...MLB 2008?

[potthole]

Agree fully on the Rays.  I'd love to see them do well come playoffs.

[Revan/anakinjmt]

As someone who has family in Chicago, I have to root for the Cubs. And I've been a Yankees fan since Derek Jeter, who's from Michigan, joined the Yankes in '95. And, with family living in Boston now, I have to be a fan of the Red Sox. But, rest assured, I am, first and foremost, a Tigers fan. Still hoping.

[The Chort]

I despise your choices of who to root for, but you earn +1 for rooting for them for the right reasons. I can respect loving a player, and rooting for his team, even if it is pure evil as is the case with the Yankees. And though I'm not fully on board with rooting from where family lives, it's better than most of the people I know who sport Red Sox caps because they think it's cool to like them.

[Frostey II]

I despise your choices of who to root for, but you earn +1 for rooting for them for the right reasons. I can respect loving a player, and rooting for his team, even if it is pure evil as is the case with the Yankees. And though I'm not fully on board with rooting from where family lives, it's better than most of the people I know who sport Red Sox caps because they think it's cool to like them.

+1 to you for your diplomacy.
But anyways.  I know what you're talking about.  I told some guy wearing a Red Sox hat that I moved from Boston, and then he asked me, not even sarcastically, " so, ya like 'them Yankees?"  Gah.

[Valiant]

I'm a Cubbies fan through and through and it was nice to see them go to the playoffs.

[potthole]

I hope the Rays can make some noise in the playoffs.  Never thought I'd see them play in the post season before I turned 30.

[The Chort]

So, the Stros got royally messed over by Bud Selig. When Ike hit, the players and their families were in all kinds of turmoil, not to mention their friends and loved ones. They had to play immediately after it, playing against one of the best teams in the league. After being on a crazy tear, 14 wins in 15 games, they got torn up for a 5 or 6 game losing streak. It's hard to put your heart into the game when it's wrenched apart by your city's peril.

Speaking of cities, Milwaukee was a ridiculously biased choice for a venue. 80 miles from Chicago, and in front of a home crowd that really wanted Houston's streak towards their Wild Card spot to end. It's hard to pick anywhere worse to play those games.

In all reality, I agree with Lance Berkman's take on the situation. He postulated that if this had happened to Boston or New York, maybe even this year's golden boys in Tampa Bay, the commissioner would have sucked it up and had them play a double-header the day after the season ended, if needed.

Houston got royally messed over, and I'm pretty ticked off. Do these emotions make sense to y'all? Wouldn't you be up in arms if legitimate play-off hopes were dashed in such a way?

[potthole]

If the games weren't against the Cubs, in nearby Miller Park, I wouldn't really think twice about the situation.  However, from the first I heard the news of those games being moved, I knew it was an immediate advantage for the Cubbies, which I felt was pretty cheap.

[The Chort]

Here comes the list of which teams I will be rooting for and against this October. I'd also like to hear other people's list of who they're for and why.

1. Tampa Bay Rays: Feel good story of the year, lots of young guys, and it's a team that doesn't make me sick to my stomach. (See my bottom two teams)

2. Milwaukee Brewers: Division rival, yet not to the extent that I abjectly hate them for knocking the Stros out of contention multiple times. And also, look at how they named their team! "So, uhh... What do we have here in Wisconsin?" "Beer?" "BrewersDONE!"

3. Anaheim Angels: Played great ball all year. Won a ton of games, yet still get little respect.

4. Los Angeles Dodgers: Admittedly one of the worst teams in the post-season after squeaking out of the miserable N.L. West, I'd love for them to shock the world by going deep. Especially because that would mean getting past another blue-clad team in their NLDS series...

5. Philadelphia Phillies: Not a huge fan, but if them winning means it keeps the bottom three from glory, I'll cheer for Pennsylvania.

6. Chicago White Sox: They gain points for Ozzie Guillen, but they will forever be on my bad side because of the World Series in which they swept my Stros. If they'd let us win ONE GAME I would have been able to at least watch Game 5 on T.V., but instead I just heard bit on the radio.

7. Boston Red Sox: Bostonians have gotten enough glory in this decade (or century for that matter.) The Red Sox, the Patriots, and the Celtics should be required to lose for a few decades to make up for their epic 2000's. The BoSox also get inordinate amounts of press coverage, which always ticks me off.

Last. Chicago Cubs: My fondest baseball wish is for the Stros to win the World Series sometime during my life. My second fondest wish is for the Cubs to not win the World Series anytime during my life. They are my least favorite team, and I hope the Dodgers devastates their hopes by sweeping them out of the Play-Offs. It seemed like I couldn't turn on Baseball Tonight anytime in the season without hearing about the 100 years of misery. Boo hoo. Please... Anyone but them.

[Alexisonfire]

This thread has a distinct lack of Youppi.

[The Chort]

With glee, I watched the Cubs fumble fairly routine grounders while their ace, Zambrano, looked on in horror. In all honesty, he pitched well enough to get out of the 2nd inning unscathed, but his defense floundered, allowing five runs. I am quite pleased to see the Cubs down 2 - 0 in a best-of-five series, heading to L.A.

In other news, I do really like Joe Torre, especially since he's not in pinstripes anymore. He seemed like a cool enough guy as the Yankee coach, but chilling in the dugout in Dodger blue just seems to make him exude awesomeness. Thanks, Joe, for going farther than the Yankees and for breaking Cubbie hearts.

[potthole]

Rays and Brew Crew were my top two teams at the start of the playoffs.  The Sawx and Sox are my bottom two.

[The Chort]

And with that, the Cubs are swept unceremoniously from the play-offs. Do I feel sorry for the Cubs? No, they get paid out the nose to play baseball. That's the life dream of so many kids. I feel bad for the true Cub fans. Not the people who think it's trendy to show up to a game. Not the bandwagon fans. Not the annoying whiners. But the people who truly love The Game, and love the Cubs for the right reasons. I hate that they have endured so much. May y'all find solace in the mantra, "There's always next year..."