Hemstitching: Player Watch, and ...

In the weaver’s world the word “hemstitching” is used for two purposes: to tie up loose ends (literally, because an “end” is a thread in a warp) and for decoration.

On a rainy Monday morning. Video board's going to be huge. Wonder what's going to go behind visitor bullpen area?

Keeping an eye on potential Bulls.

• The big news is that Hak-Ju Lee looks healthy.
• We missed Erik Bedard on our list, but he also looks like he's got a good shot at the Rays rotation. Stories here and here.
• Cork Gains over at Rays Index projects a 25-man roster that has a couple of our watchlist guys on it: Logan Forsyth, Jake Odorizzi, Juan Carlos Oviedo. Gains would put Karns and Bedard with the Bulls.
• Rays Radio had a interesting interview with Adam Liberatore.
• Tim Beckham was interviewed regarding his knee injury and rehab progress.
• Rays Index scoured the web for images of former Rays in their new uniform. Several have spent time with the Bulls in recent years.
• DRaysBay has its season projections up. Several players on our watch list mentioned.
• The Bulls media office got into a fun twitter exchange with their counterparts in Allentown (the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs)
• The Process Report reports on Rays depth and takes a close look at almost everyone on our list.

The Durham Bulls in 2013 — Pitchers — Part 1

Twenty-six ballplayers pitched for the Durham Bulls in 2013. They ranged from stalwarts like J.D. Martin who appeared in 27 games and pitched 160⅓ innings or Kirby Yates who was in 51 games for 61⅔ innings, to young Austin Hubbard who pitched just ⅔ of an inning. The number of pitchers in a given year is highly variable at any level of baseball and this years seemed about normal. The Bulls had 25 pitchers in 2012, 33 in 2011, 25 in 2010, 34 in 2009,  and 27 in 2008. Some of those pitchers were position players brought in to finish a out-of-reach games and some were rehabbing major leaguers just passing through on their way back to the big leagues.

The table is sorted by innings pitched. Left-handed pitchers are marked with an asterisk (*). Players on the Tampa Bay Rays 40-man roster are marked with a dagger (†). We’ve only picked out a few key stats for the table. For more details, check out the Baseball Reference or Fangraphs pages. The chart at the end of the post pulls out just the innings pitched.

The starting rotation for the Bulls as 2013 began was Chris Archer, Alex Colome, Mike Montgomery, Jake Odorizzi, and Alexander Torres. Mike Montgomery went on the DL after his first 3⅔ inning appearance and J.D. Martin was moved into the rotation.

	Age	W	L	ERA	G	GS	IP	WHIP	FIP
J.D. Martin	30	16	4	2.75	27	27	160.1	1.21	3.62
Jake Odorizzi†	23	9	6	3.33	22	22	124.1	1.13	3.45
Mike Montgomery*†	23	7	8	4.72	20	19	108.2	1.46	4.35
Matt Buschmann	29	8	2	2.97	18	17	97.0	1.28	3.14
Merrill Kelly	24	8	4	3.19	15	14	84.2	1.28	3.47
Alex Colome†	24	4	6	3.07	14	14	70.1	1.31	3.48
Steve Geltz	25	5	3	2.82	41	0	67.0	0.88	3.48
Kirby Yates	26	3	2	1.90	51	0	61.2	0.97	1.97
Adam Liberatore*	26	5	3	3.58	43	0	60.1	1.24	2.42
Josh Lueke†	28	3	1	0.63	40	0	57.1	0.98	1.49
Chris Archer†	24	5	3	3.96	10	10	50.0	1.46	4.18
Cory Wade	30	4	1	2.17	30	5	49.2	1.11	3.68
Alex Torres*†	25	2	2	3.52	9	9	46.0	1.20	2.61
Jeff Beliveau*†	26	2	3	2.62	38	0	44.2	1.41	1.63
Jim Paduch	30	2	3	7.54	12	3	37.0	1.84	6.85
Frank De Los Santos*	25	1	2	5.34	26	0	32.0	1.59	4.51
Will Inman	26	0	2	6.47	21	0	32.0	1.66	6.17
Juan Sandoval	32	1	1	3.13	12	2	23.0	1.00	3.98
C.J. Riefenhauser*	23	2	1	3.05	17	0	20.2	1.11	3.49
Brandon Gomes†	28	0	0	2.61	9	0	10.1	0.77	2.33
Enny Romero*	22	0	0	0.00	1	1	8.0	0.75	3.45
Ramon Ramirez	31	0	0	2.84	6	0	6.1	0.95	1.46
Matt Moore*†	24	0	0	9.00	1	1	4.0	2.50	3.7
Craig Albernaz	30	0	0	0.00	3	0	3.0	0.33	1.87
Braulio Lara*	24	0	0	0.00	1	0	3.0	0.33	2.2
Austin Hubbard	25	0	0	67.50	1	0	0.2	10.50	13.7

