Monthly Archives: September 2015

16 Sep

boys of fall

Fall ball has launched in Starkville. Mississippi State held its first scrimmage on Tuesday night, with the Gray beating the Maroon 3-1 at Dudy Noble Field behind Luke Reynolds’ three RBIs. Brent Rooker homered for the Maroon in the six-inning contest. Fall ball at MSU will conclude the weekend of Oct. 16-18 with the Bulldog World Series. State’s team features nine players who earned all-star honors in their respective summer leagues. … Ole Miss will start fall practice with an intrasquad game on Friday at Oxford-University Stadium. Fall camp runs until Nov. 1. The Rebels return 16 players from last season’s NCAA Tournament team, including six starting position players. UM has announced its spring schedule, which will begin on Feb. 19 at home against Florida International. In the annual rivalry games at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Ole Miss will face Southern Miss on April 5 and State on April 26. The date for the USM-State game hasn’t been announced.

16 Sep

name dropping

Another day, another big blow by Mitch Moreland. The former Mississippi State star hit a game-winning sacrifice fly in the ninth inning for Texas on Tuesday night, propelling the host Rangers past Houston 6-5 and into first place in the American League West. Moreland now has 74 RBIs on the season. The Rangers’ rally muted any celebration by Evan Gattis, who had put the Astros ahead 5-4 with a two-run single in the fourth. Gattis was one of a bundle of ex-Mississippi Braves who made their marks in Tuesday’s box scores, and some of them even play for Atlanta. To wit: Andrelton Simmons got the walk-off hit for the Braves, scoring Todd Cunningham and making a winner of Arodys Vizcaino. Julio Teheran allowed just two runs in 5 2/3 innings against heavy-hitting Toronto, Brandon Cunniff worked a scoreless inning and Daniel Castro chipped in a hit. Elsewhere, Kris Medlen (4-1, 3.92 ERA) got a win for Kansas City, David Hale got a win for Colorado (in a 14-inning affair) and Randall Delgado plucked a W (his sixth) for Arizona by getting one out. Michael Broadway got a hold for San Francisco and J.J. Hoover one for Cincinnati (his 17th, despite allowing a run). Blaine Boyer worked two scoreless innings for Minnesota, Chasen Shreve one for the New York Yankees and Luis Avilan and Ian Thomas one each for the Los Angeles Dodgers in their marathon battle with the Rockies. Jason Heyward went 3-for-4 with a homer (No. 12) as St. Louis won a big game against Milwaukee. Martin Prado had a hit, a run and an RBI as Miami stopped the New York Mets’ eight-game win streak. Tommy La Stella had a hit, a run and an RBI in the Chicago Cubs’ loss to Pittsburgh in Game 1 of a twinbill, and last but never least, Brian McCann got a knock for the Yankees.

15 Sep

minor matters

Biloxi will host the first two games of the Southern League Championship Series, facing Chattanooga in a showdown of two star-studded teams. Orlando Arcia, Milwaukee’s No. 1 prospect, hit .615 with two homers and six RBIs in the Shuckers’ South Division series win over Pensacola. Adam Brett Walker II, a top 10 prospect in Minnesota’s system, hit 31 homers this year and added two more in Chattanooga’s North Division series win against Montgomery. Ole Miss product Stuart Turner, a catcher who hit .223 with four homers this season, also starts for the Lookouts. The title series begins Wednesday at MGM Park. … Former Ole Miss star Alex Presley batted .556 in four games for Fresno (Houston) as the Grizzlies advanced to the Triple-A Pacific Coast League finals. … Helping West Michigan (Detroit) get to the Class A Midwest League finals were former Madison Central High star Spencer Turnbull, a prospect pitcher, and Southwest Mississippi Community College alum Kade Scivicque, a catcher in his first pro season. … Southern Miss product Scott Copeland, who made five trips up and down from the minors for Toronto this season, has been designated for assignment by the Blue Jays. Copeland was 1-1 with a 6.46 ERA in five MLB games and 11-6, 2.95 at Triple-A Buffalo.

