearances since getting there and is doing just fine. That same day Bulls reliever Frank De Los Santos went on the disabled list.

A few days later the Rays signed reliever Cory Wade to fill one of the holes in the bullpen. He has had two appearances and looks OK, even though he coughed up one of the many, many home runs the Bulls offered up to the Rochester Red Wings.

The Bulls were still one pitcher short.

Then the Rays called up the Bulls best starting pitcher, Alex Torres, and put him in to throw five pitches to get the last out of a lost game Thursday evening. He was called up because starting pitcher David Price went on the DL. (Does a ⅓ inning relief appearance in replacement for David Price make any sense to you? No? Me, either.)

The Rays, apparently offering a AAA “cup of coffee” to Single-A reliever, Austin Hubbard, sent him from the Charlotte Stone Crabs up to Rochester to lend the Bulls a hand. Not so helpful — an awful ⅔ of an inning last night — 5 runs on 4 hits and three walks for a stunning ERA of 67.50.

A consequence of this turmoil (I haven’t mentioned Chris Archer’s troubles) is that Jim Paduch keeps getting called on to start games or come in for a long relief session — and Paduch is by far the least effective member of this year’s Bulls staff.

And the Bulls are still short a pitcher (remember, no replacement for De Los Santos was ever named). Hence Craig Albernaz on the mound.

And even if Torres only stays with the Rays for a few days, he would be out of any rotation for at least a week.

The Rays giveth, Cory Wade and Austin Hubbard; the Rays taketh away, Josh Lueke and Alex Torres; some players get broken, Frank De Los Santos, Mike Montgomery.

As this picture of ERA trends shows, this ain’t looking good at all.

Matching Up 

The Orioles farm team, the Norfolk Tides have been on quite a ride over the last couple of weeks and are now 4 games ahead of the Bulls in the South Division. Statistically, they are similar teams. Their pitching seems to be improving. Only two games, then the Bulls are out of town so that the ACC can rip up the turf of the DBAP.

May 18, 2013	W-L	RS	RA	Diff	BA	OPS	ERA
Norfolk	29-13	232	195	37	.279	.801	3.95
Durham	25-17	223	176	47	.275	.751	3.84

UPDATE: Forgot to add the rumor that Jake Odorizzi will be the actual call up for Price. That means the Bulls will be 2 pitchers in the hole while they wait for Torres to come back.

Hitting the Ball

Game 35, May 10, DBAP	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Lehigh Valley IronPigs	0	0	0	2	0	2	2	0	0	6	11	4
Durham Bulls	3	2	0	0	0	2	2	3	x	12	15	1

Season: 22-13; Home Stand: 2-3
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

This was a hitting and running game, and I missed most of it before I could get to a television in the 7th inning just as Lehigh Valley closed it up to 6-7. A glance at the team OPS for the game — .982 — tells you a lot about how things went.

Brandon Guyer seems to be settling into the leadoff spot, and he did his job getting on base five out of six tries with four hits (all singles), one hbp, one stolen base, scored three runs, and got a RBI.

Mike Fontenot got 3 hits in his 6 tries, scored a run, and  3 RBI.

Wil Myers hit a three-run homer in the 1st and picked up a 4th RBI when he reached on an error in the 6th.

And it’s always fun to mention a great game by catcher Craig Albernaz — who arrived back from Hudson Valley just in time to suit up for the game. (Note: that’s a lame attempt at humor. Albernaz never went to Hudson Valley. He was moved back on to Durham’s roster when Frank De Los Santos went on the disabled list.) In his first game since the no-hitter, Albernaz picked off a runner on first base, threw out a runner trying to steal second base, had two singles and a double while batting in the #9 position, and scored three runs.

Jake Odorizzi worked really hard, 101 pitches in 5⅓ innings. Steve Geltz had two balks called on him, which seemed to get him really upset. After giving up a triple, he shut down the Iron Pigs for the rest of the 7th and all of the 8th.

Outside the game —

• The new manager of the Iron Pigs is a familiar face, longtime Richmond/Gwinnett Braves manager Dave Brundage. 
• Chris Archer is back in the rotation. He’s to start this afternoon.
• Josh Lueke got in 1⅓ innings for the Rays last night. 2 Ks, no hits, no runs. Story, plus some speculation regarding how long he might stay, viz., the rest of the season.
• The Bull City Summer website went live recently.
• Norfolk lost, so the Bulls are now just one game back in the South Division.

click chart for larger version

Two Down!

