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 rotation, 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, game 1 starters could be available in game 4 on three days' rest. Benched starters can be moved to the bullpen.

The Rubber Match

For the first time in DMBL history, the same two teams are facing off in the World Series for a third straight year: The Morris Division champion Arkansas Golden Falcons and the Hanover Division champion Newark Sugar Bears. After surviving Second Round scares from plucky underdogs, these two heavyweight veterans are ready for the main event. Will the Golden Falcons win a second-straight league championship for the second time in their illustrious history? Or will the Sugar Bears avenge last year's defeat and take their third title in the past four seasons? It's baseball like it oughta be as the league's two best teams face each other to cap off one of the most exciting post-seasons in DMBL history!

By virtue of having one more win, the Golden Falcons (100-62) will get home-field advantage in the series. The extra game in Quisenberry Memorial Stadium could be a huge factor for the Golden Falcons, as the Sugar Bears posted the league's best home record (.679 W%) but ranked 4th on the road (.543). But were the Falcons really the league's best? Their +148 run-differential ranked 3rd, far behind Newark's league-best +222. And the Golden Falcons ranked 2nd, not 1st, in just about every category: runs allowed (698), home record (52-29), road record (48-33), division record (48-30) and record against lefty starters (39-21). Second-best is not a good omen for a World Series match-up! 

Offense: The Best One vs. The Best Nine?

The Sugar Bears' offense has long been known as "the Crunch with Punch" and for good reason -- they've out-scored every other team in each of the past five seasons! This year, the Sugar Bears led the league in just about every offensive category: runs (1008), batting average (.285), on-base percentage (.372), slugging percentage (.470), OPS (.842), walks (774), doubles (387), runs created (1026.1), total average (.838) and total bases (2691). The Golden Falcons, on the other hand, ranked 4th in OBP (.344), 5th in runs scored (846), 6th in team batting average (.277) and OPS (.780), 9th in doubles (279), tied for 9th in home runs (193) and had the 3rd-most strikeouts (1125). And while they did rank first in stolen bases (71), their .670 SB% rate was third-worst in baseball. No contest, right? Except the Golden Falcons proved in the second round that this offense can score enough to win as long as they have Barry Bonds in the middle of the lineup. Bonds won the second round's OmahaSteaks.com Batter of the Week Award after hitting .364 with a 1.455 OPS, 4 HR, 8 R and 5 RBI; the rest of the offense combined to hit .202 with a paltry .276 OBP, .298 SLG (.574 OPS).

So manager George Brett will put Bonds in the middle of the lineup, and... then what? Brett and batting coach Brian Harper have looked to get production from anyon else, largely through large-scale platooning. There are just two regulars, Bonds and Lance Berkman (.267, .815 OPS, 19 HR, 64 RBI in 563 PA); everything else is a part-time job. The catching duties are shared by Jason Phillips (vs RHP: .234, .298 OBP, .332 SLG) and Keith Osik (vs LHP: .415, .466 OBP, .551 SLG); first base is manned by Andres Galarraga (vs RHP: .285, .323 OBP, .351 SLG) and Ken Harvey (vs LHP: .377, .373 OBP, .582 SLG); second base by Orlando Hudson (vs RHP: .287, .329 OBP, .400 SLG) and Ronnie Belliard (vs LHP: .347, .423 OBP, .559 SLG); third base by Sean Burroughs (vs RHP: .253, .305 OBP, .367 SLG) and Wes Helms (vs LHP: .301, .389 OBP, .602 SLG); shortstop by Julio Lugo (vs RHP: .266, .313 OBP, .386 SLG) and Adam Everett (vs LHP: .305, .346 OBP, .380 SLG); center field by Kenny Lofton (vs RHP: .303, .357 OBP, .467 SLG) and Corey Patterson (vs LHP: .253, .265 OBP, .411 SLG) and right field is a "reverse platoon" of righty Juan Gonzalez (vs RHP: .255, .289 OBP, .523 SLG) and lefty Larry Walker (vs LHP: .299, .399 OBP, .429 SLG).

