Tag Archives: Twins

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.

25 May

managing (mostly) fine

Eyebrows were raised when John Gibbons was re-hired to manage the Toronto Blue Jays in 2013. Here lately, eyebrows have been raised over how well the Jays have played under the former Jackson Mets catcher. As we approach the Memorial Day pole – always a key marker in the MLB season – Toronto has won 10 of 12 games and surged to the top of the American League East with a 28-22 record. Gibbons had a losing record in his first run with the Jays from 2004-08, and the club went 74-88 last season. Former Mississippi State star Buck Showalter has his Baltimore Orioles in third place in the AL East at 24-23. Ex-Jackson Mets shortstop Ron Gardenhire, who has endured three straight miserable seasons in Minnesota, is enjoying better days so far in 2014. The Twins, fueled by Southern Miss alum Brian Dozier’s big numbers, are 23-23, tied for second in the AL Central with Kansas City (24-24). The Royals, whom everyone keeps expecting to break out, are managed by ex-JaxMets catcher Ned Yost. Former JaxMets star Billy Beane, the GM in Oakland, has worked more magic in 2014. The A’s are 30-19, leading the AL West. In the NL, former JaxMets skipper Clint Hurdle, manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, has seen his club slide to a 22-26 start, fourth in the Central Division. The Bucs made the playoffs last year for the first time since 1992; they’ve got work to do to get back in. P.S. On the MLB transaction watch: Cincinnati has signed former Ole Miss left-hander Matt Maloney to a minor league deal. Maloney debuted with the Reds in 2009. He last pitched in the big leagues in 2012 with Minnesota and has a 5.74 career ERA in 31 games. … Pascagoula’s Joey Butler, who got only five at-bats during his brief stint with St. Louis, is off to Japan, where he will play for the Orix Buffaloes. … Ole Miss alum Phillip Irwin was designated for assignment by Pittsburgh, which took him off the 40-man roster. The right-hander may very well wind up back with the Pirates’ Triple-A team.

08 May

ups and downs

The new job seems to be working out fine for Seth Smith. The former Hillcrest Christian and Ole Miss star, in his first year with San Diego, is batting .344 over his last 10 games and is at .295 for the year with two homers and seven RBIs. He batted .253 last season in Oakland. … Mississippi State product Tyler Moore, batting .200 in limited work for Washington, has been sent down to Triple-A Syracuse to make room on the roster for pitcher Doug Fister, coming off the disabled list. … Meridian Community College alumnus Corey Dickerson went 1-for-4 with two RBIs in Colorado’s 9-2 thumping of Texas on Wednesday. He is batting .348 with two homers and seven RBIs as a part-time outfielder. … Ex-MCC star Cliff Lee allowed six runs in 6 1/3 innings as Philadelphia lost to Toronto 10-0. Lee’s record dipped to 3-3 and his ERA jumped to 3.64. … Southwest Mississippi CC product Jarrod Dyson contributed a hit, two walks and a run and Schlater native Louis Coleman threw a scoreless inning in Kansas City’s 8-0 win over San Diego. Dyson is batting .286; Coleman, who has been scuffling, dropped his ERA to 6.30. … Billy Hamilton, the ex-Taylorsville High star, did not play in Cincinnati’s 3-2 loss to Boston. He has made just two appearances — no starts — since hurting his left hand on May 1. Ole Miss alum Zack Cozart took an 0-fer for the Reds and is batting just .200 despite a recent hot streak (.314 over his last 10). … Former Southern Miss star Brian Dozier picked up a couple of RBIs — he has 14 for the season — in Minnesota’s 4-3 loss to Cleveland.

04 May

it’s the big leagues

It’s a tough situation to walk into, but it’s also a safe bet Chris Coghlan isn’t concerned about the Chicago Cubs’ place in the standings. The former Ole Miss star is back in the big leagues, having been called up by the last-place Cubs to replace another outfielder, Ryan Sweeney, who went on the disabled list. Former National League rookie of the year Coghlan was hitting just .243 at Triple-A Iowa, but he is a career .270 hitter in the majors with 21 homers and 27 steals over parts of five years, all with the Florida/Miami Marlins. He signed a minor league deal with Chicago in the off-season. A left-handed hitter, Coghlan can play any of the outfield spots and even has experience at second and third base. With the Cubs facing St. Louis right-hander Lance Lynn, another Ole Miss product, at Wrigley Field tonight, Coghlan could be in the lineup. P.S. Brian Dozier is building a case for making the American League All-Star team. The ex-Southern Miss standout from Tupelo, now the Minnesota Twins’ second baseman, leads the league in runs (29) and has eight home runs and nine stolen bases. Dozier is batting just .246 but has a .365 on-base percentage and has reached in 11 straight games through Saturday. He is also playing great defense. Of course, the July 15 All-Star Game is at Minnesota’s Target Field, so Dozier would figure to get lots of support in the voting from hometown fans.

13 Apr

power switch

Check today’s American League home run leaders. Four players with four bombs: Veteran sluggers Melky Cabrera and Jose Bautista, Cuban rookie sensation Jose Abreu and … wait for it … Brian Dozier. The former Southern Miss star has just eight hits (in 44 at-bats) this season for Minnesota, but four of them have left the yard. He led off with a blast against Kansas City ace James Shields on Saturday, propelling the Twins to a 7-1 win. Dozier was not a power hitter at USM (16 homers in four years) or in the minors (16 in parts of four seasons). But the 5-foot-11, 190-pound second baseman found a power switch in Minnesota in 2013 and launched 18 homers. He has picked right up this spring. Including Saturday’s shot, Dozier has belted three homers in his last four games. “It is what it is,” he told mlb.com, adding that “my job is to get on base.” Circling them works pretty well, too.

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.