LCS Previews

Three out of four in the division series, only mistake was I picked the wrong Sox team to just turn it on & sweep the other team. Not bad.

Should be two good series for the league championships, I'm looking forward to them. And I'm sure I'm not the only person to be thankful that we don't have to watch another Yankees-Sox LCS over the next week. New blood is fun.

Anyone who read my LDS Previews knows who I'm going to pick here, but read on anyway...

White Sox vs Angels

The White Sox are rested, the Angels are exhausted.

The White Sox had an easy series, the Angels struggled just to make it out of the first round.

The White Sox are healthy and ready to go, the Angels aren't quite so healthy, and offensively half their players forgot how to hit last round.

The White Sox have had 4 days to break down the Yankees & Angels, ready for whatever gets thrown at them. The Angels have played three ballgames in three timezones in the last 48 hours (counting tonight), having traveled over 5000 miles to do so.

The White Sox have homefield advantage. The Angels don't.

So clearly, the Angels are going to win this series.

They know how to get it done. This team won a World Championship just three years ago. Their coach is far superior to Chicago's (not a knock on Guillen, rather a credit to Scioscia). Their bullpen is still the best in the majors, or at least a case can be made that it is. It's definitely the best bullpen in their series, anyway. And the Angels have the ultimate intangible, a man who can singlehandedly win any game or games if he gets that hot. Vladimir Guerrero. The White Sox are made up of a bunch of players who play great together, and win together. But when things get hairy, and they're in desperate need of a spark on the road, down by a few runs, in the late innings, they don't have anyone like Vlad who will just change an entire series with one swing of a bat.

Vladimir Guerrero can put the Angels on his back & carry them for weeks at a time, as he did last September, in winning the AL MVP award. With his team tired & hurting, and with him being able to smell his first World Series appearance, there's nothing he won't do to get the Angels to the series over these next 7 days.

The White Sox will win tonight, and I wouldn't bet against them winning tomorrow night as well. But as soon as the Angels hit that day of rest on Thursday, this series will permanently change.

Angels in six.

Cardinals vs Astros

A rematch of a great series from last year, you get the feeling this one is going to be even better.

These two teams may not have Carlos Beltran & Scott Rolen as they did a year ago, but they have so much more pitching then they did a year ago.

Last year, Chris Carptener was a #1 pitcher on a team that won with its bats. This year, he is a legitimate Cy Young contender, and a pitcher capable of winning 2 games in a series.

Last year, Roger Clemens revitalized his career, Roy Oswalt continued to progress as one of the greatest young pitchers in baseball today, and Brad Lidge burst onto the scene. This year, Roger Clemens was nothing short of spectacular, Oswalt continued to get better & better, Lidge became a household name & a dominant force, and the Astros got Andy Pettitte back, and all he did was pitch for them in a way he hasn't done in nearly 5 years.

Last year, this series was won at the plate, with the Cardinals just having more firepower. This year, this series is going to be a pitching duel with timely hits being the key factor.

The Cardinals still have to have the edge, just because their offense is better. But a career-year Craig Biggio & suddenly healthy Jeff Bagwell are running out of chances to get into the World Series, and with this staff, this may be their best chance yet.

Cardinals in Seven.



In March, I picked the Angels & the Cardinals as my two league champions. In a week, they will be the two league champions, and you will all be ready to hail me as a genius among mere baseball fans.

Maybe not, but Cardinals-Angels will definitely be a better series the Red Sox-Cardinals was last year.