The Sugar Bears offense is a two-step process: No. 1, take. No. 2, rake. The lineup led the league in walks as well as in runs scored, the fifth straight year that the Brick City Bombers led the league in offense. This year's Sugar Bear squad also was just the fifth in the modern era (1997-present) to break the 1,000-runs scored plateau. For the past four World Series, Don Mattingly has been able to fill in his lineup card around the core of Manny Ramirez (.295, 28 HR, 112 RBI), Bobby Abreu (.280, .389 OBP, 23 2B, 89 R), Chipper Jones (.266, 20 HR, 70 RBI), Jim Thome (.257, 34 HR, 96 RBI) and Mark McLemore (.332, .842 OBP in 305 PA). But this year, the lineup has some added pop with rookies Marcus Giles (.319, .376 OBP, .540 SLG, 49 2B, 110 R), Hideki Matsui (.299, .804 OPS, 35 2B, 67 RBI in 358 AB) and Jeff DaVanon (.318, .889 OPS in 301 PA). Battting coach Jim Eisenreich also has given new life to veterans Bill Mueller (.300, .885 OPS, 44 2B, 121 RBI) and Greg Myers (.310, 1.019 OPS in 116 AB with Newark; .282, .823 OPS, 20 HR, 76 RBI overall), and with the offense Carlos Guillen added from the nine hole in the second round (.353, .476 OBP, 1 2B, 4 R), there's no doubt that this is the league's most potent lineup from top to bottom.

Starting Pitching: Rookies vs. Veterans

The Sugar Bears' pitching staff had one thing going for it this year: They didn't have to face the Sugar Bear hitters! Imagine the kind of damage that lineup would do to a pitching staff that ranked 6th in ERA (4.28), 7th in runs allowed (786), 8th in K/9 (6.3) and tied for 8th in H/9 (9.8). Compare that to a Falcons staff that was 2nd in team ERA (3.86), strikeouts (1309), K/9 (8.0) and shutouts (18); 3rd in R/9 (12.2), H/9 (8.7) and QS% (.512); tied for 3rd in HR/9 (1.1); and 4th in BB/9 (3.1).

Newark pitching coach Mike Grace, who became the first rookie to win the Bud Black Most Valuable Player Award after the 1997 World Series, hopes that feat will be duplicated this year. In what is believed to be a post-season first, the Sugar Bears went with an all-rookie rotation in the second round -- Scot Shields (12-9, 5.05 ERA, 13.4 R/9), Jerome Williams (2-2, 3.96 ERA, 13.1 R/9 in 7 starts with Newark; 14-11, 5.16 ERA, 14.0 R/9 overall) and Eric DuBose (15-5, 4.05 ERA, 12.5 R/9) -- and will likely use the same rotation against Arkansas. Shields, who started games 1, 4 and 7, will probably retain the nominal title of "ace" since he had two good starts (games 1 and 7) to compensate for the awful one (4); Williams and DuBose each had two starts, one mediocre and one bad. Veterans Carl Pavano (14-7, 4.92 ERA, 13.6 R/9), John Thomson (16-10, 4.27 ERA, 12.7 R/9), Randy Johnson (0-2, 25.07 ERA) and Andy Pettitte (4-4, 5.69 ERA) are unlikely to make an appearance.

The Golden Falcons have two Ben McDonald Award candidates in Pedro Martinez (14-6, 3.30 ERA, 12.2 R/9) and Curt Schilling (18-6, 3.83 ERA, 10.9 R/9), and both pitched brilliantly in the second round, combining to go 3-1 with a 2.49 ERA and 1.18 WHIP, with 8 BB and 31 K in 25.1 IP. For a third starter, pitching coach Bret Saberhagen had two more DMBL Hall of Fame pitchers to choose from -- Kevin Brown (13-13, 4.72 ERA, 12.8 R/9) or Roger Clemens (9-9, 4.14 ERA, 12.3 R/9) -- but instead he went with closer Byung-Hyun Kim, who began preparing for the post-season conversion with five starts at the end of the regular season (0-3, but 3.58 ERA, 11.0 R/9). Kim actually closed out Game 1 but was used as a starter in games 3 and 7 (1-0, 2.30 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 4 BB, 12 K in 15.2 IP as a starter; 1.0 IP, 0 R, 1 H as a reliever). Kim will likely again get the nod over Brown or Clemens, who each pitched briefly in relief in the second round; but one of the veterans could see action as a fourth starter, after southpaw C.C. Sabathia (19-7, 4.78 ERA, 14.0 R/9) looked completely overmatched in Game 4 (2.0 IP, 8 R, 6 H, 3 BB).

