World Series Picks (Controversial):

[kick-ass-bob]

NL Playoffs:

Houston is 36-10 over last 1/4 of season - they are the unstoppable force. They have the starting pitching needed and the hitting to rock anyone. (And I hate them!) The Braves will choke as they always do in the playoffs so 3-1 Astros.

St Louis will handle the Dodgers as well, 3-1 to face Houston for the NL title.

Houston will continue their late dominance, and take out the Cards in 6.

In the AL, somehow, the Yankees will win 2 games in their last at bat against Minn. and the Angels won't beat Schilling, but they will beat every one else.
Anaheim-NY for the AL title. New York wins 3 games in their last at bat, but Anaheim wins 4 by at least 4 runs.

Anaheim vs Houston for the World Series title.

[Gothmog]

1. Go Astros

The Astros have made an incredible run of it lately. It will be interesting to see if you are right.

[cheezus]

2. I'll give you Huston, but it'll be the twins (maybe the Angels)

[MexedMissage]

3. Houston has always folded in the 1st round to their nemesis

from ATL.

But not this year!

[GreenArrow]

4. ABY and ABD

Anybody but Yankees, and anybody but the Dodgers, the co-GOP's of MLB.

Rooting for either of these teams is like rooting for the Republicans. Down with the Yankees! I'll have to root for the Twins and the Cardinals.

[JVS]

8. Better Dodgers than the Braves

[GreenArrow]

15. Braves: ever so slightly better than the Dodgers.

No fears, they will choke as usual.

[Huckebein the Raven]

5. For it's Cards in the N.L and Sox in A.L

[kick-ass-bob]

12. They are the best teams

throughout their rosters. But that doesn't always translate into League Champions.

[Huckebein the Raven]

14. Yeah, there's always a sleeper.

I like the Cards but Houston's has very good chance of going this year.

[warrens]

6. Stros make choking an art

They're old and after their top two pitchers, there's nothing there. And Clemens is inconsistent. St. Louis has been stone cold and their pitching has been abominable. Gagne is probably out for the series, or at least not likely to be used. Chipper and John Thomson are both injured. I have no idea how to pick any of these, but I predict Braves come out on top.

Twins over Yanks, Sox over Anaheim. Sox over Twins.

And who knows in the WS. Two slugging teams with good pitching, little speed, decent defense.

This should be fun.

[kick-ass-bob]

11. Clemens is 18-4.

Braves are doing it with mirrors. They have been doing it with mirrors for a few years now, and it always catches up to them in the postseason. I don't really see anything different now. Plus, you can't argue with 36-10 record. I don't see them losing this round.

[underpants]

7. GO REDS!

:bounce:

[kick-ass-bob]

13. Go D-Rays!!

:silly:

[Krupskaya]

9. Twins lost home-field yesterday...

...But I'm feeling good about their chances. The Yankees are on a downward slide, the Twins coming up.

[kick-ass-bob]

10. I agree. But I think that somehow the Yankees pull out this

series.

[TSIAS]

16. My picks

Houston vs. Atlanta- I feel like I've been here before. Houston never is able to get past Atlanta in the first round. I've seen Larry Dierker and Jimy Williams get beat by the veteran Braves. I worry a bit about Atlanta's rotation. Jaret Wright, John Thomson, and Mike Hampton are hardly Glavine, Maddux, and Smoltz. Houston came back from the dead under new manager Phil Garner. Still, I think Atlanta's desperate to win one more title. And this year, there is no clear cut opponent out there to stop them. I like Atlanta to win this series in 4 or 5 games.

Los Angeles vs. St. Louis- Frankly, this series doesn't do much for me. I think St. Louis has too much offense for Jim Tracy's club to handle. I'm not sold that St. Louis wins the W.S., but they can get by L.A. I'd much rather see Barry Bonds and the Giants, rather than the boring Dodgers. Edmonds, Renteria, Pujols, and Rolen combined to give St. Louis the #1 scoring offense in the regular series. I like this team to beat Los Angeles easily, 3 games.

Anaheim vs. Boston- It's hard to discount a former champion. Anaheim did win the World Series in 2002. But that doesn't stop me from going with the conventional wisdom. In the playoffs, pitching usually trumps offense. Schilling and Pedro are two of the best pitchers in baseball history. In a short series, we'll see one or both of them twice over the course of five games. The key could be how Bronson Arroyo and Tim Wakefield perform. Arroyo did go 3-0 this September. Boston also has a great offense in Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Johnny Damon, and Bill Mueller. Finally, Terry Francona will know when to pull Martinez late in a game. They've got a solid bullpen, led by closer Keith Foulke. Boston takes this series in 4.

Minnesota vs. New York- This pick is a sad one for me to make. I long for another classic Sox/Yankees ALCS. I do like this Minnesota team. Although they have a low-payroll, this team has playoff experience. Of course, last year they lost to the Yankees in the divisional round. I love the Twins lefty Johan Santana. He's poised to win the Cy Young with a 20-6, 2.61 record. If he can get them two victories, I'm confident that Brad Radke or Kyle Lohse can get them the third. I'm not a big fan of either Javier Vazquez or Mike Mussina, especially in a playoff setting. Minnesota has to find a way to manufacture runs. The Marlins beat the Yankees last season with not a lot of big name power hitters. Youngsters Lew Ford and Justin Morneau could give them the speed needed to beat the older Yankees. I may regret it later, but I'm going with the upset and picking the Twins to win in five games.

[Zomby Woof]

17. Dodgers and Twins

Posted a thread on why the other day.

[WindRavenX]

18. To be honest, the Yankees may not make it past the first round

The only reliable pitchers they have are Moose, Flash, and Mo. That's it, really.
However, they have a TON of heart and if ANY team can win on heart alone, it's them.
LET'S GO YANKEES!!!!!!!! :bounce: :bounce: