Looking at 2010 — 3

This should just about wrap of this year's position players. We'll put off to another post any speculation regarding how many, if any, we think might be coming back.

Alvin Colina (28). 2010 was his fourth year as a AAA catcher. Last year he was with Gwinnett.

• Played in 51 (201 plate appearances) games with the Bulls before blowing out a knee on July 22nd. 7 HR, 28 RBI, .231/.279/.390, wOBA .274, bRAA -7.3. Postions played: C-37, DH-13.
• As with Jose Lobaton, we find it hard to evaluate a catcher from the stands. Nevertheless, we find a lot to like about Mr. Colina. He appears to handle pitchers well and he appears to handle younger catchers well. We haven’t had an update on his condition since July, but we would not mind seeing him back with the Bulls next year.
  
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Ryan Shealy (30) played 48 games at first base and as a DH for the Bulls before opting out in June. Decent numbers, wOBA .373, bRAA 6.5. He helped the Bulls get off to a good start. He went to the Pawtucket Red Sox, got in a few games with Boston, went back to Pawtucket, and was released in early August. Stats.

Dioner Navarro (26) showed up in Durham in late June and left the beginning of September. Apparently struggling as the Tampa Bay Rays starting catcher, he came to the Bulls for the opportunity to sort things out. And pretty much did.

• Played in 43 games (169 plate appearances) during his stay. 2 HR, 21 RBI, .284/.387/.390, wOBA .369, bRAA 4.6. Positions played: C-35, DH-7. We don’t expect to see Dioner back any time soon. Good catcher. Certainly an asset to the Bulls while he was with us. The best numbers of any of the Bulls’ catchers.
  
• He is likely to be remembered for his first game as a Bull when he took a 102 mph fastball from the then Louisville Bat (now Cincinnati Red) reliever Aroldis Chapman.
  
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Omar Luna (23) joined the Bulls (from Montgomery) in mid-June and stayed until the end of the year

• 40 games (149 plate appearances). 1 HR, 9 RBI, .291/.306/.369, wOBA .315, bRAA -2.7. Positions played: SS-26, 2B-12, P-1.
• Luna played at three levels this year, the Stone Crabs, Biscuits, and Bulls. As much as he was around this year, he didn’t make much of an impression until the end of the season. Then he was terrific. He’s young and looks pretty good on the field. Not much of a bat, however. Would imagine he’s got a good shot to start either in Montgomery or with the Bulls next year.
  
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Rashad Eldridge (28). As in 2009, outfielder Rashad Eldridge spent time with the Bulls and Biscuits.

• 34 games (124 plate appearances). 1 HR, 3 RBI, 20 runs scored. .215/.309/.308, wOBA .297, bRAA -4.2. Positions played: RF-17, CF-2, LF-17, DH-1.
• Montgomery’s center fielder has, I think, run out of time. He is a very good outfielder and has decent speed. He seems to be pretty much stuck at the AA level, with an occasional callup.
  
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Leslie Anderson (28) joined the Bulls in August after stints with the Stone Crabs and the Montgomery Biscuits.

• 30 games (129 plate appearances). 2 HR, 12 RBI, .328/.359/.418, w0BA .338, bRAA 0.2. Positions played: LF-16, 1B-9, RF-1, DH-4.
• Cuban defector Leslie Anderson was being touted as a candidate for the Rays Carlos Pena’s job when he was signed. We don’t think so. He does bat for average, and, so far, doing pretty well. The question would be, at his age, is he on his way up or down?
  
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Hank Blalock (29) played 26 games, went up to the Rays, and went on his way.

Matt Joyce (25) played 25 games with the Bulls and it now looks like he is finally sticking with the Rays. About time, we’d say.

Rocco Baldelli (28) was in 11 games, Rays catcher Kelly Shoppach (30) visited for 4 games while rehabbing, as did shortstop Jason Bartlett (30) for 1 game. Another outlier was pitcher Bobby Livingston who DH’d twice.

Catcher John Jaso (26) started the year with the Bulls, but went up to the Rays in April and stuck there. Good for him.

That brings us to four interesting guys from whom we are going to have to pick this year’s Moonlight Graham Award.

