The Durham Bulls in 2011 — The Pitchers: Part II

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rehabbers

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

Short Visits

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

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

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

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

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

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

Swindle "Out"; Hayhurst Hurt

As has been noted before, WDBB is no friend of opt-out contracts and the secrecy that surrounds them. Turns out that R. J. Swindle had one and has opted out. As much as I enjoyed watching your slow curve, R. J., don't let the door hit you on the way out. You've done no favors to your team or Bulls fans.

Dirk Hayhurst has gone on the DL for the second time this year. Coming off surgery and a year away from baseball, that's not looking good. We like Dirk. Let's hope it's something minor.

Starting rotation for the next four days?

Possibly Torres, Sonnanstine, Reid, and Torra. How do you like them apples?

Bulls Beat Sox; Roster Roulette

Game 93, Jul 16, McCoy Stadium, Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Durham Bulls 11, Pawtucket Red Sox 8
Season: 51-42; This Trip: 3-2
Wrap, Box, Pawtucket Times

The Bulls got their third short start in a row, only 3 1/3 from Matt Torra, and this time they couldn't blame it on the Rays. But the bats and gloves came through in a big way and they beat the Red Sox for just the second time this season.

The Bulls had a huge top of the 4th, scoring seven runs and going ahead 7-1. At a guess, however, Matt Torra had too much time on the bench. Only one out into the inning two runs had scored and two runners were on base. R.J. Swindle came in and got Carl Crawford to pop up, but walked a batter and gave up a grand slam. So the Red Sox were back in the game and it was all tied up for a couple of innings.

The Bulls picked up a run in the 6th on a Dan Johnson single and three runs in the 9th, two off a Leslie Anderson home run. That was enough.

It was a game that drives the numbers guys nuts. By every measure (hits, total bases, etc) the Red Sox should have won. They didn't. A key error on their part, two timely double plays on the Bulls part, explain much of the difference.

Given our starting pitching problems, nice to see two relievers able to go back to back. Rob Delaney did fine, Dane De La Rosa less so, but he did get out of a tough 9th inning intact.

Let's back up and see if we can sort out who's playing for the Durham Bulls these days.

• Alex Cobb is not. He's off to St. Petersburg, reportedly to start against the New York Yankees on Monday. |MLB.com| Note: That same item states that the reason that Alexander Torres had a short start on Friday was that Cobb had been hit in the head in batting practice that morning and they weren't sure he would be able to come down to St. Pete.
• Desmond Jennings is. He DH'd last night and went 3 for 4 with two doubles and scoring two runs.
• Ryan Reid is back from Montgomery. He came into the game in the 5th inning and pitched a somewhat shaky two innings. A bases-loaded, nobody out situation was maybe a bit more than "somewhat shaky". Still, an out at home, a popup, and a ground out got him out of trouble. Reid got his first win in his 20 (!) appearances as a Bull.
• John Matulia is also back from Montgomery. You may be forgiven for not knowing who outfielder John Matulia is since he has never played an inning in Durham. He came to the team for the two pre-All-Star break games in Norfolk and then went back to Montgomery. Now he's back. He's working on getting his first AAA hit.

By my count (probably off) the Bulls have had 11 roster transactions in the last ten days. Glad that I don't have to keep track of travel, uniform, and equipment logistics for the Rays, Bulls, and Biscuits.

Some Fireworks; Back in First

Happy 4th of July!

(Our Heaven Born Banner, 1861, based on Frederic Church’s Banner in the Sky, more info)

Game 83, July 3, Durham Bulls Athletic Park
Durham Bulls 7, Gwinnett Braves 4
Season: 45-38; Last 10: 4-6
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Indy Week

The Bulls and Braves are back in a tie for first place and will be continuing the series tonight down in Lawrenceville, Georgia. That trek down I-85 has got to be getting old.

Brian Baker seemed to benefit from the extra days off. He hadn't pitched since June 24 and, but for a walk, escaped what was becoming a signature rough 1st inning. I'm guessing that Charlie Montoyo and pitching coach Neil Allen may have decided to keep Baker on a low pitch count since they pulled him after five innings even though he appeared to be doing OK.

The Bulls "batted" around in the 2nd inning although in addition to Canzler's homer, Johnson's double, and singles by Chirinos and Olmedo, you have to give the Braves' pitcher, Erik Cordier some credit. He walked in two of the four runs all on his own.

The risks of carrying only eleven position players almost jumped up and bit the Bulls last night. The Bulls have only two players on the bench most nights. So when a player does something really stupid, as Felipe Lopez did last night, they do not have much depth. When one of them is a catcher, as is often the case, they have even less. When Lopez came to bat in the top of the 3rd inning, he decided to get in umpire Art Thigpen's face about something. He was ejected, of course, and Charlie Montoyo had to find a batter and a second baseman. Inexcusable. After watching him dog running out a dropped third strike on Saturday night, I've got to wonder about Mr. Lopez. In the normal course of affairs, Montoyo sits a player the game after he gets ejected. We'll see.

