Baseball Playoffs

It looks like sweet revenge for former New York Yankees skipper Joe Torre. Torre’s old team missed the playoffs this year for the first time in more than ten years, also marking the first season he hasn’t managed them in the same span. Meanwhile, Joe’s current club, the Los Angeles Dodgers, won their division and are flying into the playoffs. Guess who I’ll be rooting for in the National League?!

Since my New York Yankees weren’t good enough this season for the playoffs, I’ll have to go with the home-state boys, the Tampa Bay Rays. If one or both of these teams (Rays or Dodgers) fail to get past their first round, I’ll have to pick another team (or teams) to pull for. One team, though, I will absolutely NOT root for no matter what: the Boston Red Sox (that would be a betrayal of my support for the Yankees). Nothing personal, Stephen King (die-hard Sox fan)!

At this stage, I see the teams still in the playoff hunt and imagine some interesting potential World Series matchups (at this posting, the Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins, Milwaukee Brewers, and New York Mets are in very close races to try to make the playoffs):

--"All-L.A.": Anaheim Angels vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

--"Windy City": Chicago White Sox vs. Chicago Cubs

--"Super Bowl City Rematch": Boston Red Sox vs. New York Mets

--"Cubs try to get past another Florida team": Tampa Bay Rays vs. Chicago Cubs (in 2003, an interfering fan cost the Cubs their playoff series against the Florida Marlins)

--"Settle Old Scores": Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (in a different uniform, LA manager Joe Torre goes up again against former AL East rival Boston, while former Red Sox star-turned-enemy Manny Ramirez is starring for the Dodgers).

--"1986 Series Rematch": Boston Red Sox vs. New York Mets

--"1959 Series Rematch" (for the old folks): Chicago White Sox vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

--"One Franchise Represents Both Leagues": Milwaukee Brewers vs. anyone (the Brewers represented the American League in the 1982 World Series and are now in the National League).

--"My Best Scenario": Tampa Bay Rays vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (with the Dodgers winning)

--"My Worst Scenario": Boston Red Sox vs. Chicago Cubs (couldn’t both teams somehow be made to lose?)

In the “great disappointments” department, I have to ask myself what happened to the Atlanta Braves, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, and of course, the New York Yankees. The Braves, long known for their superb pitching, badly need rebuilding in that area. The failures of the other three teams, in particular last year’s National League pennant winner Colorado, are perplexing to me. Other than the fact that there is a fine line between success and failure in this very competitive sport. Who knows, maybe they’ll be back next year and this year’s successes will flop!

One other thing: Other teams are in the playoff picture as well. In the American League, the Minnesota Twins are battling the White Sox for their division title, while in the National League, the Philadelphia Phillies won the East for the second straight year. These two teams may end up being my fall-back choices should the Rays and/or Dodgers screw up (of course, Minnesota would first need to make the playoffs).