Tag Archives: Ole Miss

10 Apr

pitching in — and out

Lance Lynn was good on Monday night. Unfortunately for the ex-Ole Miss star, Justin Verlander was better. Looking much sharper in his second start for Minnesota than in his first, Lynn tossed five shutout innings with nine strikeouts, but the Twins fell to Verlander and Houston 2-0 at frigid Target Field. Lynn, a free agent signee in Minnesota after several years with St. Louis, allowed five runs in his first inning with the Twins last week. “I feel like I’ve gotten off to the worst start I’ve ever got off to in the big leagues,” the big right-hander told mlb.com. “Good thing is there’s a lot of season left, so I’ll be all right.” Northwest Mississippi Community College product Cody Reed, in his 2018 debut with Cincinnati, endured a rocky start at chilly Philadelphia, allowing three earned runs on four hits and a walk in three innings. Poor starts have been a theme for Mississippi-connected pitchers this season. Mississippi State product Kendall Graveman, Oakland’s No. 1 starter, is 0-2 with a 9.45 ERA in three starts, having yielded five homers. (He has had the misfortune of facing the Los Angeles Angels twice.) Ex-State standout Chris Stratton, who won a job in San Francisco’s rotation in the spring, is 0-1, 4.35 in two starts. Ole Miss alum Mike Mayers had a 4.50 ERA in two appearances with St. Louis before being sent down when Greg Holland was activated. Brandon Woodruff, an MSU product, posted a 5.14 in three games (one start) for Milwaukee before he, too, was demoted to the minors, and fellow Bulldogs alum Jonathan Holder was sent down by the New York Yankees lugging a 20.25 ERA over three appearances. P.S. Ex-Ole Miss standout Drew Pomeranz, who started the season on the disabled list for Boston, had made one rehab appearance, allowing two earned runs in 4 1/3 innings in a Triple-A start. He should be ready for prime time soon.

08 Apr

managerial matters

Seven Mississippi-connected men are managing in the big leagues this season – and not one of them holds the reigns of a club expected to be a strong contender for the postseason. Can any of them pull off a playoff appearance? It’s a race within the races that will be interesting to watch. Mickey Callaway, the former Ole Miss standout, is debuting as the New York Mets’ manager, but the others are veterans at this thing: Mississippi State alum Buck Showalter in Baltimore; ex-Jackson Mets Ned Yost in Kansas City, John Gibbons in Toronto and Ron Gardenhire in Detroit; former JaxMets manager Clint Hurdle in Pittsburgh; and ex-Mississippi Braves skipper Brian Snitker in Atlanta. Showalter and Gibbons have talented clubs but must contend with American League East heavyweights New York and Boston. Callaway’s Mets were picked by Sports Illustrated as a National League wild card team but coming off a 70-win campaign, that might be a stretch. Yost’s Royals have slipped quite a bit since their 2015 championship season, and both the Pirates and Tigers appear to be in rebuild mode. The Braves, in their second full year under Snitker, could make a push if their young talent (see former M-Braves Dansby Swanson, Ozzie Albies, Luiz Gohara, Ronald Acuna) steps up. That’s a significant if.

