Bulls in the Bandbox by the Bay

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

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

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

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

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

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

Six to the Rays

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

Pitchers

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

Hitters

• Mikie Mahtook
• Richie Shaffer
• Luke Maile

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

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

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

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

Looong Game and a Sweep

Season: 62-66; Home Stand: 3-0
Wrap, Box

Infielder Taylor Motter took the mound in the top of the 14th after the Bulls had run out of pitchers. He set down the Mud Hens in six pitches and the sense was that things had changed. The Bulls had been putting plenty of runners on base (they stranded 11 on the night), but couldn’t push anyone across. Until the 14th. Mikie Mahtook doubled, Richie Shaffer got an intentional walk, and Nick Franklin doubled Mahtook home.

That ended the longest game of the year for the Durham Bulls. For the first time since early June the Bulls won three games in a row. And throughout these three days the team seemed loose and ready to play.

Other good things that happened along the way were Joey Butler's home run (his 4th as a Bull), Richie Shaffer’s 19th home run (in 60 games), the smart base running by Shaffer in the 8th on a Nick Franklin sacrifice fly that tied the game, and solid relief work by Jim Miller, C.J. Riefenhauser, and Jhan Marinez (two days in a row). Worrisome? That would be Scott Diamond's 6th inning.

Outside the game —

Who’s going to St. Petersburg on September call-ups? Your guess is as good as mine, maybe better. But we have to start with players on the 40-man, so here’s that list. If anyone else is to be called up then room will have to be made for him one way or other (and the Rays are pretty good and finding that “other” gimmick). Note that this list is constantly in motion.

Pitchers

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

Hitters

• Ryan Brett
• Jake Elmore
• Nick Franklin
• Hak-Ju Lee
• Richie Shaffer
• Joey Butler
• Mikie Mahtook

Bats Away

Gotta admit he (she) is kind cute

Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Matt Andriese looked really, really good

Season: 56-59; Home Stand: 4-6;
Games Remaining: 27; Home Games Remaining: 15
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

From the way it started, we have to say that this home stand could have been among the worst in Bulls history. Instead, it ended on an up note when the Bulls won three of the last four. Plus we got to see the talent of young Blake Snell as he threw a no-hitter through his five innings. He was followed by a very decent 1-hit, two innings outing by Everett Teaford, his best outing since being moved to the bullpen. C.J. Riefenhauser K’d the side (with a walk thrown in there). And Jim Miller “closed”.

The other game story was Mikie Mahtook, Taylor Motter and Joey Rickard. As mentioned the other day, Mahtook is simply looking more comfortable since his last return from the Rays. Maybe it was just a change of scenery. He was 2 for 4 with 5 RBI yesterday. Taylor Motter had what seems to be routine for him: an RBI double, and two walks. New guy Joey Rickard kept up his bid to stick in AAA with a triple and a single and 3 RBI.

The 9-run differential matches the one from Friday and gives us hope that the Bulls will wrap up the season with at least a few respectable, fun-to-watch games.

Outside the game—

• J.P. Arencibia is hanging out with the Rays, but has not gone on their roster. Rays catcher, former Bull Curt Casali was injured and the Rays wanted some insurance with the team. Mayo Acosta has been put on the active roster.
• Somehow I wasn’t paying attention to this: Robert Zarate, the mystery pitcher who came up from the Charlotte Stone Crabs in mid-June and who has been doing a terrific job, is on the disabled list. If anyone knows why, please jump in. I’ve been distracted recently.
• Desmond Jennings is not going to Norfolk for tonight’s game, but there’s been no official announcement of his status. 
• First base coach for the Louisville Bats last night? Former Bull Matt Buschmann. Oddly enough, he is featured on the Bulls home page today wearing his Bulls hat. 

Maile Makes Good

Season: 48-43; At Home: 22-21; This Home Stand: 2-2
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Home plate umpire Brian De Brauwere had his hands full last night. He was on the crew (at first base) back on May 1st when the Bulls played the PawSox up in Pawtucket. Veteran catcher for the PawSox, Humberto Quintero, chunked a full-strength throw into Bulls catcher Luke Maile’s gut and later in the game spiked Hak-Ju Lee. We summarized the aftermath at the end of a post back on May 3.

De Brauwere's first big challenge came in the 2nd inning. Cory Brown was attempting to score from second base and to everyone (except the one guy who mattered) it sure seemed like Brown made it past the tag. So we’d have to say he (De Brauwere) missed his first chance.

Corey Brown slides under Humberto Quinetero's tag
Photo by Sue Roth

If Quintero got a gift then, the Bulls Maile in the 5th did not. Again, folks in the stands figured that Boog Powell in left field made a perfect throw home to catch the runner. De Brauwere did not agree.

Maile tags Jamile Weeks
Photo by Sue Roth

However, as they say in some circles, payback …

Even after wearing out the grass between home and the pitcher's mound — Quintero must have gone out the mound 15 or 20 times last night trying to sort out the PawSox pitching crew; he was the main reason the game went on for 3½ hours — in the 8th the Bulls managed to load the bases. Luke Maile hit a very pretty double that cleared the bases putting three runs across and putting the Bulls ahead 8-7.

