Bulls Beat Bulls

Season: 55-34
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Former Bulls Russ Canzler (2011) and Jason Pridie (2007) accounted for a couple of last night’s runs, including one in that ugly, ugly 3rd inning. Jake Odorizzi had very, very good 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th innings. But somehow when he gave up the single at the top of the 3rd for his first runner on base, things went awry. By the time he was back on track four runs were across.

Meanwhile the Tides’ Tsuyoshi Wada was essentially untouchable for most of the first six innings. And when he was touched early his fielders pulled off double plays.

The result? A big crowd saw a decent ball game and a couple of exciting plays (see catcher/left fielder Chris Gimenez’ play below).

Bulls fans got to see Frank De Los Santos back. Except for the Pridie home run, looked OK for his two innings. Ryan Roberts’ gear must’ve shown up. He was at 2B and got the games’ sole RBI for the Bulls.

Outside the game —

• Leslie Anderson reported to be working his way back.
• Two years ago the Bulls were down in Georgia. Alex Torres started and got the win in a rain-shortened 3-1 game. Other familiar names in the box score: Leslie Anderson, Desmond Jennings, and Brandon Guyer.
• Nuke the puppet continues to find interesting ways to lose races.

Fun Fourth

Season: 55-33

Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

The Durham Bulls' All-Stars had an all-star night in front of an all-star crowd, the largest ever to see a Bulls game (11,754). J.D. Martin got his 10th win, Kirby Yates got his 10th save, and Vince Belnome was 1 for 2 with two BBs, an RBI, and scored a run. Plus it seemed like every inning started with a play at first base. 

Martin looked particularly strong, giving up his usual solo home run, but mostly the bases were clear. There was one stretch of 12 hitters who didn’t make it to base. 

Nobody was giving up freebies last night. Bulls pitching did not award a single base on balls and didn’t hit a batter. That’s exactly the kind of pitching we like to see. Crowd was thrilled to see Kirby Yates close it all out with a K. Great night at the park.

Outside the game —

• Even with Evan Frey added to the roster, the Bulls still had absolutely no depth on the bench last night. Leslie Anderson is day-to-day after getting hit in the knee by a pitch in Charlotte Wednesday night. Ryan Roberts is here (but without his gear which was misplaced by the airline). Jason Bougeois is at 65% (according to Kinas). That’s all there is folks.
• Very well-done profile of Durham Bulls star Vince Belnome in today’s News & Observer. Worth a look.
• Last year the Bulls were also in town playing the Tides. A big crowd (11,117) watched the Bulls beat these Norfolk Tides 8-2, but Bulls were 4 games below .500 (they are 22 games above .500 today). Leslie Anderson, Tim Beckham, and Chris Gimenez are the only players from this year’s team who were in the game.

Celebrate! Remember!

More about the Flag

Season: 54-33
Wrap, Box, Charlotte Observer

Cole Figueroa is demanding that the Rays start paying attention to him. He’s hitting .300. He’s started games at 2B (16), 3B (53), SS (2), and the outfield (6). Last night he was 3 for 4 with a double and 2 RBI. His plate discipline and batting eye is exceptional, only 18 Ks in 300 plate appearances.  And durable. His 77 games is matched only by the Bulls’ 2013 superstar, Vince Belnome.

It was a doubling night. Bulls hitters got 5 doubles last night and swept the Knights at home. (Swept? Well, maybe that’s a bit overstated. Just a one-game stand, after all.)

Matt Buschmann seems to have profited from his weeks in Montgomery this year. He went 6 innings for the first time and gave up just the one home run. Josh Lueke got into and out of trouble. All’s well that ends well.

Charlotte's hoping that the next 4th will be celebrated in their new park downtown.

Let’s look at where the Bulls are on the 4th of July.

The Bulls are ahead of  tonight’s opponents, the Norfolk Tides,  by 7½ games (The Tides are, however, tied for the IL wild card spot). At 21 games above .500, this is the best the Bulls have been all year. Starting last night, the Bulls have a 12-game stretch against their South Division opponents, all the way to the All-Star break. Five games against Charlotte, 2 against Norfolk, and 5 against Gwinnett. Should be fun.

In recent days the pitching has been steadily improving, even as the staff is under severe stress and turnover. A tribute to the talent in the Rays system and the work of Neal Allen and Charlie Montoyo.

This is a pretty good hitting performance over the last couple of weeks. Team was 12-8 in the stretch shown.

All-Stars

This year’s Triple-A All-Star game between the Pacific Coast League and the International League will be played in Reno, Nevada on July 17. Three Durham Bulls will be there: Vince Belnome, J.D. Martin, and Kirby Yates.

Congratulations to all three for their selection — and for their terrific performance as Durham Bulls this year. Have fun in Reno.

Check out the link for a set of profiles. WDBB has little to add — we even stole the image!

Almost Slip Slided Away

Game 86, July 2, Durham Bulls Athletic Park, 10 innings
Durham Bulls (Rays) 6; Columbus Clippers (Indians) 5
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Indy Week

This year’s Bulls are not a home run hitting team. In fact, they are last in the International League in home runs. Last night was the exception. Leslie Anderson hit the Bulls' first home run since June 26 in the 4th inning. When Shelley Duncan hit a homer in the 6th it was the first time the Bulls had hit multiple homers since June 17th. They were needed, because what looked to be a comfortable 5-2 lead was given away by reliever Steve Geltz in the top of the 7th. A walk, a single, and another walk loaded the bases. Another single put a run in and a sac fly brought in another. Jeff Beliveau came in with runners on first and third. A sac fly scored the tying run.

