I did pretty well with my Divisional Series predictions – 3 out of 4, missing only the Braves-Cubs series. So, just to get on record before the first pitch . . .
Yankees-Red Sox: Given the history, you’d be bonkers to pick the BoSox, as much as I’d love to see them topple the Hated Yankees. The fact that Pedro won’t be available to start until Games 3 and 7 is also not encouraging, given Boston’s typically thin rotation, plus the top of the Sox bullpen doesn’t exactly stack up to Rivera. The Red Sox can win this series if Pedro has two big games and they batter their way into the Yankees’ suspect middle relief (even if the Yankees win the series, I suspect the Sox will get one game where they get to Weaver and score 11 or 12 runs), but the odds are not good. Yankees in six.
Cubs-Marlins: This is a tougher call. The Marlins just have everything going right now, but then a lot of what worked against the Giants was the kind of magic that can vanish overnight. The Cubs, meanwhile, got past the Braves without getting Sammy Sosa out of his late-season deep freeze. Great matchup of young arms, with Josh Beckett and Kerry Wood making The Leap and Prior already there. Key players in this series: Joe Borowski and Kyle Farnsworth, who will be asked to do away with the Marlins’ late-inning magic and give Dusty enough confidence to not ride his starters into the ground. And Sosa, of course; the Giants didn’t hit a single home run against Florida’s pitching. The Cubs don’t get on base enough to win without the longball, but with four games at Wrigley, that seems unlikely.
This time, I think Florida’s luck runs out. Cubs in seven, and a rematch of the 1932 and 1938 Serieses to follow.