Monthly Archives: July 2011

Pain has been a recurring theme for Mississippians in the big leagues this season. The latest “ouch” was uttered by Nettleton’s Bill Hall, who was spiked on a play at second base Thursday night and required stitches to close the deep cut. He may miss a few days for San Francisco. Chris Coghlan, who went on the disabled list with a knee injury (and avoided a demotion to the minors) last month, was expected to begin a rehab assignment this weekend and rejoin Florida after the All-Star break. Roy Oswalt is on the DL for the second time with back trouble and may not pitch again for Philadelphia until August (if then). Matt Maloney is on Cincinnati’s extended disabled list with an oblique injury. Fred Lewis started the season, his first with the Reds, on the DL, and Jarrett Hoffpaiur also was hurt in the spring and was shipped to the minors by San Diego when he was activated. Marcus Thames has had a rough first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, going on the DL with one injury and doing little but pinch hitting since suffering another. Julio Borbon went on the DL for Texas, lost his center field job and is now in the minors.
P.S. Props to: Ole Miss alumnus Zack Cozart, who got his first hit in his debut with the Reds on Thursday; Eli Whiteside, the Delta State product who homered (his third) in the Giants’ win; Pascagoula native Tony Sipp, who cherry-picked a win (his fourth in five decisions) when Travis Hafner hit a walk-off grand slam for Cleveland; and former Mississippi Braves closer Craig Kimbrel, who notched his 27th save, a record for a rookie before the All-Star break. Ex-Mississippi State star Jonathan Papelbon held the old record.

Cincinnati, unhappy with the production it was getting from shortstops Paul Janish and Edgar Renteria, has called up former Ole Miss star Zack Cozart. Cozart, who was hitting .310 with seven homers, 32 RBIs and 57 runs at Triple-A Louisville, figures to be in the lineup tonight when the Reds take on National League Central rival Milwaukee. Cozart was a second-round pick by the Reds in 2007 and entered this season rated as the organization’s No. 8 prospect (by Baseball America). He deserves this chance, and he’s jumping into the heat of a division race. Can’t get much better than that.

Tyler Pastornicky, looking more and more like the Atlanta Braves’ shortstop of the future, grabbed a little more attention on Tuesday night when he became the first player in the Mississippi Braves’ seven seasons to hit for the cycle. It’s quite a feat. Consider that fewer than 300 cycles have been recorded in the long history of major league ball. Only two Atlanta Braves have ever turned the trick: Albert Hall in 1987 and Mark Kotsay in 2008. The last Mississippian to do it in The Show was former Stone County High star Fred Lewis in 2007. Only four other Mississippi natives have managed the feat in modern MLB history: Frank White (1979 and 1982), Harry Craft (1940), Gee Walker (1937) and Sam Leslie (1936). On the local front, Vince Faison of the independent Jackson Senators cycled in 2005, and Russ Johnson of the Double-A Jackson Generals pulled it off in 1996. (Johnson’s feat happened to come on a day, May 9, when his photo was given out pregame as part of a club promotion.) It takes a good combination of speed and power — plus a little good fortune — to hit for the cycle. And Pastornicky has those tools. For the year, he’s hitting .298 with six homers, 36 RBIs, 11 doubles, five triples and 19 stolen bases. Yes, he’s going places.

Cory Harrilchak, the Mississippi Braves right fielder, enjoyed perhaps his best day at the plate this season on Sunday at Huntsville. The left-handed hitting Harrilchak, 5 feet 11, 180 pounds (or so), went 3-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs in the M-Braves’ 6-2 win, which gave the club a 5-6 record entering a four-game homestand that starts tonight at Trustmark Park in Pearl. The Braves have been waiting for fireworks from Harrilchak; maybe Sunday’s effort was the fuse that’ll get him going. He entered this season, his first in Double-A, as Atlanta’s No. 29 prospect (by Baseball America). A 14th-round pick in 2009 as a senior out of Elon in North Carolina, Harrilchak hit .299 with five homers and 88 RBIs (plus 36 doubles, 13 triples and 41 steals) at three levels of A-ball in his first two pro years. He also played well in the Arizona Fall League last season. But the 23-year-old Harrilchak’s adjustment to Double-A has been sluggish. He’s at .232 with five homers, 25 RBIs and 23 runs in 71 games. His plate discipline has been OK (44 strikeouts/23 walks), his defense solid. Surely the Atlanta brass would like to see a stronger finish, as would M-Braves fans. The club needs more production from several players, Harrilchak among them.

Jarrett Hoffpauir made big league appearances with St. Louis in 2009 and Toronto in 2010. Now, he’s bidding for another shot with yet another team. The Natchez native and Southern Miss alumnus is hitting .321 for San Diego’s Triple-A Tucson club. A waiver claim by the Padres this past off-season, Hoffpauir was hurt in spring training and began the season on the disabled list. Since being activated and assigned to Tucson, the 5-foot-9, 190-pound infielder, who can play second, short or third, has been in 40 games and has two homers, 17 RBIs and 27 runs. He also had a club-record 18-game hitting streak that was broken Saturday (by Kyle Blanks). Hoffpauir, whose trials with the Cardinals and Blue Jays were limited, could get a longer look from the Padres, who appear to need some help.

Since returning to duty following a two-game suspension in mid-June, Jonathan Papelbon has been rock solid for Boston. The Mississippi State product, who has endured some stormy times the last couple of years, has worked 3 2/3 scoreless innings and notched three saves, including one on Friday night, in four appearances since sitting June 17 and 18. The suspension was the result of an umpire-bumping tirade in a June 4 game. Papelbon is 16-for-17 in saves this season — he’s up to 204 career — and has reduced his ERA to 3.69. It had climbed to 4.50 at one point last month. The fiery right-hander comes under intense scrutiny in Red Sox Nation, but they have to like what they’ve seen of late.

Stephen Head’s new career path has taken a positive turn. The former Hillcrest Christian and Ole Miss standout, who flamed out as a hitter in the Cleveland organization, is now a pitcher in the Colorado system. And he’s made it to the Class A level. The 27-year-old left-hander worked a 1-2-3 inning in his South Atlantic League debut on Wednesday. He had pitched six innings (one hit, one run, four walks, seven strikeouts) at the advanced rookie level prior to his promotion. Head was a good pitcher at Ole Miss, posting a 2.25 ERA over 210 innings. But the Indians drafted him in the second round in 2005 as a power-hitting first baseman. Head advanced steadily in the Cleveland system, reaching Triple-A in 2009. He hit .246 with six homers that year, not the kind of production the Indians were seeking. He was released. He tried independent ball in 2010 and produced good numbers. But, as is often the case, that was a dead end. So he switched gears. Convinced he could still pitch, Head managed to get a tryout this past spring with the Rockies, the organization that employs his good friend Seth Smith as its big league right fielder. The Rockies signed Head. He’s a long way from the big leagues, but he’s getting a second chance. And he’s making progress.