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.