This has been almost an annual event of late, hasn’t it? And up until last year, Houston were Atlanta’s bitches in the postseason. And then last season, the ‘Stros stunned the world by winning their first playoff series in team history, and they very nearly made it to the World Series, taking St. Louis to seven games. Both teams are missing crucial pieces from their series a year ago. So who’s got the ups?

The breakdown, piece by piece:

Starting Pitching: Houston. Sweet Jesus, take a look at that rotation. Clemens, Pettitte, Oswalt. Oswalt is the third pitcher. I love Smoltzy and Tim Hudson, but Atlanta’s staff can’t compete with that, not in a win-or-go-home scenario.

Relief Pitching: Houston. Sure, nobody tackles as well as Kyle Farnsworth, but we’re not playing football here. Houston’s bullpen doesn’t have any sexy names, but how often do you hear about their relievers blowing a huge lead? Atlanta turned it into an art form (Danny Kolb, Chris Reitsma), until that big lunkhead Kyle stepped in. But he’s no Brad Lidge. That man makes me cry, and I don’t even have to step into the batter’s box against him.

Hitting: Atlanta, by a nose. Andruw Jones finally put an MVP-caliber year together, and Rafael Furcal was an unholy terror at the top of the order. However, Jones’ playoff numbers stink. The other Jones’, too. They press too hard every year, while the ‘Stros, aging players aside, have nothing to lose and will play, wisely, as if there is no tomorrow. It will be a dogfight, and if the Braves are smart, they’ll remember that the Astros have an extra dog, named Jeff Bagwell, sitting on the bench.

Managers: Atlanta. He’s Bobby Cox. The man has Jedi-like powers. He pulls things out of people that they didn’t even know they had. Well, until the NLCS, it appears.

Defense/Intangibles: Houston, for one reason: experience. I’ll give Cox all the credit in the world for getting so much out of so many inexperienced players, but this is where that very lack of experience comes back to bite them. Did you see what Cleveland did the last week of the season? That’s what I’m expecting here.

TSR Pick: Houston in five.

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