Even more fun in addition to Maile's 3 RBI ensued. Boog Powell singled and Maile moved to third base. Ryan Brett and Mikie Mahtook struck out and J.P. Arencibia came to bat. Boog Powell attempted a steal of second base. On the throw, Luke Maile headed for home. So we were seeing double steal in action. Powell beat the throw to second and the second baseman threw home. Quintero blocked the plate without the ball as he waited for the throw (remember he’s an old-school guy). Catcher’s interference was called and the run scored. Luke Maile, the young catcher Quintero had essentially slugged in the gut back in May had three RBI plus had stolen home for a fourth run (in the books it will go down as an error on the catcher)! So, in the eyes of WDBB, umpire Brian De Brauwere had redeemed himself.

It got better when he threw PawSox manager Kevin Boles out of the game a few minutes later. Boles was last seen flipping a bird at the ump. Here’s hoping he gets whacked with a serious fine for that bit of childishness.

Lots of other thrills in last night’s game as the Bulls seem refreshed from their break. Richie Shaffer showed a ton of plate discipline as he drew three walks and got a RBI on a bloop single. Corey Brown got two doubles. The team batted around twice and came from behind twice, something not typical in this year’s Bulls.

Roberto Zarate actually looked very good for 4⅔ innings, but that previously mentioned call at home and then an uncharacteristic error by Corey Brown messed things up for him. Similarly, C.J. Riefenhauser got some solid defense from catcher Luke Maile and almost got out of a bad start to the 8th. But then a 3-run homer had him with at least a blown save. He ended up, however, with the oddity of a blown save stat and a win stat.

Best of all from the pitching side is that, at least for this game, the Kirby Yates of 2014 came out of the bullpen and struck out the side. That is a very, very good sign for the Bulls.

Outside the game —

• Scanning down the Pawtucket roster we see our old friend Ronald Belisario looking very odd in his brand new PawSox hat. Expect we’ll see him the next day or so.
• Last night the paid attendance 10, 370 and it looked like almost all of them actually came to the game. Good vibe, even if some of them were members of the Red Sox Nation.

Hitless Wonderfulness

Season: 47-42; Home Stand: 1-1
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

The box score really doesn’t tell the tale of the wonderful quirkiness of the first 5 innings of last night’s game. We were almost, but not quite, sad for Gwinnett pitcher Alex White. We got over it.

Here’s the oddity: Not one of the first three Bulls runs of the game were “driven” in, that is, not one of the runs came home on a Durham Bulls hit. Here’s how it happened.

The first batter, Boog Powell, got on base when the catcher could not handle the strikeout pitch. Powell went to second base when Nick Franklin walked. When Taylor Motter grounded out, pitcher to first base, Powell and Franklin were in the midst of either a double steal or a hit-and-run. At any rate, Powell went full bore around third and came home with a very pretty plate-brushed slide. One run, no hits.

In the 4th inning Hak-Ju Lee drew a walk, stole second base, went to third base after a deep fly out to center field by catcher Bobby Wilson, and came home on a Vince Belnome sacrifice fly to left field.

In the 5th inning Taylor Motter walked, stole second, moved to third on a fly out to right by J.P. Arencibia, and came home on a sacrifice fly to right by Tim Beckham.

How cool is that? Three runs on no hits and the Bulls were ahead 3-2 going into the bottom of the 6th.

Then the Bulls did start hitting and the wheels really came off for the Braves. Hak-Ju Lee batted twice in the inning, doubling and scoring the first run on a Vince Belnome ground rule double, and striking out to end the inning. In the meantime the Bulls romped. The most exciting moment came from Tim Beckham’s bases-loaded single that cleared the bases and left him on third base when the throw from right field sailed into the Braves dugout.

Meanwhile, the Braves batters were taking shots at Bulls starting pitcher Scott Diamond. The first line drive hit him in the legs and he shook that off. A line drive in the last of the 3rd inning, however, went off his pitching arm and he left the game. More news today.

The recently maligned (by WDBB) bullpen came in for 6⅓ strong innings. Jeff Riefenhauser, led off and got the win. He was by WDBB favorite Jhan Mariñez for a 50 pitch, 2⅔ stretch. The game was closed out by Everett Teaford. Everett Teaford? What’s he doing in relief? That’s what he was doing for the Rays when he was up there and even though they’ve taken him off the 40-man, it looks like he’ll will be, at least for one night, a member of the relief crew.

Outside the game —

• Matt Andriese, top rider of the Durham Bulls/Tampa Bay Rays carousel is starting tonight. I’m guess he’s become a personal friend of whomever schedules Tampa-RDU flights. I’m not entirely sure, but I think there are seven transactions involved Andriese this year, none of them injury related. 
• Richie Shaffer was off to the futures game. Good luck today.
• Game time today 1:05. Need to get your praying done early.

Bounce Back?

Season: 45-41; Trip: 1-1
Wrap, Box, Charlotte Observer

Incredible as it may sound, there were no roster moves yesterday.

New guy Robert Zarate had his third start and went 5+ innings, 102 pitches, for a no-decision. But what the Bulls needed was lots of innings with a low score and that's what they got. C.J. Riefenhauser put in his second appearance in two days and got the win. Jhan Mariñez, surely sharing with Jim Miller the honor of being the strong guy in this year’s bullpen, went for a 2-inning save.

Mariñez is having a terrific year and is one of the shining lights among those who are not on the St. Petersburg carousel (he isn't on the 40-man … yet). His numbers are superb, 4-1, FIP-2.89, ERA-2.09, WHIP-0.98, in 24 appearances. His only blemishes are two blown saves. At 26 he’s still young and someone who seems very dependable. Given the turmoil that Rays have gone through, it sure is nice to have someone to depend on.

