The Durham Bulls in 2016: Part 2 - The Pitchers

Thirty-four different players pitched for the Durham Bulls this year. As a group, they were not a particularly impressive crew. Our previous post set out some of the aggregate numbers. This one will take a look at individuals. In Part 3, we discuss the hitters, in Part 4, the Tampa Bay Rays, and in Part 5, the DBAP.

The 34 pitchers included four position players: Dayron Verona (1 appearance, 1 inning), Cameron Seitzer (2 appearances, 1.2 innings), Jaff Decker (2 appearances, 2 innings), and Mayo Acosta (2 appearances, 2 innings).

For the rest, we'll go over them one by one in order of innings pitched, throwing a few charts in along the way.

Austin Pruitt (right-handed starting pitcher) led the team in innings pitched with 162.2 over 28 appearances. Only one Durham Bull starting pitcher had a winning record, and Pruitt was not him. He ended the year at 8-11 with an ERA of 3.76 and a WHIP of 1.19. Among his fellow International League pitchers he ranked 12th in ERA, 4th in WHIP, 4th in innings pitched, and second in strikeouts with 149. At 4.92 pitches per out, he was one of the more efficient pitchers on the team. Pruitt was drafted by the Rays in 2013, is now 26 years old and has been working his way up through the system. He has no major league time. This was his first year at AAA. [stats]

Justin Marks (left-handed starting pitcher) put in 140 innings in 25 appearances (23 starts, 2 in relief). As with his colleagues, he ended up with a losing won-loss record (7-11). His ERA of 3.86 ranked him 13th in the IL. His WHIP of 1.27 was 11th. His 127 strikeouts ranked him 8th. Innings pitched were 12th. Marks came to the Rays system out of the Arizona system. He has one brief appearance in the majors with the Royals in 2014. Notable this year was his no-hitter on July 16th. He was added to the Rays 40-man roster and called up in early September. [stats]

Jamie Schultz (right-handed starting pitcher) put in 130.2 innings over 27 starts and ended with a record of 5-6. His ERA of 3.58 was 7th in the IL; his WHIP of 1.39 was 20th. His 163 K's were the best in the IL just ahead of teammate Austin Pruitt. Also like Pruitt he was drafted by the Rays in 2013 and has been working his was up through the system. This was his first year at AAA. [stats]

Eddie Gamboa (right-handed starting pitcher) had 94 innings with the Bulls this year. He had a couple of weeks on the disabled list in May. He is the only Bulls starter with a positive won-loss record (6-4). But we must be fair and point out that 3 of those wins (and 1 of the losses) came in relief. If he had had a few more innings, he would have come in 2nd place in the IL with his 2.68 ERA. He certainly had the best ERA among the Bulls starting pitchers. His WHIP of 1.11 would have placed him in third place. Eddie Gamboa is in his 8th year as a professional ballplayer, all as a pitcher and all in the Baltimore system. But only recently has he focused on his knuckleball. We were somewhat surprised to figure out that he was the Bulls' best pitcher this year. That's probably because his appearances were often disfigured by watching the catcher chase down passed balls or wild pitches. We were very pleased to see the Rays bring him up at the end of the IL season. [stats]

Adam Wilk (left-handed starting pitcher) had 15 starts before he went on the disabled list in mid-June. Although he wasn't getting much in the way of run support his WHIP was a decent 1.12 and his ERA (3.63) was OK as well. An 8-year professional, Wilk came to the Bulls will AAA experience in the Detroit, Pittsburg, and LA Angels systems, with a few moments of major league time with Detroit and the Angels. In keeping with a well-established Durham Bulls/Tampa Bay Rays tradition, we have no idea why he went on the DL or what's happened to him since then. [stats]

Jacob Faria (RHSP) came up to the Bulls from Montgomery just after the midseason (essentially when Wilk went on the DL). He showed considerable promise in his 13 starts and 67.2 innings with the Bulls (he had 14 starts and 83.1 innings with AA Montgomery). His ERA as a Bull was decent at 3.72 and his WHIP of 1.15 was OK as well. His 4.84 pitches per out were the most efficient of any of the Bulls starting pitchers (and the second best on the team). This was his first experience at AAA but he's the only pitcher on the Rays 40-man who did not get a September call-up. Likely the Rays thought that 151 total innings was enough. [stats]

