One-Man Home Run Show; Not a Bull

Mikie Mahtook, showing off Bull City Blue uniform before call-up.
Photo courtesy Durham Bulls

Game 44, May 21, DBAP

Rochester Red Wings: 12

Durham Bulls: 2

Season: 18-26; Home Stand: 1-2

Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

First of all, let us stipulate that Rochester’s Adam Walker can hit a baseball, especially in the general direction of the Bull. He’s done so five times in the last three games, including three times last night. Yes, he does strike out a lot, but here in Durham he’s held that to just 4 times. The crowd even acknowledged his performance last night with a nice round of applause on his third home run.

Then, let us also note that Jamie Schultz had a horrible night. Schultz is having a decent season, but his 3⅓ last night was awful. (included two of the Walker homers). Brad Boxberger made a relief appearance (and gave up Walker’s third homer). 

The Bulls hitters were not a lot of help with their 17 K’s, their season-worst performance. About the only hitter to do well was outfielder Mikie Mahtook who was 2 for 2 until …

In our part of the stands a buzz started in about the 3rd inning. Former Bull Kevin Kiermaier, Tampa Bay’s spectacular center fielder, had broken his hand. Several folks were tapping away at their phones. I was regretting that the battery on my radio had died and I couldn’t follow Kinas’ commentary. But soon it became clear enough. In the top half of the inning Richie Shaffer, playing third base, came running toward the dugout asking for a different glove. He was handed one and headed out toward right field, sending Mikie Mahtook in. Here’s the neat part — a fair fraction of the fans knew what was happening — Mahtook was headed to the Rays and we were happy for him — a cheer went up as he went into the dugout. Juniel Querecuto took Shaffer’s place at third base and the game went on.

Outside the game — 

• Misty rain through the first couple of innings and a nice rainbow stretched out through the eastern sky. 
• For more on Kiermaier’s injury see the video at Rays Index and comments at the Rays site.
• The Bulls introduced their fancy blue uniforms last night (see photo at top) and I have to admit that I like the look, with the exception of the slightly ugly awkward looking orange belts. And I have to point out that if you're going all "designer" on us, then the shade of blue on the batting helmet should match.
• We left after the 5th inning and watched the end of the game on TV. Very pleased to see that the HD broadcast is in operation. Looks really good.

Pitching Update

The team ERA was improving until last night. Overall, however, we still see a big spread between the starters and relievers. The Bulls have two relievers on the DL and the help that’s come up from Montgomery hasn’t been. If Gamboa and Bellatti return; if after Boxberger finishes his rehab and goes to Tampa Bay; maybe then.

Pitcher Has Problems

Season: 53-56; Home Stand: 1-3
Wrap, Box

A starting pitcher at the DBAP had an awful inning and gave up enough runs to lose the game — and he wasn’t wearing a Durham Bulls uniform!

Indianapolis’ Radhames Liz is a ten-year veteran who can still throw a 98 mph fastball, but sometimes has problems. Last night’s 4th inning, for example. Taylor Motter popped up to 2B for the first out. J.P. Arencibia walked. Corey Brown walked. Jake Elmore was hit by a pitch to load the bases. New guy Joey Rickard hit a line drive single to left to drive in Arencebia. Hak-Ju Lee hit a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Brown. With Elmore on 3rd base and Rickard on 1st base the Indians left fielder dropped Luke Maile’s fly ball right in front of the video board and Elmore scored. Liz then walked Boog Powell to load the bases again, but Desmond Jennings grounded out to end inning (note for Rays fans: second time this rehab stint that Jennings has made a bases-loaded out).

Three runs on one hit! It says something for Liz’s erratic nature that he finished his night pitching two more innings with seven straight outs: A ground out (Jennings), a liner to left, two K’s, a ground out, and two more K’s. Fastballs were still in the 95-98 mph range after 90 pitches.

For trivia fans, last night’s two hit win matches one from way back on May 13th that the Bulls won 1-0.

