Expansion: Yea or Nay?

With expansion a hot topic lately, let's take a look at the pros and cons of expanding.

First the cons. Well obviously the talent level will be watered down. 60 more players selected means less quality free agents. It'll be harder to make the playoffs. Teams that have stockpiled great talent will obviously be hurt more than those with thinner rosters. Expansion teams will most likely raid these teams more than their weaker counterparts.

Now on the other hand, less free agents and harder to make the playoffs means the league will require you to dig deeper. If you like that sort of thing, then this is a bonus! Adding two more teams spreads the talent around more (hopefully) and gives you more possible trading partners.
Let's take a look at the history of those expansion teams that I mentioned yesterday.

The 1992 Scranton Sparrows finished dead last in the league, but in 1993, the Sparrows turned things around tremendously, winning 90 games and finishing just outside of the final playoff spot. In 1994, the team moved to Louisiana and regressed back to second worst, but the franchise enjoyed three straight winning seasons, including a Hanover Division title.

The three teams in 1993 went in three different directions. The Cheyenne Warhawks became the only expansion team to ever make the playoffs in their inaugural year. In fact, the team made the playoffs in the only two years of its existence. Meanwhile, the Waikiki Keys lost a still record 129 games and is probably the worst team in the history of the DMBL. But in year two the Keys made tremendous improvement and won 76 games. The team looked headed in the right direction before dissolving after the 1995 strike season. The Charleston Chiefs meanwhile finished second to last in 1993 and then dead last in 1994.

The 1997 teams almost all finished in the last spots, except for Carolina, who finished in 10th. The last three spots went to Honolulu, Lisbon, and Phoenix. Carolina would be the first to make the playoffs in their third season, while Honolulu didn't make the playoffs until 2003 and the Lisbon Diabos (which were sold and moved to Philadelphia) first made the playoffs in 2005. The Dragons (now defunct) have never made the playoffs or had a winning record.

Expansion?

With all the revenue the league made on cable television contracts this past World Series, the league is abuzz about expanding. There has been some interest from outside parties in obtaining new franchises, so the ownership search could be quite quick.

The league first started as a six-team league back in 1991. 1992 was the first expansion year - one new franchise, the Scranton Sparrows joined. They filled out their roster by drafting along with the rest of the league and then basically having a solo supplemental draft after the initial 10-round draft. In 1993, three new franchises were added. They were allowed to draft five initial players during the 1992 season, claimed off waivers and turned into keepers for the 1993 season. They then drafted alongside the other seven teams and had their own supplemental draft after the regular draft. The last expansion in league history was in 1997 when the league expanded to its current 14-team format. The expansion teams, for the first time in league history, drafted players that were currently rosterd by the other 10 teams. All ten teams submitted protected lists, also for the first time, of 15 players and were allowed to pull back one player after another one was selected - up to a max of 2 players pulled back. In 1996, 2001, and 2006, there were dispersal drafts, but those were quite different from expansion.

Most likely any new expansion would be handled similarly to the 1997 expansion, with teams protected 12 or 13 players and pulling back a player after losing one. Playoffs, division structure, and player qualifications would still need to be discussed. If the league expands, we are looking at 2009 most likely, rather than 2008.

We'll take a look at the pros and cons of expansion tomorrow, as well as the immediate successes of the expansion teams.

Team Review: Hillsborough Hired Hitmen

The Hitmen ended up in the three-way tie for eighth place. Despite being in a playoff spot for a good part of the season, the Hitmen hit some bumps in the road and ended up on the outside looking in.

What went right: The Hitmen offense and pitching were both in the top half of the league. Robinson Cano had a great year atop the Hitmen lineup. Ryan Howard followed up his Listach Rookie of the Year season with a Mitchell Award-worthy season. Takashi Saito and Chad Cordero were a solid closer tandem.

