MLB: AL Championship prediction

I dub this series,

The Evil Empire vs. The Goat Cursed or "The New Hope"

I'm throwing away all pretense of logical argument. I want the Yankees to lose. So I shall write yet another attempt at proving the Yankees wrong. Actually, I do think the Red Sox are going to win, but for all the loving Yankee fans, I will come clean. Yes, I do want the Yankees to lose. Actually, being an A's fan, I want the Red Sox to lose, too, but we're going with the Bush and Kerry philosophy here- the lesser of two evils.

My argument is similar with the now deceased Twins. The Red Sox have much better pitching, but this time, instead of a good bullpen (that no longer really seems to matter since the Yankees whack around good bullpens anyways), the Red Sox have better offense. And defense. Yes, I know the Curse of the Goat and the Curse of the Bambino exist.

Catcher: Jorge Posada vs. Jason Varitek
Jorge Posada has been struggling at the plate, going 4-18 (.222) with six strikeouts against the Twins during the AL Divisional Series. Varitek was not much better off, however, going 2-13 (.167) with two walks and five strikeouts against the Angels, but did have a homer. Both catchers do have the ability to hit hard, but the edge goes to the Sox' Varitek for his strong shoulder- he is one of the best at catching base-stealers (23 of 100 caught).

Infield: John Olerud, Miguel Cairo, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez vs. Kevin Millar, Mark Bellhorn, Orlando Cabrera, Bill Mueller
Offensively, the Yankees have the advantage here. 3B A-Rod and SS Derek Jeter continue to be one of the best one-two tandems in the league and more than make up for the offensive ineptness of Olerud and Cairo. The Red Sox are not that far behind offensively, however, as Millar and Bellhorn both have the ability to power the ball into the stands, Mueller is a good switch-hitter, and Cabrera hits for average. Defensively, it all goes to the Red Sox, with Gold Glove shortstop Cabrera anchoring the infield, while the Yankees are toughing it out behind A-Rod completely securing… third base. Jeter's fielding ability has been undeniably deteriorating over the years. I'm going to grade this for the Red Sox on the merits of their defensive capabilities far overshadowing the offensive difference.

Outfield: Bernie Williams, Hideki Matsui, Gary Sheffield vs. Johnny Damon, Manny Ramirez, Trot Nixon
For all Sheffield has done, I give the offensive edge to the Red Sox. Ramirez is not an MVP candidate for no reason- he knocked in a whopping seven RBI and batted 5-13 (.385) against the Angels, with Johnny Damon keeping up the offensive pounding with a 7-15 (.467) effort. The Yankees went 16-53 as a whole in their outfield and, while they did pound out three homers, simply have not made enough contact. Defensively, Bernie Williams is showing his age and Gary Sheffield may not be completely healed from his minor injuries picked up over the regular season, while the Red Sox' Damon pulls along his entire outfield's defensive effort with a superb center fielding. Advantage: Red Sox.

Designated Hitter: Ruben Sierra vs. David Ortiz
This is not really worth comparing. Sierra did hit that game-winning homer against the Twins, but Ortiz is an MVP candidate.

Rotation: Mike Mussina (0-1, 2.57), Jon Lieber (4.05), Kevin Brown (1-0, 1.5), Javier Vazquez (9.0), Orlando Hernandez (DNP) vs. Curt Schilling (1-0, 2.7), Pedro Martinez (1-0, 3.86), Bronson Arroyo (3.0), Tim Wakefield (DNP), Derek Lowe (1-0, 0.0)

Mussina and Brown both gave dominating efforts when they took the mound, and they'll need it against the Red Sox' Schilling and Martinez. Don't let the ERA's fool you here, though. The Red Sox played the power-bat Angels while the Yankees played the hit-less Twins. Mussina and Brown will have to have their best stuff to beat the Sox' duo. Lieber and Vazquez will need to be a lot more dominant than they have been in order to knock down the Sox' Bronson Arroyo, and they'll pray for Orlando Hernandez' health. The Sox, however, may have to hope for luck when they put knuckleballer Tim Wakefield and Derek Lowe (who has a 0.0 ERA for the first time in his life, probably) on the mound.

Bullpen: Paul Quatrill (1-0, 0.0), Tom Gordon (4.91), Mariano Rivera (1-0, 0.0) vs. Alan Embree (0.0), Mike Timlin (9.0), Keith Foulke (0.0)
Mariano Rivera is a shut-down post-season closer. Proven. Keith Foulke… is shaky. Not this post-season, but he is shaky. Tom Gordon and Quatrill are pushed further and further past their limits at every use, while Embree and Timlin have enjoyed relatively less work this season. For all it's worth, I give the edge to the Yankees. Rivera is a proven go-to guy in the post-season and if he blows a save here, make sure it is not raining fire.

On the basis of their lineup, I predict the Red Sox to win it. Of course, the goat curse and the Curse of the Bambino do exist, and the Red Sox managers are always horrible. Still, there has to be at least some end to this entire debacle, and I might as well keep playing Russian roulette.