Tag Archives: MLB

28 Apr

beep beep

In his ninth game of the season, Jarrod Dyson got his first stolen base. The ex-Southwest Mississippi Community College star swiped three bags on Monday, helping Kansas City beat Cleveland 6-2. Dyson, who led the Royals with 36 bags in 2014, hasn’t gotten a lot of opportunity to showcase his speed to this point. He has only 18 at-bats (three hits) and has scored five runs for the 13-6 Royals. Dyson batted .269 and scored 33 runs in 120 games (260 ABs) last year. P.S. Pearl River Community College sophomore Jacob Taylor is the lone Mississippian on mlb.com’s new list of the Top 100 draft prospects. Taylor, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound right-hander with an upper 90s fastball, is rated No. 76. He is 2-5 with a 3.90 ERA for a Wildcats team that has had a rough year. The Picayune native has 44 strikeouts in 57 2/3 innings in 11 games. … No. 38 on the list is Ke’Bryan Hayes, son of former Hattiesburg High and MLB star Charlie Hayes. The younger Hayes is a high school third baseman in Texas.

27 Apr

around the horn

William Carey goes into the Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament as the No. 3 seed, having secured that spot by taking two of three from rival Belhaven over the weekend. BU fell to the 8-seed. Carey plays sixth-seeded Bethel on Wednesday, while BU gets top seed Auburn-Montgomery at Montgomery, Ala. … Delta State, the preseason pick to win the Gulf South Conference title, goes into the GSC Tournament as the No. 6 seed and opens on Saturday with top seed West Alabama at Livingston, Ala. … Millsaps lost twice to rival Rhodes at home in its Southern Athletic Association tourney and must now wait to see if it is deemed worthy of an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III regionals. The Majors are 28-12 this year, 0-5 against Rhodes. … It should be a very competitive atmosphere when Ole Miss and Mississippi State tangle on Tuesday in the Governor’s Cup at Trustmark Park in Pearl. Both need every win they can get. … It was not a good weekend for Mississippi-connected starting pitchers in MLB. On Saturday, MSU product Kendall Graveman allowed six runs in 4 2/3 innings for Oakland (then was demoted to Triple-A on Sunday) and ex-Picayune High star T.J. House allowed three runs in just three innings for Cleveland. On Sunday, former Ole Miss star Lance Lynn yielded six runs in five innings for St. Louis and fellow UM alum Drew Pomeranz gave up three runs in five innings in a game the A’s would ultimately lose. … Props to former Rebels star Seth Smith for belting his first home run this season for Seattle on Sunday. He now has 86 for his career. … With Josh Hamilton apparently headed back to Texas, former State standout Mitch Moreland may see fewer at-bats down the road. Playing through a sore elbow, he is batting .310 with one homer. … Regardless of whether you like Buck Showalter, the former MSU star now managing in Baltimore, you’ve got to love his “These are the good ol’ days” MLB promo.

23 Apr

showing up late

Billy Hamilton’s not hitting (.204), but he is still finding ways to have an impact for Cincinnati. The ex-Taylorsville High star scored both of the Reds’ runs in a 2-1 victory over reeling Milwaukee on Wednesday night. He led off the game with a single, stole second (No. 9 on the year) and scored on a Joey Votto hit. In the ninth, Hamilton, on via a walk, went first to third on a Votto hit and scored what proved to be the game-winning run on a wild pitch. “(W)e’re going to be the best base-running team in baseball,” Hamilton told mlb.com. … Corey Dickerson, who has been hitting (.302), belted a pair of home runs, including a game-tying shot in the bottom of the eighth, to help Colorado beat San Diego 5-4. Meridian Community College product Dickerson has four homers and 12 RBIs on the year. … Desmond Jennings has been scuffling (.212), but he made key contributions late in Tampa Bay’s 7-5 win over Boston. The former Itawamba CC standout, who went 2-for-4, scored a run in a four-run sixth that tied it at 5-5 and then got the go-ahead run across in the seventh when he grounded into a double play. Not an RBI, but a productive out.

21 Apr

big league chew

Houston sits atop the tightly packed American League West, and Pascagoula’s Tony Sipp has played a key role in the Astros’ 7-6 start. Sipp, a left-handed reliever, got the win in Monday night’s victory over Seattle. His ERA over six games (7 2/3 innings) is now 1.17, and he has three holds. This is Sipp’s second season in Houston. … Ole Miss product Zack Cozart homered in Cincinnati’s win over Milwaukee and now has 14 hits in his last 34 at-bats. Cozart is batting .326 with two homers and five RBIs. … Ex-Mississippi State standout Kendall Graveman, making his third start for Oakland, was staked to an early lead but was pulled in the fourth inning of the victory over the Los Angeles Angels. He had allowed four hits, three walks and two earned runs. Graveman, rocked for seven earned runs in his first start (the first of his short MLB career), is now 1-1 and has trimmed his ERA to 6.94.