Boog Powell is doing his job as leadoff man. His On Base Percentage of .405 leads the team (although he only has 38 plate appearances under his belt). He got on base by essentially out-running and out-dodging Charlotte’s first baseman last night, then came home on Corey Brown’s home run.

Is Nick Franklin coming into his own? It’s only 17 games so far, but his numbers are fine, .288/.339/.500. His triple last night in the 2nd led to the first Bulls run of the game and his single in the 6th brought in the tying run.

After Tuesday’s disaster, this was a fine, fine performance by all.

Outside the game —

• Interesting summary of the recent home stand of the Montgomery Biscuits. Seems that managers are not happy with each other.

Capacity Crowd; Relievers Ragged

A, Mostly, Fun Fourth

Our Heaven Born BannerPatriotic print based on Frederic Edwin Church's small oil painting "Our Banner in the Sky"

Season: 43-39; Home Stand: 0-1
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Yet another flurry of transactions led to right-hander Bradin Hagens starting the game in front of a record DBAP crowd. Hagins had a couple of starts at AAA last year in Reno for the Diamondback franchise. He was up from Montgomery a couple of weeks ago for a couple of innings in relief, then he went back. He did just fine (Game Score = 62). Plus he got home runs from Richie Shaffer, Taylor Motter, and J.P. Arencibia before he left the game after five innings.

After all our complaining about the starting pitching over the last few weeks it’s odd to be pointing out how poorly the bullpen did last night. After Hagens shut out the Tides for five innings, four relievers gave up five runs on 10 hits. In just one game the relievers’ ERA for the season went from 3.39 to 3.49, the worst it’s been since the very beginning of the year. Led off by José Dominguez, who gave up 2 runs in the 6th (and left two on base), each following pitcher gave up a run until in the 9th the winning run came across. Meanwhile the Bulls were baffled by a knuckleballer (Eddie Gamboa) and held runless for the rest of the game.

Too bad, because early in the game we were also treated to some wonderful defensive play including a 1B (Arencibia) to 3B (Shaffer) that cut down a lead runner in the 3rd; a perfect Maile to Franklin caught stealing; and near-perfect Boog Powell (left field) to Luke Maile at home. Unfortunately, the runner was in the way and he got nipped by the ball, so the throw ended up counting as an error (something not right about that, it seems).

Dylan Floro is up this afternoon. He has not done well in his last four games. Maybe today?

Rosterification —

The changes are just relentless. Just for the record

• The aforementioned Bradin Hagens is up from Montgomery.
• Pitcher Everett Teaford has gone to Tampa Bay
• Reliever Andy Oliver has opted out of his contract and gone for free agency. Decent job for the Bulls. 25 games, 28 innings, 5 holds, 1 save. He got the win over in Norfolk Friday. Maybe he wanted to go out on a high note? More likely watching all those guys going back and forth to St. Petersburg started working on his head.
• Jordan Norberto was moved to the “temporarily inactive” list. Have no idea what that means.
• C.J. Riefenhauser is on his way back from Tampa Bay
• Kirby Yates is back from Tampa Bay
• Infielder (1B) Marc Krause’s status was changed from being optioned to Durham to a Designated for Assignment, meaning he will come off the 40-man (and could possibly by claimed). That was to make room for Teaford.
• Reliever Ronald Belisario opted for free agency rather than come back to Durham.

Not Too Soon, Bulls Leave Ohio

Wrap, Box

Season: 43-38; Trip: 2-4
Wrap, Box, Toledo Blade

The Bulls finished off their trip to Ohio with a bang, three home runs (Arencibia, Motter, and Shaffer), and a fine pitching effort by Scott Diamond.

Their travels and travails these last couple of weeks may not be over as more roster moves have happened and likely more are coming. We have to admire the skills of Jared Sandberg even keeping a halfway decent team on the field during this period. And we have to admire the players whose every day starts and ends with uncertainty about their future. You have to think that their only thought is just to get out between the lines and play some baseball.

Nice to see Luke Maile back in the lineup yesterday. He’d been missing for a couple of days.

The Bulls will play Norfolk in Norfolk for two games, then come to Durham for a couple of games. Norfolk is now in the lead in the International League South Division. Their run up pretty much matches the Bulls’ fall over the same time period. See chart below for a picture of this season.

Moves —

• Pitchers C.J. Riefenhauser and Preston Guilmet to Tampa Bay
• Pitcher Kirby Yates to Durham
• First Baseman Marc Krause to Durham. Marc Krause played 4 games and got one hit for the Rays before getting sent to the Bulls . As a first baseman, he’s going to find a crowd over in that corner of the field — Shaffer, Arencibia, Belnome (and the recently departed Alan Dykstra) — unless the Rays make some room. July seems to be the month for dumping folks as the Rays invalid list seems to be improving. Stats.
• Ronald Belisario who did so well for the Bulls this year, has been DFA’d by the Rays. Will he end up back with the Bulls? Who knows.

click on chart for larger image

There're Holes in Our Bats,

Dear Wool E, Dear Wool E.
There're holes in our bats,
Dear Wool E., some holes.
(apologies to Harry Belafonte...)

Season: 30-30; Home Stand: 2-0
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Bulls hitters struck out 18 times last night, setting a season record. Usually dangerous Cory Brown led the pack with 4. Probably some sort of hex for being the first Bull to be named hitter of the week this year. New catcher Bobby Wilson was in the lineup and got one of the Bulls 4 hits.

