All posts by Adam Sobsey
Adam Sobsey ·
26 Nov 2009, 8:57 AM ·
5 Comments
Fortunately, it’s Thanksgiving and we have an abundance of things to be grateful for—because, sadly, everyone’s favorite Bull, Jon Weber, is no longer a Durham ballplayer. In fact, he will be playing against the Taureaux in 2010. Weber has signed a minor-league deal with the New York Yankees, who are sure to install him as the starting left fielder for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The contract includes a spring-training invitation with its nominal opportunity to make the big-league club.
And all along we thought it was another left fielder property of the Rays, Carl Crawford, that the Yankees coveted.
Weber is a classic gamer who led the International League in doubles in 2009, placed in the top ten in several prominent hitting stat categories, was a superb clutch hitter, and was perhaps the Bulls’ MVP. He is an 11-year veteran of the minors who has never played a day in the major leagues, and he’s unlikely to break through in the Bronx, where the corner outfield positions are sure to be spoken for by multimillionaires like Johnny Damon. On the other hand, Damon is currently unsigned, Melky Cabrera has probably reached his ceiling and it’s lower than predicted, and Nick Swisher is the subject of trade rumors lately. You don’t think…?
Never mind. Pass the turkey.
Baseball, Durham Bulls Jon Weber, New York Yankees, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees
Adam Sobsey ·
18 Nov 2009, 11:40 PM ·
Comment
When it rains (which it is now doing, again) it pours. Soon after winning the Triple-A Baseball Championship, and then announcing a historic DBAP partnership with the Duke University baseball team, the Bulls chalked up more good news: manager Charlie Montoyo has won the second annual Coolbaugh Award, which “is presented to an individual who has shown an outstanding baseball work ethic, knowledge of the game and skill in mentoring young players on the field.”
The award is named for the late Mike Coolbaugh, the player and coach who in 2007 was struck and killed by a foul line drive as he stood in the first base coaches box of a Double-A Tulsa Drillers game. An absorbing, thorough interview with a journalist who wrote about the catastrophe and its aftermath can be found here.
Congrats to Montoyo from all of us Triangle Offenders. The award is well-deserved.
Baseball, Durham Bulls Charlie Montoyo, Coolbaugh Award, Mike Coolbaugh
Adam Sobsey ·
18 Nov 2009, 2:26 PM ·
1 Comment
DBAP/ DURHAM—Standing right under the snorting Bull just beyond the DBAP’s Blue Monster, a.k.a. the left-field wall, grand poobah Jim Goodmon surveyed the crowd gathered at yesterday’s press conference and led off with, “This is another really great thing that’s coming to downtown Durham.”
The thing in question is a three-year agreement between the Durham Bulls and the Duke University baseball team. Beginning in February of 2010, a new partnership will see the Blue Devils play several series at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park each season for the next three years. The 2010 schedule, which will be released next week, includes games against UNC, Clemson, Miami, Florida State and Virginia, plus a couple of non-conference games TBA. Duke baseball coach Sean McNally and catcher Ryan McCurdy, who both attended yesterday, expressed unalloyed excitement and said all the right things, and why wouldn’t they? The DBAP is a beautifully maintained, gleaming ballpark that holds well over 10,000 fans (the Blue Devils hope to draw at least 2,000 per game); and although there’s nothing wrong with Duke’s own park, this is an upgrade of major proportions. For the next three seasons—more if things go well—there will be ACC baseball at the DBAP to keep up with.
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ACC, Baseball, Duke, Durham Bulls, N.C. Central DBAP, Durham Tobacconists, Jim Goodmon, Kevin White, Mike Birling, Richard Brodhead, Ryan McCurdy, Scott Strickland, Sean McNally
Adam Sobsey ·
21 Oct 2009, 4:00 AM ·
1 Comment
Apparently just discovering that they won the Triple-A championship a full month after it happened, the Durham Bulls are throwing a party tonight at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, from 6-8 p.m.
Highlights: The trophy will be on display, as will the International League Governor’s Cup trophy, which the Bulls also won. Bulls utilityman Elliot Johnson and first baseman Chris Richard—the latter is, don’t forget, the Bulls’ all-time home run leader—will be on hand to sign autographs (both players live in Durham in the off-season). The first 500 fans get early-bird perks, and everyone gets free hot dogs, chips, cookies and soda. You can also bring a glove and play catch under the lights. No word on whether you’ll be charged with an error if you drop a pop-up.
It’s only too bad that Scott Kazmir, who won one of the Bulls’ regular-season games this season, took the loss for the Los Anagram Gleans of Anywhoo last night. Otherwise, tonight’s party offers unalloyed good vibes. Spend your twilight at the DBAP and celebrate your champions.
Baseball, Durham Bulls Chris Richard, Elliot johnson, Governor's Cup, party, Scott Kazmir, Triple-A championship
Adam Sobsey ·
23 Sep 2009, 5:00 AM ·
7 Comments
ESPN 2—And that’s that: the Durham Bulls took a 4-0 lead early, squandered it in the middle, and got help at the end to beat the Memphis Redbirds, 5-4, in 11 innings and claim the Triple-A Championship. It’s kind of amazing, really. (What’s really great is that the Bulls’ own Web site has the winning run in Memphis’s row in the linescore.) The Bulls, who are the first International League team to win the crown, are officially the best Triple-A baseball team in America, which by extension makes them the best team in the entire minor leagues. They could probably also take six of 10 from the Pittsburgh Pirates, if they had Winston Abreu—which they don’t, not anymore, but that’s for well after the jump.
Did you know, by the way, that 2009 is the Year of the Bull? A game report and some final thoughts follow.
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Baseball, Durham Bulls, Tampa Bay Rays Brandon Yarbrough, Calvin Medlock, Carlos Hernandez, Charlie Montoyo, Jason Cromer, Jeremy Hellickson, Joe Bateman, Julio DePaula, Memphis Redbirds, Michel Hernandez, Mitch Talbot, Oneli Perez, playoffs, Rashad Eldridge, Ray Olmedo, Sean Rodriguez, Triple-A championship, Winston Abreu
Adam Sobsey ·
22 Sep 2009, 12:00 AM ·
4 Comments
You can still watch a few highlights of the Bulls’ dramatic championship-clinching win over Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre on the team Web site. Those clips drive home (so to speak) just how crazy the last inning really was. Justin Ruggiano’s diving catch of Reegie Corona’s sinking slice down the left-field line was not only great per se; it also saved the game, because the ball was ruled fair (but was it fair?) by the umpire. At the end of that play, though, second baseman Ray Olmedo made a poor relay throw to first base in an attempt to turn a game-ending double play, a throw he shouldn’t have attempted at all under the circumstances. He was fortunate that after the ball sailed well to the left of first baseman Joe Dillon, it bounced straight off the railing where it was picked up by pitcher Julio DePaula, who was properly backing up the play and made a quick recovery of the ball in foul territory.
To top things off, DePaula himself nearly blew the game, catastrophically, on the very last play: Doug Bernier’s bouncer back to the mound was easy enough for DePaula to field, and you could understand his excitement in running the ball all the way to first base himself rather than make an easy toss to Dillon. But DePaula decided to make a big puddle-jump onto the bag, and the hop-step he indulged in slowed him down so much that Bernier, hustling all the way, nearly beat DePaula to first base. As it was, DePaula won the race by about three quarters of a step, but it was a scarily close play. Had Bernier been safe due to DePaula’s grasshopper insouciance, the game would have been tied. As it was, the Bulls are champions. (Champions! It’s really extraordinary, when you think about it, after all that.)
A few more notes follow on the game, the season, and the final ballgame to come. If you’re deplaning here, one thing to take away with you: Tyler’s, the pub/eatery right by the DBAP, is hosting a viewing party (the game will be televised nationally on ESPN 2) of Tuesday night’s Triple-A championship game between the Bulls and the Memphis Redbirds, an affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals and winner of the Pacific Coast League. Game time is 7:00 p.m. and it will be a lot of fun to watch it right by the ballpark, surrounded by Bulls fans, in a place that serves something like 712 different beers. Come on out, and do drop by my table to say hello, to buy me a beer or to pour one over my head. I’ll be the guy with black (going gray) hair, the black button-down shirt, the blue jeans, the bandanna, and Heather.
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Baseball, Durham Bulls Allen Craig, Calvin Medlock, championship, David Freese, Desmond Jennings, Governor's Cup, Heath Rollins, Jaime Garcia, Jeremy Hellickson, John Jaso, John Rodriguez, Juan Miranda, Julio DePaula, Justin Hoffpauir, Justin Ruggiano, Memphis Redbirds, playoffs, Ray Olmedo, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, Triple-A championship, Tyler Greene
Adam Sobsey ·
17 Sep 2009, 11:43 PM ·
6 Comments
Hot off the radio, sportsfans: The Durham Bulls have just beaten the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, 3-2 in 12 innings, to claim the Governor’s Cup, their first since 2003.
