Bulls Below the Border

For some guys baseball is a year-round profession. After a few weeks off at the end of the season they are off to the Winter Leagues. I’ve scrolled through the rosters and found some current and former Bulls who are playing ball as we speak, including a couple we haven’t seen in a long, long time. If I've missed someone important to you, let me know.

Robbie Knopf over at Rays Colored Glasses is tracking and writing about the Winter Leagues in more detail. Worth keeping an eye on that blog.

• Pitcher Winston Abreu, a WDBB favorite from several years ago (2009 and 2010), has had a couple of innings with the Toros de Este of the Dominican Winter League. 
• Catcher Mayo Acosta is also playing for the Toros del Este in the Dominican Winter League. Not doing all that well in 10 games so far. 2014 Bulls season profiled here.
• Infielder Wilson Betemit is playing for the Giganantes de Cibao, also in the Dominican Winter League. Doing OK over 16 games. 2014 Bulls profile here. Think, but don't know for sure, that he's now a free agent.
• Pitcher Merrill Kelly has been in a starting role for the Leones del Escogidos in the Dominican Winter League. Not doing all that well, yet. A key player in the 2014 Bulls crew.
• Pitcher Josh Lueke is pitching in relief for the Toros de Este of the Dominican Winter League. 2014 Bulls stats here. Lueke also a free agent now.
• Infielder Ray Olmedo is playing for the Aguilas del Zulia in the Venezuela Winter League.
• Reliever Jim Patterson, who had just 10 innings with the Bulls in 2014, is pitching for the Gigantes de Carolina in Puerto Rico’s Roberto Clemente League.
• Pitcher Enny Romero, not a favorite of WDBB last year, is pitching in relief for the Leones de Escogido of the Dominican Winter League.
• Catcher Roman Ali Solis is with the Tomoteros de Culiacan in Mexico’s Pacific League and playing a lot of baseball. 
• Pitcher Jake Thompson has started three games for the Tiburones de la Guaira in the Venezuelan Winter League. A help last year.
• Outfielder Jon Weber, another WDBB favorite from history (2007-2009), has 6 doubles, a triple, and 6 home runs for the Mayos de Naojoa of the Mexican Pacific League. Nice to see Jon still in baseball. 

The Durham Bulls in 2014 — The Pitchers — Part 2

This wraps up our series of four posts digging in to the individual stats of 2014's Durham Bulls. For an overview of team stats see our earlier post here. The posts on the hitters begins here, and Part 1 of this series can be reached by this link.

In addition to the players listed in this post, we will be reproducing the table from Part 1 sorted on different stats. The player discussions have been sorted by innings pitched.

Durham Bulls 2014 Pitchers Sorted by ERA

Name	Age	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	WHIP
Kirby Yates*	27	1	0	0.36	21	0	16	25.0	0.76
C.J. Riefenhauser*	24	3	3	1.40	39	0	1	57.2	1.14
Jeff Beliveau*	27	0	0	1.50	30	0	11	36.0	0.92
Adam Liberatore	27	6	1	1.66	54	0	4	65.0	0.89
Brad Boxberger*	26	1	0	1.93	6	0	2	9.1	0.86
Steve Geltz*	26	3	3	2.38	29	0	1	41.2	1.06
Jimmy Patterson	25	1	1	2.70	5	1	0	10.0	1.30
Merrill Kelly	25	9	4	2.76	28	15	0	114.0	1.26
Cory Burns*	26	2	2	2.77	7	0	1	13.0	1.54
Juan Sandoval	33	0	1	3.12	14	1	1	26.0	1.35
Jake Thompson	24	4	1	3.15	24	1	0	34.1	1.54
Josh Lueke	29	0	1	3.38	32	0	12	37.1	1.10
Brandon Gomes*	29	0	2	3.62	27	0	0	37.1	1.29
Doug Mathis	31	2	3	3.63	26	3	0	67.0	1.64
Matt Andriese	24	11	8	3.77	28	25	0	162.1	1.24
Alex Colome*	25	7	6	3.77	15	15	0	86.0	1.33
Juan Carlos Oviedo*	32	0	0	3.86	7	0	0	7.0	0.86
Mike Montgomery*	24	10	5	4.29	25	25	0	126.0	1.31
Enny Romero*	23	5	11	4.50	25	25	0	126.0	1.43
Nathan Karns*	26	9	9	5.08	27	27	0	145.1	1.40
Jeremy Hellickson*	27	1	4	7.23	5	5	0	18.2	2.30
Braulio Lara	25	0	3	9.00	9	0	0	11.0	1.73

