Tag Archives: Red Sox

11 Oct

gotta love october

Time to take stock on the MLB postseason. We’ve seen Baltimore go down in flames as Orioles manager Buck Showalter, the ex-Mississippi State standout, kept the best closer in the league in the bullpen with the American League Wild Card Game on the line. MSU product Mitch Moreland was in the middle of the play that ended the season for Texas, the team that had the best record in the AL. First baseman Moreland knocked down the errant throw by Rougned Odor, then threw home too late to stop the winning run from scoring as Toronto completed a stunning sweep. Moreland went 2-for-8 with two RBIs in what may have been his Texas swansong. Ex-Ole Miss star Drew Pomeranz surrendered the pivotal home run (to Coco Crisp) on Monday in the other ALDS as Cleveland ended Boston’s season and David Ortiz’s career with a sweep. UM alum Mickey Callaway, the Indians’ pitching coach, saw his bullpen limit the Red Sox to two runs while fanning 14 in 10 1/3 innings over the three games. Former Rebels standout Chris Coghlan (0-for-2) has had a quiet National League Division Series for the Chicago Cubs, who saw their ace closer, Aroldis Chapman, cough up a lead Monday against San Francisco, which dodged a sweep by winning in 13 innings. Conor Gillaspie – the son of former MSU star Mark Gillaspie and the Giants’ Wild Card Game hero – delivered the big blow against Chapman, a two-run triple in the eighth inning. “He’s been fun to watch,” Giants ace Madison Bumgarner told the Chicago Tribune. It ain’t been fun for everyone, but that’s what makes October baseball so compelling.

06 Oct

fresh start

As a rookie in 2010, Mitch Moreland was dynamite in the postseason. He batted .348 (16-for-46) with a home run and seven RBIs as Texas made it all the way to the World Series before losing to San Francisco. Since then, the Mississippi State alum’s postseason production has been minimal: 3-for-43. In 30 career games, he is batting .213 with three homers. In last year’s American League Division Series against Toronto, the lefty-hitting first baseman was 0-for-13. “That’s in the past,” Moreland told sportsday.dallasnews.com. “All I’m thinking about is Thursday. Right now, I’m 0-for-0.” The Rangers hook up with the (hated?) Blue Jays again in the ALDS – Game 1 is today in Arlington — and Moreland is not exactly swinging a hot bat. He hit .167 with one homer in September and October, finishing the year at .233 with 22 bombs and 60 RBIs. He is 0-for-3 with two walks this season against Marco Estrada, Toronto’s Game 1 starter, 0-for-3 against J.A. Happ and 2-for-6 against Aaron Sanchez. A strong postseason, like the one Moreland enjoyed as a rookie, would certainly be welcomed by the Rangers — and would also look nice on the resume for Moreland, who is a pending free agent. P.S. Former Ole Miss standout Drew Pomeranz apparently will be on Boston’s roster for its ALDS against Cleveland. The left-hander, who made 13 starts for the Red Sox after being acquired from San Diego, was moved to the bullpen and threw a sharp 1 1/3 innings in the final game of the year. Pomeranz, who had a 3.32 ERA this season (4.59 with Boston), has pitched in relief often in his pro career. … The Indians’ pitching coach is UM product Mickey Callaway, now in his fourth year in that position.

