Tag Archives: Rangers

29 Jul

good news, bad news

The Texas Rangers look to Mitch Moreland for power. With Prince Fielder done for the year, perhaps now more than ever. Ex-Mississippi State standout Moreland delivered two solo home runs on Thursday night, powering the Rangers to a 3-2 win against Kansas City. “I know that’s what I’m looked upon as … hit the ball in the gap or drive it out of the ballpark,” Moreland told mlb.com, while humbly deflecting praise toward winning pitcher Cole Hamels. Texas, which once had a big lead in the American League West, is up 3 games on second-place Houston. Moreland enjoyed his best season in 2015 (.278, 23 homers, 85 RBIs) but has had his struggles this year. He is hitting just .237 with 16 homers and 42 RBIs. But there are indications he has found a groove. In his last 38 at-bats, the lefty-hitting Amory native is batting .289 with five homers. Both of his homers on Thursday were to the opposite field at Globe Life Park, an approach that Rangers manager Jeff Banister made note of. “When he’s locked in like that it’s a huge plus for our offense,” he told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. … Washington manager Dusty Baker went back to Jonathan Papelbon (see previous post) in a save situation on Thursday. The former State star lasted three batters. The struggling Papelbon, handed a three-run lead against San Francisco, got an out but then yielded a hit and a walk. Two other relievers closed out the Nationals’ 4-2 win. Papelbon was charged with a run that moved his ERA to 4.41.

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.

30 May

first things first

For a hitter, this number isn’t good: .222. “You can’t really focus on the numbers,” Mitch Moreland told The Associated Press after Sunday’s game in Arlington, Texas. OK, but there are a few worth mentioning. Ex-Mississippi State star Moreland’s sixth home run of the season, which sailed an estimated 440 feet into the upper deck at Globe Life Park, helped spark Texas to a 6-2 win against Pittsburgh and moved the Rangers into first place in the American League West. Watch out for this team, especially if Moreland is heating up. The lefty-hitting first baseman snapped a 1-for-27 slump with a home run on Saturday. He now has 21 RBIs and 18 runs in 45 games. Moreland is coming off a season in which he hit .278 with 23 homers and 85 RBIs (and earned AMB’s Cool Papa Bell Award). Here’s another number of note: $5.7M, which is the contract Moreland agreed to for 2016; he’s a free agent after this year. … Also bolting into first place on Sunday was Ned Yost’s Kansas City Royals, who now lead the AL Central. The defending world champs, who’ve won 12 of 17, rallied to top the Chicago White Sox 5-4, with McComb’s Jarrod Dyson scoring the go-ahead run in a three-run eighth. Dyson, coming back from a spring training injury, is batting .264 with 12 runs, eight steals, seven RBIs and five outfield assists in 30 games. He does a lot of little things you gotta love.

04 Jan

the road ahead

In the 2014 MLB draft, major league clubs plucked the likes of Jacob Lindgren, Chris Ellis, Bobby Bradley, Justin Steele, Auston Bousfield and Jonathan Holder out of the Magnolia State. Lindgren has already made it to The Show, and the others have shown nice progress. Blake Anderson, drafted ahead of all of them at 36th overall by Miami out of West Lauderdale High, has lagged. Anderson, a 6-foot-3, 180-pound catcher, spent his second pro summer in short-season A-ball and batted .220 with two homers and 16 RBIs in 31 games. The Marlins are very high on Anderson’s defense, especially his arm, and he is rated their No. 23 prospect by mlb.com. But he still has some things to figure out at the plate. To wit: He struck out 42 times and drew three walks in 118 at-bats. “Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations.” Anderson tweeted that last summer. He turns 20 in January, still very young, but the 2016 season could be a pivotal one for him. P.S. Wonder how the New York Yankees’ acquisition of Aroldis Chapman will impact Lindgren’s future with the club. Lindgren, a lefty reliever out of Mississippi State, had a 5.14 ERA in seven games for the Yanks last year before having elbow surgery in June. He is healthy now, but there may not be a spot for him in a stacked bullpen. … Donnie Veal, the well-traveled Jackson native and big league veteran, has signed a minor league deal with Texas. Lefty Veal pitched for Atlanta briefly in 2015 and has been wintering in the Dominican Winter League (1.69 ERA in 17 appearances).

