California Baseball in October

At one point in September, the Giants came dangerously close to taking the lead in the National League wildcard race. Had they taken it, I doubt they would have known what to do with it.

For San Francisco, winning the wildcard would have been like winning a schoolyard brawl for the opportunity to face the class bully (a.k.a. the New York Mets). Sure, there's the elation of actually winning, but then there's the realization that the reward is a severe pounding and a view of the world from the inside of a trashcan.

Luckily, the Giants never had to face that "Oh, crap!" moment. No sooner were they within reach of the prize, they faded and faded fast, allowing their buddies in blue, the Dodgers, the chance to get creamed. It was a generous move. Few are those who would take such a dive for a rival friend.

With the manager, Felipe Alou, out, eleven players eligible for free agency and the shocking scientific revelation that the team doesn't actually revolve around Barry Bonds, San Francisco has a rare opportunity to build a young, promising team from scratch for next season.

Being from California, I tend to cheer for California teams... most of the time. This year's MLB postseason finds three teams from the state still in contention: Oakland, San Diego and Los Angeles.

I don't know if I'll get a chance to hear the A's game today, but I listened to an audio feed of Game 1 yesterday. Behind the pitching of Barry Zito, who gave up just one run, and the hitting of Frank Thomas, who had two solo home runs, Oakland beat Minnesota by a score of 3-2. Later today, the Athletics have a chance to take a second game from the Twins in the best of five series. I'm pulling for the guys in yellow and green to make it to the World Series. It's about time they get it beyond the first round of the playoffs.

Yesterday, San Diego lost its first game to St. Louis. If I recall correctly, the last time the Padres represented the National League in the World Series (back in 1999), they were swept. I'm rooting for them to take at least one game from the Cardinals.

That leaves the Dodgers, the only California team I'm rooting against. They're set to play their first game against the Mets (a.k.a. the team from New York I like) this afternoon. I don't necessarily want to see Los Angeles humiliated (too badly), but it would nice if they went about losing quickly and quietly. There's no shame in losing efficiently, is there?

If I had my way, I would want the Athletics and the Mets to face each other in the World Series. But since getting my way is highly unlikely, I expect to see the Cardinals play against the Yankees in the final showdown of the season. We'll see.

By the way, Zito just started writing a blog this month; so did L.A.'s Derek Lowe. My favorite professional player blog is still David Wright's of the Mets. He's been blogging since the season began, so it's been fun to see the months unfold from his point of view.