Hellickson Wins at the DBAP

Happy 4th of July!

Photo by Christine Nguyen, Durham Herald-Sun

Season: 48-41; Home Stand: 2-0
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

As Bulls fans what we want to see are pitchers who don’t lose control of the game. That’s what we saw last night. It wasn’t the champion we were seeing back in 2010, but Jeremy Hellickson seemed to have a grip on things. Of course, in the stands we are never quite sure what’s really going on in circumstances like this. For example, Hellickson seemed to be throwing a lot of off-speed stuff. Was that because that was his (and Solis’ and Acosta’s) read of the situation or was it because that was his goal for the game, to work on his curveball? We will never know. The important thing is that he stayed in the game and got his first win for the Bulls.

If I were a Rays fan I’d have to say that Hellickson does not look quite ready, although that does not necessarily mean that he won’t be showing up on the mound for the Rays on his next start. He is on the same schedule as Rays’ starter Bedard (who began season with Bulls) who had a really bad night last night.

Outside of watching Hellickson show off that he’s not really a Durham Bull by wearing his long trousers, it was a fun night with every Bull getting a hit except for Mike Fontenot and activated-for-the-day Mayo Acosta. But even Fontenot got into the act in the 7th. In what sure looked like a tactical error on the part of the Braves, Fontenot came to bat with runners on 2B and 3B and was given an intentional walk to get at Mikie Mahtook, one of the top hitters in the league. Yes, there was just one out, but Mahtook drove in a run as did Jeremy Moore who followed.

Gotta love Justin Christian’s work over these two games. Big hits, big plays in right field.

Catcher Ali Solis’ got a finger on his right hand mashed when he attempted a bunt in the 2nd inning. He tried again and ran out a bunt single. He ended the inning on 3rd base and put on the gear to start the 3rd, but apparently he could not hold a grip on the ball. Mayo Acosta, who had been activated when Vince Belnome went up to the Rays, was already in his gear and came into the game. Wonder what effect that has on a pitcher to have his catcher changed on him?

Outside the game —

• Interesting piece in the New York Times on how dominant the pitchers are this year.
• Sometimes we are slow to notice the obvious. This year for the first time we have beer vendors walking around at the DBAP — except they can’t say that they are selling beer! They are selling “ice colds” and they hold up the cans, and they announce “last call” near the end of the game, but apparently they can’t say the word, “beer.”
• Then there’s a foghorn-voiced fellow selling peanuts who at least once a game somehow succeeds in evoking a call and response from youngsters in the crowd. Great fun to listen to. 
• Herald-Sun’s paywall does not seem to be up (or maybe isn’t working). Nice summary of Jeremy Hellickson’s career as a Durham Bull by Harold Gutmann today.

Hot Times at the DBAP

Season: 47-41; Home Stand: 1-0
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Game time temp 96°! Welcome to summertime North Carolina! And a hurricane is on the way, even if only aimed at the coast.

I filled out my scorecard with Vince Belnome at 1B batting seventh and did not notice that he wasn’t on the field, but leaning against the railing of the dugout. Turns out Jayson Nix was a last minute sub at first base but I didn't figure that out until the 2nd inning. We gossiped and guessed most of the evening and learned this morning that he is apparently on his way to join the Rays. Here’s hoping that his stay is better and longer than the one-game visit he had at the first of the year.

Bulls fans are happy to see Alex Colome back from Tampa Bay and seeing him in good form against the team the Bulls need to beat to win in the South. He did give up a rare home run (only his second this year), but otherwise had a very solid 100 pitch, very efficient (4.76 pitches per out), 7 inning win.

Things seem right in the world when Justin Christian put a home run over the Bull in the 1st and then went on to collect a double and a single for his best night in quite a while. Not to mention several very solid plays in right field. Equally fun to watch was the sequence that began with two outs in the second inning. Robby Price (3 for 3 on the night) bunted himself on and then teased Gwinnett’s pitcher to the point that he ended up with a 3-2 count on Jayson Nix. Price was off on the 3-2 count and easily scored on Nix’s double. If Price had not been running on 3-2, if, if, if. Could have been the winning run, but Mikie Mahtook crushed one in the 5th with two on to put the Bulls ahead for good.

