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Who's Your Second Pony In The Race?

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?

Poll
The rest of the way, I'm rooting for...
NYY
19 votes
BOS
25 votes
LAA
11 votes
DET
23 votes
LAD
69 votes
COL
111 votes
PHI
46 votes
STL
76 votes
SF
184 votes
TEX
36 votes

600 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs  |  82 comments

Comments

GO SAINT LOUIS!!! WHOOOOOOOOO!

And all that jazz.

no, we're already one WS behind the cards

phillies
tigers
rockies

I'm a Cards fan too...they are my NL team

of course A’s take precedence tho

Not an option in the poll but...

… the Braves are still in the NL Wild Card. They are only 5 back and with the starting pitching they have it’s not impossible they could hang in ’til the end.

Since there are no races left in the AL I’ve taken to watching some NL games, but watching the NL when you’re used to watching the AL is just so disheartening – it’s like trading in your Ferrari for a Chevy Impala.

I only had 10 poll options ;-)

I went with the Giants (Bay Area bias ;-)), but you are definitely right.

Agree 110% about the NL vs. AL
It would probably have to be Colorado or Florida

I couldn’t bring myself to the Yankees, Redsox, Angels, Rangers, Giants or Dodgers. It would be nice to see Big Joe get another WS ring but their fans were such bad losers last year I wouldn’t want to see them win again. Cards I don’t want to see get too far ahead of the A’s in the most WS wins (plus I’d rather Holliday didn’t win a WS this year). The Tigers would probably be the AL team I’d want to progress but I am not quite sure if I have forgiven them for dumping us out of the ALCS a few years ago considering how many attempts it took for us to get there. Therefore it would probably be the Rockies, or Marlins if they pulled themselves back into contention.

Has to be the Dodgers...

…for the sake of domestic peace. But that’s only on condition that 1988 is not mentioned in my presence.

Besides, I like watching Loney and Ethier.

I suppose I will also root for the Tigers out of league loyalty, 2006 notwithstanding.

I can’t root for Cards, with or without Butthurt Holliday. Can’t obvious root for BOS, LAA or Yanks (although I always root for Swish). Can’t root for the Giants because a) crosstown rivals; d) domestic situation mentioned above.

I’m apathetic towards Florida and Philly.

Probably not a popular answer

But my best friend’s a Giants fan. I’m rooting for him.

In the AL, Detroit’s the only team I can stand, although my Dad’s a Yankees fan, so I’d take them over Anaheim or Boston, my two least favorite teams.

Philly and St. Louis are agreeable enough, too, I guess.

I love postseason baseball, and watch it every October regardless of who's playing

I’d love a chance to perhaps see a game in person, so since I live in the Bay Area I’ll root for the Giants…but I still don’t think they’re going to get in.

My least favorite teams are Boston, Anaheim and the Yankees, so I never root FOR any of them.

Oddly enough....

I’ve learned to actively root for Boston in the first round over the last several years. I hope the post season ends up with the Angels matched against them yet again, with the same predictable results. I love seeing them swept out of the first round, although Boston let me down last season by letting them finally score a post season win prior to being dispatched.

My loathing of all things New England resumes shortly after round one.

Colorado, for 2 reasons.

1. Fuck the Gnats

2. I want Huston Street to throw a 9 pitch, 3 strikeout 9th inning four consecutive times to lead the Rockies to a WS Sweep over whoever makes it in the AL, just to FINALLY shut all the Street haters up.

+1

The Giants can take their fat panda to the SF zoo as soon as they are eliminated from the post season playoff race.

re: 2. prophecy baby, prophecy.

Oooooh!

Plus, the Holliday angle!

Pretty easy choice...

Never in a million years would I pull for the Yanks, Red Sawx or slegnA. I agree with BBG – still smarting from 2006, so no to Los Tigres. That takes care of the AL.

Cardinals – I like Pujols, but Holliday has blossomed there after his less than stellar tenure with Oakland. Pass. Los Gigantes – NOT. Don’t want to let them get one. Colorado – well, I am inclined to agree with mikev on the Huston angle. But, the winner is the Phillies because of another former A’s player…

I always liked Matt Stairs when he was with Oakland. I’m gald he (finally) got a ring last year. Shoot, let’s get him another one. :) The Phils are still smarting from losing their excellent broadcaster as we are (even though it’s been four years, I still miss Bill immensely). Plus, my dad had a chance to pitch for them in the 60s right out of high school. He didn’t, but that’s another telethon altogether. :)

Skewered logic at best, but there you have it. Go Phils… :)

I always root for the AL West team

because I feel like it’s the home division.

