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 I can sort of forgive them that outdated conception; after all, the Bulls-Braves partnership lasted 18 years.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
Mike Potter ·
9 Jul 2009, 11:47 PM ·
1 Comment
DBAP/DURHAM It’s the finale of the short three-game homestand between the Durham Bulls and the Gwinnett Braves, and since each has won one it’s the “rubber game” of the series.
It’s my last night in a three-game callup to pinch-hit for Adam.
The Bulls lead the International League’s South Division by a scant one game over the second-place Norfolk Tides, and a Norfolk win plus a Durham loss would put the league’s only Virginia team in first place by percentage points.
Good news for Bulls reliever Dale Thayer (pictured), who has been selected to the IL roster for the Triple-A All-Star Game to replace Pawtucket phenom Clay Buchholz and will be headed to baseball’s biggest game of that day for the second straight year. No explanation on why Buchholz isn’t going, but from where I sit the legitimate ones are either an upcoming stint on the DL or an impending promotion.
Anyway, he’ll be joining teammate Reid Brignac for the festivities on Wednesday night in Portland.
There’s a great crowd in the house for a non-weekend night.
The buffet is chicken tenders and fries and the media contingent is still a big larger than usual since Bob Sutton of the Burlington Times-News is in the house.
And baseball sometimes fools you. Gwinnett leads 8-1 going into the ninth and it ends up 8-6 as Chris Richard strikes out with the bases loaded to end the game. Continue reading »
Baseball, Durham Bulls, Tampa Bay Rays Andy Mitchell, Atlanta Braves, Barbaro Canizares, Bobby Brownlie, Brandon Jones, Charlie Montoyo, Charlotte Knights, Charlotte Thayer, Chris Burke, Chris Richard, Clay Buchholz, Dale Thayer, Dave Brundage, Gwinnett Braves, Haley Thayer, International League, J.C. Holt, James Houser, John Jaso, Jonny Venters, Justin Ruggiano, Kelly Johnson, Lisa Thayer, Lucas Harrell, Matt DeSalvo, Mike Birling, Norfolk Tides, Pawtucket Red Sox, Reid Brignac, Reid Gorecki, Rhyne Hughes, Wade Davis, Wes Timmons