Blake Snell (LHSP) started the year with the Bulls after coming up from Montgomery for eight games at the end of 2015. In his 12 games and 63 innings with the Bulls he carried a 3.29 ERA, a WHIP of 1.33, and a promising FIP of 2.60. He went up to the Rays for one game in April and went up to stay in mid-June. He won't be back. [stats]

ERAs and FIPs

Sorted by number of innings pitched
Click on chart for larger image

Parker Markel (right-handed reliever) led the relief crew in innings pitched. He had 5 games with the Bulls in 2015, started 2016 with Montgomery, came up in mid-May and didn't go back. He picked up 5 wins in relief over 34 appearances and 60.2 innings. With the notable exception of Dana Eveland, his ERA of 2.52 was the best on the team. He is a product of the Rays' system and he'll likely start with the Bulls or with the Rays next year. [stats]

Dylan Floro (right-handed reliever) was a starter all of 2015. The Rays decided to convert him to a relief pitcher this year and the move seemed to be reasonably successful. With the Bulls,  he got in 50 innings in 32 appearances with an excellent ERA of 2.88, 5 holds, and 7 saves (2 blown saves). He went up to the Rays in early July and came back to the Bulls in late August. He had two appearances and then went on the disabled list. No reasons were given. (See Adam Wilk above). [stats]

Neil Wagner (right-handed relief pitcher) started the year with the Charlotte Stone Crabs. Coming off surgery he actually had a pretty good year in some ways. He was the best of the Durham relievers with runners on base. Of the 15 who were on base when he came on, only 3 scored. On the other hand, he only finished 43 innings in 38 appearances, which is pretty short relief. A couple of short, but poor outings, balooned up his ERA and it stuck there most of the year finishing at 4.81. And he had to work awfully hard for his outs, averaged 6.07 pitches per out, one of the worst ratings on the team. At 32 years old he was in direct competition with Dana Eveland as the oldest player on the team. He brought a lot of experience to the Bulls. He's played in the Cleveland, Oakland, San Diego, and Toronto systems. He was out for all of 2015 and 2016 was his testing year. Numbers probably do not describe his worth to the Rays. Hard to guess if he will return. [stats]

Adam Kolarek was that extreme rarity for the Bulls this year, a left-handed reliever. Until late in the year, he was the Bulls' only lefty in the bullpen. He did a decent job with a nice ERA of 3.05 in his 34 appearances and 41.1 innings. Kolarek came over to the Rays system from the Mets in 2015. He started 2016 with Montgomery. He came up to the Bulls in early May, went back in mid-July, came back in early August and stayed. On the year he had 47 appearances. With a WHIP of 1.23, I'd guess he's in good shape for next year. [stats]

WHIP

Tyler Sturdevant (right-handed reliever) is a puzzle to me. He started the year with the Bulls, went up to the Rays in mid-May, came back for three appearances in late June, then returned the the Rays. Came back in July for 14 games, back to the Rays, back to the Bulls in last August for 4 appearances, then called back up at the end of the season. As a Bull, 34 appearances, 39.1 innings, undistinguished ERA of 3.66, WHIP of 1.30. He had 16 appearances with the Rays prior to September. My only real problem was his 5 blown saves. The Bulls could hardly afford that this year. The 30-year-old Sturdevant came up through the Cleveland system and this was his first season in the majors, so maybe the back-and-forth makes sense. [stats]
[Update: Designated for Assignment 9/11/16]

Danny Farquhar (righty reliever) went back a forth a lot. With the Bulls, he had 32 appearances for 38 innings and did just fine with an ERA of 3.32 and a WHIP of 1.11. He was also one of the more efficient of the Bulls pitchers with a 5.02 pitches-per-out rating. Farquhar has time with the Toronto, Yankees, Oakland, and Seattle systems and 26 appearances this year (as of 9/10/2016) with the Rays. My guess would be that his return next year depends entirely on his relationship with the Rays. He may decide that he should be a full-time major leaguer. [stats]

