putting on a shift

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essence of fisk

When you can evoke the memory of Carlton Fisk in Boston, you’ve done something kinda special. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, the onetime Mississippi Braves catcher, did so by getting the game-winning hit for the Red Sox on Sunday in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series. His opposite-field RBI single in the bottom of the ninth capped a huge rally and kept Boston from falling behind 2-0 in the series against Detroit. It was a big hit, and history served to amplify the moment. The last time a Red Sox catcher got a walk-off postseason hit was in 1975 — when Fisk famously homered down the left-field line to beat Cincinnati in Game 6 of the World Series. Saltalamacchia arrived in Mississippi in 2006 as Atlanta’s No. 1 prospect. He scuffled that first year with the Double-A M-Braves but hit .309 with six homers in 22 games in 2007 before getting the big league call. Essentially blocked in Atlanta by the presence of Brian McCann, then in just his third season, Salty was traded to Texas in the summer of ’07 as part of the Mark Teixeira deal. The switch-hitting Saltalamacchia, with the longest surname in MLB history at 14 letters, has never really become the star he was once projected to be. His career average is .246 and he has 78 homers over seven seasons. But 2013 was his best all-around year: .273, 14 homers, 65 RBIs, 40 doubles, 68 runs in 121 games. And now he has made a postseason memory, earning mention in the same sentence with the great Carlton Fisk. Of course, if the Sox don’t win the ALCS, Salty’s big hit, unlike Fisk's, likely won't stand the test of time.

seizing the moment

After getting knocked around by Pittsburgh in Game 2 of the National League Division Series, Lance Lynn had to be wondering when his next postseason chance might come for St. Louis. He was passed over for the Game 1 start in the NLCS against Los Angeles on Friday, but his chance did come later. The former Ole Miss star certainly seized the moment. Lynn threw two scoreless innings (one hit, one walk) and got the victory as the Cardinals beat the Dodgers 3-2 in 13 innings. Lynn threw 29 pitches in the 12th and 13th frames and reportedly remains a candidate to start Game 4 in Los Angeles next week. The win was the fourth in postseason play for Lynn. He went 2-0 with a 3.27 ERA in 10 relief appearances as a rookie for the Cardinals during the 2011 World Series run. Last year, after winning 18 games in the regular season, he was less effective in October, going 1-2 with a 5.73 in six games (two starts). St. Louis fell to San Francisco in the NLCS. Lynn won 15 games for the Cards this year but scuffled at times in the second half. In his NLDS loss vs. the Pirates, he allowed seven hits, three walks and five runs in 4 1/3 innings. Friday’s outing, under all that pressure, had to be a confidence booster. P.S. Wonder what Oakland fans will recall more vividly: that UM product Seth Smith went 5-for-16 overall with a home run or that he made the last out, with runners on base, in Games 4 and 5 of the A’s American League Division Series loss to Detroit?

comeback trail

Cody Satterwhite notched a save on Tuesday in his first Arizona Fall League appearance. The former Hillcrest Christian and Ole Miss standout is now in the New York Mets' system, having been signed out of an independent league in mid-summer. Satterwhite, 26, was a second-round pick by Detroit in 2008 whose career was derailed by arm problems. The hard-throwing right-hander was out of baseball in 2012 but appears to be on the comeback trail now. In high Class A ball this year, he put up a 2.78 ERA in 22 2/3 innings with 23 strikeouts. P.S. The Biloxi City Council has voted to back $21 million in bonds for the construction of the ballpark that reportedly will be home to a Southern League franchise, possibly by 2015.

prime time player

Seth Smith’s production was down this year, but things have picked up for the Ole Miss product in the postseason. Smith hit a key home run for Oakland on Monday as the A’s beat Detroit 6-3 and took a 2-1 lead in their American League Division Series. Smith, whose numbers dropped this year in homers, RBIs, on-base and slugging percentage, is 4-for-8 in the series. On Monday, he belted a 3-1 pitch over the left-center field wall for a two-run bomb that put the A’s up 6-3 in the fifth inning and chased Tigers starter Anibal Sanchez. Many wondered why Detroit manager Jim Leyland left the right-hander in to face the lefty-hitting Smith, whose homer was his fourth all told against Sanchez, two coming in postseason play. “With their whole staff, you’re looking for a mistake and hope you can capitalize on it,” Smith told The Associated Press. “You will miss them sometimes, but fortunately for me, I was able to get the barrel to it.” He’ll attempt to barrel up some balls from Doug Fister, another righty, in Game 4 today at Comerica Park. Smith is 0-for-3 career against Fister.