15 Sep

western exposure

With the spotlight on the American League West on Monday night, a couple of Mississippians took star turns. At Arlington, Texas, former Mississippi State standout Mitch Moreland hit his 20th home run to help Texas beat Houston 5-3 and move within a half-game of the first-place Astros. The Rangers also kept their grip on the second AL wild card. In Seattle, ex-Ole Miss star Seth Smith hit his 11th homer and drove in three runs as the Mariners routed the Los Angeles Angels 10-1 and knocked L.A. 4.5 games behind Houston and 4 games back of Texas in the wild card race. (Minnesota, of the AL Central, also won and remained a game back of Texas for the second wild card.) P.S. State alum Jonathan Papelbon returned to Philadelphia, made a few controversial pregame comments about his time there — “I was one of the few (Phillies) to actually want to win” — and blew a save for the first time this season. He did get to win, however, as Washington prevailed 8-7 in extras. The Nationals are 20-24 since trading for Papelbon.

14 Sep

big league chew

Tony Sipp’s role with Houston might be considered a small one. But it is hardly insignificant – and he has filled it well. With his team down 3-0 on Sunday, the left-handed specialist out of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College struck out lefty-hitting Kole Calhoun of the Los Angeles Angels to start the bottom of the eighth inning. It was the only batter Sipp faced in his first appearance since Aug. 26; he had been shut down with a back ailment. Sipp then watched from the dugout as the Astros scored five runs in the ninth and beat the Angels 5-3. Houston maintained its 1.5-game lead over Texas in the American League West and pushed third-place L.A. 4.5 back. Sipp, who has been effective against righties as well as lefties, has a 2.12 ERA, 10 holds and 51 strikeouts in 46 2/3 innings this season. … Chris Coghlan, the ex-Ole Miss star, had a day on Sunday, going 4-for-5 with a homer (No. 16), an RBI (No. 40) and two runs. But his Chicago Cubs fell to Philadelphia 7-4 and dropped 6.5 games back of St. Louis in the National League Central. … The Cardinals lead second-place Pittsburgh by 2.5 games but suddenly have some concerns, one of which is Lance Lynn. The Ole Miss product is 0-2 and has allowed nine runs in 8 1/3 innings in his last two starts since hurting his ankle. He is 11-10, 3.17 for the year. … St. Louis recalled former Mississippi State catcher Ed Easley over the weekend. He is still seeking his first big-league hit; he is 0-for-2. The minor league veteran hit .251 at Triple-A Memphis this season. … Taylorsville High alum Billy Hamilton got the first steal of his career against Yadier Molina back on Sept. 2, 2013, and was 10-for-10 career against the Cardinals’ Gold Glove catcher – until Sunday. Molina cut Hamilton down during the Cards’ 9-2 win against Cincinnati. Hamilton has an MLB-best 56 steals and now has been caught eight times. … Former Meridian CC and State standout Tyler Moore went 2-for-4 to climb above the Mendoza Line (at .205) as Washington won 5-0 over Miami. But the New York Mets’ wild win over Atlanta kept the Nationals 9.5 games back in the NL East. Yes, that race is over. … Southern Miss product Brian Dozier had a couple of hits in Minnesota’s 5-0 win against the Chicago White Sox, but he has had a rough go of it lately, batting just .213 with three homers and 12 RBIs in his last 30 games. The Twins, just a game back of Texas for the second AL wild card, need Dozier to heat up. He has 27 homers, 70 RBIs and 94 runs for the year.

12 Sep

puttin’ on the hits

While memories of Pete Rose’s record-setting hit are still fresh — the 30th anniversary of No. 4,192 was Friday — here’s a look at the all-time hits leaders among players with various Magnolia State connections. The leader among Mississippi college alumni to play in the major leagues is Rafael Palmeiro, who finished with 3,020 and is one of just four retired players (along with Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray) to have both 3,000 hits and 500 homers. (He is also the only one not in the Hall of Fame, but that’s another story.) For the record, Will Clark, the other half of the Thunder and Lightning duo at Mississippi State, finished with 2,176 hits. Dave Parker leads Mississippi natives with 2,712 hits. Three others from the state are in the 2,000 hit club: Buddy Myer (2,131), Ellis Burks (2,107) and Frank White (2,006). George Scott, with 1,992, came up just short, as did Gee Walker (1,991). Interesting fact: Jeff Francoeur has more career hits (1,289) than fellow former Mississippi Braves star Brian McCann (1,281). Would never have guessed that. Who’s the all-time leader among former Jackson Mets? No, not Darryl Strawberry or Lenny Dykstra. It’s Hubie Brooks with 1,608. Gregg Jefferies is second on that list with 1,593. The highest ranking ex-Jackson Generals player is Bobby Abreu with 2,470. Lance Berkman had 1,905. P.S. Bobby Bradley, the former Harrison Central High star, made Baseball America’s All-Low Class A team as the first baseman. Bradley hit .269 with 27 home runs and 92 RBIs for Lake County in the Cleveland system.

