Southern League Report

Carolina Mudcats (Florida Marlins)
Last week: 0-4; Second half: 36-30; Overall: 77-57
Carolina will be in the Southern League playoffs starting Wednesday, as the North Division Wild Card. The Cats go into the postseason having lost four straight to Jacksonville, but rested after their games against Mississippi were cancelled due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina. One Mudcats player who didn't struggle this year was Jason Hill, who drove in more runs (74) and hit for a higher average (.296) than newly promoted Jeremy Hermida, despite playing in two fewer games. But the key to Carolina's success this year was the pitching staff which was led by Josh Johnson who finished 12-4 with a 3.87 ERA.

West Tenn Diamond Jaxx (Chicago Cubs)
Last week 5-3; Second half: 39-31; Overall: 83-56
First-half champ West Tenn took advantage of Carolina's slide and inactivity to claim the second-half title as well on Monday. Jae-kuk Ryu tossed seven masterful innings in a 5-3 win over Mobile on Sunday. The club's 19th-ranked prospect, Ricky Nolasco, finished 14-3 with a 2.83 ERA and a league-leading 173 K's. Brandon Sing tied Birmingham's Chris Young with a league-high 26 home runs, and Felix Pie batted .304.

Huntsville Stars (Milwaukee Brewers)
Last week: 4-4; Second half: 31-39; Overall: 60-79
Huntsville won't be in the playoffs but finished the season strong after the Stars took six of eight from Tennessee. The best win came on Tuesday when the league's fourth-best offense (.271 average) knocked around the Smokies pitching staff for 17 hits in the 9-2 beating. Third baseman Adam Heether led the attack with four hits and three runs scored. Enrique and Nelson Cruz led the offense batting .303 and .306 respectively and combining for 30 homers and 114 RBIs. Dana Eveland led the staff with 10 wins and a 2.74 ERA.

Tennessee Smokies (Arizona Diamondbacks)
Last week: 4-4; Second half: 31-39; Overall: 64-76
It looked like Tennessee packed it in after it began the week with a pair of losses to Huntsville, but then Clint Goocher (8-11) stepped up with 6 1/3 shutout innings for a 3-0, seven-inning decision over the Stars on Wednesday. Chris Carter continued his great season with two RBIs in the win. Dan Uggla removed any doubt about who the club's MVP should be. The second baseman hit .299, led the league with 87 RBIs and finished second with 21 homers. Newly promoted Dustin Nippert (8-3) might have finished behind Enrique Gonzalez's 11 wins, but he did lead the league with a 2.38 ERA.

Chattanooga Lookouts (Cincinnati Reds)
Last week: 2-3; Second half: 26-41; Overall: 53-83
The Lookouts lost four games on the schedule because of Hurricane Katrina, then lost two more because of West Tenn and Huntsville. The disappointing season was highlighted by Ryan Hanigan and Norris Hopper, who finished third and fourth in the league in hitting with .325 and .314 averages respectively. Kevin Howard led the team with 68 RBIs and Josh Hall and Bobby Basham paced the staff with five wins.

South Division

Birmingham Barons (Chicago White Sox)
Last week: 7-1; Second half: 46-24; Overall: 82-57
The second-half champs will roll into the playoffs on a major hot streak. Sean Tracey kept grooving on Saturday when he tossed eight solid innings in a 2-1 win over Jacksonville. One day earlier, Barons manager Razor Shines was named the Southern League Manager of the Year. Shines' club was led on offense by center fielder Chris Young's 26 homers and Darren Blakley's 86 RBIs. Tracey led the league with 14 wins. Bobby Jenks grabbed 19 saves.

Jacksonville Suns (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Last week: 4-5; Second half 41-29; Overall: 79-61
The first-half champs refused to give up their run at the second-half title, sweeping Carolina in a four-game series. The key to the series and the season for the Suns was the pitching staff, which finished third for the season with a 3.84 ERA and held the Mudcats to eight runs in the mid-week series. Joes Guzman was the unquestioned offensive leader of the team, batting .285 with a team-high 16 homers and 75 RBIs. Todd Donovan led the league with 61 stolen bases. Chad Billingsley led the team with a 13-6 record.

Montgomery Biscuits (Tampa Bay Devil Rays)
Last week: 1-3; Second half 32-35; Overall: 67-70
Hurricane Katrina cost the Biscuits most of their games this week. What it couldn't do is stop baseball's top prospect, Delmon Young from earning the Southern League Player of the Year honors. Young proved he was baseball's top five-tool talent by batting a league-high .336, with 20 homers and 71 RBIs. He also finished second on the team with 25 stolen bases in 84 games. Jason Hammel was 8-2 with an impressive 2.66 ERA.

Mobile BayBears (San Diego Padres)
Last week: 1-4; Second Half: 30-38; Overall: 58-80
The Bears don't win often but when they do find the winner's circle, they make it count, like on Friday when they beat West Tenn thanks to a 10th-inning balk. The league's 10-ranked offense (.246) was led by Cory Smith's 18 homers and 73 RBIs. Dale Thayer led the staff with a league-high 27 saves. Mike Thompson also contributed with a 3.22 ERA, and Jose Oyervidez stuck out 126 batters.

Mississippi Braves (Atlanta Braves)
Last week: 0-0; Second half: 28-34; Overall: 64-68
Hurricane Katrina forced the cancellation of the Braves last nine games. The club finished the season by losing four of its last five games. Mississippi did boast the league's fourth-ranked staff (3.98 ERA), led by Brian O'Connor's nine wins. Scott Thorman led the squad with 65 RBIs. Jeff Francouer was outstanding, batting .275 with 13 homers and 62 RBIs in 84 games before being moved up to Atlanta.