Cruz earns MVP in Tucson's 1st title run

Nelson Cruz came up with a number of big hits during this year's title run for top-seeded Tucson, earning playoff MVP honors after the Scorpions won Game 6 over Arkansas to win their first DMBL title.

In war of attrition, Tucson takes Game 5 in 14 innings

Tucson outlasted Arkansas for a 2-1 win in a critical Game 5 on Monday, taking advantage of a fielding miscue after an epic pitching battle that lasted into the 14th inning.

Lester twirls 4-hitter to even series

It was another crisp, well-pitched matchup in Game 2 of the DMBL World Series but this time Tucson came out on top, thanks to some timely hitting and a brilliant 4-hit shutout by Jon Lester.

Back-to-back jacks in the 10th tie, then win Game 2 for Arkansas

Both playoff games on Sunday were decided by back-to-back home runs but Arkansas did it more dramatic fashion - in extra innings.

Blue Ridge keeps heat on Arkansas

The final 10 games (give or take) of the 2013 season are upon us and still the playoff race has yet to be resolved. Four teams are within four games of each other for the sixth and final playoff spot. Meanwhile, a battle is still on for the number-one seed as Philly has opened a 2 1/2-game lead on Las Vegas for home-field throughout the playoffs.

There's at least been some continuity as Arkansas has held on to the sixth spot for the past week but the view from behind has shifted as Blue Ridge continues to pile up the W's, passing Rowdy and Sardine City to pull within 1 1/2 games of the Golden Falcons. A week ago, the Bombers were 3 1/2 back of the Wild Card but have continued one of the great runs this season.

Whoever grabs the sixth seed likely will face No. 3 Vancouver in the first round of postseason while the others go into the draft lottery, a.k.a., the Yasiel Puig/Jose Fernandez sweepstakes. Two of the teams still in the hunt are assured of finishing below. 500, having suffered their 82nd loss.

Let's take a look at where they stand and what's on the horizon in the season's final 10 games:

Arkansas, 74-78, ----
Remaining schedule: .519 win percentage
v. Sardine City
2 @ Boston
2 v. Las Vegas
2 @ Philly
3 @ Sardine City
Arkansas just sort of treaded water last week, going 3-4, which was good enough, for now. The good news is that the Golden Falcons get Matt Harvey back from injury and should be able to squeeze two more starts out of him, including a likely start against Las Vegas while also avoiding Kris Medlen, who could return from the DL after their series. The bad news is their opponents' winning percentage is .521 thanks to a gauntlet of two-game sets against Vegas and Philly before their three-game season finale with Sardine City. Arkansas could bury the Straphangers with a win tonight (A.J. Griffin v. Brandon McCarthy) but they may have to start worrying about other teams at this point. The Golden Falcons have little room for error if they want to finish better than .500; they'll need a run of no worse than 8-2; no worse  than 7-3 to finish an even .500.

Blue Ridge, 72-79, 1 1/2 GB
Remaining schedule: .463 win percentage
@ Hillsborough
2 v. Philly
3 v. Livingston
2 @ Boston
3 v. Hillsborough
Blue Ridge has put together one of the great runs of the 2013 season, and quite possibly one of the best ever, at least to finish a season. Their only loss in the past 2+ weeks was a 2-1 setback against Brick City, otherwise we're talking about a 21-game win streak. Still, they've won 20 of their last 21 games, which came after a three-game skid, including a new 5-game win streak after their 15-win streak ended. All this after selling at the trade deadline (dealing Gio Gonzalez and David Hernandez). Their toughest opponent will be Philly but it's only two games this week. While Arkansas is dealing with powerhouses Las Vegas and Philly later this week, the Bombers get to face off against Livingston and Boston. Of the remaining teams, only Arkansas and Blue Ridge have any shot (albeit long) of finishing better than .500; the Bombers can only loss two more if they have any hope of avoiding a losing record.

Rowdy, 72-81, 3 GB
Remaining schedule: .595 win percentage
@ Philly
2 v. Amityville
3 @ Hoboken
2 v. Sardine City
2 v. Philly
The Roddy Pipers are still hanging around after an up-and-down stretch, going 3-4 to gain no ground on Arkansas. They face the toughest schedule over the final 10 games, including six games against playoff-bound Hoboken and Philly, two more against possibly a third playoff team in Sardine City, as well as two versus Amityville, who's just barely hanging on to a flicker of hope.

Sardine City, 70-82, 4 GB
Remaining schedule: .497 win percentage
@ Arkansas
2 v. Brick City
2 @ Vancouver
2 @ Rowdy
3 v. Arkansas
As long as Sardine City can remain within 3 games or less of Arkansas, they'll be within striking distance, with that three-game season finale in their back pocket. But that's the problem, at present they stand 4 games back as they enter Monday night's critical matchup at Arkansas. The Straphangers have stumbled badly of late, with just one win sandwiched around three losses last week to go 1-6, on top of a six-game skid two weeks ago, making them just 3-12 over their last 15 games. They had won 8 of 9 before that ugly stretch.

