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2003 NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

BALTIMORE BLUE CRABS vs. FLORA-BAMA MULLETS
PREVIEW – The Baltimore Blue Crabs are the feel-good Cinderella story in MWWL. They rallied over the final two weeks of the season to overcome a three-game deficit and run down the Manhattan Gas Hornets for the final wild spot. Then upset the 105 win Long Beach Titans in the Wild Card round and the 107 win Hollywood Vampires in the divisional round. Unfortunately, the road doesn’t get any easier as they’ll be squaring off against the 110-win Flora-Bama Mullets, who are back in the NLCS for the third year in a row with their best offense ever. The Mullets offense, led by NL MVP Javy Lopez, was already on pace to lead the league in home runs before the deadline additions of all-star sluggers Jeff Kent and Rafael Palmerio. The Mullets will be without slugger Juan Gonzalez for the first five games, but have a very deep bench. Flora-Bama steamrolled the Michigan Mauraders in the Divisional series with a .290 AVG and a .880 OPS, so Blue Crabs will need their aces Hudson and Zito to step up.

BALTIMORE

BLUE CRABS

vs.

FLORA-BAMA

MULLETS

PREVIEW – The Baltimore Blue Crabs are the feel-good Cinderella story in MWWL. They rallied over the final two weeks of the season to overcome a three-game deficit and run down the Manhattan Gas Hornets for the final wild spot. Then upset the 105 win Long Beach Titans in the Wild Card round and the 107 win Hollywood Vampires in the divisional round. Unfortunately, the road doesn’t get any easier as they’ll be squaring off against the 110-win Flora-Bama Mullets, who are back in the NLCS for the third year in a row with their best offense ever. The Mullets offense, led by NL MVP Javy Lopez, was already on pace to lead the league in home runs before the deadline additions of all-star sluggers Jeff Kent and Rafael Palmerio. The Mullets will be without slugger Juan Gonzalez for the first five games, but have a very deep bench. Flora-Bama steamrolled the Michigan Mauraders in the Divisional series with a .290 AVG and a .880 OPS, so Blue Crabs will need their aces Hudson and Zito to step up.

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2003 AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

CHICAGO DEMOLITION vs. CORKTOWN BOOTLEGGERS
PREVIEW – The 2003 Mid-West Winter League (MWWL) American League Championship Series is a true heavyweight clash. The AL East champion Corktown Bootleggers (101-61) host the powerhouse Chicago Demolition (103-59) in a best-of-seven showdown that promises to be a razor-thin, thrilling battle. Chicago enters the series oozing with momentum. Despite being forced into the Wild Card round, the 103-win Demolition just pulled off a brilliant sweep of the historic 113-win Southlake Stealers. Chicago’s roster boasts an absolute minefield of an offense anchored by Carlos Delgado’s monster 43-HR, 115-RBI 2003 campaign and the incredible consistency of rookie sensation Hideki Matsui. However, their true equalizer is a legendary starting rotation spearheaded by the two-headed monster of Pedro Martinez and Jason Schmidt, backed by “The Rocket” Roger Clemens & Kevin Millwood. Corktown counters with an equally terrifying offense built on patient, high-impact muscle. The Bootleggers’ lineup is anchored by the prime 2003 superpowers of Alex Rodriguez, Scott Rolen, and the disciplined, high-OBP bat of Jason Giambi. On the mound, Corktown relies on workhorse stability, featuring reliable arms like Steve Trachsel, Miguel Batista, and Freddy Garcia. Keys to Winning the ALCS Neutralizing the Top of the Order: For Corktown, the primary challenge is surviving Chicago’s starting pitchers. If A-Rod and Giambi can’t draw walks or do damage early in games, the Bootleggers’ steady rotation will face immense pressure to keep Delgado and Matsui in the ballpark. The Bridge to Billy Wagner: Chicago’s starting staff is elite, but if Corktown can run up pitch counts and force early exits, the series shifts to the bullpens. Chicago must successfully bridge the middle innings to closer Billy Wagner. Defending the Home Dirt: Because of the usual 2-3-2 format, Corktown holds the home-field advantage for Games 1, 2, 6, and 7. However, Chicago wielded the MWWL’s best road record during the regular season. If the Demolition can steal just one of the first two games in Corktown, they shift the entire axis of the series back to Chicago for a three-game homestand.

CHICAGO

DEMOLITION

vs.

CORKTOWN

BOOTLEGGERS

PREVIEW – The 2003 Mid-West Winter League (MWWL) American League Championship Series is a true heavyweight clash. The AL East champion Corktown Bootleggers (101-61) host the powerhouse Chicago Demolition (103-59) in a best-of-seven showdown that promises to be a razor-thin, thrilling battle. Chicago enters the series oozing with momentum. Despite being forced into the Wild Card round, the 103-win Demolition just pulled off a brilliant sweep of the historic 113-win Southlake Stealers. Chicago’s roster boasts an absolute minefield of an offense anchored by Carlos Delgado’s monster 43-HR, 115-RBI 2003 campaign and the incredible consistency of rookie sensation Hideki Matsui. However, their true equalizer is a legendary starting rotation spearheaded by the two-headed monster of Pedro Martinez and Jason Schmidt, backed by “The Rocket” Roger Clemens & Kevin Millwood.

Corktown counters with an equally terrifying offense built on patient, high-impact muscle. The Bootleggers’ lineup is anchored by the prime 2003 superpowers of Alex Rodriguez, Scott Rolen, and the disciplined, high-OBP bat of Jason Giambi. On the mound, Corktown relies on workhorse stability, featuring reliable arms like Steve Trachsel, Miguel Batista, and Freddy Garcia.

Keys to Winning the ALCS
Neutralizing the Top of the Order: For Corktown, the primary challenge is surviving Chicago’s starting pitchers. If A-Rod and Giambi can’t draw walks or do damage early in games, the Bootleggers’ steady rotation will face immense pressure to keep Delgado and Matsui in the ballpark.

The Bridge to Billy Wagner: Chicago’s starting staff is elite, but if Corktown can run up pitch counts and force early exits, the series shifts to the bullpens. Chicago must successfully bridge the middle innings to closer Billy Wagner.

Defending the Home Dirt: Because of the usual 2-3-2 format, Corktown holds the home-field advantage for Games 1, 2, 6, and 7. However, Chicago wielded the MWWL’s best road record during the regular season. If the Demolition can steal just one of the first two games in Corktown, they shift the entire axis of the series back to Chicago for a three-game homestand.

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