One Hit; 12 Ks

Season: 19-29; Home Stand: 4-5; Bulls vs. Tides: 1-4; Standings
Box, Wrap, Herald-Sun

All the stories essentially point out that the Bulls just barely avoided being no-hit and the pitcher Chris Archer had 12 Ks. For example, from the Bulls’ Wrap:

The Tides’ near no-hitter masked Chris Archer’s dominant performance. The Clayton, NC native Archer struck out a career high 12 batters, just one K shy of tying the Bulls single season mark. He threw 6.0 innings, allowing 5 hits and 3 runs that were all earned. He was pulled in favor of Ryan Reid after throwing 97 pitches.

I don't want to diminish Archers' achievement, but let’s not get too carried away here. Let’s take a look at the three innings before the tarp was pulled on the field for a rain delay (and I went home and watched the finish of the game on television). In the 1st inning a walk, single, and hit batter filled the bases before Archer struck out two to end the inning. The 2nd inning was very nice with 2 Ks and a fly out. But then in the 3rd a single, walk, K, single (1 RBI), triple (2 RBI) put three runs across before the 2 Ks. So, yes, he can obviously throw strikes and he was throwing them at 96-97 mph at the end of this outing. You know, and this is pure guesswork, what would happen if he stopped trying to strike everyone out?

In the meantime, no Bulls were hitting the ball and almost none were getting on base until a 9th inning flub let a runner on and Matt Mangini got the Bulls only hit of the night that loaded the bases. Leslie Anderson hit into a double play to end the game.

Oh yeah, Jhonny Nunez made the trek back from Hudson Valley to come on in relief in the 9th. He gave up a home run, but looked none the worse for wear for his travel.

Outside the game

• Just for the record, the reason that Nunez was able to return from exile was that the Texas Rangers claimed John Gaub off waivers opening up the roster spot. Gaub has been sent to the Rangers' Triple-A club, the Round Rock Express.
• The move to Pennsylvania has not gone well for Kyle Hudson.
• But the fellow for whom he was traded, Rich Thompson, has been the subject of several articles, including this one. [thanks, DRR]
• Here’s an interesting piece on how the Bulls have been coping with Hideki Matsui’s presence. An online search implies that the Hampton Roads/Norfolk folks are oblivious to Godzilla’s arrival on Saturday. Do they know something we don’t? Is Godzilla going to Boston with the Rays? 
• As I write this endurance runner Diane Van Deren is making her way around Falls Lake on her trek from Clingman’s Dome to the the Outer Banks.
• For something really outside the game, what about those olympic table tennis trials that were held in Cary?

Matsui Wins a Game for the Bulls

Season: 19-27; Home Stand: 4-3; Bulls vs. Knights: 4-7; Standings
Box, Wrap, Herald-Sun

No doubt the stars of last night’s game were Hideki Matsui, Jesus Feliciano, and Lance Pendleton, but here’s the headline I wanted to write,

Brandon Gomes Gives Up a Run! ERA Soars to 0.69!

If Gomes hadn’t given up the run in the top of the 9th, then the Bulls wouldn’t have needed the heroics. On the other hand, an ERA of 0.00 can’t go on forever. Perhaps Gomes was being too cautious. He had Knights Hector Giminez down two strikes, but walked him on the next four pitches. On the next pitch Jordan Danks hit a double and Gimenez scored from first base. Gomes, very likely not happy with himself, struck out the next two batters.

Of course, the Bulls were only ahead by one run going into the 9th and both of those runs depended on mistakes by Charlotte that let runners advance. Otherwise, Bulls bats were very quiet.

The baseball gods were paying attention when we mentioned yesterday that Hideki Matsui had done nothing to help the Durham Bulls during his stay with them. That held true for his first four at-bats, included one that left his bat in three pieces between home plate and just in front of the second baseman. But then reliable hero Jesus Feliciano got on base in the bottom of the 10th and the gods of baseball decreed that Matsui could whack a one-out single to right field to win the game.

