How They’re Doing — 2

Things are going to start getting odd as spring training goes along.

My initial list was simply the Rays’ 40-man plus the “non-roster invitee” list off the Rays website. We’ve had a couple of players officially sent off to minor league camp (Beckham and Ashley). Jennings remains on the 40-man but has been injured a couple of times and is reportedly not going to be playing much before the beginning of the season. The problem is that even if he plays, none of his stats will be reported (at least where I can find them). Dillon and Richard simply disappeared off the Rays' lists. I’m guessing that they are now working out with prospective Bulls and Montoyo, but haven’t found anything in the press about them.

So, here’s my list of players to watch, that are still watchable.

Player/Games/Plate Appearances/wOBA

Ruggiano, J/8/19/.631
Rodriguez, S/8/23/.587
Joyce, M/6/16/.504
Brignac, R/8/21/.492
Shealy, R/7/13/.455
Johnson, E/8/19/.402
Jaso, J/4/8/.334
Johnson, D/7/20/.322
Chavez, A/9/15/.298
Perez, F/8/16/.266
Furmaniak, J/9/17/.244
Lobaton, J/4/7/.129
Colina, A/3/3/.000
Albernaz, C/0/0/.000

The Rays have signed yet another first baseman, Cuban Leslie Anderson. That makes about five first basemen on or close to the 40-man. Things aren’t looking good for Chris Richard to spend much time with the Rays this year.

Just for general info, Jon Weber’s spring is 5/11/.700

Webworld:

• Rays Index speculates on the 25-man roster.
• DRaysBay has some very cool spray charts for Brignac, Joyce, and Rodriguez.

Bats, Etc

Goeff Baker/The Seattle Times

David Price got hit by a piece of a broken bat and then Joe Maddon had some comments about maple bats in general. He doesn't like them. But how many Rays/Bulls use them?

So it seemed a good time to add some links I’ve been hanging on to for a couple of weeks. One is about a new bat handle shape apparently being tried out by some Seattle Mariners this spring. Odd looking critter, but makes sense. Gotta wonder what it feels like.

Another is that at least some varieties of maple bats are being banned in minor leagues, but I haven’t been able to find any follow up to see if it will apply to the Bulls this year.

Appropo of nothing in particular:

• Yet another rumor regarding a sequel to Bull Durham has surfaced. Sure would be fun to have it done, but I’m beginning to think that the opportunity has passed.

• Steve Slowinski over at DRaysBay an interesting piece on “park effects”.

How They’re Doing

The Rays have only played six games (5-1), but some of the players we’re watching (see here and here) have managed to get into every game. I’m trying to learn a new stat here, wOBA. But this is a really, really small sample, so the number doesn’t mean much. You’ve got to think that sticking with the Rays is mostly a matter of how a player looks on the field and at the plate, not the numbers. Still, a couple of the guys are doing pretty well. (Note: I obviously haven't figured out how to get a table into a blog, but I'm working on it.)

Name/Games/Plate Appearances/wOBA

Ashley, N 1 1 .000
Beckham, T 4 4 .225
Brignac, R 5 12 .533
Chavez, A 6 8 .203
Colina, A 1 1 .000
Dillon, J 6 8 .155
Furmaniak, J 6 10 .234
Jaso, J 3 6 .120
Jennings, D 3 6 .632
Johnson, D 5 13 .220
Johnson, E 5 11 .613
Joyce, M 4 11 .391
Lobaton, J 2 3 .000
Perez, F 6 12 .280
Richard, C 4 7 .709
Rodriguez, S 5 13 .845
Ruggiano, J 5 12 .611
Shealy, R 4 7 .437


And then there’s this quote from Rays Index this morning.

Fernando Perez drove in the winning run with a single in the 10th. It was the Rays 3rd walk-off win and 4th win in their final at bat. Joe Maddon said he wanted better at bats late in games. Of course if any of the guys that are coming through in the clutch now are on the roster in April, the Rays are screwed…

The implication being that all the walk off hits — Ruggiano, Perez, and Chavez — were from second-stringers. Which from a Rays fan point of view is probably OK. On the other hand, in spring training, just who are you gonna have in the game in the late innings?

