tumble

There are slumps, and then there is tumbling into the abyss, which is what the Mississippi Braves seem to be doing. (Think Red Sox of 1978, Cubs of 1969 or Phillies of ’64.) On the morning of Aug. 13, the M-Braves were 30-16, sitting pretty with a 6-game lead in the Southern League South and counting magic numbers. Today, they are 34-28, clinging by their fingernails to a half-game lead in the second-half race over Pensacola, the first-half champ. Worse than that, the M-Braves have actually fallen a half-game behind Biloxi in the overall South standings, which will determine the wild card playoff team should Pensacola also win the second half. What the heck happened? Yes, hot prospect shortstop Dansby Swanson went to Atlanta on Aug. 17, but he wasn’t carrying the team by any means. Can’t blame the funk on that. It just appears the M-Braves’ lack of consistent offensive firepower is catching up to them. They’re ninth in the 10-team league in runs – ahead of only Biloxi, oddly enough – and ninth in on-base percentage. They don’t have a lot of power, nor do they steal many bases. Combine that with a pitching staff that, despite a league-best 3.16 ERA, ranks first in walks and second in hit batsmen and you begin to understand what a tightrope the M-Braves are walking. While dropping 12 of their last 16, the team has lost by such scores as 5-4, 5-1, 1-0, 2-1, 2-1, 6-3, 2-0, 5-0, 3-2 and 3-1. When Ozzie Albies got that desperately needed clutch triple on Sunday at Chattanooga to snap the seven-game losing streak, there might have been reason to think they’d broken their fall. But then the M-Braves got drilled 13-0 by the Lookouts on Monday. They’ll come tumbling home to Trustmark Park on Thursday. Waiting for them will be the Shuckers, who beat the M-Braves five straight in Biloxi last week. A playoff berth will be on the line. If Mississippi-Biloxi isn’t already a rivalry, it should feel like one by the end of that five-game series. P.S. Kade Scivicque, a former All-State catcher at Southwest Mississippi Community College, has been promoted to Mississippi from Class A Carolina. A fourth-round pick from LSU by Detroit in 2015, Scivicque was acquired by Atlanta in the Erick Aybar trade. He was 5-for-28 in eight games at Carolina after hitting .282 with six homers and 41 RBIs in high A-ball for the Tigers.