Thoughts about the other three LDSes, in which your humble correspondent, Tessie’s Dad, offers his preferences and the (often tenuous) rationale behind them:
NLDS-A, Phillies vs. Brewers. Nothing against the Phillies, but I want to see C.C. Sabathia go as far as possible. Why? Because the Brewers keep using him on short rest, and the accumulating wear and tear on his arm means there’s a chance that, when the Yankees offer him a massive free-agent contract this winter, the last thing he’ll do with that arm of his is sign that contract. He may then watch in horror as it drops off his shoulder, twitches a few times, and dies, leaving the Yankees stuck with the next Carl Pavano. I am given pause by the presence of Eric Gagne on their roster, but I can get past that.
NLDS-B, Cubs vs. Dodgers. Massive conflict here. I’m a Red Sox fan since birth, but I’ve also been a Dodger fan since 1981. I won the first sports bet I ever placed when they beat the Yankees in the World Series that year, and they’ve got some guys on their team that I’d like to see do well, Derek Lowe and Nomar Garciaparra among them. But then there’s that left fielder of theirs, for whom I can no longer cheer in good conscience. The Cubs, on the other hand, are staring down the barrel of an entire century of futility, and, as a Red Sox fan, it’s hard not to sympathize. It pains me to turn my back on the Dodgers, but I have to side with the Cubs. Either way, it will be entertaining to watch the duel between Joe Torre and Lou Piniella, both Yankees managerial cast-offs, while Joe Girardi sits at home.
ALDS-A, White Sox vs. Rays. Another difficult choice here, because I don’t want either team to advance. I respect Joe Maddon as a manager far more than I could possibly respect Ozzie Guillen as a human being, but both teams have players that make me cringe; A.J. Pierzynski & Jonny Gomes are especially hard to cheer for. What tips me toward the White Sox, hard as that is to write, is the Trop. It is simply not a suitable place in which to play baseball, and having to watch postseason broadcasts live from what amounts to a dark, damp cave in Florida while listening to Tim McCarver explaining the “catwalk rules” is too unpleasant to contemplate. We should all be grateful that the White Sox beat the Twins for the AL Central, or this series would be a Tale of Two Domes. Yuck.
So there it is: Brewers, Cubs, White Sox. Mind you, these aren’t necessarily who I believe the winners of these series are going to be; just who I’d like to see win. Anyone want to try and change my mind?
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Thanks, Evan, for the opportunity to further inflict my warped views on everyone else.
Looks like only one series is going the way I want it to; fortunately, it’s the important one!
Nicely done TD. Would it be bad form to just wish for the trop to blow up? Interesting playoffs.
no, MR it would not, I’m all for that place spontaneously combusting as long as no one was hurt. The fact that that building exists is horrifying to architects everywhere
And yet, tens of thousands of new Rays fans are learning to love it, and call it home. As Tampa/St. Pete fans have always been Yankees fans (Legends Field is right up the street), perhaps we can get the Steinbrenners to take aim at the correct stadium this time.
Cubbies, Red Sox, October. It doesn’t matter who wins.
I’ve been to the Trop in July. It’s so damn hot and sticky in FL in July that the your almost glad its a dome because its got AC!
How about the Dodgers and the Sox? That would be pretty cool! Would Manny actually show up and play LF? I would imagine Torre would DH him to protect him from the verbal abuse he would surely receive. How about D-Lowe vs Lester to start things off?
Honestly … LA vs Boston is not my ideal WS … because, knowing Manny, he would crush 2 homers a night and lead the Dodgers to an incredible upset … the satisfaction of beating Manny and the Dodgers is IMO outweighed by the risk of losing to them … I know thats no way to talk during the playoffs but still … think about it