The Rays added Hank Blalock on a minor league contract yesterday. So I’ll be adding him to my list. But surely if he has a decent spring he’ll stay with the Rays.

Players to Watch This Spring — Part Two

The 25 man active roster for the Tampa Bay Rays isn’t firm until the end of spring. Nevertheless, even a cursory glance at the blogs gives you a good idea of at least the core position players in line for jobs. So what I’ll look at in this list are position players currently on the 40-man roster whom we might end up seeing in Durham once the spring is over.

One interesting feature of the non-roster invitees list posted yesterday was that all of them were infielders. With that in mind I’ll start out here with outfielders.

Desmond Jennings, OF, 24. Jennings is one of the really hot prospects in the Rays system. He had a terrific year in 2009 in Montgomery and looked just fine in his games here in Durham. I’m guessing he’ll start the year with us, but it may depend on the health of Crawford and Upton. Stats and more.

Matt Joyce, OF, 26. I don’t really expect to see Matt back in Durham this year. I’m not sure why he didn’t go to the Rays and stay about the middle of last year, although he helped us out a lot. Stats and more, and even more.

Fernando Perez, OF, 27. Perez missed almost all of last year because of a spring training injury. Have read somewhere (can’t find the link) that he had shoulder surgery last November. So, hard to tell just what’s going on. Perez is scary fast, but I don’t see a place for him with the Rays. I’m guessing he’ll be back in Durham, but could be traded. Stats.

Justin Ruggiano, OF, 28. Ruggiano has had three productive years with the Bulls, but this year might be his last shot. I like him. I look forward seeing him playing for the Bulls this year. But I’ve got to think he’s available for a trade. Stats.

Reid Brignac, SS (mostly), 24. This will be a tough year for Brignac to break through. After being a hot prospect for a several years he’s now competing with Sean Rodriguez, Elliot Johnson, and Dan Johnson for a job. He’s a terrific ballplayer, but he’s been mentioned in trade rumors before. Maybe this spring? Stats and more.

Dan Johnson, Inf, 31. Dan is back from a year in Japan, where he played a lot of third base. We like him a lot here in Durham, but it remains to be seen if he can claim a spot with Rays. Stats and more.

Elliott Johnson, Inf, 26. Elliot would have to pass through waivers to get back to Durham this year (which is possible). His best hope is to have a great spring and either stick with the Rays or become part of a deal. Stats, more, and even more.

Sean Rodriguez, Inf, 25. Rodriguez was a welcome asset to the Bulls during our championship run last year. He came from the Angels organization with a good rep. Pure guesswork on my part, but he could start the year in Durham. On the other hand, he hit two home runs in the first two games with the Rays. Stats and more.

John Jaso, catcher, 27. We’ve seen a lot of Jaso in the last couple of years and, sorry to say, we haven’t been impressed. He seems to call a good game and that’s in his favor. The Rays organization has a problem at catching, but I doubt that Jaso is the solution. Probably will see him start the season in Durham. Stats.

Jose Lobaton, catcher, 26. Have no idea how he fits into the Rays plans. Not sure why he’s on the 40-man. Wait and see. If a reader has some ideas, please pass them on. Stats.

So, we have a total of 19 players to keep an eye on — more than will fit on either the Bulls or the Rays rosters come April. Best of luck to all of them!

Rays/Yankees on TV Friday (March 5)

Only for the fanatics among us —

If the local Time-Warner stuff is right (now Time-Warner wouldn’t lead me astray, would they?) the Rays will play the Yankees starting at one o’clock. Channels 139 and/or 268 in Raleigh, not sure of the numbers in Durham.

A chance to see Jon Weber (yeah!) in pinstripes (boo! hiss!).

Players To Watch This Spring — Part One

The Rays rode a bus (or two) all the way from Port Charlotte to Sarasota yesterday and played their first game of the year. They got their head handed to them by Baltimore, 12-2. Because it’s Spring Training, and, after all it’s the Rays, we aren’t too interested in the outcomes of these games.