30 Aug

two for the show

One went to Ole Miss, the other to Mississippi State. One is a lefty, the other a right-hander. One has more than 130 games of big league experience, the other has 51. But Drew Pomeranz and Kendall Graveman do have a couple of things in common. Both have 10 wins this season, and both go to the mound tonight in meaningful games. Pomeranz, the big lefty out of UM, starts for Boston against Tampa Bay at Fenway Park. The Red Sox are 2 games out in the American League East and first in the wild card standings. Former State star Graveman, pitching for Oakland, will face Houston at Minute Maid Park. The A’s are an also-ran, but the Astros are a wild card contender still hanging on, if barely, in the AL West race. Pomeranz is 2-3 with a 4.06 ERA in his eight starts for the Red Sox, who gave up a highly touted pitching prospect to get him from San Diego, where he won eight games and made the All-Star team. He is still looking for his first win for the BoSox at Fenway, where he is 0-1 with a 5.02 in three starts. He’ll face a Tampa team – and possibly red-hot Meridian Community College product Corey Dickerson – that beat him on Aug. 25, though Pomeranz allowed just two runs and fanned 11 in six innings. Graveman is 10-8, 3.97 with three wins in his last four starts, including a brilliant two-hit shutout against the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 19. He is 2-1 against the Astros, including a victory at hitter-friendly Minute Maid Park on July 9. P.S. There are a handful of Mississippians currently in Triple-A who are hoping to pitch in some meaningful MLB games down the stretch. Former Southern Miss standout Scott Copeland is 3-2, 3.47 for Buffalo in Toronto’s system, and ex-State star Chad Girodo has a 3.69 ERA for the same club. MSU alum Chris Stratton is 6-2, 2.37 in his last 10 appearances for San Francisco’s Sacramento team. UM product Mike Mayers is just 1-4 at Memphis since his one appearance for St. Louis in late July but has a 3.55 ERA in 15 Triple-A games overall. Picayune High product T.J. House has posted a 1.29 ERA in his last 10 appearances for Cleveland’s Columbus club. Former Pillow Academy star Louis Coleman, coming back from injury, has delivered three scoreless appearances at Oklahoma City and reportedly will be recalled by the Los Angeles Dodgers when rosters expand on Sept. 1.

14 Aug

cardboard treasure

The Washington Nationals have rid themselves of the mercurial Jonathan Papelbon, giving the ex-Mississippi State star his unconditional release on Saturday. Saturday also happened to be National Baseball Card Day. So, of course, when you rip open a pack of 2016 Topps Series 1 to celebrate this special day, you get a … Jonathan Papelbon. Then you open a 2016 Bowman pack and you get a … Mark Melancon, the ex-Pittsburgh closer who displaced Papelbon in Washington. Is that ironic or coincidental or a little bit of both? Also pulled from the same 36-card pack that included the Papelbon: Mitch Moreland, Seth Smith, Chris Coghlan, Kendall Graveman, Jeff Francoeur and Blaine Boyer, local connections all. In a pack of Topps Series 2, there’s a Martin Prado and Luis Avilan and a 100 Years of Wrigley Field commemorative card featuring Rafael Palmeiro’s big league debut (Sept. 8, 1986). In the afore-mentioned Bowman pack, there’s a JaCoby Jones, the former Richton High star now in Triple-A in Detroit’s system. Scattered throughout these packs are other cards of note. A Corey Seager rookie here, a Kyle Seager there. A Jose Bautista bat flip card here, a Rougned Odor there. Current stars such as Madison Bumgarner, Anthony Rizzo, Yoenis Cespedes and Adam Duvall, and future stars (maybe) like Gary Sanchez, A.J. Reed, Brendan Rodgers and Phil Bickford. (Alas, no Dansby Swanson or Ozzie Albies.) Among the so-called inserts, there was a Manny Machado, Cal Ripken, Ken Griffey Jr., Ichiro Suzuki and a reprint of a 1991 Frank Thomas (very cool card). All in all, quite a haul. P.S. So what does Papelbon do next? He wants to keep playing, for sure, and among the teams that are rumored to be interested is the Boston Red Sox, his original club. Do they dare go there?

11 Aug

sittin’ on 98

Brian Dozier moved one step closer to career home run No. 100 on Wednesday, then took one step back a few hours later. Southern Miss product Dozier’s 99th homer – a leadoff shot for Minnesota against Houston – was washed away when the game was postponed by rain with the Twins up 5-0 in the third inning. They’ll play two today. Don’t bet against Dozier hitting a couple. He has 23 for the year, seven in his last 15 games. The Tupelo native and former Itawamba AHS star is poised to become the third Mississippian to reach the 100 career homer milestone this season. Seth Smith, from Jackson and Ole Miss, hit No. 100 for Seattle on April 29. Mitch Moreland, from Amory and Mississippi State, hit his 100th for Texas on July 18. Dozier has gotten there a little faster than the other two. He debuted in 2012, Moreland in 2010 and Smith in 2007. P.S. Ex-Ole Miss star Drew Pomeranz is now winless in five starts (0-2, 5.26 ERA) for Boston since the Red Sox acquired him from San Diego. He yielded just one run in 5 1/3 against the New York Yankees on Wednesday, a game the Red Sox’s bullpen let get away. Pomeranz is at 127 2/3 innings for the year. His previous high was 96 2/3 in 2012.

