Monthly Archives: June 2014

11 Jun

gathering momentum

He still has a couple of big steps to take on the path to the major leagues, but Tim Anderson seems to be itching to make a move in that direction. The former East Central Community College standout, drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 2013, is currently playing at low Class A Winston-Salem — and mastering the South Atlantic League. Anderson, 20, a shortstop, is batting .309 with 14 doubles, seven triples, four home runs, 22 RBIs, 36 runs and 10 stolen bases in 54 games. He is batting .415 in June. And he’s got more than numbers. His “instincts for the game are off the charts,” his manager, Tommy Thompson, said in a story recently posted on milb.com. Anderson, who batted .495 as a sophomore at ECCC, was picked 17th overall last summer and is already rated the White Sox’s No. 2 prospect on one such chart. It’s going to be fun to watch to his progress the next couple of years.

11 Jun

well-connected

Eleven former Mississippi Braves took part in Atlanta’s wild 13-10 win at Colorado on Tuesday night. Eight ex-M-Braves had hits in the 16-hit attack, and six scored at least once. Evan Gattis, Freddie Freeman and Andrelton Simmons hit home runs; Simmons’ blast was his first career grand slam. Five former M-Braves pitched, with David Hale getting the win, Shae Simmons a hold and Craig Kimbrel the save, his 18th. For the record, Meridian Community College alumnus Corey Dickerson, batting .333 this season, had two of the Rockies’ 13 hits, scored twice and knocked in a run.

11 Jun

mr. 300

What is shaping up as a forgettable season in Philadelphia will include at least one memorable moment for Jonathan Papelbon. The former Mississippi State star notched his 300th save with a scoreless ninth inning in a 5-2 win over San Diego on Tuesday night. Papelbon, 33, reached the milestone in his 552nd appearance. Of the 25 other pitchers with 300 or more saves, only all-time leader Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman got there in so few games. Things got a bit hairy for Papelbon on Tuesday: He gave up a leadoff double to Ole Miss product Seth Smith, yielded a one-out single and then hit a batter with two outs to load the bases. A bouncer to the shortstop ended it. Papelbon has 14 saves (and a 1.48 ERA) this year for the ph-lopping Phillies, who are 26-36 and last in the National League East. The save was the first for the uber-competitive Papelbon since May 24, and he has had only three opportunities since May 10. There is still some speculation he might be traded, though his big contract could be a sticking point. P.S. Ex-Ole Miss star Zack Cozart got plunked in the helmet by a Josh Beckett pitch but stayed in the game for Cincinnati and later delivered an RBI single (off MSU alum Paul Maholm). “I’m a big believer that if you’re fine, you stay in the game,” Cozart told mlb.com. The Reds, scuffling for runs, lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-1.

10 Jun

the long and short of it

Now that the 2014 Ole Miss team has made history — reaching the College World Series for the first time in 42 years — the Rebels must hope history doesn’t repeat. Ole Miss’ 1972 trip to Omaha lasted just two games. The Rebels lost 8-6 to Southern Cal and 9-8 to Texas. That Ole Miss team was coached by Rebels legend Jake Gibbs, who just the year before was catching for the New York Yankees. The stars were shortstop Steve Dillard — future big leaguer (nice career) and future manager of the Jackson DiamondKats (forgettable season) — outfielder Paul Husband and pitcher Jim Pittman, who won 10 games for a 28-16 club. The ’72 Rebels won the SEC Championship Series 2-games-to-none against Vanderbilt. Next they won the NCAA District III playoffs, going 5-1 in the double-elimination affair and beating South Alabama twice for the right to go to Omaha. It was Ole Miss’ fourth CWS berth. Having waited so long for the fifth, maybe the Rebels will stay a little longer. P.S. A spinning managerial wheel put pitcher Tony Sipp in right field for Houston on Monday night. Left-hander Sipp, the former Moss Point High and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College star, moved from the mound to the outfield (for one batter, who walked) and back again during the eighth inning at Arizona. It was the first MLB outfield appearance for the veteran Sipp, who was a standout outfielder in amateur ball, playing the position at Clemson as well as in high school and junior college. He faced six batters Monday and retired five of them, notching his fourth hold in the Astros’ 4-3 win and lowering his ERA to 2.70.

