Bulls in the Bandbox by the Bay

Unless I’ve misremembered or miscounted (likely) ten Durham Bulls went “up” to the Rays this month, or just at the end of August. Six were position players and four pitchers. How are they doing?

I guess that depends on your point of view. So far in September the Rays have played 11 games, won only 4 of them, losing 7. Except for the last 3, they’ve all been road games, so they really haven’t spent much time in the bandbox by (or at least near) the Bay.

Of this crowd I have to say that only one of them has had much of an impact, J.P. Arencibia. And he was actually called up on August 26 and got in 5 games before the rest of the crew showed up. Among the pitchers only Andrew Bellatti has done particularly well. The rest? Not so much. Most of the numbers here are for September, unless otherwise noted.

Also note that with nearly 40-players on the bench, the Rays have been doing a lot of pinch-hitching and pinch-running. Does not seem to have made much difference in the won-loss column, though.

• J.P. Arencibia: 15 games (Aug-Sep), 39 plate appearances, 14 hits, 3 doubles, 5 HR, .368/.359/.842
• Mikie Mahtook: 10 games, 24 PA,  6 hits (double, triple, home run), two complete games. .228/323/.509 on the year (66 pa)
• Richie Shaffer: 9 games, 26 PA, 4 hits, (double, home run) four complete games. .209/.320/.442 on the year (50 PA)
• Nick Franklin: 4 games, 3 PA, no hits. .133/.198/.438 on the year (81 PA)
• Joey Butler: 5 games, 6 PA, 1 hit. .272/.325/.719 on the year (265 PA)
• Luke Maile: 6 games (1 start), 10 PA, 1 hit (a double) .100/.100/.200

• Matt Moore: 2 starts, no-decision and a loss, games scores of 51 (OK) and 23 (not good)
• C.J. Riefenhauser: 4 games, 3.1 innings, 2 ER, no decisions.
• Kirby Yates: 3 appearances, 4 innings, 2 ER, no decision
• Andrew Belatti: 4 appearances, 4.1 innings, 0 ER, 1 loss, 1 win

Six to the Rays

The first round of September call-ups were announced last night. This is going to get complicated today and over the next couple of days as we find out who's going to be filling in.

Pitchers

• Matt Moore
• C.J. Riefenhauser
• Kirby Yates

Hitters

• Mikie Mahtook
• Richie Shaffer
• Luke Maile

All except for Luke Maile are are the Rays 40-man so nothing needs to be done there except to make room for Maile. That will probably be announced today. Worst case, for the Bulls, is for a current member of the Bulls team to be designated for assignment, which would mean that he could not play for a few days, if at all.

Note that the Biscuits clinched the second half win are in the Southern League playoffs. They likely will be making the case that they not get stripped of their best players.

Today is José Constanza's 32nd birthday. He will be celebrating in a Bulls uniform. If the name is familiar, he spent much of last year in a Gwinnett Braves uniform and the early part of this year in a Louisville Bats uniform. Last played in mid-July. Stats.

Long-time Durham Bull Justin Ruggiano is back with the team that drafted him, the LA Dodgers.

Fun While It Lasted

6th Inning: Hak-Ju Lee slides safely under/past the tag of Knights’ 1B Dayan Viciedo as pitcher Brad Penny and 2B Michah Johnson cluster in frustration. Thanks, Sue! 

Season: 67-67; Home Stand: 1-1
Games Remaining: 10; Home Games: 7
Wrap, Box

Each of the three Durham Bulls pitchers allowed at least one earned run last night and that was enough to break the streak. Those fans inclined to seek good news at the far reaches of probability, possibility, and plausibility are slowly coming back to earth. But wasn’t that a pretty run?

About that photo up at the top by our good friend Sue Roth (who sits not far from first base, obviously) — I am not a fan of even the idea of sliding into first base and have been pleased to see it seemingly disappear from most player’s trick bag. But this time it made sense. As the first batter in Durham’s piece of the 6th inning, Hak-Ju Lee made a hard bunt between pitcher and first base. Thereafter there was a gathering of Knights: Pitcher Brad Perrry, First Baseman Dayan Viciedo, and Second Baseman Micah Johnson. Viciedo has the ball and Lee is sliding under and past the tag to reach the base. A fraction of a second later Johnson kicks Lee in the head and they had what I hope was a friendly discussion about that.

Back to the rest of the game.

Matt Moore had brilliant innings followed by not very good innings all night. And easy 1st inning, then two walks and two K’s in the 2nd. In the 3rd a single, a run-scoring double, and two wild pitches let two runs score. Three up, three down in the 4th. Same in the 5th. In the 6th a single, then an error by Richie Shaffer, and another single loaded the bases. Moore hit the next batter for another run. Kirby Yates gave up a run on 2 hits in his 1⅔ innings. Andrew Bellatti gave up a home run in his inning.

But the hitters did have their chances. After being absolutely shut down for 14 outs, a double by Cory Brown broke up the perfect game Brad Penney had going. Then in the 7th the Bulls scored two runs before Mikie Mahtook struck out with the bases loaded. That got the Bulls within a run, but the Knights got two more runs before the Bulls even threatened in the 9th and that fizzled out.

Nevertheless, an 8-game run is a big deal. Thanks, Bulls, for the thrills as the season winds down.

Stee-rike!

Season: 63-66; Home Stand: 4-0
Games Left in Season: 15; Home Games: 10
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

The game story from last night is, as it should be, Matt Moore’s 16 Ks (a Bulls record) and the 4 more by the relievers to set a season team high of 20 Ks. Certainly very fine performances by Matt Moore, Robert Zarate (who got the win) and Kirby Yates. And yet after Moore gave up the home run in the 6th, the Bulls were losing the game.

So, yes, there was some great pitching on both sides until the 7th. However, the Clippers put in Michael Roth to take the place of Toru Murata and Roth never got an out. In fact, it wasn’t until his 13th pitch that he even threw a strike. That is, he walked the bases loaded on 12 pitches, something of a pitching accomplishment all of its own. A Boog Powell sacrifice fly brought in the tying run and Roth was pulled from the game. A Nick Franklin single brought the go-ahead run in and a J.P. Arencibia single brought in two more.

The last time the Bulls won four games in a row was back in June, from the 7th to the 12th, but only two of those wins were at home. We have to go back to the end of May for four home wins. And lots of folks are showing up for the games as well.

A feature of the Bulls’ recent success has been plate discipline. They’ve drawn 21 walks over the last four games. Before we get too excited about that, however, we have to also note that they have struck out 35 times over the same four games (the Bulls lead the IL with 1,071 Ks on the season).

This win over Columbus is a modest help to Gwinnett in the wild card race. The Braves are still 2½ back, but aren’t out of it.

