Tag Archives: yankees

18 Jul

the first four

Blake Anderson, the first of the four Mississippi natives picked in the first two rounds of last month’s MLB draft, got his first professional hit on Thursday. Anderson, the former West Lauderdale catcher picked 36th overall by Miami, snapped an 0-for-21 start with a single for the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Marlins. Jacob Lindgren, from the Kiln by way of Mississippi State, has put up a 1.29 ERA in six appearances at three levels for the New York Yankees, who drafted the left-hander 55th overall. Lindgren is currently at high Class A Tampa in the Florida State League. Ti’Quan Forbes, the star shortstop from Columbia who was taken 59th overall by Texas, is batting .242 with six RBIs and 15 runs in the rookie Arizona League. And ex-Madison Central High standout Spencer Turnbull, picked 63rd out of Alabama by Detroit, has a 6.75 ERA in three starts for Connecticut in the short-season Class A New York-Penn League.

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.

11 Jul

whatever happened to …

Antoan Richardson, who had a couple of good years with the Mississippi Braves, is playing — and playing well — at Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre in the New York Yankees system. The personable Richardson, a 5-foot-8 Bahamas native and Vanderbilt alum, is batting .262 with 17 RBIs, 27 runs and 20 stolen bases (in 20 attempts) over 62 games. The injury-ridden Yankees might yet have a need for the speedy, switch-hitting outfielder. Richardson, in his 10th pro season, played parts of the 2010 and ’11 seasons with the M-Braves, batting .279 with 24 bags in 2010 and .283 with 17 the next year. He also got a big league cup of coffee in 2011, going 2-for-4 (with a steal) in nine games for Atlanta. He was originally a 35th-round pick by San Francisco. P.S. Ex-Pillow Academy star Louis Coleman is back in the big leagues with Kansas City, and Ole Miss alum Phil Irwin is back in Triple-A, shipped out by Texas after his one start.

29 May

a few atta boys

Toler Robinson of Pearl delivered a walk-off RBI double in the 13th inning on Wednesday night as Hinds Community College beat Madison (Wis.) 8-7 in the NJCAA Division II World Series. Austin Sanders of Madison worked four scoreless innings for the win. The Eagles are 4-0 in the tournament and play No. 1-ranked Mesa (Ariz.) in a semifinal round game today in Enid, Okla. … Mycal Jones got three hits, scored a run and drove in one as the Mississippi Braves beat Pensacola 5-4 in 13 innings at Trustmark Park. Jones is hitting .322 for the M-Braves, now 30-22 on the campaign. … JaCoby Jones, the former Mr. Baseball from Richton, went 3-for-6 with a home run, two runs and two RBIs for Class A West Virginia (Pittsburgh Pirates). Jones is batting .270 with six homers, 23 RBIs and 32 runs. … Tommy La Stella got two hits in his first major league game for Atlanta; the second baseman is the 85th M-Braves alumnus to advance to The Show. … Former M-Braves standout Brian McCann played flawlessly in his first pro start at first base and delivered two hits in a New York Yankees victory over St. Louis. … Jarrod Dyson, the ex-Southwest Mississippi CC star, stole two bases for Kansas City to boost his season total to nine. In limited playing time, Dyson is fourth in the Mississippians in MLB Stolen Base Race, trailing Billy Hamilton (18), Brian Dozier (12) and Desmond Jennings (11). … Last but certainly not least, T.J. House, the Picayune High product, worked 6 1/3 innings, allowing just one run on five hits with eight strikeouts and a walk in his second career MLB start for Cleveland. The Indians wound up losing 3-2 to the Chicago White Sox. P.S. Ex-Ole Miss pitcher Phil Irwin has been claimed on waivers by Texas (from Pittsburgh) and assigned to Triple-A Round Rock.

18 Dec

wait and see

Jonathan Papelbon, the outspoken former Mississippi State standout, was a phone guest on MLB Network’s Hot Stove this morning, but he offered no news on rumors that Philadelphia is shopping him. “I haven’t heard a whole lot,” Papelbon said. “Right now, I’m a Phillie. … If it happens, it happens.” Papelbon had a solid second season with the Phillies (5-1, 29 saves, 2.92 ERA) but wrankled some with comments about being unhappy playing for a non-contender. The New York Yankees are among teams reported to be interested in Papelbon, who has a big contract and a limited no-trade clause. … Another former Bulldogs star, Mitch Moreland, is still being mentioned as a trade piece in Texas, which now has Prince Fielder to play first base. … Also in limbo are ex-MSU left-hander Paul Maholm, Ole Miss alum Chris Coghlan, Weir’s Roy Oswalt and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College product Tony Sipp, all free agents. … Former Taylorsville High star Billy Hamilton may also be having an anxious winter as he waits, with the rest of us, to see whether Shin-Soo Choo re-signs with Cincinnati or goes elsewhere. (Choo reportedly turned down a lucrative offer from the Yankees.) If Choo leaves, Hamilton figures to get a long look in center field by the Reds in the spring. … Mississippians who already have changed places in the off-season include UM alum Seth Smith (Oakland to San Diego), ex-Rebels pitcher Drew Pomeranz (Colorado to Oakland) and Hattiesburg’s Robert Carson (New York Mets to Los Angeles Angels).