October Begins

 

Summer's End

 John Prine’s great song comes to mind. The summer’s over and the Bulls are coming home (going home might be the better choice of verb).

In the end, however, the Norfolk Tides pretty much owned the Bulls all season. The exception was that extraordinary bottom of the 9th victory on the 4th of July. Otherwise, no doubt after last night's 7-0 drubbing, the best team is off to Las Vegas.

In the meantime, this last month or so we got to witness some terrific baseball. 

See you April 2, 2024, when the Bulls take on the Jumbo Shrimp at the DBAP.

Tides Shut Down Bulls

 

As we all know, pitching matters. Their was better than ours. Box.

Bulls Win Game 1

 

Durham took back the lead in the 7th. Norfolk’s pitching fell completely apart in the 8th. The Bulls scored 5 runs on just 2 hits in that inning. Box. Story.

Game 1; International League Championship

Although little noted by local media, which is a bit odd since a local media mogul owns the Bulls, the Durham Bulls are in Norfolk, Virginia playing the Norfolk Tides for the International League Championship. Although this is far from the first time the Bulls have been playing for a championship, this will be the first time in the new IL Triple-A format.

IL Matchup

The Bulls have played the Tides 21 times this year, and have not done well. They’ve lost 15 games and won only 6. On their last visit to Harbor Park, August 22-27, they won 2 of 6. So history isn’t on the Bulls’ side. Plus, the Rays are not leaving the Bulls alone. They’ve called up outfielder Raimel Tapia and pitchers Calvin Foucher and Chris Devenski. 

The Bulls are 6-4 in their last 10 games, but lost their last 2.

The Tides have been, mostly, left alone by the Orioles. The only recent big transaction was back on the 20th. They were on the road in Buffalo last week. They are 5-5 in their last 10. 

On paper, the Bulls have a slight edge, but ...

Matchup: Bulls vs Tides, September 26, 2023
As of September 24	W-L	Rk	RDiff	OPS	ERA	WHIP	uERA
Durham Bulls (Rays)	48-27	1	129	.828	4.56	1.425	.588
Norfolk Tides (Orioles)	42-33	5	46	.821	4.62	1.465	.432
RDiff-Run differential;  Rk - Rank in International League; WHIP - Walks/Hits per Inning; uERA-unearned runs per 9 innings

Each year as the Bulls go into the playoffs (and that’s most years) what I get to say is that it’s all about the managing and coaching. The Bulls have been blessed with excellent managing and coaching crews over the years and, after a tough opening month, that’s been the case this year. But playoff success is, in my opinion,  about moment-to-moment decisions. For that, we simply don’t know. 

PCL Matchup

Meanwhile, out in Oklahoma, the Oklahoma City Dodgers (LA Dodgers) are playing the Round Rock Express (Texas Rangers)  for the PCL championship. 

Matchup: Express vs Dodgers, September 26, 2023
As of September 24	W-L	Rk	RDiff	OPS	ERA	WHIP	uERA
Round Rock Express (Rangers)	45-30	1	87	.825	4.72	1.48	.507
Oklahoma City Dodgers (LA)	40-35	5	50	.814	4.58	1.42	.603
RDiff-Run differential;  Rk - Rank in International League; WHIP - Walks/Hits per Inning; uERA-unearned runs per 9 innings

Durham Bulls Win 2nd Half

 

The Durham Bulls' brilliant end-or-season run resulted in a championship of the second half of the International League. And what a run it has been. Standings.

Let’s start with game 130 on 1 September. On that date, the Bulls were 11 games over 500 and tied with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Starting then, the Bulls played 19 games and won 16 of them. They are now 23 games over .500 with two games to play in the regular season. That’s simply remarkable. In that time the team ERA has dropped from 4.77 to 4.55 and the team OPS has risen from .816 to .829. Again, remarkable. Their run differential soared from +57 to +132, beyond remarkable.

They’ve got two more games down in Gwinnett to finish the season and then off to Norfolk for the first playoff game on Tuesday against the first-half champions, the Norfolk Tides.

My assumption is that we will be able to watch on MiLB.com and listen on the radio. At least that’s what I do, muting the streaming. 

My guess is that today’s storm may disrupt the East Coast games, but will not affect final standings..

Bulls Win; Maintain Lead

 

The Durham Bulls won, but so did the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. The Buffalo Bisons lost to the Norfolk Tides, dropping them into a tie. Standings.

Bulls Still in First Place; Season Near End

The Durham Bulls had a very satisfying last week in Durham, winning 4 out of 6 against the Louisville Bats. They are now in Lawrenceville, Georgia for their final six games of the season. They are in great shape to win the second half of the International League season, but neither Lehigh Valley nor Buffalo is letting up their own runs at the championship.

Standings

What ar their competitors up to? The Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (Phillies) (42-27) are hosting the Worcester Red Sox (38-30). They are evenly matched teams, with the Sox holding a remote shot at the championship. Meanwhile, the Buffalo Bisons (Blue Jays) (39-28) are hosting the winner of the first half of the season, the Norfolk Tides (Orioles). The Tides have their own shot at ending in first place. 

Every game by the five top teams this week will matter.

Could not have been happier to see Tristan Gray finally get to the big leagues last week. After 326 games over three seasons with the Durham Bulls, he got his call. He joined the Rays in Baltimore and did his thing, hitting a home run and a single in 5 at-bats. It was a temporary assignment and he’s already back with the Bulls, but maybe later on this season? 

