Monthly Archives: October 2012

The Oakland A’s, who made a habit of the walk-off win (14 of ’em) during a magical regular season, were at it again on Wednesday night. And Jackson’s Seth Smith was right in the thick of things. With the A’s down 3-1 in the bottom of the ninth, Smith ripped a two-run double and then scored himself two outs later on Coco Crisp’s single to even the American League Division Series with Detroit at 2-all. Former Ole Miss star Smith had been fairly quiet as Oakland lost the first two games of this series. But he hit a big home run at O.Co Coliseum — his first in three postseasons — in Tuesday’s 2-0 win. Smith hit just .150 over the last 21 games of the regular season, but A’s manager Bob Melvin has kept the left-handed hitter in the lineup against Detroit’s right-handed starters. “It’s not like Seth Smith’s any slouch,” teammate Jonny Gomes, his frequent platoon partner, told mlb.com. So true. Smith was 4-for-11 in the postseason prior to this year, playing with Colorado in 2007 and 2009. Some remember him for making the last out, a strikeout, against Boston (and Mississippi State alum Jonathan Papelbon) in the ’07 World Series. He’s giving us something else to remember now. … P.S. Kudos to former Mississippi Braves outfielder Gregor Blanco on his first postseason homer on Wednesday, which helped San Francisco even its National League Division Series with Cincinnati at 2-all.

Quite a few familiar names appear on the rosters in the prospect-packed Arizona Fall League, which launches its 20th anniversary season today. Mississippi Braves manager Aaron Holbert is managing the Phoenix team, and there are five 2012 M-Braves on his club: pitchers Ryan Buchter, Chris Jones, Cory Rasmus and Zeke Spruill and catcher Matt Kennelly. Also with the Phoenix team are likely 2013 M-Braves Nick Ahmed, a shortstop, and Edward Salcedo, a third baseman. Billy Hamilton, the Taylorsville High product and stolen base king, is set to play outfield for Peoria, Cincinnati’s AFL affiliate. Former Meridian Community College standout Corey Dickerson, an outfielder in Colorado’s system, is with Salt River, and Picayune product T.J. House, a left-hander in the Cleveland organization, is on the Scottsdale roster. P.S. Former M-Braves slugger Matt Esquivel and ex-Jackson Generals infielder Bryant Nelson (remember him?) helped Long Island win the independent Atlantic League championship.

He has bounced from starter to reliever twice now, but Lance Lynn has rolled smoothly with the changes. The former Ole Miss standout worked three innings in emergency relief on Monday and picked up the win as St. Louis whipped Washington 12-4 and evened the National League Division Series at 1-all. Lynn replaced Cardinals starter Jaime Garcia (shoulder injury) in the third inning. He worked two scoreless before allowing a couple of solo homers in the fifth, when St. Louis was comfortably ahead. Lynn, an 18-game winner this season, began the year in the St. Louis rotation (replacing injured Chris Carpenter) and made the All-Star team. Some rocky outings led to a demotion to the bullpen, where he worked on his mechanics before yet another injury (Jake Westbrook) created another starting opportunity. Lynn went 4-0 in his last four starts. He’s been bumped back to the bullpen for the postseason, a role he filled well during St. Louis’ championship run last fall. But the injury to Garcia just might open the door for a starting job if the Cards reach the NLCS.

Postseason baseball is so often defined by moments, and rookie Tyler Moore had one worth remembering on Sunday. In his first postseason at-bat, the Brandon native produced a two-strike, two-out, two-run pinch hit to boost Washington to a 3-2 win over St. Louis in Game 1 of the National League Division Series. It was the first postseason game for a Washington-based team since 1933. Moore, who hit 10 homers this season, reached out to poke a 93 mph fastball from Cardinals lefty Marc Rzepczynski into right field to put the Nationals ahead in the eighth inning. “I’m a blessed man. It’s pretty unbelievable,” Moore, an alum of Northwest Rankin, Meridian Community College and Mississippi State, told mlb.com. … Jackson native and Ole Miss product Seth Smith and his Oakland teammates are still looking for some October magic. Smith, who hit .417 against Detroit in the regular season, is 0-for-5 and the A’s are down 2-0 to the Tigers in the American League Division Series. … While a bunch of former Mississippi Braves were swept from the postseason in Atlanta’s crazy — for lack of a better word — loss to St. Louis in the NL wild card game, there are two ex-M-Braves facing off in the NLDS. Gregor Blanco has a couple of hits in five at-bats for San Francisco, but the Giants are down 2-0 to Cincinnati, where J.J. Hoover has established himself in the Reds’ vaunted bullpen. He worked a scoreless inning in Sunday’s 9-0 blowout. Ex-Ole Miss star Zack Cozart, Cincy’s rookie shortstop, went 1-for-4 in that game and is 2-for-8 in the series. … In two previous trips to the postseason, Amory native and MSU alum Mitch Moreland had gone 19-for-75 with three homers and 10 RBIs, helping Texas get to the World Series in both 2010 and ’11. This year, he got one at-bat and struck out. The Rangers, who led the AL West by 2 games with three to play, fell into the wild card game and were summarily dismissed by Baltimore. What a shocking turn of events for that club.