What went wrong: The young pitching staff is still going through growing pains. Felix Hernandez took a big step backwards after a successful rookie campaign and Jeremy Bonderman is still trying to figure it out. Rookie Justin Verlander was up and down, but showed enough moments of brilliance to give Hitmen fans some hope. Alex Rodriguez and Carlos Delgado had down years - well, down for them anyway. A-Rod still managed to score 100 runs and Delgado did hit 34 homers and 93 RBIs, but overall, expectations were higher for the two.

With a rebound from A-Rod and Delgado and some more progress from the young arms, maybe Hillsborough will get over the playoff hump next season.

Gold Glove Rookies

The Gold Glove winners have been announced on Wednesday night. Three rookie DMBLers received the award, the most since the awards were given out in 2001. Hillsborough's Russell Martin took the prize at catcher. Joe Mauer and Ivan Rodriguez, who both narrowly missed winning the award last year, also narrowly missed winning it this year. But in the end Martin's near-perfect percentage, games played, and total chances made him a clear choice.

The second rookie was Sardine City's Josh Barfield. Barfield was originally splitting time this season with journeyman Julio Lugo, but the Straphangers knew that Barfield would benefit from a full-time gig, so Lugo was sent packing. Whether Barfield's bat was good enough for the Sardines to keep him in the lineup next year is a question, but his glovework could make the decision harder.

The last of our rookie trifecta is Las Vegas' Shane Victorino. Victorino was a bit of a find for the Rat Pack. Drafted in the sixth round, Victorino paid off for the Rats, playing both left field and center field. Rat Pack management has already thrown their support behind Victorino, making it likely that the Gold Glover will remain a key component of the 2008 Rat Pack.

Team Review: D.C. Bushslappers

The Bushslappers snuck into the playoffs last year with an 81-81 record - the first time in franchise history (going all the way back to the Columbia Crusaders days) that the franchise earned a playoff spot.

What went right: The Bushslappers actually put in a great run in the second and third quarters of the season. Carlos Beltran and Alfonso Soriano put up excellent numbers. Esteban German, who was in platoon roles early on, earned regular playing time and ended up hitting .350 over 329 at bats with a .953 OPS. The bullpen's co-closers Jonathon Papelbon and Joe Nathan were lights out and provided the Slappers with some confidence in the late innings. D.C.'s 13 wins after trailing after 7 innings tied for the most in the league.

What went wrong: At the beginning and ending of the season, the Slappers were mediocre. The Slappers backed into the playoffs, despite a 4-game losing streak to finish the season. Jose Reyes and Matt Holliday (who was traded midseason) had subpar years. The starting rotation was inconsistent at best. Anibal Sanchez led the team in ERA (4.57) despite a 7-13 record. Three of the five starters had losing records and three of the five had ERAs of 5.00 or higher.

D.C. will need to beef up their starting rotation and awaken those underachieving bats to keep up with the other Morris Division teams. They got the playoff hex out of the way and now will be looking forward to posting their first winning record.

Team Review: Carolina Mudcats

The on again/off again Mudcats were more off than on in '07. They finished just outside the playoffs, tied with Vancouver and Hillsborough at 79-83 for 8th overall.

What went right: Travis Hafner had a historical season - 60 homers, 136 runs, 123 RBIs, 1.176 OPS, .319 average, .460 OBP, .716 slugging. Billy Hall provided some offensive punch and Rocco Baldelli managed to stay relatively healthy.

What went wrong: The pitching, usually a strength of the Mudcats, was shaky. Carlos Zambrano and Roy Halladay were mediocre and Barry Zito was disastrous. The rest of the offense was weak. Aramis Ramirez contributed 30 homers and 107 RBIs, but his .283 OBP was poor. Grady Sizemore underachieved with only 58 RBIs and 159 strikeouts. The bullpen blew 28 saves - tops in the league.

Carolina's core is still intact, so as long as they fix the few problem areas, the players should rebound in 2008.