09 Jun

numbers of note

2 — Number of home runs this season for Taylorsville High product Billy Hamilton, who hit his latest on Sunday in Cincinnati’s 4-1 win over Philadelphia. Hamilton is batting .253 with 23 stolen bases.
3 — Months former Mississippi State star Mitch Moreland is expected to miss after having ankle surgery. “It’s to the point where I’m hurting the team …,” the Texas Rangers first baseman told ESPNDallas.com about his decision to go under the knife. Moreland is batting .246 with two homers; he hit 23 bombs in 2013.
12 — Hits, in nine MLB games, for Tommy La Stella, the former Mississippi Braves standout now starting at second base for Atlanta. La Stella, a .340 hitter in Pearl last season, is batting .400.
14 — Runs scored by the M-Braves in their victory over Chattanooga at Trustmark Park on Sunday. The M-Braves are 1½ games out of first in the Southern League South with six to play.
16 — Hits this season for Ole Miss freshman Colby Bortles, who delivered his latest on Sunday, a two-run, eighth-inning single that helped the Rebels beat Louisiana-Lafayette 5-2 in their NCAA Super Regional. Game 3, with a College World Series trip on the line, is tonight at 6.
35 — Number of Mississippi-connected players picked in the MLB draft, from West Lauderdale High catcher Blake Anderson at No. 36 overall to Gulfport High third baseman Daniel Keating at No. 1181.
38 — Points lost off his batting average since May 21 by Ole Miss product Seth Smith. Smith, batting .301 with six homers and 21 RBIs for San Diego, is 7-for-34 (.206) over his last 10 games with just one RBI.

08 Jun

a step forward

Mississippi Braves right-hander J.R. Graham finally got his first win of 2014, throwing five shutout innings tonight against Chattanooga at Trustmark Park. It has been an uneven year for Graham, 24, ranked as Atlanta’s No. 3 prospect in preseason. Coming back from a shoulder injury that abruptly ended his 2013 campaign in May, Graham has been on a short leash. In only three of his 13 starts has he pitched five innings, and 5 1/3 is the deepest he has gone. He went into tonight’s start with an 0-3 record and 5.27 ERA, though the team was 7-5 in his games. It once looked like just a matter of time before Graham made the big leagues. He may have work to do now to get back on that path. He looked sharp against the Lookouts, consistently hitting the mid-90s while yielding just three hits and fanning three with no walks. He threw 48 of 74 pitches for strikes. Three relievers, including new closer James Hoyt, preserved the 1-0 victory.

07 Jun

head of the class

There are always surprises in the MLB draft. Blake Anderson qualifies as one. The catcher from West Lauderdale High was rated No. 216 on Baseball America’s last pre-draft prospect chart. He went 36th overall, taken by Miami in the competitive balance round. As the first Mississippian picked, Anderson joins a list that includes Hunter Renfroe (2013), D.J. Davis (2012), Connor Barron (2011), Drew Pomeranz (2010) and Billy Hamilton (2009). Anderson has a chance to join another short list – the one of Mississippi-born catchers who have had success in the big leagues. The state has produced Jake Gibbs, Barry Lyons, Jerry Moses, Eli Whiteside … and, well, there aren’t many. The Marlins obviously like something about Anderson, who goes 6 feet 3, 180 pounds. Defense is said to be his forte, but he did hit .438 with eight homers this year for a perennially strong prep program that won another state title. He is a Southern Miss signee. P.S. Four Magnolia State natives were picked in the first two rounds, which is impressive. Mississippi State left-hander Jacob Lindgren, from Bay St. Louis and St. Stanislaus High, was taken 55th by the New York Yankees, who reportedly think he can rise quickly. Columbia High shortstop Ti’Quan Forbes (an Ole Miss signee) went 59th overall to Texas, and former Madison Central star Spencer Turnbull, a right-hander at Alabama, was No. 63 by Detroit. … Only one Mississippi juco player was picked in the first two days: Left-hander Lane Ratliff of Jones County JC went to Seattle in the sixth round.

06 Jun

mission: possible?

