Who To Root For In The 2008 Playoffs

by Eric Simon on Oct 2, 2008 8:00 AM EDT in Commentary Comment 26 comments

When the postseason rolls around and your team is packing its bags for the winter, sometimes it's hard to decide which teams to root for. As often as not, I find myself rooting against particular teams, so the teams I root for are just a byproduct of my loathing of other teams. For instance, though the Brewers are a nice story, I hate the Phillies and that's the main reason I'm rooting for Milwaukee.

Another way to go is to identify your rooting interest based on a team's players, specifically those who played for the Mets at some point. Here are my thoughts on some of those players. I've intentionally left out guys who only very briefly played with the Mets (Gary Matthews, Jr., Paul Byrd, Chan Ho Park) or who were in the farm system but never reached the big leagues in New York (Jason Bay, Scott Kazmir).

Octavio Dotel - White Sox

He was a product of the Mets' system, and even though he wound up with the Yankees a couple of years ago it's tough not to root for him. Still, when you play for a team with the most unlikeable manager and catcher in the game you've got a tough row to hoe.

Verdict: Against.
Jeff Kent - Dodgers

Came to the Mets in the deal that send David Cone to Toronto and spent parts of five seasons in New York. His laid-back west coast style never really fit in here, and he was shipped to the Indians in the horrible deal that netted the Mets Carlos Baerga. Kent went on to have a brilliant career with the Giants, mostly, and despite having a mustache (awesome!), he's considered a douche by almost everyone around him. You know things are bad when you get in a fight with Barry Bonds and you look like the crazy one.

Verdict: Against.
Guillermo Mota - Brewers

!@#$ that guy.

Verdict: Against.
Chad Bradford - Rays

Mets picked him up off the scrap heap in 2006 and he pitched remarkably well. I've always been entertained by sidearmers, ever since I saw Terry Leach throw for the first time. Plus, the Mets could have really used Bradford these past two seasons, even though they had a very similar pitcher in Joe Smith.

Verdict: For.
Mike Cameron - Brewers

I always liked Cameron. He was so committed to the pursuit of defensive excellence that he would run through wall or man to make a play. His trade begat Xavier Nady, who in turn begat Oliver Perez. Cameron wasn't so much fit for right field anyway, but I'll always appreciate his effort and will always consider him one of the good guys.
Verdict: For.
Darren Oliver - Angels

Oliver was great as a swing man for the Mets in 2006. He would often come into games and pitch four or more innings of relief to keep the Mets competitive, including that awful, pathetic start by Steve Trachsel in the NLCS. He picked up the win in one of the most memorable games that season, when Carlos Beltran sent everyone home happy with a leadoff homerun in the bottom of the 16th at Shea.

Verdict: For.
Dan Wheeler - Rays

He was so-so for the Mets in two partial seasons, but then was traded to the Astros for nothing (read: Adam Seuss) and decided to become one of the better relievers in the game. I'll never forgive him for that.

Verdict: Against.
Cliff Floyd - Rays

It's hard not to root for Cliff Floyd. He was super excited to sign with the Mets in 2003 and, after we consider injuries, had one-and-a-half good-to-great seasons at Shea. He's a good guy and was BFF with David Wright.

Verdict: For.

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Comments

Where was Dotel?

Ah, Dotel. He should have been brought in to pitch Andruw Jones. (Kenny Rogers – *@#!% THAT guy!)

I will always be a Cliff Floyd fan. He gave Jose the nickname “King Ding-A-Ling” which I use to this day.

"The people of Houston are spending money like oil's selling at $40 a barrel."

by IanB in MD on Oct 2, 2008 8:04 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

screw the phillies, cubs and red sox

im rooting for a brew crew v bay ray WS matchup

by kendynamo on Oct 2, 2008 9:00 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I used to root for the Red Sox

Just because they were the anti-Yankees. But now it seems like their fans have become so arrogant that I can’t stand them.
Go Brewers and Rays. I may be the only one, but I would watch that.

by Reg Dunlop on Oct 2, 2008 9:14 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Cliffooooooord

I love Cliff Floyd, and my mother is a HUGE Rays fan (yes, they exist), so I’m adopting them for a month (might even grab a t-shirt for full effect). My father is a Dodgers fan, and I like watching Manny’s antics.

