How about a 'none of the above' option? I have never been able to root for another team, unless they are in the NL.

Tough one, I could see myself at some point cheering for 5 of those 6, but Vlad Guerrero seals the deal for me.

hahahahahahaha... "bitchy little socks"

totally Red Sox. Twins are my team, but I developed a soft spot for the Red Sox last June. (yes, June, not October.) Bronson Arroyo and Tim Wakefield and Doug Mirabelli are my Red Sox boyfriends, though, with Ortiz as an honorary. (Tumbleweed likes Trot Nixon.)

NL, I'm rooting for... man... with the Mets out of contention, I'm not sure. let me look... hmmm. I guess San Diego. Philadelphia, if they can take the Wild Card.

Oakland in a walkaway - every year they find a new way to thumb their noses at the baseball establishment, and every year they're still competitive.

I did like the Red Sox last year, but then the post-season flood of stuff written and said by people who were basically congratulating themselves for having been Red Sox fans (including the movie 'Fever Pitch') just left me cold. (Though the MasterCard spoof commercial going around and collecting from Red Sox fans after the World Series - including a certain delicate part of Denis Leary's anatomy - was riotously funny.)

Cleveland. Hello, least of six evils.

I answered Red Sox, because they have been one of my "backup" teams pretty much all my life. But right now I am rooting for Cleveland to catch the White Sox, just because it would be so fun to see Chicago knocked out at the last minute. Although really I can't decide whether I would prefer to see them miss the playoffs altogether, or get swept in the first round. I am kind of inclined towards the sweep scenario, given past comments by assorted Bitch Sox players and fans that "winning the division doesn't mean anything" if you don't advance out of the playoffs. Let's see if that philosophy still holds when it's them rather than the Twins.

Oakland. Not only do they have Ronald McDonald/Syndrome/Heatmeiser, but they have a stadium nearly as sucky (or possibly MORE sucky) than ours*. And an offense almost as bad. And a Minnesota boy playing 1b.

And Huston Street may be the best name for a closer since Heathcliffe Slocumb.

*but you should see their Triple A facility in West Sacramento. Great stadium right down by the Sac River and an easy walk from Old Sac across one of the coolest drawbridges in America.

Gotta go with our small market brethern the A's. Plus Billy Beane is the man. And also, they're the only team that 1)isn't in our division 2)hasn't beaten us in the playoffs or 3)Has a bunch of annoying fans that think that having the second highest payroll makes them some kind of "underdog" and are maybe the most obnoxious fans not from Philadelphia.

And in the NL, it's Nats all the way!

Cleveland?
Lesser of six evils?
Any team that throughout their history
A) Beaned Kirby in the eye (D. Martinez),
B.) Intentionally beaned Hunter (resulting in him hilariously throwing the ball back at Baez) and
C) publicly proclaimed their hatred for my favorite squad (Captain Cheeseburger)is not the lesser of any evil. Except the Bitch Sox.

The prosecution rests.

Go A's (for now)

I had a soft spot for the Red Sox last season too...but they traded him to the Mets.

So I'm going for the A's...but I wouldn't be upset if Cleveland went all the way either.

Anyone but those bitchy, bitchy Bitch Sox.

And those Yankee Bitches.

I voted for Oakland. I love David Ortiz, but the whole thing surrounding Dougie turned me away from the BoSox. I'm a Dougie fan before I'm a BoSox fan, and that whole thing...the way Boston (fans...team...) handled it made me mad and sad. Plus, Millar had to open his big mouth and say, "Mientkiewicz should have given us the ball because we let him play defense."....that put me off the BoSox forever.

Anyway, besides my little rant about my beloved Douglas...Yankees? No. Cleveland? Naw...I don't like them. BoSox. Nope. Chicago? NO! Anahiem/LA/Whatever they wanna be called? Nope.

So, that leaves Oakland. And Bobby :)

They just didn't understand him Candace.

Not like we did.