It was a game-winning hit. It was hit with authority. And it was the first of his admittedly few his to right field. Could I have been wrong?

Lance Pendleton has had three consecutive no-decisions. Too bad. Unlike his last outing, which was pretty shaky, last night was just fine. He’s become a reliable member of the rotation. Nice to have him with us.

Nice little crowd of 3,000+ in the DBAP. I guess it’s selfish of me, but sometimes it’s nice to pretty much have the place to ourselves without all the raucous clatter that makes for “family entertainment”. I didn’t plug my radio into my ear. I didn’t get out my scorebook. I chatted with the folks nearby. Strolled around a bit. Weather was perfect (except for that odd little mini-cloudburst at the end). And the Bulls won. Perfect.

Outside the game

• Transactions affecting the Bulls are not going to let up for a long while. To deal with yet another injury, the Rays reached out for an infielder named Drew Sutton. We saw Sutton when he was playing for the Gwinnett Braves earlier this year. 
• To make room for Sutton someone had to go off the 40-man roster and that someone was Durham Bulls reliever John Gaub. He’s been designated for assignment, which means that there’s ten days for legal/contractual mumbo-jumbo to ensue. Gaub may or may not be with the Bulls at the end of that time and it doesn't have to take ten days.
• Catcher Jose Lobaton should be with the Bulls today on a rehab assignment.
• A glance at the Rays’ 40-man roster shows six players on the 15-day DL: Catcher Lobaton, infielders Longoria and Keppinger, and outfielders Allen, Guyer, and Jennings. As they get heathy you can expect more transactions.
• The odd man out is Bulls shortstop Reid Brignac, who has missed the last several games with quad/back problems, but is not on any disabled list. He is only current Bulls position player on the Rays 40-man roster, but apparently not available to go up to fill in for this last Rays injury.

Have to pass on Stacy Long’s lead:

Promising youngster Hideki Matsui hit an RBI single to end [the Bulls game].

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!

Pain

Season: 15-26; Home Stand: 0-2; vs. Red Sox: 0-6; Standings
Box, Wrap, Herald-Sun, Indy Week

Seeing all these big name baseball stars can be fun. But only if you’re not a fan of Durham Bulls baseball. In that case, not so much. In fact, watching Durham Bulls baseball is painful.

I once had a stretch of several months when I spent an inordinate amount of time in a dentist’s chair. That’s what last night was like. I felt a bit like the Dustin Hoffman character in Marathon Man.

I know it’s masochistic of me to do this (and perhaps sadistic to inflict it on you), but let’s go over last night. In the 1st inning, after two outs, Lance Pendleton walked the next two batters. But he got away with it. In the 2nd inning he started out with two BBs. Even with a double play, one of the walks scored. In the 3rd inning after two outs, he walked a batter, but, as in the 1st, got away with it.

[Is that a mosquito in my ear? Am I having a flashback? Are the screams for Matsui or the “Yuuk! Yuuk! Yuuk!” cheers morphing into some weird auditory hallucination?]

The 4th inning’s walk came after only one out. That runner was wild-pitched into scoring position, but Pendleton escaped unharmed. The 5th inning, ahhh, the 5th inning. No walks here. Just pure baseball: single, double, home run, single, single off the team of Lance Pendleton and Romulo Sanchez.

But wait, here comes the 7th inning. Two outs. Gaub on the mound. Walk. Reid comes in. Walks his first batter. Runners on first and second. A run scores on a single to right. That play was highlighted by a really crappy throw by Jeff Salazar, although I think the run would have scored anyhow. (Red Sox ahead 5-4). 8th inning. Two outs followed by a walk, but no runs score. 9th inning. Two outs followed by a walk.

For those who might be counting (not really a mentally healthy activity under the circumstances) Bulls pitchers walked 7 batters after they had two outs last night. (11 overall, but who’s counting?)

