Tag Archives: Rockies

08 Dec

stove toppings

The Colorado Rockies reportedly are getting calls about Corey Dickerson, the ex-Meridian Community College star. The left-handed hitting outfielder, 26, is a career .299 hitter and is four years from free agency. Dickerson battled injuries in 2015, hitting .304 with 10 homers in 224 at-bats. … McComb’s Jarrod Dyson of the world champion Kansas City Royals was grand marshal of the Christmas parade in his hometown over the weekend. City officials are also considering naming a street in his honor. Dyson, a .255 hitter with 146 career steals over six MLB seasons, has never been a regular with the Royals but could get that chance in right field in 2016. … Pascagoula native Joey Butler was claimed on waivers by Cleveland (from Tampa Bay). Butler, 29, hit .276 with eight homers in 88 games for the Rays last season. He joins eight other outfielders on the Indians’ 40-man roster, with two more also having received spring training invites. … Zack Cozart expects to be back at full speed by the time spring training starts for Cincinnati. The former Ole Miss star, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in June, has been rehabbing since late August. “If I had to put a number on it, I’m 90 percent now,” Cozart told mlb.com over the weekend. Cozart, a slick-fielding shortstop, was having a strong season at the plate, hitting .258 with nine homers and 28 RBIs through 58 games. … Free agent reliever Tony Sipp, the Moss Point High and Mississippi Gulf Coast CC product, is said to be seeking a 3-year contract in the $15-18 million range. The 32-year-old left-hander, who has been linked to a number of clubs, posted a 1.99 ERA for Houston last season.

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.

11 Sep

meaningful games

His team is buried in last place and has been out of playoff contention for months, but the remaining games on the Colorado schedule are certainly meaningful for Corey Dickerson. The former Meridian Community College and Brookhaven Academy star has missed 95 of the Rockies’ 140 games because of injury. On Thursday night, in his third game back from his third stint on the disabled list, Dickerson hit his first home run since April 23. In 150 at-bats, he is batting .305 with 19 RBIs. He told the Denver Post his goals for the rest of the way are “finishing the season healthy and looking to get better.” When he plays, the left-handed hitting outfielder has been pretty good. He hit .312 last year with 24 homers and 76 RBIs and is at .298 with 35 and 112 for his three-year big league career. The Rockies appear to be due for a rebuild, so who knows what the future holds for Dickerson or any other regular on their roster? P.S. Ole Miss alum Alex Presley had two more hits – he is 6-for-9 in the series – to help Fresno beat El Paso 5-4 and go up 2-0 in their Pacific Coast League best-of-5 conference series. Ex-Mississippi State standout Hunter Renfroe homered for El Paso. … Stone County High product D.J. Davis was 3-for-4 in Lansing’s 5-4, series-clinching win over Great Lakes in the Class A Midwest League playoffs. Vancleave’s Tyler Bray notched a hold in Peoria’s 3-2, series-clincher against Kane County and his brother Colin Bray. Colin was 1-for-4 but didn’t face Tyler. And former Southwest Mississippi CC star Kade Scivicque went 2-for-3 with an RBI as West Michigan eliminated Fort Wayne 2-1.

18 Aug

holding pattern

The return date for Corey Dickerson, out since July 30 with broken ribs, is now listed as “possibly September” on the MLB web site. Last week, it was “possibly August.” The ex-Meridian Community College star from McComb has played only 43 games for Colorado this season sandwiched around three stints on the disabled list, the first two related to plantar fasciitis. Comments from Rockies manager Walt Weiss, whose club is floundering in last place, would seem to suggest that Dickerson, 26, might not play again this season. He is batting .315 with five homers and 18 RBIs. “I love coming to the ballpark, and I know when I’m healthy, I’m going to succeed,” Dickerson told mlb.com in an Aug. 16 article. The lefty-hitting outfielder broke out in 2014, when he hit .312 and blasted 24 homers.

04 Aug

the winding road

In his 11th pro season, and still without a day in the big leagues, Corey Wimberly shows no signs of slowing down. The former Alcorn State star is playing for Yucatan in the Mexican League and hitting .333 with a league-leading 85 runs and 29 stolen bases. He had a four-hit game on Sunday, his second four-hit game during a current seven-game streak during which he has 16 hits. The 31-year-old Wimberly, a switch-hitter, is playing center field and batting leadoff for Yucatan, which is in first place in the Triple-A caliber league. It would seem that a major league club could use a player with Wimberly’s skills; he’s a .294 career hitter with 336 steals. He was in the Minnesota system last year, the seventh MLB organization he has played for since Colorado drafted him in 2005. P.S. No longer playing in Mexico – though apparently not officially retired — is Hattiesburg’s John Lindsey, who began this season, his 21st in pro ball, with Tijuana. Lindsey, who got 12 MLB at-bats in 2010, was hitting .262 with three homers and 13 RBIs when he was released in late June. Lindsey, 38, homered in his final game for Tijuana on June 26. If that were indeed the last game of his career, it would be fitting that he went out with a blast. The big slugger has 331 homers all told in pro ball; he hit No. 1 in 1995 in rookie ball for the Rockies.

20 Jul

on the move

Corey Dickerson has taken another step on the path to returning to the Colorado Rockies’ lineup. The former Brookhaven Academy and Meridian Community College star played left field and went 1-for-3 on Sunday in the first game of his rehab assignment. He is with Class A Modesto in the California League. Dickerson, dealing with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, has only 127 MLB at-bats this season and is hitting .299 with five home runs and 16 RBIs. He last played a game for the Rockies on June 16. Colorado manager Walt Weiss told the Denver Post that Dickerson would get about 25 rehab at-bats and should be back with the Rockies “real soon.” Dickerson had a breakout year in 2014, when he batted .312 with 24 homers, 76 RBIs and 74 runs in 131 games. He was All Mississippi Baseball’s Cool Papa Bell Award winner, given for the best season by a Mississippian in the majors. … Ole Miss product Alex Presley, designated for assignment by Houston on Saturday, may soon land with another MLB club, according to various reports. Presley, a lefty-hitting outfielder who had just 12 ABs with the Astros this season, is a .259 career hitter who can do a lot of little things well.