New owner found for Gang

Welcome to our newest member, Tom Zagenczyk, who will be taking over the South Boston Gang. Tom (or should I say "Dr. Tom"?) is Assistant Professor of Management over at Clemson University. Many of you may know Tom from his involvement in some Yahoo! fantasy leagues.

The Sardine City Straphangers, meanwhile, have made some changes in their coaching staff. After a disappointing inaugural season, the Sardines have asked manager Bucky Dent to take a pay cut, with incentives for making the post season, but Dent declined, saying that the offer was an insult. Dent was talked into staying as the bench coach. Replacing Dent at the helm will be Joe Torre. Torre, the recently freed former manager of some New York-area minor league team, will have his hands full, but is excited to take on the challenge.

Team Review: Arkansas Golden Falcons

For the first time since 1991, the Golden Falcons missed the playoffs and for the first time in franchise history, they finished with a losing record at 80-82. GM/Owner Stump Matiash now faces a rough road ahead to get back to the glory days.

What went right in '07: Barry Bonds, Justin Morneau, and Lance Berkman all had solid seasons at the plate. Kenny Lofton defied Father Time yet again and the Falcons were able to work their platoons well over the course of the season. The Falcons finished the season on a 17-7 run and finished only one game out of a tie for the sixth seed. Nick Markakis and Chris Coste were solid draft choices.

When went wrong: The usually reliable Falcon pitching was disappointing. Fans were perplexed when Curt Schilling spent half the season in the minors. When Schilling finally returned to Arkansas, he pitched like his old self, going 8-4 with a 3.62 ERA. Young hurlers Ervin Santana and Daniel Cabrera were disasters and Dan Haren wasn't much better either. The pen blew 20 saves over the season and the Falcon pitching staff had the second highest ERA in the league. David Wright put up mediocre numbers after a great 2006 season.

Overall, the Falcons are looking like an older team and their lack of draft picks did them in early. Although certain questionable managerial decisions (Schilling, Brad Lidge) didn't help matters. The second half run certainly gives them hope, but there are many areas to improve on in 2008.

K-Rod claims the Eck

Philadelphia's Francisco Rodriguez has done it again, taking home the 2007 Dennis Eckersley Reliever of the Year Award for the second straight year. It was a pretty close battle for most of the year between K-Rod and Vancouver's Billy Wagner, but Vancouver's late season swoon cost Wags many save opportunities. Looking down the standings, it wasn't a big year for closers in 2007. In fact, K-Rod's 65 relief points was the lowest total in the DMB Era. Part of this can be attributed to the rapid rise of closers-by-committee this year. Five of the top ten in relief points were part of a committee or platoon. Cla Meredith, the highest ranked part-timer, shared closing duties in Newark with Denys Reyes and five other pitchers in the Sugar Bear pen had at least one save. Sardine City's Akinori Otsuka split the job with B.J. Ryan, at least until the latter was traded to Marietta. Hoboken's Juan Rincon split his duties with incumbent closer Jason Isringhausen. Jon Papelbon and Joe Nathan shared the role in D.C. Carolina, Hillsborough, and Las Vegas all had shared or undefined closer roles. Is this a new trend? In Newark, it certainly seems to be that way ever since John Smoltz was converted back into a starter. As for the other teams, it all will depend on the strengths -- and weaknesses of their bullpens.

DMBL Freaks N Geeks

You all should be getting an invite to the new DMBL Freeks N Geeks Ning community. It's a good way to get some league discussion and trash talking going. Sign up and play around a little. You can post messages on other owners' pages - accuse Butch of cheating, he likes that! You can start or participate in discussions. There's already one going on about rule changes that could go into effect for the 2008 season. Feel free to start any topics you want - players on the trading block, venting about how player X didn't perform up to par last year, your pitch for why we should vote for Bengie Molina for MVP, or whatever. Doesn't even have to be DMB-related. Post your latest movie review or your predictions for the MLB World Series (that "other" league). Post an invite to a Yahoo league you are starting. Or brag about how well you did in that other league you signed up for in 2007 - even though we all know that no other league's championship can compare to winning the DMBL Series! There is also a blog feature, so you can start your own blog about the Hoboken Cutters or the Anti-Golden Falcons blog. Finally, you can upload pictures, so you can share photos of your favorite player or pictures of your kids or photos from your latest trip to Transilvania.