As the Herald-Sun quoted Charley Montoyo after the game:

No excuses — tough to watch when you keep walking people. This game was the story of the whole season: Leaving people on base and walking people.

I guess I didn't mention that the Bulls left 10 runners on base. Charley has it right.

But new guy Hideki Matsui did get his first hit. It was a pretty wall-ball double that scored two runs.

Outside the game

• It becomes more clear why Kyle Hudson was shipped off to Hudson Valley yesterday. Sometime in the past few days recently called-up Brandon Guyer was injured. Showing (what’s the right word here? Contempt?) extreme lack of confidence in either Jesus Feliciano, Jeff Salazar, Leslie Anderson, Henry Wrigley, or Mr. Hudson, the Rays went off to the Phillies to get a guy who has had one major league at bat. How can that not work on the heads of the Durham Bulls outfield?
• Most recent word out of St. Pete is that Will Rhymes, who collapsed on the field after being hit by a pitch last night, is OK. Good news. The hammering we’re hearing from down that way is coming from the crews hard at work expanding the Rays’ rehab facility. Depending on how you want to count them, at least 10 Rays are on a disabled list.

Chart of the Day

Walks/Hits per Inning

WHIP is not particularly popular with the stats geeks. But it's an easy stat to compute and understand. Essentially, WHIP tells you how many guys get on base per inning. Sabermetrics guys think that 1.62 is awful. We've got a bunch of guys well above awful and only a few who make the "average" (1.32) cut line. I left Josh Lueke on the chart because I'm guessing he will be coming back in a day or so.

Bulls Help Chiefs to a Win

Box, Wrap
Season: 12-22; Trip: 1-2; Standings

When the pitchers give up 11 walks and two critical errors are made at third base, it’s hard to win the game. Even if not every one of those free passes had scored, there was the other 15 hits (4 doubles) that helped. Put another way, pitching was a problem last night.

Alex Cobb left the game in the second inning “due to illness”. No further information is available yet. And illness is very plausible. He certainly wasn’t himself. I’m not sure what John Gaub’s and Jhonny Nunez’ excuses were.

Gaub had been doing just fine (well, maybe OK is a better term) this year in his very brief appearances. He usually is in for only one or two batters. Last night he faced 8 batters, walked 5 of them, and gave the Chiefs two free runs. At the beginning of the inning the Chiefs had been ahead 8-2 and Charley Montoyo will, on occasion, leave a pitcher hanging in the breeze apparently to see how he responds.

But those two runs made it 10-2. The huge Bulls comeback in the top of the 8th, six runs on a Mangini grand slam and Feliciano double, still left the Bulls two runs behind.

No matter. Nunez gave up 5 runs on 4 hits and two walks (his ERA ballooned from 5.20 to 6.27 on the evening).

Outside the game:

• Something we see very little at AAA level is defensive shifting. That’s partially due to lack of data. But the Rays are getting a lot of attention these days for their shift tactic.
• No word yet on whether or not the Bulls will get anyone to fill in for Brandon Guyer. Worrisome since this umpiring crew threw a Chiefs player and their manager out of the game last night. That’s four ejections in the last two games.

Chart(s)

How About Them Rays ?

This is the season’s running total of runs scored minus runs allowed. If you crank that through the Pythagorean Expectation formula you see that they are doing a good bit better than would be “expected.” In general, deviation from the expectation is attributed to luck and relief pitching. The Rays are first place in the American League East. The trend is a 10 game moving average. We last looked at the Bulls about a week ago.

How About Them Biscuits?

The Biscuits (the Rays AA team over in Montgomery, Alabama) are right at their “expectation”. They are in 4th place in the Southern League’s South Division.

'Splain This to Me

Right-handed reliever Brandon Gomes is coming back to the Bulls.

I am always ready to learn something about this puzzling game. More so since I started this blog and started paying attention to some of the little stuff.

