Governors’ Cup Playoffs — Bulls Marketing Goes for the Gold

I can’t think of two things more likely to draw crowds to the DBAP than good food and good beer — unless that would be great baseball.

The Bulls marketing guys have hit a sweet spot with:

• A Food Truck Fest for Wednesday night with a return to the DBAP of a bunch of the trucks that made the first fest a winner.
• A Craft Beer Rodeo for Thursday with a stunning list of beers to try at a decent price.

Me, I’m going for the baseball, of course. On the other hand … maybe a bit early ... take a stroll on the Diamond View concourse ... just a taste ... maybe a sip ...

Terrific Last Game

Season: 87-57
Wrap, Box

This afternoon saw a welcome change for the Bulls. They were hitting the ball in their final regular season game over in Norfolk. Still, they weren’t scoring. That is, not until the 10th when Kevin Kiermaier singled, went to 3B on a Leslie Anderson single, and scored on a Jason Bourgeois single.

Meanwhile Enny Romero, pitching his first game as a Durham Bull,  went eight very solid innings. C.J. Riefenhauser pitched a clean 9th and then Kirby Yates finished out a spectacular season by first giving up a single and then striking out the side for his 20th save.

The win drove a stake through the heart of Norfolk’s playoff bid since Rochester was blowing out Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to take the wild card berth. To be honest, that suits WDBB just fine since the Bulls have had trouble with Norfolk all year and the idea of playing them in a Governors’ Cup final in Norfolk doesn’t really sit to well with us. Here’s hoping I don’t have to eat those words.

Outside the game —

• Stacy Long over in Montgomery is reporting that three Biscuits are on their way to Durham: Catcher Mayo Acosta, Pitcher Michael Costa, and infielder Shawn O’Malley. Probably won't be on the active roster, but still good news.
• Looks like Biscuits pitcher Austin Hubbard is a lock for this year’s WDBB Moonlight Graham Award for pitchers. His ⅔ of a inning back on May 17 is the least amount of time for a pitcher in a Bulls uniform. Still checking on the hitters. Likely to be the unfortunate Hak-Ju Lee, who only got to play in 15 games. It does highlight the fact that this year’s position player roster has been fairly stable.

The Last 2013 International League Wild Card Chart

Rochester won over Scranton/WB, 13-3. Norfolk lost to the Bulls 0-1. Jump ball. Except that Rochester had a winning record over Norfolk.

Rochester to the playoffs against Pawtucket. Note: the Rochester win featured a triple play started by former Bull Ray Olmedo, playing 3B: 5-4-3.

So, How’s That Working Out Tampa Bay?

There’s a lot of ways to count the chaotic shuffling going on in the Rays system over the last couple of days. Let's go by my count — at least 15 ballplayers have been moved around (a couple of them more than once) over the last week or so. The greatest beneficiaries of the moves appears to be the Rays and Bulls opponents. The Rays have lost 7 of their last 8 games. The Bulls have done a bit better over the same period. They’ve only lost 5 of their last 8. Both teams are 0-4 in their last four.

The Durham Bulls are still constrained by the quantity of players they can have on their roster. The Rays can go up to 40. It shows. The Rays put 21 different players on the field in Oakland yesterday — 14 batters and 7 pitchers. They were beaten, however, by WDBB favorite, former Bull Stephen Vogt, who hit a home run to go with the triple he hit a day earlier.

I seem to recall, but haven’t been able to chase down, an interview with Rays’ manager Joe Maddon a few years ago where he was quoted as saying he really didn’t believe in calling up very many ballplayers when the rosters expanded. I think he said that it didn’t do either the player or the team much good. Guess he’s changed his mind. But he may have been right in the first place.

The Bulls are still in the playoffs. The Rays risk falling out of contention for the Wild Card.

This chart shows the teams currently in the race for the American League Wild Card. The top two teams will get in this year. The Rays are fortunate that the Indians recent slide has been even worse than theirs.

click chart for larger view

IL Wild Card Goes to Last Game

The Norfolk Tides lead by one game, but, according to International League rules, a tie (Rochester win, Tides loss today) goes to Rochester. The Tides play the Bulls; the Red Wings are playing the Yankees.

More Movin'

Here's a deeply technical issue that goes to the heart of team management: How in the heck do you get these guys into the right uniform?

Readers will recall a round of moves a few days ago. Then a few more while the Bulls were down in Georgia. Yesterday's flurry, however, punched a couple of real holes in the Bulls lineup even if they were anticipated.

• Catcher Chris Gimenez, one of WDBB’s favorites, is off to the Rays. Here’s hoping he gets some ABs with the Rays and helps them get past their current struggles. 
• RHP Josh Lueke, as expected, is also off to the Rays.
• RHP Juan Sandoval, who had some time with the Bulls earlier this year, is up from Montgomery. He made a spot start last night and did just fine.
• LHP Braulio Lara, who appeared in 45 games with Montgomery this year, made his AAA debut last night and pitched three solid innings. Stats.

I think, but am not sure, that Luke Scott is gone after finishing his rehab round.

In the oddity column, former Bull (former just about everyone) Delmon Young was promoted from Montgomery to the Rays. Wonder how that’s going to work out?

For those interested in the technical side of what's going on, take a look at this piece from The Process Report.

Is anyone really interested in what happened last night? Other than Trinity College football pre-empting the Bulls game on the radio? I didn't think so. But we should note Sandoval and Lara and Merrill Kelly looked just fine.

International League Wild Card: Tides Wins Builds Lead

The Tides’ double-header sweep of the Bulls last night gives them a full game lead on Rochester in the IL wild card. Two games left for each team.