Bisons Rotation Armed and Ready
Pitching coach Ricky Bones will have none of it.
In his second season with the Bisons pitchers, Bones thinks he has a great mix of developing prospects and establish veterans at his disposal to start games for Buffalo.
"I respect other people's opinion, but Tobi Stoner is one of the best guys in the organization," said Bones. "He's followed by R.A. Dickey, who has done it in the big leagues and at this level.
"Pat Misch has done the same, and I think that combination will help our rotation."
The rotation started with Stoner on opening night in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and the 25-year old dealt scoreless baseball before an hour-plus rain delay. After him, the rotation will be Dickey, Misch, Dillon Gee and southpaw, Bobby Livingston.
Dickey is a knuckleball-throwing right-hander who signed with the Mets after spending most of last season with the Minnesota Twins. He also made five starts for International League for Rochester. While with the Twins, Dickey went 1-1 with a 4.62ERA. In his short time in Rochester, he had an ERA over five, but did toss a complete game shutout against Lehigh Valley.
The first lefty in the Bisons rotation is Pat Misch. He came to the Bisons last season after appearing with the San Francisco Giants and also playing for their Triple-A affiliate in Fresno, California. He went 1-2 with a 4.26ERA in Buffalo and made two separate stints with the Mets. In 22 games for the Mets, including seven starts, Misch had an ERA a shade over four and threw a complete game shutout against the Florida Marlins.
Gee returns to Buffalo after missing the final three months, and 98 games, last season with a right shoulder strain. After starting off 0-3 with a 5.40ERA in four April starts, Gee posted a 1-0 record with a 3.18 ERA in five May starts, before going down with the injury.
Southpaw Bobby Livingston rounds out the Bisons starting rotation and looks to find a home in Buffalo after playing in the minor league system of three different organizations in 2009, Baltimore, Cleveland and Pittsburgh. He played for five different minor league affiliate clubs, including three in the International League, Norfolk, Columbus and Indianapolis. In 30 innings pitched between those three teams Livingston gave up just nine earned runs.
"We have some good quality starters and I like our rotation," second year Herd manager Ken Oberkfell stated. "They know what they have to do, and if they go out and give us the five or six quality innings, I like our chances."