Here is what was reported on the  Rays website:

Because of the workload, Gomes was optioned to Triple-A Durham following the game. The Rays will make a corresponding move before Sunday’s contest.

Tampa Bay Times writer Marc Topkin expanded on the comment slightly here. Stacy Long over in Montgomery has this take.

What puzzles me is the “workload” comment. Gomes has pitched a grand total of 10⅔ innings all year (6 with the Bulls and 4⅔ with the Rays). This was over 10 appearances (5 with the Bulls, 5 with the Rays). He has pitched the least number of innings of any pitcher on the Rays roster. So, what "workload"? I’m guessing that something else is afoot.

In the meantime, we can speculate on who will be called up to replace him.

Note: Gomes surely won’t show up with the Bulls for a couple of days, but one of the Bulls pitchers will likely be heading for St. Pete today. It's possible that whomever has been called is already on his way to be there for today’s game.

Choices: Dane De La Rosa, Josh Lueke, Cesar Ramos, John Gaub, Alexander Torres.

Gonna be tough on the Bulls’ staff because last night's postponement is going to mess with the pitching rotation and the Bulls hit the road for Syracuse, New York after tonight's games.

* * * * *

Update: It's Cesar Ramos. Well-deserved! Good luck!

Best Bulls Game Yet

Season: 10-19; Home Stand: 4-4
Box, Wrap, Indy Week, Herald-Sun

Pitchers pitched, hitters hit, fielders fielded. What more could you ask for in a baseball game? A win? That too.

All in all a very satisfying game.

Alex Cobb had a couple of tough moments in the 6th and 7th innings. But he was helped out by decent fielding (and poor base-running) in the 6th and relief pitching in the 7th.

In that 7th lefty John Gaub came in for one batter and struck him out. Is he a LOOGY-in-training for the Rays?

He was followed by Dane De La Rosa who got the final out of the 7th inning and stayed for the 8th and 9th. De La Rosa made a terrific comeback from that disaster the night before last. Here he went 2⅓ with one BB and 4 Ks.

The hitters: Everyone got at least one hit except for Shawn O’Malley, but even O’Malley got an RBI with a grounder in the 2nd with Vogt on third base and one out. Of note was Stephen Vogt getting his first home run of the year, Reid Brignac hitting a double, and Matt Mangini a double. Brandon Guyer returned to the lineup and hit a couple of singles.

The fielding: Jeff Salazar made an important catch and then threw out a runner who was trying to make it from third to home. Pretty straightforward play, but nice to see. As was an astute play of a carom off the right field wall by Brandon Guyer in the 6th that held a Bat to a single.

A good day at the DBAP.

Outside the game

• A few days ago we provided a link that discussed the knuckleball. But whatever happened to the spitball? Inquiring minds want to know. And Tampa Bay’s Jim Hickey might have a couple of answers.

Chart of the Day — ERA

It's been quite a while since we looked at the team, starter, and reliever ERA trends. Things are getting better. Nice to see. Nevertheless, the team ERA of 5.29 is still the worst in the International League (behind Louisville at 4.96), so there's a ways to go to get back on track.

On to Rhode Island

Game 15, Thursday, April 19, Knights Stadium
Charlotte Knights 6, Durham Bulls 2
Season: 6-9; This Trip: 1-7
Box, Herald-Sun

What a refreshing start to a game. For a change, the Bulls had a non-struggling starting pitcher on the mound. After a long, long, long layoff (9 days), courtesy of our great good friends down in St. Petersburg, Alex Cobb was back in a Durham uniform. His line doesn’t look all that impressive, especially with the 6 walks he gave up. But as near as I could tell from the radio, he was doing just fine until he walked the first batter in the 7th. At that point, with 90 pitches thrown, Dane De La Rosa came in.

Even then things looked OK. De La Rosa struck out the first two batters he faced even though Cobb’s runner made it to second base on a steal. But then he walked the bases loaded and John Gaub came in and gave up a bases clearing double and then another double.