Bulls win and a food truck rodeo, what more can you ask for? Maybe just a little bit cooler?

Outside the game —

• The Rays are a famously data-driven team. But from time to time Manager Maddon’s approach borders on rank superstition, as pointed out by Rays Index recently. Were a voodoo priestess' readings of chicken bones behind the Rays spending $3,300,000 on a 15 year-old in the international draft? 
• Jeremy Hellickson to make his fifth rehab start for the Bulls today. Hope springs eternal. He is at the end of his rehab assignment limit. Not sure what that could mean for him or the Bulls if he cannot reach his 90 pitch limit.

Split; Off to the Sox

Season: 45-38; Home Stand: 2-6
Wrap, Box, Indianapolis

Rehabbing Jeremy Hellickson extended his losing streak to four (although I’m not sure exactly why since he only allowed one run ...yet another scoring rule I don’t understand). But neither Jake Thompson nor Doug Mathis were exactly stellar since they gave up 5 earned runs between themselves. Doug Mathis does deserved some points for just getting through 4 innings leaving some flex in the bullpen for today’s game in Pawtucket. Mikie Mahtook’s home run came late, but it came. He remains the most reliable Bulls hitter.

Jeremy Moore delivered two perfect throws to the plate to prevent runs and two double plays show that it could have been worse.

Some (much) credit must go to Indianapolis' Casey Sadler, who pitched a fine game for the Indians.

Matchup

The Bulls split a 4-game home series with the PawSox early in June. The Sox are doing pretty well in what is turning out to be the most competitive division in the IL. It looks like the Bulls have a slight edge in pitching and Merrill Kelly gets a start tonight ... a good thing. Should be a good series if the Bulls can get past knuckleballer Wright tonight.

Outside the game —

• Leslie Anderson continues doing well for the league-leading Yomiuri Giants (Japan Central League. A slash line of .311/.367/.467 with 31 RBI looks very good. 
• J.D. Martin is doing OK as a starter for the Samsung Lions in Korea.

Sad Six

Season: 43-35; Home Stand: 0-3; Streak: 0-6
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Rumor has it that Rays rehabber Jeremy Hellickson might be on his way back to the Rays after yesterday’s start. I hope so. Don’t let the door hit you on your way out. He’s 0-3 in three starts. In 10 innings he’s given up 26 hits and 12 earned runs, for an ERA of 10.8 (and an FIP of 3.50). To his credit, only 4 freebies (2 walks, 2 hit-by-pitch). [stats]

Is he the only reason the Bulls are losing? Well, it’s true that in the two games before mid-season the Bulls scored 21 runs. In the six games since mid-season, they have only scored 19 runs. Yesterday they didn’t score any. And he isn’t the only pitcher doing poorly. In that same six game stretch, Hellickson is only responsible for 8 runs. The other 50 (50!) are on other players, including the guys who committed 6 errors in those games.

Things will get better, but as Charlie Montoyo was quoted in today’s Herald-Sun, “We’re not playing very good. Bad baseball.”

Bad pitching isn’t helping. Updated from yesterday,

Mini-Sweep in Norfolk

Wrap, Box, Virginian-Pilot

Mike Montgomery had another very solid day on the mound while Wilson Betemit and Mike Fontenot feasted on Norfolk pitching. Mikie Mahtook had a very rare 0-fer, but got a RBI sac fly.

Season: 40-27; Road Trip: 2-0
Wrap, Box, Virginian-Pilot

For the first two innings Alex Colome was looking a bit shaky. But from the 3rd through the 7th he was back on his game. This was his third start since coming back and he is making a solid claim for promotion.

Meanwhile we noticed a nifty bit of quirkiness in the 2nd inning (that also got Mr. Colome out of some trouble). With a runner on third base and 1 out a ground ball went out to Mike Fontenot at 2B. The runner at third broke for the plate and Fontenot’s throw to Mayo Acosta at home was perfect: 4-2, for out #2 and a runner on 1B. Two pitches later the runner broke for second and Acosta’s throw to Fontenot was in time: 2-4, out #3 on your scoresheet. What more could a baseball geek wish for?