Mark Sappington (righty reliever) is a young (25) reliever who started with Angels, played all of 2015 with Montgomery and made his AAA debut with the Bulls this year April. He appeared in 29 games for 37 innings with an ERA of 4.86 and a WHIP of 1.68. Not very good. He was sent to Montgomery in late June, where he finished out his year with 13 more appearances. His ERA there was 7.80 and his WHIP was 2.13. I'm not sure he has a future in professional baseball. But I've been wrong before. [stats]

Steve Geltz (righty reliever) split time between the Rays and the Bulls this year, doing much better as a Bull (ERA-3.03, WHIP-1.32) than as a Ray (ERA-6.65, WHIP-1.39). Geltz started out in the Angels system and came over to the Rays in 2013. He did a terrific job for the Bulls that year and in 2014. He spent all of 2015 with the Rays to decent numbers. I'm not sure that his return to Durham this year was because of performance or because he was a Ray "with  options" that was easy to move back and forth. He was called back up at the end of September. [stats]

Matt Andriese (right-handed starting pitcher). Andriese started his career with the Padres, but he joined the Rays system in  2014 with the Bulls and has made a bunch of appearances in a Bulls uniform (72) as both a starter and reliever in 2014, 2015, and 2016. This year he started 6 games, went up to Tampa Bay, and never came back. He did just fine as a Bull (ERA-3.41, WHIP-1.14), not so good with the Rays. He's still just 26 years old. But the Rays have never seemed to be able to figure out if they want him to be a starting pitcher or a reliever. [stats]

Ryan Garton (right-handed reliever) has only five years as a pro; however, he essentially split his year between Durham and St. Petersberg. He had 32 innings as a Bull and 32 innings as a Ray. His numbers as a Bull were just fine, an ERA of 3.09 and a WHIP of 1.28. He did work harder than most with 5.99 pitches per out. It would seem that he has a fine future with the Rays, but we'll likely keep on seeing him as long as he has options left. [stats]

Dana Eveland (left-handed reliever) is the very definition of "well-traveled veteran." We have to point out, however, that his time with the Bulls was extraordinary: 20 games, 29.2 innings, ERA of 0.30, WHIP of 0.74. Eveland started his career with the Milwaukee system and has been with Arizona, Oakland, Toronto, Pittsburg, the Dodgers, Baltimore, Mets, Boston, and Atlanta. He began 2016 with the Rays and came to the Bulls in late June, back to the Rays, then to the Bulls to stay in mid-July. We liked him a lot. But he probably won't be back. [stats]
[Update 9/12/16: He was added to 40-man and called up to Rays on 9/11/16]

Ryne Stanek (right-handed reliever) had been a starting pitcher all of his very brief career with the Rays, until the middle of this year. He came to the Bulls right after the 4th of July and he simply wasn't very good over his 16 appearances and 24.1 innings. Will he be good? Probably. And it's fun, at first, to watch a guy throw in the high 90's. But an ERA of 5.92 doesn't auger well. He did fine with runners on base — of 9 inherited, none scored. He'll surely be back next spring. [stats]

Pitches Per Out

A home-grown measure of pitching efficiency

Alex Cobb (right-handed starter) joined the Bulls for 4 rehabilitation appearances (15 innings). I'd like to complain about how that punched a hole in the Bulls' rotation and caused other problems. However, by the time he showed up in August the Bulls were already doomed. He spent parts of 2011 and 2012 with the Bulls and we wish him only the best in his continued recovery.

