Dirk Hayhurst's "Out of My League"

To get to what's likely to interest the readers of this blog first, nothing of Hayhurst's time with the Durham Bulls is in this book. Not that it was very likely. In the very first public meeting last year he reported that he'd finished a second book (following "Bullpen Gospels") and it was  due to be published "soon". I guess "soon" meant trying to take advantage of the interest in baseball at the beginning of a season, any season.

The baseball side of this book is essentially Hayhurst's 2008 season with the Portland Beavers (AAA), his first experiences that year in the big leagues with the San Diego Padres, and his being claimed by the Blue Jays when the Padres tried to pass him through waivers at the end of the season.

But the real thrust of the book is something of a coming of age story — family strife, falling in love, planning a wedding, etc. That it takes place when the main character is 27 years old just gives the reader the insight that these guys really are in a very delayed adolescence. That's OK, but every now and then you wish that Hayhurst and his buddies would be just a little more grown up.

For Bulls fans there's a treat, though. This is the first close look at AAA ball that I've encountered. I think we've all guessed that it's different from the lower levels, but Hayhurst fills in a lot of details. He also does a terrific job of telling us what it's like to be called up.

Love story, insightful and funny baseball book, disturbing family conflict, the anguish and glory of making it to the Show — fun read.

If I were a betting man, I'd guess that we can look forward to an agonizing tale of shoulder surgery, publishing success, and a visit to Durham. Then maybe a fourth book about baseball in Italy (possibly a baseball equivalent to Grisham's "Playing for Pizza"). I look forward to it/them.

*****
Update: If you'd like to see a real book review (and it's a good one) then check out this from the New York Times. [Thanks, DRR]
*****
Update: Hayhurst is back from Italy. See comments for quotes from his twitter feed and from Italy.

Lineups

This could be fun. 


The other day regular reader Chris D put up a possible opening day lineup. I thought it might be fun for other readers to put in their thoughts. So jump in. Just put in a lineup in the comments and I'll update this post. Note that I'm leaving out the pitchers. If you change your mind, just leave it in the update.

Chris D:
C - Robinson Chirinos
1B - Juan Miranda?
2B - Tim Beckham
SS - Hak-Ju Lee
3B - Will Rhymes
OF - Brandon Guyer, Stephen Vogt, Jeff Salazar
DH - Matt Mangini

Chris W:
C - Robinson Chirinos
1B - Leslie Anderson
2B- Will Rymes
SS - Tim Beckham
3B -Matt Mangini
OF - Brandon Guyer, Stephen Vogt, Jeff Salazar
DH - Juan Miranda

Doug Milhoan (of Rays Prospects):
This is harder than I thought, lots of catchers and CFs, no DHs.
C - Robinson Chirinos (because Lobaton is out of options)
1B - Juan Miranda
2B - Will Rhymes
SS - Tim Beckham
3B - Matt Mangini
OF - Stephen Vogt, Brandon Guyer, Brad Coon
DH - Nevin Ahsley (I don't know)

DRR:
C - Robinson Chirinos
1B - Stephen Vogt
2B - Will Rhymes
SS - Tim Beckham
3B - Matt Mangini
OF - Brandon Guyer, Brad Coon, Jeff Salazar
DH - Juan Miranda
General thoughts:
- I have seen a few comments on Rays blogs about Stephen Vogt being a "jack of all trades" who would be valuable off their bench as someone who could play a lot of different spots. Therefore, I would expect to see him getting starts all over the place.
- I hope that we can settle into a pretty standard duo of Lee and Beckham in the middle of the infield, but I don't quite see Lee in the mix right at the start of the season.
- I see this team as one with a lot of potential, but I worry about the lack of Bulls veterans in the clubhouse. The way the Rays treat the minors, there is almost always a few vet holdovers from the previous season or two. I think that this team may be lacking that.

Anyone else?  Jim? Sue? Fritz?

Watching Spring Training, and a bit more ...