Fortunately, J.J. Furmaniak was one of the players getting a day off and he was able to step in for Lopez.

At the risk of tempting the gods of baseball, we have to point out that in his last 16 appearances, R.J. Swindle has not allowed a single hit run, only three hits, and has struck out 16 batters. Now it's also true that he has only pitched 12 1/3 innings, and mostly against left-handed batters, but he is making a huge contribution to the Bulls this year. Unlike his difficulties early in the season, he seems to have his slow curve back under control. How beautiful it is to watch that pitch tie up opposing batters. Last night it was turncoat Chris Carter who was the victim. Swindle unleashed the slow curve on a 1-2 count. It drifted across the plate at 53 mph and Carter just barely chipped it over the third base dugout to keep it at 1-2. Carter then stood there and watched Swindle's "fastball" blaze across the plate at 82 mph for a called third strike. That's a 30 mph difference from one pitch to the next! Is it major league stuff? Not sure. Carter thinks he's a major league batter, so maybe so.

New pitcher Matt Torra was in the dugout last night, so have to think he's ready to go. His last start was June 24, so he probably needs to get into the rotation pretty quickly.

[Update: A careful reader has pointed out an error in the Swindle stats. Fixed.]

16 Innings of Not Very Good Baseball

Game 79, June 30, Knights Stadium
Charlotte Knights 6, Durham Bulls 3, 7 innings
Box

Game 80
Durham Bulls 7, Charlotte Knights 4, 9 innings
Season: 44-36; Last 10: 5-5; Trip: 2-1
Wrap, Box, MiLB.com

There’s so much not to like about these two games that it’s hard to know where to start.

Probably the best thing to do is to find at least a couple of good things to say about the game(s). Then go on to the ugly stuff.

Hmmmm.

Well, they tied the second game up in the 7th and R.J. Swindle, working much harder than he usually does, got the Bulls through the end of the inning and set up the extra innings.

And then there was just the sheer hanging in there for 16 innings of baseball until Jose Lobaton walked in the 9th and scored the go-ahead run all the way from second base on a Knight’s errant throw. Says something about the character of the team that they hung in there so well.

New guy Daniel Mayora got his first hit(s) and Leslie Anderson had a good night.

That’s about it.

On the other side of the ledger is the bottom of the 5th in the first game where the Bulls gave away a three run lead; the 11 strikeouts in the second game; the struggle to take advantage of the gifts of Charlotte pitching in the second game (12 walks, 5 in the 9th inning); the combined 5-21 with runners in scoring position in the two games; and the two home runs given up by Chris Bootcheck, his 8th and 9th of the year (is that why the Rays didn’t bring him up?).

These opt-outs are messing with my mind. Wonder if they are messing with the team’s mind as well.

Tied for first place. Could have slipped into second place without the late night win.

Turn the page. A new day.

Great Road Trip

Game 69, June 19, Coolray Field
Durham Bulls 2, Gwinnett Braves 1
Season: 38-31; Trip: 3-1; Since Scott Strickland’s Haircut: 4-1
Wrap, Box

Boy was it fun to see Dan Johnson hit the winning home run yesterday (watched it on MiLB.TV). After the Braves walked him four times the day before, sure was odd that he’d get a good pitch on a 3-2 count. But he did and that was enough.

The real oddity of the game was seeing Chris Carter come to the plate in a Gwinnett Braves uniform. I have to say that I can’t figure out what advantage it was for him to leave the Rays organization for the Braves. Must be something about either the National League or the Braves’ wallets that he liked. He was 0-2 as the DH. I won’t take back the nice things I said about him. Nevertheless, if not a PCL team, couldn’t he at least have signed with someone other than Gwinnett?

Brian Baker was much better than his last time out, and the relief corps continued their stalwart performance, only two runs in the last six games (31 innings). A interesting tidbit from the relievers is that R.J. Swindle hasn’t given up a hit in his 10 appearances since May 26, but then he’s only accumulated a total of 7.2 innings in those 10 appearances.

Have not heard who, if anyone, will be moved to make room for Alex Cobb. But broadcaster Neil Solondz did say that Lance Cormier was being moved into the starting rotation and Jay Buente was moving to the bullpen. So I’m going to have to guess that Ryan Reid is on his way back to Montgomery.

Chart of the Day — South Division Standings

Raht purty as they say back home.

Coming up: The Buffalo Bisons, the Mets affiliate, who crushed Norfolk yesterday 16-2.

