Last Stand in the North Successful

Season: 65-61; Trip: 2-3
Wrap, Box, Democrat & Chronicle

For their last game in the North in the regular season, the Bulls had some fine pitching and a hit fest — 16, including two doubles and two home runs. Merrill Kelly, who wakes up each morning wondering whether he’s going to be a starter or a reliever, started and led the shutout allowing just two hits.

Hak-Ju Lee, who is having a generally awful season (including two E’s last night) hit a home run in his first at bat to lead things off for the Bulls. That helped as the Bulls had trouble pushing runs across until the 8th. Still, they were seeing the ball well and putting a lot of guys on base.

Mike Fontenot’s last several days have been terrific. Last night he went 4 for 6, as did Mikie Mahtook. Ray Olmedo only went 3 for 4, but drew two walks and scored three runs. Tim Beckham’s return remains strong. He was 1 for 5 last night.

Outside the game —

• Justin Christian’s punishment of a three-game suspension for threatening the pitcher that hit him seems a bit harsh . (He made a few steps toward the pitcher with the bat still in his hand. I saw it. He was carrying the bat in the middle, at the balance point. Not in a striking pose. What was he supposed to do? Throw the bat away and then come after the guy who’d just hit him? No doubt, however, that he was really upset. As was Charlie Montoyo.) The punishment extends to the entire team. The Bulls are not allowed to replace him, so they will be a position player short for the next two games. Expect to see infielders in the outfield. At least the Bulls will be at home with the short left field wall. Christian’s right hand bat will be missed, though.
• I missed any update there might have been regarding Wil Myers. If he’s still with the team, that will help fill the gap.
• Meanwhile, that was the last out-of-division game of the year for the Bulls. And they will not be back in the North unless they 1) win the South Division and 2) win the first round of the playoffs against the West champion.
• If I’ve counted right, the Bulls have 12 home games and 5 road games left, all against South Division teams.
• Ice Bucket Challenge. I don’t know if this is a local or national challenge, but all sorts of local leaders and celebrities are participating in an “ice bucket challenge”, which amounts to standing in front of a camera and dumping a bucket of ice water over your head — all in a good cause — ALS treatment and research. All the local mayors seem to have joined in. Not to be outdone, Wool E. Bull, General Manager Mike Birling, and a cast of ... a lot ... have joined in.
• Note for twitteristas: See the hashtag #keepthecup that is out there. Good idea.
• Over at Rays Colored Glasses Robbie Knopf speculates on where Tim Beckham might fit in the Rays situation next year.

Standings

The Bulls come home well ahead of anyone else in the South Division, but stuck just a few games above .500.

Click on chart for larger view

Split; Roster Turmoil

Season: 64-61; Trip: 1-3
Wrap, Box 1, Box 2, Democrat & Chronicle

Lots of transactions and player shuffling over the last couple of days. But first these two screwy, and long, games.

The first one was a resumption of Tuesday’s game when the rains came down and the game was stopped after the second inning. That meant the Bulls came into the night to play their fourth double header in a week. That’s a lot of baseball and a lot of turmoil. Then, to top if off, the Bulls blew a 3 run lead and the game dragged on into the 11th inning before Mike Fontenot doubled and Vince Belnome went all the way from first base to home. Vince is not the quickest guy on the Bulls, but by the time he rounded third he had worked up a real head of team. Not real sure Charlie Montoyo could have stopped him. But he didn't try. He was waving his arms like a berserk windmill. Nevertheless, the Bulls had 15 hits over two nights and certainly one of their best hitting games in a long while.

Speaking of Charlie, he got tossed a few minutes later after Justin Christian got hit on the third inside pitch of his at bat. Very ugly words exchanged, most notably between Christian and a Red Wings fan whom the umps didn’t notice that Christian was inviting down into the dugout.

Speaking of fans, I gave up around the 4th inning of the second game, near midnight. I could see at least two, maybe three, fans left in the stadium. Gotta admit that 16 innings of baseball, even if you’re winning the second game, is a bit much.

Is Wil Myers to become a base stealer, or just having fun? He stole two in the first game (didn’t play in the second one). Noticed that in addition to his major league helmet, he’s in the long trousers worn by most, but not all, the Rays.

