Every year, I, and every other Red Sox fan assess the chances of the team going deep into the playoffs. This year, we have the luxury of not having the Red Sox go deep in the playoffs, because they are not in the playoffs at all. That said, I have no real dog in this year’s fight other than I don’t want the Yankees to win. Anyone but.
So, without further ado, I will rank the teams that I am rooting for to win it all.
San Francisco Giants – Barry who? We don’t know anyone named Barry. Although it did take them until the last day of the season to clinch. One of two cities I would consider living in on this list. Is there anything wrong with being a San Francisco liberal? Oh, that’s right, I must be un-American for admiring a place that is in America. Sorry.
Cincinnati Reds – Small market team in a city whose only great song is the theme to a TV show about a radio station. I never understood the appeal of Lonnie Anderson, speaking of WKRP. No, this is not the other city in which I would consider living.
Atlanta Braves – Great to see this team make the playoffs in the last year of Bobby Cox. If I were crass, I’d make some joke about Bobby Cox being old. But I’m not crass, although Bobby Cox is old.
Minnesota Twins – Thank goodness they finally moved out of that building with the trash bags in the outfield. With The Replacements, Husker Du and Prince all hailing from the area, Minneapolis and St. Paul don’t need a great song.
Texas Rangers – This team spent years trying to recover from the leadership of George W. Bush. Sound familiar? Seriously, how can you root against a recovering drug addict trying to put his life back together? No, not Bush, but Josh Hamilton. Bush doesn’t own the team anymore.
Philadelphia Phillies – I like their unis from back in the days of Mike Schmidt much better. Back then, they played on concrete that was spray painted green. Maybe that’s why Philly fans have received such a bad reputation, they were reacting to a really ugly, multi-purpose stadium.
Tampa Bay Rays – That stadium, Tropicana Field, looks as though an architect decided to build around a UFO crash site. Since they dropped the Devil from their name, this has actually been a good franchise. Not being superstitious, I attribute this improvement not to player development and scouting, but to the elimination of Beelzebub from their name. Likewise the Duke Blue Devils would win more if they changed it to the Duke Blue.
New York Yankees – Does anyone seriously want to see the Yankees win another World Series? Aren’t Yankee fans sick of not having the entire month of October to prepare for Halloween? And, yes, I’m certain that Babe Ruth would have done steroids, unless he was afraid of needles.