16 Apr

worth noting

Former Ole Miss standout Lance Lynn notched career win No. 50 (against just 29 losses) in St. Louis’ 4-2 victory over Milwaukee on Wednesday. Lynn, who told the media he “wasn’t sharp,” allowed six hits and a walk but just one run over five innings as the Brewers went just 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Lynn is 1-1 with a 1.64 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 11 innings for the Cardinals this season. … Mississippi State product Tyler Moore got his first hit of 2015 (in his 13th at-bat) and later belted a two-run home run to help Washington topple Boston 10-5. Moore made the club with a good spring, but his hold on a roster spot with the Nationals still seems rather tenuous. … Ex-UM star Zack Cozart, under a little pressure to hit more (.221 in 2014) in Cincinnati, has a five-game hitting streak that has lifted his average to .267. … Corey Dickerson, the Meridian Community College alum, went hitless for just the second time in nine games but still is raking at .361 with two homers and 10 RBIs for Colorado. … UM product Alex Presley, who accepted a minor league assignment with Houston, is 3-for-9 in two games for Triple-A Fresno.

14 Apr

heat check

Roughly one week into the season, the hottest-hitting Mississippian in the majors is Seth Smith, the Ole Miss product who is at .385 in 13 at-bats for his newest team, Seattle. Another UM alum, Chris Coghlan, is batting .375 with a pair of home runs for the Chicago Cubs, who are off to a 4-2 start. Former Meridian Community College star Corey Dickerson is sailing along at .357 with two homers and nine RBIs for 5-2 Colorado. Ex-Taylorsville High standout Billy Hamilton, batting just .250, has seven steals and seven runs for Cincinnati, off to a 4-3 start. … As for pitchers, Aaron Barrett (Ole Miss, Washington), Jonathan Papelbon (Mississippi State, Philadelphia) and Drew Pomeranz (UM, Oakland) are unscored upon to this point, with Pomeranz yielding just two hits over seven innings in a win against Seattle. … Former Bulldogs star Kendall Graveman gets a start tonight for Oakland at Houston looking to shave his 18.90 ERA. Also eagerly awaiting his next turn is Picayune High product T.J. House, who has a 40.50 ERA for Cleveland. … Jarrod Dyson, the Southwest Mississippi CC alum, finally got in a game for Kansas City on Monday and delivered a single. … Ex-MSU star Ed Easley spent a couple of days in a St. Louis uniform but did not make his MLB debut before being returned to Triple-A Memphis.

06 Apr

battle stations

Eli Whiteside, who retired in the off-season at 35, is now San Francisco’s bullpen catcher. Whiteside, a former Delta State star from New Albany, played 216 MLB games spread over 10 years, batting .210 with 10 home runs and 45 RBIs. He was in the majors briefly with the Chicago Cubs last season and signed a minor league deal with Atlanta in the off-season before opting to retire. … There are still four managers with Mississippi connections in MLB: Former Mississippi State star Buck Showalter in Baltimore, ex-Jackson Mets skipper Clint Hurdle with Pittsburgh and former JaxMets players Ned Yost and John Gibbons in Kansas City and Toronto. Coaches with connections are scattered about, as well: Bobby Dickerson (Laurel resident, Baltimore), Jim Hickey (Jackson Generals coach, Tampa Bay), Bobby Thigpen (State, Chicago White Sox), Mickey Callaway (Ole Miss, Cleveland), Dave Clark (Jackson State, Detroit), Neil Allen (JaxMets, Minnesota), Dave Hudgens (Gens coach, Houston), Alan Zinter (JaxMets, Houston), Dave Magadan (JaxMets, Texas), Roger McDowell (JaxMets, Atlanta), Jeff Branson (Waynesboro, Pittsburgh) and Chris Maloney (State, St. Louis). … Former Southern Miss and MLB star Kevin Young is now a special assistant for the Pirates and spent much of spring training working with Pedro Alvarez, who is shifting from third to first base, as Young did in his playing days. … Former Mississippi Braves managers Brian Snitker and Rocket Wheeler are still running teams in Atlanta’s system, at Gwinnett and Danville, respectively, and ex-M-Braves standout Scott Thorman will manage in Kansas City’s system in 2015. Other minor league skippers with Mississippi ties: Rick Sweet, Gary Allenson, Wally Backman, Al Pedrique, Joe Mikulik, Pedro Lopez and Jimmy Gonzalez.

