For Me It’s Brewers or Bust

Now that the MLB playoffs are getting to the championship series, I have decided which team I will be rooting for the rest of the way.

The Yankees are out, so there goes my pick in honor of my late uncle. I really picked them simply based on a want, not necessarily because I thought they would win it all. I have always been a fan of the Braves, but they ran into the buzzsaw that is the Dodgers. I used to like the Padres as a kid. I was always a Tony Gwynn fan growing up. But they were knocked out the other night, and I'm not a very big fan of the current Padres team. The White Sox still have a chance, and if they win, like RD said, I will convert to catholicism. But that doesn't mean I am rooting for them. Sure, they have the pope on their side, and that would rule if they won, but I'm still not going to root for them either. The team I'm all in for the rest of the playoffs is the Brewers.

This is another pick for the family, but it is for my dad. I would love to see the Brewers take it all from here on out. They ousted the Padres the other night. They had the best record in all of baseball this season. They're a small market team. They have a great lineup and one of the better pitching staffs in all of baseball. I like the team name. I like that they have a big slide in their stadium. Their old school hats, the royal blue with the yellow Brewers symbol, are iconic. I was always a Robin Yount fan as a kid, and dug Paul Molitor. One of my favorite moments as a baseball fan was when the Brewers acquired CC Sabathia for half a season and he went on to dominate. I believe he was close to winning the NL Cy Young that season, and he only played half the year with the Brewers.

I also like this current lineup. Jackson Churrio is one of the best young hitters in the game. Christian Yelich is the model of consistency. Jacob Misorowski is most likely going to win the NL Cy Young this season. The Brewers are an easy team to root for and it was almost too easy a choice for me to pick them now that the Braves are out.

Sure, like I said, this pick has a little something to do with my dad, but I also want them to just beat the Dodgers. I get it, the Dodgers have the most money and they can buy whoever they want. They get all the players they desire. When Tarik Skubal went on the trade market this season it was a foregone conclusion he would join the Dodgers. They have a lineup filled with dudes who started their careers elsewhere. I am a big time Mookie Betts fan, he started in Boston. Shohei Ohtani is an amazing player who started his career with the other LA team. Freddie Freeman was in Atlanta before joining them. Their entire starting pitching staff all got their starts elsewhere. I think the only player that is from their farm system, who truly helps the team, is Will Smith. And while he is awesome, it's kind of wild that the Dodgers have simply bought the best team in baseball. My son and I were talking about the playoffs this morning, and when he asked me who I thought was going to win it all, I didn't hesitate to pick the Dodgers. When he asked why I got that answer so quickly, I told him the current Dodgers remind me of the Golden State Warriors when they had Kevin Durant. The NBA regular season was pointless because we all knew who was going to win it all. The only thing that stopped that team was a rash of injuries to their star players. The Dodgers haven't had to deal with that. And I fully understand that this is totally within the rules of modern baseball to do what the Dodgers are doing. If I was a fan, I'd be stoked by what they are doing. And the players still have to prove it on the field, which they are doing. But the Dodgers are not underdogs. They are, as they should be, the prohibitive favorites. And if they do win, I fully believe that the strike will happen after this season until a salary cap is introduced.

So for this, and many other reasons, is why I'm rooting for the Brewers. It would be rad to see them win. It was so cool when the Bucks won the title a few years ago. I was stoked when the Blue Jays almost won it all last year. I like when these mid market teams build a contender and the vision of championships comes to light. So I'm all in for the Brewers.

I'm going to tune into playoff games to root for them. I am very hopeful that they can knock off the Dodgers, and then win it all in the Series. From here on out it is all about the Brew Crew when it comes to baseball for me. 

Ty