Cleveland or Oakland. But it's not that I'm rooting for them, it's that I'm rooting so strongly against the other teams. Besides, If cleveland does well this year and gets it out of their system, I think that would best for us. So let's sweep the bitch sox again and drop them .500 after the allstar break.

Also, it hurts me to see New York and Boston with non-negative vote totals.

Boston Red Sox - NO. One year removed from winning and their fans still whine like Paul O'Neill on his worst day.

Yankees - GOD NO. I'm a Mets fan.

Angels - NO. Have any of you ever BEEN to Anaheim? Happiest place on Earth only if your idea of happy requires it be dog-ugly.

Oakland - NO. This is a hard one, as I used to love going to that stadium. Cheap seats, friendly staff, easy transportation, Timmy Hudson. However, they lose by having spawned Jason Giambi's pathetic story on us (Yankee Fans - "If he doesn't get comebaack player of the year, the award has no meaning. And Raffy's a cheater!") and the endless debate of the "Moneyball vs. Joe Morgan," which, by the 10,000th blog post I read about it, made me want to claw out my eyes.

White Sox - NO. I don't hate the White Sox like most of you, but Ozzie Guillen used to be a normal, nice, talkative, quirkly 3B coach. Now he's just an evil freakin' bully windbag. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

I'm going for the Indians. I have Hafner, Peralta, AND Coco Crisp on my fantasy team - and I'm in 1st place! They might be possible for heping one of the worst collapses in modern history if they take the Bitch Sox down. Also, if by some sad occurance we are subject to the horrifying mascot spectacle of another Braves/Indians World Series, perhaps some of the Iroquois from my native Oneida County will go and crack some skulls in protest with actual tomahawks.

Yankees, because I am mike.

I'm very strongly for the Cleveland Hafners!
Travis is a NoDakker, which means he's practically 'Sotan. And what can be wrong with a team that has a CC, a CLee, and a CoCo? Cleveland is what the Twins would look like if they were better batters. Plus, it's damned time that the AL Central gets 2 teams into the playoffs.

Gotta go with the Red Sox and for good reason. A) My dad grew up outside of Boston and raised me as a dual Red Sox/Twins fan. Rooted for the Red Sox, grew up in the Metrodome (thank you Matt Hoy). B) I'm in college just outside of Boston. Red Sox winning another title would be amazing here.

As much as everyone tried to capitalize on the whole winning the world series/breaking the curse (theyre even selling the ring ceremony from opening day on DVD right now). This team is still one of those teams ready to suckerpunch their fans at any moment. Plus, any true Twins fan knows Ortiz would have never been anywhere near this level if he had stayed with the Twins.

I'm rooting for Cleveland to get to the series, solely because that means the MFYankees won't (okay, and the first EVER central wild card doesn't hurt). But then, go Padres.

I hope the A's make the playoffs. I have lot of respect for the way A's have played after a rough start and how they have done even without Hudson and Mulder. A's have more heart than the Twins for sure.

[NOW, NOW--BG]

Though I got rather sick of the BoSox last season after the WS, my heart is forever with David Ortiz. Who can't love a man who called Torii everyday for a week to see how his ankle was doing?

I'm torn between the Red Sox and Oakland. Travis Hafner might be my fellow NoDak, but that doesn't mean I like the guy. If I was going to support a NoDak in the playoffs, it would be Erstad. At least he can field, which is more than "Pronk" can say.

I (heart) Oakland. aboout 1/89562389 as much as the Twins, but hey, I if I had to choose.

Just sayin

Oh, and in reference to the first post...I think I would rather root for the bitchy sox than the NL.

**ducks**

Cleveland yes! Any one who can bet out the Yankees I am all for.
BoSoxs No I am not an Obese fan.
Yankees, ya gotta be kidding me, rather put an ice pick in my eye.
LAAAAA-name is to stupid
Oakland-Sorry I am to old still remember Reggie
Bitch Sox-This was tough, I really guess it was a toss up with Cleveland.
Mary

I assume this is to represent the AL in the WS??

