21 Aug

like old times

Good news for the Philadelphia Phillies, bad news for the rest of baseball. Roy Oswalt pitched his best game of the season for the Phils on Saturday, throwing eight shutout innings and fanning nine in a 5-0 win over Washington. The former Weir High and Holmes Community College star, who has made two trips to the disabled list with back problems, was still hitting 93 mph in his final inning. “The velocity is coming back for me pretty nice,” Oswalt (6-7, 3.51 ERA) told mlb.com. “It’s coming back for me. I should feel better and better as I go.” If that’s true, the Phillies, who have maintained the best record in baseball for some time now, are going to be that much tougher to beat in the postseason.

P.S. On the always active injury front, San Francisco put Delta State alum Eli Whiteside (concussion) on the DL in the wake of the awkward, face-first slide he took against Atlanta last week, and Florida finally activated Ole Miss alum Chris Coghlan from his rehab stint and then sent him to Triple-A New Orleans. As bad as the Marlins are, does that make any sense?

19 Aug

spotlight on …

Billy Hamilton, the former Taylorsville High two-sport star, is putting up some nice numbers at Class A Dayton in the Cincinnati organization. In fact, one of the numbers he has put up is downright amazing: 81 stolen bases. Yes, 81, which leads all of minor league baseball. His other numbers aren’t too shabby: .258, two home runs, 41 RBIs, nine triples, 81 runs in 118 games in the low-A Midwest League. He has struck out 113 times, too high for a leadoff batter, but he’s only 20. He’s learning. Hamilton, 6 feet 1, 160 pounds, has played both shortstop and second base at Dayton. Some reports indicate his arm is better suited to second; his range his unquestioned. Hamilton was a second-round pick by the Reds in 2009 and spurned a football offer from Mississippi State to start his pro baseball career. He was called a “high-risk, high-reward” draftee, code for a player needing a lot of polish. He’s certainly begun to shine. He was the rookie Pioneer League player of the year in 2010 and entered this season as the Reds’ No. 2 prospect (ahead of Ole Miss alum Zack Cozart, who has already made The Show). Hamilton might make Double-A sometime next season — we might see him at Trustmark Park as a Carolina Mudcat — and that’ll be the big test. He’s got the speed to play in the majors. It’s just a matter of whether the rest of his game catches up.

18 Aug

touch of irony

See where the Kansas City Royals have signed Jeff Francoeur to a two-year contract extension worth a reported $13.5 million. The former Mississippi Braves star, who is making $2.5 million for 2011, is having a good year for the also-ran Royals, batting .277 with 15 homers and 66 RBIs. Francoeur is a good guy with a vibrant personality. He never gives less than his best. Even when he’s not hitting, he plays right field as well as anyone in the game right now. (Since 2005, his break-in year with Atlanta, has an amazing 93 assists.) It’s more than a little ironic, don’t you think, that the Braves’ biggest need today is right-handed hitting outfielder with some pop. Like, say, Jeff Francoeur, the guy Atlanta essentially gave away a couple of years ago. (Ryan Church? Really?) Still think Francoeur will come back to the Braves before he’s done and have a happy ending in his hometown.

17 Aug

dog days

Jonathan Papelbon, who’ll be a free agent after this season, is certainly making himself attractive to potential suitors. The former Mississippi State pitcher notched his 23rd consecutive save for Boston on Tuesday night and now has 28 in 29 chances this season. Papelbon, who has been known for hair-raising escapes in the past, has been more efficient of late. He hasn’t allowed a run since July 16. On Tuesday, protecting a 3-1 lead against Tampa Bay, he retired all three batters he faced on just 10 pitches, nine of them strikes. Another former Bulldogs star, Mitch Moreland, playing for another playoff contender in Texas, has had six hits in two games, both wins, against the Los Angeles Angels, who are chasing the Rangers in American League West. Moreland has boosted his average to .277. The Angels are now 6 games back heading into Game 3 of this big series tonight. Meanwhile, former MSU ace Paul Maholm starts tonight for Pittsburgh looking for something to smile about. The left-hander is 0-4 with a 5.80 ERA in his last six starts for the fading Pirates. Maholm (6-13, 3.60) faces a desperate St. Louis club that has dropped 7 games back of first-place Milwaukee in the National League Central.

P.S. Pascagoula’s Senquez Golson is rolling the dice. He reportedly turned down a $1.4 million signing offer from the Boston Red Sox to enroll at Ole Miss and play football for the Rebels. That’s a lot of money, and it may never be there for Golson again. He must really like football.

16 Aug

worth the trip

The fans who turned out at Trustmark Park tonight — and there weren’t many — were treated to a couple of memorable highlights by the homeboys. Antoan Richardson, the diminutive left fielder, jumped and reached over the fence to take a three-run homer away from a Huntsville batter in the fifth inning. Had to be one of the best defensive plays of the year for the M-Braves, who have not been a very good defensive team. In the bottom of the frame, Ernesto Mejia launched his 20th homer of the year, breaking the M-Braves’ record which he had held jointly with Matt Esquivel. Mejia’s blast was majestic, clearing the batter’s eye screen in center field. Not many have gone there before. Two for sure: Delmon Young and Jason Perry.

