Games 1, 2, 5 and 7 are home games for the higher seeded team in this best-of-7 series. Injuries are turned off for the playoffs, meaning a player can be injured only for that particular game, but can return for the next game. Pitching rotations are on a four-man skip, meaning the fourth starter will be skipped if the first starter is ready to pitch. Since there are off days after games 2, 4, 5 and 6, some game 1 starters will be available in game 4 on three days' rest. Benched starters can be moved to the bullpen.

The two teams that survive this series will go on to play the 15th annual DMBL World Series.

World War 5

Newark Sugar Bears (#1, 111-51) vs. Arkansas Golden Falcons (#6, 86-78)

These two teams seemed destined to do battle for all time -- like Cain vs. Abel, Tom vs. Jerry, Britney vs. her baby. It's hard to imagine a post-season that doesn't feature a throw-down between the Newark Sugar Bears and Arkansas Golden Falcons. In fact, there hasn't been one since 2001! This year's battle is the fifth straight and the seventh overall. The lifetime series is tied, three to three, with Newark defeating Arkansas in the '02, '04 and '05 World Series. Arkansas has only defeated them once in the World Series, in '03. But ominously for this year, the Falcs have won in their two other post-season meetings in the preliminary rounds -- and both times, Newark was the higher seed! The third-ranked Falcons beat the second-place Sugar Bears in '96, and pulled off the same trick, #3 over #2, in '98.

History, however, does appear to point in Newark's favor: The top-ranked seed has never lost in the second round series since the adoption of the three-tier playoff format in '97; the Sugar Bears haven't lost in the second round since 1999; the Sugar Bears have beaten the Golden Falcons in two straight World Series; four of the seven games will be played in Newark, where the Sugar Bears this year posted the second-highest home winning percentage in league history (.765); and the Brick City Bombers were the hottest team in baseball over the fourth quarter, going a ridiculous 33-6 (.846 W%), including wins in 16 of their final 17 games. However, the Falcons also are a hot team, ending the season with seven straight wins, and they can't be worried about home-field advantage after winning all three road games in the first round against a tough Carolina team. The Golden Falcons also are the one team that isn't intimidated by Newark's post-season resume, having been here a league record 14 straight seasons. And the two teams split the season series, six games apiece.

The Golden Falcons, after defeating the Mudcats in five games, are now a phenomenal 6-1 in first-round match-ups (not including six byes). But they're an even better team in the second round, with an amazing 7-1 record. In fact, their only loss in the second round came in 2001, when they fell in seven games to second-ranked Vancouver. The Falcons were a very balanced team this year, tying for 5th in runs scored (768) and ranking 4th in runs allowed (768) for a fifth-best  +79 run differential.

The Sugar Bears are a little more lopsided: They combine a mediocre pitching staff (814 runs allowed) with the most prolific offense in baseball, averaging 7.05 runs per game (1142 runs for). That's enough firepower to easily post the league's best run differential at +328 -- more than 200 runs better than the runner-up! But they did find balance in winning: They were the best team at home (.765) or on the road (.605), against lefties (.732) or righties (.669), in the first half (.651) or second half (.722).

