mad skills

Chris Lofton opened some eyes back in the spring as a freshman left fielder and leadoff hitter for Jones County Junior College. The 5-foot-11, 175-pounder from Raleigh batted .391 with 9 triples, 4 homers, 30 RBIs and 14 stolen bases as the Bobcats won 36 games and reached the second stage of the state tournament. Lofton is also starting at cornerback this fall for the JCJC football team. He has been credited with 13 tackles, four assists and an interception through five games. But there's more. He also returns punts and kickoffs. Still more: He holds for extra points and field goals. A major league club might draft this guy next spring on his athletic versatility alone.

well, anyway

Sigh. Game 1 of the highly anticipated Twins-Tigers matchup was rained out Monday night. They'll play a day-night doubleheader today at Comerica Park. The Tigers were, however, able to hold a pregame ceremony in the rain Monday honoring their 1984 championship team. Has it really been 25 years? There were a pair of Mississippi natives on that Detroit club. Left fielder Larry Herndon of Sunflower, who caught the final out in the 4-1 series win over San Diego, hit .333 over the five games, including a key two-run homer in a Game 1 victory. Jackson native Chet Lemon, one of the game's best center fielders, hit .294.

in hot pursuit

Huge series starts tonight at Comerica Park in Detroit, where the first-place Tigers play the first of four games against the Minnesota Twins, who trail by 2 games in the American League Central. There are Mississippi angles aplenty in this showdown. Former Jackson Met Ron Gardenhire manages the Twins, and his pitching coach is ex-OJM Rick Anderson. Former Ole Miss star Matt Tolbert has been playing a steady third base for the Twins down the stretch. For Detroit, there's former Jackson General Carlos Guillen, who has been swinging a hot bat; Louisville native and ex-East Central CC star Marcus Thames, a DH/left fielder/pinch hitter with a big swing; and ex-Mississippi Brave Zach Miner, a middle reliever. MLB Network has Game 1.
P.S. Belated props to Jackson native Donnie Veal, who got his first big league win on Friday night by working two scoreless inning for Pittsburgh. Lefty Veal was a Rule 5 pickup in December by the Pirates out of the Chicago Cubs system. He pitched for the Tennessee Smokies of the Southern League last season.

fall ball

Ole Miss started fall practice on Saturday, looking ahead — way ahead — to extending its streak of NCAA Tournament appearances to eight. Though both Mississippi State and Southern Miss have been to the College World Series in recent years, something the Rebels haven't done since 1971, Ole Miss moved past the other two as the state's preeminent program of the '00 decade. State may have ruled in the '80s and '90s in Ron Polk's heyday, but there has been a gradual sea change since Mike Bianco took over in Oxford. Ole Miss has been to a Super Regional four of the last five years. The Rebels had 10 players drafted last June off a team that went 44-20. They've had 14 drafted in the first five rounds over the last six years. Left-hander Drew Pomeranz has been pegged as the No. 11 college prospect for 2010 by Baseball America. The Rebels' 2009 recruiting class, a key group for next spring, was ranked 18th-best by Collegiate Baseball (three notches behind rebuilding MSU). A new decade starts next spring. State has some work to do to knock Ole Miss off the mantle it once held.

P.S. More college stuff: Former Belhaven star and 2009 Ferriss Trophy winner Craig Westcott helped Salem-Keizer win the short-season Class A Northwest League championship. Lefty Westcott, who went 3-0 in the regular season for the San Francisco farm club, threw seven shutout innings in Game 3 of the best-of-5 NWL title series as the Volcanoes took a 7-0 victory and a 2-1 series edge. ... News seems to travel slowly out of Lorman. Alcorn State hired a new coach in July, Barrett Rey, to replace Willie "Rat" McGowan, who quietly retired after the 2009 season. Rey, a former Southern U. player, had been the coach at Grambling.

duty calls

The injury suffered by San Francisco catcher Bengie Molina in Thursday night's game — badly bruised fingers on his glove hand — could mean more playing time down the stretch for former Delta State star Eli Whiteside. Raw rookie Buster Posey may also get a look. Whiteside is hitting just .197 with a homer and eight RBIs in limited time. His best asset is his defense; he made a nice play on a foul pop after replacing Molina on Thursday. And we shouldn't forget that he was behind the plate for Jonathan Sanchez's no-hitter this summer. If he's looking to stay with the Giants as the primary backup to Molina next season, Whiteside needs to step up in the crucial games ahead as San Francisco chases the wild card in the National League.

a long, long time ago

Congratulations go out to Ron Gardenhire on the occasion of his 700th win as manager of the Minnesota Twins. Old-timers in the Jackson area will remember Gardenhire as the JaxMets shortstop in 1980. He had a good year for a team that made the Texas League playoffs under Bob Wellman. Gardenhire, who had been drafted in 1979 out of Texas, hit .258 with 16 doubles, 6 triples, 6 homers and 64 RBIs in his first and only Double-A season. He was a serviceable big league player. He's been far more than that as a manager. Don't bet against the small-market Twins catching Detroit in the American League Central and making the playoffs — again.

