Anything can happen in sports, but here's my read for round one - The Red Sox should take Chicago. Their hitters are too damn good, and the White Sox don't have the kind of pitching staff (like, say, Houston has) to just shut them down. What about Yankees/Angels? That's tougher. The Angels won the season series, and they have home field advantage. The Yankees have something to prove though, and that might make a difference. Might. The big problem for the Yankees is what happens when the starter doesn't have his stuff - the middle relief staff sucks eggs. So this hinges on the starters - if the starters are good, the Yankees go to the ALCS. If they falter, the Angels go.

If we see a Yankees/Red Sox rematch in the ALCS, anything could happen. Both teams can hit, and both teams have nothing in middle relief. The Yankees might have an edge in the late game with Gordon and Rivera, but that assumes that the late game is close. If this rematch takes place, watch for fireworks.

I don't follow the NL that closely, but everyone is picking the Astros - with the Clemens/Pettite combination, they look a lot like the 2001 Diamondbacks. I expect them to make it to the series - and then woe betide whoever has to face them.