And when you're done playing with that, don't forget to vote for the Mitchell, McDonald and Listach awards!

DMBL Mirror League wrap-up

There are already some rumors of potential new owners swirling around the DMBL office. There could be an announcement as soon as this week. Speaking of announcements, some of the league awards will begin to be announced this week. You may already know the winners of the Eck and the Rintel awards - look for the write-ups shortly, as well as the Gold Gloves. Make sure to get your votes in for the other awards.

This year the Hillsborough Hired Hitmen won the DMBL Mirror League. Vancouver was second, with Newark and D.C. following? Does this bode well for the fortunes of these teams in 2008? And what does this say for Team Buddah, the Sharks, and the Cutters who brought up the rear?

In 2006, Hillsborough also won the Mirror League, with Newark and Vancouver in second and third, respectively. Newark of course went on to win the 2007 DMBL World Series, but Hillsborough and Vancouver both narrowly missed the playoffs. How did Series runner up Marietta do? They finished ninth! The last place team, the Hoboken Cutters, was the fifth seeded playoff team in '07. Honolulu, the fourth seed, finished 12th! Ok, maybe that's just an aberration.

In 2005, Vancouver finished atop the Mirror League, with Hillsborough second and Newark third (same three teams, huh?). Vancouver and Newark met in the '06 World Series and the Hitmen finished just outside the playoffs again. Westwood finished in last and weren't competitive in '06, but the Arkansas Falcons finished 13th in the ML and ended up making the playoffs. Other playoff teams: Carolina (4th) and Marietta (6th) were the top seeded wild cards. The '05 ML had a better track record.

In 2004, Newark, Philly, and Arkansas headed the ML standings. Arkansas and Newark won their respective divisions and met in the World Series and Philadelphia made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. In fact, five of the top six ML finishers made the 2005 DMBL Playoffs. The sixth, Honolulu, finished seventh in the ML, so 2006 is looking more and more flukey by the minute.

Finally 2003, the year the Mirror League was first put to use. Newark took the ML in '03 followed by Stanhope, Carolina and Hillsborough. Newark, of course, began their historic four-season championship run in 2004 and Carolina and Stanhope both made the playoffs. Hillsborough, however, finished dead last in the league. Two playoff teams, Honolulu (12) and Tijuana (11), finished in the bottom four of the ML standings.

So what's it all mean for 2008? Probably not much, really. Newark, Hillsborough, and Vancouver probably stand to be in good shape come draft time. Expect some competition from D.C., Vegas, and whoever takes over South Boston. Honolulu, who doesn't have a great ML track record is always a wild card, blatantly disregarding the ML's prognostication powers. As the saying goes, "That's why they play the games!"

South Boston franchise up for sale

After two seasons in South Boston, the Gang is being put up for sale. Owner Paul Barbosa stated in a press conference yesterday that his heart wasn't in it any more. After three playoff appearances between Kentucky and Tijuana in six seasons, the move to South Boston didn't bring any success in 2006 or 2007. The Gang finished in 10th overall in '06 and then slipped to 11th in '07. Barbosa retires just shy of 1000 career wins (981). Barbosa was one of the original founding members of the DMBL - back in the Microleague days - as the owner of the Newark Crimewave. In 1992, he moved the team to Tampa Bay and renamed them the Sweat Sox. The Sox gave Barbosa his first winning season in 1993, but fell short of the playoffs. After the strike, the Sweat Sox were disbanded, but Barbosa came back with an expansion franchise in 1997 - the Lisbon Diabos. The Diabos would become the Philadelphia Eagle Wings in 1998. Barbosa gave it one last hurrah in 2000 when he purchased the Toledo Mutthens and moved them to Kentucky. The Hillbillies made the playoffs in the first season of their existence, then moved to Tijuana in 2002. The Banditos snuck into the playoffs in 2002 and in 2004. In 2004, despite posting an 79-83 record in the regular season, won a one game "play-in" game and advanced all the way to the second round, where they were just one game away from upsetting the Golden Falcons and reaching their first DMBL World Series.