If you are into statistical trivia, of the four runs scored in the 7th inning, the first run was charged to Cobb, then next two to De La Rosa, and the last to Gaub.

As long as I’m feeling grumpy, let me point out that the Bulls haven’t hit a single home run on this road trip. If fact, the Bulls last homer was back on April 9, ten games ago, by Brandon Guyer.

Off to Pawtucket, Rhode Island. This trip is half over!

Outside the game:

• If you want to see some beautiful, beautiful baseball photos by the Magnum service, take a look at these.  ( I will sneak one in at the bottom. I can always delete it later). 
• The Rays have claimed a first baseman, Brandon Allen, off waivers and outfielder, former Bulls shortstop, B.J. Upton, is due to come off of the disabled list. Even with the Rays skill at manipulating the roster rules, the likelihood is that two position players are going to have to get off the 25-man roster bus. Stephen Vogt thinks he may be one of them. The other?
• By the end of this trip, the Bulls will have put on roughly 2,100 miles. If they had spent it all on the bus that would be something like 38 hours just on the road.

Magnum Photos, Slate Magazine

Albernaz Throws Perfect Inning

Game 8, Thursday, April 11, Coolray Field, Lawrenceville, Georgia
Gwinnett Braves 7, Durham Bulls 1
Box, Herald-Sun, play-by-play

Just to get this off on the right foot to all those who remember Pogo: Friday the 13th comes on Friday this month (that would be today)!

The 14th pitcher to take the mound for the Durham Bulls in 2012 and the fifth, and arguably the most successful, last night, was ... catcher Craig Albernaz! That’s a hint on how the night went down in Georgia.

After pitcher Bryan Augenstein came up with a sore elbow (he's now on the 7-day DL), the Bulls took a “starter by committee” approach with the first pitcher out of the box being former Brave Jhonny Nunez. He was followed by Ryan Reid, Romulo Sanchez, John Gaub, and Albernaz. Pretty ugly all around, with only Gaub and Albernaz having scoreless outings.

None of the Bulls did very well at bat and Beckham (2 errors) and Miranda (3 errors) were awful in the field.

Shake it off!

Outside the game:

• The Bulls are playing at Coolray field, a new facility not far from Atlanta. It hasn’t been treated very kindly by the folks who judge ballparks, such as Stadium Journeys and Ballpark Reviews. Brian Merzbach over at Ballpark Reviews was particularly harsh:

It is a great example of how a minor league ballpark is now more of a playground for spoiled suburban kids than it is a place to watch a baseball game. 

• Former Bull Jeremy Hellickson is reported to be OK.
• Rays catcher (and former Bull) Jose Lobaton is reported to have a hurt shoulder. That could shake up some rosters, including the Bulls. Slightly surprised that Robinson Chirinos isn’t included in the speculation.
• Former Bull Dirk Hayhurst adds in his two cents to the Guillen controversy.
• Johnny Damon signing with the Indians means that there’s one more guy in the way of former Bull Russ Canzler getting to the big leagues. Too bad.

Thriller in the Ninth

Game 3, Saturday, April 7, DBAP
Durham Bulls 6, Gwinnett Braves 5
Box, Wrap, Herald-Sun
Season: 2-1; Games left in home stand: 4

Talk about ups and downs. The Bulls weren't exactly cruising, but at the top of the 9th we felt comfortable enough to start heading for the gate. New guy Romulo Sanchez had a good rep, so even if the Bulls were only up by one run, it seemed as if the game was in hand.

A walk, a hit batter, a sacrifice, and a single later, Mr. Sanchez was being helped off the field and the Bulls were down by one run with Braves on the corners. Cesar Ramos came in and gave up a walk, but got out of the inning on a double play. But with the score now 5-4 it sure looked like the Bulls were, at best, heading for another extra inning game.

