The Durham Bulls in 2014 — The Hitters — Part 2

In Part 1 we put up a table of all the position players who came to bat in 2014 ordered by the numbers of games they played. Then we discussed four of those players. In this post we'll sort the table by wOBA (less two rehabbers who were left out of the sort) and continue our discussion.

Bulls Player Stats Sorted by wOBA

Name	Age	G	PA	AVG	OPS	wOBA	wRAA
Jerry Sands*	26	54	219	.268	.825	.369	6.8
Kevin Kiermaier*	24	34	143	.305	.823	.369	4.5
Jeremy Moore	27	55	218	.262	.827	.368	6.7
Mikie Mahtook	24	132	550	.292	.820	.366	16.1
Justin Christian	34	127	520	.271	.778	.350	8.8
Cole Figueroa*	27	71	312	.282	.761	.350	5
Vince Belnome*	26	118	492	.245	.740	.341	4.8
Jayson Nix	31	55	216	.272	.748	.339	1.6
Mike Fontenot	34	113	454	.276	.714	.328	-0.3
Curt Casali*	25	46	183	.237	.694	.322	-1
Wilson Betemit	32	111	453	.217	.694	.311	-6.5
Robby Price	26	70	249	.216	.604	.285	-8.6
Nick Franklin	23	27	113	.210	.578	.273	-5
Hak-Ju Lee*	23	93	357	.203	.563	.268	-17.2
Ray Olmedo	33	104	404	.224	.551	.259	-22.3
Tim Beckham*	24	15	65	.258	.572	.256	-3.7
Ali Solis	26	73	266	.203	.514	.234	-19.9
Mayo Acosta	26	32	94	.133	.408	.198	-9.6
Eddy Rodriguez	28	13	49	.152	.443	.198	-5.1
Wil Myers	23	7	31	.250	.961	.409	2
Brandon Guyer	28	5	26	.400	1.238	.533	4.2

   * on the Rays 40-man roster.

Wilson Betemit (111 games) was the rare power hitter in the Bulls lineup this year. But once you crunch all the numbers together he simply did not make that much of a contribution. He played mostly first base and DH and his glove appeared above average. Without drilling too deep into the numbers, our impression is that he was not improving as the year went on. Not likely to be back next year. Stats.

Ray Olmedo (104 games) is an all-time WDBB favorite player. He brings a tremendous amount of energy to the game and the sheer quickness of his hands from catch to release is a great pleasure to watch. This year he extended his repertoire of fielding positions by 20 appearances in the outfield and even had a brief moment at first base (wonder who he borrowed a glove from?). In Ray’s case I’d say the hell with the numbers and bring him back. I just like watching him play. Stats.

Hak-Ju Lee* (93 games) messed up his knee early in the 2013 season and did not return to the Durham Bulls until 23 April of this year. For a long time he has been near the top of various prospect lists, but he was one of the least productive Durham Bulls this year. Was he ready to return? Is his knee up to the job? No fan in the stands is going to be able to tell about that. We don’t think that the Rays are going to give up on the 23 year-old, but here’s hoping that in the off-season they find a way for him to work on his hitting. Stats.

Ali Solis (73 games) is the first of a cluster of four catchers we saw this year. To be perfectly honest, none of them showed Triple A caliber stuff. I hate to say that because I love watching players at that position. Catcher is a tough job at any level, but at Triple A you’ve got pitchers who are (or who think they are) right on the edge of becoming big leaguers. For the last couple of years the Rays system does not seem to be either growing or hiring good catchers. In fact, they seem to be trading some of the good guys away. But that’s for another article. Ali Solis certainly seemed to handle the pitching crew quite well, had a decent arm, and was only charged with seven passed balls. At 26 he’s still young, but his bat needs a lot of work. He did get a callup to the Rays this year and appeared in 8 games. Stats.

Cole Figueroa* (71 games) is another WDBB favorite who had a decent year, mostly at third base. His low number of game appearances with the Bulls is the consequence of his two callups to the Rays in mid-May and six weeks in July and August. He appeared in 23 Rays games after his debut on 16 May.  [Note to self: let’s not rant about the Rays pulling good players up to sit on the bench]. For reasons that are a mystery to us, he does not seem to be part of fanblog discussions over with the Rays. He should be. Otherwise, we would be more than happy to see him back with the Bulls next year. Stats.

Robby Price (70 games) was, by far, the most jerked around player on the Bulls roster this year. It seems every year they Bulls have a player who is kind of a “ghost” player. He’s on the roster for a few days then in a paper transaction is taken off for a few days and then he comes back. Robby Price (and to a lesser extent Mayo Acosta) was that guy this year, he figured in 9 different transactions. The 26 year-old’s numbers aren’t all that great, but without any consistent playing time, how can we judge? The Bulls need a guy like Price on the roster. He even pitched in three games for 2⅓ innings. I’d assume he will be a free agent next year. Here’s hoping he gets a shot with a team that will give him some playing time. Stats. [Update: Price was released by the Rays in late October.]

Jayson Nix (55 games) was apparently brought on board as a deep backup to the Rays infield. The 31 year-old was reasonably productive during his time from mid-May to 1 August. On the other hand we worried about the other infielders available (Price, Fontenot, Olmedo, Lee) who might have lost playing time while he was with the team. Nevertheless, his stats show that he was helpful. He apparently had an opt-out contract. He will likely have some place in baseball trivia questions for his trek from the Phillies to the Bulls to the Pirates to the Kansas City Royals. Not a snowball’s chance he’ll be back with the Bulls next year. Stats.

