Monthly Archives: April 2014

13 Apr

power switch

Check today’s American League home run leaders. Four players with four bombs: Veteran sluggers Melky Cabrera and Jose Bautista, Cuban rookie sensation Jose Abreu and … wait for it … Brian Dozier. The former Southern Miss star has just eight hits (in 44 at-bats) this season for Minnesota, but four of them have left the yard. He led off with a blast against Kansas City ace James Shields on Saturday, propelling the Twins to a 7-1 win. Dozier was not a power hitter at USM (16 homers in four years) or in the minors (16 in parts of four seasons). But the 5-foot-11, 190-pound second baseman found a power switch in Minnesota in 2013 and launched 18 homers. He has picked right up this spring. Including Saturday’s shot, Dozier has belted three homers in his last four games. “It is what it is,” he told mlb.com, adding that “my job is to get on base.” Circling them works pretty well, too.

08 Apr

bird watching

Seemingly wherever you look, Eagles are taking off. Southern Miss’ Golden Eagles have won eight of 10 games and take a 19-14 record into tonight’s rivalry game with Mississippi State at Trustmark Park in Pearl. Matt Durst has been carrying the Eagles’ attack with a .318 average, four home runs and 22 RBIs. Hinds Community College’s Eagles also have won eight of 10 and have surged to the top of MACJC South Division standings with an 11-3 mark, just ahead of Jones County JC at 9-3. Hinds (21-12) has gotten outstanding production from freshman Chase Lunceford, a former Clinton High star who is batting .318 with seven homers and 30 RBIs. Yet another flock of Eagles, the ones at Meridian Community College, has moved to the top of the Miss-Lou Conference standings with a 3-2 record. MCC (20-16) split a doubleheader on Saturday at Scaggs Field with Delgado (La.), the No. 2-ranked team in NJCAA Division I. Scott Votaw homered, Grant Hill drove in a pair of runs and Jake Smith pitched four strong innings in the Eagles’ 7-6 win in Game 2 of that twinbill.

07 Apr

blame it on the rain

The threat of more wet weather on Tuesday has prompted Mississippi College and Millsaps to postpone their scheduled Maloney Trophy Series clash in Clinton to April 29. Tough break. One imagines that both teams were eager to get back on the field. Millsaps swept a doubleheader from NCAA Division III nationally ranked Rhodes on Saturday to improve to 16-15 (6-8 in the Southern Athletic Association). MC swept a pair from D-III nationally ranked Concordia-Texas on Saturday to improve to 14-12 (12-9 in the American Southwest Conference). The Choctaws, ineligible for the ASC postseason as they transition to D-II, have won nine of 10 games as they chase a bid to the National Christian College Athletic Association regionals. Marty Stringfellow (.383), Spencer Wilson (.333) and Robbie Jernigan (.322) have been hot hitters for MC, and Blake Mcilwain (4-1, 3.43 ERA) and Brooks Fortenberry (3-2, 2.19) have been stalwarts on the bump. But the heroes on Saturday were Zach Evans, who hit a two-run bomb in a 2-0 win over Concordia, and Jayme Monroe, who threw eight innings of one-hit ball in that game. They were named ASC player and pitcher of the week. For Millsaps, Keith Shumaker, who batted .470 with nine RBIs in four games last week, was selected as SAA player of the week. P.S. In MLB, Corey Dickerson, the former Meridian Community College standout, has been sent down by Colorado, while Tyler Moore, another MCC alum who also played at Mississippi State, is back up with Washington.

06 Apr

bombs away

Seth Loman hit the first home run of the Mississippi Braves’ 2014 season on Saturday night, helping the M-Braves beat Mobile 4-2. Trustmark Park doesn’t give up a lot of bombs — 32 by M-Braves hitters all of last season — but Loman, a 6-foot-4, 245-pound left-handed hitter, is a player who could hit a few. In eight previous pro seasons, he had 110 homers, including 25 in one season in A-ball. The one Loman hit Saturday he pulled over the visitors bullpen in right-center, where the ball seems to carry better than it does to left. … Former M-Braves standout Yunel Escobar, who just signed a contract extension, hit his first homer of the season on Saturday in Tampa Bay’s 5-4 win over Texas. … Southern Miss alumnus Brian Dozier belted his first bomb of the season in Minnesota’s 7-3 win over Cleveland. That was former Jackson Mets infielder Ron Gardenhire’s 1000th win as manager of the Twins. … Ex-Mississippi State star Paul Maholm allowed a home run on Saturday, a three-run blast by Pablo Sandoval that boosted San Francisco to a 7-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Maholm took the loss in his first start for L.A. … And a blast from the recent past: Former M-Braves star Jeff Francoeur homered in his debut for Triple-A El Paso (San Diego Padres) on Thursday night. P.S. Weir’s Roy Oswalt and ex-Jackson Generals star Lance Berkman signed one-day contracts with Houston and retired as Astros in a pregame ceremony at Minute Maid Park on Saturday. Oswalt and Berkman led Houston to the 2005 World Series, the high water mark for the franchise.