03 Apr

happy anniversary

Fifty years ago this month, on April 12 to be exact, George Scott made his debut for the Boston Red Sox. The Greenville native, nicknamed Boomer, did not go deep against Baltimore that day, but he did get the first of his 1,992 hits in a career that rates among the best among Mississippians who’ve played major league baseball. Scott, who died in 2013, hit 271 home runs over his 14 MLB seasons, batted .268 and played in three All-Star Games. More than just a slugger, the big first baseman, who also played some third, won eight Gold Gloves. Other anniversaries of note: Eighty years ago, two players from the Coast broke into the big leagues, both in Philadelphia. Biloxi native Red Bullock played 12 games for the A’s in 1936, and Leo Norris, the pride of Bay St. Louis, started a two-year stint with the Phillies. Norris hit 20 homers in his brief time in the majors. In 1946, Jackie Price of Winborn debuted with Cleveland. Flash forward to 1976 for the debut of Hattiesburg native Bobby Myrick, one of the original Jackson Mets of 1975 who pitched parts of three seasons for the New York club. In 1986, Ricky Jones, a Tupelo native, got into 16 games with Baltimore. Vicksburg’s Dmitri Young made the big leagues with St. Louis in 1996 and went on to belt 171 home runs in a 13-year career. And 10 years ago, another Vicksburg product, left-hander Taylor Tankersley, debuted with the Florida Marlins.

30 Oct

a memorable moment

Back in 1986, the New York Mets faced a situation similar to the one they face today: Down 0-2 entering Game 3 of the World Series. But while the current club gets Game 3 against Kansas City at its own Citi Field, the ’86 Mets were on the road, at Fenway Park. And one could argue that their comeback in the series was fueled by the outcome of the very first at-bat on Oct. 21, 1986. Lenny Dykstra, the former Jackson Mets star, belted a home run against Boston’s Oil Can Boyd, the Meridian native and Jackson State alum. The Mets would score three more times in the first inning en route to a 7-1 victory. Boyd, in the only World Series appearance of his career, battled for six more innings but wound up with an ugly line: nine hits, a walk, six runs, all earned. (Boyd would be passed over for a possible Game 7 start when a rain delay enabled the Red Sox to roll out Bruce Hurst again. Hurst pitched OK, but the Sox bullpen faltered in the 8-5 loss.) Dykstra went 4-for-5 in Game 3 and scored twice. For all of his faults – and the list seems to keep growing – “Nails” was a money player. He batted .321 in 32 postseason games (with the Mets and Philadelphia), with 10 homers, 19 RBIs and 27 runs.

20 Oct

the other matchup

Forget Young-Dickey and Hendricks-deGrom for a moment. How about Clemens-Boyd? There is a fairly compelling pitching matchup tonight in Tempe, Ariz., when 354-game winner Roger Clemens goes against fellow former Boston Red Sox star Oil Can Boyd in Men’s Senior Baseball League action. Meridian native and ex-Jackson State star Boyd, 56, pitches for the Boston Wolf Pack, Clemens, 53, for the Houston Old Stars. Boyd went 78-77 in 10 big league seasons (1982-91) and pitched for many more years in independent ball. Clemens last pitched in the majors in 2007 but threw in indy ball just a couple years ago. Regardless of what kind of stuff either has left, it should be a good show. P.S. Cody Satterwhite, the former Hillcrest Christian and Ole Miss standout, is currently pitching in the Mexican Pacific League. Satterwhite, in his eighth pro season, posted a 4.38 ERA, two wins and two saves for Triple-A Las Vegas in the New York Mets’ system. The big right-hander is still chasing the big league dream.