Bats Muffled

Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Season: 55-58; Home Stand: 3-5

Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

This was possibly the best all-around Bulls game of the year. The run differential of 9 runs was, by a couple of runs, the biggest of the year. The 16 hits and 8 walks were part of a team OPS of 1.064, 300 points above the IL average of .717. Matt Moore and 3 relievers held the Bats to just 3 hits, 2 walks, and 1 run with 11 K’s. 

It was a rainy night in Durham. I watched on TV and noticed all the fans huddled under their umbrellas. Ground balls in the outfield spun up rooster-tails as they ran over the grass. One long ball to the right field wall didn’t bounce, it just died on the warning track. Several times the grounds crew was out with Diamond-Dry for the mound and batter’s box (trivia question of the day: What is Diamond-Dry made from?). Batters were constantly wiping their bats down between pitches (How could that possibly do any good, I thought. Maybe?)

Every Bull got a hit, except for Hak-Ju Lee. However, Lee got an RBI on a bases-loaded walk in the the 1st inning. Mikie Mahtook is back and batted leadoff. He started with a single and followed up with a 3-run homer in the 6th. He looked more comfortable at the plate than I’ve seen him all year. New guy Joey Rickard is making the most of his time in AAA. He was 4 for 6 and is hitting .444 so far. Taylor Motter was 4 for 5 in one of his best games of the year. Luke Maile got back up above the Mendoza Line.

Meanwhile, the newest Bull is Rays star left-hander Matt Moore. He has been sent down to sort out his recovery from surgery and, after some real troubles with the Rays last month, he gave the Bats a tutorial on big league pitching. He may not yet be back to his best fastball, but his off-speed stuff was nasty. Indeed, he had four perfect innings before a couple of singles got through in the 5th. The rest of the inning was ground outs (with one walk), but a run got across. The 6th was 3 up, 3 drown. 

He was followed by Andrew Bellatti, not seen for quite a while. He K’d the side. Then Bradin Hagens for his first appearance as a reliever in this trip to AAA. He gave up a single before getting the next three batter out. José Dominguez walked one, but he was double up and a ground out finished the game.

Bulls-Bats games over the years have often been fun to watch. The Reds have a good system and, usually, manage their guys well. 

Slide Continues

Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Season: 52-56; Home Stand: 0-3
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

The Durham Bulls slid deeper into the cellar of the International League South Division with last night’s shutout. Bradin Hagens had a decent start, but it’s hard to win without any run support. And then Everett Teaford, who has had a tough time of it since being sent down from Tampa Bay (10 earned runs in 6⅔ innings — ERA 13.5) had three runs scored on him (1 earned). Which brings up the problem of stone hands/rubber arms: the Bulls have committed 15 errors in the last 5 games.

Nonetheless, it was interesting to see J.P. Arencibia start the game as the Bulls' catcher. That has not happened much this year. Richie Shaffer started at first base, but got pulled from the game (apparently as a call-up to the Rays). Arencibia took off the gear and went to first. Mayo Acosta got to make a rare appearance as catcher.

Jared Sandberg got tossed from the game after a Boog Powell pickoff. Guess he couldn’t see the play on TV re-run. It was a good call by the ump (if that’s what he was arguing about). Powell also got caught attempting to steal and made a throwing error. Not a good day for the youngster.

Speaking of stolen bases, one of the few Bulls strengths this year. They have not stolen a base in the last six games. That might, however, simply indicate a respect for Braves catcher Christian Bethancourt’s arm.

Outside the game —

• Let me put in a bit of skepticism regarding the Richie Shaffer call-up. Don’t get me wrong, I really like him and he has been a very exciting guy to watch (even though he seems to do better on the road than at home). Nevertheless, it’s worth pointing out that IL pitchers may have figured something out about him. He’s .241 over the last 10 games and has just one home run. 
• Mikie Mahtook went up to the Rays; came back and put on a Bulls uniform for one game; and went back to the Rays (0-4 last night).
• Grady Sizemore is up with the Rays.
• Joey Rickard, a 24 year-old outfielder with the Montgomery Biscuits, has been called up to the Bulls. He has some very nice numbers with the Biscuits. And seems to be fast (19 stolen bases and 6 triples — I take a triple to be more a measure of speed than of power). Also looks like he crowds the plate a bit. He’s accumulated 40 hits by pitch in his 4 seasons of pro ball (just 5 this year, though). [stats]
• Matt Moore has been optioned to the Bulls. I like watching him pitch. He’s working hard to come back from Tommy John surgery and didn’t do well with the Rays after his two (also not very good) rehab starts here in late June. Yeah, he’s not likely to really help the Bulls, but at this point WDBB is starting to focus on individual performance anyhow. We get a chance to see a great pitcher work on his comeback. He probably should have stayed here for a couple more games anyhow.
• Another rehabber, Drew Smyly, may also be coming back for a start soon.
• The N&O has a feature article on new guy Blake Snell. He should start the next day or so.
• Today: Indianapolis Indians (Pittsburgh Pirates). First place in IL West. ERA - #5; Hitting (OPS) - #9.

The Slide

click on chart for larger image

Good-Bye Columbus

Game 71, Sunday, 21 June	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Columbus Clippers (Indians)	1	0	0	2	0	1	1	0	0	5	12	0
Durham Bulls (Rays)	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	5	0

Season: 39-32; Home Stand: 0-4
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

I have enormous respect for Matt Moore. Before his surgery I thought he was one of the best pitchers in the game and I certainly hope that he continues on his path to a full recovery.

I also hope that he will forgive this mild rant about yesterday’s game. You see, I thought that a Bulls win would have been nice. And I thought that showing at least a bit of respect for Bulls tradition by wearing a full Bulls uniform would have been nice. I understand that it’s the norm for rehabbing major leaguers to wear their long pants, and bat wearing their major leaguer helmets. But there’s at least one fan that doesn’t like it and thinks that it’s simply a form of showing off. Especially when the rehabber is focused on his rehab and not helping the Bulls win a game. Take this quote from Moore after the game (from the Herald-Sun link above):

“The changeup is still a pitch that is coming around,” Moore said. “Still testing waters with it a little bit. I had some good swing and misses with it. Had a pop up with it. But its’ still one of the things that maybe in another situation and the game is bigger I may not throw that lefty-lefty change up there. I may go with another pitch because the changeup isn’t typically my strength. But they want me to get some work on it and he took care of it.”

To summarize, Moore gave up three runs (two homers) and took the loss. Rays fans are probably happy. Bulls fans (at least one of them) are not. I think it would have been nice for him to mention that his mistakes helped lose the game. (Note: maybe he did and the Herald-Sun left it out. If so, my apologies. But that line, ...'and the game is bigger...', struck me the wrong way.)

