Marietta wins marathon game

Marietta won for the third straight time at Philadelphia, taking a 3-2 series lead as the two teams head back to Georgia. It wasn't easy though. Johan Santana and Francisco Liriano battled to a draw this time, each surrendering three runs in 6 2/3 innings (though one of Lirano's runs was unearned). J.J. Putz and Trevor Hoffman were both impressive in relief and held their opponents to zero runs between their 7.1 combined innings. Then the two teams sent for their top relievers - Mariano Rivera for Marietta and Francisco Rodriguez for Philly. Rivera had only allowed one batter to reach base, since relieving Hoffman in the 10th. Rodriguez entered the game in the 12th and retired the side in order. Then in the 13th inning, the second batter of the inning, Wes Helms, hit a Rodriguez fastball into the stands to give the Mighty Men the lead. Rivera retired the side in order and the Mighty Men took the 3-2 series lead.

Philly now hopes that the trend continues, at least for one more game, of away teams winning every game in the series. It'd be hard to imagine that Marietta gets swept at home, but then again, it would have been hard to think that the Animals would have lost three straight home games too.

Sugar Bears advance to Series

The Newark Sugar Bears made it a clean sweep of the Honolulu Sharks after a 13-7 victory yesterday. The Sharks actually had a chance at this one though. The Sugar Bears took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning on a two-run Gregg Zaun homer. But the Sharks held the Sugar Bears in check and Brian McCann showed up his counterpart in the third with a three-run homer to give the Sharks a 3-2 lead. The Sugar Bears tied it up in the fifth, but a two-run Jermaine Dye homer gave the Sharks a 5-3 lead. In the seventh inning, however, everything fell apart for the Sharks. After the bullpen relieved Jeff Francis with one out in the inning, the Sugar Bears rallied for four runs, taking a 7-5 lead on the Sharks. The Sharks tied it up in the bottom half of the inning on another well-timed homer from Adrian Gonzalez. But the Shark bullpen could not stop the Sugar Bears at all, surrendering six runs in the final two innings of the game. Cla Meredith then shut down the Sharks for the final two innings - obviously the Sharks had run out of home run power at this point.

Hard to give an MVP to just one Sugar Bear. The team batted .398 against the Sharks and scored 47 runs in the four games. Marlon Anderson seemed to stand out with a .600 average (9-15) and a 1.855 OPS! He also led the team with 10 RBIs and 4 doubles.

The Sugar Bears now await the winner of the Marietta and Philadelphia series, now tied at two.

Philly evens the series, Sharks on the edge

Philadelphia stormed back with back-to-back shutouts of the Mighty Men to tie the series back up at two. The Endzone Animals scored seven in the first inning en route to a 15-0 victory. Josh Johnson pitched six innings, limiting the Mighty Men to five hits and two walks and striking out seven. Meanwhile, rookie Jeremy Sowers was hammered for seven runs (six earned) in 2/3 of an inning. Jimmy Rollins had 4 RBIs and Albert Pujols hit a pair of homers to lead the team. The two teams return to Philadelphia on Thursday, with game two of the Francisco Liriano-Johan Santana matchup. Santana was roughed up last time, so we'll see if he can outduel the rookie.

Meanwhile, it will take a miracle for Honolulu to come back from a 3-0 deficit after a 9-4 loss to Newark yesterday. Chien-Ming Wang pitched eight solid innings to earn the win and Gregg Zaun had 3 RBIs to lead the offense. The Sharks will fight for their survival today in Honolulu.

Webb sparks Animals

There's an interesting discussion going on at the DMBL Message Board about stadiums. Things are going to change a little bit next year regarding how often you can change your team stadiums. Take a look and offer your input before it's too late!

Philadelphia won a key game yesterday against Marietta to make the series 2-1. Brandon Webb pitched a complete game gem yesterday, shutting out the Mighty Men in a tight 1-0 game. Webb and Marietta's A.J. Burnett were duelling it out for much of the game. Through six innings, Burnett held the Animals to two hits and Webb held the Mighty Men to three. But Burnett had thrown 112 pitches and was lifted in the seventh inning for Trevor Hoffman. Scott Rolen led off the inning with a single and A.J. Pierzynski followed with an RBI double, giving the Animals a 1-0 lead. And that's all that would score for the rest of the game. In the bottom of the ninth, Brian Giles reached first on an infield single with two outs. Giles stole second but was left stranded. Game four is tonight and Honolulu hosts Newark for their game three.

