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 ·
29 Aug 2009, 3:46 PM ·
1 Comment
DBAP/ DURHAM—Old-school friends of mine will sometimes show their age by betraying surprise at discovering that the Durham Bulls are no longer an affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. I can sort of forgive them that outdated conception; after all, the Bulls-Braves partnership lasted 18 years.
But this afternoon at the DBAP, right under the “Hit Bull Win Steak/Hit Grass Win Salad” Bull, a beaming General Manager Mike Birling announced that the Bulls and the Tampa Bay Rays have extended their working agreement, which was set to expire after 2010. The four-year extension will take them through 2014, for a 17-year total—the Rays will have been here almost as long as the Braves were.
With Birling were Chaim Bloom, who is the Rays’ Assistant Director of Minor League Operations, Durham Bulls Vice President George Habel and Durham Athletic Park Manager for Minor League Baseball Jill Rusinko.
When asked what it was about the Durham Bulls that especially appealed to the Rays’ front office, Bloom mentioned the fans and the community. But the first thing out of his mouth was “the playing surface.” It’s a credit to the DBAP grounds crew that they’ve maintained the field so well, despite the meteorological challenges of 2009.
The 2010 schedule was released. As usual, both the beginning and end of the season will pit the Bulls exclusively against the other three teams in the International League South Division. This clustering is done deliberately, and the weather is again a factor: April being the cruelest month, it’s better to stay close to home. And the pennant drive in late summer forces the issue by matching up teams from the same division.
The 2010 home stretch, however, is an extreme version: From August 10 until the last day of the season, September 6, the Bulls play 28 games in a row against Charlotte, Gwinnett and Norfolk, without a single day off. That includes an 11-game road swing to all three cities from August 13-23. The Bulls also have an 11-game roadie June 14-24, when they visit Gwinnett, Louisville and Indianapolis. Their big stand at home runs from June 25-July 5, when they play 11 straight games at the DBAP versus Lehigh Valley, Louisville and Gwinnett. In July, the Bulls play 17 of 28 games at home.
Two red-letter days. On April 2 or 3 (exact date TBD), the Bulls will play an exhibition game against the Tampa Bay Rays. That’s not only a chance to see major-league talent, but also to watch former Bulls who have gone on to stardom, like Carl Crawford (if he hasn’t been traded) and Evan Longoria.
Then, on Monday, May 10, the Bulls will play a home game at another Durham ballyard: the old Durham Athletic Park, which officially reopened this year. The Bulls last played at the DAP in 1994. The game was scheduled for May 10 for a very deliberate reason, said Mike Birling: “When people think of the most famous minor-league teams, they think of the Durham Bulls, obviously because of [the film] Bull Durham, and they think of the Toledo Mud Hens, because of M*A*S*H*.” (To our younger readers: M*A*S*H* was a television series that ran in the 1970s and 1980s. It was set during the Korean War, and one of the characters, a Toledan named Klinger, was trying to get his discharge from service by cross-dressing—oh, just read this.) Bulls versus Hens at the old farmyard!
It’s easy to take the Bulls-Rays affiliation for granted. But it’s important to appreciate how active and forward-thinking the Tampa brass is when it comes to their player development. We see that in the results. The Bulls are bidding to make the playoffs for the third straight year and the sixth of the last eight. Almost every season brings exciting, big-league-bound talent to the team. Look for more of it next year. And don’t miss the Bulls’ current charge, which resumes in just a few hours at the DBAP.
Baseball, Durham Bulls, Tampa Bay Rays 2010 season, Chaim Bloom, DAP, DBAP, Mike Birling, press conference, schedule, T. S. Eliot, Toledo Mud Hens
Lisa Sorg ·
21 Apr 2009, 5:45 PM ·
1 Comment
Logan Parker
FIVE COUNTY STADIUM/ ZEBULON—It was somewhere around the seventh inning when the Carolina Mudcats mascot removed his head. To be clear, he did not publicly decapitate himself at Five County Stadium, as that would likely have sent children into relentless crying fits or have traumatized them into a permanent, stony silence. But in the privacy of the press box, populated only by peanut-popping reporters, Muddy the Mudcat could openly take off the upper part of his costume, maxillary barbels and all.
Aside from the sad realization that Muddy is not really a fish, Monday night was a beautiful night for baseball. Towering pink storm clouds had scuttled away from Zebulon toward the coast. The air was crisp and clean and carried the scent of hot dogs to the upper decks. It was the first home game of the season, which makes spring official and summer almost within reach.
So given the near-perfect circumstances, the Mudcats’ 12-3 rout of the Huntsville Stars seemed not only obligatory but cathartic: Continue reading »
Baseball, Carolina Mudcats Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Dallas Buck, DBAP, Five County Stadium, Huntsville Stars, Jeremy Jeffress, Jimmy Buffett, Juan Francisco, Logan Parker, Muddy the Mudcat, Sean Henry
