welcome home

Bill (a.k.a. Willie) Foster, a former Negro Leagues star and a National Baseball Hall of Fame member since 1996, was known to have grown up around Lorman and to have served as the Dean of Men at Alcorn State for many years. He died in Lorman in 1978. Foster's place of birth at the time of his Hall of Fame induction was listed as Calvert, Texas. Date of birth: June 12, 1904. Apparently, some new information surfaced. The Hall of Fame currently lists Foster's place of birth as Rodney, Miss., which is now a virtual ghost town located along the Mississippi River between Fayette and Port Gibson. So, it seems like a welcome is in order for the third Mississippi native in the Hall of Fame. Negro Leagues outfielder Cool Papa Bell (Starkville) and broadcaster Red Barber (Columbus) are the other two. Foster, a left-hander, pitched for some of the great Negro Leagues clubs of the 1920s and '30s.

travelin' man

Make it four different organizations in four years for Jarrett Hoffpauir. The former Southern Miss star from Natchez recently signed a minor league deal for 2012 with the Washington Nationals. He spent last season in the San Diego system, batting .281 in 91 games at Triple-A Tucson while battling injuries. He came up with St. Louis, which drafted the right-handed hitting infielder in 2004. He got some big league time with the Cardinals in '09, then was claimed off waivers by Toronto after that season. The Blue Jays also gave him a look in The Show, but he was taken by the Padres off waivers after 2010. He is a .285 career minor league hitter and has some power. Plus, he's a versatile infielder. He has a chance to claim a roster spot with a rapidly improving Nationals club.

fighting chance

Eli Whiteside will have to battle for a job with the San Francisco Giants in spring training. The deal signed by the former Delta State star on Saturday will give him an opportunity to beat out young catchers Chris Stewart and Hector Sanchez for the right to back up Buster Posey in 2012. The veteran Whiteside, 32, hit just .197 with four homers last season while sharing catching duties with Stewart (.204) after Posey went down for the year with a gruesome knee injury. Sanchez spent most of the past season in the minors, so the main competition for the No. 2 job figures to be between Whiteside and Stewart. Whiteside, a good defensive catcher, has to like his chances. He could have gone elsewhere. The Giants saved some money, though probably just a little, by not offering Whiteside a shot at salary arbitration and putting him on the free agent market. He'll make $600,000 if he lands a spot on the 25-man roster in the spring; if he goes to the minors, he'll make just $175,000.

hanging in the balance

With the Colorado Rockies reportedly closing in on signing free agent outfielder Michael Cuddyer while also showing interest in Carlos Beltran and Cody Ross, Seth Smith's future with the club seemingly hangs in the balance. The former Ole Miss and Hillcrest Christian star could remain with the Rockies as a left-handed platoon player or a pinch hitter. Or, if the outfield picture gets too crowded, he could be dealt for a starting pitcher, which has been rumored for some time. Smith would appear to have some trade value. He had a good year in 2011, hitting .284 with 15 home runs and 59 RBIs, and he's a good athlete in the outfield. But struggles against lefty pitching is a major flaw in his game. Smith, a second-round draft pick in 2004, has been with Colorado his entire career and was a rookie on the 2007 World Series roster. But player movement is just a fact of life in the big leagues these days.
P.S. A Matt Esquivel sighting: The former Mississippi Braves slugger, whose 2007 single-season homer record was broken this year by Ernesto Mejia, is playing for Navojoa in Mexico's winter league. Esquivel, who turns 29 on Saturday, is hitting .211 with two homers in 19 at-bats; he homered Thursday. He has spent the last few seasons in the independent Atlantic League and hit .328 with 15 homers for Long Island in 2011.

hot stove, magnolia style

With a nod to MLB Network, here’s a prime nine of smoldering questions regarding Mississippians in the majors that will be answered in the coming weeks and months:
1) Where will Roy Oswalt land? The latest buzz has the Washington Nationals in hot pursuit of the right-hander from Weir who probably still has enough in the tank to bolster any rotation.
2) Where will Paul Maholm land? The lefty out of Mississippi State went 6-14 with a 3.66 ERA for Pittsburgh last season and was 53-73 for the Pirates in his career; a change of scene might be very good for him.
3) How will things work out for MSU product Jonathan Papelbon in Philadelphia, which signed him to a record contract for a closer? He seems to like pressure, and there will be plenty of it in Philly.
4) How will the Pirates’ signing of Nate McLouth impact Alex Presley’s situation? The ex-Ole Miss star, who batted .298 in 52 games in 2011, is penciled in as the Bucs’ left fielder but will be pushed by the veteran McLouth, who had success in Pittsburgh before scuffling with Atlanta.
5) Is Desmond Jennings on the brink of becoming a full-blown star in Tampa Bay? The Itawamba Community College alumnus hit .259 with 10 homers and 20 steals in 63 games this past season, though he slumped down the stretch.
6) How will Zack Cozart bounce back from injury in 2012? The Ole Miss product took over as Cincinnati’s shortstop last summer but was cut down by a left shoulder injury that required Tommy John surgery. He hit .310 in Triple-A and .324 in 11 games with the Reds.
7) Is Chris Coghlan still in the Miami Marlins’ plans? The former Ole Miss standout, the 2009 rookie of the year in the National League, has endured two disappointing, injury-plagued seasons and finished 2011 in the minors, where it’s rumored he’ll start 2012.
8) Is Fred Lewis in anyone’s plans? The former Gulf Coast Community College star from Wiggins didn’t pan out with Cincinnati last season (.230 in 81 games). He’s a lefty-hitting outfielder with speed and pop but, at the moment, no team.
9) Which version of Jason Heyward will show up in Atlanta? The ex-Mississippi Braves standout hit just .227 with 14 homers and 42 RBIs this season after going .277-18-72 in 2010. He had shoulder surgery, and Peter Gammons has predicted he’ll have a “monster year.” Braves fans have their fingers crossed.

play ball alert

Mark Jan. 27 on your calendar. Belhaven will open its 2012 season on that date, facing Blue Mountain at 3 p.m. at Smith-Wills Stadium. Weather permitting, of course. In Mississippi, it could be snowing on Jan. 27 or it could be 70 degrees. Let's hope for the latter.
P.S. Not a lot of news on player movement but did see where Luis Hernandez, who played shortstop for the 2005 Mississippi Braves, signed a minor league deal with Texas and ex-M-Braves right-hander Kyle Cofield, a 10-game winner in '09, inked with Pittsburgh. Cofield spent 2011 in the Chicago White Sox system.

no worries

Mitch Moreland's recovery from wrist surgery is pegged at 8-12 weeks, but the Texas Rangers expect him to be "100 percent no later than March 1." That's what GM Jon Daniels told mlb.com. The Rangers' first exhibition game is March 4, so Moreland might even be able to play in it. The former Mississippi State star, who hit .259 with 16 homers in his first full big league season in 2011, slumped after the All-Star break. Bothered by the sore right wrist, the lefty-swinging Moreland hit .241 in the second half and went just 3-for-29 in the playoffs. Texas has other options at first — Michael Young and Mike Napoli both played there a fair bit this past season — and there are free agent first basemen out there, as well. But Daniels said the Rangers are committed to Moreland as their regular for 2012.

dog tracks

Another Mississippi State signee for 2013 has emerged. Pierson Waring, an infielder at Hinds Community College, inked with the Bulldogs, according to a release from the junior college. Waring, from Vicksburg, hit .363 with a homer, four triples and five doubles as a freshman in 2011. Six other Eagles also signed during the early period: Alex Gunn of Clinton with Memphis, Ryno Martin-nez of Vicksburg with Louisiana Tech, Carey Taylor of Brandon with Louisiana-Monroe and Tyler Akins of Madison, Daniel Gilbert of Ridgeland and Andrew Gunn of Clinton all with NAIA powerhouse Belhaven.
P.S. Former Jackson Generals standout Carlos Guillen reportedly is attracting interest from the Miami Marlins. Guillen hit just .232 in an injury-dampened 2011 season with Detroit. He is 36, but he's a career .285 hitter who bats from both sides and can play just about anywhere. ... Ex-Mississippi Braves manager Phillip Wellman will return as the hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals' Double-A Springfield club next season.

young at heart

Dmitri Young is indeed plotting a comeback. The Vicksburg native is 38 and hasn't played in the major leagues since 2008. But he recently told mlb.com that the reason he is playing in the Venezuelan Winter League is because he wants another shot at The Show. Young, who reportedly has lost 50 pounds after reaching 300-plus in retirement, is hitting .161 with no home runs in 19 games for Caribes. He said he is "getting re-acclimated to playing, getting the rust off." Young, a powerful switch-hitter in his prime, belted 171 homers in the majors, including 29 for Detroit in 2003. He was an All-Star in 2007 with Washington but managed to play just 50 games because of injuries in '08, hitting .280 with four homers. He formally retired in the spring of 2010. But now he's shopping for an offer from a big league organization. "You've got to prove yourself to see exactly where you're at," Young told mlb.com, "and that's why I wanted to come play winter ball, for that reason."
P.S. Fun facts: Young played on the 1994 Arkansas Travelers club with new Mississippi Braves manager Aaron Holbert. That team was managed by Jackson native Chris Maloney, recently hired as a coach by the St. Louis Cardinals.

on the dotted line

Some signing news has trickled through this Thanksgiving week. Former Delta State left-hander Dusty Hughes has signed a minor league deal with Atlanta. Hughes spent most of the past season in Triple-A with Minnesota, posting a 4.29 ERA in 43 games. In 15 major league appearances, he put up a 9.95. Not so hot ... but he is a lefty. ... The Braves also re-signed catcher J.C. Boscan, one of the heroes of the Mississippi Braves' 2008 pennant-winning club. Boscan got some limited big league time the last two seasons. ... Another former M-Braves standout, Gregor Blanco, has landed with San Francisco. Blanco, an outfielder currently leading the Venezuelan Winter League in runs and stolen bases, spent most of 2011 in Triple-A in the Kansas City and Washington systems. ... Onetime Jackson Generals ace Freddy Garcia reportedly has agreed to terms with the New York Yankees, for whom he went 12-8 with a 3.26 ERA in a resurgent 2011 campaign. At 35, he apparently still has some life in his right arm. ... The Nationals have added Tyler Moore to their 40-man roster, which means an invitation to big league camp in spring training. Moore, who played at Northwest Rankin High, Meridian Community College and Mississippi State, hit 31 homers in each of the last two seasons. The righty-swinging first baseman played this past year in Double-A.

rumor mill

The Boston Red Sox reportedly have spoken with Roy Oswalt's agent. The free agent right-hander from Weir has been linked to the New York Yankees, Washington, Kansas City and his 2011 club, Philadelphia. Oswalt slipped a bit last season — 9-10, 3.69 ERA amid injury issues — but he'll get a good offer somewhere. If he still wants to pitch in 2012, he will have the opportunity. ... Rumor has it that Atlanta and Colorado talked about a deal that would send former Ole Miss star Seth Smith to the Braves for Mississippi Braves alumnus Martin Prado. Seems like a longshot. The Braves want a power-hitting outfielder, and Smith is that, but he's a lefty and Atlanta's lineup is already too left-handed. Smith hit .284 last year but just .202 against left-handed pitching. He had 15 homers, 32 doubles and nine triples, numbers boosted somewhat by playing at Coors Field. ... Colorado could be the next home for former Mississippi State lefty Paul Maholm. The free agent, who went 6-14, 3.66 with Pittsburgh last season, has also been linked to the New York Mets,, Washington and Miami, among others, but the Rockies are the best bet, according to one blog out there. ... The newly named Miami Marlins may open their new stadium next April without ex-Ole Miss standout Chris Coghlan on the roster. There are reports that the 2009 rookie of the year, who had a miserable, injury-wrecked 2011 campaign (.230 in just 65 games), will start 2012 in the minors, where he finished this past season. ... This is not a rumor but a fact: Jackson native Donnie Veal has signed a minor league deal with the Chicago White Sox. Veal, who has 19 big league games on his resume, spent 2011 in the minors with Pittsburgh. He's a power lefty with a 3.84 career ERA in the minors, mostly as a starter. M-Braves fans might remember him from his days with the Tennessee Smokies in the Chicago Cubs' system.