Newark, Marietta, jump out to early leads

It's no surprise to see the Sugar Bears jump out to an early 2-0 lead on Honolulu. The Sharks haven't been able to stop the Sugar Bear offense at all, and the bats haven't put up enough of a fight to make Newark nervous. Maybe things will change when the series resumes in Honolulu on Tuesday. They better hope for a severe case of jet lag for the Bears because they are in serious trouble. Remember, it was the Sharks who were winless in their season series at home with the Sugar Bears. Maybe they're due though?

Meanwhile, Marietta has taken a huge 2-0 lead over the Morris Divison champs. Mike Mussina took a perfect game into the eighth inning then walked Adam LaRoche. The no-hitter was intact until the ninth inning with one out when A.J. Pierzynski lined a single past Derek Jeter. Mussina did keep the shutout - a one-hitter. Mussina faced only 28 batters and threw 95 pitches in the game. Erik Bedard put up a good fight, but could not match Mussina's domination. Philadelphia now travels to Marietta to try to get back into this series. Marietta has actually been three games worse at home and has lost their only playoff game in Marietta agaisnt D.C., so this may be a good chance for the Animals.

Dream matchup becomes reality

That's right, game one of the Philadelphia-Marietta series features a head to head matchup of the two Ben McDonald Award candidates - Francisco Liriano and Johan Santana. The two have not faced each other this season yet. In fact, Santana has not faced the Mighty Men all year. Liriano has gone against the Endzone Animals four times in 2007. In all four starts Liriano has pitched exceptionally. Liriano won three times and had one no-decision in which he tossed seven shut out innings only to have the bullpen blow it for him. Liriano has compiled a 1.67 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP in 27 innings, with 38 strikeouts against the Endzone Animals. But Santana is the wild card here. Will he shut down the Mighty Men like Liriano has done to the Animals? Is it a plus or minus that they haven't met this year? Time will tell.

Preview: Honolulu vs Newark

Yesterday we did a position by position comparison between Marietta and Philadelphia. Today we'll do the same with Honolulu and Newark.

Catcher: Brian McCann, Honolulu vs Gregg Zaun, Newark
Both of these guys are in a platoon - McCann with Kenji Johjima and Zaun with Michael Barrett - so we'll try to evaluate the entire platoon. McCann has had a breakout year for the Sharks in his first full year behind the plate. McCann's .572 slugging and .943 OPS were both second on the team. Zaun has had a great offensive season as well - .907 OPS and 92 RBIs. But since the Sugar Bears play in such an offense-friendly park, we have to scale down the numbers a bit. Advantage: Honolulu.

First Base: Adrian Gonzalez, Honolulu vs Nick Johnson, Newark
Nick Johnson is the reigning Kevin Mitchell Award winner, so he has an edge before we even peer into the stats. Johnson has had another awesome season - .347 average, 1.053 OPS, 179 runs scored(!), 140 RBIs. Gonzalez has had a great breakout season for Honolulu - 27 homers, 107 RBIs, but he's just not in the same league as Johnson. Advantage: Newark.

Second Base: Ryan Freel vs Marlon Anderson
Where the heck did Anderson come from to post such ridiculous numbers? Anderson batted .360 with 117 RBIs and a 1.048 OPS - all career highs by far. In fact Anderson's "best" prior season featured a .592 OPS and 44 RBIs. Meanwhile Freel could be Marlon Anderson circa that "best" season with the poor numbers he's put up so far. Both players are platooned - Anderson with Mark DeRosa and Freel with Brian Roberts, but the platoons only strenghthen Newark's advantage here. Advantage: Newark.

Shortstop: Miguel Tejada vs Carlos Guillen
This one is a real battle. Guillen has put up crazy numbers for a second straight year - 1.056 OPS with 231 hits, 164 runs, and 139 RBIs. Tejada is one of the top hitters in Honolulu's lineup - .321 average, 99 RBIs, 102 runs. But even taking into account the teams' ballparks, Guillen has the advantage, but this one isn't as lopsided as some of the other comparisons. Advantage: Newark.