[Update: The Bulls have finessed the whole issue of what to do about Cobb's return by putting Jay Buente on the disabled list]

Pretty Night, Pretty Game

Wool E. Bull helps the Army celebrate its birthday

Jeff Neimann, back in town for a brief visit, warms up

Game 65, June 14, DBAP
Durham Bulls 1, Norfolk Tides 0
Season: 35-30; Home Stand: 2-2; Streak: W2
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Indy Week

There was a lot to like about Tuesday night’s game. Jeff Niemann’s pitching in his rehab start was good enough, even if he did let six runners on base over the five innings he pitched. Nevertheless, no runs were scored and he left probably thinking that he was on his way back to St. Petersburg. No reason not to, I’d guess. And, to be honest, I’d rather have Alex Cobb back.

What I really liked, though, was Brandon Guyer showing off his speed again. That was mentioned yesterday and when he was given a chance in the 4th inning he put on another show. With two outs, the otherwise brilliant Tides pitcher, Mitch Atkins, hit Guyer, who became the first Bulls baserunner of the game. Guyer stole second and then his speed was enough to get him home on a Dan Johnson single (the first Bulls hit of the game) to the DBAP’s shallow left field. That was enough to win it for the Bulls.

Also very likable were the two double plays, always welcome.

Then there was Charlie Montoyo playing around with his bullpen. When Niemann hit his pitch count in the 5th, R.J. Swindle came in for two batters, one to finish the 5th, another to start the 6th. Then Dane De La Rosa saw four more to get through the 7th. Brandon Gomes came in (second night in a row) for the 8th to strike out the side. Jake McGee, also doing a two-in-a-row thing, came on in the 9th and, in a replay of Monday night, gave up two singles to put runners on first and second (on Monday the runners reached on errors). Catcher Jose Lobaton then made what had to be the key play of the game by pouncing on a bunt attempt and throwing out the runner trying to advance from second to third. Dan Johnson was playing third base last night and he did his first baseman thing by stretching for the throw. Very, very pretty. McGee then proceeded to strike out the next two batters. Game over.

The Bulls have a day off before heading to Gwinnett. That will be interesting. The Braves caught up with the Bulls for the lead of the South Division last Thursday and the two teams have been tied for first ever since.

Can’t let this series go by without mentioning how much fun it was to listen to Scott Pose work with Neil Solondz in the broadcast booth. For those who don’t know, Pose has a lot of experience as a professional ballplayer with some time in the majors and several years in AAA as an outfielder. He knows the game. More important, he can talk about it and help listeners see the game. Even more important, he is an alum of the University of Arkansas, as am I, which of course does not influence these comments in the least.

It's Saturday, Must Be Durham

Game 62, June 11, Durham Bulls Athletic Park
Norfolk Tides (Orioles) 5, Durham Bulls (Rays) 4
Season: 33-29; Last 10: 3-7; Home Stand: 0-1
Wrap, Box, Indy Week

Ride all night on the bus. Get off. Suit up in ill-fitting, but very cool, old-fashioned uniforms. Watch the rain for three hours. Step on the field some time after 10:00 pm.

Do we really have any confidence in the fellow on the mound? In the last seven starts he’s got three losses (counting last night/this morning) and four no-decisions. Still, his numbers are only slightly less awful (ERA 4.24) than the awful starting pitcher numbers (ERA 4.32). The Rays, indeed all of baseball, are much more tolerant of potential left-handed talent. So we can only hope that time, coaching, experience, maturity, etc. lends a hand. Alex Torres is ours for the year.

The goat of the game, however, was Brandon Guyer, who misjudged/lost in the lights a Ryan Hughes fly ball in the 5th. That double kept the Tides ahead of the Bulls and (from my bleary-eyed seat in front of my television) made a big difference.

For the first time in my memory (notoriously flaky, I should point out) a Bulls pitcher has appeared three games in a row. R.J. Swindle has pitched 1/3 of an inning (4 batters) in each of the last three games.

DRR mentioned in the comments last night, and several sources are reporting, that with the return of Elliot Johnson to the roster the Rays have designated for assignment Felipe Lopez. If no team claims him (and none did last time), and he accepts the assignment, he could be coming back to Durham.

How are the hitters doing? The last time we looked was May 26. Again, the table is sorted by wOBA. As can be seen, over the two weeks for almost all our hitters, the numbers are down. The only hitter who’s significantly up is Robinson Chirinos, but he had quite a ways to go.

Sources: Statcorner and Baseball Reference

Gnashing of Teeth; Being Philosophical

Game 53; June 2, DBAP
Columbus Clippers 2, Durham Bulls 1 (10 innings)
Season: 30-23; Last 10: 6-4; Home Stand: 3-1
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, MiLB, Indy Week

We can be philosophical several hours after the end of a tough loss.