Players moving around —

• Let’s start with Tim Beckham. He was an important part of last year’s championship team. He started out at 2B, then played most of the rest of the year at shortstop after Hak-Ju Lee’s injury. He was in 122 games last year and had excellent numbers. Plus, he did OK in a September callup. He ripped up his knee in training over the winter and has finally made his way back. His opening night at second base was pretty darn good, 4 for 6 with 3 runs scored, and an RBI. Playing second base.
• Also moving onto the roster was Cory Burns a right-handed reliever, up from the Rays AA team, the Montgomery Biscuits. Burns has a bunch of Triple-A experience. [stats] He’s been doing just fine as a short reliever in Montgomery. The question might be how come he was there in the first place. Burns came on for 2+ innings in the second game, gave of three hits, but no runs and K’d two batters.
• Moving off the roster was Robby Price and Doug Mathis, both to the Hudson Valley roster, meaning that they can’t play in a Bulls uniform, but they are still traveling with the squad.
• Then Brandon Gomes was called to the Rays (and he appeared last night for two scoreless innings to close out the Rays/Rangers game).
• And Cole Figueroa is coming back. Mr. Figueroa is one of my favorite players and as much as I have hoped that he’s enjoyed bringing home the huge major league money (compared to Triple A money), I have worried about his lack of playing time with the Rays. He’s mostly been on the bench since his last callup. He does join the crowd of infielders on the Bulls roster. The Bulls now have six ballplayers who range from pretty good to excellent middle infielders — Figueroa, Fontenot, Franklin, Lee, Olmedo, and Beckham, and that doesn’t count Wilson Betemit who is a decent third baseman, and Robby Price who just went off the roster. What’s happening is that some of them are spending time in the outfield (Ray Olmedo was in left field for the first game last night). 
• At any rate, I’m happy to see Cole Figueroa and Tim Beckham back. I’d guess that Charlie’s going to have a tough time filling out a lineup. The odd man out, from a performance perspective, is young Hak-Ju Lee. He’s having a terrible year. Would it help for him to spend some time in Montgomery? Don’t know. What’s obvious from the stands is that he’s not hitting well at all and that he’s using is arm to compensate for not very good footwork in the field.

Bulls Manage (Just Barely) a Split

Season: 63-58; Home Stand: 2-3; Home Games Remaining: 12
Wrap, Box 1, Box 2

These two games were characterized by decent Bulls pitching, but absolutely pitiful Bulls hitting. Yes, some can be attributed to the Bisons’ pitching crew but just five hits over two (7 inning) games and only one double, is simply not very good. Even more worrisome, it appears to be part of a trend. As the chart below shows, not once in the home stand did the Bulls hit above average on the OPS stat. The two games they did win were 1-0 shutouts. Another troublesome stat: the Bulls struck out 44 times over the last five games and only drew 8 walks, a hint of some collective anxiousness. Seems like hitting coach Dave Myers has some work to do.

Will having Wil Myers around for a while matter? Who knows? He does get to wear the shiny major league batting helmet instead of the toadstool that minor leaguers have to wear. There’s an oddity to add to the concussion controversy. In baseball it’s the players who insist on inviting concussion, apparently because the safer helmets required of minor leaguers just don’t look right on those studly guys.

But I digress. Myers did get one of the two hits in game one as DH and will apparently be “reporting” to the Bulls in Rochester. Not sure what that means.

Nate Karns looked OK in game 1. With a little run support he might have done better. In game 2, Alex Colome actually looked to be struggling, but he was whistling in his fast ball and, mostly, keeping it under control.

Outside the game —

• Remember a couple of weeks ago when we huddled in the stands and watched the rain come down on a fairly dull game? It was on 24 July in a game against the Rochester Red Wings and Red Wings had scored just one run on 5 hits in 4 innings against Alex Colome. The Bulls were hitless over three innings. Jayson Nix was in the lineup and had been in the middle of a double play. Box.
• That game starts up again up in Rochester today. I think they simply play on with some adjustments to the batting order. The Bulls are due up in the bottom of the 4th. Not sure how this works, but on that day Vince Belnome batting in the DH slot and #3 in the order was coming to bat. (Game Log)

A Loss; A Win

Season: 62-55; Home Stand: 1-1; Home Games Remaining: 15
Wrap, Box 1, Box 2, Bisons

We are struggling almost as much as Bulls pitching to find something good to say about the first game last night. How about quirky instead?

In the 2nd inning Ali Solis was up there with one strike on him and the Bisons’ pitcher bounced one in the dirt in front of home plate. The ball hit Solis’ bat, went foul, and Solis had a second strike called on him. He swung at the next pitch, missed, and was out.

Also, good to see Jake Thompson back from the DL. Would have been nice for the Bulls or Rays to let fans know why he was on the DL in the first place, but that’s not what they do. And media apparently never asked either. He pitched just two thirds of an inning and left two runners on base for Doug Mathis, but Mathis kept them from scoring.

But nothing good to say about either Merrill Kelly’s or Brandon Gomes’ evening.

And then it drug on for almost 3 hours. Knowing another game was in the offing, we left and watched the second game on TV.

There we saw a terrific performance by Enny Romero. No secret that Mr. Romero has not been our favorite Bulls pitcher this year, but last night was superb. Six innings of one hit, shutout ball was very impressive.

