Who's the best*?! We start to find out tonight.
I'm rooting for the Phillies. I like Dusty and would like him to get a managerial WS title to cement his status as HoF manager** It shouldn't be a question now but you hate to leave anyone a reason to not make the vote. But I've always had a soft spot for the Phillies. Well that's not true. I did dislike the early 90s Phillies. But all around that? Good feelings. I also have a Phillie loving friend and I have no Astros friends. Dusty isn't a reason alone to root for the Astros he's a tonic that makes the bad feelings of them losing go down a little easier.
As for how I think the series goes? I think the Astros are better. I think the Astros will win. But if I have to make a prediction I'll do it this way.
If the Phillies win G1, the Phillies will win in 5. The Astros will get in their own heads about failing to win in the end and it'll snowball.
If the Astros win G1, the Astros will sweep. The Astros will be charged to be the first team in forever to go through the post-season undefeated, and the first one to do it in the WC era.***
For reference here is how I feel about every team
NYY - The BEST! They should win every year!
BOS - The Worst! They should lose every game and have to move and we should raze Fenway!
TOR - I like their uniforms and logo but every time I think I might be ok with them I remember the early 90s Blue Jays who I did not like and I can't let it go
BAL - Extremely hateable when they are good, otherwise ok
TBR - The Next Worst! They should have to move and we should raze the Trop and actually everyone agrees with this
CLE - No real opinion. I wish they'd win once so we can move onto I guess the Tigers
CHW - I like them more than the Cubs. That's about it
MIN - Dislike Minnesota. Don't know why. Always glad Yankees always beat them
DET - I kind of like the Tigers. Snazzy uniforms
KCR - A bit annoying because they seems to hate the Yanks at a level that is disproportionate with how much they should but I harbor no ill will in return
HOU - Liked them, the Ryan/Scott/Cruz version, the Killer Bs version but now I hate them, I'll probably like them again once all these cheaters are gone in a decade
SEA - Dislike. For 95 but also there's a lot of Yankee hate from this place too and they tend to think way too much of themselves in terms of baseball (or more likely they are way over represented in baseball talking head circles)
LAA - Hate the dumb LA in the name but otws no opinion. I'd like to see them in the playoffs.
TEX - No opinion
OAK - Like the Phillies I really disliked them for a time (that being the Bash Brothers era) but unlike the Phillies no like around them. Just meh. I like their uniforms.
ATL - No like. Maybe if you stop the chop
NYM - Now that I don't live in NY there's definitely kid brother vibes for them. Also my kid brother does like them. Like "I can't hate you. You try so hard and never succeed!" They'd probably be extremely hateable for a long time if they ran off a couple series in a row though.
PHI - Schmidt! Hayes! Juan Samuel! I liked those guys. So here we are
MIA - Eh. Still feel new and underserving to me
WSN - Very interested in them as a well wisher
STL - I don't dislike them as much as I play along. the 80s cards were fun. good unis. but generally I'm rooting against them.
MIL - I kind of like the Brewers. Really like the old school logo. Players don't do anything for me though.
CHC - sort of dislike I guess? They are just another team and not lovable so when people say they are lovable that bothers me. I'm glad they won though.
CIN - They should be better so I kind of root for that. Not sure where on the dislike-like range that falls.
PIT - Pirates are fine. I think I should like them MORE because I like pretty much everything around them, colors, uniform, city, but it never gets there.
LAD - Surprisingly more neutral than you'd think
SDP - I feel an odd connection to the Padres and San Diego teams in general that I usually like to see them do well. Also my love for Tony Gwynn is real if toned down from the fun I have on line.
SFG - Eh.
ARI - Kind of like the Marlins. They shouldn't be good. And it feels sort of right when they are bad but a good D-back teams that doesn't win a pennant or anything is fine.
COL - All over the place. I could get behind them or totally root against them depending on what's happening.
*best being poorly defined by which teams who were at least good, ran the gauntlet of several short series to end up the last team standing.
**for those that don't believe - he's 9th all time in wins as a manager. Everyone through 16 is either in the HOF or will be with the exception of Gene Mauch who has a lifetime winning percentage that ranks 223rd and only 2 postseason appearances both losing the only series he managed. He's 4th in playoff appearances, though that means less now, everyone through 9 is either in or will be. This is his 3rd pennant and out of guys with 3 or more 35 are in the HoF (though a few might be in as players) and a couple will be.
*** The 99 Yanks and 05 White Sox went 11-1,
I think the blog will be split. Personally, I'm pulling for Dusty despite the cheaters (partially because a good amount of the cheaters are gone, partially because it's clear a lot more teams were cheating and they just happened to get outed), but I wouldn't hate seeing Bryce get a ring. I just happen to hate Philly more because SWEET BABY JESUS their fans are the worst. Doesn't matter if it's the Phils, Eagles, or Flyers (we'll ignore the 76ers because, well, who cares?), man their fans are obnoxious
ReplyDeleteI always find it fun that a Nationals blog is run by an open fan of the Yankees.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I'm rooting for the Phillies just because of the whole cheating scandal and the way that neither Crane at the top nor the players at the bottom (many of whom still form the core of the present Astros team) suffered any consequences. Plus the shadow of all the emotional energy of 2019 still lingers. (I mean, seriously, the Astros organization spent those playoffs basically acting like baseball was pro wrestling and they were the heels. Do we all remember the exec crowing about how they were so glad they'd signed Osuna? Under the particular circumstances, the dude came within about a half-yard of outright saying that the Astros organization supported domestic violence, which is why he got canned.)
(Also, while I've never been much for the Phillies, the 76ers have been my favorite basketball team since I latched on to them as a kid (Dr. J!) and I like the Eagles in the NL East.
Its impossible for me to root for the Phillies. When the Nats were bad, their fans had absolutely no respect and they were asses at our park. As CP said, they were obnoxious and disrespectful. During the Nats ascendancy, it was totally worth it see them beaten down.
ReplyDeleteI have no problem with free agency and like it when players get deals that pay them what they are worth. On the other hand, there's an old school part of me that believes players should have some respect for their hometown fans when they walk. Going to arch rivals in the same division? They have that right. But we as fans also have a right to spit on their decision.
That the Nats got rings the year after he walked was gratifying. If must have been painful for him to watch. Perhaps that was punishment enough and I should let go. But I'm not rooting for the Phillies.
Yes, everything nattydread said. Insufferably insecure Phillies fans is the worst of it for me, though I also never liked Harper when he was with the Nats, and he seemed to go somewhere that deserved him and he deserved. I am, oddly, a Dombrowski fan, just because people hate on him, and he seems smart and flexible.
DeleteA little surprised Harper laid his full MLB cards on the table. Seems to like super rich teams and losers. Interesting. Guess Nats come from the losers bucket.
Yeah, this is how you can tell that Harper is not actually a Nats fan from DC. Dear God, the Philthies Phans are the worst. I've been verbally (and once physically) assaulted by those profane drunken assholes in Nats Park too many times to ever root for them to have even an ounce of happiness. I like a lot of the players on the team (I enjoyed watching Bryce play baseball here and wish him well as long as he isn't playing against the Nats). But no, never.
ReplyDeleteAnd don't get me started on Stan Kasten [SPIT]
This is not a post by the soulless automaton. What have you done with him?
ReplyDelete