Rays-Phillies — snooze or enthuse?

And baseball as “pure” vs. “impure”

Jayson Stark lists five neat things to watch about this year’s Red Sox/Dodgers/Yankees-free Fall Classic.

King Kaufmann has additional reasons to watch. Both note that, although it won the Series in 1980, the Phillies overall World Series frustration level goes far beyond that of the mythical Flubs, I mean Cubs, and they’re right. Fewer World Series vists; fewer wins; more heartbreak.

Beyond that, other than the period of greatness in the 1980s for ALL Philly sports teams — one SB visit for the Iggles, two WS visits and one win for the Phillies, two NBA Finals appearances and one title for the Sixers, and the tail end of the Broad Street Bullies years for the Flyers — Philadelphia has pretty much sucked in ALL sports since the prime years of Connie Mack’s A’s.

Tampa/Tampa Bay? Only once not a last-place team, and a city where hockey has more stadium success.

But, snooze may still be there.

At least this year, it’s a “purist” World Series in that it has no wild-card teams.

The impurities of modern baseball

That, almost as much as the 1994 strike, started turning me off of baseball. And, it was about as criminal as was turning a deliberately blind eye to steroids. I’d like to go back to two divisions in each league; at the minimum, I’ll take up Bob Costas’ idea of three divisions, no WC, and the best division winner gets a first-round bye.

The wild-card foisted upon us the Florida Marlins — twice — and their post-success demolition — twice. Even though Miami is not a small media market, this hastened the meme, conceit or canard of “small-market teams.”

The third turnoff was interleague play.

And the fourth, now, is the wild-card round going from best-of-five to best-of-seven.

So, it may not be a snooze as far as onfield action. And, it is a purist World Series, other than the fricking DH.

So, we shall see.