Monthly Archives: June 2009

Gary Rath, a former pitcher whose pro career took him far and wide, takes over for Cooper Farris as head coach at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Rath, a Long Beach native who played at Mississippi State, spent 15 years in the pros, including stints in the big leagues here and in Japan, Korea and Taiwan. He was an assistant this past season to Farris, who retired after 20 years — mostly good ones — at Gulf Coast. Rath knows what he’s getting into. Specifically? Well, he’s taking over a team with a bevy of returning players for a program with high expectations that competes in a very tough league. That’s about it.

The Mississippi Braves reached a low point Monday night, losing 10-0 to Birmingham for their fifth straight loss to the Barons. It was a humbling if not humiliating series for the M-Braves, who may already have been looking ahead to the start of the second half next Monday. (Of course, Birmingham comes in for a six-game series to kick it off, so … .) The M-Braves’ amazing turnaround last season, from first-half flop to Southern League champion, was largely a by-product of a revamped starting rotation. If the club is going to pull off a similar stunt this season, it needs bats more than arms. Leadoff hitter Gorkys Hernandez is gone to the Pittsburgh Pirates, and manager Phillip Wellman freely admits the team hasn’t had a true No. 3 or 4 hitter all season. That makes it tough. What’s more, trades and injuries have left the Atlanta system thin at every level. There are some talented hitters at Class A Myrtle Beach, most notably outfielder Jason Heyward. But Heyward’s been hurt and may not be ready. The Braves won’t rush him just to try to pump up the Double-A club’s record. Freddie Freeman could help at first base and in the middle of the order, but he, too, has only half a season of high-A ball under his belt. Outfielder Cody Johnson, who can really rake, reportedly has defensive issues. The M-Braves do need something to compete in the second half. The question is, where will it come from?
P.S. David Dellucci, signed as a free agent last week by the Toronto Blue Jays, is hitting .273 with an RBI in his first three games at Triple-A Las Vegas. Wonder how long the Jays will wait to summon the former Ole Miss star. Still wondering why Cleveland cut him loose. A left-handed hitter with Dellucci’s credentials would seem to be a valuable commodity. Maybe there’s something we don’t know about.

The honor of first Mississippian drafted in 2009 goes to … Billy Hamilton, the versatile star from Taylorsville High. Hamilton went in the second round to the Cincinnati Reds, the 57th pick overall and much higher than Baseball America had projected him. An outfielder/shortstop who has signed to play football with Mississippi State, Hamilton has drawn comparisons to former Nettleton star Bill Hall, now with the Milwaukee Brewers. Hamilton will get a nice offer from the Reds, so he’ll likely never see the field at State. But he is a so-called “raw talent,” one who could take a long time to reach the major leagues.
P.S. David Renfroe, a shortstop/pitcher from South Panola High, was the only other Mississippian picked on Day 1, going to Boston in the third round, 107th overall. The Ole Miss signee reportedly has a preference for hitting. Wonder if that’s what the Red Sox have in mind?

Zack Cozart, continuing to shine at Double-A Carolina in the Cincinnati system, was named the Southern League hitter of the week for the period June 1-7. The former Ole Miss shortstop hit .345 with four homers and seven RBIs in seven games. He hit safely in all seven. Cozart was in Pearl when the Mudcats played the Mississippi Braves to open the season, but the two teams don’t meet again until the last series of the year, at Zebulon, N.C. Too bad. … Highlights from Sunday’s games in the big leagues: Former Meridian Community College star Paul Phillips went 4-for-5 with three RBIs and a homer for Colorado; East Central CC product Marcus Thames returned from 43 days on the DL to go 2-for-5 for Detroit; and Ole Miss alum Chris Coghlan hit his second homer of the year — off Tim Lincecum, no less — for Florida.

Ole Miss loses. Southern Miss wins. Talk about your cruel twists of fate. Ole Miss, nationally ranked all year, gets a regional at home and a super regional at home yet comes up short — again! — of reaching the College World Series for the first time since 1972. And then, to add insult to this injury, USM is packing for Omaha. The Golden Eagles didn’t even expect to get into the NCAA Tournament, but they went to Atlanta and won the regional and went to Gainesville, Fla., and won the super regional. They are truly living a dream. This season will forever belong to Corky Palmer, who’ll retire as coach whenever it finally does end. But USM fans should also tip a cap to Hill Denson. Denson, now the coach at Belhaven, is largely responsible for turning the USM program into a viable Division I entity. Starting way back in the early ’80s, he upgraded the schedule, the talent, the budget and the facilities. And he hired Palmer from Meridian Community College. Certainly one of them called the other soon after tonight’s dramatic win.