We won't even second guess Charlie Montoyo about the intentional walk loading the bases with one out in the top of the 10th. It looked like it was going to work out when Rob Delaney got the second out of the inning with a strikeout. But the bases-loaded walk that followed was a heart-breaker. Even J.J. Furmaniak's heroic dash into the stands to grab the third out didn't help much. The Bulls could get runners on base in the bottom of the 10th, but couldn't get them across.

Three games out of four against the team with the best record in the International League is nothing to sneeze at. Ryan Reid, who had not pitched since May 22nd, and had not started a game in several years, pitched 5 terrific innings. The R.J. Swindle of 2010 might, just might, be back and we're glad to see him.

The Clippers' pitcher, Jeanmar Gomez, was simply brilliant. He pitched a very solid 8 innings. But for a botched pickoff attempt in the 6th inning, the Bulls wouldn't have scored a run off of him.

Still, it hurts a bit.

* * * *

Dirk Hayhurst was noticed leaning against the rail. Nice to see him there, but would be nicer to see him on the mound.

Jay Buente will start tonight against the Pawtucket Red Sox. This will be our first chance to see him at work.

If you are one of those deep thinkers who worries about long range issues, the baseball draft is coming up soon. The premier site for that in the Rays world is Rays Prospects. Worth keeping an eye on that blog to keep track of what the Rays are up to.

The Bulls iPhone app was updated yesterday to add live audio streaming. I checked it out last night and it worked just fine. I have trouble getting AM 620 on the road or at home, so this will be nice. In the stands, however, hang on to your radios because there's quite a lag between what happens on the field and what comes through your phone. A modest test last night (walking through the garage behind Diamond View II, where 620 is blocked) was successful.

Chart(s) of the Day

Time to check in on the cumulative runs scored-runs allowed status. The last time we looked was back on May 14 (Game 37). The Bulls have had their ups and downs since then, but the trend is running nicely upwards.

The same cannot be said for their parent club, the second chart. Too bad, because just a couple of weeks ago things were looking just fine for the Rays.

(click on chart for larger image)

Tough Fans; Hot Catcher

Game 38, 17-18 May 2001, Durham Bulls Athletic Park
Durham Bulls 8; Louisville Bats 11 (10 Innings)
Wrap, Box, Indy Week

My hat's off to those 30 or 40 of you who were left at the DBAP early Wednesday morning! Tough guys!

Game 39, 18 May 2001
Durham Bulls 7, Louisville Bats 4
Season: 23-16; Last 10: 6-4; Home Stand: 1-1
Wrap, Box

Jose Lobaton hit a grand slam and a double this afternoon, and that worries me. That worries me because Kelly Shoppach, one of the Rays’ catchers, is having a terrible year at the plate (.159/.206/.424). Now he didn’t do a whole lot better last year, but they are paying him something like $3 million, so Lobaton may start looking good sometime soon. Lobaton’s only moment in the sun in the majors was for the Padres back in 2009 (5 games, including one inning at second base!). But he’s on the 40-man and he’s certainly making a statement this year (.338/.419/.541, 10 RBI, 21 games). Of course, catchers are different from everyone else and are evaluated on much more than what they do at bat. Jason Hanselman over at DRaysBay has crunched some numbers that imply that Shoppach’s defense is above average. So maybe I don’t have to worry ... yet.

Meanwhile, Alex Cobb continues to set a high standard for the rest of the Bulls’ starting staff. R.J. Swindle, who might be in contention for a LOOGY (Left-handed One Out GuY) job down south, was left in after the first out and walked the second guy, who then came home on a home run given up by Ryan Reid. That got the game close in the top of the 8th (5-4), but the Bulls came back to pick up two runs in the bottom of the inning, and Ekstrom, looking much better than he had just a few hours earlier, closed it out.

Today’s Chart — Hitting and Pitching

This chart is an idiosyncratic way of looking at team hitting and pitching. It shows the cumulative wOBA for the entire team over the last 15 games (in green) and calls that “Hitting”. The red line is the wOBA of the Bulls’ opponents (or OwOBA) and that’s called “pitching”. Seems like a reasonable assertion to me. What these numbers show is that while hitting has been OK, aggregate pitching performance has been off the last few games.

click on chart for a larger view

Shutout

Game 37: Durham Bulls 0; Syracuse Indians 11
Season: 23-14; Last 10: 7-3; This Trip: 1-1
Wrap, Box, Syracuse Post-Standard

The plan had been to comment on this game after today's game, since I really didn't want to talk about an 11-0 blowout. But today has been rained out, so I might as well put something up while we wait for tomorrow's proposed double-header.

