2013 ALCS game 5, Jim Leyland, and World Series rooting interest

ALC-YES:

Went to my first ever playoff baseball game last Wednesday, and boy was it a great time.  I got my rally towel (which I waved til my arms hurt) and enjoyed my view from the left field upper-deck near the fair pole:

(Yes, my pictures suck this time since I used my phone)

The crowd's energy and noise and the overall atmosphere was incredible, exactly what I was hoping for based on games I'd seen on TV.

The Tigers strung some walks and big hits into a nice inning against Jake Peavy leading to very little late drama.  After the disappointment from most of the previous games in the series, this was a refreshing change of pace.  Starter Doug Fister (my third different Tiger starter this year) was very good for the few innings he pitched and a resurgent Austin Jackson was the star of the evening.

As it turned out, this was the last game in the series the Tigers won.  Oh well, maybe next year?  Anyway, I had a blast and can't wait to make it to another playoff game in-person.

FIRE LEYL--oh, cool, he stepped down:

I'm not particularly sad to see Jim Leyland no longer managing the Tigers.  Too often I took issue with his strategies (or lack thereof) and refusal to see when changes needed to be made (i.e. moving Prince Fielder's fat ass down in the order).  I do give him credit for a great record, multiple playoff appearances and two Pennants over his eight seasons in Motown, and he comes off as a good guy who was obviously proud to be part of the Detroit tradition.  He just always struck me as a guy whose teams just couldn't get over the hump and often disappointed, falling below expectations at times.  With a team this talented I just can't believe he couldn't win a ring with the Tigers.

The story of Detroit's season in one animated GIF

Still, I know I should be careful what I wish for.  I definitely don't want an awful situation such as the Mattingly-Dodgers feud, an embarrassment like Bobby Valentine, or a hateful idiot like Ozzie Guillen.  Time will tell who the Tigers hire as their next manager, and I'm holding out hope for new blood instead of some retread--it's worked out well for a number of teams recently.  Good luck to Leyland on his future with the Tigers and outside of baseball, and best wishes to the team as they try to find a leader to get the team its first ring since 1984!

BEAT THE BEARDS!:

When Detroit threatened to bow out of the playoffs (and then did that), leaving Boston as the AL's representative, I pinned my remaining hopes on St. Louis defeating LA because I couldn't stand the idea of a completely unwatchable World Series featuring two villains.  I mean Boston has pretty much become the Yankees' barely-less annoying younger brother since winning titles in '04 and '07.  Plus they've got those stupid beards and look like idiots.  For me they have no redeeming qualities and I will happily root against them, not out of a sense of revenge for beating the Tigers (hell, I could have pulled for Tampa or Oakland in the Series) but because I just can't stand them and what they've become since finally winning in 2004.

This right here?  This looks stupid.  You look stupid doing this.

I have less of an annoyed attitude towards the Dodgers, really, but the dysfunctional way their front office and manager interacted, plus the attempt to throw a ridiculous pile of money at a title (which the Tigers are guilty of, just not all at once), were really huge turn-offs.  I haven't rooted for the Dodgers since Kirk Gibson's limited time with the team, and I really haven't had any reason to pull for them in a long, long time.  That's not to say that I don't hope some of their guys win it all at some point in their careers, especially Clayton Kershaw and Matt Kemp.

This look familiar, Dodgers fans?

The Cardinals, meanwhile, are a natural fit for my World Series rooting interest.  I can't think of anything I hate about them.  St. Louis is a venerated baseball town with great fans and an excellent history.  It's become a model for draft strategy and success (see:  Wacha, Michael, plus the 2009 haul), and the way they've performed since refusing Albert Pujols' king's ransom is amazing.  This is a Midwestern NL team playing NL ball the way it's meant to be played.  And of course I'm plenty biased since their second-year manager is a Michigan grad, so I'm wishing Matheny and his team the best of luck.  Hopefully this won't be a boring repeat of the very blah 2004 Series; I'd bet against it as this year's games have generally been entertaining.  With sincere apologies to all my Dodger-blogging buddies, I've got St. Louis in six.

GO CARDS!