I don’t know about you, but I love this series. There’s so many stories going on in this series and the winner will bring some of these stories with them into the World Series. This year’s ALCS is going to have a lot of excitement and will go likely go the distance. Part of the reason I like this is becuase the Rays have a number of former Hudson Valley Renegades (Short-A Rays affiliate in my town), but I promise you, while my rooting interest is in the Rays, I will be objective here.

Like the NLCS, this is a fairly even series.  Each team has a strong pitching staff with many different components. Each team has a consistent ace. Tampa Bay has Jaime Shields, a consistent pitcher who knows how to win and won’t back down. Boston has Jon Lester. He has been as of late and did an excellent job in shutting down the Angels. When it comes to opening or closing a series, he is clutch. He won’t be opening this series, but if he’s pitching a closeout game it’s a virtual lock.

Each team has a solid bullpen. The Rays will go after you with Bradford, followed by Dan Wheeler. Boston will bring out Okajima, Masterson with Papelbon to close it. Who even leads after 7 innings will liekly win the game.  I will give the Red Sox the advantage here.

Each staff has it’s question marks. Andy Sonnanstine pitched well in Game 2 against the White Sox, but he did not have a September to remember. Matt Garza has had problem in the 4th inning in a number of his last starts. He’s also had issues recovering from those innings. The other question is whether or not the Rays arms will hold up. Most of this staff is on the verge of reaching career highs in innings pitched, one has to hope that the arms don’t run out of gas. For the Red Sox, Josh Beckett, Diasuke Matsusaka and Tim Wakefield are the big question marks. Which Josh Beckett will show, the dominant pitcher in the 2003 & 2007 World Series or the injured on as of late. If the usual Beckett shows up, the Rays can go home, but we have yet to see that. You never know what you’re going to get with Tim Wakefield and I wonder about how long Mastusaka can last and how many of walks will turn into runs.

No matter how you shake it, there is no clear advantage here. Too many variables.

The lineups will be interesting too. The Red Sox have one of the most complete lineups in the league. Can Pedroia get of out his slump. His less than stellar ALDS leave us to wonder when he’ll get out of the slump. If it’s too late, they could be watching the Fall Classic on TV. Can Jason Bay keep Red Sox Nation saying “Manny Who?” How will the absence of Mike Lowell affect the team? Can they get to the young Rays staff, particularly Shields and Sonnanstine? The Rays lineup is young an exciting. Evan Longoria is legit and will have a number of clutch hits in this series. If the Rays are to win this series, Longoria will have to produce like an MVP and he can. Expect him and Carlos Pena to smack Wakefield’s knuckleball over the fences. The Rays have excellent speed in Jason Bartlett and BJ Upton, who had a wonderful ALDS. Upton is showing similarities to Jose Reyes with his excellent speed and improving power. If he can continue this into the ALCS, Watch Out!!!!

While the lineups are fairly even, I have to give a slight advantage to the Red Sox. There are fewer breaks and question marks in the lineup. Plus, think the Red Sox have better hitters overall

The defense isn’t even close. The main reason the Rays are here is their defense. The outfield is wicked quick and the infield is one of the best I’ve seen in a while. Longoria & Bartlett should steal former teammate Paul Hoover’s jersey because they are just vacuums. Iwamura isn’t too shabby either.  The Red Sox defense is filled with question marks. Who can fill the void for Mike Lowell? Moving Kevin Youkilis works, but you’re sacrificing the best defensive AL first baseman by doing so. Can Mark Kotsay make Red Sox nation forget about Lowell’s defense? Will Kotsay play first or will he have to replace a still in jured JD Drew. The defense is slower, older, more injured and this could hurt the Red Sox at a critical time. I give a huge advantage to the Rays here.

What about the intangibles? The home field advantage is even for both teams, winning most of their games in this series at home. I’m not sure if this will hold true in the playoffs. They played 9 games at each park and should be used to the nuances of each park. Home field advantage in the playoffs isn’t a huge factor unless it’s a Game 7. Experience is overrated. While the Rays have only played 4 playoff games in their history and the Red Sox have been in the playoffs 4 of the last 6 years, I too think that is overrated. The only way experience factors in this series is if the Rays are facing elimination.