Third Base: Eric Chavez vs Mark Teahen
A few years ago, Chavez may have given Teahen some competition, but Chavez is not the player he used to be. Honolulu is platooning Chavez with Rich Aurilia and the platoon seems to be working out alright for the Sharks. Teahen has been a force for the Sugar Bears - 37 homers and 129 RBIs. Advantage: Newark.

Left Field: Frank Catalanotto vs Bobby Abreu
Little Cat shares left field duties with Torii Hunter and Cat has put up decent numbers. He leads the Sharks with a .323 average and has hit a respectable 31 doubles in 406 at bats. Abreu has had another quality season, .950 OPS, 160 runs, and a team high 28 stolen bases. Advantage: Newark.

Center Field: Johnny Damon vs Jim Edmonds
Damon is a solid if unspectacular player and probably doesn't deserve to be starting anymore in the DMBL. Edmonds has put up historic numbers - .390 average, 1.155 OPS, 123 runs, 144 RBIs. This isn't even a fair comparison. Advantage: Newark.

Right Field: Jermaine Dye vs Manny Ramirez
Manny was being Manny this year and put up his usual quality numbers - 41 homers, 139 RBIs, .933 OPS. Despite those numbers, and probably because of the ridiculous numbers put up by his teammates, Manny may be the "worst" hitter in the Sugar Bear lineup! Does Dye have a chance? Dye's had a great season, hitting 49 homers and driving in 129 runs, scoring 114 and compiling a .904 OPS. It's close enough on paper, independent of lineups or ballparks, but if you normalize the numbers, Dye gets the edge here. Advantage: Honolulu.

DH: Jason Giambi vs Chipper Jones
Giambi had a very good year for the Sharks, smacking 50 homers, 121 RBIs, and .996 OPS. Chipper was no slouch for the Sugar Bears either - 1.128 OPS, 44 homers, 140 RBIs. This is a very close call, but Chipper's higher batting average (more than .100 percentage poitns) gives him the nod. Advantage: Newark.

Bench: Both teams make extensive use of their benches in platoon roles, but Newark is an offensive machine. Both teams have good depth, but the Sugar Bears have better depth. Advantage: Newark.

Starting Pitching: Newark's pitching numbers look like a product of a great offense, but remember we have to be fair and normalize the pitching numbers too! John Smoltz, Randy Johnson, and Chien-Ming Wang are a formidable trio. The three combined for a 51-16 record and that's not even mentioning Javier Vazquez at 15-6, 4.38. Even fifth starter Joe Saunders was solid in his debut season. Honolulu's staff has decent depth as well. Lefty Jeff Francis dominated in his playoff debut and Jason Schmidt, Jered Weaver and Roy Oswalt are all quality arms. How they will do in the horror house that is the Cereal Bowl remains to be seen. Advantage: Newark.

Bullpen: This may be the second most lopsided battle here and may be the undoing of the Sharks in facing the Sugar Bears. The Sharks pen has been very unstable, starting with closer Tom Gordon, who has blown 11 saves, plus the game one chance against the Cutters. The rest of the pen is adequate, however, and can do the job if Gordon doesn't blow it for them. But the Sugar Bears' bullpen is one of the team's strengths. There is no set closer, but Cla Meredith has stood out with a 1.95 ERA and 19 saves. Advantage: Newark.

Overall, it doesn't look good for Honolulu and realistically, they will be lucky to win one game. But stranger things have happened. Look for Newark to return to the finals and try to win a record fourth straight World Series. Prediction: Newark in five.

Preview: Marietta vs. Philadelphia

So now we have a few days off until the next series starts on Friday. Marietta will travel to Philadelphia to take on the Endzone Animals. Do they stand a chance?