Relief Pitching and Defense

Offense goes to Newark; starting pitching goes to Arkansas. But the two teams are just about even in the third major area, relief pitching and defense. The Golden Falcons led the league in winning percentage when ahead or tied after seven innings (.887), in lowest percentage of inherited runners who scored (.239), and in saves (56); they also ranked 2nd in lowest BS% (.233) and tied for 2nd in holds (48). They also led the league in winning percentage when leading or tied after seven innings (.887). The Sugar Bear 'pen ranked first in holds (51), 3rd in lowest percentage of inherited runners scored (.242) and winning percentage when ahead or tied after seven innings (.861), and 4th in lowest BS% (.268). 

If Kim is in the starting rotation, look for bullpen coach Trevor Hoffman to employ a bullpen-by-committee. Octavio Dotel (6-5, 7 SV, 4.31 ERA, 12.8 R/9, 40 BB, 93 K in 87.2 IP) and Brad Lidge (6-1, 3 SV, 3.14 ERA, 12.4 R/9, 34 BB, 72 K in 71.2 IP) will likely share the save opportunities, while Scott Williamson (1-1, 3 SV, 0.88 ERA, 8.2 R/9, 11 BB, 36 K in 30.2 IP), Damaso Marte (3-7, 3 SV, 3.81 ERA, 13.6 R/9, 23 BB, 52 K in 54.1 IP) and Tom Martin (3-2, 7 SV, 3.44 ERA, 11.1 R/9, 17 BB, 27 K in 34.0 IP) will do the middle-relief work. The Golden Falcons may also use Clemens or Brown for middle relief again, as they did in the second round.

Without Kim at the end of games, the edge in the bullpen could go to Newark; Sugar Bear fans know that John Smoltz will get the ball at the start of the 9th inning if their team is ahead. Smoltz won his second straight Dennis Eckersley Reliever of the Year Award -- just the second pitcher in history to accomplish that feat -- by leading the league with 73 relief points (34 saves, 8 wins, 6 losses, 5 blown saves) and tying for the league lead in saves, while posting a 2.21 ERA, 9.7 R/9 and struck out 87, against just 12 walks, in 85.1 IP. He will be eager for a chance to bounce back after his brutal second round against Honolulu (1-1, 1 SV, 2 BSV, 3 ER, 10 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 3.2 IP) nearly cost his team Game 7. Setting him up is one of the deepest bullpens in baseball, with lefties Felix Heredia (1.53 ERA, 7.1 R/9) and Mike Stanton (3.48 ERA, 11.8 R/9) and righties Keith Foulke (3.20 ERA, 9.9 R/9) and Tim Spooneybarger (3.23 ERA, 11.8 R/9). The garbage man is Jack Cressend (3.50 ERA, 10.4 R/9), who proved his importance to the team with four innings of scoreless relief to win Game 4.

Neither team is great defensively, but the Golden Falcons may have a slight edge. Not that they're very good on defense -- Arkansas was tied for fifth worst (.981) in fielding percentage and sixth worst in double plays (140). But the Sugar Bears were dead last in fielding percentage (.976) and had the most errors (149) of any team. The Golden Falcons' catchers were tied for 5th in gunning down would-be base stealers, with opponents posting a .700 SB%; Newark ranked 10th, with a .753 SB%. Perhaps out of necessity, Sugar Bear pitchers were adept at keeping runners close, tying for the league lead in pickoffs (8). But Newark's defense behind the plate improves notably when veteran Paul Lo Duca takes over in the late innings; he led the league in throwing out would-be basestealers (.500 SB%).