boys of winter

Life goes on in the Venezuelan Winter League, even after the recent kidnapping incident involving Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos. Former Alcorn State standout Corey Wimberly recently joined the Caracas club. The versatile Wimberly, who spent last season in Triple-A in the Pittsburgh system, is playing outfield and is 2-for-9 in his two games. He is still seeking his first big league call-up. ... Also in the VWL, ex-Ole Miss star Justin Henry is hitting .293 for Zulia. Henry, a second baseman, has spent the last two seasons bouncing between Double-A and Triple-A in the Detroit organization. ... Ernesto Mejia, who set the Mississippi Braves' home run and RBI records this season, is a teammate of Henry's on the Zulia club and is batting .298 with four homers and 21 RBIs. ... Another ex-M-Braves first baseman, Barbaro Canizares, has blasted 11 homers in 34 games in the Mexican Pacific League. Canizares, no longer under contract with a major league organization, spent the 2011 season in the Triple-A Mexican League. ... Former Taylorsville High star Billy Hamilton, a rising prospect with Cincinnati, leads the Puerto Rican Winter League with six stolen bases in 10 games but is batting just .194. ... Christian Bethancourt hit a two-run bomb and Joey Terdoslavich went 2-for-4 in a losing cause for Surprise, which fell to Salt River 9-3 in Saturday's Arizona Fall League championship game. Bethancourt and Terdoslavich likely will be playing for the M-Braves in 2012.

haven't we met?

Aaron Holbert may be new to the Atlanta Braves’ organization, but the Mississippi Braves’ manager already is quite familiar with a number of players he may be in charge of next April. Holbert, hired by Atlanta last month as the new skipper of the Double-A M-Braves, managed the previous four seasons in the Cleveland system. He faced Atlanta’s Class A Rome club in 2008 and 2009 in the South Atlantic League and the high-A Myrtle Beach and Lynchburg teams in 2010 and this past season in the Carolina League. He also was a coach on a Carolina League All-Star team last summer that included shortstop Andrelton Simmons, first baseman Joey Terdoslavich and outfielder Adam Milligan, all highly regarded Braves prospects who could be in Pearl in 2012. “I’ve seen a lot of the guys who might be there,” Holbert said in a recent phone interview. “I’ve seen some of the ones who were there this season — Mycal Jones, (Zeke) Spruill, (Cory) Harrilchak. … I managed against Simmons and Terdoslavich and (Braeden) Schlehuber last year. I’m familiar with them and I know what they’re capable of doing. They’re familiar with me, too. That should make it easier for me to lead them next season.” Holbert was the Carolina League manager of the year in 2011 and has been pegged as a big league managerial prospect by Baseball America. Holbert, who’ll be 39 next year, was playing in the minors as recently as 2006. The hope is he can inject some youthful energy into an M-Braves club that hasn’t made the Southern League playoffs since winning the pennant in 2008.
P.S. Terdoslavich (.321 with three homers and 14 RBIs), catcher Christian Bethancourt (.306, 5, 13) and outfielder Todd Cunningham (.250, 11 RBIs) — all candidates for the M-Braves’ roster in 2012 — will play for Surprise in Saturday’s Arizona Fall League championship game. Surprise posted a 26-10 regular season record. The Saguaros will play Salt River at 2 p.m. in a game to be televised by MLB Network. … Former Southern Miss star and Minnesota shortstop prospect Brian Dozier hit .296 with three homers and 22 RBIs in his AFL stint. Dozier will bid for a job in the majors in the spring.

early birds

Ole Miss got a very good start on recruiting for its 2013 team, signing three players who ranked in the top 22 on Baseball America's list of the top 100 high school prospects for the 2012 pro draft. Catcher Stryker Trahan, from Lafayette, La., ranks No. 5; shortstop Gavin Cecchini, from Lake Charles, La., No. 8; and right-hander Ty Hensley, from Edmond, Okla., No. 22. The early signing period for college baseball began Nov. 9 and ended today. Southern Miss has announced the signing of four pitchers, including 6-foot-6 junior college right-hander Sean Buchholz and Trinity Episcopal star Jake Winston. Mississippi State hasn't released any signees yet, but Itawamba Community College announced that catcher Zack Randolph, from Amory, has inked with the Bulldogs for 2013.
P.S. Somebody with the NAIA really loves baseball. Basketball season has only just began, but already the NAIA has released its preseason baseball poll. Belhaven, defending Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament champion, will open at No. 15. The Blazers went 45-18 last season, and coach Hill Denson reloaded with a strong recruiting class. BU really is a team to watch in 2012.

kudos for kimbrel

Former Mississippi Braves pitcher Craig Kimbrel was named National League rookie of the year today, becoming the second former JADAP to win the top rookie honor. Darryl Strawberry, a Jackson Mets alumnus, is the other onetime Jackson area Double-A player with an ROY award, winning it in 1983 with the New York Mets. Kimbrel, just 23, posted 46 saves, a rookie record, for Atlanta to go with a 2.10 ERA and 127 strikeouts in 77 innings. His sensational season was tarnished a bit by three blown saves in September, when Atlanta coughed up the NL wild card lead and missed the playoffs. But Kimbrel's overall brilliance made him a well-deserved winner; he was, in fact, a unanimous pick. He pitched for the M-Braves in 2009, the year he played at four levels in Atlanta's system. He had six saves, a 0.77 ERA, a 2-1 record and 17 K's in 11 2/3 innings in his brief time in Pearl.
P.S. On the subject of closers, Philadelphia has formally signed Mississippi State product Jonathan Papelbon to a 4-year, $50 million free agent contract. Papelbon has 219 career saves and has converted 88.3 percent of his opportunities, one of the best ratios in history. And yet, success can be fleeting for closers. Papelbon's career ERA is 2.33, but the last two seasons it was 3.90 and 2.94. That might be cause for some concern. Like Boston, where Papelbon spent the first six years of his big league career, Philly can be a tough place to play if you start to struggle.

where have you gone ...

He originally signed with Atlanta out of New Mexico in 2004 and had spent his entire career in the Braves' organization, including parts of four seasons with the Mississippi Braves. Now, alas, Matt Young has moved on. The 5-foot-8 outfielder, who deserves a spot on the all-time M-Braves club, signed with Detroit as a minor league free agent. Young got into 20 big league games this past season but spent most of the last two years at Triple-A Gwinnett. He helped the M-Braves win the 2008 Southern League championship and batted .289 with 42 stolen bases for the Double-A club in '09, his last season in Pearl. He is currently playing for Navojoa in the Mexican Pacific League. Young has major league speed, and he plays as hard as anyone. It's unlikely he'll ever be a big league regular, but perhaps he'll have a better shot at making the Tigers as a utility outfielder than he had in Atlanta.

play on

Hattiesburg native John Lindsey, fast approaching 35, is playing in the Venezuelan Winter League. He is 2-for-8 with two RBIs in two games for Caracas. Lindsey, who got the long-awaited call to the big leagues with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2010, spent all of the 2011 season at Triple-A Albuquerque, batting .309 with 13 home runs. Lindsey's powers of perseverance are remarkable.
P.S. Joey Gathright, another Hattiesburg native, is a free agent again after spending a brief time with the Boston Red Sox at the tail end of this past season. ... Billy Hamilton, the Taylorsville tornado, stole two bases in his Puerto Rican Winter League debut last week and is 3-for-12 in three games for Ponce.

heads up

Former Southern Miss standout Brian Dozier will play in the Arizona Fall League's Rising Stars Game on Saturday. The game — a sort of all-star game for all-stars — will air at 7:10 p.m. on MLB Network. Joining Minnesota Twins prospect Dozier in the game will be former Mississippi Braves pitcher J.J. Hoover and future M-Braves Joey Terdoslavich and Christian Bethancourt. Uber-prospect Bryce Hunter (Washington) is in the game, too.
P.S. Chris Maloney, the Jackson native and Mississippi State product, has a big strike against him in his bid to land the St. Louis Cardinals manager job. As his career .520 winning percentage as a minor league manager attests, Maloney knows how to run a game. But he didn't play in the big leagues — A-ball was as high as he got — and he's never coached at the top level, either. That makes it tough, especially with the likes of Terry Francona — a two-time World Series champion manager — also in the running.

the envelope, please

Jonathan Papelbon posted 31 saves in 34 opportunities, a 2.94 ERA and a 4-1 record. Cheers. But the saves (and chances) were the fewest of his six-year career, and the former Mississippi State standout’s team, the Boston Red Sox, collapsed at season’s end and missed the playoffs. Boo. Seth Smith upped his average some 40 points from 2010, batting .284. The Ole Miss product also hit 15 homers, rapped 32 doubles, drove in 59 runs, scored 67 and stole 10 bases. Cheers. Yet his homer total actually slipped, despite more at-bats, from last season, and his team, the Colorado Rockies, was a disappointing also-ran in the National League West. Boo. Mitch Moreland batted .259 with 16 homers and 51 RBIs for a club, the Texas Rangers, that did make the postseason. Cheers. But the MSU alum was less productive than he was in his rookie season; his on-base percentage, slugging percentage and home runs per at-bats ratio dropped from 2010. Boo. That brings us to Cliff Lee, the former Meridian Community College ace. Lee went 17-8 with a 2.48 ERA. He posted six shutouts. He struck out 238 batters in 232 2/3 innings and walked just 42. He was the No. 2 starter on a team, the Philadelphia Phillies, that had the best record in the National League. Cheers. And more cheers: Lee is the winner of the 2011 Cool Papa Bell Award, given here to the Mississippi-connected player (native or college alum) judged to have had the best season in The Show. Chris Coghlan (Ole Miss) and Roy Oswalt (Holmes CC) won the first two Bell awards.
P.S. Papelbon heads the list of Mississippians on the free agent market. He is joined by Oswalt, MSU product Paul Maholm, Nettleton’s Bill Hall, Gulf Coast CC alum Fred Lewis and ex-Ole Miss star Matt Tolbert. Marcus Thames, out of East Central CC, who reportedly signed a minor league deal with the New York Yankees late last season, also is listed as a free agent on the mlb.com chart. Former Jackson Generals Freddy Garcia, Ramon Castro and Carlos Guillen are also looking for jobs.

rising stars

Andrelton Simmons, likely to be the Mississippi Braves' shortstop next season, rose to No. 4 on the Atlanta Braves' top prospects list (as compiled by Baseball America). Simmons was also rated the best defensive infielder and best infield arm in the system in 2011. Right-hander Zeke Spruill checks in at No. 8; he went 3-2 with a 3.20 ERA for the M-Braves after a late-season promotion from Class A Lynchburg, where he was 7-9, 3.19. Spruill should be back in Pearl, potentially as the No. 1 starter. Catcher Christian Bethancourt was rated No. 9, and he probably will make his Double-A debut in 2012. Jumping in at No. 5 is lefty Sean Gilmartin, the Braves' top draft pick last June. There's no reason for Atlanta to rush Gilmartin considering all the quality arms in the upper levels of the system, but he still might make it to Pearl in 2012. Mike Minor, another college-tested lefty, opened in Double-A a year after being drafted in the first round. Also of note: Joey Terdoslavich was rated the top power hitter in the system and Todd Cunningham the best defensive outfielder. Both are candidates for Mississippi's club next season.
P.S. Props to former M-Braves catcher and current Atlanta star Brian McCann, who won another National League Silver Slugger award. McCann actually had an off-year, batting .270 with 24 homers and 71 RBIs, but he was still the best overall hitter in Atlanta's lineup.