05 Apr

getting started

Firing up the Way Back Machine, we stop in 1935, 80 long years ago. That was the year in which Waynesboro’s Claude Passeau, one of Mississippi’s greatest pitchers, made his big league debut. He would win 162 games and make five All-Star teams. Also debuting in ’35 was Jim Bivin of Jackson. He won 160 fewer games in his career than Passeau and lasted only that one season. But Bivin did manage this noteworthy feat: He retired Babe Ruth on a ground ball in The Babe’s final at-bat. Shift gears and move on to 1945, the debut year of Boo Ferriss, the Shaw native who won 21 games as a rookie for the Boston Red Sox. In 1955, Don “The Corinth Comet” Blasingame played the first game in a nice career that spanned 12 seasons. In 1965, Jerry Moses of Yazoo City broke in; he would hang on for nine years, mostly as a backup catcher. Chet Lemon, a Jackson native, launched his career in 1975; he batted .273 over 16 big league seasons. On to 1985, when Jackson’s Curtis Ford broke in with the St. Louis Cardinals; he got a game-winning hit, off Lee Smith, no less, in his first at-bat on June 22. In 1995, Gulfport’s Matt Lawton began a 12-year MLB career that saw him make two All-Star teams and one Sports Illustrated cover. And in 2005, Paul Maholm, the former Mississippi State ace from Greenwood, made his debut. Recently released by Cincinnati, the 77-game winner is looking for another team. P.S. Art Gardner, the Madden native and longtime Major League Scouting Bureau scout, made his MLB debut in 1975. Gardner didn’t stick long in the majors. The high point of his playing career might have come five years later when he starred for the 1980 Denver Bears, a Triple-A Montreal Expos affiliate that won 92 games and is generally regarded as one of the greatest minor league clubs of all-time. On a roster that included Tim Raines, Tim Wallach, Bill Gullickson, Charlie Lea, Randy Bass and Jerry Manuel, Gardner hit .317 with 14 home runs, 64 RBIs, 11 triples and 26 steals.

04 Apr

ups and downs

Louis Coleman, the former Pillow Academy star, cleared waivers on Friday and was outrighted to Triple-A Omaha by Kansas City. The Royals reportedly wanted to keep the right-handed reliever in their system; he posted a 3.55 ERA this spring and has a 3.25 career MLB mark, though he struggled in 2014. … Expectations certainly have changed for Lance Lynn. Entering the 2014 season, the Ole Miss product was considered St. Louis’ No. 4 or 5 starter. He went to the post 33 times, worked over 200 innings, won 15 of his 25 decisions and put up a 2.74 ERA. For 2015, he gets the nod in Game 2 against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Tuesday. Lynn capped his spring with six shutout innings against the New York Mets on Thursday. “He was great – everything we needed to see,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny told FoxSports.com. … Former UM standout Alex Presley, designated for assignment by the Houston Astros earlier this week, is likely to be traded, according to reports. Presley, an outfielder with five years of big league experience, hit .244 with the Astros in 2014 and has a career .259 average. … Meridian Community College alumnus Corey Dickerson, who had been out of the Colorado lineup with a back problem, returned on Friday. … Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton got a pair of hits Friday for Cincinnati to boost his spring average to .240. The speedster is 2-for-4 on stolen base tries.

14 Mar

connected

Hundreds of players have passed through Trustmark Park in the 10 years that the Mississippi Braves have called the Pearl ballpark home. The number of those who have advanced to the big leagues is approaching 90, and they are now scattered all over the landscape. Just check the spring training box scores: Brian McCann — the first to break through the pipeline to The Show back in 2005 — and Chasen Shreve are with the New York Yankees, and Todd Redmond pitches for Toronto, Zeke Spruill for Boston. Minnesota is trotting out Jordan Schafer and Blaine Boyer. J.C. Boscan is in camp with Kansas City, which signed rehabbing Kris Medlen and just lost Tim Collins to Tommy John surgery. Brett Oberholtzer is a starter for Houston, which has also added Evan Gattis and James Hoyt. Antoan Richardson recently earned a spot on Texas’ 40-man roster, and the Rangers also have Ed Lucas and the oft-injured Matt Harrison in camp. Cory Rasmus is with the Los Angeles Angels, and Kyle Kubitza has gotten a long look in their camp. Jesus Sucre is with Seattle. Jeff Francoeur is fighting for a job with Philadelphia, as is Paul Clemens. Martin Prado and Jarrod Saltalamacchia are regulars for Miami, and Yunel Escobar is slated to play second base in Washington. Sean Gilmartin is trying to make the New York Mets as a Rule 5 pick. Jason Heyward is wearing St. Louis red, Tommy La Stella Chicago Cubs blue. Charlie Morton is in Pittsburgh’s rotation, and J.J. Hoover works out of Cincinnati’s bullpen. Gus Schlosser is now slinging it for Colorado, and so is David Hale. Gregor Blanco has won two rings with San Francisco, and the Giants also have Erik Cordier and Brandon Hicks in camp. Arizona has Randall Delgado. The Los Angeles Dodgers signed rehabbing Brandon Beachy and also have Ryan Buchter on their roster. After all the Atlanta Braves’ off-season wheeling and dealing, there are 18 M-Braves alums still on their 40-man plus several more who have been in big league camp much of the spring. You can hardly watch a game without seeing a player you saw at the TeePee. We had the same cool connection with the Jackson Mets and Generals, all of whom are gone from the big leagues now. We’ll be watching ex-M-Braves for a long time to come. And more future big leaguers will hit the field on April 9, when the M-Braves start the 2015 season. P.S. Yes, if anyone’s wondering, the Johnny Monell now playing for the New York Mets is the son of the Johnny Monell who played for the JaxMets in the late 1980s.