It all starts with their lineup, which, as the rabbis wrote, "is awesome and full of dread." Nick Johnson won the batting title (.360) and also led the league in OPS (1.079), OBP (.444), total average (1.201) and RC/27 (11.8), despite missing more than a quarter of the season to injuries. Chipper Jones had another great year, hitting .339 (1.050 OPS) with 49 2B, 104 R and 100 RBI. Carlos Guillen followed up last year's record-breaking .398 campaign by hitting .342 (.827 OPS) with 124 runs scored. And Craig Counsell came out of nowhere to steal the starting job at second base after hitting .327 (.848 OPS) with 23 doubles and 72 runs scored in just 367 AB. The outfield is just as potent, with Manny Ramirez (.283, .861 OPS, 32 HR, 125 RBI), Bobby Abreu (.332, .993 OPS, 24 HR, 98 R), Milton Bradley (.325, .969 OPS, 38 HR, 108 RBI) and Hideki Matsui (.289, .809 OPS, 23 HR, 107 RBI). The catching duties are shared by Gregg Zaun (.280, .781 OPS, 14 HR, 65 RBI in 454 AB) and Michael Barrett (.272, .873 OPS, 11 HR, 50 RBI in 191 AB). The team doesn't platoon as much as it once did, but they still have lefty-mashers Jeff DaVanon (.360, .965 OPS, 2 HR, 31 RBI in 150 AB) and Damion Easley (.345, 1.095 OPS, 15 HR, 57 RBI in 168 AB), plus newcomers Ryan Church (.344, 1.142 OPS, 15 HR, 48 RBI in 192 AB) and Mark Loretta (.304, .725 OPS, 5 2B, 33 R in 168 AB). After hitting a spate of injuries earlier this year, the Sugar Bears filled out their Triple-A team with veterans who could step in, leaving them with a number of choices for the remaining bench jobs: Marcus Giles (.226, .649 OPS, 7 2B, 4 SB in 137 AB); Jimmy Rollins (.281, .704 OPS, 3 2B, 10 R in 57 AB); or Trot Nixon (.241, .717 OPS, 1 HR, 6 RBI in 29 AB), plus rookie Nick Swisher (.167, .548 OPS, 1 HR, 9 R in 54 AB).

While the Sugar Bear lineup is largely intact from last year's World Series champions, the Falcons present a much different look on offense, starting with the absence of Barry Bonds. But the team returns several players from last year's runners-up, including Kenny Lofton (.283, .676 OPS, 62 R, 26 SB), Lance Berkman (.262, .818 OPS, 27 HR, 99 RBI) and David Wright (.299, .911 OPS, 47 2B, 32 HR, 113 R, 117 RBI). Returning from last year's squad, but playing a larger role this year, are David DeJesus (.312, .854 OPS, 31 2B, 82 R, 5 SB) and Bobby Crosby (.254, 13 HR, 60 RBI). The biggest new addition on offense is Coco Crisp (.285, 39 2B, 76 R), who was acquired in the off-season from Hillsborough. The rest of the roster is a mix of youngsters and veterans fighting for the remaining playing time. The catchers are Javier Valentin (.279, .898 OPS, 27 HR, 78 RBI) and Brad Ausmus (.265, 2 HR, 21 RBI in 181 AB); the second base job is split between Antonio Perez (.261, 4 3B, 52 R, 13 SB) and Aaron Hill (.261, 6 2B in 142 AB); and Rafael Palmeiro (.243, 17 HR, 44 RBI) and Juan Encarnacion (.242, 10 HR, 39 RBI) share a 1B/DH platoon with Berkman. The bench consists of 3B Adrian Beltre (.255, 4 HR, 11 RBI in 55 AB); OF Jose Cruz Jr. (.247, 7 HR, 28 RBI in 170 AB); 1B Justin Morneau (8-for-51, 3 HR, 6 RBI); 1B Ben Broussard (1-for-17); and OF Casey Blake (.256, 7 HR, 21 RBI in 90 AB).

The Falcs had a terrific one-two punch in the first round from future DMBL Hall of Famers Roger Clemens (15-8, 2.51 ERA, 8.6 R/9) and Pedro Martinez (18-10, 3.20 ERA, 9.8 R/9). But after the dynamic duo, who knows? The Falcs tried Brad Penny (13-8, 4.93 ERA, 13.0 R/9) in Game 3 and Danny Haren (8-11, 5.05 ERA, 12.9 R/9) in Game 4, but the team lost both starts. (Haren allowed 3 runs, 2 earned, on 6 hits and 3 walks in 5 innings; Penny was pounded for 5 earned runs on 7 hits and a walk in just 1.2 innings). Either or both could be back in the rotation in the second round, or the team may turn to lefty Odalis Perez (6-1, 4.62 ERA, 12.0 R/9 in 8 starts with Arkansas). It's unlikely they'll consider Ervin Santana (2-12, 5.88 ERA, 14.8 R/9) or Curt Schilling, who missed the entire season.