Sugar Bears win fourth straight

Congrats go out to the Newark Sugar Bears, who won their fourth consecutive DMBL championship Friday. The Sugar Bears completed a historic run, breaking all sorts of offensive records and becoming the winningest regular season team to win a championship.

The Mighty Men could not do anything against Chien-Ming Wang, Friday's starter for Newark. Wang pitched seven innings, holding the Mites to one run on five hits and two walks. Marietta's A.J. Burnett was keeping things close until the floodgates opened in the sixth inning where the Sugar Bears scored four runs to blow the game wide open. Bobby Abreu and Jim Edmonds each had three hits and Carlos Guillen drove in three RBIs to lead the offense. The series MVP will be revealed shortly, or as soon as Sugar Bear owner/GM Butch Garretson is done partying and drinking champagne out of the league trophy.

Now that the series is over, trading is once more allowed, so hopefully we'll see some action on the Hot Stove coming soon. Don't worry, the blog won't be going away. We'll be taking a look at the upcoming awards announcements and do some reviews and previews during the off season.

Critical Weekend

By the time my next entry is written, we will have a champion. Will it be the Sugar Bears winning an unprecedented fourth straight title? or will it be the Mighty Men winning their second championship?

The Mighty Men have thought long and hard about going with a tired Francisco Liriano in game six, but opted to go the safer route with A.J. Burnett. Liriano has never pitched so many innings in his pro career, so who knows if this will have any effect for next year. Liriano was already complaining of various aches and pains after his last start. Owner David Landsman was questioned about overworking the phenom. "I didn't trade a first rounder for the kid to sit in the dugout during games" said Landsman. "He's going to pitch when he's told to and that's that."

The Sugar Bears, meanwhile, will toss their Wang out for game six after showing their Johnson in the previous game. "Personally, I'd rather see Bush than either of those" said Landsman. He added "I feel like I'm playing one of those crazy 'theme teams' of Garretson's."

Sugar Bears roar to 3-2 lead

Game five was all Sugar Bears as Newark jumped out to an early 7-4 lead and never looked back. One bright spot for the Mighty Men was the work of their bullpen. With the exception of Rafael Betancourt, the other four relievers held the Sugar Bears to one unearned run over 4 2/3 innings and struck out eight. With the Mighty Men facing a choice of once again going with a tired Francisco Liriano or A.J. Burnett, the bullpen may play a big factor in game six.

Meanwhile, it was the bottom half of the order that lifted the Sugar Bears yesterday. The 1-4 hitters combined to go 3-17 in the game, while the bottom five went 14-22. Manny Ramirez has been one of the few low spots in the Sugar Bear lineup. Since opening the series with a 2-4, 3 RBI night, Ramirez has gone just 2 for his last 16. Mark Teahen finally broke out of his 1-13 slump with a 3-5 night.

Look for a new Rookie Watch article later tonight.

Mussina-Johnson set for game 5

Mike Mussina, the only pitcher to have beaten the Sugar Bears at home so far this post-season, will try to repeat the feat against Randy Johnson, who pitched well in game one. Mussina has not fared well at the Cereal Bowl in the regular season. While Mussina pitched two solid games against Newark in Marietta, Mussina was roughed up in two other regular season starts. In a combined nine innings, Mussina has given up 21 hits and eight earned runs (2 unearned), though he does have nine strikeouts and escaped a decision in each outing. Johnson, meanwhile, has only faced Marietta once in the regular season and the results were similar to game one: 6 IP, 7 hits, 4 runs, 3 earned, 4 walks, 3 strikeouts and a victory. Of course with the Sugar Bear offense, they won't need much more than that.

