World Series CXV Coming Up

CXV?

Well, if you haven't figured it out, that is the Roman numeral for 115, and I just thought that it would be fun if I gave the upcoming Astros-Nationals World Series a bit of NFL-style pretentiousness.

Actually, I cannot recall an MLB post-season that I took less interest in than this current 2019 edition.  I attribute that to two factors.  One, I was out of the country during the Wild Card and Division Series rounds, and even through some early LCS games.  That made it hard to follow what was going on, much less watch and closely follow the games.  And, two, the total buzz-kill that was the performance of the Pittsburgh Pirates throughout the second half of the baseball season, followed by the clown show firing of Clint Hurdle and the retention of Chief Clown GM Neal Huntington killed a lot of the interest that I have always had for the sport, so, thank you for that, Bob Nutting and the Best Management Team in Baseball.

Even last night, with an elimination game being played in the ALCS, I opted instead to watch the Penn State-Michigan football game in spite of the presence of two extremely unlikeable coaches on each sideline.  When that game was over, I switched to the baseball game, saw that the Astros were up 4-2 after seven and opted to go to bed.  Of course, I know now that I missed a very dramatic ninth inning wherein the Yanks tied it in the top half, and Jose Altuve went "Bobby Thomson" and won it in the bottom half to secure the pennant for the Astros.  That, of course, was my loss, but I did take great satisfaction in seeing that Aroldis Chapman got to play the role of Ralph Branca in this little drama.  Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

Still, the World Series is, after all, the WORLD SERIES, and I will look forward to watching this one.  The fact that both teams boast three-deep strong starting pitchers (Scherzer-Strasburg-Corbin vs Verlander-Cole-Grienke) make this an intriguing match up, so I am looking forward to watching this 115th edition of the Fall Classic.

You want a prediction?  I'll go with the Astros in six games, and a Series MVP Award for Gerrit Cole.  

I'll be rooting hard for Cole to shine in this Series (as he has all season long), if only to make GMNH look even more the fool when he tells us how great Joe Musgrove and Michael Feliz are and what value their metrics add to the Pirates.  Even Mrs. Grandstander, who wasn't a fan of Cole's when he was a Pirate, is rooting hard for him in the Series so as to make the Pirates look like chumps (as if THAT notion needs further reinforcement).

So there you have it.  As always, watch, but don't bet.