Jeremy Moore (55 games ) was our joy of the last part of the season. We’d actually forgotten about him being on the non-roster invitee list last spring training, so when he showed up from Montgomery on 25 June we didn’t know quite what to expect. Very exciting guy to watch. Reminded us a lot of Leslie Anderson, not in style, but in the excitement he brought to the game. He started off extremely hot, cooled off a bit, but the Bulls finally had a power hitting outfielder to pair with Mikie Mahtook. With 12 homers in 55 games he was on a league-leading pace. Here’s hoping that the Rays do whatever it takes to bring him back next year. He sure seems like a guy who could do the Bulls (and the Rays) some good. Stats.

Jerry Sands* (54 games) started the season with the Bulls and was doing an extraordinary job. In fact, his stats are among best of any Bull this season. He was called to the Rays at the 1st of June to fill in for an injury down there. On 22 Jun, however, he had a season-ending injury himself. We like what we saw while he was here and we’d love to see him back. We’ve seen very little about his injury status, however. Stats.

Curt Casali* (46 games) was one of the four catchers with the Bulls this year. The 25 year-old came up from the Montgomery Biscuits in early May and was called up to the Rays in mid-July. While with the Bulls he put together some decent numbers, by far the best of any of the catchers this year. His trip to St. Petersburg was not expected to last, but in fact he stayed there for the rest of the year, appearing in 30 games. However, he left Rays’ game on 25 September with a season-ending concussion. Assuming he recovers OK, he is very likely to start next year either with the Rays or the Bulls. Stats.

Kevin Kiermaier* (34 games) was with the Bulls at the beginning of the year and we could not have been more excited. We thought that with Jerry Sands and Mikie Mahtook we were going to see one of the finest outfields in Bulls history. Unfortunately, the Rays could not keep themselves healthy and once Mr. Kiermaier got to the Rays he did everything he could to make sure he would not come back, and he didn’t. He had a terrific year with the Rays, but I sure wish he’d stuck around here a bit longer. Stats.

Mayo Acosta (32 games) started the season with the Bulls and was in the dugout all year. But, as with Robby Price, the young catcher spent much of the year in paper purgatory. We cannot fault a player with such an erratic schedule for never get his timing right. So we are not sure his numbers are actually worth anything at all. Perhaps a better measure of him as a player is to note that he was the guy that got the best relief crew in International League baseball ready to pitch. And then there were the two games where he pitched for 3 innings and got 2 K’s. Stats.

Nick Franklin* (27 games) came to the Bulls as part of the big David Price trade on 1 August. Young Mr. Franklin has a solid reputation. We’ll see. So far we aren’t impressed at all. But apparently the Rays are. He got a lot of September playing time even if he wasn’t hitting. That would imply that he’s on the short list to stay with them next year. Stats.

Tim Beckham* (15 games) returned to the Bulls after surgery and a long rehab on 12 August. We’ve seen a lot of Mr. Beckham over the last few years and we like him. His bat seemed to have a bit more pop than we recall and his speed is still up there. We look forward to seeing him at second or shortstop next year, at least at the start of the season. Next year could be his year. Stats.

Eddy Rodriguez (13 games), the fourth catcher in a Bulls uniform this year, was released in early May when Curt Casali was called up from Montgomery. To be honest, we are a bit surprised he did not catch on somewhere else, but we haven’t found him, so we guess that he’s retired from the game. Update: Thanks to Doug (see comments), we now know he caught on with the Red Sox in a coaching job. Good for him.  Stats.

Wil Myers played in 7 games and Brandon Guyer played in 5 games on rehab assignments. Both did reasonably well and both seemed to be playing hard. Not always the case with rehabbing major leaguers.

Game 3 to the Durham Bulls; One More for the Cup!

Wool E. Bull and friends dance for the crowd last night.
Chris Baird, WRAL

International League Governors’ Cup (Best of Five): 2-1
Wrap, Box, Providence Journal, Herald-Sun, International League

The moment that I circled on my scorecard last night was Cole Figueroa’s at bat in the 3rd inning. Justin Christian had led off with a double and the Bulls were down 0-2 after the Pawsox scored single runs in the 2nd and 3rd innings. The Sox’s Henry Owens wasn’t quite cruising, but he had not seen any real trouble either. Figueroa stretched him out to at least 8 pitches (my count may be off) and on the 9th pitch he hit a very sharp grounder to short. Christian took off for 3rd base. Shortstop Deven Marrero chose to throw to 3rd, threw it high, and the Bulls ended up with runners on 1st and 3rd, nobody out. Jeremy Moore’s single brought Christian home. Tim Beckham’s double brought Figueroa and Moore home. As it turned out, Nick Franklin’s solo home run in the 6th was the key run, but the Bulls had to get those first three runs across first.

What a change to have a starting pitcher set the stage. For the second time in the playoffs Matt Adriese did his job and did it well, going a full six innings. In the 5th he was going so well that he struck out the side. In the 6th he was still looking good, but his pitch count was into the high 90’s and it was time to change.

Both relievers had pitched on Thursday night’s marathon, but they were back and did just fine. I thought that the game was in the bag after C.J. Riefenhauser got out of trouble in the 7th and had a clean 8th. However, as he often does, Josh Lueke provided some last-minute, not particularly welcome, thrills.

The unearned run that scored in the 9th was the first run of any kind against Bulls relievers in this entire series, something like 16+ innings. That’s a testimony to the relief corps even as it says something sad about the starting crew.

I also want to call out Wilson Betemit’s glovework at first base. For some reason everyone, right and left handers alike, were slapping stuff towards right field last night and a couple of them went right down the line. Betemit grabbed at least two that I recall that if not stopped would have created real problems.

Now What?

