Nineteen. Eighteen.

Geez, I miss hearing that in Yankee Stadium when the Crimson-hosed ones come to town. But on the eve of the 2005 World Serious, I have one more opportunity [subscription required, I think] to chant the name of that once magical year.

Remember the 1918 World Series? Wait, didn’t we hear everything we needed to hear about 1918 last year? It was, after all, the World Series on everyone’s mind as the Red Sox charged to their first World Championship in 86 years. But the 1918 World Series has one other distinguishing characteristic: it was the lowest scoring post-season series ever and while the 2004 Fall Classic was about reversing that famous curse, the 2005 World Series has as good a chance as any in recent memory to surpass 1918's display of offensive impotence. In six games that fall, the Red Sox and Cubs combined for 19 runs, an average of 3.17 R/G total. We're not predicting the White Sox and Astros to reach those levels of offensive ineptitude, but without a doubt, they’re two of the best candidates to come around in years.

If you’re a fan of low-scoring ballgames, pitcher’s duels, sacrifice bunts, rally-killing offensive strategies, over-reliance on antiquated one-run strategies, and Bob Gibson, this is the World Series for you.

Astros in seven. Clemens will struggle (back, elbow, hamstring, mid-40s) in his two starts, but Oswalt and Pettitte will dominate the On Base Percentage-less Black Sox (for all the talk about "small ball" -- and thank goodness Joe Morgan isn't calling any of these games -- the White Sox depend on the homerun; if Guillen tries to actually manage beyond filling out the lineup card and not removing his starters, he will run his team right out of the series early). And Lidge, no longer needing to face Albert Pujols, will go back to being unbeatable.

Meanwhile, Yankee fans will watch these games through gritted teeth, observing so many of our former pitching stars and/or failed experiments throwing in the chill of late October.