Boston Ousts Rival Albuquerque in ALCS Grudge Match

By KYLE KEOUGH
Double Day Daily

In a meeting of AL champions from seasons one and two, the Albuquerque Dukes and the Boston Beaneaters was set to be a clash between high-profile offense. The star power was immense, and the subplots--Phil Maxwell returning to Boston, Phil Parrish returning to Albuquerque, and the infamous guarantee made by Beaneaters owner Keosawa--were numerous.

In an offense-heavy five games, Boston ousted their American League rival, taking the series 4-1. Headed by Oswaldo Navarro's dominant performance, the Beaneaters will now make their second World Series appearance. In season one, they upset Montreal 4-1 in the ALCS, only to be ignominously evicted from the postseason by Louisville, 4 games to 1.

Navarro, the Beaneaters first baseman who replaced Maxwell in the offseason of season one, now is hitting .417 with 7 home runs and 14 RBIs in 9 postseason games. The Beaneaters, after defeating St. Louis City 3-1 and Albuquerque 4-1, are now 7-2 in the postseason.

Albuquerque looked strong following a game-one defeat to Jackson - the Dukes reeled off three consecutive wins to advance over a very dangerous Jackson club. Since winning the AL last season, Albuquerque was looking to make it to back-to-back World Series.

The Beaneaters outscored the Dukes 38-26 over five games, and they now await the winner of the Durham Tobacconists and the Louisville Colonels, which many have called the "real" World Series.

Traditionally, it's been in the NLCS that Louisville has had the most trouble, which has prompted most observers to consider the NLCS the deciding series in the postseason. Boston will look to reverse that trend, however, by attempting to either end Louisville's World Series reign or stopping Durham, the ML's best regular-season team for the second year in a row, from winning their first title.