Most years, the Sugar Bears settle for a mediocre starting rotation -- just good enough to get through five or six innings, by which time the offense has likely bludgeoned its way through the other team's fourth or fifth reliever. This year, the team turned its closer back into an ace, as John Smoltz returned to the rotation for the first time since 2000. The 39-year-old right-hander proved he's still up to the challenge as he led the league with a 22-5 record, and posted a 3.79 ERA, 12.0 R/9. Veteran Randy Johnson had another solid season (16-7, 4.69 ERA, 12.6 R/9, 180 Ks in 213.0 IP), but Kevin Millwood (11-8, 5.73 ERA, 13.8 R/9) and David Bush (10-9, 7.45 ERA, 16.7 R/9) struggled. As a result, the team had to turn to a couple of rookies: First-round draft pick Chien-Ming Wang (11-6, 4.80 ERA, 13.5 R/9) and mid-season acquisition Zach Duke (5-1, 3.40 ERA, 13.6 R/9 in 9 starts with Newark; 13-9, 4.37 ERA, 13.7 R/9 overall). Despite their lack of experience, Wang, 25, and Duke, 22, will join Smoltz and Johnson in the playoff rotation; Millwood and Bush are unlikely to even make the post-season roster.

The Sugar Bear bullpen, on the other hand, has always been a team strength. Since 2001, Newark has had Smoltz, Keith Foulke and Arthur Rhodes as the end-game triumverate. But Smoltz is now in the rotation, Foulke is out for the season and Rhodes left for Vegas. This year, Newark's no-name bullpen features plenty of depth, with Matt Wise (8-5, 12 SV, 2.92 ERA, 9.7 R/9) and Scot Shields (10-2, 14 SV, 3.30 ERA, 12.6 R/9) the de facto closers. The set-up work is done by Brian Shackelford (4-1, 2 SV, 3.76 ERA, 11.8 R/9) and Scott Eyre (2-3, 7 SV, 5.80 ERA, 14.5 R/9) from the left side and Scott Linebrink (2-0, 3.42 ERA, 12.2 R/9 in 16 games with Newark) and Tom Gordon (5-1, 8 SV, 5.65 ERA, 13.3 R/9) from the right.

Arkansas probably has the better bullpen, with flame-throwing closer Brad Lidge (2-6, 23 SV, 3.38 ERA, 10.9 R/9, 110 K in 77.1 IP) set up by rookie righty Fernando Rodney (3-4, 5 SV, 4.38 ERA, 12.4 R/9) and veteran lefty Eddie Guardado (0-1, 1 SV, 3.24 ERA, 9.7 R/9 in 26 G with Arkansas). The long men are Rudy Seanez (4-3, 3 SV, 4.99 ERA, 14.0 R/9) and Aaron Heilman (9-8, 4 SV, 17 holds, 4.38 ERA, 13.3 R/9 in 105 games).

The bottom line: The Golden Falcons have been playing with house money for two weeks now. No one expected them to reach the post-season, yet here they are, after winning back-to-back one-game playoffs and then topping the No. 3 seed in the first round. All the pressure is on the Sugar Bears, who are heavily favored not just as the league's top-ranked team but also as the two-time defending world champions. Do the Falcons have yet another miracle up their sleeves this year? Or will the Crunch With Punch bring Arkansas's dream season to an abrupt end? It's hard to imagine this series ending in any way other than extra innings in the seventh game. Whatever the outcome, the rivalry is sure to be renewed next post-season!

Will The Men Get Fisted?