• Weather is threatening tonight and it looks even worse for tomorrow. 
• Mike Montgomery, who had a pretty decent outing back on August 28th, is scheduled to be the starter. 
• New guy Bryce Stowell is in the bullpen since Nathan Karns starts tonight for the Tampa Bay Rays and the Rays finally took him off the Bulls roster. 
• You have to expect both managers to go all in tonight. All of Durham’s relievers except Riefenhauser and Lueke are available. Even, as Scott Pose suggested last night, Enny Romero could be available for a batter or two for a couple of 98+ fastballs. 
• The Pawtucket starter is making his first appearance at Triple A level. 
• The Bulls could take it all tonight, and wouldn’t that be grand?

Game 4 to the Bulls; On to the Cup!

Governors’ Cup Playoffs (Best of 5): 3-1; Bulls Win!
Wrap, Box

If you were one of those who were second-guessing yourself about your advance purchase of playoff tickets, guess what, you made the right decision to buy. Congratulations. You’re going to get to use at least one more of them.

Not that finding a good seat for next Thursday’s game is likely to be a problem, but that’s OK. You kept the faith.

This was a the kind of game you love to watch. Excellent pitching on both sides. The season on the line. Even a key baseball maxim not observed,  “Don’t walk the leadoff batter.” The Clippers did just that three times and two of them scored.

But to go back to the beginning: Nathan Karns showed his stuff today. Just 1 earned run in 7 innings with 12 strikeouts. And the run that scored was on — you guessed it — a leadoff batter who drew Karns’ only walk of the day.

Meanwhile the Bulls were adventurous (they stole 4 bases during the game), but scoreless until the 5th, when Tim Beckham walked, stole second, and scored on a Nick Franklin single. In the 6th it was Cole Figueroa who drew the walk, got to 2B on a Mahtook ground out, scored on a Jeremy Moore single.

But the Clippers were not about to give up and came back with single runs in the 7th off Karns and the 8th of Merrill Kelly, who was in in short relief for the first time this year, I think.

That meant the Bulls needed some heroes in the 8th and they got them in Cole Figueroa (single, stolen base), Jeremy Moore (double, scoring Figueroa), and Vince Belnome (double, scoring Moore, but it sure looked like a home run from the stands). Merrill Kelly closed out the 9th to a noisy, but sadly small crowd of just 1,800 or so.

This is a big deal. Playing for the Governors’ Cup again is a stunning achievement.

The Bulls now go up against the Pawtucket Red Sox, in Pawtucket, Tuesday night. Should be a big game. We’ll post the rotation as it becomes available.

Game 3 to the Bulls

Mahtook barehands a ball off the wall. His throw prevented a triple in the 8th.
Photo: Robert Willett, News & Observer

Governors’ Cup Playoffs (Best of 5): 2-1
Wrap, Box, News & Observer, International League

Today’s game starts at 1:05! If you bought advance tickets, ignore the 7:05 start time printed on the ticket. Why the early start? Maybe because of all the football going on around the area ... although Trinity College is on the road.

Meanwhile, how about the Bulls!

What an terrific baseball game. Nice post-season crowd of Bulls fanatics. Matt Adriese, who had four no-decisions in recent games, pretty much kept the Clippers in hand. The notable exception was the beginning of the 5th inning when the first two batters hit solo home runs and brought the Clippers to within one run.

The first home run was hit by former Bull Elliot Johnson, a stalwart from years past and still a favorite of WDBB. And of at least one fog-horn-voiced fan who serenaded his first at bat with, “E-L-L-I-O-T.” A notable difference from years past when the call from the same fan was, “Elliot, get a hit.”  Elliot Johnson still stands tall on our all-time greatest Bulls hitters list, even if we have to say that we’d appreciate a modest slump for the next two days.

Meanwhile, Bulls hitters were aggressive in the 1st and 2nd innings with Justin Christian doubling on the first pitch of the game, moving to third base on a Mikie Mahtook ground out, and scoring on a Jeremy Moore single. Then Tim Beckham doubled Moore in. Nick Franklin led off the 2nd inning with a thrilling home run and I thought the Bulls were going to run away with it. That didn’t happen. Instead the great Bulls bullpen came out for the 6th and took charge.

C.J. Riefenhauser was his old self, much recovered from his tough outing on Wednesday. Charlie Montoyo was not saving his pitching staff. Both Lueke and Adam Liberatore pitched on Thursday night (Lueke got the win, Liberatore got the save). And here they were after an 8-hour bus ride back out there. Josh Lueke had a lead off double, but a nice play by Mikie Mahtook prevented a triple. But that was the last life of the Clippers. After three quick outs, Adam Liberatore came in for three more outs and the save.

What does it mean? Well it means more baseball at the DBAP! The Bulls have two chances to win this playoff round, but today would be a lot better than tomorrow. Nathan Karns is scheduled to start. He’s had some awful outings lately, yet he’s also a talented young man. We can hope.

I glanced back at this time last year and was surprised to see so many familiar names: Cole Figueroa, Vince Belnome, Tim Beckham, Mike Fontenot, Merrill Kelly, Adam Liberatore, and probably a couple others I’ve missed.

Meanwhile, the Pawtucket Red Sox swept the Syracuse Chiefs in three games and are now waiting to see who they will play for the Governors’ Cup.

Leaning over the dugout rail were two ballplayers we have not seen before: Andrew Bellatti, a 22 year-old right-handed reliever who had a decent year with the Biscuits (stats) and Taylor Motter, a 24 year old outfielder (mostly) who played a lot of baseball in Montgomery this year — 116 games (stats). I’d guess that, if needed, we will see some roster manipulations, but for now they just have really good seats for the games.

