Winning and Losing in the Post Season

Well I have been trying to gather my strength after the Braves lost in the NLDS. Soooo the bullpen can't hold a 6-1 lead after the 8th inning, but can in turn hold Houston scoreless for nine extra innings? WTH?

I'll go ahead and say it:

Worst. Bullpen. Ever.

And I don't like to question Bobby's judgment too often, but he took Sosa and Hudson out of their respective games too early. Bobby, sweetie, they're competent pitchers. If they get into a jam, allow them to pitch out of it. A Hudson at 75% is way better than any arm in the bullpen. You knew the history of the bullpen, and you still wanted to bring them in in the 7th inning. Bad idea.

The fact that they Yankees lost puts a great deal of salve on my wounds, I'll say that. $123 million more than the Braves payroll, and they could get no further. You HAVE to read this "Second Guessing" article on ESPN's Page 2, $203 Million Dollars Down the Drain.

"I'm staring at the Yankees' payroll -- $203 million, including $46.5 million paid to pitchers who aren't even on the postseason roster (Kevin Brown, Carl Pavano, Jaret Wright, Steve Karsay, Mike Stanton, Paul Quantrill and Felix Rodriguez)."

Who I am Pulling For and Why:
White Sox, Cardinals, Angels, Astros -- in that order.

White Sox: I want them to win because they haven't since like 1917. They're working on a curse of their own. They came outta nowhere this year, and have been on a tear the last few weeks.
Cardinals: Tony LaRussa, a darn good manager, gets a lot of flack (ala Bobby Cox) about not winning more in the post season. I like the Cards-- good balance of pitching and offense. Pujols is superman and a good guy. Of course, my boy Chris Carpenter is on the team.
Angels: The Angels won the World Series in 2002. I don't want them to win another crown for a purely selfish reason: If the Braves couldn't ever win two in a decade, I don't want anyone else to, either.
Astros: Again, purely spiteful: they beat the Braves, so I want them to die a long, painful death at the hands of Albert Pujols. Lance Berkman will forever more be on my list.

Here's a good link of World Series Winners since 1903.