MLB Bullets Is Still At It

While the World Series lacks the one thing that would make it great (a team from the north side of Chicago), I can't say that it lacks drama so far. I'm going to assume that Game 1 is over by the time you read this in the morning.

• Will Leitch writes that because neither team has won a World Series since the mid-80s, this series will be epic for at least one of the fanbases. I wonder what it would be like if there was a team that hadn't won a World Series since the Roosevelt administration. The Teddy Roosevelt administration. (No, I'm not bitter.)
• If you're having trouble picking a team to cheer for in the Series, Michael Baumann has a rooting guide based on which criteria is most important to you.
• Paul Lukas breaks down the most important matchup in this series: the fashion battle between two identical shades of blue. (He evaluates the two team's uniforms.)
• Dave Cameron wants everyone to appreciate the World Series for what it is: Great entertainment and not proof of a better quality team or a test of character.
• Jayson Stark previews the biggest matchup of the Series, the Mets power arms against the Royals contact bats.
• Just how hard to the Mets throw? Pretty darn hard.
• Martin Johnson explains how the Royals are the real Moneyball team, manager Ned Yost notwithstanding.
• Ben Zobrist may miss a World Series game for the birth of his third child.
• The Royals added Raul A. Mondesi to their postseason roster, which will make him the first player to ever make his MLB debut in the World Series if he gets into a game.
• Rob Neyer points out that those last two events are related.
• Jacob deGrom is going to cut his hair when the World Series ends.
• The father of the Royals game one starter, Edinson Volquez, died shortly before the game. There were a lot of conflicting reports about whether Volquez knew this as I write this, but that link explains the issues pretty well.
• If you were watching the game anywhere in the United States, you know this already, but Fox Sports lost power in the fourth inning. The game was delayed because no one knew what to do about replay, but the game was eventually resumed with both teams agreeing to forgo replay and America getting the MLB Network's international broadcast feed. Then Fox regained power and everyone cried at the sound of Harold Reynolds' voice. Because we thought we might get to hear a World Series game without it.
• With the firing of Lloyd McClendon, MLB will have no African-American managers for the first time since 1987 in 2016. Unless Dusty Baker (or Bo Porter) gets a job, of course.
• Craig Calcaterra says that commissioner Rob Manfred's sunny outlook on this situation (and other matters) isn't going to cut it. He says Bud Selig got away with saying things like that because everyone thought of Selig as their crazy uncle. Manfred is a power lawyer.
• Manfred, along with the other sports commissioners, want to see daily fantasy games regulated, although they insist they're "not gambling." That's the kind of stuff Calcaterra is talking about.
• Speaking of that, the brother of Yu Darvish has been arrested in Osaka for taking illegal bets, including some on MLB.
• Jon Heyman is reporting that the Marlins' managerial job is "Don Mattingly's to lose." Well, he is good at losing in October.
• Robot umpires? Bah. Dirk Hayhurst calls for robot managers. (Not really.)
• Former Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. talks about how he became the Red Sox new first base coach.
• Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos would like to re-sign free agent pitcher David Price. However, it's not clear if Anthopoulos is still in charge in Toronto.
• Torii Hunter has retired after 19 seasons.
• Here's a kind of cool (unofficial) World Series poster.
• I'm reporting this story because I want you to hear about it here and not elsewhere. Lenny Dykstra claims he used to blackmail umpires to get better balls and strike calls. Let's be clear about one thing. Dykstra is a convicted felon, a con man, a sex offender and a liar. He also has a book to peddle. Bottom line is don't believe anything Lenny Dykstra says. Don't be like Jim Cramer.
• Mr. Met led the Metropolitan Opera in a rendition of "Meet the Mets." And people say I'm not cultured.
• Here's some background on writing of the Mets' theme song.
• Rany Jazayerli has the 15 biggest plays in postseason history, as ranked by how much they changed the Win Expectancy of the series. Or at least the 15 biggest since 1947.
• And finally, because we're all sick of them, Grant Brisbee lists the worst TV commercials of the 2015 postseason. Yet somehow the folk singer in the dugout isn't listed.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster. They'll still be playing game one.