16 Aug

parting shots

Chris Cody, Zeke Spruill, Luis Avilan, Aaron Shafer and Jose Lugo. That’s the Mississippi Braves’ announced rotation for the Huntsville series that starts tonight at Trustmark Park. Who are those guys? Cody was signed last month out of an independent league. Spruill and Shafer are recent call-ups from A-ball. Avilan and Lugo are erstwhile relievers. Among the five, only Lugo has an ERA under 4.00. The rotation that many thought might lead the M-Braves to a playoff berth in 2011 is long gone. At 22-28, 12 1/2 games out of first in the Southern League South with 20 games left, there isn’t much for the M-Braves to play for as a team. But Atlanta’s minor league brass will want to see a strong finish from individual players, especially those that are on the prospect radar. And the players know this. They won’t be just going through the motions. Fans at the TeePee might want to keep a sharp eye out for the performance of strong-armed relievers Brett Butts and Billy Bullock. First baseman Ernesto Mejia is one homer away from breaking the M-Braves’ record; that would be a nice feather in his cap. Outfielders Cory Harrilchak (.248) and Mycal Jones (.239) are due, overdue actually, for a breakout. Third baseman Donell Linares (.275, seven homers, 58 RBIs) appears to still have a future in the organization. Only 10 home games left, but that’s plenty of time to leave a lasting impression.

16 Aug

case closed

The signing deadline for 2011 draft picks came and went Monday night, and the top pick from Mississippi, Sumrall High shortstop Connor Barron, did not sign with Florida, according to Baseball America’s latest draft tracker. As expected, Barron will play for Southern Miss in 2012. Barron was a third-round pick; the Marlins signed 11 of their top 13. Also good news for USM: Mr. Baseball Mason Robbins, an outfielder from George County, did not sign with the New York Mets; he was a 20th-round pick.

Here’s a rundown of the rest of the top 10 draft picks from the state:

USM infielder B.A. Vollmuth signed with Oakland;

Wheeler High outfielder/pitcher Brandon Woodruff (MSU) did not sign with Texas;

Ole Miss pitcher David Goforth signed with Milwaukee;

Pascagoula outfielder Senquez Golson (Ole Miss football) did not sign with Boston;

Ole Miss pitcher Austin Wright signed with Philadelphia;

MSU pitcher Devin Jones signed with Baltimore;

St. Stanislaus pitcher/outfielder Jacob Lindgren (MSU) did not sign with the Chicago Cubs;

Ole Miss catcher Miles Hamblin signed with Houston;

Copiah-Lincoln CC catcher Kolby Byrd signed with St. Louis.

15 Aug

no free rides

Getting to the big leagues is hard, the sage baseball man will tell you, but staying in the big leagues is harder still. Jarrod Dyson, the McComb native and former Southwest Mississippi Community College standout, defied the odds by making it to the majors as a 50th-round draft pick. The dash-fast Dyson hit just .211 in his 18 games with Kansas City in 2010, but he made an impression with his speed, stealing nine bases. He made the club out of spring training this year but didn’t stay. Dyson was sent down after batting just .172 in 22 games. (He did, however, swipe nine bases in nine tries.) Dyson is bidding for a return to The Show. He’s hitting .298 at Triple-A Omaha and has stolen 34 bases in 35 tries. He’s scored 50 times in 63 games. He will likely get a call-up in September, but he’s going to have to hit better to stick. Dyson’s hardest work is ahead of him.

P.S. Four former Mississippi Braves pitchers started in big league games on Sunday, and all four coulda, shoulda come away with victories. Only Jo-Jo Reyes, now with Baltimore, managed to get a W (with former Mississippi State star Craig Tatum behind the plate). Atlanta’s Brandon Beachy, Texas’ Matt Harrison and Pittsburgh’s Charlie Morton watched their bullpens blow saves.

14 Aug

oh, that guy

Trevor Bauer was the subject of a recent Sports Illustrated feature (Aug. 15 issue) and the Mississippi Braves got a first-hand look tonight at what all the hubbub is about. Bauer, in his Double-A debut, threw five shutout innings for Mobile as the BayBears beat the visiting M-Braves 5-4. Bauer yielded five hits and fanned eight. The tall right-hander, who has a 97 mph fastball, a wide assortment of other pitches and an unorthodox training regimen, was the third overall pick in June out of UCLA, where he was named national pitcher of the year after leading the country in strikeouts. Mobile is expected to be just a pit stop for Bauer on his way to pitching for the Arizona Diamondbacks in September, if not before. His is a name to remember.

14 Aug

full speed ahead

Tampa Bay may have lost its way in the playoff chase this season, but the Rays appear to have found their leadoff batter for 2012. Itawamba Community College product Desmond Jennings continues to rake. He belted his fourth home run of the year in Saturday’s loss at Yankee Stadium and went 2-for-4 overall to lift his average to .338. In 21 games in The Show this summer, Jennings has posted a .424 on-base percentage, scored 13 runs, driven in 13 runs, stolen eight bases and rapped three triples. … Weir’s Roy Oswalt, whose first start back from the DL was shaky, pitched better for Philadelphia on Saturday, allowing six hits and three runs in seven innings of an 11-3 win over Washington. Oswalt (5-7) notched his first win in some two months. … Holds are sort of a ridiculous statistic, but still Pascagoula’s Tony Sipp did notch his 20th on Saturday, helping Cleveland nail down a 3-1 victory over Minnesota and keep pace with Detroit in the American League Central. … And former Mississippi Braves star Brian McCann might be back in Atlanta’s lineup today; needless to say, he makes a big difference, especially with his bat. It is fun to watch him hit.