Tag Archives: All-Star Game

11 Jul

he’s the man

Forget the All-Star Game “snub.” There may be something bigger and better in Brian Dozier’s future. How ’bout an American League MVP award? If he keeps doing stuff like he did on Friday night, such a thing is well within the realm of possibility for the former Southern Miss standout. Dozier hit a three-run, game-winning homer for Minnesota, capping a seven-run ninth inning that took down Detroit 8-6. The Twins, who haven’t sniffed a winning season since 2010, are 47-40 and very much in the AL postseason picture as the season approaches the All-Star break. Dozier, who packs a lot of wallop in a 5-foot-11, 190-pound (maybe) frame, is the primary reason for this resurgence. Friday’s homer, his second walk-off of the week, was his 19th of the season. (He hit 23 all of last year.) He leads the league in runs and the team in RBIs with a combined total of 115 in 86 games. That’s MVP stuff. And he plays a good second base, too. It would have been great to see Dozier in Tuesday’s All-Star Game. But what happens in baseball in July pales in comparison to what happens in October. No doubt that’s where Dozier’s sights are set.

10 Jul

news and notes

Even a social media boost from fellow Southern Miss alum Brett Favre couldn’t propel Brian Dozier into the MLB All-Star Game. The American League Final Vote winner was Kansas City’s Mike Moustakas, MLB announced a short time ago. Minnesota’s Dozier, second in the Final Vote among fans, fell short despite being tied for the AL lead in runs (65) and topping AL second basemen in homers (18) and RBIs (45). Jose Altuve of Houston was voted in as the starter at second base by the fans, and Cleveland’s Jason Kipnis was selected as a reserve on Monday. … Jim Davenport is the only USM product to make an MLB All-Star team. He did so in 1962 when he was with the San Francisco Giants, going 1-for-1 as a sub at third base in the first of the two games played that year. … Ex-Ole Miss pitcher Aaron Barrett has been activated from the disabled list by Washington (see previous post) and will be in the Nationals’ bullpen for tonight’s game at Baltimore. … Belhaven University officially began its membership in the American Southwest Conference on July 1 and will begin transition to NCAA Division III (non-scholarship) status on Sept. 1, according to a school release. The ASC, of which Mississippi College used to be a member, is comprised mostly of Texas schools, including UT-Tyler, UT-Dallas, Mary Hardin-Baylor and Hardin-Simmons. The Blazers, previously an NAIA member, played baseball in the Southern States Athletic Conference from 2010-15 and in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference for many years before that. Hopefully, the Blazers will continue their long-standing rivalry with William Carey, still an NAIA member. BU’s 2016 schedule hasn’t been posted. … The Laurel Black Cats semi-pro team will host the Magnolia State Tournament on Saturday and Sunday at Boston Park in Laurel. The Black Cats are 16-3 against a schedule that includes teams from Meridian, Jackson, Tougaloo, Perry County and the Gulf Coast. The Black Cats, owned and managed by Jody P. Babineaux, are carrying on the tradition of the independent Negro Leagues team of the same name that barnstormed the South beginning in the 1930s. … The Hattiesburg Black Sox, one of the state’s iconic semi-pro clubs, did not field a team this year for the first time since 1941.

07 Jul

going places?

Jonathan Papelbon is going to Cincinnati next week to represent the Philadelphia Phillies in the MLB All-Star Game on July 14. The ex-Mississippi State standout hopes to be going somewhere else and representing a different team soon thereafter. On the occasion of his selection to a sixth Midsummer Classic, Papelbon reiterated his desire to be traded from the lowly Phils to a contender. “Any team that wants me, I’m willing to go to,” he told mlb.com on Monday. Papelbon, who has a big contract and a combustible nature, has 14 saves and a 1.65 ERA this season. The trade deadline is July 31. … Southern Miss alum Brian Dozier launched his campaign to be a Final Vote All-Star selection by launching a walk-off home run against Baltimore on Monday. It was the 17th homer of the year and first career walk-off blast for the Minnesota second baseman. Passed over in Monday’s selection process, Dozier is one of five players on the American League Final Vote ballot. Fans will pick one; voting runs through Friday at 4 p.m. CDT. Dozier, batting .260 with a league-leading 63 runs and 42 RBIs, is seeking his first All-Star Game appearance. He says he won’t be disappointed if he doesn’t make it. “If it happens, it happens,” he told twincities.com.