That’s largely a formality though, since I pay almost no attention to the playoffs if the A’s aren’t playing. The last time the Angels won the WS, I didn’t even know it until about a week later, that’s how out of touch I was.

The Phils

Joe Blanton, Matt Stairs still with some Pinch Hit Pop, a Flyin Hawaiian in Victorino, and former Mariner Raul Ibanez. They’re the closing thing to an AL lineup offensively and pitching wise.

Another vote for the Phils

I live near (and work in) Philly, and anything that can get this area to shut the f up about the Iggles for 5 minutes is fine with me. Plus most of their players are actually pretty easy to like, and Jimmy Rollins is representing Oakland as probably the biggest Rickey fan who’s not on AN.

my take

I root for the A’s. Period. Everybody else can go hang themselves.

That being said, here are some things I will be rooting for.
1. No Sux-Wankees ALCS.
2. First round exit for the slegnA again.
3. No Gnats – I like prolonged futility streaks.
4. No Cardinals.
5. No self-respecting A’s fan should EVER root for the Dodgers – need I remind you of 1988?
6. Twins aren’t mentioned in the poll, but they still have a chance. Screw ‘em – no Homer Dome.
7. Braves aren’t mentioned in the poll, but they still have a chance. Screw ’em – no Tomahawk Chop.

Phillies (they have the best mascot in sports), Rockies, and Tigers would be tolerable to me.

Thank you for this:
I root for the A’s. Period. Everybody else can go hang themselves.

This should be a poll option.

I simply cannot muster up enough betrayal to root for anybody but the A’s. Call me immature but I root for everyone to lose . . . A logical impossibility, but we root for the A’s to win it all every year, which is also an impossibility.

Thanks from me, too, doctorK.

I usually adopt the A’s v The World attitude, but was just playing “What if…?” Thank you for giving my head a shake. Almost feel bad (read: traitorous) for rationalizing my decision now. We now return to our regularly scheduled program, “The Rest of the MLB Teams Outside of Oakland Can Go Suck Eggs.” :Þ

5. Note I didn’t even mention those SoCal blue meanies in my rationalization. ’88 still hurts…

Selig's Wet Dream

Just not into the A.L. playoffs this season. Don’t like any of the teams plus there hasn’t been any drama in any of the divison or wildcard races. Just can’t stomach a Yankees/Red Sox ALCS: 4 hour games, Joe Buck “inning over” crap, Tim McCarver “That ball was outsiiiiiiiiiide” and worst of all every A.L. batter stepping out of the batter’s box for 10 minutes after each pitch. Go N.L., A’s in ’10!

I'd have to go with the Dodgers.

This was an easy decision, as the Dodgers are my NL team. I cheer for them against everyone except the A’s. My dad grew up in LA, so I was indoctrinated into the Dodger Blue very very young (The day after my birth, my dad was holding me up to the tv to cheer for the Dodgers in the NLCS against the Phillies). The only reason I’m a bigger A’s fan is probably because I’ve lived in the Bay Area my whole life and wasn’t allowed to cheer for the Giants (thank god).

Anyways, the Dodgers are my NL team. I can’t cheer for any of those AL teams. I guess I’d cheer for Swisher and the Yankees if I had to hold my nose and pick one. Although a Dodgers v Yankees world series would probably be Selig’s biggest fantasy, and we can’t have that!

Yet another vote for the Phil's

Here is who I am rooting for and in what order. The rest of the teams can go fly a kite for all I care.
1) PHIL
2) COL
3) LAD
4) STL
5) ATL, (sensing a theme?)
6) Tex, (only because of Wash)
7) SF

If NYY, BOS or the slengA win LB will probably hear me cussing in FLA.

Detroit

then St Louis
then Philly

I find it impossible to root for any other team. Colorado would be preferable but I cannot root for an organization that reportedly only hires conservative Christians. Everyone else self explanatory LAD from LA, SFG are for yuppie scum and I don’t want to listen to it, Sox and Yankees have the most drunk and obnoxious fans on the planet and are ruining baseball.

My WS Choice: Detroit vs. The Rockies or Giants

That way, the lowest payroll team in each league gets into the series.

Second choice: The Dodgers beat the Yankees in four straight games, so I can watch Joe Torre gloat.

