Poor Marco Scutaro...

Getting teased about his "VORP" on The Onion.

Who to Root For?

So, you're a Blue Jays fan who has nothing to do this offseason but shrug half-heartedly in response to whether the team should work out an extension with AJ Burnett. Tell you what, why don't you root for another team? It's only temporary, mind you, it expires in November. But to sate your baseball thirst, pick a team, follw them through the postseason, remind yourself what it's like to wathc games that matter.

But who does a Blue Jays fan pick? Well, you might be attracted to former Blue Jays finding success in October. In that case, there are five teams that feature former Jays, but no team more than two.

Rays: Eric Hinske and Gabe Gross
Cubs: Ted Lilly and Reed Johnson
Red Sox: Kevin Cash (Mike Timlin was not on the ALDS roster)
Brewers: Dave Bush
Phillies: Jayson Werth
Angels, White Sox and Dodgers: Nobody.

Maybe you'd like to root for a team that has been waiting a long time for a World Series champion. In that case, the National League is your best bet. The AL is chock full of recent winners, even though Tampa has never won one. But remember, Milwaukee has never won one either. Here is the last time the teams drank victory champagne (or how long they've been in existence without ever drinking it):

Cubs - 1908
Milwaukee Brewers/Seattle Pilots - 1968
Phillies - 1980
Dodgers - 1988
Rays - 1997
Angels - 2002
White Sox - 2005
Red Sox - 2007

Or maybe you like to root for the underdog. Here are the current lines for winning the World Series, from the longshot to the Sure Thing:

Brewers: 15-1
White Sox: 12-1
Angels, Phillies, Dodgers: 5-1
Cubs: 9-2
Rays: 4-1
Red Sox: 11-4

And, if you want to take all of these into account and assign them a mathematical formula, you might come out with this list of teams to root for:

Brewers: 20 points
Cubs: 18.5 points
Phillies: 16 points
Rays: 13.5 points
Dodgers: 12 points
White Sox: 11 points
Angels: 10 points
Red Sox: 7 points

Any way you look at it, pick a team, watch the games, and have some fun!

Best. Decision. Ever.

Blue Jays choose Gaston over Gibbons.

vs. Tampa, 5/7/08

Very well, then. No hat it is. This was a very fast-moving nailbiter until the 8th. And although it was nice to see the Jays' offense string some hits together, it would have been a little more relaxing to see a 5-run 2nd as opposed to a 5-run 8th.

It was too bad Marcum couldn't get the CG, but he couldn't have pitched much better. He'll build up his strength and be able to finish off those games by the time his career is over.

If the Indians finish off the Yankees tonight, the Jays will be tied with New York in 3rd place, only a game back of Tampa with one game left against them. I'd like to see the offense come up big again, maybe earlier in the game, and let Litsch pitch with a lead. The pitchers have been awesome. They deserve a little break.

vs. Tampa, 5/6/08

Yeah, sorry about that. I had softball tonight, so I had to wear a hat. I made sure it wasn't a Jays hat to minimize the risk, but I still jinxed them. And we lost the softball game, too.

The Quality Start streak is over, the Jays still are not scoring, and now there seems to be an injury logjam at short. What a day. But with 5 straight wins, they are now at least in view of second place. Let's see where the next few games take us.

vs. White Sox, 5/5/08

I wasn't able to listen to the game last night because we were waiting for the doctor to call. Based on what I saw in the box score, I'm glad I didn't. 3 walks in the 9th? Obviously, BJ is not the pitcher he was when the Jays signed him. Have they rushed him back? I don't know. But I don't think they'd be any better off with Accardo in that role this year. Otherwise, same old story: Another Quality Start (10 in a row now) and little to no offense. I like the sweep and the 5-game win streak, but the Jays can't win a division like this. Once again, I call on Gibby to come up with a stable lineup that doesn't need to change much. Let the guys play.

vs. White Sox, 5/4/08

I actually got to watch the game hatless today. It's one of only two Jays games WGN is carrying this year, this one and one against the Cubs next month. It was fairly entertaining. Another quality start and some Swisher-beating doubles. And for all the innings that went 1-2-3, at least it was a short game.

The one thing about watching Jays games against the White Sox on WGN, is that you have to live through their announcers. I've had problems with these belligerent homers for a while now, but apparently the Sox fans love 'em, because they never change. They talk as if they're an integral part of the team, with their "we"s and "our"s, and they never look at something from a purely baseball, objective viewpoint.

The case in point today was the play where Alex Rios ran into Orlando Cabrera as he was fielding a ground ball. Clearly, on slow motion replay, Alex's knee ran into the glove where the ball was secured, making him out. Fortunately for the Jays, this part of the play was blocked from the second-base ump who called Rios safe. For the next six innings we were made to suffer through replay after ever-excruciatingly-slower replay of the call that was missed. As a result, in the eyes of these announcers, the Blue Jays did not win the game, the White Sox did not lose the game, the game was blown. Not by the second-base umpire, but by the home plate umpire, who was supposed to be able to tell, in real time, from about 125 feet away, what the slow-motion close-up told us over and over again, and overturn the other ump's ruling.

I love baseball, but I hate homers. Especially when they lose. No, wait, especially when they win.