2013 Durham Bulls Pitchers, Sorted by Innings Pitched

J.D. Martin (RHSP), as has been often stated here, was the leader of the starting pitching staff this year. His numbers are simply superb, but, as important, he was available every fifth day all year long, something that could not be said for any other starting pitcher on the team. That sort of stability is key to a team at any level, but possibly even more so at Triple-A ball. He won all sorts of awards this year, and deserved every one of them. He got a September call up for one day and accepted assignment back to the Bulls a day later. He is, or will become, a free agent, so it’s anyone’s guess on whether he sticks with the Rays system next year. He’s WDBB’s pitcher of the year. Stats.

Jake Odorizzi (RHSP) is likely one of the upcoming stars for the Tampa Bay Rays. In addition to being the Bulls’ #2 starter, he  appeared in 7 games with the Rays (29⅔ innings). His numbers are not spectacular, but they are certainly more than enough to make him look good for the future with the Rays. He was a September callup and it remains to be seen if he will be on the post-season roster(s). Stats.

Mike Montgomery (LHSP) was an instance of the Bulls being a place where a prospect works on his game — sometimes without a lot of success. Montgomery put in a lot of innings, but on a per game basis he rarely went long. He only pitched in one game before going on the DL early in the season. After his return in late May he made his turn in the rotation, but was rarely effective. Teams do not give up on left-handers with promise. He will probably be back next year and maybe deliver then. Stats.

Matt Buschmann (RHSP) is a surprising guy in a couple of ways. At 29 you’d think he’d be further along in his career path, but for now he was very, very good with the Biscuits and the Bulls this year. He came over to the Bulls at the end of May after the Rays had called up Archer and Torres, and Montgomery went on the DL, He is exactly the kind of guy WDBB likes. He carried the second best ERA among the regular starters. Looking back, we wish we’d written more about him. Terrific numbers. Kept the Bulls in the game. Won a bunch of games. Here’s hoping he’s back next year. Stats.

Merrill Kelly (RHSP) came over from AA Montgomery and pitched his first game on June 14. I’m looking forward to seeing how this young pitcher develops. He was the 5th man in a very solid end-season rotation. Fun to watch.  Stats.

Alex Colome (RHSP) did not have a good year, and I was surprised to see how many innings he pitched (70⅓). Early on he did have a great run of three games (5/13, 5/18, and 5/24). He was called up  to the Rays and started and won a game on May 30. He came back to the Bulls after that and appeared in 4 games before going back to Rays to appear in (and lose) two games. He came back to Durham not long after that, but was placed on the 60-day Disabled List in late June/early July before going back in the lineup. In tried and true Rays tradition, we have not heard a word since. Stats.
.

click for larger chart

Continued in Part 2

The Last Hurrah

A last hurrah for the Bulls and, probably for Bulls stalwart Leslie Anderson. So let’s take a look at his home run — the highlight of last night’s game. And possibly the last time we'll see Leslie in a Bulls uniform.




What a great season. I’ll be running the numbers over the next week or so, but we Bulls fans have had the opportunity to watch an exceptional baseball team in 2013. So, thank you, all of you guys for the fun you’ve given us this year.

For those Rays fans who follow this blog: Too bad that you will probably never see Anderson in the Trop. From our perspective he could have been called up at the end of last year and helped the Rays out. As it is, it sure looks like this might have been his last at bat. So, from WDBB to Leslie Anderson, Good Luck!

Plenty of links to take a look at describing last night’s 2-1 loss:

Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, N&O, Omaha World-Herald, IL/MiLB, Allentown Morning Call (good photo gallery), Noise Nation (photos)

Outside the game —

• Reports out there that Tim Beckham and Jake Odorizzi have been called up. And that Brandon Guyer has been put on 60-day DL to make room for a player we’ve never heard of.
• See the Allentown Morning Call link for info on Rich Thompson. Sounds like he's out of baseball for good.

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.

2013 Governors' Cup Champions!

Photo: Herald-Sun

Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, MiLB, Providence Journal, PawSox

A team that hasn’t been hitting very well suddenly broke out and grabbed the Governors’ Cup! Eight of nine Bulls got at least one hit (and the one who didn’t, Tim Beckham, got a walk and scored a run). The Bulls got two doubles, two triples, and a home run.