What about the pitching? Really not all that bad, except for Andy Oliver in the 8th. In that inning he gave up just one single and then struck out the three remaining batters. Problem was that the guy who singled was wild pitched completely around the bases! So he took an earned run on his outing.

The Herald-Sun reported that manager Jared Sandberg was ejected from the game, but it doesn’t show up in the box score, so not entirely sure that the Herald-Sun got it right.

Rosterification (Are you tired of trying to keep track? So am I) —

• Pitcher C.J. Riefenhauser is back from Tampa Bay
• Infielder Alexi Casilla came off the DL and played second base last night.
• Infielder Leonardo Reginatto was sent to Montgomery (where he hit a triple and a home run last night).
• Pitcher Kyle Winkler was sent to Montgomery

Outside the game —

• Montgomery Biscuits blogger “Dr. Miraculous” is not happy with the way the Tampa Bay Rays treat his team. Interesting read. 
• Groundsman Scott Strickland tweeted a terrific photo from the night before last. Thrilling moment.

Last nights storms were pretty solid... pic.twitter.com/Agd9Lxyxow

— Scott Strickland (@DurhamBullsTurf) June 19, 2015

Rays' Memo to Sandberg: Toss Lineup Card in Shredder

From this distance it would seem that the Tampa Bay Rays need to do a few things:

1. Fire their training crew and get some folks in that can keep pitchers healthy;
2. Lease a jet to shuttle guys around from place to place; maybe one of those Russian monster transports so they could put a bullpen inside to warm guys up while moving around;
3. Or both of the above.

Here we go, not necessarily in order:

• Andrew Bellatti, with Rays, got broken and went on the DL
• Preston Guilmet, who pitched for the Rays last night, is coming back
• Matt Andriese, who was scheduled to start in Louisville tonight, may start for the Rays instead, here’s hoping they don’t break him, too
• Enny Romero, who may not have ever made it back into a Bulls uniform will be back with the Rays.
• C.J. Riefenhauser has been called up.
• Rays catcher Bobby Wilson was designated for assignment
• Bulls catcher, Curt Casali, likely to be called up.
• Bulls infielder Alexi Casilla went back on the DL with, I think, a hamstring issue.
• Bulls infielder/DH Vince Belnome came off the DL and was the DH last night.

Commentary on the transactions at various locations. Tampa Tribune, Rays Colored Glasses, The Process Report, Rays Index.

Will there be some backfill for the Bulls? Probably. In time to find a starter for tonight? Who knows?

Here’s best wishes to Curt Casali. He has had limited playing time this year and this may be his chance. Guess that Mayo Acosta will be filling in for a while.

How to Win a Marathon

Season: 35-26; Home Stand: 3-0
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

The finish of this longest game of the year (4:12) is well-covered at the links, including the heroics of infielder Leonardo Reginatto who now has a place in the 2015 Durham Bulls record books as a pitcher.

But how in the world did they get there when they had a 7-3 lead going into the 6th inning? Well, I’d like to blame the Tampa Bay Rays, who told the Bulls not to start Matt Andriese, so they had to go with Jordan Norberto who had never started a game in his professional career, and who was, by WDBB’s measures, the Bulls’ worst reliever. But Norberto got out of his 2+ innings in decent shape. The Rays also took away a reliever, Preston Guilmet, which came into play later on.

But we have to admit that the first big mistake was leaving generally superb reliever Jim Miller in the game with two outs in the 6th. Jared Sandberg was ready to take him out since he was over 50 pitches and C.J. Riefenhauser was ready to go. Sandberg, who seems to be quicker with the hook that Charlie Montoyo, even went out to the mound. But Miller apparently talked Sandberg out of pulling him. Didn’t work. The very next batter hit a home run and the IronPigs were then 4 runs back at 7-3. Riefenhauser came in to finish out the 6th.

Andy Oliver, not the Bulls’ best reliever, but not the worst either, came on in the 8th, struck out a batter, then loaded the bases with three quick walks. The last man standing in the Bulls’ bullpen was closer Ronald Belisario. Yes, it was true that this would be his 12th appearance in the last 21 Bulls’ games, but that’s what closers do, right? This was to be, however, a 5-out save and Belisaro had only attempted that twice before this year: one save and one loss. On the other hand, the Bulls really did not have a choice in the matter. The bullpen was empty.

A run scored on an infield out at first and the next batter flied out. The Bulls got the run back on a Reginatto double in the bottom of the inning, so they went into the 9th with a comfortable 3-run lead. After all, Belisario does lead the IL in saves.

A walk, a single, and a home run (by former Bull Russ Canzler), and the game was tied. The marathon began. Young Brazilian infielder Reginatto kept the Bulls in the game until the IronPigs pitching faded in the bottom of the 12th. Note that the rules of the game meant Reginatto also had to keep on coming to bat, which he did in the 12th. He was hit by a pitch and was on 2nd base when Taylor Motter’s home run brought home Hak-Ju Lee to win the game.

Outside the game —

• As mentioned, Preston Guilmet has been called up. Enny Romero is coming back. Kirby Yates was taken off his rehab status and is coming on to the Bulls roster.

In the wings —

• According to the Tampa Tribune’s Roger Mooney, Matt Moore will have a rehab start with the Durham Bulls on June 18. That would be their first home game after the Bulls get back from their current trip.

The Bulls are now alone in first place in the International League South Division.

Bulls Back in First; Fresh Fruit

Season: 30-23; Home Stand: 6-1
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

With this win the Bulls are now in a three-way tie for first place with the Charlotte Knights and the Norfolk Tides (they got rained out last night). All three teams have had their ups and downs this year as the chart will show.

