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The Yankees Are Out

The Los Angeles Angels eliminated the New York Yankees from Major League Baseball’s postseason this evening, and I must admit I am quite happy about it. Not only are the Angels one of my newly adopted hometown teams, but there are very few teams I root harder against than the New York Yankees. George Steinbrenner has every right to field the most competitive team possible for the city of New York, but it is really nice to see teams put together for less than half the price of the Yankees (e.g. the Los Angeles Angels) eliminate them from the postseason.

And now we are onto the League Championship Series. I see the Chicago White Sox eliminating the Los Angeles Angels in six games, and I see the St. Louis Cardinals beating the Houston Astros (my original hometown team) in seven games. The Angels are tired. Very tired. They might struggle to keep tomorrow’s game one with Chicago close. If Bartolo Colon is injured badly, I don’t see the Angels coming up with the starting pitching to compete with the White Sox.

The NLCS all hinges on how the St. Louis starting pitching performs. The Cardinals have the offense, that’s for sure. The Astros seemed to take advantage of a very weak Atlanta bullpen in the opening round, and I don’t see them doing the same to St. Louis in the next one. If Pettitte, Clemens, and Oswalt are on fire, Houston can win it. But a small hiccup here or there would push the series to St. Louis.

In the World Series, I see Chicago beating St. Louis in seven games. I know much more about the Angels and the Astros than I do the White Sox and the Cardinals, so I will have to revise this prediction after I see the League Championship Series.

Go ‘Stros! Go Angels!