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The angry guy driving behind you may be Terry Francona, who got fired by the Red Sox today. Full story.

Andrew Anker

Tigers over Yankees in 4
This is Verlander’s year. His 2-hitter in game 1 will shake the Yankees up and they won’t recover.

Rays over Rangers in 4
The Rangers pretty much coasted this year and I like the underdog. The Rays got their wild card the right way and have mo.

Phillies over Cardinals in 3
The Cardinals aren’t that good and I’d rather have the Phils lose in the NLCS.

Brewers over D-backs in 5
Both teams don’t like to lose at home and this will be about breaking serve. But ultimately the Brewers are the better team and will take it.

Michele Catalano

Yankees over Tigers in 4.
Why? Because the Yankees need to fulfill the American McCarver destiny and get us to Yanks/Phils World Series.

Rangers over Rays in 3.
I’m loathe to pick any sports team named The Rangers but I think that series against the Yankees *was* the Rays’ big victory this season.

Phils over Cards in 5.
See Yankees. Destiny. I’m already looking into purchasing a steel cage for Gruber and Monteiro.

Brewers over Diamond Backs in 3.
This is like the Battle of Who Could Care Less for me.

John Gruber

Yanks over Tigers in 4.
The Yankees have better hitting. The Tigers have better pitching — especially in a 5-game series where Justin Verlander can be expected to make 40 percent of the team’s starts. I worry, because pitching so often trumps hitting in the postseason (cf. last year’s Giants).

Rangers over Rays in 5.
I despise the Rangers. I don’t like their players. I don’t like Nolan Ryan. I don’t like Ron Washington. I don’t like the team’s majority owner, George W. Bush. But the Rays are limping.

Phils over Cards in 3.
Pitching, pitching, pitching.

D-Backs over Brewers in 5. 
I just think it’s great to see Kirk Gibson in the postseason again.

Mike Monteiro

Yankees BARELY over Tigers in 5.
I’m tempted to just go Tigers here, but I want my rematch too much.

Rangers over Rays in 4.
Rays are exhausted. I hate this pick. The Rangers are the only AL team I fear. Too many good left-handed pitchers.

Phils over Cards in 4.
LaRussa’s too much of a Tea Party prick not to steal one.

Brewers over D-Backs in 3.
D-Backs are too happy to be here. Last to first. They’ve already celebrated.

Jason Snell

Yankees over Tigers in 4.
I figure the Tigers are good for at least one. Everyone says the Verlander start, but he’s going against Sabathia and assuming that your awesome starter is going to win in the playoffs is never a good idea. If this gets to five, though, I think the Yankees are in trouble. (It won’t.)

Rays over Rangers in 4. 
Sweet, sweet revenge for the devilish Rays. Also, Joe Maddon’s glasses are cool.

Phillies over Cardinals in 5.
The Phillies will win it, but it’ll be closer than anyone thought.

Brewers over D-Backs in 3.
The D-Backs remind me of the 1997 Giants. A team picked to be dead, which through a combination of great seasons and some really magical (and unlikely) moments ends up winning the division in rousing fashion. The 1997 Giants were swept right out of the first round by the Marlins. Cinderella, it’s midnight.

Philip Michaels

Yankees Over Tigers in 5.
While I’m not a fan of the Yankees and their principle owner, Satan the Prince of All Lies, I also find it hard to root for the Tigers who are owned by pizza magnate Herman Cain. Plus, I feel that the Yankees hitting will overpower the Tigers non-Verlander pitching, and New York will be helped by its pregame ritual of bathing in the blood of war orphans to steal their youth and vitality.

Rangers Over Rays in 4.
The Rangers, controlled by a shadowy cabal of bankers, just have too much offense for the Rays, who will doubtlessly be spent by their improbable run to the playoffs. This will surely disappoint the 12 people who attend games at Tropicana Field, as their owner — an irascible St. Petersburg retiree named Maurry, contemplates moving the team to Orlando.

Phillies Over Cardinals in 3.
The Phillies have become a dominant franchise ever since the Phillie Phanatic took a controlling interest in the team. Also, they have lots of pitching. The games will last five hours thanks to one improbable Tony LaRussa pitching change after another. Cardinals owner Will Leitch will not be pleased.

Brewers Over Diamondbacks in 4.
Much of baseball has overlooked the Brewers, I think, as they have the pitching and hitting to get the job done. The front organization that controls the franchise at Bud Selig’s behest can look forward to an exciting NLCS while the undocumented aliens who hold a majority stake in the Diamondbacks are tossed into Jan Brewer’s workcamp for bringing dishonor to the state.

Friend of American McCarver Paul Kafasis details the astounding cowardice of the Mets’ Jose Reyes, who, competing for the regular season batting title, asked to be taken out of the last game of the season after leading off in the 1st inning with a bunt single.

Tyler Kepner reporting for the New York Times

Two championships in the last decade had seemed, at last, to wring the fatalism out of Boston’s fans. Instead of expecting epic failure, they had come to demand championships. The events of Wednesday may have restored the natural order.

Bryan Hoch, reporting for MLB.com:

Jorge Posada came through with the big hit to clinch the American League East for the Yankees, and they’ll look to the veteran for more contributions as the designated hitter in the AL Division Series.

Manager Joe Girardi has confirmed that he plans to use Posada, 40, as the team’s DH for all five potential games against the Detroit Tigers, beginning with Friday’s Game 1 at 8:37 p.m. ET on TBS.

“Our intent is to use Jorgie as our DH,” Girardi said. “We will go with that, and you just play it out.”

This is pretty much the opposite of moneyball. The numbers tell you that Posada shouldn’t even be on the postseason roster, let alone starting at DH. The heart tells you otherwise.

Eric Ortiz, in January: “2011 Red Sox Will Challenge 1927 Yankees for Title of Greatest Team in Major League History”:

The 2011 Red Sox possess all the pieces to have a season for the ages. If everything falls into place and the breaks go their way, they could do more than set records and become champions. They could do more than take their place on Immortality Peak and end up being mentioned in the same sentence as legendary clubs of the past: the 1929 A’s, the epic Yankees teams of the ’30s, the 1970 Orioles, the 1976 Reds.

The 2011 Red Sox could accomplish a feat that has never been done. They could unseat the 1927 Yankees as the greatest major league team of all time.

Eric Ortiz, today: “2011 Red Sox Will Be Remembered as One of Most Disappointing Teams in Major League History”:

I was wrong.

He shouldn’t be so hard on himself. He was right about the Sox having a season for the ages.