hitting close to home

Adam Piatt's name was back in the news the past couple days. The former Mississippi State standout and ex-big leaguer was the player who provided Miguel Tejada with banned performance-enhancing drugs in 2003 when they were teammates in Oakland. Tejada, now with the Houston Astros, pleaded guilty today in federal court to misleading Congress about the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Piatt, whose big league career consisted of 521 at-bats and 16 home runs before retirement in 2004, came clean on his involvement with steroids — and with Tejada — in the 2007 Mitchell Report. Others should have followed Piatt's lead. And they still can. Baseball would be better for it. The Mitchell Report hit close to home when the names of players found to be connected with steroids were revealed. It was disturbing to see several with Mississippi ties on the list, including former Jackson Mets Mark Carreon, Chris Donnels, Lenny Dykstra and Todd Hundley, ex-Southern Miss star Kevin Young, Copiah-Lincoln alumnus Nook Logan and, of course, former MSU standout Rafael Palmeiro, who had failed a drug test in 2005. Only Logan was still playing from among that group in 2007; he was in an independent league last year. Baseball will survive this mess. It has survived all manner of things, from the Black Sox to artificial turf to free agency to the cocaine scandal of the 1980s. But that doesn't make this any easier to digest.

too bad for chad

Chad Bradford, the submarining right-hander, will be out for 3-4 months following elbow surgery, the Tampa Bay Rays announced today. What a tough break for the former Byram High, Hinds Community College and Southern Miss standout. He posted a 1.42 ERA in 21 appearances as a set-up reliever for the Rays last season as they won the American League East title and went on to the World Series. Tampa Bay has a well-stocked bullpen but will miss Bradford, who is so adept at getting ground balls. With any luck, Bradford will be back on the mound by mid-June, at least, leaving him plenty of time to contribute to what should be another big season in Tampa Bay.

tracking the jucos

Itawamba Community College, one of two Mississippi jucos ranked in the NJCAA preseason Division II poll, opens its season Tuesday. The No. 17 Indians, who finished fifth in the final poll of 2008, play host to Southwest Tennessee CC in Fulton. ICC is led by Auburn signee Justin Bryant, a third-team preseason All-American who batted .345 with seven homers last season. Pearl River CC, ranked No. 9 in the NJCAA poll, opens Feb. 18.
P.S. Jones County got off to a rousing start last week, sweeping perennial power Meridian in a doubleheader to mark the debut of coach Christian Ostrander. In their next outing, the Bobcats turned a triple play en route to winning the second game of a doubleheader against Baton Rouge CC.

new career path

Corey Wimberly, renowned for his speed at Alcorn State, took a sharp turn today in what he hopes is a path to the major leagues. The Colorado Rockies, who drafted Wimberly in 2005, traded him to the Oakland A's for big league outfielder Matt Murton. Wimberly hasn't played above the Double-A level but has shown promise. He led the Texas League with 59 stolen bases last season and batted .291. He hit an amazing .462 as a junior at Alcorn and led the Arizona Fall League in batting in 2007. Primarily a second baseman, the 5-foot-8 Wimberly has the athletic skills to play other spots. But defense isn't his ticket to The Show. That would be his ability to get on base and get in scoring position. Though not a power guy at all, the switch-hitting Wimberly might be a better fit with an American League club. Some have compared him to the Los Angeles Angels' Chone Figgins. Wimberly is one of a growing number of Mississippi players to keep an eye on this spring. He could become the first Alcorn product to make the majors since pitcher Al Jones, who played for the White Sox from 1983-85.

the manny watch

Manny Ramirez's rejection today of the Los Angeles Dodgers' 1-year, $25 million offer leaves a lot of people wondering. Where will Manny land? Are the Dodgers done with him? Are the San Francisco Giants still in the hunt? Perhaps no one is more anxious to see this drama play out than former Stone County High and Mississippi Gulf Coast CC star Fred Lewis. With spring training camps opening in just a matter of days, Lewis is the Giants' projected starting left fielder. But if Ramirez should sign with San Francisco, Lewis suddenly becomes a backup. Ramirez only plays left field (though not real well). The Giants are set in center and right with Aaron Rowand and Randy Winn. Lewis, 28, is coming off a good year, hitting .282 with 9 homers, 40 RBIs and 21 stolen bases in his first full big league season. His year was cut short by a troublesome bunion on his right foot, and he had off-season surgery to remove it. The sweet-swinging lefty appears poised for big things in 2009. But the Ramirez situation clouds the picture. Reports have indicated that the Giants don't have the money to snag Ramirez. They have told Lewis not to be concerned about his job, and he says he isn't. "I'm not worried about that side of it," he told mlb.com. "I'm just worried about Fred." Still, you know that Lewis — along with a lot of us — is on the Manny Watch.

not to be overlooked

Junior college baseball in Mississippi doesn't attract a lot of attention from the media, and few juco games draw big crowds. But pro and senior college scouts know about the talent in the state. Mississippi juco alumni who played in the major leagues last season include Roy Oswalt, Marcus Thames, Chad Bradford, Fred Lewis, Jason Smith, Tim Dillard and Jonathan Van Every. Among the names to watch in the juco ranks this spring are three preseason NJCAA Division II second-team All-Americans: catcher Phillip Chapman of Northeast, outfielder Dustin Gilmore of Jones County and infielder Ethan Burt of Pearl River. A good baseball fan owes it to himself to check out a Mississippi juco game somewhere this season. You'll see some players, to be sure.

milestone watch

Congratulations to William Carey coach Bobby Halford on notching career win No. 800 (and No. 801) on Saturday when the Crusaders swept Spring Hill in Hattiesburg. Next up on the milestone watch: Jim Page of Millsaps. Page needs one win for his 500th at the Division III school. The Majors open Friday at home against LaGrange. The small college season really gets rolling this week, with perennial D-II power Delta State opening on Tuesday against NAIA Belhaven in Cleveland. Belhaven, already well under way, plays its home opener Friday against LSU-Shreveport at Smith-Wills Stadium. Not too far behind is D-III Mississippi College, which starts on Feb. 10 against Belhaven at Smith-Wills in a Maloney Trophy Series game. Mississippi's Big Three Division I schools — Ole Miss, State and USM — have become annual contenders for NCAA bids, but the less-visible small schools are also cranking out consistent winners. It would not be surprising at all to see DSU, Carey, Belhaven and Millsaps — all under the direction of veteran coaches — playing in the postseason, and Brian Owens, entering his third year at MC, has the Choctaws on the rise again. For baseball fans in Mississippi, these are the good old days.