The 2018 Season Begins

Game 1
Durham Bulls: 2; Charlotte Knights: 6
Wrap, Box

Who are these guys?

• Christian Arroyo played 3B and led off. He went 0-4. He was a key part of the Rays' Evan Longoria trade. On 40-man. 
• Jake Bauers played 1B and batted second. He went 2-4 with two doubles. He was a star last year and we're happy to see him back, if only for a little while. 
• Willy Adames started at SS and batted third. He went 1-4 and got on base with a HBP. He looked good last year (with the most starts of any Bull). Also on the 40-man, it's guesswork to determine how long he will be here.
• Joe McCarthy, in left field, is new to the Bulls and he started as the cleanup batter. He went 1-4 with a double. He's been coming up through the Rays system for the last three years (all of last year with Montgomery). Staring his first AAA game batting cleanup says something about him.
• Jason Coats, the designated hitter, is out of the White Sox system. He missed all of 2017 with an injury. He was 1 for 4 last night.
• Justin Williams, batting 6th, was in right field. He spent all last season in Montgomery, but came to the Bulls in the post-season and played well. He's on the 40-man.
• Johnny Field, in center field, batted 7th. Last year he was our favorite leadoff batter. Maybe he'll get back to it. 1 for 4 last night.
• Kean Wong, 2B. Hero of the postseason with his grand slam in the championship game, he is a fun-to-watch infielder. And, here's a fun bit of trivia, at 23 the oldest of this game's infielders. It's a young team this year.
• Curt Casali, catcher, has spent a lot of time in Durham over the last several years. He is essentially the Tampa Bay Rays backup catcher (although this year they'll have to do some roster manipulation to call him up). In our view, he's very important to this year's team. Hope he sticks with the Bulls for a while.

Pitchers? We'll get to them later.

Opening Day Comments

The video board did not get into full operation until about the 5th inning and I was surprised at how much I missed not having the lineup right in front of me. By the end of the game, however, things appeared to be on track.

Very pleased to hear broadcaster Patrick Kenas and his sometime partner Scott Pose back on the job. They are clearly the best broadcast crew in AAA baseball (and I have listened to all of the broadcasters in the International League). That said, however, the feed dropped out last night for an annoying 15 or 20 minutes. Listen on various apps, or 620 AM, 96.5 and 99.3 FM. Note: All games are streamed via MiLB.com and later in the season most games are on broadcast TV.

2018 Roster Announced

We'll have comments later, but first here's a link to the

2018 Durham Bulls Opening Day Roster.

A quick glance here shows 7 pitchers and 4 position players on the Rays' 40-man roster (about average). Several familiar names.

Durham Bulls Basics - 2018 - Part 3

The Players

Each of the 30 major league teams has 25 players = 750 major league baseball players(!). Out of those 25, usually 13 are pitchers and 12 are position players = 390 pitchers (usually 5 starters - 150; and 8 relievers - 240); 360 position players. Of those 12 position players, most teams have 2 catchers, 5 infielders, and 5 outfielders.

For those 750 guys who are on a major league roster, we have another 750 players divided into 25 man teams who are in Triple-A and, trust me, every one of them could be playing in the major leagues today.

How do the Durham Bulls fit into that?

Well, now, sigh, we need to talk about the Tampa Bay Rays, who own the players wearing the Durham Bulls uniform. To oversimplify just a bit, the Tampa Bay Rays have a contract to provide the Durham Bulls a baseball team. In turn, the Durham Bulls provide a place to play and folks to cheer them on (that would be us).

To clear up some possible confusion, the Tampa Bay Rays play baseball in St. Petersburg, Florida, not Tampa, in a much-maligned, but actually not too bad, domed stadium. That may come as a bit of a surprise to those not familiar with Florida geography (or modern marketing strategies).

As mentioned above, major league team consists of 25 players on the “active” roster. Those are the guys in the games and in the box scores, traveling in chartered airplanes, and making decent, sometimes obscene, amounts of money.

