Monthly Archives: May 2011

There’s batting average and slugging percentage and ERA and WHIP. There’s fielding percentage and various other defensive ratings. All of those numbers tell you something. But the only stat that really matters in baseball is runs. The team with the most at the end of the game wins! And runs accounted for (RAF) is a pretty darn good measure of a player’s value. Just add the runs scored and RBI totals together. (Yes, this counts home runs twice, but that’s OK. Homers are an automatic run, requiring no help from any teammates, and a player deserves a bonus for hitting one.) Entering this week, the best RAF by a player at one of Mississippi’s so-called Big 3 belonged to Southern Miss’ B.A. Vollmuth: 88. No surprise, really. Vollmuth is arguably the best position player in the state, even at less than 100 percent (he has battled a hip injury this season). USM, which is 36-11 and nationally ranked, has five players with RAFs of 68 or higher, which helps explain the Golden Eagles’ success. Ole Miss’ top performer in RAF is Alex Yarbrough at 74. Misssissippi State’s leader is Jarrod Parks at 71. State visits Ole Miss this week — Game 1 is tonight in Oxford — for what could be a crucial SEC series between teams that have had rollercoaster seasons. Ole Miss has more pop (39 homers), but State has scored more runs (296 to 267) in basically the same number of games. State has also done a better job of preventing runs from scoring, having the better ERA (4.02 to 4.27). Even playing on the road, the Bulldogs just might have the edge in this series.
P.S. Belhaven and William Carey open NAIA postseason play today. The nationally ranked Blazers meet Fresno Pacific in Oklahoma City and the Crusaders battle Edward Waters in Daytona Beach, Fla. Don’t bet against Belhaven making a return trip to the NAIA World Series. Hill Denson’s club appears to have all the right pieces.

Jarrod Dyson started in center field and in the leadoff spot for Kansas City tonight, but that has not been his usual role. The McComb native and former Southwest Mississippi Community College star has been used as a pinch runner in 10 of the 15 games he has played this season. Going into today’s game, the speedy Dyson was 8-for-8 on stolen base attempts and had scored six runs. The Royals like what Dyson’s feet can provide. “It’s like having a solid closer that you can count on in the bullpen,” KC manager Ned Yost, the former Jackson Mets catcher, told the Kansas City Star. “You’ve got a weapon on the bench that’s gonna help you win a game late.” Dyson made his big-league debut late last season and stole nine bases in just 18 games. His 2011 role brings to mind that of another Mississippi native, Herb Washington. The onetime sprint champion, who was born in Belzoni, was used exclusively as a pinch runner by the 1974-75 Oakland A’s in another of Charlie Finley’s quirky innovations. Washington played in 105 games but never batted once. He was 31-for-48 on steal attempts, not really a great percentage, and scored 33 times. Washington was famously, or infamously, picked off first base in the 1974 World Series, which may have hastened the end of his career. He was released early on in 1975.
P.S. Former Mississippi State standout Mitch Moreland hit his first career grand slam today. But it won’t count. Rain forced the postponement of the Texas Rangers’ game and erased Moreland’s homer from the books. Also lost was a hit by Starkville native Julio Borbon that extended his hit streak to 11 games. Borbon’s streak goes back to 10.

The change of scenery hasn’t helped former Mississippi Braves outfielder Cody Johnson. The former first-round pick, who scuffled mightily in Pearl last summer, was sold to the New York Yankees in the off-season. Through 24 games at Double-A Trenton — all as a DH — Johnson is hitting .185 with three homers and 45 strikeouts in 92 at-bats. Sounds familiar, huh? Johnson, who had big-time power numbers in A-ball, hit 10 bombs for the M-Braves in 2010 but batted just .189 and struck out 114 times in 233 at-bats. Beyond that, his defense never really improved either. He was demoted late in the season as his strikeout total mounted. It looks like the end may be near for Johnson.