That box score is one ugly critter, ain’t it? Five home runs! Is it any comfort that only (only!) seven of the runs were earned? How did that happen? Not sure.

Michael Aubrey, formerly of the Baltimore system, now of the Washington system, hit four of the home runs all by himself, accounting for 7 RBI and certainly a bid for at least a spot on the Nationals’ 40-man.

The only Bulls pitcher who didn’t give up a home run was R.J. Swindle, although he remains the season leader in that category having given up 6 so far.

So rather than study that game any more I took a look at the Syracuse sports pages. Looks like folks up that way are going to be eating caviar in their near future.

Today's Chart — Team ERA

Today’s chart shows the Bulls’ pitchers’ cumulative ERA over the last 15 games. By cumulative ERA, I mean that it is recomputed after each game. Thus each data point is the ERA for the total number of runs and innings to that point. For example, May 14 is based on 334 1/3 innings pitched and 127 earned runs. The Bulls ERA ranks third in the International League and compares well with previous Bulls seasons. The interesting feature of this chart is how the starters and relievers contributions shake out. Overall, starters and relievers have about a 50-50 spread in innings pitched (177 to 157 1/3). As you can see, over the last two weeks the starters as a group have been improving while the relievers have been having their troubles (remember, however, that the Bulls won 11 of those 15 games, so the idea of “trouble” is somewhat relative).

click on chart for a larger view

Only So Much Nostalgia

www.watchingdurhambullsbaseball.com

Game 32: Durham Bulls (Rays) 5; Indianapolis Indians (Pirates) 7

Season: 19-13; Last 10: 8-2; This Home Stand: 4-1

Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, MiLB

The good and the bad of the old Durham Athletic Park hasn't changed from last year: seating, field lighting, winning the game — not good; field conditions, nostalgic touches (Clay Aiken singing, Charlie Montoyo and Bill Evers playing catch) — great.

The game this time started out slow and seemed to get slooooower, coming in at just over 3 hours, but it seemed much longer. Jeremy Hall had his best start in his short time with the Bulls and Ryan Reid did the same. That meant that at the end the 6th the Bulls were up 4-2 and things looked OK.

Dane De La Rosa came in for his first time since April 29th (we won't count his one pitch appearance against these same Indians on May 3rd). Rusty is perhaps not exactly the right word. Six hits and five runs later, the Bulls were pretty much out of the game. It was left only for R.J. Swindle to have his best inning of the year in the 9th. (Trivia: R.J.'s first appearance as a Bull was last year's DAP game).

One other positive feature to this game is that the Indians used six relievers (did not have a regular starter for reasons I did not learn), which might be an advantage to the Bulls as the home stand continues.

Remember Aneury Rodriguez? He was a pitcher I loved watching in the 2010 season. He's now a starter for the Houston Astros and got roughed up a bit last night in his second major league start. Oddly enough, there's a chance that he could end up being a Bull again this year because he was picked up on the Rule 5 draft and if the Astros don't keep him on their 25-man roster he has to come back to the Rays. But wouldn't it be neat if he made it as a major league starter? We can hope for him.

Couple more photos from last night.

Let's go back to the DBAP!

Beautiful Extra-Inning Win, With Puzzles

Game 29: Durham Bulls 3; Syracuse Chiefs 1
Wrap, Box, Indy Week,Herald-Sun

Game 30: Durham Bulls 6; Syracuse Chiefs 5 (11 innings)
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun
Season: 18-12; Streak: 4-0

Justin Ruggiano had yet another amazing game Saturday night. In fact he sort of had to win it twice. In the 10th with the score tied 2-2, Ray Olmedo tried to score on Ruggiano's single to center field, but he was thrown out. So when Rugg came to bat in the 11th with the bases loaded and the score tied 5-5 [Ooops! Thanks, Chris D] Chiefs 5, Bulls 4, it was naturally assumed that he would hit in the winning runs — and he did with a single to center.

The win kept the Bulls two games in front of the Gwinnett Braves and its spectacular nature obscured a couple of oddities and issues that are worth mentioning.

What we witnessed for 6 innings was a superb scoreless pitchers' duel between the Bulls Alex Torres and the Chiefs Yuneska Maya. All of these games with the Chiefs have shown them to have a fine crowd of starting pitchers. But (who else) Justin Ruggiano broke the tie with a RBI double and Russ Canzler hit him in. That certainly looked good enough.

But then in a puzzling move, after J.P. Howell did his rehab inning, Chris Bootcheck came in, walked the Chief's #9 batter, and was pulled for Jake McGee. McGee got a ground out fielder's choice then gave up a home run that tied the game. My question is, why was Bootcheck pulled? He's just off the DL and did give up a walk, but something could have been wrong. And why McGee back-to-back? He pitched part of an inning on Friday and was back for this session.