Outside the game —

• Richie Shaffer got on base, Mickie Mahtook got the game-winning RBI, and Kevin Kiermaier made a great throw. Good day for ex-Bulls up in Chicago. [story]
• Lots of folks go to Bulls games whether they are home or elsewhere. The Bulls average 7,776 at home and are averaging 6,676 as a draw while on the road. Although some might say that the away games are possibly not all that good a measure of how much of a draw the most famous team in minor league baseball can be. Last night (a Monday) was one of the smaller crowds this year and still fun. Buffalo back in May and Gwinnett just last week appear to be the sites where the Bulls are the least popular. Although it's entirely possible that it's the Bisons and the Braves who aren't popular.

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.

100 Games; 55 Wins; A Good Year

Wrap, Box, Gwinnett Daily Post

Season: 55-45; Trip: 2-1; Standings
Wrap, Box, Gwinnett Daily Post

The Gwinnett Braves had not scored a run in 28 innings and had lost their last five games. But they got a run off Alex Colome in the 3rd inning last night and that would be enough.

Only Jayson Nix had a good night, and that was spectacular as he went 4 for 4 with two singles, a double, and a triple as well as the Bulls’ only RBI. But it wasn’t enough.

Outside the game —

• If you look a the box score of Friday’s Rays-Twins game a Bulls fan will see something interesting at the bottom of the lineup. The last three players came to the Rays from the Bulls this year. One of them, Curt Casali, actually started the year in Montgomery and was the starting catcher. Cole Figueroa started at 2B,  and Kevin Kiermaier was in right field. Casali got several nice comments from Rays manager Joe Maddon and also got a hit in his first AB. 
• We’ll have more later, but Charlie Montoyo has now led the Bulls to 613 wins, tied for the most wins in Durham Bulls Triple-A history. 

DPs and Shutout #7

Jayson Nix gets to third base, beneath PawSox's Garin Cacchini
Photo by Bernard Thomas, Durham Herald-Sun

Season: 37-25; Home Stand: 5-2
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Two runs in the 8th won the game, but let’s point out the quirky stuff before getting to that. Three double plays helped keep young Mr. Alex Colome out of trouble last night. In fact, they kept any PawSox runner from even getting to or beyond second base until the 9th inning.

Look a bit more closely and you discover that they were three completely different kinds of double plays. And that is the sort of thing we love here.

In the 1st the DP was a classic 6-4-3,  ground ball to shortstop Hak-Ju Lee, toss to Mike Fontenot covering second, and a nice throw to Wilson Betemit on first to wrap it up. Nice start to the inning.

Then in the next inning, with one out and a PawSox runner on first base, the batter struck out and catcher Mayo Acosta (nice to see him in a game, by the way) threw out the runner attempting a steal. K, 2-4 on the scoresheet.

The last DP came in the 6th when the PawSox again had one out and a runner on first. This time the batter hit a line drive to right field, Justin Christian caught it and threw to 1B Wilson Betemit to double off the runner. 9, 9-3 on the scoresheet.

So, if you now check out the box score you will see that Colome only let 5 guys on base in the game (4 singles and a walk), and of those 3 were ensnared in double plays. That is a terrific 8 innings of baseball.

Nevertheless, picking up the Bulls seventh shutout was not entirely easy. First they had to get some runs across and they never did solve knuckleballing PawSoxer Steven Wright. They did load the bases in the 3rd with none out, but could not score. They had to wait until they could deal with a more conventional guy in the 8th to get some runs across. In that inning they loaded the bases with one out. and a ground ball infield single by Justin Christian scored Hak-Ju Lee and a sac fly by Vince Belnome brought Mikie Mahtook home.

Closer Kirby Yates gave us a thrill in the 9th by serving up a leadoff triple in the 9th, then walking the fastest guy on the PawSox team, Mookie Betts. Yates was thereby doing his part for all of our cardio-vascular systems (I was watching from the top of the Monster by then). Coach Neil Allen came out for a talk (wonder what they say when they get out there?). Yates got the next three batters and all was right in the world.

Outside the game —

• Kevin Kiermaier hit a home run for the Tampa Bay Rays and Jerry Sands got his first major league hit, an RBI single last night. The Rays, unfortunately, lost, and have now dropped 10 in a row.
• Speaking of Kiermaier, he gets some love from The Process Report and we begin to wonder what will happen when Brandon Guyer and Wil Myers come off the DL. Will Kiermaier come back for more development (Sands will surely be back) or will he stay

Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang

Season: 34-23; Home Stand: 2-0
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

I could not go to the game last night. I didn’t even get to my radio until the bottom of the 7th inning where I learned that, contrary to my expectation, Alex Colome had done just fine before handing the game off to Merrill Kelly. The Bulls were ahead 3-0 and I figured that since Kelly was in things were OK.

