Tag Archives: Astros

11 Jun

stuff

Former Petal High star Anthony Alford is in a Florida hospital after suffering an apparent neck injury in an on-field collision during a minor league game Friday night. Alford, taken off on a stretcher, was talking and able to move his limbs, according to various reports, with more tests due today. Alford, a top Toronto prospect playing for Class A Dunedin, suffered a knee injury in the first game of the season and is batting .205 in 32 games. … Now that Tim Anderson has made his MLB debut, joining Chad Girodo and Chris Stratton as Mississippi-connected players reaching The Show this season, one wonders who’ll be next: Cody Reed, Hunter Renfroe, JaCoby Jones … ? … On this date 13 years ago, Holmes Community College alum Roy Oswalt and ex-Jackson Generals star Billy Wagner started and closed a six-man combo no-hitter for Houston against the New York Yankees. It was the first time the Yanks had been no-hit in 45 years. … The Cape Cod Baseball League, the best of the college summer loops, launched its season on Friday. There are 11 Mississippi State players listed on the various rosters, but, of course, they have some other matters to attend to at present. Ole Miss’ Will Golsan and Will Stokes and Southern Miss’ Kirk McCarty are on the Orleans roster, but none of the three played in the Firebirds’ opener. … Former Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College coach Cooper Farris, who had been at the helm of the Cape’s Wareham Gatemen since 2001, is not coaching the team this year. During his tenure, Wareham won three CCBL titles (2001, 2002 and 2012). … In case anyone was wondering, Jones County Junior College’s national championship in NJCAA Division II is the first by a Mississippi juco. It is the third by a college-level team from the state: William Carey won an NAIA title in 1969 and Delta State an NCAA Division II crown in 2004.

09 Apr

season to savor

Scan the roster of the 1996 Jackson Generals and it’s plain to see how that club won a Texas League pennant. They had talent. Future big leaguers on that team included Richard Hidalgo, Melvin Mora, John Halama, Russ Johnson, Mitch Meluskey, Jamie Walker, Rich Loiselle, Tom Martin, Manny Barrios, Chris Hatcher and Mike Grzanich. Among the ’96 Gens who didn’t reach The Show were former Ole Miss star Kary Bridges, who batted a team-best .324, Buck McNabb (.301, 10 steals), Dennis Colon (.280), Tim Forkner (.293, seven homers), Ryan Creek and Tim Kester. The Generals, managed by the affable Dave Engle (with an assist from coach Rusty Harris), won the first half in the TL East, faded in the second and beat Tulsa (3-1) and Wichita (four straight) in the playoffs. Halama, the tall lefty, was the ace: 9-10, 3.21 ERA. Barrios had 23 saves, and relievers Walker, Martin and Grzanich (now the softball coach at Hinds Community College) combined for 16 wins and 11 saves. Hidalgo, a Venezuela native, looked like a budding superstar — and he did have a couple of big years in the majors. In Jackson, he hit .294 with 14 homers, 78 RBIs, 34 doubles and 11 steals and handled both right- and center-field duties with aplomb. Hatcher could mash (13 homers in 41 games), and Mora did a lot of things well. Johnson, the shortstop and former LSU star, was the team’s MVP, however. His numbers still dazzle: .310, 15 homers, 78 RBIs, 86 runs, 24 doubles, five triples, nine steals, a .470 slugging average, 56 walks and just 50 strikeouts. Unfortunately, he couldn’t replicate that production in the majors. It happens. It’s unfortunate also that there is nothing at Smith-Wills Stadium to commemorate the ’96 pennant — or any of the other championships from the old ballpark’s pro era. So take this occasion, the start of another season, to raise a glass for the 20th anniversary of a very special one.

02 Feb

golden oldie

Freddy Garcia, who has pitched all over the planet during his 39 years on it, was in Santo Domingo, D.R., on Monday. Yes, pitching. For Team Venezuela in the opener of the Caribbean Series. The former Jackson Generals right-hander – he went 6-7 with a 3.24 ERA in 1998 – worked six innings, allowed just four hits, a walk and a run and beat Puerto Rico 2-1. “It was like magic,” he told The Associated Press. With Daryle Ward having taken a minor league coaching job with Cincinnati, Garcia is the only ex-Gens player still going. He pitched briefly in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ system in 2015 and last toiled in the majors with Atlanta in 2013. He owns 156 MLB wins and 203 wins overall in a pro career that began in 1995, when Houston signed him as a teenager out of Venezuela. Also of note: The big hit for Venezuela was delivered by onetime Mississippi Braves outfielder Jose Martinez, who belted a two-run triple in the second inning. The 6-foot-7 Martinez batted .285 for the 2013 M-Braves.