Not so fast. Tim Beckham draws his second walk of the night to lead off the 9th. Brandon Guyer moves him to second. Matt Mangini singles Beckham in and is replaced by pinch runner Jesus Feliciano. Leslie Anderson's second double of the evening brings Feliciano around for the win.

This was the second come from behind win in the first three games.

There's nothing in Bryan Augenstein's recent history to show him to be a starting pitcher. In 2011, for example, he was in 26 AAA games, all but one as a reliever. And yet, after a tricky first inning when his own fielding error set up a run, he had a very impressive six innings. He finished out the 6th by striking out the side — 8 Ks, 0 walks, 1 ER. Of his 80 pitches, he threw 61 for strikes.

Recent arrival John Gaub didn't look all that great, but Brandon Gomes kept things on track until Sanchez' troubles in the 9th.

In the meantime, the Bulls collected their first extra base hits of the year. Brandon Guyer and Jeff Salazar hit home runs, Chris Gimenez had a double and, as mentioned, Leslie Anderson had two.

We saw Will Rhymes at third base last night and Shawn O'Malley at second base. O'Malley did just fine. Notable was a couple of heads up moments covering first base.

Anderson showed some flash with the glove and at bat. Trying to work his way back to the 40-man?

At the time of this writing, no news regarding Sanchez's injury.

The Braves Julio Teheran looked nothing like the pitcher we saw last year. The Bulls got to him by the 2nd inning, forcing the Braves once again deep into their bullpen.

Beautiful late afternoon game at the DBAP. Chris Archer tomorrow.

Outside the game:

• The DBAP comes in as #2 in AAA according to a new rating.
• The Biscuits lost to the Wahoos 4-5.
• After all the demolition, big changes underneath the stands. And changes coming on the outside.
• Josh Leuke, who sort of started the years with the Bulls, did not have an auspicious beginning as a Tampa Bay Ray reliever: 1 1/3 inning, gave up 3 runs on 3 hits with 2 walks.

Here We Go

Photo By Travis Long, News and Observer

Game 1, Thursday, April 5, DBAP
Durham Bulls 4, Gwinnett Braves 3 (12 innings)
Season: 1-0
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Indy Week, N&O

The weather was cold and ugly. The baseball had its good and not so good moments. Nevertheless, what seemed to be one of the longest and oddest winters ever is over. Baseball is back.

First impressions of the team are pretty positive. Will Rhymes brought a lot to the game and Chris Gimenez is looking to be a terrific catcher (note his interview on WRAL yesterday) A commenter noted that Shawn O'Malley was Tampa Bay's Organization Baserunner of the Year a couple of years ago. He missed some time with a shoulder injury, but did just fine last night after coming in to run for Mangini and then playing the last several innings. Looks like I might have to eat my words regarding the lack of speed on this team.

Gwinnett used nine pitchers, including former Bull Adam Russell. I thought he would have stuck with Atlanta. Guess not. The Bulls used seven pitchers and, except for the home run given up by Romulo Sanchez Cesar Ramos, they looked just fine. Alex Cobb, coming off his surgery, looked particularly good. In previous seasons, Tampa Bay has limited starters to 75 pitches. Cobb went five full innings and 89 pitches, so I'm guessing that they are trusting Neil Allens' judgment.

My first impressions of the new broadcaster Patrick Kinas are positive. Keeps his (and our) heads in the game. Has obviously been talking to the players a lot. Very knowledgeable on minor league baseball. Kept his voice for four hours. Pretty good.

Outside the game:

• The Rays pulled the trigger on Bulls pitcher Josh Lueke's assignment and he is on his way (or already there) to St. Petersburg. 
• The Rays claimed a left-handed pitcher from the Cubs organization, John Gaub, and put him on the 40-man. Pretty sure he will end up in Durham in the next couple of days.
• Local TV station WRAL spent a lot of time at the DBAP yesterday. See here and here.
• The Durham Bulls did not make Baseball America's Top 10 minor league team list, and neither did any other International League team.