20 Sep

role playing

The role of spoiler fell to Corey Dickerson late Thursday night, and the former Meridian Community College star from McComb played it well. Dickerson knocked in the game-winning run with a triple in the bottom of the 15th inning as Colorado beat St. Louis 7-6. “Every big league game is awesome, even if it’s a long one,” Dickerson told mlb.com. The Cardinals saw their lead in the National League Central cut to 1 game over Pittsburgh and 2 over Cincinnati. Dickerson went 3-for-7 on Thursday with two triples. In 62 games, the rookie outfielder is batting .289 with three homers, 14 RBIs, 13 doubles, six triples and 29 runs. Former Ole Miss standout Drew Pomeranz, who has had an injury-wracked campaign, also had a hand in the Rockies’ win, throwing two hitless innings in relief. Weir High and Holmes CC product Roy Oswalt started for Colorado but couldn’t hold a four-run lead. He lasted just 4 2/3 innings; he is winless in seven appearances (six starts) this season and has a 7.71 ERA. … Meanwhile, Mitch Moreland, the ex-Mississippi State star, belted his 23rd homer — and just his third off a left-hander — to help Texas beat Tampa Bay 8-2 and draw even with the Rays as the leaders in the American League wild card race. Moreland had three hits all told, boosting his fading average to .239.

19 Sep

a time for heroes

Three hits, two walks, four steals, two runs and an RBI. And his team won, in 13 innings. Billy Hamilton’s first career MLB start on Wednesday could not have gone much better. Playing center field and batting ninth, the ex-Taylorsville High star’s performance was a tour de force in Cincinnati’s 6-5 win at Houston. He is the first player in the live ball era (from 1920 on) to steal four bases in his first big league start and has tallied nine steals faster (in only eight games) than anybody in the modern era (since 1901). “Who knows what comes next?” Hamilton told mlb.com. Well, for one, a postseason roster spot seems assured now. The Reds are third in the National League Central, 2.5 games back of St. Louis but just a half-game behind stumbling Pittsburgh. Cincy hold a 5.5-game edge over Washington for the second wild card. … Meanwhile, at Tampa Bay, Itawamba Community College product Desmond Jennings was a walk-off hero in a huge win for the Rays. Jennings’ RBI single in the 12th inning beat Texas 4-3. Tampa Bay now leads the Rangers by a game atop the American League wild card standings. Jennings’ big hit was atonement for a misplay (not an error) earlier in the game that resulted in two Rangers runs. Jennings, though batting just .246, has 78 runs, 49 RBIs, 13 homers and 20 steals for a Rays club that has had offensive issues. … Atlanta reduced its magic number for clinching the NL East to 2 and dealt Washington a blow in its playoff quest with a 5-2 win. Former Mississippi Braves Jordan Schafer, Brian McCann, Alex Wood and, of course, Craig Kimbrel made noteworthy contributions. Kimbrel, coming off a shaky outing on Tuesday, worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his 48th save in 52 chances. He has a 1.31 ERA, a 0.89 WHIP, 90 strikeouts and just 20 walks in 62 innings. That’s Cy Young-caliber stuff.

18 Sep

whatever happened to …

Fred Lewis, the former Stone County High and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College star, is batting .268 with four home runs, 21 RBIs and 12 stolen bases for the Hiroshima Carp of Japan’s Central League. What’s more, the left-handed hitting outfielder is helping the Carp close in on their first postseason appearance since 1991. The team had won seven straight games as of Tuesday. Lewis is a .266 career hitter in 535 MLB games, having last appeared with the New York Mets in 2012. He might get another look in the States next spring. P.S. Five 2013 Mississippi Braves are headed to the Arizona Fall League: pitchers Aaron Northcraft, Juan Jaime and Shae Simmons, second baseman Tommy La Stella and outfielder Robby Hefflinger. Jaime, a hard-throwing right-hander, is an intriguing prospect. He fanned 70 in 42 innings in relief for the M-Braves but had a 4.07 ERA. The injury plagued La Stella will look to build on his abbreviated campaign (.343 in 81 games), while Hefflinger (.170, six homers in Double-A after going .286, 21 in high-A ball) has things to prove. Also on the Scottsdale roster is former Hillcrest Christian and Ole Miss standout Cody Satterwhite, back in affiliated ball this year with the New York Mets. Ex-Rebels pitcher Austin Wright (Philadelphia) is on the Peoria roster. The AFL season starts Oct. 8.