The score stayed 5-5 until the bottom of the 10th when Leslie Anderson singled past a drawn-in infield and Tim Beckham (running for Vince Belnome) scored. Kirby Yates had pitched the last of the 9th and all the 10th to get the win.

Newcomer Merrill Kelly (subject of an interesting, unattributed article in a local website) looked just fine. A solid 6 innings with only a small spot of trouble in the 5th. He seems comfortable at Triple-A.

The fabled Daisuke Matsuzaka has lost more than a step, certainly a ghost of the guy who made a big difference to the Red Sox a few years ago. His return to the big leagues does not seem likely.

Newcomer Evan Frey got his first Bulls hit and seems to cover center field quite well. Cole Figueroa played shortstop for the first time (I think) this season.

Very small crowd at the game. No surprise given the weather we’ve been having lately. We were among the missing, watching the fans with their umbrellas from the comfort of our home. Reported misty rain throughout the game.

Outside the game —

• Broadcaster Kinas said that Jason Bourgeois will be/has gone on the disabled list.
• Pitcher Frank De Los Santos (remember him?) is off the disabled list and is pitching for the Florida Stone Crabs. Three innings so far, and has allowed only one hit. Looking good.
• Weird schedule sends the Bulls to South Carolina tonight, back to Durham for two games, then off to Lawrenceville, Georgia.

Rain and Rosterification

DBAP, July 2, 3:30 pm

Game 84, July 1, 7 innings
Durham Bulls 1, Columbus Clippers 2

Game 85, July 1, 7 innings
Durham Bulls 5, Columbus Clippers 0

Season: 52-33; Home Stand 2-1
Box (1), Box (2), Herald-Sun

With the sight of the tarp on the field at 3 in the afternoon, might as well take a look at last night and at all the changes in the Bulls roster. Have to mention, however, that it could be Daisuke Matsuzaka pitching  for the Clippers tonight against one of the Bulls new guys, Merrill Kelly. Last time we saw Matuzaka in the DBAP he was on a rehab appearance pitching for the Pawtucket Red Sox, and the Bulls had Hideki Matsui here making a comeback run.

Mike Montgomery got in a “complete” game in his seven innings last night, but none of the Bulls were able to figure out the Clippers’ Danny Salazar. Salazar went 6⅓ innings before he faced any more than the minimum number of hitters. Good pitching and good defense (2 double plays, two very nice throws from the outfield cutting off advancing runners) helped.

In the second game, the Bulls going (yet again) with a committee of pitchers, went much better. Pitching was solid with the crew getting a rare shutout. Only 4 so far this year, the last back on April 29, but only 7 innings.

Shelley Duncan had a particularly impressive night, 2 for 3 and the only RBI in the first game and 3 for 3 with a RBI in the second game. Left field seems to agree with him.

Rosterification and more —

• Alex Colome is back, but it appears the Rays broke him and he may be headed for the DL.
• We have to mention the rare instance of WDBB being more or less right about something when, right after we published our analysis of Bulls pitching, Will Inman was released.
• That helps make sense of the addition of RHP Ramon S. Ramirez to the team. The 31 year-old Ramirez certainly brings a lot of experience to the Bulls, but not quite sure what else. Stats.
• Similarly, the Bulls desperately need an outfielder and in Evan Frey they seem to have acquired a player much like Rich Thompson. His advanced stats are not very promising, but we like speed and that appears to be his strength. We saw him pinch run in the first game and start in center field for the second game. Stats.
• Ryan Roberts hit two home runs for the Rays last night and was optioned back to the Bulls. Hope he brings that bat with him.
• J.D. Martin won the June version of the BCS/RPI award. (Click on the link. Not enough time to explain here.)
• After the deluge, Bull City Summer had a chat with groundsman Scott Strickland.
• Wonder if after all the frog-strangling rains PETA is going to take a second look at that award they gave the DBAP?
• Speaking of food, the Durham Food Truck Fest coming on July 10 is one heck on an idea. May be forced to get out of my seat and take a stroll around the park.

Durham Bulls Pitching and Pitchers

Last night’s game got rained out and the double-header scheduled to start today at 5:30 does not look promising. Looking out my window some of the local critters are lining up two-by-two and marching off in the direction that guy down the block who’s been building that big boat …

The break gives me a chance to update some of my pitching/pitcher charts.

The Bulls pitching crew has been subject to considerable turmoil this year. An outrageous 42 of the roster transactions to date have involved pitchers (so far — the day is young). Nevertheless, when you look at the team over the last 15 games we have a nice downward trend in ERA (and won 9 of the 15). There is a spread between the starters and relievers, but it’s only about ⅓ run per game and almost entirely with the middle relief crew (and the Bulls have had to go with two “bullpen” games in the period).

Click on any of these to get a larger, more legible version.

It seems odd to have to warn about small sample size at this point in the baseball year, but here it is. Some of these guys really don't have much time with the Bulls. Every pitcher on this list that’s on the Tampa Bay 40-man has been with the Rays. One of them, Alexander Torres, is still there. Not sure when or if he’s coming back, but I left him on for the moment.

The ERAs below are pretty good, Lueke and Yates are exceptional and their combined 17 saves says a lot about why the Bulls have done well this year. Will Inman has had some physical problems, as has Mike Montgomery. Pretty sure that Montgomery is settling down. Not so sure about Inman. But very hard to tell.

The WHIPs of the crew are mostly pretty good as well. Obviously Liberatore and Inman are worrisome. A new guy,  C. J. Riefenhauser, just came up from Montgomery. He may balance things out. Not sure why either Inman or Liberatore didn’t go to Montgomery instead of Sandoval. Probably just another instance of my not understanding minor league contractual concerns very well.