New guy Ernesto Frieri made his first appearance with the Bulls. He’s been on the roster for a couple of weeks. He last pitched for the Rays on June 1, so we could have expected some rust. And that’s what we saw. He has almost 300 appearances as a major leaguer and at 29 he probably still has some gas in the tank. Let’s hope he figures out what he needs to figure out while he's with the Bulls and helps the team. Stats.

When Frieri came off the DL yesterday, Bradin Hagens was sent back to Montgomery. He is tied with his Montgomery teammates Kyle Winkler and Leonardo Reginatto for the least number of innings pitched by a Bulls this year (3) — that’s assuming Mr. Frieri does not go back on the DL.

Former Bull Matt Buschmann pitched 7 innings and took a win for the Louisville Bats yesterday. Guess that means he might be coming back to the DBAP, in a different uniform. Box.

Two home runs, by Corey Brown and Luke Maile, were all the scoring yesterday. Columbus pitching simply dominated the Bulls. In the last three games Bulls hitters struck out 42 times. It’s a mostly ugly hitting picture in recent days. Pleased to see them leave town and we hope the Bulls take advantage of their day off.

www.watchingdurhambullsbaseball.com

Mystery Pitchers; Bad Luck Ending

Season: 39-31; Home Stand: 0-3
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Starting pitcher last night was Robert Zarate. He did 4 innings. He was followed by Bradin Hagens for 3 innings. Who? Followed by whom?

Welcome to the 2015 Durham Bulls! Even with the diligent efforts of the front office, even with a program, it’s hard to keep track of the players on this year’s team. For that matter, even if you wear your radio at the park, sometimes they don’t know much about the players. So you just have to kind of figure it out on your own.

Zarate showed up a few days ago and pitched in relief in a couple of road games. Not much history available. Stats. But he looked pretty darned good last night. He only let one run in on his 61 pitches, several of which were in the high 90’s. I think he’s going to be fun to watch. He left with the game tied at 1-1.

Bradin Hagens just came up from Montgomery, where he was doing OK. Stats. He also did just fine. When he left the game was 2-2.

So it looks like the Rays have not done the Bulls too much harm in this round of moves.

Can’t say as much about this umpiring crew. So far they’ve called 10 Bulls games this year and they are not the best of the bunch. But it was a hot night and maybe, just maybe, the home plate ump could justify what was a bit of exuberant bat-tossing by both teams that led to two ejections. On the other hand, they really did miss the call on Cory Brown at second base and that really did make a difference.

Meanwhile, a bit of tactical trivia that also made a difference. Bulls managers have historically been very reluctant to call for intentional bases on balls. So far in 2015 manager Jared Sandberg has only asked for 6 in four games. The Bulls lost every one of those games.

Take last night. Top of the 10th. Game tied. Runner on second base. No outs. Jhan Marinez K’d a batter. Got a ground out (runner went  to 3B). Then told to intentionally walk Columbus’ Jesus Aguilar, who had 2 hits and 2 K’s on the night. Next batter hit a home run and Clippers were ahead 5-2.

The Bulls could not catch up. However, Third Baseman J.P. Arencibia hit his 11th home run and the Bulls did get within reach. Note: Vince Belnome started at 3B, but got thrown out of the game for throwing his bat after a called third strike in the 5th.

Outside the game —

• Former Bull, and Tampa Bay ace, Matt Moore is scheduled to start this afternoon. High hopes that he does well down in the bay area. Here too. Possibly the best pitcher we’ve had the opportunity to see here.

In the Wings —

• Over with the Montgomery Biscuits, Leonardo Reginatto started at 3B, then shifted over to pitch in the 15th(!) inning. He gave up a home run in a 1-0 loss. Juniel Querecuto was 0 for 5 at shortstop. Bryce Stowell pitched the 13th and 14th innings. Box. 

Standings

With the loss, the Charlotte Knights moved ahead of the Bulls in the International League South Division. This is a very competitive bunch of teams this year.

Damp Time at the Park

 

Craig Robinson, of FlipFlopFlyBall, "Ballpark on Stilts"

Season: 30-24; Home Stand: 6-2
Box, Wrap, Herald-Sun

Matt Buschmann had his not-quite-worst outing of the season (worst would have been back on May 8th up in Syracuse). And the Bulls never quite got on track. Also to be noted was his his recent tendency (four in the his last two games) to hit guys. Last night the rain was certainly having its effect on his footing and his grip on the ball, though.

Seeking just a little bit of light, we have to note that this was the first time in his last 5 appearances that Jordan Norberto didn’t allow a run, and his first two-inning stint since April 22. Not much effect on his pretty awful numbers, but maybe ...

Meanwhile, "Please stop the rain ..."

Outside the game —

• Everett Teaford is back from Montgomery. Assume that he will go into the rotation.
• George Habel, Bulls front office exec, has been writing about the food choices at the DBAP.
• FlipFlopFlyBall is the website of artist and baseball obsessed infographics guy Craig Robinson. His drawing/painting above is part of a series putting ballparks in interesting places. Also note the Bull on his homepage. He has very graciously allowed WDBB to use a couple of his images this year. Please don't reuse them without his permission.

In the wings —

• Rehabbing Rays pitcher (and former Durham Bull) Matt Moore, 2.1 innings with Charlotte Stone Crabs. Box. Claw Digest.

Early Bird Gets the ...

DBAP, April 7
click on image for larger view

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

Concession stand owners probably weren't happy with yesterday’s 30 minute early start. But it turns out to have been a very smart move on the part of the Bulls. Only two games were played in the IL yesterday as the weather closed out almost everyone. But someone in Durham saw a 2-3 hour window and went for it. As you can see from the webcam shot not a whole lot of folks made it to the game, but the sunset sure was pretty, wasn’t it?  Note the folks sitting in our seats. Official count was 1,901, but that includes season ticket holders. Doesn't look like more than a couple hundred to me.

On the other hand, some folks (such as WDBB) just didn’t want to leave the house. Probably a few more compared the sitting out in the weather to watching the NCAA championship and went for that. Too bad. From listening it was an interesting game.

To begin with, the first batter up, left fielder Justin Christian, banged one off the Bull and discovered he had a whole lot of friends in the clubhouse. Christian (see Herald-Sun story), it seems, just gave up tobacco and red meat so he’ll be giving away the free steak.

That was followed by a Wilson Betemit single that drove in Kevin Kiermaier for enough runs to win the game. A home run by Jerry Sands and an Knights' error-plagued 8th inning added on to the score.

This was the first appearance of Erik Bedard in a Bulls uniform. His 10 years of major league service time is the most on the team and he showed it with a solid 60 pitch appearance.

But the guy I want to talk about today is Cole Figueroa. Is this his year? The 27 year-old infielder is off to an amazing start with a league-leading OBP (on base percentage) (Oops, original had OPS not OBP) of .722! His “slash line” is a startling .500/.722/.700; OPS 1.422. Sure it’s early in the season and he’s only had 18 plate appearances. But he is on track to do the Bulls at least as much good as he did last year and very likely much, much more.

Outside the game —

• Former Bull and WDBB favorite Leslie Anderson is off to a booming start for the Yomiuri Giants of the Japan Central League: 4 for 8,  1HBP, 2 singles, 1 double, OPS - 1.556! Good for him. 
• Another former Bull, Mike Moore, left last night’s Rays-Royals game early. He’s due for an MRI soon. If he does need some time off, one of the current Bulls would be on the short list to join the Rays. Mike Montgomery is the most mature of Bulls starters on the 40-man. But you have to think the Rays would do some roster magic to move Bedard up instead.
• This post from Rays Index might seem discouraging to current Bulls. But maybe not. 
• In the category of—how did I miss this? — we’ve learned that Justin Ruggiano is playing outfield for the Chicago Cubs. Not having a good start. Apparently hurt ankle near the end of spring training. He left some impressive numbers behind in his five year career with the Bulls.

The Durham Bulls in 2013 — Pitchers — Part 2

This continues our look at the Durham Bulls pitchers for 2013. They are discussed in the innings-pitched sequence shown in the table in Part 1. Charts in this post exclude a couple of pitchers who will be discussed when we get to them: Craig Albernaz, Matt Moore, Austin Hubbard, and Braulio Lara.

Durham Bulls Pitchers, 2013
click for larger image

Steve Geltz (RHRP) came to the Bulls out of the Angels system and made his first appearance with the team on April 6 (and got one of his 5 wins). He had the most innings of any of the relief corps (67) and appeared in 41 games. He was arguably the best of the relievers (not counting the closer crew of Lueke and Yates, but even there Geltz had 3 saves). Middle relievers are notoriously hard to evaluate. But Geltz has two stats that jump out at you. His Walks and Hits Per Inning Pitched (WHIP) was an impressive 0.85, the best on the team among the regular pitchers, and his ERA was 2.82. The majority of games he appeared in the Bulls won (26 out of 41). The mystery will be, of course, if he can get a contract and an invitation to spring training next year. He should. Stats.

Kirby Yates (RHRP) had a great year, as we’ve discussed a few times. If he seemed a bit tired near the end, he did pick up four (!) saves in postseason play. Stunning WHIP, ERA, and FIP numbers over his 61⅔ innings and 51 appearances. Fortunately for the Bulls, if not for him, he was not on the 40-man, so he was with the Bulls all year. Next year? The Bulls can hope. The Rays may be coming up on a decision time for him. Stats.

Adam Liberatore (LHRP) was in a lot of games (43) for quite a few innings (60) mostly in short relief and occasionally in a left-on-left situation. Most years we have not seen the Bulls play matchup very often, but this year when there were sometimes four lefties available (Liberatore, Beliveau, De Los Santos, and Riefenhauser) we saw more matchup appearances. His numbers are sort of middle of the pack for the 2013 Bulls, which means they are pretty good. A particularly low FIP of 2.42 means that the coaches are likely to be talking about what else he’s got. He could make it to the 40-man or be part of a trade package in the off-season. Stats.

Josh Lueke (RHRP) did a terrific job for the Bulls all year, making him and Kirby Yates an almost unbeatable team at the end of a game. His 17 saves matched up with Yates’ 20. Lueke got called up 4 times during the year. He appeared in 19 games for the Rays with an ERA of 5.06 and a WHIP of 1.64, nothing approaching his numbers for the Bulls. On the other hand, it doesn’t look like the Rays were using him in save situations. A very deliberate presence on the mound, he could be irritating if you were ready to go home, but going home with a win was worth it. Not on first round post-season roster for Rays. Stats.

Chris Archer (RHSP) started the season with the Durham Bulls and pitched in 10 games, not particularly successfully. But he was very likely working on specific pitches and waiting for his opportunity with the Rays. When that came in late May, he was off and not looking back. As a Ray he’s accumulated a very respectable (great!) 9-7 record, ERA 3.22 over 23 starts. He is on the Rays’ post-season roster and will be starting one of the early games of the ALDS. We won’t see him back in Durham except as a visitor. Stats.

Cory Wade (RHRP) was a Bull back in 2011 and we were pleased to see the Bulls pick him up during the confusion of mid-May. We also thought he’d be working hard to get back on a major league team. He did just fine, including several crucial spot starts. His ERA of 2.17 over 30 games and 50 innings was superb, the third best among the regulars. When it apparently became clear to him in late August that he was not going to get added to the Rays’ 40-man, he was released. He finishied out the season with the New York Mets Triple-A team, the Las Vegas 51s. Maybe he will make it back as a Met next year. Stats.

Alex Torres (LHSP/RP) has been with the Bulls for parts of three seasons. We have been quite critical of the young man, especially as he struggled through last season with an ERA of 7.30 over 26 games and 69 innings. Rumor at the beginning of 2013 was that he had worked something out over the winter. That was surely the way it looked in his 9 games he started with the Bulls this spring. His ERA wasn’t great, but his WHIP was, for Torres, an exceptional 1.20. Other metrics looked just fine. The Rays, however, had an eye on him as a left-handed reliever. He went up in mid-May, came back for two games, and went back up after a late May game. With the Rays he’s appeared in 39 games, all in relief. He has had an extraordinary WHIP of 0.90 and an equally exceptional ERA of 1.71. He is on the post-season roster and unlikely to be back in a Bulls uniform any time soon. He is a great example of how fans can almost never really get a grip on a ballplayer’s potential. Folks in the Rays system did not give up on Torres and he has paid them back. Stats.

Jeff Beliveau (LHRP) joined the Bulls a couple of weeks into the season. From the stands we always perceived him as a left-handed reliever-in-waiting and he made numerous trips to the Rays during the season. But he did not get into a game until September, after the Bulls season was over. Used almost exclusively in short relief, at the end of the season we realized, much like Steve Geltz, that he was one the the guys who really made a difference this year. Some of his metrics are on the high end, but he was a pretty reliable guy. Unless he gets involved in some trading activity, we’d guess he’ll be back with Durham next year. Fine with us if he is. Stats.

Jim Paduch (RHSP/RP) didn’t have all that good a year with the Bulls in 2012, but who did? So we weren’t too worried about him coming back this year. He won his first game pitching in relief of Mike Montgomery, but things really did not look all that good in his next several games. His best game was at the end of May, but by then it was too late. He was offered at job in Montgomery, but decided to retire instead. Always seemed like a nice guy to me, and he had a terrific backstory of getting up to AAA by way of several seasons in independent ball. But it wasn’t working out. Good luck, Jim. Stats.

Will Inman had a decent enough 2012 with the Pawtucket Red Sox, so he seemed a reasonable choice to help fill out the Bulls bullpen this year. But he wasn’t very impressive from the start and, while he didn’t have any truly disastrous innings, over time the bad news seemed to accumulate. By June his ERA was up to 6.47. He left the game with an injury on June 3, pitched in three more after coming off the DL, and was released in late June. Stats.

Frank De Los Santos (LHRP) is a pitcher who seems to have been around a very long time. But he actually hasn’t. He is only 25 years old. He just can’t seem to stay healthy. This year was no exception. He did appear in 26 games, but for just 32 innings. There were a couple of moments in 2012 where he looked very, very good. But we did not see any of that in this year's games. He appeared in 11 games, went on the DL, came back in early July and appeared in 15 more games. He was traded to the Chicago White Sox at season’s end. If he’d ever been truly healthy my guess is that he could have been something special. Stats.

Juan Sandoval (RHRP) spent most of his year with the Montgomery Biscuits (46 games/58 innings). But he sure was handy when he visited the Bulls. The first time was a stretch from late May to late June (11 games/19 innings) when he posted some good numbers and only got in trouble once. Then he came back at the end of the season for a desperately needed spot start in a end-of-season double header. In the Bulls’ post-season he was perfect over 4⅓ innings. At 32, Sandoval is famously coming back from serious injury and a lot of time in the Mexican League. Can he stick at AAA? Maybe we will find out next year. Stats.

C.J. Riefenhauser (LHRP) came up from Montgomery at the beginning of July and yet only appeared in 17 games and just 21 innings. He did OK, but each year of his professional career he’s been pitching fewer and fewer innings (2011 - 138, 2012 - 114, 2013 - 73). That leads to concerns about his fundamental strength and durability. He had one of the better WHIP (1.06) of the Bulls and if his time in Montgomery is included it was superb (0.83). Maybe it’s just a matter of opportunity. We’ll have to see next year. Stats.

Brandon Gomes (RHRP) spent a couple of weeks with the Bulls in August as he was working his way back to the Rays. Probably more time than he really needed, but the Rays were manipulating their roster at the time and Gomes had options left. He was very helpful as he pitched 10⅓ innings over 9 games with a WHIP of just 0.77. Stats.

Enny Romero (LHSP) was in only one regular season game for the Bulls, but that was a brilliant 8-inning shutout of the Norfolk Tides the last game of the year. He went on to pitch 2 innings in relief in the playoffs and after the AAA season’s end got called up to the Rays for one game start against Baltimore where he got a win. He had an excellent year in Montgomery, so we can expect him to start 2014 as a top Rays prospect, possibly with the Bulls. He is now on the Rays’ 40-man, although he was not at the end of the Bulls’ season. Stats.

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Players Not in the Charts

Ramon Ramirez (RHRP) was hired by the Rays in mid-July in what has to be described as a speculative flyer. At the time, however, there were a lot of Rays pitchers with injury problems. Ramirez appeared in just 6 games for the Bulls and pitched only 6 innings before being released at the end of the month. Stats.

Matt Moore (LHSP) had a one-game, 4-inning rehab appearance on August 29. Didn’t do all that great, but the Bulls won the game against the Braves 7-6. Adam Liberatore got the win. Box.

Craig Albernaz is a catcher, not a pitcher, but he did have three appearances on the mound this year and pitched three scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and recording 2 strikeouts. Not one walk. Well done!

Braulio Lara (LHRP) came up from Montgomery at the very end of the season and pitched 3 innings in relief of Juan Sandoval, who had come up to pitch in that same game. He had a busy 45 game, 72 inning year in Montgomery, but did not have all that strong a set of numbers (ERA 4.38, WHIP 1.54). Stats.

Austin Hubbard (RHRP) came up from Single A Charlotte for just one game in mid-May when the Bulls were on the road in Rochester. The Red Wings scored 5 runs off of him in just ⅔ of an inning (they had earlier scored 5 runs in one inning off of Jim Paduch). He then went off to Montgomery where he had 31 more  not particularly good innings on the year. The relentless arithmetic of baseball stats left him with the highest ERA of any Bull this year (67.5) and the lowest number of innings pitched (⅔). No surprise if you think about it. Stats.

Eight Transactions in Four Days; More Coming?

The last few days has seen exceptional movement to/from the Bulls’ roster — and no doubt it will keep on keeping on. I thought it would be nice to try to summarize what’s happened since the arbitrary date of August 25th, just four days ago. Players marked with an asterisk are on the Tampa Bay 40-man roster. For the most part I’m not going to bother with links, unless I think there’s a particularly juicy bit of gossip connected to the move. Sorted by date of transaction.

• Outfielder *Brandon Guyer has recovered from his broken finger very nicely. He is officially on a rehab assignment. We don’t know how long that clock can tick, but until the alarm goes off he doesn’t count against any rosters. He played in his first game August 25. Has been in three games, 15 for 34 with 2 doubles, 1 triple, 3 BBs.
• Outfielder Jason Bourgeois accepted his assignment back to the Bulls. He is not on the Rays 40-man, and is on the Bulls’ active roster. His first game was August 27. 2 games, 3 for 9, 1 double, 2 BBs.
• RHP Cory Wade was released on Aug 27. Possibly had an opt-out contract and didn’t see opportunities with the Rays.
• Outfielder/DH *Luke Scott was assigned to the Bulls on a rehab assignment. He doesn’t count against the Bulls roster either. No idea how long he will be with the Bulls. He played in a game last night (Aug 28). 1 for 4. Odd choice of photo. Done know what team hat that could be. Trivia: Same home town as recently-honored Chipper Jones (DeLand, Florida).
• *RHP Jake Odorizzi called up to Rays. Pitched for them today (Aug 29). Got zero run support in a loss. Up in place of Rays’ Jeremy Hellickson about whom little is being said.
• *LHP Jeff Beliveau was called up and is reportedly on his way back having, again, not appeared in a game.That will be the third time he’s been called up this year. He has yet to throw a ball for the Rays.
• *LHP Matt Moore is on a rehab assignment and expected to pitch tonight for the Bulls.