The 40-man Roster

An additional 15 players are added the 25 to make up a 40-man roster. In general, once a player makes it to the 25-man "active" roster he stays there (unless traded, sold, released, or designated for assignment). For players who have been around for a while, there are all sorts of byzantine rules regarding how this works. To complicate matters, the rules were recently changed to allow major league teams to expand their roster to 26 on days that they have a double-header. What matters to Bulls fans, however, is that a Bull cannot be called up to play in a Rays game (even to temporarily replace an injured player) unless he is first on the 40-man roster.

Here in Durham, we are not much interested in the active roster. What matters to Bulls fans are those 15 ballplayers who are on the Rays 40-man but not on the active roster. Members of that 15 man group usually make up the heart of the Durham Bulls.

If previous years are typical, we can expect that 11 to 12 of the players on the 40-man will be assigned to Durham and they will probably be split about 6 or 7 pitchers and 4 or 5 position players. Of the pitchers, one or two will be prospective starting pitchers, the other potential relievers. Fairly often when WDBB writes about a Bull we will mention whether or not he’s on the 40-man.

What about the rest of the team? Without exception — and this is part of what makes AAA baseball so much fun — they are ballplayers who have played, or are judged capable of playing, at the major league level. The precise reason why they are not playing there is also part of the fun — too young, too old, no room at the top, needs to work on a specific skill — sometimes all of the above.

The odds of a player called up are pretty good. There are enough injuries and trades in a given year that almost all of the players on the 40-man who start the year with the Bulls will at least get a few days with the Rays. Some will go there and stay.

However, unless Tampa Bay takes someone off the 40-man, a non-40 man player cannot be called up. Adjustment to the 40-man roster can, and does, happen — just not very often. On the other hand, the Rays are nothing if not creative in gaming the system.

The 40-man roster also has an effect on how the players who are with the Bulls are used. For example, pitchers may be on limited pitch counts and/or working on specific pitches that the Rays have decided the pitcher needs to develop. Relievers may be tested to see if they can do two days in a row, or “tried out” as a closer. We will see infielders playing the outfield (and vice versa).

My point is that sometimes what we see on the field is decided in St. Petersburg, not in the Bulls’ clubhouse. The Rays really aren’t particularly interested in the Bulls’ won-loss record. So, we will inevitably see some unfortunate (for Bulls fans) decisions, such as a player being called up, sitting on the Rays’ bench for a couple of weeks, then coming back to Durham with his timing shot and struggling at bat. And with this new 26 man roster for doubleheader rule, Bulls’ pitching rotations can get really screwed up with a pitcher being called up for a spot start and then coming back.

Nevertheless, we cannot avoid the fact that the Durham Bulls live and die at the whim of the Tampa Bay Rays' front office. What’s fortunate for Bulls fans is that the Rays have invested a ton of effort into building a steady stream of talent to feed into the big team. More than that, in the Rays system very few upcoming prospects just “pass through” AAA-level ball. Time with the Bulls is a real and very serious testing ground for pitchers and hitters. That means we will get to see some very talented ballplayers with first-rate managing/coaching crew. Lastly, without the Rays, we wouldn’t have AAA ball here at all.

All of which is not going to keep me from complaining about the Rays. Hey, it’s baseball!

More Stuff

For  more background on the 114 years of Durham Bulls history, check out the Bulls’ History link page and their Wikipedia page.

For a terrific book about Triple-A baseball, the Durham Bulls, and sheer great writing and photography, you cannot go wrong by picking up a copy of Bull City Summer. Available at local bookstores,  or online shops. We reviewed the book here.

See also Durham Bulls Basics - Part 1 and Part 2

Durham Bulls Basics - 2018 - Part 2

The Schedule

The International League schedules 140 games for each of its teams (down from 144 in 2016). Half of those games are played at home. So, unless you are truly a Durham Bulls fanatic, you will only have 70 chances to see your Bulls during the regular season. Although, Charlotte or Norfolk isn’t all that far away so you could hope on the highway and visit ...

The Bulls season starts at home against the Charlotte Knights on April 5th. The last game of the season is a Monday day game against the Norfolk Tides on September 3.

