Loss in Rochester; Off to Moosic

Game 99, July 20, Frontier Field, Rochester, New York
Durham Bulls: 2
Rochester Red Wings: 6
Season: 44-55; Trip: 4-3
Wrap, Box, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle

Stats:
Game Score: Faria 24; Season Avg 45 (5 starts, 20.2 innings)
Team wOBA: Game .250; Season .296; Difference -.046

Morning did not suit the Bulls yesterday, especially young Jacob Faria. He will undoubtedly improve, but he's obviously having trouble adjusting to Triple-A hitters.

Nick Franklin is back with the Bulls and accounted for all of the game's RBIs. Dayron Varona continued his hot hitting. Richie Shaffer committed his 14th error. Hank Conger is still working toward his first hit as a Bull. Eury Perez was moved to the Sand Crabs to make room for Franklin.

Moving on down the road

After yesterday's game, the Bulls trekked on to Moosic, Pennsylvania to play the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Interesting site for a baseball field. (zoom in to see)

Matchup

If this looks/sounds familiar, it is. I mistakenly put it up a couple of days ago when I misread the schedule. Updated.

The Bulls face their most formidable matchup of the year in these four games against the Yankees Triple-A franchise. Back at the end of May, the Bulls took two out of three. We could say that stats aren't everything, but...

Since then the RailRiders have gotten even better and the Bulls have remained in the cellar for offensive stats and middle of the road in pitching. As can be seen, the RailRiders lead not just the North Division, but the entire International League in all these key metrics.

They are 4th in errors committed, but the Bulls are 14th in that category, too.

The RailRiders are coming home from a 3-game series in Charlotte where they lost 2 of 3. However, they've won 7 of their last 10.

Gonna be a tough series.

Albie!

Craig Albernaz and Bo, 2009

Season: 19-10; Road Trip: 4-3

Wrap, Box

Let’s jump to just a couple of important highlights for Bulls fans — Kinas and Albernaz.

I only got to listen to bits and pieces of the game as I roamed around Wake County yesterday afternoon. That croaking voice coming out of the radio was Patrick Kinas’ after all. We talk about players fighting through the pain, but this was a broadcaster staying on the air. Not a lot of depth on that bench (Bench? What bench? We ain’t got no stinkin’ benches.)

Down on the field, Craig Albernaz started at catcher for the Bulls and another team’s scouting report failed them. PawSox shortstop Jose Iglesias attempted a steal; Albernaz threw him out. Even better, in the 9th Albernaz reached first on a walk and stole second! He reached third on a Rich Thompson ground out and came home on a Jason Bourgois single. Great day for one of our favorite players.

Meanwhile, J.D. Martin who was to begin the year as a reliever, has established himself as a terrific starting pitcher. He let one bases-empty home run out of the park, and otherwise kept a lid on the PawSox after the Bulls jumped on the PawSox starter for three runs in the first inning.

Outside the game —

• Former Durham Bull and WDBB favorite Fernando Perez is back in professional baseball playing for the Sugar Land Skeeters over in Texas. Playing for former Durham Bulls hitting coach Gary Gaetti. He hit his first home run of the year yesterday. In fact, it was his first home run since May 8, 2011 when he was playing for the Iowa Cubs. Great to see him in baseball again!
• The Norfolk Tides lost,  putting the Bulls back into a tie for first place in the South Division.

Bye Bisons

Game 120, Monday, August 15, Coca-Cola Field
Durham Bulls 2, Buffalo Bison 1 (7 Innings)
Box

Game 121, Monday, August 15
Durham Bulls 8, Buffalo Bison 3 (8 Innings)
Season: 69-52; This Trip: 2-2
Wrap, Box, Buffalo News, Wild Card

To be honest, given the track record of the last two games, I was really worried about the bottom of the 7th in the first game yesterday (7-inning game). The Bulls had gone ahead 2-1 on a triple by young Mr. Beckham that drove in Ray Olmedo. I was putting gas in my car and had rolled down the rear window so I could hear the game. Andy Sonnanstine had gotten the first out but then gave up a single. Rob Delaney came in. A popup for the second out. Runner on first stole second. Gas pump dings. Batter grounds out to Johnson at first. Game over. Breath easier. Put nozzle back on the pump. Go on home.

At home with MiLB TV fired up for the second game, I begin to wonder if some bad karma could be out there. Former Bull Fernando Perez hit his very first home run (!) as a Bison and put Buffalo ahead 3-1. The Bulls got one back in the 4th, but then another former Bull, reliever Dale Thayer, came in for the 6th and weaseled out of a bases-loaded, one-out situation.

The planets come back into a proper alignment in the 7th, however, when Mr. Beckham hit a double, got to third on a Brandon Guyer sacrifice, and came home to tie the game on a Stephen Vogt sacrifice fly.

Mike Ekstrom kept things under control in the bottom of the 7th and Russ Canzler led off the 8th with a game winning home run, the first home run for a Bull since August 10 (Canzler and Ashley).

The icing on the cake was Tim Beckham's grand slam three batters later. Beckham hit for the cycle over the two games and accounted for five of the ten runs scored by the Bulls, not bad. See the Buffalo News link above for some comments by Beckham and Charlie Montoyo about his stellar night.

Dane De La Rosa came in to close things out and the Bulls were off to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Expect intense press coverage of the Bulls-Yankees games the next couple of nights. But not likely to have anything to do with Tim Beckham or Justin Ruggiano's bursitis of the knee.