03 Apr

progress report

Four Magnolia State four-year schools sit at the head of the class, sporting Superior marks, as the college season barrels into April. Ole Miss, ranked third in the country by Baseball America, tops the SEC West at 6-3 and is 25-4 overall. Jackson State leads the SWAC East at 9-3 (17-10 overall). Delta State leads the NCAA Division II Gulf South Conference at 14-3 (24-6), and William Carey is tied for first in the NAIA Southern States Athletic Conference at 10-2 (25-10). Both are nationally ranked. The Crusaders are knotted with NAIA No. 1 Faulkner (33-3, 10-2), which comes to Hattiesburg this weekend. In the Satisfactory category we have nationally ranked Southern Miss (6-2, second in C-USA), Mississippi Valley State (6-6 SWAC), Mississippi College (11-6 GSC), Blue Mountain (7-5, fifth in SSAC), Millsaps (8-7, fourth in the D-III Southern Athletic Association) and unclassified independent MUW (14-9 in its inaugural campaign). That leaves the Needs Improvement group. Alcorn State is 3-9 and last in the SWAC East. Belhaven (7-18 overall) is 4-11 against D-III American Southwest Conference competition, and NAIA Tougaloo (12-15) is 0-6 in Gulf Coast Athletic Conference play. And then there’s Mississippi State, a team that was ranked in preseason but is now 14-15 overall, 2-7 and last in the SEC West. Ready or not, the Bulldogs get Ole Miss this weekend in Starkville. … In the MACJC, Pearl River Community College swept Itawamba CC last Friday to move to 8-0 in the league, alone in first place. ICC was ranked No. 2 in the NJCAA Division II poll last week. It’ll be interesting to see just how high PRCC, ranked 18th last week, jumps in the new poll that comes out today.

02 Apr

come out swinging

Brian Dozier’s power plays at the top of Minnesota’s lineup. The former Southern Miss star hit his 28th career leadoff home run on Sunday, then added a second homer in the sixth inning to propel the Twins to a 7-0 win at Baltimore. The leadoff bomb came on the first pitch, the fourth time in his career Dozier has done that, according to mlb.com. “There’s a process behind it,” he said. Dozier is 5-for-14 as one of a handful of Mississippians in the majors who came out clicking in the opening series of 2018. Ole Miss product Zack Cozart is 7-for-19 with a homer and three RBIs as the leadoff batter for his new club, the Los Angeles Angels. The converted shortstop has moved from third base to second – another position he had not played previously – following an injury to Ian Kinsler. Ex-Mississippi State standout Adam Frazier, also batting leadoff, is 4-for-10 for Pittsburgh and scored the only run in the Pirates’ Game 1 victory against Detroit on Sunday. Former East Central Community College star Tim Anderson is 3-for-8 with two homers – on opening day – three RBIs and a steal in two games for the Chicago White Sox. P.S. Sad to hear about the passing of Jerry Moses, the Yazoo City native who played parts of nine seasons in the big leagues. He died March 27 at age 71. Moses is the youngest Boston Red Sox player to hit a home run, going deep at age 18 against Jim “Mudcat” Grant on May 25, 1965, at Fenway Park. Moses hit .251 with 25 homers for his career and made the 1970 All-Star Game for the Red Sox.

31 Mar

upon further review

The emotional rollercoaster passed through Detroit on Friday, taking the Tigers from elation to anger with a final stop at dejection. Richton High product JaCoby Jones was in the middle of the dogpile in the 10th inning after delivering what was first thought to be a game-winning knock against Pittsburgh. Replay said otherwise. Tigers runner Nicholas Castellanos was ruled out at the plate, with McComb native Corey Dickerson – in his Pirates debut – getting an assist on what was a pretty sad throw from left field. Former Jackson Mets star Ron Gardenhire – in his debut as Detroit manager – was ejected arguing the reversal. The game went on, and, as fate would have it, the Pirates won in 13 innings in just under 5½ hours. Football-like weather produced a football-like score – 13-10 – on opening day at Comerica Park. The Tigers blew a save in the ninth and fell behind 10-6 before scoring four in the bottom half to extend the game. Then came the soul-crushing 10th. Jones, who entered as a pinch runner in the seventh inning, had a good day: 2-for-2 with a walk and a run. Of course, he’d have felt a whole lot better about it if he’d also gotten that RBI. For the Pirates, ex-Mississippi State star Adam Frazier went 3-for-7 and scored twice. He was aboard in the 13th when Gregory Polanco hit the game-winning three-run homer. Dickerson, the Meridian Community College alum acquired from Tampa Bay in February, had one hit and an RBI in six trips. P.S. Ex-Ole Miss standout Braxton Lee from Picayune made his big league debut for Miami, going 0-for-4 in the 17-inning win against the Chicago Cubs. … Taylorsville High alum Billy Hamilton, batting ninth for Cincinnati, was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts as the Reds opened their season with a loss to Washington.