Data sources are BaseballReference.com and Fangraphs. Players marked with an asterisk were on the Tampa Bay Rays 40-man roster. Continuing from Part 1:

C. J. Riefenhauser* (LHRP) (57.2 innings, 39 appearances) typically came in for one or two innings. He put together a solid year with a very nice ERA of 1.40, the second best on the team after Kirby Yates’ amazing 0.36. He was called up for two games in April for his major league debut and for five appearances in September. He also had about two weeks on the DL in May. Seems to have a bright future in the Rays system. Expect him to start with the Bulls next year, unless they saw something they either liked or disliked in September. A left-handed reliever is always welcome. Stats.

Steve Geltz* (RHRP) (41.2 innings, 29 appearances) sat out for a 50-game drug use suspension that began in May. He was a steady presence thereafter with a decent 2.38 ERA and an exceptional WHIP of 1.06. The Rays called him up before the Bulls went into the playoffs and put him to work. He made 13 appearances in September for the Rays. Would love to have him back, but he may stick with the Rays. Stats.

Josh Lueke (RHRP) (37.1 innings, 32 appearances) joined the Bulls from the Rays in mid-June, immediately assuming the closer role he had shared with Kirby Yates in 2013. Solid stats with 12 saves (but 3 blown saves), and a decent WHIP of 1.10. Near the end of the season he pretty much switched to a set-up role as Adam Liberatore got some save opportunities. The Rays seem to have lost confidence in Mr. Lueke, so it is hard to say if he will be back next year. My guess is that he will opt for free agency. Owner of one of the oddest official photos on baseballreference.com. Stats.

Brandon Gomes* (RHRP) (37.1 innings, 27 appearances) also started the season with the Rays.  He was sent down in May and spent the rest of the season with the Bulls. He had one game with the Rays in August and went back up in early September. He had 8 appearances during the September for the Rays. As a Bull his numbers were below average for the bullpen crew. Stats.

Jeff Beliveau* (LHRP) (36 innings, 30 appearances) had a breakout year. Terrific numbers: 1.50 ERA and a superb 0.92 WHIP, not to mention 11 saves. He made a couple of April appearances with the Rays and then went up to stay in late July where he has done just fine in short relief. We don’t expect to see him back with the Bulls and wish him the best. Stats.