Also impressive was new guy Nick Franklin. There was his game-winning home run and some very nice play at second base (game 1) and shortstop (game 2). That included his slick beginning of the double play that ended the game. He’s off to a slow start at bat, but the homer helps. And he seems to be a class act. After he was called out for his “star of the game” interview at the end of the game, he went out of his way to acknowledge the fans who had stuck in there (it was about 11:30 by then)

Quirky in Game 2? Well, I don’t recall seeing a pitcher call out an ump as forcefully as Josh Lueke did home ump Seth Buckminster in the last inning. I’d bet he wasn’t ever going to get a called third strike after that, so probably good he got a double play behind him to clear the bases and end the inning and game.

Outside the game —

• Saw Tampa Bay’s Wil Myers in the dugout. The Herald-Sun is reporting that Myers worked out with the team Thursday and will do so again today. Then start playing on a rehab assignment. Possibly for as long as two weeks. 

Bats Sleep, Then Wake Up

Wrap, Box, Lehigh Valley

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

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

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

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

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

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

Outside the game —

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

Hemstitching: DBAP, Wil Myers, Jon Weber, and More

DBAP, Nov 14, 2013

• Work on the field continues. Even early this morning crews are out there working on the new drainage system.
• As is well-known by now, Wil Myers won Rookie of the Year honors. For those deep into Bulls’ trivia we must note that two of the the three Rays’ Rookie of the Year winners started their award-winning season in Durham (Longoria and Myers. Hellickson started his year in St. Pete).
• This is delayed, but report is that Hak-Ju Lee’s rehab is coming along OK (yeah!). 
• Reading between the lines, this sounds like Charlie Montoyo will be coming back (super yeah!).
• Down south Leslie Anderson is having an extraordinary winter. An OPS of 1.035 over 95 at-bats! Also, Mike Montgomery is getting some good press out of the Arizona Fall League.
• The Durham Bulls are starting a Bullsreborn campaign, beginning with new jerseys. WDBB likes that idea, but only if the numbers are legible at a distance, unlike the blue ones of the last couple of years.
• Here’s a poignant/sensible piece about leaving the game of baseball from the New Yorker (thanks to DRaysBay for the heads up).
• Lastly, it looks like WDBB favorite ballplayer Jon Weber is playing this winter down in Mexico. Having a decent season. Good luck, Jon!

The Durham Bulls in 2013 — Hitters — Part 2

Players in this version of the 2013 hitters’ table are sorted by wOBA. See previous post for the table sorted by games played. The less familiar stats such as weighted on-base average (wOBA) and weighted runs above average (wRAA) are explained at the links. Players with an asterisk are left-handed batters. Data sources are Baseball Reference.com and Fangraphs. Players discussed in order of games played.

Name	Age	G	PA	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	wOBA	wRAA
Hak-Ju Lee*	22	15	57	.422	.536	.600	1.136	.508	8.0
Wil Myers	22	64	289	.286	.356	.520	.876	.387	13.5
Vince Belnome*	25	127	533	.300	.408	.446	.854	.389	25.6
Leslie Anderson*	31	119	494	.292	.372	.459	.832	.375	18.7
Brandon Guyer	27	98	405	.301	.374	.458	.832	.377	15.9
Luke Scott	35	3	14	.333	.429	.333	.762	.338	0.1
Kevin Kiermaier*	23	39	154	.263	.338	.423	.761	.344	2.1
Tim Beckham	23	122	522	.276	.342	.387	.729	.334	3.2
Cole Figueroa*	26	129	533	.286	.361	.367	.727	.337	4.3
Mike Fontenot*	33	120	470	.264	.335	.379	.714	.328	0.6
Jason Bourgeois	31	90	391	.290	.343	.368	.711	.325	-0.3
Juan Apodaca	26	29	97	.238	.333	.357	.690	.323	-0.3
Shelley Duncan	33	90	376	.215	.287	.382	.669	.303	-6.6
Chris Gimenez	30	95	375	.224	.350	.305	.656	.316	-3.0
Rich Thompson*	34	50	217	.249	.325	.312	.638	.300	-4.3
Ryan Roberts	32	37	148	.210	.320	.274	.594	.286	-4.5
Evan Frey*	27	47	148	.230	.329	.262	.591	.286	-4.5
Craig Albernaz	30	33	115	.225	.279	.304	.583	.271	-4.9
Jesus Flores	28	52	189	.178	.212	.244	.456	.211	-16.7

2013 Durham Bulls Hitters

Sorted by wOBA

Jason Bourgeois, besides having the most difficult name to spell correctly, added quite a bit to the team this year and not all of it shows in the stats. First of all, at the beginning of the year he was a speedy outfielder who, along with Rich Thompson, could cover left and center and steal bases (22 on the year). This base running speed made up for Durham’s lack of power throughout the year. He and Thompson helped limit the damage from Wil Myers’ surprising lack of skill in right field in the early part of the season. He got to play in 9 games with the Rays late in the season, but there was no public bid for his services as he passed through waivers on his way back. At 31, he needed perhaps a bit more to earn a call back for 2014. We’ll have to wait and see. Stats.