With all that being said. This will be a great series to watch. A lot of stories, a lot of evenness and for me a lot of former Hudson Valley Renegades who I’ve been able to meet over the years. I will be rooting for the Rays in this series because of that connection, but I think there are more question marks for the Rays, particularly in Sonnanstine and Garza and Boston’s lineup is just better than the Rays.

My pick Red Sox in 6 (God, I hope I’m wrong, no offense Red Sox nation)

To: Zygi Wilf:

Please fire Brad Childress.

He sucks and he's making the Vikings suck. You have a team with great potential, a team you thought had a chance of going to the Super Bowl and you're lucky to be 2-3. Giving Brad Childress the keys to this franchise is like hiring Lindsay Lohan as your limo driver. Yes, he may look like a good coach, but in reality he's just a hot mess incapable of doing the simplest of functions.

I know you might ask me, why fire him? He went 8-8 last year, winning 6 of the last 8, with Tavaris Jackson as the quarterback. That record was a fluke. When it counted, when you needed a win to make the playoffs, you choked like the New York Mets in September. You let the defense and Adrian Peterson carry you and when teams began to smarten up and put eight in the box, the offense had mud in the tires.

But enough of my one-liners and cliches. Why should you do the right thing and immediately fire Childress? Let me break it down:

1. The offense is terrible.
   • You rank 18thin the whole league at 20.2 points per game. The New Orleans game was the first time you broke the 20-point plateau and you're not really scoring withthat offense. How does a team with Adrian Peterson, Chester Taylor, Bernard Berrian & Sidney Rice manage only 7 offensive TD'sin 5 games?????? How can you win with QB's that average less than 200 yards per game while only completing 54.8% of your passes for a 73.3 QB rating?
   • Rice cakes have more imagination that your offense. Funny things about this is that Childress was an OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR!!!! But wait, didn't Andy Reid call the play in Philly? So, what did he do, squiggle lines in crazy patterns for Donovan McNabb? I digress. Here is the Viking offense in a nutshell, First down, RUN, Second Down, RUN, Third Down, if more than five yards, try to pass, if five yards or less, RUN. Fourth down, PUNT or FIELD GOAL. If there are eight in the box, RUN. If there are 11 in the box RUN. I think you get my point. If you don't you will when Adrian Peterson is injured by Week 11.
2. Your pass defensive is the human version of Swiss Cheese. Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Kerry Collins (didn't he does this in the 2000 NFC Championship game too?) and Peyton Manning have made fools of your 20th ranked pass defense. How many times do the Viking stop the run on 1st down only to allow the opponent to complete a 12 -15 yards pass for another 1st down? Too many. Brees was doing all night last night. The Vikings were outgained by over 130 yards in the first half. You have only intercepted the ball 4 times and only have 8 sacks in 5 games. I thought Jared Allen was supposed to solve this.
3. Special Teams are horrendous. 2 TD's given up to Bush last night (you should have learned the first time) and there were four other instances in which the Saints started in their own 40 (twice in Vikings territory). Maybe you should try kicking the ball out of bounds. It works on punt and it saves you some clock on kickoffs.
4. You coach not to lose. Wasn't this the same reason you benched Tavaris Jackson (a good move that should have been made two years ago)? Up 15-0 against Indy and you run 75% of the time and settle for Field Goals. Up 17-10 last night and you settle for a field goal instead of aggressively going for the touchdown. The TD drive to Berrian was the first sign of aggression since the days of Mike Tice (at least they were exciting when they lost).
5. You relied on TavarisJackson and expected to go to the Super Bowl with him. If the Vikings couldn't reach the Super Bowl with Daunte Culpepper, what made you think you could with Jackson?? He is consistently at the bottom in key QB stats. His decision making is more questionable than President Bush's and hasn't shown any ability that he could be a QB in this league. Yet, you made him the QB of the future, failed to bring in a decent free agent (Favre, Pennington, even Culpepper) and now we're stuck with Gus Frerotte.

Thankfully the run offense and defense is respectable, scoring 6 of the teams 9 TD's. But the Vikings are a proud franchise rich in offensive history. From the days of Fran Tarkenton and the Purple People Eaters, to Three Deep with Moss, Carter & Reed, this franchise has always been exciting and competitive. Brad Childresshas ruined that tradition and replaced it with a ho-hum lifestyle that is not even competitive.