Seth Smith got a big hit and enjoyed another celebration (that’s two in three days) on Wednesday. The ex-Hillcrest Christian and Ole Miss standout had an RBI single in Oakland’s six-run fourth inning which propelled the surprising A’s to a 12-5 win over Texas and the American League West championship. … Tyler Moore, the Northwest Rankin, Meridian Community College and Mississippi State alumnus, belted his 10th homer on Wednesday, helping Washington beat Philadelphia 5-1 and celebrate for the third time in the closing stretch. Davey Johnson’s Nationals clinched home-field advantage throughout the National League playoffs. … Meridian CC alumnus Cliff Lee took the loss for the Phillies, but he finished with some impressive numbers: a 3.16 ERA, 207 strikeouts and just 28 walks. … Former Jackson Mets manager Sam Perlozzo, who won two Texas League championships, reportedly won’t be back as Philly’s first-base coach in 2013. Seems an odd move to make. … Former Jackson Generals star Lance Berkman made a pinch-hit appearance for St. Louis in what might have been his final game. The ever-appreciative fans at Busch Stadium gave him a standing ovation. Ex-Gens standout Bobby Abreu did not play for the Los Angeles Dodgers in what might have been his last game in uniform. … The Cardinals have announced Kyle Lohse as their starter for Friday’s wild card showdown with Atlanta. Ole Miss product Lance Lynn, an 18-game winner, surely will get a start in the NLDS if the Cards advance. … Atlanta used eight pitchers in its 4-0 win over Pittsburgh; seven of them are ex-Mississippi Braves. A horde of M-Braves alums will be on Atlanta’s postseason roster, including Friday starter Kris Medlen, while Gregor Blanco will be with San Francisco, J.J. Hoover with Cincinnati, Matt Harrison with Texas and possibly Brandon Hicks with Oakland. … Former M-Brave Scott Diamond took a loss for Minnesota on Wednesday, but he had a solid season: 12-9, 3.54 ERA for Ron Gardenhire’s 66-96 club.

Tying run on base. Two outs. Ninth inning. Must-win game. There was a time when Brian McCann was a batter Atlanta Braves fans would love to see at the plate in that situation. But the McCann of 2012 isn’t. On Monday, the former Mississippi Braves standout bounced out to the pitcher. The Braves lost to Pittsburgh 2-1 and saw their slim National League East title hopes snuffed. McCann went 0-for-4 and stranded three runners all told on Monday. His season average dropped to .227, some 50 points off his career number. He has five silver slugger awards, but his numbers have been dropping. He hit. 301 in 2008, followed by .281, .269, .270 and now this year’s skid. His RBI totals have gone from 94 in 2009 to 77, 71 and now 67 this year. He had some vision problems in 2011, and a shoulder issue reportedly has hampered him this season. Clearly something is wrong. Maybe it’s just all those games behind the plate; he’s been the Braves’ regular catcher since 2006, when he batted .333. The Braves, as a team, have fallen back into one of those spells where they can’t seem to put together hits and produce big innings. This team came out of the gates throwing up crooked numbers, but it’s been a different club the second half. Monday’s lineup included just one .300 hitter (ex-M-Brave Martin Prado). Their pitching has been good all year, especially in the recent crucial weeks. (Tip your cap to ex-Jackson Mets hurler Roger McDowell, the pitching coach.) But offensive consistency is a concern heading into Friday’s wild card showdown with either St. Louis or Los Angeles. Braves fans might want to cross their fingers and pray for a three-run homer. P.S. Mississippi natives Tyler Moore (Washington) and Seth Smith (Oakland) celebrated their team’s playoff berths on Monday. They join Zack Cozart (Cincinnati), Mitch Moreland and Roy Oswalt (Texas), Paul Maholm (Atlanta) and Eli Whiteside (San Francisco) as Mississippians who have already partied.