• Catcher Nevin Ashley (25) came up from Montgomery for 7 games in the regular season and 5 more in the postseason. There is a lot of potential in this guy even if his hitting was not stellar while with the Bulls. Stats.
• Catcher Craig Albernaz (27) only had one regular season game, but 4 in the postseason. We have always like Albernaz. Maybe he’ll spend a year with us next season. Stats.
• Catcher Kyle Holloway (22) in his first professional season had 4 games with the Bulls at the end of the year. Not much of a chance of seeing him again for a year or two. Stats.
• Outfielder Emeel Salem (25) had three games with the Bulls when they were playing Gwinnett. We speculated at the time that his visit might have had as much to do with proximity to Montgomery as the fitness of the Bulls outfield crew. Stats.

Voting Opportunity

A careful reader has let us know about a local sports blog — Capital Sports Report — that has put up a poll asking for Favorite North Carolina-Based Professional Sports team.

The Charlotte Knights, Asheville Tourists, Greensboro Grasshoppers, Hickory Crawdads, Kinston Indians, Winston-Salem Dash, and the Burlington Royals aren't on the list, but the Durham Bulls are. So, if you're interested, click on the link and let them know that there's lots of Bulls fans around here.

Looking at 2010 — 2

Continuing on with our look back on 2010 with summaries of five more of the Durham Bulls position players. In order of number of games played.

Desmond Jennings (23). Came to the Durham Bulls in late 2009 (32 games). Called up to Rays 1 Sep 2010.

• Played in 109 games (458 plate appearances). 3 HR, 36 RBI, 37 SB (team best), 82 runs scored. .278/.362/.393. wOBA .354. bRAA 6.7. Positions played: CF-90, RF-8, LF-8.
• Jennings has been a top prospect from the day he joined the Rays system and he really is a good ballplayer. Batting leadoff, he does a decent job of getting on base (although a lower number of Ks would be nice). Obviously not a power hitter, most of his extra bases (25 2B and 6 3B came from speed). He is fast, and he was only caught stealing 4 times in 41 tries. He covers center field very nicely.
• Seems unlikely that he will return to the Bulls next year, even if he does not make the Rays postseason roster.
  
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Dan Johnson, Joe Dillon, Jose Lobaton
strolling to dugout after a Lobaton home run July 5, 2010

Dan Johnson (30). Played almost all of 2008 as a Bull. Spent the 2009 season in Japan. Called up to the Rays in early August.

• Played in 98 games (426 plate appearances). 30 HR, 95 RBI, .303/.430/.624, wOBA .421, bRAA 30.3 (!). Positions played: 3B-36, DH-30, LF-22, 1B-14.
• Dan Johnson was our superstar this year. His home run and RBI pace was extraordinary and he collected a whole bunch of AAA awards even though he didn’t even play the last month of the season. It is a bit puzzling that the Rays did not notice that for the last two years he was mostly a third baseman, not a first baseman. This year he only made one error in 36 games at third. We were also more that a little surprised that he wasn’t traded off during the year, but that could easily just mean that we don’t really understand the business of baseball very well. We are having great fun watching him play for the Rays and have high hopes he will go to the postseason with them.
  
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Joe Dillon (34). With the Bulls at the end of 2009 (35 games) and all of 2010. Numbers slight up from 2009, but below his AAA career (8 seasons) averages.

• Played in 96 games (400 plate appearances). 9 HR, 57 RBI, .262/.334/.405, wOBA .321, bRAA -5.3. Positions played: 2B-75, 1B-12, 3B-5, DH-3, C-1.
• I already liked Joe Dillon a lot before his heroic crawl to the plate on May 27th, but after that he was one of my favorite Bulls on the year. He was not quite a regular player after that injury and in the last games of the playoffs it was reported that 2010 would be his last year. If so, here’s to him. I grew to enjoy watching that rolling gait as he trotted onto the field, his steady presence, and his willingness to play any position, to do just about anything to win.
  
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J.J. Furmaniak (30). Started the year on the Durham Bulls disabled list. Went to Montgomery for a while then came to Durham on May 28 when Joe Dillon when on the disabled list. Veteran minor leaguer playing at the AAA level since 2004 (with a year in Japan).