Mighty Men rally to even series

Francisco Liriano was a bit shaky last night, but the Marietta pen pulled it off and evened their series with Newark. Marietta won for only the second time in the post season at home.

The Mighty Men went up 1-0 in the first on a Matt Diaz RBI-single, but the Sugar Bears crept back and established a 3-1 lead. But in the bottom of the fourth, the wheels came off. The Mighty Men rallied for seven runs on two three-run homers from Ray Durham and Jim Thome, taking an 8-3 lead. Both teams' bullpens held their opposition scoreless throughout the rest of the game. It was the second 8-3 victory for the Mighty Men in the series.

Now the series goes back to Newark for a pivotal game five. The Sugar Bears have to be sweating, thinking of the same hex that plagued the 2002 Falcons and 1997 Iron Fist. To mess with their heads even more, Marietta will have Phil Nevin of the 2002 Falcons and Jay Buhner of the '97 Fist throw out the first pitch in game six. "We're going to psych out those cheating bastards" said owner/GM David Landsman.

Marietta to go with Liriano on short rest

Although Marietta broke the Sugar Bears' unbeaten streak over the weekend, they're still feeling a bit of panic after Sunday's loss. Maybe it's because Jeremy Sowers has gotten spanked by D.C. and Philadelphia and they don't want to make what they've imagined the Sugar Bears would do to him into reality. So with that in mind, the Mighty Men have decided to throw out Francisco Liriano on 3-days rest against the Sugar Bears.

It's odd that the Mighty Men would toss Liriano out there when this isn't an elimination game. Consider that Liriano was roughed up by the Sugar Bears in game one, so maybe he's not Marietta's best bet anyway. It's not like they had many alternatives though. Other than Sowers, the Mighty Men could have tossed in Woody Williams or Gil Meche, but it's doubtful that any of those would have done any better than Sowers. So it looks like the Mighty Men will trot out Liriano in game four, hoping for the best and then cross their fingers and pray that Mike Mussina repeats his game two magic against the Bears.

Well, that's why they play the games...

Dropped the ball

Sorry folks. For some reason, I can't explain I thought the World Series started on Friday instead of Thursday. I'll play game two on Saturday instead and then catch backup on Sunday. DMB will still treat today's game as Thursday and tomorrow's game as Friday so the off days will still be intact.

Looking at a likely game one matchup

Francisco Liriano is the likely starter for Marietta in game one against Newark. Newark started Randy Johnson in game one against Honolulu, so chances are we'll see the Unit once again Friday.

Liriano has had two starts against the Sugar Bears this year. The first outing, at Newark, he held the Sugar Bears to three hits in seven innings, surrendering two runs and two walks, while striking out six. The second outing, in Marietta, Liriano got injured in the second inning, but not before striking out three Sugar Bears in 1.2 innings. It's a small sample size, but it's got to give hope to the scores of Mighty Men fans.

Johnson has only faced the Mighty Men once, in Newark as well. He got the win, but the start was mediocre. Johnson gave up four runs, three earned in six innings, while allowing seven hits and four walks. Johnson only struck out three Mighty Men. Then again, with their offense, the Sugar Bears don't need much better from their starters.

According to the early polls so far, most believe that the Sugar Bears will win in five games, though a few hopefuls are still holding out for a Mighty Men victory. But that's why they play the games!

Preview: Marietta vs Newark

Look for a new This Week in the DMBL and a World Series preview coming later tonight.

