|
Olympic dreaming |
 |
Jeff Stevens didn’t know exactly what all the text messages and phone calls were about. But one of the first one came from his mother, and moms don’t lie.
The string of congratulatory messages and phone calls were because the 24-year-old native of Berkeley, California had just been selected as a member of the team USA Olympic baseball team that will be
read more
|
|
|
Weaver struggles as Bisons lose |
 |
Since the All-Star break, the Bisons had been receiving a string of good performances from their starting pitchers. That streak ended early Wednesday night.
Jeff Weaver struggled in the first three innings against the Norfolk Tides, allowing six runs on nine hits. He settled down in the middle frames, but the Herd could not recover and fell by an 8-5 scor
read more
|
|
|
Halama goes the distance, again |
 |
Buffalo Bisons manager Salvatore "Torey" Lovullo had a feeling Tuesday night’s Italian Festival night would be a good omen for his squad. But even he couldn’t predict just how good.
Michael Aubrey stroked a two-run home run and John Halama notched his second consecutive complete game win as the Bisons downed Norfolk 4-2 in front of a crowd of 12,962 at Dunn Tire Park.
"I’ve be
read more
|
|
|
Bisons fall in 14 innings |
 |
After a patchwork performance by four Bisons pitchers successfully staked the Herd to a 2-1 lead after eight innings Monday night, no one at Dunn Tire Park could have predicted the surreal events that would follow.
The Norfolk Tides made the lead evaporate in the ninth on a wild pitch, forcing extra innings. Eventually, the Herd dropped an 8-4 decision in 14 innings in the first of a four-game series.
The Bis
read more
|
|
|
Bisons split with Richmond |
 |
The Bisons bid a fond farewell Sunday afternoon to the Richmond Braves, who made their final appearance at Dunn Tire Park. With a split of their doubleheader, the Herd ended up winning three of the four weekend games.
Buffalo won the first game 2-1, getting an RBI single from Michael Aubrey in the fifth inning to snap a 1-1 tie. The Braves captured the nightcap 1-0, scoring when a bad bounce led to a force play ins
read more
|
|
|
Bisons explode once again |
 |
There might be no pennant race in sight, but a typically large Friday night crowd at Dunn Tire Park witnessed the Bisons turn in a second straight offensive explosion.
Friday’s 16-3 win over the Richmond Braves followed a 10-2 victory on Thursday. The total of 26 runs in two consecutive home games hadn’t been done since the Herd’s 11-10 and 17-7 wins over Syracuse i
read more
|
|
|
Halama pitches Bisons to win |
|
|
Playing in their first game after the All-Star break, the Bisons are trying to treat this season’s second half as a new start.
John Halama took that idea to a new level Thursday night, as he pitched the Herd’s first nine-inning complete game of the season in a 10-2 victory over the Richmond Braves. In the process, every spot
read more
|
|
|
Getting to know Jason Cooper |
 |
Far from the glitz of Major League Baseball is a world of guys working like crazy in the minor leagues, hoping for that one chance at a regular job in the big leagues.
Jason Cooper knows all about that world.
Cooper, 27, is no longer a 22-year-old prospect, but he isn’t a 32-year-old journeyman either. He’s a man somewhere in between those two brackets of the ga
read more
|
|
|
Herd ponders future at the break |
 |
Is anyone minding the store? Does anyone care? Sure as heck doesn’t look like it.
As the Buffalo Bison limp into the International League All-Star break, they do so as quite possibly the worst team in franchise history. Certainly the least inspired collection of players since their
read more
|
|
|
Weaver and Bullington make Bison debut |
|
|
For Jeff Weaver and Bryan Bullington it was a chance for a fresh start in a new city. The stage was set, and little by little the results will come.
Louisville turned on the offense as the Bats pounded out 14 hits and trounced the Buffalo Bisons 9-3 Saturday night at Dunn Tire Park.
The owner of a 93-114 MLB record, Saturday’s start was Weaver
read more
|
|
|
Bisons looking for offensive answers |
|
|
Once again the Buffalo Bisons got a quality effort from their starting pitcher and once again the offense was AWOL.
B.J. Szymanski’s ninth inning sac fly plated Ryan Hanigan for the game’s only run as Louisville edged the Bisons 1-0 Friday night at Dunn Tire Park.
The loss marked the first time the Bisons have b
read more
|
|
|
Herrmann impressive while offense depressing |
|
|
Buffalo Bison starter Frank Herrmann tossed a gem of a game but in the end it wasn’t enough as the Louisville Bats scored a 2-0 win over the Herd in front of 6,504 fans Thursday evening.