Alex Rodriguez is scheduled for a rehab start with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees and the eyes of Yankee faithful will be watching what he does. A challenge for Bulls starter Matt Torra.

The sweep of the double header puts the Bulls three games ahead of Gwinnett. With recent losses, Norfolk and Rochester have been officially eliminated from contention.

Baseball in the Steam Room

Game 113, August 7, DBAP, Durham, North Carolina
Durham Bulls 6, Lehigh Valley IronPigs 4
Season: 64-49; Home Games Remaining: 13
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Examiner, Wild Card

Matt Moore showed himself to be human last night, allowing two runs in the 7th inning of what turned out to be a 6-4 game. But he also had a bit of bad luck up at the scoring table. Yes, he did start the inning by giving up a double and a single, putting runners on first and third. But Reid Brignac really did botch the grounder hit to him by Lehigh Valley's Josh Barfield — probably getting ahead of himself going for a double play. Instead of what should have been an E6, the grounder was scored as a hit. That meant that the run scoring from third was scored an earned run and on the books against Moore. If an error then the run goes on the books as unearned. The next run that scored (on a wild pitch from Jay Buente) might also have been unearned. And Moore's fabulous numbers would have been even better. Oh well, Moore will just have to live with the awful 1.09 ERA. Nice to see Moore's work so well recognized by Bulls fans as he left in the 7th. Gonna have to work on his hat tip, though.

This series with the IronPigs tested the mettle of the roster that we are likely to see through August and the end of the season. Although the changes are far from over, as you'll see below, we can hope that the pace of change will dampen down some. Russ Canzler rediscovered both his power and plate discipline last night with a single, double, home run, and a walk. Stephen Vogt's home run turned out to be very important. John Matulia's bat is hidden somewhere on the other side of Magnum St. Reid Brignac laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt, but still isn't hitting all that well. Dan Johnson had the day off. My point is that this is the team we'll be watching for the rest of the month and they are playing pretty well, with each having his ups and downs. Given the brutal heat, that has to be expected.

Speaking of the heat, yesterday was just awful. Again, all praise to the conditioning of these young men.

The Bulls gained a game on Gwinnett and are now 2 1/2 games ahead of Gwinnett.

Roster changes. Brian Baker is back from his stay on the Hudson Valley roster. As noted in an earlier post, Cesar Ramos went back to St. Petersburg. The Bulls have no left-handers in the bullpen at all. John Jaso is coming back to the Bulls for what may be an extended rehab assignment. Should be in the lineup by tomorrow. That will help out a lot.

Question of the day: Who is the catcher who's been warming up pitchers while Ashley's been behind the plate and Vogt's been in left field? Not Craig Albernaz, too tall, too much hair. No name on his jersey. Anybody know? Anonymous answers welcome.

Last roster change: Broadcaster Neil Solondz has been called up to St. Petersburg for a few days. He's expected to rejoin the Bulls in Buffalo where he can spend the evening telling Fernando Perez stories.

Update: Oops! Forgot to put up the link to the fabulous Brignac-Johnson play on the 6th. 

All Hail the Bullpen

The Rochester Red Wing Photo courtesy Baseball Stadium Reviews

Game 95, July 18, Frontier Field, Rochester, New York
Durham Bulls (Rays) 4, Rochester Red Wings (Twins) 1
Season: 53-42; This Trip: 5-2
Wrap, Box, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle

Let's stop obsessing about the roster changes and talk about baseball. How about the Bulls bullpen crew?

Going into the game the fact that the Bulls only had 9 pitchers on the roster hinted that the Bulls best strategy would be to take advantage of the storm clouds out over Lake Ontario. That is, score some runs and pray for rain. Turned out that an even better strategy was to just let the bullpen pitch. Ryan Reid and Lance Cormier combined for six innings. Jay Buente, Rob Delaney, and Dane De La Rosa did one each. Only one run scored. Great job.

New guy catcher Nevin Ashley went 0-4, but his ground out RBI in the 4th started Durham's scoring. In the next inning Brandon Guyer got a rare triple (his second, only the Bulls 11th this year) and then came home on Felipe Lopez's single. The icing on the cake was Dan Johnson's homer in the 8th that brought home Felipe Lopez.

The win guarantees a successful road trip and put the Bulls 11 games above .500, the best level this year. Gwinnett, however, kept on with their winning ways are are still a half-game ahead in the South.

I know it's just listening to the radio, but this game had a team-like feel to it. I like that. Andy Sonnastine starts today. Lets see if he can keep it up.

Elsewhere:

• Here's a bit more on the Lobaton injury. |St. Pete Times|
• Fernando Perez is back in professional baseball with the New York Mets. Makes sense. Fernando is something of a New York lad. He has a minor league contract and will be with Buffalo Bisons. The Bulls play the Bisons next month in Buffalo. |Bisons.com|
• Stacy Long over at Biscuit Crumbs keeps track of several players who've gone through the Rays system (scroll down). Note familiar Bulls names such as Jason Cromer, Chris Mason, and others. |Biscuit Crumbs|

First Charts

Durham Bulls 1; Gwinnett Braves 0
Season: 7-3; Streak: Won 5
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Indy Week

I missed the game and the links have the story. So I’ll just leave it at that and put up my first charts of the year.

click on chart for larger view

This one shows the game by game balance of runs scored by the Bulls minus runs scored against the Bulls. In the long run, this metric ends up being shaped very much like the won-loss curve for a team. What I look for is a trend. As you can see this is the best start for the Bulls in the last four years.

click on chart for larger view

This one is for the boys in the bandbox down by the bay. They are on an upward trend, but have some ways to go to get back to even. Still, the trend is upward.

