Don't root for the Cubs or the Dbacks or the Phillies

I have finally come to grips with the fact that the Dodgers are not in the playoffs. Jackie Robinson is not walking through that door. Roy Campanella is not walking through that door. Kirk Gibson and Tommy Lasorda are not walking through that door. Though if Lasorda did walk through the door, it's arguable if he would fit. Sorry Tommy.

Apparently, four other teams made the National League playoffs, one of which hasn't won a World Series in 99 years and another that hasn't been around long enough to draw a true home crowd.

Let's start with the Cubs first. There is a plethora of reasons why the Cubs winning is bad for baseball and bad for society as a whole. Jim Caple and Eric Neel of ESPN state their case elegantly.

I wish only to make one point: It hasn't happened yet, but if the Cubs make it to the World Series, or maybe even the NLCS, Cubs fans will began to come out of crooks and crevices everywhere. People you never knew were baseball fans will all of a sudden be life long Cubs fans."
"You didn't know my Uncle Charlie was from Chicago?"
"I've always liked the Cubs, what are you talking about."

Ala the 2004 Red Sox circus, Cubs hats will be all the rage and by the time they win the whole thing, you're not only going to be sick of the Cubs, the sight of someone outside of Chicago wearing any Cubs gear will make you want to puke.

And they will probably make pink Cubs hats on top of that.

As for the Diamondbacks, I can't take a fanbase who only shows up for the playoffs seriously. Here's some of my aim exchange with one of the few diehard Dbacks supporters.

greenmachineAZ: and a lot of people wanted to see how for real this team was
greenmachineAZ: plus our ballpark is too big
greenmachineAZ: it holds like 48000
greenmachineAZ: I think they drew about 30 most nights
romoballa: phoenix is like the 6th largest city in the us
greenmachineAZ: sure
romoballa: dodger stadium holds 58 or 59
greenmachineAZ: but
greenmachineAZ: one, the phoenix area is so damn spread out
romoballa: la even more so
greenmachineAZ: and two, phoenix isn't full of Dbacks fans
greenmachineAZ: it won't e
greenmachineAZ: be
romoballa: that's the best point
greenmachineAZ: for another 20 years or so
greenmachineAZ: because the team is only 10 years old
romoballa: but here's my thing, if u can sell out for the playoffs
there is an interest
greenmachineAZ: and so many transplants are Cubs, Dodgers, and Giants fans
greenmachineAZ: sure
romoballa: but only when they're good and winning
greenmachineAZ: but the casual Dbacks fan, which there are a lot of,
will be like that
romoballa: very true
greenmachineAZ: the fans that grow up with the team, like myself, and
even moreso younger kids, will be hte die hards for sure
greenmachineAZ: and raise more die hards
romoballa: so maybe that's my problem, i have a beef with the casual fan
greenmachineAZ: so I mean, it sucks, but it isn't a knock on us I
don't think as much as it shows how new we are to it
greenmachineAZ: and that our fans represented last night the way they did
greenmachineAZ: was impressive to me
romoballa: anytime rally towels are involved it's impressive
greenmachineAZ: ha
greenmachineAZ: we had pom poms

If the Phillies don't win, I fear for everyone's safety in Philadelphia, including my fantasy star Jimmy Rollins. No matter how good you are, failure to win in the playoffs draws the ire of the Philly fans and there has been a lot of failure in that city. Of course the Phillies were for some reason the favorite in the National League (Thanks East Coast media) even though they barely made the playoffs thanks to one of the biggest collapses (Thanks Mets) in baseball history. And all of a sudden everyone forgot about they're awful pitching and suspect bullpen.

And the forgotten Rockies. When you're not on television the entire season and people fall asleep when your games start, including the good folks at ESPN, you tend to be forgotten. With a lineup that goes ROY candidate Troy Tulowitzki, Matt Holliday, Todd Helton, Garret Atkins, and Brad Hawpe in the middle of the order, the Rockies won't be forgotten come a week from now.


Random Los Angeles Dodger: Mitch Webster