Durham Bulls 2014 Pitchers Sorted by Walks/Hits Inning Pitched

Name	Age	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	WHIP
Kirby Yates*	27	1	0	0.36	21	0	16	25.0	0.76
Brad Boxberger*	26	1	0	1.93	6	0	2	9.1	0.86
Juan Carlos Oviedo*	32	0	0	3.86	7	0	0	7.0	0.86
Adam Liberatore	27	6	1	1.66	54	0	4	65.0	0.89
Jeff Beliveau*	27	0	0	1.50	30	0	11	36.0	0.92
Steve Geltz*	26	3	3	2.38	29	0	1	41.2	1.06
Josh Lueke	29	0	1	3.38	32	0	12	37.1	1.10
C.J. Riefenhauser*	24	3	3	1.40	39	0	1	57.2	1.14
Matt Andriese	24	11	8	3.77	28	25	0	162.1	1.24
Merrill Kelly	25	9	4	2.76	28	15	0	114.0	1.26
Brandon Gomes*	29	0	2	3.62	27	0	0	37.1	1.29
Jimmy Patterson	25	1	1	2.70	5	1	0	10.0	1.30
Mike Montgomery*	24	10	5	4.29	25	25	0	126.0	1.31
Alex Colome*	25	7	6	3.77	15	15	0	86.0	1.33
Juan Sandoval	33	0	1	3.12	14	1	1	26.0	1.35
Nathan Karns*	26	9	9	5.08	27	27	0	145.1	1.40
Enny Romero*	23	5	11	4.50	25	25	0	126.0	1.43
Jake Thompson	24	4	1	3.15	24	1	0	34.1	1.54
Cory Burns*	26	2	2	2.77	7	0	1	13.0	1.54
Doug Mathis	31	2	3	3.63	26	3	0	67.0	1.64
Braulio Lara	25	0	3	9.00	9	0	0	11.0	1.73
Jeremy Hellickson*	27	1	4	7.23	5	5	0	18.2	2.30

Jake Thompson (RHRP) (34.1 innings, 24 appearances) came up from the Montgomery Biscuits on 6 April and did a decent job for the Bulls, but he missed a month in the middle of the season and only made 4 appearances in August (although he did pitch in the postseason). Not very good numbers for the 24 year old, 3.15 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. Nevertheless, if healthy, expect him back next year. Stats.

Juan Sandoval (RHRP) (26 innings, 14 appearances) started the season with the Bulls, but the 33 year-old was released in late May. He went on to pitch in the Mexican Triple A league for the rest of the year where he put up some impressive numbers. Stats.

Kirby Yates* (RHRP) (25 innings, 21 appearances) banged the door open to the Rays with his 0.36 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, and 16 saves over the first two months of the season. He did OK with them in 37 appearances, but his ERA as a major leaguer jumped up quite a bit, as did his WHIP. We don’t want to try to predict what the Rays might do. We would be more than happy to see him pitching for the Bulls, but that surely isn’t what Mr. Yates would want. Stats.

Jeremy Hellickson* (RHSP) (18.2 innings, 5 games) came to the Bulls on a rehab assignment as he was working his way back to the Rays starting rotation. He became something of a poster child for the downside of being a minor league fan. The net effect of his time with the Bulls was that he lost four games and thoroughly messed up the Bulls rotation. Looking back at the pitching charts we put up a few days ago, the rise you see in the starting pitching ERA pretty much matches Mr. Hellickson’s arrival with his ERA of 7.23 and WHIP of 2.30. It seemed to take the rest of the year to recover. Back with the Rays they have been better, but not by much. Stats.

Cory Burns* (RHRP) 13 innings, 7 appearances) came to the Bulls from the Montgomery Biscuits in mid-August. Plus he had three post-season appearances. Looked OK to me and I was expecting to see him with the Bulls next year. But apparently not. He was reportedly claimed by the Toronto Blue Jays after the Rays put him on waivers. Stats.

Braulio Lara (LHRP) (11 innings, 9 appearances) came up from Montgomery in early May, stayed about a month, did not do very well, and went back to Montgomery. He did not do all that well there either. We don’t expect him back next year, but lefties get lots of breaks so I could be wrong. Stats.

Jim Patterson (LHRP) (10 innings, 5 appearances) also came up from Montgomery for a couple of weeks in May. Did OK and went back. His year in Montgomery was not all that impressive. Not sure we will see him again. Stats.

Brad Boxberger* (RHRP) (9.1 innings, 6 appearances) started the season with the Bulls, put up some big numbers, went up to the Rays, and didn’t come back. He had a pretty good year with the Rays as well. Stats.

Juan Carlos Oviedo (RHRP) (7 innings, 7 appearances) was technically on a rehab assignment as the year started. He did his thing for one inning at a time in April (and did it very well, I might add) and went on up to the Rays. Fun to watch while he was here. He was released by the Rays in August. If he signed anywhere else I haven't found it yet. Stats.

