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.

For the seventh straight year, it's baseball like it oughta be as the No. 2 seed and the No. 1 seed face off to determine the league's best team.

World Series XVI: The Big One-Five!

Newark Sugar Bears (#1, 111-51) vs. Vancouver Ironfist (#2, 96-66)

The 15th annual DMBL World Series pits two of the league's most storied franchises: The Newark Sugar Bears and Vancouver Ironfist. It's the third time they've faced each other in the World Series, with Newark having won the first two (1997 and 2001). They've met two other times in the post-season, both in the second round: Vancouver beat Newark in six games in 1999, and Newark returned the favor, in five games, in 2002. Vancouver won the regular season series, 7 games to 5, going 4-2 at home and 3-3 in the Cereal Bowl.

For the second time in six years, the Sugar Bears are hoping to make DMBL history by winning their third straight championship. Newark first attempted the three-peat in 2003, but fell in seven games to the Golden Falcons. After taking the title in 2004 and 2005, they're hoping to finally pull it off. Win or lose, they've become the first team in league history to appear in the World Series in six straight seasons. This is Newark's seventh trip to the World Series, putting them third on the all-time list; Vancouver, here for the eighth time, is second. Arkansas ranks first, having been here 11 times. (Austin is fourth, with three appearances; the only other team to appear in the World Series are the Jerusalem Rabbis/Matthew's Mighty Men, who went all the way in 2000.) For Vancouver, it's their first World Series appearance since their loss to Newark in 2001. The Ironfist also are looking for their first World Series win since 1994, when they beat the Golden Falcons in five games.

The Sugar Bears, led by manager Don Mattingly, combine the league's seventh-best pitching staff (814 runs allowed) with the best offense in baseball, scoring 1142 runs, for a league-best +328 run differential. (Marietta was had the second-best run differential -- at +120!) They easily cruised to the league's best record, becoming the first team since Newark itself did it in 2003 to go 60 games over .500. They posted the league's best record whether at home (.765) or on the road (.605), against lefties (.732) or righties (.669), in the first half (.651) or second half (.722).

The Ironfist are like a copy of the Sugar Bears, with a loaded, platoon-heavy lineup making up for a weak pitching staff and weak defense. But while Newark combines the league's best lineup with a mediocre pitching staff, the Ironfist are like the clone of a clone in Multiplicity -- not quite as sharp as the original. Darren Daulton's squad scored a second-best 1007 runs, but also allowed a league-worst 915 runs, for a fourth-best +92 run differential. The Ironfist posted the league's fourth-best record in the first half (.566), but really heated up over the second half (.620) -- though that was only good for third-best. (Oddly enough, fourth and third was good enough for second place overall, as the two teams ahead of them over the first half, Las Vegas and Carolina, went backward in the second.) The Fisters were the league's fourth-best home team (.617) and tied for second-best on the road (.568). They were markedly better against lefties (.667) than righties (.561).

Let's look at the match-ups by position:

Catcher: Behind the plate, the Sugar Bears go with a platoon of Gregg Zaun (.284/.362/.431 vs RHP) and Michael Barrett (.290/.364/.581 vs LHP), with Barrett also getting into games for defensive purposes in the late innings. The Ironfist have a terrific young catcher in switch-hitter Victor Martinez (.308, .803 OPS, 15 HR, 80 RBI), though he often moves to designated hitter against lefties, giving the start behind the plate to back-up Ramon Castro (.220/.385/.450 vs. LHP), who is probably the best of the four defensively.

