Shipping Up to Boston!

©Kayla Chadwick 2011

I'm still mad at myself for not going to the game on Wednesday night. Sure, my bank account is happy to still contain the $1000 it would have taken to get into the door - but can you really put a price on witnessing history?

I don't think you can, so I'm sacrificing more than $100 in gas money and my entire weekend to getting myself to Boston for the 2013 Red Sox World Series parade.

By way of a strange coincidence, I found myself at the Bruins duckboat parade two summers ago. Though my love for the Bruins pales in comparison to my devotion to the Red Sox, I had an amazing time, and I vowed to be there in person for the next rolling rally.

So I'll be there tomorrow, bright and early, with my two obnoxiously large cameras - I hope to see some of you out there, too!

The Pinnacle of the John Lackey Redemption Tour

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This is it. The Red Sox will take the field in just about seven hours with a chance to win a World Series Championship at Fenway Park for the first time in 95 years.

It's also the very pinnacle of the John Lackey Redemption Tour. You all know the drill: Lackey was reviled by fans even before he disappeared for the disastrous 2012 campaign, and this year has been one for the ages for him.

Sure, his win-loss record is less than glamorous, but he also got almost no run support all season. Even as fans have come around (though there are a significant number of hold-outs, for some understandable reasons), Lackey's teammates have chimed in with their perspective: Lackey is the consummate teammate.

Lackey certainly is no stranger to big moments: sure, his last chance at clinching a World Series was eleven years ago, but he made it happen. He came in on Monday in the eighth inning and completed the bridge to Koji Uehara, on a day when he was only scheduled for a side session.

Lackey's home-away splits are striking, and the numbers bode well for a history-making start tonight. I can't wait.

How did the Red Sox become baseball villains?

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When the Red Sox clinched their World Series berth last Saturday, there were floods of delirious celebratory tweets, Tumblr posts, and Facebook updates on their respective timelines. Sure, there were the scattered mourning Tigers fans, and the bitter Yankees fans - which is certainly to be expected.

But what I didn't expect to see was a single disdainful tweet, from (of all places) a Chicago Cubs fan. It said something like, "How did we end up with an all-villains World Series? #RedSox #Cards"

Less than a decade ago, Red Sox fans were constantly lumped together with Cubs fans like that one: lovable losers everyone can root for because of the hopelessness of their respective plights.

Red Sox fans and Cubs fans were permanently dejected and cynical. The baseball world would collectively pat us on the back sympathetically, half-jokingly referencing the Curses of the Bambino and the Billy Goat.

Nine years and two World Series wins later, the Red Sox are no longer hard-luck also-rans, and we fans gleefully gave up the "lovable" part to shed the "loser" label for good. Our jubilee at breaking the curse in 2004, and then adding another title in 2007 for good measure, began to grate on fans of less fortunate teams years ago.

None of that is exactly news, but to be termed a "villain," the very term we've so long hurled at our hated Bronx-dwelling division rivals, is hard to swallow.

In a certain way, it's almost delicious to feel the jealousy of other teams' fans, but to call our team "villainous" when it's primarily made up of home-grown talent and journeyman free agents seems unfair. Gone are the days when the Red Sox front office entered a bidding war to sign whatever free agent would cost the most.

Instead, Ben Cherington and co. ignored the Josh Hamilton offseason circus (to the chagrin of some fans who have been mysteriously silent since May) and signed mid-range players like Shane Victorino, Mike Napoli, Koji Uehara, and Stephen Drew.

This team overcame preseason expectations to pull together one heck of a 2013 campaign. This is a team that put the entire city of Boston on its back after an unthinkable tragedy, and with a rallying cry of "Boston Strong," proceeded to own the American League. They wear their team spirit on their faces in the form of lumberjack beards - and how can you villainize a lumberjack?

In the end, I suppose it doesn't much matter whether casual baseball fans can get behind us; there will never be another 2004, and there shouldn't be. The 2004 playoff run was something unique, nerve-wracking, and beautiful.