Meanwhile, Merrill Kelly has assured the Rays that he is a pitcher to watch. He had another solid outing to go in the trivia books as the guy up from AA (Aug 4) who was the winning pitcher in both the first and then the final round of the playoffs (note his ERA of 0.00, and only two hits last night). But he was backed up by a crew that kept the PawSox hitless for the final three innings.

For myself, I have to note that in an exchange yesterday I said something like, “I think tonight’s game will be a blowout. I just don’t know which team it will be.” I guess Mr. Kelly settled that question for us all. As did the rest of that wrecking crew that poured out to celebrate a great, great game, playoff run, and season.

Outside the game —

• The Bulls are off to Allentown, Pennsylvania where they will play Kansas City’s AAA team, the Omaha Storm Chasers for the AAA championship. More about them later, but here and here are stories about their win last night.
• The Herald-Sun is reporting that Jake Odorizzi may start the game so that he stays on schedule for the Rays. Otherwise, it should be J.D. Martin. 

Rusty Relievers, Brilliant PawSox Defense, Bulls Lose

Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, N&O, Pawtucket

The last time Rhode Island native Jeff Beliveau was on a pitcher’s mound was an inning back on September 4th. Before that, he hadn’t pitched for the Bulls since August 22. So when he came in after a very fine 7 innings by Jake Odorizzi, I was worried. A single, hit batsman, sac bunt, and two-run single later the Bulls were behind 2-1 and Steve Geltz was in to finish the inning. Too late.

But the Bulls did have their chances and we really do need to credit the Red Sox with a string of very nice defensive plays in the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings, mostly by second baseman Brock Holt. His range and glovework was exceptional. In the 8th he was assisted by a rally-killing catch by center fielder Justin Henry.

Have say a bit more about the brilliant job that was done by Odorizzi last night. He struck out the side in the 7th inning to finish out with 7 scoreless innings and a simply dominating performance. I’m guessing he will be on a plane to St. Petersburg very soon to see if he can get in some more time with the Rays before the end of their season.

So here we are. Tonight is the last game to be played in the DBAP this year. Next year the place is going to look different with more than just a fresh coat of paint. If the past is any indication, the team will be different as well. In all likelihood, not more than three or four of these guys will suit up as Durham Bulls next year, so this is the last time you will be able to see them play ball. And they will be playing for the Governors’ Cup. What could be more fun than that?

Outside the game —

• Note for the N&O: it is the Governors' Cup, not the Governor's Cup. See earlier item to understand why.
  Tonight the Bulls have ace J.D. Martin going up against knuckleballer Steven Wright. The PawSox have two knuckleballers on staff. How weird is that? 
• Infielder Ryan Roberts tweaked something in batting practice yesterday and Montgomery Biscuits infielder Shawn O’Malley was activated for his slot. 
• See the table below regarding the current status of the nostalgia races. Will they run for the last time tonight? If so, who will win the 40th running of the Bull Durhams?

Governors’ Cup Rotation Announced

The Bulls rotation appears to be set and it looks just fine. The biggest difference is that Matt Buschmann is in line for Game 3 instead of Merrill Kelly. Given the amount of rest all of the starting staff will have had by then, expect Charlie and Neal Allen to be fairly quick with the hook.

• Game One: Today!  Jake Odorizzi
• Game Two: Tomorrow! J.D. Martin
• Game Three: Thursday, Sep 13, Pawtucket. Matt Buschmann
• Game Four (if needed): Friday, Sep 14. Merrill Kelly
• Game Five (if needed): Saturday, Sep 14 (1:05). Mike Montgomery

Today’s starting pitcher for the PawSox is 23 year-old RHP Anthony Ranaudo who appeared in 6 regular season games after arriving from Boston's AA team. Big guy, 6’7“, 230. He only lasted two innings and gave up four runs against Rochester last Wednesday. Nevertheless, he has an ERA of just 2.96 over 140 innings this year; a decent WHIP of 1.136 on the season, and 137 Ks. [stats] At least he’s a righty which means Leslie Anderson has a shot at a big game/hit.

Note: Odorizzi season regular season stats (124 innings, AAA only. He had 23 with Rays): ERA-3.33, WHIP-1.134, 124 Ks.