After Newark's historic season, most people are expecting a cakewalk for the Sugar Bears. History hasn't favored the historic teams so far, so it's far from a sure thing. Let's see how the teams stack up position by position:

Catcher: Gregg Zaun, Newark vs Jorge Posada, Marietta
Both catchers are in platoons - Zaun with Michael Barrett and Posada with Bengie Molina, so we'll take the tandem in consideration. Zaun has had a very good year, batting .305 with 17 HRs and 97 RBIs, but then again everyone on Newark's team has had a good year. Posada has had another solid season (.979 OPS with 19 HRs and 70 RBIs) and Molina has mashed lefties to a tune of a 1.097 OPS. Barrett has been average for Newark.
Advantage: Marietta

First Base: Nick Johnson, Newark vs Todd Helton, Marietta
Johnson, the current Kevin Mitchell award winner, is having another great season (1.034 OPS, 112 RBI) and Helton has been solid as well (.853 OPS, 96 runs, 92 RBIs). Helton's power has fallen a bit from a perennial 30-HR threat to a 20-HR threat, but he still gets the job done. This is a close one but...
Advantage: Newark

Second Base: Marlon Anderson, Newark vs Ray Durham, Marietta
Anderson platoons with fellow retread Mark DeRosa - both of which have had stellar years for the Sugar Bears. But Ray Durham, who's had a solid DMBL career, has surpassed anything he has done. Durham is one of the offensive leaders of the Mighty Men and has been continuing to excel in the playoffs (.452 average, 4 HRs, 7 RBIs).
Advantage: Marietta

Third Base: Mark Teahen vs Wes Helms
Another tough choice here as both Teahen and Helms have come up huge for their respective teams. Helms, who is a typical Sugar Bear journeyman who has a career year, is lining up for the Mighty Men. Helms has led his team in triples (24), doubles (50), runs scored (120), extra base hits (101) and RBIs(118). Teahen, meanwhile, had a .608 slugging with 33 HRs and 110 RBIs. Tough call, but we have to adjust for home parks...
Advantage: Marietta

Shortstop: Carlos Guillen vs Derek Jeter
A battle of the underrated Carlos Guillen against the very much rated Derek Jeter. Well, I didn't want to say "overrated", since Jeter has had a very good year for the Mighty Men. Jeter hit .324 with a .391 OBP, 30 stolen bases and 119 runs scored. But Guillen batted .359 with 164 runs scored, 139 RBIs, 1.059 OPS and 32 homers. Even with the home park discount...
Advantage: Newark

Left Field: Bobby Abreu vs Matt Diaz
Diaz had a good start to his DMBL career (.292 AVG, 85 runs in 162 games), but he's not in Abreu's class just yet. Abreu scored 160 runs, with a .448 OBP, and 28 stolen bases. This one is the first position battle that is not even close.
Advantage: Newark

Center Field: Jim Edmonds vs Brian Giles
Edmonds was in Giles' position as recently as last year - seemingly washed up on the scrap heap. But Newark rolled the dice and signed the veteran and were rewarded with a career year out of Edmonds. Edmonds batted a league-high .390 with a 1.155 OPS, 39 homers, and 144 RBIs. Giles, a shell of his former self, batted .288 but only managed 10 homers and 45 RBIs. Giles splti time with Milton Bradley, but this one also isn't close.
Advantage: Newark

Right Field: Manny Ramirez vs Wily Mo Pena
Wily Mo has had a breakout season in '07 - 31 homers, 126 RBIs - but those 225 strikeouts will hurt the team against pitchers like Randy Johnson and John Smoltz (if he plays). Meanwhile, Manny is being Manny with his usual productive season. Hey, Manny is no slouch when it comes to strikeouts either (175), and his other numbers match up well with Pena - 41 HRs, 139 RBIs. But Manny obliterates Pena when you compare their OBPs - .391 for Manny and .322 for Wily Mo. If Pena learns to take a walk (not looking good 15 Ks to zero walks in the postseason so far), then he might have a chance to match Manny, but for now....
Advantage: Newark