The 2013 playoffs haven't been nearly as terrifying: the Red Sox haven't faced down elimination all year. But 2013 is shaping up to be just as special, albeit in a different way.

After all, I'd rather be a villain in the World Series than a saint playing golf.

SoxCast in Syracuse: Episode 3

In today's episode of SoxCast in Syracuse:

• We welcome Julianne to our cast!
• Max invades my personal space...
• We discuss Jose Iglesias' incredible catch, and the Red Sox taking Game 5 to return to Boston up 3-2 in the ALCS.

Feel free to download, share, and comment!

Cause of death: Boston Red Sox

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Though I'm still in my early twenties, I have sort of a macabre imagination; during last night's stress-fest, I spent some time thinking about my own eventual death. Certainly not a normal thought process during such an exciting event, but bear with me.

With my heart racing and my hands shaking through nine innings, all I could think about were the inevitable words that will be found on my eventual death certificate: "Cause of death: Red Sox."

As a Red Sox fan born in 1990, I haven't endured nearly the anguish that my elders have - there's no way that all those years of heartache did their longevity any favors, either. But like Alfred Tennyson's famous poem teaches us, "Tis better to have loved and lost/ Than never to have loved at all."

I'd rather lose ten years off my life because of Red Sox induced stress (and the occasional Fenway Frank - those aren't doing us any favors), than live to be two hundred years old and never experience the euphoria of Red Sox playoff wins.

Because being a Red Sox fan is like being part of an enormous, neurotic family. Before Red Sox Nation was a cash cow for the owners, it was a phrase that described the most dedicated, self-aggrandizing, self-flagellating fans in baseball. It was a phrase that summed up a fanbase centered in Boston, but strong throughout New England, the United States, and the world.

As cliche as it might be, I feel instant kinship with anyone I see wearing Red Sox paraphernalia. I don't often strike up conversations with strangers, but Red Sox fans are a notable exception - it really is like having a huge extended family. And if I have to sacrifice years of my life to baseball-related stress, there's no other group of people I'd rather agonize with than my fellow Sox fans.

The man, the legend: Big Papi

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I don't know about any of you, but when I heard that last night was David Ortiz's first multi-home run playoff game, I did a double take. This is a player who has put the Red Sox on his back during multiple postseasons spanning a decade.

Big Papi's postseason homers are legendary in Red Sox lore - a storied history already full of larger-than-life characters, and last night he added to that.

Of course, not everyone was thrilled. I'm talking, of course, about Rays starter David Price, who took issue with Ortiz's second home run, or more accurately, with the way Big Papi watched it leave the yard.

I sympathize with Price: we Red Sox fans know what it's like to be swept out of the first round of the playoffs, and that feeling is certainly multiplied when your performance is directly responsible. But it's part of the game: sometimes players are going to show you up, and during the playoffs, everyone's emotions are running extra high.

David Ortiz has not hit his last home run of 2013. But David Price has likely pitched his last game of this postseason - possibly even his last in a Rays uniform.

The Red Sox and Rays will resume the ALDS in the ugliest stadium on the east coast on Monday night.  Clay Buchholz will take on Alex Cobb at the Trop tomorrow: Buchholz will be looking to send the Sox to the ALCS, and Cobb will be desperately trying to ward off elimination for the Rays - again.

The last time...

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The last time the Red Sox won a playoff game at Fenway Park, Justin Masterson earned the win. The last time the Red Sox won a playoff game at Fenway Park, JD Drew hit a home run. The last time the Red Sox won a playoff game at Fenway Park, they overcame a seven-run deficit by scoring eight runs over the last three innings, beating the Rays 8-7 in Game 5 of the 2008 ALCS.

This year things look different. For one, Justin Masterson's season just ended - in Cleveland - and JD Drew is enjoying his retirement, probably hunting an alligator or something.