16 Dec

new opportunity

Alex Presley didn’t get much opportunity in the big leagues with Houston in 2015, but that might change now that he is in Milwaukee’s system. The lefty-hitting outfielder out of Ole Miss has signed a minor league deal with the Brewers and will go to spring training with the big club, ostensibly to compete for the everyday job in center field. That’s a need in Milwaukee, which traded away Carlos Gomez last summer. Presley, 30, has spent parts of six seasons in the majors but got only 12 at-bats with the Astros last season. He played well in Triple-A, batting .292 for a Fresno team that won both the Pacific Coast League and Triple-A championships. Presley is a .259 career hitter in MLB with 23 homers and 25 steals in 329 games; he has played all three outfield spots. In 104 games with Pittsburgh (his original club) in 2012, Presley hit .237 with 10 homers and nine bags. Milwaukee’s depth chart currently lists 23-year-old Domingo Santana as the starting center fielder, but the 6-foot-5, 225-pounder profiles more as a corner man. While the Brewers are likely to bring in some more center field candidates, Presley should at least have a fighting chance to make the 25-man roster.

10 Nov

strong credentials

When he arrived in Jackson in 1995, he was the personification of effectively wild. Texas League hitters didn’t want to get too comfortable against Billy Wagner, who threw in the upper 90s from the left side and might hit a batter, walk another and then strike out the next three. By the time he retired in 2010, Wagner had much better command but was no less scary to face. Wagner is on the National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot for the first time, and he is likely to get strong consideration. He ended his big league career with 422 saves, a 2.31 ERA and 11.9 strikeouts per nine innings. He was a seven-time All-Star and helped Houston reach the postseason in 1997, ’98, ’99 and 2001. His final season, with Atlanta, was one of his best: 1.43 ERA, 37 saves, 7-2 record for another playoff club. A first-round pick in 1993 out of NCAA Division III Ferrum (Va.) College, Wagner was a starter for the ’95 Generals and went 2-2 with a 2.57 ERA in nine games before being promoted. He struck out 77 in 70 innings and walked 36. (He hit four batters and threw four wild pitches.) Wagner, Bobby Abreu and Lance Berkman are three players from the Generals era (1991-99) whose numbers should garner at least some attention from Hall of Fame voters. P.S. Ed Easley, Scott Copeland, Tim Dillard, Phil Irwin, Cody Satterwhite and Julio Borbon are Mississippians on the list of minor league free agents provided today by Baseball America. Easley and Copeland made their MLB debuts this past season before getting sent back to the minors. Several 2015 Mississippi Braves are also in the free agent group, including Kevin Ahrens, Tyler Jones, Greg Ross and Mycal Jones, along with Robby Hefflinger, who didn’t play in 2015 because of health issues.