• Played in 77 games (334 plate appearances). 1 HR, 22 RBI, .264/.366/.352, wOBA .342, bRAA 1.7. Positions played: 2B-42, SS-21, 3B-14, RF-2, DH-1.
• J.J. is a very good infielder and was a real asset to the team all year. After the early tours of Ryan Shealy and Hank Blalock (which was part of why J.J. started the year in Montgomery), the Bulls had several players they could rotate around all the infield positions, giving Montoyo a lot of flexibility throughout the year. J.J. was also spectacular in the playoffs, playing in every game and accumulating terrific numbers over the nine games — .353/.463/.529 — with a home run, triple, and double. I’m pretty sure he was a non-roster invite to the Rays spring training this year. On his record, seems to me he has a good chance of that happening again in 2011.
  
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Jose Lobaton (25). Jose Lobaton is part of the Rays confusing (to me) catcher situation. In his case, it started when he was claimed from the Padres in 2009. He began the 2010 season in Montgomery, but came up to the Bulls in early April when John Jaso went to the Rays. Jaso stayed with the Rays, Lobaton stayed with the Bulls. He is on the Rays’ 40-man roster.

• Played in 72 games (271 plate appearances). 7 HR, 33 RBI, .261/.337/.394, wOBA .334, bRAA -0.7. Positions played: C-62, DH-8.
• In some ways Lobaton is just now getting started as a professional ballplayer, even though he has eight years behind him. This was only is second season in AAA. In general, he looks pretty good from our place in the stands and we haven’t noticed him make any bad decisions on the field. He is more fit than his recored would indicate. In addition, we are unsure of our own ability to evaluate catchers, given the success of John Jaso with the Rays. When Dioner Navarro got sent down by the Rays, that cut into Lobaton’s playing time quite a bit. Assuming he’s back next year, we can expect him to be the Bulls “senior” catcher.
• At the end of the Bulls’ season, he was subject to some Tampa Bay gamesmanship that limited his ability to help the Bulls in the playoffs.
• Stats

Note: wOBA and bRAA stats are from StatCorner.

Looking At 2010 — 1

Time to finally getting around to wrapping up the season.

Let's start with the position players, listed in order of number of games played. This is going to take a number of postings to get through, but the look back is fun.

Justin Ruggiano (28). With Bulls since 2007 (4 seasons). Numbers up from 2009. Strikeouts down. On Rays 40-man roster.

• Tied for most games (117), led in plate appearances (507). 15 HR, 70 RBI. 24 SB, BA/OBP/SLG: .287/.357/.453. wOBA .344. bRAA 3.4. Brief visit with Rays. Don’t think he had an AB while there. Post-season: 9 games, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 1 SB. Positions played, regular season: RF-63, CF-29, LF-26, DH-3, 3B-1 (2 errors on year).
• Justin has been on the Rays’ 40-man for a couple of years and has yet to be given an honest shot at playing for the Rays. At a guess, assuming the Rays let him go, he will be looking for employment elsewhere. Defensively, he is among the best we saw this year on any team and he is very fast on the bases. 70 RBI are nothing to sneeze at. He’s got the tools to be attractive somewhere else. But maybe he likes the Rays system.
  
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Chris Richard (36), also with the Bulls since 2007. Numbers in every category up from 2009.

• Played 117 games in the regular season and accumulated some striking numbers. 20 HR, 79 RBI, 39 2B, .300/.390/.535, wOBA .395, bRAA 24.6 (!). Positions played: 1B-82, DH-25, LF-10, RF-1.
• Chris is under-rated as a first baseman. He only had 4 errors on the year (down from 7 in 2009) with a fielding percentage of .995. I don’t know how to chase it down, but I suspect he has to be among the best, if not the best, first baseman in the International League. His only competition might be 20 year old Freddie Freeman with the Gwinnett Braves who had a fielding percentage of .994 in 111 games at first, but he’s 16 years younger than Chris!
• What is Chris going to do? He seems to like it here in the Triangle. He sure is physically fit enough to play baseball with the youngsters. On the other hand, you’d think the local universities would be anxious to have him on their staff, or maybe a place somewhere in the Rays coaching system. Guess in this era you don’t have player/coaches. My hope is that he and the Rays can come to an agreement for another year.
  
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Fernando Perez (27), with the Bulls almost all of 2008 (129 games), did not play most of 2009, numbers down in every category from 2008. On the Rays 40-man roster.

