Is there any doubt that Jon Lester (7 IP, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K) is the ace of this staff at this moment? The jury's still out on whether he can be a true No. 1 pitcher season-long without a Beckett or a Matsuzaka ahead of him, but it looks like this guy could singlehandedly pitch the Sox to a repeat World Series win over the next couple of weeks. It's unbelievable. I admit I wanted the Sox to pull the trigger on the Johan trade when we gave up one of either Lester or Ellsbury along with a few other prospects, but now I am ecstatic we never made the deal. Lester looks to have the kind of stuff that will allow him to be great for years to come.

Looking ahead, we now face the Rays, who also wrapped up their series against the White Sox today. Could you draw it up any better? The 2007 World Champs against the baby Rays, who most people viewed as an intriguing team but not a World Series contender. The Rays took the season series 10-8, but as evidenced by the fact that the Angles beat the Sox eight times and outscored them by 28 runs in games in nine regular season games, that doesn't mean much in the postseason. In spite of the fact that I think the seven-game format favors the Rays tremendously, I like the Sox' chances in this series. Lowell's health and effectiveness is a pivotal factor, but I like the Sox even with Mill City at 75% or so. Although, I was way off on last round's "Angels in 5," so what the hell do I know anyway? This round's prediction:

Sox in 6