Vancouver Ironfist (#2, 96-66) vs. Matthew's Mighty Men of Marietta (#4, 91-71)

In the first-ever match-up of a No. 2 seed and a No. 4 seed, the Morris Division champion Vancouver Ironfist will face Matthew's Mighty Men of Marietta. These two teams have met in the post-season twice before, and both times the Ironfist came out on top. In 1998, the fifth-ranked Jerusalem Rabbis -- as the Mighty Men were then known -- fell to the top-ranked Fisters in a hard-fought second round series that went the full seven games. And in last year's first round, the sixth-ranked Mighty Men (then playing in Stanhope) fell to the third-seeded Ironfist, 3 games to 1. The regular season series was won handily by the Ironfist, 8 games to 4, coming out on top in their last four meetings on the season.

The Ironfist return for their second-straight post-season, erasing back-to-back years of playoff limbo. Before the 2003-2004 drought, the Ironfist had been to the playoffs in nine straight years. Four of their last five playoff appearances came as the No. 3 seed, but this year -- for the first time since 2001 -- they returned in style as the Morris Division winners, their sixth division title in franchise history. In those five previous appearances as the division winner, the Fisters reached the World Series four times.

It looked like the Ironfist were going to reach the post-season, but until the final two months of the year, it appeared their trip would start with the wildcard round; they started August with a 69-53 record, 4 games behind the Carolina Mudcats for the division lead. But like a prize-winning thoroughbred, Owner/GM Yaro Zajac had held back his Ironfist until the final turn, then poured it on for the home stretch. As the 'Cats slumped to a 20-22 record over the final quarter, the Fisters went 27-13 (.675 W%) to zoom past them and easily claim their sixth Morris Division title (but first since 2001). This year's team is perhaps the most extreme to ever win a division; in fact, no team that has finished last in runs allowed (915) has ever finished above .500, let alone reached the post-season. To finish 30 games over .500, this team must score runs by the truckload, and they do: a second-best 1007 runs scored this season, good for a fourth-best +92 run differential.

This is the fourth consecutive year the Mighty Men have reached the post-season, and the eighth time in the last nine years. However, it's the first time since 2003 that Owner/GM David Landsman's team has reached the second round. After chasing the Las Vegas Rat Pack for much of the second half of the season, the Mites finally passed them in the standings, claiming fouth place overall and second place in the Hanover Division. Then they put away those same Rats in the first round, winning a tough five-game series. The Mighty Men rank only behind the Sugar Bears and Ironfist on offense, scoring 930 runs this year. They also ranked 3rd in batting average, OBP, OPS, home runs and walks. But unlike the Ironfist, the Mighty Man pitching staff ranks a respectable 6th (810 RA), giving them a second-best +120 run differential.

The Mighty Men lived up to their name in the first round, pounding the Vegas pitchers for 31 runs in five games (6.2 rpg). The team leader, of course, was Derek Jeter (.287, .755 OPS, 13 HR, 107 R), who hit .389 with an .899 OPS in the first round. The rest of the lineup is a mix of old and new faces: OF Brian Giles (.331, .958 OPS, 27 HR, 141 R, 11 SB), OF Ken Griffey Jr. (.291, .875 OPS, 37 HR, 122 RBI), 1B Todd Helton (.281, .875 OPS, 23 HR, 90 RBI) and C Jorge Posada (.250, .748 OPS, 16 HR, 65 RBI), plus 2B Ray Durham (.280, .730 OPS, 15 HR, 79 R), have all been with the Marietta/Stanhope/Jerusalem franchise during its previous runs. But the newcomers are making a huge impact, most impressively rookie OF Jonny Gomes (.335, 1.158 OPS, 23 HR, 68 RBI in 65 G with Marietta; .276, .896 OPS, 42 HR, 110 RBI overall), who hit 3 home runs and drove in 7 runs during the first round. Off-season pick-up Morgan Ensberg (.273, .895 OPS, 42 HR, 122 RBI), who had a league-record 38-game hitting streak this year, knocked in 5 runs in the first round. Newcomers Scott Podsednik (.302, 9 R, 9 SB in 22 G with Marietta) and Victor Diaz (.254, 20 HR, 77 RBI) platoon in center field, and Matt LeCroy (.324, 2 HR, 9 RBI in 16 G with Marietta) usually starts at first against tough lefties. Coming off the bench are OF Wily Mo Pena (.255, 10 HR, 21 RBI in 149 AB), C Bengie Molina (.228, 2 HR, 8 RBI in 57 AB) and utility infielder Nick Punto (.232, 7 2B, 21 R in 138 AB).