Mikie Mahtook’s home run (his third) in the second inning tied it up. Justin Christian doubled and then scored when he stole third base and the catcher’s throw went sailing past the third baseman. The 8th — single, double, single — ended with the bases loaded and a tough moment for Belnome when he struck out, one of three on the evening. We are confident he’s going to break out, but it sure seems like he’s slipping back into the slump that began his season.

Check out the Virginian-Pilot story linked to above. Tides’ manager is very impressed with Bulls pitching.

Outside the game —

• Former Bull Josh Lueke passed through waivers and is on his way back to the Bulls. His numbers last year with the Bulls were exceptional, with 17 saves and a stunningly low ERA of 0.63 over 57 innings. However, from a fan’s point of view he was a human rain delay. Since we frequently like to watch the 9th from the top of the Blue Monster, we sometimes felt we were never going to get back to our car. Still, we’d go home with a win. This year, he’s not having much success with the Rays (who is?).
• Rehabbing former Bull Jeremy Hellickson is expected to show up in Indianapolis for a start maybe tomorrow. (Per broadcaster Kinas).
• While listening Norfolk broadcasters, one of them went into a mild rant about the illegibility of the blue lettering on orange background of Bulls jerseys. Guess they were running out of things to say.

Matchup

These are the best two teams in the International League. The Indians have won their last three, the Bulls have won their last two. The Indians have led the West Division from the very beginning of the season. Their superstar prospect Gregory Polanco just got called up, so we will have to see what difference that makes. Statistically the teams are very evenly matched in hitting, but with a slight ½ run difference in ERA.

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.

Torres: Glass Half Full or Half Empty?

Game 7, Wednesday, April 11, DBAP
Durham Bulls 5, Charlotte Knights 4
Season: 5-2
Box, Wrap

I know that Alexander Torres is supposed to be a great prospect, but two starts into this season I’m not so sure. Now obviously this is just a look from very far off in the stands, but today’s 4 BB and 6 Ks was vaguely like the 3 BB and 7 Ks of his first start. And then there’s the 94 pitches in 4 1/3 innings on Friday and 96 pitches over 5 innings today. And let's not forget the wild pitch and hit by pitch today. Yes, the Knights only scored three runs, but one of those runs came from a walk and another came when a runner got in position on a wild pitch.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s worried. This looks very much like the Torres of 2011. Don’t get me wrong. I like having him in the rotation, but I’d be even happier if the young man were showing greater progress.

Meanwhile, the Bulls jumped on the Knights’ starter for three runs before the first out and four runs before the 1st inning was over. Almost enough to win the game although enough runs kept sneaking across to make the game very, very close until the end.

It turned out that the key play came on a near-routine fly ball by Brandon Guyer that was dropped by the Knights’ right fielder in the 7th allowing a run to score. Very unusually for the DBAP, the wind was whipping through the park all day. Did the Knights’ Shelton misjudge the ball or was he too intent on preventing the runner tagging up from third base? Impossible to tell, but that extra run made all the difference.

Very successful opening home stand. Too bad about this awful upcoming road trip. Fourteen games in 15 days in four different cities. That’s outlandishly bad scheduling.

Outside the game:

• Broadcaster Patrick Kinas reported that pitcher Bryan Augenstein has a sore elbow and that reliever Jhonny Nunez will get tomorrow’s start down in Gwinnett County. 
• Chris Richard was in the ballpark for what was reported to be his last time. He’s moving to California. 
• Former Bull Jeremy Hellickson was hit by a batted ball during warm ups today in Chicago. Reported to be OK, but taken to hospital.

Last Year's Durham Bulls: Pitchers

Here's what I've heard about last year's pitchers.

