162 games

I was hoping for a Parkway Series. I did not expect one, but I was hoping.

But I'll tell you that as sad as I am that the Orioles got knocked off by the Royals, what really gets me is that the freaking Royals were not only a wild-card team, they were worse than the other two division leaders. Same thing for the Giants, by the way. Records? Royals 89-73, .549; Giants 88-74, .543. Six teams won at least 90 games this year and we won't see any of them in the Series. (Barring a miracle comeback by the Cards, of course, and they just won 90, behind five others.)

If baseball was still the way it used to be (get offa my lawn!), the Series would be underway  - over, more likely - and it would have been Nats (96-66, .593) and the - no, not the Orioles. Their record was the same as the Nats' but the AL had the Angels at 98-64, .605. They got knocked out by the Royals, while the Nats got taken down by the Giants, who tied for fifth with the Pirates.

But if the Royals beat the Angels aren't they the better team? No. No, they are not. Over the long season - this isn't football - they lost nine more games than the Angels did. They're getting lucky in short serieses with an expanded roster; they were worse than three other teams in the regular season. The Giants likewise in their league.

This isn't as bad as 2012, when the third-place Giants beat the seventh-place (yes, seventh) Tigers. But I'm really not excited about watching two fourth-place teams play in the World Series. And it may be easier for me to say with the Orioles out of it, but it's no less true.