—————— 

Here endeth the WDBB baseball geek stuff for 2014. Not that we won't be keeping an eye on the Bulls and adding a bit more — notably announcing the winners of the 2014 Moonlight Graham Awards — but as far as number-crunching goes, this is it folks.

Game 2 to the Durham Bulls; Greatest Game of the Year?

Wrap, Box, Providence Journal, International League (video)

This should go down as one of the great games in Bulls history, certainly one of the greatest this season.

It started off, however, even worse than Tuesday’s loss when Alex Colome began the 1st inning by giving up a single and two walks to load the bases. Only one run scored, though. But then the leadoff batter in the 2nd inning hit a triple and that was followed by a home run. Colome did get a K, but then walked the next batter. That would be 3 hits (single, triple, and homer), 3 walks, 3 runs, on 54 pitches in 1⅓ innings. Jake Thompson came on and got the Bulls out of the inning stranding two runners.

That was the Bulls pitching story for the rest of the night. Durham relievers Thompson, Merrill Kelly, C.J. Riefenhauser, Josh Lueke, and Adam Liberatore dominated the Red Sox. They did let a few on base, but some heads up baseball kept any more runs from scoring.

Nevertheless, into the 9th inning the game was creepily similar to Tuesday. The Pawsox were still up by a run and Bulls were rarely even getting on base after Justin Christian singled in the 3rd and was brought home by Mikie Mahtook’s home run. In fact, until the 9th, Mahtook had the only RBIs of the Governors’ Cup series.

The fun (for Bulls fans) began in the 9th with Vince Belnome’s home run to tie the game. What a thrill to see him come through after all his struggles this year.

Both managers went into playoff mode. Wilson Betemit came in as a pinch-hitter, Pawtucket switched out pitchers, etc. But in the bottom of the 9th Josh Lueke, who’d come on in the 8th, managed to keep things under control. Lueke stayed on until after the first out of the 10th when Adam Liberatore came on.

So there we were in the 11th. Essentially out of pitchers (more about that later) and only six hits in the entire previous 10 innings. Vince Belnome drew a walk. Ali Solis gets on base on a catcher interference call (good call, you could see the dust come off the catcher’s mitt on TV). And Mike Fontenot singled Belnome home.

Adam Liberatore, who’s most difficult game this year only went 33 pitches, dug in and threw 44 in this outing to close things out and earn, really earn, the win.

But that’s the 2014 Bulls. Solid relief pitching, solid defense, and occasional clutch hits.

Outside the game —

• About that 11th inning. The last man standing in the bullpen was Cory Burns, who’d pitched 2 innings on Tuesday. What about some of the other pitchers (e.g., Bryce Stowell or Andrew Bellatti) whom we saw around last week? Well, in their wisdom the Rays are bringing up Nathan Karns, but have not put him on their roster yet, so the Bulls could only use 24 of the 25 players allowed on their roster. Why would the Rays do that when they’ve got 40 spots available? No excuse, it seems to me. It’s cold comfort that the Boston Red Sox are treating their AAA team even worse. Take a look at the comments buried in the Providence Journal link above. 
• Numbers: Believe it or not, the attendance numbers up in Providence at 3,600 for Tuesday and 4,100 for Wednesday (the last home game of the season for the Pawsox) are pretty good. Unlike the majors, minor league playoff baseball just doesn’t give the marketers enough time to sell the games. 
• I’m worried about the weather. Tonight looks marginal. Tomorrow and the rest of the week looks very tricky. I have no idea what the rules are regarding this. If anyone does know, please chime in.

Game 1 to the Clippers

Playoffs (Best 3 of 5): 0-1
Wrap, Box, Columbus Dispatch

When we looked at the matchup yesterday, the only significant advantage the Bulls had over the Clippers was pitching. That could have been further refined to specify relief pitching since the Bulls relief corps had an ERA on the season of just 2.70. That advantage was not evident last night. Reliever C. J. Riefenhauser came into the game just after Jeremy Moore’s home run had brought the Bulls within a single run of the Clippers.

