The main reason is the team is ver well rested, Manny is finally healthy, Ortiz is really swinging a good bat, and a Beckett Dice K Schilling rotation is hard to beat, and if 2004 showed anything its how a good closer in so invaluable in the playoffs (like Rivera for the Yanks) ans Paplebon is one of the best, I just feel the Sox are the most balanced team in the AL
I would say that all teams are rested, so this isn't really an advatage for any team.
In a short series, as far as 1-2 punches go, I think it's Clev > LA > Bos > NY. Beckett is good, but Matsuzaka is nothing more than league average (104 ERA+) and has been trending downward in the second half. Patient teams should be able to force his pc high. Schilling's been good since his return, but it will be interesting to see if he can shut down the elite teams if his fb doesn't top 90. Wang is below Beckett, but I give Pettitte the edge over Matsuzaka, since his second half trends have been much better.
For lineups, it's the Yankees then the rest. A ton of the sox offensive prowess depends on whether Drew hits like he did in September or what he did for the whole season previously.
Closers are close for the everyone except Cleveland, who's a notch below.
I think the Yankees have the best 8th inning guy, but Bettencourt for Cleveland is no slouch.
I also think it's useless to predict a 5 game series, but if the Yankees get by the first round, I think they have the best shot of any team to win.
As