Game 1 to the Clippers

Playoffs (Best 3 of 5): 0-1
Wrap, Box, Columbus Dispatch

When we looked at the matchup yesterday, the only significant advantage the Bulls had over the Clippers was pitching. That could have been further refined to specify relief pitching since the Bulls relief corps had an ERA on the season of just 2.70. That advantage was not evident last night. Reliever C. J. Riefenhauser came into the game just after Jeremy Moore’s home run had brought the Bulls within a single run of the Clippers.

Things got ugly, quickly.

Three runs on 4 hits and a walk later Riefenhauser was out of the game after pitching only ⅔ of an inning. Jake Thompson got the Bulls out of the 6th, but gave up two runs of his own in the next inning. Cory Burns came on for a clean 9th, but by then it was far too late.

Outside the game —

• If you’ve already got MiLB-TV, check out the quality contrast between what’s coming out of Columbus vs. what comes out of Durham (or Pawtucket for that matter). Very poor quality.  If you don't have MiLB-TV, don't waste your money on tonight. We’ve got a great crew in Durham and their feed into MiLB-TV is the best I’ve seen from IL parks.
• The Bulls did a bit of rosterification yesterday. Of interest mostly to obsessives such as WDBB. Pitcher Merrill Kelly came on to the roster from Limbo. Catcher Luke Maile came onto the roster from Montgomery. Pitcher Bryce Stowell was sent back to Montgomery. Catcher Mayo Acosta was assigned to Montgomery. I’d bet that all of these are paper transactions and all the players mentioned are in the Bulls dugout up in Columbus.
• Pawtucket won the first round of the other IL playoff round, beating Syracuse in a bottom-of-the-10th inning thriller. The Providence Journal has the story.
• Small crowds in Columbus (4,437) and Pawtucket (2,326). 

Two Down; One to Go

Season: 74-69; Home Stand: 0-2; Games Remaining in Season: 1
Wrap, Box Game 142, Box Game 143

Interesting day at the ballpark yesterday afternoon and evening. At first we seemed to have the place to ourselves and then the DBAP filled up. They had a record ticket sales for a game—11,104—but they didn’t all use their tickets. Lots of empty seats. Too bad. They missed seeing a triple play. That just doesn’t happen very often. The Bulls set an all-time season attendance record, the most fans in the team's 100+ history — 525,199.

The first game was a resumption of Saturday’s shortened game over in Norfolk. The Bulls picked up two runs, but they needed three. The big deal, for Bulls’ fanatics, was seeing right-hand reliever Bryce Stowell on the mound. The Rays are going after the Bulls’ bullpen, so the Bulls are going to need Mr. Stowell this week. At 27, he’s been working hard for this opportunity and he’s had a fine 50 innings in Montgomery this year. He only gave up two hits yesterday. Stats.

The second game was notable for the triple play in the 3rd inning. With runners on 1st and 2nd, a sharp grounder to Mike Fontenot, who stepped on 3rd, threw to Nick Franklin at 2nd, who relayed to Vince Belnome at 1st. Very pretty.

On the other hand, even a double play in the 1st inning and a triple play in the 3rd inning wasn’t enough to keep Nathan Karns from being charged with 7 earned runs, his 9th loss of the season, and the worst ERA of any Durham Bulls starter (we’re not counting Jeremy Hellickson’s painful rehab assignment). On the other hand, it looks like he’s going to end the season tied for most strikeouts of any pitcher in the International League (153). So he’s a mixed bag of talent and readability by his opponents (sometimes).

Update (10:20): You can watch the triple play here.

It really did look like the Bulls had this one in the bag after Jeremy Moore’s three-run homer topped off a 4-run 1st inning. Then Hak-Ju Lee hit just his 4th home run off his countryman Suk-min Yoon in the 2nd. With one more run in the 3rd it was looking good. But the 5th was a mess for Karns. Even with bases-loaded opportunities later in the game, the Bulls could not come back (not a strength this year).

But a lot is going on in the bigger picture outside the game...

Rosterification —

• Brandon Gomes and Steve Geltz have been called up to Tampa Bay. Gomes has been back and forth a good bit this year, but this is the first time that Geltz has been to the majors since a couple of appearances for the Angels back in 2012. Here’s hoping that he gets his shot and he does well. Geltz wasn’t on the 40-man, so some sort of move is going to have to be made there as well.
• Jake Thompson and Doug Mathis are back from Limbo, or wherever it was the Rays stashed them for the last few days. In fact, Mathis is scheduled to start today.
• We’ve mentioned Bryce Stowell up from Montgomery. With his two innings he looks to be a lock to be this year’s winner of the Moonlight Graham Award for pitchers.
• Seen wearing catcher’s gear in the bullpen was Luke Maille, a young catcher who spent this year with the Montgomery Biscuits. If he gets to bat today (or during the playoffs) it will be his first game in Triple-A. But no roster transaction has been announced. Stats.
• Merril Kelly was sent off to Limbo to await recall. Soon, we hope.

Playoff Prep —

• The Pawtucket Red Sox are to be the International League Wild Card team. They will be playing the Syracuse Chiefs for the first round of the playoffs.
• The Bulls rotation, per broadcaster Kinas, will be 

           Alex Colome
           Enny Romero
           Matt Andriese
           Nate Karns
           Mike Montgomery

• Here’s hoping the Bulls can sweep the Clippers in three ... 

Split; Bulls Come Home; Games on FM

Season: 61-55; Trip: 3-5; Home Games Remaining: 17
Wrap, Box, The Morning Call

The Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs were supposed to be a weak-hitting team, the doormat of the International League. But they produced 42 hits against Bulls pitching over these four games, including 3 home runs, a triple and 11 doubles. The Bulls only had 40 hits so a 2-2 split sort of makes sense.

Probably the idea behind yesterday’s game was to get out to the stadium, have some fun, then take a day off (IronPigs), go home and take a day off (Bulls). After 180 pitches and 3½ hours the Bulls finally got off the field and eventually left town. Which is one way of saying that the pitchers really worked for the win. It was not a gift from the IronPigs.

