First, a quick rundown on my LCS predictions.

As well as I did with the LDS predictions, I could not have been more wrong on my LCS predictions.

American League Championship Series
Texas Rangers vs. New York Yankees

“I really hope I am wrong about this, but…
My prediction: New York Yankees in 6 games.”

Reality: Texas Rangers in 6 games.

VERY happy to be wrong on that prediction. Although things basically went as they should have as far as each team’s respective aces winning the games they started (CC Sabathia Game 1, even though he pitched poorly and did not get the win, Cliff Lee’s masterful performance of 8 shutout innings in the Bronx for Game 3), the major keys were Rangers pitcher Colby Lewis, who got the wins in Games 2 and 6, along with the Rangers offense coming alive against subpar Yankee pitching outside of Andy Pettitte.

The Rangers bullpen had a horrific implosion during Game 1, giving up 5 runs in the Top 8 which allowed the Yankees a huge come-from-behind victory.

People were freaked, especially in Texas. Could the Rangers possibly rebound from a devastating loss in Game 1? They did so in Game 2, beating up on Phil Hughes and the rest of the Yankees bullpen.

No need to recap the rest, the Rangers took the series in 6 games, pretty much outplaying the Yankees in every way except for Game 5 where CC Sabathia led his team to a 7-2 victory.

Texas is going to their first World Series in franchise history.

HOORAY!

National League Championship Series
San Francisco Giants vs. Philadelphia Phillies

My prediction: Philadelphia Phillies in 5 games.
Reality: San Francisco Giants in 6 games.

There was only one way the Giants were going to beat the Phillies, and that was to have their pitchers be lights out, shutting the Phillies offense down.

And that’s pretty much what happened except in Game 2 where the Phillies beat SF 6-1 behind Roy Oswalt.

Closer Brian Wilson got 3 saves and a win in the series, giving up 0 runs. That’s always a critical factor for any postseason team, to have their closer be lights out. Stating the obvious? Perhaps, but it shouldn’t go unmentioned considering how many teams are undone by bullpen arms that can’t finish the game.

This was definitely an upset, moreso than the ALCS because the Rangers matched up better against the Yankees, plus they had Cliff Lee. Plus during Game 6, you had the meltdown of Giants starter Jonathan Sanchez and yet was saved by the rest of the Giants pitching staff including Jeremy Affeldt (!) and Madison Bumgardner.

Also a very exciting series to watch, as all of the games except Game 2 were very close. Game 6 was probably the best game of the entire postseason thus far.

WORLD SERIES
San Francisco Giants vs. Texas Rangers

For the first time since 2005 (Chicago White Sox vs. Houston Astros), I can’t really say I have any rooting interest either way. There are many reasons to root for/against each team, and I do KINDA hope that Vladimir Guerrero gets a ring here, because he’s been one of my favorite players. But if he doesn’t get one with Texas, I won’t shed any tears. If the San Francisco Giants win the WS, it will drive Los Angeles Dodgers fans INSANE, which is almost reason enough to root for the Giants to win.

So who is going to win this World Series between two teams that have never won the World Series? Yes, the NEW YORK Giants have won the World Series, last time being 1954, but the San Francisco version, never.

I think we’re going to be in for a dogfight here. Game 1 pits “Mr. Perfect” Cliff Lee, who has yet to lose a postseason game, against Timmy Lincecum, the 2-time NL Cy Young winner in 2008 and 2009. This should prove to be a huge matchup, whether or not it lives up to all the hype.

Cliff Lee is still the rock of the Rangers pitching staff, and it’s hard to bet against him until he falters. You have Rangers catcher Bengie Molina getting a World Series ring regardless of who wins, since he played for the San Francisco Giants for half the 2010 season. But there also should be some innate knowledge that Molina possesses of the Giants pitching staff that should on some level, aid the Rangers in hitting guys like Lincecum, Cain and Sanchez (especially Sanchez. Of course the Giants have switched up their signs, but Molina has to know the Giants pitchers better than most, and share that knowledge with his current team.

If the Giants pitching staff can maintain their level of excellence from top to bottom the way they (mostly) did against Philadelphia, then they have a good chance of beating Texas. But Texas’ offense is hotter, their pitching is equal or better to San Francisco’s, and if they can take care of the Yankees pitchers, they SHOULD be able handle the Giants staff as well.

My prediction: Texas Rangers in 6 games.

First, a quick recap of my Division Series Predictions, which were pretty much dead-on across the board.

American League Division Series
New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins

My prediction: New York Yankees in 4 games.
Reality: New York Yankees in a 3 game sweep.