P.S. Following the milestone win on Tuesday night, Gardenhire, humbly deflecting credit, told The Associated Press, "My coaches work their tails off, and I tip my hat to them." One of those coaches is Rick Anderson, a former Jackson Mets pitcher.

cut to the chase

Meanwhile, back at the playoff race: Fred Lewis' speed paid off again for San Francisco on Monday night. The former Stone High and Mississippi Gulf Coast CC star foiled a potential inning-ending double play, beating the throw to first as the go-ahead run scored in the eighth inning of the Giants' 5-4 win over Arizona. Lewis got an RBI and San Francisco gained a half game in the National League wild card race, now trailing Colorado by 4. ... Matt Tolbert started at third base for Minnesota again on Monday and the ex-Ole Miss star contributed two hits and a run in the Twins' 7-0 win over Chicago. Minnesota is just 2 1/2 games behind AL Central leader Detroit. ... Texas' hopes for this year are essentially quashed, but Starkville native Julio Borbon isn't mailing it in. He went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs in the Rangers' 10-3 win against Oakland.

P.S. Did you know ... Dave Clark is only the second Mississippi native to manager the Houston franchise. Ellisville's Harry Craft was the skipper of the first Houston team, the Colt .45s, in 1962.

opportunity knocks

He surely didn't want it to happen this way, but Dave Clark became the interim manager of the Houston Astros today when Cecil Cooper was fired. The former Shannon High and Jackson State slugger, who had been the Astros' third-base coach, will make his big league managerial debut tonight when the Astros host St. Louis. Clark has managerial experience, having won minor league championships in the Class A South Atlantic League (with Pittsburgh's Hickory club) and the Double-A Texas League (with Corpus Christi, the Astros franchise that was previously located in Jackson). Clark played 12-plus years in the big leagues, hitting .262 with 62 homers. 

the flip side

Even though they are paid — and paid pretty well, actually — to play a kids game, it can't always be easy showing up for work this time of year if you're a Pittsburgh Pirate. The Pirates are so hopelessly bad, they have become almost tragic. The franchise that gave us Pie Traynor, the Waner brothers, Bill Mazeroski, Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell hasn't had a winning season since 1992, when Barry Bonds was their 185-pound left fielder. Consider the plight of former Mississippi State left-hander Paul Maholm, who might be the ace of the current Bucs staff by default. While guys he played with and against in Mississippi are enjoying the thrill of the playoff chase, Greenwood native Maholm is stuck on a club that is 30 games out of first place in the National League Central. The Pirates have been out of the race, division or wild card, for weeks if not months and have lost 19 of their last 22. Maholm lost Sunday to San Diego, falling to 8-9. Considering that his club is 56-91, that's fairly remarkable. His ERA is 4.46, high but not a disaster — unless you pitch for a club that is as offensively challenged as Pittsburgh, which traded away most of its best hitters weeks ago. The Pirates lost 4-0 on Sunday, the 15th time they've been shut out. If there's a silver lining for Maholm, he might only have to start a couple more times.

heat of the moment

Fred Lewis hasn't had the kind of season the San Francisco Giants were counting on (.269 with 18 RBIs), but no one was thinking about that Friday night at Dodger Stadium. Lewis — Fast Fred from Wiggins by way of Mississippi Gulf Coast CC — sparked the Giants' 8-4 win over Los Angeles, a victory that kept San Francisco in the National League wild card chase. Pinch hitting in the sixth inning of a 4-4 game, Lewis delivered an RBI double over the head of left fielder Manny Ramirez and scored an insurance run on a Eugenio Velez double. ... Ole Miss product Chris Coghlan led off the ninth inning by reaching on an error and set off a four-run rally by Florida that took down Cincinnati 4-3 at the Great American Ballpark on Friday. The Marlins gained ground on wild card leader Colorado with that victory. ... At the Metrodome, former Rebels star Matt Tolbert, the pride of McComb, had a hit and highlight-reel defensive play at third base in Minnesota's 3-0 win over Detroit. The feisty Twins, managed by ex-Jackson Met Ron Gardenhire, are just 3 games behind the Tigers in the American League Central.