a fall report

Three weeks into the Arizona Fall League season, three candidates for the 2012 Mississippi Braves' roster are faring quite well. First baseman Joey Terdoslavich is hitting .373 with a home run and seven RBIs for the Surprise Saguaros, catcher Christian Bethancourt is at .350 with two homers and eight RBIs (in 11 games) and switch-hitting outfielder Todd Cunningham is batting .326 with 11 RBIs. Also of note: Lefty Sean Gilmartin, Atlanta's top pick in June from Florida State, is 2-0 with a 3.43 ERA in five starts. Gilmartin isn't likely to make Double-A next season but it may not be long thereafter. Southern Miss product Brian Dozier, a rising prospect with Minnesota, is hitting .294 with a homer, 14 RBIs and 14 runs for the Mesa Solar Sox.
P.S. Former Southwest Mississippi Community College standout Jarrod Dyson, a Kansas City Royals outfielder, has left the Venezuelan Winter League because of a minor shoulder injury. He was hitting just .227.

scatter shots

Lance Berkman, the former Jackson Generals star who has been in the big leagues since 1999, earned his first World Series ring on Friday night. Ole Miss alumnus Lance Lynn, in the big leagues since, oh, mid-summer, also got one. Berkman (.423 in the Series) had another hit and scored twice and Lynn threw a perfect inning in relief as St. Louis beat Texas 6-2 in Game 7 for the championship. ... Ex-Mississippi Braves standout Matt Harrison wasn't sharp in his start for Texas, allowing three runs in four innings and taking his second loss of the Fall Classic. You gotta think Harrison and the Rangers have the talent to get back to the Series, but it's no given. ... Mississippi State product Craig Tatum was claimed on waivers by Houston and becomes, for the moment, the fourth catcher on the Astros' 40-man roster. Tatum, a defensive specialist, came up with Cincinnati and played this season with Baltimore, batting .195 in 31 games. ... Ex-Ole Miss standout Matt Tolbert, who hit .198 in 87 games with Minnesota in 2011, has become a free agent. The versatile infielder is a .230 career hitter in 247 games. ... Keep an eye on former Oak Grove star Taiwan Easterling, the state's Mr. Baseball in 2008. A 27th-round pick by the Chicago Cubs in June, Easterling, an outfielder, advanced three levels this summer, hitting .307 overall with two homers, 17 RBIs and 10 steals. Easterling, a two-sport star at Florida State, passed on his last year of football eligibility to launch his baseball career. He caught 43 passes in 2010 at FSU.

seventh heaven

Maybe the best thing about Game 6, which will go down as one of the most exciting World Series games ever, is that it sends us to a Game 7. Nothing like a Game 7. Former Mississippi Braves standout Matt Harrison will get the start for Texas; it's only the biggest game of his life. Mississippi State alumnus Mitch Moreland, the lefty-hitting first baseman, might get a start tonight, too, with St. Louis throwing right-hander Chris Carpenter. It'll be interesting to see where the Rangers' heads are. As Texas pitcher Derek Holland said in a postgame TV interview, "The mood swings were ridiculous." And the Rangers, so tantalizingly close to the championship, came out on the wrong end of the 10-9, 11-inning contest. The Cardinals, on the other hand, should be pumped. They were one strike away from losing the Series in the ninth; former Ole Miss hurler Lance Lynn, rocked for two homers in Texas' three-run seventh, stood to get the loss. Then David Freese tripled to tie it. Again in the 10th, the Cards were one strike away from being done when former Jackson Generals star Lance Berkman, who's having a tremendous postseason (.435 in the Series alone), swatted a game-tying single. Then Mr. Freese strikes again with a homer in the 11th. Game 7 is on.

old times here

With the announcement that Game 6 of the World Series has been postponed by weather from tonight to Thursday, there was no immediate word as to whether Matt Harrison would still draw the Game 7 (if necessary) start for Texas. The former Mississippi Braves left-hander had gotten the nod on Tuesday from manager Ron Washington, who said then that it didn't matter whether the series was pushed back, Harrison would still be the guy. He's 1-1 with a 5.02 ERA this postseason. We'll see. Surely it would be a dream come true for Harrison to start a Game 7 of the Fall Classic, but there has to be some butterflies, too. It seems like only yesterday that Harrison was making his M-Braves debut. That was on June 25, 2006, the day he was promoted from A-ball with an 8-4 record, a 3.10 ERA and some hype. He was a third-round draft pick out of high school in 2003 and already was showing up on Atlanta's prospect lists. He lost his first start at Trustmark Park to Huntsville but pitched well enough. He went six innings, yielding seven hits and four runs with six strikeouts and a walk. Harrison didn't get his first Double-A win until his fourth start, when he threw seven shutout innings at Huntsville on July 15 of '06. On Aug. 1, he threw five hitless innings in relief to notch his second win. He finished the season 3-4, 3.61, and he returned to the TeePee in 2007, going 5-7, 3.39 and helping the M-Braves win a first-half championship. On July 31, he was traded, along with Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Neftali Feliz and Elvis Andrus in the Mark Teixeira deal. Harrison made his big league debut the next year. ... To be fair, here's a note on the other former JADAP (Jackson area Double-A player) in the Series, Lance Berkman. Berkman also was in the news Tuesday, when it was announced that he would hit cleanup (instead of fifth) for St. Louis in Game 6. Berkman's debut as a Jackson General at Smith-Wills Stadium isn't as easily recalled, but it was worth looking up. On April 8, 1998, on the first pitch Berkman saw at Smith-Wills, he homered. He hit it left-handed off Shreveport righty Jason Grilli, another future big leaguer. Berkman went on to hit .306 with 24 homers for the Gens and was in The Show with Houston a year later. Old times are not forgotten.

caribbean cruising

An interesting name popped up during a surf of the box scores from the Caribbean Leagues. Vicksburg native Dmitri Young, believed to be retired for a couple of years now, is playing for Caribes de Anzoategui in the Venezuelan Winter League. Young, now 38, hit 171 homers in his big league career, which ended in 2008. He's hitting .158 for Caribes. Also in Venezuela is Jarrod Dyson, the McComb native and Southwest Mississippi Community College product who has been up and down with Kansas City the last two seasons. The speedy Dyson, with Caracas, had a typical game last Friday: 1-for-3, 2 walks, 2 runs and a stolen base. Fred Lewis, the former Mississippi Gulf Coast CC star from Wiggins, is playing for Hermosillo in the Mexican Pacific League. The veteran big leaguer finished the 2011 campaign in the minors and is now a free agent. Expected to play in the Puerto Rican League, which starts next week, is Taylorsville's Billy Hamilton, who stole 103 bases in A-ball this season. He'll face some good competition in Puerto Rico.

attention grabbers

Both of the Mississippi college alums in the World Series got noticed in Game 5 tonight. First, Mississippi State product Mitch Moreland launched a tape measure home run in the third inning, providing Texas with its first run in what would be a 4-2, come-from-behind win. Much later, in the decisive eighth, ex-Ole Miss standout Lance Lynn came on in relief for St. Louis — to intentionally walk the Rangers' Ian Kinsler. This came after Mike Napoli had delivered his tiebreaking two-run double. Very odd. Through some kind of bizarre miscommunication between Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa and his bullpen, Lynn warmed up even though he wasn't supposed to. He had worked 2 1/3 innings on Saturday, earning the win in Game 3, and LaRussa wasn't going to use him tonight. LaRussa had wanted another right-hander, Jason Motte, to get ready to face the right-handed hitting Napoli but had to stick with lefty Marc Rzepczynski when he saw that Motte wasn't warm. After Napoli's big hit and a strikeout by the lefty-swinging Moreland, LaRussa brought in Lynn to walk Kinsler because, apparently, Motte still wasn't ready. Motte did finally come on to get the third out. LaRussa blamed the communication problems on the noise at the Texas ballpark. Very odd, indeed.

oh, to be young

Three former Mississippi Braves made Baseball America's All-Rookie team for 2011, a group headed by closer Craig Kimbrel, who stands a good chance of winning the National League's rookie of the year award. Kimbrel had 46 saves and a 2.10 ERA, despite some well-chronicled late-season hiccups. The Braves' collapse had more to do with their lack of offensive punch than bullpen breakdowns, which are always magnified. Freddie Freeman made the BA team at first base. He hit .282 with 20 homers and played outstanding defense, though he, too, seemed to tire down the stretch. Right-hander Brandon Beachy, picked for one of the five rotations spots on BA's team, was a revelation, going 7-3 with a 3.68 ERA in 25 starts. With better run support, he would easily have won in double figures. Also on the BA chart is ex-Itawamba Community College outfielder Desmond Jennings, a late July call-up by Tampa Bay who hit .259 with 10 homers and 20 steals. Atlanta may have more rookies — and ex-M-Braves — in key spots in 2012, with Tyler Pastornicky a viable option at shortstop, Julio Teheran and Randall Delgado up for jobs in the rotation and Arodys Vizcaino a strong bullpen candidate.
P.S. The Philadelphia Phillies will not pick up the option on Roy Oswalt's contract for 2012, but, according to mlb.com's story, will consider re-signing the former Holmes CC right-hander. Oswalt had a tough, injury-marred 2011 campaign, going 9-10 with a 3.69 ERA. He also got roughed up in the postseason by St. Louis as the Phils fell in the division series.

ode to '46

You don’t have to watch the TV broadcast of the World Series for very long before Fox starts hitting you with historical nuggets. “This is the first time since … .” “The last player to do that … .” The World Series brings out the history buff in all of us. So, on that note, let’s revisit what is arguably the best Mississippi-flavored World Series of all time. It was 65 years ago, 1946. Boston vs. St. Louis, Ted Williams vs. Stan Musial — one of the greatest Fall Classic matchups. Naturally, it went seven games. And it’s remembered mainly for Cardinals star Enos Slaughter’s going from first base to home plate with the Series-deciding run in the bottom of the eighth inning of Game 7. Two Mississippians also had a profound impact on this World Series. Shaw’s Dave “Boo” Ferriss, in just his second season, was an emerging ace on the Red Sox’s staff, posting a 25-6 record with a 3.25 ERA. And Pascagoula’s Harry “The Hat” Walker was the Cardinals’ starting left fielder most of that season, batting .327. Ferriss started Game 3 and beat the Cardinals 4-0 on a six-hitter to give Boston a 2-1 edge. It was Ferriss’ 14th straight win at Fenway Park. St. Louis rebounded to win Game 4 12-3, with Walker picking up his first RBI. The series was tied 2-2. Walker drove in three more runs in Game 5, but Boston won 6-3. Back at Sportsman’s Park for Game 6, St. Louis stayed alive with a 4-1 win. Game 7 on Oct. 15, 1946, saw Ferriss return to the hill for Red Sox. But the big right-hander couldn’t match his Game 3 success and was knocked out in the fifth inning when St. Louis jumped ahead 3-1. Boston rallied, and the game went to the eighth tied 3-3. Slaughter led off the St. Louis half with a single but was still at first with two outs. Walker, a left-handed hitter, came to the plate to face Boston’s Bob Klinger. The Cardinals had Slaughter running with the pitch, and when Walker lashed it into left-center, Slaughter just kept running, apparently catching the Red Sox’s fielders off guard. He scored easily, and St. Louis held in the ninth to take the championship. The RBI was the sixth of the series for Walker, who hit .412. Slaughter’s “mad dash” gets top billing in the history books, but the contributions of Walker — and Ferriss, too — in making the ’46 World Series such a great one should also be recognized.

wait for it ...

