Trying too hard not to be a homer had me thinking the Sox were going to be a 80-85 win team, going to 5 against the Redsox, and 6 against the Angels. I'm breaking these bonds. Sox in 5. Reasoning not important.

YOUR turn.

probably sox in 6.

yeah, me too. Garcia vs. Backe is an obvious mismatch, and the Sox' lineup is better than Houston's. I also don't get why anyone would give the Stros bullpen an edge over the Sox (our four best relievers had season ERAs under 2.75 in the AL); Lidge is losing his command by the postseason day and I don't expect him to be dominant in this series.

i'm interested to see how the sox fare vs. clemens though

Someone in 7.

I'm pullin for the 'Stros.

They'll take the first three, easily - scores in the area of 5-1, 4-2, and 10-3 (taking adv. of Minute Made's "tight as a nun's cunt" dimensions) -; lose the fourth 8-2, with the Astros giving it everything they've got to keep it alive and not get swept at home; and Contreras will win the Series for the Pale Hose in game five, much as he did the ALCS, with a nine-inning gem (maybe a shut-out).

And there will be much rejoicing.

I think it will be the Astros in 6, I'm having a hard time picking a team I want to win. The Stros have never been there, but also have Clemens and Petite who have won a few rings and are Dubya's team.
White Sox have won a ring way back in the day and are owned by Reinsdorf, although I was a Bulls fan as a kid.

Astros in seven. Sorry, sox.

Astros in 6.

Lidge losing postseason command is a joke. He threw one bad pitch + it was against a team that's seen him a thousand times. I'll take him and the big three starters against anyone. Contreras has been going good but has a history of inconsistency. Sox have too many starters (excluding Garcia) who have to be "on" to shut you down. For the Astros, Pettitte is really the only one who fits that description and he's due to be "on". Taking nothing away from the Sox, I think it'll be a great series. I'm a homer.

If I was puttin' $$$ on it, I'd be tempted to go with the Sox.

But I'm not...so I'm stickin' with the team I've been rooting for - 'Stros in 6. I just think they have a little "team of destiny" wind at their backs.

in his past three appearances, what was his combined WHIP

I rest my case

You seem to be forgetting that he will be pitching against the Sox lineup, not the Cardinals. I don't think he needs his command to shut down the sox.

I don't know or care who wins but if its the sox, it'll be due to great pitching not lighting up lidge. Only prediction I'm really confident of is that I probably won't see a single at bat.

I'm hoping for a classic 7 Game duel ala the '91 Braves/Twins monstrosity.

I guess I'm pulling for the 'Stros (I'm an NL guy) but I've been really fucking impressed with the Sox this postseason having not really seen them much all season.

It fits nicely that the now lame Bagwell will be able to DH. (I'm assuming this)

Sucks that an exibition game decided who gets home field advantage.

Prediction: I'll take the Astros in 7 solely because Roy Oswalt will be pitching that game and that dude is on fire right now.....

either outcome, baseball loses

Sox will win it all this year, Cubs will win it all next year and we'll never again have to hear about a sports "curse", which is saying something because I live in Buffalo.

sox. i just don't think the astros have enough bats.

My prediction: I will be pissy and irritable every time the fucking world series preempts my favorite tv programming.

Hell I'll be surprised if tonight's game even happens.

Looking outside it's been near pitch black and they're calling for a storm. I'll keep my fingers crossed it doesn't.

Oh and the cool thing is every time the Sox score I can always see the fireworks go up in the air at Cellular Field from our window. It's kinda cool.

Wha???

And on the Lidge thing, billy rests my case.

Yeah, it takes seeing a pitcher 12 times to lay off pitches in the dirt and not crush hanging breaking balls.

Let's keep a count on how many of Lidge's pitches in the dirt the Sox swing at, big guy.

they can swing at as many as they like as long as he hangs a couple

I think the Astro's will win the next two. Then, the Sox will win the Garcia vs. Backe game. That would put it at 2-2. From there I think anything can happen. If it goes seven, I think Houston wins based on the fact that they're an older, more experienced team and Oswalt would likely be pitching.