Bulls Lose Game and Miranda

Game 64, Saturday, June 9, DBAP
Toledo Mud Hens (Detroit) 11, Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay) 1
Season: 26-38; Home Stand: 0-5; Bulls vs. Mud Hens: 0-1; Standings
Box, Wrap

The two most famous teams in minor league baseball usually have a good series, but it’s off to a bad start for the Bulls. Shane Dyer who, if not terrific, looked OK his last start, got blown off the mound early when he gave up six runs. Jhonny Nunez kept things under control, but Josh Lueke gave up four more runs. Who had the best ERA the night's crew coming into the game? Catcher Craig Albernaz at 0.00. Who had the best ERA leaving the game? Catcher Craig Albernaz, although it had ballooned up to 2.25.

I’m watching all the games of this home stand, so far, on television, so I get to see Albernaz up close. He’s taking this job pretty seriously. Mostly, the idea of a catcher coming out in relief is essentially a stunt to save the bullpen for another day. Certainly that was the case last night when the score was already 10-1. But he’s been up 4 times already this year (twice this week). That is very disturbing. Don’t take this wrong Mr. Albernaz, but I really don’t want to see you on the mound again.

Outside the game

• Juan Miranda was released to make room for Brandon Allen. I didn’t really expect that to happen, because I am notoriously poor at guessing roster moves, but he was the obvious choice. Allen is supposed to be in Durham today.

Chart/Table of the Day

OPS

OPS, on base percentage plus slugging, is a pretty good stat, although the sabermetrics guys like wOBA better. Here’s the current Bulls roster. Only three Bulls hitters are above the “average” cut line of .700 and four are below the “poor” cutline of .600. Most are in the "poor" range of 600-700. To be fair, Rich Thompson hasn’t had much of a chance yet.

Losing, But Looking Good

Game 63, Friday, June 8, DBAP
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees 3; Durham Bulls 1
Season: 26-37; Home Stand: 0-4; Bulls vs. Yankees: 3-5; Standings
Box, Wrap, Herald-Sun

Here I am on the hill. Let’s make sure I’ve got it right. Hat just slightly off center? Check. Jersey just slightly untucked all around? Check. Top button or two unbuttoned? Check. OK. I’m lookin’ good! Ready to pitch. Ooops! Single. No problem. I’ll just pick him off. Is that shirt tuck looking just right? Check. Ooops! Just threw that sucker right past the first baseman and hit the ump. No problem. Gotta get that hat looking just right. Well, that’s not good, runner on second got to third on that ground out. Is my jersey looking right? You know I’ve got to be looking just so. Well shoot. Walked that guy. Then the next guy. Will you look at that, bases are loaded and I’ve only gotten one out. Better bear down a bit. Oops! Another single, but hey, only one run scored. Bases still loaded. Better bear down some more. Oops, oops, oops, oops. Four-pitch walk. Guess I better quit worrying about how I look...

Afterwards Chris Archer was quoted in the Herald-Sun as saying: “I started to rush a little bit down the hill,” Archer said of his approach to the game. “Everything was, like, all over the place.”

That’s what is known as a blinding glimpse of the obvious. Clearly Mr. Archer has some talent, but if he spent less time trying to master the slightly disheveled look that seems to be so important to him and get focused on the game, then his won-loss record (3-8) might be more in line with his fairly decent overall stats.

In the meantime, watching this one on TV I got some closeups of two guys who are really helping the Bulls (instead of digging holes they can't get out of), Bryan Augenstein and Brandon Gomes. Augenstein, signed out of the Cardinals system, pitched one game as a starter back on April 7th, but then went on the disabled list. He came back in a relief role and made his first appearance on May 22. Since then he has put in 11 innings in relief and has not allowed a single run (he only allowed 1 run in that start back in April). His ERA is slightly behind Brandon Gomes (0.53 to 0.43), but he leads the team in all other categories.

I mentioned Brandon Gomes a couple of days ago. Gomes appeared in 5 games back in April, went up to Tampa Bay for a while, then came back the second week of May. He was doing fine before he went to the Rays. He’s been spectacular since his return. In 11 appearances he’s pitched 15 innings for four saves and three wins. Overall, his won-loss record (4-0) is the best of any Bulls pitcher. (As a closer! How sad is that?).

Lest we get our hopes up, note that the one run the Bulls got last night was on a bases-loaded balk by a Yankees reliever.

Outside the game

• Brandon Allen is coming to Bulls. Any guesses on who’s going to be leaving?

Chart

Fielding Independent Pitching is one of these relatively new bits of sabermetric thinking. I don’t like the idea of a constant creeping into any stat, but it purports to be relatively independent of the skill of the defense. With any minor league stats, and at this time of the season, sample size is important and for some of these guys the sample is pretty small. Bases on balls and home runs will kill your FIP stat (as they should, but as with early in the season runs and ERA, early season homers skew the stat).

click on chart for larger image

Unwelcome Home

I sure hope so!

