Tag Archives: Reds

26 Jul

need for speed

The Mississippi Braves are slumping. Even with their big comeback victory in Friday’s series finale at Tennessee, they’ve won just four of their last 12. They are 18-17 in the second half, fourth in the Southern League South, 3 games behind first-place Mobile. They’ve got a 10-game homestand ahead, starting tonight against Pensacola. Mobile comes in for five following the Blue Wahoos series. Can the M-Braves get the knots out of their rope during this stretch and launch a playoff push? Well, one thing you have to like about this club is its ability to run; that’s a weapon that generally plays well at Trustmark Park, where the long ball is hard to come by. The M-Braves lead the league with 107 stolen bases. Jose Peraza, batting .356 in his 30 games with the M-Braves, leads the team in steals with 18. Kyle Kubitza has 17 (plus an amazing nine triples), as does Mycal Jones. Kyle Wren has eight bags in 24 games. Speed could be the key to getting over this funk. P.S. Who’s hot? The Tampa Bay Rays, who have won eight straight games and climbed back into the American League playoff picture. Itawamba Community College product Desmond Jennings, often the Rays’ leadoff batter, has contributed to their rise, batting .292 (7-for-24) with six runs over his last six games. He belted his ninth homer of the year on Friday. … Who’s not? The Cincinnati Reds, who are 0-7 since the All-Star break. Taylorsville High product Billy Hamilton, the Reds’ tablesetter, is hitting .222 (6-for-27) during the skid and has managed to cross home plate just three times for a run-starved club. Hamilton did get his 41st stolen base Friday (and, yes, that is a record for a Mississippi native in MLB).

15 Jul

trend spotting

In 1994, Buck Showalter won the American League manager of the year award with the New York Yankees. In 2004, the former Mississippi State standout won the award again with the Texas Rangers. So now it’s 2014, and at the All-Star break, Showalter has his Baltimore Orioles in first place in the AL East, defying preseason predictions that had the O’s finishing closer to the bottom in a strong division. Could another manager of the year award be in the offing? The Orioles have a nice array of hitters — Adam Jones, Chris Davis, Nick Markakis, Manny Machado, et al. — but could use some pitching help, especially if they hope to make any noise in October. What Showalter surely would like more than a managerial award is to make the postseason — and then make a playoff run. Despite a .517 winning percentage over 16 seasons as an MLB skipper, Showalter, 58, has made just three playoff appearances (1995 Yankees, ’99 Arizona Diamondbacks and ’12 Orioles) and never seen his club get past the division series. That’s a trend he’d like to buck. His best team might have been the ’94 Yankees, who were 70-43 when the season was halted by the players’ strike. The core of that team won the World Series in 1996, but Showalter had moved on by that time, fired after the ’95 season. He was also canned in Texas in 2005, one year after winning the managerial award there. Showalter is in his fifth season in Baltimore, which is longer than he stayed at any of his previous three stops. Maybe this is his team and this is his time. P.S. Zack Cozart isn’t hitting much for Cincinnati. The Ole Miss product is batting .233 with two homers, 22 RBIs and 30 runs in 90 games. But the reason the playoff-hungry Reds keep him in the lineup can be seen in another set of numbers. Cozart, in his third season as Cincy’s shortstop, has a .982 fielding percentage (seven errors in 393 chances) and leads all National League shortstops with a 2.2 Defensive Wins Above Replacement rating. Former Mississippi Braves star Andrelton Simmons, by comparison, has a 1.4 DWAR for Atlanta.

09 Jul

be a hero

He has 88 hits, 43 runs, 37 stolen bases, 36 RBIs, 18 doubles, five triples, five home runs and … one walk-off single. Billy Hamilton, the Taylorsville Tornado, delivered his first game-winner in the bottom of the ninth inning on Tuesday night, giving Cincinnati a thrilling 6-5 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Hamilton also had an RBI triple and made a great catch in center field as the Reds, on another run, rallied from a 5-0 deficit and completed a twinbill sweep at Great American Ballpark. Cincinnati has won four straight games to climb to 48-42 and is within 3½ games of first-place Milwaukee in the National League Central. The Reds look like a playoff contender again, and Hamilton, the NL’s rookie of the month in June, looks like a strong rookie of the year candidate.