• Richard De Los Santos, 148 innings pitched, Durham Bulls
• Heath Phillips, 139 innings, Long Island Ducks
• Jeremy Hellickson, 117 innings, Tampa Bay Rays
• Aneury Rodriguez, 113 innings, Houston Astros
• Brian Baker, 105 innings, Durham Bulls
• Carlos Hernandez, 90 innings, ????
• Joe Bateman, 76 innings, Oakland Athletics
• Virgil Vasquez, 66 innings, LA Angels
• Dale Thayer, 60 innings, NY Mets
• Mike Ekstrom, 58 innings, Durham Bulls
• Winston Abreu, 55 innings, Toronto Blue Jays
• R.J. Swindle, 55 innings, Durham Bulls
• Darin Downs innings, 40, Florida Marlins

We had 11 pitchers with 20 innings or less (details here) and we'll surely be seeing some of them in 2011 (Cobb, Torres, McGee). If anyone can fill in the holes above I'll update this. Could swear that I heard something about Heath Phillips, but sure can't find my notes.

Update: April 19. Changes in italics

2010 Durham Bulls on the Rays Postseason Roster

The Tampa Bay Rays waited until the last minute to announce their postseason roster (they have to crunch down from the September 40-man limit to a 25-man limit). Just two of the August-September call ups from Durham made the cut, Dan Johnson and Desmond Jennings. At a stretch, I suppose Rocco Baldelli sort of fits that category, but he really wasn't with the Bulls for very long. Interesting choices for the Rays to make.

In addition, a couple of pitchers are reported to be "with the team" a category that does not make a whole lot of sense to us, but must to the Rays— Jeremy Hellickson and Jake McGee. Called up 2010 Bulls sent home were Mike Ekstrom and Dioner Navarro.

Playoff Pitching — 1

If any reader of this blog ever had any doubt that baseball is a demanding sport, consider this:

Of the five starting pitchers who began the 2010 for the Bulls, four are on the disabled list — Heath Phillips, Virgil Vasquez, Carlos Hernandez, and Jeff Bennett (who ended up in Nashville in the PCL league where he is on the DL). The exception, of course, is Jeremy Hellickson. And we will mention in passing our favorite guy, Jason Cromer, who never really showed up this year.

Meanwhile, according to Adam Sobsey over at Triangle Offense, this is the rotation that Charlie Montoyo is looking at for the playoffs:

Richard De Los Santos, Ramon Ortiz, Brian Baker, Aneury Rodriguez, Bobby Livingston.

We’ve got decent numbers on three of those guys, so here are their charts. Once they get a few more innings in, I’ll put up what we’ve got on Ortiz and Livingston.

A bit of apples and oranges here in terms of how each player got to where he is statistically. De Los Santos has, by far, the most innings and the most starts. But they all have been relievers and starters this year. The curves show what a steady performer De Los Santos has been all year, while Baker has been much more erratic (sometimes in a good way). At the moment, Baker certainly appears to be on a slight improvement trend while Rodriguez is on a very slight downward trend.

All-Stars!

The Durham Bulls dominated the International League All-Star/MVP roster. Take a look at this:

Most Valuable Player — Dan Johnson
Most Valuable Pitcher — Jeremy Hellickson
Manager of the Year — Charlie Montoyo

All-Stars

Third Base — Dan Johnson
Utility Player — Elliot Johnson
Starting Pitcher — Jeremy Hellickson

Here’s to the stars! Great season!

Baker Has a Great Start

Game 127: Durham Bulls 1; Norfolk Tides 0
Season: 80-47; Streak: 6-0
Wrap, Box

How about Brian Baker? He goes head-to-head with Norfolk’s Chris Tillman and over seven innings Baker gave up only one hit while Tillman gave up two. Baker left the game with a shutout. Plus the Bulls got a run at the beginning of the next inning so he got the win.

Baker has managed to put together quite a year for himself. He’s been in 34 games (9 starts), put together an ERA of 3.34, an FIP of 4.07, and is 8-4 on the year. He came to the Bulls as a long reliever, but has been thrown into the breach as a starter fairly often (we won’t look too closely at his last two starts). Not only that, he’s fun to watch.

R. J. Swindle and Winston Abreu came in to keep the Tides in check.

Desmond Jennings singled, stole second (33, tied for league high), and was driven in with a Justin Ruggiano double (his 29th, tied for 5th). That one run was enough for the Bulls 80th win this season.