More than OK. By the end of the inning the Bulls picked up 6 more runs on four singles, a double, a Jerry Sands home run, and an IronPig fielding error. Justin Christian homered for the 10th run of the game in the 8th inning.

Bulls pitchers got their 6th shutout of the season. Bulls hitters created the biggest win margin of the year. Gwinnett lost, opening up a 3½ game spread. The Bulls are now 11 games over .500, their best mark of the year. Things are right with the world.

Meanwhile, I have a question for those who listened/watched the game: Why was Vince Belnome playing left field? I’m guessing that it was Mikie Mahtook’s day off and that Charlie Montoyo wanted to keep Belnome's bat in the lineup instead of Price or Nix. But that didn’t work since he was the only Bull not to get on base last night.

About Alex Colome. I assume that readers of this blog know all about the drug suspension. If not, the Herald-Sun story summarizes it. I’m not a very tolerant guy and I find it hard to forgive. Nevertheless, he obviously spent his time away from the game working on his craft, and that’s good for him and for the Bulls. He certainly performed far above my expectations last night.

Cole Figueroa started at 3B. Welcome back.

Outside the game —

• The Rays lost to the Red Sox, again, last night. Their only run was a distinctly weird inside-the-park home run by Kevin Kiermaier. Kiermaier started in right field in the place of injured former Bull Wil Myer.
• In that same game Ali Solis got his first major league start. While in his first AB in the 3rd a pitch went into the dirt, bounced off the catcher’s shin guard, and hit him in the nose. He was taken out of the game. Reports are that his nose is not broken.

6-1 Trip So Far, Pretty Darn Good

Wrap, Box

Two more home runs. These to the same guy. Bulls lead the IL in home runs given up.

Wrap, Box, Toledo Blade

Two more home runs.  Bulls firm up their lead in home runs given up. Tigers GM in the stands. Enny Romero really got hammered.

Season: 32-22; Trip: 6-1

Wrap, Box

Mikie Mahtook and Curt Casali looking terrific. Both of them simply owned Toledo pitching. Meanwhile Matt Andriese makes up for yesterday’s loss in a big way. 

I watched a few innings on MiLB TV (Much better this year, by the way, but still not great unless at DBAP. Other teams simply aren’t investing in equipment or people the way the Bulls have.) They were having one of those kids day at the park and it was just seething (10,300) for a game that started before noon. Hope that they had fun.

I am very impressed with Adam Liberatore this year. From a purely selfish Bulls fan’s perspective, nice to have a quality pitcher who is not on the 40-man. Not that that would keep the Rays from calling him up if they really need him. 

Outside the game —

• As far as I know, we only have two other fan blogs in International League baseball that are active this year. One of them writes about the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, Noise Nation. The Iron Pigs will be in town on Friday, so you might want to start taking a look at their blog just to see what they are saying about their guys. The Iron Pigs are playing in Norfolk and then will drive over for the Friday game in Durham.
• The other writes about the Pawtucket Red Sox (Pawsox Heavy), but I haven't been following that quite so closely this year.

Rosterification (I can’t pronounce it either and yes, I know it isn’t a word — 

• Kevin Kiermaier has been sent to Toronto to join the Rays
• Catcher Ali Solis has been put on the 40-man and called up to the Rays
• Catcher Mayo Acosta has magically arrived from either extended spring training or Hudson Valley, I forget what the official euphemism is for guys who are traveling with the Bulls but aren’t on the Bulls roster. Thank goodness that they are with the Bulls, things would be even worse. Acosta was 0-4 on Wednesday night
• Robby Price also back from extended spring training. He played today in left field. For a part time player, his slash line over 23 games of .299/.413/.418 with 10 RBI is pretty darned good. Nice to have that depth.
• Pitcher Alex Colome may have finally arrived in the Bulls dugout.  Not sure. But he has not been added to the roster … yet.

Durham Bulls Back in First Place

Wrap, Box, Columbus Dispatch

Season: 28-21; Trip: 2-0

Wrap, Box

Last week, last Saturday to be exact, the Bulls lost to Indianapolis and fell out of first place in the International League South Division. They’re back. With last night’s win (and Gwinnett’s loss) they are ½ game in front. [IL Standings] Good news.

