Monthly Archives: November 2016

03 Nov

party on

Somewhere, Guy Bush – the Mississippi Mudcat who died in 1985 – and Claude Passeau, who passed in 2003, are smiling. The two Mississippi natives pitched in World Series games for the Chicago Cubs but never won a ring. Now that the Cubs have ended that 108-year championship drought – in one of the most unforgettable Game 7’s ever played – a legion of former Cubs are celebrating on some astral plane or another. Passeau pitched in the Cubs’ previous World Series appearance – in 1945. Former Ole Miss star Chris Coghlan played in Wednesday’s 8-7, 10-inning win against Cleveland – and may still be celebrating at this moment. In the 71 years between those Fall Classic visits, the Cubs’ roster has included Mississippi-connected players Donnie Kessinger, Billy Cowan, Cleo James, Steve Dillard, Rafael Palmeiro, Jeff Fassero, Roosevelt Brown, Paul Maholm and quite a few more. Surely, they all took some vicarious thrill in the events of Wednesday night. Also feeling that thrill, we assume, are Justin Steele, Wyatt Short and Delvin Zinn, Mississippians who are currently members of the Cubs’ farm system, the depth of which may signal sustained success for the once-cursed franchise. Yes, it’s a great day to be a Cub.

01 Nov

center stage

Chris Stratton, the former Mississippi State ace, is slated to start for the East in Saturday’s Fall Stars Game, the Arizona Fall League’s All-Star showcase. Stratton, 2-1 with a 3.94 ERA in four starts for Scottsdale, reached the big leagues in 2016 with San Francisco. The right-hander is joined on the East squad by 2016 Biloxi Shuckers stars Brett Phillips and Jacob Nottingham, Mississippi Braves alum Evan Phillips and former Petal High standout Anthony Alford. (Richton’s JaCoby Jones, a .341 hitter, was not selected.) The game is set for 7 p.m. (Central Time) in Surprise, Ariz., and will be televised by MLB Network. … Alford is slipping. A little. According to Baseball America. The 2017 prospect rankings are trickling out on the magazine’s web site, and Alford, the former Mr. Baseball, is ranked No. 2 in the Toronto system after being No. 1 last year. Alford had injury issues in 2016 playing at the high Class A level (.233, nine homers, 18 steals) but has seemingly regained his form in the AFL. He is hitting .295 with two homers and eight RBIs for Mesa. … M-Braves alum Dustin Peterson had three hits, Brett Phillips three, Jones two and 2017 M-Braves candidate Travis Demeritte two (including a homer) as Salt River banged out 20 hits and 17 runs in a game on Monday.