Carolina Mudcats vs. West Tenn Diamond Jaxx

 

REGULAR SEASON SERIES

 

Carolina won series, 9-7. The clubs didn't meet until the middle of May, and West Tenn got off to a good start with a three-game sweep. The Mudcats returned the favor in early June. The clubs split a four-game series July 8-11, then Carolina won two of three at the end of the month. The Mudcats finished things off with another series win in early August. So after losing those first three, Carolina went 9-4.

 

HEAD-TO-HEAD STATS

 

Carolina

Jason Hill has feasted off Diamond Jaxx pitching, hitting .323 with four homers and 15 RBIs in 16 games. ... Reggie Abercrombie has hit .293 and stolen three bases in 10 games against West Tenn. ... Josh Johnson has been very effective in three starts against the Diamond Jaxx (1.71 ERA), but has no wins to show for it. ... Nick Ungs has gone 2-1 with a 2.52 in four starts vs. West Tenn, including the first no-hitter in Mudcats history on July 29. ... The Mudcats had a 3.45 ERA in the season series, but hit just .233

 

West Tenn

The Diamond Jaxx hit .236 over the 16 games against the Mudcats. ... Brandon Sing led the way with three homers and seven RBIs in the season series. ... Matt Creighton picked up just 21 at-bats in the season series, but collected seven hits and drove in six runs. ... West Tenn's pitching staff had a collective 3.30 ERA, but only a 7-9 record to show for it. ... Jae-kuk Ryu made four starts and went 0-1, but posted a 2.36 ERA in 26 2/3 IP. ... Ricky Nolasco had no record, but struck out 15 in 12 IP over two starts and had a 1.50 ERA.

 

PROBABLE PITCHERS

 

Game 1: Carolina at West Tenn

Josh Johnson (12-4, 3.87 ERA) vs. Reynel Pinto (10-3, 2.78 ERA)

 

Game 2: Carolina at West Tenn

Ray Aguilar (5-2, 3.20 ERA) vs. Ricky Nolasco (14-3, 2.89 ERA)

 

Game 3: Carolina at West Tenn

Nick Ungs (7-5, 3.68 ERA) vs. Carlos Marmol (3-4, 3.65 ERA)

 

Game 4: West Tenn at Carolina (if necessary)

Jae-kuk Ryu (11-8, 3.34 ERA) vs. TBD

 

Game 5: West Tenn at Carolina (if necessary)

Pinto vs. TBD

 

AT THE PLATE

 

Carolina

Jason Hill, C: The veteran has moved behind the plate, and it hasn't hurt his stick. Especially with Jeremy Hermida up in the bigs, Hill becomes the Mudcats' most dangerous hitter with 18 homers, 74 RBIs and a .296 average.

Reggie Abercrombie, OF: The former Dodgers wunderkind has put together a pretty solid first season with the Marlins. As long as you don't look at the K:BB ratio (127:25), Abercrombie has 25 homers and 26 steals on the year at two levels.

James Shanks, OF: Shanks returned to the Mudcats after a 19-game trip up to Albuquerque. He hit .296 for Carolina showing a little pop (nine homers in 371 at-bats) and a little speed (16 steals).

 

West Tenn

Brandon Sing, 1B/OF: Sing has delivered as West Tenn's No. 4 or 5 hitter all year, leading the team and league with 26 homers. His 71 RBIs top active Diamond Jaxx as does his .538 SLG (third in the league) and .404 OBP (fifth).

Adam Greenberg, OF: Greenberg returned to West Tenn after recovering from his big league beaning. His on-base skills (.386 OBP) and speed (15 steals) should come in handy at the top of the lineup.

Eric Patterson, 2B: Corey's younger brother has had a better season than he has. The 2004 eighth-rounder joined West Tenn in late August after tearing apart the Midwest League to the tune of a .333 average, 13 homers and 40 steals. He'll be the Diamond Jaxx' leadoff hitter in the postseason.

 

HISTORY LESSONS

 

Carolina, a member of the Southern League since 1991, has won championships in 1995 and 2003. ... West Tenn didn't join the Southern League until 1998 and won its first title in 2000.

 

SERIES COULD TURN ON...

 

The Mudcats shaking off the rust. Because of Hurricane Katrina, Carolina had its final series in Mississippi cancelled. So the club hasn't played since Sept. 1. In the meantime, the Diamond Jaxx won three straight to end the season to overtake Carolina in the standings and sweep both halves. As a result, the first three games are in West Tenn's home park, where the Diamond Jaxx went 46-24 during the season. So not only does Carolina have to be sharp after a nearly week-long layoff, they have to do it on the road against the league's best team, at least according to overall record.

 

PREDICTION

 

If the Mudcats were at full strength, with Jeremy Hermida, Scott Olsen, Robert Andino, even Eric Reed and Jason Vargas, this would be a tremendous series. But all have been promoted save Olsen, who's on the shelf. At least they got Southern League All-Star reliever Chris Resop back. But unless he starts hitting again, the Mudcats are likely in trouble against the top lefty (Pinto) and righty (Nolasco, also voted Most Outstanding Pitcher), not to mention No. 3 and 4 starters who'd top most other rotations. It'd be great to see this series get back to Zebulon, N.C., but even with West Tenn missing uber-prospect Felix Pie, it's hard to see it happening. Diamond Jaxx in three.

 

 

c/o MILB

I hate to admit it but I think you might be correct....the Mudcats lost an awful lot of fire power not only with the offense but defensively as well as pitching....if they had back what they lost to the parent club there would be no doubt that they would win the championship for AA....but more importantly is the World Series and that is the ultimate goal....

 

They did pick up Brad McCann but is that enough? They lost Andino and that will be a huge void....as well as Hermida and that is an even bigger loss....let's hope for the best

they also wont of josh johnson to pitch the first game