• Played 116 games with 426 plate appearances. 4 HR, 32 RBI, 24 SB, .223/.280/.299, wOBA .269, bRAA -24.2. Positions played: RF-43, CF-33, LF-42.
• By any measure, Fernando had an awful year. You have to think that he and the Rays will be coming to a new understanding over the winter. For those of us who enjoyed, actually thrilled, at watching him play in 2008 he is not the same player. A lot has changed, of course. He was working on his switch-hitting in 2008, but that has gone by the board. We can’t tell from the stands if his injuries of 2009 are still bothering him. What we can see is that his swing has been off all year and the sheer exuberance he seemed to show is not obvious to us in the stands. I’d guess that there’s a less than 50-50 chance that he’ll be back next year. But I sure would like to see the Fernando Perez of 2008 in a Bulls uniform again.
  
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Angel Chavez (28), 2010 his first year with the Bulls. Numbers up in most categories.

• Played in 113 games. 9 HR, 55 RBI (6th best on the team), .275/.329/.387, wOBA .317, bRAA -7.4. Positions played: 3B-73, SS-39, 2B-4, 1B-1, DH-1, P-1 (ERA-0.00!)
• To oversimplify a bit, Angel started the year at shortstop and moved to third base after Hank Blalock moved on. He shared time at both positions with Elliot Johnson (SS), Dan Johnson (3B), and J.J. Furmaniak (SS). Chavez is a very good baseball player and he made major contributions to the team. About the only blemish on his record this year was his unfortunate tendency to hit into double plays. But that has to be something of a statistical anomaly or possibly a function of his place in the batting order. He doesn't seem to have great range and yet if the ball is near him he makes the play. An oddity was that he often didn’t seem to be playing all that hard and yet somehow the ball always got to the first baseman ahead of the runner. He doesn’t seem to be on anyone’s prospect list, which means that, if the Rays don’t have some hot shot infielder coming through the system, he might be back next year. If only for his fielding skills, we hope the Rays take a close look at Angel.
  
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Elliot Johnson (26), with the Bulls since 2007 and on the Rays 40-man roster much of that time. Passed through waivers and signed minor league contract this year. By any measure, 2010 was his best season as a professional baseball player.

• Played in 109 games with 481 plate appearances. 11 HR, 56 RBI (5th best), 30 SB (2nd best), .319/.375/.475, wOBA .373, bRAA 14.8. Positions played: SS-64, 2B-16, LF-21, RFK-14.
• Back in 2008 we were unimpressed with Elliot’s play. In 2009 it seemed as if he spent a lot of time injured. But he sure blossomed this year. He won all sorts of awards, and deserved them. As a shortstop he seems to depend on his glove and his arm, and they serve him well. What was important to the Bulls this year was to have such a solid, dependable, and well above average player available to play so many positions. He hit with some power, got on base, and moved around the bases. His 72 runs scored was 3rd best on the team. My guess is that this was his last year as a Bull, and I regret that. Elliot’s off to play winter ball in Mexico and, I’d bet, to eventually sign a contract with an invitation to spring training with a very solid shot of playing in the majors next year. The oddity is that he’s a better ballplayer that some currently with the Rays (Jason Bartlett and Willy Aybar come to mind), but he’s not going to get a chance to prove it. We’ll try to keep an eye on him this winter.
  
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It Wuz the Hats

Durham Bulls 2, Columbus Clippers 13
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Indy Week,Columbus Dispatch,MLB.com

I think we'll leave the serious analysis to the folks at the links. We were there. It wasn't exactly fun, but a bad day at the DBAP — no mistake about it, it was a bad day — is still a good day. And there won't be any more this year.

Should we have been annoyed at the announcement that blared out just before the teams took the field?

• Durham Bull Dan Johnson named Tampa Bay Rays Minor League Player of the Year.
• Durham Bull Jeremy Hellickson named Tampa Bay Rays Minor League Pitcher of the Year.
• Durham Bull Desmond Jennings named Tampa Bay Rays Minor League Defensive Player of the Year
• Durham Bull Elliot Johnson named Tampa Bay Rays Triple A Player of the year.

What's that? Only three one of those guys was actually playing for the Durham Bulls last night. Really?

OK, we know the whole point of AAA is to send guys to the majors, but sometimes, especially when you're in the process of getting your head handed to you, it hurts.

So, why did it happen? It wuz the hats.