Back at the beginning of the season I had the opportunity for a short chat with a couple of Bulls players. I asked them which pitcher should I watch this year. Who had an “arm”. One of them just shrugged, but the other thought for a moment and then said, “Andriese.” After these last three starts of his, it may be that he was on to something. Last night Matt Andriese went 7 innings (100 pitches) and it sounded like he was in control almost all of the way. That let Adam Liberatore come on in the 8th and strike out the side and Jeff Beliveau, he of the astounding ERA after 14 appearances (0.00) came on and added his 3 Ks to the total.

Nice to see Kevin Kiermaier back in center field (he delivered the winning hit as a pinch hitter the previous night). Vince Belnome continued his return to form with a 1 for 2 and 2BB night. Nice to see everyone on the roster above the Mendoza line (.200). That’s a recent, and very welcome, development.

Outside the game —

• Not sure we’ve mentioned all these roster changes: Pitcher Jim Patterson has been sent back to the Montgomery Biscuits. Pitcher Doug Mathis has been assigned to extended spring training. Brandon Gomes is with the Bulls and pitching in relief. Kevin Kiermaier is back.
• Long time WDBB favorite Elliot Johnson is playing for the Columbus Clippers. He started the season with the Cleveland Indians, was designated for assignment, passed through waivers, and accepted assignment to the Clippers early in the month. Mr. Johnson put in most of three years with the Durham Bulls and stands very high on WDBB’s Greatest Bulls Hitters leaderboard. [WDBB] Since leaving the Bulls he has played in the majors for the Rays, the Royals, Atlanta and Cleveland. [Baseball Ref]
• Speaking of former Bulls, Shelley Duncan, a important part of last year’s championship team [WDBB], is back in the game and playing in the International League. He just signed with the Reds and is now playing for the Louisville Bats, joining with Jason Bourgeois on that team, also of the 2013 Durham Bulls championship team. [MLB Rumors]
• Cole Figueroa had a spectacular moment last night playing for the Rays. Just check out the game video and you’ll see. [MLB.com] He came on in the bottom of the 9th as a pinch-hitter and hit a game-winning RBI double.

Matchup: Durham Bulls vs. Columbus Clippers

The Bulls fly into Columbus, Ohio today for four games against Cleveland’s AAA franchise, the Columbus Clippers. The Clippers are dead even in the won-loss column, but holding on to second place in the IL West Division. The Bulls split a four game series against them at the DBAP just a couple of weeks ago. Since then the Bulls have won just 6 games out of 15, slipping to second place in the IL. During that time the Clippers have won 8 games out of 15.

The Bulls still hold an advantage in most statistical categories. They will be adding Brandon Gomes to relief crew and Kevin Kiermaier is due back soon.

Tough Loss

Season: 26-20; Home Stand: 4-3

Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Well that was a disappointing loss. The links have most of the info. Note that Merrill Kelly left the game with a cramp in his hand. Hope that is not serious.

Most of the time we don’t second guess Montoyo and Allen. That’s because they are almost always right. But from the stands it sure seems that with 14 pitchers on the roster that it didn’t make sense for Adam Liberatore to go back out in the 10th. Of course, it perhaps didn’t make all that much sense for him to go out at all.

Jim Patterson hasn’t pitched since his committee start back on May 12th in Scranton. Others who might have been available were Lara, Mathis, and Sandoval. But we’ll never know and maybe that’s a good thing.

Overall, lots of ifs in this one, including the four runners left in scoring position and the two caught stealing.

Because of the oversupply of pitchers, the Bulls only had two position players in the dugout near the end of the game.

Outside the game — 

• For reasons known only to the Bulls (and probably the Rays) Doug Mathis is starting today instead of Enny Romero. We’ll probably hear something about that eventually.
• We have read that Rays reliever Brandon Gomes is on his way to Durham. That will mean 15 pitchers in the bullpen (usual number is 13). Gomes spent much of 2011 and 2012 with the Bulls and was back with the team last year for a while. Not entirely clear why he’s back again.
• Robby Price has already been moved to Hudson Valley in a paper transaction.
• Rays catcher Ryan Hanigan still isn’t playing. Rays may go out and buy someone, or Ali Solis may end up packing his gear. Mayo Acosta is, I think, still around the Bulls dugout.
• Kevin Kiermaier is still with the Rays, implying that Desmond Jennings not yet back from his bereavement leave.