I wouldn't mind a Dodgers/Yankees WS

Would be crazy good

I'm still hoping that Texas makes wildcard

It is kinda fun being spoiler, though. I would like to see Wash take a team postseason.

Any team but Boston, as far as I am concerned.

How about the A's?

How about screw all these other teams? Dance with who brung ya, you whores.

I'm going to hold you to that on our date this weekend.
I've asked her to The Dance the last three years

and she keeps coming back with “my feet hurt” or “I don’t have any money”.

So we stay home and watch from the couch. Except Sundays. Sundays I’m with her sister.

Her ugly stepsister, you mean.
I have found myself rooting for the Phillies

I think it started with taking Chase Utley and Shane Victorino in my fanasty draft last year. I made Utley my offensive keeper pick and with an autodraft this year I somehow ended up with Utley, Rollins, Victorino all on my team. Then I picked up Jason Werth during a hot streak last month. I know fantasy baseball isn’t a popular topic on AN but when you follow specific players daily you kind of start rooting for their team (when they aren’t playing the A’s of course).

Another reason I started rooting for the Phils was last postseason’s dramatic HR by Matt Stairs (as previously mentioned), who was one of my favorite players on the A’s, and Joe Blanton’s presence on the team.

I’m torn about rooting for the Giants. On the one hand I have a lot of family and friends who really like them and I wouldn’t mind seeing them happy. Plus Lincecum, Cain, and Kung Foo Panda are cool, and I like to see the Bay Area get props. BUT on the other hand, I would hate to lose the bragging rights of being the only baseball team in the Bay Area to win a World Series. I guess we could just play up the 4 WS titles against 1 title but they were so long ago it would be hard to argue.

I wouldn’t mind any of the other NL teams winning it all if they play BOS, LAA, or NYY but I think I would root for TEX (because of Wash) and DET (because it would be great for the city and I like Verlander and Granderson) because I like the AL rules and the A’s are in the AL.

So in order.

1. A’s (I can dream right?)
2. Phillies
3. TEX
4. DET
5. Other NL team (tie)
6. SF (I think, maybe)
7. LAA
8. NYY (it has been 8 seasons right? Hatred is burning on med-low right now)
9. BOS (2 in one decade is enough!)

I've said this before

I root for the American League team in the World Series unless it’s the Yankees then I root for the swine flu.

rooting for the Sux = rooting for the swine flu
I don't have a second horse in the race. Once the A's are eliminated baseball season is over.
B SEB LL

it ain’t the same without the A’s.

Forward that to the A's marketing dept.
Get Rajai to deliver!
Interesting that the Giants are the clear frontrunner here

The tone in the comments toward them is invariably negative, almost pathologically so given how rarely the two teams interact. Yet a clear plurality of fans here are supporting them.

Suggests that most people just aren’t willing to come out and say so because they’re afraid of being assaulted for it.

Well, I’m willing to. I’m actually from San Francisco. To the extent that I have a “local team”, the Giants are it. I root principally for the A’s because I like their style and because I used to when I was a small child. 6 games a year, this is a problem. The rest of the time, it’s just a nonissue.

Right I have the same upbringing, but its not about the teams interacting as much as the fans interacting.
I'm ambivalent about the Giants

The A’s have been better then the Giants in every way and they play in a different league so really I just don’t spend a lot of time thinking about them.

I am curious as to why peeple seem to hate the Red Sox more than the Yankees. The Red Sox are just a copy of the Yankee original and the Yankees beat the A’s in the playoffs just as often as the Red Sox did during the last run of playoff seasons.

To me the year the A’s won the first two games in New York but still lost the series was the worst of the playoff loses.

The Yankees represent everything that is unfair about how baseball does it’s business and George and his idiot sons are jerks of the first order.

Short memory

People hate Red Sox more than the Yankees because memories of Red Sox domination is still fresh.

But ultimately, only the Yankees are pure evil. The Red Sox only look evil because in their mad desire to defeat the Yankees they have copied the Yankees’ evil ways.

Red Sox = Saruman.
Yankees = Sauron.

This is an easy one ...

Why do I hate the Sox more than the Yankees, let me count the ways.

I hate crybabies. For years, Red Sox fan cried, and bitched, and moaned, and screamed, and whimpered, and wept because of Babe Ruth, Bucky Dent, Ed Armbrister, Bill Buckner, Aaron Boone, … the friggin’ list goes on and on and on. Say what you will about Indians fan or Cubs fan — even Giants fan — they know they suck and they don’t try and make excuses for it. Red Sox fan always trotted out every sad excuse in the book. And that was the worst thing about it … Sox fan always acted as if he was entitled to a championship. Like the gods had conspired to keep them away from a title for a hundred years.
And when they finally won? (Spending almost as much on salary as the Yankees, by the way, but always pointing the finger at the “Evil Empire” in NY) They acted as if they were given something stolen from them so many years before. Say what you will about the Yankees, but they win with class. Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Joe Torre, the list goes on and on. Derek Lowe? Kevin Youkilis? Big Papi? Did I mention his name is Big Papi? You know the Big Papi that ESPN used to like to mention 100 times every broadcast … yeah, that Big Papi. They’re dirtbags. And they’re phony. With their 5 oclock shadow and the scrambled eggs still on their uniforms. Real “gamers.”

I could go on, but I won’t. Other than Francona, I hate everything about that team and that fanbase.
Oh, one other thing … if they played the Giants in the W.S, I’d root my ass off for Boston … but that’s another story.

I won't go so far as to kiss the ring,

but the Yankees, as a organization, are classy.

The team and their fans will acknowledge when you best them. If you go into New York and whip their ass, they will say that team came in here and whipped our ass.

You go to Boston and whip their ass, it’s the umps that have conspired against them, or you’re cheating, or there’s some other reason—excuses, like Vacafan says.

I hate the Yankees and Steinbrenner and his exploitation of the system. But do I wish someone like him was running our team? Fuckin’ A, I do. This is a man who loves the team he owns so much that he’s willing and wanting to spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year for them to win.

Three points about George Steinbrenner.

(1) He is the owner of the team (since 1973). While I don’t question the reports that Steinbrenner is far more involved in the running of his team than most owners are, when we say “running our team”, we usually mean the general manager. The general manager of the Yankees is Brian Cashman (since 1973). When you say you’d like someone like George running our team, it’s not clear whether you mean as a replacement for Beane or as a replacement for Wolff/Fisher. (For that matter, it’s not clear if you mean George or Hank.)

(2) I suspect that Steinbrenner’s willingness to spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year for his team to win has less to do with his personal priorities than with the economic realities of the Yankees franchise. Too much of the companies’ financial information is private, so it’s hard to make any meaningful analysis, but it’s not at all clear that if Steinbrenner were to own the Oakland franchise instead he would be as free-spending.

(3) You do know he’s a convicted felon, right? It’s an obstruction of justice charge related to political events (which hopefully are far enough in the past that they won’t tempt anyone to political discussion).

Oddly enough....

I find his criminal conviction endearing. Who wouldn’t want a convicted felon as an owner of his favorite team? While it doesn’t excuse general dickishness, you know the guy really is committed to winning. At all costs.

You never let a dog up when it's down.

Because it will most certainly eventually bite you. See 2004 Boston Red Sox. While only pathetically annoying prior to 04, they’ve since morphed into insufferable pricks.

The Giants must never be allowed to win. Their continued ineptitude and pathetic struggles are a source of joy for me. It nourishes my soul to see them suffer with no hope in sight in perpetuity.

Alox - I couldn't agree more.

It makes me happy … seriously, it brightens my day … to know that Giants fan has to wear the fact they’ve never, ever, ever won a world title in SF. I wish the Tribe and Cubs could win one so that the Giants would be “No. 1” on the list of losers.

In a class by themselves!

I like it!

DOGS AND CATS LIVING TOGETHER.

Its like Jets and Giants fans being friendly, or Cubs and White Sox fans, Raiders and Niners, etc.

The fact that they barely ever play each other has little to do with dislike of the team.

The teams interact all the time.

They share a media market. The SF media machine is keeping Oakland down on a daily basis, and KNBR/Giants is part of that.

PT - closet Giants fan

Everything in the world makes sense to me now.

Closet?

The SBN blog on which I have the third-most comments is McCovey Chronicles.

Not to mention the comment Vacafan just replied to...
I am not from the Bay Area (save for my first few years of existence)

I don’t have any built-in dislike for the Giants so, I’ll go for them, because I:

a) hate the Doghairs and the Angels (the two “local” teams for me)
b) would rather see the Giants win than any of the AL teams except the Tigers (I don’t think they have a shot)
c) have a brother who likes the Giants

But, regardless of who wins, it doesn’t really matter, because come next April, when the A’s are back to playing meaningful baseball, the WS is up for grabs.

It must be said...

