Who are you rooting for in October?

[chrisfont9]

I'm with the pro-Cubs people. I understand not liking Maddon. I know there are arguments that CHC fans aren't as desperate for a win as pre-2004 Red Sox fans were. But I also remember a lot of people saying things like, "Oh, Boston fans don't want to win, they won't know what to do with themselves, they LIKE being lovable losers, etc" back in the day. And the Cubs fan bashing sounds all too similar to me. 2004 was fucking magic, and every championship-drought fanbase deserves to experience something like that.
 
That said, my top rooting interest is purely anti-Yankees. And then anti-Cardinals -- mostly because they've had enough recently, and also to some degree because of their fanbase. As an L.A. resident, I dig the Dodgers...but I sort of like the idea of Mattingly never having a ring. (Jesus, I'm a negative asshole still scarred by years of NYY dominance.)
 
I guess my rankings would be:
 
1. Cubs (1908)
2. Astros (never won, and I know some good fans of the team)
3. Pirates (great to see them be relevant again, and a fun team)
4. Royals (been 30 years, plus so close last year)
5. Rangers (never won)
6. Blue Jays (20-ish years, plus they'll be fun as hell to watch)
7. Dodgers (would be much higher if Mattingly had been fired, which is so petty and dumb and I'm sorry)
8. Mets (love the idea of sad Yankee fans; hate the idea of '86 highlights throughout the Series)
9. Cardinals (enough)
10. MFY (ENOUGH)

I'll go:
1. Mets (my original pick though Harvey is making me reconsider)
2. Pirates (echos of lovable '79 team)
3. Jays (Great city, least obnoxious div rival)
4. Cubs (I get it)
5. Dodgers (all else being equal, great postseason pitching is fucking awesome)
6. Royals (sympathy if not excitement)
7. Astros (meh)
8. Rangers/Cardinals (pass)
not listed: Yankees

 

[wiffleballhero]

Cubs.
 
Anything else after that is obviously subordinate to the importance of the Yankees being eliminated and then the Cardinals going away.
 
I also agree that criticizing Cubs fans for not being as pathological as we were (I was) before 04 seems narcissistic in its own way. I hope they win.  

 

[Cyberlibrarian]

In the NL, the Mets. No question. I've been a Mets fan since the 1960s, and I feel that it's required for me to hate both the Cubs and the Cardinals. I live and work near where the Pirates play their spring training games and I go to a lot of games for their Florida State League team, so I've developed a real soft spot for the Pirates.

In the AL, the Blue Jays. If the Angels had made it, I'd be pulling for them (my brother moved to LA and became an Angels fan. But the Angels didn't make it, so Blue Jays all the way.

 

[Plympton91]

As in any year the Red Sox are out, I'm rooting for the 5th place teams. Hoping for Cubs vs Astros in order to further mock the made for TV gimmickry and reinforce the notion that we should never again refer to a "World Series" but rather start calling it the championship round of the post-season tournament. The best team in baseball this year was the Cardinals. A bunch of coin flips over the next few weeks notwithstanding.

 

[kieckeredinthehead]

As in any year the Red Sox are out, I'm rooting for the 5th place teams. Hoping for Cubs vs Astros in order to further mock the made for TV gimmickry and reinforce the notion that we should never again refer to a "World Series" but rather start calling it the championship round of the post-season tournament. The best team in baseball this year was the Cardinals. A bunch of coin flips over the next few weeks notwithstanding.

Except when the Red Sox don't sign Ellsbury, then we can call it the "playoffs."

 

[kieckeredinthehead]

Baseball: it wasn't made for TV gimmickry when I was a lad