Designated Hitter: Chipper Jones vs Jim Thome
It's the Clash of the Titans! Jim Thome, a former Sugar Bear, has come back on the rival squad. Thome has put up a typical, Sugar Bear-level season - 1.062 OPS, 39 homers, 115 RBIs. Jones, who joined Thome in the Sugar Bears' inaugural year, is also putting up a career year - 1.128 OPS, 44 homers, 140 RBIs. Both have had great seasons and it's hard to choose between the two. The difference between the two though? a .373 batting average for Chipper vs .293 for Thome.
Advantage: Newark

Starting Pitching:
Marietta certainly has the edge if we're only comparing the staff ace. Francisco Liriano may win the Listach and the McDonald awards this year. But if we look at staff depth, then the battle is much closer. A.J. Burnett and Mike Mussina have played solid second fiddles to Liriano. You may remember Mussina's memorable one-hit shutout of Philly in game two of the semis. But Newark's rotation is no slouch either. Randy Johnson, Chien-Ming Wang, John Smoltz, Javier Vazquez and even Joe Saunders are all capable of getting the job done. Especially when they only need to keep the opposition below five or six runs. Marietta's in trouble once you get past the big three. Jeremy Sowers has been average over the regular season and a disaster in the playoffs. Liriano gives the Mighty Men a fighting chance, but the depth of the staff gives the advantage to Newark.

Bullpen:
Now here is a battle for the ages. Future DMBL Hall of Famers Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman are joined by B.J. Ryan in Marietta's formidable bullpen. The trio has only given up two runs in almost 20 innings in the playoffs so far. But what about Newark's pen? Not too shabby either although they lack the star power of the Mighty Men. Cla Meredith and Scot Shields anchor a very solid and deep corps of relievers.
Advantage: Marietta

Overall, it would be hard to find someone that would pick the Mighty Men over the Sugar Bears, but we've all seen crazier things happen. It wouldn't be a surprise to see the Sugar Bears sweep this series, but Liriano gives the Mighty Men a chance to steal a few games from Newark. We're hoping for the upset here, but reluctantly pick the Sugar Bears to win the series in five games.

Marietta books trip to Newark

Marietta swept all the road games, and remained undefeated on the road in the playoffs. Of course their terrible home record (1-4) will need some improvement if they want to steal this Series from the Sugar Bears.

Philly hung in there for a lot of the game. The Animals took a 3-1 lead in the second inning after an Adam LaRoche homer and a Jimmy Rollins RBI double. Brandon Webb was holding the Mighty Men to only one run through the first six innings, but Webb ran out of gas in the seventh. The Mighty Men scored three runs to take a 4-3 lead. A.J. Burnett, meanwhile was on cruise control. After the rough second inning, Burnett only allowed one hit and one walk through the next six innings. The Mighty Men piled it on in the final two innings, scoring nine runs, but the Animals' heart was already ripped out.

Ray Durham was selected as the MVP of the series. Durham batted .429 (12-28) with a 1.110 OPS and 5 RBIs. Marietta will make its second World Series appearance, the first since they moved from Jerusalem after their 2000 championship.

Philly-Marietta finale tonight

So the Endzone Animals came through and swept the road games in their series but have yet to win a home game against Marietta. Will the trend continue or will the Animals finally be the first team to win at home? Both teams are going with their rotations rather than send their aces out on short rest. Brandon Webb, who pitched so brilliantly in game three, will start for Philadelphia. A.J. Burnett is Marietta's pick. Burnett pitched well in game three as well, though he ended up with a no-decision. It'd be nice to see another 1-0 pitchers duel, but the way these things end up, it'll probably be a 13-11 slugfest.

The start date for the DMBL World Series will be this Thursday instead of Wednesday. It's been rescheduled because the Cereal Bowl was slightly damaged during a Sonic Youth concert over the weekend.