16 Jun

showing up

A Jackson Generals player from years ago made the comment when asked what it took for him to get to the big leagues: “I just kept showing up.” Joey Butler, now starring for the Tampa Bay Rays as a 29-year-old rookie, apparently has that kind of resolve. Butler played at ’Goula, Perk and UNO. He’s been through Spokane, Bakersfield, Frisco, Surprise, Round Rock, Magallanes, Mazatlan, Memphis, Orix and Durham. He got his first taste of the big leagues in 2013 with Texas, his original organization (15th round, 2008). He got 12 at-bats. St. Louis, which had taken Butler on a waiver claim, called him up last year for five at-bats. Then he went to Japan. He came back to the States this spring but didn’t make the Rays’ roster out of camp. He went to Triple-A Durham. The Rays called on May 3 when Itawamba Community College alum Desmond Jennings went on the disabled list. Finally given an opportunity to play regularly in the majors, Butler has gone off: .344, four homers, 16 RBIs, 15 runs in 37 games. The Pascagoula native and ex-Mississippi Gulf Coast CC star is also said to be a great guy in the clubhouse. “I think the entire dugout gets excited when he comes to the plate …,” Rays manager Kevin Cash told saintpetersblog.com. There is something to be said for just showing up. P.S. On this date in 1945, Boo Ferriss lost a game for the first time in his big league career. The Shaw native and former Delta State coach had begun his rookie season with eight straight victories for the Boston Red Sox before losing a 3-2 decision to the New York Yankees. Ferriss would go 21-10 that year and 25-6 in ’46 before injuries curtailed his career.

24 May

fenway

Sitting in the right-field nook at Fenway Park, just inside the Pesky Pole, it is very easy to imagine George Scott, a Boston Red Sox star of the 1960s, blasting a home run right at you or Boo Ferriss, the Sox ace in the mid-’40s, firing a fastball past an overmatched hitter. It’s easy to imagine such long-ago things because once you’ve entered Fenway, you are wrapped in history. It’s virtually the same as it was when it was built in 1912. There have been renovations, most recently the splendid work of Jackson native Janet Marie Smith, but the essence of the park was left unchanged. It’s one place that lives up to the hype. The Green Monster in left field still defines Fenway, but there is so much else to take in. You think about Bill “Spaceman” Lee, the former Sox pitcher who famously said that the first time he walked into Fenway, he dropped to his knees and uttered, “Thank God for making me a ballplayer.” Virtually everyone in the park is wearing a Red Sox hat or a Red Sox shirt. You see replica jerseys honoring players from Yastrzemski to Betts. There are lots of Pedroias but also a Millar, a Varitek, a Martinez, even a Matsuzaka. And the fans are very much into the game and the team. When Rusney Castillo, just called up for his 2015 debut on this particular Friday night, is introduced as the right fielder, cheers erupt. The “Sawx” have been searching for production from a right fielder all season. When Castillo drops a fly ball during the Los Angeles Angels’ nine-run fifth inning, the crowd boos lustily. When he gets a hit in the seventh, he gets cheers again. Quite a few of Mississippi’s brightest stars have heard the roars — and the moans — from the Fenway faithful. In addition to Ferriss and Scott, Mississippi natives Ellis Burks, Oil Can Boyd, Jerry Moses, Buddy Myer, Baldy Karr, Milt Bolling and Bill Hall played for the Sox. So did Mississippi State alumnus Jonathan Papelbon, Ole Miss’ Steve Dillard and Southern Miss’ Bill Selby. Once defined by heartbreak, the Sox have won three World Series since 2004. But you don’t get the feeling that the Fenway faithful are spoiled. With the Sox down 12-5 in the eighth inning on this chilly Friday night, many of the announced crowd of 36,150 are still around. And when Neil Diamond’s classic “Sweet Caroline” is played over the p.a., the old ballpark rocks. Indeed, good times never felt so good. Fenway is an experience you won’t forget.