That’s what we know for sure. All things added up, and counting Beliveau and Moore, the Bulls have 13 pitchers on hand and 14 position players. Three of those are in some form of rehab assignment, so by the books, the Bulls are one player short of full strength (and Jeff Beliveau isn’t really with the Bulls, yet).

Now, how about the rumors?

• One blogger thinks Tim Beckham is due to be called up within a few days.
• Adam Sobsey is tweeting that Montgomery Biscuits LH starting pitcher *Enny Romero could be coming to pitch for the Bulls soon (Norfolk? Friday?). 
• Montgomery Advertiser reporter Stacy Long thinks that another starter, Jake Thompson, could be joining Romero.
• Will Jake Odorizzi come back to the Bulls for the playoffs? Will Jeremy Hellickson visit for a game? 
• For even more weirdness, Jeff Beliveau is showing up on the Montgomery Biscuits roster (????).

Hemstitching: Devil Rays, Moore, Shortstop, and Second Base

When there’s no hot baseball news, sometimes you have to stretch it a bit.

• Over at Rays Index, Cork Gaines laments the end of the Devil Rays.
• Matt Moore gets more favorable press and there’s some interesting down-ticket commentary on the Rays site. It is less and less likely that we will see Mr. Moore in Durham next year. Too bad. He really is the best we’ve ever seen.
• Rays Prospects keeps on trucking with their thoughts on shortstop (Tim Beckham and Shawn O’Malley with the Bulls) and second base (Cole Figueroa).

Bulls/Rays Playoff Thread

Let's see if we can keep track of our Bulls as the Rays move forward. But first to backtrack a bit.

September 28, 2011
Tampa Bay Rays 8, New York Yankees 7 (12 innings)
Wrap, Box

This was, of course, the most important game of the season for the Rays that, combined with Boston's loss, earned them the wild card spot. Dan Johnson got the game-tying home run. Other recent Bulls who were in the game included Desmond Jennings, LF (0-6, 1 BB), Russ Canzler, PH (0-1); Justin Ruggiano, RF; Brandon Guyer, RF (1-1); Dane De La Rosa, 1⅓ innings.

Interesting links:

• Rays Prospects looked at the game
• Adam Sobsey/Indy Week looked at Dan Johnson
• Dirk Hayhurst chimed in
• Rays Index looked at Dan Johnson
• A bunch of interesting links, also from Rays Index
• And more links from DRaysBay

September 30

Tampa Bay Rays 9, Texas Rangers 0

Wrap,Box

For Bulls fansMatt Moorewas the story on Friday, pitching to a catcher he'd never pitched to before, Kelly Shoppach (who got two home runs). Other than Moore, none of recent Bulls call-ups except Desmond Jennings got into the game. Jennings batted an uncharacteristic 8th in the order and went 1-3. Another oddity was seeing Wade Davis in relief.

Links:

• Not many of the recent call-ups made it into the playoff roster, although some are traveling with the team. Recent Bulls missing are Dan Johnson, Russ Canzler, Justin Ruggiano, Brandon Guyer, Matt Torres, Dane De La Rosa, and probably a couple of others I've missed.
• Moore was very impressive, as noted in DRaysBay analysis.

October 1

Texas Rangers 8, Tampa Bay Rays 6

Wrap, Box

Desmond Jennings moved back to his leadoff position, but no other recent Bulls were in the lineup (mostly because few of them are on the playoff 25-man). James Shields pretty much single-handedly lost this game for the Rays hitting batters and throwing pitches away. Almost a heroic comeback later in the game.

Upcoming games in St Pete: October 3, 5:00 pm

• Big day for the Tampa Bay region, sold out for both football and baseball |St Pete Times|
• David Price scheduled to start. Lineup

Update, 4 Oct

Rangers 4, Rays 3
Wrap, Box

Jennings did his job, 2 home runs. Price has six good innings, needed seven. J.P. Howell, seen briefly in Durham this year, gave up the winning run(s).


Game 4, October 4, 2 pm

Rangers 4, Rays 3

Wrap, Box

Thus endeth the season.

The Durham Bulls in 2011 — The Pitchers: Part II

Matt Moore (22), LHP, 9 games, 9 starts, 52⅔ innings, 4-0, ERA-1.37, 5 pro seasons, 1st season in AAA.

• I was surprised to see how many innings Matt Moore was able to pitch since his first game with the Bulls on July 22nd. Added to his 18 games and 122 innings he had with the Montgomery Biscuits, his year was busy even before going up to finish it out with the Rays. Very, very impressive young pitcher. If we're lucky, we will be watching him a lot as a Bull in 2012.
• Stats

Lance Cormier (31), RHP, 20 games, 4 starts, 47⅓ innings, 4-3, ERA-5.51. 8 pro seasons, 7 in AAA, 1st w/Bulls, most of 2008-2010 in majors (ML stats).

• Released by the LA Dodgers, Cormier was signed by the Rays to a minor league contract in early June and spent the rest of the season with the Bulls. Nothing about his stats as a Bull is particularly impressive although he did take several for the team in spot starts as the season went along. At a guess, the Rays were buying insurance for their relief cadre and stashing him in Durham. Not likely to return next year.
• Stats

Jay Buente (27), RHP, 24 games, 4 starts, 42⅔ innings, 1-3, 1 save, ERA-5.70, 6 pro seasons, 3 in AAA, 1/Bulls.

• The Rays outsmarted themselves when they claimed Mr. Buente off waivers as the Marlins were trying to send him back to their AAA team in New Orleans this May. As a Bull he had a rough beginning losing three out of four starts. In relief from early July to the end of the season he did OK, but not good enough to avoid being released at the end of the season to make room on the 40-man of the Rays.
• Stats

Cory Wade (28), RHP, 22 games, all in relief, 36⅔ innings, 3-1, ERA-1.17, 8 pro seasons, 3 in AAA, 1 w/Bulls.

• Cory Wade did a brilliant job for the Bulls in the first two months of the season. As with others on the Bulls this year, he had an opt-out contract and he pitched his last game in early June. Unfortunately for the Rays, Mr. Wade is now pitching in relief for the New York Yankees where he has an impressive 6-1 record and 1.98 ERA (ML Stats).
• Stats

R.J. Swindle (28), LHP, 39 games, all in relief, 34⅔ innings, 2-0, 1 save, ERA-4.15, 8 pro seasons, 5 in AAA, 2 w/Bulls.

• Yet another Bull with an opt-out contract. In Swindle's case the Rays were obviously taking a look at him as a left-handed relief specialist. Eighteen of his appearances were for less than an inning, often for just one out. R.J. is famous for his unique slow curve and in 2010 he was great fun to watch. But the slow curve wasn't working this year and he really wasn't helping the Bulls. After his opt-out, no report of him catching on with another team.
• Stats

Jake McGee (25), LHP, 24 games, relief, 33⅓ innings, 4-2, 9 saves, ERA-2.70, 8 pro seasons, parts of 2 in AAA, all w/Bulls.

