Showing posts tagged “David Price”
Adam Sobsey ·
26 Jun 2009, 3:52 PM ·
3 Comments
Good news for Bulls fans: Chris Richard has been activated after his second stint on the disabled list with hamstring tightness. Despite having missed 30 of the team’s 74 games, most of them in the last month, the 35-year-old Richard still leads the team with 11 home runs, and his 37 RBIs are just one behind Ray Sadler’s team-leading 38. Richard’s .855 OPS is also tops on the team except for the very-small-sample-sized Rhyne Hughes’s .978.
Speaking of Hughes, I had suggested more than once that he would be sent back down to Montgomery once Richard was activated, but as recent commenter Jack, uh, commented, pure performance logic argued that Hughes stay and share time with Richard. Jack got it right (and I got it wrong): instead of Hughes, outfielder Rashad Eldridge (pictured) was Bisquicked. The 27-year-old Eldridge played reasonably well for the Bulls, hitting .301 and covering ample ground in the outfield. But he had little power, and for a speedy guy didn’t do much on the basepaths, stealing just two bases and getting caught three times. He was also the Bulls’ fifth outfielder, and that surplus meant more games as designated hitter for Matt Joyce, Justin Ruggiano, Ray Sadler and Jon Weber. With Eldridge’s demotion to Montgomery, the Tampa front office made the tacit choice to give more of those DH at-bats to Hughes and Richard, both left-handed sluggers who play the same position and will only get sufficient plate appearances by doing some time at DH. The transaction should give a boost to the team’s hitting; it also affords immediate protection should Richard tweak the hamstring again.
It needs to be said that Hughes forced the Rays to keep him in Durham by swinging a hot bat in his short (so far) stint. He took advantage of the opportunity. Kudos to him for that.
Reliever Chad Bradford’s rehab assignment ended, and he has been promoted to Tampa as expected. A pitcher will have to move off of the major-league roster, and the speculation on who that will be has included Winston Abreu, David Price and Andy Sonnanstine, all for different reasons. According to a couple of sources, Abreu is out of options, although I couldn’t figure out why, based on his professional history. But transaction rules befuddle me sometimes. Sonnanstine has been mostly awful and still has options; so does Price, and the young phenom has performed erratically since his callup about a month ago. I’d like to see him back in Durham for more seasoning. But I’d also like my mortgage loan application to be approved, and that hasn’t happened yet either.
Regardless of who’s on and off the Tampa-Durham shuttle, Triangle Offense will keep you up to date.
Baseball, Durham Bulls, Tampa Bay Rays Andy Sonnanstine, Bulls on the Move, Chad Bradford, Chris Richard, David Price, Rashad Eldridge, Rhyne Hughes, Winston Abreu
Adam Sobsey ·
31 May 2009, 11:04 AM ·
2 Comments
DBAP/ DURHAM—It’s getting almost boring, reporting on Carlos Hernandez when he starts for the Bulls. He baffled the Bisons last night for eight innings—the longest start of the year by a Bulls pitcher—and his mates poured on the runs in the middle third of the game. Durham won, 10-2. The big blows were three-run homers by Jon Weber and Ray Sadler, which came three at-bats apart in a six-run sixth.
Before I get to the game itself, yet another Bull on the move:
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Baseball, Durham Bulls, Tampa Bay Rays Buffalo Bisons, Bulls on the Move, Carlos Hernandez, Chris Mason, Craig Albernaz, Dale Thayer, David Price, Dewon Day, injury, Joe Dillon, Jon Weber, Matt Joyce, Matt Winters, Randy Choate, Ray Sadler
Adam Sobsey ·
26 May 2009, 11:36 AM ·
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Five recent Bulls helped the Rays implode last night.