Lance Lynn got into the World Series on Thursday night, getting the last two outs in the ninth inning as his St. Louis team lost to Texas 2-1. The former Ole Miss standout, the third of three pitchers to work the ninth for the Cardinals, yielded the sac fly by Michael Young that put the Rangers ahead. Amory native and former Mississippi State star Mitch Moreland hasn't played yet for Texas; he was on deck as a possible pinch hitter in the eighth Thursday but was called back. Still think we'll see a Lynn-Moreland confrontation before this one's over. ... On Saturday, in Game 3, we'll definitely see a matchup between former M-Braves left-hander Matt Harrison and ex-Jackson Generals star Lance Berkman. The switch-hitting Berkman, 3-for-8 in the series for the Cards, will have to bat from his least favorite side, right-handed, against Harrison, who has made two solid postseason starts for the Rangers (1-0, five runs in 10 2/3 innings). But Berkman did get a big two-run hit against lefty C.J. Wilson in Game 1.
P.S. Southern Miss' recruiting class was ranked No. 3 in the nation by Baseball America. Ole Miss checked in at No. 5 and Mississippi State at No. 14. All three schools ranked in the top 20 of Collegiate Baseball's recruiting rankings released last month.

winds of change

Aaron Holbert is the fifth manager of the Mississippi Braves — and the first to come from outside the organization. Brian Snitker, Jeff Blauser, Phillip Wellman and Rocket Wheeler all played, coached and/or managed in the Atlanta organization before arriving in Pearl. Holbert, who had a brief major league career, came up with St. Louis as a first-round draft pick — old Smith-Wills Stadium denizens will remember him as a shortstop for the Arkansas Travelers in 1994 — and managed the last four years in the Cleveland Indians' system. He was the Carolina League manager of the year this past season. The Braves did not announce the Double-A coaches on Tuesday but did make several other appointments. Don Long will be the new roving hitting instructor, Luis Lopez the infield instructor and Doug Dascenzo the outfield and baserunning instructor. Atlanta's minor league operations department is under new management since mid-September, when Kurt Kemp resigned. Bruce Manno, an assistant general manager in Atlanta, took the minor league department under his wing, and Ronnie Richardson, a former Kemp assistant, became the new director of player development. Change seems to be a theme for the system, which might be a good thing for the Double-A club. The M-Braves went 61-79 (36-34 in the second half) last season under Wheeler, who will manage the rookie Gulf Coast League club in 2012. In seven years in Pearl, the M-Braves have sent 57 players to the majors but won just two (of 14 possible) half-season titles and one Southern League pennant.

local spice

Remember the 2007 World Series? Boston wrapped up the championship when Jonathan Papelbon, a Mississippi State alumnus, struck out Ole Miss product Seth Smith of Colorado for the final out. Well, we've got alums from both schools in the World Series again, and they're on opposite sides again. Former MSU star Mitch Moreland, a left-handed hitting first baseman for Texas, and ex-Ole Miss standout Lance Lynn, a right-handed reliever for St. Louis, played against each other in college and there's a fair chance they'll face off in the series, which starts Wednesday in St. Louis. Moreland is just 2-for-19 in the postseason, and with no DH available for the first two games, he may be limited to pinch-hitting opportunities before the series shifts to Texas. Lynn, who made five scoreless appearances in the National League Championship Series, will get plenty of work for the Cardinals. A Lynn-Moreland showdown would certainly be fun to watch.

legends of the fall

Though football is the main course this time of year for fans of college athletics, baseball devotees still have something to chew on. Especially in Mississippi. Fall ball is in full swing, and the state’s Big 3 Division I schools are busily tinkering with the recipe for a 2012 season that holds much promise for each. All three landed recruiting classes that were ranked in the top 20 in the nation by Collegiate Baseball magazine last month, and those players are now on campus. Ole Miss was No. 3, Southern Miss No. 13 and Mississippi State No. 20. The Rebels may have needed stronger reinforcements. Their 2011 season ended with a doubleheader loss to Arkansas that cost them a berth in the Southeastern Conference Tournament and an NCAA regional bid. Matt Snyder, Alex Yarbrough and Bobby Wahl return to the fold for Ole Miss (30-25), and there is much buzz about incoming freshmen like Pascagoula outfielder Senquez Golson (currently playing football), Sumrall catcher Austin Knight, Biloxi pitcher Hawtin Buchanan and Madison Central pitcher Josh Laxer. Golson, drafted in the eighth round of the major league draft by Boston, turned down a healthy signing bonus to play two sports at Ole Miss. All told, 11 members of the Rebels’ recruiting class were drafted, and nine are on campus. Southern Miss, which posted a 39-19 mark last season and made its ninth straight NCAA appearance, must replace five position players, three starting pitchers and its closer. A stout recruiting class will help. The Golden Eagles brought in, among others, George County outfielder/pitcher Mason Robbins (the state’s Mr. Baseball for 2011), Sumrall shortstop Connor Barron, Sumrall outfielder/pitcher Luke Lowery, Ridgeland pitcher Nick Johnson, Northwest Rankin pitcher Cody Livingston and Jones County Junior College pitcher Andrew Pierce. Barron was a third-round MLB draft pick by Florida. The newcomers join a group of returnees that includes outfielder Kameron Brunty, shortstop Ashley Graeter and catcher Jared Bales. Mississippi State went 38-25 last season and advanced to a Super Regional. The Bulldogs welcomed back outfielder C.T. Bradford (MVP of the Atlanta Regional last spring) and weekend starters Nick Routt and Chris Stratton and brought in a freshman crop that includes prized in-staters Brandon Woodruff, a pitcher/outfielder from Wheeler, and pitcher Jacob Lindgren from St. Stanislaus. The centerpiece of the class might be infielder Nick Flair of Belle Chasse, La., a prep All-American who batted .619 with 12 homers last season. Fall ball concludes with a showcase event at each school: Ole Miss’ Fall World Series is set for Oct. 26-28, State’s Bulldog World Series for Oct. 26-30. USM’s Black and Gold Game will be played on Oct. 30. Then they put the equipment away for a while. But not too long. Practice for 2012 begins shortly after the turn of the year, the games in mid-February.

the lynn watch

St. Louis' bullpen in general — and Lance Lynn in particular — has been a major factor in the Cardinals' success in the National League Championship Series. Lynn, a rookie and onetime Ole Miss ace, has appeared in four of the five games and worked 4 1/3 scoreless innings. The 6-foot-5, 250-pound right-hander, wearing the odd No. 62, has allowed three hits and two walks but induced three ground-ball double plays from Milwaukee hitters. He pitched 1 1/3 innings on Friday, coming on in the seventh when the Cards' lead was 5-1. They won 7-1 to take a 3-2 lead in the series that resumes Sunday in Milwaukee. Lynn posted a 3.12 ERA in 34 2/3 innings in the regular season. He went to the disabled list late with an oblique injury and was activated just before the NLCS. He has not disappointed.

futures market

There are no big surprises in Baseball America's annual league-by-league prospect rankings, which appear in the Oct. 17-30 issue. Four 2011 Mississippi Braves made the Southern League Top 20, and three of them already have worn a big league uniform. Pitchers Arodys Vizcaino (No. 6) and Randall Delgado (7) played with Atlanta down the stretch, and shortstop Tyler Pastornicky (17) was promoted from Triple-A for the final game, though he didn't get in. The other prospect, No. 19 Brett Oberholtzer, a lefty starter, was traded to Houston in the Michael Bourn deal. Andrelton Simmons, a shortstop, and Christian Bethancourt, a catcher, were the Nos. 4 and 10 prospects in the Class A Carolina League and figure to play in Pearl at some point next season. Right-hander Zeke Spruill cracked the CL list at No. 11, and he's already an M-Braves alum, going 3-2 with a 3.20 ERA in seven starts at the end of 2011. Ole Miss product Drew Pomeranz, who made his big league debut with Colorado in September, was rated the CL's No. 2 prospect. Former Taylorsville High star Billy Hamilton checked in at No. 2 on the Class A Midwest League chart after stealing 103 bases this season. He's playing shortstop in the Cincinnati system now but apparently doesn't have the arm for that position and may wind up at second base. The Reds already have Ole Miss product Zack Cozart in line to play short in the big leagues for the foreseeable future. Another former Rebels standout, right-hander David Goforth, went 0-4 with two saves and a 4.43 ERA in his debut season as a Milwaukee farmhand. But he was rated the No. 15 prospect in the rookie level Pioneer League. Former Meridian Community College and Mississippi State star Tyler Moore, who hit 31 homers this year, was on the "just missed" list in the Double-A Eastern League. He is in the Washington Nationals system.
P.S. Props to Southern Miss product Brian Dozier for earning the minor league player of the year honor in the Minnesota organization and to ex-Jackson Generals star Lance Berkman of the St. Louis Cardinals for being named National League comeback player of the year. ... Saw where former Jackson Mets standout Mookie Wilson was not retained as first-base coach by the New York Mets. Yeah, that'll sure make a big difference for them next season.

swing shift

Texas, looking to recapture the momentum in the American League Championship Series, sends former Mississippi Braves left-hander Matt Harrison to the bump today in Game 4 at Comerica Park. Detroit cut the Rangers' series lead to 2-1 with a 5-2 win on Tuesday night. Harrison won 14 games for the Rangers this season, working primarily as their No. 4 starter. He's been in some big games before, and this qualifies as one. Harrison helped the M-Braves win a first-half title in the Southern League South Division back in 2007, before he was traded to the Rangers in the blockbuster Mark Teixeira deal. Harrison was just 8-11 in his two-season stint in Pearl, but he was much better than his record. In fact, he was dominant at times. A hard thrower with good command, he posted an ERA of 3.61 in 2006 as a midseason promotion and put up a 3.39 in '07. In 194 innings with the M-Braves, he had 132 strikeouts and 51 walks.
P.S. A week into the Arizona Fall League season, ex-Southern Miss star Brian Dozier, a Minnesota prospect, is batting .368 for the Mesa Solar Sox. Atlanta prospects — and possible 2012 M-Braves — Christian Bethancourt (.500) and Todd Cunningham (.417) are off to good starts for Surprise.

nice work

One pitch was all it took Monday night for Lance Lynn to get his first career postseason win. The Ole Miss product came on in the fifth inning and got Milwaukee's Rickie Weeks to hit into a double play — albeit on a questionable call at first base. That was the only pitch Lynn threw. He watched the rest of the game as St. Louis took a 12-3 victory and evened the National League Championship Series at 1-all. The score was 7-2 with the bases loaded and one out when Lynn got the call. The double play snuffed a potential Brewers rally. Since starter Edwin Jackson didn't go five innings, Lynn was in line for the W. ... Lance Berkman, the former Jackson Generals standout, had one of St. Louis' 17 hits and scored one of the Cards' 12 runs. Berkman is a .304 career hitter in 148 at-bats in the postseason. ... Mitch Moreland, the Mississippi State alumnus from Amory, had a tough night for Texas. He hit into a double play with the winning run at third base in the ninth inning and finished Game 2 of the ALCS 0-for-4. He also made an error. But Nelson Cruz picked him up with that towering, game-winning grand slam in the 11th inning. The Rangers' 7-3 win gives them a 2-0 lead in the series. Game 3 is tonight in Detroit.
P.S. Nettleton's Bill Hall and Wiggins' Fred Lewis, both of whom finished disappointing 2011 seasons in the minors, have become free agents. Lewis, a left-handed hitting outfielder with speed, will surely attract some interest. Hall, a right-handed hitting infielder with eroding skills, may find it tougher to land another major league job.

pinch hits

St. Louis activated former Ole Miss pitcher Lance Lynn for the National League Championship Series, and he pitched a scoreless sixth inning in Game 1 today. His stint came just after the Cardinals surrendered six runs in a game-changing fifth inning of the 9-6 loss to Milwaukee. Maybe they should have gone to Lynn sooner. ... Lance Berkman, the former Jackson Generals standout, went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the losing cause for St. Louis. ... Detroit did not activate former Generals infielder Carlos Guillen for the ALCS when Delmon Young was put on the disabled list. Guillen apparently is still unable to play because of a calf injury suffered late in the regular season. ... In case you missed it, Mississippi State product Mitch Moreland was 1-for-3 on Saturday night in Game 1 of the ALCS, helping Texas beat the Tigers 3-2 in a rain-delayed contest. The second-year first baseman also had a hand in two double plays.