Then there was the 11th. New guy Ryan Reid got a ground out and gave up a walk. R.J. Swindle came in to give up three runs with a homer, single, double and hit batter. Not good. In fact, this is not a good year for R.J. This was his first time on the mound since April 30th (2/3 inning). He's being hit hard. In 11 innings he has given up 5 home runs, 11 earned runs, 16 hits. His signature slow curve has disappeared. As a final peculiarity, after giving up 3 runs in the top of the 11th last night, when the Bulls came back with 4 in the bottom of the inning, Swindle got the win! Overall, I'm beginning to think that R.J. may not be long for the Bulls. That's too bad, because he was a key figure in last year's championship team.

We saw Felipe Lopez for the first time. He did a fine job at third base, where he was quite busy early in the game. On the other hand, he left Ruggiano hanging out in scoring position three different times.

Meanwhile, for Rays' futurists, the Montgomery Biscuits have been over in Zebulon and won one last night as well.

Our guys up with the Rays: Brandon Guyer did not get into the Rays' 8-2 win over Baltimore, but Brandon Gomes pitched a scoreless 9th (1 BB, 2 K's).

Hitters Hit; Pitchers Shuffle

Game 24: Durham Bulls 12; Indianapolis Indians 3
Season: 13-11; Streak: 2-0
Wrap, Box, Indianapolis Star

Yet another problem caused by this season’s screwy schedule is that fans have had no chance to get to know the players. Take, for example, one of last night’s heroes, Chris Carter. Although he has played 19 games for the Bulls with 87 plate appearances, he’s only had 8 games at the DBAP, mostly as the designated hitter (two starts in left field). Consequently, as a fan, we only have the box scores and stats to go on. Those are pretty good and last night’s 3 for 6, 4 RBI performance was exceptional. We just haven’t had a chance to see him.

The same problem holds for several other players such as Russ Canzler, Brandon Guyer, and Robinson Chirinos.

In a couple of months, things will be different. But for now, obviously, the only person commenting on the Bulls who has actually seen the Bulls is broadcaster Neil Solondz. So, it’s on you Neil. Remember, you’re the only guy who has really been watching these guys closely every day.

With those caveats, last night saw the Bulls have their best day at the plate this year. Every player (except for Robinson Chirinos) got a hit. Justin Ruggiano got 4 hits, but Carter’s performance moved him up into a tie for the RBI lead. They have 16 each. J.J. Furmaniak is inching up towards the Mendoza line, now at .192. Leslie Anderson got 3 RBI. A terrific day for the Bulls.

Pitcher Edgar Gonzalez only went 5 innings, but by that time the Bulls were ahead 7-0, so things were looking OK. The unfortunate Paul Phillips came on in the 6th and had a 1-2-3 inning. The 7th was different. He gave up a hit and a homer, then hit a batter and gave up a single. He left the game with two outs and two men on. R.J. Swindle let one of those runners score in his 1/3 of an inning.

That gave Cory Wade yet another chance to show his stuff. He gave up a leadoff single in the 8th, then struck out the side. In the 9th it was K, flyout, K. Very nice job.

Speaking of pitchers:

• Alex Cobb will make his major league debut pitching for the Tampa Bay Rays today against the LA Angels. Good luck, Alex!
• Jake McGee, the big left-hander we saw a bit of at the end of last season is coming to the Bulls (yeah!). I was impressed with McGee last year, and I was worried that the Rays might have been moving him along a bit too quick. He should be a big help to the Bulls.
• The same article says that Brandon Gomes might be going to the Rays. He’s done a terrific job for the Bulls. Is he ready for the Rays? Guess we will be finding out if the article is accurate. Note that all of the moves involving relievers circle around the question of when J.P. Howell will be getting back into the Rays bullpen.

Freebie Night

Game 15: Durham Bulls 4; Charlotte Knights 6
Season: 9-6; Streak: L 2
Wrap, Box,Herald-Sun,Indy Week

How does a team get more hits than their opposition (9 to 7) and lose a game? Answer: Give up a bunch of freebies (7 walks, 1 hit batsman) and home runs (2). Of the six runs scored by Charlotte last night, four of them came from runners who got on base with a walk. With the two homers, even I can do the math.

I’m guessing that Alex Torres was sent to the mound yesterday with instructions to “work” on something — maybe his changeup or slider. Whatever it was, it wasn’t working. His first two innings were just awful. First inning: single, walk, K, HBP, fly out, W (run scored), and a liner back to Torres to end the inning with bases loaded. Second inning: K, walk, double, ground out, run scores on a passed ball, walk, K. Maybe he figured something out with that last K, because he then struck out the side in the 3rd and 4th innings and got another K in the 5th. So, 10 strikeouts on the night, but also walked in a run and can probably share the blame on the unearned run from the passed ball. Brilliant pitcher. Needs work.