11 Sep

campus notes

Wes Thigpen, a former Mississippi State catcher, was recently hired as the new pitching coach at Hinds Community College, replacing former big leaguer Chad Bradford. Thigpen was a graduate assistant at State the past two seasons. He played at Meridian CC before starting for the Bulldogs in 2010 and ’11. He also played pro ball in the Detroit Tigers’ system. … Southern Miss has announced it will play host to two games against longtime coastal rivals at MGM Park in Biloxi next season. The Golden Eagles will meet South Alabama on March 2 and Tulane on March 22. MGM Park, home of the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers, formally opened on June 6. … When fall ball starts at Mississippi State, outfielder Brent Rooker might have a little swagger in his walk. He was named the New England Collegiate Baseball League Most Valuable Player and its second-best prospect by Baseball America. He finished first in the league in home runs (10), RBIs (33) and runs (36) and third in batting (.360). Rooker hit .257 with two homers in 74 at-bats for the Bulldogs in 2015. … Ole Miss shortstop Errol Robinson is also coming off a strong summer. Playing in the top-drawer Cape Cod League, he hit .312 with 25 runs and 15 steals, made the All-Star game and was rated the No. 9 prospect. … Jackson State’s Jamal Wilson, a senior right-hander, was rated among the Valley League’s top prospects. He went 2-3 with a 5.16 ERA during the summer league’s regular season and 1-1, 2.25 in the playoffs. … William Carey may have made a key pick-up for 2016 when it added former Petal High and Jones County Junior College catcher Tyler Graves to its roster. As a sophomore at JCJC in 2014, Graves was named NJCAA D-II Spalding National Defensive Player of the Year and was a third team All-America pick. He had 28 assists and batted .371. He signed with Delta State out of JCJC but didn’t play there in 2015.

11 Sep

meaningful games

His team is buried in last place and has been out of playoff contention for months, but the remaining games on the Colorado schedule are certainly meaningful for Corey Dickerson. The former Meridian Community College and Brookhaven Academy star has missed 95 of the Rockies’ 140 games because of injury. On Thursday night, in his third game back from his third stint on the disabled list, Dickerson hit his first home run since April 23. In 150 at-bats, he is batting .305 with 19 RBIs. He told the Denver Post his goals for the rest of the way are “finishing the season healthy and looking to get better.” When he plays, the left-handed hitting outfielder has been pretty good. He hit .312 last year with 24 homers and 76 RBIs and is at .298 with 35 and 112 for his three-year big league career. The Rockies appear to be due for a rebuild, so who knows what the future holds for Dickerson or any other regular on their roster? P.S. Ole Miss alum Alex Presley had two more hits – he is 6-for-9 in the series – to help Fresno beat El Paso 5-4 and go up 2-0 in their Pacific Coast League best-of-5 conference series. Ex-Mississippi State standout Hunter Renfroe homered for El Paso. … Stone County High product D.J. Davis was 3-for-4 in Lansing’s 5-4, series-clinching win over Great Lakes in the Class A Midwest League playoffs. Vancleave’s Tyler Bray notched a hold in Peoria’s 3-2, series-clincher against Kane County and his brother Colin Bray. Colin was 1-for-4 but didn’t face Tyler. And former Southwest Mississippi CC star Kade Scivicque went 2-for-3 with an RBI as West Michigan eliminated Fort Wayne 2-1.

