lets hear the preditions...

goign ot be a great season...i say STL in 6.

STL in 7. Both teams want it really bad.

That's what I was about to say.

after seeing the houston/st louis series i'm a lot less worried about the cards then i was coming into the playoffs, especially with the momentum we've built up and starting in fenway i don't see the sox losing or even going to game 7

Stickied.

Let's see if we can keep all of the World Series talk in this one thread.

It really doesn't matter to me either way. I like the Cards and I can't stand the Red Sox. But... it would be nice to see the Sox win after all of these years. I mean... my GRANDPA wasn't even born the last time they won.

sox in 7 and a half

14 innings..

That's my guess as well.

i'll go out on a limb and say that a very large percentage of people here did not watch the NLCS game for game, play for play like the houston/st. louis/national league fans. the Cardinals are a good team that can hit any pitcher when it counts. to be fair, i didn't watch the ALCS game for game, let alone play for play...but watching that great series (yeah, i hear it went ot game 7 ) between my astros and the cardinals, i'll give any red sox fans fair warning. don't understimate jim edmonds. or pujols. or renteria. or larry walker. you get the point. they can beat you infield and out.


cardinals in 7.

i don't underestimate them, i just think we can beat them and it will definately be an easier series than the ALCS

fair enough. it won't kill me to see st. louis lose

but i as a life-long astros fan would like to at least know that our incredible comeback run was merely halted by 2004's best team in baseball, that's all. it's not much consolation, but it's something.

Boston in 6.

St. Louis scares me, though. The last place on earth that I would want to play would be Busch Stadium.

As for hitting, they're awesome, but hitting can go cold.

Both teams are actually evenly matched, but I can't see the sox losing to the cardinals after winning 4 straight against the yankees.

This series will depend on the sutures in Schilling's ankle.

I said it once so I'll say it again...

"I say fuck Ruth and his dumb curse and lets go out there and win us a title!"

hey boston.

see if you can rile tavarez up, it's really funny to watch. and it might work to your advantage as long as you be sure to place solid objects all around the visitors dugout in fenway.

I think it's nearly impossible to predict who is going to win and in how many games. I don't believe people actually get paid to do things like this.

Of course I want the Sox to win, and I think this is the best team we have had in a long, long time. We just need to do what we did in those four games we won against New York and the three we won against Anaheim: score early runs and shut down the big bats. People keep talking about how tough the heart of that St Louis order is, and God damn it is a doosy. But think about it, we just shut down Jeter - A-Fraud - Sheffield - Matsui for four straight games. We won't hold Walker - Poo Holes - Rolen - Edmonds hitless in every game, but I trust the Sox pitching staff to minimize any damage they may do.

Couple of interesting thoughts:
-Has Albert Poo Holes ever seen a knuckle baller before? It'll be interesting to see how he handles that. And Rolen and Walker, even though they have played longer careers, probably haven't seen much of that either. TIMMAY could be a valauble weapon in this series.
-How funny is it that his name is "poo holes"?
-Certainly David Ortiz will start every game of this series. That's not even a question. But this means he will have to play first base in the games at St. Louis. Uh-oh. Do the Sox start Pokey to get a little more solidty on the right side of the infield?
-Will Dougie Boom Boom start game 1 to catch Wakefield? 'Tek looked horrible trying to reel those floaters in. I don't want to lose Jason's bat, but I don't want runs scoring on passed balls either.
-Note on this:

Did you see him take that liner off the glove tonight? I wonder if that will affect his availability.

It's gonna be a great series. I can't wait.

Go Sox.

Yes!

GO RED SOX!!!!!

I am hating that team in St. Louis right now.

As much as it pains me, I'm going to say St. Louis in 6.

Why? Becuase I think they're the only NL team that is BETTER under American league rules. They have lots of good batters on the bench that don't get as much play, so they can stick another one in the lineup. Conversely, the Red Sox will be weaker under NL rules, and it's hard to be St. Louis in Busch.

That's not to say the Red Sox can't win. They need to score early against St. Louis's starting pitching, because their bullpen is lights out (except for maybe Isringhausen, who's generally good enough). They also need to keep the middle of the order from stringing hits together and take the small ball chances away. St. Louis is a LOT like the Yankees in many ways, and the Red Sox beat the Yankees. I feel that St. Louis is less egotistical and plays better as a cohesive whole than the Yankees, so they may be a little tougher.

Of course, we can all analyze this to the nth degree, but the bottom line is that probably the opposite is going to happen as to what we all expect will happen. Just look at all the playoff games from the last 5 years to back that up....

as a cardinal fan, i will admit that the birds are going to have a tough time getting a game or two in fenway... key to series, win game one... and if people think the yankees were a tougher matchup, well then you are plain wrong... stlouis doesnt swing for the fences... they know how to play small-ball, get clutch hits, and their pitching is solid enough (defnitely better than teh yankees)... boston has some momentum, but the cardinals do too... it will be a hell of a series, but if stlouis can get the first one, i really like their chances... curt's a bit hurt, and pedro aint pedro no mas... pujols will be his new daddy and teh birds will win it in 6... if it goes 7 *gulp*, i have to think boston will get it... good luck bosox... i was pulling for you, but now it's going to end.... go birds!

Red Sox in 5 games

I didn't see much of the NLCS but was impressed most by St Louis (in the NL) during the regular season anyway. I could see either team winning. 7 game series are draining, and I do not want to take anything away form Astros/Cards but it will be interesting to see how the Sox respond after the series they just played in. Last year the Yanks walked into the Series and I think the ALCS took so much out of them it that it hurt in the WS.