Chapter 40.75: Championship Series

Astros vs. Cardinals: Well, some surprises, but it’s not as though the Padres won. As I (and probably every other baseball fan outside of San Diego) predicted, the Cardinals swept into the NLCS and will face the Astros. This should be quite a series, but after the 18 inning game, I wonder whether there’ll be any residual effect on the Houston pitching staff. The Cardinals were the better team throughout the season, so I believe they’ll come through again, but it should be an excellent series. My prediction: Cardinals in 6.

Angels vs. White Sox. The White Sox won their first post-season series since 1917. That’s nice. Enjoy it, Sox, because while I’m rooting for you, I don’t think you’ll be able to top the Angels. It’s not because they beat the Yankees, because I think the Bombers were ready to fall – didn’t have the horses this year, or rather too many of their horses are heading to the glue factory. (Yes, I predicted the Yankees would win, but I don’t think I minimized the abilities of the Angels) No, the Angels are a quality team. They have hitting and pitching. Their concern, now, however, is whether Bartolo Colon is able to return. I’ve not read anything yet, so I don’t know how serious the injury is. But that uncertainty is the reason I’m making this series as close as I think it’ll be. Angels in 6.

Just looking back at my predictions: I did better with the National League, where my outcomes were exactly accurate in terms of who and how many games it’d take. I think my prediction of the Astros/Braves series being exciting was fairly prescient too, though I certainly couldn’t have expected the thriller to close it out. I was not surprised the White Sox won – well, ok, I’m a little surprised – but I was amazed that they swept past the World Series champions. Who knows, perhaps we’ll wipe out another curse this year. And in 2006 it’s time to slay the billy goat.