The Favorite to Win the World Series

I'm a Yankee fan. Hardcore. Ask around. I'm also a baseball fan, and some of you may say "No shit!", but there is a difference between being a fan of a sport and a fan of a team in that sport. Being a fan of a team, but not the sport, is just a few steps short of being a bandwagon fan. If you can't defend your argument that your team can or will win its sport's championship, don't debate sports with me.

Now that you know what I'm about, let's talk baseball. There are always people that make estimates over who's gonna win each division, who's taking the Wild Card and of course who's going all the way. A lot of them do it before the season. I'm not that stupid. I've seen too many people be horribly wrong because there are always factors that can't be forseen: injuries, chemistry, off-field issues, who's off the juice, who's gonna age suddenly before our eyes, etc.

We're halfway through the season now, so it's pretty fair to say that (barring a blockbuster trade) we have a good idea who has remained relatively healthy (or at least coping with their disabled list the best), what teams are meshing well, and who's still in the running to make the playoffs.

Now to the point. My pick to win the World Series.

It's the New York Mets. Yeah, the guys across town. At the very least they should make it to the Series. I knew they had a special team around mid-May. Sure they have a good (even great) team on paper, and there was walk of October baseball for the Mets in February; but we heard that last year when they were sellin' us what they call "The New Mets." The New Mets still had some kinks to work out, and people were setting expectations too high on a team coming off a 71-91 record in 2004. But they definitely were headed in the right direction. And they did it without rebuilding, as so many critics said they needed to do.

But the thing that sets them apart from those good Met teams of the late '90's is something that you won't find in the stat sheets: chemistry. The 2006 Mets are bonding like long-lost family. And the fact of the matter is, when you get along with your teammates, playing is more fun. When you have fun, you try harder to win (and I'm not talkin' about the kinda "trying hard" that makes a player put way too much pressure on himself, like A-Rod is guilty of doing sometimes). Everyone in that dugout knows the goal, knows his role and executes it with precision.

Their record reflects that. Entering today, they have the best record in the National League, lead the NL in runs scored, and are third best in runs surrendered. This team was built to win from Opening Day; I was convinced of it when they singed Julio Franco. That's right, the guy that turns 48 next month. Bench players are important, especially in the NL with no DH and all the double switches.

I'll close this post with this article from yesterday's Daily News. Let's go Yankees!!

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