An important feature of the IL schedule is that the Bulls only play a few home games against teams outside the South Division.  That means that if you are a Boston fan the only chance you’ll get to see Red Sox prospects will be the three games the first weekend of June (1, 2, 3). That’s it. They won’t be back unless both teams are in the playoffs in September. The same is true if you’re a Yankees fan (three games against the RailRiders, August 11-13). Said another way, the Bulls only play 37 games at home against the teams from outside the South Division.

On the other hand, if you’re a Braves, White Sox, or Orioles fan, you’re in luck. (Well, it’s a bit difficult to call an Orioles fan as being in any sort of luck, but you get the idea.) Those teams will be here a lot this year.

Triple-A ballplayers have a much more relentless schedule than major leaguers. They play more games with fewer days off, at least until September.

The Triple-A All-Star game pitting the International League All-Stars against the Pacific Coast League All-Stars is set for July 11, well past mid-season, and will be played Columbus, Ohio at the home field of the Columbus RailRiders (Cleveland AAA affiliate). Exactly how the players are selected for the game is something of a mystery. Fans do get a vote; however, usually the IL doesn’t bother to tell us how the fan voting went.

The International League Championship (The Governors’ Cup) is decided with two rounds of best of five playoffs in September. A one-game “AAA Championship” game is to be played on September 18 also at the RailRider's Huntington Park.

The Durham Bulls, as all readers of this blog must know, has won five Governors' Cups, two AAA  National Championships, and has won the Southern Division championship eight of the last eleven years.

See also Durham Bulls Basics - 2018 - Part 1 and Part 3

Durham Bulls Basics - 2018 - Part 1

For the last couple of years WDBB has made a stab at presenting the basics of this terrific baseball team. Here’s Part 1 of our 2018 version. As has been obvious, I haven't been paying too much attention lately; however, this is mostly stuff I did not know before my first Bulls game some years ago. I hope it doesn’t come off as being too basic.

Opening day is very close.

If you see a mistake, let me know. I’ll fix it as soon as I can.

AAA Baseball

The Durham Bulls are the Triple-A franchise of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Triple-A baseball is one step below major league baseball. How do we know that? Because Major League Baseball says Triple-A baseball is one step below Major League Baseball.

Major League Baseball has 30 teams: 15 in the American League and 15 in the National League. Each major league team has a AAA team in their farm system. Thus, there are 30 AAA minor league baseball teams — who said I couldn’t do basic arithmetic? Except, of course, that there’s a AAA Mexican League with 16 teams and recognized by Major League Baseball as being AAA, but I’ve never been able to figure that one out. (This is the last mention of the Mexican League for another year.)

The 30 Triple-A teams are divided into two leagues: The International League with 14 teams and the Pacific Coast League with 16 teams. So that sort of makes sense, so far.

What also makes sense is that, mostly, the International League is made up of teams who have their major league affiliates in the eastern and midwestern part of the country, while the Pacific Coast League’s parent clubs are, mostly, in the southwest and west.

But, hey, it’s baseball, so there will inevitably be a few quirks in the system. The Marlins, Brewers, and Cubs affiliates, for example, are all in the Pacific Coast League not in the International League.

The Durham Bulls are in the International League.

The International League

The 14 teams in the International League are matched up with major league teams without regard to whether the parent club is in the National League or the American League. The IL has teams affiliated with Boston, New York (Yankees), Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Chicago (White Sox), Toronto, and Minnesota. That gives the IL 9 American League and 5 National League affiliates.

Logic would say that since AAA is the next step down from the majors, the teams would prefer to be in close proximity to each other. Sometimes that’s true. Toledo is linked to Detroit, Pawtucket is the AAA team of Boston, and the Atlanta Braves’ AAA club is just a long taxi ride away from Atlanta over in Lawrenceville, Georgia. On the other hand, Charlotte is pretty far from Chicago and the Durham-to-St. Petersburg distance is a good bit more than average.

Obviously, all the teams in the “International” League are in the US, but a while back there was a team in Ottawa. That gave us the chance to sing along to “O, Canada” four times a year.

