It looks as if the NL Wild Card is going to be taken by the Astros (who we used to call the Disastros, and the Lastros). This should make Cardinal fans nervous; Clemens is, well, Clemens, with a very frightening ERA, especially on the road; Petite has been pitching great since the break, and Oswalt is, when healthy, always tough. Add Lidge, who last year and this has generally been lights out, I have to rate the Astros pitching as better than the Cardinals, although I think the Cards' middle relief is better. But everyone's middle relief, from Tampa Bay to Milwaukee, is a bit spotty. An eternal truth, except when Ron Davis was doing his thing in NY.

So, to get down to it: I expect the Cards to beat the Padres, as does everyone else. I also expect the Astros to beat the Braves (although this will be an interesting series, and much will depend on how the Braves' rookies and starters do, truistically enough). So we have a 7 game series--Cards have the home field advantage--that will be eerily similar to last year's nailbiter. Edmonds: do your thing, again, please!

The thing the Cards have going for them is the anemic offense of the Astros--no Carlos Beltran this year seems likely to emerge. Maybe Bagwell is back; I like all aspects of the Cardinals, except the starting pitching, relative to the Astros. I also know how the Cards have fared this year against Houston, and this provides a source of some optimism.

If there is a just God, the Cards paste the 'Stros, 18-2, in the seventh game. I'm a little torn here, you see; I want the Cards to get back to the Series, of course, but I have two tickets if there is a seventh game of the NLCS.

There is another league, of course, such as it is with a DH and other monstrosities (e.g. Steinbrenner). I figure the Yankees win the East, White Sox hold on against Cleveland, and the Angels hold on in the West, and the Indians get the Wild Card. Sorry, Red Sox. Consider it cosmic justice, or karma, for what happens to Idiots when they Cowboy Up, or whatever it is people do out there in Fenway. Repeat after me: "'uff da!"

Going out on a limb: Cards beat the Yankees in 6 in the Series, and we will get to hear extensive discussions of the Series of 1926 (last out made by Babe Ruth, trying to steal) and 1964, including cool video tape of Bob Gibson. Did you know Gibson runs a llama farm outside of Elmira?