Casey Coleman (righty reliever) only got into 11 games. When he was signed in mid-July I was hoping the at least a bit of the good old days of the Rays being really smart about discovering talent. But then Coleman went on the DL after just 6 appearances. Overall, for his 14 innings, he did OK. And ERA of 3.86 and WHIP of 1.29, but the sample size is a problem. At 28 he's seen time with the Cubs, Royals, and Mariners. A maybe for next year. [stats]

Loose Ends —

• Jhan Marinez, one of our favorites from 2015, made just 6 appearances (8 innings) before being called up to the Rays. When they designated him for assignment, the Brewers grabbed him and he's had a pretty good year in Milwaukee. [stats]
• Kyle McPherson (righty reliever) started with the Bulls, made 5 appearances. His Wikipedia page reports that he was released on 5/24/16. [stats]
• Andrew Bellatti (right-handed reliever) started the season with the Bulls and made 6 appearances for 5.1 innings. He went on the disabled list in May, was DFA'd in June and may be out of baseball now.
• Chih-Wei Hu (right-handed starter) made a spot start for the Bulls on April 23 and went back to Montgomery. He's had a pretty good year with the Biscuits: 2.59 ERA over 142 innings. [stats]
• Brad Schreiber (righty reliever) came up from the Charlotte Stone Crabs to two relief appearances at the end of June. It was his first time at AAA. [stats]
• Greg Harris (right-handed starting pitcher) made his Triple-A debut on September 3, coming up from the Charlotte Stone Crabs. [stats]
• Ryan Webb (right-handed reliever) made three rehab appearances in mid-June, but was then released. [stats]
• Brad Boxberger (right-handed reliever) put in 1.2 innings in two rehab appearances in May.
• Kyle Winkler (right-handed reliever) came up from Montgomery for one appearance on July 9, pitched 1.1 innings, and got a win before going back to Montgomery.

Updates 9/12/16: See Eveland (called up) and Sturdevant (DFA'd)

The Durham Bulls at the All Star Break - Part 3 - Pitchers and Hitters

Pitchers

The Bulls have seen 31 different players on the mound this season.  Three were position players. Several have been called up. Some have come back. Others have been released. They have 13 on the roster, but that's a moving target. We charted 12 of the current crew and included Adam Wilk, who is currently on the disabled list. Not included are Ryan Stanek, Casey Coleman, Kyle Winkler, and Dana Eveland because they have very few innings and/or their roster status isn't clear. Also note that Jacob Faria, who is on the chart, only has 15 innings in Triple-A. Overall, as was noted in our previous post, the pitching crew is doing OK.

ERA/FIP

The stats geeks don't like ERA for lots of reasons. So here's a chart with both ERA and FIP (Fielding Independent Percentage). In general, FIP seems better for a short-term look and ERA for a longer term. This chart is sorted by FIP. We have a sample size problem (few innings) with a couple of the guys. Nevertheless, the bottom four pitchers, which include a starter and three relievers, are not having good years, the rest are OK.

click on chart for larger view

WHIP

Walks/Hits per Inning Pitched, interestingly, sorts out with the same four pitchers on the bottom.

Pitches per Out

This is a home-brewed stat that basically highlights just how hard a pitcher has to work to get an out. Again, the same four pitchers— Steve Geltz, Neil Wagner, Mark Sappington, and Justin Marks—are at the bottom.

Hitters

Coming to the plate so far this year we've seen 21 different Durham Bulls. We've charted 14 of them, but admit that it could be a moving target. A catcher, Hank Conger, is on his way from Tampa Bay. Kyle Roller, who was in 50 games this year, has been released. Cameron Seitzer and Mayo Acosta are on and off the roster. Juniel Querecuto is with Montgomery at the moment.

This is not a very impressive crew this year. We pointed out the team stats in a previous post. The individual stats show only 4 with positive wRAAs and one of those, Johnny Field is on the disabled list. It's worth noting that all but two have now gotten above the "Mendoza Line" (.200) in their batting averages. However, when watching a game it's hard to get your hopes up when any of these guys come to the plate.

From a fan's perspective, we have to say that the players who have been the most fun to watch were Jaff Decker, Dayon Varona, and Taylor Motter. We have hopes that Jake Goebbert and J.P. Arencibia will catch some breaks. We think Luke Maile is breaking out, but he or J.P. Arencibia is likely to be called up today or tomorrow. Richie Shaffer is helping the team a lot, the best wRAA of them all. It just seems like he is working so hard, for less return than hoped for.