On the other hand, as Bulls fans, several players who will be showing up in the lineups are of interest to us. So we’ll be checking the box scores to see how they are doing.

Here’s the beginning of my list of position players worth watching. I’m not going to try to speculate on pitchers, too many variables.

By “worth watching” I mean that there’s some chance that we could see players on this list in Durham this year. Each has a shot at the Rays 40-man, or may currently be on it. Some have already gotten some attention on the web and I’ll provide a link or two in that event. I’m not going to dig into contractual stuff — I don’t understand it all that well and sometimes the information is just too hard to get to.

I’ll start with the “non-roster invitees”, that is, players who are in camp and playing with the team, but not on the Rays’ 40-man roster.

Ryan Shealy, 31, 1B, minor league contract, with the Royals and their AAA team in Omaha last year. Stats.

J. J. Furmaniak, 31, infielder, minor league contract. We saw him playing for the Phillies’ AAA team Lehigh Valley last year. Stats.

Joe Dillon, 35, infielder, minor league contract. Super-solid player with the Bulls virtually all of last year. Trying to extend his range by working in the catcher position this year. Stats and more.

Chris Richard, 36, 1B, minor league contract, NRI. Chris is a stalwart of the Durham Bulls. He got a few at-bats with the Rays last year, but we can expect to see him back in Durham this year — and he’s very, very welcome. Stats.

Angel Chavez, 29, 3B, minor league contract. Played for Boston AAA affiliate Pawtucket last year. Stats.

Tim Beckham, 20, SS. Top prospect making his way up through the system. Possible he might show up in Durham near the end of the season, but Rays will put an emphasis on keeping him healthy and developing his skills. Stats.

Craig Albernaz, 28, catcher, NRI. Albernaz spent virtually all of 2009 with the Bulls, but didn’t get a lot of time behind the plate. Exceptional arm. Stats.

Nevin Ashley, 26, catcher. Ashley is a prospect working his way up through the Rays system. He spent last season with the Rays’ AA affiliate, the Montgomery Biscuits and the Charlotte Stone Crabs, the Rays’ A affiliate. Stats.

Alvin Colina, 29, catcher. Colina is a veteran AAA ballplayer who was with the Braves’ affiliate, Gwinnett, last year. Stats.

For more on prospects Ashley and Beckham, check out the Rays Prospects website.

Next: Players on the 40-man.

Reset!

Welcome to a blog about the best team in minor league baseball
The Durham Bulls!

Watching Durham Bulls Baseball is a place to have a conversation about our favorite team.

Major League Spring Training is pretty much in full swing, the Rays' first game is this Wednesday. But we aren’t going to know much about the Bulls until April. So this is a good time to “reset” this blog. By “reset” I mean that I’ll sort of start over from where we were about this time last year and not assume any of our readers have been here before. That way I’ll get a chance to re-visit and maybe come to a better understanding of the Bulls, minor league ball, AAA, and stuff such as just what the heck the International League really is.

Just for background, this blog started out in early 2009. At the time I really didn’t know all that much about the Bulls, the Rays, or minor league baseball. On the other hand, I figured that I was pretty much like most of the folks in the stands at any given Bulls game. As should have been clear last year, I also didn’t know much about blogging.

I wanted to learn more and I knew that the best way to learn something was to try to describe or explain it to someone else. Plus one of the nifty things about the web is that if you don’t know something, there’s someone out there who does.

When it comes to the specifics of the Durham Bulls, I am a real newcomer to following the team. After all, I’ve only been going to games regularly for four years, which makes me by far the junior person (along with my wife) among the regulars in front row of Section 208. They have been a wonderful source of trivia and anecdotes.

Looking back I seem to be following a couple of principles. I don’t think I’ll change them much with this reset.

• Keep the focus on the Bulls and the International League as much as possible. That’s another way of saying this is a blog about the Durham Bulls, not the Tampa Bay Rays.

• Don’t worry too much about being wrong ... and don’t get upset when someone tells you that you are.

• The business of minor league baseball can be more than a little arcane. Explain if you must, but don’t let it get in the way of the game.

• Have fun.