10 Sep

playoff fever

The Biloxi Shuckers have Pensacola’s Blue Wahoos right where they want them. The Southern League playoff format gives the Shuckers home field for the first two games of the best-of-5 South Division series, meaning the Shuckers can only clinch the series on the road. Remember, this is a team that played its first 54 games on foreign ground and still won the first-half championship handily. They even clinched the title on the road, at Trustmark Park in Pearl. A league championship would be frosting on what already has been a remarkable inaugural year for the Shuckers, a Milwaukee affiliate that moved from Huntsville. Jorge Lopez (12-5, 2.26 ERA), the SL pitcher of the year, will start tonight’s opener for Biloxi at MGM Park. In Game 2 on Friday, Cody Reed, the Northwest Mississippi Community College alum, will start for Pensacola (Cincinnati affiliate). Reed went 6-2 with a 2.17 ERA in eight starts for the Blue Wahoos and is the reigning SL pitcher of the week. In two starts from Aug. 31-Sept. 7, he was 2-0 with 14 shutout innings and 17 strikeouts. P.S. In the Pacific Coast League playoffs on Wednesday night, ex-Ole Miss star Alex Presley went 4-for-5 with an RBI and a run to pace Fresno (Houston) past El Paso 9-1. Mississippi State product Hunter Renfroe was hitless in four trips for El Paso (San Diego). … Former State standout Adam Frazier was 1-for-4 with a run as Altoona (Pittsburgh) beat Bowie 8-7 in the Eastern League playoffs. Frazier was second in the EL in hitting this year with a .324 average. … In the Midwest League playoffs: Ex-Madison Central star Spencer Turnbull (11-3, 3.01 during the regular season) worked six strong innings (two runs, seven K’s) as West Michigan (Detroit) topped Fort Wayne 5-2. Southwest Mississippi CC alum Kade Scivicque was behind the plate for West Michigan and went 0-for-4. The Bray brothers from Vancleave (see previous post) were on opposing sides again as Peoria (St. Louis) defeated Kane County (Arizona) 2-1. Colin went 0-for-4 for KC; Tyler did not pitch for Peoria. And Stone County High alum D.J. Davis put up a 1-for-5 with a run scored for Lansing (Toronto) in a 6-5 victory over Great Lakes. Davis, a first-round pick by the Blue Jays in 2012, hit .282 with seven homers, 59 RBIs, 77 runs and 21 steals.

09 Sep

chills and thrills

For the first time in a Washington uniform, Jonathan Papelbon got beat. Across the country, Mitch Moreland, another former Mississippi State star, got Texas rolling toward a big win. Just like that, a lazy Tuesday night in September becomes one to remember. The New York Mets made an amazin’ rally from six runs down to beat Washington 8-7 at Nationals Park and extend their lead in the National League East to 6 games. After his fellow bullpen mates gave up six runs in the seventh, Papelbon, the closer, came on in the eighth and allowed a two-out, go-ahead homer to Kirk Nieuwenhuis. It was the only hit allowed in two innings by Papelbon, who was 1-0 and 6-for-6 in save chances over his first 14 games for the club. “It boils down to one pitch. It basically does. … I made one bad pitch,” he told mlb.com. The Nats can’t afford too many more. Meanwhile, at Seattle’s Safeco Field, Moreland blasted his 19th homer of the year in the second inning to put the Rangers on top and they hit three more bombs en route to a 9-6 win against the Mariners. Texas, which has won seven of 10, now trails Houston, a 4-0 loser to Oakland, by a single game in the American League West. “We are a long ways from where we want to be,” Moreland told mlb.com. Presumably, he means the postseason. Moreland is batting .287 with 69 RBIs. He hit just four homers in July and August combined, but he has scary power that could be a factor as Texas continues its playoff push. P.S. Billy Hamilton and Corey Dickerson were activated from the disabled list on Tuesday. Taylorsville’s Hamilton didn’t play for Cincinnati, and ex-Meridian Community College standout Dickerson went 0-for-1 as a pinch hitter for Colorado. … Ryan Weber, who pitched for the Mississippi Braves this season and in 2014, took the loss in his big league debut for Atlanta despite allowing just two runs in six innings against Philadelphia.