Southern accent

Somehow, I skipped right over the Midwest group. I meant to do these alphabetically. Well, I promised the South next so we’ll do that now, then go back.

Along with the Central, the South figures to be the most competitive of our groups. Good rivalries too with the SEC states well represented.

Size really doesn’t matter down here. Florida or Georgia might be the biggest but I think there is less difference top to bottom here than anywhere else. A pretty good team is going to stay home, and it might be tough to get a wild-card spot as well because there isn’t a weak team to beat up on.

1. Alabama. It’s a great time to be a Crimson Tide fan again, and the Yellowhammers should keep the good feeling going down there. I just can’t bet against Mays, Aaron and Paige.

2. Georgia. Extremely dangerous offense, with Cobb, Robinson, Gibson and whomever plays first. But I don’t know, even with Dick Redding, if the pitching is enough.

3. Florida. Really good outfield with Raines-Dawson-Sheffield, and Pop Lloyd is as good as it gets at shortstop. Pitching might be shaky behind Carlton.

4. Kentucky. Tough call between the neighbors but I think the Commonwealth is a little better at key spots (especially shortstop). On the bubble for the tournament.

5. Tennessee. I could see the Vols moving higher if the pitching holds up, because they will score some runs with Helton, Stearnes and Co.

6. Mississippi. Cool Papa Bell sets the table for Dave Parker, George Scott and others, but Roy Oswalt is about the only reliable arm around, unless Brett Favre retires again and joins this team.

Next: We’re down to the Midwest and the Southwest groups, plus we’ll look at our first exhibition results.

Rockie top

Through the 2008 season, Tennessee was tied with its neighbor to the north, Kentucky, at 264 players sent to the major leagues. (Virginia also had 264.)

I’m not sure Tennessee’s roster looks as deep as Kentucky’s, however, but there are some interesting players here. If David Price lives up to his ace potential, he could help change that.

Several are candidates for Tennessee’s best, from Parisian Bob Caruthers, a pitching star of the 19th Century, to Turkey Stearnes, the Negro leagues star and the only Hall of Famer from the state to date.

Then there’s Todd Helton. You may remember that he played quarterback for the Tennessee Volunteers before he was replaced by some guy named Peyton Manning. Helton decided that his future was in baseball, and he was right. He has put up tremendous numbers for the Rockies for more than a decade and is one of the few active players with 10-plus years all on one team. His Hall of Fame shot is probably hurt by the Colorado altitude, but he is still making his case and figures to do so for some time. As for this project, he gets to be a Tennessee Volunteer again.

The manager of this team could be Phil Garner, who did guide the Astros to a pennant a few years back. But he’s going to play second base, so the manager will be Billy Meyer, who had a short playing career and eventually ended up in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ dugout in the late 1940s and early ’50s. The Sporting News picked him as manager of the year for leading the Bucs to fourth place in 1948, but by 1952, in a horrible season that Joe Garagiola used as a punch line for many of his stories, the Pirates went 42-112 and Meyer was out. Despite this, the Pirates retired Meyer’s No. 1 and he will get to manage the Vols in this project.

TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS

1B Dale Alexander
CA Ed Bailey
RH Johnny Beazley
RH Tommy Bridges
RH Bob Caruthers
OF Ben Chapman
OF Roy Cullenbine
CA Rick Dempsey
OF Steve Finley
SS Tom Fisher
2B Phil Garner
UT Jim Gilliam
LH Noodles Hahn
RH Bryan Harvey
1B Todd Helton
LH Rick Honeycutt
RH Red Lucas
3B Bill Madlock
CA Tim McCarver
OF Clyde Milan
LH Claude Osteen
OF Vada Pinson
UT Bobby Reeves
LH George Sherrill
OF Turkey Stearnes
RH Fred Toney
OF Leon Wagner
OF Earl Webb

Next: Ohio.