It’s a sad time to be a Southern baseball fan.

The regular season is over.  The playoffs begin tomorrow.  Despite giving me a brief moment of hope in the final weeks, the Rangers did not make the playoffs.  Usually, when the Rangers don’t make it, I cheer for the Astros but they didn’t make it either.

Instead, the following teams will be contending for a spot in the World Series:

For the American League:

1. Toronto Blue Jays
2. New York Yankees
3. Boston Red Sox
4. Cleveland Guardians
5. Detroit Tigers
6. Seattle Mariners

For the National League:

1. Philadelphia Phillies
2. Milwaukee Brewers
3. Chicago Cubs
4. Cincinnati Reds
5. Los Angles Dodgers
6. San Diego Padres

In other words, a bunch of yankees and I don’t just mean New York.

Who will I cheer for out of that collection of teams?  I know who I don’t want to win.  If the World Series comes down to the Blue Jays and the Phillies, I might just stop watching baseball all together.  (I’d have to cheer for the Blue Jays in that matchup but I wouldn’t be happy about it.)

The Guardians are tempting, even if they did clinch their spot by beating the Rangers.  They were the last team to make it to the playoffs and I love a good underdog story.  They may have beat the Rangers but they’re not the team that I blame for keeping the Rangers out of the playoffs.  (I’m looking at you, Astros.)  Ohio may be up north but it’s not that much up north so I guess I can support the Guardians or even the Reds!

Go Guardians!