The bottom of the 12th was a sweaty-palmed affair after the Bulls plated the go-ahead run on the top of the inning on a double by John Jaso. Durham closer Winston Abreu, the most dominant pitcher in the league, came on seeking his third save in as many nights. He issued a four-pitch leadoff walk to Juan Miranda, discovered a bloody popped blister on his finger, and left the game.
Julio DePaula came in, making his third appearance in as many nights. DePaula is the only Bull to have been on the active roster all season long. He got Cody Ransom to fly out to left field on the first pitch he threw. Then he walked John Rodriguez. It was the 11th walk of the night allowed by Durham pitchers. The next batter, Reegie Corona, sliced a looper down the left-field line. Justin Ruggiano chased after it and made a diving, game-saving catch. The Roodge threw into the infield, where Ray Olmedo fielded the ball and tried to double Rodriguez off of first—but his throw was wild. Both runners advanced. Ruggiano crouched in left field, in pain. In the previous inning, Desmond Jennings, who had tied the game in the eighth inning with a slump-breaking, two-out, two-run single, had apparently injured himself a little bit on a big swing. He stayed in the game. The Bulls were going down, man by man, before our eyes ears.
With two outs now, the tying run was on third and the winning run on second. Doug Bernier, one of those pesky slap hitters, stepped in. He got ahead 2-1, then DePaula evened it at 2-2. Bernier hit a comebacker toward the mound. DePaula speared it. Rather than risk a throw, he ran the ball to first himself, stepped on the bag for a 1u putout (it brought to mind a funky 1u putout he made earlier this season when he ran down a man in the shortstop hole), and with their only wire-to-wire player taking the final out into his own hands, the Bulls were champions of the league. They’ll play in the Triple-A Championship game in Oklahoma City on Tuesday night, against the winner of the Pacific Coast League championship series between Memphis and Sacramento.
I’ll be back with more later, perhaps not until tomorrow. But for now: Congratulations, 2009 Bulls, from Triangle Offense and the Independent Weekly. It’s been a helluva season.
Baseball, Durham Bulls Cody Ransom, Desmond Jennings, Doug Bernier, Governor's Cup, John Jaso, John Rodriguez, Juan Miranda, Julio DePaula, Justin Ruggiano, playoffs, Ray Olmedo, Reegie Corona, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, The Roodge, Winston Abreu
Adam Sobsey ·
17 Sep 2009, 4:00 AM ·
2 Comments
DBAP/ DURHAM—Fans who came out to see the last home game of the Durham Bulls’ 2009 season—2,480 of you, officially—got a bit of a bonus. Last night’s 4-1 Durham win was basically two separate games: first, a three-inning tune-up for a pair of recuperating starting pitchers, followed by the real deal, when the two teams’ tenured players faced off for six taut innings of playoff baseball. With the win, the Bulls put themselves on the brink of a championship they haven’t won since 2003.
The entire game was played in a steady mizzle, and it seemed appropriate that the last game of the year saw the same sort of weather that has hung over the Triangle all season long: gray, moist, heavy, moody. Not a fun evening for a pair of rehabilitating starters to get their work in, but that’s what they did. The Bulls have to be grateful that Scranton/Wilkes-Barre starter Ian Kennedy was on a low pitch limit. He faced nine batters and retired them all, striking out six of them. Kennedy, who is coming back from an aneurysm in his pitching arm, threw 43 pitches, 28 for strikes, and had the Bulls totally mastered from the get-go. He struck out the side swinging in the first, making Joe Dillon look stupid on a changeup for the last strike of the inning. He got Sean Rodriguez looking in the second inning, on a fastball that was more or less right down the middle. He had Justin Ruggiano chasing sliders after that.
The story was different for the Bulls’ starter, Mitch Talbot.