Shelley Duncan may have had his last hurrah as a baseball player with the Bulls this year. To be honest, we like just about everything about what we have seen from him over the years. But he seems to have lost a step and certainly was not the power hitter this year that he has been in the past. With over 300 major league games under his belt, he surely brought a depth of experience to the clubhouse and his enthusiasm with each win was visible. To get some insights into his approach to the game, take a look at two very fine articles (here and here) from this year’s Bull City Summer. 54 RBI is nothing to sneeze at. The Bulls needed every one they could get this year. At 33 is there a chance that he could be back? Maybe. Stats.

Wil Myers spent the early part of the season with the Bulls, playing in 64 games before moving on. (Note: that was more than Longoria's 38 games in late 2007/early 2008.) We won’t see him in the DBAP in a Bulls uniform again (unless it’s for a rehab assignment and we’d rather not see that happen). We admit that his first month or so was unimpressive when compared to the hype, but then we noticed his RBI numbers, which were substantial even early in the season, much less what he accumulated over his 64 games (57). Early awkwardness in right field smoothed out a bit, but needed work. At the plate he eventually showed all that was promised, hitting one of the longest home runs we’ve ever witnessed and 13 more to go with it. Note that even though he left the team in June, at the end of the season his 14 homers were tied for the team lead (with Anderson). We wish him well. We’ll be able to say we saw him way back when someday. Stats.

Jesus Flores ended up being the Bulls go-to catcher for much of the season. I think it’s fair to say that he would not have gotten quite as much playing time if the Bulls had not needed Gimenez in the outfield. Not much of a bat, but clearly an above average defensive catcher. And that’s what the Bulls needed after Myers departed and Thompson got hurt. Flores has 311 major league games, more than Duncan. So he was yet another veteran in the clubhouse, in his case working with several young pitchers. Honestly, I never paid much attention to him over the year. Maybe I should have. He might be at the bottom of the power heap, but he might be back even with that awful wRAA. Stats.

Rich Thompson had some seriously bad luck this year. First of all he started the season in a slump and then, just as he was coming out of it, he broke his foot and was out for the rest of the year. He was noticed in the stands of the Triple-A championship game and it sure sounded like he is on the verge of retiring. Too bad. One of the keys to the 2013 Bulls was speed. The Bulls stole 137 bases this year, up from just 74 in 2012. Of those 74 in 2012, Rich Thompson accounted for 29 of them. By the time of his injury on June 6, Thompson had picked up 22, and that with a not-very-good OBP of just .325 (not very good for Thompson, that is). At 34, we’ve got to guess that he won’t be back. Too bad. Stats.

Evan Frey was part of the scramble to find an outfielder in June and July. To that end he was helpful. At the plate, not so much. But he did his job. He also spent some time in Montgomery and came back to lend a hand at the end of the season. He’ll need to offer more promise at the plate if he’s to return. Stats.

Kevin Kiermaier was a welcome addition to the Bulls' roster near the end of the season. Needing a center fielder ever since Rich Thompson’s injury, 23 year-old Kiermaier joined the Bulls in late July and clearly had a good time. He’s a fun-to-watch fielder and quick on the base paths (7 stolen bases, 6 triples). He had a terrific combined season at AA and AAA. The best part for Bulls fans is that he is a solid candidate for a full year with the Bulls in 2014. That should be fun. Stats.

Ryan Roberts simply wasn’t much help to the Bulls even though he got a good bit of playing time in his many stays with the team. It’s fair to say, I think, that he came into 2013 assuming he had a shot at being a Rays’ regular, and he did play in 60 games with the Rays this year. But when the Rays needed to move Wil Myers up, it was Roberts who got optioned down. He bounced back up a few days later, hit two home runs, and was optioned back (all this in late June, early July). He then went back up to the Rays for late July/early August, but came back, this time in DFA circumstances, meaning he was off the Rays’ 40-man roster. Roberts had the most major league playing time of any Bull, 510 games over 8 years, but he simply didn’t add much to the team that we could see. Quite likely the highest paid Durham Bull this year ($2.95 million). Did not play, as far as I could tell, in the Bulls’ post-season. Stats.

Craig Albernaz remains one of our favorite ballplayers and he was responsible for our biggest single thrill of the season, his grand slam into the bull back on August 6 against the Rochester Red Wings. Hard to imagine, but catcher Albernaz has spent parts of 5 seasons with the Bulls, although this year was the only time he’s spent all of the season in a Bulls uniform. He is obviously a huge asset to the Rays system. Will he be back? Hard to say. My guess is that they will place him in the location in their system that they are most interested in developing pitchers. Note that he holds an ERA of 0.00 in his 3 games, 3 innings pitched in 2013, a significant improvement over his 2012 pitching performance. He’s reported to have been working on a cutter. Stats.

