Southern League playoff preview

A team from the South has won all six championships since the Southern League went to North and South Divisions in 2005. Can Tennessee or Chattanooga break through this year?

Jacksonville defeated Tennessee for the title the past two seasons, but the Smokies won't have to face the Suns if they advance to the Championship Series this year. Jacksonville didn't qualify for the playoffs.

Mobile rolled to the second-half championship in the South Division after Birmingham took the first half. The BayBears and Barons will play for the right to face North Division representative Tennessee or Chattanooga for the league crown. The Smokies won the first half and the Lookouts the second in the North.

The Southern League's playoffs begin Thursday, Sept. 8. All series in the Southern League are best-of-5 sets.

The last time a present North Division team broke through in the postseason was in 2004, the last year the league was divided in East and West Divisions. Tennessee shared the championship with Mobile in 2004 when Hurricane Ivan ended the playoffs early.

Tennessee (North Division first-half champion, 83-57) vs.
Chattanooga (North Division second-half champion, 77-62)

Chattanooga won the season series, 13-11.

Game 1 at Tennessee, Sept. 8 at 7:15 p.m. ET
Game 2 at Tennessee, Sept. 9 at 7:15 p.m. ET
Game 3 at Chattanooga, Sept. 10 at 7:15 p.m. ET
Game 4 at Chattanooga (if necessary), Sept. 11 at 7:15 p.m. ET
Game 5 at Chattanooga (if necessary), Sept. 12 at 7:15 p.m. ET

Blake Lalli and several of his Tennessee teammates still feel the disappointment of losing in the Southern League championship series the past two years. But all their postseason memories aren't bad ones.

Before reaching Double-A, Lalli and fellow Smokies like James Adduci and Ty Wright were on the Daytona team that won the Class A Advanced Florida State League in 2008.

"We still talk about that," said Lalli, who played in the Southern League All-Star Game for the third straight year this season. "It would be great to win again. That is why you play the game."

Tennessee boasts a blend of veterans like Lalli in addition to top Chicago Cubs prospects Trey McNutt, Josh Vitters and Rafael Dolis -- rated No. 4 through No. 6 in the organization by MLB.com.

McNutt spent two stints on the disabled list this year, but Dolis saved 17 games after being moved from the rotation to the bullpen and was named the league's top closer. Vitters, who played first base as well as third, hit .283 with 14 homers and 81 RBIs.

"We have a good mix of guys who have been around and young guys," Lalli said. "We're all on the same page. We want to win."

Top Cubs prospect Brett Jackson moved up to Triple-A during the season and the Smokies lineup also lost DJ LeMahieu and Ryan Flaherty. Rebel Ridling hit .309 with 20 homers and 80 RBIs, though, and former Triple-A players Wright and Adduci both hit over .300 after returning to the team.

Tennessee also had one of the top hitting catching duos in Lalli and Steve Clevenger. Lalli hit .287 after batting .314 and .311 the previous two seasons with the Smokies. Clevenger had a .295 average with Tennessee after hitting .317 in 2010.

There could be a lot of runs scored in the Tennessee-Chattanooga series. The Smokies led the league in batting average (.274) and home runs (131). The Lookouts were second in both, hitting .273 with 125 homers.

Of course, the pitching on both teams isn't too bad either. The Lookouts, who sent five pitchers up to the Majors with the Dodgers this season, led the league with a 3.66 ERA. Tennessee was third at 3.83.

"We were close the last two years," Lalli said. "We want to get the ring this time."

Birmingham (South Division first-half champion, 71-69) vs.
Mobile (South Division second-half champion, 84-54)

Mobile won the season series, 10-9.

Game 1 at Birmingham, Sept. 8 at 8:05 p.m. ET
Game 2 at Birmingham, Sept. 9 at 8:05 p.m. ET
Game 3 at Mobile, Sept. 10 at 8:05 p.m. ET
Game 4 at Mobile (if necessary), Sept. 11 at 3:05 p.m. ET
Game 5 at Mobile (if necessary), Sept. 12 at 8:05 p.m. ET

Mobile lost six of its first nine games after slugger Paul Goldschmidt was called up by the Diamondbacks at the beginning of August, and it looked like the BayBears' hold on first place in the South might be in jeopardy.

"Were there thoughts about, 'Golly, we're really going to miss him'? Of course," Mobile manager Turner Ward said.

Former Major Leaguer Daryle Ward, however, helped take some of the sting away from the loss of Goldschmidt, and Mobile rode its prospect-laded pitching rotation to a 46-22 second-half record and an 11-game bulge over second-place Mississippi.

Dominating attention, Goldschmidt hit 30 homers and drove in 94 in 103 games before being promoted. As the season wound down, though, it was Mobile's pitching that stole the show.

As the BayBears went 16-7 down the stretch without Goldschmidt, Tyler Skaggs, Jarrod Parker, Patrick Corbin, Charles Brewer and Trevor Bauer -- the No. 3 overall pick in the 2011 Draft -- all turned in dominating performances.

Skaggs, rated as Arizona's No. 1 prospect by MLB.com, won his last four decisions while posting a 12-strikeout game and was 5-1 with a 2.50 ERA after joining Mobile in mid July. The left-hander is rated as the No. 13 prospect overall by MLB.com.

Parker, who fell from No. 1 to No. 2 on the Arizona prospect list with Skaggs' emergence, turned in a strong full season with Mobile after missing the previous year recovering from Tommy John surgery. The right-hander, No. 18 on the overall list, was 11-8 with a 3.79 ERA. His victory total tied for second in the league.

Corbin, who led the league with 142 strikeouts, and Brewer, 5-1 in an injury-interrupted season, are ranked No. 7 and No. 10 on the Arizona prospect list. Bauer, meanwhile, made a quick rise through the Minors after being taken in the first round out of UCLA and had 26 strikeouts in 16 2/3 innings with the BayBears.

Mobile might have won both halves, but it fell out of first place in June with a seven-game losing streak that included four defeats to Birmingham. The second half proved to be a cakewalk, though, as the BayBears posted an 11-game winning streak in July as part of a 22-5 stretch and then overcame the loss of Goldschmidt.

The BayBears' 84 wins were just two short of the team record, set in 1998. That is when Mobile won its only sole league title.

"This team is playing with confidence," Ward said. "These guys have done a great job all year."

Batting crown: Chattanooga's Scott Van Slyke capped a red-hot second half by winning the batting title with a .348 average. He hit .429 in August and .444 in September to beat out Birmingham's Tyler Kuhn, who finished at .341. Van Slyke is Chattanooga's first batting champion since Joey Votto won the title in 2006 at .319, and he broke the Cincinnati first baseman's Lookouts record with 45 doubles. Van Slyke was third in the league with 92 RBIs.

Rebound needed: Birmingham made the playoffs despite finish last in the South Division with a 31-39 record during the second half. The Barons were 40-30 in the first half, beating out Mobile by two games. Birmingham will move to the North Division next season with Pensacola entering the league as a replacement for Carolina.

Road warriors: Chattanooga led the league with a 41-29 road record, but was under .500 at home much of the season before finishing 36-33. Mobile had the best home record at 47-25. Tennessee had the least difference in home and road success. The Smokies were 44-26 at home and 39-31 on the road.