Tag Archives: East Central Community College

07 Aug

ups and downs

The Cleveland Indians, who have been making a flurry of moves with pitchers, recalled former Picayune High standout T.J. House from Triple-A Columbus on Saturday. Left-hander House previously had some success as a starter for the Indians but is now working out of the bullpen. In 14 appearances as a reliever in Columbus, House had a 1.98 ERA. … Itawamba Community College alum Desmond Jennings has gone back on the disabled list for Tampa Bay with a left knee contusion. Jennings fouled a ball off of the knee early last week; he had surgery on that knee last year. The outfielder is batting just .200 in 65 games for the Rays. … Ex-East Central CC star Tim Anderson was back in the Chicago White Sox’s lineup on Saturday after missing a game with a hand injury. Anderson, hitting leadoff, went 1-for-3 with a run in the win against Baltimore and is batting .265 for the season. … Mississippi Gulf Coast CC product Tony Sipp gave up an eighth-inning home run to Jonathan Lucroy on Saturday in Houston’s 3-2 loss to Texas. The Astros trailed just 2-1 at the time in the American League West showdown. Sipp’s ERA jumped to 4.85. … Former Ole Miss star Cody Satterwhite is off to an inauspicious start in Japan. The minor league veteran has a 4.50 ERA in four appearances for Hanshin. He had a 1.50 with the Los Angeles Angels’ Triple-A Salt Lake club before signing with Hanshin.

31 Jul

buzz, buzz, buzz

Halfway through the second half of the Southern League season, the Mississippi Braves sit in first place in the South Division. A walk-off win on a Levi Hyams base hit in the 12th inning on Saturday pushed the M-Braves’ record to 21-14, a game clear of the pack in the race for the second-half title. The M-Braves have won eight of their last 10. … Mississippi State product Mitch Moreland hit his second career game-ending home run on Saturday to give Texas a 2-1 win over Kansas City. It was his 17th homer of the year. … Former State star Jonathan Papelbon reportedly has said he is “on board’ with Washington’s acquisition of Mark Melancon, who’ll displace Papelbon (and his 4.41 ERA) as the Nationals’ closer. Papelbon’s role going forward is unclear. … Don’t look now, but former Jackson Mets catcher John Gibbons has his Toronto Blue Jays in first place in the American League East. The Jays beat Baltimore 9-1 on Saturday, the fifth straight loss for the Orioles, managed by ex-State standout Buck Showalter. The teams, separated by a half-game, play again today at Rogers Centre. … Boston’s trade for Ole Miss alum Drew Pomeranz hasn’t helped its cause in the AL East thus far. Pomeranz took another loss on Saturday (against the Los Angeles Angels) and is 0-2 with a 7.53 ERA in three starts for the BoSox. He was 8-7, 2.47 for San Diego, a non-contender. … Tim Anderson, the former East Central Community College star, seems to do something good every day for the Chicago White Sox. The rookie went 3-for-5 on Saturday and scored twice, including the game-tying run in the ninth inning of a 6-5, 10-inning victory against Minnesota. Anderson is batting .275 with five homers, 12 RBIs, four steals and 25 runs in 43 games. Would love to see him in a 30-yard (90 feet) race against Billy Hamilton and Jarrod Dyson. … San Diego has cleared outfield space with the trades of Melvin Upton and Matt Kemp, but reports are that the Padres will wait until September to call up ex-State standout Hunter Renfroe, who is hitting .322 with 25 homers in Triple-A. … Seattle apparently is interested in acquiring Ole Miss product Zack Cozart from Cincinnati. The veteran shortstop is batting .267 with 15 homers. … For those wondering about impact bats in Atlanta’s minor league system, note that former DeSoto Central High star Austin Riley is batting .263 with 10 home runs and 50 RBIs in 93 games at low Class A Rome.

