Tag Archives: Rangers

21 May

could be worse

The Philadelphia Phillies put Cliff Lee, the ex-Meridian Community College ace, on the 15-day disabled list today with what was described as a mild elbow strain. Not good for a 35-year-old pitcher, but not the worst case scenario. There were some concerns that he might be headed for Tommy John surgery. Left-hander Lee, who last pitched on Sunday, is 4-4 with a 3.18 ERA. P.S. Ole Miss product Drew Pomeranz won his third straight start for Oakland on Tuesday as the A’s beat Tampa Bay 3-0. How’s this for consistency? Since moving to the rotation, lefty Pomeranz has worked five scoreless innings in each of his three starts. He is 4-1 with a 0.94 ERA for the season. … Mitch Moreland is heating up in Texas. The former Mississippi State standout is 4-for-11 with a homer in his three starts at first base (his former position) in place of the injured Prince Fielder and is batting .345 over his last 10 games. For the year, the Amory native is batting .294 with two homers and 15 RBIs.

07 May

doing it all

Mitch Moreland got a hit in his first major league at-bat in 2010. On Tuesday night, the former Mississippi State standout made another debut and enjoyed another thrill. Moreland, an outfielder/DH for Texas, pitched in an MLB game for the first time, throwing a clean inning during the Rangers’ 12-1 loss at Colorado. Moreland, who went 3-0 with two saves and a 3.20 ERA as a junior at MSU in 2007, said pitching in the majors was a dream. “I’ve begged skip (Ron Washington) for years in situations like that,” the left-hander told mlb.com. Moreland, who last pitched in low-A ball (two innings) in 2008, threw 10 of 15 pitches for strikes and reportedly hit 94 mph on the gun. He also singled as a pinch hitter before he took the mound. P.S. Pittsburgh has recalled Ole Miss product Phillip Irwin, a right-hander who made one start early last season for the Pirates.

03 Apr

tale of two dogs

Mitch Moreland was diplomatic in his comments after his Texas team rallied to beat Philadelphia and closer Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth inning on Wednesday night. “That’s a good team over there and Papelbon has definitely had a lot of success,” Moreland told mlb.com. Moreland — like Papelbon, a former Mississippi State star — had one of the four hits and scored one of the three runs the Phillies right-hander allowed in a jolting 4-3 loss. There is some serious heat on Papelbon, who is in the third year of a 4-year, $50 million contract with Philly. He blew seven of 36 save chances last year, his ERA over the last couple months jumped over 4.00 and his velocity reportedly was down. He got just one out Wednesday and wound up walking in the winning run. “One of the strong points of my game is being able to bounce back …,” Papelbon told mlb.com. Stay tuned. P.S. Ex-Ole Miss star Lance Lynn, who won 15 games for St. Louis last season, starts today against Cincinnati and ex-Taylorsville High star Billy Hamilton, 0-for-8 in two games so far.

01 Apr

eye openers

Desmond Jennings went 2-for-4 with a couple of runs and made a sensational catch in center field for Tampa Bay on Monday. But the ex-Itawamba Community College standout was the exception to the rule for Mississippians in the majors on opening day for most of the clubs. Meridian CC product Cliff Lee got a win for Philadelphia – but he allowed 11 hits and eight runs in five innings. Mississippi State alum Jonathan Papelbon did pitch a clean ninth in the 14-10 win over Texas. Former Bulldogs star Mitch Moreland went 0-for-3 for the Rangers. Southern Miss product Brian Dozier was 0-for-4 leading off for Minnesota in a 5-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox. And in Cincinnati, ex-Ole Miss standout Zack Cozart was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton 0-for-4 with four K’s in his debut as the Reds’ new leadoff batter. The Reds lost to St. Louis 1-0.

21 Nov

who’s on first?

The somewhat surprising acquisition of the high-priced Prince Fielder by Texas doesn’t necessarily mean Mitch Moreland’s days as a Ranger are done. Fielder, acquired from Detroit for second baseman Ian Kinsler, will be the Rangers’ starting first baseman, taking the position former Mississippi State standout Moreland has held for three seasons. But, Texas GM Jon Daniels told mlb.com, “Mitch is still in our plans.” Moreland, a left-handed hitter (like Fielder), can play the outfield and DH. For what it’s worth, he is a better defensive first baseman than Fielder. Moreland batted just .232 in 2013, though he did belt a career-high 23 home runs. Texas apparently wanted more power from that spot. For his career, Moreland, who debuted in 2010, is hitting .253 with 63 homers and 186 RBIs. There were reports earlier this month that some teams had expressed an interest in Moreland, so it wouldn’t be a shock to a see him moved despite what the Texas GM said on Wednesday.