ESPNMAG.com - Mr. November

I believe it was T.S. Eliot who once wrote:

What is the late November doing
With the disturbance of the spring.

One of his Four Quartets. I think. "East Coker," if I'm not mistaken. (Bartlett's Familiar Quotations: friend to pretentious sportswriters everywhere.)

Yessiree, Bob (and BOB), we are about to see our first November World Series. That is, of course, unless the Diamondbacks sweep. (Had you going there for a minute, Yankee fans.)

There was a time when the thought of the Fall Classic spilling over into the 11th month would have sent chills up our spines. I mean, the Iditarod used to have better weather than New York in November. But that was before global warming. Now, I worry that the waters of the Harlem River will partly submerge the Big Bat outside Yankee Stadium.

But seriously, this is gonna be great for November, the Rodney Dangerfield of the calendar, a month bracketed by ballot stuffing and oyster stuffing. Did you know, for instance, that the original poem, written by Richard Grafton in 1562 (thanks again, John Bartlett), read, "Thirty days hath November, April, June and September ..." Yes, somewhere along the line, September usurped November.

Think about it: If you made out a lineup card of the months -- April 2b, September 3b, June ss, December lf, October lb, August rf, July cf, January dh, May c, March p -- where would November be? That's right, on the bench with February. And the month's image wasn't helped by that Keanu Reeves/Charlize Theron stinker, Sweet November.

It's not fair. November is an underrated but useful month. Are there three more noble holidays than Election Day, Veterans Day and Thanksgiving? It's a month for raking leaves and family get-togethers and Christmas shopping and high school football rivalries. And when do you think the Yankees signed Mr. October? That's right: November, 25 years ago.

Having the World Series will now give added glamour to a month heretofore thought to be the gateway to hibernation. Neater yet, baseball will at long last have a new Mr. November to replace Brooks Kieschnick, who tore up the Arizona Instructional League a few years ago.

Who will it be? Well, Mariano Rivera and Curt Schilling are both November babies. As are Clay Bellinger and Matt Williams. Mike Mussina's wife will celebrate her birthday on Nov. 1, when Moose is scheduled to pitch Game 5.

But it won't be them. Hints:

He's hitting the ball pretty well now.

His first and middle names are the first and last names of a World Series hero.

He's just completed his 11th year in the bigs.

If you're hooked on phonics, his last name starts the way the month does.

His birthdate, 7/7, goes nicely with 11.

His number is 11.

Alright, Edward Charles Knoblauch may not be the cuddliest guy out there. But you have to hand it to him for weathering the biggest disturbance of the spring, taking up a new position, getting some big hits, making some nice catches, listening to all that verbal abuse.

Sure, he's not the player he was when the Yankees acquired him. And you just know he'll be gone by next spring, replaced by Barry Bonds or Juan Gonzalez or maybe Rickey Henderson.

But they couldn't have won the last three World Series without him. And all he's gotten is a basic New York cold shoulder. (Not a whole lot of Knoblauch jerseys in the stands.)

In a way, he's already Mr. November.

Steve Wulf is executive editor of ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at steve.wulf@espnmag.com.