For another, the 2008 playoffs began with the Rays as the AL East champs, while the Red Sox were the Wild Card entry. Luckily for us, this was before the introduction of the second Wild Card and the one-game playoff.

In 2008, the Red Sox were looking for their second World Series title in two years, and their third in five years, while the Rays were looking for the first title in franchise history.

This year, the Red Sox are looking for their first World Series title in five years, and the Rays... are still looking for the first title in franchise history.

The ALDS starts this afternoon. A best of five series isn't nearly as terrifying as a one-game playoff, but it's still far from a sure thing, especially with the Rays pitching staff. That being said, I have faith in this team. These guys have proven over and over that they're worth believing in, and I can't wait to have my faith rewarded.

Pulling for the #Rangers

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Today, I'm rooting for the Rangers by wearing my one and only Texas Rangers shirt (featuring second baseman Ian Kinsler, of course). I know conventional wisdom says the Red Sox have a better chance to beat the Rays (against whom they are 12-7) than the Rangers (2-4), but I disagree.

Three of the four Red Sox losses to the Rangers came during a series sweep, in Arlington, at the beginning of May. The Red Sox are not the same team that they were from May 3-5th, and neither are the Rangers, not to mention the fact that the Sox have now earned home field advantage through the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the Rays have faced the Sox nineteen times this year, and while they haven't seemed to figure Boston out, they're much more familiar with the Sox's playing style.

In the end, it might not matter. Whoever wins tonight's one -game playoff will then have to play yet another one-game playoff against the streaking Cleveland Indians, winners of their last ten games in a row. Tito's team will get the advantage of taking on whoever survives the one-and-done play-in to the Wild Card round, and all the pitcher attrition that will entail.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox get to relax until Friday, making roster decisions and growing out those beards, while the competition fights to get to that point.

Not that there's really much danger of this team taking the first round (or any round) of the playoffs for granted, but it goes without saying that a best of five series can be dangerous. If the last few years have taught Red Sox fans anything, it's that playoff appearances aren't to be taken lightly - they don't come around every year.

I live for this.

I actually do live for this.  When was the last time that all four LDS series went to Game 5? NEVER. This has never happend in the Wild Card era. We are literally witnessing history, and the only thing that would make it better would be if the Red Sox were in it.

Remember that annoying Dane Cook Postseason ad that MLB put out a few years ago?

Well, you do now. As irritating and out of vogue as Cook is, this commercial perfectly sums up the postseason thus far - though sans Red Sox, of course.  I haven't even been able to watch all of the games because of my work schedule (though I will admit to listening to the audio on the clock - no shame).

So far, I'm pretty happy with the outcomes: as I've already announced, I jumped on the Giants and Orioles bandwagons before the start of the postseason, and with San Francisco taking the series yesterday, I'm off to a pretty good start. I won't lie, I'm a little worried about Game 5 of the Yankees/O's ALDS, with Sabathia taking on Hammel, and a little pissed that the game is on at 5pm and I'm not scheduled to be done with work until 7.

But it doesn't even matter. I love this, I live and breathe this, and even if the Red Sox are at home instead of playing, this is the most fun I've had watching baseball in months.

Expansion was inevitable - and it's not the end of the world

 I'm taking a class this semester called "History of U.S. Sports," and we actually had a discussion of playoff expansion a few weeks ago.  The professor broke it down for us: who benefits from playoff expansion, and who loses? First the beneficiaries: owners - with more games, they make more money, and cusp teams will be playing meaningful games deeper into the season; players - more players will get the chance to show their stuff in the postseason, and since many of them have playoff series MVP reward triggers in their contracts, they like this; agents - they benefit when their players do; Major League Baseball - more games is more hype, more advertising, and more money; small-market cusp teams - if you're a perennial second- or third-place finisher, this is going to energize your team and your fanbase; networks - more high-stakes games means more viewers, more advertisers, and more money.