Things got ugly, quickly.

Three runs on 4 hits and a walk later Riefenhauser was out of the game after pitching only ⅔ of an inning. Jake Thompson got the Bulls out of the 6th, but gave up two runs of his own in the next inning. Cory Burns came on for a clean 9th, but by then it was far too late.

Outside the game —

• If you’ve already got MiLB-TV, check out the quality contrast between what’s coming out of Columbus vs. what comes out of Durham (or Pawtucket for that matter). Very poor quality.  If you don't have MiLB-TV, don't waste your money on tonight. We’ve got a great crew in Durham and their feed into MiLB-TV is the best I’ve seen from IL parks.
• The Bulls did a bit of rosterification yesterday. Of interest mostly to obsessives such as WDBB. Pitcher Merrill Kelly came on to the roster from Limbo. Catcher Luke Maile came onto the roster from Montgomery. Pitcher Bryce Stowell was sent back to Montgomery. Catcher Mayo Acosta was assigned to Montgomery. I’d bet that all of these are paper transactions and all the players mentioned are in the Bulls dugout up in Columbus.
• Pawtucket won the first round of the other IL playoff round, beating Syracuse in a bottom-of-the-10th inning thriller. The Providence Journal has the story.
• Small crowds in Columbus (4,437) and Pawtucket (2,326). 

Season Wraps Up With Win; 5 Hits, 5 Runs

Season: 75-69
Wrap, Box

Justin Christian must not have gotten the memo about it being the last game of the season. Instead of relaxing and being careful, he hit a home run and a double off the wall, stole third base, scored two of the Bulls five runs, and made a couple of nice plays in center field.

He was just part of a very pleasant (a bit warm) afternoon at the DBAP. We saw some good baseball, including four double plays by the Bulls infield. I doubt that’s a record, but still very welcome on a day when your opponents are getting on base. We were reminded what a smooth, competent infielder Ray Olmedo is as he started two, and was the pivot man in the third double play. Pitcher Doug Mathis started the other one, a 1-6-3.

Speaking of pitchers, this was a bullpen day as Charlie Montoyo apparently wanted to set his rotation to begin on Wednesday in Columbus. They did a remarkable job. Doug Mathis had not pitched since August 15, but got through his three innings only giving up a bases-empty home run. Similarly, Jake Thompson last pitched on August 13, but he got the win and pitched three scoreless. Lastly, newcomer Cory Burns made his 6th and longest appearance as a Bull, also going three scoreless innings.

Oddity of the game? Every Bull who got on base scored, all by hits. Nobody was going to wait for a walk, it seemed. That is, in my experience, unique: 5 hits (two doubles, a homer, and three singles), 5 runs.

A very good year that we’ll be writing about a bit as we start closing things out. But this was just a nice baseball game all by itself. Thanks, guys. It was fun.

A Loss; A Win

Season: 62-55; Home Stand: 1-1; Home Games Remaining: 15
Wrap, Box 1, Box 2, Bisons

We are struggling almost as much as Bulls pitching to find something good to say about the first game last night. How about quirky instead?

In the 2nd inning Ali Solis was up there with one strike on him and the Bisons’ pitcher bounced one in the dirt in front of home plate. The ball hit Solis’ bat, went foul, and Solis had a second strike called on him. He swung at the next pitch, missed, and was out.

Also, good to see Jake Thompson back from the DL. Would have been nice for the Bulls or Rays to let fans know why he was on the DL in the first place, but that’s not what they do. And media apparently never asked either. He pitched just two thirds of an inning and left two runners on base for Doug Mathis, but Mathis kept them from scoring.

But nothing good to say about either Merrill Kelly’s or Brandon Gomes’ evening.

And then it drug on for almost 3 hours. Knowing another game was in the offing, we left and watched the second game on TV.

