Tag Archives: Ole Miss

23 Sep

it’s a battlefield

A little rest may have done Brian Dozier a lot of good. The former Southern Miss star had an RBI double and scored a run for Minnesota in a 3-1 win over Cleveland on Tuesday night. Dozier, battling a slump for several weeks, was out of the Twins’ lineup on Sunday for just the fourth time all season; the team was off on Monday. Despite his recent struggles, Dozier now has 98 runs and 71 RBIs – 169 runs accounted for (always a telling stat) in 146 games. Tuesday’s crucial win moved the Twins within 2 games of Houston for the second American League wild card. Ah, but there were games that mattered all over the AL landscape on Tuesday, and Mississippi State product Mitch Moreland played a prominent part in one of them. His two-run homer tied the score for Texas in the sixth inning and the Rangers went on to beat Oakland 8-6. Moreland has 23 homers on the year, matching his career-high, and has four homers and 12 RBIs in his last 10 games, of which Texas has won eight. Texas now leads the AL West by 2 games over Houston, which lost to the Los Angeles Angels, who are a half-game back of Minnesota in the wild card standings. Meanwhile, ex-Ole Miss standout Seth Smith went 1-for-3 with a run as Seattle beat Kansas City, which is battling to hold onto the AL’s best record. Toronto, the AL East leader, is just 1½ games back of the Royals in the best record race even after a loss on Tuesday to the New York Yankees, who hold the second wild card and are still in the East Division race, as well. Yes, it gets confusing. But that’s the fun of September these days. P.S. Ole Miss alum Alex Presley had two more hits – that’s 19 in the postseason – scored twice and drove in a run to help Fresno beat Columbus in the Triple-A championship game. Presley hit .413 over 10 games as Fresno, a Houston affiliate, marched to the Pacific Coast League pennant and then took Tuesday’s one-game Triple-A showdown in El Paso, Texas.

22 Sep

doing his part

This hasn’t been the season that was predicted for the Seattle Mariners. This was a team expected by many to win the American League West, or at least make the playoffs. Not happening. It’s late September and Seattle, an 87-game winner in 2014, sits in fourth place with a 73-77 record, out of the playoff picture largely because of a terrible first half. General manager Jack Zduriencik already has been fired, and more changes could be coming. But the M’s woes should not reflect badly on the efforts of Seth Smith. The Jackson native and former Ole Miss standout, in his first season with the Mariners, is hitting .247 with 11 home runs, 41 RBIs and 48 runs in 125 games. These numbers are on par with the veteran’s 162-game average (according to baseball-reference.com): .263, 16 homers, 59 RBIs, 67 runs. He has hit .257 with six homers at home in Safeco Field, not a hitter’s park. He has a 2.0 WAR rating, which translates to “solid starter.” Smith, a lefty hitter, doesn’t hit left-handers (.209, one homer in 43 at-bats), but the M’s knew that when they traded with San Diego to get him. This team already had stars (Felix Hernandez, Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz). Smith, a so-called “professional hitter,” was acquired as a complementary piece, and he has held up his end. P.S. Cleveland is another team forecast (by some) as a playoff club that has scuffled. The Indians, who won 85 games in 2014, are 74-74, barely on the fringe of the AL wild card race thanks to a 26-20 surge since Aug. 1. Pitching has kept the Tribe afloat, and some credit there goes to Ole Miss alum Mickey Callaway, in his third year as the pitching coach. Cleveland’s staff ERA of 3.75 is third in the AL, and they lead the loop again in strikeouts. They set an MLB record in 2014 with 1,450 K’s.

22 Sep

around the horn

Ed Easley, the former Mississippi State star still seeking his first big league hit, might get some opportunities now that St. Louis’ No. 1 catcher, Yadier Molina, is out for an undetermined time with a thumb injury. Easley has played nine pro seasons but has just two MLB at-bats. Tony Cruz is the Cardinals’ interim starting catcher, and they’ve added another backstop in Travis Tartamella. Neither Easley nor Tartamella played in St. Louis’ 2-1 win against Cincinnati on Monday night. … The Reds’ Billy Hamilton reportedly will have season-ending shoulder surgery, putting the ex-Taylorsville High star on the lengthy list of Mississippians whose season was halted by injury. (See Zack Cozart, Aaron Barrett, Kendall Graveman, Desmond Jennings, Jacob Lindgren, Cliff Lee.) … Meridian Community College alum Corey Dickerson, who has done three stints on the DL, went 2-for-3 on Monday to boost his average to .302. He has played just 54 games for Colorado. … Ole Miss product Stuart Turner had an RBI double and scored a run as Chattanooga beat Biloxi 4-0, denying the Shuckers a Southern League championship in their first season. (The Jackson Mets won their first pennant in their seventh season, the Generals in their third and the Mississippi Braves in their fourth.) … Southwest Mississippi CC alum Kade Scivicque and Madison Central High product Spencer Turnbull celebrated a Midwest League championship as West Michigan beat Cedar Rapids 3-2. Turnbull, who started Game 1 of the 5-game series, did not pitch in the clincher. Scivicque was behind the plate, as he was for all of the Whitecaps’ 10 playoff games. Scivicque, drafted in the fourth round by Detroit this June, also was the regular catcher this season for LSU during its College World Series run. … Through the first four scrimmages of State’s fall ball schedule, Brent Rooker is 7-for-12 with two homers, seven RBIs and five runs. The Bulldogs scrimmage again today.