19 Jul

big ones

Three big home runs were struck by Mississippi-connected players on Monday night, each one big in a different way. At Seattle, former East Central Community College star Tim Anderson belted an upper deck shot for the Chicago White Sox, the fifth homer of the year for the rookie shortstop who has shown surprising power. At Kansas City, Southwest Mississippi CC alum Jarrod Dyson hit a grand slam to cap a seven-run eighth inning for the Royals in a 7-3 win against Cleveland. It was the seventh homer in seven big league seasons for Dyson, known much more for his wheels. “I wasn’t expecting that type of result,” he said before he was doused with ice in a postgame interview. “But I’ll take it.” And then there was the shot struck in Anaheim by ex-Mississippi State star Mitch Moreland. It was career home run No. 100 for the Amory native, who has been with Texas for seven seasons. It was the 12th homer of 2016 but first since June 19 for Moreland, who has been battling a calf injury. The milestone blast puts him eight behind Seth Smith, the Jackson native and ex-Ole Miss standout, on the list of active MLB home run leaders from Mississippi. Vicksburg’s Ellis Burks is the state’s career home run king with 352, followed by Grenada (or Calhoun City) native Dave Parker at 339, Greenville’s George Scott at 271 and Jackson’s Chet Lemon at 215. For the record, Rafael Palmeiro is the all-time MSU alumni leader with 569 bombs; Will Clark hit 284.

09 Jul

four things

Thinking about:
Tim Anderson’s agility. The East Central Community College product turned a slick triple play for the Chicago White Sox on Friday night. The rookie shortstop trapped a sinking liner to his left off the bat of Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman, tagged a runner trying to get back to second base, stepped on second and threw to first. All in one motion. “I was kind of like a basketball player in that role,” Anderson said in an Associated Press article. Anderson was, in fact, an All-State basketball player in Alabama before electing to play baseball at ECCC. There were concerns about Anderson’s defense in the minors – he made 25 errors last year and 34 in 2014 – but he has been money in his 26 big league games, with one error in 102 chances.
Billy Hamilton’s speed. The former Taylorsville High star ran down yet another fly ball in deep center field for Cincinnati, stretching for the catch just before he jumped into the wall. With apologies to Dominique Wilkins, Hamilton is another Human Highlight Film. Hamilton still isn’t hitting a bunch (.240), but he saves a ton of runs with his D. Not only does he have great range, but last season, Hamilton didn’t make a single error. He has two this year in 166 chances. The converted shortstop also has six assists in 2016.
Mitch Moreland’s health. The Mississippi State alum, troubled by a calf injury, was supposed to start for Texas on Friday but didn’t. He last started a game on July 2 and has just one at-bat since then. Perhaps is hitting has been affected. He’s at .228 with 11 homers and 34 RBIs, .216 with just one bomb over his last 15 games. The Rangers also miss his glovework at first base.
Tony Sipp’s effectiveness. The former Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College standout, a key piece of Houston’s bullpen in 2015, is in a very real funk. The veteran left-hander has seen his ERA balloon to 5.40 in 23 1/3 innings. Right-handers are hitting .327 against him and lefties .300. The Astros have seemed reluctant to use their only lefty reliever of late. “We have to get Tony going in our bullpen,” manager A.J. Hinch recently told the Houston Chronicle.

04 Jul

streak show

Whatever the Baltimore Orioles’ plan was for pitching to Seth Smith during the four-game series at Seattle, they need to rip it up and try something different. Smith, the ex-Ole Miss star, homered in all four games at Safeco Field, including hitting his first career grand slam on Sunday as the Mariners finished off a sweep. Smith said he made some minor adjustments in his swing recently and is on a 17-for-44 tear ever since. He is batting .280 with 10 homers and 38 RBIs for the surging M’s. … Southern Miss product Brian Dozier tripled on Sunday for Minnesota, extending his on-base streak to 25 games. Dozier is batting .380 with 19 RBIs over that span and has boosted his numbers to .262 with 11 homers, 41 RBIs. He just might make another All-Star Game. … Mississippi State alum Adam Frazier got his first career double and triple for Pittsburgh, helping the Pirates beat Oakland 6-3 for their fourth straight win. Frazier is 7-for-14 in seven games since his call-up. … Tim Anderson, the former East Central Community College star, had two more hits for the Chicago White Sox in a win over Houston. Anderson, batting .300, has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games and 17 of 22 since he was called up. … Enduring a different kind of streak is ex-State standout Mitch Moreland, who has been stuck on 99 career home runs since June 19, a span of 12 games for the Amory native. He is batting .229 with 11 homers and 34 RBIs for Texas.