The obvious favorites in the MACJC Tournament, which starts Thursday in Ellisville, are 14th-ranked Jones County Junior College and Holmes CC. They were the division champions in the regular season. Jones has the edge of playing at home, in its sparkling new facility, Community Bank Park. But anything can happen in postseason baseball. Just look at what went down in the best-of-3 opening round series. Three of the four series went three games, including those involving Jones and Holmes. Jones won the rubber game of its series with East Mississippi when it erupted for four runs in the fifth inning — Chad Guice had a clutch two-run double — to pull away for a 10-4 victory. Holmes had to win twice on Saturday to survive its series with Pearl River. Strong pitching from Taylor Burrell (five shutout innings) and Rafiel Johnson (now 8-2 after winning the clincher) and a pair of home runs by Reggie O’Briant in the decisive game helped the Bulldogs pull it off. Northwest Mississippi also had to win twice Saturday to top East Central. The Rangers cranked up the offense, scoring 20 runs on 26 hits on the day. The biggest blow was a grand slam by Drew Griffin that capped a decisive five-run fifth inning in a 10-5 victory in the rubber game. Gulf Coast got past Itawamba in two games but needed a two-out error in the bottom of the ninth of the second game to make it happen. Gulf Coast plays Holmes and Northwest meets Jones in Thursday’s opening round. The double-elimination tournament should be a doozy.
P.S. Belhaven has to feel like it got shafted when the NAIA sent the Blazers — champions of the mighty Southern States Athletic Conference — to Oklahoma City for its regional. William Carey has to feel blessed to get into the regional in Daytona Beach, Fla. The Crusaders scrambled late just to make the SSAC Tournament, then reached the title game. The worst feeling right now belongs to Delta State, which went down in three games in the Gulf South Conference Tournament. The Statesmen, who have missed the NCAA Division II postseason the last two years, are anxiously awaiting the release on Wednesday of the new South Region poll. If they fall out of the top eight, which is a real possibility, they’ll likely be left out again when the regional fields are announced on Sunday.

Here’s a note that only another old Smith-Wills Stadium denizen could appreciate: Pulled from a pack of 1991 Fleer Ultra cards, four former Jackson Mets (Lenny Dykstra, Mookie Wilson, Dave Magadan and Shawn Abner) plus a Jackson State alumnus (Wes Chamberlain). What are the odds? Why do we care? We just do.
P.S. For the record, Julio Teheran became the 52nd former Mississippi Brave to reach the big leagues when the young right-hander made his debut on Saturday, taking the loss in a spot start against Philadelphia. Teheran shared in a no-hitter last year at Trustmark Park.

Delta State’s Michael Niemann, a senior outfielder from Washington state, kept a neat streak alive this week when he earned All-Gulf South Conference first-team honors for the third straight season. Niemann, who was joined on the first team by DSU first baseman Kellen Bozeman and pitcher Josh Branstetter, is likely more focused today on another streak, one he would like to see snapped. DSU opens GSC Tournament play against North Alabama this morning seeking to earn its first NCAA Division II regional berth since 2008. DSU is 29-17 and ranked seventh in the latest South Region poll; the Statesmen need a good run in the tourney to get a bid. Never count them out, of course. They’ve won the title a record 11 times. Niemann (.312, six homers, 46 RBIs, 22 steals), Bozeman (.377, 56 RBIs) and Branstetter (7-2 record) could play pivotal roles in getting DSU back on the regional track in Millington, Tenn., this weekend.
P.S. If the latest addition to the Mississippi Braves’ roster sounds familiar, it could be because outfielder Jeff Fiorentino has spent a fair amount of time in the big leagues, batting .270 in 58 games over four seasons. Atlanta acquired the former third-round pick from Baltimore for cash. He doubled twice and scored three runs Thursday night in his M-Braves debut. Note: He doesn’t really belong in Double-A. … Fred Lewis, the former Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College star, homered Thursday in just his second at-bat since coming off the disabled list for Cincinnati.

William Carey had quite the day at the Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament in Columbus, Ga. The Crusaders won twice Tuesday in do-or-die circumstances to advance to the championship game today against old rival Belhaven. Quin Stokes, who has swung a big bat for Carey all season, hit a grand slam that propelled the Crusaders to a 9-6 win over Shorter and Daniel Hall beat Brewton-Parker 8-2 with a gutsy 148-pitch complete game. … The MACJC first-round playoff matchups are set for this weekend: South Division champ Jones County Junior College will host East Mississippi; North champ Holmes hosts Pearl River; Itawamba is at Gulf Coast; and East Central goes to Northwest. All the best-of-3 series start Friday; the four winners advance to the state tournament, a double-elimination affair. … Former Ole Miss star Matt Tolbert had an assist and two putouts in the ninth inning, including snagging the final out off the bat of Adam Dunn, as Minnesota ace Francisco Liriano threw the big leagues’ first no-hitter on Tuesday night, beating Chicago 1-0. … Marcus Thames, the Louisville native and East Central CC alum, went on the disabled list for the Los Angeles Dodgers with a quad strain. He could be out until mid-June. The power the Dodgers were hoping to get from the free agent signee hasn’t been there. And now he’s been shut down.