No. 1 Vanderbilt (46-10, 22-8)

To say the Commodores got off to a flying start and never looked back would be quite the understatement. Vanderbilt opened the season at the tournament held at Minute Maid Park in Houston, and promptly swept right through the likes of Rice, Arizona State and Baylor. The Commodores would go on to win their first 20 games of the season, before a loss at Ole Miss ended their hope for an undefeated run through a 56 game regular season schedule. It has been a historical run for the 'Dores, winning the SEC East title for the first time since 1974. It's not too hard to figure out who the catalysts have been on this squad that has hit .329 as a team and pitched to the tune of a 3.57 ERA. The top players to look out for:
Dominic de la Osa- Has outshined preseason everything Pedro Alvarez, as he leads the team with a .387 average and 17 homeruns.
Pedro Alvarez- The sophomore third-baseman from New York City has lit up the stat sheets for a second straight season. Alvarez is hitting .382 with 15 homeruns and leads the team with 57 RBI.
David Price- The ace has not only been the top pitcher in the conference, but arguably in the nation. Heading into this week's action, Price leads the nation with 164 strikeouts in 114 IP. The lefty also sports a 10-0 record, with opponents hitting just a measly .204 against him, and is being touted as the No. 1 draft pick in a couple weeks.
Casey Weathers- Has been their reliever extraordinaire, posting seven saves and a .144 opponent batting average. With a rush of late inning wins, Weathers has also picked up ten wins. He has also shot up the draft board and is slated to be picked in the first round.

No. 2 Arkansas (38-18, 18-12)

The Hogs won the SEC West in wild fashion on Friday night, coming from behind to defeat Ole Miss and lock up their third title. A key series that set the tone for them was against Vanderbilt in the second SEC weekend of the season, when Arkansas was able to take two-of-three from the red-hot Commodores. But besides from the late-inning heroics against Ole Miss last Friday, there hasn't been too much to cheer about of late. Since May began, they are just 3-6, with series losses against LSU, Alabama, and Ole Miss. What looked like an automatic national seed doesn’t look so good anymore. Nonetheless, here are the guys to look out for:
Logan Forsythe- His .354 average is impressive to lead the team.
Danny Hamblin- Leads the team with 20 homeruns.
Nick Schmidt- The ace of the staff has struggled of late, but still owns a 9-3 record with a 3.03 ERA.

No. 3 South Carolina (40-16, 17-13)

The Gamecocks have belted 104 homeruns this season, a very high amount. Four players have more than 14 homers, with three at 18. Here's that list:
Tied at 18: Justin Smoak
Travis Jones
James Darnell
14 Hrs: Phil Disher

While the pitching has gone south a bit during SEC play, this is still a very dangerous team. They are hitting .305 as a team. A homerun or nothing can categorize this team without seeing too much of them. As for the pitching staff, they have a solid 3.82 ERA with Arik Hempy leading the staff with a 2.42 ERA in 10 starts. Before getting hurt last year Hempy looked like the ace of the staff, and with him pitching well this team is dangerous with Harris Honeycutt in that rotation as well. Oh and not to mention their .976 field percentage. Gotta love it.

No. 4 Mississippi State (33-18, 15-13)

In a way, it could be easy to wonder how the Bulldogs were able to wrap up the fourth seed in the conference when looking at the team's stats. While they are hitting .320, the opponents are hitting a whopping .301. Not the type of number one is used to seeing for the league's fourth best team. The team ERA is a shade under 5, at 4.97. If the Bulldogs want to play deep into this weekend, it's going to rest upon those pitchers to hold a lead or two, something that has been tough at times this season. You know the hitting will be there, but not necessarily via the longball. Only 48 homeruns this season for them, with only one player in double digits, Edward Easley with 12. Chad Crosswhite has been the Friday night pitcher, and he is 7-3 with a 4.50 ERA in seven starts and 18 appearances. Can the pitching be better than what the numbers show? Facing Ole Miss to lead things off isn't exactly what they want to see, especially after dropping two-of-three earlier this year, including giving up 17 runs in the opening game of that series.

No. 5 Ole Miss (35-21, 16-14)

Lance Lynn, Lance Lynn, Lance Lynn. The 6-foot-5, 260-pound sophomore has been outsanding, and deserves a little more attention. He's thrown to a 2.69 ERA in 100 innings, while striking out 120. He's the reason their rival MSU may have a tough time on Wednesday to stay in the winner's bracket. The bats have been what you would expect out of an Ole Miss team. Solid. The team sits at .309 with Zach Miller hitting .381 but in only 36 games. But the Rebels haven't put up big numbers in the runs category. Only 350. Ole Miss has been real solid in the field though, with a .977 fielding percentage, just a shade better than the Gamecocks. Cody Overbeck leads the squad with 12 bombs.

No. 6 Florida (28-28, 15-15)

Talk about a .500 team. The Gators not only are .500 overall and in the SEC, but also finished even at home, with 17 up and 17 down. After such high expectations in 2006, after a CWS berth in 2005, the Gators stumbled again out of the gate, but "recovered" during SEC play to play very decent baseball, despite not getting the pitching that would have put them in even better position when they arrive in Hoover. Opponents are hitting a whopping .310 against them, with a 5.48 ERA. It's never good when the opponents have a higher batting average than yours, which sits at .295. Matt LaPorta is the big bopper in the Gators lineup, hitting .419 with 19 homers and 50 RBI on the year, and that includes missing seven games this year due to nagging injuries. Bryan Augenstein was supposed to be the ace of the pitching staff, but it's been a rough year for him. In 15 starts, he's got a 5.24 ERA, but has a 7-5 record. The Gators have all the incentive in the world this week. They need a winning record to get a bid to the NCAA Tournament, if of course, they don't win this tournament here in Hoover. So, in that case, they need to win three games to ensure that. Just one of the many storylines.

No. 7 Alabama (31-24, 15-15)

'Bama has some strange stats. They are hitting .293 as a team, but have onlys scored 336 runs. Opponents are hitting just .255, an excellent number. So the pitching staff has been very servicable, with the starters being good, and the bullpen excellent. In the lineup, Emeel Salem has lived up to the hype this year, leading the team with a .363 average. Overall, the Tide has to be upset with a seventh place finish, but good pitching wins games at this point in the year, so as long as they can string a couple of good performances together, it could go a long way.

No. 8 Tennessee (33-23, 13-15)

Sneaking in on the final weekend can be a good thing, but not when you were supposed to be a lock not only in your own conference tournament, but in the NCAA Tournament as well. With so much talent on this team, there's no question the Vols have underachieved. J.P. Arencibia has been a solid catcher, and has hit .330 and is tied for the team lead with only eight homeruns. It's tough to say what exactly has gone wrong with the Vols. All that is clear is that they got off on the wrong foot at Florida State, getting swept, and stumbled throughout. Making the SEC Tournament took a weight off their shoulders, it'll take a lot to do well in Hoover, considering Wednesday's matchup with Vanderbilt. The Commodores took all three games against their in-state rival this year, but to the Vols' credit, they were all close games. Two one-run affairs, and a two-run game.

We'll be out at Regions Park bright and early on Wednesday, that's it for now. With a few conventions in town, plus the smoke from the wildfires in Georgia and Florida, and the hellish traffic that Birmingham usually brings, it's already a wild atmosphere. G'night.