Update: The reason Romero isn't pitching is that it's only been three days since his last time out, when he pitched the first game of a double-header. That messed up my spreadsheet. Apologies to anyone who noticed and was wondering.

Is Vince Belnome Back?

Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Could not get to the game. One of the rare instances this year when the bullpen really let it get away from them.

Season: 26-19; Home Stand: 4-2

Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Although Mike Montgomery did not look all that strong from the stands last night, he nevertheless was never in serious trouble. He was helped a lot by the 3 double plays behind him, but he reached 98 pitches by 6⅓ innings as he got the win (and was named IL Pitcher of the Week) so congrats to him.

The guy I noticed, however, was Vince Belnome. Is he coming out of it at last? Sure looks like it. A home run last night and his slash line (Average/OBP/Slugging) for the last 10 games is a very nice .394/.512/.576. Meanwhile, Wilson Betemit hit another of his very pretty line drives into the right field stands and Mike Mahtook got his first Triple A home run to finish off the Bats.

This was new guy Jayson Nix’s second game, this time playing 3B. Nix came to the Bulls from the Phillies, where he had very limited playing time this year, only in 18 games. He will be an asset to the Bulls, but things are going to get crowded down there on the infield when Cole Figueroa gets back and Tim Beckham gets off the disabled list. Of course, just having this kind of talent: Price, Olmedo, Lee, Fontenot, Figueroa, Nix and Beckham is a pleasant challenge for the management, even if it’s tough on fans who want to see a particular player get his chance to do well.

Speaking of doing well, Hak-Ju Lee made a very, very smooth play running hard to his right in the 5th inning last night. If he could just get his batting eye back.

Outside the game —

• Kevin Kiermaier got his first big league home run out in California last night. And he did his thing in the outfield as well. Check out the the clip of his up-against-the-wall catch and video here and here.
• Cole Figueroa is getting some playing time in, but is still after his first hit.
• In these last two games we’ve had a chance to see former Bull Jason Bourgeois. He was an essential part of last year’s championship team. Hope he gets a chance to go up to the Reds this year.
• More on the Craig Albernaz ring presentation here.
• If you get to the game you will find a well-done profile of reliever Kirby Yates in the program. Worth a look. 

Double Header Split; Bats in Town

Season: 24-28; Home Stand: 3-1
Wrap, Box 1, Box 2, Herald-Sun, MiLB.com

The prominent story in the first game was the dominance of rehabbing White Sox pitcher Chris Sale, and we was very, very good. He struck out 11 Bulls in just 4 innings. The Bulls were really swinging, by the way. They had 15 K’s in the 7-inning game, a season high.

But Enny Romero only gave up one run, a bases-empty homer, in his 4 innings. And he struck out 7. So it really wasn’t as if Sale won the game. In fact, he didn’t, the win went to reliever Donnie Veal. The loss went to the Bulls Doug Mathis. I have to point out that his last three appearances have all resulted in losses. Worrisome.

The second game was more fun for the Bulls and their fans, although watching a good pitcher at work is always interesting, even if he’s your opponent. After the Knights got back in the game with two runs in the 5th, the Bulls took advantage of the tiring Knights starter and then exploited former Bull Frank De Los Santos’ bad night. De Los Santos let both of his inherited runners score on a hit and three walks, allowed another. Pretty terrible night for him.

Robby Price and Jerry Sands hit home runs in the second game. That put the Knights pitching in first place in the International League for home runs allowed (37). Don’t look too closely, though, because the Bulls are in second place with 36 home runs allowed.

Outside the game —

• Missing from the lineup was outfielder Kevin Kiermaier. He is off to join the Rays to stand in for their outfielder Desmond Jennings for a couple of days.
• By the way, Cole Figueroa got in last night’s Rays game out in California. One at-bat, popped out. Two innings at second base. Rays catcher Ryan Hanigan left that game with an injury, but no word on if he will need someone to fill in for him.
• MLB Trade Rumors is reporting that the Rays have signed an infielder, Jayson Nix and will send him to Durham. Nix was at spring training this year with the Rays.