I mean, have you ever seen an uglier hat? Can you imagine having to go out and play in front of discerning fans such as we have at the DBAP wearing that critter on your head?

I rest my case.

In the meantime, WDBB is working on a year-end summary, preparing for the Moonlight Graham Awards ceremony, and getting ready for another trip to the mountains tomorrow.

One area needs your help. I'm pretty sure the Bulls front office reads our posts, so if you've got some DBAP gripes and praise, let me know and I'll pass them on.

Bulls Win Game 3; Stay in the Hunt

Durham Bulls 3; Columbus Clippers 2
Wrap, Box

If the idea was to break the hearts of the Columbus Clippers, then the Bulls gave it their best shot. Clippers’ pitcher Yohan Pino was was brilliant. With the exception of the 5th inning, Bulls hitters were being set down on three or four pitches. In eight full innings he faced only 28 batters and threw only 81 pitches.

And in almost every inning Columbus was threatening. They got runners to third base in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd innings, but could not push across a run against Alex Cobb.

Nevertheless, even though Bulls hitters were swinging at everything, it wasn’t until the 5th that they were able to score. Angel Chavez got a double. Rashad Eldridge singled Chavez home (and got to third base on a fielding error) and Eldridge came home on a sacrifice fly by Fernando Perez. That put the Bulls up 2-0. R.J. Swindle baffled the Clippers in the 5th and 6th, all except Wes Hodges who smacked a homer over the bull. But Joe Bateman struck out the side in the 7th and all seemed well.

Perhaps just to extend the agony, Joe let a run sneak in in the 8th for his first blown save of the year. The game was tied 2-2, setting the stage for Winston Abreu to get his first win of the year. Winston struck out the side in the top of the 9th.

Bring on bottom-of-the-9th heroics. Josh Judy came in for the Clippers. Elliot Johnson worked a walk. Justin Ruggiano hit a single to right that was deep enough for Johnson to get to third. That led to an intentional walk of Chris Richard, loading the bases with none out. Infield and outfield were drawn in, but Leslie Anderson’s fly out to center was just far enough to let Elliot get home.

The Bulls live to see another day.

Odds and ends:

When Xavier Hernandez strolled out to the mound in the 6th inning just to stall a bit while Joe Bateman warmed up I had this thought. "This could be the last time he does that." But with the win, X will get another chance to make that stroll at the DBAP.

Sure seems like Columbus thoroughly scouted the middle of the Bulls lineup. Elliot Johnson, Justin Ruggiano, Chris Richard, and Joe Dillon are not doing well. Maybe the fun they had in 9th will be a turn around moment.

Paul Phillips, who got a win for the Bulls in Game 4 of the Bats-Bulls series is reported to be starting tomorrow.

We were surprised to see that Stacy Long, a writer for the Montgomery Advertiser, and who does a terrific job covering the Biscuits, was in town. His blog has several notes from the game and some post-game clubhouse commentary.

Bulls Lose Game Two; Headed Home

Durham Bulls 0; Columbus Clippers 4
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun,MLB.com

... momentum is only as good as the next day's starting pitching.

Charlie Montoyo in the Herald-Sun

Sounds good to me, Charlie, 'cause things are beginning to look a bit worrisome.

As a crew, Bulls pitchers usually don't give up many home runs, but they've given up 7 in the last two days. Down in Montgomery, Alex Cobb (tonight's starting pitcher) only gave up 7 in 119 innings. So perhaps that aspect of the game might be under control.

And then there's the fact that only once in this entire season have the Bulls lost three games in a row to the same team (Toledo, May 15-18).

So all isn't lost. But worried? You bet. The Bulls need to win three in a row. The Bulls have done that 8 times this season, most recently against Norfolk August 22-24 (actually that was the last three of a six in a row run, but who's counting?).

We'll be there tonight. This could be the last game of the season for Bulls fans and no matter what happens it has been a lot of fun. Great baseball. Great fans.

Speaking of great baseball, Dan Johnson finally showed the Tampa Bay folks what he could do last night when he hit two two-run homers to score all the runs in a 4-3 win over the Yankees.

And lastly, in an absolutely unrelated to baseball bit of trivia: If you have been wondering 1) Who the heck Miranda Lambert is and/or 2) what those songs playing in every game delay on the video board were actually about, then these two links will more or less explain.