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.

20 Jun

starry, starry nights

The stars are coming out in the minor leagues. JaCoby Jones, the former Mr. Baseball from Richton, is slated to play in the Florida State League All-Star Game today in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Jones, a shortstop at high Class A Bradenton in the Pittsburgh system, is batting .259 (despite a recent slump) with eight homers and 40 RBIs. Selected in the third round of the 2013 draft out of LSU, Jones is rated by Baseball America as the Pirates’ 13th best prospect. He was a South Atlantic League postseason All-Star in 2014 after batting .288 with 23 homers for West Virginia. … Ex-Mississippi State star Jonathan Holder, a New York Yankees farmhand pitching for Tampa, is also in the FSL game. … East Central Community College product Tim Anderson is on the North Division roster for the Double-A Southern League All-Star Game on Tuesday in Montgomery, Ala. Anderson, a top-rated prospect for the Chicago White Sox, is hitting .298 with 27 RBIs and 22 steals for Birmingham. A host of Biloxi players and several Mississippi Braves are on the South roster. … Left-hander Cody Reed, ex-Northwest Mississippi Community College standout from Horn Lake, is on the Carolina League All-Star team for the game against the California League All-Stars, also on the docket for Tuesday. Reed is 5-5 with a 2.14 ERA for Class A Wilmington in the Kansas City system. … Anthony Alford, another former Mr. Baseball from Petal, is in the Class A Midwest League All-Star Game, also set for Tuesday. Alford plays for Lansing in the Toronto system and is hitting .284 with 11 bags in his first full pro campaign. … Delta State product Carlos Leal, a catcher with Wisconsin (Milwaukee system), and ex-Madison Central High star Spencer Turnbull, a pitcher for West Michigan (Detroit), are also ticketed for the MWL classic. P.S. Brian Dozier isn’t in the top five at second base in the fan voting for next month’s MLB All-Star Game. What a shame. The former Southern Miss standout is batting .264 (.346 on-base) with 13 homers, 32 RBIs, 22 doubles, three triples and 54 runs for Minnesota. As a USA Today columnist writes, Dozier “is becoming a star before our eyes.” Surely he’ll get All-Star consideration from fellow players and American League manager Ned Yost.

14 Jul

update

Brian Dozier tuned up for Monday night’s Home Run Derby with a pair of bombs at Coors Field today. The former Southern Miss standout hit homers No. 17 and 18 in Minnesota’s 13-5 win over Colorado. … Both Mississippi State alum Hunter Renfroe and current Mississippi Braves star Jose Peraza got hits in today’s All-Star Futures Game, which kicked off the MLB All-Star festivities at Target Field in Minnesota. … Former M-Braves ace Julio Teheran, who pitched and beat the Cubs in Chicago today, won’t be participating in the MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday and has been replaced on the National League roster. … It’s unclear whether former M-Braves star Phil Gosselin, who was summoned to the big leagues today when Dan Uggla was suspended by Atlanta for one game, will play in the Triple-A All-Star Game slated for Wednesday at Durham, N.C. Gosselin is hitting .345 with five homers and 30 RBIs for Gwinnett. Juan Jaime, a former M-Braves pitcher who has been up and down twice with the big club this year, is also on the International League roster for the Triple-A showcase.

25 Jun

under the radar

In a recent article posted on SI.com, Brian Dozier was tagged as “the most underrated and underappreciated player in baseball.” There is evidence to support that assertion in the voting at second base for the American League All-Star team. Dozier, the former Southern Miss standout from Tupelo, is a distant fifth in the latest numbers. Robinson Cano is the runaway winner, with over 2 million votes, but one would have thought Dozier would generate more than the 800,000 or so he has received. After all, the game will be played in his home ballpark — Target Field. And he is having a pretty terrific season for Minnesota. A recent hot streak — nine hits in his last five games — has boosted his average to a modest .252, but his other numbers are very impressive and speak to his versatility: .366 on-base percentage, 15 home runs, 38 RBIs, 59 runs and 15 steals in 74 games. He is a good glove man, and he has an excellent WAR rating, for whatever that’s worth. To the voting public, it must not be worth much. Dozier will have to find an alternate route to the All-Star Game, but he certainly deserves to be there.