Gotcha there, didn't I? You clicked on this thinking it was going to be another in the endless string of OMG GAIZ! WHOO R Wii GIONG TO SINE?!?!?! fanposts. But no, no it isn't. And I got you.

As most of you know, I live in Omaha, Nebraska. One of the best parts of living in Omaha is the fantastic baseball scene. We have the Creighton Bluejays, who were led to the College World Series in 1991 by current Cubs general manager Jim Hendry. We have the Omaha Royals, the AAA affiliate of Kansas City. Minor league baseball is just a fantastic way to spend a summer evening. And of course, we have Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium and the College World Series.

The College World Series is, well, fantastic. It arrives in mid-June, just as the weather gets disgustingly humid and the bugs appear on the plains. The school-year has just ended and the summer doldrums start to loom over the city. And then the tents start going up and the RVs appear in South Omaha.

Omaha really is a small town. Sure, it's technically a "big" city with its 500,000 residents and Fortune 500 companies. At heart, though, it's a place where go on hay-rack rides on Friday nights. It's a town where, if there's something special you want to do, you wait until a Cornhusker game-day Saturday for the lines to disappear. Forget Warren Buffett, though; The CWS is Omaha's crown jewel. It's a two-week party and the place to be for every night of its run. The airport is over-run, the hotels full, and the street-parking a cutthroat free-for-all. I had a chance to go last year to watch Stanford play Georgia. We sat in the left-field bleachers. The sun drenched the outfield and the beer was just cold enough for the full house of 25,000+. 

Even though the corporate sponsors have taken over the main stadium parking-lots, there are still plenty of chances to partake in the many traditions of the CWS. Pre-game (or post-game) burgers, frozen yogurt, and beer at Zesto's, which is only busy during the Series. Hanging out with the legions of LSU fans who swamp the city, even when the Bayou Bengals don't make it to Omaha. Screaming "Right field sucks!" when you sit in left-field and vice versa. Also, making fun of the infield grandstand with their fancy shade. Hooding the plastic flamingos as teams get eliminated. Tail-gating wherever you can find a few square feet of grass or pavement. Hitting the Old Market bars at night, already dehydrated from a long day in bleachers. Heading across the bridge to spend rain-outs at the Iowa casinos.

Next summer will be the 60th anniversary of the CWS' arrival in Omaha and the last tournament to be played at Rosenblatt. In 2011, the Series will move to a new ball-park in downtown built specially for the CWS. Who knows if it will measure up to the experience at Rosenblatt. I do know that I will never forget going to see Stanford play in Omaha. My question to you: what is your favorite baseball, or sporting, experience? I'm not talking about the game on the field. I'm talking about everything but. I'm talking about the scene. It could have been the first time you went to a game (Candlestick, 1994, Darryl Strawberry against the Mets) or a trip to a special venue. Tell the story. It'll help make the off-season go just a little faster.

I was just sitting on my couch watching Game 5 tonight. When Chase Utley came to bat in the first inning, I thought, hmm, why don't you hit a homer, Chase? And he did. Crushed. He is easily the most valuable hitter on the Phillies and one of the top three hitters in the NL (it's him with Pujols and Ramirez). Thinking about this got me wondering: if  I could construct a 25-man roster made up only of guys who finished the season in the NL, who would I chose. This would be a traditional roster, not an All-Star team, so normal roster rules apply. 25 guys: 12 pitchers, 13 hitters. This team would play from this day forward, so potential matters, as do bench roles. I obviously weighed this past season's performances most heavily. My team, with 2009 WAR, would be:

C: 	Brain McCann, 4.4

1B: 	Albert Pujols, 8.4

2B: 	Chase Utley, 7.7

SS: 	Hanley Ramirez, 7.3

3B: 	Ryan Zimmerman, 7.1

RF: 	Justin Upton, 4.4

CF: 	Matt Kemp, 5.1

LF: 	Matt Holliday, 5.6

BN:	Yadier Molina, 3.4

BN:	Pablo Sandoval, 5.1

BN:	Troy Tulowitzki, 5.5

BN:	Nyjer Morgan, 4.8

BN:	Ryan Braun, 4.7

SP: 	Tim Lincecum, 8.2

SP:	Chris Carpenter, 5.6

SP:	Ubaldo Jiminez, 5.7

SP:	Cliff Lee, 6.6

SP:	Dan Haren, 6.1

RP:	Ryan Madson, 1.9

RP:	Brian Wilson, 2.4

RP:	Jon Broxton, 2.9

RP:	Huston Street, 1.5

RP:	Rafael Soriano, 2.0

RP:	Mike Gonzalez (L), 0.9

RP:	Jeremy Affeldt (L), 0.8

Relief pitchers have a certain element of inherent fungibility, so I went with guys that are good, young, and don't pitch in Petco. Gonzalez and Affeldt had the highest WAR among left-handed relievers in the NL. 

Hardest calls:

-Not picking Johann Santana. Obviously, the man is very good, but his WAR the past three years has been under 5, after being 7+ the three years before that in Minnesota. I left Wainwright off because I have no idea what his true talent level is (WAR the last three years: 5.7, 2.2, 3.5). Cain has been pretty stable around 4 WAR, so he's not quite one of the elite elite pitchers in the league. Other candidates as SP: Vazquez, Hamels, J Johnson, Kershaw.

-Leaving off Adrian Gonzalez and David Wright. Both of these guys were robbed by the combination of positional strength and lack of roster spots. I was surprised to see how dominant Zimmerman was this year and Pablo's versatility (and superior 2009 stats) allows me to carry two bench OF. Fielder was also a very close call, but I would have picked Gonzalez due to Petco's disastrous effects on left-handed hitters. Tulowitzki had easily the third-best WAR of middle infielders and could probably play 2B or 3B in a pinch. Other candidates as IF: no one.

-The entire OF was hard to call. There just aren't many dominant outfielders in the NL, especially from the left-side. This was definitely where I had to balance potential against production. I mean, Jayson Werth had a higher WAR (4.8) than Justin Upton. And who would have thought that Morgan would have the highest WAR of all NL-only qualifiers in LF? Other candidates as OF: Ibanez, Cameron, Pence.

Anyway, this was just an exercise as some of these players will change teams and/or leagues in the offseason. I was surprised to end up picking four Giants among the league's top 25. Who would have thought that before the 2009 season started? I mean, Brian Wilson had the second-highest WAR among NL relievers and Pablo had the second-highest among third-basemen. I already mentioned Affeldt. Those three hugely exceeded expectations. Combined with Timmy (ridiculous) and Matty (very, very good) and that is a damn fine nucleus. So, who would be on your team? And, while we're at it, does anyone have an AL team? 

Due to USMLE Step 1 dominating my forseeable future, I will be spending many days and nights in the library and I've come to realize that Giants' baseball is perhaps not the best for my concentration. I'm sure my question has been covered, but does anyone know of good scoreboard widgets? I'm looking for a desktop widget for a PC that can be modified to only show the Giants' score. A limited schedule would be fine, too. I really don't care about news. And if this has been covered elsewhere on this site, just point me there 'cause I can't find the post. Thanks in advance for the help.