With the re-opening of relations with Cuba, my bet is that we will see a International League team back in Cuba as soon as a major league team can make a deal. Note that the Tampa Bay Rays played the Cuban National Team in Havana last spring. Maybe a new team could be named the Sugar Kings, after the last International League AAA team that played in Havana. Why not move the Atlanta Braves affiliate since they only drew 3,000 fans per game last year? Only problem I see with a team in Cuba is learning the words to La Bayamesa, the Cuban National Anthem, much less singing it.

With teams from both the National and American Leagues, what about the designated hitter rule? The DH rule is in effect in all games except when both clubs are National League affiliates. That means that no Durham Bull pitchers will go to the plate this year (except in the very weird circumstance where a pitcher could go to the plate as a pinch-hitter — not likely, but possible).

The big change in the International League has been the re-naming of the  Atlanta Braves affiliate from the Gwinnett Braves to the Gwinnett Stripers. I think I'll leave my snarky comments regarding their new name to the first time the Bulls and the Stripers play. That would be April 8th.

The International League has three divisions: North, West, and South

Divisions and Affiliations

North Division

Buffalo Bisons - Toronto Blue Jays

Lehigh Valley IronPigs - Philadelphia Phillies

Pawtucket Red Sox - Boston Red Sox

Rochester Red Wings - Minnesota Twins

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders - New York Yankees

Syracuse Chiefs - Washington Nationals

West Division

Columbus Clippers - Cleveland Indians

Indianapolis Indians - Pittsburgh Pirates

Louisville Bats - Cincinnati Reds

Toledo Mud Hens - Detroit Tigers

South Division

Charlotte Knights - Chicago White Sox

Gwinnett Stripers - Atlanta Braves

Norfolk Tides - Baltimore Orioles

Durham Bulls - Tampa Bay Rays

See also Durham Bulls Basics 2018 Part 2 and Part 3.

A New Day

February 20, 2018

Just had to post this photo of the DBAP in this morning's fog. Hard to watch a game today, I'd think.

The Durham Bulls in 2017 — Part 3 — The Hitters

In 2017, 25 ballplayers came to bat in a Durham Bulls uniform. That's a considerable contrast to the 42 pitchers discussed in Part 2. Overall, as we saw in Part 1, Bulls hitters were exactly at the IL average OPS of  .719. This was a particularly young team, averaging a little less than 25 years of age

Five of those 25 played less than 10 games, major leaguers Wilson Ramos, Trevor Plouffe, Richie Weeks, and Brad Miller, plus Grant Kay who appeared in four games in late July before going back to Montgomery. Ryan Brett appeared in 12 games, but was essentially on the DL for the entire year.

This table sorts players by wOBA (weighted on base average) and includes another stat (wRAA) that compares performance to league averages. We like wOBA, but as  you can see, it pretty much matches the better known OPS over the season.

Name	Age	PA	AVG	OBP	SLG	wRAA	wOBA
Daniel Robertson	23	47	.372	.426	.488	3.3	.411
Shane Peterson	29	300	.286	.313	.504	7.7	.355
Dayron Varona	29	77	.268	.325	.479	1.8	.353
Jake Bauers	21	575	.263	.368	.412	13.3	.352
Mike Marjama	27	292	.274	.342	.445	6.8	.352
Willy Adames	21	578	.277	.360	.415	12.4	.350
Granden Goetzman	24	73	.314	.342	.429	1.2	.344
Patrick Leonard	24	553	.268	.327	.408	3	.330
Johnny Field	25	480	.261	.303	.425	-0.1	.323
Mallex Smith	24	205	.263	.325	.392	-0.3	.321
Curt Casali	28	343	.263	.351	.347	-0.5	.321
Kean Wong	22	417	.265	.328	.361	-3.1	.314
Michael McKenry	32	272	.209	.338	.324	-2.8	.310
Casey Gillaspie	24	395	.227	.296	.357	-8.9	.294
Cade Gotta	25	94	.267	.287	.356	-2.7	.286
Jake Hager	24	291	.229	.275	.328	-11.4	.273
Taylor Featherston	27	129	.200	.248	.342	-5.9	.265
Justin O'Conner	25	71	.194	.225	.299	-4.9	.235
Alec Sole	24	76	.183	.237	.197	-6.9	.207

The Hitters

Players are discussed in order of plate appearances. "Slash Line" is Batting Average/On Base Percentage/Slugging Percentage. The Bulls played a 142 game season that ended September 4, 2017. Post-season hitting is not included in these data.