Ouch! One more pitcher lost. At least we've got Craig Albernaz back. We'd been wondering about De Los Santos' situation given his last couple of outings.

ROSTER MOVES: RHP Josh Lueke recalled to #Rays; LHP Frank De Los Santos placed on DL; C Craig Albernaz reassigned to Durham
— Durham Bulls (@DurhamBulls) May 10, 2013

Except For That 7th Inning...

Game 32; Tuesday, May 7; Durham Bulls Athletic Park, Durham, NC

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Syracuse Chiefs (Nationals)	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	3	8	1
Durham Bulls (Rays)	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	6	2

Season: 20-12; Home Stand: 0-2

Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Alex Torres had a terrific night, Frank De Los Santos did not. In fact, Mr. De Los Santos isn’t having a very good year. In 11 appearances he’s only managed 12⅔ innings. Last night he didn’t make an out. Have to wonder if something could be wrong.

Nevertheless, sure is great to see Alex Torres apparently beginning to live up to his promise. And Shelley Duncan got his first hits as a Durham Bull. Plus Leslie Anderson got a homer.

On the other hand, see the chart below showing the slippage in Bulls hitting over the last several games. Guess the stats geeks might call it “regression to the mean.” For us normal folks, let's call it a “slump”.

Outside the game —

• Tarp on the field at 8:30. Not sure I can cope with screaming kids waiting for the rain to stop.
• Could Aroldis Chapman throw a golf ball 16 giraffes high?
• New blog in the area, DNA of Sports, has a terrific story on Bulls reliever Steve Geltz. Kinda hard to figure out who the writers are, but it's a good story.
• A bit more on the DPAC deal with City of Durham.

click on chart for larger view

No-Hitter!

Season 20-10; Road Trip: 5-3

Box, Wrap, PawSox Wrap, Play-By-Play

Jake Odorizzi and three of his colleagues no-hit the Pawtucket Red Sox up at McCoy Stadium today.

At the end of 7 innings Odorizzi was at 95 pitches and both the 6th and 7th innings had been a bit scary with Odorizzi walking a couple of guys in each. When Frank de los Santos came in for the 8th, things didn’t look a lot better, since he gave up two walks and left the game with two outs and runners on second and third. Kirby Yates killed that threat and took the game into the 9th. The he got BB-itis as well. Two walks and a sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third with just one out. A run scored when Rich Thompson chased down a deep fly ball for a sacrifice fly. Rhode Island native Jeff Beliveau came in and got a K for the final out.

No need to second-guess Charlie Montoyo on this one. At 95 pitches, two innings to go and shaky control, it was time for Mr. Odorizzi to rest on his well-earned laurels.

Trivia: The 8 walks granted by the Bulls was tied for the most in a game this season.

Oddity: None of the Bulls two runs were earned, but the Bulls allowed an earned run. Without mistakes by the Red Sox (wild pitches, passed balls, and errors) the Bulls could have had a no-hitter and lost the game.

More trivia: The Bulls left 9 runners in scoring position. 

Even more trivia: Thanks to Stacy Long over at Biscuit Crumb, Rays' system no-hitters.

In the “some teams never learn” category: the Red Sox tried to steal on Craig Albernaz again, and got thrown out, again. Also, I wonder if this was Albernaz’ first time catching a no-hitter? Here’s hoping someone asks him that question soon. 

Update: It was Albernaz' first no-hitter as a pro.

Outside the game —

• Terrific catch by former Durham Bull Justin Ruggiano today.

Update — 

And now watch the video of the last pitch:

A Great Afternoon

Season: 14-6; Home Stand: 6-1
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

If you missed yesterday’s game (and there’s a good chance that you did since only 3,600 folks were there) then, too bad. It was the most interesting games I’ve seen this year. I like day games and this one could not have been more perfect.