The Endzone Animals actually won the season series 7-5, winning 4 of 6 at home. Most of the series was fairly close, however. In fact, Marietta actually outscored Philly in the series 57-55. Let's see how they stack up, position by position:

Catcher: Jorge Posada, Marietta vs. A.J. Pierzynski, Philadelphia
Philly went out and acquired Pierzynski from New Jersey before the trading deadline to help give David Ross a little breathing room. Ross has shown a lot of power this year with a low average and Pierzynski has been his exact opposite. Marietta's Posada, a perennial All-Star candidate, is having another solid year all around though. Advantage: Marietta

First Base: Todd Helton, Marietta vs. Albert Pujols, Philadelphia
While Helton has dropped off a bit, he has still posted some solid number, but he is nowhere in the same universe that Albert Pujols occupies. Pujols, already a superstar, is a strong Mitchell Award candidate this year, hitting 57 homers and driving in 153 runs with a 1.029 OPS. Advantage: Philly

Second Base: Ray Durham, Marietta vs. Todd Walker, Philadelphia
Philly's tried a bunch of players at second, including Jose Lopez and Jeff Cirillo before finally settling on Todd Walker late in the season. None of the three combined though can touch Marietta's Ray Durham, who has had a career season. Durham hit 39 homers and drove in 112 runs while hitting .303. Advantage: Marietta

Shortstop: Derek Jeter vs. Jimmy Rollins
It seems like half of Philly's lineup was acquired midway through the season. Rollins is a slight improvement over his precursor David Eckstein. Jeter is a consistent veteran who has held the shortstop position since 1997. Advantage: Marietta

Third Base: Wes Helms vs. Scott Rolen
Rolen has always been a Philly favorite, though he seems to have lost a little bit in recent years. Journeyman Wes Helms has put up a career year in Marietta, tying for second in the league in extra base hits and amassing 217 hits. Helms has been the quiet offensive leader of the Mighty Men. Advantage: Marietta

Left Field: Matt Diaz vs. J.D. Drew
You may remember Diaz from his 23-game hit streak earlier in the season, but other than his average, Diaz's numbers are pretty mediocre. J.D. Drew, another player Philly acquired, has been better with Philadelphia, but has still had a disappointing season overall. Advantage: none.

Center Field: Brian Giles vs. Vernon Wells
Giles used to be a very productive player but now is a shadow of his former self. Vernon Wells has become a very solid producer in the Philly lineup, driving in 100+ RBIs for the first time in his career. Advantage: Philadelphia

Right Field: Wily Mo Pena vs. Reed Johnson
Johnson started out in left field and was shifted over to right with the acquisition of J.D. Drew. He's had a solid, if unspectacular season. Meanwhile, Wily Mo Pena, who had a great series against D.C. has been a pleasant surprise for Marietta, hitting 31 homers and leading the team with 126 RBIs. Advantage: Marietta

DH: Jim Thome vs. Adam LaRoche
LaRoche has had a very good season for the Endzone Animals, but Jim Thome has found new life in Marietta. Thome smacked 39 homers and 115 RBIs with a 1.062 OPS and has the playoff experience to lead this team deep in the playoffs. Advantage: Marietta

Bench: Marietta has few options on the bench, while Philadelphia's bench has many solid hitters, including Magglio Ordonez, Michael Cuddyer, and the backup second basemen. Advantage: Philadelphia

Starting pitching:
Marietta seems to hold an edge in the hitting, but this is Philly's strong suit. The Animals boast one of the top two pitchers in the league, Johan Santana. Santana was second in the league with a 3.45 ERA and the only 20-game winner. Marietta counters with the other top-two pitcher in the league, young Francisco Liriano. Liriano led the league in ERA with a 2.35 mark and was 17-2. Fans are drooling over a possible Liriano-Santana opening game. Philadelphia also has Erik Bedard and Brandon Webb following up Santana and Marietta has Mike Mussina and A.J. Burnett. While it's a very slight edge, the advantage goes to Philadelphia.

Relief pitching: Marietta's pen features two of the best relievers in DMBL history - Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman. Marietta also solidified their pen by acquiring B.J. Ryan from Sardine City. Hoffman has certainly showed his age this year, but Rivera is still solid and Ryan has been nearly untouchable since coming over from the Fish in a Can. Meanwhile, the Endzone Animals have a great one-two punch of their own. 2007 Eckersley Award winner Francisco Rodriguez has been lights out as the closer. He's been set up by J.J. Putz. Philly's pen is much deeper in the middle innings with solid arms like Scott Proctor, Francisco Cordero, and Jon Rauch. Advantage: Philadelphia

Overall this looks to be a very well-balanced series. Marietta has a better offense, but Philly has the best player on the field in Pujols. Philly has a slight edge in the pitching department, but the Liriano-Santana matchup could go either way. We're going to go with the experience and predict Marietta to win the series in seven games.