This was the only prediction I got “wrong” on any level, as I figured they would split the 2 games at Target Field, and then the Yankees would win 2 at home. Yankees were just too dominant. Even with the questionable umpiring, notably Hunter Wendelstedt’s awful strike zone in Game 2, and the totally blown call at the end of Game 2 where RF Greg Golson caught the ball but it was erroneously ruled a trap, the difference between the teams was very clear. The Yankees don’t let bad calls get to them, and take advantage when they need to.

American League Division Series
Texas Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Rays

My prediction: Texas Rangers in 5 games.
Reality: Texas Rangers in 5 games.

Definitely an odd series. First time in MLB postseason history that the visiting team won every game. So much for home field advantage. Texas won the first 2 in Tampa, and everyone figured they’d then wrap it up in Arlington somehow. But then they lost two at home to the Rays, and had to go back to Cliff Lee in the first LDS Game 5 since 2005 Yankees-Angels.

National League Division Series
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Cincinnati Reds

My prediction: Philadelpha Phillies in 3 games.
Reality: Philadelpha Phillies in 3 games.

This was the easiest prediction to make. Phillies had H2O (Halladay, Hamels, Oswalt) in the rotation. Halladay only pitched a no-hitter in Game 1, making him only the 2nd person ever to pitch one in the MLB postseason (Don Larsen’s perfect game in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers being the other.) Oswalt didn’t pitch that well, but it didn’t matter when the Reds were making ridiculous mistakes on defense, highlighted by RF Jay Bruce losing a fly ball in the lights that allowed a Phillies rally in that game. Cincinnati’s heralded Aroldis Chapman was throwing 103mph, but the Phillies didn’t care. They just hit hit hit.

National League Division Series
Atlanta Braves vs. San Francisco Giants

My prediction: San Francisco Giants in 4 games.
Reality: San Francisco Giants in 4 games.

If Doc Halladay hadn’t thrown the no-hitter the night before, everyone would be talking about the dominance of Tim Lincecum in Game 1 of this NLDS. 14 K’s, 1 walk, 2 hits, a CG SHO. An unbelievable performance from the Freak. This was the best of the 4 series to watch too. All the games were close, all with drama, especially Atlanta’s Game 2 win. The games in Atlanta were also very exciting and simultaneously heartbreaking for 2B Brooks Conrad, whose 3 errors led to the Giants come-from-behind win in Game 3.

So, prediction wise, got all the right teams, and only off by 1 game in total. TOOT TOOOOOOOOT!!!

American League Championship Series
Texas Rangers vs. New York Yankees

There are a lot of “keys” to this series. It’s practically expected that CC Sabathia will win the games he starts, and Cliff Lee will win the games HE starts. One of the problems the Rangers had in going to 5 games with Tampa is that they wouldn’t be able to use Cliff Lee until Game 3 of the ALCS. At best, he would pitch Games 3 and 6 (or 7), instead of 1, 4, 7. Sabathia will be available to pitch 3 games, but Yankees manager Joe Girardi will adjust where needed.

It’s a bit oversimplified to EXPECT automatic wins from either CC or Cliff Lee, both who are obviously capable of faltering. In fact, I expect Andy Pettitte to be more of a sure thing than Sabathia.

The keys for the Rangers? #2 starter CJ Wilson needs to somehow match his ALDS performance from Game 2 in which he shut down the Rays through 6.1 IP. Wilson did lead the AL in walks this season with 93. He faced the Yankees 3 times, going 0-1 with a 5.65 ERA. He’s going to have to step things up for the postseason.

On the offensive side, Josh Hamilton has to wake up, as he was not very effective in the ALDS against Tampa. Vladdy and Nelson Cruz need to come through in big spots. Texas has a very potent offense and they can’t allow themselves to get overpowered by Yankee pitching.

Most people expect the Yankees to take this series. Unfortunately, count me among those predicting another World Series trip for the Bronx Bombers.

Much like last season’s ALCS between the Los Angeles Angels and the New York Yankees, the Yankees will have a tough time with Texas. They are not pushovers by any stretch. They are not the Twins nor Reds this year.

I really hope I am wrong about this, but…

My prediction: New York Yankees in 6 games.

National League Championship Series
San Francisco Giants vs. Philadelphia Phillies

If any team can upset Philadelphia, it’s the Giants and their dazzling starting pitchers of Tim Lincecum, Jonathan Sanchez and Matt Cain. The problem for the Giants is still, offense. They didn’t have a lot of it against Atlanta, and Philly’s pitching is even better. Philly is just stacked from top to bottom, and even in the past when there was questions about their bullpen, the Giants are not going to be the team to run over Brad Lidge unless there’s some cosmic Pat Burrell walkoff occurrence.

I don’t expect a sweep here, but the Giants are going to have to get PERFECT pitching from their staff in order to beat Philly. That may happen from 1-2 guys, but not all of ‘em.

Philly has the home field advantage here, and they’ll also have it in the World Series.

My prediction: Philadelphia Phillies in 5 games.