Bullington enjoying fresh start
For Bryan Bullington, the expectations associated with being the top overall pick in the 2002 draft hung over his every start during six years in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.
“You feel like you have to shut somebody out every time you go out there,” Bullington said.
That pressure, which came with ruinous results, is why the 27-year-old right-hander is so embracing what he calls a “fresh start” with the Buffalo Bisons.
“I’m really happy and fortunate that Cleveland’s taking a chance on me,” he said. “Hopefully just a fresh start, a new situation will bring some new results.”
They did Sunday. In his first start as a Bison, Bullington allowed just one run on three hits over four innings in Game One of the Bisons’ splitting of a doubleheader with Richmond in front of 8,203 at Dunn Tire Park.
The Bisons topped the Braves, 2-1, in the opener before falling, 1-0, in Game Two.
Bisons manager Torey Lovullo surprisingly pulled Bullington after 52 pitches before later explaining he was conserving his pitcher. Bullington will start Thursday against Norfolk on three days rest.
Still, in the first step of Bullington’s avowed rebirth, there was enough time to leave an encouraging impression.
“He has a good aggressive mentality, and he showed it,” Lovullo said. “He threw the ball great.”
Praise was rare for Bullington in Pittsburgh, where he represented former Pirates General Manager Dave Littlefield’s greatest failure.
Upon drafting Bullington out of Ball State, Littlefield infamously told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that “we feel comfortable projecting him as a No. 3 starter.”
Yet Bullington would never meet even those curtailed expectations. Slowed by multiple arm injuries and the burden of being the organization’s top overall pick, Bullington was 0-3 with a 5.89 ERA in six career major league outings in 2005 and ’07.
It hardly helped that the names of those “other” players drafted in 2002 were unfailingly evoked by the media with every Bullington disappointment. Rattle off the list: Scott Kazmir, Prince Fielder, Matt Cain, Cole Hamels, Joe Saunders, Khalil Greene and Jeff Francouer, to name a few of those drafted behind Bullington.
This season, Bullington went 4-6 with a 5.52 ERA in 15 starts at Triple-A Indianapolis. He was called up to Pittsburgh for two weeks earlier this season, but Pirates manager John Russell never called on him.
It was the final blow in an unhealthy relationship.
“I don’t think I ever got that shot, that string of five or six starts to see what I could do at that level,” Bullington said. “I felt like I was just spinning my wheels there.”
The Pirates designated Bullington for assignment July 3. He called the move “disappointing” while recognizing the opportunity it brought.
Now, in Cleveland with an arm he claims keeps getting stronger, Bullington is anxious to move on.
“I still feel like I’ve got the ability to pitch in the major leagues,” he said. “Hopefully I can pitch myself into a good situation here.”