The last one is a look at ERA trends. This chart comes with a bunch of caveats — way early in the year, small sample size, etc. But it sure is pretty.

As a final grin, Fernando Perez scored the winning run for the Iowa Cubs yesterday.

Web Roaming

A few odds and ends that might be of interest to Bulls fans.

• For those of us who aren't able to get to every game there's always television. What is not well-known is that the production of all the home Bulls games is in the hands of teenagers, Explorer Post 50. See George Habel's post over at Notes to Self.
• I just noticed a feature of the Bulls website called a "360 tour". Worth a look.
• And then the Boston Pops are (or should that be "is") going to show up in August. That could be a lot of fun.
• Careful readers will recall that we've puzzled over Fernando Perez's switch-hitting for years. Either he's just decided to answer the question or maybe a journalist finally got around to asking it. At any rate, thanks to a heads-up from Rays Index, here's a piece from Cubs spring training about the issue.
• Also over at Rays Index is this nifty chart that looks at the Rays Spring Training roster by age.
• Lastly, just for grins, take a look at the piece by Katelyn Davis, wife of former Bull Wade Davis. An amusing look at traveling to Texas for a playoff game last year. On Nicole Johnson's Baseball Wife Blog.

Last Year's Durham Bulls: Knowns and Unknowns, Position Players

We know that 62 ballplayers are at the Tampa Bay Rays Spring Training. What we don't know is who else is there in Port Charlotte at the minor league training camp. So here's a brief list of the 2010 Bulls, the number of games they were in for the Bulls, and what we know about them for 2011, if anything.

• Justin Ruggiano, 117 games, Durham Bulls
• Chris Richard, 117 games, Retired
• Fernando Perez, 116 games, Chicago Cubs/Iowa Cubs
• Angel Chavez, 113 games, Bridgeport Bluefish
• Elliot Johnson, 109 games, Tampa Bay Rays
• Desmond Jennings, 109 games, Durham Bulls
• Dan Johnson, 98 games, Tampa Bay Rays
• Joe Dillon, 96 games, Retired
• J.J. Furmaniak, 77 games, Durham Bulls
• Jose Lobaton, 72 games, Durham Bulls
• Alvin Colina, 51 games, Lancaster Barnstormers
• Ryan Shealy, 30 games, Blue Jays
• Dioner Navarro, 43 games, LA Dodgers
• Omar Luna, 40 games, Durham Bulls
• Rashad Eldridge, 34 games, ????
• Leslie Anderson, 28 games, Durham Bulls
• Hank Blalock, 26 games, ????

Any help out there regarding Chris Richard, Joe Dillon, Alvin Colina, Omar Luna, or Rashad Eldridge? Any or all of them could be with Rays organization, just not non-roster invitees.

Update 1: Although I'm not absolutely certain, I think it will be safe to change Chris Richard and Joe Dillon to "retired".


Update 2: In the very large category of "things I don't know about baseball", it turns out that minor leaguers without invites to Spring Training are not yet in camp. Omar Luna is expected to be there.


Update 3: April 19, changes italicized.

Perez to Cubs

The Rays are reportedly about to close a deal sending pitcher Matt Garza to the Chicago Cubs. Somewhat buried in the details of the trade is the item that Durham Bull outfielder Fernando Perez is part of the package.

We really, really like Perez. I don’t think anybody provided as much excitement as he did throughout 2008. But since then he’s had his troubles and we’ve written about them here a couple of times. This is potentially a really good deal for him and for the Rays. Assuming he has gotten his health back on track (at no point last year did he look like the player we saw in 2008), Chicago just might be the place for him. And besides, he’s a big city guy and Chicago could be his kind of town. On the other hand, the Cubs’ AAA team is in Des Moines, Iowa. That should give him plenty of incentive in spring training.

We are going to miss him here at Watching Durham Bulls Baseball.

Thanks for all the hard work and great baseball you brought us, Fernando. Good Luck!

Here are a few links.

Telephone interview yesterday by Mark Topkin of St. Petersburg Times.

Terrific 2010 interview with Adam Sobsey of the Independent Weekly.

Very funny video from early 2010 where Perez laments the difficulties of getting by on $400,000 a year.

Some details on the trade.

A couple of the players coming from the trade could end up in Durham eventually. See comments here and here.

Rays Roster Projections

Cork Gaines over at RaysIndex has a pretty good track record at thinking through where the Rays might be going. Recently he posted his 25-man and 40-man roster projections and they are worth looking at. I particularly like the way that Cork puts these together. And a lot of interesting information is buried in the notes.

Why should we Bulls fans care?

A couple of reasons.

First of all, if this is the way it shakes out, a huge number of 2010 Bulls are going to be playing in the big leagues in 2011: Dan Johnson, Elliot Johnson, Desmond Jennings, Matt Joyce, Justin Ruggiano, Jeremy Hellickson, and Mike Ekstrom were all Bulls regulars last year. That’s a huge transfer of talent from minor to major leagues. I’d bet it is easily the biggest shift in Bulls’ history — but I’ll defer to any careful reader out there with a better handle on history than I. Note also that John Jaso, Reid Brignac, Ben Zobrist, Wade Davis, and Jeff Neimann are barely out of their Bulls uniforms.