Name	Age	PA	AVG	OPS	wRAA	wOBA
Jaff Decker	26	264	.233	.733	4.1	.338
Johnny Field	24	116	.250	.751	1.7	.337
Richie Shaffer	25	351	.250	.729	5.0	.336
Dayron Varona	28	304	.235	.718	0.8	.321
Daniel Robertson	22	340	.254	.664	-2.2	.309
Jake Goebbert	28	242	.214	.653	-2.8	.302
Luke Maile	25	214	.242	.650	-2.7	.301
Eury Perez	26	50	.239	.626	-1.1	.288
J.P. Arencibia	30	162	.221	.623	-4.2	.283
Jake Hager	23	111	.245	.609	-3.4	.277
Juniel Querecuto	23	100	.228	.587	-3.8	.267
Taylor Motter	26	179	.202	.585	-7.1	.265
Cameron Seitzer	26	140	.176	.419	-12.3	.201
Mayo Acosta	28	46	.091	.200	-7.7	.094

Rainy Day Notes

Last night's game in Charlotte got rained out and it looks like the Bulls and Knights will play a double-header this evening starting at 6:05. Assuming usual IL rules, they will be 7-inning games.

Meanwhile —

• Demonstrating yet again that WDBB doesn't understand modern baseball, we heard manager Jared Sandberg say in his daily radio interview yesterday evening that Cameron Seitzer "had a good 3-0 swing last night." Our view, as we expressed yesterday, was incredulity that a batter with a .174 batting average, with runners on 2nd and 3rd base and two outs, would be swinging away on a 3-0 count. Seitzer flew out to right field to end the inning. 
• Left-handed starting pitcher Adam Wilk has gone on the disabled list. His last outing was tough, but his numbers (except for won-loss) were just fine. Hope he's back soon.
• In a bizarre move, Danny Farquhar is back to Tampa Bay. He was called up to a game in Baltimore, sent back to the Bulls, and then called back up in the space of a couple of days. Don't know if he actually made all those trips. Hope not.
• Right-handed reliever Ryan Webb, who had been with the Bulls on a rehab assignment, has been designated for assignment. That puts two Rays pitchers in "DFA Limbo", Webb and Andrew Bellatti.

Streak Ends

Game 76, Friday, June 25, DBAP
Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Philadelphia): 4
Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay): 1
Season: 43-32; Home Stand: 4-1
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Stats:
Game Score: Wilk 73; Season Avg 54; Diff +19
Tm OPS: Game .485; Season .682; Diff -.197
Tm wOBA: Game .201; Season .294; Diff  -.093

Adam Wilk deserved better. He's had three good starts in June, but only one win. Last night he was fine until the 6th. And even then only let two runs in.

About the only other bright spot in the game was new guy Eury Perez's first at bat, a double. Plus he scored the first run.

Statistical trivia: The Bulls baserunners have only stolen 1 base in the last 16 games.

Outside the game —

• If you want to dig deeper into the Bulls current opponent, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, check out Kram's look at the 'Pigs at mid-season. Very different from WDBB's approach (here). Nice piece of work on his part. He obviously knows his players well.
• Reliever Andrew Bellatti has been DFA'd. Remember him? He made 6 appearances for the Bulls at the beginning of the season, none very successful. He gave up 5 runs in 5⅓ innings and then went on the disabled list. I wonder how that works. If a team dumps you, are you on your own for medical care/rehab? If he clears waivers, is Tampa Bay stuck with him? I assume he's down at their facility at Port Charlotte, Florida.

Durham Bulls Limp Home

Game 69, Friday, June 17, Harbor Park, Norfolk, Virginia
Durham Bulls: 2
Norfolk Tides: 4
Wrap, Box, Virginian-Pilot
Stats:
Game Score: Schultz 41; Season Average 55 (14 starts, 72 innings)
Tm OPS: Game .683; Season .651
Tm wOBA: Game .297; Season .294

Game 70, Saturday, June 18, Harbor Park
Durham Bulls: 0
Norfolk Tides: 1
Wrap, Box, Virginian-Pilot
Stats:
Game Score: Pruit 74; Season Average 58 (14 starts, 81 innings)
Tm OPS: Game .198; Season .645
Tm wOBA: Game .102; Season .292

Game 71, Sunday, June 19, Harbor Park
Durham Bulls: 6
Norfolk Tides: 10on
Season: 30-41; Trip: 2-7
Wrap, Box, Virginian-Pilot

Stats:
Game Score: Wilk 13; Season Average 53 (14 Starts. 80.1 innings)
Tm OPS: Game .580; Season .645
Tm wOBA: Game .258; Season .291

After his best game of the year on June 13, Adam Wilk followed up with his worst. But the Bulls were not helped by what turned out to be one of Jared Sandberg's worst decisions of the season.