collecting hardware

It's been quite a summer — and fall — for Desmond Jennings, the former Itawamba Community College star. Jennings was named the Southern League's player of the year and the Tampa Bay Rays' minor league player of the year and, on Thursday night, helped the Triple-A Durham Bulls win the International League championship. Jennings hit just .188 in the Bulls' three-game sweep of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but he delivered a key two-run single in the clinching game, won by Durham 3-2 in 12 innings. Durham will play either Chris Maloney's Memphis Redbirds or Sacramento in the Triple-A title game next Tuesday. Injured most of last season, Jennings has shot up the prospect charts — to No. 18 in Baseball America's midseason ranking. It looks like Jennings' decision to pick baseball over football (he was an Alabama recruit) was a good one. He'll be in the big leagues next season.

it's that time

There aren't many races left to watch these last couple weeks of the season ... but so what? The Philadelphia-Atlanta series that starts Friday shouldn't be ignored, especially the Sunday game slated to match former Meridian Community College star Cliff Lee against former Mississippi Braves ace Tommy Hanson. The Braves need to win that series, if not sweep it, to stay in the NL wild card chase. That third game could be pivotal. Lee is 7-2 with Philly, but one of those losses was to the Braves. ... Florida is still chasing wild card leader Colorado, as well, and it'll be interesting to see how Marlins rookie Chris Coghlan holds up down the stretch. Tonight, he faced a fellow former Ole Miss player, Matt Maloney of Cincinnati, and got three of the seven hits Maloney allowed in five pretty solid innings. (He left with a 3-2 lead.) ... San Francisco, which heads to Los Angeles for a key NL West series this weekend, took two of three from Colorado in their showdown that ended Wednesday. No less than five Mississippians hooked up in that series: Seth Smith (Ole Miss) and Paul Phillips (Meridian CC) for the Rockies and Fred Lewis (Gulf Coast CC), Brandon Medders (Mississippi State) and Eli Whiteside (Delta State) for the Giants. Smith just seems destined to play a big role in the Rockies' finishing kick. ... Detroit is at Minnesota this weekend with the Tigers looking at a chance to bury the Twins in the AL Central. Marcus Thames (East Central CC) has seen his role reduced in Detroit, but the slugging outfielder might yet produce a dramatic home run. He's certainly capable. The Twins have Matt Tolbert, yet another former Ole Miss player, filling a utility role. ... September is fading, leaves are falling and October is just around the corner. These are the times that baseball fans live for.
P.S. Sad to see that Roy Oswalt's tough year came to a tough end. Houston shut down the Weir resident and former Holmes CC standout on Wednesday. He won only eight games, lowest total of his career, and had a 4.12 ERA in an injury-dampened season.

star power

Former Mississippi Braves outfielder Jason Heyward — and it's safe to assume he won't be back at Trustmark Park anytime soon — was named Baseball America's minor league player of the year today. Heyward, who began 2009 at Class A Myrtle Beach and is now at Triple-A Gwinnett, played in 47 games for the M-Braves and hit .352 with seven homers and 30 RBIs. Winning this award is typically a harbinger of a bright future. Previous winners include Joe Mauer, Josh Beckett, Rick Ankiel, Andruw Jones (twice), Derek Jeter, Manny Ramirez and, yes, Gregg Jefferies. Jefferies won it twice — in 1986 and 1987. He played parts of both of those seasons with the Jackson Mets. He could flat out hit, but he didn't really have a position, a shortcoming that may have kept his big league career from taking off. That's not a problem for Heyward. He's a darn good right fielder.

forecasting

Familiar faces figure to fill out the Mississippi Braves' 2010 lineup. Here's a projected opening day lineup that includes eight players who made at least a couple of appearances with the 2009 M-Braves: 

1. Jon Mark Owings, CF

2. Willie Cabrera, RF

3. Brandon Hicks, SS

4. Ernesto Mejia, 1B

5. Cody Johnson, LF

6. Donell Linares, 3B

7. Travis Jones, 2B

8. Benji Johnson, C

9. Jose Ortegano, P

There's an outside chance Freddie Freeman might be back at first base. He's a good-looking prospect, but he played only 41 games (hitting .248) for the Double-A club and finished the year on the DL with a wrist/hand injury. But if he fares well in the Arizona Fall League, we've likely seen the last of him at Trustmark Park. Hicks showed flashes of big league ability during what was a disappointing season overall (.237, 10 homers, 131 K's, 28 errors). He, too, could boost his stock in the AFL and land at Triple-A Gwinnett next spring. The others are safer bets to return. Owings, Mejia and the two Johnsons arrived very late in the season and didn't get much of a taste of Double-A. The new name in that lineup is Linares, a Cuban emigre who had a big year, at age 25, at Class A Myrtle Beach. His numbers: .287, 32 doubles, 15 homers and 87 RBIs. He might be the third base prospect Atlanta has been searching for.