7.50!

Allow 10 earned runs in 12 innings of work, which Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt combined to do in the National League Division Series for Philadelphia, and that's what you get: a 7.50 ERA. And that's bad. The Mississippi junior college products lost their starts — Lee in Game 2 and Oswalt in Wednesday's Game 4 — and the Phillies now face a decisive Game 5 against St. Louis on Friday. Oswalt was given a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning but couldn't hold it. He allowed a run in the first, two in the fourth and two more in the sixth in the 5-3 loss, his first as a starter in postseason play. The squirrel incident occurred in the fifth inning and, though it generated a lot of buzz, was really a non-factor. As Lance Berkman told mlb.com: "Where he's from (Weir), that's par for the course." However, it's safe to assume the Phillies don't want to see any squirrels running across the field on Friday.
P.S. Joey Terdoslavich, a first baseman who hit 52 doubles and 20 homers in A-ball this season, has replaced second baseman Phil Gosselin as an Atlanta Braves representative in the Arizona Fall League. Terdoslavich is a good bet to play first for the Mississippi Braves in 2012.

in the center ring

Roy Oswalt goes to the mound today for Philadelphia in a potential National League Division Series clincher at St. Louis. Though Oswalt's 2011 season was a bit shaky, he has been a horse in the postseason over his career. The ex-Holmes Community College standout from Weir is 5-1 with a 3.39 ERA in 12 playoff appearances; the one defeat came in relief (last year in the Phillies' NLCS loss to San Francisco). Among Oswalt's postseason W's is a victory over St. Louis in Game 6 of the 2005 NLCS, a win that sent Houston to its first World Series. In his career, Oswalt is 9-10 with a 3.69 ERA in the regular season and 2-0, 3.27 in the postseason against the Cardinals, who will trot out some hitters who have good numbers against the 34-year-old right-hander. Albert Pujols has hit .316 against Oswalt with seven homers, according to MLB Network. Rafael Furcal is a .333 hitter against Oswalt, Yadier Molina .364. And Lance Berkman, the former Jackson Generals star, knows Oswalt well from their many years together as Astros. Oswalt has battled a bad back all year, but remember, in his last outing, in the next-to-last game of the regular season, he beat Atlanta in what was a critical game for the Braves. It's all about starting pitching in the postseason, and this is Oswalt's moment. You never know if another will come along.
P.S. Thumbs up to former Mississippi Braves lefty Matt Harrison, who got his first postseason win in Texas' ALDS clinching victory over Tampa Bay on Tuesday. Harrison struck out nine in five innings. ... Thumbs down to former M-Braves outfielder Jordan Schafer, who was arrested on marijuana possession charges in Florida. Schafer, now with Houston, has been in trouble before. M-Braves fans will recall his 2008 suspension for a violation of MLB's minor league drug policy. The Atlanta Braves may be happy that the enigmatic Schafer is someone else's problem now.

bombs away

Itawamba Community College product Desmond Jennings hit two home runs for Tampa Bay on Monday, but the blasts came in a losing cause against Texas in Game 3 of the American League Division Series. There was another homer from a player with Mississippi ties that was more meaningful. Delmon Young's blast was the go-ahead run in Detroit's 5-4 win over the New York Yankees in the other ALDS. Mississippi Braves fans might remember Young for the monstrous home run he hit over the center-field screen in 2005 as a member of the Montgomery Biscuits. But Young has an even more relevant Mississippi connection. His father, Larry, and brother, retired big leaguer Dmitri, were born in Vicksburg. Larry Young, who grew up as the son of a sharecropper in the 1960s, became a Navy fighter pilot and flight instructor and Delta pilot. Dmitri Young, a two-time All-Star, played 13 years in the majors and spent five of those with the Tigers, including their 2006 World Series year. Delmon Young was born in Montgomery, Ala., but went to high school in California, as did Dmitri. The Rays made Delmon the No. 1 overall pick in the draft in 2003. He has been traded twice, moving to Detroit this summer.

eye on ...

Brian Dozier will get a taste of October baseball — in the Arizona Fall League, a proving ground for major league prospects that starts its season on Tuesday. Southern Miss product Dozier, who will play for the Mesa Solar Sox, is coming off an excellent season at the high Class A and Double-A levels in the Minnesota system. An eighth-round draft pick in 2009, he hit .322 at Fort Myers and .318 (with seven homers) at New Britain this season. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound second baseman-shortstop was rated the Twins' 30th-best prospect entering 2011 by Baseball America. He surely has moved up the ranks. If he plays well in the AFL, he should get a long look from the big league club next spring. ... Among the players Atlanta is shipping to the AFL are four who could be in Mississippi in 2012: reliever Billy Bullock, catcher Christian Bethancourt, second baseman Phil Gosselin and outfielder Todd Cunningham.
P.S. Cliff Lee, who once seemed unbeatable in the playoffs, has had his aura tarnished. The former Meridian Community College star, now Philadelphia's No. 2 starter, was knocked out in the seventh inning of Sunday's 5-4 loss to St. Louis, leaving him 0-3 with a 7.13 ERA in his last three postseason appearances. "They got 12 hits," Lee told mlb.com. "Anytime they do that, they're hitting good pitches, they're hitting bad pitches, they're hitting." If there is a decisive fifth game in this series, and Lee gets the call, it'll be interesting to see how he responds.

check your schedule

In case anyone was wondering, the Mississippi Braves will open the 2012 season in the new-look Southern League at home on April 5. The M-Braves will play a five-game series with Mobile from April 5-9, then a five-game home series with Montgomery from April 10-14. The SL divisions have done a minor shuffle: With the Carolina franchise relocating to Pensacola, the new Blue Wahoos (some kind of fish) will play in the South Division. Birmingham shifts to the North. Pensacola, still a Cincinnati affiliate for 2012, will make its first visit to Trustmark Park on May 6. The M-Braves' final home game of 2012 — unless they make the playoffs — will be against Pensacola on Aug. 28. The SL All-Star Game is set for June 19 at Tennessee. The full schedule is on the Southern League web site.

faith rewarded

After enduring a mostly dismal September, Mitch Moreland got his October off to a nice start on Saturday. The former Mississippi State standout from Amory drove in two runs, one with a home run, in Texas' 8-6 victory over Tampa Bay in the American League Division Series, which is now squared at 1-1. Rangers manager Ron Washington had said he still had faith in Moreland despite his late-season slump, and Washington put his lefty-swinging first baseman in the lineup for the crucial Game 2 against Rays right-hander James Shields. Moreland got an RBI goundout in the pivotal five-run fourth inning against Shields and blasted his homer, his first in Arlington since June 21, off Brandon Gomes in the eighth. "This game is going to be full of ups and downs and you can't dwell on the downs," Moreland told espn.go.com. Moreland batted .348 with a homer and seven RBIs in the 2010 postseason, helping the Rangers reach their first World Series. Meanwhile, Rays outfielder and ex-Itawamba Community College star Desmond Jennings, who finished the regular season in an awful skid at the plate, is 2-for-7 in the ALDS with a hit in each game.
P.S. Lance Berkman's home run off Roy Halladay on Saturday was his second against the Philadelphia ace in two weeks and the eighth postseason homer for Berkman in his career. Alas, St. Louis lost Game 1 of the NLDS 11-6. ... Terry Francona's departure as manager in Boston leaves former Jackson Mets Dave Magadan (the Red Sox's hitting coach) and Tim Bogar (third-base coach) in an uncomfortable limbo until a new manager is hired. Of course, they could follow Francona to his next job, possibly with the Chicago White Sox.

here we go

The Philadelphia Phillies seem to be the consensus pick to win the World Series, which may be an unwanted burden. And when it comes to Mississippi connections in the MLB postseason, the Phillies are certainly the team in the center ring. Meridian Community College product Cliff Lee (17-8, 2.40 ERA) is Philly's No. 2 starter, and Holmes CC alumnus Roy Oswalt (9-10, 3.69) factors in as the fourth starter. He might not work in the National League Division Series against St. Louis, but you never know. Former Jackson Mets manager Sam Perlozzo is the Phillies' first-base coach, so we'll see plenty of him. The wild card Cardinals have ex-General Lance Berkman, who had a monster season (.301, 31 homers, 94 RBIs). He's a money player, so don't surprised if he comes up big against the Phillies. Milwaukee had former Itawamba CC standout Tim Dillard (4.08 ERA in 24 games) on its roster at season's end, but it's unlikely he'll be on the postseason roster unless there's an injury. In the American League, former Generals ace Freddy Garcia (12-8, 3.62) is penciled in as the New York Yankees' No. 3 starter and will go against Detroit on Monday. Garcia, an under-the-radar talent, is 145-95 in a big league career that goes back to 1999. Former Generals infielder Carlos Guillen, who was traded with Garcia from Houston to Seattle in the Randy Johnson deal in 1998, has a calf injury and won't be active for the Tigers until the ALCS, if then. Guillen's season (.232 in 28 games) was wrecked by injuries. Texas features a pair of Magnolia State connections: former Mississippi Braves lefty Matt Harrison (14-9, 3.39) and Mississippi State product Mitch Moreland (.259, 16, 51). Harrison lines up as the No. 4 starter. The Rangers' lineup is so stacked that Moreland had trouble getting at-bats down the stretch. But the lefty-hitting first baseman/outfielder had an excellent postseason as a rookie in 2010, and Rangers manager Ron Washington surely won't hesitate to run him out there. Texas' foe in the ALDS is Tampa Bay, which features rookie left fielder Desmond Jennings from Itawamba CC. Jennings (..259, 10, 25) cooled near the end of the year, but he has game-changing speed and power to boot. He's one to watch. Former Generals pitching coach Jim Hickey is the Rays' pitching coach and has helped the staff set nearly every club record during his five years.