16 Nov

the envelope, please

This was largely a two-horse race. Brian Dozier bolted to an early lead. Mitch Moreland started slow and was briefly sidetracked by an injury. But Dozier began to fade, as did his team. Moreland kept getting big hits, and his team surged to a division title. In the end, it was Moreland by a nose, winner of the Cool Papa Bell Award, given here to the Mississippian (native or college alum) who has the best season in the big leagues. Moreland, the former Mississippi State star from Amory, hit .278 (.330 on-base percentage) with 23 homers and 85 RBIs for Texas, which went 88-74. Moreland had five homers and 18 RBIs in September and October as the Rangers fended off Houston and Los Angeles in the American League West. Dozier, the Southern Mississippi product from Fulton, was a first-half sensation and made the All-Star Game. For the year, he scored 101 runs, belted 28 homers and drove in 77 runs. But he batted just .210 after the All-Star break and .197 in September/October as Minnesota faded from the AL wild card battle. Moreland joins a group of Cool Papa Bell honorees that includes Corey Dickerson, Desmond Jennings, Lance Lynn, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Chris Coghlan. The award honors Negro Leagues legend Cool Papa Bell, the first Mississippi native to be enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

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.”

03 Oct

ups and downs

McComb’s Jarrod Dyson got two hits and scored a run and Schlater’s Louis Coleman got two outs and picked up a win as Kansas City beat Minnesota 3-1 on Friday night. While it was a good day for those two Mississippi natives, it was not so good for another involved in that game. Tupelo’s Brian Dozier went 0-for-4 for the Twins in a loss that seriously damaged their wild card chances in the American League. Ned Yost’s Royals kept pace with Toronto in the battle for the best record in the AL. Both are 93-67. John Gibbons’ Blue Jays beat Tampa Bay 8-4; Pascagoula native Joey Butler went 1-for-4 in a rare start for the Rays. Elsewhere in the mad playoff scramble, Amory’s Mitch Moreland took an 0-for-4 as his Texas Rangers fell 2-1 to the Los Angeles Angels, who kept the Rangers from clinching the AL West and stayed on the heels of Houston in the wild card race. The Astros went off for 21 runs at Arizona; so much for missing the DH. In a National League game that had nothing to do with anything, McComb’s Corey Dickerson went 2-for-4 with a homer (No. 9), a double (No. 17), two RBIs and two runs as Colorado beat San Francisco. Dickerson is batting .306 now as he tries to finish strong in an injury-marred campaign. P.S. Not to be overlooked in Atlanta’s lost season is the recent play of former Mississippi Braves standout Daniel Castro, who went 3-for-5 with his second homer of the year as the Braves whipped St. Louis 4-0. Castro, a middle infielder, is now hitting .261 in 31 games. The Mexico native batted .277 in 51 games with the M-Braves in 2014 and .389 in 23 games this year before he was moved to Triple-A Gwinnett. Maybe the Braves will keep him around. Maybe.

25 Sep

only the beginning

Oh, the Kansas City Royals celebrated on Thursday night. The video evidence is there. Much champagne and beer were spilled after the 10-4 win against Seattle. The Royals – and Mississippians Jarrod Dyson and Louis Coleman — are American League Central champs. But this celebration was different from last year’s, when the Royals claimed a wild card and made the postseason for the first time in 29 years. “We expected this from the first day of the season,” manager Ned Yost, the ex-Jackson Mets catcher (1976-77), told the Kansas City Star, adding that he has “eyes on a much bigger prize.” That would be the World Series crown, which KC was one victory from taking last season. The oft-criticized Yost still has a losing record as a big league manager (919-967) and is under .500 as the Royals’ skipper (462-465). But he has now produced three straight winning seasons, and note that many predictions did not have the Royals as a playoff team in 2015. Yost, third in the AL manager of the year voting in 2014, might be due for that honor. … Dyson, from McComb, and Coleman, from Schlater, didn’t play in Thursday’s clincher. Dyson, the pinch-running and defensive specialist, wasn’t needed, and Coleman reportedly is nursing an arm injury. Dyson has 28 runs, 26 steals and eight outfield assists in 83 games. Coleman, a recent call-up, has worked 2 1/3 scoreless innings but none since Sept. 13. P.S. The spotlight tonight should be on Houston, where the Astros and Texas Rangers begin a three-game series that could settle the AL West. Houston, long the front-runner in the division, now trails red-hot Texas by 3.5 games. Former Mississippi State star Mitch Moreland from Amory has been a force in the heart of Texas’ lineup. Tony Sipp, a Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College alum out of Pascagoula, is a lefty specialist in the Houston pen. The pair could meet in a big moment this weekend.