So who loses? Big market playoff shoe-ins - teams like the Yankees or Phillies, who nearly always make the playoffs, don't want to see more competition in their way; fans - the more diehard, nostalgic fans see this as an affront (just as they did with the advent of divisional play in 1969 and the Wild Card in 1995 - fans always pine for the good old days, which tend to be whatever was happening when they became a fan).

You can see why the expansion will always win out: most of the beneficiaries are backed by the potential for big bucks, while the losers don't have much sway - diehard fans aren't going to boycott the expanded playoffs in large enough numbers to make up for all the casual fans who will find a one-game playoff infinitely more exciting and digestible than actually paying attention for 162 games (we should face it, as a culture, we love the potential for heroics and heartache in a high-stakes situation).

I actually like this new format (I know, I'm upsetting you, but hear me out): yes, one-game playoffs are inherently unfair, as any fan knows than an inferior team can beat a superior team in one game. But the format SHOULD BE UNFAIR to a Wild Card team who, by definition, is not as good as the Division winner. [I'd actually much rather see a balanced schedule, but that's a rant for another day.] 

The fact is that this will make winning the Division actually mean something - and it hasn't for quite some time.  Teams with the Wild Card locked up have coasted through September for years now, resting up their regulars and rendering the last month of the season essentially meaningless (thus cheating fans who buy tickets).  Under the new system, teams will want to avoid a one-game playoff at all costs, and will play meaningful baseball for longer.

At the end of the day, Major League Baseball is a business, and they will do anything that makes them more money. Playoff expansion has been profitable (in every American sport) every time it has happened. So love it or hate it, it's here to stay.

[And yes, I actually get college credit for discussing these things every week. Last class we discussed playoff expansion, Linsanity, Tim Tebow, and Teddy Roosevelt. I love you, Trinity College.]

Playoff Preview 2011

 The marathon is over.  One hundred and sixty-two games later, just eight teams remain, all hunting for the right to raise the Commissioner’s Trophy into the October night.  The road to the postseason was exciting for many, with the Rays and the Cardinals sneaking in on the very last day of the regular season – both avoiding potential one-game playoffs for the Wild Card against the free-falling Red Sox (winners of the dubious “worst September collapse in history” distinction) and Braves, respectively.

            Two games into the Division Series at press time, and only the Brewers have an edge (two games to none, over the Diamondbacks).  The Yankees and Tigers, Phillies and Cards, and Rays and Rangers are all tied up, with each team laying claim to a singular LDS victory.  The biggest surprise thus far has to be Cliff Lee’s Game 2 loss, closely followed by James Shields’ disastrous start on Saturday.

            In the best-of-five Division Series, the safest money is on Milwaukee to defeat Arizona in three or four games to advance to the NLCS.  The other series are a bit more convoluted to predict while tied 1-1 each – it essentially means you're predicting the outcome of a best-of-three series; something any baseball fan will tell you is a crapshoot.  Most people are betting on Philadelphia to advance over St. Louis, but the Cards won’t be making it easy, especially since Albert Pujols’ troublesome left ankle didn’t stop him from knocking in the go-ahead run on Saturday to tie the series.

            As for New York and Detroit, the advantage will fall to the team whose ace pulls through Monday evening. Writing this Monday morning, I’m giving the edge to the Yankees and CC Sabathia, despite the apparent Cy Young winner Justin Verlander going for the Tigers at home.  Down in St. Pete, the Rangers have Colby Lewis going against the Rays’ young star David Price.  Price struggled down the stretch, so it’s possible that the 224 innings he pitched in 2011 (by far his career high) are catching up with the young lefty. Conversely, Lewis ended his season with a win, and is 3-0 lifetime against the Rays, so I’m going to give him – and the Rangers – the advantage for Game 3 and the ALDS.

            Assuming all of the above, the ALCS should be Texas vs. New York (Yankees will have home-field advantage), and the NLCS should be Milwaukee vs. Philadelphia (Phillies will have home-field advantage).  This is where the pitching staffs will really start to show; baseball is all about pitching, and one hot or strong-willed started can will his team to a World Series – just ask vintage Josh Beckett (2003, 2007).  Though Texas lacks a Sabathia-caliber ace, the rest of their staff is much more reliable than New York’s: if AJ Burnett were more dependable, the Yankees would have my confidence.  As it is, I’m giving the edge to the Rangers.