Let’s start with the pitching. Jake Odorizzi is one of the several Royals Refugees in the Rays system. He gave up a home run in the first inning and two more plus a single in the second inning. That’s four runs against him when he came out for the 3rd inning. He then threw 10 balls in a row, and ending up walking the first three batters to load the bases. Of course, by this time catchers and coaches had worn paths to the mound. From a fan’s perspective the next at bat, Toledo’s DH John Lindsay, was the turning point of the game. And within that at bat the fourth pitch. On a 2-1 count, Odorizzi got a called strike and from that moment it seemed he never looked back. The next pitch was also called a strike for the first out of the inning. With the bases still loaded he struck out the next two batters. Three up, three down for the 4th. And a clean 5th inning. By this time, however, he was up to 99 pitches and was out.

Now, for reasons that escape me, Dave Myers decided to use up his bullpen. Four more pitchers came into the game and all except one did just fine. The exception was Will Inman, whom the gods of baseball really punished for his leadoff walk to start the 8th. A double, two singles, and yet another double later, the Mud Hens had scored 4 runs and the tying run was on second base. Frank De Los Santos, I pitcher I’m having a hard time trusting this year, got the Bulls out of the inning and then got a double play in the 9th to get his first save of the year.

But more than the pitching was fun to watch. As the line score shows, the Bulls hitters had a great day, scoring runs in 4 of 8 innings. Vince Belnome had a spectacular day at the plate with two doubles and two singles. He now leads the Bulls in all batting categories. He wasn’t alone, however, the Bulls had 16 hits, a season high, with 5 players having multi-hit games. Included was catcher Juan Apodaca who got his very first hits as a Durham Bull, a broken bat single at the top of the 2nd inning, and a double in the 5th.

Just to add a bit more fun to the game, wind played a factor as well. In general, wind doesn’t seem to have much of an effect at the DBAP, but yesterday it pushed balls around quite a bit and added a bit of excitement to every fly ball.

If you missed it, too bad. If you were there, wasn’t it fun?

Outside the game —

• I’ve been negligent in not mentioning the magnificent condition of the field at the DBAP. I haven’t walked on it, but from the stands it looks simply terrific. The best in my memory. A big hand to Scott Strickland and his crew.
• The stats sheets (available before the game at the fan assistance booth) are much better. Very useful summaries of the IL and the Bulls opponents. Thank you, Scott.
• Charlie Montoyo is due back today. The Herald-Sun reports that Dave Myers had fun managing the team in Charlie’s absence.

Guyer!

Season: 5-1

Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

If you missed the first inning, you pretty much missed it all last night. Brandon Guyer set all sorts of records with his two home runs and 5 RBIs in the inning as 12 Bulls came to bat to score 10 runs. But there were hints of more that auger well for 2013.

Catcher Craig Albernaz, who is sure to get more playing time this year, had an RBI double in the inning and cracked two very authoritative-sounding, but caught, shots later in the game. Third baseman Cole Figueroa also had an RBI double and went on to pick up a single and a triple. Four other Bulls got hits in the inning, one of the biggest in Bulls’ history.

Not to be overlooked was Alexander Torres’ opening the game with 3Ks. He went on to have a very solid five innings. That raises our hopes regarding young Mr. Torres.

Bulls’ relievers were less impressive. At an inning each, neither new guy Steve Geltz nor Frank De Los Santos looked sharp. Possibly coming in with a huge (12-0) lead had something to do with it. But the two of them gave up 8 runs and pretty much ruined their ERAs for quite a while. (Speaking of ruining an ERA, Gwinnett starter Daniel Rodriguez was charged with nine runs on only one out — ERA = 243.00!)

Will Inman did just fine and Josh Lueke closed it out with some serious heat.

Outside the game —

• Regular readers may remember a project organized by Sam Stephenson that put together photography and stories centered on the Bulls and the DBAP near the end of the 2011 season. He’s back with something that should be very interesting as he has put together a crew to record the full 2013 season. Here’s one story and here’s a link to their exceptionally well done web site. Once they get going you will want to add the RSS feed as a regular place to visit. Stephenson and writer Adam Sobsey were interviewed yesterday on WUNC radio. Worth a listen.
• On opening day I almost went into full-blown rant mode when Doc and Merle Watson’s version of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” was not played for the 7th inning stretch. Pleased to report that they are back and in fine form.
• Great fun to watch/listen to current and former Bulls read lines from “Bull Durham” played as part of the evening between-innings work. Gotta find my 20th Anniversary hat. Should he hanging around the house somewhere.
• Adam Sobsey introduces the Bulls via Indy Week.

