The Durham Bulls in 2013 — Hitters — Part 2

Players in this version of the 2013 hitters’ table are sorted by wOBA. See previous post for the table sorted by games played. The less familiar stats such as weighted on-base average (wOBA) and weighted runs above average (wRAA) are explained at the links. Players with an asterisk are left-handed batters. Data sources are Baseball Reference.com and Fangraphs. Players discussed in order of games played.

Name	Age	G	PA	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	wOBA	wRAA
Hak-Ju Lee*	22	15	57	.422	.536	.600	1.136	.508	8.0
Wil Myers	22	64	289	.286	.356	.520	.876	.387	13.5
Vince Belnome*	25	127	533	.300	.408	.446	.854	.389	25.6
Leslie Anderson*	31	119	494	.292	.372	.459	.832	.375	18.7
Brandon Guyer	27	98	405	.301	.374	.458	.832	.377	15.9
Luke Scott	35	3	14	.333	.429	.333	.762	.338	0.1
Kevin Kiermaier*	23	39	154	.263	.338	.423	.761	.344	2.1
Tim Beckham	23	122	522	.276	.342	.387	.729	.334	3.2
Cole Figueroa*	26	129	533	.286	.361	.367	.727	.337	4.3
Mike Fontenot*	33	120	470	.264	.335	.379	.714	.328	0.6
Jason Bourgeois	31	90	391	.290	.343	.368	.711	.325	-0.3
Juan Apodaca	26	29	97	.238	.333	.357	.690	.323	-0.3
Shelley Duncan	33	90	376	.215	.287	.382	.669	.303	-6.6
Chris Gimenez	30	95	375	.224	.350	.305	.656	.316	-3.0
Rich Thompson*	34	50	217	.249	.325	.312	.638	.300	-4.3
Ryan Roberts	32	37	148	.210	.320	.274	.594	.286	-4.5
Evan Frey*	27	47	148	.230	.329	.262	.591	.286	-4.5
Craig Albernaz	30	33	115	.225	.279	.304	.583	.271	-4.9
Jesus Flores	28	52	189	.178	.212	.244	.456	.211	-16.7

2013 Durham Bulls Hitters

Sorted by wOBA

Jason Bourgeois, besides having the most difficult name to spell correctly, added quite a bit to the team this year and not all of it shows in the stats. First of all, at the beginning of the year he was a speedy outfielder who, along with Rich Thompson, could cover left and center and steal bases (22 on the year). This base running speed made up for Durham’s lack of power throughout the year. He and Thompson helped limit the damage from Wil Myers’ surprising lack of skill in right field in the early part of the season. He got to play in 9 games with the Rays late in the season, but there was no public bid for his services as he passed through waivers on his way back. At 31, he needed perhaps a bit more to earn a call back for 2014. We’ll have to wait and see. Stats.

Shelley Duncan may have had his last hurrah as a baseball player with the Bulls this year. To be honest, we like just about everything about what we have seen from him over the years. But he seems to have lost a step and certainly was not the power hitter this year that he has been in the past. With over 300 major league games under his belt, he surely brought a depth of experience to the clubhouse and his enthusiasm with each win was visible. To get some insights into his approach to the game, take a look at two very fine articles (here and here) from this year’s Bull City Summer. 54 RBI is nothing to sneeze at. The Bulls needed every one they could get this year. At 33 is there a chance that he could be back? Maybe. Stats.

Wil Myers spent the early part of the season with the Bulls, playing in 64 games before moving on. (Note: that was more than Longoria's 38 games in late 2007/early 2008.) We won’t see him in the DBAP in a Bulls uniform again (unless it’s for a rehab assignment and we’d rather not see that happen). We admit that his first month or so was unimpressive when compared to the hype, but then we noticed his RBI numbers, which were substantial even early in the season, much less what he accumulated over his 64 games (57). Early awkwardness in right field smoothed out a bit, but needed work. At the plate he eventually showed all that was promised, hitting one of the longest home runs we’ve ever witnessed and 13 more to go with it. Note that even though he left the team in June, at the end of the season his 14 homers were tied for the team lead (with Anderson). We wish him well. We’ll be able to say we saw him way back when someday. Stats.