18 Jun

aches and pains

One stint on the disabled list was not enough time for Corey Dickerson’s plantar fasciitis to sufficiently heal. The former Meridian Community College star, in the midst of another strong season with Colorado, went back on the 15-day DL on Wednesday. He came off his first trip on June 11. “It won’t get better until it has time to rest,” Dickerson told mlb.com. Dickerson, 4-for-16 without an RBI during his brief return, is batting .299 with five homers and 16 RBIs in 38 games. When he might rejoin the Rockies is unclear. The MLB all-Mississippi injured list now includes Zack Cozart (knee, out for the season), Cliff Lee (flexor tendon, possibly out for good), Desmond Jennings (knee, return uncertain), Aaron Barrett (biceps, return uncertain) and Lance Lynn (forearm, due back next week). P.S. Daniel Castro, who got a hit in his first big league at-bat for Atlanta on Wednesday, joins a lengthy list of former Mississippi Braves shortstops to make The Show. The others: Luis Hernandez, Yunel Escobar, Diory Hernandez, Brandon Hicks, Brent Lillibridge, Tyler Pastornicky, Andrelton Simmons and Ed Lucas. Castro hit .277 for the M-Braves in 2014 and was batting .389 this season when he was bumped up to Triple-A Gwinnett.

16 Jun

here and there

Ex-Southern Miss right-hander Christian Talley has signed as a free agent with the Colorado Rockies, the school announced today. USM had three pitchers drafted last week: Cody Carroll, Ryan Milton and Ferriss Trophy winner James McMahon, who was picked by the Rockies. … Stan Cliburn, the former Forest Hill High star from Jackson, recently notched his 1,500th win as a professional baseball manager. Cliburn’s Southern Maryland Blue Crabs are currently tied for first in the independent Atlantic League’s Freedom Division. One of his regulars is ex-big leaguer Fred Lewis, the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College product who is batting .238 with 13 RBIs and 18 runs in 44 games. Cliburn, who also played in the big leagues, managed his first team in 1988 and has been working in pro ball ever since. His twin brother Stu, also an MLB vet, is the pitching coach for Chattanooga in the Southern League. … Former Hattiesburg High standout and onetime big leaguer Robert Carson has signed with Bridgeport of the Atlantic League. The big left-hander, 26, was recently released by the Los Angeles Dodgers on the heels of a 50-game drug suspension that cost him an invite to major league spring training. … Itawamba CC alum Tim Dillard is soldiering on in his 13th pro season. The onetime big leaguer, now 31, has a 4.24 ERA in 12 games for Triple-A Colorado Springs in the Milwaukee system. Dillard recently moved into the Sky Sox starting rotation. … Here’s a young player to watch: Mason Irby. The lefty-hitting catcher, a Southeast Lauderdale High product, was a second-team NJCAA Division II All-America pick as a freshman at Jones County Junior College this past season after batting .395 with three homers and 51 RBIs. He is playing for Niagara in the New York Collegiate Baseball League and at last look was hitting .359 with five doubles and six RBIs in 11 games.

11 Jun

down goes cozart

Zack Cozart is out for the season, the Cincinnati Reds have announced, KO’d by the knee injury suffered on Wednesday when he stumbled crossing first base. The former Ole Miss star, in his fifth big league season, was hitting .258 with nine homers and 28 RBIs while playing a smooth shortstop. … On a positive note, Corey Dickerson, the Meridian Community College alumnus, is in the Colorado lineup today, playing left field and batting sixth against Miami. Dickerson, out with plantar fasciitis in his left foot since May 18, is batting .306 with five homers and 16 RBIs for the Rockies.

18 May

worth noting

Dan Jennings, who played at Southern Miss and William Carey, will move from general manager to field manager of the Miami Marlins today, according to numerous reports. Jennings has worked in the Marlins’ front office since 2002. He’ll replace the fired Mike Redmond. Jennings played three years at USM (1979-81) and one year at Carey, graduating from the latter in 1984. He was inducted into WCU’s athletics Hall of Fame earlier this year. Jennings had a brief fling in pro ball as a player and coached high school ball in Alabama before becoming a big league scout. … Former Mississippi State star Mitch Moreland hit his second homer for Texas on Sunday. He is 5-for-20 since returning from the disabled list and is at .288 with 12 RBIs for the season. … Pascagoula’s Joey Butler, who had another hit on Sunday, is batting .300 with two homers and seven RBIs in 13 games for Tampa Bay. He was called up when Itawamba Community College alumnus Desmond Jennings (knee) went on the DL. Jennings reportedly is close to returning to duty. … Billy Hamilton got a day off Saturday and hit in the 8-hole on Sunday for Cincinnati. “You’ve got to roll with it,” the ex-Taylorsville High standout told mlb.com about being dropped from the leadoff spot. He went 1-for-3 and is now at .214 for the year. Ole Miss product Zack Cozart, hitting .300, has moved to the top of the order for Cincy. … Ex-UM star Lance Lynn threw 7 1/3 innings, allowing one run, as St. Louis beat heavy-hitting Detroit 2-1. Lynn (3-3, 2.96 ERA) has won two straight starts. “Lance was great, no question about it,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny told mlb.com. … Meridian CC alum Corey Dickerson is playing with plantar fasciitis in his left foot and might be headed for the DL. The Colorado outfielder is batting .309 with five homers and 16 RBIs.