Game 60; Tuesday, June 5, Durham Bulls Athletic Park, Durham, NC
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees 12; Durham Bulls 8
Box, Wrap

Game 61, Wednesday, June 6, DBAP
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees 9; Durham Bulls 4
Box, Wrap

Games 62; Thursday, June 7, DBAP
Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees 6, Durham Bulls 2
Season: 26-36; Home Stand: 0-3; Bulls vs Yankees: 3-4; Standings
Box, Wrap, Herald-Sun, Indy Week

Independent Weekly writer Sam Stephenson was driven to quote a friend who said the food at the DBAP was just right for pregnant folks. Can’t blame him for using the quote. Who would want to write about the baseball in the last three games?

So how about a modest rant about one of the players who really isn’t helping the Bulls, Juan Miranda? The last time he got on base was back on Tuesday when he got hit by a pitch. I don’t have the stats at hand, but it sure seems like someone’s usually on base when he comes to bat, but he’s only managed to knock 8 of them home this year. For a guy who was hired for his power, his OPS of .580 is just pitiful. Two years ago when he was playing for these very same Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees his OPS was .866 over 80 games. Broadcaster Kinas keeps saying nice things about him and his performance in batting practice. Wonder why his game is being left in the batting cage?

The Rays have designated 1B Brandon Allen for assignment after he came off the disabled list (he went on for a quad strain). He has some pretty spectacular minor league stats. Hmmmm. If he makes it through waivers, then ...

New guy Rich Thompson played center field last night. Looked uncomfortable on the TV. Not his first time at the DBAP, though. A couple of hits and a stolen base. So, welcome to Durham, Rich! Happy to have someone with speed out there. In fact, with Feliciano, Salazar and Thompson, the Bulls have a pretty speedy bunch.

Update: Brandon Allen has reportedly been outrighted to the Bulls.

A Look at the Road to .500

We first took a look at this situation as the Bulls were heading out on the road trip. Our reasoning behind picking .500 as a reasonable goal for the 2012 Bulls is here.

To update the math:

For the Bulls to hit .500 by the end of the season they have to win 46 of their remaining 85 games. Said another way, they have to play .540 ball to get to .500 by September. That’s an improvement over the situation 10 days ago, and they’ve been on the road all that time.

Here’s an update of my chart from that same post.

click chart for larger image

As of now, the Bulls are on track to reach the .500 goal. 

Great Road Trip; Coming Home

 Box, Wrap

Season: 26-33; Trip: 6-4; Bulls vs. Bats: 6-2; Standings
Box, Wrap

Not much to say about Sunday’s game. The Bulls were shut out by the Bats’ Jeff Francis and Chris Archer got his third straight loss. As meaningless as wins and losses are supposed to be, Mr. Archer really isn’t having a very good year. Should we start worrying?

Meanwhile Mr. Francis and the Reds decided to part ways sometime after Sunday’s complete game shutout. I’ll probably do my annual rant about opt-out contracts someday soon, but not now. Let’s wait until they start having an effect on the Bulls. Francis (and his agent, most likely) must have decided that it was time to pull the plug. Who knows? Maybe, as commenter Doug Milhoan said, he could end up in a Rays/Bulls uniform in a few days.

Tonight’s game was a certainly nice win. Young Shane Dyer got his first AAA win. Stephen Vogt got his third home run (his OPS has snuck up to .692; is he getting his 2011 eye back?).

Desmond Jennings got his second hit (2-12) in his rehab assignment and is reportedly heading back to the Rays. Bye.

Brandon Gomes is never going to be the equal of either WDBB favorites Winston Abreu or Joe Bateman for sheer on-the-mound presence and outright thrills. But he sure can pitch! He got his fourth save since his return from Tampa Bay on May 11th, and he’s picked up three wins during that same period (he’s 4-0 on the year). An ERA of 0.45 (he’s only given up one earned run this year!), a FIP of 1.35, a WHIP of 0.85. So I guess we can do without the twitches of Abreu or the thrill of Joe Bateman walking two or three batters before striking out the side. We’ll just settle for Mr. Gomes, and be thankful for his presence in a Bulls uniform.

Cannot complain about a 6-4 road trip. Congrats to the Bulls!

Outside the game

• Matt Torra has been put on the disabled list and Jhonny Nunez is to start Tuesday night. Did anyone hear why? I was only been able to listen to bits and pieces of the game.

Personal note: For those of you who have noticed that that there’s been an empty seat beside me most of this year, Fran's back has been giving her fits. She went in for surgery today and is doing quite well. Probably a long rehab, but should be back in her seat before the end of the season. My posting/game attendance is likely to be a bit erratic over the next couple of weeks as well, but I will be there some of the time. And eventually both of us will be there cheering on the Bulls as usual. 