There we saw a terrific performance by Enny Romero. No secret that Mr. Romero has not been our favorite Bulls pitcher this year, but last night was superb. Six innings of one hit, shutout ball was very impressive.

Also impressive was new guy Nick Franklin. There was his game-winning home run and some very nice play at second base (game 1) and shortstop (game 2). That included his slick beginning of the double play that ended the game. He’s off to a slow start at bat, but the homer helps. And he seems to be a class act. After he was called out for his “star of the game” interview at the end of the game, he went out of his way to acknowledge the fans who had stuck in there (it was about 11:30 by then)

Quirky in Game 2? Well, I don’t recall seeing a pitcher call out an ump as forcefully as Josh Lueke did home ump Seth Buckminster in the last inning. I’d bet he wasn’t ever going to get a called third strike after that, so probably good he got a double play behind him to clear the bases and end the inning and game.

Outside the game —

• Saw Tampa Bay’s Wil Myers in the dugout. The Herald-Sun is reporting that Myers worked out with the team Thursday and will do so again today. Then start playing on a rehab assignment. Possibly for as long as two weeks. 

Karns & Moore Team Up for Win

Season: 53-44; Trip: 2-1; Last 10: 7-3; Standings

Wrap, Box, The Buffalo News

Regular readers will know that we are not yet fans of young Nathan Karns. To see why, take a look at our charts from a couple of days ago. But give credit where it’s due. He had a fine night last night going 7 innings and only letting in 1 run. There’s hope.

On the other hand, how about Jeremy Moore? Yet another game-winning home run! Then, just for grins, his last at-bat featured three pitches that went inside, inside, and even further inside. Those pitches brought Charlie Montoyo down to the plate to get between Moore and the ump. As it turned out, Moore hit a very sharp grounder to first for an out. But seemed to me to be kind of pointless on the part of the Bison’s pitcher.

Outside the game — 

• Reliever Jake Thompson has been put on the disabled list for an unspecified reason. Thompson has made 20 appearance since coming up from Montgomery and has done a good job over his 27 innings. Doug Mathis returned from Hudson Valley to take his spot on the roster. 
• Former Bull Dan Johnson was called up to the Bisons’ parent club, the Toronto Blue Jays, and went immediately into the lineup against the Rays last night. He drew four walks and scored three runs (including the winning run). That’s what DJ does — draws walks or hits home runs.

Split; Off to the Sox

Season: 45-38; Home Stand: 2-6
Wrap, Box, Indianapolis

Rehabbing Jeremy Hellickson extended his losing streak to four (although I’m not sure exactly why since he only allowed one run ...yet another scoring rule I don’t understand). But neither Jake Thompson nor Doug Mathis were exactly stellar since they gave up 5 earned runs between themselves. Doug Mathis does deserved some points for just getting through 4 innings leaving some flex in the bullpen for today’s game in Pawtucket. Mikie Mahtook’s home run came late, but it came. He remains the most reliable Bulls hitter.

Jeremy Moore delivered two perfect throws to the plate to prevent runs and two double plays show that it could have been worse.

Some (much) credit must go to Indianapolis' Casey Sadler, who pitched a fine game for the Indians.

Matchup

The Bulls split a 4-game home series with the PawSox early in June. The Sox are doing pretty well in what is turning out to be the most competitive division in the IL. It looks like the Bulls have a slight edge in pitching and Merrill Kelly gets a start tonight ... a good thing. Should be a good series if the Bulls can get past knuckleballer Wright tonight.

Outside the game —

• Leslie Anderson continues doing well for the league-leading Yomiuri Giants (Japan Central League. A slash line of .311/.367/.467 with 31 RBI looks very good. 
• J.D. Martin is doing OK as a starter for the Samsung Lions in Korea.

Yates! Yates! Yates!