Matchup: The IL Governors' Cup Championship

The last time the Durham Bulls played the Pawtucket Red Sox things got completely out of hand. Back on July 22 the teams competed digging a trench down the third base line to home plate. Together they scored 27 runs on 33 hits. The Bulls won that last game 14-13, but that home series was one of the few this year that the Bulls lost at home (3-1 to the Red Sox). Way back in May, the Bulls split a 4-game series in Pawtucket. The last game of that series was the Jake Odorizzi-led no-hitter.

The PawSox had an extraordinary run beginning in early August that took them from third place in the North Division (2 games above .500) to a very solid 3½ game lead over the Rochester Red Wings by the end of the season.

In the playoffs they went back and forth with the Red Wings, ultimately winning the 5-game series yesterday.

The season stats imply a modest advantage for the Bulls across the board. Further, unlike the Indians, the PawSox seem to have had a relatively stable lineup.

In the playoffs, a 9-1 loss Saturday distorts the data a bit. Nevertheless, it looks like the Bulls have an edge in pitching while the PawSox have been hitting pretty well.

Jake Odorizzi looks to be tomorrow's starting pitcher. Surely J.D. Martin will start the next game, then it would likely be just about anyone's guess. An unknown, of course, is if either Boston or Tampa Bay is going to leave these teams alone. Both are in important races and are surely keeping an eye on their their guys in AAA.

First Playoff Game to the Bulls

Tim Beckham hits key single. Photo Bernard Thomas, Durham Herald-Sun

Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, News & Observer, MiLB, WRAL

This was a baseball lover’s game. Good food from the food trucks. Perfect weather. Two teams pumped up and ready to play. A small, but informed crowd. Two very good young pitchers on the mound. How good? Well, Tim Beckham got a hit on the first pitch he saw from the Indians’ Brandon Cumpton. That was the last hit by a Bull until the 6th inning (a double, also by Beckham). Meanwhile, the Bulls’ Jake Odorizzi was piling up the Ks as he only allowed one hit through his seven innings.

Boring? Not for fans, especially the bottom of the 7th when things got very antsy for Mr. Odorizzi. First his shortstop (the aforementioned Beckham) let a runner on. That was not the end of the earth, since the next batter hit into a fielders choice and it was one out, runner at 1B. But then his catcher blew a pickoff throw that let the runner get to 2B. Things got really ugly when he gave up two walks to load the bases. Here’s what made it fun for the fans. Everyone understood what was going on and everyone stood for the final pitch of two very difficul Ks. Odorizzi was out of the inning and the score was still tied.

The 8th inning was the Bulls turn to create some offense. Kevin Kiermaier got a one-out double. With his speed, things were looking good. But Jesus Flores drew a walk in a sequence that included a pitch that seemed to completely miss the catcher’s mitt and really nailed home plate umpire David Soucy in the chest/gut. The game was halted for a while. Then Beckham got his third hit of the night, a single, and Kiermaier just flew around the bases to score. However, umpire Soucy was hurting and had to leave the game. We had what seemed like a long delay while another ump got the gear on (we started the night with four umps). Cole Figueroa singled to load the bases. Jason Bourgeois hit a grounder to 2B, who threw out Flores at the plate. Bases were still loaded, two out, fans going nuts. A Belnome single was enough to bring Beckham home, but Figueroa coming around from 2B was tagged out.

But those two runs seemed to be enough. Jeff Beliveau shut the Indians down in the 8th and Kirby Yates came on to close it out. I packed up my stuff. Yates struck out the first batter. The second batter lined out to Belnome at 1B. Things were looking really good.

But then the ghosts of Joe Bateman and Winston Abreu came to visit at the DBAP. All of us old farts needed a cardio check anyhow — BB, single, BB (to pinch hitting former Bull Russ Canzler). Bases are loaded. But fly ball to Evan Frey in right field (a bit of defensive re-arrangement by Charlie Montoyo just for the 9th inning).

All was right with the world.

Outside the game —

• Am I the only one who was flashing back to Joel Guzman while watching the Indians’ young Gregory Polanco run the bases? 
• The Rochester Red Wings took the first game of their series with Pawtucket 7-1. Wrap.
• WRAL’s Aaron Schoonmaker has a nice bit of reportage on the Bulls’ Leslie Anderson. Bulls fans, and not a few Rays fans, would like to see him get his chance. With free agency in the offing here’s a bet that he will join Dane De La Rosa, Stephen Vogt, Reid Brignac, Justin Ruggiano and other Bulls who have gone off to find out if they can break in with another club. Too bad. We’d like see him get his first shot with the Rays. Meanwhile, Leslie, stay focused on the Bulls for the next couple of days.
• Brandon Guyer was a late scratch from the lineup. Back problems.
• You'd think, playoff game and all, that Nuke LaLoosh wouldn't get distracted by the TV cameras. But noooooo! Nuke chalked up his 37th loss.

