Charlie's Back … and More

Charlie Montoyo at the old DAP, May 2011

Watching Durham Bulls Baseball has returned from doing battle with Google and Go Daddy with a domain name back in place and ready to go forth and write about our favorite baseball team in 2014.

The best news of the last couple of weeks is that Charlie Montoyo and crew are back!

Every season I worry that Mr. Montoyo is going to get hired away or promoted, but it didn’t happen this year and that is very, very good news for Bulls fans. Without a doubt, he is one of the best, if not the best, managers in minor league baseball. His record (scroll down to bottom of page) is simply spectacular with championships galore to his name. He has won the IL South Division championship 6 out of  his 7 years with the Bulls. And it is that title that, in the opinion of WDBB, marks the quality of the team and the management for a year.

Could it be that the Rays recognize his contributions to the system and prefer he stay in Durham? And compensate him accordingly? We can only hope so.

We should not overlook either Neil Allen or Dave Myers. They are coming back as well. Neither of them could be considered chatty, at least I don’t recall more than the few cryptic comments to the press over the years. Nevertheless, you can’t argue with their results.

Other news:

• I could not be more appreciative of the Bulls’ participation in an anti-bullying campaign. Just a terrific way to leverage Wool E. Bull’s “star power” to a very, very important cause. Great idea! Thank you!

• Alex Torres, about whom we have written a great deal over the years, most recently here, is off to the San Diego Padres. Last year he seemed to find himself as a reliever. We can expect to see at least a couple of the folks he was traded for this season.