Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
September 27, 2002, Washington Post

Root, Root, Root for Some Team

The Major League baseball playoffs are starting next week. Eight teams are still in the chase to become the World Series champions. If you are a Baltimore Orioles fan, your team has been out of the hunt since about Memorial Day. My team, the Boston Red Sox, stayed close only to fade in September.

So, how is a baseball fan supposed to "root, root, root for the home team" if his or her home team isn't in the playoffs? Well, you can pick a new team -- at least for the playoffs. Any sport is more fun if you're rooting for a team. Let's look at the eight probable playoff teams and pick some new favorites.

New York Yankees. Are you kidding me? No one outside the city limits of New York should ever root for the Yankees. The Bronx Bombers win almost every year and always come back for more. Last year, the Yanks lost the World Series to the Diamondbacks in the final game. So what did they do? They went out and grabbed Jason Giambi, one of the best hitters in the game, and put him in pinstripes. Root for the Yankees? No way. Remember, I'm a Red Sox fan.

Minnesota Twins. You've got to love this team. Last winter, baseball was talking about getting rid of the Twins. Well, the Twins are still playing ball. And with exciting young stars such as Torii Hunter and Corey Koskie, the Twins are fun to watch. With better pitching, maybe, just maybe, the Twins can pull off an upset.

Oakland Athletics. My new favorite. The A's have lost two heartbreaking series to the Yankees in the last two years. Then they lost their leadoff hitter (Johnny Damon), cleanup hitter (Jason Giambi) and closer (Jason Isringhausen). So what did the A's do after all these losses? Oakland returned to the playoffs behind three of the best young pitchers in the game -- Barry Zito, Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder. The A's are tough, but I'm not sure they have enough bats to beat the Bombers.

Anaheim Angels. Here's the surprise team of the American League. The Angels don't have a lot of big-name stars, but they have a solid lineup. One guy I love is the Angels' always-hustling shortstop, David Eckstein. Among the smallest players in the game, Eckstein looks like he should be in Little League instead of the major leagues. He just plays big.

Atlanta Braves. This may be the last chance for the Braves' terrific trio of pitchers -- Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz -- to win another World Series championship. They won in 1995 and have come close a bunch of times. Sluggers Gary Sheffield, Chipper Jones and Andruw Jones may give the Braves just enough firepower to win it all.

St. Louis Cardinals. No team had a tougher year. The players lost a teammate and a friend when pitcher Darryl Kile died suddenly this summer. The team hung together and won the division. I don't think that the Cards have enough frontline pitching to beat the Braves or the Diamondbacks. Still, I'm rooting for this tough, gritty bunch.

Arizona Diamondbacks. The defending champs have the best 1-2 pitching combination since . . . well since they started playing baseball. Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson have won more than 45 games. It almost seems unfair when one of those guys is on the mound. Maybe that's why I root against the Diamondbacks.

San Francisco Giants. The Giants have a great stadium (Pacific Bell Park), great fans and maybe the greatest player in the game today (Barry Bonds). I just don't care a great deal for the Giants.

So here's my lineup of teams to root for in the playoffs: Oakland, Minnesota, St. Louis, Atlanta, Anaheim, San Francisco, Arizona. In other words, for this Red Sox fan, anybody but the Yankees.

Fred Bowen, KidsPost's Friday sports columnist, hates the Yankees. But you are free to root for whomever you like. Send your comments to: KidsPost, The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, DC 20071. Or email (with "The Score" in the message field) to: kidspost@washpost.com.

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