Indian Exiles

Tonight, weather permitting, is the first game of the World Series, if anyone notices. Major League Baseball's stubbornly stupid insistence on being the handmaiden of the networks has pushed the date further back than any other time in history. Coming will be the day that we have baseball on Thanksgiving. This isn't dumb just because the weather comes into play more frequently, it's also that the event becomes less relevant. The sports news is dominated this time of year by the likes of Brett Favre and LeBron James, and oh yeah, the World Series starts tonight. Who's playing again?

It helps that the big bad Yankees are back, for the first time in six years, and that they are playing the defending champs, the Phillies, in what should be a decent match-up. Both teams have murderous lineups and decent to excellent pitching. The only other time these two teams met in the Series was 1950, when the Yanks were in the midst of a five-season streak of titles. The Phillies were a young exciting bunch that were nicknamed the Whiz Kids, but their spark ran out in the Series, as the Yanks swept them in four. Both teams combined for sixteen runs in the entire series, a total which will be probably be reached in one of the games in this match.

The story for tonight's game is that the starting pitchers, C.C. Sabathia for New York and Cliff Lee for the Phillies, were Cy Young Awards winners for the Cleveland Indians, but baseball economics demanded that they be traded away. If I were an Indian fan it might be too painful to watch, imagining a rotation with both of these guys (who were only one win away from the World Series in 2007). In the normal insanity of baseball, Cleveland dealt these guys and then predictably got terrible, and the manager Eric Wedge was fired.

My prediction of an all-Southern California series was utterly wrong, so I'll stick with the favorite this year, picking the Yankees in six. The only weakness they've shown is a few cracks in middle relief, but they've excelled in letting the team make the mistakes that cost them victory. Both the Twins and Angels made numerous errors, both physically and mentally, and while the Phillies, with their experience, are less likely to do that, I still like the calm that the Yankees exude. It's as if they know they are going to win, and just have to wait for the inevitable. I'll take the Yankees in six.

Of course I am rooting for the Phillies. As readers of this blog know, my favorite team is the Detroit Tigers, my second-favorite is the Yankees' opponent. I must admit, though, that my anti-Yankee fervor has diminished. The current line-up has fewer players that inspire deep hatred. I still loathe Alex Rodriguez, and I could do without Joba Chamberlain, with his obnoxious fist-pumping and white stains on his cap (some guys use a sock, apparently Joba uses his hat). But on the whole they seem a decent bunch of guys, and it has been a while. My eight-year-old nephew, a big Yankee fan, has never experienced a Yankee championship, which seems impossible. If they do win, as I expect, life will go on for me as normal.