Aubrey Huff, 2007 Fleer Ultra #19

Tomorrow night. World Series Game One. Rangers-Giants. Who ya got? I think I'll be pulling for the Giants (with all apologies to vociferous Giant hater Night Owl), and not just because I'm still bearing scars from 26-7 and 30-3. I'd be happy for Aubrey Huff, who had a bounce-back year in San Francisco after hitting the skids in Baltimore and Detroit in 2009. The guy has paid his dues after a decade of cellar dwelling as a Devil Ray and Oriole. Ex-O's Chris Ray and Eli Whiteside are also with the Giants, so bully for them. I've also taken a liking to obese third baseman Pablo Sandoval (a.k.a. "Kung Fu Panda"), goofy closer Brian Wilson and his thick black beard, and undersized, emo-looking ace Tim Lincecum, who might be my favorite non-Oriole. I also dig the look of AT&T Park, with its big brick wall looming in right field and inviting lefty hitters to take aim at the San Francisco Bay.

I'm also rooting for the Giants because it's been a long time coming. While the Rangers have never won a World Series, the Giants have actually had the longer drought: Texas (nee the Washington Senators) has been around since 1961, but the last championship for the guys in orange and black came in 1954, when they were known as the New York Giants. Since then, they've had their share of heartbreak. In 1962, they took Mantle's Yankees to Game Seven and lost 1-0 when Willie McCovey's line drive was snared with two out and two on in the bottom of the ninth. They waited 27 years to get back, and were swept by their Bay Area counterparts in Oakland in a Series that was interrupted and muted by a devastating earthquake that hit right before Game Three. In 2002, the Giants seemed poised to clinch in Game Six, but blew a 5-0 lead in the seventh and eighth innings. The Angels scored four early runs in Game Seven and made it hold up. As someone who's been a fan for 18 of the Orioles' 27 straight years without a World Series, I can't imagine the frustration of longtime Giants fans.

Above all, I just hope it's an exciting, competitive series. These are the last four-to-seven baseball games that count for a while. They've got to carry us through the next five months.

Kris Benson, 2007 Fleer Ultra #14

It's usually fun to do these "When Was This Game?"-type posts. This is an easy one: July 2, 2006, Orioles at Atlanta. The outfield wall is a giveaway, and of course Kris Benson only pitched at "the Ted" once in his only year in Baltimore. But this game isn't one to reminisce about.

Dude got his brains beaten in.

When embattled manager Sam Perlozzo sent reliver Chris Britton to the mound to start the sixth inning, Benson's pitching line settled at 5.0 IP, 9 H, 6 R (4 ER), 1 BB, 4 K. He gave up home runs to the gruesome twosome of Ryan Langerhans and Wilson Betemit, and one of the two errors that led to the unearned runs was committed by the pitcher himself. He turned a 2-0 lead (via a Melvin Mora 2-run HR) into a 6-2 deficit in a game the Birds would lose 10-3.

This one's a hit-and-run piece, but I saw the card, became curious, looked up the box score, and was sorely disappointed. There's no sense in not sharing that disappointment with the people.

Erik Bedard, 2007 Fleer Ultra #13

To all of my readers in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Greenland, Hong Kong, Nigeria, and of course Erik Bedard's homeland of Canada: may you have a peaceful a fulfilling Boxing Day. Now no one can ever accuse this blog of being provincial.

In related news, there is still a fair chance that this sore-armed, snarky prodigal son may return to Baltimore as a free agent signee for 2010. I like it, and think the potential reward outweighs the risk, especially with the starting rotation for next season looking more settled than it has in years. I also would enjoy the nasty little exclamation point it would put on the lopsided trade that sent Bedard to Seattle just two years ago. But it's unbecoming to gloat. I guess.