On the other hand, R.J. Swindle is not seeing anything good in his year. That is a big deal here. He’s the only left-handed reliever we’ve got. The season is early, but his numbers are not good and last night’s two walks followed by a home run will not help. The only pitchers with a worse ERA and WHIP is the unfortunate Paul Phillips.

Bright spots? Robinson Chirinos may be getting his eye. He went 2 for 3, but he’s got a long way to go. Current average is .167.

* * * * *

Tonight’s game ends the Bulls 9-game home stand and only appearance in Durham in April. They will not be back until the 5th of May, that’s 11 road games plus the Bulls’ first day off this season. I was asked last night if I’d mentioned in my blog that this year’s schedule is just plain loony?

Ruggiano Rocks

Game 13: Durham Bulls 9; Charlotte Knights (White Sox) 1

Season: 9-4; Streak: 2-0

Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Indy Week

What a pretty thing it is to watch a player get into a groove the way Justin Ruggiano has been the last couple of days. Last night’s two home runs, two singles, and a walk off of three different pitchers followed Monday’s two home run (off two pitchers) game. Seven RBIs in two games brings him up to 14 on the year. And his Average/OBP/SLG is up to .320/.358/.640. Very impressive. 

I drew a big circle around the middle of our batting order last night — Justin Ruggiano (2), Brandon Guyer (3), and Chris Carter (4). They accounted for 9 hits, 3 walks, and 7 of the 9 RBI. I know that’s the sort of thing the middle of the lineup is supposed to do, but it’s nice to see it in action.

Interesting detail: Ruggiano’s hard smash to third base in the 3rd inning was initially ruled an error on Charlotte third baseman Dallas McPherson. That was changed to a single before the end of the game. Made sense from where I was sitting. McPherson didn’t bobble the ball. Ruggiano just outran it.

The pitching: You can’t argue with success, but Alex Cobb sure looked uncomfortable yesterday until his last inning. Three BBs are certainly unusual. In the end, however, he got out of the game only giving up one earned run and has a league-leading 3-0 won-loss record (not to mention a 1.13 ERA and 0.94 WHIP). Rob Delaney had a very solid two innings and R.J. Swindle looked a little better than his last outing. He still hasn’t uncorked his radically slow curve this year, but we can hope. Brandon Gomes needed some work, so he pitched the 9th. (Note: Radio said it was going to be Paul Phillips. He’s got to get back on the horse again, someday.) The crew’s strikeouts are up to 134, or more than 10 per game. Even with last night’s uncharacteristic 5 walks, only 33 on the year. Today we see Edgar Gonzalez.

We have the second day game of the week today. And the weather prediction guesses at storms about 4 PM. Have I mentioned that this year’s schedule is nuts?

Biscuit Watch

Things seem to be improving over Montgomery way.

Game 13: Montgomery Biscuits 5; Jackson Generals 4

Season: 4-8

Wrap, Montgomery Advertiser

After 5 the Deluge

Durham Bulls 7; Gwinnett Braves 18
Season: 7-4
Wrap, Box, Indy Week,Herald-Sun

As shaky as things were through the first five innings, we were seeing some interesting baseball. I got to see one of my favorite Bulls start as catcher (Craig Albernaz, winner of the 2010 WDBB Moonlight Graham Award) and get an RBI double; see Jose Lobaton carry on with his extraordinary streak (he is now .478/.536/.913) with a 3 for 3 night including a home run and 2 walks; and J.J. Furmaniak begin to sneak out of his slump with a 2 RBI double. Less fun to watch in those innings were Brian Baker and R.J. Swindle. Neither looked particularly sharp. Nevertheless, we went into the 6th inning with a 6 to 5 lead, so not too bad.

What can you say about a 10-run inning? Character building for Paul Phillips? Not sure. We had a pitcher in a similarly dismal circumstance back in 2008 that I could swear finally gave up and deliberately hit a batter just to get thrown out of the game. At least Mr. Phillips didn’t go that far, but you gotta think it’s heartbreaking to finally get something other than a home run and have your infielders flub the play. That happened twice in the inning. Too painful to replay it here. To his credit, Phillips was willing to talk about it. See Adam Sobsey’s piece over at the Indy Week link.

Phillips was left twisting in the breeze to save the bullpen for today and future games. Here’s hoping they show their appreciation over the next couple of days.

We also got to see a variant of the designated hitter rule that led to a couple of interesting box score oddities. Catcher Jose Lobaton started the game as the DH. In the 8th inning starting catcher Craig Albernaz took over as the pitcher and Lobaton became the catcher. That meant that in the bottom of the 8th when Albernaz came to bat it was as the pitcher, a very rare event. Trivial? You bet! Gotta take some comfort from nights like last night.