First Base: The Ironfist have another unusual platoon at first base, with two guys splitting the job -- though both play full-time! During the regular season, David Ortiz (.232, .856 OPS, 47 HR, 127 RBI) usually played first base against lefties, with Jeff Kent (.276, .811 OPS, 25 HR, 102 RBI) starting at first versus righties. But Ortiz moves to designated hitter against righties, while Kent slides to second base against lefties, so both are full-time players. Meanwhile, Newark fans have quickly gotten used to not seeing Jim Thome at first base. He's been replaced by 26-year-old Nick Johnson, who  led the league in batting average (.360), OPS (1.079), OBP (.444), total average (1.201) and RC/27 (11.8) despite missing more than a quarter of the season due to injuries. Johnson also was 3rd in total chances per game (9.48) and tied for 4th in fielding percentage (.997), making him one of the top first baseman in baseball; Ortiz and Kent aren't known for their glovework.

Second Base: Coming out of Spring Training, the Sugar Bears' starter at second base was former Rookie of the Year Marcus Giles. But an ugly start to the season (.226, .649 OPS, 7 2B, 4 SB) saw him benched in favor of a platoon between two veterans, Craig Counsell (.333/.393/.474 vs. RHP) and Mark Loretta (.347/.403/.405 vs LHP). Together, they hit .320 with an .808 OPS, making Maig Lorunsell (or Crark Counretta?) one of the best second basemen in baseball. Each also is solid defensively, with Counsell regarded as the better of the two. The Ironfist, as noted above, platoon second base, with left-handed starters usually facing Jeff Kent (.276, .811 OPS, 25 HR, 102 RBI; .291/.327/.482 vs LHP); against righties, Kent moves to first, opening second base for Chase Utley (.275/.341/.458 vs RHP).

Third Base: The Ironfist have a couple of big-name players platooning at third base, splitting the hot corner between Eric Chavez (.264/.329/.474 vs RHP) and Mike Lowell (.280/.348/.460 vs LHP), with Chavez sometimes coming in late for defensive purposes. Together they were solid, but nowhere near the level of Chipper Jones (.339, 1.050 OPS, 24 HR, 104 R, 100 RBI), who had another huge season in his Hall of Fame career. Making third base all the more potent for the Sugar Bears was that Jones sometimes sat in favor of lefty masher Damion Easley, who hit an astounding .417 (1.095 OPS) with 13 HR and 40 RBI in just 103 at-bats against southpaws this season.

Shortstop: Two of the league's top young shortstops -- and lead-off hitters -- go head-to-head in this year's World Series. Newark's Carlos Guillen (.342, .827 OPS, 10 HR, 124 R, 85 RBI), a 29-year-old switch-hitter, finished second in batting average -- following a season in which he set the all-time record, hitting .398. While Guillen put up solid numbers against righties (.314/.785 OPS), he was a terror against lefties (.435/.973 OPS). He's also showed great range, ranking second in total chances per game (5.08), though only 7th in fielding percentage (.976). The Ironfist answer with 28-year-old Michael Young (.331, .898 OPS, 23 HR, 137 R, 98 RBI), who led the league in hits and total bases and also had this year's second-longest consecutive game hitting streak at 29 games. Young, like Guillen, is stronger against one side than the other, but interestingly, this right-hander hits better against righties (.345/.947 OPS) than lefties (.296/.765 OPS). Young is not considered a good defensive shortstop, finishing out of the top 10 in fielding percentage and total chances per game (and tied for 3rd in most errors, with 22).

Left Field: Former Mudcat Rondell White (.360, .933 OPS, 11 HR, 60 RBI in 347 AB) resurrected his career in Vancouver, having a huge year at age 33. White started the year in a right field platoon, but by the end of the season had pretty much taken over the left field job from Moises Alou (who switched roles with White, becoming the right field platoon partner). In fact, the right-handed White actually wound up hitting slightly better against righties (.373/.402/.562) than lefties (.346/.373/.525). He doesn't have a great range or the strongest arm, but he didn't make an error all year. His opposite number on the Sugar Bears is 31-year-old Hideki Matsui, who had another solid year (.289, .809 OPS, 23 HR, 107 RBI). Last year, Matsui sat against lefties; this year, he proved he could hit them (.322/.368/.483 vs LHP, .279/.343/.453 vs RHP) and played in every game but one. Matsui's glove, like his bat, is solid but not spectacular; he ranked 3rd among left fielders in assists (10), tied for 5th in total chances per game (2.31) and was 6th in fielding percentage (.983). It's hard to compare these two head-to-head, as the regular season numbers were heavily in White's favor, yet almost every prognosticator at the beginning of the year would have said Matsui is the far better player. Adding to the dilemma, in the second round, White crashed (.263, .632 OPS) while Matsui soared (.421, 1.292 OPS).