            If the Phillies manage to get eliminated before the World Series, it will be seen as a failure.  Like the disgraced BoSox, the Phillies were practically crowned champions in February, before a single game had been played. Their pitching pedigree cannot be questioned, but the Brewers are young, hot, and ambitious. For now, the advantage is with Philly.

            In a Texas-Philadelphia World Series (Philly, as the NL team, has home-field because of the NL win in the All-Star Game), the Phillies win it.  It is, as they say, all about the pitching, and no one can beat the Phillies hurlers, at least on paper.

            However, anyone who has read (or now seen) Michael Lewis’ Moneyball knows that playoffs, and especially best-of-five series, are little better than a roll of the dice. Anything can happen, and probably will: I’m predicting a Phillies-Rangers Fall Classic, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw Cardinals-Tigers, Diamondbacks-Rays, or Brewers-Yankees. That’s (playoff) baseball.

[Note: the strange timing of this entry - not at the beginning of the LDS - is due to the fact that it was originally written for the Trinity Tripod, and my deadline over there is Monday morning. This means I might already be wrong by the time it comes to press Tuesday night. Oops.]

Some things never change.

I KNEW the Yankees would win tonight. I looked at the matchups, and I mentally conceded this game to the pinstriped devils.

You're a gamer, CJ... too bad your bullpen isn't.

When CJ Wilson pitched six scoreless, and the Texas bats gave him a five-run cushion, I was still nervous. A five-run lead is not enough when you're going up against the best team money can buy, even when you're at home.

So why is this loss so upsetting? I knew it was coming. With the inevitability of fall sliding into winter, I saw this loss for the Rangers, but I never stopped hoping, not until the final out was made.

This will be tough for the Rangers to bounce back from. Is it possible? Yes, anything can happen in baseball, but a win tonight would have given the Rangers unimaginable momentum heading into the next few days.

But why was this loss so viscerally upsetting? Precisely BECAUSE it was unsurprising. The Yankees are supposed to win. If they don't win the World Series, every year, with a payroll like that, it is a failure. Losing in the World Series? Failure. Getting eliminated in another round of the playoffs? Blasphemy. Missing the playoffs altogether? Unheard of.

It's grating. The Yankees unlimited ability to spend and spend and buy wins that no other team can afford based simply on the size of their captive audience is detrimental to the integrity of the game. It's like if US Steel had been part of MLB. The person with the most money always wins, and I don't know about you, but I'm sick and tired of this storyline.

Now, Imagine each of those singles is ONE BILLION DOLLARS. MUAHAHAHAHA!

I think baseball needs a salary cap. I know this is a long shot, and that the player's union would fight a proposal like that to the death, but the sport is suffering because the playing field is anything but level right now. Alex Rodriguez alone made more money this year than the entire roster of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Yankees represent everything that is wrong with baseball - and even their fans deserve better. The championships they've bought aren't nearly as special as those won by other teams, because the frequency of victory has made pennants commonplace, and even boring.

Tonight's Yankee victory was upsetting on a visceral level, because it represented more of the same: the upstart Rangers, who have only won a single playoff series in team history, getting beaten by the powerhouse Yankees, the Enron of Major League Baseball.

Don't Mess with Texas... Please?

I don't know about you, but I've been lost since the end of Game 5 at the Trop, and I'm totally psyched for the ALCS to get underway this evening.

A lot has happened in the last week (basically, everything but me posting. Sorry...). Somehow, every prediction I made for the Division Series' came true. Don't worry, I'm as shocked as you are

Initially, I had picked Texas over New York, but I think the five-game series with Tampa Bay might have hurt their chances. Cliff Lee versus CC Sabathia would have been an epic matchup (and a nice reprise of last year's World Series), but it would have had the added drama of all of Cleveland collectively banging their heads against a wall.

