Triple-A Championship Games Begin

Let us stipulate from the beginning that this whole business of a "Triple A National Championship" is outside the norms of traditional baseball competition. Not exactly a sham, but also not a true test of the teams involved. One game should not decide a baseball championship. 

Of the 30 teams in Triple-A baseball, 10 are in the Pacific Coast League and 20 are in the International League. The PCL has East and West Divisions of 5 teams each. The IL has East and West Divisions of 10 teams each. The Durham Bulls are in the IL East Division.

Nuts and bolts of this weekend.

Everything happens out in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Las Vegas Ballpark. 

Las Vegas Ballpark

Games are supposed to be streamed for free on MiLB.TV. I think, but am not sure, that the Bulls game is on local radio as well. The easiest way to reach links will probably be at the Bulls' website.

On Friday, September 30th, a championship game for the Triple-A Pacific Coast League will be played between the El Paso Chihuahuas (San Diego Padres), who won the PCL East Division,  and the Reno Aces (Arizona Diamondbacks). End of season standings. The game is scheduled to begin at 10:05 EDT.

Bulls v Sounds

On Saturday night, 9:05 EDT, the Durham Bulls will play the Nashville Sounds for the International League Championship. These two teams have actually seen each other a lot this year. They have played 18 times, 6 in Nashville and 12 in Durham. Overall, the Sounds have won 10 of those 18 games. Probably most relevant is the last series August 23-28. The Bulls won just 2 of 6 games but were outscored just 30 to 39.

On paper, the Sounds have an advantage. But, if you drive down to the details, and the fact that it's just one game, it will surely be the pitching. We don't know who will be starting for the Bulls, but they've got a couple of good choices (Keven Herget and Taj Bradley come to mind) and we can hope that the Rays will not be dictating the rotation. That, in turn, means that the real contest might be between Manager Brady Williams for the Bulls and Rick Sweet of the Sounds. Sweet has a lot more AAA experience under his belt. Will it make a difference? I guess we'll see.

Sunday night?  Let's hope the Bulls will be playing.

Durham Bulls Win International League East

Decisive pitching and hitting last night clinched it just one day from the end of the season. Bulls play final game this morning then off to Las Vegas to play the Nashville Sounds on Saturday. Good Luck. No info yet on radio/tv coverage. Standings.

It was quite a year. Full of ups and downs.

Durham Bulls: 2 Games Left; Tonight?

The Bulls prevailed against 9 Charlotte pitchers last night. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders split a doubleheader, slipping to 2 games back. A Bulls win, or a RailRiders loss, and the Bulls win the International League East and head for Las Vegas. Here's hoping we find out if the games will be televised, time, channel, etc. But, it ain't over 'til it's over. Standings.

Durham Bulls: 3 Games Left; Off to Charlotte

The Bulls are 1½ games ahead of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. They have three games in Charlotte to finish the season. The RailRiders have four games, all at home, against the Buffalo Bisons.  Both teams need to keep winning to make it to the playoffs in Las Vegas on October 1st. 

Very, very nice end-of-season run by the Bulls. They need to keep it up for the next couple of days. Standings.

Durham Bulls: 4 Games Left; Last Home Game Today

The Durham Bulls won; the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders lost. The Bulls have a 1½-game lead. Standings. Nashville has clinched the IL West.

Durham Bulls: 5 Games Left

 The Bulls lost last night and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders won. That pulls the RailRiders to within ½ a game. Standings.

Durham Bulls: 6 Games Left

 Bottom of the 10th heroics last night kept the Bulls 1½ game lead intact. Standings.