08 Jul

number crunching

1 — Major league starts by Phil Irwin, the Ole Miss alumnus who’ll make his second tonight for Texas against Houston. It’ll be his Rangers debut.
4 — Hits by Ole Miss product Chris Coghlan (now batting .252) and RBIs by Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton (34 for the season) in Monday’s Chicago Cubs-Cincinnati game, won by the Reds 9-3.
4 — Runs allowed (in three games) by former UM standout Aaron Barrett since a controversial balk call against him on June 30. Barrett, pitching for Washington, had yielded just five runs in 30 previous appearances.
5 — Number of Mississippi Braves alums slated to play in All-Star games next week: Current M-Brave Jose Peraza (Futures); Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman, Craig Kimbrel and Julio Teheran (MLB); and Gwinnett’s Phil Gosselin (Triple-A).
5 — Home runs in 2014 for ex-Rebels star Alex Presley, who hit his latest Monday to help Houston stop a seven-game losing streak with a 12-7 victory over Texas.
9 — Consecutive seasons of at least 20 saves for former Mississippi State star Jonathan Papelbon, who reached that number Monday in Philadelphia’s 3-2 win against Milwaukee.
10 — Starts by Meridian Community College product Cliff Lee (4-4, 3.18), who won’t make another for the Phillies until after the All-Star break. He has been on the disabled list since May 19.

05 Jul

fireworks

Mississippians do love fireworks. And Mississippians in the majors did their part to contribute to the noise on the Fourth of July, cracking out eight hits on the day, two of them bombs, and getting some sizzle from the mound, as well. Eight Magnolia State-connected position players got into games on Friday and collectively went 8-for-26 (.308) with the two home runs, three RBIs and nine runs. A pretty good day to be sure, and consider that the state’s best hitter, Meridian Community College alum Corey Dickerson (.337), did not play for Colorado, the left-handed slugger sitting against Los Angeles Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw. Itawamba CC’s Desmond Jennings sparkled with a three-hit game, and he also scored three times for Tampa Bay. Ole Miss product Chris Coghlan scored three for the Chicago Cubs and went 2-for-4, raising his average to .219. Ex-Southern Miss star Brian Dozier smoked a home run (No. 16) for Minnesota, and Taylorsville High product Billy Hamilton lit off one (No. 5) for Cincinnati. Former Ole Miss standout Seth Smith went 1-for-3 with a run for San Diego. UM alum Zack Cozart of the Reds had the only real dud of a day, going 0-for-4 — though his team did win its game. Former Rebels star Alex Presley was 0-for-1 as a pinch hitter for Houston, and Southwest Mississippi CC product Jarrod Dyson got in late for Kansas City, as he often does, as a defensive replacement. Ex-Ole Miss ace Lance Lynn provided the pitching sparks, throwing 6 2/3 shutout innings for St. Louis in a victory over Miami. Lynn has nine W’s on the year. For the day, this Mississippi nine helped their clubs go 6-2. Now that’s a blast.

29 Jun

something new

The Mississippi Braves, 6-4 in the second half, will have a new look when they take the field at Trustmark Park today to begin a five-game series with Huntsville. All-Star shortstop Elmer Reyes is gone, sent to Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday. Kyle Wren, an outfielder, and Daniel Castro, an infielder, were promoted from Class A Lynchburg. Neither played in the series finale at Birmingham, so they could make their Southern League debuts today. Wren, son of Atlanta general manager Frank Wren, was batting .296 with 33 steals at Lynchburg. The lefty-hitting center fielder was an eighth-round pick last June from Georgia Tech. Castro, a Mexico native who can play second base and shortstop, was hitting .292. The M-Braves also lost right-hander Aaron Northcraft, who led the team with seven wins, to promotion last week. They do come home on a roll, having won the last two games at Birmingham in dramatic fashion: with a nine-run ninth inning on Friday and with a go-ahead, eighth-inning home run by Cedric Hunter on Saturday. Hunter, a onetime big leaguer, is batting .311 with seven bombs. Second baseman Jose Peraza, who arrived from Lynchburg during the previous homestand, is hitting .425 in nine games. P.S. Some big league chew from Saturday: Former M-Braves star Christian Bethancourt got his first big league hit for Atlanta in a 5-1 win over Philadelphia that completed a twinbill sweep. … Itawamba Community College product Desmond Jennings, who went 0-for-9 in a doubleheader on Friday, led off Saturday’s game with a homer (No. 7) that propelled Tampa Bay to a 5-4 win over Baltimore. … Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton got three hits and a steal — he’s batting .282 with 34 bags — and Ole Miss alum Zack Cozart added a couple of hits to help Cincinnati win its fourth straight, 7-3 over San Francisco in 11 innings. … Ex-Ole Miss standout Alex Presley went 2-for-4 with a homer (No. 4) and three RBIs as Houston fell to Detroit 4-3. … UM product Lance Lynn, coming off a brilliant outing at Colorado, lasted just two innings at Dodger Stadium, yielding nine hits, two walks and six earned runs in St. Louis’ 9-1 loss to Los Angeles.