Just Three Transactions Today ... So Far

As was written this morning, and in some detail yesterday, lots of movement. Three  more transactions today that directly affect the Bulls, one that’s off on a tangent, and one that’s just interesting.

• Left-Hander Enny Romero is coming up from Montgomery and will start at least one game for the Bulls (Monday). He has done very well this year in Montgomery.
• RHRP Brandon Gomes was called up to the Rays. That had to be expected.
• Catcher Craig Albernaz came off the temporary inactive list.
• RHP Jake Odorizzi was assigned to the Montgomery Biscuits. Long-time Bulls fans will recall all the players who used to go off to "Hudson Valley." This smells like the same thing. Odorizzi joins Jeff Beliveau on the Biscuits’ roster, but surely they both are in Oakland hanging out with the Rays.

The Bulls now have only 11 pitchers, but have 13 position players, plus three on major league rehab (Guyer, Scott, and Moore).

The interesting non-Bulls-related transaction concerns former Bull Dan Johnson. When he became available there was an immediate interest from at least one Rays’ blogger. But Johnson has signed with Baltimore, which means the Bulls could be pitching to him tomorrow. He might be a help to Norfolk in their wild card run. Or a help to Baltimore in their wild card run. Or both.

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 (????).

Odorizzi Rules

Season: 83-51; Home Games Remaining: 3

Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Jake Odorizzi looked really, really good last night. 11 Ks, only three hits in 101 pitches. Just brilliant. If he’s in the playoff rotation, the Bulls should be in very good shape. And there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be. There’s the oddity of the double-header coming up in Norfolk this Saturday, but my guess is Montoyo and Allen will find a way to start the playoffs with Odorizzi and Martin.

Meanwhile, even though the Bulls never came close to solving the knuckleball of Norfolk’s Eddie Gamboa, they did what they have been doing all year — take advantage of the situation. All three runs were scored by Bulls who first worked a lead-off walk. In the 2nd inning Vince Belnome walked, got to 2B on a scratch single by Leslie Anderson, to 3B on a throwing error, and scored on a Mike Fontenot single. In the 5th inning it was Fontenot who got the leadoff walk. He stole second, move to 3B on a passed ball, and then scored on a Kevin Kiermaier single. Then in the 6th Ryan Roberts got the leadoff walk, moved to 2B on a wild pitch, and scored on a Shelley Duncan single. Aggressive, heads up baseball. Not one extra base hit. Great fun to watch in the huge crowd.

Outside the game —

• Some tough decisions coming up for the Rays and Bulls. Brandon Guyer is coming off the DL soon (yahoo!) and Jason Bourgeois has been Designated for Assignment and may be coming back (yahoo, again). So what happens? I’ve mentioned the Rays’ “creativity” before. We’ll have to see what happens.
• The Indianapolis Indians clinched the IL West last night and are confirmed to be the team that the Bulls will face a week from this Wednesday. Got your ticket yet?
• OK, this has been bugging me ever since it happened, so let me get it off my chest. The other night when the Bulls won the South Division they dove into the clubhouse to celebrate. They didn’t even wave to the fans, they just ran off the field to celebrate in private. Did they dis us? Sure seemed that way. Did they think they were the only ones who knew they'd won? Or cared? At least Charlie stayed for an interview.

The 40-Man Roster & the Bulls in September

It’s eight days to the end of August and we Bulls fans are beginning to worry about what Labor Day will look like — and we would expect the same is true for a few Durham Bulls.

The basics are these: For most of the season the Tampa Bay Rays can only have 25 players on their active roster. That is, any player who goes onto the field has to be among those 25 players. However, there’s a larger 40-man roster from which the players on the 25-man roster are drawn. For Bulls fans the key point is that none of the guys we’re watching can play for the Rays unless they are first on the 40-man roster.

The current Rays 40-man roster is here. Players on the 60-day disabled list don’t count. They can play in minor league games as part of a rehabilitation assignment, but I don’t know the rules there.

In September, any of the players on the 40-man can suit up and play for the Rays. If they go into the playoffs, the Rays have to go back to 25, but that's a month away.

The Durham Bulls have 7 pitchers and two position players on the 40-man. Also note that it's fairly common for the Rays to call up a pitcher whom we've seen as a starter and use him as a reliever (e.g., Alex Torres), although the reverse has never happened in my experience.