Jesus Flores ended up being the Bulls go-to catcher for much of the season. I think it’s fair to say that he would not have gotten quite as much playing time if the Bulls had not needed Gimenez in the outfield. Not much of a bat, but clearly an above average defensive catcher. And that’s what the Bulls needed after Myers departed and Thompson got hurt. Flores has 311 major league games, more than Duncan. So he was yet another veteran in the clubhouse, in his case working with several young pitchers. Honestly, I never paid much attention to him over the year. Maybe I should have. He might be at the bottom of the power heap, but he might be back even with that awful wRAA. Stats.

Rich Thompson had some seriously bad luck this year. First of all he started the season in a slump and then, just as he was coming out of it, he broke his foot and was out for the rest of the year. He was noticed in the stands of the Triple-A championship game and it sure sounded like he is on the verge of retiring. Too bad. One of the keys to the 2013 Bulls was speed. The Bulls stole 137 bases this year, up from just 74 in 2012. Of those 74 in 2012, Rich Thompson accounted for 29 of them. By the time of his injury on June 6, Thompson had picked up 22, and that with a not-very-good OBP of just .325 (not very good for Thompson, that is). At 34, we’ve got to guess that he won’t be back. Too bad. Stats.

Evan Frey was part of the scramble to find an outfielder in June and July. To that end he was helpful. At the plate, not so much. But he did his job. He also spent some time in Montgomery and came back to lend a hand at the end of the season. He’ll need to offer more promise at the plate if he’s to return. Stats.

Kevin Kiermaier was a welcome addition to the Bulls' roster near the end of the season. Needing a center fielder ever since Rich Thompson’s injury, 23 year-old Kiermaier joined the Bulls in late July and clearly had a good time. He’s a fun-to-watch fielder and quick on the base paths (7 stolen bases, 6 triples). He had a terrific combined season at AA and AAA. The best part for Bulls fans is that he is a solid candidate for a full year with the Bulls in 2014. That should be fun. Stats.

Ryan Roberts simply wasn’t much help to the Bulls even though he got a good bit of playing time in his many stays with the team. It’s fair to say, I think, that he came into 2013 assuming he had a shot at being a Rays’ regular, and he did play in 60 games with the Rays this year. But when the Rays needed to move Wil Myers up, it was Roberts who got optioned down. He bounced back up a few days later, hit two home runs, and was optioned back (all this in late June, early July). He then went back up to the Rays for late July/early August, but came back, this time in DFA circumstances, meaning he was off the Rays’ 40-man roster. Roberts had the most major league playing time of any Bull, 510 games over 8 years, but he simply didn’t add much to the team that we could see. Quite likely the highest paid Durham Bull this year ($2.95 million). Did not play, as far as I could tell, in the Bulls’ post-season. Stats.

Craig Albernaz remains one of our favorite ballplayers and he was responsible for our biggest single thrill of the season, his grand slam into the bull back on August 6 against the Rochester Red Wings. Hard to imagine, but catcher Albernaz has spent parts of 5 seasons with the Bulls, although this year was the only time he’s spent all of the season in a Bulls uniform. He is obviously a huge asset to the Rays system. Will he be back? Hard to say. My guess is that they will place him in the location in their system that they are most interested in developing pitchers. Note that he holds an ERA of 0.00 in his 3 games, 3 innings pitched in 2013, a significant improvement over his 2012 pitching performance. He’s reported to have been working on a cutter. Stats.

Juan Apodaca did a decent enough job for the Bulls this year, so we were a bit surprised that he was released in mid-July. At a guess, he was a casualty of the Rays’ apparent confusion over just what to do at the catching position throughout their system. We have to note that not one of the four catchers with the Bulls this year made it into the black on the wRAA stat this year. The one with the highest rating was Apodaca and he got released. Certainly there are a lot of ways of looking at catchers that we fans aren’t going to be able to evaluate. Apodaca came to the Bulls out of independent ball, but we have not been able to find out if he caught on anywhere for the rest of 2013. Stats.

