Monthly Archives: July 2015

06 Jul

so far, so (very) good

LaDarious Clark can play. He put up star-spangled numbers at Southeast Lauderdale High, East Mississippi Community College and West Florida – and now he is doing it in pro ball. Clark (whose first name is sometimes spelled LeDarious) is on a 21-for-46 tear over his last 10 games for Spokane, the Texas Rangers’ affiliate in the short-season Class A Northwest League. The 5-foot-9 outfielder is batting .394 with three homers, 12 RBIs and seven steals for the season. Clark, also a standout football player in high school and at EMCC, has always inspired raves about his tools. But there seemed to be questions about his attitude. He was the top-rated juco draft prospect in the state in 2014 but wasn’t picked. He went to NCAA Division II West Florida, where he batted .329 with eight bombs and 21 steals and was All-Gulf South Conference this past season. The Rangers plucked him in the 12th round. He went 0-for-3 in his debut but has hit safely in every game since, 15 straight. He can play. But it takes more than physical tools to climb the baseball ladder. Maybe Clark has learned that.

06 Jul

star charts

While we wait to see if Southern Miss alum Brian Dozier is picked for his first All-Star Game and if ex-Mississippi Braves star Brian McCann gets to make an eighth appearance, here’s what we do know about the upcoming All-Star buffet: Biloxi’s Orlando Arcia, one of Milwaukee’s top prospects, is headed to the All-Star Futures Game, set for July 12 in Cincinnati. Arcia, a shortstop from Venezuela, is batting .313 with four homers, 42 RBIs and 10 steals for the Double-A Shuckers. And Louis Coleman, the former Pillow Academy star and Greenwood native, is on the Pacific Coast League roster for the Triple-A All-Star Game, which is July 15 in Omaha. Coleman, 29, is 4-1 with a 1.58 ERA and six saves for Omaha in the Kansas City system. He has a 3.25 ERA over 148 major league games with the Royals, though he is no longer on the 40-man roster. … The MLB Home Run Derby contestants have not been finalized, but former Mississippi State star Mitch Moreland would be a good choice. He has 14 homers for Texas this season and has hit some mammoth blasts in his career. The revamped derby is slated July 13 at Cincy’s Great American Ballpark, a great hitter’s park. P.S. Seth Smith, the ex-Ole Miss standout, delivered in the clutch for Seattle on Sunday, stroking a two-out, two-run single on a 3-2 pitch and propelling the Mariners to a 2-1 win at Oakland. “I loved playing (at O.Co Coliseum) when I was with the A’s and especially day games have a good buzz,” Smith told mlb.com. Smith is 9-for-27 with a homer and five RBIs this year against the A’s, one of the four teams he has played for the last five years. He is batting .257 on the season with seven homers.

05 Jul

by the numbers

4 – RBIs on Saturday for Tyler Moore, the former Mississippi State standout. Moore went 3-for-4 to help Washington, the National League East leader, beat San Francisco 9-3. He has 17 RBIs for the year.
5 – Wins for Mississippi Braves ace Tyrell Jenkins. The right-hander threw seven strong innings in a 4-2 win over Jackson (Tenn.) at Trustmark Park. Jenkins is 5-5 with a 3.00 ERA for the M-Braves, now 5-4 in the second half.
5 – Wins by Lance Lynn, the former Ole Miss star. Lynn (5-5, 2.74 ERA) starts today for St. Louis, the NL Central leader, against San Diego. Lynn has a 1.47 ERA in his last five starts.
7 – Shutout innings on Saturday by Kendall Graveman, the ex-State star. Graveman, now 6-4, 3.16 for Oakland, outdueled Seattle ace Felix Hernandez in a 2-0 A’s win.
7 – Holds for Drew Pomeranz, the Ole Miss alumnus. The converted starter worked a scoreless eighth inning for Oakland in relief of Kendall Graveman.
20 – Stolen bases by Corey Wimberly, the Alcorn State product. Wimberly got a bag for Yucatan in a 6-5 win over Tijuana and also went 1-for-3 to boost his average to .323 in the Mexican League.
62 – Runs by Brian Dozier, the former Southern Miss standout. Dozier, who leads the American League in runs, tallied one in Minnesota’s 5-3 win against Kansas City.

