It’s October, and that means it’s time for the baseball playoffs. It’s the best time of year. While I follow baseball all season long, I understand that some people only tune in for the postseason. So, I figured I’d write up a quick and dirty rooting guide for those just tuning in.
The National League went OK in the Division Series with the Dodgers beating the Braves and the Brewers beating the Rockies. Now we have the Dodgers travelling to Milwaukee for the LCS. This should be a fun series. The Dodgers are in a thirty-year championship drought and the Brewers have never won, so both score points in that department. The Brewers have Christian Yelich who is incredibly watchable and should be this year’s league MVP. The Dodgers have Clayton Kershaw who is one of the all time great pitchers. It’s a bit of a toss up in that regard. The Dodgers have the fun advantage with Kiké Hernandez and Yasiel Puig. Kiké is insanely likable. And Puig’s tongue alone should go to the Hall of Fame. The Brewers just don’t have anyone that compares. And the Brewers get a Ryan Braun demerit. He’s just completely unlikable. He cheated and got caught and tried to get away with it by running a smear campaign against the poor guy who was just doing his job collecting a sample. He’s the reason why Tony Kornheiser doesn’t trust anyone anymore. So, when you add it all up, unless you’re from Wisconsin, you should be rooting for the Dodgers.
The American League Division Series didn’t go as well. The Red Sox took care of business against the Yankees, which was good, but the Indians just rolled over against the Astros. So, now we have the Astros heading to Boston to face the Red Sox. At least it’s easy to pick a side. As I talked about in my last piece, the Astros condone, if not flat out support, domestic violence. They certainly sent a strong message that victims don’t matter. And it’s not like you can just blame the team’s management. All it would have taken is for someone to speak up, for the manager or Verlander or Altuve or Bregman to say, “No. I won’t take the field with an abuser.” They all decided that winning a couple of baseball games was worth more than a woman’s safety. Luckily, the Red Sox are a very likable team. Mookie Betts was the best player in baseball this season and is a ton of fun. Brock Holt hit for the cycle in the Division Series, you just never know with him, but it’s always worth watching. And even though they had the best record in baseball, the press is treating them like an underdog, so they have a fun chip on their shoulder. Everyone should be rooting for the Sox in this one.
Let’s hope this goes well so we can see the Dodgers take on the Red Sox in the World Series. I’ll check back in when that’s about to start.