By the middle of the 5th inning, Wilk had already given up 9 hits, 3 walks, and 4 runs. He was on his 97th pitch. He'd walked two batters and given up a single so far in the inning, loading the bases. A reliever was warmed up in the Durham bullpen. Yes, there were two outs and, yes, Tides' shortstop  Ozzie Martinez had little reputation, but what was the risk in taking out a pitcher who arguably should not have even started the inning?

Wilk gave up a grand slam and the Bulls were behind 8 to 2. They never caught up.

This was an awful road trip, the Bulls losing 7 out of 9 games. In these last three games they were swept by the worst team in the league, although you could now say that the Bulls are closing in on that distinction. Today's game will be the midpoint of the season (the International League plays 144 games, today is game 72) and we will be putting together some midseason stats. But they will not be pretty.

Why? We'll take a look at that. We could blame the Rays, and there's something to be said for that. They just got their head handed to them by the San Francisco Giants and their pitchers and hitters are not having great seasons. You could even argue that last season's turnover at the top of the Rays organization is behind what begins to look like two less-than-stellar seasons for the Bulls.

The question remains, however, are these players improving over the season or not? And if they are not, what's going on?

Should we even mention that in addition to the justly famed Bill Evers and Charlie Montoyo, the Triple-A Bulls had another manager who's name is never spoken, even though he managed the current Tampa Bay Rays manager? Should we mention he managed the 2006 Bulls who finished 15½ games out of first in the South?

Outside the game —

• Reliever Ryan Garton is back.
• Reliever Steve Geltz got called up.
• A Tampa Bay rehab, Ryan Webb, has joined the Bulls. He has never pitched for the Rays. He has pitched one inning for the Bulls and was charged with the loss.
• Tampa Bay reliever Dana Eveland may be showing up soon. He brings a less-than-stellar major league ERA of 7.56 over 16+ innings with him.
• The Bulls roster is short a couple of position players.

Hitting and Pitching Comes Alive

Game 66, June 13, Coca-Cola Field, Buffalo, New York
Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay): 5
Buffalo Bisons (Toronto): 0
Season: 30–36; Trip: 2–2
Wrap, Box, The Buffalo News

Stats:
Game Score: Wilk 82; Season Avg 55
Tm OPS: Game .987; Season .653
Tm wOBA: Game .406; Season .295

Adam Wilk had a terrific game, leading the Bulls to their sixth shutout of the year.

The score does not quite reflect the terrific day the Bulls had at bat, though. As the stats above show, as a team they were well above their season totals: 4 doubles, 2 triples (Johnny Field and Jake Hager), and a home run by J.P. Arencibia (his second in two days) led to 23 total bases. A great day for the Bulls as they took advantage of a bit of turmoil in the Bison’s pitching rotation.

In general, the Bulls’ offense has not been kind to Mr. Wilk this year. Several decent efforts were not been rewarded. Last night they were. Plus, he was at his most efficient. He only needed 77 pitches to get through a full 8 innings. That’s just a little over 3 pitches per out. To put that in context, the typical Bulls pitcher this year averages over 5 pitches per out. Over 75 innings this year, Wilk's only allowed 9 walks. In other words, if you’re a batter you might as well swing, because the ball is going to be over the plate.

