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With around 30 games remaining in the regular season, DMBL teams are geared up for the playoff run. This month will determine who will make the playoffs and who will be watching them. Each of the teams remaining have at least one crucial player who can make or break their postseason hopes. Arkansas Falcons
Brooklyn Bean Counters The Bean Counters pitching staff has been a pleasant surprise this season, with emerging stars like Kris Benson and Paul Abbott impressing. The biggest problem with Brooklyn all season long has been on offense however. The Brooklyn offense ranks last in the DMBL with a .723 OPS, tied for last in OBP with .325 and dead last in SLG with .398. In order to make a run at a playoff spot, the Brooklyn offense must improve, and that improvement should come from the infield particularly. Veteran first baseman Mark Grace must step up his game and lead this team's sluggish offense out of its season-long funk. As a member of the former Austin Outlaws, a perennial playoff team, Grace knows what it takes to win, and now he must find a way to awaken the bats of fellow hitters like Joe Randa, Jay Payton, and Mike Lieberthal. Carolina Mudcats
Harrison Rats Being 5 1/2 games out of the last playoff spot, the Rats probably need all the right things to happen. With outfielder Gary Sheffield on the DL, the task will be doubly hard. The spotlight for the next few weeks will fall on closer Derrick Lowe. With a 5.68 ERA and 90 baserunners in 52 1/3 innings, you would think that this is the last player that Harrison would want to count on. However, Lowe is tied with Vatican City's Kazuhiro Sasaki for the league lead in saves with 28. The roller coaster season for Lowe also includes a league high, and DMBL record 13 blown saves. With a mediocre offense and sketchy rotation, Lowe will be counted on a lot down the stretch. Hoboken Cutters
Kentucky Hillbillies No one has been a finer surprise this season than rookie pitcher Tomokazu Ohka. The rookie jumped out to a 12-4 start and was tied for league lead in wins in June. Since then he has lost all three decisions he's had and hasn't won in over a month. Ohka may be fatiguing, as the rookie has never pitched this many innings in pro ball before, but if the Hillbillies are going to make a run for it, they will need their ace to resurrect his early season form. Newark Sugar Bears
Phoenix Dragons The Dragons enter the playoff picture for the first time in their franchise history. Despite a recent three game slide, the Dragons find themselves in the midst of the playoff hunt at only three games behind the Mudcats. The offense has been there throughout the year, but the mediocre starting pitching has led to a tired and overworked bullpen. Jeff Nelson will be counted on heavily during the remaining month and will have to provide innings, as the starting rotation has not shown the ability to work deep into games. Nelson has been mediocre this season, posting a 3-2 record with a 5.57 ERA and four saves, but he has shown the ability to get the job done. Matthew's Mighty Men of Stanhope
Vancouver Iron Fist One of the hottest teams currently in the DMBL, the Iron Fist have set their sights on the Sugar Bears for the number one seed. In order to achieve this goal, the Fist will need their bullpen to return to pre-2001 form. Always one of the best bullpens in the league, the Fist pen has languished in mediocrity this season. First round pick Armando Benitez has been a flop as closer, blowing as many games (8) as he's saved. Despite being relegated to a bullpen-by-committee, the Fist has come to rely on Jose Jimenez as the closer this season. Jimenez leads the team in saves with 13, and has also compiled an 8-1 record as a reliever. If Jimenez and the rest of the Vancouver pen can shut the door in the final innings, they should be able to continue the way they've been going. Vatican City Cardinals
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The key for the Falcons has always been a core group of starting pitchers. Pedro Martinez, Kevin Brown and Curt Schilling have always been the biggest factors in the playoffs for the Falcons. However, during the regular season, the Falcons have always struggled in the four and five spots in the rotation. The same holds true this year, as Rick Ankiel and Roger Clemens try to keep the Falcons among the top teams to retain homefield advantage in the playoffs. The Falcons have endured a slide recently, seeing them drop from two games atop the Morris Division to 7 1/2 games out, as of August 1. Clemens has been mediocre since being acquire from Philadelphia, compiling a 4-3 mark with a 4.79 ERA in 11 starts. The veteran should provide the Falcons with stability, but with recent hot streaks by Vatican City and Vancouver, the Falcons cannot afford merely stable. Ankiel has done well, considering he is a rookie, going 8-8 wiht a 4.50 ERA. Barring an injury, the Falcons will sit tight on Clemens and Ankiel, as they really have no other options to plug in. The Falcons will make the playoffs, but what seed will they get? Ankiel and Clemens hold the key to answer that question.