04 Apr

they’re everywhere

Former Mississippi Braves manager Phillip Wellman was back in the captain’s chair on Thursday night and surely enjoyed the view. In his first game as manager of the Arkansas Travelers — the Los Angeles Angels’ Double-A team — Wellman picked up a 20-7 win over Texas League rival Midland. Wellman, who managed the M-Braves from 2007-10 and won a Southern League pennant in 2008, is among a large group of Mississippi-connected managers in the minor leagues this season. The others: Brian Snitker (Braves-AAA), Jonathan Schuerholz (Braves-A), Rocket Wheeler (Braves-rookie), Scooter Tucker (Indians-A), Rick Sweet (Brewers-AAA), Wally Backman (Mets-AAA), Pedro Lopez (Mets-AA), Al Pedrique (Yankees-A), Travis Chapman (Yankees-rookie), Joe Mikulik (Rangers-A) and Gary Allenson (Blue Jays-AAA). Among the coaches in the minors in 2014 are Mississippi natives Stu Cliburn, Larry Herndon and Marcus Thames, former Ole Miss standout Jeff Fassero and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College product Greg Hibbard. There are also some ex-Jackson Mets players and coaches (Blaine Beatty, Jody Davis, Neil Allen, Dwight Bernard, Glenn Abbott); ex-Jackson Generals (Dave Hajek, Chris Holt, Scott Elarton); and a former Jackson Senator (Jeff Ware).

04 Apr

winning ways

Ole Miss product Drew Pomeranz, who was 0-4 with Colorado last season, got a win in his second appearance with his new team, Oakland, on Thursday night. The left-hander, converted to the bullpen by the A’s, pitched a clean 12th against Seattle and notched his first MLB victory since 2012 when Coco Crisp hit a home run in the bottom of the inning. Another former Rebels star, Lance Lynn of St. Louis, toughed out five innings against Cincinnati on Thursday to get a win in his first start of 2014. Toss in Aaron Barrett’s win in relief on Monday in his big league debut with Washington and UM alums are now 3-0.

03 Apr

take two for hefflinger

We’d seen it before, so it was no real shock when Robby Hefflinger struggled in his first look at Double-A pitching. After batting .286 with 21 homers at Class A Lynchburg to start the 2013 season, Hefflinger batted .170 with six homers for the Double-A Mississippi Braves. He joined the likes of Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Josh Burrus, Van Pope, Brandon Hicks, Jordan Schafer and Cody Johnson as Atlanta prospects who arrived in Pearl with great expectations but failed to deliver — at least initially. Some (Salty, Schafer, Hicks) got past that wall and made the big leagues, some didn’t. Hefflinger’s second tour of Double-A starts tonight when the M-Braves open the 2014 campaign against Mobile at Trustmark Park. “He had some struggles here,” M-Braves manager Aaron Holbert said, “but he’s cleaned up some things in his swing.” Hefflinger said his swing adjustments primarily involved what he does with his hands: “I’ve tried to narrow myself.” This is a big year for the 6-foot-5, 235-pound outfielder, 24 and entering his sixth pro season. He is still on the Braves’ prospect chart. With 64 career homers, he is rated the organization’s best power hitter, though the TeePee can be tough on right-handed sluggers. Hefflinger said he didn’t feel overwhelmed by Double-A pitching last year. “It wasn’t too much different (from A-ball),” he said. “I was putting a lot of pressure on myself. There’s a lot of anticipation and expectations you’re trying to fill. I just started doing things mentally that made it tough on myself.” Hefflinger also struggled in the Arizona Fall League, where he said he felt a little worn down, and then took the winter off. His first at-bat of the spring — his first in some five months — was in a big league game, and he struck out. “I was thinking, this is going to be rough,” he said. But Hefflinger said he had some good at-bats in minor league games toward the end of camp and arrived in Mississippi swinging the bat well. Holbert isn’t going to pressure Hefflinger early on, putting him in the sixth spot in the lineup for opening day.