Honolulu advances

And so, just like the previous series, the higher seeded Sharks won three straight after losing the opener to the Cutters, to advance to the next round.

The Cutters took the early lead when leadoff hitter Hanley Ramirez hit a solo homer off starter Jeff Francis. The next batter, Josh Bard, hit a single and Sharks fans thought they were in for a long night. However, except for a Greg Norton walk in the second inning, Francis did not allow any other baserunners for the rest of the game. That's right, Francis retired 24 batters in a row in one of the most dominant starts in DMBL post-season history.

The Cutters sent out Scott Kazmir on three days rest and Kazmir pitched well, but ran out of gas after three innings. Kazmir gave way to Wes Littleton and that was the beginning of the end for Hoboken. Littleton started the inning off by surrendering four hits and a hit batsman before recording the first out. A wild pitch made the score 4-1. Boof Bonser came in to relieve Littleton in the next inning and surrendered four more runs in the next four innigns to make the score 8-1 in favor of the Sharks.

It's hard to pick an MVP for the Sharks series, as a lot of the offense was spread out, but we'll give it to Adrian Gonzalez. Sure Jermaine Dye's numbers appear gaudier, but most of his production came in the Game One loss to Hoboken, so how can we give it to him? Gonzalez is a worthy candidate though, hitting .556 in the four games (10-18) with a 1.190 OPS. Gonzalez had the game winning RBI in the second game as well.

The Sharks now face the daunting task of taking on the powerhouse Newark Sugar Bears. Honolulu was 4-9 against the Sugar Bears this season with all four wins coming in Newark. Honolulu has twice faced Newark in the playoffs, both in the second round. They are 4-8 lifetime against the Sugar Bears, losing a close 4-3 series in 2004 and then getting dominated 4-1 in 2005. It will be hard for the Sharks to pull off the upset and the lone bright spot is their success against the Sugar Bears in the Cereal Bowl.

Marietta advances, Honolulu takes the lead

After the underdogs took the first game of both series, the favorites have come back.

The Mighty Men finished off the Bushslappers yesterday 7-5. The Bushslappers offense just couldn't wake up in time during the series. Marietta's pitching staff shut them down for most of the series. After being limited to only four runs in the first two games, Marietta's offense came alive in the final two games too, scoring 15 runs combined. Wily Mo Pena would get our Series MVP vote, hitting .444 with 2 homers and 7 RBIs in the series. Marietta will face the Philadelphia Endzone Animals starting Friday.

Meanwhile, the Honolulu Sharks have retaken the lead in the series after an 8-5 victory in Hoboken yesterday. The Sharks stormed out to a 7-0 lead and survived a Cutter rally in the eighth. Roy Oswalt pitched brilliantly, striking out 12 batters in six innings, while surrendering only one run on five hits. Hoboken will send Scott Kazmir on three days rest to the mound today in a desparate attempt to even the series and send it back to Honolulu.

Hoboken takes game one; Marietta evens it up

Day two of the DMBL Playoffs and both lower seeded teams have effectively taken home field advantage away from the highers.

Hoboken staged a ninth inning rally to tie the game with the Sharks. After leading 6-3, the Sharks brought in closer Tom Gordon to close the door on the game. Protecting a three-run lead for one inning should be a slam dunk for a closer, but Gordon couldn't get the job done, even after retiring two of the first three batters. With a runner on second and two outs, Gordon walked the next batter and surrendered a three-run shot to Hanley Ramirez to tie the game up at six. But that wasn't enough, Gordon walked Jose Valentin and gave way to Geoff Geary, who promptly gave up a double to score Valentin. Now trailing 7-6 in the bottom of the ninth, the Sharks played some "small ball" in the bottom of the ninth and were able to tie the game up and send it to extra innings. Geary worked out of a jam in the 10th, but got into trouble again in the 11th. Jose Feliciano surrendered a double to Jose Bautista that scored two runs. Honolulu put two runners on the bases in the bottom of the 11th but left them stranded. The win was the first ever playoff win for the Hoboken Cutters.