Few teams have been as hot as the Mudcats have been the past few weeks. The Mudcats have won 10 of their last 15 games and have moved between fifth and sixth place overall. The Mudcats have done it with solid starting pitching from veterans Mike Mussina and Mike Sirotka, as well as youngsters Tim Hudson and Barry Zito. The key player for the Mudcats is on the offensive side, however. The offense has been so-so to date, ranking 11th in the league in OPS at .767. Designated hitter Brad Fullmer and outfielder Carlos Lee have not exactly lit up the opposition and need to produce more than their .744 and .694 respective OPS. If their bats can somehow awaken, the Mudcats should be able to return to the playoffs once again. With a three game lead in the wildcard hunt, the Mudcats already have a step up on the competition.
The first year Hoboken Cutters have been at times impressive and at other times depressing. The Cutters endured an 11 game losing streak earlier this season, followed immediately by a five game winning streak. Such is just a sample of the ups and downs of the Cutters. The Cutters will be looking to veteran leadership to take the next step and compile a winning streak. Roberto Alomar will be counted on to revive his mediocre season. While Brian Giles, Mike Piazza and Andres Galarraga have put together fine seasons, Alomar has struggled since the All-Star Break. Alomar's OPS of .707 is below average and his .314 OBP is unacceptable for a leadoff hitter. Alomar's 13 stolen bases is his lowest total since he had 12 back in 1996. If the Cutters are to make a run, Alomar will have to step up his game.
Sitting atop the Hanover Division with a healthy 14 game lead, the Sugar Bears have little to worry about. The only thing concerning the Sugar Bears is if their hated rival, the Vancouver Iron Fist, can muster enough wins to overtake them for the number one seed. We all are familiar with the excellent seasons of Randy Johnson, Eric Milton, Woody Williams, and Darryl Kile. The other link is oft-injured Jeff D'Amico, acquired midway through the season from Philadelphia. D'Amico has put together only a 4-3 record since coming over to Newark, but his 3.81 ERA is second among Newark starters. D'Amico has spent roughly two months on the disabled list so far this season, and if he can stay healthy for the stretch, the Sugar Bears should enter the postseason with the best record in the league.
The Mighty Men were poised to challenge the Sugar Bears for the Hanover Division at one point, then July came and the bottom fell out. Now Stanhope battles just to stay in the playoff picture. Currently seeded fifth among playoff teams, the Mighty Men need to right the ship in order to assure themselves of a chance to defend their league title. The player everyone will look to is shortstop Derek Jeter who's enjoyed a miserable season so far. It got so bad that Jeter was demoted to the 9th hole earlier this year in favor of Ray Durham. Jeter is batting a mere .252, and his .706 OPS is third worst on the team, after the Girardi/Molina catcher platoon and outfielder Mark Kotsay. Management has repeatedly given Jeter their vote of confidence, but Jeter desparately needs to heat up if the Mighty Men hope to repeat in 2001.
The hitting machine known simply as the Vatican City Cardinals has arrived. The Cards stand third in the league with a 74-58 record, and are second in the league in runs scored, with 837. Despite their success, their starting rotation has been awful. Vatican starters are a combined 41-47, with Todd Stottlemyre (7-5) the only one with a winning record (Kirk Rueter is breaking even at 10-10). Andy Benes' 5.11 ERA leads all Vatican starters. The entire staff has tossed only one complete game. The author of that game, Bartolo Colon will be looked at to anchor the staff down the stretch. As the number one starter, Colon needs to find his groove and start winning games and giving the exhausted bullpen a well-deserved rest.