Hak-Ju Lee was injured on April 20 ending what was a spectacular start to the season. The young Mr. Lee was simply doing it all: hitting, stealing bases, and playing a superb short stop. His advanced metrics were pretty (BB/K of 1.22). It would surely have been fun to watch him develop over the year. Because the Rays are being their usual selves and not informing anyone about his status, we can only guess that his surgery went well and that he is rehabbing right now. We can hope so, and we can hope that his recovery is successful enough for him to be with the Bulls next year. Stats.

Luke Scott visited the Bulls on a rehab assignment at the end of the year. Stats.

The Durham Bulls in 2013 — Hitters — Part 1

Only 19 different ballplayers came to bat in a Durham Bulls uniform this year. Some quite a few times (Vince Belnome and Cole Figueroa at 533 plate appearances each), one (Luke Scott at 14) very few times. This year’s very low number of hitters hints at a real strength of the team — stability. Compare this year’s 19 to last year’s 32. In 2011 there were 25 different batters, 28 in 2010, 27 in 2009. This year was well below normal and, given their talent, that was a good thing.

Players are listed in the table are sorted by the number of games played. The less familiar stats such as weighted on-base average (wOBA) and weighted runs above average (wRAA) are explained at the links. Players with an asterisk are left-handed batters. Data sources are Baseball Reference.com and Fangraphs. See Part 2 for a version of this table sorted by wOBA.

Name	Age	G	PA	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	wOBA	wRAA
Cole Figueroa*	26	129	533	.286	.361	.367	.727	.337	4.3
Vince Belnome*	25	127	533	.300	.408	.446	.854	.389	25.6
Tim Beckham	23	122	522	.276	.342	.387	.729	.334	3.2
Mike Fontenot*	33	120	470	.264	.335	.379	.714	.328	0.6
Leslie Anderson*	31	119	494	.292	.372	.459	.832	.375	18.7
Brandon Guyer	27	98	405	.301	.374	.458	.832	.377	15.9
Chris Gimenez	30	95	375	.224	.350	.305	.656	.316	-3.0
Jason Bourgeois	31	90	391	.290	.343	.368	.711	.325	-0.3
Shelley Duncan	33	90	376	.215	.287	.382	.669	.303	-6.6
Wil Myers	22	64	289	.286	.356	.520	.876	.387	13.5
Jesus Flores	28	52	189	.178	.212	.244	.456	.211	-16.7
Rich Thompson*	34	50	217	.249	.325	.312	.638	.300	-4.3
Evan Frey*	27	47	148	.230	.329	.262	.591	.286	-4.5
Kevin Kiermaier*	23	39	154	.263	.338	.423	.761	.344	2.1
Ryan Roberts	32	37	148	.210	.320	.274	.594	.286	-4.5
Craig Albernaz	30	33	115	.225	.279	.304	.583	.271	-4.9
Juan Apodaca	26	29	97	.238	.333	.357	.690	.323	-0.3
Hak-Ju Lee*	22	15	57	.422	.536	.600	1.136	.508	8.0
Luke Scott	35	3	14	.333	.429	.333	.762	.338	0.1

2013 Durham Bulls Hitters
 sorted by number of games played

Cole Figueroa had his first full season with the Bulls (he played in 88 games in 2012) and had a very good year, mostly at third base. He undoubtedly was a key part of this year’s team. He showed excellent plate discipline. His walk to strikeout ratio was 1.8, one of the best on the team. In a perfect world it would be nice if he were just a step quicker. On the other hand, his 62 RBI, the third best on the team, were crucial to the Bulls. Is he just a young Mike Fontenot? Maybe. But we aren’t going to know until he gets some major league time. As Bulls fans we’d be happy to see him back on the team next year. Stats.

Vince Belnome was the all-around star of the 2013 Bulls. If his performance fell off a bit in the last few weeks of the season, he still had a career year and deserved the accolades he accumulated (All-Star, MVP). He led the team regulars in virtually every category and his importance shows through in his superb wOBA and wRAA stats. At the beginning of the year he played some 3B and even some 2B, but by the end he was essentially the Bulls regular first baseman, although he shared some time with Shelley Duncan. Belnome is only 25 years old, so going forward will certainly depend on his fit with the Rays, not the Bulls. He made a difference to the Bulls. Sure wouldn’t hurt to have him back. Stats.

