World Series storylines: 7 thi...

The World Series is here. An exhilarating, and at times shocking, postseason has offered up familiar faces and brand  new ones to duke it out in the Fall Classic. It’s the Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies, the American League’s top seed vs. the National League’s last team in. It’s a club making its fourth World Series appearance in six seasons against one vaulting back into the spotlight for the first time since 2009. The Astros, winners of 106 games in the regular season, will have the home-field advantage and host Game 1 on Friday. That game, like the rest of the series, starts at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.

1. Can the Astros go undefeated in the postseason?

In case you hadn’t noticed, the Astros haven’t lost yet in the playoffs. They swept the Seattle Mariners in the ALDS — even though it took four games’ worth of baseball to get three wins. They swept the New York Yankees in the ALCS.

They enter the World Series 7-0. If they were to sweep the Phillies to claim the championship, they would be the first team to pull off an 11-0 postseason. Since the wild card was added in 1995, the closest teams to October perfection were the 2005 Chicago White Sox and 1999 Yankees (each going 11-1). Since 1969 — when the ALCS and NLCS game into being — the only team to complete an undefeated season is the Big Red Machine, the 1976 Reds. That team had to go only 7-0 to win the whole shebang. The 2014 Kansas City Royals and 2007 Colorado Rockies both entered the World Series undefeated, but fell short of championships. (Maybe remember that one when broadcasters bandy about the importance of momentum.)

2. Bryce Harper reaches for the pinnacle

Let's pause for a moment to just rejoice that one of baseball's most well-known talents will get a chance to shine during the World Series. With his game-winning home run in Game 5 of the NLCS, Philadelphia Phillies sensation Bryce Harper essentially knocked down the door to the big stage and gained a chance that has evaded some of the greatest, brightest talents of this and prior eras. Harper was recognised as a standout at the age of 16, but the Washington Nationals were never able to use his MVP-caliber performance to take home even a single postseason series. Before this summer's ascending turn escalated into a miraculous fall, his commitment to the Phillies in free agency appeared to be similarly snakebitten.

3. Can Justin Verlander avoid World Series stumble?

The Astros' ace doesn't require a lot more brilliance for his resume. He'll probably win his third Cy Young Award the following month, capping off a 39-year-old year in which he looked like one of the finest pitchers in the world after recovering from Tommy John surgery. But if there's one line on his résumé that Verlander would like to change, it's probably his performance in the World Series. He enters with a 5.68 ERA, and an 0-6 record, in seven starts across four World Series appearances. He got his ring in 2017, but even then his starts couldn't have been totally satisfying. He allowed three runs in a Game 2 that devolved into an extra-inning thriller, then he took the loss in Game 6 despite allowing only two runs. In the Astros' 2019 World Series defeat to the Washington Nationals, he was bested twice by Stephen Strasburg, losing Games 2 and 6. If he's remembered for anything in that series, it's for serving up the pitch that Juan Soto turned into an iconic, reputation-cementing homer as an all-time precocious talent.

4. Dusty Baker continues quest for title No. 1 as a manager

While we're on the topic of individual legacies, Astros manager Dusty Baker is looking for the cherry on top of a managerial career that will likely land him in the Hall of Fame. This is his third pennant and 12th playoff team at the helm. At age 73, his charming quips and superstitious dugout antics have made him an MLB institution — along with that whole track record of persistently winning. A teammate of Henry Aaron in his playing days, few people reach back through the sport’s history like Baker. More than a few people would be thrilled to see him inscribe his name into history as a World Series-winning manager.

5. Phillies manager Rob Thomson steers his very first team into the Fall Classic

Meanwhile, the manager in the other dugout is calling the shots in a World Series before his first opening day as a skipper. The Phillies’ Rob Thomson, 59, took over the reins from Joe Girardi in June. Right about then, everything about a disappointing Phillies season brightened. The unassuming Canadian, a career coach who had largely let the idea of running a team go, has been exactly what this Phillies team needed. Initially handed the job on an interim basis, he now has a two-year contract to lead them through 2024. He has pressed just about every right button so far, including navigating a thinner bullpen through the stresses of October. He’s already the toast of Philadelphia. If he can find four more wins, he might never buy a drink again.

6. Would a clean Astros championship change anyone's mind?

Nothing will ever totally dispel the black cloud over the 2017 Astros for some people. Yankees and Dodgers fans, and some assorted others will always feel aggrieved, always harbor suspicion around the members of the team that used electronics and trash cans to steal signs. That's their (and maybe your) prerogative. What's becoming more difficult is holding up the cheating as a reason to discount the Astros' success. They are perpetually the class of the American League, despite turnover on the field and in the front office. The players who remain from that 2017 team — most notably Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman — are still putting up superstar stats (presumably) without the benefit of untoward assistance. The players who were unrelated or have come into their own since then — Yordan Alvarez, Kyle Tucker, any and all pitchers — form one of the most successful cores in baseball history. This will be their third World Series without the sign-stealing operation, and second since the scandal came to light. If they win a second set of rings, will it fan the flames of Astros hate? Or quiet the boos with a stamp of legitimacy?

7. Logic or chaos? Choose your fighter for Astros-Phillies

To the dismay of some and delight of most, this month has reinforced the playoffs’ propensity for unpredictable outcomes. Perhaps, then, given the discourse surrounding the correct balance of measuring up and entertainment value, this is the matchup we deserve. The Astros are a juggernaut, their skill and depth of talent proven by six straight ALCS appearances and yes, even that 2017 World Series victory that was tainted by the sign-stealing scandal. The Phillies, meanwhile, barely made the playoffs. Where the Astros are a sleek machine — from a pitching pipeline to a well-established core of all-around position players to a savvy defense — the Phillies are a bundle of bottle rockets all going off at once. Their default starting lineup will feature four players whose ideal position is probably designated hitter, and none of them will be playing designated hitter — that will be Harper, who has an elbow injury that affects his throwing. But the flip side also works, or at least has this postseason: The Phillies have so many guys who can hit! That includes catcher J.T. Realmuto, one of the only backstops in the history of the sport who is even a threat to tally an inside-the-park home run, much less do so in a playoff game.