Meanwhile in Marietta, the Mighty Men and Bushslappers once again faced off in a pitchers duel. Mike Mussina shut out D.C. for seven innings, holding the Slappers to only four hits and striking out eight. Jorge Posada homered to lead off the fifth, giving the Mighty Men a 1-0 lead. The Mighty Men scored again on a Matt Diaz single, but Diaz was thrown out trying for second to end the rally. D.C. finally scored in the ninth, but they ended up leaving runners on second and third after the final two batters failed to drive them in. The series takes a day off today and resumes on Saturday in D.C.

DC Upsets Marietta

Well everyone expected Francisco Liriano to shut down the Bushslappers, but no one expected Bronson Arroyo to do the same to the Mighty Men.

The Mighty Men got off to a quick 1-0 lead in the first inning when Wily Mo Pena hit a single to score Derek Jeter. But the Slappers quickly tied it up with a Frank Thomas solo home run. Then in the sixth things went awry for the Mighty Men. Jeff Kent started the inning off with a single and Liriano walked Alfonso Soriano. Kent, however, was caught stealing on a botched hit and run attempt, while Soriano advanced to second. Perhaps feeling overconfident in his ability to throw out base runners, Liriano attempted to pick off Soriano at second but ended up throwing the ball into center field. Clearly nervous, Liriano walked Frank Thomas and Graig Nettles decided to change pitchers, opting for B.J. Ryan. Ryan walked the first batter to load the bases. Catcher Jorge Posada still wondering what went wrong with the pickoff throw earlier, watched the pitch go right under his legs for a passed ball, scoring Soriano from third. The situation had a potential to really get ugly but Carlos Beltran lined into a double play to end the inning.

Arroyo basically cruised through the eighth, encountering a bit of a scare after Wes Helms hit a single and advanced to second on an error, but Joe Nathan finished the inning, then retired the side in order in the ninth to pick up the save and a 1-0 series lead for the Bushslappers.

The two teams face off again today while Honolulu hosts Hoboken for game one of their series.

First Round: D.C. at Marietta

The Playoffs officially begin today as Marietta hosts D.C. The game marks the first playoff matchup of the Landsman brothers. Despite having four sets of brothers in the league's history, the only prior playoff matchup of brothers has been the Zajac brothers. Older brother David has the upper hand this time, as the Mighty Men have been the top wild card seed for most of the second half, while the Bushslappers struggled towards the end of the season.

Surprisingly the season series was split 6-6. D.C. lost two of three games the last time the two teams faced off in D.C. The teams were both 3-3 at home against each other. The two teams were so closely matched that six of the twelve games were one run games, which Marietta holds the 4-2 edge.

D.C. was a Jekyll and Hyde team this year, winning in the second and third quarters of the season and struggling in the first and fourth. However, the Bushslappers were still able to win games during their slumps against the Mighty Men, so it's not a result of schedule timing.

On paper, Marietta would appear to hold a clear edge, but the results tell a different story. Apparently the two teams match up better than the statistics would indicate. Still we are going to go with Marietta as the favorite to win this series in four games.

Playoff outlook

We're back! Starting Wednesday are the DMBL Playoffs. And it is the first time in the DMBL's history that neither Arkansas nor Vancouver have made the post-season. In Arkansas's case, it is the first time since 1992 that they have missed the playoffs and the first time they have not had a winning season. There has never been a DMBL World Series that has not featured one of the two teams. The only other team to have made the DMBL World Series other than the Sugar Bears is the Jerusalem Rabbis in 2000 (now the Mighty Men of Marietta). The Mighty Men have a chance to make a trip back to the post-season as the highest ranked wild card this year.

The D.C. Bushslappers are the only virgin team in the playoffs this year. The Bushslappers, formerly the Columbia Crusaders/Rattlesnakes have clinched a playoff spot for the first time in franchise history and with a record of 81-81, their first non-losing season (we are still waiting for a winning season though). D.C. will go up against Marietta in a battle of brothers starting Wednesday.

The other series features the return of the Hoboken Cutters. The Cutters have not made the playoffs since 2002 and were quickly swept by Wanaque in the first round. Their opponent is the Honolulu Sharks, a frequent playoff contender who missed the playoffs last year, but has appeared in the playoffs the three years before. Both teams had equal records but the Sharks won the season series and will host three of the five possible games.