Tim Beckham started the year at second base, clearly making way for the upcoming star, Hak-Ju Lee, at the shortstop position. It didn’t work out that way. Lee’s early and season-ending injury put Beckham in the shortstop position for the rest of the year where he was OK, but not spectacular. But that could be said for most of the Bulls this year. Beckham’s numbers are fine. His 51 RBI and 17 stolen bases were part of a winning package. He was one of the few Bulls position players on the Rays 40-man and he got his September call-up. At this writing he has appeared in 4 games, pinch-running, second base and shortstop. He’s 2 for 6. At a guess he will be back next year playing second base. In a perfect world, I’d guess the Rays want him to be showing a bit more plate discipline (BB/K of 0.41 isn’t very good if you’re not booming home runs). Stats.

Mike Fontenot was one of those guys who, from this fan’s perspective, came to work and did his job for the Bulls. From the stands there was always a hint that he was an infielder-in-waiting if someone got hurt down in St. Petersburg. At 33, he and Shelley Duncan were the senior members of the crew. 2013 was the first full year since 2007 that he has not had at least some time in the major leagues (He’s appeared in 583 major league games). His substantial amount of playing time is another reminder of how the injury to Lee changed the Bulls’ approach this year. Returning next year? At a guess, no. Stats.

Leslie Anderson has been a favorite of WDBB for the last couple of years and his performance has meant a lot to the team. This year he led the team in RBI. But this was also the year where a fundamental weakness against left-handed pitching came into view. At 31 and at the end of his original contract with the Rays, things are not looking good for his return. An interesting profile of his career as a Durham Bull is part of the Bull City Summer  here. Unless something comes up, expect the Bulls to be looking elsewhere for power at the plate next year. Stats.

Brandon Guyer seems to have a cloud hovering over him. He’s sort of the Joe Btfsplk of the Rays system (although to be completely accurate, Joe Btfsplk actually brought bad luck to other people, not himself). Seems like we’ve been watching him a long time, ever since he came over from the Cubs system in 2011. And every time he’s about to break through something bad happens. This year he started slow and just when things seemed to be coming into focus his finger was broken. This year Guyer showed off his speed. And it was impressive. He had 22 stolen bases in his 98 games. Hard to say what he would have had if he’d had 10 or 20 more games. He was also a rare Bulls position player on the 40-man this year and he was subject to some bizarre end-of-season roster manipulations by the Rays that left a bad taste in our mouth. But if Guyer was able to spin it into a paycheck, then OK. It didn’t hurt the Bulls. I like him a lot. I really like having a right-handed bat that was a threat and a right-fielder who could play the position well. The 15.9 wRAA tells us he was a real asset to the team. He has also been profiled by Bull City Summer here. Stats.

Chris Gimenez has to be disappointed with his work at the plate this year and yet from the stands he sure looked to be a threat every time he came to bat. For a month and more the Bulls were starved for outfielders and Leslie Anderson and Gimenez spent a lot of time out on the grass. A catcher by trade, he only had 56 of his games in that position. He got a September callup and has been in 4 games so far at 1B, 3B, and catcher. He participated in an interesting discussion on pitching, also from Bull City Summer, here and here. Stats.

AL Wild Card Gets Wild(er)

Rays in Canada, Rangers at Home, Indians in Minnesota. Hard to imagine how things could get more snarled up.

Click chart for larger image

AL Wild Card Still Undecided, But ...

A very impressive run by the Rays (and the Indians) puts the Rays in good position. Interesting how much has changed since September 14 when there was a fairly tight cluster of six teams in wild card competition.

click for larger image

Sodbusting

 DBAP 9/24/13
click for larger imaage

The DBAP stadium camera is really going to be fun to watch this winter … and into the future. It appears to have a lot of nifty capabilities, including time lapse. I mention the time lapse feature as something of a warning. In the image above you will see sod has been taken up and also see that the video board is gone. If you run the time lapse you will notice that there’s some interesting shots of Tobacco Road in the evenings.

Other features include much improved definition and a weather link. That will be helpful on drizzly afternoons.