Juan Apodaca did a decent enough job for the Bulls this year, so we were a bit surprised that he was released in mid-July. At a guess, he was a casualty of the Rays’ apparent confusion over just what to do at the catching position throughout their system. We have to note that not one of the four catchers with the Bulls this year made it into the black on the wRAA stat this year. The one with the highest rating was Apodaca and he got released. Certainly there are a lot of ways of looking at catchers that we fans aren’t going to be able to evaluate. Apodaca came to the Bulls out of independent ball, but we have not been able to find out if he caught on anywhere for the rest of 2013. Stats.

Hak-Ju Lee was injured on April 20 ending what was a spectacular start to the season. The young Mr. Lee was simply doing it all: hitting, stealing bases, and playing a superb short stop. His advanced metrics were pretty (BB/K of 1.22). It would surely have been fun to watch him develop over the year. Because the Rays are being their usual selves and not informing anyone about his status, we can only guess that his surgery went well and that he is rehabbing right now. We can hope so, and we can hope that his recovery is successful enough for him to be with the Bulls next year. Stats.

Luke Scott visited the Bulls on a rehab assignment at the end of the year. Stats.

Matchup: Durham Bulls v. Omaha Storm Chasers

Who are these guys that the Durham Bulls will play for the national title tomorrow night? Well, probably the best guy to ask would be Jason Bourgeois. Or you could ask Jake Odorizzi. Or you could ask Mike Montgomery. If he were still here, you could ask Wil Myers. They all played for the Kansas City AAA team the Omaha Storm Chasers last year.

A year ago, August 29th, in fact, Jake Odorizzi was on the mound pitching for the Omaha Storm Chasers. He got the win, going 5 innings with 5 BB and 6Ks. You can look it up. His third baseman in the game was Wil Myers, who went 1 for 5 (and got picked off after his single). His left fielder was Jason Bourgeois who had a great night. Bourgeois went 2 for 4 and scored two runs.

As with any minor league team, not many players who were with Omaha in 2012 are still there. A glance at the rosters indicates that a catcher, Max Ramirez, a veteran outfielder, Anthony Seratelli, and infielders Christian Colon and Irving Falu were with the team then and with them now. But the Royals are in the same wild card chase as the Rays, so roster turmoil may have happened or may be near. On the other hand, their manager, Mike Jirshcele, has been running the team since 2003. He certainly knows he way around AAA ball.

If we match up the regular season Storm Chasers against the Durham Bulls, there’d be no contest. Omaha managed to win their division of the Pacific Coast League without even breaking .500. But, as you can see, somehow they simply weren’t scoring runs, certainly nothing close to the pace of the Bulls. They squeaked into the playoffs on the last days of the regular season.

And then they got hot, blowing past their first opponent and having the same 3-1 result as the Bulls for their championship round. Their hitters have been hot, their pitching only so-so, but more than enough to win. Pretty good story about that run in the Omaha World Herald here. The Storm Chasers are on a streak and that has to be respected.

Jake Odorizzi is scheduled to start for the Bulls, but you can bet that J.D. Martin and company are ready to lend a hand. Everyone except Merrill Kelly should be rested. Have not heard who will be starting for the Storm Chasers. The fact that Odorizzi could be pitching against the Storm Chasers has been noticed in Omaha.

Outside the game —

• Solid, if not confirmed, chatter that Tim Beckham, Jake Odorizzi, and Jeff Beliveau will be going down to St. Petersburg after Tuesday’s game. One source thinks Beckham could move before the championship game.
• We are going to have to start paying attention to the AL wild card race (after tomorrow's game, of course). Rays Index seems to think it’s down to the Rays, Rangers, and Cleveland competing for two spots.

Rainout; Hitters Reviewed

First, a look at the last two games ...

Wrap, Box, Allentown Morning Call

Wrap, Box, Allentown Morning Call

Season: 50-30; Trip: 3-3

Merrill Kelly apparently looked awfully good in Tuesday's game and Matt Buschmann was a bit shaky in Wednesday's outing. The bullpen stepped up and the hitters kept scrambling. Two very nice wins.

A double-header is set up to try to makeup last night's rainout. Storms are predicted for tonight, so it will be a matter of timing. We can hope they get to play, otherwise the Bulls season will be shortened by two games. That's the way in works in the IL.

By the way, Reid Brignac has been re-signed by the Colorado Rockies. This time it's to a minor league deal. He'll be playing AAA ball in Colorado Springs. [Thanks to Rays Index for the heads up].

It's been almost a month since we last looked at Bulls hitters. The two huge changes are the departures of Wil Myers and Rich Thompson. Thompson had been coming back from a bad start. Myers, of course, was coming into his own. The change column goes back to May 28. Vince Belnome has obviously fallen off a bit, but his wRAA and wOBA are still very, very solid numbers. Nice to see Brandon Guyer moving up. I'd thought that Tim Beckham was improving, but doesn't look like it. And I thought the same about Jason Bourgeois. By the way, Bourgeois has not been moved to the DL, so maybe he will be back. He was reported to have a hamstring problem that took him out of Wednesday's game.