Top to bottom, the Ironfist lineup is one of the most dangerous in baseball, with several players vying for the top honors. The fan favorite is 29-year-old shortstop Michael Young, who led the team in batting average (.331), runs created (140.6), hits (237), triples (6) and runs scored (137); he also smacked 45 doubles and 23 home runs, knocked in 98 and posted an .898 OPS, and played in every game this season. However, stat-heads seem to favor OF J.D. Drew, who was tops on the team in OBP (.419), SLG (.634), OPS (1.062) and RC/27 (10.8), plus he hit 40 home runs. However, purists point out he missed 20 games due to injury, and often sat against tough lefties. Opposing pitchers apparently think 1B David Ortiz is the team's most dangerous hitter, as he led the team in intentional walks (12) and total walks (107); despite hitting just .232, he also led the team in home runs (47) and RBIs (127). Those three are supported by a mix of old and new: young'uns OF Jason Bay (.261, .813 OPS, 30 HR, 125 RBI, 11 SB), C Victor Martinez (.308, .803 OPS, 15 HR, 85 RBI) and 2B Chase Utley (.276, .814 OPS, 17 HR, 84 RBI); and veterans OF Moises Alou (.309, .908 OPS, 27 HR, 95 RBI), 1B/2B Jeff Kent (.276, .811 OPS, 47 2B, 102 RBI), 3B Eric Chavez (.262, .801 OPS, 22 HR, 86 R) and OF Rondell White (.360, .933 OPS, 11 HR, 70 R in 347 AB). The bench is comprised of C Ramon Castro (.195, .686 OPS in 159 AB), 3B Mike Lowell (.246, .738 OPS in 130 AB) and utility man Michael Cuddyer (.225, .589 OPS in 71 AB).

It seems hard to believe that the Vancouver pitching staff allowed the most runs in the league this year. (They actually finished second-to-last in ERA, at 5.24, but allowed 23 more unearned runs.) There's no arguing their 5.65 runs allowed per game is too high, but they actually finished around the middle of the pack in key peripheral categories like R/9 (12.5), K/9 (6.6), QS% (.420) and OPS allowed (.788), and actually led the league in lowest BB/9 (2.3) and best K:BB ratio (2.9). Their worst sin was the longball (1.5 HR/9, 14th), the bullpen (.440 IR%, 14th) and the defense (.980 fielding percentage, tied for last; .764 SB% allowed, 10th). Look past the numbers and you'll see the Ironfist rotation features some of the best young arms in baseball with Jake Peavy (18-4, 4.53 ERA, 11.8 R/9), Ben Sheets (12-13, 5.04 ERA, 11.9 R/9) and Brandon McCarthy (10-9, 6.60 ERA, 14.8 R/9), all under the tutelage of pitcher/coach Greg Maddux (13-15, 6.67 ERA, 12.9 R/9). The team also made of the shrewdest trade deadline moves this season when they picked up 27-year-old southpaw Mark Buehrle for the stretch run. Buehrle went 9-1 (3.56 ERA, 10.5 R/9) in 11 starts for the Fisters, finally giving them a reliable starter alongside Peavy. Those two will pitch the first two games; the other games would be started by Sheets and/or Maddux, with McCarthy either in the bullpen or off the roster entirely. It would be a surprise -- and a mistake -- if they got cute and called on Matt Morris, who was bombed in a handful of emergency starts (1-5, 6.59 ERA, 15.8 R/9); Woody Williams, who pitched decently in one (2 ER, 7 H, 2 BB in 6.0 IP); or Mark Hendrickson or Gil Meche, who each spent the season in the minors. Brandon Claussen was released after posting just 7 quality starts in 21 games (6-4, 6.14 ERA, 14.0 R/9).