From the Durham Bulls website: Gameday>Stadium Camera, or here.

Boo Rays!

Just why did the Rays call up J.D. Martin if they were going to designate him for assignment the very next day? (according to the Tampa Tribune). They already had 18 other pitchers in the roster. It strikes me as being pointlessly cruel to the man who brought the Governors’ Cup back to Durham. And I’m not alone.

I’ve never met Mr. Martin. Perhaps getting a couple of weeks’ worth of the major league minimum pay for a day's hanging out in the dugout was enough incentive. After all, it isn’t the first time he’s been in the majors.

But I have to tell you, as much as I want to like the Rays, this is the sort of thing that makes me think the Bulls should look for a better team to work with the next time the contract comes up. The Bulls simply could not have been the championship team they were this year without J.D. Martin. This sure looks like a slap in his face.

I’d like to think the Rays are pulling off one of their roster manipulation gimmicks and J.D. is in on the game (and getting paid while the game goes on). I hope so. If not, here’s hoping one of the Rays’ competitors claims him (Cleveland, maybe), J.D. shows up in the playoffs, and he gets a chance for payback this October.

J.D. Martin to the Rays

Could not be happier to post that the Bulls' best pitcher for 2013 has been added to the 40-man and called up to the Rays. Congratulations to J.D. and good luck!

It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over

• Tim Beckham’s got a hit in his first big league at bat.
• Jeff Beliveau got called up. Will this one be the charm? It’s the fourth time this season and he has yet to throw a pitch.
• Enny Romero is to put on a Rays uniform for the very first time today. He has just been called up. He came up to the Bulls from the Biscuits to start the Bulls last game of the season over in Norfolk. Eight very solid innings. Then he got a win in relief the first game in Pawtucket for the Governors’ Cup. 
• Frank De Los Santos, on the other hand, is off to the Chicago White Sox organization. He appeared in 26 games for the Bulls this year, but the lefty never really looked quite right. For what it’s worth, the deal probably opens up a 40-man slot for the Rays.
• With the departure of De Los Santos, every Bulls player who was on the Rays’ 40-man roster is now up with the Rays, except for Brandon Guyer—who was a key player in some spectacularly devious rule-bending a few days back—and LHP Mike Montgomery, who was essentially shut down near the end of the season. 

DBAP Renovation Begins

Check out the seats behind home plate — or lack thereof. Gotta say that it's cool that they are leaving the webcam on. Thanks, Bulls!

DBAP, 9 Sep 2013, 12:00

Durham Bulls Win Rays Minor League Awards

Kirby Yates, Kevin Kiermaier, and Vince Belnome picked up awards for Rays system minor league players yesterday.

Congratulations and thanks for the great year!

Kirby Yates was named the best reliever in the system, reflecting his 20 saves and 1.90 ERA.

Kirby Yates

Kevin Kiermaier was recognized as the best defensive player both with the AA Montgomery Biscuits and with the AAA Durham Bulls. Note that Kiermaier was also named the Most Valuable Player for the Montgomery Biscuits.

Kevin Kiermaier

Vince Belnome was named the Most Valuable Player for the Durham Bulls.

Vince Belnome

The Last Hurrah

A last hurrah for the Bulls and, probably for Bulls stalwart Leslie Anderson. So let’s take a look at his home run — the highlight of last night’s game. And possibly the last time we'll see Leslie in a Bulls uniform.




What a great season. I’ll be running the numbers over the next week or so, but we Bulls fans have had the opportunity to watch an exceptional baseball team in 2013. So, thank you, all of you guys for the fun you’ve given us this year.

For those Rays fans who follow this blog: Too bad that you will probably never see Anderson in the Trop. From our perspective he could have been called up at the end of last year and helped the Rays out. As it is, it sure looks like this might have been his last at bat. So, from WDBB to Leslie Anderson, Good Luck!

Plenty of links to take a look at describing last night’s 2-1 loss:

Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, N&O, Omaha World-Herald, IL/MiLB, Allentown Morning Call (good photo gallery), Noise Nation (photos)

Outside the game —

• Reports out there that Tim Beckham and Jake Odorizzi have been called up. And that Brandon Guyer has been put on 60-day DL to make room for a player we’ve never heard of.
• See the Allentown Morning Call link for info on Rich Thompson. Sounds like he's out of baseball for good.

