5 reasons the Red Sox will beat the Indians

5 reasons the Red Sox will win:

1. Starting pitching. Boston's starters - Josh Beckett, Curt Schilling, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield - are far superior to what New York threw at the Indians in the Division Series. Beckett and Schilling combined for 15 scoreless innings against the Angels in the first round.

2. A frightening batting order. Nobody in baseball has a more problematic middle of the order than Manny Ramirez hitting right-handed and David Ortiz hitting left-handed. The Red Sox are much more than that, however. Mike Lowell (.324, 120 RBIs) and Kevin Youkilis (.288, 35 doubles, 83 RBIs) put up outstanding numbers, Julio Lugo caught fire in the second half of the season, and Coco Crisp throws in some speed.

3. A solid bullpen. The Red Sox, like Cleveland, are set for the late innings. Jonathan Papelbon is among the game's most dependable closers, and he is ably set up by left-hander Hideki Okajima and veteran right-handers Mike Timlin and Julian Tavarez.

4. Experience. Eight players on Boston's team were also on the 2004 World Series team. Plenty of others have been in the playoffs elsewhere. The Red Sox roster includes 126 games of LCS experience, compared with Cleveland's 63 games (33 from Kenny Lofton).

5. Motivation. The Curse is ended, but a second World Series victory would make this group of players revered in Boston forever. Several Red Sox are near the end of their careers and would love nothing more than to win another ring before hanging up their spikes.