21 Sep

chasing championships

Ex-Madison Central High star Spencer Turnbull could get the start tonight for West Michigan in Game 5 of the Midwest League Championship Series. Turnbull, an 11-game winner this season, is 1-1 in the postseason, including a loss to Cedar Rapids in Game 1 of the title series. Selected by the Detroit Tigers in the second round of the 2014 draft out of Alabama, Turnbull already is rated their No. 5 prospect by mlb.com. As a junior at Bama, Turnbull went 5-7 with a 2.22 ERA, and he had a 3.54 career ERA there. He was on a state championship team at Madison Central. … Ole Miss alum Alex Presley went 2-for-5 and homered to help Fresno claim the Pacific Coast League pennant with a 7-3 win against Round Rock on Sunday. Presley batted .390 in the postseason for the Grizzlies, Houston’s Triple-A team, which will meet International League champ Columbus (Cleveland) on Tuesday for the Triple-A “national championship.” … Biloxi and Chattanooga will play a fifth and deciding game tonight in the Southern League title series. Former UM standout Stuart Turner is the Lookouts’ catcher, and Jackson native Stu Cliburn is the pitching coach for Minnesota’s Double-A club.

20 Sep

play ball

Yes, there was baseball on Saturday. Even in Oxford and Starkville, where Ole Miss and Mississippi State held scrimmages. There was baseball in Chattanooga, Tenn., where the Biloxi Shuckers moved within one victory of a Southern League championship in their inaugural season. There was baseball in Fresno, Calif., where ex-Ole Miss star Alex Presley, batting .389 in the postseason, had a hit and a run as the host Grizzlies forced a deciding fifth game in the Pacific Coast League finals. There was baseball in Minneapolis, where an error — just the seventh of the year by Southern Miss product Brian Dozier – helped the Los Angeles Angels beat Minnesota 4-3 in the 12th inning. “Bad play by me,” Dozier told The Associated Press. The Twins also lost Game 2 of the twinbill and fell 1½ games behind the Angels for third place in the American League wild card race. There was baseball in Houston, where the Astros, clinging to the second AL wild card, snapped a five-game losing streak by beating Oakland 10-6 with the help of Evan Gattis’ 25th home run. Atlanta fans must wince every time Gattis, the former Mississippi Braves star whose story is such a great one, gets a big hit for Houston, and he’s had a bunch. There was baseball in Detroit, where Southwest Mississippi Community College alum Jarrod Dyson threw out a Tigers runner, Ian Kinsler, at the plate – upon further review – to send the Kansas City-Detroit game into extra innings. Alas, Ned Yost’s scuffling Royals lost the game in 11 on a Kinsler homer. There was baseball in Washington, where the Nationals got a home run from Tyler Moore (No. 5) in a rare start and a save from Jonathan Papelbon (No. 24), both ex-State stars, in a win over Miami. But there isn’t much joy in Washington, home of MLB’s most disappointing team. There was baseball in Tampa Bay, but Itawamba CC product Desmond Jennings didn’t play. Oral surgery has ended his injury-marred season; he played 28 games. There was baseball in Milwaukee, but ex-Taylorsville High star Billy Hamilton wasn’t there. He was in Cincinnati, having his injured shoulder examined. MLB’s base-stealing leader (with 57) may be shut down for the year. There was baseball also in Sugar Land, Texas, but Rafael Palmeiro didn’t play for the independent Skeeters. After going 2-for-4 on Friday in his first game in 10 years, the 50-year-old MSU alum got a day off. So, yes, there was baseball on Saturday. And, hey, there will be baseball today, too.

18 Sep

numbers game

With a 3.17 ERA, 11 wins and 153 strikeouts in 156 innings this season, ex-Ole Miss standout Lance Lynn has good numbers. But the Chicago Cubs have had his number. The St. Louis Cardinals right-hander is 0-3 with a 7.53 ERA against the Cubs heading into today’s big game at Wrigley Field. Lynn was KO’d early by the Cubs 11 days ago, leaving in the third inning down 6-0. He must be aching to strike back. The Cubs’ Chris Coghlan, a fellow ex-Rebel, is 2-for-5 career against Lynn. Starlin Castro has a .351 average and five RBIs against Lynn, Anthony Rizzo a .296 with two homers and seven RBIs. Those could be key matchups, but the wild card at Wrigley is always the wind: Which way is it blowing? Cardinals-Cubs has a lot of history, but it’s special when they meet in September with both in playoff contention. St. Louis leads the Cubs by 7 games in the National League Central, with second-place Pittsburgh 5 games out. The division title isn’t settled yet. “Do we have it in us? I think we do,” Coghlan said in a recent ESPN article. … Mitch Moreland was just 3-for-16 in Texas’ four-game series against Houston, but the former Mississippi State star certainly did some damage. He hit two homers and drove in six runs as the Rangers swept the Astros and jumped 2½ games up in the American League West. Moreland’s three-run homer ignited the Rangers’ 8-2 win on Thursday night. He is batting .283 (career mark .259), with 21 homers (career-best 23) and 77 RBIs (career-best was 60). Yes, it’s a career year.