Yesterday morning’s game was a good example, notable mostly for it’s length, than for the pitching by either side. Bulls pitching gave up 12 hits and 5 walks, but then IronPigs weren’t able to bring many home, leaving 12 men on base. The Bulls didn’t do much better, they left 11 runners on base. In some ways the game really wasn’t decided until the 8th, when Jeremy Moore cleared the bases of Bulls on a single to deep right field. That put the Bulls up 7 to 3, the Pigs got two back in the bottom of the inning and the Bulls got one back in the top of the 9th.

Every Bull got a hit, except for Hak-Ju Lee. Betemit and Solis got 3 hits each, a great day for the two of them.

As an aside we have to pass on Patrick Kinas’ humor during Mike Montgomery’s awful 3rd inning. (Note: cannot guarantee accuracy here. You’ll have to ask him.) Bases loaded, count is 2-2, and Kinas says something like, “and now perhaps we’ll some some Montgomery magic on the mound.” Montgomery threw a ball making it 3-2. “Well, if he can’t pull a rabbit out of the hat, maybe a hamster.” Next pitch was a ball, walking in a run. No more comments about Montgomery magic, although he did get out of the inning. Could have been worse.

Outside the game —

• Double header on Thursday. First game starts at 6:05 against the Buffalo Bisons. Making up a rained out game a month ago.
• Not happy with AM 620? Try FM 99.3. Low power FM is on the air with coverage of much of Raleigh area. Not sure about the rest of the region, yet. I’m having decent luck from northern Wake County, which helps since the AM radio in my car isn’t very good. This is a good deal for me.

Bats Sleep, Then Wake Up

Wrap, Box, Lehigh Valley

Season: 60-54; Trip: 2-4
Wrap, Box, The Morning Call

The Bulls hitters got off to a good start, Nate Karns worked himself out of some tough jams, and a three-run homer tied a bow on it.

Mikie Mahtook doubled in Justin Christian, stole third base and then scored on a Mike Fontenot single to start things off in the 1st. Jeremy Moore hit a solo home run in the 3rd. So Karns was working with some solid backup. However, the Iron Pigs scored in the 1st and former Bull Russ Canzler homered in the 4th to bring them close. And then the Iron Pigs loaded the bases in the 5th and things looked grim before Karns got a called third strike to end the inning.

Robby Price pretty much put the game away the next inning when Lehigh Valley put two Bulls on base with walks and then he cleared the bases with his 3rd home run of the year.

Mikie Mahtook scored on an Ali Solis single in the 7th. Nick Franklin got his first hit as a Durham Bull in the 8th, a double that scored Justin Christian. Mike Fontenot scored on a Hak-Jul Lee fielder’s choice in the 9th.

In relief, Steve Geltz had a nice recovery from his recent ugly outing and Adam Liberatore continued his dominance in the inherited runners category for Bulls pitchers. Liberatore has only let 3 of the 23 runners he’s inherited score. No other Bull even comes close.

Outside the game —

• If the ballplayer in this photo from last night's Pirates-Diamondbacks game looks familiar, he should. That’s Jayson Nix and he’s gone from a Durham Bulls infielder to the Pittsburgh Pirates active roster. Broadcaster Kinas mentioned it last night. I also did not know that he had been on an opt-out contract and that he’d asked for his release at essentially the same time that the Rays had brought in Nick Franklin on the David Price trade. Looks like a good move for Nix and we continue to wish him well — unless he shows up playing for the Indianapolis Indians in the playoffs. Not very likely, it seems.
• Speculation continues that Wil Myers might show up on a rehab assignment this weekend. Keep an eye on the Bulls website. And don’t forget their promotion linked to his appearance.
• Two Rays pitchers were designated for assignment a while back, Erik Bedard and Juan Carlos Oviedo. There was some small chance that Oviedo might show up in a Bulls uniform, but they were both released by the Rays.
• A prospect, Blake Snell, pitching for the Charlotte Stone Crabs, threw a 6 inning no-hitter a couple of days ago.

Tough 7th

Season: 56-49; Home Stand: 1-3; Home Games Remaining: 19
Wrap, Box

Beautiful night for baseball at the DBAP. Not too hot, not too steamy. Well-matched teams.

Seems like the 7th inning made all the difference. Mike Montgomery was looking much better than in his awful start down in Gwinnett on the 20th. However, the Mud Hens’ Robbie Ray was looking pretty good himself. Jeremy Moore had muscled an opposite-field home run over the Monster in the 6th to tie the game and Montgomery was up with just 86 pitches thrown. Too many? Hard to say. As a practical matter, no one was warming up. Montgomery walked the first batter, who stole second base and came home as the go-ahead run on a solid single to centerfield. That brought in Adam Liberatore, who had only allowed one of his 17 previous inherited runners to score — by far the best on the team. So although the Mud Hens were ahead by one with no outs it didn’t look impossible to catch up. But a bizarre bunt single that went out into right field put runners on first and third and the runner on third scored before Liberatore could put out the fire with two ground outs and a K. Should Montgomery have started the 7th? Probably not. Ain’t hindsight wonderful? Vince Belnome's pretty shot, also opposite field over the Monster, would not be enough.

Let’s celebrate the Bulls homers though, by Vince Belnome and Jeremy Moore. Let’s continue to worry about Hak-Ju Lee, who does not seem to be improving this last month either at bat or in the field.