Mr. Wilf, for the sake of the franchise, the fans and this season, please fire Brad Childress and let the Vikings return to the excitement that have while playing to win.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

     I live in New York, the home of those who perpetuate the curse. In 1969 a random black cat kept the curse at 61 years and counting. In 1986, the Mets and Ray Knight helped keep Boston’s curse running for 68 years. The Yankees, the evil empire, keep the curse discussion going on and on and on until they got their pay back in 2004. This year, Joe Torre, a New Yorker, ended all the Cubs hopes for ending the curse. I guess they have yet to find that distant descendant of the billy goat they shooed away 100 years ago.

     Before I make my case, let me come out and say it. I hate the Yankees. I always have. I hate how they feel this divine right to have the best players and make the playoffs every year. I hate how they feel that they should be the only team ever allowed in the World Series. I hate how because you’re owned by a Steinbrenner you should do everything with military precision. I hate those pinstripe because they remind me of product bar codes, especially when that hot new free agent signs with them.

      The actions of the Yankees lately make them the prime candidates for a new curse. How serendipitous would it be to see the Yankees of all teams not win for another 50 to 60 years? The franchise that holds more playoff and World Series appearance than John McCain has houses would be playing golf and raking those October leaves, just like the rest of the country. Ahhh!!!!! Let the dreaming begin.

     So why are the Yankees setting themselves up for a curse? Here’s why:

1. Letting Joe Torre go:This is the man who has brought class and dignity to the organization for the first time since Joe Dimaggio. He had kept bringing the franchise extra October revenue every year since 1995. He has been to the World Series 6 times, winning 4 of them (none since O’Neill & Martinez left). How do you treat him? With enough arrogance that you send him an insulting, incentive laden contract because you weren’t given what you believe to be yours and only yours (World Series trophy). Now, he goes to LA, gets Manny as a present and made the playoffs for the 14th straight season while Cashman, Steinbrenners, and Girardi start thinking about how (and who) they can buy to start another playoff streak. (PS: History says you won’t make the playoffs for a while, see the Yankees from 1965-1976).
2. Tearing Down Yankee Stadium: While your stadium is a dump, it’s still historic. even the cursed franchise are staying in their old historic ball park. You are tearing the down the home of many famous and powerful ghosts (some of whom are likely to be pissed) to sit in a nice, brand new luxurious stadium.
3. Screwing the Regular Fan:The Cubs and Red Sox have never really forgotten about their fan base. Their parks are still intact, they may slightly raise prices and have found creative ways to increase their seating capacity. You have taken away seats from the average fan while adding more corporate luxury boxes. You have almost doubled your ticket prices in most areas, making ticket unaffordable for the masses of fans. Plus, you have the gall to add on PSL’s. Great idea, let’s pay for the right to buy season ticket later. You have forgotten about the average fan by sucking up to corporate America, who probably can’t afford your seats now because they can’t stay open for business.

Yankees, you are primed for a curse and based on current events, how do we know it’s not beginning to happen?????

Ladies and Gentlemen:

     I live in New York, the home of those who perpetuate the curse. In 1969 a random black cat kept the curse at 61 years and counting. In 1986, the Mets and Ray Knight helped keep Boston’s curse running for 68 years. The Yankees, the evil empire, keep the curse discussion going on and on and on until they got their pay back in 2004. This year, Joe Torre, a New Yorker, ended all the Cubs hopes for ending the curse. I guess they have yet to find that distant descendant of the billy goat they shooed away 100 years ago.

     Before I make my case, let me come out and say it. I hate the Yankees. I always have. I hate how they feel this divine right to have the best players and make the playoffs every year. I hate how they feel that they should be the only team ever allowed in the World Series. I hate how because you’re owned by a Steinbrenner you should do everything with military precision. I hate those pinstripe because they remind me of product bar codes, especially when that hot new free agent signs with them.

      The actions of the Yankees lately make them the prime candidates for a new curse. How serendipitous would it be to see the Yankees of all teams not win for another 50 to 60 years? The franchise that holds more playoff and World Series appearance than John McCain has houses would be playing golf and raking those October leaves, just like the rest of the country. Ahhh!!!!! Let the dreaming begin.