• LHP Jeff Beliveau 
• RHP Alex Colome (The Bulls carry Colome as on the DL, the Rays do not. Last seen pitching at the DBAP on June 17)
• LHP Frank De Los Santos
• RHP Brandon Gomes
• RHP Josh Lueke
• LHP Mike Montgomery
• RHP Jake Odorizzi

• Catcher Chris Gimenez
• Infielder Tim Beckham

As for any of the other 16 players on the Bulls roster, unless some manipulation is done they cannot be called up in September. But don’t ever underestimate the Rays' deviousness. Remember that when they wanted/needed Jason Bourgeois they got him on the 40-man and into uniform.

From a Bulls fan perspective it’s fair to wonder about Leslie Anderson or Vince Belnome or Cole Figueroa; or J.D. Martin or Kirby Yates. But the Rays have to need them seriously enough to clear a space on the 40-man.

Maybe, just maybe, the Rays will leave the roster alone until the playoffs are over, but don’t bet on it. They’ve got a pennant to win and they are definitely in the hunt. I’m guessing that Gomes and maybe Lueke go up almost immediately. So the Bulls bullpen is going to need some help. Juan Sandoval over in Montgomery, among others, might be available. Undoubtedly the Rays will want a spare catcher, so Chris Gimenez will likely leave, but WDBB hopes not before mid-September. Similarly, it’s time for Tim Beckham to get his “taste” of the big leagues. So he could go up for a few ABs. Again, would like to seem him stay with the Bulls through the playoffs.

As regular readers will know, making guesses about this sort of thing isn’t my strong point. How about your guesses?

And who else over in Montgomery could be showing up to lend a hand? Mahtook? Casali?

Two Out of Three; Martin Gets (More) Famous

Wrap, Box

Wrap, Box, Columbus Dispatch

Season: 69-40
Wrap, Box, Columbus Dispatch (1), Columbus Dispatch (2)

Those three ugly games after the All-Star break are quickly disappearing in the rear-view mirror. The Bulls’ two remaining 40-man guys (starters, that is), didn’t do very well back then. Now it’s all better. Mike Montgomery picked up a win on the 24th and last night, after two poor starts, Jake Odorizzi was very, very good. Only two hits over 7 innings and 101 pitches, and the first of those hits didn’t come until the 7th inning.

Odorizzi’s opponent, the Clippers’ Danny Salazar, was essentially matching him through five innings. But Salazar is on his way back from Tommy John surgery and left after five innings. In the 6th, however, poor defense by the Clippers let two runs in. Two more errors in the 8th set up two more runs.

But that is what the Bulls do this year. They just keep banging out singles and doubles, run the bases, and chip away. Yes, Belnome, Anderson, Duncan, and the much-missed Brandon Guyer are strong guys, but they aren’t going to beat an opponent’s brains in. What happens is that when the opposition looks up at the scoreboard around the 7th or 8th inning, they discover that they’re losing by a couple of runs and one of the Bulls two closers, Kirby Yates (ERA: 1.29, 14 saves) or Josh Lueke (ERA: 0.57, 13 saves) is warming up. Could not be a good feeling for them.

Last night also saw Charlie Montoyo do something that is fairly common this year, but something of a change from previous years. Cory Wade came in to pitch in the 8th and after a K got into trouble with a double and run-scoring single. Montoyo went for the left-on-left matchup and brought in Adam Liberatore to pitch to Clippers' Ezequiel Carrera. Yes, that’s a common enough move, and it worked. Carrera struck out. It just isn’t particularly common for the pre-2013 Charley Montoyo. More than that, after Liberatore walked the next batter to put runners on 1B and 2B, Montoyo brought in closer Kirby Yates for the second night in a row. Yates got a K with finish the 8th, and three quick outs to finish out the game.

Now, this sort of pitcher usage is common in the majors, but for most of the years we’ve been watching the Bulls it seemed that the manager and pitching coach would just as often go for a “development” opportunity. That is, more likely to leave a guy in for another batter or two (or three). This year, it seems as if Montoyo (and Allen, of course) are much quicker to pull a pitcher, much more willing to seek one or two outs from a reliever instead of one or two innings. That’s partly because after the early season turmoil the Bulls have more depth (and much more quality) in their relievers. As it is, Bulls relievers might be getting a bit bored. In the last three games they’ve only put in 7 innings, and only 6 pitchers have been used (Yates twice).