Outside the game —

• Terrific essay on Charlie Montoyo’s record-setting career as Bulls manager in the program notes for this series. Worth coming to the game to get a copy.
• Nice ceremony after the game honoring Charlie. Nice to see wife and children out there with him.
• Don’t look now, but there’s been a complete turnover in the IL South Division. Norfolk and Charlotte have both put together winning streaks, Norfolk rising to 2nd place and Gwinnett dropping into last place in just the last few days.
• Looking back to a game a year ago, July 25, 2013, some interesting names pop up in a Bulls-Braves game.
• Notice the surprising number at the beginning of this post. Only 19 home games left! Where did the season go?

More Geek Stuff

In spite of a couple of homers, Bulls hitters have not been doing well lately. This is the game-by-game team wOBA (weighted on-base-average) of the last 20 games. It’s the trend that matters. As for what it means, let’s just say that the descriptors for wOBA include terms such as “average” for .320 to “awful” for .290, which is where the trend is below after last night’s game. In other words, it ain’t looking good these days.

Red Wings Arrive

Season: 55-46; Home Stand: 1-0; Standings
Wrap, Box, Rochester

Enny Romero is not my favorite Bulls pitcher, so you will forgive me if I point out that last night he started out the first three innings with a runner on base, and did it again in the 5th. But only the walk he gave up to start the 5th scored. Meanwhile, his opponent, Rochester’s Sean Gilmartin, didn’t let a Bull on base for the first three innings, striking out five of them. Finally Jayson Nix singled and, who else, Jeremy Moore doubled him in in the 4th. Another run in the 5th, and then things really unraveled for Gilmartin in the 7th with the Bulls scoring one run while he was still in the game and then pushing across the two guys he left on base when he left.

This was the first game at the DBAP for the Bulls since July 7th, two weeks ago. Of course, several played in the All-Star Game, but it was still something of a homecoming for them. They showed at least some of that in their aggressiveness on the base paths, although that didn’t exactly pay off for them. Two runners going from 2nd to 3rd got put out, Jeremy Moore stretching out a double and Hak-Ju Lee in an awkward steal attempt.

Has Romero turned it around? Hard to say. On paper last night he was much, much better than his last six starts (5 losses and one no-decision). Certainly the Rays think a lot of him. So, maybe.

The Big Deal was, of course, Charlie Montoyo’s win # 614. Lots of well-deserved accolades, including ours.

Outside the game —

• Tim Beckham, a regular presence on the infield for the 2012 and 2013 Durham Bulls, played in a game down in Florida yesterday. He messed up his knee working out in the off-season. As far as we can tell, this was his first official appearance this year. Good news for him and very likely for the Durham Bulls if he’s ready to progress.

Back From the Break, In Style

Season: 54-44; Trip: 1-0; Last 10: 7-3; Standings
Wrap, Box, Gwinnett Daily Post

It's well beyond the actual midpoint of the season for Triple-A (that was back on June 15, game 72) and yet a psychological midpoint and several days off for most of the Durham Bulls. The game started out with a wonderfully familiar sequence: runners on 1st and 2nd (Justin Christian and Vince Belnome), and Jeremy Moore doubled in two runs and the Bulls never looked back.

WDBB’s favorite starting pitcher of 2014, Matt Andriese, was on the mound and threw a stellar 7⅔ innings backed up by 5 (count ‘em, 5!) double plays. Everyone but Robby Price and Vince Belnome got hits and they both got on base with walks.

The quirky stat (other than all the double plays) is probably the fact that they scored 7 runs on only two extra base hits (doubles by Moore and Mahtook.

This was the first shutout by Bulls pitching since June 9th.

Outside the game —

• Catcher Curt Casali has been called up to the Rays. This will be the young player’s first time in the major leagues and the Rays will be doing some razzle-dazzle with the 40-man to make it happen. The callup was because Rays' catcher Ryan Hanigan will go on the 15-day disabled list, but outfielder Wil Myers is going on the 60-day disabled list to make room.
• Not sure that we’ve mentioned that Jerry Sands, a terrific hitter who started the season with the Bulls, is likely out for the rest of the season after being called up to the Rays and then being injured.
• Along those lines, have not heard a thing about injured infielder Tim Beckham in a long time.
• We’ve been waiting for ground ball inducing pitcher Matt Andriese to pitch before putting up this link. In it blogger Cork Gaines speculates that the Rays don’t particularly like ground ball pitchers in their stable because the artificial turf down at Tropicana Field makes turning double plays difficult. To be honest I’m not sure the analysis holds up, but if it does it looks like a terrific young pitcher for the Bulls might not have a future with the Rays.

Karns & Moore Team Up for Win

Season: 53-44; Trip: 2-1; Last 10: 7-3; Standings

Wrap, Box, The Buffalo News

Regular readers will know that we are not yet fans of young Nathan Karns. To see why, take a look at our charts from a couple of days ago. But give credit where it’s due. He had a fine night last night going 7 innings and only letting in 1 run. There’s hope.

On the other hand, how about Jeremy Moore? Yet another game-winning home run! Then, just for grins, his last at-bat featured three pitches that went inside, inside, and even further inside. Those pitches brought Charlie Montoyo down to the plate to get between Moore and the ump. As it turned out, Moore hit a very sharp grounder to first for an out. But seemed to me to be kind of pointless on the part of the Bison’s pitcher.

Outside the game — 

• Reliever Jake Thompson has been put on the disabled list for an unspecified reason. Thompson has made 20 appearance since coming up from Montgomery and has done a good job over his 27 innings. Doug Mathis returned from Hudson Valley to take his spot on the roster. 
• Former Bull Dan Johnson was called up to the Bisons’ parent club, the Toronto Blue Jays, and went immediately into the lineup against the Rays last night. He drew four walks and scored three runs (including the winning run). That’s what DJ does — draws walks or hits home runs.