Amityville, 69-82, 4 1/2 GB
Remaining schedule: .439 win percentage
v. Livingston
2 @ Rowdy
3 v. Hillsborough
2 @ Brick City
3 @ Livingston
Amityville continues to face the weakest competition, at least according to opponents' win percentage, but it hasn't helped. The Ant Slayers are running out of time but they do have an extra game to play and have won three straight after losing three in a row last week. Either way, they probably will need quite a bit of help from others to make a run of destiny.

Spring training review

Will success in what is essentially 30 practice games translate into wins in the regular season? Who knows, but let's take a look at the 2013 spring training results and see if we can't take away some kind of predictions for teams and players.

If spring training is any indication, the four division winners would be Philly, Blue Ridge, Las Vegas and Rowdy. Hopatcong would settle for a wildcard and the other wild card would be decided via tiebreaker between Hillsborough and Amityville.

Philly (21-9) edged out three teams for the best record, one game better than Las Vegas, Hopatcong, and Blue Ridge (20-10). Seven teams finished .500 or better, including three at .500. Livingston and Marietta brought up the rear, finishing 11-19. A six-game winning streak by Rowdy to complete spring training saved the Van Slyke division from having all four squads finish below .500. The coldest teams to conclude the spring were Hillsborough and Newark, both losing five straight.

Philly and Las Vegas led the league in runs with 163 (5.4/game) while Newark (which has since changed its name to Brick City Batmen) packed the weakest punch (98/3.3). On the flip side, Philly and Hopatcong yielded the fewest earned runs (98/3.3) compared with Sardine City's league-high (140/4.7). Boston sported the worst run differential at -41, with Bridegewater next at -32.

Some of the biggest names in the league sat all spring, among them Marietta closer Mariano Rivera and Hoboken ace Clayton Kershaw. Other big names got a taste of playing time, such as Hillsborough's Justin Verlander and top overall draft pick Kris Medlen of Las Vegas.

PITCHING

Hopatcong's Jake Peavy made a case for being a McDonald candidate this spring, leading the league with a 0.91 WHIP, 8.6 R/9 and 48.3 innings pitched (tied with Newark rookie Yu Darvish). Peavy, who made all of one start for the Floating Fish last year (the season finale), tied with Philly's Trevor Cahill and Jarrod Parker of Amityville for the most victories and best record at 5-0. Peavy also was among the top 10 in ERA (2.98, 7th) and strikeouts (26, T-5th).

Peavy's competition for best pitcher of the spring came mostly from Parker, who was tops among starters in ERA (1.54) and also quality starts (6, tied with Phil Hughes of Blue Ridge). Other impressive performances came from Hopatcong veteran Andy Pettitte, coming back from a year off, who finished 3-1 with a 2.20 ERA, including two complete games and a shutout. Darvish led the league in strikeouts (41) and K/9 (7.6) but also walks (33).

Leading the league in saves, tied with 12, were Blue Ridge's David Hernandez and Philly's Ryan Cook, and between them only blew one (Hernandez). Cook did not allow an earned run -- and only two hits -- in 13.7 innings. Other stellar relievers this spring were Octavio Dotel of Livingston and Vancouver's Brad Ziegler. Both sported league-best WHIPs of 0.80, along with respective ERAs of 0.83 and 1.15.

The Blue Ridge bullpen also saw the top two relievers in holds, Tim Byrdak (7) and Mitchell Boggs (6). Boston had two of the busiest relievers, with Rafael Soriano tops in appearances with 20, followed by teammate Greg Holland with 19, who tied with Bridgewater lefty Robbie Ross. Amityville's Craig Kimbrel looks poised to avoid a sophomore slump, compiling seven saves in 11 games, with 16 strikeouts in 12.3 innings, good for 11.7 K/9. He also had a sterling 0.73 ERA and 0.65 WHIP.

An impressive bullpen was found in Arkansas where three relievers had ERAs of less than 1.00 (Casey Fien, Sergio Romo and Drew Storen). Fien was a workhorse, logging 28.7 innings in 17 games, while sporting 0.63 ERA and 0.66 WHIP.

The Falcons also boasted a triumvirate of impressive rookies in their rotation. Matt Harvey, drafted as an ineligible prospect last year, ranked third in the league with 32 strikeouts, going 3-2 with a respectable 4.50 ERA and 1.33 WHIP. Four of A.J. Griffin's six starts for Arkansas were considered quality. The first-rounder went 2-4 with a 4.30 ERA and 1.23 WHIP while logging a team-high 44 IP. Second-rounder Alex Cobb was perhaps most impressive, compiling an ERA of 2.52 and 1.23 WHIP, with 3 wins against 2 losses.

Hillsborough kept the reins on Justin Verlander, who made just three starts but six appearances this spring. He had an impressive shutout but his spring totals were hardly Verlander-esque: 5.91 ERA, 1.73WHIP. The Hit Men's first-round selection saw more action but not much success: Lance Lynn compiled a 5.08 ERA and 1.49 WHIP while going 1-2 in six starts.

Even first overall pick Kris Medlen had to shake off some cobwebs this spring, going 1-1 with a mediocre 4.05 ERA but a 1.10 WHIP for Las Vegas. The Rat Pack's second first-rounder, reliever Huston Street, made 11 appearances with a 3.68 and 1-0 mark.

Next time we'll take a look at the batting stars of spring training and the rest of the 2013 first-rounders.