Season: 33-23; Home Stand: 1-0
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

For thrilling baseball, last night’s 8th and 9th innings were hard to beat. So let’s look at the game back-to-front.

Adam Liberatore came on in the 8th with a 5-3 lead. He’s been terrific this year and we expected a quiet inning. Kirby Yates was starting to warm up for the 9th. The Bulls had the game in hand. In fact, I was thinking about getting out of the parking deck ahead of the DPAC crowd. Two singles and a walk later, the bases were loaded on just 14 pitches and nobody was out as the heart of the IronPigs batting order was coming up. Cue the hook and Kirby Yates came in seeking a two-inning, 6-out save. I don’t think he has faced quite so perilous a situation this year.

Mr. Yates K’d the first batter, but the second reached on a error by Hak-Ju Lee that scored a run. Bases still loaded. Still one out. Score now 5-4. Next batter: K. Next batter: fly ball to Mahtook in center field. Out of the inning. Breath.

The 9th was almost anti-climatic, although Yates did return having already thrown 18 pitches. That gave me something to worry about. But the first batter hit a fly ball to Mahtook; the next watched the third strike go by; the next also flew out to Mahtook. Save #14 for Yates, best in the IL. Game trivia: 3 out of six Yates’ outs were fly balls to Mikie Mahtook.

Otherwise, Mike Montgomery had a brilliant no-hit five innings, then unravelled in the 6th. His pitch count wasn’t all that high, still, looking back, would not have hurt to come out after the single and the BB that started the inning. The three runs that scored tied the game and he left with a no-decision. For his one out that ended the 6th Jake Thompson got another win, because Curt Casali showed why the Rays like him with a booming home run over the bull that brought in the two runs that made all the difference.

Outside the game —

• Alex Colome is back from his 50 game suspension and will start tonight. Apparently Merrill Kelly will go back into a long relief role. The Bulls will need him there since Enny Romero and/or Colome are likely to be in need of a long reliever.
• I missed the fact that Mikie Mahtook leads the International League in doubles with 19 (he got another one last night). He’s also tied for the league lead in triples with 5. Impressive.
• Cole Figueroa was in the dugout. I’d guess we will see him tonight. 
• Terrific story over at DNA of Sports on Ali Solis, the Bulls catcher recently called up to warm up Rays pitchers. (That’s not quite fair, but he has still not had an AB and he’s been there 3 or 4 days). He did get in last night’s game as a pinch runner (!) and stayed to catch the bottom of the 10th.

Bulls Come Home; Tough Trip; New Faces

Wrap, Box

Wrap, Box

Season: 22-17; Trip: 2-6

Wrap, Box

This has to have been a thoroughly disappointing road trip for the Bulls. Possibly one of the worst in their history. And yet even though they lost 6 games, on the whole they were only outscored 33 runs to 30. They lost 2 extra innings games by walk offs.

At the start of the road trip the starters combined ERA was 4.45 and at the end it was 4.43, but there were some pretty awful games in there. The relievers had a tiny improvement from 2.28 to 2.27 while the team ERA ended the trip exactly as it had begun at 3.51.

So maybe just roster turmoil and bad luck.

Speaking of roster turmoil here’s a summary of what’s happened since the Bulls left town.

• RHP Nathan Karns was called to the Rays, sat on the bench, and was back in time to start a game on May 6.
• The Bulls got a catcher from the Montgomery Biscuits, Curt Casali. He played in  5 of the eight games and is looking very good.
• On the same day the Bulls released catcher Enny Rodriguez.
• The that day, RHRP Brad Boxberger was called to the Rays and may have done a first in baseball history performance on May 8th. He came into a game with the bases loaded and no outs, then struck out the side in 9 pitches! Don’t think the Bulls will see him back.
• One of the “ghosts” on the roster, an outfielder named Jeremy Moore was moved to the Montgomery roster.
• RHP Steve Geltz got a 50-game suspension for drug use.
• And then The Bulls got two pitchers from the Biscuits, right-hander Jake Thompson and left-hander Braulio Lara. They both have already seen service and are look pretty good.
• Lastly, infielder Robby Price was moved off the roster.
• Note: LHP Jim Patterson, another new guy, actually joined the team just before they left town.
• To summarize, since the Bulls left town, 2 pitchers have left the team, three pitchers have been added, a catcher had been added, a catcher released, and an infielder moved off the roster.