Have to say the the Bulls are responding well to the daily shuffling of positions that seems to have become the norm. Last night, for example, Taylor Motter started at shortstop. He has played every position on the field except 1B and catcher this year, but only 4 times at shortstop. Ryan Brett was out in center field for just the second time this season. Mostly he’s been at second base, although he only has 13 games under his belt.

With all the shuffling, the Bulls were left with just two players on the bench last night, catcher Curt Casali and infielder Leonardo Reginatto. Pitcher C.J. Riefenhauser officially came off rehab and warmed up in the later innings, but didn’t come into the game.

In a game like this one, fans pick out moments that speak to them. In my case it was Ryan Brett’s base running in the 4th inning. His hit to center field shows on the books as a double, but if he had not been running hard right out of the box he never would have made it to second base. And then when Eugenio Valez singled to right a few minutes later, Brett was again well-ahead of the throw with a nifty, hand-slapping slide past home plate to tie the game. Very nicely done.

Meanwhile, the 4th was the only really tough time for Knight’s pitching. But it was enough. The Bulls got another run in the inning and mostly kept the Knights off the bases for the rest of the game.

Enny Romero got a 3-inning save in spectacular fashion. After the Knights got the tying run to third base with just one out and Romero simply blew away the next two batters with 97 and 98 mph fastballs.

In the Wings (players who have been with Durham this year) —

• Reliever Bryce Stowell gave up 2 runs on 3 hits in the last inning of a Montgomery Biscuits 4-1 loss to the Jacksonville Suns. Box. Wrap.

Outside the game —

• We don’t really go the the DBAP in search of healthy food. But these guys, out of Durham’s Co-op market, have brought some to us. They are over near the ramp up to the first base side of the stands and doing beautiful presentations of very fresh-looking fruit. Reasonable prices, too, it seems to me.

Standings

Nice to see the Bulls back in first place

click on chart for larger image

One Hit Wonder

Season: 27-23; Home Stand: 3-1
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

This was billed as a pitchers’ duel and, in its way, it was. At least Matt Buschmann showed up for the gunfight. His opponent, the Chiefs' A.J. Cole, decided to commit suicide after the first three innings. I don’t know that I’ve seen a pitcher come so thoroughly unraveled as the Chief’s Cole did in the 4th. After getting a pop-up from J.P.Arencibia to start the inning, he then proceeded to walk the next five, count ‘em, five batters to drive in two runs and leave the bases loaded when he was pulled out at last. And they were not close calls, by the last three BBs the pitches were unreachable by the batters. A ground out by Ryan Brett scored the third run, before the inning ended with another ground out.

And to be clear, the Bulls were not hitting all night. In fact, the team only had 1 hit (by Juniel Querecuto in the 3rd inning) in 23 ABs. That’s a batting average of .043! Throw in the walks and hit batsmen and you get an OPS of .356. Not the worst of the year, but still less that half the league average.

Speaking of hit batsmen, the Bulls' Brett was hit, but Buschmann and Romero combined to hit three Chiefs for a season high.

We are beginning to expect a solid performance from Matt Bushmann, and we got another one last night. His Game Score of 70 is his fourth +50 start in a row and his 8th of the year. He has had only 2 starts with a less than 50 GSc.

Enny Romero is back and showed up in long relief after C.J. Riefenhauser got in his one inning of rehab. Romero had no walks and 4 Ks. And a lot of heat. Several 97 mph fastballs in the mix, but it did take him 50 pitches to get through his 2⅓. Ronald Belisario got his 11th save with a three-pitch, two batter appearance.

Mikie Mahtook’s 3 strikeout, 0 for 4 night just adds to our worries about the young man. He looked just fine in right field, but May has been ugly at the plate. In his last 44 ABs he has had 19 strikeouts and no walks. In fact, on the year he has drawn just 9 walks and only 1 this month. Yet, from the stands, he does not look all that awkward at the plate as hitters in slumps often do. As with much of the rest of this team, hitting coach Dave Myers has some work to do.

Outside the game —

• Everett Teaford has been sent down to Montgomery. The weakest of the Bulls starting crew, we wish him well.
• Ryan Brett officially came off of his rehab assignment. As we saw, he was in the game at 2B last night. Like essentially everyone else, he was hitless last night, but he did get an RBI as he drew one of the 4th inning walks.

Comparing Bulls Teams

Fifty games into the season, how do these Durham Bulls compare to previous teams? By the net Runs Scored measure, only so-so, but much better than the 2012 gang. Considering all the roster turmoil and injuries, things are doing better than might be expected.

click on chart for larger image

Win Streak Ends; Pitching Picture

Season: 26-23; Home Stand: 2-1
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Rochester Wrap

We’ve been putting up a lot of stats lately that seem to back up the idea that starting pitching is important. This game was a good example because veteran (31) Everett Teaford never quite got a handle on the game. The 4th inning was particularly painful because he had two outs and none on base before things fell apart. Four doubles, a single, and a walk later he finally got the last out with two runners on base. Four runs had scored. The game was then pretty much out of reach given that the Red Wings starter was cruising. Note: The two runs in the 1st inning were scored after two outs had been recorded.

The Bulls did pull off a couple of double plays yesterday and, as was pointed out on twitter, the combination of Querecuto-Reginatto-Arencibia has a melodic turn. The 4-4-5 beat fits nicely into a song.