Checking my charts I was surprised to notice that almost a month has gone by since Jeremy Hellickson essentially left the ranks of the Durham Bulls after a start on July 24 (I won’t count his 3 inning appearance on July 29). Since that time the Bulls are 20-7. Says a lot about this team that we can lose our best pitcher and our best hitter and keep on keepin’ on. Great job by the team and the coaches.

Over in the West Division of the International League things are really shifting around and Buffalo is lurking in the wild card race. Columbus just dropped out of first place and is a game behind Louisville. Worth keeping an eye on.

[Update: Missed this MiLB link this morning. Good quotes from Baker. Guess the guys had some fun the night before last.]

Marching Out of Georgia

Game 121: Durham Bulls 1; Gwinnett Braves 4
Season: 74-47
Wrap, Box

First inning, bases loaded, one out, no runs scored. Does that sound a bit familiar?

Hit into three double plays. How about that?

Those two scenarios seem a bit typical for the last couple of weeks. The four errors do not. That isn’t like the Bulls at all and I’m pretty sure we won’t see that again. At least I hope not. Nor losing a series. That hasn’t happened very much, if at all, this year.

Brian Baker did a very credible job. As did new guy Paul Phillips. Only one earned run was scored against the pitching staff.

Leaving Georgia yesterday was probably a good feeling. Too bad the Bulls only get to Fort Mill, SC and the Knights. Don’t know just what the accommodations there are like, but from a distance the field does not look like a great place to play.

The overall pitching situation is not getting better. The radio reported that Virgil Vasquez has knee problems. So that puts us with three (four if you count Jason Cromer) pitchers who aren’t readily available: Heath Phillips, Carlos Hernandez, and now Virgil Vasquez. Maybe what we really need to call up are reinforcements for trainer Roger Fleming.

As a side note, the roster on the Bulls website is different from the roster on the International League website. The IL roster shows Fernando Perez on the disabled list. However, the IL’s transactions list also tells us that outfielder Emeel Salem has gone back to Montgomery. Wonder if he had to drive himself to and from Laurenceville, GA? And did he enjoy the ride? Does he get to keep the uniform? The hat and batting helmet?

Jeremy Hellickson won another game yesterday. Less and less likely we’ll see him in a Bulls uniform again. But we didn’t think that would happen anyhow. A puzzle will be the status of Dan Johnson once Carlos Pena comes of the DL. He’s played in ten games and his numbers are not good at all. Nevertheless, his wOBA of .346 is better than a bunch of other players with the Rays (Aybar, Kapler, and more). So maybe someone else will get pushed off the ledge. Likely to depend as much on perceived team dynamics and contractual arrangements as immediate value to the team. Whatever’s decided, my guess is that it will only be for a couple of weeks until the rosters expand in September.

On the Road Again

Game 117: Durham Bulls 6; Charlotte Knights 2
Season: 73-44; Home Stand: 5-2; Games Left in Season: 26; Home Games 10
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Indy Week

Time to give Richard De Los Santos his due. We can do that by comparing his numbers against the Bulls’ ace, Jeremy Hellickson. That may seem odd, but just look at the them.

• Appearances: De Los Santos — 24 (19 starts), Hellickson — 21 (all starts)
• Record: DLS 12-5, H 12-3
• Innings pitched: DLS 127, H 117 ⅔
• ERA: DLS 3.61, H 2.45
• FIP: DLS 3.57, H 2.68

Not bad at all. De Los Santos obviously lets in more runs and, if watched closely, does not seem to have as much of that elusive “stuff” that Hellickson brings to the game. And yet he’s winning games.

Now, if he could just tuck his jersey in. Several times last night the ump asked him to tuck it in. Here’s where a careful reader can help me. The Bulls used to have an infielder who had a similar problem keeping his shirt in, but his name eludes me? Any help out there?

How important is De Los Santos? Very. His solid seven innings last night will make a huge difference over the next couple of days. The Bulls are still short, even with the return of Carlos Hernandez from the disabled list. We saw Hernandez warming up in the 6th inning and thought we might see him. But De Los Santos got out of the 6th and even through the 7th, giving some room for Joe Bateman’s two-inning save.

The hitters were in fine form last night. In fact, they have been in good form most of this home stand. In seven games, 75 hits, and that includes a game with only 3 hits and another with “only” 8. All this when the Bulls have been short pitchers and position players.