Wild Card — American League

At the end of the International League season we had a lot of fun charting the competition between Rochester, Norfolk, and Pawtucket. In the American League the competition makes for an even more interesting chart as there are two wild card slots.

We like the way that simply tracking games above the .500 mark shows changes over time. Only a few days ago we were tracking the Oakland Athletics as the leading AL wild card contender, and then the Rangers fell off the edge of the cliff and they continue to drift further and further down, perhaps to fall below the Indians in a game or so.

This kind of chart does not, obviously, get into the details of matchups the way that Rays Index did the other day. But if you are a Rangers fan, you’ve got to be worried. If you’re an Orioles fan — yes there’s at least one out there — you’re only two games back. Cleveland? Could be. Could be.

Getting Ready for the Game

Here's a collection of links about today's game. Enjoy.

• The News & Observer has two stories! One apparently via NBC Sports, the other by Cory Smith.
• The Herald-Sun has Harold Gutmann on the ground in Allentown. He has an interesting quote on Charlie Montoyo's pitching plans: 

Odorizzi was picked to start over IL Pitcher of the Year J.D. Martin, who set a Bulls Triple-A franchise record with 16 wins. But Montoyo said that Martin will pitch at least one inning out of the bullpen. The manager also will use IL All-Star closer Kirby Yates, even if the Bulls are losing.
“I’m going to treat the game almost like an all-star game,” Montoyo said. “They deserve to be in the national spotlight.”

• The Omaha World Herald has two pieces by Rob White. One about the pitching matchup between friends, the other on players to watch. 
• Not be outdone, the local Allentown newspaper The Morning Call, which does a very good job covering the Iron Pigs during the season, has two pieces by Jeff Schuler. One on putting the game on at Coca-Cola Park, the other on the game itself.
• Lastly, before it gets lost to memory, the Bulls site has a photo gallery of the Governors' Cup victory celebration. 

Matchup: Durham Bulls v. Omaha Storm Chasers

Who are these guys that the Durham Bulls will play for the national title tomorrow night? Well, probably the best guy to ask would be Jason Bourgeois. Or you could ask Jake Odorizzi. Or you could ask Mike Montgomery. If he were still here, you could ask Wil Myers. They all played for the Kansas City AAA team the Omaha Storm Chasers last year.

A year ago, August 29th, in fact, Jake Odorizzi was on the mound pitching for the Omaha Storm Chasers. He got the win, going 5 innings with 5 BB and 6Ks. You can look it up. His third baseman in the game was Wil Myers, who went 1 for 5 (and got picked off after his single). His left fielder was Jason Bourgeois who had a great night. Bourgeois went 2 for 4 and scored two runs.

As with any minor league team, not many players who were with Omaha in 2012 are still there. A glance at the rosters indicates that a catcher, Max Ramirez, a veteran outfielder, Anthony Seratelli, and infielders Christian Colon and Irving Falu were with the team then and with them now. But the Royals are in the same wild card chase as the Rays, so roster turmoil may have happened or may be near. On the other hand, their manager, Mike Jirshcele, has been running the team since 2003. He certainly knows he way around AAA ball.

If we match up the regular season Storm Chasers against the Durham Bulls, there’d be no contest. Omaha managed to win their division of the Pacific Coast League without even breaking .500. But, as you can see, somehow they simply weren’t scoring runs, certainly nothing close to the pace of the Bulls. They squeaked into the playoffs on the last days of the regular season.

And then they got hot, blowing past their first opponent and having the same 3-1 result as the Bulls for their championship round. Their hitters have been hot, their pitching only so-so, but more than enough to win. Pretty good story about that run in the Omaha World Herald here. The Storm Chasers are on a streak and that has to be respected.

Jake Odorizzi is scheduled to start for the Bulls, but you can bet that J.D. Martin and company are ready to lend a hand. Everyone except Merrill Kelly should be rested. Have not heard who will be starting for the Storm Chasers. The fact that Odorizzi could be pitching against the Storm Chasers has been noticed in Omaha.