• Jake McGee was with the Bulls at the very end of 2010 and up until essentially the All-Star break in 2011. Then he was off to the Rays where he's doing OK, but not as well as I would have expected (ML Stats). His superb work in the bullpen was very helpful in keeping the Bulls in the South Division race for the first half of the season.
• Stats

Brandon Gomes (27), RHP, 20 games, relief, 25⅓ innings, 0-1, 7 saves, ERA-1.07, 5 pro seasons, 1 AAA w/Bulls.

• Bradon Gomes' Triple-A career was very short. He left the Bulls just before the 4th of July with his stellar 1.07 ERA and 7 saves. He appears to be doing just fine with the Rays (ML stats). We probably won't see him back. With McGee, he kept the Bulls in the race in May and June.
• Stats

Joe Bateman (31), RHP, 15 games, relief, 21 innings, 1-3, ERA-4.71, 9 pro seasons, 3 in AAA, 2 w/Bulls.

• We really like sidewinding Joe Bateman. We liked him in 2009. We liked him in 2010. And we could not have been happier to see the Rays sign him out of the Oakland system in late July. That said, he wasn't quite the same Joe we knew from the last two years. Used mainly in short relief, he wasn't as sharp, especially against righties. Charlie Montoyo apparently likes him. So do we. And he was better than a couple others the Bulls had this year. He may not make it back in 2012.
• Stats

Jeremy Hall (28), RHP, 5 games, 4 starts, 17 innings, 0-2, ERA-8.47, 5 pro seasons, 1 AAA, w/Bulls.

• Jeremy Hall started the year with the Montgomery Biscuits and came up to Durham at the end of April when Dirk Hayhurst went on the disabled list. He wasn't very successful and he decided to retire.
• Stats

Adam Russell (28), RHP, 15 games, relief, 17 innings, 0-1, 1 save, ERA-4.24, 8 seasons, 4 in AAA, 1 w/Bulls.

• Adam Russell started the season with the Rays (36 games) and did not come to the Bulls until the end of July. His numbers with the Bulls are skewed by a truly awful ⅔ of a inning when he let 4 runs score. With this small sample we really don't know much about him as a AAA ballplayer. I don't think I understand enough about his status to speculate on his future with the Bulls. He looks better that a couple of the guys we saw this year, though.
• Stats

Rehabbers

Jeff Neimann and J.P. Howell of the Tampa Bay Rays put in some time with the Bulls on rehab assignments this year. Neimann started 2 games and put in 9⅓ innings, allowed 4 earned runs, and put up a win and a loss. Nice to see Jeff again. J.P. Howell coming off a long layoff appeared in 4 games for 3⅔ innings. He didn't allow any earned runs.

Short Visits

Chris Archer (22), RHP, 2 games, 17 innings, 1-0, ERA-0.69. Chris put in an impressive two game (plus one in playoffs) appearance with the Bulls at the end of the season. We hope for him to be back for 2012. Stats.

Paul Phillips (27), RHP, 6 games, 11⅓ innings, 1-1, ERA-12.71. Paul came up from Montgomery to lend a hand when Richard De Los Santos went on the DL at the very beginning of the season. Spent the rest of the year in Montgomery. Stats.

Jim Paduch (28), RHP, 1 game, 7 innings, 1-0, ERA-3.86. Jim Paduch was signed out of the independent leagues to Montgomery in June, had a one-game call-up to the Bulls when they were on the road, then went back to Montgomery. Part of the July turmoil. Would like to see him pitch some day. Stats.

Richard De Los Santos (27), RHP, 2 games started, 6 innings, 0-1, ERA-6.00. De Los Santos was a stalwart of the 2010 Bulls. But this year he had four not very good innings in his first game, 2 innings in his second start, and was on the disabled list for the rest of the year. We like him, but have no idea when or if he will return. Stats.

Cesar Ramos (28), LHP, 4 games, relief, 4 innings, 2-0, ERA-4.50. Ramos came down from the Rays in late July (with Adam Russell), appeared in 4 games, and went back to St. Petersburg the first week of August. Was nice to have a lefty in the bullpen for a while. A left-handed specialist for the Rays (57 appearances, 41 innings pitched). Stats

Marquis Fleming (24), RHP, 2 games, relief, 2⅓ innings, 0-0, ERA-0.00. Marquis Fleming joined the Bulls from Montgomery for a couple of games while they were on the road in late July. Then he went back to Montgomery where he had a decent year (41 games, 80 innings). Stats.

Two More Bulls to the Rays

Dan Johnson and Alex Torres got called up to the Rays yesterday.

The Johnson call-up is a modest surprise since he wasn't quite back on track at the end of the year (but getting better) and he wasn't on the Rays 40-man. On the other hand, the Rays owe him a bunch of money and he might as well be sitting on the bench in Boston (where he's had some notable successes) as at home in Minnesota. I'm sure that's where he'd rather be as well.

As far as Alex Torres is concerned, he was the Bulls' busiest pitcher this season (see charts), but he's surely got a couple of major league innings in him. After a full year at Triple-A, the Rays are going to have to make some decisions about Mr. Torres' future this winter. Might as well take a close look at him.

Jay Buente got released to make room on the 40-man for Dan Johnson. Claimed from the Mariners Marlins, Buente was acquired at a time when the Bulls just needed an arm during the mid-season turmoil. Did not work out all that well for the Bulls. One of a couple of not-so-good-for-the-Bulls decisions this year.

Rob Delaney and Mike Ekstrom, who had been designated for assignment in earlier moves, passed through waivers. It will be up to them to decide if they want to stay with the Rays' system.

Meanwhile Matt Moore made his major league debut last night. 1⅓ innings, 27 pitches, 3 hits, 2 ER, 2Ks, 1 HR. ERA — 13.5. Welcome to the big leagues. But the observers loved him.

All this moving up is unprecedented in my watching of the Bulls and Rays. Only three four players from the Rays 40-man are left with the Bulls: pitchers Chris Archer  and Matt Bush (a inning or so in the playoffs his only AAA time) and catchers Robinson Chirinos and Nevin Ashley.

* * * * * 

When the Rays take the field in Boston tonight, one of my all-time favorite Durham Bulls will be sitting on the Red Sox bench — and I'm not talking about Darnell McDonald. Joey Gathright is there. Too bad the Rays can't reach out and put Fernando Perez on their bench so they could have a run-off.

* * * * * 

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs had their 8-game win streak broken last night. They are now tied with the Columbus Clippers 1-1 as the Governors' Cup moves to Pennsylvania. Former Bull Mitch Talbot had a complete game win.