Somehow the injury- and promotion-depleted Bulls managed to win again yesterday at Rochester,
3-2. John Jaso, Ray Olmedo and Chris Richard all sat with minor injuries (at least, I assume they’re minor) so the lineup was once again rather lite—although .634-OPSing Chris Nowak made the difference with an eighth-inning single. Still, the Bulls are going to need more production from the lower third of its order. Without it (i.e. if the injured Jaso and Richard don’t return soon), they’ll struggle to score enough runs to keep winning at the pace they’ve set so far this year.
It ought to be pointed out that Durham starter Carlos Hernandez wouldn’t have needed Nowak’s hit (and would have gotten credit for the victory) had he not made two throwing errors, each of which led to a Rochester run. He and Sunday’s starter, Wade Davis, allowed no earned runs in their two starts, but all three they permitted came as a result of their own fielding mishaps. I’m all for consistency in the rulebook, and I know that’s why a pitcher’s own error holds him harmless against an earned run, but sometimes I wonder if the rule shouldn’t be changed. Why isn’t the skill to field his position considered part of a pitcher’s basic responsibilities? If someone commits a crime and represents himself in court, we don’t let him off the hook because he flubs his own defense (yes, there’s probably something wrong with that analogy, but give it to me anyway).
Anyway, out of the courtroom and back to the field.
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Baseball, Durham Bulls, Tampa Bay Rays Carlos Hernandez, Chris Nowak, Chris Richard, Dale Thayer, David Price, Dewon Day, Harmon Killebrew, I Am Psychic, Jason Isringhausen, John Jaso, Matt Hall, Randy Choate, Ray Olmedo, Reid Brignac, Rochester Red Wings, schlmazel, Wade Davis, Winston Abreu
David Fellerath ·
25 May 2009, 3:07 PM ·
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Thanks, Dave. It’s been real. Good luck in Cleveland tonight. Press release here.
David Price, seen in April at the Durham Bulls' media day. (photo by D.L. Anderson)
Baseball, Durham Bulls David Price
Adam Sobsey ·
22 May 2009, 11:55 PM ·
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Other than Chris Richard’s three-run home run, his 10th—he now has the second most in the International League—the Bulls hitters couldn’t do much tonight, and Mitch Talbot got roughed up in a 5-3 loss at Lehigh Valley. Talbot permitted thirteen baserunners in five innings, and was probably fortunate that only a third of them scored. Ten IronPigs were left stranded, and not even Eumaeus could bring them home (there, I’m a book critic).
With Reid Brignac gone to Tampa, Ray Olmedo played shortstop, and Joe Dillon took over at second base, a position he had previously played in 62 games over 12 seasons in professional ball. Close enough, I guess. It’s probable that a Biscuit will rise from Montgomery to Durham soon.
Meanwhile, in Tampa tonight, Dale Thayer got his first major-league save in his inaugural appearance. Thayer pitched three innings in relief of Andy Sonnanstine, and allowed a meaningless ninth-inning run in the Rays’ 15-2 rout of their Citrus Series rivals, the Florida Marlins. The official scorer gave Thayer a judgment-call save, which is permitted by league rules if the reliever pitches at least three innings, finishes the game, and is effective in the scorer’s eyes. Thayer even got an at-bat, grounding out to the pitcher to end the top of the ninth. He didn’t strike anyone out and gave up too many fly balls, but still, three good innings are three good innings.
Brignac came into the game at shortstop when manager Joe Maddon cleared the benches late, and went 1-2 with a single and a run scored.
Although both newly-minted Rays did well tonight, there’s every reason to think they’ll be back in Durham soon enough once everything gets sorted out in Tampa (and particularly, in Brignac’s case, when interleague play ends). Nonetheless, it was nice to see them do well immediately after their call-ups.
When will they be sent down again? The answer to that question got muddied today.