Outside the game —

• Solid, if not confirmed, chatter that Tim Beckham, Jake Odorizzi, and Jeff Beliveau will be going down to St. Petersburg after Tuesday’s game. One source thinks Beckham could move before the championship game.
• We are going to have to start paying attention to the AL wild card race (after tomorrow's game, of course). Rays Index seems to think it’s down to the Rays, Rangers, and Cleveland competing for two spots.

The Triple A "Championship"

Wool E. Bull delivers the 2009 Triple A Championship Trophy to the DBAP, April 15, 2010

Here at WDBB we are more than a bit schizophrenic about the Triple-A Championship game. So let me rant a bit first.

No baseball championship should be decided by a one-game playoff. That just isn’t how baseball should work. To extend that a bit further, by the middle of September many AAA teams have had their best players called up, so the game is often more of a matchup of two AA teams and not a true Triple-A championship. The site selection process is something of crapshoot. The odds are stacked against a home town team hosting the Championship. So, it seems to me that it does not seem to work even as a good television since it’s hard enough to fill the stands for local teams this time of year.

Lastly, the Governors’ Cup ...

is way prettier than the National Championship trophy.

On the other hand …

It isn’t some obscure bunch of lollygaggers up there in Allentown, this is the Durham Bulls! Watching Durham Bulls Baseball is all about watching the Durham Bulls play baseball. So, forgive me if I get off my high horse and root for my team, run some numbers, and comment after the game.

And you bet I’ll be cheering with the rest of the crowd if Wool E. brings the trophy back next April. 

2013 Governors' Cup Champions!

Photo: Herald-Sun

Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, MiLB, Providence Journal, PawSox

A team that hasn’t been hitting very well suddenly broke out and grabbed the Governors’ Cup! Eight of nine Bulls got at least one hit (and the one who didn’t, Tim Beckham, got a walk and scored a run). The Bulls got two doubles, two triples, and a home run.

Meanwhile, Merrill Kelly has assured the Rays that he is a pitcher to watch. He had another solid outing to go in the trivia books as the guy up from AA (Aug 4) who was the winning pitcher in both the first and then the final round of the playoffs (note his ERA of 0.00, and only two hits last night). But he was backed up by a crew that kept the PawSox hitless for the final three innings.

For myself, I have to note that in an exchange yesterday I said something like, “I think tonight’s game will be a blowout. I just don’t know which team it will be.” I guess Mr. Kelly settled that question for us all. As did the rest of that wrecking crew that poured out to celebrate a great, great game, playoff run, and season.

Outside the game —

• The Bulls are off to Allentown, Pennsylvania where they will play Kansas City’s AAA team, the Omaha Storm Chasers for the AAA championship. More about them later, but here and here are stories about their win last night.
• The Herald-Sun is reporting that Jake Odorizzi may start the game so that he stays on schedule for the Rays. Otherwise, it should be J.D. Martin. 

Gathering to Welcome Bulls Home?

Crowd gathering at the DBAP to welcome the Bulls home after winning the cup? (8:30 am, 15 Sep)

Probably not ... looks sort of religious ... besides Bulls are going to (already in) Pennsylvania ...

Governors' Cup to the Bulls

Video only. More later ... Probably much later.

14 Inning Game 3 Goes to the Bulls

Series: 2-1; Best of 5
Wrap, Box, MiLB, Pawtucket, Providence Journal

When a game goes on and on and on the way this one did for almost six hours, all sorts of statistical oddities start showing up. We’ll get to some of those, but first a tip of the hat to the eight Durham Bulls pitchers who, even if they provided too many thrills (that would be you, Kirby Yates), did not allow a run over 14 innings that saw 57 Pawtucket batters come to the plate. Another tip of the hat goes to sheer aggressiveness that eventually paid off when fielding/positioning lapses let Kevin Kiermaier and Cole Figueroa get home in the 14th.

How important has pitching been so far? These are teams that in the regular season average almost five runs a game (Bulls - 4.85, PawSox - 4.60), yet in these three games the have only scored 8 runs between them (Bulls 5, PawSox 3). Mistakes (and aggressiveness) are helping the Bulls, 4 of their 5 runs have been unearned.