Otherwise, all the new guys didn’t do any better than the old guys and the rehabbers. Ryan Brett was back and did get a double and a walk at DH. Rehabbing C.J. Riefenhauser pitched an inning and gave up two hits, but no runs. Richie Shaffer came down from the clouds with a 0 for 3 day. Juniel Querecuto was 1 for 3. About the only hitter who had a good day was J.P. Arencibia who went 3 for 4 with an RBI.

Outside the game —

• The Bulls’ 5-game winning streak came to an end. They get a well-deserved day off today. Hope the weather stays nice.
• We could hope that the roster will stabilize, but there’s too many players on the disabled list here and with the Rays for that to happen. Eventually, you have to think folks are going to get healthy and stay healthy. Until that happens we can expect the constant shifting and changing of this team to continue.
• For example, yesterday it was announced that pitchers  Enny Romero and Preston Guilmet are coming back from the Rays.

Pitching Chart

This is a traditional stat, ERA-Earned Run Average, shown in a non-traditional way — as it changes over time, in this case over the last 15 games. Remember that less is more when it comes to ERA and the drift upwards shown in the team ERA is not a good thing. Today’s 3.60 puts the Bulls 7th in the 14-team International League. The Bulls lost 9 of these 15 games and obviously the pitching was a big piece of it. However, that’s a nice little downward trend in the starting pitcher ERA (not counting yesterday, of course). Overall, the reliever trend is very worrisome, especially as it was trending upwards even as the Bulls were winning. But, remember that it’s mostly relievers who have been spending all that time in the RDU and Tampa airports this month. 

click chart for larger image

Brown Hits the Bull

Season: 26-22; Home Stand: 2-0
Wrap, Box, Rochester Wrap

Dylan Floro had a solid outing, scattering Red Wings' hits around, and Cory Brown hit the Bull. First time this year.

I couldn’t make the game, and I regret it. Looks like it was fun to watch.

Outside the game —

• Two ballplayers who started the year with the Bulls are back — Ryan Brett and C.J. Riefenhauser. Both of them were called up to the Rays in April, broke something while there, and went on the disabled list. If I understand the rules, they are officially here on a rehabilitation assignment and don’t count against the Bulls roster, but they are on the 40-man roster of the Rays and once they finish their rehab something will have to happen. There’s a good chance that they will stay here. 
• Meanwhile, they will give the Bulls' bench a small break. However, each comes with a little tag attached to them that tells the manager what the player can, and cannot, do. Possibly a pitch count for Riefenhauser, but Brett played a full game yesterday, so maybe he’s ready to go.
• The clock would be ticking for Mr. Querecuto, making him a leading candidate for this year’s Moonlight Graham award.
• A couple of sources are reporting [MLB Trade Rumors, Rays Index] that Grant Balfour has opted out of his contract with the Rays. Too bad. We liked watching him even if he looked dissatisfied with himself most of his time here. He kept checking the pitch speed clock and never seemed to be that into the game. On the other hand, he put up some decent, but not great, numbers in his 8 appearances as a Bull. Good luck. Maybe he will catch on with another club.

Not a Good Home Stand

Season: 3-6; Home Stand: 0-3
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun [Paywall]

We saw youngish (26) Jim Patterson a few times early last year. He went back to Montgomery for the rest of 2014. [stats]. After one inning in relief by new guy Andy Oliver, Mr. Patterson came on in the 6th inning with the Bulls up 2 to 1. He got out of the inning, but first gave up a single, two wild pitches, and a walk, putting runners on first and third with just one out. A popup to the catcher and soft line drive to Lee at SS let him escape.

The 7th started with a single and a fly out to center field. But then there was a walk, followed by a visit to the mound by new pitching coach Kyle Snyder. Impossible to know what Snyder and Patterson talked about. It sure seemed to us that when Snyder got back to the dugout he and manager Jared Sandberg decided to let Patterson twist in the breeze (or maybe it was before Snyder went to the mound). No pitcher began warming up. Instead we fans were treated to: a hit batsman that loaded the bases; a single that scored two runs; a single that scored another run; a sacrifice fly that scored a run; a single; and, at last, a grounder to short to end the inning. 4 runs. Bulls behind 5-3. At the end of the inning there still wasn't a reliever warming up.

Déjà vu, we’ve seen this before, just the day before. On Thursday Matt Buschmann was similarly left dangling.

Interesting, if that’s what you want to call it, but my section of the stands got up and left after that, even though the game was not out of reach. That did not happen until the 9th when 4 runs were scored off of Jim Miller. Still, the pitching side of this year’s crew leaves something to be desired.

On the other side, Taylor Motter had a good night. Mr. Motter is one of the few “prospects” on this year’s Bulls team. At 25, he is working his way up through the Rays system. He had a good year at Montgomery last year (stats) but had only had one hit so far this year in 22 ABs. He went 4 for 5 last night (single, two doubles, and a home run). He has experience at 3B, so we might see him there this year as well.