17 Sep

one fine day

Cliff Lee might have registered the best day by any Mississippian in the majors this season in Philadelphia’s 12-2 win over Miami on Monday. The former Meridian Community College star worked eight innings, struck out 14 and walked none for his 14th win and also went 3-for-4 with a triple and four RBIs. Though it came in a game between also-rans, it’s still tough to beat that performance. … In a game with postseason implications, Ole Miss product Zack Cozart belted his 11th home run of the year and drove in four runs all told to spur Cincinnati past Houston 6-1. The Reds gained a game on Pittsburgh and St. Louis in the National League Central race; Cincy is 2.5 games back. … Ex-UM standout Lance Lynn pitched fairly well (6 1/3 innings, 2 runs) for St. Louis, but the Cardinals lost 6-2 to Colorado. Lynn, a 13-game winner, has not notched a victory since Aug. 4 and is 1-5 with a 4.62 ERA in his last 10 starts. He may find his status for the postseason rotation in jeopardy.

15 Sep

gettin’ hot in here

The Texas Rangers’ recent freefall — they’ve lost eight of 10 — is personified in Mitch Moreland’s performance. The former Mississippi State star is mired in an 0-for-21 slump and has seen his average fall to .233. The Rangers lost to Oakland 1-0 on Saturday and dropped 5.5 games behind the Swingin’ A’s in the American League West. Texas is tied with Tampa Bay atop the wild card standings, but Cleveland is coming on fast and the New York Yankees, Baltimore and even Kansas City are still in the picture. … Itawamba Community College product Desmond Jennings had a couple of doubles and a couple of RBIs to spur Tampa Bay, which has won three straight, past Minnesota on Saturday. … Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton stole another base — he is 5-for-5 — and scored a run in Cincinnati’s 7-3 win against Milwaukee. The Reds are 2.5 games back of Pittsburgh and St. Louis in the National League Central race but hold a 5.5-game edge on Washington for the No. 2 wild card in the NL. … The Nationals saw their 7-game win streak halted by Philadelphia — MSU alum Jonathan Papelbon notched his 27th save — and dropped 11 games behind Atlanta in the NL East. The Braves, 2-1 winners over San Diego, now have a magic number of 4 to clinch the division. P.S. Former Mississippi Braves pitcher David Hale (nine K’s in his debut for Atlanta on Friday night) beat Christian Bethancourt to the lineup card to become the 80th M-Braves alum to advance to the big leagues. When he plays, Bethancourt will be the 13th M-Braves product to debut in MLB this season, joining Hale, Evan Gattis, Paul Clemens (with the Astros), Brett Oberholtzer (Astros), Cory Rasmus, Jesus Sucre (Mariners), Ed Lucas (Marlins), Alex Wood, Zeke Spruill (Diamondbacks), Joey Terdoslavich, Todd Cunningham and Phil Gosselin.

13 Sep

just by watching

Don’t get WAR, the acronym seamheads use for their pet stat, Wins Above Replacement. Just don’t get it. Can’t begin to fathom how UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating) or DRS (Defensive Runs Saved) are calculated. Not doubting their validity. Just don’t understand them. Some use those numbers to tell us that Andrelton Simmons is a really good player, that the ex-Mississippi Braves standout is having, perhaps, the best defensive season by any shortstop ever. See “Wizards Like Oz,” a piece largely about Simmons, in the current issue (Sept. 16) of Sports Illustrated. Well, here’s another good way to judge a player: JBW. Just By Watching. If you watch Simmons on a regular basis, you don’t really need those complicated stats to tell you that he can really play. Watch him for just a few games and you’ll see he has great range, steady hands, an amazingly quick release and a rifle for an arm. If he has a flaw, it might be that he sometimes overdoes it, making a throw that shouldn’t be made or chasing a ball that someone else might have a better crack at. But the plays he makes certainly overshadow any of that. Some would use those complicated stats to argue that Simmons is the Braves’ MVP, even the National League’s MVP. OK, that’s going too far for a .259, bottom-of-the-order hitter with 15 home runs. If you watch the Braves on a regular basis, you know that Freddie Freeman, another ex-M-Braves star, is Atlanta’s best player and should be a top MVP candidate. Freeman is hitting .309 with 20 homers and 98 RBIs. He’s been producing all season. And he’s also a pretty good glove at first base. Don’t need WAR, UZR or DRS to tell you any of that. You can tell JBW.

