Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Twins vs A's

The Twins are hosting Oakland at the dome right now. The FP Gal asked me who I was rooting for. It's a tricky question. The Twins are the Sox rivals and cheering for them is tricky to say the least. On the other hand, the A's have owned them, winning 7 of the 9 games they've played this year. It'd be painful to finally get into the playoffs only to lose (probably swept) by the A's. And the A's certainly look playoff bound. They lead the wild card by a couple of games (depending on when you're reading this). They only trail the Angels in the West by a couple of games. And they've been playing outstanding ball for the last couple of months. If you were to put money down on two teams to make the playoffs from the AL it'd be Oakland and Chicago. The other two spots? Who knows? About 8 other teams are one hot streak away from contention.
So who to root for? Part of me wants the Twins to suffer as painful a second half as the White Sox did last year. I got far too much grief from Twins fans last year who really didn't mind laughing at my pain. In addition, preseason predictions had the Twins as possible World Series champs, with the Sox finishing third or fourth in the weakest division in baseball. Suffice it to say that four months later a very different picture has emerged. But...I don't really wish that on the Twins. I know far too many good people that are Twins fans to wish them pain.
So who do I root for? This year I'm trying to come to grips with the (bizarre) concept that my actions as a fan sitting in my living room may not have an impact on what happens in the sports world. Heresy, I know. In accordance with that theory it may not matterwho I root for.
(But I'll tell you my dirty little secret.) I hoping that the Angels hold off the A's for the West. And I'm hoping the wild card winner is...the Yankees. That's right, the Yanks. Two positives would come from a Yankees/White Sox playoff series. Much of the country would be come fans of the Sox (if only temporarily). And they'd show the games in primetime so I could actually watch them.
Yep, the Yanks. Does that make me a bad person?

No comments: