Showing posts tagged “Chris Nowak”
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 ·
8 Sep 2009, 12:39 PM ·
3 Comments
Triple-A baseball teams are subject to a variation on the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, the one you may have run across in the movie The Man Who Wasn’t There or in the play Copenhagen. Basically, it says that you can’t determine both the velocity and position of a particle at the same time. It’s possible that we’re really talking about the Observer Effect here, or possibly Schrödinger’s cat, or even quantum superpositions. All I can say is, don’t do what I did; don’t go look them all up, because the next thing you know you’re lost in something very like the Uncertainty Principle yourself: you think you know what you’re looking for, and then as soon as you think you’ve found it, it turns into something else. Eventually you wind up desperately lost in a terrible, mountainous region, overrun by wild beasts and full of tar pits, known as Verschränkung. Just don’t go there, kids.
Instead, do what Bulls manager Charlie Montoyo does before each series—or rather, don’t do what he doesn’t do: pay any attention to the opposing team’s record, or to what happened the last time the Bulls played them. Montoyo has said several times this year that all he looks at is how they’ve been playing the last couple of weeks.
That’s because, as you probably know if you’re a Bulls fan, minor-league teams change constantly. The last time the Durham Bulls played the Louisville Bats was July 19 at Louisville. Thirty-two players saw action in that game, and only half of them remain on the teams’ rosters. Both starters, each team’s leading home-run hitter, four of Durham’s five pitchers that night, the league’s Most Valuable Pitcher (Justin Lehr) and the Bats’ leadoff man: all gone.
So take the following preview as a thought experiment, a la Schrödinger’s cat—until Wednesday at 7:05 p.m., when the cat (the Durham Bulls) actually goes into the box (the DBAP) with the flask of poison (the Louisville Bats) and the radioactive substance (Jeremy Hellickson’s first pitch, let’s say). Then we’ll see if the beast lives or dies.
If my colleague Mike Potter, who for most of the season has covered the Reds’ Double-A affiliate, the Carolina Mudcats, feels inspired to chime in, the cat will get at least partway out of the bag/box: more than half of the current Bats’ roster has seen time in Zebulon this year.
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Baseball, Carolina Mudcats, Durham Bulls Ben Jukich, Charlie Montoyo, Chris Heisey, Chris Nowak, Chris Richard, Jason Cromer, Jay Bruce, Jeremy Hellickson, John Jaso, Logan Ondrusek, Louisville Bats, Mitch Talbot, Paul Phillips, playoffs, Sam LeCure, Schrodinger's Cat, Sean Rodriguez, Travis Wood, Uncertainy Principle, Yonder Alonzo
Adam Sobsey ·
7 Sep 2009, 8:00 PM ·
4 Comments
DBAP/ DURHAM—I thought it was cute that second baseman Henry Mateo was penciled in at first base in this afternoon’s season finale, a 4-3, 10-inning loss to Norfolk. Mateo had played there once before, on August 23, although he moved back to his natural position at second base when rehabbing Akinori Iwamura left the game early, as scheduled. It seemed like it was just for kicks that Mateo was playing there again today, like a way for Charlie Montoyo to say thanks for filling the hole for us this season. Mateo was signed out of the independent Atlantic League in May, and he came on like gangbusters, batting well over .300 for more than a month and holding down the fort at second base. He wound up at .277 and looked shakier in the field as the season progressed, but there’s no question that Mateo did something for the Bulls that they badly needed: he showed up and played every day.
And so it was fun when the diminutive infielder had to leap for a tall throw from the pitcher in the sixth inning, and funner still when he ended the eighth inning by diving to grab a line drive and then polishing off an unassisted double play after the Tides’ Jonathan Tucker broke too far from first base.
Turns out it’s not so cute. It was Joe Dillon’s day off, and Chris Richard, the guy who you would call the Durham Bulls’ first baseman if someone asked you who played that position, was called up to Tampa. In the afternoon opener of a day/night doubleheader at Yankee Stadium, Rays’ first baseman Carlos Pena had two fingers broken when he was hit by a pitch from C. C. Sabathia. Richard (pictured, top) was headed to the airport shortly afterward—and by shortly, I mean, like, minutes, and he may get into Game Two tonight in the Bronx if he can get there on time. Maybe the NYPD will clear a lane of the Triborough Bridge for him.
This is why major-league clubs employ older players like Richard: so that when there’s a catastrophe upstairs, you’ve got a guy who can immediately fill in and isn’t going to be cowed by Yankee Stadium or the fastballs A. J. Burnett throws in it. Now, Carlos Pena is leading the American League in homers, so Richard is certainly a major downgrade. But he’s a well-trained left-handed hitter with good power, going to a ballpark famously generous with its right-field homers; and on top of that, Richard is an easy guy to get along with in the clubhouse. He fits right in at first base, where he is a very good defensive player.
He also hasn’t played in the major leagues since 2003, and that was only 27 at-bats. So, you know, we’ll see.
Richard is 35 years old, the oldest player on the Bulls’ roster. Although it’s a blow to lose him on the eve of the playoffs, he’s a guy you feel good for when he gets a chance like this (admittedly, it’s a muted positive, given that it comes as a result of a bad injury to a star player). Charlie Montoyo was so happy for Richard that he wasted no time after the game in telling us about the promotion. We asked him a question about Mitch Talbot, who was in the dugout yesterday, and Montoyo answered it in one word (”yes”) before jumping to the news about Richard. “I was really happy to tell Chris Richard he was going up. That guy’s been with me for three years now, and he’s been one of my leaders.”
And now that leader is gone.
Some brief notes follow, before I return tomorrow with more on the upcoming playoff series against Louisville.
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Baseball, Durham Bulls, Tampa Bay Rays Bulls on the Move, Carlos Peña, Charlie Montoyo, Chris Nowak, Chris Richard, Elliot johnson, Henry Mateo, Jason Cromer, Joe Bateman, Joe Nelson, Louisville Bats, Mike Wlodarczyk, Mitch Talbot, Norfolk Tides, Rashad Eldridge, walks
Mike Potter ·
2 Sep 2009, 12:24 AM ·
Comment
Did nobody tell the Carolina Mudcats they were eliminated from the pennant race?
At any rate, they sure aren’t acting like it.
Yonder Alonzo (pictured) had three hits including a double and three RBI, leading the Mudcats to their third straight win as they defeated the homestanding Montgomery Biscuits 6-4 Tuesday night.
The star of the night, though, was Carolina’s starting pitcher Jeremy Horst (1-3), who carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning before former Durham Bull Chris Nowak broke it up.
Carolina’s big inning was in the third, when the Mudcats batted around with four runs on five hits and three Montgomery errors to drop the loss on Brian Baker (5-6).
The Mudcats have an off-day today before opening their final five-game homestand, all against the Mississippi Braves, Thursday at 7:15 p.m. at Five County Stadium.
Baseball, Carolina Mudcats, Durham Bulls Brian Baker, Chris Nowak, Cincinnati Reds, Jeremy Horst, Montgomery Biscuits, Southern League, Yonder Alonzo
Adam Sobsey ·
4 Jul 2009, 10:21 AM ·
4 Comments
SCROLL DOWN FOR AN UPDATE.
When Dave Myers said after last night’s game that a move would be made in order to free up roster space for newly-arrived reliever John Meloan, I figured it would involve another pitcher. But that was just narrow, apples-and-apples thinking on my part. Instead, corner infielder Chris Nowak (pictured) was sent down to Montgomery, which makes some sense: with first baseman Rhyne Hughes hammering Triple-A pitching since his callup from Double-A, Nowak was essentially reduced to platooning at third base with Ray Olmedo. Those two have freakishly similar hitting numbers, but Olmedo can also play the middle infield and even the outfield in a pinch; so even though he has a team-high 11 errors, I guess the thinking was that you need a guy who can make them all over the diamond—a futility infielder (sorry).
It’s also possible that Nowak’s demotion is part of a Rubik’s Cube-style move that will eventually yield the return of Elliot Johnson, who has been rehabbing his broken thumb down in the Class-A Gulf Coast League. It should be said, though, that Johnson has barely played any third base. As for Nowak, he stands to see more at-bats in Montgomery with Hughes gone, and he may very well be back in Durham later in the season.
In any case, as it stands now Olmedo, who is a shortstop by trade, is really the only player on the roster with any legitimate experience at the hot corner—and the difficult, clutch fielding play he made there last night probably makes the Bulls feel good about leaving him there. I usually regret guessing about this stuff, because I nearly always turn out to be wrong, but at the moment I can’t think of how anyone but Olmedo will play third base for the Bulls until further notice, unless backup catcher Craig Albernaz can fill in. (He played second base in an emergency earlier this season, so why not third, too?)
Or maybe Evan Longoria just really, really misses Durham. We can always dream, right?
*** UPDATE, 4:45 PM ***
Dang, I was sorta right: a wedge was indeed being formed for Elliot Johnson to rush through, but it required a pair of blockers. While Chris Nowak boards the Montgomery Express, reliever Calvin Medlock heads the opposite direction (at least geographically, maybe—well, just keep reading) to the short-season Hudson Valley Renegades.
Some may raise eyebrows at this (by “raise eyebrows” I mean “scream, ‘OMFG, Jorge Julio is STAYING??’”), as Medlock was one of the Bulls’ better bullpen options during his nearly month-long tour of duty. But keep two things in mind: 1) Medlock really was a stopgap while other holes were drilled and then filled, which is a standing orthodontic appointment for the Bulls’ relief staff, and he almost certainly wasn’t expected to stay all that long; 2) as we’ve seen with Alex Jamieson, “assigned to Hudson Valley” can be a euphemism for “staying right here with the Bulls and waiting for an injury/callup/alien abduction to necessitate his immediate services again.” Given the innumerable bullpen moves we’ve already seen this year, another one may come anytime; if that happens, Medlock could be at the ready to take off the uniform-covering sweatshirt and start getting loose at a moment’s notice.
So all in all, it’s Elliot Johnson for Chris Nowak, and John Meloan for Calvin Medlock. Turns out it was an apple for an apple and a durian for a durian, after all. I mean, let’s face it: if it smells like a durian, it’s a durian.
Baseball, Durham Bulls Bulls on the Move, Calvin Medlock, Chris Nowak, Durian, Elliot johnson, Ray Olmedo, Rhyne Hughes
Adam Sobsey ·
1 Jul 2009, 6:00 AM ·
2 Comments
As I write this, the Durham Bulls are on a bus, probably somewhere in West Virginia. Some of them may be sleeping, recharging their batteries after expending major amps in a four-game sweep of the Columbus Clippers. Last night they clubbed four homers and three doubles, all of those hits save one double off of Kirk Saarloos, whom they beat earlier this year, in a 9-6 win at Columbus.
The Bulls’ gun show was essential, because their bullpen backfired: Julio DePaula and Joe Bateman were lit up for four runs on five hits in just two innings, and only the large cushion they were supplied allowed them to crash-land without any casualties. I mentioned a couple of games ago that the Bulls seemed to be on the verge of a hitting binge, and over the last few games, they’ve gone on that bender: they scored 33 runs in the series against Columbus, and they seem to have gotten their home run stroke back. After leading the league in round-trippers for a good portion of the season, the Bulls fell out of the top spot (although they still lead in doubles). But if they keep on keeping on, they’ll have that lead back soon enough. This is a team that looks explosive again. If Chris Richard finds his swing, so much the better: he still leads the team in homers despite having missed about 40% of the season with hamstring problems.
Last night, Durham wasted no time: the very first batter of the game, Jon Weber, went yard.
