Catcher
Rays: Dioner Navarro (.295, 7 HR, 54 RBI)
Red Sox: Jason Varitek (.220, 13 HR, 43 RBI)
Navarro enters the ALCS on a nine-game hitting streak, and the 24-year-old Venezuelan is developing into one of the top backstops in the game, making his first All-Star team in 2008. Varitek had a poor year at the plate, but he comes through in the clutch and is a great handler of pitchers.
First Base
Rays: Carlos Pena (.247, 31 HR, 102 RBI)
Red Sox: Mark Kotsay (.276, 6 HR, 49 RBI, combined with Red Sox and Braves)
Pena missed the first two games of the series against Chicago with blurred vision, but went 5 for 10 in the final two games to help Tampa Bay advance. He works counts and gets on base (.377 OBP). This is the position in which the Red Sox will miss Mike Lowell (injured hip), as regular first baseman Kevin Youkilis moves over to third base. Kotsay is a decent fill-in, however doesn't provide much power for a corner infielder.
Second Base
Rays: Akinori Iwamura (.274, 6 HR, 48 RBI)
Red Sox: Dustin Pedroia (.326, 17 HR, 83 RBI)
Iwamura hit .389 in his first postseason series against Chicago, getting on base and playing a solid second base. Pedroia went 1 for 17 against the Angels in the first round, an aberration on an MVP-caliber season for the 2007 AL Rookie of the Year. He's either due or worn out - I'll go with due.
Shortstop
Rays: Jason Bartlett (.286, 1 HR, 37 RBI)
Red Sox: Jed Lowrie (.258, 2 HR, 46 RBI)
Neither player had a postseason track record before this season. Bartlett, 28, hit exactly his .286 average against the White Sox and plays great in the field. Lowrie came through with the game-winning single in Game 4 against the Angels and is also a solid fielder. Take Lowrie, 24, for the upside if you're picking a team. For this series, it's a wash.
Third Base
Rays: Evan Longoria (.272, 27 HR, 85 RBI)
Red Sox: Kevin Youkilis (.312, 29 HR, 115 RBI)
Longoria, the likely AL Rookie of the Year, started his postseason career with a bang - two home runs against Javier Vazquez of the White Sox. He only had two more hits (and six strikeouts) the rest of the series, and hit .245 with one homer against the Red Sox during the season. Youkilis has picked up the slack since the trade of Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers and has been the Boston lineup's MVP this season. Longoria is probably a little better fielder.
Left Field
Rays: Carl Crawford (.273, 8 HR, 57 RBI)
Red Sox: Jason Bay (.286, 31 HR, 101 RBI, combined with Red Sox and Pirates)
Crawford, one of the most dynamic players in baseball the past few seasons, has battled injuries and doesn't seem to be all the way back. A two-time All-Star at 26, he hit .214 in the series against the White Sox. Bay came through with clutch hits against the Angels, hitting .412 with two homers and five RBI in his first playoff series. He hit four homers against the Rays this season.
Center Field
Rays: B.J. Upton (.273, 9 HR, 67 RBI)
Red Sox: Jacoby Ellsbury (.280, 9 HR, 47 RBI, 50 SB)
The stats point to Ellsbury, but Upton had such a fabulous division series that he's impossible to ignore. The No. 2 overall draft pick in 2002, Upton hit three homers and a triple in the first round against Chicago. Ellsbury, a spark plug in Boston's title run in 2007, hit .333 with 6 RBI against the Angels. Both are excellent center fielders with a ton of speed.
Right Field
Rays: Gabe Gross (.242, 13 HR, 38 RBI) or Rocco Baldelli (.263, 4 HR, 13 RBI)
Red Sox: J.D. Drew (.280, 19 HR, 64 RBI)
This looks like a slam dunk for the Sox, but Drew has a bad back and might miss a game or two. When he's played, he's produced, and hit the game-winning homer in Game 2 off Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez. If he can't play, the Sox will likely go with Coco Crisp (.283, 7 HR, 41 RBI). Baldelli, who has a chronic fatigue disorder, is a part-time player, with Gross getting most of the minutes.
Designated Hitter
Rays: Cliff Floyd (.268, 11 HR, 39 RBI)
Red Sox: David Ortiz (.264, 23 HR, 89 RBI)
Ortiz played poorly against the Angels, driving in just one run in four games and batting .235. But he's a .311 hitter in the postseason in his career with 11 homers. Floyd is decent, but he's no Ortiz.
Starting Rotation
Rays: RHP James Shields (14-8, 3.56 ERA), LHP Scott Kazmir (12-8, 3.49), RHP Matt Garza (11-9, 3.70), RHP Andy Sonnanstine (13-9, 4.38)
Red Sox: RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka (18-3, 2.90), RHP Josh Beckett (12-10, 4.03), LHP Jon Lester (16-6, 3.21), RHP Paul Byrd (11-12, 4.60) or RHP Tim Wakefield (10-11, 4.13)
On paper, the Red Sox are stronger. But there are cracks in that facade. While Lester was fantastic in two victories, Beckett is slowed by injury, and Matsuzaka was just OK. The Rays have some young power arms, but none have ever been in a pressure-filled postseason against the always patient Red Sox hitters. Because of that, give Boston a slight edge.