Center Field: The Sugar Bears have another efficient platoon in center, splitting the duties between switch-hitters Milton Bradley (.325, .969 OPS, 38 HR, 108 RBI overall; .329/.390/.601 vs RHP) and Jeff DaVanon (.360, .965 OPS, 2 HR, 31 RBI overall; .381/.487/.454 vs LHP). Put them together and they'd hit .333 (.968 OPS) with 215 hits, 40 HR, 132 R and 139 RBI in 646 at-bats -- a line that would make this two-headed monster a viable Kevin Mitchell Award candidate. Each is considered at least average defensively... Meanwhile, Vancouver has a home-grown talent and a fan favorite roaming center field -- British Columbia's own Jason Bay (.261, .813 OPS, 30 HR, 125 RBI, 11 SB). The 26-year-old also is one of the top defensive outfielders in baseball, leading all center fielders in fielding percentage (.996) and 2nd in total chances (3.06), though he doesn't have the strongest arm.

Right Field: The Ironfist had a platoon in right field all season, but the partners changed when it came to facing southpaws. Early in the season, it was Rondell White, but he eventually became the starter in left field, switching roles with Moises Alou (.309, .908 OPS, 27 HR, 95 RBI overall; .362/.439/.799 against LHP), who was reduced to a part-time role. No matter who the partner, the starter against righties was J.D. Drew, who had his second straight big year (.320, 1.062 OPS, 40 HR, 107 R, 88 RBI in 462 AB overall; .331/.416/.694 in 396 AB vs RHP) after an injury-plagued start to his career. It's often hard to remember that Drew, the 4th overall pick in the 1999 draft, is only 29 years old. The Sugar Bears also platoon in right, with two-time World Series MVP Bobby Abreu (.332, .993 OPS, 24 HR, 98 R, 92 RBI in 458 AB overall; .335/.432/.575 in 424 AB vs RHP) and Ryan Church (.344, 1.142 OPS, 15 HR, 48 RBI in 192 AB overall; .385/.496/.826 vs LHP). Church, like Easley, is one of the premier lefty crushers in baseball, but he can also hit righties (.289/.385/.518 in 83 AB) and is above-average defensively, so he gets into quite a few games for Newark, though Abreu isn't too bad with the glove himself.

Designated Hitter: For most of the year, the Ironfist used a platoon of Victor Martinez (.308, .803 OPS, 15 HR, 80 RBI; .247/.319/.341 vs LHP) and David Ortiz (.232, .856 OPS, 47 HR, 127 RBI; .232/.363/.555 vs RHP), though Martinez moved to catcher against righties and Ortiz played first against lefties, so both were full-time players. (The combination of Martinez vs LHP/Ortiz vs RHP produces a line of .235, .878 OPS, 20 2B, 40 HR, 95 RBI in 507 AB.) Occasionally one of the outfielders would get a "half-day off" by DH'ing, or utility man Michael Cuddyer (.225, .589 OPS in 71 AB) might get a rare start. J.D. Drew, who is usually benched against lefties, also got a few starts against southpaws as the DH; that's what the Ironfist did in the series against Marietta. But while the Ironfist may get creative with this spot, there'll be no surprise on the Sugar Bears' lineup card -- it will be Manny Ramirez, who needed his glove for just one game in the outfield this year. The rest of the season, all he had to worry about was hitting, and he responded with another productive campaign (.283, .861 OPS, 28 2B, 32 HR, 125 RBI in 552 AB), leading the team in both RBIs and game-winning RBIs.