oh what a night

It was an unforgettable Wednesday night for the Atlanta Braves and all their fans. For all the wrong reasons. A fifth straight loss, in extra innings, after blowing a late lead, left the Braves out of the postseason. St. Louis, with ex-Jackson Generals star Lance Berkman driving in a run and scoring one, did its part to get in, blasting Houston 8-0. Braves fans will have hard time forgetting Wednesday. Former Mississippi Braves star Craig Kimbrel blew a save, for just the third time all year. The Braves had two runners cut down on the bases, hit into three double plays and left eight runners on base in the 4-3 loss to Philadelphia. They struck out 15 times in 13 innings. Former M-Braves Martin Prado, Freddie Freeman, Brian McCann and Jason Heyward were a combined 4-for-18 with one run and no RBIs. Still, the game that lingers as the harbinger of Atlanta's doom may have been played on Sept. 19, Black Monday. That was the night when, with two outs, Chipper Jones lost a high hopper in the lights at that football field Florida played on. Then Omar Infante hit a game-winning, two-run homer off Kimbrel. That same day, the Cardinals, getting a big homer from Berkman, beat Roy Halladay and the Phillies. The Braves' wild card lead was still 2 1/2 games then, but it felt smaller. The noose had begun to tighten.
P.S. Wondering if Mississippi State product Jonathan Papelbon's last pitch for Boston will be the one that Baltimore's Robert Andino smacked into left field to beat the Red Sox on Wednesday night and, ultimately, knock them out of the playoffs. Papelbon, 31-of-34 in saves this season, is a pending free agent. ... Wondering also why Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon felt compelled to thank Orioles manager Buck Showalter (the former MSU player) and his team for playing hard against the Red Sox. Aren't they supposed to play hard, just as a matter of course? ... Tyler Pastornicky didn't play Wednesday, but he was on the bench for Atlanta, becoming the 59th M-Braves alumnus to advance to The Show. Pastornicky hit .314 for the M-Braves and .365 in 27 games at Triple-A Gwinnett. The Braves looked past Diory Hernandez and Brandon Hicks to bring up Pastornicky as an emergency shortstop. He might be the shortstop in Atlanta next season.

maxing out

You have to love Jonathan Papelbon's intensity. The ex-Mississippi State star holds nothing back. From his pre-pitch scowl to his postgame commentary, he is all in all the time. After working 2 1/3 scoreless innings in Boston's gut-grinding, 14-inning win at New York late Sunday night, Papelbon, defying the baseball gods, declared the Red Sox's epic September swoon over. "Now we roll," he said. Well ... the BoSox lost the next night and fell into a tie for the American League wild card lead with Tampa Bay. On Tuesday night, Papelbon nailed down his 31st save (in 33 opportunities) in an 8-7 win over Baltimore; he gave up a couple of hits and a run but got the job done. "Only the strong will survive," Papelbon told reporters after the game. "The weak will fall by the wayside." Boston faces another pressure-packed game at Baltimore tonight, still tied with the Rays on the last day of the regular season. If he's needed — and fate says he will be — Papelbon will tromp out there, breathing fire.

at the movies

Two questions arise about Mississippian Chad Bradford after seeing the movie "Moneyball." First, who is that playing the part of Bradford and mimicking his submarine-style delivery? Well, the actor's name is Casey Bond, and, yes, he was a minor league pitcher, reaching the Triple-A level with San Francisco before being released and moving on, eventually, to acting. Second, what kind of money did Bradford make during his big league career? Bradford, from Byram by way of Hinds Community College and Southern Miss, had a very good career. He was 36-28 with a 3.26 ERA and 11 saves. More impressive than that, he played in seven different postseasons with five different teams over 12 years. He pitched in the 2008 World Series for Tampa Bay. His career postseason ERA in 24 games was 0.39. With numbers like those, it's no surprise that his value — and his salary — grew rapidly as his career progressed. In 2002, the "Moneyball" season on which the movie is based, Bradford, one of the so-called undervalued misfits the low-budget Oakland A's coveted, made $235,000, according to baseball-reference.com. That was his second year with the A's; they had gotten him in a trade with the Chicago White Sox in December 2000. Bradford got a raise to $331,000 in 2003, to $965,000 in 2004 and to $1.4 million in 2005. He was traded at midseason that year to Boston. In his final year, 2009 with Tampa Bay, Bradford made a reported $3.67 million. As a relief specialist used primarily in late innings to get ground balls, Bradford certainly wasn't undervalued anymore.

high hurdles

Tonight, it's Cliff Lee. On Tuesday, Roy Oswalt. The run-starved Atlanta Braves, trying to nail down the National League wild card, face those two former Mississippi junior college stars, plus the Philadelphia Phillies' vaunted lineup, in their next two games. Then they get hot rookie Vance Worley on Wednesday. Atlanta has a 1-game lead on St. Louis, which finishes with three games against the worst team in baseball, Houston. This is a tough row to hoe for the Braves. Lee, a Meridian Community College alumnus, is 16-8 with a 2.38 ERA and is still in the NL Cy Young conversation. Oswalt, out of Holmes CC, hasn't had a great year (8-10, 3.86) but is capable of a great outing at any time. Stay tuned.
P.S. Jackson's Seth Smith contributed three hits to Colorado's franchise record 25 on Sunday. The Rockies, winding up a disappointing year, beat Houston 19-3. Smith, finishing off a good year, raised his average to .283.

notebooking

Craig Westcott, the former Belhaven star and Ferriss Trophy winner, went 13-4 with a 3.42 ERA this season for San Jose, San Francisco's high Class A club. Westcott, a big right-hander, finished fourth in the California League in ERA and made the postseason All-Star team. ... This past season's Ferriss Trophy winner, Southern Miss outfielder Tyler Koelling, hit just .228 with five homers for Minnesota's short-season A club Elizabethton. ... Koelling's 2011 USM teammate Todd McInnis ranked second in ERA with a 1.90 in the short-season New York-Penn League. Pitching for St. Louis' Batavia club, McInnis went 3-2 in 13 games (11 starts). ... Petal's Anthony Alford, an outfielder who also stars in football, was the only Mississippian in the Top 50 of Baseball America's early 2012 MLB draft projection. Alford ranked 49th. ... The New York Yankees held a tribute on Saturday honoring the 50th anniversary of Roger Maris' 61-home run season. Yes, there was a Mississippian on that 1961 Yankees team: Silver City native and Ole Miss alumnus Jack Reed, who played in 28 games as an outfielder, often being used as Mickey Mantle's defensive replacement.

wait till next year

Andrelton Simmons was anointed the “best player” in the Atlanta Braves’ minor league system in 2011 by Baseball America. The 22-year-old shortstop from Curacao led the Class A Carolina League in hitting with a .311 average and added 35 doubles, 52 RBIs and 26 stolen bases. And defense is reputedly his best skill. More to the point here, Simmons likely will be the Mississippi Braves’ shortstop in 2012, which is something to look forward to over the long off-season. It figures that most of the M-Braves’ frontline players from 2011 won’t be back. The top pitchers were gone before the season ended, which means we’ll probably see the likes of Zeke Spruill, Aaron Shafer, Matt Crim and Chris Masters — all of whom finished in Pearl — heading up the rotation. Some familiar names could be back in the bullpen: Billy Bullock, Brett Butts, Yeliar Castro and Luis Avilan. Ryan Buchter, who had 15 saves at Class A Lynchburg, is a good candidate to move up. Among starting position players, right fielder Cory Harrilchak (.266, seven homers) and center fielder Mycal Jones (.252, seven homers) probably need another Double-A season. Four outfielders posted nice numbers at Lynchburg and could make the jump next spring: Adam Milligan (.291, 12 homers), Keenan Wiley (.285, 19 stolen bases), L.V. Ware (.251, seven homers, 14 steals) and Todd Cunningham (.257). At catcher, highly rated prospect Christian Bethancourt (.271 at Lynchburg) may also be ready for Double-A. But if not, Matthew Kennelly (.262 for the M-Braves) and Braeden Schlehuber (.233) could again man that spot. At first base, look for converted third baseman Joey Terdoslavich, who hit .286 with 20 homers and a Carolina League-record 52 doubles at Lynchburg. Phil Gosselin (.264, six homers, 63 RBIs at Lynchburg) figures to play second base, with Joe Leonard (.247, eight, 63) taking over at third. Off-season moves by Atlanta could impact the M-Braves’ 2012 roster, of course, but the core of the club likely will be made up by the players named above. Maybe they’ll have the right stuff for a championship for a change. In seven years, the M-Braves have produced bushels of talent but just two playoff teams and one Southern League pennant.
P.S. Bullock, Bethancourt, Gosselin and Cunningham are among the players the Braves are sending to the Arizona Fall League. ... Former M-Braves starter and 2008 Southern League pitcher of the year Todd Redmond is on the Team USA roster for the World Cup that starts Oct. 1 in Panama. Redmond had a good year (10-8, 2.92 ERA) at Triple-A Gwinnett but still hasn't gotten the big league call. The M-Braves' Kennelly is on Australia's roster.

a few observations

Desmond Jennings, the Tampa Bay flash from Itawamba Community College, scored three runs in the Rays' 15-8 rout of the New York Yankees on Thursday night. In 57 games, primarily as the leadoff batter, Jennings has scored 43 runs and driven in 25. There is no overstating the influence he has had on Tampa Bay's resurgence into the American League postseason chase. ... Roy Oswalt took another loss Thursday in what was essentially a meaningless game for Philadelphia. The former Holmes CC star from Weir is 8-10 with a 3.86 ERA but apparently will be the Phillies' No. 4 starter in the postseason over rookie Vance Worley, whose numbers (11-3, 3.00) are significantly better. That's something to keep an eye on. Oswalt reportedly has decided he'll pitch again in 2012, his back troubles notwithstanding; the Phillies can pick up his option for $12 million. That's also something to keep an eye on. ... Mississippi State product Mitch Moreland, whose average has slipped to .262, hasn't been playing much for Texas of late. Nelson Cruz, back from injury, has been DH'ing instead of playing the outfield, which has shifted Michael Young from DH to first base in Moreland's place. Moreland will get his hacks again soon enough for the playoff-bound Rangers. ... Paul Maholm, who is done for the season with a shoulder injury, went 6-14 with a 3.66 ERA for Pittsburgh. The Pirates can bring the former MSU ace back for $9.75 million in 2012. But will they? ... And props to Lance Berkman, who got a new $12 million deal for 2012 with St. Louis. The former Jackson Generals star is batting .300 with 31 home runs and 91 RBIs. And to think, many called the Cardinals crazy when they signed him last off-season.

desperate times

Well, the Atlanta Braves may not be desperate just yet, but they did need a pick-me-up after Black Monday. And they got it, bouncing Florida 4-0 on Tuesday night. Randall Delgado, a 2011 Mississippi Braves starter, threw five shutout innings to earn his first major league win. Two other former M-Braves stars chipped in: Freddie Freeman hit his 20th home run, and Jason Heyward was on base twice, scored a run and made eight catches in right field, several of the highlight variety. St. Louis kept pace with the Braves in the National League wild card race, whipping the New York Mets 11-6 as former Jackson Generals standout Lance Berkman went 2-for-5 with two RBIs. Meanwhile, in Boston, where they may actually be feeling desperate, the Red Sox called on closer Jonathan Papelbon in the eighth inning Tuesday against Baltimore. The former Mississippi State star, who had not given up a run since July 16, gave up a three-run double to Robert Andino that put the O's ahead to stay 7-5. It was just the second blown save of the year for Papelbon. The Red Sox didn't lose any ground to Tampa Bay in American League wild card race. The Rays, 2 games back, fell to New York 5-0. However, the Los Angeles Angels — keep an eye on them — beat Toronto 10-6 and crept within 3 1/2 games of the BoSox.
P.S. McComb native and former 50th-round draft pick Jarrod Dyson was recalled to the big leagues by Kansas City late Tuesday night after participating in the Triple-A Championship Game. (Dyson's Omaha club lost to Columbus.) Dyson, a speedy outfielder from Southwest Mississippi Community College, made his major league debut last summer and began this season on the Royals' 25-man roster.