Who’s On the Mound? The Bulls 2013 Roster - 2

I am having trouble figuring out which pitchers are likely to be with the Bulls on opening day, particularly after I check their online roster and see 17 pitchers listed. How many of them are going to get on the bus for Norfolk next Wednesday (or will it be early Thursday morning)? I’m going to chop the list down to 13 just to give everyone of taste of how great the beginning of the year could be. Players on the Tampa Bay Ray 40-man are marked with asterisks. Note that there are eight of them on this list, including five of our potential starters! That has to be a first.

Also, please note that even at AAA the distinction between a “starter” and a “reliever” can be fuzzy. Heck, that can be fuzzy in the majors. As of today, the Rays have yet to choose their fifth starter.

Starters

• Chris Archer* is a first-rate, major league-ready pitcher. Sometime this season he will go up to the Rays and not come back. So check the schedule and make sure you get to the DBAP and see him pitch this spring. He did a fine job for the Bulls last season
• Jake Odorizzi* is new to the Rays system, but comes out of the Royals system with spectacular credentials. Stats. 
• Alex Torres* has been a top prospect in the Rays system for what seems like forever. Last year was awful. He is the only pitcher in this year’s starting lineup that worries me. But I’ve been wrong before. I hope that I am and Mr. Torres has somehow found his groove for 2013.
• Alex Colome* could easily start the year in Montgomery (with the Rays AA team the Montgomery Biscuits) or the Bulls. He did get a few innings in with the Rays in spring training. Stats.
• Mike Montgomery* is also over from the Royals and appeared in 17 games with their AAA team last year. Less impressive stats than the rest.
• Jim Paduch doesn’t quite fit any particular mold. At 30 he may end up in long relief, a spot starter, or a full-time starter if the Rays want to start the season with someone else down in AA instead of AAA. Not a great year in 2012, but he sure ate up a lot of innings.

Relievers

• Brandon Gomes* shouldn’t be with the Bulls, but he is and we are happy to have him. You can be sure that Montoyo and Neil Allen will put him to work. He is a terrific pitcher and is probably here only because of some quirk in the business of baseball.
• Josh Leuke* has decent stats, but we were really disappointed in his performance at the end of last year. He got a bit more playing time in major league spring training than most, so he must be looking pretty good this year.
• Frank De Los Santos* only pitched an inning major league camp and we have no data on the rest of the spring. Happy to have him back, but wonder if he's healthy.
• Adam Liberatore. I’m a big fan of Adam Liberatore. He had spectacular numbers with the Bulls last year. Here’s hoping he progresses this year.
• Will Inman is out of the Milwaukee, Padres, and Boston systems — and he’s only 25 years old! He did a heck of a job for Pawtucket last year, appearing in 35 games and keeping his ERA down at 2.23. Stats.
• Juan Sandoval is the famous blind-in-one-eye reliever who got a lot of press in spring training. He spent the last two years in the AAA Mexican League. Could be a lot of fun to watch. Stats.
• Steve Geltz is a very, very recent addition to the Rays system, out of the Angels in trade for Bull Dane De La Rosa. As noted elsewhere, in spite of his good numbers as a Bull, De La Rosa appeared to have lost the confidence of the Rays. Geltz could be fun to watch. Stats.

In sum, even if I’m wrong about one or two of these guys being on the opening day roster (imagine that!) , this is an amazing list. We could be in for some great baseball this year.

Next — start working on your lineups ...

Nice Ending

Season: 66-76; Home Games Left: 0

Box, Wrap, Indy Week, Herald-Sun

Dane De La Rosa’s fourth pitch to the Knight’s catcher Josh Phegley was a strike, and Phegley knew it. He swung. He missed. The 2012 season of the Bulls at the DBAP was over. 

Yes, the Bulls have two more games to play and I’ll be doing some more charts and graphs and summing up. But, unless I decide to go to that AAA National Championship game, that was the last baseball action I’ll see at the DBAP this year. Very likely the last time on the DBAP grass for a lot of the Bulls and Knights as well.