Willy Adames (21 years old, 130 games, 578 plate appearances, .277/.360/.415) had a fine year. Only two players (Jake Bauers and Patrick Leonard) played in more games. His 210 total bases led the Bulls. His wOBA was 5th best. His baserunning could have been a bit better, 11 steals, 5 caught stealing. I like his OBP of .360. His team-worst 132 strikeouts is worrisome. But he also had the teams best batting average. Almost all of his games were at shortstop, and he made 24 errors there. All in all, he lived up to his reputation as a leading Rays prospect. Stats.

Jake Bauers (21 years old, 132 games, 575 plate appearances, .263/.368/.412) seemed to improve as the year went on, ending up with a terrific wOBA of .352, team best (among regulars) OBP, and 200 total bases. He seemed to blossom after Casey Gillaspie was traded away near the end of the season and he became the every day first baseman. He was a star in the postseason. At just 21 years of age, and not yet on the Rays 40-man he could easily start next year with the Bulls and we'd love to see him back, if only for a month or two. Stats.

Patrick Leonard (24 years old, 131 games, 553 plate appearances, .268/.327/.408) started off the year on fire, but cooled off a bit for the last couple of months. Nevertheless, he had a terrific year. He began as the Bulls primary third baseman, but spent 39 games in the outfield, mostly in right field. He was number 3 in stolen bases (15) and was only caught twice. His impressive 205 total bases was second best on the team. Stats

Johnny Field (25, 111 games, 480 plate appearances, .261/.303/.425) was a huge part of this year's championship team. Especially, it seemed, when he batted leadoff. He led the team in doubles and had 57 RBI, an unusually high number for a leadoff hitter. He had to share some center field duties with Mallex Smith when Smith was in town, but, to be honest, I preferred Field's approach to outfielding and base running. Stats.

Kean Wong (22, 105 games, 417 plate appearances, .265/.328/.361) was the hero of the national championship game with his grand slam that won the game, but, much more than that, he was a solid member of the "diamond" (catcher, shortstop, second base, center field) virtually all of the  year. Wong started with the Bulls, went down to Montgomery for a couple of weeks in May, and came back to stay. He was a very sure-handed second baseman, making only 9 errors at 2B and was part of 58 double plays. Also, he record was in the face of Tampa Bay's radical shifting that can make for some odd accommodations. Lastly, he was always a threat to try bunting for a single. Fun to watch. Hope he comes back. Stats.

Casey Gillaspie (24, 95 games, 395 plate appearances, .227/.296/.357) was a star in 2016, but never got on track on 2017. He was traded to the White Sox after 95 games with the Bulls and got in 30 games with the Charlotte Knights before the end of the year. Mostly this year we just kept hoping that whatever ailed him would go away, but it never did. Maybe a new context is what he needed. Stats.

Curt Casali (28, 85 games, 343 plate appearances, .263/.351/.347) had the most game appearances of the five catchers that were on the Bulls roster this year. He caught in 53 games and DH'd the rest. A fan in the stands really can't tell how much a catcher is contributing to the cause beyond the numbers. That is, how good a game is he calling? How well is he managing young pitchers? Certainly, he got a lot of playing time among a large crew of catchers. He was called up in early September, so missed the Bulls playoffs. He had limited time on the field with the Rays, although he did hit a home run on the last game of the Rays season. Stats.

Shane Peterson (29, 76 games, 300 plate appearances, .286/.313/.504) started the season with the Bulls, but went up to the Rays after a few games and spent the rest of April there. He came back for much of May and June, spent July with the Rays, and August with the Bulls. As a Bull, he was an exceptionally valuable left-hand bat. He carried best OPS among those who might be considered a "regular" this year and complemented the key "diamond" players mentioned above very, very well. To my surprise, he did not get called back to the Rays in September. In the playoffs, he was in the lineup of every game as the designated hitter or in the outfield and did a fine job. Would be happy to have him back in a Bulls uniform. Stats.