03 Apr

tale of two dogs

Mitch Moreland was diplomatic in his comments after his Texas team rallied to beat Philadelphia and closer Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth inning on Wednesday night. “That’s a good team over there and Papelbon has definitely had a lot of success,” Moreland told mlb.com. Moreland — like Papelbon, a former Mississippi State star — had one of the four hits and scored one of the three runs the Phillies right-hander allowed in a jolting 4-3 loss. There is some serious heat on Papelbon, who is in the third year of a 4-year, $50 million contract with Philly. He blew seven of 36 save chances last year, his ERA over the last couple months jumped over 4.00 and his velocity reportedly was down. He got just one out Wednesday and wound up walking in the winning run. “One of the strong points of my game is being able to bounce back …,” Papelbon told mlb.com. Stay tuned. P.S. Ex-Ole Miss star Lance Lynn, who won 15 games for St. Louis last season, starts today against Cincinnati and ex-Taylorsville High star Billy Hamilton, 0-for-8 in two games so far.

02 Apr

a pair of aces?

J.R. Graham is back in Mississippi today because of a setback in his career. Jason Hursh arrived in Double-A a little ahead of expectations. The Mississippi Braves — and fans of the club — may be the beneficiaries of this turn of events. Graham is Atlanta’s No. 3-rated prospect (by Baseball America) and fellow right-handed starter Hursh is No. 4. They’ll anchor the rotation for a team that’s gunning to make the Southern League postseason for a second straight year. Graham, 24, a fourth-round pick in 2011 out of Santa Clara, first arrived in Pearl in 2012. After going 9-1 with a 2.63 ERA at Class A Lynchburg to start that season, he went 3-1, 3.18 in nine starts for the M-Braves. He got a long look for the big league staff in the spring of 2013, then returned to Mississippi for some more seasoning. But his season came to an abrupt halt on May 13, when he experienced shoulder pain. He didn’t pitch again. “I feel good,” Graham said at the M-Braves’ media day on Tuesday. “It’s exciting to be back in uniform.” The 5-foot-10 Graham, who blends excellent control with an upper-90s fastball, pronounced himself “100 percent.” He said he was throwing close to his old velocity (98 at times) and had all of his pitches working this spring. “We’re totally thrilled to have J.R. back,” said M-Braves manager Aaron Holbert. “It was nice to see him working on the mound again. … He’s a guy we were really counting on last year.” Hursh, 22, was Atlanta’s first-round pick last June out of Oklahoma State. The 6-foot-3 Texan, who had Tommy John surgery in 2011, has been put on a fast track by the Braves. He was sent to low Class A Rome last summer — skipping rookie and short-season A ball — and fared well: 1-1, 0.67 ERA in nine games. He was invited to Atlanta’s big league camp this spring and pitched well enough to earn a shot at Double-A, again skipping a level, which the Braves don’t often do with their prospects. “I was a little surprised,” Hursh said. “But it’s a good spot to be in. I consider it a privilege to be here, and I think I can compete.” Holbert said there might be a “learning curve” for Hursh early on. “But it’ll be fun to see his progress,” he added.

02 Apr

poll positions

The Magnolia State has seven college teams ranked in various polls this week — not bad for a football state. Mississippi State (20-10), with a big SEC series at LSU looming, is up to No. 9 in Baseball America’s latest NCAA Division I poll, while Ole Miss (21-8) is down to No. 23 on the heels of being swept at Alabama last weekend. Belhaven University (28-11), which whipped Millsaps 10-7 in a Maloney Trophy Series game on Tuesday, dropped to 13th in this week’s NAIA poll. Jones County Junior College (28-4), which blanked Copiah-Lincoln in a doubleheader sweep on Tuesday, is No. 1 in NJCAA Division II, with East Mississippi fifth and Mississippi Delta 10th. But no team in the state is hotter than Delta State, which has won 11 in a row and is ranked 12th in Collegiate Baseball’s newest NCAA Division II poll. The Statesmen are 21-6 with a home game today against Arkansas-Monticello and a home Gulf South Conference series this weekend against Lee University. DSU is hitting .334 as a team, led by Will Robertson (.385), Carlos Leal (.382) and Dex Herrington (.369), the former Senatobia High and Northwest CC star who has four homers, 23 RBIs and 30 runs. The staff ERA is 2.34, and Michael Manley, from Terry by way of Meridian CC, is 6-0 with a 0.98.