Stammen rooting for Clippard in World Series

WASHINGTON -- Nationals right-hander Craig Stammen will be watching the Fall Classic, eager to see whether the Mets or Royals will be crowned World Series Champion.

"The World Series, in general, is exciting," Stammen said. "It doesn't matter what year and who's playing. Baseball is such a long season. It's finally time to crown a champion. We all look back and see everybody's predictions. Now, they get to decide on the field, as far as who the best team really is."

Stammen says the Mets are in the World Series because of their great young pitching, which includes Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom. It also helped, according to Stammen, that their position players were able to get hot at the same time during the second half of the season.

Stammen believes the Royals have a lot of good energy and play with a lot of passion. He says they have a great lineup from one to nine and an impressive bullpen that can close out games when they have the lead.

Stammen will also keep a close eye on Mets reliever Tyler Clippard, who is a good friend and former teammate of Stammen's for six years in Washington, where Clippard was one of the best setup men in baseball.

"I'm rooting for him quite heavily," Stammen said. "Being one of my good friends, a guy I played with for a long time, I have to put him up there. I'm not tied to too many people on the Royals. I hope Tyler has a good showing for the Mets in the World Series."