The Moose in the Closet: It's the most wonderful time of the year

Today I put politics and economics behind me and give my undivided attention to the MLB Playoffs. Even though my Mets choked again, there are four teams in the playoffs that I legitimately like this year:
1) The Red Sox because I lived around the corner from Fenway for four years and helped out by the fact that Robin's a die hard fan. When the Sox win she's happy and when she's happy...well..
2) The Cubs because it's hard for anyone who's not a White Sox fan to hate the Cubs. They're the Red Sox of 2004, the lovable losers, except they have better merchandise.
3) It's not the Brewers organization I like, it's the fact that they're a losing team from Milwaukee with a fanbase most under-500 teams couldn't even fathom. The Brewers don't shatter attendance records by any stretch of the imagination but in their 39-year history they only had the lowest league attendance ONCE despite being under .500 26 TIMES. I don't think they ever had the lowest MLB attendance. The Brewers have only had 13 "winning" seasons and yet they're not the poorest attended team in baseball. You have to appreciate that level of fan devotion.
4) The Dodgers. They left Brooklyn well before I was born but that didn't stop me from owning Brooklyn Dodgers' gear as a kid. Aside from some sort of lingering Brooklyn pride I'm in love with the fact that Torre took the Dodgers to the playoffs while the Yanks stayed home. Also, the prospect of Manny battling the Sox in the World Series is the second sexiest possible baseball story this year behind the Cubs battling the Sox in the World Series.

Ideally, I'd like to see Cubs/Brewers and Sox/Sox LCSs and a Cubs/Sox World Series. Realistically, I think we'll see:

1) Red Sox beating the Angels in 4. Angels might have owned the Sox in the regular season but the Sox have been legendary in the playoffs this decade and they've owned the Angels in October. The Sox are just too clutch, they have a better offense, and the Angels pitching staff teeters too close to the edge to deal with hot bats.
2) Tampa Bay sweeping the White Sox. T-Bay is this years Rockies - the team no-one gives a shit about that will look dominant in the playoffs only to get there asses kicked in the World Series. Now, I'm not saying the Rays will beat the Sox in the LCS but I definitely think they pose the biggest challenge. They're 13th in Batting Average, 8th in Slugging Percentage, 4th in Home Runs, 2nd in strikeouts, 9th in RBIs, 5th in OBP, 2nd in ERA but just two places ahead of the Red Sox, and yet they have 97 wins and won the division. That's the definition of scrappy and clutch, right there.
3) Cubs over Dodgers in 5. This one's going the distance, I think. Drama with gravitate to the Cubs this October and too many members of the Dodgers have something to prove.
4) Phillies sweep the Brewers. I really hope I'm wrong about this one. I really, really hope I'm wrong. But Sabathia gets his start in Philly, which is tough, and then the Brewers pitching staff falls off considerably. If the Brewers can stretch it to a Game 5 and Sabathia gets his second start, they have a chance. If Sabathia loses Game 2, however, this series is over.

But, you know, as long as it's not a Phillies/Tampa Bay World Series I'd be happy.

Labels: baseball, editorial

It's the most wonderful time of the year

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

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