NL Wild Card: Pirates vs. Giants

Choosing who to root for tonight is basically a no-brainer for me. The most obvious reason is the fact that the Giants have won two World Series titles in the last five years, while the Pirates haven't tasted victory in over three decades.

But as I've noted in this space before, the Pirates boast a player from my home town of North Conway, NH (population: 2,349). Though Jeff Locke isn't starting tonight's game, if Edinson Volquez can best Giants starter Madison Bumgarner, the Redstone Rocket is likely to get a chance moving forward.

The entire region is fiercely proud - we didn't boast nearly as much about our two winter Olympians a few months back as we do about Locke. It's simple supply and demand: if you live in the north mountains, excellent skiers are a dime a dozen, while baseball season is often snow-shortened, making professional-caliber players a rarity.

It's likely that Locke won't see the field tonight - he is, after all, a starter - but I can promise that New Hampshire will be watching for a glimpse of him in the dugout, and rooting for the Pirates to take the win so we can cheer him on in the next round.

It would be difficult for tonight's Wild Card game to top the drama of the Royals twelfth inning walk-off last night, but nothing is impossible in baseball!