Making his second start, Herrmann (0-2) made good use of his fastball, but it was his secondary pitches of breaking ball and slider that gave the Bats (53-42) fits as he set a new Bisons 2008 single-g
read more
|
|
|
Bisons snap losing streak |
 |
Bisons manager Torey Lovullo said before Monday night’s game that his team would snap its seven-game losing skid by relaxing.
It’s unclear whether committing a season-high five fielding errors constitutes a more relaxed effort, but at least the Herd was able to overcome that statistic in an 8-7 victory over the Syracuse Chie
read more
|
|
|
Unlucky number seven |
 |
What now? They weren’t horrifically bad but then again they weren’t that impressive either.
David Purcey worked seven scoreless innings as the Syracuse Chiefs handed the Buffalo Bisons a 4-0 loss in front of a crowd of 9,687 fans Sunday night at Dunn Tire Park.
The Herd’s winless streak h
read more
|
|
|
Bisons drop fourth in a row |
 |
You can’t blame this one on Bubbie.
Sure, to the untrained eye reliever Bubbie Buzachero served up the game-winning home run ball to Trevor Plouffe as Rochester scored a 7-6 win over Buffalo in a 13-inning marathon that was played out i
read more
|
|
|
Another close loss for Bisons |
 |
Manager Torey Lovullo’s patience is running thin and the Buffalo Bisons time is running out.
The Bisons need to find a way to put the pieces together now if they hope to salvage the 2008 season and make any kind of a run at a playoff spot.
Like a bad song you can’t shake from your head, th
read more
|
|
|
Bisons return home; Cabrera still not talking |
 |
After a brief two-game stint in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre the Buffalo Bisons will return home July 2 for the start of a four-game home and home stint with I-90 and IL North Division rival Rochester.
The July 3 contest will of course be the Bisons annual Independence Eve celebration that features the largest post game fireworks show of the year and a live performance by the Buffalo Philharmonic Or
read more
|
|
|
Bisons hit road on winning streak |
|
|
Despite a three-day homestand dotted with weather delays, perhaps this isn’t a good time for the Bisons to go back on the road.
The Herd won its third straight game against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees on Sunday afternoon, a 7-5 comeback victory which assured the Bisons of a series win against their division rivals. The l
read more
|
|
|
Baseball gods take care of Bisons |
|
|
Perhaps Bisons manager Torey Lovullo best described the two wins picked up by the Herd against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees on Saturday night.
“The baseball gods took care of us,” the skipper quipped.
There could have been doubt after Friday night, when the Bisons were one strike away from a win only to have dense fog contribute to a tyin
read more
|
|
|
Outcome has to wait for Herd |
|
|
The Bisons returned to Dunn Tire Park Friday night to begin a brief homestand, but the outcome of the first game will have to wait another day.
Fog wreaked havoc on the outfielders for both the Herd and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees for eight complete innings. But the soup took on obscene dimensions in the ninth, as the Yankees tied the g
read more
|
|
|
Weird weather delays Bisons |
 |
For a team that has dropped five of six games, the Bisons didn’t consider their suspended game on Monday night to be a total blessing.
The Herd trailed the Durham Bulls 2-1 in the bottom of the third inning when a rainstorm with nearby lightning halted play. A delay of an hour and 50 minutes followed before the game was officially su
read more
|
|
|
A comedy of errors |
 |
Jason Cooper’s words said it all.
"It’s embarrassing. We’re embarrassing ourselves. We’re embarrassing our coaching staff. To stand out there and have the fan support that we have and play the kind of games that we’ve been playing lately is unacceptable. It’s very embarrassing," Cooper said after the Buffalo Bisons dropped a 5-3 decision to Durham in front of 10,939 fans for a Father’s Day game at Dunn Tire Park Sunday afternoon.
"We put on that uniform, we need to go out and play with a sense of pride and right now, walking out there, I feel like we’re not living up to our expectations, the fans expectations this organization
read more
|
|
|
Inside the Bisons’ clubhouse: David Huff |
 |
Some times it pays to listen to your older sibling, just ask David Huff.
The Cleveland Indians first-round pick (39th overall) in the 2006 First-Years Player Draft, Huff made his first Triple-A start recently against the Rochester Red Wings yielding just one earned run in his six innings of work.
He struck out five and 49 of his 77 pitches were for strikes.
But odds are good David wouldn’t have reached the mound at Dunn Tire Park so quickly if not for his older brother Tim.
David, now 23,
read more
|
|
|
Herd drops another day game, Huff on the horizon |
 |
Help is on the way and not a moment too soon.
