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Here we go again. For the second year in a row, the NLCS comes down to the top two teams in the NL Central. Houston gave it their all last year but fell short, which is a pity because I thought they would have given the Red Sox a much tougher fight than the Cardinals wound up giving them.

This time around, the ‘Stros are missing a couple of big bats (Beltran, Kent), but their pitching is much stronger thanks to a healthy Andy Pettite, who put up Cy Young caliber numbers. But the 18-inning marathon Game 4 had to wreak havoc on Phil Garner’s plans for the NLCS. Luckily for him, unlike the Angels, he gets two days to rest his players, not 12 hours.

The breakdown, piece by piece:

Starting pitching: Houston. Yes, the Cardinals have Chris Carpenter, the likely Cy Young winner, and Mark Mulder is no slouch, either. But they simply don’t touch Clemens, Pettite and Oswalt, no matter how you slice it. Having a lefty ace in Mulder is lost on an Astros team that’s almost exclusively right handed, and their one big bopper lefty, Lance Berkman, is a switch hitter.

Relief pitching: Houston. Brad Lidge makes grown men cry. Izzy is competent but absolutely hittable. St. Louis has good setup help, but they lost their best guy Al Reyes on the last day of the season. Tough luck.

Hitting: St. Louis. Albert, freaking, Pujols, kids. So what if Scott Rolen is down for the year, Jim Edmonds strikes out too much and Larry Walker is one race away from the glue factory? Pujols has a similar effect on the game as Barry Bonds. No one wants to face him with runners on base, and that winds up making pitchers do dumb things.

Manager: St. Louis. LaRussa’s the best strategist in baseball, period.

Defense/Intangibles: St. Louis. Houston has good fundamentals, but St. Louis runs clinics on the subject every time they play.

My pick: St. Louis in seven, just like last year. I’m secretly hoping I’m dead wrong about this, though. I’d love to see a Series between a team that’s never been to it and a team that hasn’t won it in almost a hundred years.

Well, I got it half right. I said Angels in five, and that’s exactly what happened. Man, did the big shot hitters for the Yankees come up short. Two RBI’s from Sheff, A-Rod and Godzilla combined. This will cost either Cashman or Torre, and possibly both, his job. If that happens, it’s patently unfair. No one’s ripping Bobby Cox or John Schuerholz for coming up short in Game 5.

The part I got wrong, I got spectacularly wrong. The White Sox limped into the playoffs, wounded, gassed, and emotionally spent. They then proceeded to beat the ever living snot out of the world champion Red Sox. They’re now refreshed, confident, and have all their ducks in a row for tonight’s first game against the Anaheim Angels of Anaheim (indulge me, that joke just never gets old), who play ball just like the Sox do and have been their Kryptonite all season.

And the Sox are going to crush them.

Starting pitching: Chicago. The Angels are spent. Fatty Colon’s arm and back are killing him, and the rest of the rotation is just as exhausted. The White Sox have four well rested horses. No contest.

Relief pitching: Anaheim. There is no one in Chicago’s bullpen that even touches Scot Shields and K-Rod as a 1-2 punch.

Hitting: Chicago. Last week, I would have said Anaheim, but the guys at the top of the Angels’ lineup are not getting on base. Chone Figgins had a terrible ALDS, posting a .143 batting average and striking out way too much. The White Sox, by comparison, look extremely disciplined.

Manager: Anaheim, only because he’s been there. Ozzie Guillen is still very much the loose cannon. Let’s see what he does in a seven game series before handing him the keys to the kingdom.

Defense/Intangibles: Chicago. They both play the same game, so the edge goes to the team with the freshest legs.

My pick: White Sox in five. I would love nothing more than to see two snakebitten teams go to the World Series back to back.