2008 American League Championship Series Preview

American League Championship Series (ALCS) The Boston Red Sox (95-67) will meet the Tampa Bay Rays (97-65) Friday for the first of a best-of-seven series to decide the Junior Circuit pennant winner. Despite the fact that the Red Sox finished two games behind the Rays in the A.L. East, the odds are considered to be slightly in the Red Sox favor, for a number of reasons. First of all, the Red Sox finished best in the American League in Run Differential, scoring 151 more runs than they allowed over the course of the season. Tampa Bay was only +103, and therefore would have been expected to win only 92 games rather than 97, based on the Pythagenport  expectations. It's worth noting, however, that the best run differential in MLB belonged to the Chicago Cubs, who were swept by the lowly Dodgers. Things can happen. The Rays have the best Relative Power Index , an indication of how well they did and how strong their opponents were, but they just barely edge out the Red Sox, so that's ... (link)