It's the Red Sox and Yankees in the ALCS for the second straight season, which again has confident Sox fans saying "This is The Year."

We asked you to submit an essay on why (or why not) this is the year the Red Sox will beat the Yankees in the ALCS and win their first World Series in 86 years. We were planning on posting just a few of the entries, but we were so overwhelmed by the number and the quality of the responses that we decided to post them all. Enjoy ...

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2004 is Boston's year. I am 35 and for the first time in my life they have the 2 best pitchers during a series with anyone. They also have realized that speed and defence does win games. They can even play small ball if needed. Since the aquisition of Omar Caberra the Red Sox also started doing something that they never ever have done. Productive outs. As this kid bats with a man on base, you can actually see him going to rthe right side. Finally, a player who knows how to do the intangiables. A player who sees success even if it doesn't mean getting a three run homer. Finally a ball player. A good hard nosed ball player who knows how to play. Move the runners and give the team a chance. this is what the Yankees have done for the past nine years. Now it is our time. God is ,and will be smileing on "The great Red Sox Nation" this October......................

Charlie, Boston in 5

Sox in 6 because every dog has his day. How many times can the Yanks beat the Sox without Boston FINALLY winning one time in a big series. The odds are in thier favor - finally!! Enjoy it while you can, it may not happen again for another 10-15 years..

Mike, Sox in 6

Well it’s that time of year and two of the best teams in baseball are playing for a chance to go to the World Series. This is what every Red Sox fax wanted. They wanted the chance to redeem themselves from the horror of last years ACLS. Well Red Sox fans be careful what you wish for because just like last year you will be beat again. I will be honest the Red Sox have all the pieces to beat the Yankees this year but after I watched what happened during last years ACLS I started to believe in the Curse of the Bambino. Think about how your history has played out against the Yankees. Babe Ruth was traded and Boston has not been World Series Champions since. Did you notice how every time you got close it was always a player with the letter “B” in there name that stopped you. There was the famous home run by Bucky Dent, the ball that went threw Bill Buckners legs and of course the home run by Aaron Boone last year. Enjoy the games Red Sox fans while you can because your season will be over by October 20. Get all happy when Curt Schilling wins game one for you. Celebrate when you are up three games to two. Just keep it in the back of your minds that the Bambino will come back to haunt you and don’t be surprised if Bernie Williams is the one to end it in game seven for you this year.

Anthony, Yankees in seven

Tell me why the Yanks are through,Tell me why their fans will be blue,Tell me why the Sox will win and end the years of profound chagrin.Because the Yawkeys are gone and Georgie is not ,the Sox have a Nixon who's name is Trot ,The Sox have Manny and David Ortiz thats why they will win with relative ease.REFRAIN The Sox have pitching the Yankees do not The Sox have a line up without a weak spot The Sox have fans who are true blue and that is why the Yankees are through.

William, SOX IN FIVE

The Red Sox will beat the Yankees in the ALCS. Finally, they have the horses to get the job done. We match up with New York in every phase of the game with the possible exception of the very back of the bullpen. Remember, also, the Sox have hung two losses on Mariano Rivera this season. Instead of hoping that the Red Sox can win, all of Red Sox Nation needs to BELIEVE that they will win. Unlike 1998 and 1999, when starters such as Schourek, Mercker, and Ramon Martinez were sent out in the playoffs, and John Burkett last year, the Boston starting rotation is much stronger, and going against a Yankee staff that no longer has Clemens, Wells, and Pettitte. I have been a Sox fan since 1947. THIS IS THE YEAR!

Lonnie, Red Sox

Every time the Sox have made the post season we have thought maybe this is the year. Maybe, maybe, maybe. But in our heart of hearts there lurked that generation old doomsday complex. It shimmered right under the surface last year when the Yankees came up in the eight inning. Our sense of tragedy had become a self full-filling prophesy. This year for some reason I do not detect apprehension in the fall air. The sense of dread has been replaced with a sense of anticipation. Our hopeful maybe has been replaced with positive expectation. Past uneasy thoughts of more unbearable disappointment is this year quiet, contemplative confidence. I am not sure exactly why this is, perhaps because for the first time in my generation an argument could be made that the Sox are the best team in the tournament, but the "maybe this is the year" of past autumns has become, in 2004: "this is the year."

Patrick, Red Sox in 7

Yankee's in four because Francona will take someone out in the late innings (like Ortez) for a pitch runner and the game 7 will go in extra innings and we (the redsox) are out of good bats.

Buck, Yankee's in four

Pitching.

Jeff, Boston

This really could be the year for the Sox. They have the most complete team I can ever remember. From the starting rotation to the bullpen, closer, table setters, and run producers. The Sox have two great clutch hitters in Manny and Ortiz. We have a solid defense, which was not always the case at Fenway, and the chemistry and attitude of this team is absolutely perfect. My one concern is Francona. He did great in the ALDS, and as long as he stays out of the way against the Yankees, everything should be fine. The Bronx bombers are just that, they have hitting for sure, but their pitching is shaky at best. You have to love Shilling and Pedro going 4 of the 7 games and Arroyo has shown that he can perform under the spotlight. The Yankees are going to rely on their late game heroics, but i don't see how they can penetrate the sox bullpen for big innings. As the saying goes, you take good pitching over good hitting any day and that is what is going to carry the Red Sox to their first World Series victory since 1918

Zack Dukich, Sox in 6

Let's be serious here. Pitching and defense wins in the postseason, but we're talking about the Boston Red Sox here. Something always goes wrong, and this year will be no different. Schilling's ankle should be a concern, as should the Yanks' ownership of Pedro Martinez. Do you trust Derek Lowe in this series after what happened to him last year? The alleged picthing advantage is negated, the defenses are about even, and the Yankee bullpen is much stronger. And we've already seen that late inning games in October always favor the Yankees. I'm being generous by not predicting a sweep. Francona will find a way to blow this series somehow (let's also not forget that Sox fans wanted him killed on numerous occasions during the regular season, and he hasn't suddenly developed a spark of intelligence since July 31st) and give Sox Nation yet one more scapegoat for eternity. Varitek can't hit in the Bronx, Pedro is afraid to pitch in the Bronx, and this will just be more of the same. Root for the Patriots and save yourself some trouble.

Sammy, Yankees in five