The second, and more interesting, reason to take a look is that the Bulls’ 2011 roster will come from two pools of players — those players on the 40-man but not on the 25-man roster, and the group of players labeled “non-roster invitees” (that is, the guys who get invited to spring training by the Rays). We have little information on the non-roster invitees so far.

However, if Gaines is close to being correct, and the Bulls continue to carry 12 position players in 2011, only four position player slots are filled. He’s got Anderson on first, Ashley and Lobaton catching, and Perez in the outfield.

Interesting times.

Looking At 2010 — 1

Time to finally getting around to wrapping up the season.

Let's start with the position players, listed in order of number of games played. This is going to take a number of postings to get through, but the look back is fun.

Justin Ruggiano (28). With Bulls since 2007 (4 seasons). Numbers up from 2009. Strikeouts down. On Rays 40-man roster.

• Tied for most games (117), led in plate appearances (507). 15 HR, 70 RBI. 24 SB, BA/OBP/SLG: .287/.357/.453. wOBA .344. bRAA 3.4. Brief visit with Rays. Don’t think he had an AB while there. Post-season: 9 games, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 1 SB. Positions played, regular season: RF-63, CF-29, LF-26, DH-3, 3B-1 (2 errors on year).
• Justin has been on the Rays’ 40-man for a couple of years and has yet to be given an honest shot at playing for the Rays. At a guess, assuming the Rays let him go, he will be looking for employment elsewhere. Defensively, he is among the best we saw this year on any team and he is very fast on the bases. 70 RBI are nothing to sneeze at. He’s got the tools to be attractive somewhere else. But maybe he likes the Rays system.
  
• Stats

Chris Richard (36), also with the Bulls since 2007. Numbers in every category up from 2009.

• Played 117 games in the regular season and accumulated some striking numbers. 20 HR, 79 RBI, 39 2B, .300/.390/.535, wOBA .395, bRAA 24.6 (!). Positions played: 1B-82, DH-25, LF-10, RF-1.
• Chris is under-rated as a first baseman. He only had 4 errors on the year (down from 7 in 2009) with a fielding percentage of .995. I don’t know how to chase it down, but I suspect he has to be among the best, if not the best, first baseman in the International League. His only competition might be 20 year old Freddie Freeman with the Gwinnett Braves who had a fielding percentage of .994 in 111 games at first, but he’s 16 years younger than Chris!
• What is Chris going to do? He seems to like it here in the Triangle. He sure is physically fit enough to play baseball with the youngsters. On the other hand, you’d think the local universities would be anxious to have him on their staff, or maybe a place somewhere in the Rays coaching system. Guess in this era you don’t have player/coaches. My hope is that he and the Rays can come to an agreement for another year.
  
• Stats

Fernando Perez (27), with the Bulls almost all of 2008 (129 games), did not play most of 2009, numbers down in every category from 2008. On the Rays 40-man roster.

• Played 116 games with 426 plate appearances. 4 HR, 32 RBI, 24 SB, .223/.280/.299, wOBA .269, bRAA -24.2. Positions played: RF-43, CF-33, LF-42.
• By any measure, Fernando had an awful year. You have to think that he and the Rays will be coming to a new understanding over the winter. For those of us who enjoyed, actually thrilled, at watching him play in 2008 he is not the same player. A lot has changed, of course. He was working on his switch-hitting in 2008, but that has gone by the board. We can’t tell from the stands if his injuries of 2009 are still bothering him. What we can see is that his swing has been off all year and the sheer exuberance he seemed to show is not obvious to us in the stands. I’d guess that there’s a less than 50-50 chance that he’ll be back next year. But I sure would like to see the Fernando Perez of 2008 in a Bulls uniform again.
  
• Stats

Angel Chavez (28), 2010 his first year with the Bulls. Numbers up in most categories.

• Played in 113 games. 9 HR, 55 RBI (6th best on the team), .275/.329/.387, wOBA .317, bRAA -7.4. Positions played: 3B-73, SS-39, 2B-4, 1B-1, DH-1, P-1 (ERA-0.00!)
• To oversimplify a bit, Angel started the year at shortstop and moved to third base after Hank Blalock moved on. He shared time at both positions with Elliot Johnson (SS), Dan Johnson (3B), and J.J. Furmaniak (SS). Chavez is a very good baseball player and he made major contributions to the team. About the only blemish on his record this year was his unfortunate tendency to hit into double plays. But that has to be something of a statistical anomaly or possibly a function of his place in the batting order. He doesn't seem to have great range and yet if the ball is near him he makes the play. An oddity was that he often didn’t seem to be playing all that hard and yet somehow the ball always got to the first baseman ahead of the runner. He doesn’t seem to be on anyone’s prospect list, which means that, if the Rays don’t have some hot shot infielder coming through the system, he might be back next year. If only for his fielding skills, we hope the Rays take a close look at Angel.
  
• Stats

Elliot Johnson (26), with the Bulls since 2007 and on the Rays 40-man roster much of that time. Passed through waivers and signed minor league contract this year. By any measure, 2010 was his best season as a professional baseball player.