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Baseball, Durham Bulls, Tampa Bay Rays Andy Sonnanstine, Bulls on the Move, Chris Richard, Dale Thayer, David Price, Jason Isringhausen, Joe Dillon, Joe Maddon, Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Mitch Talbot, Ray Olmedo, Reid Brignac, Scott Kazmir, Troy Percival, Wade Davis
Adam Sobsey ·
19 May 2009, 2:34 AM ·
Comment
DBAP/ DURHAM—The Bulls beat Rochester 1-0 last night in just 1:56; the difference was Chris Nowak’s solo home run leading off the fifth inning. The days of the regular <2-hour game are long gone, so this was a rare short evening at the ballpark. We were done just past 9:00, early enough for fans to catch all of the third period of the Hurricanes’ Game One loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. (And speaking of penguins: Man, was it cold at the DBAP!)
We owe the brevity of the affair to the starters, Durham’s Wade Davis (pictured, left) and Rochester’s Brian Duensing. The two allowed a total of only eight hits and one walk over their combined 13 2/3 innings tonight. By comparison, Mitch Talbot and Anthony Swarzak surrendered 11 hits in just four innings on Saturday. Both pitchers performed really well, reminding me that sometimes the extraordinarily complex art (science, craft, vocation, hippopotamus, whatever) of pitching can actually be made to look quite simple: Keep the ball down, change speeds, throw strikes. Davis (who improved to 4-1) and Duensing did that. Flight time: one hour, 56 minutes. The flight attendants would have been clearing your dinner from your seat tray virtually before you finished it.
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Baseball, Durham Bulls Batter's Eye, Charlie Montoyo, Chris Nowak, David Price, Rochester Red Wings, Wade Davis, Winston Abreu
Adam Sobsey ·
18 May 2009, 1:42 AM ·
1 Comment
David Price threw five hitless innings
DBAP/ DURHAM—On a chilly, clammy night at the DBAP last night, we saw the David Price we expected in 2009, and then some: In his five innings of work — 82 pitches, 50 strikes — Price (pictured, left) threw a no-hitter (!). Picking up where Mitch Talbot left off the night before, Price used his slider to great effect. The pitch had superb down-sweeping action, and he mixed it cannily with a low-90s fastball and a fading changeup to stymie the Rochester Red Wings. (Rochester, by the way, won the game,
3-2.)
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Baseball, Durham Bulls Charlie Montoyo, Chris Richard, David Price, Jason Childers, John Jaso, Jon Weber, Julio DePaula, Justin Ruggiano, Matt DeMargel, Philip Humber, Ray Olmedo, Reid Brignac, Rochester Red Wings, Shea Butter Foot Cream, Spike-Curve
David Fellerath ·
13 May 2009, 5:35 PM ·
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DBAP/ DURHAM—I’ve been avoiding this post all day, partly because I’m so damn busy but mostly because of the praise lavished on Adam Sobsey, our principal Bulls correspondent, by the redoubtable Bull City Rising. Here it is:
A gold star for Adam Sobsey, who’s covering the Bulls for the Independent Weekly’s Triangle Offense blog — for now. I say “for now” since Sobsey’s writing is stunningly good, and I mean he’s-going-to-get-snapped-up-somewhere-national-someday good.
So, for those of you tuning in because of this endorsement: No, I’m not Adam Sobsey. I covered last night’s game for Adam Sobsey, and I hasten to assure you that Adam Sobsey will be attending tonight’s game between the Bulls and the Louisville Bats.
Due to the Indy production schedule, I didn’t take my seat last night until the bottom of the first, and already David Price had given up two runs. It’s no stretch to say the novelty of having Price here in Durham has worn off a bit: Announced attendance to this game, which saw the Bulls’ ostensible closer give up five runs in the ninth inning to lose 7-6, was 4,112.