Outside the game —

• Brandon Guyer’s broken finger is reported to be a season ending injury. I don’t think we’ve witnessed a season with more severe injuries to position players. He joins Hak-Ju Lee and Rich Thompson on the “7-day DL”, but not likely to return. And just when he got his batting average up to .300.
• J.D. Martin has been named IL pitcher of the week. This is the second time this year for him. Quite likely if he were on any other roster than the Rays he would be banging on the door for a callup. As it is, even Chris Archer who just pitched a complete game, 2-hit shutout of the Yankees in Yankee Stadium, could be odd man out when Alex Cobb comes off the DL. Don’t get me wrong. Could not be happier than to have J.D. among us. Hope he's having as much fun pitching as we are watching.

Back From the Break, a Bit Rusty

Season: 63-36; Home Stand: 5-1
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Jake Odorizzi showed the effects of a seven day break in his routine, but perhaps more worrisome is the similarity of last night’s game to his outing back on July 5, when he had a nasty 4-run inning. The major difference is that last night was worse from an overall stats point of view (fewer innings, more BB). But it could have been more lopsided if Bulls defenders had not caught two runners at the plate as they were trying to score.

Nevertheless, the Bulls had a shot at catching up in the 7th and 8th and could not quite get there.

Cole Figueroa had a good night drawing three walks and scoring two runs. He is a terrific leadoff guy.

This was, I think, Evan Frey’s first experience in front of the Blue Monster in left field. He had something of a baptism of fire when Pawtucket started bouncing balls off of it. He was in left because Jason Bourgeois was back in center field. With Brandon Guyer in right, for the first time in recent memory the Bulls had three outfielders in the outfield.

New guy Ramon Ramirez had a very nice inning plus. Sure wish someone in the real media would chase down how come he's here. Glad to have him, mind you, just curious.

Outside the game —

• Hope that Ryan Roberts has his passport with him. Roberts was leaning on the dugout rail last night, a last minute scratch from the game. The speculation was that he wasn’t fully recovered from a hamstring problem. Turns out that Rays’ first baseman James Loney is off on a paternity leave and Roberts was just hanging out at the DBAP before leaving to join the Rays in Toronto.

Matchup: Durham Bulls vs. Pawtucket Red Sox ... and More

The Pawtucket Red Sox are the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and they are having a good year, much like their parent club. They are leading in the very competitive North Division, but they had a 1-9 stretch going into the break.

The Bulls played four games against them in Pawtucket back in early May and split the series 2-2. One of the wins was a combined no-hitter led by Jake Odorizzi, who will likely be on the mound this series.

Outside the game —

• A little bit of early season history for folks just checking in with the Bulls: Three key Tampa Bay Ray pitchers have had various kind of trouble this year, David Price, Brandon Gomes, and Alex Cobb. In their stead, several guys who started with Durham have been with the Rays during the season, Chris Archer, Alex Torres, and Alex Colome among them. David Price is back in the lineup. Alex Colome came back to Durham and went on the DL. Some folks are starting speculate about Archer and Torres, both of whom have been doing very well. Examples of the commentary are at Rays Index and at Rays Colored Glasses. What does it mean to the Bulls? Not sure. But bullpen turmoil is likely in a couple of weeks.
• C.J.  Riefenhauser got a few more comments regarding his appearance in the Futures game.
• The International League won the Triple A All-Star game 4-3. Wrap. Box. The Bulls’ Vince Belnome started at 3B and went 1 for 3. J.D. Martin pitched a scoreless 2nd inning. Kirby Yates pitched a scoreless 8th inning.
• The N&O has a nice feature on the Bulls today.
• If you’ve been following the saga of Duece, the missing border collie who got spooked by last weekend’s fireworks, he’s been found and is back.

Lastly, a little bit of weirdness, and a test of your Korean language skills. Just watch. Then wait for the reruns for a couple of different angles. And you might have to click through to Youtube.

Drizzly Drama

Season: 60-35; Streak: 5-0
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

In recent days an essential bit of game gear is a rain jacket or umbrella. After a drought a couple of years ago, this year has been near-constant rain varying from light showers to the occasional flood-producing deluge. Local farmers are watching crops rot in the fields.

On the other hand, the Durham Bulls seem to take to the weather like … well, you supply the image. Fans, especially the hydrophobic ones such as myself, tend to check on the tarp status and end up watching the rain from dry seats at home.

Mistake on my part, because, as much fun as it was to watch it on the big screen, it would have been a lot more fun to be there. It was a long haul. Even the broadcasters seemed to lose interest after the Knights’ home run in the top of the 7th put them ahead 4-3, and even more so when Leslie Anderson grounded out with the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning. Worse, Charlotte picked up another run in the top of the 8th.