• Played in 109 games with 481 plate appearances. 11 HR, 56 RBI (5th best), 30 SB (2nd best), .319/.375/.475, wOBA .373, bRAA 14.8. Positions played: SS-64, 2B-16, LF-21, RFK-14.
• Back in 2008 we were unimpressed with Elliot’s play. In 2009 it seemed as if he spent a lot of time injured. But he sure blossomed this year. He won all sorts of awards, and deserved them. As a shortstop he seems to depend on his glove and his arm, and they serve him well. What was important to the Bulls this year was to have such a solid, dependable, and well above average player available to play so many positions. He hit with some power, got on base, and moved around the bases. His 72 runs scored was 3rd best on the team. My guess is that this was his last year as a Bull, and I regret that. Elliot’s off to play winter ball in Mexico and, I’d bet, to eventually sign a contract with an invitation to spring training with a very solid shot of playing in the majors next year. The oddity is that he’s a better ballplayer that some currently with the Rays (Jason Bartlett and Willy Aybar come to mind), but he’s not going to get a chance to prove it. We’ll try to keep an eye on him this winter.
  
• Stats

Bulls Win Game 3; Stay in the Hunt

Durham Bulls 3; Columbus Clippers 2
Wrap, Box

If the idea was to break the hearts of the Columbus Clippers, then the Bulls gave it their best shot. Clippers’ pitcher Yohan Pino was was brilliant. With the exception of the 5th inning, Bulls hitters were being set down on three or four pitches. In eight full innings he faced only 28 batters and threw only 81 pitches.

And in almost every inning Columbus was threatening. They got runners to third base in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd innings, but could not push across a run against Alex Cobb.

Nevertheless, even though Bulls hitters were swinging at everything, it wasn’t until the 5th that they were able to score. Angel Chavez got a double. Rashad Eldridge singled Chavez home (and got to third base on a fielding error) and Eldridge came home on a sacrifice fly by Fernando Perez. That put the Bulls up 2-0. R.J. Swindle baffled the Clippers in the 5th and 6th, all except Wes Hodges who smacked a homer over the bull. But Joe Bateman struck out the side in the 7th and all seemed well.

Perhaps just to extend the agony, Joe let a run sneak in in the 8th for his first blown save of the year. The game was tied 2-2, setting the stage for Winston Abreu to get his first win of the year. Winston struck out the side in the top of the 9th.

Bring on bottom-of-the-9th heroics. Josh Judy came in for the Clippers. Elliot Johnson worked a walk. Justin Ruggiano hit a single to right that was deep enough for Johnson to get to third. That led to an intentional walk of Chris Richard, loading the bases with none out. Infield and outfield were drawn in, but Leslie Anderson’s fly out to center was just far enough to let Elliot get home.

The Bulls live to see another day.

Odds and ends:

When Xavier Hernandez strolled out to the mound in the 6th inning just to stall a bit while Joe Bateman warmed up I had this thought. "This could be the last time he does that." But with the win, X will get another chance to make that stroll at the DBAP.

Sure seems like Columbus thoroughly scouted the middle of the Bulls lineup. Elliot Johnson, Justin Ruggiano, Chris Richard, and Joe Dillon are not doing well. Maybe the fun they had in 9th will be a turn around moment.

Paul Phillips, who got a win for the Bulls in Game 4 of the Bats-Bulls series is reported to be starting tomorrow.

We were surprised to see that Stacy Long, a writer for the Montgomery Advertiser, and who does a terrific job covering the Biscuits, was in town. His blog has several notes from the game and some post-game clubhouse commentary.

Bulls Win South

Image courtesy Durham Bulls

Game 126: Durham Bulls 3, Norfolk Tides 1
Season: 79-47; Road Trip: 6-3; Streak: 5-0
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

The Bulls clinched their fourth-in-a-row championship of the International League South Division last night when they beat Norfolk 3-1 and the Gwinnett Braves lost 3-4 to the Charlotte Knights. T-shirts were on sale within ten minutes after the game was over. That was a hint that the championship was not a surprise, and it wasn’t. Other than the hiccup just after the all-star break (which the Bulls followed up with an eleven-game winning streak), the Bulls have had and continue to have a great year. Video highlights at link on Bulls home page include a very nifty game-ending, championship-winning double play initiated by Justin Ruggiano.

Last night was a good example of the kind of team we have this year. It was the Bulls fifth win in a row and they have made that run with only two starters being our “regular” starters. I put regular in quotes since neither of those two (Aneury Rodriguez and Richard De Los Santos) came to the Bulls with the intent of them being starting pitchers. The other three starters in this run were Darin Downs (recently up from Montgomery to work in relief), Bobby Livingston (new guy), and Ramon Ortiz (even newer guy).

Still, what better guy to get the save than Joe Bateman? More appearances than any other Bulls pitcher this year.

I was not listening when Ortiz was on the mound last night, so didn’t get any impressions of his performance. Comments from readers welcome. Did notice that Jake McGee got the win and kept his 0.00 ERA intact.

Offensively two mature (old) guys showed the way. Chris Richard and Rocco Baldelli got Durham’s only hits, but they were enough. Pleased to see Baldelli’s first home run. Have to wonder how long he will stay with the Bulls. Would love to see him stick with the team long enough to play in Durham.

Noted that Fernando Perez started the game, first start in quite a while (0 for 3).

Joe Dillon is on the DL, apparently due to worries about hamstring, but not a re-injury.