02 Jul

timing is everything

If you’re going to watch Seth Smith play, you should catch him at home, at Seattle’s Safeco Field, and against a right-hander, which he faces almost exclusively. And catch him when he’s hot, of course, like now. The former Ole Miss standout from Jackson homered for the second straight game on Friday as the Mariners beat American League East leader Baltimore for the second straight time at Safeco. The lefty-swinging Smith is batting .362 over his last 15 games and has six hits in his last three games. For the year, he is at .272 with eight homers and 30 RBIs. At home, he is hitting .298 with six homers, and against right-handers, he’s batting .284 with all eight of his homers and 27 of the RBIs. The Mariners face Buck Showalter’s Orioles again tonight at Safeco, and Baltimore’s scheduled starter is right-hander Tyler Wilson. Seattle is 41-39, battling to keep AL West leader Texas in its sights. The M’s trail the Rangers by 10½ games. P.S. East Central Community College product Tim Anderson got some love on MLB Network’s Quick Pitch show today for drawing the first walk of his big league career on Thursday. It came in his 86th plate appearance for the Chicago White Sox. Anderson did not walk in Friday’s game – or get a hit – but the rookie leadoff man is batting .300 with three homers, 14 runs, five RBIs and a couple of steals while also playing some sharp shortstop over 20 games. The White Sox apparently are pleased. “He’s quiet, but there’s a confidence and a drive,” ChiSox manager Robin Ventura told CBSChicago.com.

22 Jun

where you lead

Scoring first is a big deal in the big leagues — or at any level of the game, really. The team that scores first wins a large percentage of the time. On Tuesday, three Mississippi-connected players in MLB, all batting leadoff, scored the first run of their game, all in the first inning. It worked out well for two of the three. Tim Anderson, the rookie out of East Central Community College, led off the game with a home run – his first — for the Chicago White Sox. They beat Boston 3-1 at Fenway Park. Anderson, 2-for-4 on Tuesday, is batting .292 with seven runs in 11 games. Ole Miss product Zack Cozart walked to start the game for Cincinnati. He would score on a three-run homer by Jay Bruce, and the Reds went on to derail Texas 8-2 at Globe Life Park. Cozart went 2-for-4, including his 11th home run, drove in three runs and scored three. He is batting .284. At Wrigley Field, ex-Ole Miss star Chris Coghlan, getting a look in the leadoff spot for the Chicago Cubs, singled off St. Louis’ Adam Wainwright in the bottom of the first. He would come around to score, but the Cubs couldn’t hold that lead, falling 4-3. Coghlan, 1-for-2 with two walks and two runs, is batting .294 (.455 on-base percentage) with seven runs in 10 games since the Cubs reacquired him from Oakland. He was batting .146 (with five homers) for the A’s. P.S. Former Hillcrest Christian and Ole Miss standout Cody Satterwhite is now on the roster of the Hanshin Tigers in Japan but has yet to pitch. Satterwhite was released earlier this month by the Los Angeles Angels so he could sign with Hanshin. The right-hander, 29, had a 1.50 ERA in 25 innings at Triple-A Salt Lake in his seventh pro season.