I share the Philly, Cubs and red sox hate with you all and I’m totally indifferent to Anaheim, Chicago AL and Milwaukee

by HotChipWillBreakYourLegs on Oct 2, 2008 10:29 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

i know one Rays fan

and she is hot so i can root along with her if need be.

'Catsmeat!' he cried. 'I see it all. It was that chump, Catsmeat.'

by Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright on Oct 2, 2008 2:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

there you go

and then you can help her “celebrate a championship” if you know what I mean

by JoshNY on Oct 2, 2008 6:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

hmm

while I disagree with the sort-of-conclusion that the Brewers should be rooted against, I can’t really find it in myself to disagree with any of the individual evaluations. if any, just that it’s not really Dotel’s fault that Ozzie Guillen and AJ Pierzynski are assholes.

gotta root for Uncle Cliffy and Darren Oliver and Brad Chadford.

by JoshNY on Oct 2, 2008 10:43 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Brewers-Rays for me too

It’s nice to have a postseason free of the Yankees, Braves, and Cardinals (first time that’s happened since 1990), as it makes me watch without the the looming dread that one of them will win. Of course, the last thing I want to see is a Dodgers-Red Sox series, but that’s still orders of magnitude better than a theoretical Yankees-Braves series.

So while I prefer Brewers-Rays over anything else, I’m just going to enjoy the playoffs. Even if Philadelphia wins it all, I won’t be too upset, as I’ve got close friends who are Philadelphia sports fans, and it would be cool to see them finally celebrate something. Plus, it would make the Mets the avenging underdogs in 2009, which would be cool.

Vote change: DePodesta/Acta in 2009!!!

by Greenpoint Ian on Oct 2, 2008 1:31 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Unless and until the Phils win...

everyone should enjoy the Cheesesteak of Suffering (which SBNation’s comment code won’t let me embed so I have to link it instead).

by JoshNY on Oct 2, 2008 2:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

May it last forever!

by Reg Dunlop on Oct 2, 2008 2:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

historically

shouldn’t we be rooting for the Cubs? I realize not many of us are at death’s door, but as disinterested baseball fans, don’t we want to be there when they finally win one?

I’m not going to start hating the Red Sox just because they’re popular. That is a well run organization, though they’ve made their mistakes. This is the first time I’ve watched the Sawx this year, and wow where did they get all those good youngsters? And why can’t Omar get our system in order so we can too? Comparing and contrasting the Red Sox with the Mets to figure out their secret will be one of my off season daydreaming priorities. They seem to be pretty old in spots too.

I am an Angeleno now, and root for them every year in the off chance the Mets will come to town in the playoffs, but when they flashed “highlights” from ‘88 on the screen last night, i realized i could never throw in with them. Though they did beat the Yanks in ’55.
My rooting is in this order:
Phillies lose.
Phillies lose.
Phillies lose.
Drool over Manny.
Drool over Teixeira.
Drool over other teams’ bullpens.
Phillies lose.

I.M. Forme
"When you get yourself in to trouble is when you feel you have to do something, and then you get yourself in trouble." --Omar Minaya

by itsmetsforme on Oct 2, 2008 1:46 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

amen

i saw the clip of Soscia’s home run and i started cursing to myself. the only NL team i can’t really hate on is the Brewers.

but, all things being equal, i’d like to see Uncle Cliffy and the Rays win out of the remaining teams. Just cos it’s Uncle Cliffy.

'Catsmeat!' he cried. 'I see it all. It was that chump, Catsmeat.'

by Catsmeat Potter-Pirbright on Oct 2, 2008 2:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Rays

I met BJ Upton when I was around 11 years old a month or two after he got drafted at a baseball camp 5 minutes down the road from my house. (And an autograph!!) He went to high school there.
The “Devil” Rays have been my AL team since then, and I declared last year that I’m on the bandwagon before it becomes one. I didn’t expect it to turn into this this soon, but they are the team I’m rooting for.