Now the trick is going to be keeping the focus for the next couple of weeks. Charlie Montoyo and his crew appear to be really good at that, so not really very concerned.

Except that Dale Thayer is off to the Rays, so turmoil in bullpen is not going to let up.

Webworld

• Interesting podcast/interview with Charlie Montoyo from Thursday evening. Speaks to roster changes, young pitchers, Elliot Johnson and Rocco Baldelli.
• Ramon Ortiz gets a profile over at The Process Report.
• At the same site there’s is a review of the Rule 5 draft. Don’t understand that? Join the club. Nevertheless, one current Bull and a couple that we’ve seen are apparently affected: Anuery Rodriguez, Heath Rollins, and Emeel Salem.
• Yesterday John Romano at the St. Petersburg Times made the argument for sending Jeremy Hellickson back to Durham for a couple of weeks. Well, after another very impressive start out in Oakland, the Rays did send him to the minors, just not to the Bulls. Stories here and here. Surely more to come on the usual Rays blogs.
• For those interested in minor league life here’s a good, if overlong, article (cries out for an editor to whack about 2,000 words out of it).
• Over at Flip Flop Fly Ball he takes a look at the Red Sox.

[Update: Thanks to careful reader Samantha, here's a terrific article on last night's game with some good quotes from Charlie Montoyo.]

After the Rain

Game 124: Durham Bulls 5, Charlotte Knights 1
Season: 77-47
Wrap, Box

You’d think that since we drive to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park more than sixty times a year we’d find something better to do when the Bulls are out of town. But there we were bouncing along the torn up Roxboro and Mangum Streets (what’s the deal with that Durham?) last night while the Bulls were waiting for the rain to stop in Fort Mill, South Carolina. The occasion was a show at the Durham Performing Arts Center — a first-rate venue that if you haven’t tried is worth a visit. The same parking attendants work Bulls games and DPAC events. I tried waving my Bulls pass going into the parking deck, but the attendant just smiled and held her hand out for the $5.00. I mention this all because if you have figured out how to get to the DBAP then you can get to a show at the DPAC and it’s a very nice place to spend an evening.

It was a little after 10:30 by the time we got out of the show (Lyle Lovett, terrific) and out of the garage to a point where we could get 620 on the radio. Bulls at bat at the top of the ninth, nobody out, but two K’s and a ground out later, nobody scores. It did not not sound good. But then I find out that the Bulls are ahead 5-1 going into the bottom half. So all is well.

What jumps out from the box score is the terrific night had by Bulls’ pitchers — no walks, 12 K’s, only one earned run. Aneury Rodriguez, who’s had quite few days off since his last appearance, had a terrific night. New guy Paul Phillips gave up quite a few hits, but nobody scored in his second appearance.

Elliot Johnson continued his hot streak; Chris Richard’s homer got him up to 60 RBI, but Justin Ruggiano kept his lead at 63 with an RBI single.

The Bulls are 30 games above .500, the best they’ve been all year. They are moving ever closer to clinching the playoff spot in the South Division. Louisville, after a very unfortunate series (for them) against Columbus are sneaking back into contention in the West. Norfolk, the Bulls next opponent, is one game away from elimination.

Thanks to careful reader Fritz who pointed out Adam Sobsey’s piece on Fernando Perez in this week’s Indy Week. Fans interested in Perez, or just the life of a baseball player, will find it an interesting read.

The Bulls play in Norfolk tonight. Wonder if they even stopped for a cup of coffee as the bus rolled past Durham last night.

Marching Out of Georgia

Game 121: Durham Bulls 1; Gwinnett Braves 4
Season: 74-47
Wrap, Box

First inning, bases loaded, one out, no runs scored. Does that sound a bit familiar?

Hit into three double plays. How about that?

Those two scenarios seem a bit typical for the last couple of weeks. The four errors do not. That isn’t like the Bulls at all and I’m pretty sure we won’t see that again. At least I hope not. Nor losing a series. That hasn’t happened very much, if at all, this year.

Brian Baker did a very credible job. As did new guy Paul Phillips. Only one earned run was scored against the pitching staff.

Leaving Georgia yesterday was probably a good feeling. Too bad the Bulls only get to Fort Mill, SC and the Knights. Don’t know just what the accommodations there are like, but from a distance the field does not look like a great place to play.

The overall pitching situation is not getting better. The radio reported that Virgil Vasquez has knee problems. So that puts us with three (four if you count Jason Cromer) pitchers who aren’t readily available: Heath Phillips, Carlos Hernandez, and now Virgil Vasquez. Maybe what we really need to call up are reinforcements for trainer Roger Fleming.

As a side note, the roster on the Bulls website is different from the roster on the International League website. The IL roster shows Fernando Perez on the disabled list. However, the IL’s transactions list also tells us that outfielder Emeel Salem has gone back to Montgomery. Wonder if he had to drive himself to and from Laurenceville, GA? And did he enjoy the ride? Does he get to keep the uniform? The hat and batting helmet?

Jeremy Hellickson won another game yesterday. Less and less likely we’ll see him in a Bulls uniform again. But we didn’t think that would happen anyhow. A puzzle will be the status of Dan Johnson once Carlos Pena comes of the DL. He’s played in ten games and his numbers are not good at all. Nevertheless, his wOBA of .346 is better than a bunch of other players with the Rays (Aybar, Kapler, and more). So maybe someone else will get pushed off the ledge. Likely to depend as much on perceived team dynamics and contractual arrangements as immediate value to the team. Whatever’s decided, my guess is that it will only be for a couple of weeks until the rosters expand in September.

