And knowing is half the battle

So now we finally know. A rematch of the 1968 World Series, if you haven't already heard. Even though I said yesterday that I wanted the Mets because they looked weaker, pitching-wise (and Vance Wilson could wreak vengeance upon the team that spurned him), I'm glad the opponent is the Cardinals. It's more of a "classic" match-up, and I like that two supposed cornerstones from the Randy Smith regime will be returning to Detroit.

The Midwesterner in me also loves that the East Coast is being frozen out. But really, I'm most excited about the Battle of the Soul Patches, between Brandon Inge and Scott Spiezio. Keep the color natural, Ingie. (Note to FOX Sports, take it easy with the close-ups on Spiezio's red stripe.)

Let's create some new baseball memories, Detroit. Bubba Helms is dead. (There's a potential title for a new Tigers blog, if anyone wants it.) That brings us to the World Series edition of...

Like stripes on the fur coat of a Tiger...

▪▪ ESPN.com's Buster Olney lists the reasons why the Cardinals are in trouble. First and foremost? The Tigers have been watching you, St. Louis. And they've been taking notes.

▪▪ Anyone else looking forward to Jeff Weaver likely starting one of the first two games in Detroit (probably Game 2)? If I were FOX, I'd try to make sure Weaver bumps into Dave Dombrowski at some point during workouts or warm-ups. (Too bad he won't be matched up against Jeremy Bonderman...)

▪▪ Of all the nicknames I've tried to give Craig Monroe this season, "Monroeguez" never once occurred to me.

▪▪ I missed Endy Chavez's catch when it happened (I was joining Mike McClary for a recording of The Daily Fungo Podcast - to be posted within the next day or so, I'd bet), but after seeing the highlight a half-dozen times now, I'm thinking that has to rank among the all-time catches (especially among post-season highlights).

Salon's King Kaufman says it might have been considered the greatest, if the Mets had won the game. Slate's Josh Levin also has some thoughts on that subject.

▪▪ Do you think Carlos Beltran suffered a knee injury from the way he buckled at that last Adam Wainwright curveball? That, as they say, was nasty. (Mets GM Omar Minaya called it "unhittable.") Prediction for future Beltran nickname: Mr. Freeze. Or is that too lame?

▪▪ You already knew Deadspin's Will Leitch was a huge Cardinals fan. But apparently, an editor at Gawker (a colleague of Will's within the Gawker Media blog conglomerate) is a huge Detroit Tigers fan. Thus, the two editors are making a World Series bet: On the Tuesday following the completion of the Series, the loser has to post not only on his own site, but cover the posts at the other site, too. (Thanks to Fried Rice Thoughts' New York Bureau Chief, Mis Hooz, for passing this along.)

So if you really, really like Will Leitch (and here's his side of the bet), you'll root for the Cardinals, I suppose. Deadspin's been berry, berry good to us over the past year, but we're still going to cheer for the Tigers.