Mike Marjama (27, 72 games, 292 plate appearances, .274/.342/.445) was this year's poster child for the Rays system's inability to manage/develop catchers effectively. He was doing better than just fine when he was traded to Seattle in early August. We wish him well and we're pleased to see he got his "cup of coffee" with the Mariners in September. I expect to see him join all the other ex-Rays catchers who have made it to ML playoffs with another team. Stats.

Jake Hager (24, 73 games, 291 PA, .229/.275/.328) never quite hit his stride this year. He ended up with almost exactly the same amount of playing time as in 2016, when he made his AAA debut. And he was competing among a very talented group of infielders. He spent some time on the disabled list this year, which didn't help. He's a good ballplayer. Maybe next year. Stats.

Michael McKenry (32, 73 games, 272 PA, .209/.338/.324) was this year's "veteran" presence. At a guess, he was brought in to be a back-up catcher, but ended up being used in the outfield (25 games) and DHing (23 games) as much as catching (24 games). Not to mention time at 2B (1), 3B (1), and 3 relief appearances. He had two starts in the post-season, both at catcher. Stats.

Mallex Smith (24, 45 games, 205 PA, .263/.325/.392) started the season with the Rays, came to the Bulls for May and early June, went up to the Rays for June and July, and spent late August with the Bulls. From the stands it sure seemed like his contribution to the Bulls was mixed. Yes, he was a good ballplayer, but his speed seemed to confuse the Bulls as much as it did the opposition. He stole 21 bases, but was caught 8 times. His speed earned him 4 triples. When in town, he usually played center field moving Johnny Field to left or sometimes right. The Rays don't seem to have a clear vision of what they want from him. We'll have to see. Stats.

Taylor Featherston (27, 31 games, 129 PA, .200/.248/.342) went from the Phillies system to the Rays in early June, then came to the Bulls in mid-July, playing a little bit of everything, 2B-4, SS-3, 3B-7, LF-6, RF-9. At bat, he was not able to make much of a contribution. He played in the first four playoff games as an outfielder, but did not appear in the rest. He elected free agency in October. Stats.

Cade Gotta (25, 27 games, 94 PA, .267/.287/.356) had two visits to the Bulls up from the Montgomery Biscuits, in April and in June/July. From the stands, he was an impressive ballplayer with good speed and power. I'd expect him to be with Durham next year. Stats.

Dayron Varona (29, 19 games, 77 PA, .268/.325/.479) is the kind of ballplayer that I like. Unfortunately for him, the Rays apparently wanted to make room for their younger outfielders not too long after the season started. Varona's superb slash line was not enough to keep him with the Bulls. He caught on with the York Revolution in the Independent Atlantic League (along with former Bulls Joel Guzman and Alexi Casilla) as an outfielder, where he had a decent year. Stats.

Alec Sole (24, 22 games, 76 PA, .183/.237/.197) started the season with the Montgomery Biscuits, went to the Charlotte Stone Crabs for a few games, spent June and early July with the Bulls before going back to the  Stone Crabs where he was released in early August. An above-average infielder, he was not able to succeed at bat as a Bull. Stats.

Granden Goetzman (24, 17 games, 73 PA, .314/.342/.429) came up from the Montgomery Biscuits very early in the season and went back after 17 games with some fine numbers. Unfortunately, he went on the disabled list there mid-June and never quite came back. He ended the season with the Charlotte Stone Crabs. Stats.

Justin O'Conner (25, 20 games, 71 PA, .194/.225/.299) came to the Bulls from the Biscuits in early August. Competing with three other catchers on the Bulls roster, he probably did not get as much playing time as he would have liked. He's is a very promising catcher with a cannon for an arm. He was the regular catcher for the post-season, playing in 7 of the 9 post-season games. Stats.

Daniel Robertson (23, 11 games, 47 PA, .372/.426/.488) spent most of 2017 with the Rays. He didn't come to the Bulls until the end of the season and went back to the Rays after the post-season. But he was incredibly helpful in those 11 regular season games and in the 9 post-season games. He started every post-season game at 3B and was the hero of the Governors' Cup championship game with 4 RBIs. Stats.