19 Jun

a few small things

Just for the record, Meridian Community College product Corey Dickerson was the only Colorado batter to reach base (via an error) during Clayton Kershaw’s no-hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night. And Dickerson also made the final out, fanning at a breaking ball to become Kershaw’s 15th strikeout victim in the 8-0 gem. … Resurgent Cincinnati, which beat Pittsburgh 11-4 to reach .500 (35-35) for the first time since April 2, has gotten contributions of late not only from Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton (now batting .278) but also from the other Mississippi connection on the team, Ole Miss alum Zack Cozart. Cozart had two hits on Wednesday and is batting .306 during the Reds’ current 7-3 run. … Former Southwest Mississippi CC star Jarrod Dyson went 1-for-3 as Kansas City won its 10th straight game, 2-1 over Detroit. Dyson is batting .300 with seven RBIs, 14 runs and 10 steals in 46 games for the first-place Royals. … UM product Aaron Barrett got one out and the win — he’s 3-0 — in first-place Washington’s 6-5 victory over Houston. The Nationals and slumping Atlanta start a big National League East series tonight. … Ex-Rebels standout Seth Smith went 1-for-4 as San Diego beat Seattle 2-1 on Tony Gwynn tribute night at Petco Park. … Lance Lynn, another UM product, took a loss for St. Louis against the New York Mets despite allowing just two runs in six innings of a 3-2 defeat. Lynn is 1-3 in his last four starts, 7-5 with a 3.15 ERA overall.

18 Jun

just the highlights

On a good day — like Tuesday — Billy Hamilton is the baseball equivalent of former basketball star Dominique Wilkins: a Human Highlight Film. Hamilton, the pride of Taylorsville, had three hits for Cincinnati, including a double and a bunt single. He drew a walk. He stole three bases (28 for the year). He scored twice. And he even threw out a runner, Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen, at the plate. The Reds won the game 6-5 at PNC Park, sending Pirates fans home disappointed. But the true baseball fans among them had to be impressed with what they had seen from the visiting team’s wispy center fielder. P.S. Mycal Jones of the Mississippi Braves also did some box score-filling on Tuesday. He hit a homer, scored twice, drew a walk and stole a base for the South All-Stars in the Southern League All-Star Game at Chattanooga. Elmer Reyes also had a hit in the South’s 6-4 win. Matt Kennelly caught half the game and went 0-for-2. Williams Perez started for the South and put up a scoreless inning, while J.R. Graham and James Hoyt also pitched, both yielding home runs. Hoyt did record the final out.

16 Jun

good stuff, but …

Billy Hamilton led off with a home run at Milwaukee on Sunday, giving the former Taylorsville High star three bombs in his last eight games for Cincinnati. The 160-pound rookie leadoff batter has only two stolen bases over that span. Strange, but true. For the year, Hamilton is batting .264 with four homers, three triples, 18 RBIs, 31 runs and 25 steals (in 33 attempts). Those are good numbers, but this one isn’t: .301. That’s Hamilton’s on-base percentage. He has walked just 12 times in 63 games — and has fanned 43 times in his 220 official at-bats. He also has just six bunt hits. Considering his speed, he would seem capable of more. Bottom line: It’s been a good season for Hamilton so far, but there is room for improvement. P.S. Southern Miss alum Brian Dozier was back in Minnesota’s lineup at second base on Sunday against Detroit after missing a couple of starts with a sore back. He homered — his 15th — on Saturday as a pinch hitter, then went 0-for-4 on Sunday.

12 Jun

3 stars — plus a couple

Desmond Jennings, the ex-Itawamba Community College star, had a two-run single in a four-run fourth inning as Tampa Bay snapped a 31-inning scoreless blight and went on to beat St. Louis 6-3 on Wednesday night. All told, Jennings was 2-for-4 with a run for the reeling Rays, who have won just twice in their last 16 games. … Meridian CC product Corey Dickerson, enjoying more playing time in Colorado, went 2-for-4 with three RBIs as the Rockies beat Atlanta 8-2 and knocked the Braves out of first place in the National League East. … Former Taylorsville High standout Billy Hamilton went 1-for-3 with a walk, an RBI, a run and a stolen base (No. 24) as Cincinnati beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-0. … Ole Miss alum Alex Presley, a veteran among Houston’s cast of kids, went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a steal to help the Astros beat Arizona 5-1. … And Jarrod Dyson, the former Southwest Mississippi CC star, was 1-for-3 with an RBI for Kansas City, which beat Cleveland 4-1. Ned Yost’s Royals have climbed into second place in the American League Central. P.S. The Biloxi Shrimpers? That’s one of the choices — perhaps the best — on the new Southern League club’s name-the-team ballot. The others: Beacon, Schooners, Mullets, Shuckers and Black Jacks. Voting ends this week. The team, moving from Huntsville, is scheduled to begin play in a new ballpark on the Coast next April.