By now, the Bulls are in Georgia for the first time since their short, rainy visit in mid-June. This begins a round of 12 games in 11 days throughout the South — four games in Georgia, three games in South Carolina against Charlotte, five games in Virginia. This will be a time to remember that baseball’s a game and can be fun to play. I’m guessing that’s about the only way to get through this round.

Up in the northwest the news is that Louisville has had an extraordinary run and has pushed Columbus out of the lead in the West Division of the International League. Here in the South Division, the Bulls “magic number” is 11 [was 12, wrong, fixed]. Essentially, if the Bulls play .500 ball, they cannot be beaten.

Last night I turned a new page in my scorebook. I’ve been using the Reisner System and finding it very useful for the casual fan’s purposes. Worth a look if you’re one of those who takes a pencil to the ballpark.

Hellickson To Join Rays in Detroit

It’s a really old joke, but what the heck, I’m a really old guy.

Trust me. It’ll connect eventually.

At morning formation the company commander calls the First Platoon leader over.

“Lieutenant Daniels, we’ve just gotten word that Private Rogers’ mother has died. Give him the news and tell him he’s got a pass to go home for the funeral.”

Daniels walks back to his platoon and calls his platoon sergeant over. “Sergeant Donald, Private Rogers’ mom has died and I’m supposed to tell him. I’ve never had to do something like that. What should I do?”

In the great tradition of US Army sergeants, Sergeant Donald replied, “No problem, sir. I’ll take care of it.”

Donald turned to the platoon and snapped out a command, “First Platoon, Tenhut!”

The platoon snaps to a rigid attention, eyes to the front, heads still.

“Awright! Pay attention! Everyone who’s mother is still alive … One step forward ... March! …
Not so fast there, Rogers!”

So it might have been yesterday afternoon. Xavier Hernandez goes into the locker room to go over the Indianapolis lineup with his starter. When Hellickson stands up, he’s told to sit down. Or maybe asked where Rodriguez was. And then he was told to pack his glove he was headed for Detroit.

The Durham Herald-Sun is reporting that Hellickson is to pitch in tomorrow’s Rays’ game in Detroit.

Last Chance To See Hellickson?

In response to a reader’s question I did a simple run-through of the rest-of-the season schedule of the Bulls to see when Jeremy Hellickson will next pitch in Durham. The answer was that he will not be pitching here again in August and by September he will probably be with the Rays.

If we assume that the Bulls stick with a five-day rotation, then Hellickson would be scheduled to pitch today (Indianapolis), the 14th at Gwinnett, the 18th at Charlotte (there’s a makeup game that needs to be slipped in while at Gwinnett), the 23rd at Norfolk, and the 28th at Charlotte. The next game he’d be up for is on September 2 in Durham against Gwinnett. However, you have to think he’ll be with Tampa Bay by that time. Or even sooner if Jeff Niemann’s shoulder problems are worse than reported.

Today (Sunday, August 8) may be the last appearance of Jeremy Hellickson in Durham, ever.

Note for careful readers — if I’m wrong, and I hope I am — let me know soonest and I’ll get a correction up.

Broken String

Game 109: Durham Bulls 0; Pawtucket Red Sox 12
Season: 68-41; Trip: 6-1
Wrap, Box

All good things come to an end.

I was out yesterday evening. I got back to my car about 7:30, started it up, and switched the radio to 620. Neil Solondz was telling the world that Josh Reddick, Pawtucket’s leadoff batter, was coming up for the second time in the first inning. This is not good, I’m thinking. As it went on I got some background on the six runs that had come in prior to Reddick’s at bat and then Reddick singled in the seventh run of the inning. Drove on home. Didn’t listen to much more. A good thing, because it obviously got even worse.

Trivia: The first Bulls shutout since June 17, in Louisville, and only six on the year. That makes it a bit better.

Assuming that my experience is much like other Bulls fans who find something else to do when a game gets so terribly out of whack, you have to wonder about what’s happening inside the broadcaster’s head. He’s got to be wondering if there is really anyone out there listening anymore. What if he puts up the trivia question and no one even sends an emai, because no one is listening at all? Maybe that’s why they do the trivia question. Sort of the radio equivalent of tapping on the mike to check the sound system.