30 Mar

it’s a start

Tim Anderson picked the wrong opening day to go off. The former East Central Community College star hit two home runs for the Chicago White Sox on Thursday but was topped by teammate Matt Davidson, who launched three round-trippers in a 14-7 win against Kansas City. Davidson joins Vicksburg native Dmitri Young and two others as the only players with three homers on an opening day. For Anderson, it’s a good start as he attempts to bounce back from a trying 2017 season (see previous posts). … Southwest Mississippi CC alum Jarrod Dyson had a sweet debut for Arizona, going 2-for-4 with a triple, a stolen base, two runs and an RBI in an 8-2 win vs. Colorado. … Ex-Ole Miss star Zack Cozart delivered three hits, including a homer, in his first game with the Los Angeles Angels, who lost to Oakland 6-5 in 11 innings. Cozart went deep against former Mississippi State star Kendall Graveman, who also had the dubious distinction of surrendering the first hit by the Angels’ touted Japanese import Shohei Ohtani. … UM alum Mickey Callaway got a win in his debut as New York Mets manager, and ex-East Central CC standout Marcus Thames, now the Yankees’ hitting coach, watched his club – and new addition Giancarlo Stanton — whip Toronto. … Former Mississippi Braves Freddie Freeman and Ozzie Albies homered as Atlanta rallied to beat Philadelphia, and Biloxi Shuckers alum Orlando Arcia got the game-winning hit in the 12th inning as Miwaukee topped San Diego. … Ole Miss product Braxton Lee was added to Miami’s 25-man roster on Thursday but did not make his big league debut in the Marlins’ loss to the Chicago Cubs. Stay tuned for that. Meanwhile, Northwest CC alum Cody Reed was recalled by Cincinnati on Thursday; the Reds’ game with Washington was postponed until today.

29 Mar

play ball

Star power abounds on the Los Angeles Angels’ roster. Mike Trout. Albert Pujols. Justin Upton. Shohei Ohtani (well, maybe). Into this galaxy comes Zack Cozart, the Ole Miss alum who arrived as a free agent in the off-season with a little brilliance of his own. An All-Star in Cincinnati, where he enjoyed a career year in 2017, Cozart will debut for the Angels today in Oakland, playing not just for a new team but at a new position. A shortstop virtually all of his baseball life, Cozart, at age 32, takes over at third base for the Angels. His situation is one of the most compelling storylines to watch among Mississippians in the majors in 2018. Cozart, who hit .297 with 24 homers last year, swung the bat well in the spring (.347, four homers). He wasn’t tested much in the field, handling just 15 chances (with one error) in 16 games. The Angels are projected by many to be a playoff team; their new third baseman could be a big factor in that quest. P.S. The A’s scheduled starter is Kendall Graveman, the former Mississippi State standout who went 6-4 with a 4.19 ERA in an injury-interrupted 2017 season. … Pittsburgh’s lineup at Detroit will include State product Adam Frazier leading off as the DH and Meridian Community College product Corey Dickerson playing left field and batting fifth in his Pirates debut. The game will be the first as Tigers manager for Ron Gardenhire, the former Jackson Mets infielder and ex-Minnesota skipper. … Also making a debut today will be ex-UM star Mickey Callaway, the longtime Cleveland pitching coach now managing the New York Mets, who open at CitiField against St. Louis. The Big Apple is not the place where you want to get off on the wrong foot. … MSU product Jacob Lindgren has undergone a second Tommy John procedure and will miss the 2018 season. Now in Atlanta’s organization, left-hander Lindgren missed all of 2017 and most of 2016 after making the big leagues with the New York Yankees in 2015.