And don't forget to raise a glass and/or just simply sing along in remembrance of Doc Watson during Tuesday night's 7th Inning Stretch!

Bulls Win; Gathright Remembered

Season: 25-32; Trip: 5-3; Bulls vs. Bats: 5-1; Standings
Box, Wrap, Herald-Sun

The 6-run 5th inning was really nice. I’m not sure, but I don’t think the Bulls have had an inning like that all year: ten players came to bat, six hits (3 doubles), two BBs. And before the 5th inning, Stephen Vogt and Leslie Anderson hit solo home runs in the 1st and 3rd.

Jim Paduch and a host of relievers got stretched out; however, except for a couple of errors by infielders Reid Brignac and Cole Figueroa, a very nice game. This is a lineup (with Chris Gimenez and Shawn O’Malley) that we hope to see a lot of for the next month or so. If I weren’t suspicious of the weakness of Louisville pitching, I’d say this looks very promising.

I saw the name in the lineup in the first game, but for some reason it didn’t sink in. Then I wasn’t able to listen to either of the last two games except intermittently, so I probably missed Patrick Kinas reporting on the situation. But for old-time Bulls fans one of our favorite players of all time was on the field for the Louisville Bats — Joey Gathright.

Joey Gathright ruled the base paths at the DBAP from 2004-2005, stealing 64 bases in those years. He has since been all over, including a few visits back to the DBAP in, as I recall, a Norfolk Tides uniform. The last three years saw him in Indie ball, then with the Tides, back to Indie ball and then with the Pawtucket Red Sox. He was just signed out of Indie ball by the Cincinnati Red and sent to Louisville. In every case, I’d bet, the major league club is looking for speed on the bases and the outfield, and a backup professional within easy reach. Since the Bats have already played in Durham this year we aren’t going to be able to see him play. Too bad. Even at 31 I’d guess he’s still a formidable ballplayer. For some good stories, do a search on "Gathright" in the search box at the top left.

Outside the game

• Elsewhere it was recently noticed that the Rays aren’t doing a very good job developing hitters. No kidding. We haven’t written much about that issue, but Rays Prospects has. And the few hitters that have done well as Bulls haven’t done well, or been treated well, by the Rays: Chris Richard, Justin Ruggiano, Dan Johnson, Russ Canzler to name a few. And none of those came up through the Rays system. Can anyone out there think of a proficient batter developed through the Rays system (other than Longoria, that is)?

Jennings Joins Winning Effort

Box, Wrap, Bulls vs. Indians: 2-6

Season: 24-32; Trip: 4-3; Bulls vs. Bats: 4-1; Standings
Box, Wrap, Courier-Journal

First let’s explain why the Bulls were playing baseball at midnight on Thursday night. Outside their divisions, the teams in the International League play four games at home and four away. If weather rolls in for the last game of the last series, then the teams will have no opportunity for a makeup. That happened to the Bulls last year and they only (only!) played 142 games instead of 144. The teams and the umps will go to great lengths to not let that happen. Hence on Thursday night the teams sat around the park for over two hours hoping to get a game in.

That also explains why I was able to (barely) hear the game as I was driving through a storm on the Raleigh beltline at 11:30. But have to say that I didn’t find the game all that interesting. The Indianapolis Indians have figured out how to beat the Bulls this year and the best news about the trip is that the Bulls don’t play them again.

Just down the road in Louisville, however, we find the one team that the Bulls have been able to defeat this year. Not that the Bulls are alone, the Bats have the worst record in the IL. Too bad, because over the years the contests between the Bulls and the Bats have usually been just terrific to watch and the two teams were routinely among the best in the league.

The Bulls lineup was fleshed out with rehabbing Ray and former Bull Desmond Jennings. He played a few innings in left field and went 1 for 4. Along with Jennings recent returnees Stephen Vogt (RF, 2 for 4) and Chris Gimenez (C, 1 for 4) were also in the lineup and did a good job of supporting Lance Pendleton.

Pendleton has become the Bulls best starting pitcher, by a bunch. In his last three starts, for example, he has gone more than 6 innings each and allowed only one run in each game. His ERA at 2.93 is the best of the Bulls starting pitchers. In his seven starts, the Bulls have gone on to win the game six times. All this from a guy who wasn’t even in the Rays system at the start of the season - - Pendleton came to the Bulls by way of the Sugarland Skeeters just after Bryan Augenstein went on the DL back in early April.

Outside the game

• Hideki Matsui hit another home run last night (sigh).
• Craig Albernaz gets a chance to chat about his pitching prowess.
• Interesting piece on the Rays locker room feeling.
• 22 days, 5 hours, 3 minutes. That’s how long it took Diane Van Deren to run from Clingman’s Dome to Nag’s head. That was two days faster than the previous record. Blog entries are interesting, particularly the ones from her run through Tropical Storm Beryl.