Russ Canzler, former Durham Bull

Dan Johnson, former Durham Bull

*** 29 days **

• I am eventually going to get over the fact that neither of these guys are going to be playing for the Bulls this year (or maybe not), but I can't help pointing out that former Durham Bull and International League MVP Russ Canzler introduced himself to the Cleveland Indians by hitting a grand slam. To make me feel even worse, former Durham Bull and International League MVP Dan Johnson introduced himself to the Chicago White Sox by hitting a home run, as noted on a Charlotte Knights blog (the sound in the background is the grinding of my teeth). 
• Looking to the future, here are some players who, if they don't make it to the Rays roster (and at best only one or two will), we could see with the Bulls. Over at ESPN Florida Tommy Rancel writes about Infielders Will Rhymes, Matt Mangini, and Juan Miranda, catcher Chris Gimenez, and pitcher Jhonny Nunez. At DRaysBay, JC Mitchell writes about infielder Mangini, outfielder Jeff Salazar, and pitchers Brian Augenstein and Ricky Orta.
• If you want a very interesting way to keep track of these guys, you can do no better than to keep an eye on Rays Index. Over there Cork Gaines has a table that's tracking innings played by everyone in camp. Fascinating, and a good way to do some guessing about the Bulls roster.
• How's your cynicism index these days? Here's one for you. As all those obsessed with the International League know, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees aren't going to be playing in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2012 (not that they ever did, but let's not go there). Their playing field is undergoing a year-long refurbishment. That presented an interesting marketing dilemma that was recently solved ... change your name! For 2012 only, they will be known as the "Empire State Yankees"! Why? 'Cause they'll be playing in the Empire State. Read all about it at a Rochester Red Wings Press Release. Now, just why is this being announced by the Red Wings? 
• Dirk Hayhurst's new book (Out of My League, haven't read it yet) is out. Over at his blog Mrs. Hayhurst has some interesting comments about baseball and life.

Spring At Last

** 30 Days!! **

• The Bulls had their fanfest recently. I was out of town, but Triangle Business Journal was there and got some cute pictures, including the one above.
• Auditions for singing the National Anthem are coming up on March 10th. That gives me a chance to once again congratulate the Bulls front office for coming up with the idea to invite local choral groups to sing. That was an inspired thought and has been greatly appreciated by we regulars.
• Stacy Long of the Montgomery Advertiser has sifted through the Rays media guide and come up with a list of all the Rays minor leaguers. Last year Stacy got down to minor league spring training and did some reporting. Here's hoping he does so again sometime this month.
• Rays Prospects' Jim Donten also seems to be spending some time in Port Charlotte, so it should be worth your time to keep an eye on Rays Prospects.
• The last time we had a hot shortstop prospect pass through Durham the results were, shall we say, mixed. Nevertheless, Tim Beckham is getting some attention down south on a couple of sites. Here are stories from mlb.com and Rays Colored Glasses. He seemed to be getting comfortable with AAA last year. I'm guessing we'll see a lot of him this year.

Getting Ready for Spring Training

I will be out of pocket for a couple of weeks and Rays’ pitchers and catchers report on Monday the 20th. To try to get ahead of the curve just a little bit, here’s my judgement on what Durham Bulls fans should be watching for on the Rays’ blogs and Tampa Bay area newspapers once Grapefruit League box scores start being published.

We need to get our heads around two long lists, the 40-man roster, and the non-roster invitees. Very likely that all of the Bulls will be coming off of those lists. The non-roster list just had three players added to it, outfielders Brad Coon and Jeff Salazar, and catcher Chris Gimenez.

It’s the non-roster invitees we Bulls fans should keep an eye on, because those are the guys who 1) we may not have seen before and 2) could easily show up in Durham this year. Of the 19 players on the list, we saw only five of them last year. Since they are all signed to minor league contracts the Rays have to place them somewhere in the system and certainly they wouldn’t invite them to spring training if they didn’t think they could play at least at the AAA level.

An exception would be the catchers on the list. That’s simply arithmetic. At the beginning of spring training the Rays have 30 pitchers in camp. Somebody’s got to warm them up. No surprise that there are 8 catchers in camp, but a couple will probably start the year in Montgomery.

The odds of a non-roster invitee breaking into the Rays’ 25-man list (or even the 40-man) aren’t very good. But you can bet that one or two of them are going to shine and create one of those problems the Rays front office probably loves.

So, my advice is keep cross-checking the non-roster invitees against the box scores and see who’s getting playing time. That could be a clue.

Minor league camp opens on March 3 and we will start seeing reports of a player being sent “to the minors.” Very likely it will be one of the non-roster invitees and it’s quite likely he will show up in a Bulls (or Biscuits) uniform. Unfortunately, no one is reporting on that activity with the possible exception of the Montgomery Advertiser’s Stacy Long (or possibly one the the guys over at Rays Prospects who apparently lives nearby).  So, keep an eye on Stacy’s blog (it's on the sidebar).

Where are the 2011 Durham Bulls?

*** 52 Days! ***

About time to try to sort out what's happened to last year's team. As is often the case, a lot of ballplayers came through Durham. Shown below are just 36 of them. I've left off several who left early or didn't play in very many games (including Cory Wade who is now firmly entrenched in Bulls trivia, to wit: In the final game of the regular ML season, when 2011 Durham Bull Dan Johnson hit the game-tying home run, what 2011 Durham Bulls pitcher was on the mound for the Yankees?). For a complete list of all 57 (!) players who put on a Bulls uniform in 2011, see Baseball Reference.