Who's world is it? It's yours.

by BlackOps on Oct 2, 2008 4:49 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

wheeler gave up a bomb

but the rays still won. happy, eric?

by gogomets on Oct 2, 2008 5:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

What about Kazmir

:sob:

"I got my pregnant wife (the Yankee fan) with me. Hoping my kid learns to kick her everytime the Mets score." -Schifftis-

by future on Oct 3, 2008 12:24 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I mentioned him in the intro

He never actually played for the Mets.

by Eric Simon on Oct 3, 2008 12:47 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Above all else, fuck the Phillies

I really don’t care what happens as long as they lose (which is not happening at the moment). I would not be opposed to a Red Sox dynasty, though their fans are starting to annoy me. It would be nice to see the Dodgers back on top, and the Rays winning it all would be sweet. I just don’t want a boring Series matchup (like White Sox-Phillies).

by Prince on Oct 3, 2008 1:42 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

"11 Wins To Glory"

If you’re bored, head on over to Bleed Cubbie Blue for some good schadenfreude. Some of the folks that post comments in the game threads there are way worse than Mets fans, talking about blowing the team up after a couple of losses.

Before the divisional series started, there was some nonsense there about “11 wins to glory.” Of all fans, this comes from Cubs fans. How about winning a playoff game first before thinking about the World Series?

The cockiness of Cubs fans this year has amazed me, so I’m pretty pumped that they’re losing. To me, they are the new Red Sox—it’s fun to see how long they can go without winning a title. Maybe they’ll get one in my lifetime, but in the meantime I’ll enjoy the streak and the accompanying suffering.*

*The same goes for all Philadelphia sports teams, the 1980 Phillies notwithstanding.

We've got ourselves a ball club, the Mets of New York town!

by kingcritical on Oct 3, 2008 3:25 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I'm with you on the uppity cub fan hate...

You know they thought they would cruise through LA. what a difference a couple merciless beatings make

by HotChipWillBreakYourLegs on Oct 3, 2008 3:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

"the new Red Sox"?

The Cubs’ last win was 10 years before 1918, it’s just the constant ESPN Red Sox fellatio that made everyone think Boston sports fans were the only people who were affected by their team not winning

by JoshNY on Oct 3, 2008 9:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

yes, the new Red Sox, absolutely

Fuck the Cubs, and fuck the Red Sox.

I love Wrigley Field. It’s the best park in all of baseball. But I love witnessing the losing culture of the Cubs. Keep losing, Cubs. Keep it up, Chicago.

“11 wins to glory!” How about, "Don’t look too far ahead, Cubs. Or maybe, "Not this year, suckers.

We've got ourselves a ball club, the Mets of New York town!

by kingcritical on Oct 4, 2008 3:44 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

ew

wrigley is…okay. being there was sweet because it was wrigley but i wasn’t blown away by it. the mets won, but i sat behind a fucking pillar so i couldn’t see any pitches.

by gogomets on Oct 4, 2008 5:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Get a better seat.

Seeing baseball at Wrigley really is seeing baseball the way it was meant to be seen.

Also, to further explain the “Cubs are the new Red Sox” thing: I know that before 2004 the Red Sox had won a WS more recently than the Cubs. But, with the exception of a few flashes here and there, the Cubs for the longest time haven’t been any good.

Now the Cubs are “good”, and watching them fail is just as fun for me as it was watching the Red Sox either fade in August each year or fail in the playoffs. It’s something fun to root for. I imagine the Cubs will win a WS at some point in my lifetime, but it’s more entertaining for everyone each year that they don’t.

Also, forever, Cubs fans have had an attitude that said, “Our team sucks, but we’ll go see them every day anyway.” This year was different, and I found their cockiness unbelievable.

Tonight, they got what was coming to them. Go Dodgers.

We've got ourselves a ball club, the Mets of New York town!

by kingcritical on Oct 5, 2008 3:25 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

how was baseball meant to be seen?

not trying to be a smartass here, but what do you mean?

by gogomets on Oct 5, 2008 12:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

what I mean

No loud music, no flashing lights, no fan squad shooting crap into the stands in between innings. Still having the opportunity to see a fair amount of games during the day.

Pissing out Old Style into an honest-to-god trough in the men’s room. A ballpark that’s in a real neighborhood in a beautiful city, as opposed to in the middle of a parking lot.

Wrigley is a time warp. When you’re there, you feel like it could be the 1920s, or 30s, or 40s, when the baseball game itself was entertainment, and you didn’t have all the ancillary crap that you have now. It’s something I find simple, pure, and sublime.

We've got ourselves a ball club, the Mets of New York town!

by kingcritical on Oct 5, 2008 1:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs