With World Series is over, let offseason fireworks begin

The season is over. The World Series is over. The parade is over. Even the White House visit is over. It’s chiseled in the history books that the Washington Nationals ruled baseball in 2019.

As if things were that easy and that clear cut.

The World Series turned on a tworun homer off the bat of Howie Kendrick in the seventh inning of the seventh game. In an instant the Nationals went from trailing by a run and struggling to leading by a run and taking charge. They went on to win the game and the World Championship.

All that happened on a fly ball that collided with the right field foul pole.

Baseball is a game of inches and that’s more than just a cliché. It was palpably obvious as Kendrick rounded the bases. Had that ball’s

course varied by as little as six inches it would have merely been strike two. Kendrick would have had to return to the batter’s box and face one of the game’s best pitchers with a count of 0-and-2.

Six inches made a huge difference in the inning and very possibly the game itself. Six inches may have been all that were needed to move the victory parade 1,400 miles.

The Nationals were never the best team in baseball in 2019 but they’re World Champions because they were the grittiest. They qualified for the postseason merely as a wildcard and had to battle their way through the field. On three occasions they were trailing in the seventh inning of an elimination game, but they fought back every time.

During the six-month grind that is the regular season, the Astros were baseball’s best team. During the early rounds of the playoffs that led up to the World Series they were baseball’s best team. Only during the final three innings of the final game were they not the best team.

The Astros won 107 games in the regular season, which was their third straight 100-victory campaign. They joined the 1929-31 Philadelphia Athletics, the 1942-44 Cardinals, the 1969-71 Orioles, the 1997-9 Braves and the 2002-4 Yankees as the only teams to hit triple digits in victories three years in row.

None of their predecessors did it a fourth time. In 2020, the Houston Astros will have a chance to be the first. Not that that will be easy.

Gerrit Cole, a pitcher who won 20 games, will be a free agent and he has made it clear he doesn’t expect to return to the Astros. He a Californian and seems to favor playing in his home state. However, the Yankees are likely to rattle the piggy bank loudly enough to make him think about becoming a New Yorker.

The other mainstays of the rotation, 21-game winner Justin Verlander and trade deadline acquisition Zack Greinke will be back, but they’ll be 37- and 36-years old, respectively. Moreover, Verlander might have to get along without his favorite catcher, Robinson Chirinos, who will also be a free agent. By the way, Will Harris, who compiled a 1.50 ERA as setup man in the bullpen, is another free agent and is likely to leave,

The Nationals also have serious issues with free agency. Eighteen-game winner Stephen Strasburg is eligible to leave. He’s a San Diego native and the Padres surely will be interested in his services. Anthony Rendon, a finalist for the MVP award, is also a free agent and many teams — including one near us — could be in the market for a third baseman.

There could be some other significant shifts in the balance of power. The Indians reportedly want to shed salary and will listen to offers for shortstop Francisco Lindor. The Dodgers are likely to be first in line.

The Red Sox are determined to get their payroll under the luxury tax threshold. Publicly, they said they were pleased when designated hitter J.D. Martinez declined to exercise his opt-out clause, but privately they may be singing a different tune. Martinez will earn $23.75 million next year. Pitchers Chris Sale and David Price will make even more than that and outfielder Mookie Betts will likely be in their class when he completes his salary negotiation and/or arbitration. To meet their intended salary goals the Bosox will probably part with at least two of those players.

Among teams in the opposite position are the Padres and White Sox — two teams with plenty of young talent who probably feel that a major trade or significant free agent signing could boost them into contention next year.

As usual, the winter will likely be cold. But it shouldn’t be dull.