28 Mar

eye-catchers

Delta State’s 26-4 win at Southern Arkansas on Tuesday grabs your attention. Zack Shannon and Clay Casey smashed two home runs each for the Statesmen, 21-6 and ranked as high as No. 6 in NCAA Division II. Shannon’s numbers are just ridiculous: 21 homers, .462 average, 58 RBIs. … In Oxford, Thomas Dillard’s seventh bomb of the year helped Ole Miss rally past Southern Miss 7-6 in a matchup of nationally ranked D-I teams. After USM KO’d Rebels starter Jordan Fowler in the first inning, the UM bullpen yielded just one earned run thereafter. UM is 23-3, USM 17-6. … Mississippi State appears to be in some trouble. The Bulldogs fell to 13-13 after a 7-4 loss at Nicholls State, which entered the game with an 8-15 record. … Nationally ranked juco foes East Central Community College and Jones County JC split a big doubleheader in Ellisville. Wyatt Ball and Ken Scott drove in three runs each in the Warriors’ 12-6 win in Game 1, and the Bobcats’ Tyler Spring and Will Hicks threw a combo two-hitter in the second game, a 1-0 victory. Jones managed only one hit, an RBI single in the second inning by Stephen Matthews. The loss was the first in league play for ECCC, now 7-1. … Elsewhere in the MACJC, Pearl River moved to 6-0 with a sweep of Gulf Coast in Poplarville. … On today’s docket, William Carey, 21-9, ranked 11th in NAIA and coming off a huge road sweep at Martin Methodist, hosts D-II West Alabama at Wheeler Field in Hattiesburg. Christian Smith continues to fuel the Crusaders’ attack, with a .330 average, 31 runs and 27 steals. … In the big leagues, former State star Chris Stratton, in his final tuneup for the regular season, threw five shutout innings for San Francisco against Oakland at AT&T Park. Stratton had a 3.29 ERA this spring.

27 Mar

by the numbers

Here’s a number to know for today: 125. Old rivals Ole Miss and Southern Miss meet tonight in Oxford, for the 125th time. They played for the first time on April 10, 1916, in Oxford. Ole Miss beat Mississippi Normal College, which we now know as USM, by a 10-3 count, according to the UM media guide. (It’s not true that David Kellum and John Cox broadcast that game.) Here are few other numbers to know about the two teams:

74 – Wins for Ole Miss in the series, including two last year, one in Pearl, the other in Hattiesburg.
4 – UM’s rank in four different national polls. USM is ranked as high as 14th.
30 – Homers by the Rebels (22-3).
26 – Homers by the Eagles (17-5), seven in their previous three games.
32 – Stolen bases for the Rebels.
19 – Steals for the Eagles.
2.54 – UM’s staff ERA.
3.40 – USM’s ERA.
17 – Errors by the Rebels.
20 – Errors by the Eagles.
177 – Runs scored by the Rebels, 7.1 per game.
194 – Runs for the Eagles, 8.8 per game.
3.83 – Strikeouts-to-walks ratio for UM pitchers, best in the nation.
41 – Runs scored by USM in the first two innings; their opponents have six.
14 – Days until the teams meet again, April 10, at Trustmark Park in Pearl.

26 Mar

who’s in

Mike Mayers, Jonathan Holder and Brandon Woodruff got good news over the weekend, and Hunter Renfroe and JaCoby Jones also would appear to have reason to smile. With opening day just three days off, tough decisions are coming down on big league roster spots. Former Ole Miss star Mayers, who has had a brilliant spring (12 scoreless innings), was informed on Saturday that he’s earned a spot in St. Louis’ bullpen. “I got hugs from everybody,” he told mlb.com. Mississippi State product Holder will make the New York Yankees’ 25-man club thanks to new manager Aaron Boone’s decision to carry eight relievers. Woodruff, another former Bulldogs standout, earned a spot in Milwaukee’s rotation. MSU alum Renfroe reportedly will stick with San Diego as the Padres’ fourth outfielder. Jones, the former Richton High star, reportedly will make Detroit’s club, also as a reserve outfielder. Northwest Mississippi Community College product Cody Reed was optioned to Triple-A by Cincinnati, and ex-Ole Miss standout Alex Presley, in Baltimore’s camp as a non-roster invitee, was reassigned to the minors.