Matchup

Up until just a few years ago, the Louisville Bats, the Triple A franchise of the Cincinnatti Reds, were the team to beat in the West Division. Recently, however, the Columbus Clippers and Indianapolis Indians seem to be the Bulls key competition. Nevertheless, the Bats just won 3 out of four off of Norfolk, so they may be getting back into it. We’ll have to see.

Nice Homecoming Win

Season: 23-17; Home Stand: 1-0

Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun 

Mike Montgomery’s two starts following his no-hitter were pretty awful. But last night he was definitely back on form. After a two-run homer in the 1st inning, he only allowed one more hit through a full 8 innings. He gave up only one walk, and then picked off that runner to end the 6th inning.

We also got to see Kevin Kiermaier do his thing in center field with two very nice running catches at the bottom of the 5th and top of the 6th. 

At bat, Jerry Sands and Wilson Betemit teamed up for the first two runs, Betemit singled and Sands homered. In the 6th an early error and a Kiermaier double gave Sands the opportunity to get his third RBI of the night. He’s up to 31 now and stands second in the International League.

The oddity of the night was that only two umpires were on the field. Typically at Triple A level we see three and sometimes four. I don’t recall just two in any games that I’ve seen. No close plays, fortunately. 

Outside the game —

• Kudos to the new layout of the video board! I’ve laid off commenting, thinking that they would figure a better configuration, and they did. Even for my old eyes it works. The previous display had type sizes for the very, very young. This one is very nice. And I also like the info that started showing up about mid-game on the right field video board. Yeah, the new ballpark is a bit like being inside a pinball machine, but I'm beginning to like this. It's coming along.
• As is the turf. 
• And Food Trucks tonight! We can’t be there, which I sincerely regret. Enjoy it folks!
• And were you curious about walk-up tunes? Check this.
• The mystery of Enny Romero’s scratch on Monday night was solved. He was held out so that he could get on a plane, fly to Seattle, and then fly back to Durham. Does that make sense? I guess it does to the Rays.

Swept; Move on Down the Road

Season: 20-15; Trip: 0-4
Wrap, Box, Syracuse.com

The Durham Bulls wrapped up a thoroughly discouraging visit to Syracuse with another loss. Dollar Day got 3,369 fans into the park, so that foul balls didn’t rattle around in the stands for more than five minutes or so before getting picked up.

Have to wonder about Mike Montgomery’s comedown from his no-hitter on April 26. On May 2 he gave up 3 runs on 7 hits in 5⅓ innings. Yesterday he gave up 7 runs on 11 hits in 4⅔ innings. Worrisome.

Jim Patterson, Jeff Beliveau and Juan Sandoval closed things out, but coming back from 8 runs down is tough. Kevin Kiermaier did get a home run, though.

After the game, they hit the road for Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, straight down I-85 from Syracuse.

By the way, Gwinnett’s been winning. They are only one game back in the South Division.

Matchup

Speaking of the no-hitter, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders are the team that Montgomery no-hit. The Bulls took 3 out of 4 from them at the beginning of the last home stand. Assuming the rotation stays intact, Montgomery probably won’t pitch while at their house.

The RailRiders are only 1½ games back in the very tight North Division. They are 7-3 on their last 10 games and have won the last 5 in a row, just finishing a sweep of the Indianapolis Indians. This will not be an easy run for the Bulls.

It Was a Dark, Lonely Night

Season: 20-12; Trip: 0-1
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Syracuse.com

It’s been a long winter up in the Nawth and it doesn’t look like folks are coming out to watch baseball yet. Only 1,359 were reported to have shown up at the park last night, and that was paid attendance. Syracuse has the lowest average attendance (2,225) in the IL so far this year. Wonder why.

The weather might have something to do with it. Several Bulls were wearing hoodies underneath their jerseys last night.

Overall, new catcher Curt Casali came into a confusing situation and was called on to handle a young pitcher who isn’t doing all that well this year. Matt Andriese struggled from the very start and finally blew up in the 4th.

So let's look for some brightness. Kevin Kiermaier is doing very well in his leadoff job, Mikie Mahtook was back playing baseball in right field and Montoyo had his “regular” outfield of Christian, Kiermaier, and Mahtook for the first time in what seems like a very long while. New guy Curt Casali in his AAA debut went 2 for 3 with a double and a walk, although he did get charged with three stolen bases.