Kirby Yates now has 4 saves during the playoffs. But could he make it just a little bit easier on himself? Two walks and a hit batsman loaded the bases in the 14th. Coulda been a mess.

Jeff Beliveau performed well for the home town crowd, making up for the tough time he had a couple of days ago.

Enny Romero made his 2nd AAA appearance and got the win.

Meanwhile 14 innings provides lots of chances for batters to whiff. Bulls struck out 19 times, PawSoxers struck out 14 times.

The Bulls are now one game away from grabbing the cup. Merrill Kelly starts tonight and that young man has been doing very nicely since coming up from Montgomery. The PawSox will be starting another knuckleball pitcher, Charlie Haeger. Games starts at 6:05, an hour earlier than we are used to.

Notes —

• Looks like Adam Sobsey of Bull City Summer is up in Pawtucket. Likely to have a piece from him today. Should keep an eye out for it.
• PawSox blogger Jenks was at the game, so you might want to check to see if PawSox Heavy has some thoughts on tonight's game (or last night's).
• Craig Forde’s piece at the MiLB link above probably has the best quotes from the game that we've seen. Tomatoes? Really?.

UPDATE:
Thanks to R. L. we've got two more links. Adam Sobsey has a piece in the on-line version of the Herald-Sun (posted at 3:00 AM, now that's is a true baseball obsession). And the Pawtucket Times has a game story that I missed.

Great Pitching; Aggressive Offense; Bulls Tie Series 1-1

Series: 1-1; Best of Five
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, N&O, Pawtucket

This is how the Bulls have won games all year — exceptional pitching and exploitative offense. Make a mistake and these guys will kill you. And they did last night, the last game at the DBAP for 2013.

But first the pitching. J.D. Martin might have been missing his regular catcher, Chris Gimenez, but he and Craig Albernaz made one heck of a team through the first six innings. The IL’s best pitcher only allowed four hits and one run, although he had to leave the game with a no-decision. Martin is a seriously crafty guy that the PawSox found themselves unable to hit well all night. And then there were the two foul pops that Albernaz grabbed in the 6th to end Martin’s 104 pitch outing. And Albie's hard running to first that might have encouraged the PawSox's throwing error in the 7th.

Martin was followed by C.J. Riefenhauser who was absolutely in charge. He struck out the side in the 7th and had a 1-2-3 8th. Kirby Yates came on with a 2-1 lead and picked up his 3rd save of the playoffs (they’ve only played five games).

Meanwhile only two Bulls ever really touched the knuckleball of Pawtucket’s Steven Wright. Albernaz got a double in the 5th, but ended up stranded on third. Kevin Kiermaier got the other solid hit, a double in the 7th that scored Albernaz from second base. Video below of that key moment.

Of course, the Bulls weren’t the only ones who had trouble with the knuckleball. PawSox catcher Dan Butler had a few tough moments, including a passed ball that let Jason Bourgeois score the first run.

Both Bulls runs were unearned. But that’s what the Bulls do this year.

Nevertheless, these are two very well-matched and very good baseball teams. Pawtucket has a powerful middle of the order and for several weeks the core of the Bulls hitters (Belnome, Anderson, Duncan) have been cold, cold, cold. Have to guess that the next games will be more of the same.

Outside the game —

• For reasons mysterious to me, today is a “travel day” for both teams. That’s the first time I’ve seen that in several years watching the International League. Just what kind of strings did the PawSox management have to pull to set up Friday, Saturday and maybe Sunday games in Pawtucket?
• 3,700 fans last night. Pretty good for a Wednesday and a playoff game. And they were, mostly, hard core Bulls fans. With a smattering of the Red Sox nation and I saw one Pawtucket Red Sox hat.
• Curious about how catchers and pitchers work together? Take a look at Adam Sobsey’s interview with J.D. Martin and Chris Gimenez over at Bull City Summer.
• Finally, was Nuke ever going to win a race? You’d think so. But when Annie body-blocked both Crash and Nuke and skipped to the finish, it was Crash who recovered first. Next year? Will there be a next year? We’ll have to see.