In this case there were two broadcasters in the booth last night, so they could at least chat with each other.

In the meantime, Tampa Bay has given Charlie Montoyo a management “challenge”: He’s short a starting pitcher and a starting position player. Plus he used his backup starter (Aneury Rodriguez) just to get through last night’s fiasco. To list available pitchers, with the date of their last appearance, he’s got Downs (Sunday, 2 innings), Ekstrom (Saturday, 1⅓), Swindle (Saturday, 1⅓), Bateman (Sunday, 1), Thayer (Sunday, 1), and Abreu (Saturday, 1). Wednesday is an off day, so that might put some more options on the table. Hellickson isn’t really available to go back into the rotation until Saturday at the earliest. What would you do? Gotta think that the Rays aren’t going to send anyone up from Montgomery to lend a hand when the Bulls have such a huge lead in the division. Character building experience?

Also not likely to get a fill-in for Dan Johnson, depending on how long his stay might be. Possibly no longer than it takes to get Tampa Bay first baseman Carlos Pena off the DL, but at least Dan goes on the 40-man. The result of the move might be more outfield time for Elliot Johnson and Chris Richard. Interesting that Joe Dillon has played first base the last two games. Maybe, just maybe, we will see Leslie Anderson come up from Montgomery.

[Update: It will be hard for Carlos Pena to come off the DL since he is not on it, as careful reader Chris D has pointed out. Rays reliever Andy Sonnanstine is the player who is on the disabled list, conveniently going there at about the same time that Hellickson was called up. So Sonnanstine is staying on the DL a bit longer — he has to stay for at least 15 days, but it was backdated. In the meantime, Dan has a chance to hit/play because Carlos Pena is hurt, but not on the DL. Make sense. No? Does it pass the, "So what," test? Probably not. But it does mean that if Dan is to stay with the Rays someone has to go. And that the Rays probably need to dump a relief pitcher in any case to make room for a guy they bought last week (Chad Qualls).]

In the meantime, our Jeremy Hellickson helped the Rays into a first place tie. Here are several links — everybody loved him:

• Rays Index
• Rays Prospects
• Tampa Tribune (interesting human interest stuff regarding Hellickson’s family)
• DRaysBay
• FanGraphs
• Process Report

Hellickson to Tampa Bay

According to several reports (St. Pete Times, Tampa Tribune, Rays Index) from down by the Bay, Jeremy Hellickson will be starting a game for the Tampa Bay Rays tomorrow (Monday). Rays manager Joe Maddon is quoted in a Tampa Tribune blog as saying:

“Everybody moves back, just one day for everybody,’’ Maddon said. ”He’s going to slide in on Monday. We’ll tell you the rest of the plot after that. Part of it is it’s just a situation where we just want to at this moment give the other guys a little bit more rest. It’s our attempt at being prudent at really monitoring their pitches and innings. It’s not about an injury. It’s about being comfortable with this pitcher as well as trying to give these other guys an extra day.“

We'll see.

Good luck, Jeremy.

Another Hot Night

Reminder: Tonight, Sunday, 25 July, the game is to start at 19:00, not 17:00

Game 100: Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay) 5; Syracuse Chiefs (Washington) 1
Season: 60-40; Home Stand: 4-2
Wrap, Box

Let’s start with a trivia question for serious baseball geeks: How do you get charged with an earned run without a batter getting an RBI? Or, to put the question in another way (that contains the answer to the first question), When someone steals home, who gets the RBI?

The answer is in last night’s box score. No one gets a RBI when a runner steals home, but the pitcher does get charged with an earned run.

In an otherwise superb outing, Jeremy Hellickson had a lapse in concentration with the Chief’s Brandon Whiting dancing around on third base in the 6th inning. He went into a full windup and Whiting was off for the plate, getting there about the same time as the ball. Heads up baseball on Whiting’s part and Mr. Hellickson did walk the batter at the plate. That was enough to bring in Mike Ekstrom to finish the inning. The steal had little effect on the game, but you have to wonder if Chief’s manager Trent Jewett was trying to get inside Charlie Montoyo’s head with that play and several others during the evening.