Matchup

Matchup: Bulls vs Braves, September 18, 2023
As of September 17	W-L	Rk	RDiff	OPS	ERA	WHIP	uERA
Durham Bulls (Rays)	44-25	1	104	.829	4.65	1.44	.613
Gwinnett Stripers (Braves)	35-32	11	15	.744	4.92	1.45	.473
RDiff-Run differential;  Rk - Rank in International League; WHIP - Walks/Hits per Inning; uERA-unearned runs per 9 innings

The Bulls match up well against the Strippers, who are not having a good year except as a defensive team. They have undergone a lot of roster turmoil, over 40 transactions just this month. Perhaps that has to do with Atlanta’s proximity, but it has to be tough. In comparison, the Bulls have had 27 transactions this month. The Bulls can close the deal in just a couple of games. We’ll keep an eye out. 

Six in a Row

 

Standings

Six wins in a row. Maintaining lead in International League. Superb work by the bullpen crew. Really fun to watch veteran speed merchant Billy Hamilton (recently hired by Rays) at work — bunt for single, sacrifice bunt moved runner to 2B, roamed center field. 

Stayin' in Front

 

Looking Better

 

Last Durham Bulls Homestand of 2023

Standings

The Durham Bulls had a fine week over in Charlotte, winning 5 out of 6 games and stabilizing their hold on first place in the International League. Solid pitching and exceptional hitting kept the key team metrics moving up. Run differential (+89), Team OPS (.824), and Team ERA (4.68) are the best they’ve been all season.  

With 12 games left in the regular season and a 2-game lead, the key will be to stay focused as Tampa Bay makes a run at the Orioles this month. Meanwhile, their nearest competitors are facing a mixed bag of opponents. Second-place Lehigh Valley has six games against 16th-place Rochester; third-place Buffalo is playing 9th-place Scranton/Willkes-Barre. The season is far from over.

Near-term, the Rays have to figure out what to do to replace Jose Siri, whose hand got broken yesterday. They will surely reach down to Durham. Rehabing Manuel Margot is supposed to show up at the DBAP today. He would be a maybe. The only position player left who’s on the 40-man is Curtis Mead, but the Rays are exceptionally creative about manipulating that constraint and could call someone else up. Billy Hamilton is reportedly lurking somewhere in the Rays' system. It would be a bit ironic if he showed up at the DBAP. He could have been here back in 2013 playing for the Louisville Bats.

Matchup

Matchup: Bulls vs Bats, September 11, 2023
As of September 9	W-L	Rk	RDiff	OPS	ERA	WHIP	uERA
Durham Bulls (Rays)	40-23	1	89	.824	4.66	1.44	.647
Louisville Bats (Reds)	30-33	15	-46	.860	6.15	1.65	.481
RDiff-Run differential;  Rk - Rank in International League; WHIP - Walks/Hits per Inning; uERA-unearned runs per 9 innings

The Louisville Bats are the Triple-A franchise of the Cincinnati Reds. The Bulls have not played them this year. They have not had a very good year when it comes to wins and losses. However, they are the best hitting team in the International League and very likely to challenge the Bulls' pitching crew. 

This is our last chance to watch the Bulls at the DBAP this year. Wish them well. Hope they keep on playing at the end of the month.

Great Week; Durham Bulls Stay in First Place

 

Standings

The Durham Bulls had a fine week at home. They won 5 out of 6 games against a decent Nashville team. They moved into a tie for first place in the middle of the week, and have stayed there. They scored a bunch of runs (36) and mostly kept the Sounds in check (16).  

For me, during the week I spent some time noticing that this crew is simply not the same crew that started the year with the Bulls. That’s to be expected in minor league ball. But a couple of the players whom I thought would get a chance with the Rays have not. I thought Ruben Cardenas, Tristan Gray, Kameron Misner, or Niko Hulsizer might get shots, but they did not. That’s partly because the Rays position players stayed mostly healthy.  But mainly these men apparently did not have the numbers the Rays wanted. Certainly, the Bulls have benefited, and are benefiting from their presence here.

Can the Bulls stay in first place? For this coming week, I don’t see why not. They will be in Charlotte, which has had a dismal record this year. Two of the Bulls' most prominent opponents — Buffalo and Lehigh Valley — are playing 6 games against each other. Confusion at the very top is likely to continue. Plus, a couple of other teams are waiting in the wings. As much as I dislike this phony “International League” and the schedule, I have to admit that the end-of-season antics are interesting.

Matchup

Matchup: Bulls vs Knights, September 5, 2023
As of September 4	W-L	Rk	RDiff	OPS	ERA	WHIP	uERA
Durham Bulls (Rays)	35-22	1	69	.819	4.72	1.46	.647
Charlotte Knights (White Sox)	13-44	20	-170	.729	6.33	1.72	.619
RDiff-Run differential;  Rk - Rank in International League; WHIP - Walks/Hits per Inning; uERA-unearned runs per 9 innings

A matchup between the first-place and last-place teams. The Charlotte Knights have had an awful season. They are 31 games below .500 so far this year. I note that their parent club, the Chicago White Sox is 30 games below .500. So the teams haven’t been much help to each other this year. Too bad. Traditionally, the Knights/Bulls games have been pretty intense competitors. And even this year’s 18 games had only one lop-sided series. They have gone 3-3, 3-3, 5-1, this year. Nevertheless, the numbers are on the side of the Bulls.