01 Aug

on this date

Twenty years ago on this date – Aug. 1 – Chad Bradford, at age 23, made his big league debut, completing a rather rapid journey from Byram High to Hinds Community College to Southern Miss and through three levels of the minors. The right-hander with the down-under delivery pitched 2 1/3 innings for the Chicago White Sox against Texas at The Ballpark in Arlington. He allowed one hit and was charged with one run. He faced eight batters and got seven ground balls, a display of the speciality that helped him stay in the majors for 11 more years, including the immortalized 2001 season with the “Moneyball” A’s in Oakland. Bradford ended his career with a 3.26 ERA, 36 wins and 11 saves. He never made an All-Star team or won a World Series ring, but he did pitch in seven postseasons for five different clubs and put up a sparkling 0.39 ERA.

01 Aug

big league chew

Brian Dozier wasn’t the only Southern Miss alumnus to put on a new uniform on Tuesday. Cody Carroll was promoted from Triple-A Norfolk to Baltimore and was in New York, though he did not pitch, for the Orioles’ game against the Yankees. Carroll was acquired from the Yankees last week in the Zach Britton trade. The 25-year-old right-hander had a 2.38 ERA and nine saves at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before the deal and pitched twice for Norfolk. Overall, he has 57 strikeouts, 18 walks and no homers allowed this season. It’ll be interesting to see how O’s manager Buck Showalter uses him. “He’s a guy that’s up to 100 mph,” a scout told masnsports.com. “Sinker/slider guy with a big-time power arm and a good slider.” Carroll is the 25th Mississippian (native or college alum) to appear on a major league roster this season and will be the third to make his debut. … Dozier, dealt by Minnesota to the Los Angeles Dodgers just before the trade deadline, actually made it to Dodger Stadium and was in uniform in the ninth inning of Tuesday night’s game. He didn’t play but reportedly will start at second base tonight. “I told Dave (Roberts, Dodgers manager), you’ll get 100 percent from me,” Dozier said in an mlb.com article. “Off the bench, playing every day, whatever the case may be.” … Ex-Mississippi State star Mitch Moreland, who had two hits in his first All-Star Game, is just 4-for-28 since for Boston. That .143 skid has dropped his average to .264. He has 12 homers and 48 RBIs. … Tim Anderson, the former East Central Community College standout, was pulled from Tuesday’s game by Chicago White Sox manager Rick Renteria after Anderson didn’t run out a line drive that appeared to be caught by the Kansas City third baseman. The umpire, however, ruled it a no-catch, and Anderson was thrown out at first base. He said he understood and accepted Renteria’s decision. “It can’t happen. It doesn’t look good,” Anderson told mlb.com. Anderson, also in a slump, is batting .241 with 14 homers and 43 RBIs. … The disaster that has been Ole Miss product Mickey Callaway’s rookie season as New York Mets manager got worse on Tuesday, when the club suffered a 25-4 loss to Washington, the most lopsided defeat in franchise history. At least it didn’t happen at CitiField.