old times here

Who would have ever thought that the Atlanta Braves’ postseason hopes would rest so heavily on Freddy Garcia, ace of the 1998 Jackson Generals? Garcia, who turned 37 on Sunday, gets the ball tonight for Atlanta in a must-win National League Division Series game at Los Angeles. Garcia was a top-rated Houston Astros prospect in 1998 and was 6-7 with a 3.24 ERA for the Double-A Generals when he was dealt to Seattle as part of the Randy Johnson trade. The big right-hander has been a horse over his long career, posting 156 wins with a 4.15 ERA. He put up a 1.65 for the Braves in six games, including three fairly impressive September starts. He is 6-3 with a 3.28 in 10 postseason starts and went 3-0 for the world champion Chicago White Sox in 2005. Garcia will put up a fight against a loaded Dodgers lineup, but still, who would have ever thought, with all the arms the Braves’ system has produced in recent years, it would come down to this? … Heard on the TBS broadcast of Sunday’s game that Julio Teheran, a former Mississippi Braves standout, was the first rookie to start a postseason game for the Braves franchise since Vern Bickford in the 1948 World Series. Bickford was a member of the original Jackson Senators, a Boston Braves farm club that played for many years at a ballpark located on the Fairgrounds. Bickford won 10 games for the 1946 Senators. Coincidentally, Bickford took the loss against Cleveland in Game 3 of the ’48 Series and Teheran, who pitched for the M-Braves in 2010 and had a hand in a combo no-hitter, took the loss against the Dodgers on Sunday. … Another former M-Braves hurler, Charlie Morton, starts for Pittsburgh today in a possible NLDS clincher for the Pirates against St. Louis. Morton went 7-4 with a 3.26 for Pittsburgh this year. M-Braves fans might remember that Morton really emerged as a prospect after a sterling outing in the 2007 Southern League playoffs. He made it to the big leagues the next year. … Ole Miss product Seth Smith, who has a .313 career average and two home runs against Detroit’s Anibal Sanchez, is in the lineup for Oakland today against the Tigers’ right-hander, who led the American League in ERA. Smith is the DH, hitting fifth. He went 2-for-4 Saturday as the A’s squared the ALDS at 1-all. … Ex-Itawamba Community College standout Desmond Jennings likely will start for Tampa Bay today as the Rays try to stay alive in the ALDS against Boston, which is up 2-0. Jennings is 2-for-7 in the series and 2-for-6 career vs. Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz (12-1, 1.74 ERA).

october madness

They call Tampa Bay’s Joe Maddon a “mad scientist” for his unorthodox approach to managing. One of his go-to concoctions is Desmond Jennings, a blend of power and speed. The former Itawamba Community College standout, playing with a troublesome hamstring, had two hits, including a two-run double, for the Rays in Wednesday’s 4-0 Wild Card Game win over Cleveland. Jennings is, plain and simple, a run producer, no matter where Maddon sticks him in the lineup. He scored 82 runs and drove in 54 in 139 games this season. His speed has been compromised a bit by his injury, but the longer the Rays stay alive in the postseason, the healthier Jennings figures to get. And to think, this one time Alabama football recruit almost went to that other sport. … Having been left off the National League Division Series roster by Atlanta, Mississippi State product Paul Maholm may be wondering about his future with the Braves. The left-hander went 10-11 with a 4.41 ERA in 2013, and the Braves likely will have an abundance of starting pitchers in camp next spring. … Ole Miss alumnus Lance Lynn will start Game 2 of the NLDS for St. Louis. Lynn was 15-10 with a 3.97 this year, finishing strong after a wobbly stretch. Only in his third MLB season, Lynn already has pitched in 16 postseason games, with two starts, and won a World Series ring in 2011. His postseason ERA is 4.50. … Former Rebels star Seth Smith didn’t have a great year — .253, eight homers, 40 RBIs — with Oakland, but he figures to get some at-bats in the American League Division Series against Detroit. Smith is a lefty hitter, and the Tigers’ rotation consists of all right-handers. Smith also has postseason experience, batting .231 with a homer over 14 games dating to his rookie year with Colorado in 2007. … The Houston Astros, following their abysmal season, announced they won’t bring back first base coach Dave Clark, the former Shannon High and Jackson State star who briefly managed the club in 2009. … Another JSU alum and former big leaguer, Wes Chamberlain, is being inducted into his alma mater’s Hall of Fame on Saturday.