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Baseball, Durham Bulls, Tampa Bay Rays Charlie Montoyo, Chris Nowak, Doug Bernier, Eric Duncan, Ian Kennedy, Jason Cromer, Joe Bateman, Julio DePaula, Kei Igawa, Luck, Mitch Talbot, Rashad Eldridge, Ray Olmedo, runner's interference, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, Winston Abreu
Adam Sobsey ·
15 Sep 2009, 1:00 AM ·
2 Comments
This one is a tad easier than previewing the Bulls’ first-round series against the Louisville Bats. Before that series, Durham and Louisville hadn’t played each other in nearly two months, which is about two years in Triple-A time. The Yankees, on the other hand, visited the DBAP August 14-17, and although both teams have seen plenty of changes since then, anyone who attended some or all of those games will recognize the visitors when they return on Tuesday night.
And the visitors will recognize the Bulls’ starting pitcher. Right-hander Jeremy Hellickson has already faced Scranton/Wilkes-Barre twice this season, and he’s done very well both times. He went 7 1/3 against them on August 15, struck out seven, and allowed only two hits. Unfortunately, those two hits were both solo homers, by Juan Miranda and John Rodriguez, who remain the two most dangerous hitters in the Yankees’ lineup. The two lefty power bats have hit 33 homers between them this season. Back on July 30, Hellickson pitched six inning of three-hit, shutout ball at Scranton.
His opponent tonight will be Romulo Sanchez, a very large, hard-throwing right-hander who is probably not to be confused with Humberto Sanchez, even though Sanchez is a Yankees pitcher who is also very large, right-handed, and hard-throwing. Together, they are about 13 feet and 550 pounds of Sanchez. The difference between them is that Romulo, despite his mid-90s fastball, has low career strikeout numbers (although they’re higher this year), and Humberto has high ones. Also, Humberto is a reliever, and is recovering from years of injuries. The Bulls hitters, who are a fairly selective bunch, will need to be patient against Romulo, who has walked 34 hitters in 64 Triple-A innings this season. That’s a very poor rate.
Game Two and beyond follows. I also highly recommend Chad Jennings’s Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees blog, which has head-to-head matchups and is much more thorough overall than my preview.
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Baseball, Durham Bulls Anthony Claggett, FNG, Governor's Cup, Humberto Sanchez, Ian Kennedy, Ivan Nova, Jason Cromer, Jeremy Hellickson, John Rodriguez, Juan Miranda, Justin Ruggiano, Kei Igawa, Matt Joyce, Mitch Talbot, Paul Phillips, playoffs, Romulo Sanchez, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, Sean Rodriguez, Winston Abreu, Zach Kroenke, Zach McAllister
Adam Sobsey ·
14 Sep 2009, 4:00 AM ·
1 Comment
After the Bulls lost on Saturday at Louisville to set up a two-men-enter-one-man-leave Game Five in their International League division playoff series, manager Charlie Montoyo was philosophical. “I don’t feel pressure because the worst thing that can happen is that I will see my family the next day,” Montoyo said. “I preached that to my players. We had the best division this year in the league and it took 83 wins to win the division. So just to get to this point and to be playing a fifth game against a good team like Louisville is just awesome. It’s awesome for my club.”
You could also read that assessment as a secret hope for a loss on Sunday, which would have ended the long, hard road that has been the Bulls’ 2009 season. Montoyo could hardly be blamed for harboring a desire to have done with it all: his family has had an unbelievably trying year, he misses them terribly, and his team has been thoroughly picked over by the Tampa Bay Rays’ front office, leaving him with a patchwork lineup, bullpen and (especially) rotation, which features just two bona fide starters. On Saturday, one of the replacements, just-up-from-Montgomery Rayner Oliveros, was bombed, lasting just one full inning in what ended up a 10-7 loss. (All 10 runs were allowed by three pitchers who came into the game with a grand total of six combined Triple-A appearances.)
On Sunday, Montoyo sent Paul Phillips to the mound. Phillips is yet another newbie, called up just over a week ago. He throws hard and throws strikes, and he did that again against Louisville for five innings yesterday, getting credit for an unlikely win as the Bulls survived the Bats, 5-3. It was the fourth time in the last 12 seasons that the Bulls have knocked the Bats out of the playoffs in the first round, and the third in the last seven. The Bats haven’t beaten Durham in the playoffs yet.
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Baseball, Durham Bulls Alex Montoyo, Charlie Montoyo, Ebstein's Anomaly, Governor's Cup, Justin Ruggiano, Louisville Bats, Luck, Paul Phillips, playoffs, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, Sean Rodriguez, The Roodge, Winston Abreu, Yonder Alonso
