I love the A's, been a fan since 1987. I moved to SoCal in 2003 but have bought the MLB Extra Innings package every year to watch my beloved team. I have enjoyed this run more than any other season, other than maybe 2002. All I've been able to think about for the last week and a half is this team's success

That said, this next series will be very hard for me

You see, my first cousin (Doug Fister) is a starter for Detroit. I am very proud of him, and I rooted like crazy for the Tigers in the playoffs last year

So I am faced with a no win situation. Either I root for a family member, or I root against a team that is, in some ways, a part of my identity.

Some have told me "just root for the Tigers when your cousin is pitching" Yeah, but this is a short series! It's not as hard for me to root against the A's when he is pitching against them in May. But now, there's a lot more on the line

I gotta be honest--- this is taking some of the fun out of the playoffs for me, something I usually think is one of the best times of year