Oh no...my bank account reads $0....

Since the Phillies and Yankees have now been axed from the playoffs, their fans probably don't want to think about baseball for a while. Since my team's season unofficially ended on July 23rd (the day Steelers training camp begins), I can pick up the slack here. That's one of the nice things about rooting for a perennial loser - once the postseason comes I can enjoy it stress free. That, and tickets are cheap and available.

Anyways, the division series have all been wrapped up, and it was a little underwhelming, with 3 sweeps and another 4 game. Thank goodness for Johnny Damon or we would have had all sweeps. When the winners go 9-1 against the losers, that means one thing for the LCS round: all four teams remaining are on fire. Seriously, I cannot find one good reason to go against the Diamondbacks, Rockies, Red Sox, or Indians. But somehow, two of them will lose, and then one more will lose. I think it's a safe bet though that this round will be much more competitive than the last.

First, a recap of the four division series:

Rockies 3, Phillies 0: Rockies were the better team.

Diamondbacks 3, Cubs 0: Diamondbacks were the better team.

Red Sox 3, Angels 0: Red Sox were the better team.

Indians 3, Yankees 1: The Indians had the better pitching staff. (and team)

That was simple. On to the LCS predictions. For the record, I was 2-2 in the first round, nailing the AL but whiffing on the NL. The only series I predicted to sweep was the only one that didn't sweep. So hopefully I can do better this time. I'll be breaking the series down by what I feel are the four most important roles on the team: leadoff hitter, cleanup (or 3) hitter, ace starter, and closer.

NLCS: Rockies vs. Diamondbacks:

Leadoff: Kaz Matsui (yes, that Kaz Matsui) vs. Chris Young (not the Padres pitcher)

Chris Young gets overshadowed by the Rockies' Tulowitzki and Brewers Ryan Braun for Rookie of the Year consideration, but he may be just as worthy. Matsui, well ask Mets fans about him. Edge: D-backs

Cleanup: Matt Holliday/Todd Helton vs. Eric Byrnes/Connor Jackson/I'm blanking on his name but he's a lefty 1B Tony Clark!

Easy choice. MVP candidates/face of franchise vs. people that I had to think long and hard of their names.

Edge: Rockies

Ace: Jeff Francis vs. Brandon Webb.

Tough one, both are solid and pitched lights out in their DS Game 1's. If I had to pick one though, right now it would be Webb.

Edge: D-backs

Closer: Manny Corpas vs. Jose Valverde

Not gonna lie, don't know much about either of those guys. But I sure as heck ain't betting against this guy.

Edge: D-backs.

So that's D-backs 3 out of 4. I still think the Rockies will make this an interesting series, with the Coors Field and what top to bottom is probably a better lineup. But the biggest Cinderella story will run out of gas to the second biggest Cinderella story. D-backs in 6.

ALCS: Indians vs. Red Sox

Leadoff: Grady Sizemore vs. Pedroia?/Lugo?/Crisp?

The fact that I cannot not name the Red Sox leadoff hitter means they lose this category

Edge: Indians.

Cleanup: Travis Hafner/Victor Martinez vs. David Ortiz/Manny Ramirez.

No offense to the duo by the lake, but Papi and Manny are the standard come playoff time.

Edge: Red Sox.

Ace: C.C. Sabathia/Fausto Carmona vs. Josh Beckett

This is a tough one. Beckett is as good as they come in the postseason, but behind him is Dice-K, who looks very shaky thus far. The Indians have two legitimate aces in the front of their rotation. You also can't forget about Curt Schilling, who you know will come up clutch whenever he's called upon.

Edge: Push.

Closer: Joe Borowski vs. Jonathan Papelbon

This is where I'm afraid the series will hinge. Papelbon has yet to be playoff tested, but if his first two regular seasons are any indication he should be solid. Borowski, on the other hand, is a disaster waiting to happen. Despite leading the AL in saves, he had an ERA over 5.00. Tonight against the Yankees, he gave up a bomb to Abreu and another near bomb to Posada that just went foul. Most of his outs have been fly balls. That is not gonna be good news when you're trying to shut the Sox hitters down in Fenway. Indians fans will be having nightmares about Borowski for years to come after this series.

Edge: RED SOX RED SOX RED SOX.

So total, the Sox have a slight 2-1 edge, but with one being a huge one. Of course, the Indians are hot and also will not go down easily. But in the end, we all know that Cleveland doesn't deserve to win championships.

Red Sox in 7.