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Grillin' & Chillin': Ole Miss baseball wins a tight one vs. Arkansas State

The Rebs squeaked out a 2-1 midweek win while smeargle grilled up some stuffed rotisserie chicken.

By smeargle

As any baseball fan would tell you, watching America's greatest past time is not meant to be done so in the cold. I'm not sure how Wisconsinite and Bostonian sports fans are able to manage drinking icy cold brewskies while their fingers endure frost bite gripped around their bottle. The weather in Oxford lately has barely been conducive for baseball.

My usual plan of arrival to Swayze is via the O.U.T. bus -- what better way to ensure a ride to Swayze and a reason to make other people give you a ride back after you've had too many beers? -- but this week I decided to break out the old skateboard that had been in storage for about 10 years. Well, you might have seen an awkward skateboarder gliding down Old Taylor Rd. very precariously with a cooler strapped to his back. You ALSO might have seen said skateboarder bite it pretty hard on the Old Taylor bridge. Note to self: taking the O.U.T. bus is not only more timely but also less embarrassing and a helluva lot safer.

This week's midweek game against Arkansas State (made up from a previous cancellation due to tundra-like conditions at Swayze) was a bit of a snoozer, with only nine hits and three runs scored. It was a quick moving game (2 hours) which I didn't mind considering it was barely 40 degrees with about as much excitement in the air as watching a C-SPAN debate on the height of traffic signs. Regardless, beer was drunk, peanuts were eaten and the Rebs won 2-1.

Swayze Swag levels:

RISING

Sikes Orvis: As if his swag isn't high enough already, Sikes seems to be battling past the cold stint he saw in the first couple series of the season. Tuesday Sikes had two hits including one dinger.

Ole Miss Grounds Crew: Shout out to the infield dirt rakers, outfield grass squeegeers and tarp slip and sliders. These guys work hard to make sure baseball can happen despite the elements. TARPS OUT FOR THE REBS!

HOLDING STEADY

Evan Anderson: Evan started out the game in a really shaky mess: in the first inning, he walked two and hit a batter which eventually scored ASU's only run. After that, he settled in strong and went four more innings, striking out three more batters and allowing only two hits.

FALLING

Tate Blackman: The frosh phenom has yet to impress with his bat. Granted, we are still early in the season, but Tate is batting .105 with 21 ABs. That's 2-21. Tuesday, Tate was 0-3 with a strikeout. Maybe Bianco's options at 2B are a bit limited, but obviously he has a strong faith in Tate to come around. I hope so too. Go get 'em Tate.

Mother Nature: Seriously, go home...you are five Funky daiquiris with extra rum shots drunk. Six inches of snow in Oxford? You have pretty much shut down the town as well as my favorite midweek afternoon activity.

My skateboarding career: RIP in pieces.

GRILLIN' AND CHILLIN'

For the rest of the season, look here to see what I'm eatin' and drankin' in LF. Hopefully it will also give you some ideas for the park or home. This week, because Tuesday was too damn cold AND $1 hot dog night, I opted to show y'all a bit of grilling at home.

Who doesn't love walking by the deli in a supermarket and watching the chicken juice drippings fall on top of each other in their giant rotisserie rack? Well, it's actually pretty easy to bring that smell and taste home. Most rotisserie attachments run $30-$50 depending on your grill but it goes a long way when you are popping out whole chickens that can usually provide you with 2-3 meals. My other go to rotisserie item is stuffed pork loin, the possibilities are endless.

Stuffed Rotisserie BBQ Chicken

  • One or Two 4-5 lb. whole chickens
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 cup cilantro, diced
  • splash olive oil
  • splash apple cider vinegar
  • your favorite BBQ sauce
  1. Preheat grill to 350-375 degrees.
  2. Mix vegetables, oil and vinegar in a bowl.
  3. Clean and prep chickens. Lift skins of breasts and thighs to make pocket, stuff with vegetable mixture. Also throw some vegetable mixture inside chicken. Truss chicken with butcher's twine.
  4. Place and secure chickens on rotisserie rod.
  5. Cook for about 2 hours, basting with BBQ sauce every half hour, until thigh meat is 165 degrees.
BEFORE
AFTER

Stay warm out there and we'll see y'all at Swayze next weekend against Stetson.