Thanks to Rays Prospects for tracking most of these guys. Also if anyone knows the exact status of Omar Luna, Jay Buente, Lance Cormier or Daniel Mayora, I'd like to hear. I'm pretty sure they are still under minor league contracts to the Bulls. Also, if anyone's heard if or where the free agents have landed, let me know and I'll update this.

Hitters are listed in order of number of games played as a Bull, pitchers are listed in order of innings pitched. I've made no distinction between players on the Rays 25-man roster and those on the 40 man. The "Non-Roster Invitee" list is based on reports out of Tampa Bay newspapers and the limited listings so far on the Rays website. A Non-Roster Invitee is a player who is invited to spring training, but is not on the 40-man roster of the Rays. Many of the NRIs will end up playing in Durham this year.

For summaries of their 2011 performance, check hitters here and here, and pitchers here and here.

Hitters

Russ Canzler (131 games) - Cleveland Indians
Ray Olmedo (124 games) - Chicago White Sox
Leslie Anderson (121 games) - Probable Non-Roster invitee
J.J. Furmaniak (116 games) - Free Agent
Brandon Guyer (107 games) - 40 man
Dan Johnson (93 games) - Chicago White Sox
Desmond Jennings (89 games) - 40 man
Robinson Chirinos (78) - 40 man
Omar Luna (56) - Minor League Camp?
Jose Lobaton (54) - 40 man
Daniel Mayora (51) - Free Agent
Justin Ruggiano (43) - Houston Astros
John Matulia (36) - Free Agent
Nevin Ashley (26) - Non-Roster Invitee
Stephen Vogt (31) - 40-man
Tim Beckham (24) - Non-Roster Invitee
Matt Carson (22) - Minnesota Twins
Craig Albernaz (8) - Non-Roster Invitee

Pitchers

Alexander Torres, LHP (146 innings) - 40 man
Brian Baker, RHP (104 innings) - Milwaukee Brewers
Dane De La Rosa, RHP (70 innings) - 40 man
Mike Ekstrom, RHP, (68 innings) - Colorado Rockies
Rob Delaney, RHP (67 innings) - Florida Marlins
Alex Cobb, RHP (67 innings) - 40 man
Matt Torra, RHP (61 innings) - Non-Roster Invitee
Dirk Hayhurst, RHP (59 innings) - Italy
Andy Sonnanstine, RHP (56 innings) - Chicago Cubs
Ryan Reid, RHP (55 innings) - Non-Roster Invitee
Matt Moore, LHP (52 innings) - 40 man
Lance Cormier, RHP (47 innings) - Free Agent
Jay Buente, RHP (42 innings) - Disabled List
Joe Bateman, RHP (21 innings) - Free Agent
Adam Russell, RHP (17 innings) - Atlanta Braves
Chris Archer, RHP (17 innings), 40-man
Paul Phillips, RHP, (11 innings), Free Agent
Richard De Los Santos, RHP (6 innings) - Signed
Marquis Fleming (2 innings) - Non-Roster Invitee

Update: Jay Buente will be rehabbing at the beginning of season. Still with Rays system. See Comments.
Update 2: Daniel Mayora is an unsigned free agent. Omar Luna is still in the Rays system.
Update 3: Adam Russell added to list and shown as working for the Atlanta Braves this year.

Hemstitching: Ruggiano, Dan Johnson, Hayhurst, & More

New Durham Bulls Clubhouse

57 Days!

In the weaver’s world the word hemstitching is used for two purposes: to tie up loose ends (literally, because an “end” is a thread in a warp) and for decoration.

• Justin Ruggiano has signed with the Houston Astros. It’s a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. The Astro’s AAA team is in Oklahoma City, so either way we’re not likely to be seeing him unless he makes the team and we’re watching a Rays-Astro game someday when the Bulls are out of town. Sounds like he has a good shot at sticking. Good luck!
• Dan Johnson has signed a similar contract with the Chicago White Sox. That is potentially very bad news for the Bulls. They could could end up facing both Dan and Ray Olmedo (also signed with the White Sox) playing for the Charlotte Knights this year.
• But we won’t be looking at Dirk Hayhurst on an opponent’s mound. He’s off to Italy. He also devoted an entire blog post to Russ Canzler. Worth a read.
• Does anyone remember Edwin Jackson on the mound for the Bulls back in 2006? Of course you do. And he’s bounced around quite a bit since then to include time with the Devil Rays, the Rays, Tigers, White Sox, Diamondbacks, Cardinals, and the White Sox (again). Now with the Nationals. Jonah Keri over at Grantland has a terrific piece about pitching prospects that uses Mr. Jackson as an example.
• Bringing it back to Durham, look at what’s been done to the Bulls locker room. Here’s hoping it’s ready by April.