Poor Cleveland... And I do mean POOR.

The Rangers do, of course, have home field advantage in this series, which means a hell of a lot more when the away games are in Yankee Stadium than it does when they're in Tropicana Field. Yankees fans might be annoying, but they at least show up and pay attention.

If CJ Wilson can keep the lids on the Yankee lineup this evening, and the Rangers serve all-you-can eat Mexican food as the pre-game spread so Sabathia is too full to pitch, I could see Texas taking game one. Really, the Rangers best chance for this series is to concede the games in which Sabathia pitches and shell young Phil Hughes, OLD Andy Pettitte, and the enigma himself, AJ Burnett.

Is it probable? No, not with Cliff Lee resting until game 3. But anything can happen: CJ Wilson could start channeling Cy Young, CC Sabathia might eat a clubhouse attendent and miss game 1 because he's in the slammer, A*Rod might choke (weird, huh?).

Remember that time CC almost ate Pedey? Me, neither.

Don't mess with Texas, New York. Texas messes back.

Halladay makes history

Last fall, in the immediate aftermath of the World Series, my Phillies fan friends were less than ecstatic. Trust me, I told them, I KNOW how badly it sucks to lose to New York. And then came the news of that blockbuster December trade... You know, the one that sent Cliff Lee to Seattle, Roy Halladay to Philadelphia, and prospects to Toronto so they could start "rebuilding."

MKy roommate, a casual Phillies fan from South Jersey (VERY different from North Jersey, as I was constantly told), was very upset. She didn't know anything about Halladay, and Lee had been the only bright spot in that lost World Series. "Trust me," I told her, "You will absolutely LOVE Roy Halladay."

[Not to mention how much I was going to love watching his brilliance when it didn't often come against MY team, for a change.]

She was skeptical, but let it go - I'm guessing by now she's forgotten that the conversation even took place. At the time, I at first couldn't believe that she didn't know about the excellence that was Doc Halladay, and then I checked myself: Halladay had never played in the playoffs, and had spent his whole spectacular career buried in the American League East. There was no reason that a casual fan of a National League team WOULD know about him.

Well, they've all heard of him now. After the perfect game in May, Halladay went on to have a shut-down season for the Phils, and last night he tossed a one-walk, no-hit gem in Philadelphia to put the Phillies up 1-0 on the Reds in the NLDS. Oh, did I mention that it was only the second no-hitter in Major League history, after Don Larsen's perfect game in 1956?

And in his first postseason start ever. Yeah, I feel pretty good about that offhanded comment last December: Philadelphia is LOVING Roy Halladay.

Philly's taking it.

Way back in April, I picked Colorado, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Anaheim, Minnesota, New York, and Boston to make the playoffs, which puts my grade at 50%, failure by any professor’s standards. However, in baseball speak, I batted .500, which is impossibly good – it’s all about perspective. (For perspective, Sports Illustrated and Baseball Prospectus were also 4-for-8.)

Hopefully I’ll be more on the ball in my playoff predictions, but let me first start off with the disclaimer that the playoffs are, in the immortal words of Moneyball author Michael Lewis, “a giant crapshoot.” The Major League Baseball season is 162 games long; it’s a marathon that specializes in wearing teams down and weeding out the weak and injured, letting the elite emerge with the best records. However, anything can happen in a small sample-size like the 5-game League Division Series’, or the 7-game League-Championship and World Series.

That said, I’m going to take a stab at predicting the outcome – after all, there’s a 12.5% chance I’ll guess right!

The playoff schedules weren’t set until Sunday afternoon when the last three teams clinched, and the Division Series’ will start Wednesday, with the AL East champion Rays hosting the AL West champions Rangers, the AL Central champion Twins hosting the AL Wild Card entry Yankees, and the NL East champion Phillies hosting the NL Central Reds. Thursday evening will see the NL West Champion Giants hosting the Wild Card entry Braves.