pitching in

Matt Maloney, the former Ole Miss star, made an emergency start for Cincinnati on Sunday — and wound up needing to call for aid himself. Maloney lasted just 1 2/3 innings against Milwaukee, which rolled to an 8-1 win and inched closer to clinching the National League Central title. That game was one of four involving division leaders and chasers on Sunday in which Mississippi-connected hurlers had a profound impact. Former Jackson Generals ace Freddy Garcia took a loss for the New York Yankees, dropping to 11-8 for the year. The Yanks' lead over Boston in the AL East is a precarious 4 1/2 games. (And the Red Sox's lead over Tampa Bay in the wild card is an even more precarious 2.) Ex-Mississippi Braves lefty Matt Harrison won his 13th for Texas, which remained 4 1/2 games up on the Los Angeles Angels in the AL West. The Atlanta Braves got a wobbly start from Brandon Beachy and a weak relief effort from Jonny Venters — both M-Braves alums — in a 7-5 loss to the New York Mets. Ex-M-Braves closer Manny Acosta wriggled out of a ninth-inning jam to notch the save for the Mets. The Braves' lead in the wild card is just 3 1/2 games on St. Louis and 4 on red-hot San Francisco. ... Two key games today will be started by former M-Braves: Mike Minor gets the call for Atlanta against Florida and Scott Diamond will start for Minnesota against the Yankees.
P.S. Former Delta State standout Eli Whiteside, who went to the disabled list with a concussion (face-first slide vs. Atlanta) in late August, hasn't been much of a factor in San Francisco's recent surge. Whiteside is batting just .130 (3-for-23) in September and has seen more playing time going to the Giants' other catchers, rookies Chris Stewart and Hector Sanchez.

hand it over

Craig Kimbrel ought to win the National League Rookie of the Year Award. He preserved a 1-0 win for Atlanta over New York on Saturday by striking out the side in the ninth. (The win became that much larger when Philadelphia, behind Holmes Community College product Roy Oswalt, beat wild card challenger St. Louis later in the day; the Braves now lead the Cards by 4 1/2 games.) Kimbrel, the Mississippi Braves' closer at the end of 2009, has four wins and 45 saves, meaning he has contributed to 49 of Atlanta's 87 victories. That's huge impact. Kimbrel's ERA is 1.71, and he has 123 strikeouts in 73 2/3 innings. That's dominant stuff. He deserves the rookie honor over teammate Freddie Freeman, the former M-Braves first baseman who has had his moments but not enough lately.

prime time

It was a great Mississippi moment from a great MLB game on Friday night: Ninth inning, Boston up 4-3 on Tampa Bay, Jonathan Papelbon facing Desmond Jennings. The former Mississippi State star struck out the Itawamba Community College alumnus (who was 3-for-3 with a walk to that point) for the second out, then nailed down the save (his 30th) with yet another K after yielding a base hit. The Red Sox had lost six straight games against the Rays and held just a 3-game edge in the American League wild card battle, so they needed this one. And Papelbon answered the bell, throwing 12 strikes among his 13 pitches, every one touching the mid-90s. Hard to believe it was Papelbon's first save opportunity since Aug. 18. Game 3 of this compelling four-game series is today at Fenway Park.
P.S. Philadelphia will send Weir's Roy Oswalt to the bump tonight against St. Louis in a potential bid to clinch its fifth straight National League East title; the Phillies have already sewn up a playoff spot. Oswalt (7-9, 3.88 ERA), who has been a little shaky over his last four starts (15 earned runs in 26 innings), could use a strong outing. Of course, if scuffling Atlanta loses to the New York Mets earlier in the day, Philly will already have clinched the title — and the game becomes that much more important for the Cardinals, who stand 3 1/2 games back in the NL wild card race entering play today. ... Ex-Ole Miss star Drew Pomeranz (1-0, 0.00) makes his second major league start tonight for Colorado against a streaking San Francisco team (six straight wins) that isn't out of the playoff hunt just yet.

from yuma he came

Joey Gathright scored his first major league run in some two years on Thursday night. The Hattiesburg native, once called the fastest man in baseball, is back in The Show with Boston, which plucked him from Yuma in the independent North American League at the end of August. He played a handful of games at Triple-A Pawtucket before Boston recalled him on Tuesday. Alas, Gathright could not help the Red Sox avoid losing to Tampa Bay and seeing their lead in the American League wild card chase drop to 3 games over the resurgent Rays. Gathright, 30, who was hitting .347 with 20 steals for Jose Canseco's Yuma Scorpions, might yet aid the BoSox cause with his ability to run. The former 32nd-round pick — by Tampa Bay, coincidentally — had 80 stolen bases over his first 445 games in the big leagues and stole 21 bags for Kansas City in 2008, when he was playing somewhat regularly. He was with Boston in 2009. “It was fun getting back around organized baseball,” Gathright told BostonHerald.com after his call-up. “Yuma was fun, but it was independent ball, so having things done the right way and ready to go when you get to the field (was different).”
P.S. Meridian Community College alumnus Cliff Lee allowed one run — a ninth-inning homer — against Florida on Thursday and wound up with a no-decision for Philadelphia, which won the game in the 10th. The remarkable Lee (16-7, 2.38 for the season) has a 0.56 ERA over his last eight starts. ... Pablo Sandoval's cycle on Thursday was the first for a San Francisco player since Fred Lewis, the pride of Wiggins, did it as a rookie in 2007. Lewis, who finished this season in the minors with Cincinnati, hit his first big league homer as part of his cycle.

old dogs

Maybe the excitement of the postseason pursuit has made them feel young again. Whatever the reason, it was good to see former — and aging — Jackson Generals come up big in big games on Wednesday. Carlos Guillen, soon to turn 36, went 3-for-5 and drove in the winning run for Detroit, which won its 12th straight game and reduced its magic number to 3 for clinching the American League Central title. Lance Berkman, 35, has seen the MVP buzz die down in recent weeks but is still contributing for St. Louis. He went 1-for-3 with a triple and scored a run in a 3-2 win over Pittsburgh. The Cardinals kept pace with Atlanta in the National League wild card race; they're 4 1/2 games back. And 37-year-old Bobby Abreu went 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI as the Los Angeles Angels beat Oakland and stayed in the hunt in both the AL West (3 back) and wild card (4 1/2 back) races. Though his batting average is down, Abreu recently topped 20 steals for the season for the 13th straight year. He has 393 career steals; he's sneaky fast. Another old Gen, 34-year-old Freddy Garcia, is 11-7 with a 3.71 ERA for the New York Yankees, who are clinging to a 4-game lead in the AL East.
P.S. Former Mississippi Braves right-hander Charlie Morton took the loss on Wednesday when Pittsburgh clinched its 19th straight losing season. Morton is 9-10 for the 67-82 Pirates.

no minor feats

Three very impressive numbers were posted this season by three Mississippians in the minors. Start with the 103 checked in by Billy Hamilton. The former Taylorsville High star stole 103 bases in A-ball in the Cincinnati system. A wiry shortstop, Hamilton also batted .278 and scored 99 runs. Then there was the 32 rung up by Corey Dickerson. The Brookhaven native and ex-Meridian Community College standout blasted 32 home runs in his first full pro season playing in A-ball for Colorado. Dickerson, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound outfielder, hit .282, drove in 87 runs and scored 78. Last but not least by any means is the 1.78 registered by Drew Pomeranz. The former Ole Miss left-hander posted a 1.78 ERA at three different levels and in two different organizations, Cleveland and Colorado. He also struck out 119 in 101 innings. Then he went out and won his major league debut for the Rockies last Sunday, throwing five scoreless innings.
P.S. A not-so-hot number was logged by Rhyne Hughes, the ex-Pearl River CC standout from Picayune. MLB announced today that Hughes has been given a 50-game suspension to start next season after testing positive for a banned amphetamine. Hughes, who got some big league time with Baltimore in 2010, hit .249 with 15 homers for Triple-A Norfolk this year. It'll be interesting to see if the Orioles keep him around.

eye on ...

Jason Heyward is hitting .273 since Aug. 17. Doesn't sound like much, but it's an upward trend, which is a good thing where the former Mississippi Braves star is concerned. For the year, Heyward is batting .223 with 13 home runs and 40 RBIs. It's been a precipitous fall for the muscular right fielder who made a bid for rookie of the year honors in 2010. Last season, Heyward, assuming the mantle of local hero left vacant by the trade of Jeff Francoeur, batted .277 with 18 homers and 77 RBIs. He also drew 91 walks. He was a force in the lineup. But opposing pitchers seem to have found some holes in Heyward's somewhat unorthodox swing. He's still striking out at about the same rate he did in 2010, but his walks are down significantly (42 in 349 at-bats). He slumped at the end of 2010, which some dismissed as a result of a hand injury. But the struggles continued this spring. (It surely didn't help when he showed up on the cover of Sports Illustrated during spring training.) He became a bench player. Jose Constanza's recent slump — and ankle injury — opened the door for Heyward to get back in the lineup on a regular basis, and he has looked better. His grand slam on Aug. 23 against the Chicago Cubs was one of his brightest moments since he homered on opening day. He's driven in 10 runs since Aug. 17. The Braves, still plagued by a lack of offense, could use some from Heyward. They have a big series starting tonight with St. Louis, which is chasing them in the wild card race.

day break

Three American League games with postseason implications are in the books today, and Mississippians played a notable role in the outcome of two of them. At Tampa Bay, Itawamba Community College product Desmond Jennings hit a walk-off home run in the 10th inning to beat Texas 5-4, and at Cleveland, Pascagoula's Tony Sipp surrendered a seventh-inning grand slam to Detroit's Victor Martinez that propelled the Tigers to an 8-6 victory. Meanwhile, New York lost to Baltimore 5-4 in 11 innings; Mississippi State alumnus Craig Tatum started behind the plate for the Orioles and went 0-for-2. ... Jennings' homer was his ninth since his late July call-up, and he is hitting .302. Tampa Bay, clinging to faint wild-card hopes, moved within 7 1/2 games of Boston in that race. The Red Sox play at Toronto tonight. ... The loss for Texas reduced its lead to 3 games over Los Angeles, which plays tonight at home against Seattle. ... Sipp's blown save was his first of the season; he has been an effective lefty out of the pen. Cleveland, hanging on by a thread in the AL Central, lost all three games of its series with first-place Detroit and now trails by 9 1/2 games. Chicago, down 8 1/2 games to the Tigers, is at Minnesota tonight.

a strong case

Cliff Lee sliced up the Atlanta Braves on Monday and may have cleared a path for himself to the Cool Papa Bell Award for 2011 in the process. Philadelphia left-hander Lee, the onetime Meridian Community College standout, threw a five-hit shutout at the Braves to run his record to 16-7 with a 2.47 ERA. He is 7-0 with a 0.96 in his last seven starts. And he topped 200 strikeouts for the year on Monday. Plus, he's doing all this for a first-place club. The Cool Papa Bell Award is given here to the Mississippian (native or college alumnus) who has the best season in the majors; Chris Coghlan won in 2009, Roy Oswalt last year. Evidence is still being gathered, but Lee is the man to beat at the moment. Former Mississippi State star Jonathan Papelbon (29 saves, 4-0 record, 2.75 ERA for Boston); Ole Miss product Seth Smith (.288, 15 homers, 56 RBIs for Colorado); and ex-MSU standout Mitch Moreland (.270, 16, 48 for Texas) aren't out of the running, but they'd need some kind of finish to upend Lee.
P.S. Colorado has called up Ole Miss alum Drew Pomeranz, the hot-prospect left-hander acquired in the Ubaldo Jimenez deal. Pomeranz is 4-3 with a 1.78 ERA in 20 starts over three levels of the minors this season. ... Ernesto Mejia took home the Mississippi Braves' Triple Crown this season — sort of. He set team records with 26 homers and 99 RBIs, and though he lost out to Tyler Pastornicky for the batting lead (.299 to .297), he also set an M-Braves mark for hits with 148.