Roster Moves

Of course, as soon as the Bulls leave town the Rays will cascade down a bunch of roster changes. It's a plot on their part to keep Bulls fans in the dark.

On the other hand, maybe they read my post yesterday and decided to do something about it.

First of all, thanks to DRR for the heads up.

As mentioned earlier, Carlos Hernandez came off the DL yesterday and may start tomorrow. Probably on a low pitch count/inning limitation.

Brian Shouse, on a Rays minor league contract, disappeared from the DL part of the Bulls roster today, but is reported to have been pitching in Charlotte, Florida and on his way to the Bulls. Left-handed, side-arming reliever. Probably a “lurker” for a September plus up for the Rays. They seem to like sidearming specialists (except for Joe Bateman whom they have been ignoring, so far).

Rocco Baldelli, in the same report, is heading for the Bulls as well. No idea whose roster he will end up on.

Stacy Long is reporting that outfielder Emeel Salem is on his way from Montgomery. If I were a betting man, I’d be betting that Fernando Perez is heading for the DL.

Welcome to August/September in Triple A. I glanced at the changes for Gwinnett and they’ve got many more than the Bulls.

Outpitched

Game 82: Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay) 0; Gwinnett Braves (Atlanta) 3
Season: 49-33; Home Stand: 6-3
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Indy Week

No getting around it, Todd Redmond & Co of the Braves did a better job that our Richard De Los Santos. Not that we didn’t do OK, but it wasn’t good enough. It could have been worse, but several very nice plays kept us in the game.

• In the first inning Fernando Perez lost a ball in the sun, but the next batter hit on just wide of the pitcher’s mound. In a very nifty play, De Los Santos fielded the ball and threw out the runner going from second to third. That same inning was wrapped up by a clean bases-loaded Furmaniak - Dillon - Richard double play.
• Quick thinking in the 3rd kept a runner off second. The Braves’ Matt Young, on first, stumbled on his way to second. Second baseman Joe Dillon, who seemed to have only a play at first base, instead went to second and got the lead runner.
• In the 5th third baseman Angel Chavez made a nifty bare-handed grab-and-throw for the second out, followed by a nice sliding catch by left fielder Dan Johnson.
• In the 8th a grounder ricochetted off pitcher Mike Ekstrom, but Chavez gobbled it up and made the out.

That’s the good stuff. Now for the cranky old man stuff.

• Jose Lobaton looked at three pitches and made three outs. In two of those runners were on base. For a guy who was doing OK with his On Base Percentage (see below) that was terrible.
• I took a look at the Montgomery Biscuits stats. They don’t have an outfielder who is having a great year, but several, including Rashad Eldridge, are having better years than Fernando Perez. I really like Perez, but things do not seem to be getting better.

Durham Bulls On Base Percentages

Thought there might be some interest in isolating out OBP for the Bulls position players. PA is “Plate Appearance”. Navarro's numbers will drop after he's been here a while. I hadn’t realized how well Angel Chavez was doing at getting on base, or how poorly Alvin Colina was.

It’s really going to hurt when Dan Johnson goes somewhere else, but you have to think that he isn’t long for the Bulls. He’s just having too good a year not to be noticed.

Shut Out

Game 80: Durham Bulls 6; Louisville Bats 0
Season: 49-31; Home Stand: 6-1
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Indy Week, Louisville Courier-Journal

A list for our contemplation and reflection:

• Another shut out (8 so far).
• Four wins in a row.
• 6-1 in this home stand.
• 7-3 in the last ten games.
• 18 games over .500.
• 9 games ahead of Charlotte in the South Division (who just reached .500 for the first time since 21 April when we pushed them over the edge).

I’ll admit that an 11-day home stand is too much for me. As much as I love the Bulls, the trek to Durham every night got to be a bit too much. So I watched it on TV (Channel 151 in the new Time-Warner line up).

Carlos Hernandez did just fine in his return to the rotation. Actually, both starters did just fine. The Bats' Malone had a very good 7 innings.

With Jennings taking a couple of days off, Fernando Perez is having some opportunities at the top of the batting order. He got a bunt single to lead off last night and stole his 19th base a few minutes later. He doubled in Dioner Navarro in the 5th for what was the winning run. Not sure why he didn’t sacrifice bunt in the 8th with Luna on first, no outs.

Home runs by Navarro, Chavez, and Ruggiano in the five run 8th really slammed the door on the Bats.

How about that extraordinary play by Angel Chavez in the 6th? On his knees, behind third base, across his body throw that got the runner, finished the inning, and saved a run. That one play might have made all the difference even without his 2-run homer in the 8th.

In spite of our three wins over them, my impression is that the Bats are a much better team than their 36-45 record indicates. Obvious problems in the relief pitching area.

Regarding relief pitching: Time to point out the terrific job Brian Baker has been doing for us this year. He is certainly one of the keys to our success.

No one has scored a run off him for three games and over 13 innings. He’s appeared in 23 games including two starts. He’s 7-0, which gives him the best won-loss percentage on the team. He is, in essence, our only long reliever. Although, now that Hernandez and Vasquez are back in the rotation, it looks like Rodriguez will be filling that role as well. At 48+ innings, he’s got the most time on the mound of any of the relievers. Why wasn’t he also on the All-Star list? Possibly because middle/long relievers don’t get much respect. Possibly because the Bulls already had three guys on the team (plus the manager).

