World Series: Texas 1 - 3 San Francisco (San Francisco wins 4-1)

In Making of the President 1960, the legendary political writer Theodore H. White wrote that Americans don't really start paying attention to an election until after the World Series. Given that tomorrow is election day, I will have to hope that this guideline no longer applies. But whether or not it does, the World Series has ended. Like most recent World Series, it was pretty dreadful. There hasn't been a seven-game series since 2002; and only two out of the last eight series have even gone six games.

In my prediction, I thought that Cliff Lee would make the difference for Texas, and apparently the Rangers did as well. After Lee lost the first game, the Rangers reacted much like the Philistines after the death of Goliath. In the last four games of the World Series, the Rangers only scored five runs. The Giants have an excellent pitching staff -- as they showed against the Phillies. But whereas the Phillies fought and scratched through six games, trying desperately to do anything to score runs, the Rangers simply walked up to the plate and swung for the fences. That's not how you beat great pitchers. They ended their season by scoring one run in their last two games -- both at home. They showed none of the verve or energy that they had demonstrated against the Rays and the Yankees. On the whole, a very disappointing performance. Cliff Lee will leave town in the off-season, presumably for the Yankees, and the Rangers will drop back down to the level of good teams that can't win the pennant.

The Giants won this World Series much the same way the White Sox did in 2005 -- by riding a white-hot collection of pitchers. All four Giant starters were excellent throughout the post-season, and they were dominant in the last two games. Even when the Giant starters failed (as they did in Game six of the NLCS and Game one of the World Series), their bullpen saved the day. If the Giants could keep this pitching staff together and healthy, they could be a serious force in the NL for some time to come. If the Giant pitchers face the usual array of sore arms and other injuries, the Giants' weak hitting will pull them back into the pack.

But the Giants' fans will worry about that in April. For now, a fan base that has suffered for a very, very long time will celebrate. And that's a great thing.