Outside the game —

• Nick Franklin is back. Unless I’m reading the stats wrong, he essentially had a “Moonlight Graham” visit. He had a grand total of three plate appearances in three games, drew two walks, and had one inning in left field. In his one recorded AB he pinch-hit for pitcher Matt Moore in an interleague game and flew out to center field. His sacrifice fly in last night's first inning scored what turned out to be the winning run. His ground out in the 5th to deep short brought in another run. Franklin has 25 RBIs on the year and I’m happier that he’s here rather than sitting on a bench in St. Petersburg, even though I’m sure he isn’t.
• Juniel Querecuto was sent to Montgomery to make room for Franklin.
• No one has been named to fill the hole that Blake Snell will leave behind.
• Note that the Bulls just played a series against the Iron Pigs in Coca-Cola Park and now they are playing a series against the Bisons in Coca-Cola Field. Seems like Atlanta’s favorite beverage has made a lot of folks rich up in the North, rich enough to want to name a ballpark after their business.
• Keep an eye out for a pitcher named Jonny Venters, who is working his way up through the system. He is coming back from his third Tommy John surgery. Stories at MLB Trade Rumors and Rays.mlb sites.

LOOGY? Phooey!

Game 61, June 8, Durham Bulls Athletic Park, Durham, North Carolina
Norfolk Tides: 6
Durham Bulls: 2
Season: 27–34; Home Stand: 0–1
Wrap, Box

Stats: 
Game Score: Wilk 75; Season Avg 53
Tm OPS: Game .615; Season .651
Tm wOBA: Game .302; Season .295

I am not a big fan of the whole concept of a LOOGY — Left-handed One Out GuY. The idea is to match up a lefty reliever against a left-handed batter for an out. Apparently, someone down in St. Petersburg likes the idea, unless last night’s action was dreamed up in the Bulls dugout by Sandberg and Snyder.

Adam Kolarek appears to be the Bulls’ designated LOOGY. He was brought in at the top of the 9th inning when the Bulls had a 2–1 lead and a left handed Norfolk Tides batter was coming up. Kolarek had been warming up alongside newly-christened Bulls closer Dylan Floro. The broadcasters Kinas and Poser were confidently and enthusiastically predicting the LOOGY approach.

Did not work out very well. Kolarek brushed Mike Yastrzemski’s jersey with his 4th pitch and the hit-by-pitch put Yastrzemski on first base. Having been out to do his LOOGY thing, and failed, Kolarek was replaced by Dylan Floro. Five runs later, the brilliant start of Adam Wilk and Richie Shaffer’s two run homer were in the dustbin.

This was the sixth time that Kolarek has had a less than one-inning appearance. In five of those six appearance he threw a grand total of 27 pitches (in the sixth he threw 21 and gave up 2 earned runs). The Bulls lost three of those games and won three. For what it's worth, I don't think it helps a Triple A team to have a LOOGY-in-training. And is the whole idea a good one in the first place? Not sure. What we know is that prior to last night Dylan Floro had come into save opportunities at the beginning of the last inning 4 times and he had saved those four games. This time a LOOGY led off and disaster followed.

Nevertheless, let’s not let Adam Wilk’s brilliant outing go unnoticed. By far his best of the year. A game score of 75, 10 K’s, no walks, a solo home run his only blemish. And let’s note the first home run in a while by Richie Shaffer, a clean shot over the Monster.

Note rehabbing Tampa Bay second baseman Logan Forsyth is with the team. He was 1 for 2 last night with a BB.

Road Trip Done; Bulls Back Home

Game 50, Huntington Park, Columbus, Ohio
Durham Bulls (Rays): 0
Columbus Clippers (Indians): 3
Wrap, Box

Game 51, Huntington Park, Columbus, Ohio
Durham Bulls: 1
Columbus Clippers: 2
Season: 20–31; Trip: 2–4
Wrap, Box

Three Bulls caught stealing (two as the result of pickoffs) is simply an awful bit of base-running performance by a team that can hardly afford to waste runners who get to base, although they were 0 for 7 for the runners who did get into scoring position.

Adam Wilk pitched a decent game, giving up just two runs and ending up with a nice Game Score of 63, but without run support he picked up his 6th loss.

At 11 games below .500, the Bulls are saved from ignominy only by the even worse won-loss record of the Norfolk Tides who are 16 games below .500. Standings.