I’m glad I’m not the guy trying to print the programs for Tuesday’s game!

Meanwhile, Gwinnett lost today, so the Bulls are coming home in first place in the South.

The roster turmoil is far from over. Folks who follow the Rays know that three key pitchers and one prospect fell off the team at the very beginning of the year. One of them, Matt Moore, will not be back this year. But we are starting to hear stirring from the other three and that will have an effect on the Bulls roster, eventually. Alex Cobb may be showing up on a rehab assignment. Jeremy Hellickson is reported to be coming along. Alex Colome is nearing the end of his 50-game suspension and will likely be assigned to the Bulls as soon as he is finished. Also out there is shortstop Tim Beckham. 

Did anyone hear why Enny Romero was scratched today? Pass it on and I’ll post it.

Rarely Used Tactic Doesn't Work

Season: 20-14; Trip: 0-3

Wrap, Box, Syracuse.com

An intentional walk is not Charlie Montoyo’s favorite tactic. Last night was the first time in this year’s 34 games that he’s ordered one issued. In last year’s 144 games he ordered a grand total of 8. In contrast, Joe Maddon of the Tampa Bay Rays has called for 9 intentional walks in the Rays' 34 games this year. 

Last night the idea was to set up for a double play in the bottom of the 10th. The first batter drew a walk and was moved to 2B on a sacrifice bunt. Charlie called for the IBB to put a man on first. A little line drive to left field drove the winning run in. Not likely to encourage Charlie to do it more often.

Seems like the Bulls are playing a lot of extra inning games this year. So far they’ve played five of them. My view is that once you get past 9 innings the outcome is something of a crapshoot with the advantage going to the home team since they have the last at bat. The Bulls have won 3 out of the 5 extra inning games (2-1 away, 1-1 home). That seems about the best you can expect.

The last several innings were a parade of the new guys on the mound. Jim Patterson in his second appearance, Jake Thompson in his first AAA appearance (very nice 2 ⅓ innings) and Doug Mathis in the 10th with the aforementioned IBB. 

Attendance: 1,508

Outside the game —

• About those attendance numbers. In addition to the awful spring weather (last night’s 61˚ start temp was one of the warmest this year), some of it is due to a deliberate modification to the Syracuse Chief’s business plan. It seems that the Chiefs had become famous for giving away tickets. The new general manager decided to change that this year and has put a virtual stop to the gravy train. 
• It sure looks like the “tough love” approach to Syracuse’s addiction to freebies is going to take some time to work out. In the meantime, with the combination of low turnout and bad weather I’m sure glad we don’t have the beer concession for NBT Bank Stadium. We’d be out of business before the summer crowds show up.

Transactions: Boxberger and Thompson

Doing my update this morning I missed a couple of things. As seems typical, as soon as the Bulls go on the road, players start moving around.

First of all, even though almost anyone reading this blog probably already knows this, Brad Boxberger went down to St. Petersburg yesterday and will likely be with the Rays for a while. He has done a stellar job for the Bulls in his 6 appearances.

In his place, RHP Jake Thompson has been called up from the Montgomery Biscuits. He has solid stats. Should be an asset to the Bulls.

I’ve had it pointed out to me that in addition to having former Durham Bull Joe Dillon as hitting coach, the Syracuse Chiefs have as their manager Billy Gardner who managed the Montgomery Biscuits for the last several years. He knows very well any of the Bulls who came through his place. That might explain the testing of Curt Casali over the last two games.

Sure wish the fans up Syracuse way were paying attention. They look to be a pretty decent team.