I am a die-hard Alexander Torres skeptic, but after a slightly shaky start last night, he was brilliant. It was easily his best game of the 26 he’s appeared in this year: 10 Ks, 1 walk (!), only 3 hits. He simply had the Knights in his hand. As a fan I personally appreciate Charley Montoyo taking Torres out of the game after his 2 K’s at the top of 6th because it gave all of us a chance to show our appreciation as Torres walked off the field. Mr. Torres has had some awful experiences on the mound this year, but it certainly looks like his trip to Florida for the month of August fixed something (for details, see Adam Sobsey’s account at the Indy Week link). He’ll have some time to keep working on whatever he’s been working on. Will he be the pitcher so many think he can be next year? We’ll see.

Ryan Reid got the win. That gives me a chance to thank him for his work this year. Something of an everyman for the Bulls: 46 appearances, 79 innings, decent ERA, a couple of spot starts, no trips to the DL. And I love that distinctive pitching motion of his.

Frank De Los Santos had part of an inning, then Dane De La Rosa came in for his 20th save. Together, Bulls pitching accumulated 15 strikeouts, the best 9-inning performance of the year.

Meanwhile, to give him his due, Charlotte’s Charles Shirek pitched a very solid eight innings, saving the Knight’s bullpen for the playoffs. He only made two mistakes: a walk to Cole Figueroa and a pitch to Brooks Conrad that was crushed over the right field wall, scoring the only runs of the game.

All was well at the DBAP last night. If the season had to end, and it did, it ended with interesting baseball. What more could we ask for?

Outside the game —

• Brandon Gomes got called up to the Rays.
• At .308, Leslie Anderson is 6 points back of the leader in the batting title competition.
• The Montgomery Biscuits clinched a playoff berth in the Southern League.

Five W's Are Good

Box, Wrap, Herald-Sun

Season: 64-72; Home Stand: 5-3; Bulls v. Tides: 11-7

Home Games Left: 3

Box, Wrap, Herald-Sun

The Herald-Sun is reporting that Jeff Neimann’s pitching hand is OK after X-rays did not find a fracture. Fans were worried when they saw the ball hit Niemann and his very awkward, looping toss to Anderson at first base to end the inning. Niemann then met the Bulls trainer at the top of the dugout steps and disappeared into the clubhouse.

I haven’t been able to make many games of this next-to-last home stand, so it was fun to be at one of the better ones. Great to see the Bulls have a nice winning streak near the end of the season. 

As careful readers will know, I’m not the best judge of pitching talent. Nevertheless, it seems clear to me that even before his injury Niemann was not ready for prime time, unless he was working on specific issues without regard to the game. The first batter hit a home run. He gave up a walk in the 2nd and a single in the 3rd. The 4th was something of a mess with a single, double, walk, single, and sac fly scoring a couple of runs before he got the last out with two men on base. So far with the Bulls he’s gotten in 8⅓ innings, 17 hits, 3 BB, 4 Ks, 1 HR for an ERA of 7.56.

Fortunately, Ryan Reid, Frank De Los Santos, and Dane De La Rosa were on their games. For the next five innings they held the Tides to just 2 hits.

Meanwhile, the Tides’ young Zach Clark absolutely dominated the Bulls the first time through the order, but had trouble the second time through. In the 4th, two walks and a single got a run across (but then he struck out the next two batters). In the 5th, however, the Bulls got to him with the help of visiting major leaguer Sean Rodriguez, playing shortstop. His two-run double capped off a three-run inning, and that would be enough to win the game.

A glance at the International League hitting stats show just how tight the race for the batting title is. The Bulls’ Leslie Anderson ended the night leading the league at .313, but he’s only 1 percentage point in the lead. The key “lurker” on the list is the Bulls’ Rich Thompson at .305. No doubt this is going to go down to the wire. One of the players on the list, Mauro Gomez of the Pawtucket Red Sox, has been called up. That means his numbers are fixed. If everyone drops below .310, Gomez wins. Of course, after that Red Sox-Dodgers deal yesterday, maybe the entire PawSox team will get called up.

Outside the Game

• In his column yesterday Adam Sobsey took a look at a couple of Bulls prospects for a September call-up: Stephen Vogt, Chris Gimenez, Leslie Anderson, Tim Beckham, Dane De La Rosa, and Cole Figueroa get profiled.
• The Pawtucket Red Sox and the Lehigh Valley IronPigs are neck and neck for the wild card slot. Worth checking out fan blogs up that way, Bacon and Biscuits (Iron Pigs) and PawSox Heavy (PawSox).