I must shamefully admit to some mixed feelings about this week's series. On one hand, it is awesome to see how well the A's are playing these days, especially against their own division. I always want them to win; I can't root against them, even at this point in the season. However, on the other hand...well...despite my minor criticisms of Ron Washington as a manager, the reality is that the post-season is almost certainly going to include my two least favorite teams in MLB; the Red Sox and the Angels. Texas is the only team left with even an outside chance of taking over one of the spots. The A's are heading into tonight's game looking for the series sweep, and because of the last two games, the Rangers are now 5.5 behind Boston and 6 behind the Angels.
While I can't outright root for the Rangers until after the season is over, I know that for me, if the four AL playoff teams end up being New York, Boston, the Angels, and Detroit (and it will be; Minnesota should be done without Morneau), I will simply root for the National League the whole way through. That will be a fairly awful representation of the American League; for three obvious reasons and I'm still sore at Detroit for 2006. Not to mention, it would be nice to get another team from the AL West into the race; if for no other reason than to prove everyone wrong about the 3-team race in the AL East. No one thought the West had a chance.
Over in the National League, I hold a large grudge against the Cardinals and in fact hope that Holliday strikes out to lose each and every playoff game. The Dodgers are the closest thing I have to a home team (even though I wish a certain Andre Ethier was still an A) and I have rooted for the Rockies before (did not work out so well in the Series), but I hold no special affinity for the Phillies (although I do love Ryan Howard). I can't help but be a little bit riveted to the Giants' last-ditch effort to take over the Wild Card by winning yet another game over the Rockies last night (Zito with a gem, no less!).
I imagine I will find a team to root for at some point, or I will choose the Dodgers, since their stadium is just down the road, and I can attend games. How about you? Do you have a team in the race this year? What match-up would you like to see in the World Series?