In the first round I’m taking the Giants and Rangers in 5 games, and Yankees and Phillies in 4. Really, it’s all about pitching, and all four of these teams have a legitimate ACE: Tim Lincecum, Cliff Lee, CC Sabathia, and Roy Halladay, respectively. All of these pitchers are capable of absolutely dominating, and the lineups behind them are hardly something to scoff at.

The Championship Series’ should see both New York and Philadelphia defending their 2009 Pennants, with mixed success. Philly and San Francisco match up pretty evenly on paper, but the Phillies should take it in six games. The Giants have Lincecum and Matt Cain, but the Phillies will counter with Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels. Sure, you could argue that Halladay has never even been in a postseason game before, but its not like he’s a stranger to high-pressure situations, having pitched in the competitive AL East for most of his career.

As for the American League Pennant, I’m picking Texas in seven games. Again, this mostly comes down to pitching. CC Sabathia is close to a sure thing, but he was beaten last postseason by Cliff Lee (then with the Phillies), and after Sabathia the Yankees rotation is anything but steady. Andy Pettitte is coming off of a torn groin (and he’s 38-years-old), AJ Burnett is an enigma at best, and Phil Hughes has more than doubled his innings from last year. On the other hand, Texas has four reliable starters in Lee, CJ Wilson, Colby Lewis, and Tommy Hunter. Both lineups are formidable, but the return of Josh Hamilton should tip the scales in the Rangers’ favor.

Because the National League won the All-star game for the first time since 1996 (2002 ended in a tie), the World Series will be hosted by the National League Pennant winner, which in this projection is Philadelphia. The Phillies have distinct advantages in a number of areas: their team ERA is nearly half a run better than the Rangers’ team ERA; they have a wealth of postseason experience, as this could be their third straight NL Pennant; and they have home-field advantage. That said, this should be a close series, going to six or even seven games. The two teams have comparable lineups, and they each boast one of the top-five starting pitchers in the game. The Rangers have the better bullpen, which could allow them to steal a game or two if they can wear down the starters early. However, all things considered, the Phillies should be able to top the Rangers and win their second World Series in the last three years. After all, Philadelphia finished the regular season with baseball’s best record, it would only be fitting if they finished the postseason with baseball’s highest prize.

But I don't WANT to act professionally...!

So whenever you ask a sportswriter (NOT a blogger, who has no deadlines) who has their loyalty, they say that they root for quick games and good storylines. Of course, being the crazy-obsessed fan that I am proud to be, I couldn't wrap my head around dropping your fandom for a job.

However, I'm supposed to be writing an MLB playoff preview for my college newspaper, and I just want everything to be decided so I can meet my deadline. I know this is easier because the Red Sox are out of it, but I really just want the AL Wild Card/AL East race to get decided by tonight, even if it means the Sox will lose the game(s). I want the Giants to beat the Padres tonight to decided the NL West, and the Braves to beat the Phillies and clinch the Wild Card already.

Despite the fact that this image makes me want to vomit instinctively, I'll take it if it means I can do my job.

Because of the nature of the playoffs, I'm pretty stuck on even starting this article before I know who's in it and what their records are, and I'm really not a patient person.

Of course, ideally in my world, the Red Sox take both games of the double-header (unlikely, with Wake taking on Pettitte, though I could easily back Matsuzaka over the enigma that is Burnett), while the Rays win - and since they're at Kansas City, it seems plausible.

But even if the Yankees take the division by sweeping the Sox, it's not the end of the world. The Red Sox are going out not with a bang, but with a whimper: Adrian Beltre has gone to be with his wife as she delivers their child, Clay Buchholz is shut down due to a stiff back, and Marco Scutaro is out nursing his respective aches.

So while the Red Sox fan in me is appalled at this attitude, my inner writer just wants everything to get settled - even if it's at the (further) expense of my dearly beloved team. Is this growing up, or am I just losing my soul?