While perusing Baseball America’s preview of the Super Regional in Lafayette, La., a quote from an anonymous coach came leaping off the screen: “This is the team (Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco) has been waiting on. … If they’re going to win a national championship, this is the year they could do it.” That’s high praise. And the Rebels are very good, 44-18 and ranked sixth in the country. But Ole Miss has had a lot of good teams — and a lot of disappointment — since making its last College World Series visit, way back in the year of Olga Korbut and Fred Sanford and Thomas Eagleton, of Black September and “Thick as a Brick” and “Jonathan Livingston Seagull.” Those references might not mean much to the current crop of Rebels, but they certainly know what a reference to 1972 means for UM baseball. Maybe this is the year they get over that hump. They have a legitimate ace in Chris Ellis (10-1, 2.16 ERA), who’ll start Game 1 against Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday. Will Allen and Sikes Orvis have a combined 20 homers and 109 RBIs, and each has a slugging percentage over .500. Braxton Lee is a .294 hitter with 30 steals. Auston Bousfield, the Ferriss Trophy winner, is batting .349 with six homers, 48 RBIs and 17 bags. All that stands between Ole Miss and Omaha is UL-Lafayette. Which happens to be 57-8, ranked No. 1 and playing at home. Maybe the Ragin’ Cajuns are vulnerable. They did lose their regional opener to Jackson State. But then they won four straight after that, including two do-or-die games against Mississippi State. They’ll throw Austin Robichaux (7-3, 2.83) on Saturday. They have a lineup that features four starters with nine or more homers and four with 14 or more steals. Caleb Adams is a big-time hitter with a .387 average and 11 bombs. ULL’s trademark is aggression on the bases, and that never goes into a slump. “That’s a dangerous club, man,” a coach told Baseball America. If there is a favorite in this best-of-3, it’s hard to see. P.S. Four Mississippi junior college players made NJCAA Division II All-America teams, though none played for national runner-up Hinds Community College. Jones County JC, which spent much of the year at No. 1, had lefty Westin Stringer and catcher Tyler Graves make the second and third teams. Missisisppi Gulf Coast DH James Land made second team, and Northwest infielder Jay King was a third-team pick.

05 Jun

time to make a move

Chattanooga at Mississippi, today-Monday — this can aptly be termed a “big series” for the M-Braves. Trailing first-place Mobile by a game in the Southern League South, the M-Braves get the league’s worst team (by record) at Trustmark Park while the BayBears are on the road for five against the team with the SL’s best record, Huntsville. The next five days could be pivotal in the M-Braves’ title quest. They finish the first half with five games on the road; Mobile finishes with five at home. This M-Braves club (34-25) has become a good one, worth a look if you haven’t seen them yet. They had six players picked for the SL All-Star Game (June 17 at Chattanooga), though one, closer Shae Simmons, is gone to Atlanta. Elmer Reyes (.333) and Mycal Jones (.299) are going to Chattanooga, but several other position players have nice numbers, too: Matt Kennelly (.316), Cedric Hunter (.306, 25 RBIs), David Rohm (.296, 29 RBIs) and Seth Loman (nine homers, 35 RBIs). Starting pitchers Williams Perez and Aaron Northcraft made the All-Star Game, but Jason Hursh (4-4, 3.68), who’ll start tonight, has been very good in his Double-A debut and fellow top prospect J.R. Graham also has had his moments. Unsung reliever James Hoyt, likely to fill Simmons’ closer role, is also an All-Star. The M-Braves are trying to make the playoffs for a second straight year and a fourth time in 10. Again, the next five days could be pivotal.

05 Jun

caught in a draft

Joe DiFabio is the answer to a good – no, make that a great – trivia question. Who was the first Mississippian (native or college alum) to be picked in the first round of the MLB draft? DiFabio, a right-hander out of Delta State, went 20th overall to St. Louis in the very first draft in 1965. Despite a good pro career (45-34 record, 3.28 ERA), DiFabio never made the big leagues. That’s the fickle nature of baseball — and the baseball draft. Being picked high is no guarantee of an MLB job, nor does going in a later round mean you’ve got no chance. Several Mississippians currently in the majors are evidence of that. Brian Dozier, having an All-Star worthy season (.251, 12 homers, 30 RBIs, 13 steals, 48 runs) for Minnesota, was an eighth-round pick out of Southern Miss in 2009. Corey Dickerson, batting .348 with seven homers in his second MLB season with Colorado, was picked in the eighth round in 2010 out of Meridian Community College. Aaron Barrett, having a marvelous rookie season with Washington (0.87 ERA in 22 games), was a ninth rounder from Ole Miss that year. Mitch Moreland, batting .256 with two homers and 17 RBIs in his fifth year as a regular in Texas, was a 17th rounder out of Mississippi State in 2007. And then there’s Jarrod Dyson. He is batting .275 with 10 stolen bases and playing solid defense in center field as a part-timer for Kansas City. Dyson was a 50th-round pick in 2006 out of Southwest Mississippi Community College and made The Show four years later. There might not be a Mississippian selected in today’s first round, but plenty will be called in the next 39. As Dyson and others have shown, all you need is an opportunity. P.S. Belhaven University is ranked 18th in final NAIA poll. The Blazers went 42-21 and made the regionals. Two BU players, Tyler Akins and Paul Pickerrell, were named All-Americans. … Three Mississippi high schools, all state champions, made the top 27 in Baseball America’s final poll. West Lauderdale was No. 10, New Hope No. 24 and Oak Grove No. 27.