Who wins the World Series?

[Jx2]

Texas or San Fran?

Im going Texas, just because plus it be kinda neat to see Bengie Molina win the MVP.

[vroomery]

Texas definitely had the strongest performance in the most recent series and against the defending champs no less. I'm calling for texas 3-2.

[piebaldpython***]

Texas definitely had the strongest performance in the most recent series and against the defending champs no less. I'm calling for texas 3-2.

Uh......hate to break it to you......but......uh........it's a seven game series, so winning it 3-2 is impossible.

That said, I want the Rangers to win and I think they will. Giants are a darn good team though.

Twas a shame the Phils lost......but you can't win if you don't score runs and they squandered too many chances tonite. My heart and colon need a vacation from all of the Phillies playoff dramas.

[Tig***]

Twas a shame the Phils lost......but you can't win if you don't score runs and they squandered too many chances tonite. My heart and colon need a vacation from all of the Phillies playoff dramas.

I feel ya'! The Phillies are my second favorite team and I was disappointed with their performance several times in this series against the Giants. Howard finally started hitting this game, but if he did better in the previous games, we'd be going to the 7th.

While I don't follow the Rangers closely, I still like them to win the World Series. Beating the Yankees wins them huge points in most people's book. (sorry, DVM!) Nolan Ryan has had a positive influence and it shows. Besides, my neighbor's oldest son just got signed with one of their minor league teams as a pitcher, so our street is backing the Rangers even more than usual.

[R_of_G]

When I don't care one way or another for either team I typically root for the National League team because NL ball is significantly more interesting than AL ball, just witness how many of the NL games came down to the final out while the AL games were all blowouts except the one. Also, Tim Lincecum looks like Mitch Kramer from Dazed & Confused and that's one of my favorite films, so the Giants have that going for them as well. Giants in 6 games.

[marnold***]

Well, if Cliff Lee keeps pitching like Cliff Lee . . . there's no way the Gints can hit enough to beat him three times. I'd like to see the Rangers, but honestly I don't really care and probably won't watch more than a handful of innings.

Coming back from the Green Bay Gamblers hockey game on Friday, I was listening to the Yanks/Rangers game on ESPN Radio. I was reminded that listening to a baseball game is better than experiencing it in any other way.

[riverrick]

Well I'm a Dodger fan...so gotta go with Texas!!!

[Tig***]

Tim Lincecum looks like Mitch Kramer from Dazed & Confused and that's one of my favorite films

He reminds me of actor Jackie Earle Haley.

[vroomery]

haha i'm basically a genius. I believe I was intending to say 4-2. That adds up right? k good.

[markb]

WORLD SERIES?? Which countries are taking part again?

[Eric***]

Yeah, I don't care. I'm glad/sorry it's over for the Phillies, but as I read through the responses, I realized that I truly do not care at all about the World Series.

[sunvalleylaw]

I guess I am picking SF. For no other reason than I like the city, and can remember when the earthquake hit during one of their games. Not very "sport fan" reasons, but there you go.

[Bloozcat]

I don't care either way, and I doubt that I'll watch any of it. If it came down to the Yankees vs. the Phillies I would have watched, but not these two teams. Since I'm really not much of a baseball fan anymore it takes two teams that I like for me to care about watching. As is I'll watch any football over this. But, that's just me. I'm sure that ardent baseball fans will watch.

I have a feeling that this series is going to be a low market share draw for TV. While MLB claims publicly that it's good for baseball for two smaller market teams to be in the series, privately they're dreading a low viewership series.

[sunvalleylaw]

Hmm, it is because it is not someone vs. the Yankees that I am interested.

[R_of_G]

While MLB claims publicly that it's good for baseball for two smaller market teams to be in the series, privately they're dreading a low viewership series.

Definitely. They want the largest audience they can get regardless of the public spin they put on it.

But, one thing I actually do like about this matchup as a Yankees' fan is that I don't ever need to entertain those who spew the "I hate baseball because the Yankees buy all the championships" theory ever again in my life. In both the ALCS and NLCS the smaller-market/smaller-payroll team won. Maybe the Yankees and Phillies bought the players to allow them a chance to contend, but the championship series showed definitively that high-priced talent doesn't equal wins, all summed up perfectly by each series ending when the $100+ million dollar power hitters (Rodriguez and Howard) struck out looking instead of swinging their bats.

Tig, I can definitely see the Jackie Earl Haley thing, but I'm still gonna have to go with Wiley Wiggins (aka Mitch Kramer) to play Lincecum in the movie.



They even have similar pitching motions.