Win in Buffalo

Season: 51-44; Trip: 1-1; Last 10: 6-4

Wrap, Box, Buffalo News

The first thing to know about the Buffalo Bisons is that their first baseman is Dan Johnson. Johnson stands very high on the list off all-time great Durham Bulls hitters. He was a Bull in 2008, and was back for 2010 and 2011. He is #2 on the all-time list when the list is sorted by OPS. We should note that a hitter could not even get on the list without at least 1,000 plate appearances with the Bulls. He’s having more than a decent year with the Bisons. He leads the International League in home runs and is 4th in OBP and OPS. According to broadcaster Patrick Kinas there were persistent rumors last night that he was about to be called up to the Blue Jays. If so, that would really mess up the Triple-A Home Run Derby, where we were going to be able to see him and Mike Hessman square off for a championship (although doesn’t seem quite fair since Hessman bats right and Johnson is a lefty). DJ went 0-3 with a walk last night.

[Update: 12:30, Friday, twitter saying DJ has been called up and will appear in game against Rays tonight.]

The second is that the minor mystery of Mike Montgomery has not been cleared up, but he did have a decent outing. Mystery? Well, it’s this. Back on June 14 he pitched 5 innings in an 88-pitch no-decision. Then he did not pitch again until June 23, another 5 inning no-decision, where he threw 77 pitches. His next appearance was not until July 4, also 5 innings, throwing 76 pitches. Stated another way, he only made three starts after his June 9th win, and pitched only 15 innings for 3 no-decisions. Why? Unless I missed something, as usual, the Rays aren’t saying.

As Bulls fans, let’s just say that his win last night was welcome. Not that he was all that sharp, but he did reach 92 pitches even though they all came in just 5 1/3 innings. My guess? Rotation turmoil with Hellickson around and a desire to give him some rest. Is he back? Not sure. He did not look all that sharp on the TV last night.

Meanwhile the game was won by — who else? — Jeremy Moore, who smacked a 2-run homer that drove in Justin Christian. Christian had another great night as well with three hits and scoring two out of the three Bulls runs.

Outside the game — 

As we know, Wednesday’s game in Norfolk was rained out. So was yesterday’s against Gwinnett. Wonder why? Here’s what Harbor Park looked like yesterday.

Now, That's a Rainout!

Harbor Park, Norfolk, VA, July 10
Image courtesy Norfolk Tides

More by Moore

Season: 50-43; Home Stand: 2-0; Last 10: 5-5
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Outfielder Jeremy Moore made it happen for the Bulls last night, again. His single in the 1st brought Mike Fontenot home to tie the game. His home run in the 4th won the game. The Bulls needed those runs because Norfolk’s pitching was uncharacteristically sharp. The Bulls only had six hits, drew only two walks, and struck out 11 times.

Meanwhile Matt Andriese had another solid night. That’s nine out of his last ten appearances that have been very strong. If he stays healthy, the Rays have another prospect lining himself up for next year. Plus he did it against a strong Norfolk lineup with only one right-handed batter (who, by the way, got two of the 5 hits Andriese allowed).

Radioman Kinas pointed out that this was the first time this year that Montoyo had delivered exactly the same lineup to the umps twice in a row. That meant that Hak-Ju Lee has missed two games, perhaps a good thing for his knee.

We noticed that Ali Solis was used to warm up Adam Liberatore. I hope that means his hand is OK.

Sure is nice to have three real outfielders in the outfield. Fly balls are gathered in with confidence. The occasional spectacular play — for example, Justin Christian’s sliding grab to start the 8th — changes the dynamics of the game.

Outside the game —

• Can’t let the howler by broadcaster Scott Pose go by. He expressed confidence in the Bulls’ upcoming stretch of 10 games away from home, noting that the Bulls were a good road team. I’m not sure where that thought came from. Probably from the first trips of the year and a look at their overall record (23-22). However, the Bulls have lost 10 of their last 16 games on the road, and 5 of their last 6. So forgive me if I’m a bit worried about the next two weeks as they go against Norfolk, Buffalo, and Gwinnett (who skunked them last week). 

Another Nice Sunday in the Park

Mike Fontenot chases Norfolk's Jamile Weeks out of the base path for an out (he then tossed to 1B for double play)
Photo by Christine T. Nguyen, Durham Herald-Sun

Season: 49-43; Home Stand: 1-0; Last 10: 4-6
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

After tonight the Bulls will not play another game in the DBAP until July 21. That’s 13 days without seeing the Bulls play at home. We will not be without baseball, of course, but it will only (only!) be the All-Star Game on July 16. This will be the longest stretch without a home Bulls game this entire season. What to do?

Well, we could go to a Mudcats game. The Cleveland Advanced A team will be home on July 11-14. Or drive over to Burlington to take a look at the Kansas City Royals Rookie League team the Burlington Royals, who will be home from July 9 to 14. Or combine a trip to the mountains with a couple of games in Asheville, watching the Asheville Tourists. The Single A team of the Colorado Rockies will be playing at home July 8-9 and 15-17. In between here and the mountains you’ve also got the Greensboro Grasshoppers and the Winston-Salem Dash (both Carolina League Teams). Lastly, if you’re headed to the beach, there’s the Wilmington Sharks (Coastal Plain League, wooden bat collegiate league), July 11-12 or the Wilmington Blue Rocks, Single A, Royals July 11 thru 14.

Meanwhile, last night’s game was yet another chance for Nathan Karns to show his stuff. He did OK, and made it through a rough spot in the 5th. However, as manager Charlie Montoyo was quoted in the Herald-Sun,

“Every time we scored, he didn’t stop them,” Montoyo said. “He went into the sixth, but I expect better from him. … Too many pitches up in the zone. At this level and the next, they’re going to make you pay.”