P.S. On the subject of Atlanta, the Braves got their sagging offense back on track Thursday night against a seemingly unlikely suspect: Weir's Roy Oswalt, the former Holmes CC star. The Braves knocked around the Houston ace for 10 hits and six runs in two innings en route to a 9-7 win. When he's on, Oswalt's stuff is magical. But he's almost never on against Atlanta. He is 0-3 with a 7.58 ERA in seven career regular season starts. ... Seems Ole Miss alumnus Chris Coghlan always has something going. The Florida Marlins' rookie sensation has scored at least one run in nine straight games. 

fork, please

Former Mississippi Braves right-hander Tommy Hanson was brilliant Wednesday night against Houston. Atlanta manager Bobby Cox ... not so much. And the Braves may be done in the playoff chase. Hanson threw eight shutout innings at the Astros. Struck out seven. Walked none. Hit 95 mph in the eighth. And, with Atlanta holding just a 1-0 lead, Cox pulls him. He's headed for the Hall of Fame, sure, but everyone watching this game knew this was a bad move. Let the kid finish. The Braves' bullpen cannot be trusted with a 1-run lead. To no one's surprise, Rafael Soriano gives up three hits plus an intentional walk in the bottom of the ninth and Houston wins 2-1. (Kudos to former Jackson General Lance Berkman, who got the biggest hit, a one-out, one-on double off the wall in left.) A crucial game that should have been won was lost, and the Braves are 8 1/2 games out in the wild card race and 9 back in the National League East. 

P.S. Throw some ice water on Seth Smith. He's that hot. The former Hillcrest Christian and Ole Miss star, the reigning NL player of the week, got a two-out, two-run, game-winning hit for hard-charging Colorado on Wednesday. The Rockies, who've won six in a row, lead the wild card and are just 2 1/2 back of Los Angeles in the West. In those six wins, Smith is batting .522 with 12 RBIs. ... Props also go out to former Mississippi State standout Jonathan Papelbon, who recorded his 35th save for Boston on Wednesday. He has 35 or more saves in each of the last four seasons.

31 and counting

Dusty Hughes, the former Delta State left-hander who has battled through some adversity in his pro career, arrived in the big leagues for the first time over the weekend. And when he pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings in his debut for Kansas City on Sunday, the Tupelo native and former Horn Lake High hurler became the 31st Mississippi-connected player to make The Show this season. He is also the fourth DSU alum to appear in a big league game in 2009. Hughes, 27, was an 11th-round pick by the Royals in 2003. He missed all of the 2006 season after Tommy John surgery but reestablished himself in 2007 when he was named pitcher of the year in the Arizona Fall League. Having finally gotten the call-up to Kansas City, Hughes could hardly have done better his first time out. As manager Trey Hillman told the Kansas City Star: "... you kind of take extra notice of what you think their heart rate is, the look in their eyes. He wasn't intimidated." 

cringing time

Heard it on the radio: Former Mississippi Brave Jeff Francoeur was hitting .301 with seven home runs and 31 RBIs in 47 games with the New York Mets. He went 1-for-4 with an RBI today as the Mets knocked off the Colorado Rockies. Braves fans must cringe when reminded what Francoeur has done since Atlanta dealt him away. Wonder if Braves management is having any trader's remorse? Ryan Church has done almost nothing for Atlanta. Not only is Francoeur hitting for the Mets, he was recently tabbed in Baseball America as having the best outfield arm in the National League. Wouldn't it be nice to still have him around for the wild card chase ...?
P.S. Hattiesburg native Joey Gathright is back in The Show. Boston brought him up on Wednesday, though he didn't get in the game that night. He might win a game or two with his speed, which is something to behold.

first look

Checked out the Mississippi Braves' newest edition, Cody Johnson, at Trustmark Park tonight. The former Atlanta Braves first-round pick (2006) is an impressive specimen, standing 6 feet 4 and weighing every bit of his listed 195 (and probably more). Johnson, an outfielder, has been moving slowly in the Braves' system, mainly because of defensive issues and a tendency to strike out a lot. In fact, West Tenn lefty Nick Hill fanned Johnson in his first Double-A at-bat. But the left-handed hitter does have power. He hit 28 homers at Class A Rome last year and 32 at high-A Myrtle Beach this season. He'll likely be here for an extended stint in 2010 — and he'll likely park a few balls on the roof of the cafe beyond right field. Put him down as a work in progress. But don't dismiss him. By the way, Johnson's father, John, played at Mississippi State. He might just feel at home here.