In the bottom of the 8th, however, Ryan Roberts interrupted the broadcasters’ nattering on about decades-old baseball trivia with a huge homer over the Bull. Mike Fontenot got on with his fourth hit of the day, was sacrificed to 2B and scored after a wild pitch and scoring error to tie the game.

The bottom of the 9th was classic 2013 Bulls baseball. Vince Belnome got an extra base hit, a triple, to lead off the inning. Shelley Duncan struck out. Leslie Anderson hit a line drive over the head of the drawn in right fielder to bring Belnome in to win the game.

I forget just how young Mike Montgomery is. For that matter, how young most of these guys are: Montgomery, Jake Odorizzi, and C.J. Riefenhauser are all just 23 years old. So, while he wasn’t having an off night, neither did he look all that strong. On the other hand, 96 pitches, not bad.

Outside the game —

• Careful readers of WDBB may recall that some time ago the good folks at PETA took umbrage at the treatment of opossums out in Brasstown, NC. Now it appears that they have taken up the cause of the Rays’ rays in a fish tank down in Tropicana Field. I know, these are just fund-raising gimmicks targeting folks who have never seen a ‘possum or a cownose ray, but still seems a bit silly.

Matchup

The Bulls are now 25 games above .500. At 60-35, they have the best record in the International League. [Note: According to Bulls GM Mike Birling, the Bulls have the best record in professional baseball!] The Braves won their last two games and are in town for three before the break. They are 19 games back of the Bulls. The Bulls lead the IL in batting average and are .001 off the lead (Buffalo Bisons) in OPS. They are second in the league in ERA, 0.05 behind the Indianapolis Indians.

Bulls Back in Town

Season: 59-35; Last 10: 8-2
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Tim Beckham hit his second home run of the season, a solo shot in the 1st inning. Jesus Flores hit his second home run of the season, a three-run shot in the 7th to pretty much close it out. That gave the Bulls their fourth in a row and their eighth win out of the last ten games. They are 9½ games ahead of Norfolk in the IL South Division and tied with the Indianapolis Indians for the best won-loss record in the International League. Pretty darned good.

His last time out, Jake Odorizzi had five good innings out of six, but took a loss. Last night when he fielded a grounder and then threw the ball into center field we were thinking that history might repeat itself. It didn’t. He kept the game in control.

An oddity in the lineup was Chris Gimenez batting in the #4 position. Possibly a gimmick to help him regain his focus. It might have helped just a bit. Gimenez and Anderson were in the outfield again as Ryan Roberts, Brandon Guyer, and Jason Bourgeois were all on the bench with various ailments and ouchies.

Outside the game —

• Catcher Juan Apodaca was taken off the disabled list and released. He had a couple of good moments with the Bulls, but we were always wondering what he had to offer over Craig Albernaz (also on the DL, but likely to come off now).
• Tim Beckham has a nice feature article on him in today’s News & Observer. It appears that the N&O has basically decided to try to do profiles this year rather than regular game coverage, deferring to the Herald-Sun for that. Sort of makes sense. 
• The Herald-Sun is reporting the interim manager of the Bulls during Charlie Montoyo and Neil Allen’s time with the Futures Game will be Bill Evers, very successful manager of the Bulls in their early Triple-A years.

Bulls Beat Bulls

Season: 55-34
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Former Bulls Russ Canzler (2011) and Jason Pridie (2007) accounted for a couple of last night’s runs, including one in that ugly, ugly 3rd inning. Jake Odorizzi had very, very good 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th innings. But somehow when he gave up the single at the top of the 3rd for his first runner on base, things went awry. By the time he was back on track four runs were across.

Meanwhile the Tides’ Tsuyoshi Wada was essentially untouchable for most of the first six innings. And when he was touched early his fielders pulled off double plays.

The result? A big crowd saw a decent ball game and a couple of exciting plays (see catcher/left fielder Chris Gimenez’ play below).

Bulls fans got to see Frank De Los Santos back. Except for the Pridie home run, looked OK for his two innings. Ryan Roberts’ gear must’ve shown up. He was at 2B and got the games’ sole RBI for the Bulls.

Outside the game —

• Leslie Anderson reported to be working his way back.
• Two years ago the Bulls were down in Georgia. Alex Torres started and got the win in a rain-shortened 3-1 game. Other familiar names in the box score: Leslie Anderson, Desmond Jennings, and Brandon Guyer.
• Nuke the puppet continues to find interesting ways to lose races.