18 Oct

cue the highlights

It was a week of chill. Seafood, sunshine and siestas. And baseball on the tube. Lots of it. The past week gave us three Game 5’s in MLB division series play, plus an historic Game 4 clincher at Wrigley Field. There was a season’s worth of highlights in a few short days. We’re left with two former Jackson Mets catchers – Ned Yost and John Gibbons – matching wits as managers in the American League Championship Series, and two Mississippians – Jarrod Dyson and Chris Coghlan – still playing. Alas, the season is over for Tony Sipp, who was almost perfect for Houston; Mitch Moreland, who had a rough ALDS for Texas; and Lance Lynn, who pitched just one inconsequential inning for St. Louis.
To recap the week: On Monday, Pascagoula native Sipp was saddled with a hard-luck loss in the Astros’ pivotal Game 4 loss to Kansas City. That was the game in which the Astros squandered a four-run lead in the eighth inning, hurt by a weird hopper that ticked off Sipp’s glove and bounded past shortstop Carlos Correa for an error. The lone run charged to Sipp was unearned. That same day, ex-Ole Miss standout Coghlan had a hit and a run in the Chicago Cubs’ Game 3 win against St. Louis. … On Tuesday, the Cubs took the series by winning Game 4; it was the first series-clinching win ever at Wrigley. Coghlan, in the postseason for the first time in his career, didn’t play but celebrated with gusto. Lynn, the former Ole Miss ace, had originally been scheduled to start Game 4 for St. Louis, but the Cardinals went with John Lackey on short rest. He got shelled early. … On Wednesday, Toronto beat Texas in a Game 5 that already has become a TV special. Gibbons’ Blue Jays came from behind in the wild and wacky seventh inning, aided by errors on three consecutive plays by the Rangers. Former Mississippi State star Moreland made one of the errors; he also went 0-for-3 in the game and finished the ALDS 0-for-13. That same day, Yost’s Royals beat Houston to win that ALDS in the fifth game. Sipp pitched again. All told, the left-hander made six appearances in his first postseason and allowed no earned runs on a hit and a walk with four strikeouts. Dyson, the Southwest Mississippi Community College product from McComb, got into two ALDS games for the Royals and stole two bases. That’s what he do. … On Thursday, the New York Mets beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of that series to advance to play the Cubs for the NL pennant. The Mets won the series opener on Saturday and will throw the brilliant Noah Syndergaard tonight against Cubs ace Jake Arrieta. Coghlan is in the lineup for the Cubs, playing right field. … Meanwhile, Yost and Gibbons are plotting strategies for their next meeting in the ALCS, set for Monday at the Rogers Centre launching pad. Yost’s Royals are up 2-0, bidding for a second straight World Series trip.

09 Oct

let’s play four

With four playoff games on the docket, it’s a day to let baseball flow over you. Here are some things to watch for from a Mississippi perspective: At Toronto, Mitch Moreland, the former Mississippi State star from Amory, figures to start for Texas in Game 2 of their American League Division Series. Moreland came in as a defensive replacement at first base in the Rangers’ win on Thursday. With right-hander Marcus Stroman going for the Blue Jays today, the lefty-hitting Moreland should be in there. His power (23 homers this year) ought to play at Rogers Centre. … Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College product Tony Sipp pitched a clean seventh inning in Houston’s ALDS win at Kansas City. The lefty has worked two scoreless innings now in the first postseason appearances of his seven-year MLB career. … Jarrod Dyson, the ex-Southwest Mississippi CC star, didn’t play for the Royals, but the time surely will come when KC will need his speed, either on the bases or in the outfield. … Ole Miss alum Chris Coghlan, who sat out the Chicago Cubs’ wild card win against Pittsburgh, is 3-for-9 with a walk against St. Louis starter John Lackey, but that might not be enough to get him in today’s lineup for the National League Division Series opener. The wild card configuration worked out pretty well for the Cubs, who whipped the Pirates 4-0. Coghlan, a lefty hitter, batted .250 with 16 homers and 11 steals this year. … The Cardinals have announced that ex-Rebels standout Lance Lynn will start Game 4 vs. the Cubs at Wrigley Field – if there is a Game 4. Lynn (12-11) was 0-4 against the Cubs, allowing 15 earned runs in 17 2/3 innings. Yikes. … Former State star Ed Easley, who was up for the last few weeks, did not make the Cards’ initial NLDS roster. They’re carrying just two catchers, one of which is the injured Yadier Molina (thumb). P.S. It’s hard not to admire Moreland and the way he plays the game. He addressed that in a recent comment to mlb.com: “The work ethic and trying to go out and keep my head down and keep my eyes on the goal … all that stems from me growing up there (Amory) in a small town, maybe not having that spotlight and recognition.”

