1. The St. Louis Cardinals will repeat as the National League representative in the World… 1. The St. Louis Cardinals will repeat as the National League representative in the World Series by beating the Houston Astros in the National League Championship Series.

Matt Sortino: Fiction. You win championships with pitching, and pitching is what the Astros have plenty of. I like the Cards’ offense with Albert Pujols and the rest of their heavy hitters, but with the way Roger Clemens is throwing and with Pettitte and Oswalt behind him, the Astros are my pick to win the whole thing.

Dave Thomas: Fact. The Cardinals have been the best team in baseball all year. I know Houston might be the hottest team right now, but the Cards’ lineup is just too solid. And talk all you want about the pitchers from Houston, but I think Chris Carpenter is the Cy Young winner this year. After that ridiculous series against Atlanta, Houston won’t have enough left to handle the Cards.

2. With both the Yankees and Red Sox absent from this year’s American League Championship Series, we are beginning to see the end of an era from these two teams.

MS: Fiction. This is easily fiction. First of all, the dynasty that you speak of features the Red Sox and Yankees in the playoffs, not necessarily winning the World Series each year. If you think those two teams won’t make the playoffs for years to come, then I want the funny drinks you’ve been drinking. With an unlimited payroll, the Yanks and Sox make the playoffs every year, and that will never change.

DT: Fiction. I agree, this is definitely fiction, and this is the problem in baseball. These teams can just unload the players they don’t want and then sign the new ones away from other teams. Remember, these teams did make the playoffs, and that’s more than 22 other teams can say this year. These two teams will shuffle their rosters in the off-season but they will reload and be back next season.

3. Marc Andre Fleury, who was called up from the minors this weekend and who was the number one overall pick in 2003, should remain the Penguins’ starting goaltender.

MS: Fiction. This one depends. Should he be the goalkeeper now, with Thibault hurt? Yes.Should he remain the starter when Thibault returns? No. If you are going to go out and make a trade for Thibault and pay him a good salary, then use him and deal with your decision to not pick up Fleury’s $3 million contract. You don’t want to pay two goalies big-time contracts when there is only solid playing time available for one.

DT: Fact. I know the Pens made a lot of moves in the off-season that make them instant contenders, but their focus is still the future. Fleury, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are the future of this team. Fleury needs to get the NHL experience, and why not now while he has one of the best offenses in recent years in front of him? Thibault can mentor him and play a lot of games, but Fleury needs to be the number one goalie of this franchise.

4. Jim Tracy, who was hired Tuesday as the Pirates’ new manager, is the right man for the job.

MS: Fiction. I hate to be negative toward a guy that has had the job for all of 24 hours, but the Pirates, for the second time, passed on Ken Macha when they shouldn’t have. Here is a guy that managed in a small market, with a limited payroll, with a roster full of young rookies and missed the playoffs by single-digit games. That market was Oakland, but it was strikingly similar to Pittsburgh and I believe Macha could have led the Pirates to the playoffs eventually. That isn’t to say Tracy can’t, it was obvious that he was successful in Los Angeles, but that was with a much bigger payroll and market at his disposal.

DT: Fiction. I agree that Macha would have been a better fit, but Sortino talked enough about that. This is fiction because no one will be the right man while the Pirates still operate under general manager David Littlefield and owner Kevin McClatchy. Enough is enough already. They have the best ballpark in the league, and if they had an owner that would spend a little money, those seats would be filled. The Pirates do have some great young players, but something serious needs to change in order for them to turn things around. Whether it be Lloyd McClendon, Jim Tracy or Ken Macha shuffling the lineup cards, it seems as if it really doesn’t matter.