holding pattern

Former Nettleton High star Bill Hall, derailed by an injury this spring in the Los Angeles Angels camp, is holding on for another chance in the big leagues. Hall, a onetime big league star in Milwaukee (see 2006), is in Triple-A with the Angels, batting .206 with a homer and five RBIs in nine games. It might take a rash of injuries in L.A. for Hall to get a call, but you never know. He is among a handful of pro veterans with Mississippi ties who are plugging away in Triple-A, waiting for a door to open. Hattiesburg’s John Lindsey, who had that one brief stint with the Dodgers in 2010, is 36 now and playing for Detroit’s Triple-A club. He has four homers in 22 games. Eli Whiteside, the former Delta State standout, is with Texas’ Triple-A team, sharing catching duties and hitting .255 with three homers in 15 games. Also with Round Rock is Pascagoula native Joey Butler, who has yet to play in The Show but is pleading for attention with a .341 average, three homers and 12 RBIs in 25 games. Alcorn State alumnus Corey Wimberly is at Triple-A Gwinnett in Atlanta’s system, batting .213 in 18 games. DSU product Dusty Hughes is also there and scuffling with a 6.52 ERA in nine appearances as a reliever. Picayune native and Pearl River Community College alum Rhyne Hughes is back in Double-A with the New York Mets; he’s batting .190 in 12 games. And just when we thought he was done, former Jackson Generals ace Freddy Garcia is flourishing in Triple-A for Baltimore with a 4-0 record and a 2.67 ERA in five starts. He certainly appears ready if Buck Showalter needs him.