No doubt many stayed home to watch the Hurricanes gratefully accept their asses from the hands of the Boston Bruins (a spectacle that claimed the attention of press-box denizens, too), but no-shows missed a pretty good 76-pitch effort from the big lefty. Continue reading »
Baseball, Durham Bulls Adam Sobsey, Bull City Rising, Dale Thayer, David Price, Jonny Gomes, Louisville Bats
Adam Sobsey ·
7 May 2009, 11:43 PM ·
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In Fort Mill, SC tonight, the Charlotte Knights broke open a close game late, scoring five runs in the seventh inning and adding another in the eighth to win 10-2 and split their two-game series (a de facto home-and-home four-gamer, really). All six of the late runs came off of Bulls’ reliever Chad Orvella, a former N.C. State pitcher. Orvella has really struggled lately. Over his last seven innings, spanning four appearances, he has allowed 17 hits and 16 earned runs. His ERA has mushroomed to 8.35, worst on the team. Orvella has thrown 82 big-league innings for Tampa Bay, but missed all of last season after shoulder surgery, so it’s tempting to speculate that something is amiss physically.
Starter David Price also struggled. He took the loss, allowing four runs on six hits and five walks — with, alarmingly, no strikeouts — in four innings. He threw 79 pitches, according to the official box score, only 39 for strikes. To go by the numbers alone, Price is simply struggling with his control. His season ERA now stands at 4.74. Presumably, he’ll be working with Tampa coaches to work on his mechanics. I would be willing to guess that he feels a lot of pressure as the No. 1 pitching prospect in the minors, especially now that he’s no longer able to be anonymous in the aftermath of his postseason performance for Tampa last October.
Craig Albernaz started at catcher again, and when he was pinch-hit for tonight, it was recently called-up Alex Jamieson who got the nod (Jamieson struck out). Bulls’ frontline catcher John Jaso pinch-hit for Justin Ruggiano and struck out to end the game. Whatever injury Jaso is nursing, it must be something minor but bothersome enough to keep him from catching. Look for Jamieson to be demoted again once Jaso is healthy enough to catch.
The Bulls travel to Gwinnett (GA) to take on the Braves tomorrow. Wade Davis is on the mound for Durham.
Baseball, Durham Bulls Alex Jamieson, Chad Orvella, Charlotte Knights, Craig Albernaz, David Price, John Jaso
Adam Sobsey ·
7 May 2009, 11:35 AM ·
Comment
The Durham Bulls won a rare (for them) slugfest yesterday, scoring four runs in the top of the first inning and fending off Charlotte 8-7 at Knights Stadium, which is actually in Fort Mill, South Carolina.
Matt Joyce carried the load for the Bulls, hitting a two-run homer in the first and adding a soft two-run single to center in the sixth. Bulls starter Mitch Talbot (3-2) picked up the win, allowing four runs in five innings. Dale Thayer earned his fourth save for Durham. He came in with a man on and one out in the ninth and gave up a single to Andy Phillips, but then retired Daryle Ward and Michael Restovich to end the threat.
A couple of notes:
* The Bulls pitchers gave up eight walks yesterday. That’s out of character for them; they average 3.34 per nine innings.
* Catcher John Jaso hasn’t played since Saturday, when he was lifted for a pinch-runner (his backup, Craig Albernaz) after singling in the bottom of the 7th inning. According to Mike Potter, who covers the Bulls for the Durham Herald-Sun, Jaso has a minor injury, but that hasn’t been confirmed. The Bulls’ Director of Media Relations, Matt DeMargel, hadn’t heard that Jaso was hurt at all.
* Meanwhile, utility man Elliot Johnson has been placed on the 7-day disabled list with a broken hand. (How it’s going to heal in just a week isn’t clear.) Catcher Alex Jamieson, who began the season in Durham before Albernaz replaced him, has returned to the team, which may suggest that Jaso isn’t about to return to the lineup. We’ll keep tabs on all of this during the road trip.
* For the graphics-inclined, Chris Wise has some statistical charts to ponder over on Watching Durham Bulls Baseball.
* Celebrity minor-league lefty David Price takes the hill tonight for the Bulls in Charlotte. He’s looking to rebound from an inefficient, control-shaky start on Saturday night against Columbus.
Baseball, Durham Bulls Alex Jamieson, Charlotte Knights, Craig Albernaz, Dale Thayer, David Price, Elliot johnson, John Jaso, Matt Joyce, Mitch Talbot