Day game today. First chance to see Dirk Hayhurst pitch. Time to celebrate not be struck by the tornadoes.

Jennings Breaks Out

Durham Bulls 8; Norfolk Tides 3
Season: 6-3; Streak: Won 4
Wrap, Box, Indy Week, Herald-Sun

Desmond Jennings is really looking good this year. Last night he got on base three out of four times (two walks, a hit by pitch, and a home run), scored two runs, and had 3 RBIs. You can’t ask for more from your leadoff batter. Oh yeah, he stole a base, too. On the year he is .345/.500/.586 with 2 home runs and 3 stolen bases. This is the first time in quite a while that the Bulls have had an exceptional leadoff man. Terrific fun to watch.

I was looking forward to watching Edgar Gonzalez pitch because he seems to be an interesting guy. Nothing special about his stats, so why is he here? Perhaps the two adjectives I'd use for last night would be sneaky and stubborn. He let a few guys on base, struck several out, and at the end of 5 innings nobody had scored. Not bad.

Later in the game Charlie Montoyo did something he rarely does, a situational pitching change. He’s never been much of a situational guy when it comes to using his relievers. However, in the 7th with two outs, a runner on first base, and a very familiar left-handed power hitter coming to bat (Ryan Hughes, a former Bull, now with Norfolk), he brought in our only lefty, R.J. Swindle. Swindle got Hughes to pop up on his second pitch. That was Swindle’s night — two pitches, one out, head for showers. I’m not criticizing the move, just noting that, in general, Charlie doesn’t seem to worry too much about reliever/batter matchups, but last night that’s what he did.

Speaking of pitching, and I know it’s early in the season, but the Bulls staff is really whiffing the opposition. In 9 games (84 innings) they’ve accumulated 94 strikeouts. Ten last night, fifteen the night before.

The rest of the position players:

Robinson Chirinos, catcher, batted 4th: tGt (see yesterday’s post). Comes to the Bulls with huge expectations both as a catcher and as a hitter. Off to a truly awful start (1 for 28), but undoubtedly has plenty of talent.
J.J. Furmaniak, infielder, batted 8th: We thought a lot of J.J. last year and we’re really happy to see him back. However, he is also off to a really rough start (2 for 28). He did get an infield hit last night and scored one of the Bulls’ runs.
Craig Albernaz, catcher: Has not gone to bat yet. Essentially a backup catcher who has spent time with the Bulls the last two seasons. However, most of his playing time has been with the Biscuits in Montgomery.

Last Year's Durham Bulls: Pitchers

Here's what I've heard about last year's pitchers.

• Richard De Los Santos, 148 innings pitched, Durham Bulls
• Heath Phillips, 139 innings, Long Island Ducks
• Jeremy Hellickson, 117 innings, Tampa Bay Rays
• Aneury Rodriguez, 113 innings, Houston Astros
• Brian Baker, 105 innings, Durham Bulls
• Carlos Hernandez, 90 innings, ????
• Joe Bateman, 76 innings, Oakland Athletics
• Virgil Vasquez, 66 innings, LA Angels
• Dale Thayer, 60 innings, NY Mets
• Mike Ekstrom, 58 innings, Durham Bulls
• Winston Abreu, 55 innings, Toronto Blue Jays
• R.J. Swindle, 55 innings, Durham Bulls
• Darin Downs innings, 40, Florida Marlins

We had 11 pitchers with 20 innings or less (details here) and we'll surely be seeing some of them in 2011 (Cobb, Torres, McGee). If anyone can fill in the holes above I'll update this. Could swear that I heard something about Heath Phillips, but sure can't find my notes.

Update: April 19. Changes in italics

Three Bulls Back with Rays Organization; One Gone

Good news from the Rays today. J.J. Furmaniak, R.J. Swindle, and Richard de Los Santos have all been signed to minor league contracts with invitations to spring training. [Tampa Bay Rays]

We looked at J.J.'s season with the Bulls here; Richard's season here; and R.J.'s here. Here at WDBB we are really happy to hear they have a shot with the Rays and would be pleased to see them back with the Bulls in 2011.

Two other players were also signed, infielder Russ Canzler and RHP Cory Wade. Don’t know anything about them, but expect we may be seeing them in the coming year.

Meanwhile, to darken an otherwise pleasant day, DRaysBay is passing on a report that Winston Abreu has signed a deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. Given the terrific year he had with the Bulls in 2010, and the apparent lack of interest from the Rays, you had to expect that he would be looking elsewhere.

We wrote about Winston's 2010 season here. If the report is true, at least the Bulls won’t have to face Abreu if he ends up in AAA, the Blue Jay’s AAA team is Las Vegas.