17 Sep

farm livin’

Houston and Texas are slugging it out for first place in the American League West in Arlington, with the Rangers, now up 1½ games, landing most of the big punches through three games of the four-game series. Meanwhile, down on the farm, the Triple-A affiliates of both clubs are facing off for the Pacific Coast League pennant. No doubt former Ole Miss standout Alex Presley would rather be with the Astros, but playing for a championship with Fresno can’t feel too bad. Especially when you’re hitting .481 in the postseason, with four RBIs, four runs and three steals through six games. Presley and the Grizzlies squared the PCL finals at 1-all with a 3-1 win at Round Rock on Wednesday night. Presley, 30, who has spent parts of six years in the majors – eight games with Houston this year – batted .292 this season with three home runs, 49 RBIs and 15 steals for Fresno. The lefty-hitting outfielder might get another call from the Astros before it’s all said and done in the AL West. … Someday, perhaps, Biloxi Shuckers fans will sit at the bar and recall the days of Orlando Arcia, much like old Jackson Mets fans might remember Lee Mazzilli. Arcia, a 21-year-old shortstop, went 2-for-3 with a homer as host Biloxi beat Chattanooga 7-1 at MGM Park in the opener of the Southern League Championship Series. He is hitting .625 with three bombs, nine RBIs and six runs in four postseason games after batting .307 with eight homers and 69 RBIs during the inaugural season of Shuckers baseball. Mazzilli was the first MLB star to emerge from Jackson’s old Double-A club back in the mid-’70s. Arcia, Milwaukee’s top prospect, may well become the first ex-Shucker to do so.

16 Sep

boys of fall

Fall ball has launched in Starkville. Mississippi State held its first scrimmage on Tuesday night, with the Gray beating the Maroon 3-1 at Dudy Noble Field behind Luke Reynolds’ three RBIs. Brent Rooker homered for the Maroon in the six-inning contest. Fall ball at MSU will conclude the weekend of Oct. 16-18 with the Bulldog World Series. State’s team features nine players who earned all-star honors in their respective summer leagues. … Ole Miss will start fall practice with an intrasquad game on Friday at Oxford-University Stadium. Fall camp runs until Nov. 1. The Rebels return 16 players from last season’s NCAA Tournament team, including six starting position players. UM has announced its spring schedule, which will begin on Feb. 19 at home against Florida International. In the annual rivalry games at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Ole Miss will face Southern Miss on April 5 and State on April 26. The date for the USM-State game hasn’t been announced.

15 Sep

minor matters

Biloxi will host the first two games of the Southern League Championship Series, facing Chattanooga in a showdown of two star-studded teams. Orlando Arcia, Milwaukee’s No. 1 prospect, hit .615 with two homers and six RBIs in the Shuckers’ South Division series win over Pensacola. Adam Brett Walker II, a top 10 prospect in Minnesota’s system, hit 31 homers this year and added two more in Chattanooga’s North Division series win against Montgomery. Ole Miss product Stuart Turner, a catcher who hit .223 with four homers this season, also starts for the Lookouts. The title series begins Wednesday at MGM Park. … Former Ole Miss star Alex Presley batted .556 in four games for Fresno (Houston) as the Grizzlies advanced to the Triple-A Pacific Coast League finals. … Helping West Michigan (Detroit) get to the Class A Midwest League finals were former Madison Central High star Spencer Turnbull, a prospect pitcher, and Southwest Mississippi Community College alum Kade Scivicque, a catcher in his first pro season. … Southern Miss product Scott Copeland, who made five trips up and down from the minors for Toronto this season, has been designated for assignment by the Blue Jays. Copeland was 1-1 with a 6.46 ERA in five MLB games and 11-6, 2.95 at Triple-A Buffalo.

15 Sep

western exposure

With the spotlight on the American League West on Monday night, a couple of Mississippians took star turns. At Arlington, Texas, former Mississippi State standout Mitch Moreland hit his 20th home run to help Texas beat Houston 5-3 and move within a half-game of the first-place Astros. The Rangers also kept their grip on the second AL wild card. In Seattle, ex-Ole Miss star Seth Smith hit his 11th homer and drove in three runs as the Mariners routed the Los Angeles Angels 10-1 and knocked L.A. 4.5 games behind Houston and 4 games back of Texas in the wild card race. (Minnesota, of the AL Central, also won and remained a game back of Texas for the second wild card.) P.S. State alum Jonathan Papelbon returned to Philadelphia, made a few controversial pregame comments about his time there — “I was one of the few (Phillies) to actually want to win” — and blew a save for the first time this season. He did get to win, however, as Washington prevailed 8-7 in extras. The Nationals are 20-24 since trading for Papelbon.