pieces of april

Buck Showalter notched his 1,000th win as a major league manager tonight when Baltimore beat the New York Yankees. Former Mississippi State standout Showalter’s managerial career started with the Yankees. He has also managed Arizona and Texas. He is in his third season with the Orioles, who were one of MLB’s surprise teams in April with a 14-9 record. … The best April by a Mississippi-connected player in the big leagues is a tough call between MSU alum Jonathan Papelbon, who had eight saves for his new Philadelphia club, and Ole Miss product Lance Lynn, who went 4-0 as a new member of the St. Louis rotation. … The worst first month surely belonged to ex-Rebels star Chris Coghlan, the former rookie of the year who was recently sent to the minors (again) by Miami with a .143 average. What has happened to him? … Former UM standout Seth Smith finished a tough first month with Oakland (.197) by fanning four times — a “golden sombrero” — against Boston on Monday. … Ned Yost, the former Jackson Mets catcher now managing in Kansas City, hasn’t seen the preseason buzz about his team carry into the regular season. The young and (supposedly) talented Royals were a mess in the first month, going 6-15. … Scuffling Mitch Moreland has started to perk up for Texas, which had the best record (17-6) in MLB in April. MSU product Moreland is on a 6-for-19 tear with two homers, boosting his average to .214. … Here’s a good Did You Know? with a Mississippi angle. The last Detroit Tigers player to hit for the cycle was former Jackson General (and recently retired) Carlos Guillen in 2006 and the last Pittsburgh Pirates player to do it was ex-General Daryle Ward in 2004.