Frank Franklin II - AP

It has nothing to do with the Astros, but it's a cool picture of Santa Claus. And the Rockettes!

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Merry Christmas Eve, everybody! I hope everyone will have a safe and great holiday tomorrow, but if you pop by in the next couple of days, give us your opinion. I wanted to set up a poll to see what kinds of stories you would like to see between now and when pitchers and catchers report. If there are options you'd like to see that aren't listed in the poll, feel free to add them to the comments.

We may write for this blog, but utlimately, the space is yours. Tell us what you want to read about and we'll do our best to deliver it. Thanks to all our readers and editors and blog managers. It's been a whirlwind couple of months since I started posting on here full-time, but I couldn't have asked for a better forum to talk about something I'm just so passionate about.

More photos » Frank Franklin II - AP

Admit it, it would have been great. "So....uhhhhh...you got busted too. Totally sucks doesn't it?"

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The point of this is simple.  It's the playoffs, and we've hardly breathed a word about the playoffs (yes I know this post is going on top of HLP's post about A-Rod...loosely).  HLP and I, on our own, have a had a few, who do want to see in the (insert series here) conversations, and to be honest: I like these kinds of conversations.

Going into the post-season, my ideal WS match up would have either have been BOS-LAD or NYY-LAD.  I probably would have gushed with joy at the BOS-LAD because the story lines arewere too good.  Manny vs. the Red Sox a year later. Reviled Boston nemesis, Joe Torre at the helm, conspiring with a former Boston demi-god.  Can you even imagine the awkwardness between Manny and Papi? It would have been great.  Now, I'm willing to settle for a Joe Torre versus the team that send him packing, in a manner of speaking, with still reviled by Yankees fans, Manny Ramirez.  

Other than those matchups, though, there's not really a lot that excites me about any of the other prospective match-ups. Yes the gut-wrenching sensation of watching Brad Lidge pitch in the ninth inning is exciting, but the Phillies aren't a team that I really want to watch.  That's just me, though.  The Angels of Anaheim, but pretending to be from Los Angles too, would be an amazing story because of the losses they've had to deal with this season, but Brian Fuentes fantasy luck has soured me against them.

So I've rambled enough.  I'll leave with you this to talk amongst ourselves with: What was your dream World Series match up coming into the post-season and what is it now?  The why of your choices could be fun, but aren't necessary.

David Zalubowski - AP

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Astros vs Mets coverage, Astros vs Mets preview

Last time Wandy takes the hill in 2009..

Gene J. Puskar - AP

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Astros vs Phillies coverage, Astros vs Phillies previewAstros vs Phillies preview, The Good Phight

One of the starters going tonight is a Hall of Famer...one is not. A prize to those who can figure out who is who.

Also, I wanted to apologize for the lack of posting going on the past few days...life for DQ and myself has been pretty hectic, and making posts hasn't really been an option. Fear not though, regular posts should be happening sooner rather than later. Until then, enjoy the season's last few series.

Matt Slocum - AP

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Astros vs Phillies coverage, Astros vs Phillies preview, The Good Phight

Young gun takes the mound as the Astros try to win three in a row

Al Behrman - AP

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Astros vs Phillies coverage, Astros vs Phillies previewAstros vs Phillies preview, The Good Phight

Playin' out the string...

via www.britannica.com

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Perhaps there are a few of you who weren't involved who remember that we organized a fantasy league.  There was such a strong interest that HLP and I decided that it needed to be divided into two leagues.  Of course, the issue with that, is that it'd be nearly impossible to determine a winner that way; and what's the point have having a blog fantasy league if you can't declare a clear winner? Our dilemma exactly.

Thankfully, while procrastinating on my senior thesis one day, I decided to start brain storming with HLP on how we could accommodate two leagues and a distinct victor.  Probably twenty-five minutes later, the very obvious, very clear, very awesome solution presented itself: Have an AL-only and a NL-only league, cap the to end early, and then calculate the final week by hand so that you can have a winner.  Thus, the TCB Fantasy World Series was born.

HLP took the NL league to organize and I the AL and for the last five five months, the two leagues have played out to determine who would take their respective league championship series; if, of course, a week of H2H counts as a series.

In the NL-only league, hayzer13 took the NLCS and would face off against Lancelot's AL champs (for the rosters, click here and read through the comments).  After spending the better part of three cups of coffee tallying up the stats, I am proud to announce the results:

So, by a final tally of 7-2, hayzer13's NL squad is the TCB Fantasy World Series champion.  Congratulations to both hazer13 and Lancealot, who have both managed to add a league title to their Yahoo! Fantasy Sports profile.