Outside the game —

• Reliever Steve Geltz has been handed a 50-game suspension for using a “drug of abuse”. This hurts him and hurts the team. He had appeared in 11 games, 16⅓ innings, with 4 holds and a 2-2 won-loss record to his credit. He had a superb 2013 with the Bulls and seemed, to me at least, to have a shot at getting on the 40-man this year. That didn’t happen. These suspensions are handed out after a warning, so it’s hard to sympathize. 
• This is going to mess up the Bulls rotation for quite a while since the Rays are expected to call up a reliever today to fill a hole in their bullpen.
• More on Curt Casali: Over at Rays Colored Glasses they’ve been cheering on Mr. Casali for a while. And the Bulls own blog has some more background.

Clipper Pitching Dominates

Season: 18-19; Home Stand: 3-2
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

One of the joys of Triple A baseball is that some nights you get to see world-class baseball. Unfortunately for the Bulls, last night what we saw was a world class, 89 pitch, 29 batters faced performance by the Clippers’ Josh Tomlin. This was the first shutout of the Bulls in 2014. They only put three men on base, Hak-Ju Lee (twice) and Wilson Betemit and the Bulls are the team with the second-best OBP in the entire International League. So, gotta congratulate Tomlin and hope he gets called up before the Bulls face him again.

In the good news department, Kevin Kiermaier was back on the field after missing four games. Hak-Ju Lee got his first clean hit that we’ve seen, a double in the 6th, and he managed to avoid a take-out slide to pull off a nice double play.

Outside the game —

• The Rays opted to take advantage of the relatively new rule that lets them expand their roster to 26 players for a double header. They called up reliever Brad Boxberger and put him in against the Red Sox last night. He did just fine and is hanging on to his 0.00 major league ERA (4 appearances, 6 innings). He’s gonna stick up there before the end of the year, I’m guessing.
• In the oddities department, former Bull Grant Balfour got two saves in one day as the Rays swept the double header against the Red Sox.

End of Game Thrills and Injury Updates

Season: 17-9; Home Stand: 3-1

Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

A tip of my Durham Bulls hat to Harold Gutmann for his reporting in today’s Herald-Sun. It appears that the Bulls/Rays don’t feel any obligation to report injury information to the fans … unless queried by the media. Well, here’s what the Herald-Sun is reporting:

Mikie Mahtook, who got hit in the face with a fastball Monday night:

Outfielder Mikie Mahtook was headed to Florida Tuesday to see a specialist after he was hit by a pitch in the face on Monday. The doctor will determine if he could play with a protective helmet of if he will be out for up to four weeks. 

C.J. Riefenhauser, who was placed on the disabled list Monday:

… C.J. Riefenhauser went on the DL with an oblique sprain.

Kevin Kiermaier, who has not played since April 23 and whose absence is the reason for infielders playing outfield:

Outfielder Kevin Kiermaier (hamstring) is hoping to return Thursday after missing the past four games.

Again, thanks Harold. Nice to have someone looking out for the fan’s interests.

This was a really interesting game. If you weren’t able to make it there, too bad. Yes, the weather was ugly and the kids were loud, really loud, but the baseball was thrilling.

Infielders Robby Price, playing in the outfield for the first time in many years and Ray Olmedo, playing 2B had some key hits, Olmedo’s triple in the 2nd inning got the scoring started and his beautiful safety squeeze bunt in the 8th scored a critical game-winning run in the 8th. Price’s single in the 8th set it up.

And then there was Mike Fontenot in the unusual role of designated hitter to simply would not let Rail Rider pitching off the hook. He had two singles and an RBI double on the night.

What may have been the key to winning the game, however, were the two hitters who started off the 8th inning. Rail Rider Chase Whitney had been on the mound since the 4th inning.  Justin Christian took him to a full count before striking out and then Vince Belnome chipped his way through a 10+ pitch at bat before hitting a double to right field. That opened the door for the Bulls. Jerry Sands got a walk. Mike Fontenot doubled, scoring a run. Robby Price’s single brought in the go ahead run. Olmedo’s bunt brought in the insurance run the Bulls would need.