     So why are the Yankees setting themselves up for a curse? Here’s why:

1. Letting Joe Torre go:This is the man who has brought class and dignity to the organization for the first time since Joe Dimaggio. He had kept bringing the franchise extra October revenue every year since 1995. He has been to the World Series 6 times, winning 4 of them (none since O’Neill & Martinez left). How do you treat him? With enough arrogance that you send him an insulting, incentive laden contract because you weren’t given what you believe to be yours and only yours (World Series trophy). Now, he goes to LA, gets Manny as a present and made the playoffs for the 14th straight season while Cashman, Steinbrenners, and Girardi start thinking about how (and who) they can buy to start another playoff streak. (PS: History says you won’t make the playoffs for a while, see the Yankees from 1965-1976).
2. Tearing Down Yankee Stadium: While your stadium is a dump, it’s still historic. even the cursed franchise are staying in their old historic ball park. You are tearing the down the home of many famous and powerful ghosts (some of whom are likely to be pissed) to sit in a nice, brand new luxurious stadium.
3. Screwing the Regular Fan:The Cubs and Red Sox have never really forgotten about their fan base. Their parks are still intact, they may slightly raise prices and have found creative ways to increase their seating capacity. You have taken away seats from the average fan while adding more corporate luxury boxes. You have almost doubled your ticket prices in most areas, making ticket unaffordable for the masses of fans. Plus, you have the gall to add on PSL’s. Great idea, let’s pay for the right to buy season ticket later. You have forgotten about the average fan by sucking up to corporate America, who probably can’t afford your seats now because they can’t stay open for business.

Yankees, you are primed for a curse and based on current events, how do we know it’s not beginning to happen??????

Ladies and Gentlemen:

     I live in New York, the home of those who perpetuate the curse. In 1969 a random black cat kept the curse at 61 years and counting. In 1986, the Mets and Ray Knight helped keep Boston’s curse running for 68 years. The Yankees, the evil empire, keep the curse discussion going on and on and on until they got their pay back in 2004. This year, Joe Torre, a New Yorker, ended all the Cubs hopes for ending the curse. I guess they have yet to find that distant descendant of the billy goat they shooed away 100 years ago.

     Before I make my case, let me come out and say it. I hate the Yankees. I always have. I hate how they feel this divine right to have the best players and make the playoffs every year. I hate how they feel that they should be the only team ever allowed in the World Series. I hate how because you’re owned by a Steinbrenner you should do everything with military precision. I hate those pinstripe because they remind me of product bar codes, especially when that hot new free agent signs with them.

      The actions of the Yankees lately make them the prime candidates for a new curse. How serendipitous would it be to see the Yankees of all teams not win for another 50 to 60 years? The franchise that holds more playoff and World Series appearance than John McCain has houses would be playing golf and raking those October leaves, just like the rest of the country. Ahhh!!!!! Let the dreaming begin.

     So why are the Yankees setting themselves up for a curse? Here’s why:

1. Letting Joe Torre go:This is the man who has brought class and dignity to the organization for the first time since Joe Dimaggio. He had kept bringing the franchise extra October revenue every year since 1995. He has been to the World Series 6 times, winning 4 of them (none since O’Neill & Martinez left). How do you treat him? With enough arrogance that you send him an insulting, incentive laden contract because you weren’t given what you believe to be yours and only yours (World Series trophy). Now, he goes to LA, gets Manny as a present and made the playoffs for the 14th straight season while Cashman, Steinbrenners, and Girardi start thinking about how (and who) they can buy to start another playoff streak. (PS: History says you won’t make the playoffs for a while, see the Yankees from 1965-1976).
2. Tearing Down Yankee Stadium: While your stadium is a dump, it’s still historic. even the cursed franchise are staying in their old historic ball park. You are tearing the down the home of many famous and powerful ghosts (some of whom are likely to be pissed) to sit in a nice, brand new luxurious stadium.
3. Screwing the Regular Fan:The Cubs and Red Sox have never really forgotten about their fan base. Their parks are still intact, they may slightly raise prices and have found creative ways to increase their seating capacity. You have taken away seats from the average fan while adding more corporate luxury boxes. You have almost doubled your ticket prices in most areas, making ticket unaffordable for the masses of fans. Plus, you have the gall to add on PSL’s. Great idea, let’s pay for the right to buy season ticket later. You have forgotten about the average fan by sucking up to corporate America, who probably can’t afford your seats now because they can’t stay open for business.

Yankees, you are primed for a curse and based on current events, how do we know it’s not beginning to happen??????