The Front Row with JASON ELLIOTT October 27, 2010

At the start of the 2010 baseball season, I figured that I'd see Cliff Lee pitching the first game of the World Series.

And as luck has it, he'll do so for a team in the American League West, but just not the one that most expected at the start of the season.

LEE TAKES the mound for the Texas Rangers tonight when they make their first World Series appearance against the San Francisco Giants.

As the playoffs began, there was no way that I thought either team could get by the Yankees or the Phillies, but they did.

This season for the Rangers has been a strange one, with manager Ron Washington testing positive for cocaine during spring training, and the team being sold midway through the year - you could have excused the Rangers for saying they were a little distracted.

But it didn't matter.

Texas got on a roll early in the season and never allowed any of the other teams in the AL West get close in the closing weeks of the season.

Meanwhile the Giants, who nearly lost the NL West crown to San Diego, had to win on the final day of the regular season and also find ways to get past the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies on the road to win a pair of playoff series.

Boasting a roster filled with other teams' castoffs, the Giants have played enough close games to make every out in the series worth watching.

IN RECENT years, most of the teams in the World Series could buy their way into the playoffs, building rosters with multi-million dollar contracts.

Even though they'd spent a ton of money, the Phillies struck out of a third consecutive appearance, despite having a dominant performance in the first round against Cincinnati.

If nothing else, this proves there is parity in baseball. Whether it’s a small market team like Tampa Bay or the big market teams like the Yankees, at least some competitive balance appears to be returning to the sport.

For years, I didn’t believe it, although that’s what league commissioner Bug Selig wants you to believe.

But looking at previous champions like the Yankees, Red Sox and Phillies — all have a great baseball tradition.

OUTSIDE OF Nolan Ryan, who is now the part-owner of the Texas Rangers, and his two no-hitters for the team, I couldn’t name another piece of Rangers baseball history if I had to.

The San Francisco franchise has plenty of history, from World Series titles in New York to having a home game in the Series delayed due to an earthquake in 1989.

Some of the big names might not be there, but don’t expect this World Series to lack its share of excitement.

Parity — it’s a good thing.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d’Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via e-mail at jelliott@cdapress.com.