Outside the game —

• C.J. Riefenhauser was called up to Tampa Bay. He pitched a scoreless 7th inning for the Rays last night.
• Ryan Brett, who’s been playing mostly at 2B, was called up. He was the Montgomery Biscuits’ MVP last year and, with Motter, a ‘prospect’. [stats] Apparently callup related to Longoria injury.  As a Bull, he had 6 games at 2B and 2 in the outfield (first pro experience in the outfield) and was hitting .226 in 31 ABs. He will be back.
• Catcher Mayo Acosta was “assigned to Hudson Valley”. For those new to WDBB, assignment to the Hudson Valley roster is usually a paper transaction. It does not mean that Acosta has left the team, but it does mean that he cannot play in a game until he’s added back. Acosta has played in two games this year and is 0-4, so far.
• Outfielder Mikie Mahtook is back from Tampa Bay. We saw him in the dugout last night, so he hurried back. As far as I can tell, he almost no playing time with the Rays, although he did hit a pitch hit home run as his first major league hit.
• Relief pitcher Andy Oliver was recently signed by the Rays and sent to Durham. Story here. He has a lot of AAA time with Toledo (Detroit) and Indianapolis (Pittsburg) both as a starter and as a reliever. [Stats] He pitched last night, as noted above, and did OK. First game appearance this year.
• J.P. Arencibia has also been signed to a minor league deal and sent to the Bulls. We saw him leaning on the dugout rail last night. Although he has played catcher most of his career, reportage out of Tampa implies he is lined up for a DH/1B role. [stats]
• Six transactions in one day! And the Bulls are still short one player for their active roster.
• I tried the Rise Donut stand on the 1B side of the concourse last night. Apple fritter was terrific! Will be working my way through their offerings.

The Durham Bulls in 2014 — The Pitchers — Part 2

This wraps up our series of four posts digging in to the individual stats of 2014's Durham Bulls. For an overview of team stats see our earlier post here. The posts on the hitters begins here, and Part 1 of this series can be reached by this link.

In addition to the players listed in this post, we will be reproducing the table from Part 1 sorted on different stats. The player discussions have been sorted by innings pitched.

Durham Bulls 2014 Pitchers Sorted by ERA

Name	Age	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	WHIP
Kirby Yates*	27	1	0	0.36	21	0	16	25.0	0.76
C.J. Riefenhauser*	24	3	3	1.40	39	0	1	57.2	1.14
Jeff Beliveau*	27	0	0	1.50	30	0	11	36.0	0.92
Adam Liberatore	27	6	1	1.66	54	0	4	65.0	0.89
Brad Boxberger*	26	1	0	1.93	6	0	2	9.1	0.86
Steve Geltz*	26	3	3	2.38	29	0	1	41.2	1.06
Jimmy Patterson	25	1	1	2.70	5	1	0	10.0	1.30
Merrill Kelly	25	9	4	2.76	28	15	0	114.0	1.26
Cory Burns*	26	2	2	2.77	7	0	1	13.0	1.54
Juan Sandoval	33	0	1	3.12	14	1	1	26.0	1.35
Jake Thompson	24	4	1	3.15	24	1	0	34.1	1.54
Josh Lueke	29	0	1	3.38	32	0	12	37.1	1.10
Brandon Gomes*	29	0	2	3.62	27	0	0	37.1	1.29
Doug Mathis	31	2	3	3.63	26	3	0	67.0	1.64
Matt Andriese	24	11	8	3.77	28	25	0	162.1	1.24
Alex Colome*	25	7	6	3.77	15	15	0	86.0	1.33
Juan Carlos Oviedo*	32	0	0	3.86	7	0	0	7.0	0.86
Mike Montgomery*	24	10	5	4.29	25	25	0	126.0	1.31
Enny Romero*	23	5	11	4.50	25	25	0	126.0	1.43
Nathan Karns*	26	9	9	5.08	27	27	0	145.1	1.40
Jeremy Hellickson*	27	1	4	7.23	5	5	0	18.2	2.30
Braulio Lara	25	0	3	9.00	9	0	0	11.0	1.73

Data sources are BaseballReference.com and Fangraphs. Players marked with an asterisk were on the Tampa Bay Rays 40-man roster. Continuing from Part 1:

C. J. Riefenhauser* (LHRP) (57.2 innings, 39 appearances) typically came in for one or two innings. He put together a solid year with a very nice ERA of 1.40, the second best on the team after Kirby Yates’ amazing 0.36. He was called up for two games in April for his major league debut and for five appearances in September. He also had about two weeks on the DL in May. Seems to have a bright future in the Rays system. Expect him to start with the Bulls next year, unless they saw something they either liked or disliked in September. A left-handed reliever is always welcome. Stats.

Steve Geltz* (RHRP) (41.2 innings, 29 appearances) sat out for a 50-game drug use suspension that began in May. He was a steady presence thereafter with a decent 2.38 ERA and an exceptional WHIP of 1.06. The Rays called him up before the Bulls went into the playoffs and put him to work. He made 13 appearances in September for the Rays. Would love to have him back, but he may stick with the Rays. Stats.

Josh Lueke (RHRP) (37.1 innings, 32 appearances) joined the Bulls from the Rays in mid-June, immediately assuming the closer role he had shared with Kirby Yates in 2013. Solid stats with 12 saves (but 3 blown saves), and a decent WHIP of 1.10. Near the end of the season he pretty much switched to a set-up role as Adam Liberatore got some save opportunities. The Rays seem to have lost confidence in Mr. Lueke, so it is hard to say if he will be back next year. My guess is that he will opt for free agency. Owner of one of the oddest official photos on baseballreference.com. Stats.

Brandon Gomes* (RHRP) (37.1 innings, 27 appearances) also started the season with the Rays.  He was sent down in May and spent the rest of the season with the Bulls. He had one game with the Rays in August and went back up in early September. He had 8 appearances during the September for the Rays. As a Bull his numbers were below average for the bullpen crew. Stats.