Player	Age	PA	AVG	OPS	wRAA	wOBA	Change
Vince Belnome	25	298	.340	.954	21.9	.425	-.020
Leslie Anderson	31	286	.316	.907	16.3	.404	.025
Brandon Guyer	27	289	.289	.808	7.2	.364	.016
Cole Figueroa	26	275	.291	.742	1.5	.340	.023
Mike Fontenot	33	254	.263	.736	0.5	.336	.001
Shelley Duncan	33	169	.223	.753	0.3	.335	-.004
Chris Gimenez	30	173	.246	.688	0	.333	-.016
Tim Beckham	23	280	.272	.720	-1.8	.325	-.003
Jason Bourgeois	31	292	.288	.717	-2.4	.323	-.038
Juan Apodaca	26	97	.238	.690	-0.9	.321	.030
Ryan Roberts	32	31	.296	.688	-0.4	.319	NA
Craig Albernaz	30	81	.246	.616	-3	.288	-.001
Jesus Flores	28	51	.188	.506	-4.1	.234	NA

Bull's Revenge

Season: 44-26; Home Stand: 3-1
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

The important question at hand last night, the 25th Anniversary of the opening of the movie “Bull Durham”, was not who was going to win the baseball game, but whether or not “Nuke” was ever going to win a race against either “Crash” or “Annie”. And so when the moment came and Nuke came out and simply blew ahead of Crash and Annie we thought, “OK, smart move, let Nuke win one. He’s gonna go to the show after all.” But, in a move of minor genius on the part of the Bulls staff, the bull from the original Bull Durham (or a close approximation) came out and took revenge for being hit by Nuke all those years ago. He body-blocked Nuke. Nuke went down as Crash and Annie skipped by. Crash won last night.

Well, maybe that wasn’t the most important event last night. For a Bulls fan, the biggest deal was probably the Bulls taking 3 of 4 games from the Indianapolis Indians, the team with the best record in the International League. It helps to be well out in front in the South Division as the Bulls approach mid-season (that would be tomorrow!). Of course, by September both teams will be very different, but the Bulls can hope that J.D. Martin will still be around. (Note: J. D. just name IL Pitcher of the Week!) And if he is, along with some of his colleagues from last night, players like Leslie Anderson, Vince Belnome, and Brandon Guyer, things look good for the playoffs.

For thrills, maybe the biggest deal was that spectacular behind-the-back catch in center field by Jason Bourgeois in the 5th inning. One of those moments you hope to see when you come to a game.

Certainly the oddity of the night was Indianapolis manager Dean Treanor getting ejected before the game even started, just after presenting his lineup card to the umps. Guessing was that Trainor was still upset about a call that ended the game on Saturday. Have to say that even for a boy’s game like baseball that seems a bit petulant on Treanor’s part.

A close second as far as oddities go would be the decision by the radio station that broadcasts Bulls games to instead broadcast the U.S. Open golf tournament. Now, who in the world listens to golf on the radio? Especially within the rather limited radius of “AM 620 The Buzz!”

The scary moment of the game came when Vince Belnome appeared to have twisted his ankle on a play at 1B in the 5th inning. At that moment there was, by my count, exactly one player on the bench, catcher Craig Albernaz. Now Albernaz is one heck of a ballplayer, but I’m guessing that at 5’8" he doesn’t have a lot of playing time at 1B.

Another highlight for Bulls fans was seeing Chris Gimenez back in catching gear and on the field for the first time in what seems like a very long time. Welcome back, Chris!

A confusing moment in the 3rd inning was the shuffle of Brandon Guyer from left to right field, Leslie Anderson from 1B to left field, and Belnome coming in from his off day to play 1B. Then the twitterverse blew up with the story, the call-up of Wil Myers. We’ve had a lot of fun watching Mr. Myers this year. He has one of the most interesting swings that I’ve ever seen and the sound off his bat is unique. I’m betting he will do just fine with the Rays. And what better place to begin his career than Fenway? Good luck, Wil.

Outside the game —

• In the 32nd transaction involving a pitcher this year, Josh Lueke has been called back up to the Rays. At a guess there are two more Bulls pitchers ”on the bubble“ to join the Rays today — Jake Odorizzi (did he even make it back? Guess not. He's reportedly starting today in Fenway.) and Alex Colome. We’ll see. But it does explain why Kirby Yates had back-to-back saves over the last two games. Good for Kirby!
• Infielder Ryan Roberts has been optioned down from Tampa Bay to make room on the 25 man for Myers. Roberts hasn’t been in the minors since 2010. The 32 year old usually played 2B for the Rays, but had a few games at 3B and 1B. At $3 million, I’m guessing he will be the highest-paid Durham Bull by a few bucks.
• Lastly, yesterday was Father’s Day and I want to point you over to this amazing unattributed [Update: by Alex Harris, see comments] image at Bull City Summer. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. In fact, if I’m not breaking any copyright I think I’ll just put it up. I’ll take it down if there’s a problem.