[Jx2]

Im really hoping this series follows a similar path of the 1991 series between the Braves and Twins. I beleive this was the best world series of my era and the most underated series of all times. Both the Braves and the Twins went from first to last to make it to the series. Both teams had a solid mix of young rising stars and cagy veterans. And both teams had hall of fame talent. I beleive Kirby Puckett is the only one in right now though. However we all know Maddux, Smoltz and Glavine will be as well. Also during that span Jack Morris was one of the top pitchers in the game. The 7 game series had 5 one run victorys and 3 games went extra innings including a 10 inning shutout thrown by Jack Morris to seal the deal for the Twins in game 7. I think the reason this series doesnt get the attention I feel it deserves is because so many of the stars of the day didnt materalize into hall of fame players outside of the pitching. When you look at 99% of the greats moments of world series history like so much of baseball history its around historic home runs. If you read up on this series you see names like Gene Larkin, Chili Davis, Terry Pendalton, Lonnie Smith, Mark Lemke and David Justice. Not exactly Reggie Jackson, The Mick, Ruth, Bench, Rose etc.

Im drawing comparison of this series to the 91 series because who really saw these 2 teams here during spring training? I think everyone was expecting the Angels to catch the Rangers at some point, and I dont think to many are surprised the Giants was in the hunt but with the lack of hitting stars on their roster I dont think anyone expected them to win the NLCS. I think the Rangers have the potential to have some historic names in baseball how historic who knows, in the early 90's a player like David Justice looked to be headed towards a HOF caliber career as well as Ron Gant. But injurys and some bad decisions off the field killed that. The Giants outside of some nasty arms starting games and a nasty closer really remind you alot of the bad news bears. I mean Cody Ross NLCS MVP? Pedro "Kung Fu Panda" Sandoval on the bench for the majority of the series. And a slews slew of where are they now? And a catching phenom.

I really hope this series goes 7 and is close even with potential almost certain down tv ratings. It might not be good for ratings but it is good for the true fans of the game. Especially if your favorite team is a smaller market team. Even though its kinda hard to really grasp Texas as a small market team the way they attacked players via trades. SF is small market but lets see what this does for resigning guys like Sanchez, Cain, Wilson and others.

[sunvalleylaw]

Definitely. They want the largest audience they can get regardless of the public spin they put on it.

But, one thing I actually do like about this matchup as a Yankees' fan is that I don't ever need to entertain those who spew the "I hate baseball because the Yankees buy all the championships" theory ever again in my life. In both the ALCS and NLCS the smaller-market/smaller-payroll team won. Maybe the Yankees and Phillies bought the players to allow them a chance to contend, but the championship series showed definitively that high-priced talent doesn't equal wins, all summed up perfectly by each series ending when the $100+ million dollar power hitters (Rodriguez and Howard) struck out looking instead of swinging their bats.

I will admit an anti Yankee bias, but no hate. My opinion is associated with a good rivalry or a good team to shoot for, not "I hate baseball because . . ." I will admit I resented for years some of the trades that followed the first memorable, and still most memorable, season in baseball over in Mudville (Seattle) where I was raised. See interesting article about the 1995 season, and how it turned a Yankee fan into a Mariner fan here: http://1995mariners.com/2008/04/22/h...-mariners-fan/ 2001 was a good year too, but not a good year to finish that season, due to the tragic events in New York.

It hurt to see some of that team get traded away, and hurt a lot to see players go ultimately to the Yankees because Seattle could not afford it. (Tino directly, A-Rod via the Rangers for example that I can recall) But the Yankees are always a good team to shoot for. I am personally glad that someone else is contending for the Series this year. It cannot always be the same teams, or there might as well not be a league.

[Eric***]

When it comes to big-market/small-market dynamics in baseball, I will echo what I once heard somewhere on talk radio: it's about sustainable success.

Huge payrolls do not guarantee that other teams will never find success, but they are the only proven way to have continued success in major-league baseball. Sure, the champions from year to year vary quite a bit, but if you look at the final four (or all 8, for that matter) every year, you tend to see the usual suspects.

The big payrolls keep teams successful and squeeze out the borderline teams. I think that's the real issue with an uncapped league.

[duhvoodooman***]

Doubt that I'll watch that much of it, but I'm pulling for the Rangers. I enjoyed their aggressive playing style, and Josh Hamilton really is an incredible human interest story. Having that Cliff Lee guy doesn't hurt their chances, either.

As for my Yankees, well....their elimination neither surprised nor bothered me all that much. They hadn't played well in a couple of months--the starting rotation was full of question marks (deservedly so, in retrospect), and moving runners & coming up with the timely hit had been a problem all year. Actually, I thought the Twinkies would take 'em out in the first round. How badly had they been playing? If the season had started on Aug. 1, the Yankees would have finished LAST in the AL East. Pretty pathetic for that line-up/payroll!