18 Jun

whatever happened to …

Diory Hernandez, who helped the Mississippi Braves make the postseason for the first time in 2007, is currently wearing out the Mexican League. The 32-year-old from the Dominican Republic is batting .336 with 16 homers and 70 RBIs for Aguascalientes. The home run and RBI totals lead the Triple-A caliber league. Hernandez, primarily a shortstop in his career, batted .307 with seven homers and 59 RBIs for the ’07 M-Braves and was among six from the team to start the Southern League All-Star Game played in Pearl that summer. He started the next year in Mississippi before getting a promotion after 22 games. Hernandez played in 75 major league games for Atlanta, batting .157. … William Beckwith, the Crawford native and former Atlanta prospect, is playing in the independent Frontier League. The lefty-hitting first baseman, who didn’t play in 2015, is batting .244 with a homer and eight RBIs for the Lake Erie Crushers. Beckwith hit 15 homers at Class A Rome in 2012 and played in the 2013 exhibition game at Trustmark Park that matched the Atlanta Braves against a team of Braves minor league stars. P.S. Congratulations to former Delta State player and assistant coach Greg Goff for getting the Alabama job; Goff took Louisiana Tech to the NCAA’s Starkville Regional this season. … Mark it down: On June 17, Tim Anderson got his first major league steal for the Chicago White Sox. The East Central Community College product stole 94 bags in 332 games in the minors.

16 Jun

big league chew

Freddie Freeman was touted as a future star when he arrived in Mississippi in July of 2009, and he is one former Mississippi Braves player who has lived up to that billing. Freeman became just the third player in the Atlanta Braves era (1966-now) to hit for the cycle in leading the Braves to a 9-8, 13-inning win over Cincinnati on Wednesday night. Freeman’s numbers aren’t jaw-dropping this season — .257, 11 homers, 22 RBIs – but keep in mind that he is surrounded by a weak team. If Atlanta has only one player picked for the All-Star Game, Freeman certainly should be it. It would be his third trip in the last four years. … Craig Kimbrel, another ex-M-Brave who has become a bonafide MLB star, notched his 15th save for Boston in its 6-4 win against Baltimore in a big American League East showdown. … Tim Anderson, the East Central Community College alumnus, is getting a lot of credit for rejuvenating the Chicago White Sox. Anderson, now leading off, went 3-for-5 and scored three times in the ChiSox’s 5-3 win against Detroit. Chicago climbed back to .500 and is just 2½ games out in the AL Central. Through six games, shortstop Anderson is batting .320 with three doubles and a triple. He hasn’t stolen a base yet, but those will come. … Mississippi Gulf Coast CC product Tony Sipp got one out and a win for resurgent Houston in a 4-1 victory against St. Louis. Sipp retired Matt Carpenter with runners at second and third in the seventh inning, keeping the Cardinals’ lead at 1-0. A George Springer homer in the eighth put the Astros on top. Left-hander Sipp (1-2) has a 3.22 ERA in 29 appearances. … Mitch Moreland, the former Mississippi State star from Amory, extended his hitting streak to seven games in Texas’ 7-5 win against Oakland. Moreland is batting .370 during his streak with four homers. For the year, he is at .227 with 10 bombs and 28 RBIs for a Rangers club that has opened up a 6½-game lead in the AL West. … Meridian CC alum Corey Dickerson was 1-for-3 with two RBIs for Tampa Bay, which beat Seattle 3-2. Dickerson’s average is up to .209, and he has 12 homers and 31 RBIs for the Rays, who are fighting to stay in the AL East race. P.S. Former State standout Brandon Woodruff had a rough start in a big game for Biloxi in the Double-A Southern League. He yielded three hits, two walks and three runs in a third of an inning in a loss to Jacksonville, dropping his record to 2-3 and jacking his ERA to 4.71. The Shuckers are still tied for first with Pensacola in the SL South; the first half ends Sunday.

10 Jun

debut alert

Former East Central Community College star Tim Anderson has been called up by the Chicago White Sox and likely will be in the lineup tonight against Kansas City. The highly rated shortstop prospect, 22, was batting .304 with four homers, 20 RBIs and 11 steals at Triple-A Charlotte. Anderson led ECCC to the MACJC championship in 2013 and was drafted in the first round that same year. He was a Southern League All-Star for Birmingham in 2015.