Ladies and Gentlemen, Prepared to Get Bucked

Yes, the World Series starts tonight, starring Joe Buck and Tim McCarver (at least that's what they'd say).

A special treat for Mariner fans: both starting catchers were once members of the Mariners organization. Yorvit Torrealba played 42 games for the dismal '05 Mariners after coming over in the equally dismal Randy Winn trade. U.S.S. Mariner dubbed him JoeJessica as a mnemonic device to remember his actual name.

Jason Varitek was a #1 draft pick by the M's in 1994. After a long and pointless holdout (he'd also held out a year after being drafted by the Twins in '93), Varitek joined the Mariners and stunk up their minor league system for three seasons, never batting above .262. He went to the Red Sox in the Heathcliff Slocumb trade, and eventually found the batting stroke he had in college, the one that got him named to the All-Time College All-Star Team. Damn you, Varitek!

Seattlest never misses the first game of the World Series, though it's a melancholy event. It means the baseball season, our very favorite thing in the world (sorry, pet monkey) will be over in a week.