The Natural Mind," his classic 1974 study of drugs and higher consciousness, Dr. Andrew Weil defined two types of paranoia. Those who exhibit the first feel, when faced with a series of random events, that "the universe is a conspiracy organized for their own benefit." Baseball fans in this group might generally be described, give or take a disappointing season or two, as followers of the New York Yankees. In the second type of paranoia, people see a hostile pattern in random occurrences. In other words, the universe is a conspiracy organized against them. Baseball fans who fit this description have a history of rooting for the Boston Red Sox (at least until recent years), the Chicago Cubs and, most of all, the Philadelphia Phillies.

Prof. Bruce Kuklick of the University of Pennsylvania, author of "To Everything There Is a Season: Shibe Park and Urban Philadelphia," puts it this way: "The New York Mets have had some hard times, but no matter how rough things get, you still hear their fans say, ‘Ya gotta believe!’ I’ve never heard a Phillies fan say that.

I think the Phillies have a good shot to win the Serious, you?