Francisco Liriano (1-2) picked up his first win and Randy Ruiz had a two-run homerun as the Rochester Red Wings dealt the Buffalo Bisons an 8-3 loss in front on 7,241 fans at Dunn Tire Park Thursday a
read more
|
|
|
Bisons prevail in 10 innings |
 |
Ninth-inning rallies don’t get much more dramatic than the one the Bisons delivered on Wednesday night. Come to think of it, the tenth-inning one was pretty special, too.
The Herd scored six runs in the ninth inning, erasing the Rochester Red Wings’ 6-0 advantage built with four home runs. The Wings scored a run in the 10th inning, but the Bisons came through with two
read more
|
|
|
Tomlin solid in debut |
 |
The Bisons started a four-game series against the Rochester Red Wings on Tuesday night, and pointed yet another fresh face to the pitcher’s mound.
Saturday, it was Dan Reichert, a veteran who hadn’t pitched in a professional league since 2005. Monday, Jeff Stevens made his Bisons debut and worked two perfect relief innings.
Tuesday night belo
read more
|
|
|
Stevens impressive in Triple-A debut |
 |
Suddenly it’s getting harder to squeeze out runs, a lot harder.
Larry Broadway went 3-for-4 with two RBI as the Columbus Clippers downed the Bisons 5-2 in front of 15,640 fans on a Monday morning Kids Day game.
Though the Bisons dropped the game-and the series 3-1-the plus side was the Triple-A debut of pitcher Jeff Stevens.
Stevens was perfect in the seventh and eighth as he struck out two without issuin
read more
|
|
|
Sowers on a roll, Bisons win |
 |
Even in victory some things just don’t go right for the Bisons.
Solo home runs from Josh Barfield and Aaron Herr lifted to the Bisons to a 2-1 win over the Columbus Clippers in front of 9,181 fans at Dunn Tire Park Sunday afternoon.
But the biggest form of fireworks came in the seventh inning when Bisons manager Torey Lovullo was ejected by home plate umpire Damien Beal for arguing a call at home when Yurendell de Caster was orig
read more
|
|
|
Bisons get Clipped |
 |
The good news is the Bisons came up with four runs courtesy of key two-out hits. The bad news is it wasn't nearly enough.
Javi Herrera drove in five runs as the Columbus Clippers topped the Bisons 14-4 Saturday afternoon at Dunn Tire Park.
Wyatt Toregas's two-run single in the second inning trimmed the Clippers lead t
read more
|
|
|
Weird play cost Bisons |
|
|
Todd Linden may not have had a hit in his home debut for the Bisons on Friday night, but he will be long remembered for his profound role in one of the strangest events in the 21-year history of Dunn Tire Park.
The Herd was trying to prevent the Columbus Clippers from expanding their 2-0 lead in the third inning, but the Clippers had two runners on with two out. Linden, playing right field, went to chase dow
read more
|
|
|
Bisons find a way to lose |
 |
As far as embarrassing losses go, there aren’t many better examples than the one the Bisons endured Tuesday night.
The Herd led the Lehigh Valley IronPigs 5-2 going into the ninth inning and had their closer, Rick Bauer, jogging in from the bullpen.
Bauer hadn’t allowed a run in 10 outings, dating back to April
read more
|
|
|
Bisons send IronPigs to another loss |
 |
It’s official-the Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a really bad baseball team.
Well, actually, it was never really in doubt.
The International League’s last place team continued their string of futility when they dropped a 5-2 decision to the Buffalo Bisons Saturday night at Dunn Tire Park.
Though they are the owners of
read more
|
|
|
Bartolo is back! |
 |
Bartolo Colon wants to return to the major leagues. He made a strong case for himself Thursday afternoon to do just that.
Working six strong innings Colon, who is on the mend from a strained right oblique muscle, was near perfect as he threw a no-hitter to lead the Pawtucket Red Sox to a 2-0 win over the Bisons in Game O
read more
|
|
|
Bisons, IronPigs split doubleheader |
 |
There weren’t many fans on hand at a blustery Dunn Tire Park on Monday night when the Bisons started the second game of their doubleheader against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Whoever waited the 40 minutes between games was still treated to all sorts of historical achievements.
First the good: Jason Stanford, the Bisons’ modern-day career strikeout king had already been the only player to appear in a Bison uniform in eight different seasons.
But when he took the mound f
read more
|
|
|
Bisons defeat Pawtucket |
 |
A Bison playing in his eighth game with the team got the benefit of a bounce against a pitcher making his Triple-A debut Friday night, and it helped the Herd gain a split of their four-game series against the Pawtucket Red Sox.
Bronson Sardinha chopped an infield single in the seventh inning to drive in the go-ahead run and give the Buffalo Bisons a 3-2 victory over the PawSox.
The hit was the third in a row against Hunte
read more
|
|