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Baseball, Durham Bulls Andy Sonnanstine, Bullpen, Chris Nowak, Columbus Clippers, Matt Joyce, Rhyne Hughes
Adam Sobsey ·
19 Jun 2009, 2:03 AM ·
Comment
DBAP/ DURHAM—After the Lehigh Valley IronPigs completed a four-game sweep of the Bulls last night—Durham’s fifth straight loss—the postgame musical selection was Kansas’ “Carry on Wayward Son.” The Bulls’ Director of Media Relations, Matt DeMargel, assured me that the song was played at random, offering as evidence a computer touch screen of choices available to the sound guy following a loss (e.g. “That’s Life”). No “Wayward Son” was on it.
Still, it was an appropriate song to play after a glum 6-2 loss (perhaps our machines are smarter than we are, after all). The Bulls looked lost, incapable, tired: Wayward. They were charged with two errors (one controversial) but misplayed at least three other balls that cost them runs. They walked six batters. They grounded into three double plays and went 2-12 with runners in scoring position. They put the leadoff man on in six of the first seven innings but scored just one run in that stretch. And they made yet another senseless baserunning gaffe.
Remarkably, though, in the first inning it looked for all the world like the Bulls’ losing streak was going to be over.
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Baseball, Durham Bulls baserunning, Charlie Montoyo, Chris Nowak, Jon Weber, Kansas, Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Lollygaggers, Matt DeSalvo, momentum, Ray Olmedo, Reid Brignac, RISP
Adam Sobsey ·
11 Jun 2009, 9:11 PM ·
2 Comments
The Bulls have so seldom been routed this season that their 13-5 loss at Buffalo might seem more alarming than it probably should. There’s only one good thing to take away from Thursday afternoon’s blowout defeat, other than the fact that it’s over: Chris Nowak went 3-4 with a triple, a double and four RBIs. Otherwise, forget it. For rubberneckers, the gory details follow.
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Baseball, Durham Bulls Alex Jamieson, Buffalo Bisons, Chris Nowak, James Houser, Ray Olmedo
Adam Sobsey ·
5 Jun 2009, 12:22 AM ·
3 Comments
DBAP/ DURHAM—They’ll never say so, because of the codes of sportsmanliness that dictate their opinions, but ballplayers hate hate hate playing in the rain. The ball is wet and can’t be gripped properly; mud cakes into your cleats and your shoes get heavy and you can’t gain traction. The resin bag gets soaked through, so it’s useless. Droplets run off the visor of your helmet and you can’t see the pitch coming at you. Your batting gloves get wet and you can’t grasp the lumber properly. Grounders skitter off the infield grass and cause misplays in the field. Also, you’re soaking wet.
After the Bulls lost to Toledo, 4-3, I asked two Bulls whether the rain favors the pitcher or the hitter. Guess what? The pitcher I talked to, Jason Childers, said it favored the hitter, and he gave me persuasive arguments to back up his position. Guess what else? The hitter, Chris Nowak, offered airtight reasoning that convinced me that it’s harder for hitters. The Bulls’ manager, Charlie Montoyo, after allowing that “it was a brutal day to play,” took the middle, politic position: “They had to play on the same field that we did.”
So they did, and tonight the Mud Hens made fewer mistakes on it.
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Baseball, Durham Bulls A Farewell to Arms, baserunning, Carlos Hernandez, Chris Nowak, Dale Thayer, Jason Childers, Julio DePaula, Lucas French, Matthew Hall, rain, Ray Olmedo, Ray Sadler, Toledo Mud Hens
Adam Sobsey ·
1 Jun 2009, 3:38 PM ·
1 Comment
DBAP/ DURHAM—It was Education Day at the DBAP today, which meant lots of screaming kids paying very little attention to the Bulls’ 6-4 win over Buffalo. And it was the sort of game you needed to pay some attention to in order to appreciate it.
Mitch Talbot was scratched from his scheduled start with some sort of arm issue—shoulder stiffness, according to one report, but no one in the clubhouse confirmed that—so Chris Mason (pictured, above left), who spent last year with the Bulls and was recently called up again from Montgomery, was called on instead.
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Baseball, Durham Bulls Brandon Chaves, Buffalo Bisons, Chris Mason, Chris Nowak, Dale Thayer, John Jaso, Mitch Talbot, Ray Olmedo, Wily Mo Pena