Looking at the runs the Bulls score vs the runs they allow, the Bulls are cruising toward 2012 territory, a year the Bulls finished 15 games below .500 and third place in the IL.

Runs scored compared to runs allowed can also be cranked through the Pythagorean Expectation formula, but when you do that with this years' numbers (154 runs scored, 210 runs allowed) it shows that the “expectation” is even worse than the current 11 games below .500. It drops to an expectation of 18-33, 15 games below .500.

click on chart for larger view

One to Fourteen

Game 25, May 1, Slugger Field, Louisville, Kentucky
Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay Rays): 0
Louisville Bats (Cincinnati Reds): 3
Wrap, Box, Courier-Journal

Game 26, May 2, Victory Field, Indianapolis, Indiana
Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay Rays): 9
Indianapolis Indians (Pittsburgh Pirates): 2
Season: 12-14; Trip: 2-1
Wrap, Box

Last night was a big change from being one-hit and shut out on Sunday to a 14-hit blowout on Monday. Daniel Robertson led the charge with walk, 2 singles, a double, and a triple (4 RBI). And several more had a multi-hit game: Taylor Motter, Richie Shaffer, and Jake Goebbert.  The only Bull who did not get a hit was returning catcher Luke Maile, who had his first game behind the plate since coming off the disabled list over the weekend.

Meanwhile, Adam Wilk, who had not previously gotten much in the way of run support, got his first win on the year in a 7 inning, 0 earned run outing.

Outside the game —

• Andrew Bellatti went on the disabled list when Luke Maile came off. Mikie Mahtook remains on the list.
• The Gwinnett Braves had their roster shredded with three players being called up (including former Bull Reid Brignac) and two or so Atlanta Braves being optioned down. Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Be Still My Heart

Game 5, April 11, Durham Bulls Athletic Park

Gwinnett Braves (Atlanta): 5

Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay): 6

11 innings

Season: 4-1; Streak: W-3
Wrap, Box, Gwinnett Wrap, Herald-Sun

A game not for the faint-of-heart. The Braves tied the Bulls in the 6th and then loaded the bases in the 8th, 9th, and 10th innings. But they did not score a run. In the top of the 11th they went ahead by a run. In the bottom of the 11th, however, Carlos Corporan got his first hit of the season and with the help of Nick Franklin, Kyle Roller, and Dayron Varona, the Bulls had a walk-off win. The Braves had twice as many hits as the Bulls, 16 to 8.

First Look: Pitcher

LHP Adam Wilk: 4⅔ innings, 6 hits, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K’s, Game Score - 42
Wilk has time in the Detroit, Pittsburgh, and LA Angels systems. Looks like one of those pitchers that the Rays seem to find each year that can help the Bulls (and maybe the Rays) before the end of the season. Plus he’s left-handed. Stats.

Observations: Dayron Varona has one heck of an arm and he’s quick in the field. Playing right field last night he made a superb throw from the corner to 2B. Later a very powerful throw home was off-line, but still impressive. Jake Goebbert certainly has spent his time figuring out the Blue Monster in left. The Braves were tattooing the wall all night and he played each of them perfectly.

Mikie Matook’s third triple in five games pushed his OPS up to .939.

A very familiar face was playing second base for the Braves, Reid Brignac. Coming up through the Rays system he spent part or all of 2008, 2009, and 2012 with the Bulls. Beginning in 2013 he’s been with Colorado, the Yankees, Philadelphia, and Miami. He is not on the Braves 40-man this year. A left-handed batter, the Bulls had good luck with a shift last night.

Outside the game —

• Richie Shaffer received some well-deserved recognition as the International League Hitter of the Week.
• Taylor Motter was profiled over at DRaysBay.

Chart: The Game Score stat of Durham Bulls pitchers. First time through the rotation.
Yes, this has all the problems of small sample size, but, what the heck, this is a good time to just introduce this stat. Basically, Game Score is a measure of how a starting pitcher did in a game. See the formula at the link. If you agree that starting pitching is key to the game, then you want to see your starters keep their game scores above 50. However, starting pitching isn’t everything. We’ll get to that.