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On The Road Again

He played from 1992 to 1998 in Hamilton, Springfield, St. Petersburg, West Palm Beach, and Jupiter. He played in Harrisburg and Ottawa, the AAA club, twice.

In 1998, Bullinger was made a six-year minor league free agent. "Once you become a six-year minor league free agent, it's about trying to find the right niche," Kirk explains. "Somewhere where I fit to get to the big leagues as quick as possible. That is why I've jumped around from one organization to the next to the next."

In 1999, Bullinger signed with the Red Sox, and pitched a few innings of relief. In 2000, he signed with the Phillies. In what he terms a "trainer mishap" his back was overstretched, inflaming the old injury, and putting him out of commission for much of the year.

"To this day that really kind of sticks in my craw, because a lot of the blame was put on myself for the injury and it was totally not an injury that I had any say-so over. It was something done in an errant stretch by the trainer. I got all of the flap for it from the Phillies front office."

Kirk underwent an eight-week rehab for the injury on his own time. He returned to Scranton and was still able to hook up with an end-of-season call up.

In 2001, Bullinger entered the Cleveland organization's farm system, first at AA Akron. "Things weren't working out for me good with the Indians," Kirk recalls. "I went to spring training. They had an over-abundance of pitchers. I was asked if I wanted my release OR would I want to go down to double-A, pitch there, see what happens with the AAA and the major league level, maybe get moved within a couple of weeks or so and see if anything happens."

It didn't. Kirk was released within the first three weeks. It took him another five weeks to land a job with the White Sox organization at AAA Charlotte.

Charlotte was a particularly tough assignment after having a fairly long layoff at the beginning of the season between there and Akron.

That was also the year that Bullinger decided that his best shot at fitting in someplace might be right at home. The New Orleans Zephyrs play in his home town of Metairie. "That's part of the reason that I pursued the Astros," Kirk says with a wry smile. "If you can play AAA baseball at home, why go play AAA baseball somewhere else?"

Word on the vine was that the Astros were trying to beef up their pitching. He contacted them in 2001 after being released from Akron.

"Having some ties with Jimmy Williams with the Red Sox, when I played for them, he was the manager, I thought [New Orleans] was a good place to be. This organization [The Astros] are known for calling up guys who aren't on the forty-man roster... They said that they didn't have a need for me right now but they'd keep me in mind and get back to me."

A Warm Wind Blows from Home

The following season, the Astros did get back with him, and signed him to the Zephyrs. Sources tell MLN that some negative comments on Bullinger from people within another organization may have suggested that Bully was not a team player.

In 2002, the Astros put Kirk through his paces with the AAA Zephyrs, varying his assignments, and making him take on everything from starter to middle relief to closer. He rose to every challenge, and finished up the season with a sterling 2.75 ERA, second in the clubhouse in number of appearances.

"I'm stuck right now, in AAA, trying to get over the hump to get into the major leagues. With me living here, being a six year free agent, anything can happen at the major league level; injuries here or there, trades, what have you. They need effectiveness up there. I thought I'd give them a shot."

Fit at Last! Thank God, I Fit At Last.

For the first time in over a decade, Kirk Bullinger's home may really be with the Astros.

Bullinger is serious, straightforward, and a tough competitor. His physical skill continues to improve, and his emotional seasoning from a decade in search of a place where he fits in have taught made him stronger and a bit wiser.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed playing for [the Astros]. They're a really good organization. They're really committed to winning, as you can see by the championships they've got here. Last year they didn't make the playoffs in the major leagues. That was a failure for them. That was a disappointment for them. They were bound and determined to get back, and now they're in first place."

When asked to contrast his experience with the Expos to that with the Astros, Bullinger steers towards the positive.

"With the Expos, the experience was that of playing in the major leagues so that, when you do move on and reach the major leagues with another team, it's not a shock. You know what's required of you. That's what I did do when I got back up with the Red Sox and the Phillies. There's a little more ease of going into the clubhouse with guys like Pedro Martinez."

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