Photo by Alex Harris: From Bull City Summer

A Storm; Then Stormier

Season: 43-25; Home Stand: 1-0
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

The Bulls were behind 7-2 as they came to bat in the bottom of the 5th inning. Things had been ugly up to that point, so ugly that only 3 of those 7 runs were earned.

Not that I was all that deeply engaged at that moment because I wasn’t at the game, I was at home watching it on TV for a really stupid reason — We’d been trapped inside our own g-d’d garage! You see, the same storm that delayed the game also swept on east and killed the power in our part of Wake County. That would not have been a problem except for the fact that a couple of months ago I replaced our garage door and opener without learning how to deal with a power failure. So there I was in the dark, flashlight in hand trying to figure out how to get that sucker up. Turned out to be pretty straightforward — if only I’d gone out to solve the problem an hour or so earlier. As it was, when the lights came back on and Time-Warner rebooted, the Bulls were in the 2nd inning.

Back to the bottom of the 5th inning. Vince Belnome started things off with a single. When he came back up to bat that same inning Tim Beckham was on second base having just driven in a couple of runs and the Bulls had scored a total of 7 runs. Belnome struck out, but  Wil Myers singled to bring Beckham in for the eighth run of the inning which was enough to surge ahead of the team with the best record in the International League.

Pitching turmoil continues in the Bulls lineup. Alex Colome began the game on a severe pitch count restriction, followed by Mike Montgomery who got the win. Studying him closely on the TV leads me to worry about that young man. He seemed very unfocused and erratic, unable to get himself into a rhythm. Colome could be joining the Rays for their double header in Boston.

Outside the game —

• In St. Petersburg last night, Jake Odorizzi came in the game with two outs in 6th after former Bull Jeremy Hellickson had given up 8 runs in the inning. Odorizzi closed out the inning, but gave up two runs over the rest of the game. It was his first time against his former team. He’s now on his way back to Durham. 
• A right-hander has come up from Montgomery, Merrill Kelly. Here are some stats. His most recent outing wasn’t all that great. But the Bulls do need some help if Colome is off to the Rays. And the Rays really need some help. Former Bull Elliot Johnson had a field day against them last night.

Nice Win, But ... Thompson Out for the Year?

Season: 40-13; Trip: 3-2
Wrap, Box, Courier-Journal

I wasn’t going to post today, but a couple things have come up.

The key highlights if the game were Wil Myers’ two home runs (3 RBI) and Matt Buschmann's very decent outing. But there was a flurry of interesting stuff ...

Outside the game —

• A couple of places are speculating the Wil Myers will get called up sooner rather than later (here, for example), but the Tampa Bay Times isn’t so sure. Then there’s video of the homers here.
• A comment by Patrick Kinas that Rich Thompson was “out for the year” jumped out at me last night. I was only occasionally listening, but Thompson himself has confirmed to WDBB (via twitter) that he may be out for the year. That’s terrible news for Thompson and the Bulls. 
• New catcher Jesus Flores left the game after just a couple of innings. No reason given for his departure.
• Interesting photo over at Bull City Summer.
• Bill James offers ideas on how to reform minor league baseball.
• For a couple of waiting-for-the-game-to-start grins check out 10 Ways to Change MLB. Actually, a couple of them might actually work. Really like the "yellow card" idea.

Thiefs!

Season: 39-22; Trip: 2-1
Wrap, Box, Indians Wrap

One of the very distinctive features of this year’s Bulls team is their speed. Charlie Montoyo loves base stealing, but the last couple of years he didn’t have the runners that he had, say, back in 2010 (150 steals, #2 in the IL). This year the Bulls have stolen 70 bases and are on track to beat that 2010 number. They are in second place to … the Indianapolis Indians. Rehabbing Pirate James McDonald was their main victim last night as the Bulls stole 8 bases, which must be a near record. Rich Thompson took 4 (22), Brandon Guyer took 2 (9), and Wil Myers took 2 (5). Add to that the superb infield work that turned three double plays and you have the makings of a terrific game.

All you need now is pitching and hitting.

The pitching came from Jake Odorizzi who settled down after an awkward 1st inning to fill out 6 innings on 101 pitches. I’m sure Josh Lueke doesn’t want to be back with the Bulls, but WDBB is happy to see his < 1.00 ERA . Two very strong innings followed by Kirby Yates 2 BB, but 2 K, 9th.

[Note: WDBB is forgoing a rant about the Rays pulling a pitcher (that would be Mr. Yates) right off the mound in the middle of a game the other night, since the Bulls eventually won the game in the 13th, but ...]