04 Jul

the short and long of it

Jarrod Dyson earned a Gatorade shower from his Kansas City teammates on Friday night after simply putting the ball in play. Sometimes that’s all it takes. With the potential winning run at third base and the Minnesota infield playing in, the former Southwest Mississippi Community College standout chopped a ball toward the first baseman and Lorenzo Cain beat the throw home to give the Royals a 3-2 win over the Twins in 10 innings. KC extended its lead over Minnesota in the American League Central to 4.5 games. Dyson said he went up to bat “thinking just put it in play and show the world what speed do.” Cain had just enough speed to score before the catcher’s tag, which was confirmed by replay. Dyson, the Royals’ fastest player, generally does a good job of putting the ball in play, an underrated skill in today’s game. He has struck out just 17 times in 92 at-bats this season and is batting .272. … Ole Miss alum Seth Smith also put a ball in play on Friday that had a big impact. Smith hit one over the wall in Oakland, giving Seattle a sixth-inning lead in a game the Mariners would win 9-5. Smith strikes out a good bit – 55 times in 216 at-bats – but he has power, which MLB teams will always crave. Smith’s homer was his seventh of the season and 92nd of his career. P.S. Another ex-Southwest CC star, Kade Scivicque, made his pro debut on Thursday and went 2-for-4 for Connecticut in the short-season Class A New York-Penn League. Scivicque, a catcher, was a key player for LSU in its run to the College World Series. Detroit drafted him in the fourth round; he could rise quickly.

03 Jul

welcome back

Ole Miss product Alex Presley, back on Houston’s roster, is in the lineup for tonight’s game at Boston. Presley, who took the spot of injured George Springer, is batting ninth and playing center field for the Astros, who are in first place in the American League West. Presley, a 10-year pro with 321 big league games on his ledger, was batting .308 with two homers, 35 RBIs and 10 steals at Triple-A Fresno. The left-handed hitter batted .244 with six homers and 19 RBIs for the Astros last season; he was designated for assignment in the spring. … Also back in The Show is another ex-Rebels star, David Goforth, recalled today by Milwaukee from Triple-A Colorado Springs for a second stint. The right-handed reliever did not allow a run in four appearances during his previous call-up, his first in the big leagues.

02 Jul

the spoiler

Joey Butler, the 29-year-old rookie from Pascagoula, has had an eventful first season with Tampa Bay. First career homer. First career stolen base. A three-hit game. A four-hit game. But what Butler did on Wednesday night at Tropicana Field grabbed more headlines than all of those neat feats. He broke up Cleveland pitcher Carlos Carrasco’s no-hit bid with two outs in the ninth inning. Yes, Butler did it. With runners at the corners in an 8-0 game, Butler fell behind 0-2 and then lined a hanging slider just over the glove of leaping second baseman Jason Kipnis for a clean single. “He left me a pitch to hit, and I did what I could with it,” Butler told ESPN.com. In the seventh inning, Butler had drawn a walk that ended Carrasco’s perfect game. Butler is batting .316 with six homers, one of which came off Carrasco just last month. … Cleveland pitchers Cody Anderson and Danny Salazar took perfect games into the sixth inning against the Rays on Monday and Tuesday. This amazing display by the three Indians starters must have pitching coach Mickey Callaway, the ex-Ole Miss standout, feeling some satisfaction in the midst of the Tribe’s tough season. P.S. On this date in 2002, a one-day record of 62 homers were struck across the major leagues. Vicksburg’s Dmitri Young hit two of them, Gulfport’s Matt Lawton and Hattiesburg’s Wendell Magee one each. Also going yard that day were ex-Jackson Generals star Lance Berkman (twice), Mississippi State alum Rafael Palmeiro and Southern Miss product Kevin Young.

01 Jul

clash on coast

It would be an overstatement to call this a “key” series, but the Mississippi Braves and Biloxi Shuckers are hooking up in a three-game set at MGM Park that rates some attention. Both teams are 3-2 in the second half, tied for first in the Southern League South. The series, which starts tonight, will be the first played between the two on the Coast. Biloxi leads the season series 6-4, having won four of five at Trustmark Park last month, clinching the first-half title on June 14 by beating the then-second place M-Braves 9-0. The Shuckers’ lineup features an array of good hitters, led by Orlando Arcia (.308), Nick Ramirez (.283, 10 homers, 48 RBIs) and Tyrone Taylor (.265). Biloxi’s staff ERA is 3.30, second in the league. The M-Braves are fourth at 3.65. Matt Lipka is hitting .288 with 11 steals, but otherwise this is an offensively challenged club. They’ve scored 11 runs in the five games this half. There are only four home runs among players on the current roster. P.S. The official debuts of pitchers Jake Brigham and Ryan Kelly in Atlanta’s 6-1 loss to Washington on Tuesday brings to an even 100 the number of M-Braves alumni who have advanced to the big leagues during the club’s 11 seasons in Pearl.