Kirby Yates (ERA 0.00, 8 saves) came on to close in a 6-4 game. I packed up my stuff and bragged about Yates to the fans around me. Never a good idea. The first batter tripled then came home on an infield ground out. The next batter struck out, but it took 9 pitches to close the deal. After two strikes on the next batter, Yates threw eight straight balls, putting runners on first and second. Time for a mound visit by Neil Allen. Ball, strike, ball, strike, strike, game over. But it was a bit more thrilling that I wished. Yates’ ERA ballooned up to 0.69.

The Rail Riders are a better team than their record shows. If their pitching comes around they could be contenders.

Today is the first day off for the Bulls this season. Take a break guys.

Harbor Park Nice to the Bulls So Far

Wrap, Box, Virginia-Pilot

The Virginia-Pilot’s lead for their game story implies that local folks aren’t too happy with this year’s Tides team.

If it’s possible for nine innings to epitomize more than two weeks of slovenly baseball, it happened Friday at Harbor Park. 

On the other hand, MiLB has a nice story focusing on Bulls starter Nathan Karns who got the win in the Bulls second shutout of the season.

Season: 13-4; This Trip: 2-0 [Note: Bulls are 7-0 on the road this year]
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

This was this year’s first extra-inning game and the team of Kevin Kiermaier and Mikie Mahtook created the win. Those two guys played together all of last year in Montgomery and after Kiermaier stole second and third base in the 11th, Mahtook brought him home. They make a terrific team.

The Herald-Sun link above does a nice job of putting Matt Adriese’s nice 7 inning start in perspective.

Outside the game —

• See DNA of Sports for a terrific backgrounder on outfielder Justin Christian and the home run he hit to his wife and child watching a game from Tobacco Road the other day.
• Relievers C.J. Riefenhauser and Brad Boxberger swapped places yesterday, with Riefenhauser being called up and Boxberger on his way back to the Bulls. A little bit of teasing over at Rays Index regarding the length of Riefenhauser’s name. He got in 1⅓ innings in last night’s slaughter of the Yankees, 2 Ks, no runs. The Tampa Bay Times has a nice story, as does Roger Mooney at the Tampa Tribune. 
• Stacy Long is changing how he reports on the Biscuits and the Rays system over at the Montgomery Advertiser. I’ll be changing my link to his work.
• I think I heard broadcaster Kinas speculate that Saturday's appearance might be the last for rehabbing Juan Carlos Oviedo. Similar ideas show up in the Tampa Bay Times story linked to above.

Four in a Row

Season: 7-3; Trip: 2-0
Wrap, Box, Gwinnett Daily Post

Merrill Kelly did just fine in his first start for 2013. In fact, he went a full six innings. Kelly doesn’t strike ‘em out, he just gets them out. His only mistake was a home run to (who else?) Ernesto Mejia.

As pointed out in the matchup a couple of days ago, G’Braves pitching is not up to their usual standards. The Bulls are taking advantage of that early in the season.

Outside the game —

• Kevin Kiermaier got his first major league start and got famous. Check out the video and the commentary over on Rays Index. He is expected to return to the Bulls in the next day or so.
• Update: More on Kiermaier here.

Triples

Season: 6-3; Trip: 1-0
Wrap, Box, Gwinnett Daily Post

A triple is an unusual hit in baseball. Three in a game is very unusual.

Last night’s first, by Mikie Mahtook, drove in Jerry Sands. The second, by catcher Roman Ali Solis, put him on 3B and he came home on a Ray Olmedo single. The third, by Justin Christian, drove in two runs and blew the game open. Christian came home on a sacrifice fly of Wilson Betemit.

Meanwhile Mike Montgomery continues to look very good in a 5-inning, 5K, 1ER performance. Jeff Beliveau came back from Tampa Bay and put in a solid two innings. C.J. Riefenhauser and Kirby Yates closed it out.

Outside the game —

• Kevin Kiermaier is in the starting lineup for todays game in Cincinatti.
• Merrill Kelly is tonight’s starting pitcher (He did that 14 times last year. He was, in fact, the 5th man in last year’s rotation.)
• As to why, well reports have Durham Bull Erik Bedard being called up even though Cesar Ramos is listed at Tampa Bay’s starter and no corresponding roster move has been announced.
• Charlotte's new park opened last night. Background story here.