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.