Fearless and Fairly Indifferent: World Series

There were a few reasons I was pleased to see the National League win the All Star Game this year. The first was because Oh My God It's About Fucking Time.

The second was because I think that the best, most satisfying World Series are the ones where the home team wins in Game 7. This is why the 1982 World Series is the best World Series in my lifetime.

(even more satisfying, though, is when the home team wins in the bottom of the 9th inning of Game 7 with a bloop single over the Yankees. This is why the 2001 World Series is the second best World Series in my lifetime, even though most would assume I'd give that nod to 2006)

There's nothing I hate more than a clean sweep in the World Series (except birds). I like the tension to be drawn out as long as possible. I like to be balled up on my sofa watching from between my fingers. I like things to go way past the point of prayer and get deep into bargaining with God territory.

So when the All Star Game's "this time it counts" (like it has every time since 2002, so can we please stop using that slogan already?) came down on the NL's side for once, I said "yay!" because I normally root for the National League team, and this would give them the chance to pull off some last minute fireworks.

And then I realized that team could be the Phillies again, and I said "ugh." But I had faith that the universe would restore the balance to the side of good, and not permit that to happen. And lo, it did not happen. And lo, it was good.

Anyway. I called these "indifferent" picks, and that's really not accurate. There are years when I'm truly indifferent to the outcome of the series, in that I don't like either team playing and I could give a shit who wins.

This year, it's more like. . impartial, maybe? Almost. I've actually come to like both of these teams quite a bit. They're scrappers. They've put together improbable wins over teams most people thought would dominate them. They've both got stunning pitching.

But in the end, I can't not pull for the Giants. They're the National League team. They've got the home field advantage. They're the ones who can write the story the way I most like to see it.

And on top of that: as much as I spent years loathing the Giants for Barry Bonds and being generally sick of them for freequently dominating the NL West and being unable to make that pay off in any significant way, Bobby Thomson died this summer, and I spent the rest of the day listening to Russ Hodges' "Shot Heard Round the World" call and crying intermittently.

And if that's not enough: Brian Wilson's beard, yo. That thing has powers.

Jordan says: Giants in 7
FOX says: Rangers in 6
WaPo says: Rangers in 7


Don't forget that this final round yields 8 points for the correct team and 4 for the correct number of games, so it is still pretty much anybody's game. (Not Beefy Muchacho's. But pretty much anyone else could still pull it out on a fluke) I'll close the comments after game 2, as I have in the previous rounds this season.