Ready for October?

I hope you're ready for this, the best month of the year that isn't March. What a thrilling start to what should be a great postseason. The Twins never-say-die attitude got them this far, and now they're the eighth team in a stacked playoff that will decide your 2009 World Series champ.

It wouldn't be J. Greer Sports if we didn't dish out some predictions, now would it? But I'll let you in on my thought process for these prognostications: I'll give what my brain (and logic) tells me, and I'll give you what I have in my gut. Sometimes those two will match, but there are two series that don't match those feelings up. Let's get to 'em.

Red Sox vs. Angels

My head and gut both tell me that the Sox win this. I'm sure that doesn't surprise anyone. I just don't think the Angels can get out of their own way in the playoffs these days. And I don't think it's that crazy to say Jon Lester or Josh Beckett steal a win in Anaheim and the Sox protect their house at Fenway. I'm taking the Sox in four.

Yankees vs. Twins

On paper, the Twins have no shot at winning this series. They could win one game, but logic just says no shot in hell for Minnesota. They arrived in New York at 3 a.m. this morning to play a 6 p.m. game agains the Yanks. The Yankees are a regular murderer's row of hitters -- although we'll see what A-Rod has in store for this postseason -- and C.C. Sabathia seems primed to shake his past postseason demons. But the difference is that A-Rod isn't going to be relied on to deliver all of the punishing blows. Mark Teixeira is about as good as it gets, and nobody is more clutch in the postseason than Derek Jeter. My head tells me the Yanks win in four.

But there's this feeling in my gut that I can't shake, and maybe it's because I was rooting for the Twins yesterday (and I've been rooting against the Yankees since I came out of the womb). A lot of that has to do with some stats I've seen since last night (typical ESPN stat, by the way): Of the four teams who have come from behind to win in the ninth inning or later in one-game playoffs, all four reached the World Series. The most recent, of course, being the Rockies in 2007. There's just something about a hot team like this that makes you hesitate, especially when it's billed as David vs. Goliath. So my gut says Twins in four (gotta win it at the Dome).

Phillies vs. Rockies

Cliff Lee hasn't been very good recently (save for back-t0-back starts against the Nats and the Braves in mid-September). And he's never thrown in the postseason. Doesn't seem like Cole Hamels is as good as we thought -- or maybe he just had an off-year (by the standards we all set for him). Brad Lidge is the most terrifying closer in baseball this year (he's 2009's Joe Borowski). So, that has to make you nervous. But -- and that's a big but -- the Phils have the experience of winning it all and a great lineup. We'll see if that's enough to overcome what I suspect will be a shaky postseason pitching staff. My head tells me the Phils in five.

And my gut tells me Rockies in four.

Cardinals vs. Dodgers

The Cardinals have an incredible one-two punch in Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. I read a stat somewhere that said the Cardinals, as a team, have hit .233 against lefties this year. Still, I'd like to see any team's batting average against Carpenter-Wainwright. Therefore, my head -- and gut -- give the Dodgers about a 5 percent chance of winning this series. I'll take the Cards in four.