Update: A careful reader has noted some errors/omissions in the original post. Used line in line out to mark corrections. Thanks!

Rob Delaney DFA'd

To make room on their 40-man roster for Matt Moore the Tampa Bay Rays have designated for assignment 26-year old Bulls reliever Rob Delaney.

I'm surprised. Of all the relievers on the Rays 40-man that we've seen with the Bulls this year, Delaney had by far the best numbers. To take just one, Fielding Independent Percentage, Delaney's was 2.77 (the best on the team). Others: Mike Ekstrom - 3.43 (he's been DFA'd already), Dane De La Rosa - 3.57 (called up), and Jay Buente - 3.67. So it wasn't numbers, it must have been something else.

Of course, this could just as easily be a bit of three-card Monte and at the end of the season Rob will still be in the Rays system. As a Bulls fan, however, if it had come down to a choice between Jay Buente (who, to his credit, looked pretty good by the end of the season) and Rob Delaney, it should have been Delaney who was kept and Buente DFA'd.

The Rays are famously astute at picking and keeping overlooked players, especially pitchers. But they blew it with Cory Wade this year (1.23 ERA in 21 appearances with the Bulls, 1.93 ERA in 32 appearances with the Yankees). Have they done it again with Delaney?

Moore Call-Up, More on Canzler/De La Rosa

Lefty Matt Moore has been called up by the Rays, proving yet again that I don't understand the business of baseball. But that's OK. The way things are shifting and changing for the Rays these last few days, he just might get a chance to shine. Certainly the newspapers and bloggers are looking forward to his arrival. See the St Pete Times, Rays Index, and DRaysBay for more. Likely to see his debut in relief, something he hasn't done in a long time.

Meanwhile a nice little story about how Russ Canzler got the word on his promotion in the St. Pete Times.

INF/OF Russ Canzler got word of his unexpected promotion in memorable fashion. The Triple-A Bulls got back to Durham about 8 a.m. Saturday after an eight-hour bus ride from their season-ending loss in Columbus, Ohio, and Canzler was saying his goodbyes when manager Charlie Montoyo said, “Good luck this offseason. Oh, and good luck in the big leagues, too.” Just like that, Canzler’s dream was realized. “That’ll wake you up real quick,” he said.

To make room for Canzler, Bulls reliever Mike Ekstrom has been designated for assignment. No guesses from me on how that might play out.

The Rays will have to make another roster move to officially put Moore into the mix. See post from the other day on players with the Bulls on the 40-man.

Dane De La Rosa got into the lineup quickly, finishing out yesterday's game against the Red Sox with a strikeout and a flyout to recent Bull Brandon Guyer in right field. Guyer was 1 for 5 in the Rays 9-1 win.

Durham Bulls Lose First Playoff Game

Playoffs, Round One, Game One; Durham Bulls Athletic Park
Columbus Clippers (Indians) 3; Durham Bulls (Rays) 0
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Examiner, MLB.com

The Columbus Clippers' Zach McAllister made sure the Durham Bulls never quite got on track last night. Only six Bulls even got on base and just two of those were on hits out of the infield. I was on the verge of going up and throwing something at Neil Solondz if I heard him say "pop-up" again. After McAllister's solid six innings, Chen-Chang Lee pitched two no-hit innings and Zach Putnam struck out the side.

On the other side, Matt Moore showed the small, but noisy, crowd that he was human. Too bad he picked last night to do that. The Clippers just kept chipping away, not intimidated in the least by Moore's 96 mph fastball. To his credit, Mr. Moore worked through several very tough situations. The score could have been much worse. In the 1st inning he handled a runners on second and third, one out situation with two popups. In the 6th he had a bases-loaded, nobody out situation that he got out of scot-free (if you don't count the run that was made on a blown call earlier in the inning). It was Moore's first loss as a Triple-A pitcher. It won't be his last and there won't be very many of them before he goes to the majors. Sure wish the timing had been better.

For the first time since coming back to the Bulls, Joe Bateman showed us what we loved about him the last couple of years. That's a very positive sign. Coming on with runners on second and third, two outs, bottom of the 8th, he got a strikeout to end the inning. In the 9th he faced three left-handed batters in a row and got all of them out. Given the trouble he's been having with lefties, we can hope.

In all my thinking about these playoffs I forgot a key element missing from the playoff roster — speed. That came to me as I watched Russ Canzler and Matt Carson chase down fly balls last night. Most of the season the Bulls have had at least one, and sometimes three, very speedy outfielders: the early-season Justin Ruggiano, Desmond Jennings, and Brandon Guyer. All of them are with the Rays now, and deservedly so. But I miss 'em. Leslie Anderson isn't quick enough for a safety squeeze, such as was a possibility in the 5th last night. And if you look at the rest of the roster the Bulls don't have many who could. I can't remember the last time a Bull stole a base (I know, you've got to get on base to steal a base). So, it's a weakness I hadn't considered.

It was a small, but knowledgable and enthusiastic crowd last night. Maybe the town of Clayton will fill up the DBAP tonight for Chris Archer. Here's a challenge for the young man in his third AAA game — keep the Bulls in this one.

The IronPigs/Red Sox got rained out last night, but Bacon and Biscuits has several pre-playoff links that look at matchup.

Five!

Game 139, Friday, September 2, Harbor Park, Norfolk, Virginia
Durham Bulls 4, Norfolk Tides 1
Season: 79-60; Games Remaining: 3
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Examiner, Wild Card

The Bulls won in Norfolk to become the South Division Champions for the fifth year in a row. Dan Johnson hit a home run with Matt Carson on base in the 1st inning. With Matt Moore on the mound, that was enough.

This has been a rough couple of weeks for Bulls fans — and surely much tougher on the Bulls. Coming off their last road trip, it looked like the Bulls had the division championship in the bag. And that was a fair assessment. Nevertheless, the nine-game home stand and the recent visit to Charlotte were struggles. How nice then for the winning run to be scored by Johnson.

Matt Moore has been pitching terrific baseball since coming to the Bulls. Last night was no exception. Ten K's, only four hits and one run allowed over 6 innings.

Charlie Montoyo summed it up for the Herald-Sun:

“Great game and great season.”

If you haven't done so yet, go ahead and get your tickets for next Wednesday and Thursday. The Bulls will be playing the Columbus Clippers at the DBAP for the first round of the Governors' Cup.

The Wild Card team has not yet been decided. It will be either Gwinnett or Lehigh Valley. That could go right down to the wire, with the remote possibility that Pawtucket could stumble and Lehigh Valley could make it up into the North Division championship.