By Danny Powell

This has gone on long enough. It’s time to put a sock in all this “Rocktober” nonsense and that is exactly what is going to happen when the Colorado Rockies run into a Boston Red Sox juggernaut in the World Series.

It is no coincidence that the Red Sox have reached baseball’s final series for the second time in four years. They are, to put it quite simply, the best team in baseball. Have been all season; and this is coming from a Yankees fan.

Aside from a slight hiccup in the end of August into the beginning of September, the Sox simply ran rampant through the American League, leading the way almost all year. On top of that, the AL has been considered a superior league all season, winning the All-Star game to earn home-field advantage in the World Series as well as crushing their NL counterparts in inter-league play. There is no reason to think any of that has changed just because the calendar has turned to October.

Detractors will point out that these same Rockies won two of three games against the Red Sox back in June, beating pitching studs Josh Beckett and Curt Schilling, while losing only to Tim Wakefield, who was left off Boston’s WS roster with a shoulder injury. It’s important to remember, though, that the Red Sox were nine and a half games up in the AL East entering that season, hardly concerned about slipping out of the postseason. This is a team loaded with playoff experience and they always seem to save their best for October.

Beckett and Schilling have certainly been two of the greatest October pitchers of our generation. In his short career, Beckett is 5-0 in the postseason with a minute 1.78 earned run average. Behind him is Schilling, a battle tested warrior who sports a 2.25 ERA and a 9-2 record in the postseason through his 20-year career. Figuring that each of these men will pitch at least two games in the World Series, that’s already a great opportunity for the Sox to win the necessary four games. While Daisuke Matsuzaka has struggled of late and the identity of Boston’s Game 4 starter is still unknown, it may not matter thanks to October’s best 1-2 punch.

And it won’t get any easier for Colorado hitters once these brilliant starters make their exit. The Sox have one of the best bullpen’s in the bigs, far superior to that of the Rockies, which has little depth behind Brian Fuentes and close Manny Corpas. The Sox have a bevy of options in relief, meaning we may not even have to see struggling set-up man Eric Gagne all series. Jonathan Papelbon and Hideki Okajima have been brilliant all month not allowed a run in 13.2 innings this postseason. Add to the mix youngster Javier Lopez, who posted a 3.10 ERA out of the bullpen this year, and stabilizing veteran Mike Timlin, who had another strong year, allowing just over one baserunner an inning with a 1.084 WHIP.

Then there’s the lineup. Clearly, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez stand out as two of the best hitters going. When both men are clicking, as they are now, the Red Sox lineup is virtually unstoppable. And while the two behemoths cannot be ignored, Boston’s batting order is much deeper than most casual fans realize. They have so many weapons that can beat other teams, like right fielder J.D. Drew, who hit a crucial grand slam in Game 6 of the ALCS, catcher Jason Varitek, the team’s captain who has a knack for clutch-hitting, and even rookie second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who provides a nice spark out of the leadoff spot. And that’s without mentioning third baseman Mike Lowell, who carried the offense while Manny was out and Papi was aching in September, and first baseman Kevin Youkilis, who put up an impressive .390 on-base percentage this year.

Simply put, the Boston Red Sox have had the best combination of hitting, starting pitching, and bullpen for the entire 2007 season, and none of that has changed. The Rockies are simply a team that got hot at the right time; nothing a long nine-day layoff and baseball’s best team can’t take care of.