…hey Holliday, how about that in the playoffs?

Muhahahahahaha…

Bitter? Me? Nah….

Who the hell picked the Angels in that poll...?

I mean really… who ARE you?

More importantly,

where are you?

(gathers friends, loads them in cars, swings by Walmart to pick up black ski masks)

< secretly photographs LB while he's shopping at Walmart >

 
(for bob: )

I voted for the Angels. See my comment above.

If Texas (or Seattle) were the better team this year, I’d have voted for them.

shame.

I was going to invite you to the beating party too…

I think you already have.

I’m guessing that he’ll be the guest of honor.

And really, it’s a labor of love iglew. Gotta get your mind right bro!

I voted Giants.

Just because I’m tired of that loser-face they all have. Poor pathetic no-WS-wins-ugly-faces.

The Cards or Rockies

I can NEVER EVER root for the following:

Angels
Giants
Red Sox

I find the teams, organizations and fans of all three to be insufferable.

I, too, am shocked by the Giants support.

Not that I have a problem with it (if I could do 2002 over again, I’d MUST rather have the Giants that LAAAA), but just surprised.

That's "MUCH"

probably shouldn’t capitalize the wrong word.

And still can't believe that 60 of you are rooting for that weasel. ;-)
He's not the whole team, though

and I think it is not the same Matt Holliday that was with us for half the season. Just not the same guy at all.
must be the Pujols effect.

Albert Pujols is the awesome.

And, the Cards winning a ring might mean Pujols is more likely to stay there, which means he’s NOT a Yankee/Red Sux/Angel anytime soon.

(I pretty much coinflipped b/w COL and STL)

I rooted for Philly the last 2 years, so i suppose i will root for them again

since i used to live in Philly and all….plus Rollins is still my favorite non-A player…..and i love Pedro and Victorino….screw it, the Phills have become my NL team.

the smallies

Not a hater – they’re local, Lincecum is sick, Barry Z still has a hot bod, glad he rediscovered his mojo. I like their ballpark.

I confess

that I wish I could go tonight, for the kind of playoff atmosphere we’ve come, sadly, not to expect anymore from our team… I wish a poll option had been “A’s front office gets serious” so we can get back to where we belong, which is playing hot-ticket-type games deep into September and October, right? Although I also have to say that to be fair the team, on the field, is playing really crisp right now and has for the last 2 months really.

That said, I have to confess I have been kind of pulling for the Giants to pull out the Wild Card all year, and have been saying all along that if they get in, with their pitching they could be formidable… especially in a short series. Of course, it’s sad that for the mere hope of playoff atmosphere we have to steal away across the pond, to a nice, sterile place where you can take the whole family to eat sushi fajitas and discuss stock trades waiting for the Gnats to score a touchdown, but I voted for the team, not the casual fans who so contribute to the stiff-n-pricey vibe of the telephone company’s stadium. So it’s a mixed bag but at least they got rid of you-know-who, with the size 756 head.

You might have all gotten this the other night in the pre-game but I have great respect for Wash and what he has done in TX, and certainly find myself wishing he was our manager whenever we play these guys… I was holding out hope that the Rangers could tough it out this time and steal it from the Van Nuys Angels of San Bern’dino at the wire, but again they seem to have given up the ghost. Like I’ve been saying I just don’t think their stadium can support ERAs that don’t resemble mileage gauges on 20th century vehicles, largely because of the way the Ballpark provides slugging %ages so plump when you cook it in those hawt summers down there. So oh well on that front… in a way it’s a good thing long term that the Rangers will always have that place as a millstone around their necks, seeing as how we get to hammer away at them 9 or 10 times a season in the bandbox where even we can score 9 runs a game.

All right, I’ll shut up but I wanted to sort of give a voice to why someone might have voted SF even though by reading the comments you’d think for sure that not only does AN want the Gnats to lose, they want to sail across the bay, Pirate Raider style, seize AT&T Park, tow it back over to Oakland and pervert it for their own purposes. Not that I’m, uh, actively recruiting anyone actively for that kind of thing (legal disclaimer here)

I'm pulling for the Giants.

I am not one of the people that hate the Giants because they have more fans than our fav team. I have been to several Giants games this year and it’s been fun. We have tics again for the Sept 26 game. Contending teams make a game fun to watch.

Second choice would be the Braves. My youngest girl likes them and I’ve logged in plenty of hours watching them with her.

I'll root for the AL team I guess.

The NL is so much worse, they don’t deserve it.

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