World Series will be a winner in any scenario

Heading into the AL and NL Championship round of the playoffs, commisioner Bud Selig, as well as all others who hope for the best in baseball, ought to count his blesssings.

Here we are, one round away from the World Series, just four teams left. There are four potential matchups in the Fall Classic, and they all sound appealing. And that is certainly good news for Selig and all other major MLB supporters. It means that there's actually a very good chance that this year's Series won't simply be devoured by the NFL.

Let's talk hypothetically. We'll start with the first potential matchup: LA-LA, or Angels-Dodgers. This would be the first ever Freeway Series. I mean think about it: An entire World Series being played in Los Angeles (well, technically half of it would be in Anaheim, but still). A local rivalry. Great weather. Stadiums likely filled with all sorts of famous people. Does it get much better than that? (ok maybe that last one is a bit debatable).

And the city itself isn't the only reason. I mean, it certainly doesn't hurt that the Angels have comitted their entire season to young pitcher Nick Adenhart, who died in a car crash early in the season. They have been, as Sports Illustrated puts it, "touched by an angel". If that doesn't make for a feel-good story, then what does?

And then there's Manny. Manny, Manny, Manny. The guy who we love and hate at the same time. It certainly would help TV ratings if the slacking outfielder were part of the World Series.

Ok, so we went through LA-LA. Now let's say that, for whatever reason, the Angels miss the Series, and it's Dodgers vs Yankees. Is it still good? Yes. Manny still plays, plus it means Joe Torre squaring off against the team that dumped him for Joe Giradi. Not to mention that it would include the Evil Empire. I mean, c'mon, isn't winning more fun when you badly want the other team to lose? That should be the case for any fan whether their pulling for Torre to take down the hated Yankees or wishing that the Yankees could shut up the critics who said that they messed up in firing Joe.

Even if the Dodgers miss the Series, it should still be a good one. The Angels could still make it as the inspirational team, and if it's Yankees vs Phillies then, well, at least we have what looks like a "Cold War", given the surprisingly low October temperatures that we have been seeing, not to mention that the Series has a chance of going into November.

The MLB should be thankful for this sudden turn of events. This year, attendence took a record low decrease. And it's easy to see why. Sure, the Mitchell Report hurt. Sure, the economy doesn't help. But perhaps even worse was last year's World Series bomb. I mean if the Series was a movie, then last year's would've easily earned the embarrasing one-star rating from most critics. It got delayed. It had no truly exciting moments. It featured one boring team (philadelphia) and one semi-interesting team (the Rays), and the boring team won. Not to mention that it only took five games.

Great games can change a sport's popularity. Just ask the NFL, which began a gradual transformation after The Best Game Ever (Colts vs Giants, 1958, in the Championship). I'm not saying that the Series will transform baseball in the same way, but it certainly ought to help. In the worst case scenario, at least we will see two hated teams (you may not hate the Phillies now, but trust me, you will if we see Yankees-Phillies) fighting against the weather. It will be a performance worthy of about 2.5 to 3 stars.

Hopefully, though, the Series will feature at least one LA team, which means three stars or more. Still, even if it doesn't , I don't think there is a matchup capable of hurting baseball.

Especially when you consider where it is now.