For example, he let his pitcher throw to Dan Johnson at the top of the 2nd. D.J. took it over the Blue Monster for home run number 28 and RBI number 88. But not after that. The next three at bats were walks, two IBB. Then he pulled a shift against Desmond Jennings, a right-handed batter, with Jose Lobaton on third base in the 8th, leaving only the first baseman on the right side of the infield. How weird is that? It worked. But very likely because Jennings didn’t step back and think about it for a second or two.

Justin Ruggiano was in fine form last night with two doubles, a single and a RBI. As frustrating as it has been this year watching Mr. Ruggiano strike out a lot, we need to point out that he’s gotten 45 RBI, third on the team behind Dan Johnson and Chris Richard. He may not be having a great year, but not awful either.

Elliot Johnson ticked over .300 last night with three singles and an RBI. And speaking of Elliot, over at The Life of a Baseball Wife are a couple of posts [here, here, here] giving an insiders look at the Triple-A All Star game. Fun reads.

Alvin Colina is out for the year with an ACL tear. We really like this guy and are sorry to see him go. Sad moment watching him on the ground past first base the other night.

Two former Bulls met in Cleveland last night, with David Price getting the better of Mitch Talbot. But not before Talbot struck out six Rays in a row to set a new Cleveland record. As a Bulls fan, we have to point out that Mitch Talbot did a lot more for the Durham Bulls that David Price ever did. Sure Price is the better pitcher, just not the better Durham Bulls pitcher. We are cheering for Mitch to have a great season with Cleveland.

NB: We stayed in the AC at home and watched on TV. Tonight? Maybe. If the Bulls can suffer for us, shouldn't we suffer for them?

Pitiful, Just Pitiful

Game 95: Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay) 3; Columbus Clippers (Cleveland) 8
Season: 56-30; Home Stand: 0-1
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Indy Week

Ugly, ugly, ugly. It was a pitiful performance by Durham pitchers. The 4th inning quite possibly the worst single inning of the year — 11 batters, 5 walks, 1 run scoring error, 2 hits, 5 runs, two Bulls pitchers.

Bulls broadcasters started making excuses for Jeremy Hellickson even before the game began, mentioning his fourteen days since his last Bulls start, his two innings at the Futures game (he should have gone just one?), the possibility that there might be some “rust”. As the game progressed there was a spate of blaming the ump, Derek Crabill, but since Columbus’ pitcher was getting the same calls, that didn’t fly. In the end, Hellickson was out of the game after 6 K’s, 5 BB’s, and 3 runs on 4 hits, leaving the bases loaded for Dale Thayer in the aforementioned 4th inning. Easily Hellickson’s worst start of the year. Possibly his worst start as a professional ballplayer.

Dale cleared out the debris by giving up a base-clearing double (adding three more runs to Hellickson's total), then loaded the bases himself with two walks. Still, he didn’t let any more runs in. That was left to Darin Downs, who coughed up two more runs on four more walks (that’s eleven if you’ve been counting) and a couple of hits.

I gave up at the end of the 5th and left the ballpark, but noticed that Brian Baker and Mike Ekstrom did decent jobs in the 7th, 8th, and 9th. Ekstrom did give up a BB for a season high 12 walks for the Bulls.

Carlos Hernandez, by the way, was put on the disabled list last night. A muscle strain of some sort, possible aggravated by a play at first base Sunday afternoon.

Moving right along, let’s just go on out to the Web World

• The Raleigh News & Observer did a not-very-timely profile on Jeremy Hellickson.
• Rays Index is reporting the Rocco Baldelli has signed a minor league contract with the Rays. He was before my time as a Bulls fans, but apparently he has a lot of Durham friends. He has been assigned to the Charlotte (Florida) Stone Crabs. We may see him in due time.
• Winston Abreu gets some love from DRaysBay with a plea for him to be called up.

Lastly, and very regretfully, is the news that Jon Weber, although retired, has received a 100 day suspension from major league baseball for his third positive test for a “drug of abuse.” Really sorry to hear it. Probably explains his sudden retirement.