07 Oct

wild things

The Chicago Cubs’ lineup isn’t official yet, but speculation is that Ole Miss product Chris Coghlan won’t be in it and ex-Mississippi Braves standout Tommy La Stella will be. The Cubs take on Pittsburgh tonight in the National League Wild Card Game at PNC Park. Coghlan hit .250 with 16 homers and 41 RBIs while playing a variety of positions, but his playing time decreased down the stretch. And he is 2-for-13 against Pirates starter Gerrit Cole. Coghlan told ESPN he wants to be in there: “I feel like I’m one of the best eight guys out there.” La Stella, who batted .269 in just 33 games, could get the nod at third base, with Kris Bryant going to left and Kyle Schwarber to right, reports said. Both Coghlan and La Stella are left-handed hitters. … Wonder if the Pirates have forgotten that it was Coghlan’s take out slide that ended shortstop Jung Ho Kang’s season on Sept. 17? No one called it a dirty play, but still, it might be a motivating factor. Clint Hurdle’s Pirates may need all the cosmic help they can summon against Jake Arrieta. … Tony Sipp appeared to be amped up – perhaps too much — for his appearance in Tuesday’s American League Wild Card Game. The animated lefty out of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College registered a scoreless seventh inning in Houston’s 3-0 win over New York at Yankee Stadium, but it took him 23 pitches to get four batters. He threw only 11 strikes. Facing the Nos. 5-8 hitters, starting with ex-M-Braves star Brian McCann, Sipp fanned one and walked one. But he got the hold. In 10 appearances in September and October, Sipp yield just one run. … Blast from the past: The Astros’ coaching staff includes former Jackson Generals hitting coach Dave Hudgens and ex-Jackson Mets catcher Alan Zinter. … Houston will face Kansas City – managed by another old JaxMets catcher, Ned Yost – in the AL Division Series. The Royals’ roster is expected to include former Southwest Mississippi CC star Jarrod Dyson but apparently not former Pillow Academy standout Louis Coleman. Coleman appeared in just four games at season’s end, posting a 0.00 ERA. M-Braves product Kris Medlen likely will be on the roster; he went 6-2 with a 4.01 ERA in 15 games coming off Tommy John surgery. He is 40-22, 3.06 career. Still wondering why Atlanta let him go.

06 Oct

back in the day

Houston makes its first appearance in the postseason in 10 years tonight when it plays New York at Yankee Stadium in the American League Wild Card Game. The Astros had been bad for so long that it seems hard to believe they were once a playoff regular. Between 1997 and 2005, they were in the playoffs six times. They won three straight National League Central championships from 1997-99 and another in 2001. And, yes, a bunch of former Jackson Generals – 26 at one time or another – played on those four teams. (For the record, ex-Jackson Mets Tim Bogar and Chuck Carr and Mississippians Dave Clark, Jay Powell and Charlie Hayes also made appearances in that period.) Houston’s Double-A club played at Smith-Wills Stadium from 1991-99, won Texas League pennants in 1993 and ’96 and produced some outstanding big league talent that aided in winning those NL Central titles. Jackson’s Houston connection included Bobby Abreu, Lance Berkman, Billy Wagner, Richard Hidalgo, Julio Lugo, Chris Holt, Shane Reynolds, Chris Truby, John Halama and Tony Eusebio, who was the first General to reach the big leagues in 1991. The Astros won only the one NL pennant during that run of success, in 2005, when they got in the playoffs as a wild card. There were only two ex-Gens left on the roster by then: Berkman and Raul Chavez. It was fun while it lasted.

02 Oct

a shining moment

While the Houston Astros are keenly focused on the present, and their pursuit of a playoff berth, the rest of us can sneak a peek back at a big day in the club’s history. On Oct. 2, 2005, the last day of the regular season, Weir’s Roy Oswalt outpitched Greg Maddux as the Astros beat the Chicago Cubs 6-4 and claimed the National League wild card. Philadelphia, which also won that day, finished a game back. The win was the 20th of the year for Oswalt, the Holmes Community College alum who won 163 over his 13-year career. The ’05 Astros, with a few former Jackson Generals still around (Lance Berkman, Raul Chavez, pitching coach Jim Hickey, bullpen coach Mark Bailey), went on to beat Atlanta in the division series and St. Louis in the NLCS – Oswalt was the MVP – to reach the franchise’s first and only World Series. They lost to the Chicago White Sox in four (with ex-Generals ace Freddy Garcia winning the clincher, oddly enough). P.S. Though he hasn’t officially retired, Cliff Lee doesn’t have a team for 2016 after the Phillies declined to pick up an option on the ex-Meridian CC star’s contract. Lee, 37, didn’t pitch at all this year because of an elbow problem. His career numbers: 143-91, 3.52 ERA in the regular season and 7-3, 2.52 postseason.