century marks

Props to former Taylorsville High star Billy Hamilton for reaching the 100-stolen base plateau on Saturday while playing for Class A Dayton in the Cincinnati system. Also on the short list of minor leaguers to reach that mark are Marcus Lawton and Lenny Dykstra. Gulfport native Lawton swiped 111 bags for Class A Columbia in the New York Mets' system in 1985, two years before he joined the Jackson Mets. Former Jackson Met Dykstra stole 105 bases for Class A Lynchburg in 1983, the year before he played in Jackson. One common thread: Their feats occurred in A-ball, where pitchers don't do such a good job of holding runners. Still, 100 stolen bases in a season is amazing.

good to see

Antoan Richardson was genuinely excited last summer when he was promoted from the Mississippi Braves to Triple-A Gwinnett for the first time. One can hardly imagine how Richardson felt today when he suited up as an Atlanta Brave for the first time, then got a pinch single in his first at-bat. Richardson, the 57th M-Braves alumnus to advance to the majors, has some valuable tools. First and foremost, he can fly. He's a threat to beat out a bunt and runs down everything in the outfield. Back in Double-A this season for some reason, Richardson, a 5-foot-8, 27-year-old switch-hitter, batted .283 with a .430 on-base percentage and 17 stolen bases in 22 tries. A native of Barbados, Richardson went to Vanderbilt and played in the San Francisco organization before Atlanta signed him as a free agent last year. He's as friendly a guy as you could meet and a joy to watch play the game.

just an ex- check

Remember Eric Duncan? Duncan, who had a really solid season with the Mississippi Braves in 2010, is having another really solid season. The former New York Yankees first-round pick is batting .274 with 22 home runs and 61 RBIs for St. Louis' Double-A club, Springfield. His hitting coach there is ex-M-Braves manager Phillip Wellman. Remember Cody Johnson? Johnson, who had a really rocky season with the M-Braves in 2010, is having another really rocky season. The former Atlanta Braves first-round pick, who was sold to the Yankees in the off-season, hit 15 homers at Double-A Trenton this year but was demoted to Class A Tampa with a .226 average and 138 strikeouts in 297 at-bats. He's hitting .310 with six homers at Tampa but has 53 K's in 126 at-bats.
P.S. Ole Miss alumnus Alex Presley came off the disabled list cold, managing just four hits in 27 at-bats for Pittsburgh at the end of August. But since the calendar flipped to September, Presley is 5-for-8 with a homer and two triples. He's hitting .310 with two homers, five triples and 13 RBIs for the season.

comeback kid

Bobby Kielty's comeback has gone well. The former Ole Miss standout, who was out of baseball for basically two years, has put up some decent numbers as a 35-year-old part-timer with San Diego's Triple-A Tucson club. Kielty is batting .297 with seven home runs and 26 RBIs. He has also pitched in three games, with a 6.75 ERA to show for it. Where this comeback might lead isn't clear. Kielty's really not a kid anymore, and he has a surgically repaired knee from 2009. It's hard to imagine him getting another major league shot. But he did have his day. The switch-hitter known for his unkempt red hair played in 599 big league games and batted .254 with 53 bombs. His last major league appearance came in the 2007 World Series, when he hit a pinch homer for Boston during its sweep of Colorado. Kielty played in the minors in 2008 and again at the start of '09 before the knee injury shut him down. While flipping houses as a real estate broker in Riverside, Calif., he decided to try his hand — or arm — at pitching. He was working out at the local junior college last year when he got an offer to play again, as an outfielder, in the Puerto Rican Winter League. There he caught the eye of some big league clubs, and San Diego signed him. Alas, the Tucson season will be over soon. It'll be interesting to see if Kielty's comeback ends then, as well.

bravo

Nice closing act by the Mississippi Braves on Tuesday night. They beat Birmingham 9-1 in their last game at Trustmark Park for 2011; the M-Braves finish the season with a five-game series at Carolina. Here's a few fun facts from the home finale: The Barons started three sons of former major leaguers: Kenny Williams Jr., Jake Oester (Ron) and Jose Martinez (Carlos). ... The Barons' manager is former Jackson Generals infielder Bobby Magallanes. ... The Barons, first-half champs in the Southern League South, made five errors, believed to be a record for a visiting team at the TeePee. ... Every M-Braves starter had at least one hit in a 13-hit attack. ... The M-Braves started their six-run sixth inning with six straight hits. ... Antoan Richardson, small but oh so swift, is excitement personified. To wit: In the sixth, with runners at second and third, he dropped a soft single into right field. He kept going toward second, expecting right fielder Martinez to throw home. Martinez instead rushed a throw toward second which skipped past the second baseman and then past the third baseman backing up the play. Richardson dashed around the bases, sliding in ahead of a throw to the plate, for a classic "Little League home run." ... Jose Lugo overcame a wobbly first inning to work seven strong and get the win. ... Brett Butts and Kenshin Kawakami, both of whom had been struggling, worked a scoreless inning each. ... Despite an announced turnout of just 1,733 on Tuesday, the M-Braves finished with a season average of 2,737. That's up from 2010 (2,620). Since the club drew 3,847 in 2005, the inaugural season, the average had dipped each year until this one. ... The M-Braves finished 33-37 at the TeePee. ... When M-Braves fans look back on 2011, what they might want to remember is that this was the team that had, for a brief spell, a rotation of Randall Delgado, Arodys Vizcaino, Brett Oberholtzer, J.J. Hoover and Paul Clemens. The first two already have made the big leagues and the latter three are likely to get there.

No. 56

Juan Abreu made his big league debut with Houston on Monday night, becoming the 56th Mississippi Braves alumnus to advance to The Show in the seven years the Double-A club has been in Pearl. Abreu, part of the Michael Bourn trade, pitched 2/3 of an inning in a 7-4 win over Pittsburgh. The right-handed Dominican allowed a hit, a walk and a run but punched out two Pirates while hitting 98 mph on the radar gun. Astros manager Brad Mills called him a "fun weapon" to have in the bullpen. Abreu was the M-Braves' closer for part of 2010, recording 11 saves and a 3.02 ERA in 39 games. He fanned 47 in 44 2/3 innings. Abreu becomes the eighth M-Braves alum to make it to the majors in 2011, following Tim Collins (Royals), Matt Young, Cory Gearrin, Julio Teheran, Randall Delgado, Scott Diamond (Twins) and Arodys Vizcaino.

best-laid plans

Cincinnati trailed by two, with a runner on first base, one out in the bottom of the eighth. Reds pinch-hitter Fred Lewis yanked a pitch down the right-field line. But instead of a possible run-scoring double into the corner, the ball landed foul by a few inches. Lewis then struck out looking. The Reds lost to Philadelphia 3-2 on Monday night. It's been that kind of year for Lewis, the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College product from Wiggins, and the Reds. Frustrating. Lewis is hitting just .232, despite a 10-for-30 ledger as a pinch hitter. The Reds, National League Central champs in 2010, are a .500 club that isn't going to make the playoffs. After a good year with Toronto in 2010, Lewis signed with Cincy as a free agent. The Reds already were four-deep in the outfield, but Lewis, a lefty hitter with plus speed, probably figured it'd be nice to play a utility role for a contending team. Then he got hurt in spring training, delaying his debut. And the Reds have sputtered all year. The highlight of Lewis' season might have come in June when he received a World Series ring from the San Francisco Giants. Lewis didn't play a single game for the Giants in 2010; he went through spring training, got hurt before Opening Day and was traded to the Blue Jays in mid-April. But the Giants, Lewis' original organization, voted to give him a ring. One supposes there is some small consolation in that.
P.S. The Mississippi Braves play their last home game tonight at 7:05 at Trustmark Park. Can't see 'em again at the TeePee until April 2012.

rays of hope

The Desmond Jennings Highlight Show rolls on. The former Itawamba Community College star hit two homers on Sunday — he told the Tampa Bay Tribune he can't remember doing that before at any level of the game — and went 4-for-5 to raise his average to .354. Oh, and Tampa Bay, which refuses to quit in the American League playoff race, beat Toronto 12-0. Jennings, in 34 games this season, has eight homers, three triples, 19 RBIs, 22 runs, 14 stolen bases and a .646 slugging percentage. With Jennings at the top of the order, the Rays have won 17 of 25 and are just 6 1/2 games behind New York in the AL wild card standings. According to MLB Network, Tampa Bay leads the league in ERA (3.00) and batting average against (.221) during August. The Rays are second in the AL in ERA on the year, a tribute to the good work done there by former Jackson Generals pitching coach Jim Hickey. Hickey had to rebuild the Rays' bullpen this season.

the stroke

Tyler Moore found a home run stroke last year, and from all indications, it's still working for him. The former Mississippi State standout has 30 homers at Double-A Harrisburg in the Washington system. A right-handed hitting first baseman, Moore is batting .271 with 87 RBIs and was named to the Eastern League's end-of-year All-Star team last week. Moore was rated the Nationals' No. 24 prospect by Baseball America entering 2011 after belting 31 homers (to go with a .269 average and 111 RBIs) at high Class A Potomac last season. Moore, 24, still has some work to do on strike zone discipline — he has 132 strikeouts and just 24 walks this season — but he should advance again in 2012. Washington drafted him three times — out of Northwest Rankin High, Meridian Community College and MSU — so somebody in the organization likes him. The Nats recently called up another first base prospect, Chris Marrero, which, coupled with the fact Moore is not on the 40-man roster, makes it unlikely Moore will get a September look. But his day may come soon enough.
P.S. Corey Wimberly's bid to become the first Alcorn State product to make the majors since Al Jones in the mid-'80s has bogged down. The diminutive outfielder/second baseman is batting just .238 in Triple-A with Pittsburgh and is currently on the disabled list. Meanwhile, ex-Delta State star Edwin Maysonet is hitting .293 for Milwaukee's Triple-A club. The versatile infielder, who has some big league time already, could fill a role for the Brewers as they drive toward the playoffs.

crash landing

Kenshin Kawakami's career — at least in the U.S. — appears to be nearing an end. The Mississippi Braves right-hander and erstwhile big leaguer was rocked again on Friday night and now has an 8.31 ERA in 14 Double-A appearances this season. In 39 innings, mixed between starts and relief appearances, he has yielded 52 hits and 15 walks. In each of his last two outings, he has allowed four earned runs in an inning of work. Atlanta still owed the former Japanese leagues star almost $7 million for this season and didn't want to just release him. But he's shown no signs of being able to pitch in majors again. There was some interest from Japanese teams in the spring but reportedly Kawakami didn't want to return home. Perhaps it's time now.
P.S. Tommy Hanson's rotator cuff injury is bad news for the Braves. But it could open up September starting opportunities for ex-M-Braves Julio Teheran and Randall Delgado. Fellow former M-Braves Brandon Beachy and Mike Minor have certainly risen to the occasion in recent outings. Atlanta has an embarrassment of riches in young arms. ... Former Mississippi State star Ed Easley got the game-winning hit in the bottom of the ninth for Mobile on Friday night as the BayBears clinched the second-half title in the Southern League South.

don't look now

The Colorado Rockies, famous for their recent late-season surges, may be making another. And Seth Smith, the ex-Ole Miss standout from Jackson, is supplying some of the power. The Rockies won their fourth straight game on Tuesday night, with the aid of a 478-foot home run by Smith. According to the Denver Post, that's the longest of Smith's career and just missed making the top 10 all-time at Coors Field. Smith hit a 458-foot bomb in a win on Sunday. He's at 15 homers and 54 RBIs for the year — his career-highs are 17 and 55 — and has seven homers in August. His average is up to .287. While National League West front-runners Arizona and San Francisco have been scuffling, Colorado has won six of 10 and climbed within 8 1/2 games of first place.
P.S. Props to former Mississippi Braves closer Craig Kimbrel for matching the rookie record with his 40th save on Tuesday night. It's going to be very interesting to see whether Kimbrel or fellow former M-Braves star Freddie Freeman takes the NL rookie of the year honor.