We are left with the hitters. By the time Wil Myers settled into the box in the 1st, Thompson and Guyer had stolen a couple of bases and Thompson was standing on third. A sac fly brought him home. In the 3rd when Myers was again in the box, Thompson was again on third base, having stolen second and third again. This time Myers singled him in. Then Myers stole second base and was doubled in by Shelley Duncan. Aggressive base running in the 4th and again the the 6th helped. In addition to his stolen bases, Brandon Guyer added a couple of RBI to his list.

Outside the game —

• They are putting in fresh sod at the DBAP after the stress of the ACC tournament. Grounds keeper Scott Strickland tweets that the storm will help even as it delays some of the work. You can check out their work on the stadium webcam.
• When I saw the story of Buffalo Bisons manager getting a three-day suspension I wondered why. Was able to chase this down from a game in Norfolk last Sunday. Pretty childish, even if he was at least close to being right. Deserves suspension. Actually, I think he got off light.

Two Talented Teams; Two Games; 1-1

Wrap, Box

Season: 38-22; Trip: 1-1
Wrap, Box, Indians Wrap

This series up in Indiana is, in our opinion, the most important road visit of the first half of the season. Two very well-balanced teams who match up well. And that’s exactly the way the series is playing out.

The first game stretched out for 13 innings until the Bulls blew it apart in the top of the 13th with four runs, along the way using six pitchers. The oddity of the game was how it happened that Vince Belnome got to the plate to double in the 13th. Belnome was supposed to get the day off, but came in to run for Leslie Anderson in the 7th. Anderson had gotten hit by a pitch back in the 2nd inning, but stayed in the game. Apparently, he was limping after hitting a double and Montoyo put Belnome in. He was stranded then, but stayed in the game at first base. In the 13th, one run was already in on a Wil Myers single, but Belnome hit a double to bring in two more runs and came home himself on a Cole Figueroa triple.

Double plays had a lot to do with stretching that game out, the Bulls had three, the Indians had four.

Kirby Yates came out of the game after just three pitches. I think I heard that it was a groin pull. Have not heard more. If someone did, please drop a comment for us.

Update: Yates was pulled at the Rays request. See Chris D's comment. Thanks, Chris!

Then there was last night. Just doesn’t seem fair to pitch 7⅔ innings without giving up a single earned run, then have to take a loss. But that’s what happened to J.D. Martin. The Bulls bats went cold against Indian hot prospect Gerit Cole for only the second shutout of this season. Still, it sounded like great baseball even if the park seems to be very pitcher friendly.

Outside the game —

• The Indians seem to get very little hometown attention in the media. Not having any luck finding any conventional news stories.
• An additional catcher is on the way, Jesus Flores. He’s coming from the Albuquerque Isotopes (Dodgers), but had a good bit of time with the Washington Nationals last year. Stories here and here, plus stats.
• For the stats guys out there, Rays Index uses the Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) measure to take a look at former Bull Jeremy Hellickson. Here at WDBB we sometimes look at FIP, but we’re not sure it really tells us anything useful in the minor leagues.

Sunday Smashing

Game 57, June 2	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Rail Riders (Yankees)	0	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	1	4	8	1
Durham Bulls (Rays)	2	1	0	4	0	0	0	0	x	7	9	0

Season: 36-21; Home Stand: 6-1
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

The 2013 Durham Bulls are not a home run hitting team. In fact, they are the bottom team in the International League, hitting only 35 this year. The league leader, the Buffalo Bisons, has hit 66. All the more surprise that they hit four in one game yesterday. Better yet, two of the four were the first of the year for Cole Figueroa and Juan Apodaca. That leaves only Chris Gimenez, Craig Albernaz, and Rich Thompson among this year’s players who have not hit a homer. Shelley Duncan’s and Wil Myers’ were particularly hard hit shots over the Monster. Duncan hit the bull. I think that’s the first time the bull’s been hit this year.

Mike Montgomery had a decent outing, his third since coming off the DL. The Bulls are far from having anything like a stable rotation, but with Montgomery there is some hope.

Nice glove work by Tim Beckham in the 4th and 5th innings, especially the double play he started in the 5th. Another hopeful sign.

Outside the game —

• Jim Paduch retired rather than take his assignment to Montgomery. Paduch has been sort of a utility long man for the Bulls for what seems like a long time, but has really just been most of 2012 and all of 2013. His numbers have never been all that good, but he ate up a lot of innings (106 in 2012, 37 so far this year). This year he had only one decent outing. He’s had 10 years of professional baseball, but it didn’t look like things were ever going to get much better for the 30-year old. Good luck, Jim.
• Norfolk lost. Bull are up two games in the South.
• Crash has edged out Annie in competition so far this year. Nuke has yet to find his way to the finish line. Cute routine for the Kiss Cam for the three of them.

	1st	2nd	3rd
Crash	7	6	0
Annie	6	7	0
Nuke	0	0	13