He’s been working his way up the Rays system since 2005. Is this the year for the 27-year old? Could be.

Justin Garcia, a reliever who joined the Bulls from Montgomery while they were on their last road trip, has been sent to the Charlotte Stone Crabs. Unless I missed something, we didn’t see him here in Durham. At 4 ⅔ innings, he is the leading candidate for this year’s Moonlight Graham Award for pitchers. Craig Albernaz, unfortunately, leads the position players.

The News & Observer has an article on the Bats’ Aroldis Chapman, the fellow who plunked Dan Johnson with a 99 mph pitch and Dioner Navarro with a 102 mph pitch the other night. Background on his defection, separation from his family, and Cincinnati’s approach to getting him ready for the big leagues.

How Hot Was It?

Pouring Pig Iron

Game 76: Durham Bulls 2; Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs 4
Season: 45-32; Home Stand: 2-1
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, The Morning Call

Just the weather, not the bats or the pitchers.

The simple explanation of what happened is that two throwing errors, one by Omar Luna in the 4th and one by Jose Lobaton in the 8th, made all the difference. And they did add two runs to the books.

On the other hand, Lehigh Valley got eleven hits, including three doubles and a triple, a two timely run-scored sacrifice flies.

On a brutally hot day, Heath Phillips had already faced 21 batters when he started the 6th. A single, a double, and a sac fly and another run was in. If only …

This year’s Bulls, as good as they are, and they are very good, don’t seem to come from behind very well. Can only recall one “walk-off” game this year. Last year, to cite one particularly spectacular example, someone who left the park in the 4th with the Bulls down 1-8, would miss an 11th inning comeback where the Bulls ended up winning 13-9. If only …

I thought maybe Fernando Perez’s second home run in two days was going to turn the tide, and it did help, but not enough. Beautiful shot, though. Probably got the attention of diners at the restaurant since it appeared to hit the wall just above the awning.

Didn’t make the Iron Pig pitcher work all that much. Only 88 pitches through seven innings. Given the heat, a bit more patience to make him work harder might have made a difference.

Today we’re on national television. Time to shine. Hope that we don’t wilt.

Webworld

• News & Observer does a nice profile of Dan Johnson. Gets a few minor details wrong (Shoppach was never going to stay in Durham). But can’t disagree with the overall sentiment — that Dan Johnson is a major-league quality player.

• Huge media coverage of Longoria/Upton dustup yesterday. For long time watchers of B.J. just another example of his inability to stay focused on the game.

Fun Night

Game 75: Durham Bulls (Rays) 10; Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (Phillies) 3
Season: 45-30; Home Stand: 2-0
Wrap, Box, The Morning Call (Allentown, PA)

Let’s get an important issue out of the way first: Dale Thayer. Both the Herald-Sun and Indy Week are reporting that he was taken out of the game because of tightness in forearm (Indy Week)/throwing arm (Herald-Sun). Very worrisome moment last night.

While on the topic of Dale Thayer, we are wondering if he’s been working hard enough (able to work hard enough) this year? It may be too late, if this is a disabled list-type injury. By this time last year Dale had made 28 appearances for 36 innings with the Bulls, and 3 appearances for 5 innings with the Rays. This year he’s at 26 appearances for 31 innings. Not his fault, of course, Montoyo is trying to balance things out for a bullpen that has not been overworked this year. Nevertheless, Dale has been out there only three times since his very tough one inning (5 earned runs) down in Gwinnett on 14 June. Have to wonder if there was something wrong with his arm even then.

Brian Baker did a wonderful job last night, and all credit to him. He could also be a poster child for why stats geeks don’t like to use won-lost records to evaluate pitchers. Brian’s got a 6-0 won-loss record, but four of those wins are in relief and he got one of the wins for pitching all of ⅔ of an inning. Which is not to take anything away from last night, or his fine start up in Indianapolis on the 21st. Great job.

Is the real Justin Ruggiano showing up? Two singles (one RBI) Friday night, double and home run (two RBI) last night. Cross your fingers. Maybe, just maybe. Sure would be nice.

Fernando Perez keeps flirting with the Mendoza Line. On the other hand, he had a triple Friday and a terrific line drive home run last night between the 375 and 450 markers. Our broadcaster insisted it went through the “bicycle rack” fencing (and thus a ground rule double). Ended the night at .204.

Chris Richard got a single in the 7th inning to end a long dry spell. In fact, everybody got a hit last night (Ruggiano, Dillon, and Jennings got two each), making it one of those nights where everyone has a chance to feel good.

The Bulls are 15 games above .500, the best we’ve been all year. Lest we get too puffed up about that, though, note that last year we hit that spot on 1 June and we were 1½ games behind Norfolk in the South Division. We did, as fans will recall, end up 22 games above .500 and Norfolk dropped down to exactly .500 by the end of the season.

At least one blogger (actually a reporter for The Morning Call) writes about the Iron Pigs. The Hog Blog.

And here’s an updated table on our position players, mostly to show off that I think I’ve figured out how to get a table into this blog. A couple of notes: Players on the Rays’ 40-man are in bold. Furmaniak and Luna have very few plate appearances, so their numbers can be expected to drift downwards. Table sorted by wOBA.