Sweet Sunday

Season: 14-24; Trip: 3-4; Standings
Box, Wrap, SWBblog.

The Bulls played another fine game of baseball this afternoon. Chris Archer had a terrific start: 6 innings, 9 Ks, 4 BBs, and 1 unearned run. Ryan Reid bridged the gap to Brandon Gomes. Gomes has yet to allow a run while pitching in a Bulls uniform.

Meanwhile the Bulls kept up their very worrisome habit of leaving runners on third base. Nevertheless, runs were pushed across with hits by Stephan Vogt and Shawn O’Malley, and that was enough.

The Bulls have a chance to break even for the trip tomorrow. That would be a fine outcome.

Outside the game

• Frontier Field in Rochester is well-liked by the cognoscenti of baseball stadiums. See reviews here and here. It comes out eighth on Stadium Journey’s list.
• Cesar Ramos has pitched in one game, for one inning (May 6th) since he was called up.
• If you want to look at something really outside the game, check out ultra-marathoner Diane Van Deren’s attempt to run North Carolina’s Mountain-to-Sea Trail. She began her trek last Thursday at 4:30am from Clingman’s Dome. She’s going to see if she can beat the current record of 24 days, 3 hours and 50 minutes (930 miles). If all went well today, she should be nearing Buck Creek Gap.

Chart of the Day

Batting Averages

The Sabermetricians don't much like batting average for a lot of reasons, but we are all used to it. So here they are for the Durham Bulls. Included is Brandon Guyer since I'd guess he'll be coming back someday soon. Not included is Henry Wrigley since he has very few AAA at bats yet. As can be seen, there are three players below the Mendoza Line. That's actually an improvement over the last couple of days. Brandon Guyer, Stephen Vogt, and Reid Brignac are on the Rays' 40-man roster. Room is going to have to be made for Hideki Matsui. Oher roster changes can be expected as various Rays return to health — Longoria, Jennings, Lobaton, Allen, et al.