By BOB MATTHEWS
Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle

The 2003 Boston Red Sox are one of those rare teams that has the offensive firepower to carry an average pitching staff all the way to a world championship.

When Pedro Martinez is on the mound, Boston is baseball's best team, and that figures to happen often enough for the Red Sox to win their first World Series since 1918, when Babe Ruth was one of the team's ace pitchers.

In a turning point in the history of both franchises, Ruth was sold to the New York Yankees Jan. 3, 1920, and became a full-time slugger. Haunted by the Curse of the Bambino, the unfortunate Red Sox have participated in only four World Series since - losing them all - while the Yankees have been to 38 World Series and won 26 of them.

Most baseball fans outside the state of Minnesota and the city of Oakland are eagerly anticipating a Yankees-Red Sox showdown in the American League Championship Series. That shouldn't be a problem.

Here's a look at the four American League playoff teams:

Why the Red Sox should advance to the 2003 World Series:

Top-to-bottom, the best hitting team in baseball. ... smashed the major league record with 649 extra-base hits including 238 HRs. .... also led the eight playoff teams in batting average (.289), runs (961), on-base percentage (.360) and slugging percentage (.491). ... six players with at least 25 HRs (Manny Ramirez, 37, David Ortiz 31, Trot Nixon 28, Nomar Garciaparra 28, Kevin Millar 25 and Jason Varitek 25). ... loaded with intelligent hitters who will take pitches to get the ones they want, including the 1-2 finishers in the AL batting race (Bill Mueller and Ramirez). ... more speed than usual with Johnny Damon and Garciaparra. ... Pedro Martinez is baseball's best starting pitcher when healthy and happy. ... solid No. 2 starter in Derek Lowe. ... deep bullpen (it has generally underachieved this season but is capable of stepping up). ... better team chemistry than past Red Sox pretenders.

Why the Red Sox might not reach the World Series:

Rest of the starting pitchers are ordinary at best (Tim Wakefield, John Burkett and Jeff Suppan). ... Byung-Hyun Kim has been less than a lights-out closer. ... shaky defense, particularly the outfield and right side of the infield. ... not a great road team this season (42-39) and first-round opponent Oakland had baseball's best home record).

Why the Yankees could play in the World Series:

The first seven spots in the lineup are solid, although I'll never understand why Alfonso Soriano (a record 13 HRs to start games) leads off instead of Derek Jeter. ...power of Soriano, Jason Giambi, Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui. ... speed of Soriano, Jeter and Aaron Boone. ... No. 2 hitter Nick Johnson's batting eye. ... experienced starting pitchers Mike Mussina, Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens and David Wells. ... stopper Mariano Rivera is back in top form and his career postseason numbers are marvelous (6-1 record, 25 saves, 0.79 ERA in 53 games). ... this team knows how to win and should be hungry for a championship after falling short the past two seasons.

Why the Yankees might not reach the World Series:

The lineup isn't as awesome as in the past. Not much production from 3B (Aaron Boone) and RF (Juan Rivera and Karim Garcia), and CF Bernie Williams has slipped. ... not a great defensive team. ... some slowpokes in the lineup. ... the bullpen's long relievers and set-up men are ordinary unless Jose Contreras is up to the task or Jeff Nelson regains his old form.

Why Oakland has a slight chance to reach the World Series:

Starting pitchers Tim Hudson and Barry Zito. ... best left side of the infield in baseball in SS Miguel Tejada and 3B Eric Chavez. ... closer Keith Foulke. ... dependable and well-balanced long relievers and set-up men. ... started 35-29 but 61-37 since. ...best home team in the majors (57-24 at Network Associates Coliseum).

Why the A's probably won't make the World Series:

Loss of left-handed ace Mark Mulder (15-9, 3.13 ERA) to a stress fracture of his hip was a potentially crushing blow. ... pressure is on Ted Lilly and/or rookie Rich Harden to step up. ... need big production from NL imports Erubiel Durazo and Jose Guillen to help offset the soft spots in the lineup. ... CF Eric Byrnes, a first-half sensation (.356 in May and .322 in June), bombed in the second half (.095 in July, .167 in August and .216 in September). ... lowest batting average (.254) and second-lowest on-base percentage (.327) among the eight playoff teams. ... lack of team speed (48 stolen bases the fewest in the postseason field). ... weak bench.

Why Minnesota has an outside chance to make the World Series:

Excellent team chemistry and fundamentally sound. ... knows how to manufacture runs with a lineup of savvy situational hitters. ... the starting pitching was inconsistent until the final two months, when Johan Santana, Brad Radke and Kyle Lohse became as reliable as any starting trio in the majors. ...decent bullpen though Eddie Guardado isn't a power closer. ... big advantage in the Metrdome (13-1 in the last 14 home games). ... 87 errors by far the fewest of any AL playoff team. ... although they lost all seven games against the Yankees this season, the losses all were in April. The Twins had as many wins as the Yankees thereafter and the most wins in the majors since the All-Star Game break.

Why the Twins probably won't make the World Series:

They'd have to beat two better AL opponents (the Yankees and Boston or Oakland). ... 0-13 and outscored 90-40 by the Yankees in the last two seasons. ... 2-20 lifetime vs. Yankees Game 1 starter Mike Mussina. ... Santana is only power pitcher in the rotation. ... by far the worst run differential among the four AL playoff teams (plus-43) and the fewest home runs (155) among the eight postseason teams.

AL DIVISION SERIES PREDICTIONS - Yankees over Twins in 4; Red Sox over A's in 5.

AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES - Red Sox over Yankees in 7.

WORLD SERIES - Red Sox over Atlanta in 7.