12 Sep

as the season turns

Cliff Lee deserved to see a change in the wind. In 2012, the Meridian Community College product put up a 3.16 ERA and a 207-28 strikeouts-to-walks ratio yet finished with a 6-9 record for a foundering Philadelphia team. The Phillies haven’t been any better this season, but Lee’s bottom line is. After tossing eight strong innings to beat San Diego 4-2 on Wednesday, the left-hander has a 2.97 ERA, a 187-32 K/BB ratio and — ta da! — a 13-6 record. Considering that the Phillies are 11 games under .500 and don’t score much, especially when Lee is pitching, this is a remarkable turnaround. Call it the breaks of the game. There may have been rumblings that Lee’s age is showing — he turned 35 last month — but he dismisses such chatter. “I feel young, maybe I’m getting gray in my beard, I don’t know, but I still feel young,” he told mlb.com. He’s got 138 career wins with, apparently, many more to come. P.S. Former Mississippi Braves pitcher David Hale, an 8-game winner in Pearl in 2012, is slated to make his MLB debut for Atlanta vs. San Diego on Friday. (Former Mississippi State star Paul Maholm is having elbow issues.) … Ex-Ole Miss standout Seth Smith contributed a double and two runs to Oakland’s 10-run inning on Wednesday. The A’s 18-3 rout of Minnesota put them 3 games ahead of skidding Texas in the American League West. … Lance Lynn, another UM alum who has been scuffling, allowed just one unearned run in six innings (yet got no decision) in St. Louis’ 5-1 win over Milwaukee. The Cardinals stayed a game up on Pittsburgh in the National League Central.

09 Sep

bethancourt gets the call

Fresh off an impressive campaign for the Double-A Mississippi Braves, Christian Bethancourt, who might be Atlanta’s starting catcher next season, has been summoned to the big leagues for the first time. Bethancourt hit .271 with 12 home runs this season after batting just .243 with little power for the M-Braves in 2012. A highly rated prospect for several years, Bethancourt is considered an outstanding defensive catcher. He threw out roughly a third of runners who attempted to steal on him this season but had double-figure totals for errors and passed balls. Bethancourt and former M-Braves star Evan Gattis might vie for Atlanta’s catching job next spring if Brian McCann departs as a free agent. Of course, the Braves really ought to consider re-signing McCann (see previous post). Bethancourt will be the 80th M-Braves alumnus to reach the majors when he makes his debut; McCann was the first, back in 2005.

09 Sep

running smoothly

A guy out of Mississippi used his wheels to score the game-winning run in the ninth inning for Cincinnati on Sunday night — but it wasn’t speed demon Billy Hamilton of Taylorsville. Ole Miss product Zack Cozart showed a little speed of his own in scoring all the way from first base on a double to left field by Ryan Hanigan. The Reds beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 for their fourth straight win and seventh W in the last 10. At 82-62, the Reds are tied for second with Pittsburgh in the National League Central, 1.5 games back of St. Louis. Cozart has been on a tear of late. He went 2-for-4 Sunday, extending his hit streak to 13 games, and is batting .254 with 10 homers, 53 RBIs and 69 runs in 133 games. In MLB, September is a good time to get hot. P.S. Another former Ole Miss standout, Seth Smith, contributed a three-run homer (No. 8) in a seven-run third inning to help first-place Oakland beat Houston 7-2. The A’s maintained a 1.5-game lead on Texas in the American League West.

08 Sep

numbers to chew on

0 — Combined MLB wins for Roy Oswalt and Drew Pomeranz this season. Weir’s Oswalt (0-4) and Ole Miss alumnus Pomeranz (0-4) were activated from the disabled list by Colorado last week. 1 — Wins since June 30 by Paul Maholm, the ex-Mississippi State star now pitching for Atlanta. Maholm (10-10, 4.41 ERA), who missed a chunk of time with an injured wrist, starts today against Philadelphia. 2 — Wins the Mississippi Braves need to stay alive in the Southern League postseason. The M-Braves trail Mobile 2-1 in the best-of-5 SL South Division series. Game 4 is today in Mobile. 4 — Stolen bases, in four attempts, in four appearances as a pinch runner, by former Taylorsville High standout Billy Hamilton. He has scored the tying or go-ahead run three times for red-hot Cincinnati, which has won five of six. 7 — Blown saves by MSU product and Philadelphia closer Jonathan Papelbon, who suffered another against Atlanta on Saturday. To be fair, he has picked up five wins, including one Saturday. 9 — Number of former Mississippi Braves pitchers who have started games for MLB clubs other than Atlanta in 2013. 15 — Home runs for M-Braves product and current Atlanta shortstop Andrelton Simmons, who blasted his latest on Saturday, a game-tying, ninth-inning shot off Jonathan Papelbon. Where does the 170-pound Simmons get that power? 20 — RBIs for ex-State star Tyler Moore, who picked up two on Saturday for Washington. Moore, who struggled early this season, is batting .370 over his last 10 games. 25 — Number of Mississippians (native or college alums) to play in The Show this year, including rookies Joey Butler, Corey Dickerson, Billy Hamilton and T.J. House. 30 — Stolen bases for Jarrod Dyson, the Southwest Mississippi Community College product who plays for Kansas City, which is hanging around in the American League wild card chase. 38 — Hits for Meridian CC alum Corey Dickerson, who is batting .295 for Colorado with 18 extra base hits in 51 games in his first season.