Starting Pitchers: In the second round series against Arkansas, the Sugar Bears started with lefties 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) and Randy Johnson (16-7, 4.69 ERA, 12.6 R/9, 180 Ks in 213.0 IP) at home, followed by John Smoltz (22-5, 3.79 ERA, 12.0 R/9) and Chien-Ming Wang (11-6, 4.80 ERA, 13.5 R/9). Johnson and Wang each had great starts; Smoltz looked shakey, but survived, while Duke had one decent start and one poor one. It remains to be seen if they'll switch things up against the Ironfist, who posted the league's second-best winning percentage against southpaws. But it's unlikely in any event that they'll drop one of those four off the post-season roster in favor of either Kevin Millwood (11-8, 5.73 ERA, 13.8 R/9) or David Bush (10-9, 7.45 ERA, 16.7 R/9).

The Ironfist went with Jake Peavy (18-4, 4.53 ERA, 11.8 R/9) in Game 1, followed by Mark Buehrle (9-1, 3.56 ERA, 10.5 R/9 in 11 starts for Vancouver; 14-10, 3.91 ERA, 11.7 R/9 overall), Ben Sheets (12-13, 5.04 ERA, 11.9 R/9) and Greg Maddux (13-15, 6.67 ERA, 12.9 R/9). Of the four, Sheets looked the most impressive (0 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 9 K in 7.0 IP), while Buehrle got smacked around (6 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 6 K in 5.2 IP), though the bullpen and the offense bailed him out. Maddux and Peavy were somewhere in between. The Ironfist could try to shake things up by starting Brandon McCarthy (10-9, 6.60 ERA, 14.8 R/9); they'd have to be truly desperate to even consider Matt Morris (1-5, 6.59 ERA, 15.8 R/9), Woody Williams (2 ER, 7 H, 2 BB in 6.0 IP, his only start this year); or Mark Hendrickson or Gil Meche, who each spent the season in the minors.

Relief Pitchers: The Fisters 'pen is led by closer Billy Wagner (2-3, 29 SV, 2.66 ERA, 10.3 R/9, 21-5, 3.29 ERA, 12.2 R/9, .879 SV%), who gave up just one hit in two appearances in the second round (though that one hit was a home run, it came with two out in the 9th inning of a 9-3 game). His top set-up man is David Riske (2-1, 2 SV, 4 holds, 3.12 ERA, 9.7 R/9), with help from 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). 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 Sugar Bear bullpen, like the Miami Dolphins' famed "No-Name Defense" of 1972, features no superstars, just guys who get the job done. The bullpen-by-committee has 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) as its co-chairmen, with set-up work from lefties 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) and righties 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). Linebrink was perfect in the second round, retiring all 7 Falcons he faced -- 3 by strikeout.

The bottom line: Who can say? The Sugar Bears are the clear-cut favorite, having won 15 more games in the regular season. Yet the Ironfist won the regular season series against them, 7 games to 5, and -- with a franchise history just as gloried as Newark or Arkansas -- aren't intimidated by the world champion's swagger. In fact, with a league championship title drought extending to before the '95 strike, the Ironfist are out for blood, and while they likely dreamed of stomping on their arch-rival Golden Falcons, defeating the Sugar Bears -- who beat them in the '97 and '01 World Series -- would be almost as sweet. And here's an inexplicable bit of trivia for you -- Newark's 111 wins this season are tied for fourth-best in history, behind the '02 Falcons (120-42), '97 Ironfist (118-44) and '98 Ironfist (112-50), and alongside the '03 Sugar Bears (111-51). Not one of those teams, however, won the World Series! In fact, the team with the most regular season wins that went on to win the World Series were the '02 Sugar Bears, who went 109-53 -- but they were playing the 120-42 Falcons! Can the Sugar Bears reverse this most unusual curse, or will it hold true for one more season? Stay tuned, DMBL fans, for what promises to be another terrific October classic!