Ole Miss fans have enough on their minds today with Game 2 of the super regional against Virginia slated for an 11 a.m. start. But here we go: Former Ole Miss standout Matt Maloney will make his big league debut today for the Cincinnati Reds. The big left-hander, who has been impressive at Triple-A (see previous post), will face the Chicago Cubs at 6:10 p.m. at the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. Believe it or not, the Reds and Cubs are in a virtual tie for third place in the NL Central. So it’s a big game for Maloney in more ways than one. Stay tuned.

Mississippi will be quiet during the first round of the major league draft on Tuesday and possibly the second round, too. Heck, maybe the whole first day, which includes the first three rounds. At least Baseball America thinks so. The highest-rated draft prospect in the state is South Panola High’s David Renfroe, checking in at No. 67. And Renfroe, a pitcher-shortstop, has signed with Ole Miss, where his dad, Laddie, played, and pro teams might not want to pay what it’ll take to lure him away from the Rebels. The next highest rating goes to Taylorsville infielder Billy Hamilton at No. 98. Still, the draft will be compelling. It always is, often because of unheralded junior college players who get plucked. This year, keep an eye or ear out for Mississippi Gulf Coast CC pitchers Drew Granier and Clint Dempster. The latter, a lefty, struck out 113 hitters in 69 2/3 innings this year. Scouts love that kind of power arm. Granier also has high-octane stuff. Meridian CC has two intriguing hitting prospects in Corey Dickerson, an outfielder, and Tyler Vick, a third baseman. Both have uncommon power, and Vick comes by his skills naturally. He is a distant relative of former New York Yankees outfielder Sammy Vick, a Batesville native remembered by some as the man who was displaced in right field when the Yanks acquired Babe Ruth in 1920.
P.S. Sorry to see that Cooper Farris retired as Gulf Coast CC coach shortly after the Bulldogs’ season ended in the state playoffs. Farris’ program was consistently one of the best in the state and produced a number of big leaguers, including one-time All-Star Matt Lawton. Farris was 698-376-1 in 20 years at Perk. His clubs won 15 division titles, including one this season, and two state titles and made one national tournament appearance. His successor, not yet picked, may have a tough time matching that resume.

What a whirlwind day for the Atlanta Braves and their devoted fans. Tom Glavine released. Nate McLouth acquired in a trade. Tommy Hanson penciled in for his big league debut on Saturday. Jorge Campillo to the DL, and Brian Barton called up. Did we miss something? As the dust settles, it’s clear that Gregor Blanco’s shot at the center field job is essentially over after two days. McLouth, a dynamic player with speed and power, takes over in center. With Barton joining the outfield mix, Blanco may be squeezed out of the organization entirely. The ripple effect of the McLouth trade also impacts the Mississippi Braves, who lost star center fielder Gorkys Hernandez (off to the Pittsburgh Pirates’ organization). Now the speculation here begins: Is the highly touted Jason Heyward, who has good numbers at Class A Myrtle Beach, bound for Pearl? He’s a right fielder, but the struggling M-Braves can certainly work him in. Some significant move will have to be made; it’s probably already in motion.

Tuesday was an eventful day for the Atlanta Braves, and three former Mississippi Braves were in the middle of the action. Atlanta sent Jordan Schafer down to Triple-A Gwinnett on Tuesday — a move that seemed long overdue — and recalled Gregor Blanco, who deserved another look. Then, the Braves went out and rallied from a 5-0 deficit to beat Chicago 6-5 in 12 innings, with Jeff Francoeur hitting a clutch two-run homer in the ninth to force extras. Chipper Jones, who got the game-winning hit, called it “a special moment for a guy who needed a special moment.” Very true. Francoeur has performed better than he did a year ago, when he wound up getting shipped back to Pearl, but still has come under a lot of heat for his lack of thump. Tuesday might have been a turning point, a defining moment for the Braves that we’ll look back on later this season. At the very least, the changing of the guard in center field is something to make note of. Blanco isn’t as good defensively as Schafer, but he’s every bit as fast and he’ll hit better. He showed flashes last year as a rookie. The bottom third of the Braves’ order should improve its production. Mark the date June 2. Atlanta was 26-25 and 3 1/2 games out in the NL East after beating the Cubs. Check back in a month and see where they stand.

Is it over for David Dellucci? The Cleveland Indians released the 35-year-old former Ole Miss standout on Monday after he cleared waivers. No other team was interested in picking up the lefty-hitting outfielder even for the major league minimum. Dellucci, who has been in pro ball since 1995, was contributing much to the Indians’ offense, hitting .275 with one RBI in 40 at-bats this season. He hit just .238 last season for the Tribe, though he did provide 11 homers. Maybe someone will take a flier on Dellucci, hoping some of that power is still there. Maybe, but it doesn’t look good.