This has not been a year for big guns, but Wilson Betemit and new(ish) guy Jeremy Moore are making noise recently and they both got homers last night. The Bulls only have 65 home runs on the year (6th in the league), and even though that is hardly a good measure of a team (Charlotte with the worst won-loss numbers in the league has the most home runs) it is still nice to fun to see the ball sail out of the park.

Outside the game —

• Jeremy Hellickson is to start a game Tuesday with the Tampa Bay Rays. Guess that means he won't be back in a Bulls jersey next week.
• Vince Belnome and Jeff Beliveau are being sent back to the Durham Bulls. Belnome got in one game as a designated hitter and went 0 for 3. Beliveau did not throw a pitch during his visit this time.
• Cole Figueroa remains with the Rays. He's been in 3 games this visit, 8 plate appearances, no hits.

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.

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.

More from Moore

Season: 45-37; Home Stand: 2-5
Wrap, Box

As we mentioned yesterday, the stats on the new Durham Bull Jeremy Moore weren’t all that promising, but it seems that he was injured at the end of spring training. Looking back, some of the bloggers were putting him in contention to stick with the Rays at the end of spring. He’s certainly making his mark. An RBI double in the 2nd inning and a beautiful grand slam in the 5th accounted for five of the Bulls’ runs in the game. So let’s welcome him to the team. And let’s not forget catcher Curt Casali, who had two RBIs, or Ray Olmedo, who had the other one. A good night for Bulls hitters.

As regular readers will know, we like Matt Andriese a lot and we were very pleased to see him come back from his absolutely awful start of a few days ago. Six strong innings, followed by some of Brandon Gomes’ best work since he re-joined the Bulls

And then there was Steve Geltz. We like him. We liked his work as a pitcher last year. After 50 games away from the team on a drug suspension we didn’t expect much, but he simply blew three batters away. His return creates a roster problem once Alex Colome is on his way back from the Rays after tonight’s game in Baltimore. Geltz sure made his statement that he belongs with the Bulls.

Cannot pass up the chance to point out the game's quirk. Bottom of the 7th, two outs, Ali Solis batting as DH. Solis hits a "towering" pop up over shortstop Robert Andino's head. Solis does what he's supposed to do, he runs it out. In fact, he keeps on going until he's halfway to second base. That tells you a bit about how "towering" the pop up was. And, you know where's this is going, Andino dropped the ball, picked it up, and began a run down of Solis, who was eventually tagged out. What coach has ever said, "Run it out, but wait on first base just in case he drops the ball?"

Belnome Breaks Out; Bulls Break Streak

Season: 44-37; Home Stand: 1-5
Wrap, Box

At last! Boy that was some long 8-game losing streak and what better than for the Bulls most erratic pitcher, Nate Karns, to get the win and a Bulls struggling hitter, Vince Belnome, to get a home run, two doubles and an intentional walk (how’s that for regained respect)?

Was there a downside? Well, yes there was. I was unable to attend the game and only was able to listen to the last two innings. But that was my problem, not the Bulls.

After that awful slide, sure was nice to hear them celebrate a win. Fortunately for the Bulls, they are in the IL South and in spite of the long slide, they remain 4.5 games ahead in the division.

New guy Jeremy Moore was in the lineup. The last (and only) time we saw his name was during spring training when he hit a non-roster invitee list. His stats from Montgomery are nothing special and  yet he has both Triple A and major league experience. I did not hear the profile from Patrick Kinas, but I’m guessing that there are injury issues there. At any rate, in his first game he went 2 for 4 with a double and 2 RBI. That gives him great Durham Bulls stats. We Bulls fans have an outfielder who can hit. What more could we ask for?

Outside the game —

• Alex Colome will put on a Rays uniform for a start against Baltimore Friday. Good luck. Except for his last game, he has done a stunning job with the Bulls since his return from suspension. That means Jeremy Hellickson will likely have another start with the Bulls as part of his rehab.
• The Durham Herald-Sun newspaper has put itself behind a paywall ($10/month for digital subscribers), so we will no longer be providing links to their coverage. Too bad, because, unless I've been missing something all year, they were the only regular reporters with press box and media access to the team. At least they were only ones I’ve ever found since Adam Sobsey stopped writing for Indy Week. Doesn’t seem fair to our vast readership to quote or link to something they would have to pay to see. (Note: We’ve done the same for the Tampa Bay Times, which has also gone behind a paywall.) We’ve emailed the Herald-Sun. Will let you know if anything comes of it.

Playing Time and the Bulls Roster

Playing time, and when you come in the game, are great indicators of who’s going to end up where at the end of spring training. At least that’s what Cork Gaines over at Rays Index thinks. I agree. So first you should take a look at the chart he’s developed and his conclusions he's drawn regarding the Rays 25-man roster.

Based on Cork's table we can make some educated guesses about the Bulls’ starting lineup.

For example, just looking at three infielders we see that the playing time of three players  — Cole Figueroa, Ray Olmedo, and Jerry Sands — have mostly come in the later innings. Looking back at our last post, we see that Vince Belnome and Hak Ju-Lee have already been sent down so it looks like the Bulls have an infield (and a pretty darn good one at that). Two loose ends, from a Rays perspective, are Wilson Betemit and Jayson Nix.

At catcher, Ali Solis is the only one getting any early playing time. Curt Casali has already been sent down. Still some room for guesswork here.

Based on this list we’d have to guess at Justin Christian and Jeremy Moore being added to outfielder/DH slots, but a lot will depend on whether or not the Rays think Mikie Mahtook is ready for Triple-A.

Meanwhile, of course, with four (count ‘em, four!) Triangle teams in the NCAA tournament, we’re going to be hard-pressed to pay attention to baseball for a while.