The Fisters 'pen also might be better than the numbers suggest. While they did allow an unforgiveable 102-out-of-232 inherited runners to score, for a league-worst .440 IR%, they also ranked second in save percentage (.690) -- mostly courtesy of closer Billy Wagner (2-3, 29 SV, 2.66 ERA, 10.3 R/9, 21-5, 3.29 ERA, 12.2 R/9), who led the league with an .879 SV%. Wagner's top set-up man is David Riske (2-1, 2 SV, 4 holds, 3.12 ERA, 9.7 R/9), but mid-season acquisitions Brendan Donnelly (3-0, 1 SV, 2.05 ERA, 7.4 R/9, 1 BB, 20 K in 22.0 IP with Vancouver) and David Cortes (2-1, 1 SV, 2.42 ERA, .9.7 R/9 in 22.1 IP) proved to be huge additions. The mop-up men are Joe Borowski (8-3, 2 SV, 4.18 ERA, 12.1 R/9) and Salomon Torres (3-2, 1 SV, 5.29 ERA, 13.5 R/9).

The Mighty Men certainly have better numbers, ranking 6th in runs allowed compared to 14th for Vancouver. But they have plenty of question marks when it comes to the starting rotation. A.J. Burnett (15-8, 3.45 ERA, 12.5 R/9) is a no-brainer, even after going 1-1 with a 4.80 ERA, 13.2 R/9 in the first round; so is Jon Lieber (19-7, 4.32 ERA, 12.5 R/9), even though he was pounded for 6 runs (5 earned) in his only first-round start. But who starts Game 3? Mike Hampton (12-9, 5.32 ERA, 14.7 R/9) was decent in his only first-round start (3 ER, 8 H, 3 BB, 1 K in 7.0 IP), but the Ironfist posted the league's second-best winning percentage against southpaws (.667). Kerry Wood (9-4, 5.90 ERA, 14.2 R/9) almost certainly took himself out of the running after his awful performance (6 ER, 5 H, 1 BB in 0.2 IP). There's also Paul Byrd (9-12, 6.14 ERA, 14.9 R/9), Mike Mussina (3-0, 6.75 ERA, 17.7 R/9), and Jason Marquis (1-15, 6.59 ERA, 16.7 R/9), but none inspires much confidence. The only remaining starter on the staff is lefty Horacio Ramirez, who won his only start in the bigs this year (despite allowing 5 ER, 9 H and 3 BB in 5.0 IP), but if they're going to start a southpaw, they'll go with Hampton.

However, while there may be a question as to who will start games, there's no doubt as to who will finish them. Mariano Rivera (7-5, 28 SV, 2.35 ERA, 9.2 R/9, 110 K in 99.2 IP) saved two of the team's three wins in the first round with five-out saves. As if that weren't enough, his top set-up man is another DMBL legend, Trevor Hoffman (7-3, 6 SV, 3.32 ERA, 11.0 R/9). The Triple-Ms can also call on young guns Dan Wheeler (4-6, 5 SV, 3.78 ERA, 11.2 R/9) and Chris Ray (3-2, 1 SV, 6.86 ERA, 15.8 R/9). Expect at least one of the starters who didn't make the rotation to join the bullpen as a long man.

The bottom line: It's been a wonderful ride for the Mighty Men, who were left for dead at the season's mid-point only to storm all the way into the second round of the post-season. But they find themselves in a dangerous situation -- standing between the Ironfist and a chance to avenge themselves against one of their greatest rivals, either Newark or Arkansas. That's a little like standing between a bull and a matador -- while wearing red! It seems unlikely the Mites can pull off the victory; to do so, they'll need to go toe-to-toe with the Ironfist lineup, particularly in the three games not started by Burnett or Lieber.