Jeff Beliveau* (LHRP) (36 innings, 30 appearances) had a breakout year. Terrific numbers: 1.50 ERA and a superb 0.92 WHIP, not to mention 11 saves. He made a couple of April appearances with the Rays and then went up to stay in late July where he has done just fine in short relief. We don’t expect to see him back with the Bulls and wish him the best. Stats.

Durham Bulls 2014 Pitchers Sorted by Walks/Hits Inning Pitched

Name	Age	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	WHIP
Kirby Yates*	27	1	0	0.36	21	0	16	25.0	0.76
Brad Boxberger*	26	1	0	1.93	6	0	2	9.1	0.86
Juan Carlos Oviedo*	32	0	0	3.86	7	0	0	7.0	0.86
Adam Liberatore	27	6	1	1.66	54	0	4	65.0	0.89
Jeff Beliveau*	27	0	0	1.50	30	0	11	36.0	0.92
Steve Geltz*	26	3	3	2.38	29	0	1	41.2	1.06
Josh Lueke	29	0	1	3.38	32	0	12	37.1	1.10
C.J. Riefenhauser*	24	3	3	1.40	39	0	1	57.2	1.14
Matt Andriese	24	11	8	3.77	28	25	0	162.1	1.24
Merrill Kelly	25	9	4	2.76	28	15	0	114.0	1.26
Brandon Gomes*	29	0	2	3.62	27	0	0	37.1	1.29
Jimmy Patterson	25	1	1	2.70	5	1	0	10.0	1.30
Mike Montgomery*	24	10	5	4.29	25	25	0	126.0	1.31
Alex Colome*	25	7	6	3.77	15	15	0	86.0	1.33
Juan Sandoval	33	0	1	3.12	14	1	1	26.0	1.35
Nathan Karns*	26	9	9	5.08	27	27	0	145.1	1.40
Enny Romero*	23	5	11	4.50	25	25	0	126.0	1.43
Jake Thompson	24	4	1	3.15	24	1	0	34.1	1.54
Cory Burns*	26	2	2	2.77	7	0	1	13.0	1.54
Doug Mathis	31	2	3	3.63	26	3	0	67.0	1.64
Braulio Lara	25	0	3	9.00	9	0	0	11.0	1.73
Jeremy Hellickson*	27	1	4	7.23	5	5	0	18.2	2.30

Jake Thompson (RHRP) (34.1 innings, 24 appearances) came up from the Montgomery Biscuits on 6 April and did a decent job for the Bulls, but he missed a month in the middle of the season and only made 4 appearances in August (although he did pitch in the postseason). Not very good numbers for the 24 year old, 3.15 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. Nevertheless, if healthy, expect him back next year. Stats.

Juan Sandoval (RHRP) (26 innings, 14 appearances) started the season with the Bulls, but the 33 year-old was released in late May. He went on to pitch in the Mexican Triple A league for the rest of the year where he put up some impressive numbers. Stats.

Kirby Yates* (RHRP) (25 innings, 21 appearances) banged the door open to the Rays with his 0.36 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, and 16 saves over the first two months of the season. He did OK with them in 37 appearances, but his ERA as a major leaguer jumped up quite a bit, as did his WHIP. We don’t want to try to predict what the Rays might do. We would be more than happy to see him pitching for the Bulls, but that surely isn’t what Mr. Yates would want. Stats.

Jeremy Hellickson* (RHSP) (18.2 innings, 5 games) came to the Bulls on a rehab assignment as he was working his way back to the Rays starting rotation. He became something of a poster child for the downside of being a minor league fan. The net effect of his time with the Bulls was that he lost four games and thoroughly messed up the Bulls rotation. Looking back at the pitching charts we put up a few days ago, the rise you see in the starting pitching ERA pretty much matches Mr. Hellickson’s arrival with his ERA of 7.23 and WHIP of 2.30. It seemed to take the rest of the year to recover. Back with the Rays they have been better, but not by much. Stats.

Cory Burns* (RHRP) 13 innings, 7 appearances) came to the Bulls from the Montgomery Biscuits in mid-August. Plus he had three post-season appearances. Looked OK to me and I was expecting to see him with the Bulls next year. But apparently not. He was reportedly claimed by the Toronto Blue Jays after the Rays put him on waivers. Stats.

Braulio Lara (LHRP) (11 innings, 9 appearances) came up from Montgomery in early May, stayed about a month, did not do very well, and went back to Montgomery. He did not do all that well there either. We don’t expect him back next year, but lefties get lots of breaks so I could be wrong. Stats.

Jim Patterson (LHRP) (10 innings, 5 appearances) also came up from Montgomery for a couple of weeks in May. Did OK and went back. His year in Montgomery was not all that impressive. Not sure we will see him again. Stats.

Brad Boxberger* (RHRP) (9.1 innings, 6 appearances) started the season with the Bulls, put up some big numbers, went up to the Rays, and didn’t come back. He had a pretty good year with the Rays as well. Stats.

Juan Carlos Oviedo (RHRP) (7 innings, 7 appearances) was technically on a rehab assignment as the year started. He did his thing for one inning at a time in April (and did it very well, I might add) and went on up to the Rays. Fun to watch while he was here. He was released by the Rays in August. If he signed anywhere else I haven't found it yet. Stats.

—————— 

Here endeth the WDBB baseball geek stuff for 2014. Not that we won't be keeping an eye on the Bulls and adding a bit more — notably announcing the winners of the 2014 Moonlight Graham Awards — but as far as number-crunching goes, this is it folks.