Well I picked Cleveland - one because my sister has a soft spot for them -and I kind of like my sister =)
Two - I'm sooo tired of the Red Sox and the Yankees
Three - the Oakland A's are weird (but if Cleveland overtakes the Bitch Sox for first - my choice is Oakland for the WC)
Four - the Bitch Sox -puleessssssssseeeeeeeeee
Five -who the hell are the LAAAAAAAAAAAAAA's - (aren't they a band??)they should have just remained the California Angels

Six - Cardinals or Bust - my heart belongs to Albert Puljos & Mark Mulder - if LNP and Boo can't play in the post season- GO CARDS!!

Much Love
Wonder Woman

Ohhh who knew Justina would have been such a diva?!?!?

Much Love
Wonder Woman

The Cardinals. I like the Cards. I certainly like the Cards better than either the BoSox or the Yankees (it would be hard not to), and I just can't bring myself to root for the Bitch Sox, no matter how much I like AJ and Guillen. The 'Toons are right out, for reasons others have cited. And what's the AL West to me? Okay, so seeing Bobby Kielty and his hair in the World Series would be fun.
I guess an Oakland-St. Louis series is the best I can hope for, then.

I really hate Captain Cheeseburger--but I hafta vote for Cleveland. I would SOOOOO be one of "Grady's Ladies". He's pretty...

Well, I voted once, adn if mike voted once, that means that 6 more out there chose to root for the Yankees. I am impressed.

As for an objective view, I would understand if the Yanks got no love, but would have expected a higher ratio turnout for the Indians. I mean, Boston is heralded as the new (and often documented as "worse than the") Yankees, while the Indians have one of the best and youngest teams in the game. Top that off with the chance that the Bitch Sox may be sent home without a playoff appearance... What other choice is there?

In a vacuum, of course I would never expect to see Twins fans root for a division rival. In this particular case, however, it strikes me as odd that people would be rooting for Boston, a team (and fan base) that people were sick of about 15 minutes after Dougie caught the final WS out, instead of the Indians, which could seal the fate of one of the worst collapses in history -- to another division rival, no less.

Anyway, no need to elaborate on my vote. Those who have been around forever may remember my comments from the preseason, that we would finally have a great pennant race again in the AL. We have less than 3 weeks remaining and 6 teams vying for 4 spots, with no team locked into the playoffs. Lord have mercy! Whatever happens, I just spent an evening flipping between YES and ESPNews keeping tabs on every baseball team that was playing. Highly enjoyable (though I had to take a break to hear our Prez).

Best to all,
YankeeFan

ehh... I just haven't been won over by the A's or the Toons... any cheering I do for them is really a matter of rooting AGAINST someone else if I'm honest.

So, in the spirit of the question - if I'm actually rooting FOR someone, I have to go Red Sox... I still love Big Papi.

Big Papi and the BoSox had their magic year last year.

AJ and the White Sox or Kielty and the A's? I have friends who are stone A's fans and I admire some things about the team, so might pull for them. But I do so love AJ even tho he's a Bitch Sock now.

I just don't care very much this year except for the Twins, of course.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I will admit in this, my first post here, that I am a White Sox fan. This site is awesome by the way!

I suggest that you root for either the Indians or the White Sox for purely selfish reasons. For the last however many bazillion years it has been that the Twins have kicked our asses I have rooted for these same hated Twins in the playoffs. The reason is simple - if the Sox lost to these guys then I want them to be the best damn team out there. If they lose, then how bad are we? If they win, then you can say that at least you lost to the best team, rather than say, the fourth best team, which really doesn't seem so good.

Now I will go back to drinking heavily and contemplating why God made ass-gloves and why he lets pitchers go on strike and why - WHY - does he let your team lose to the Royals.

Can't vote. Hate them all.

When does hockey season start?

P.S. But, I guess Oakland offends me the least of any on that list.

Ugh.

Ah hello my fellow Batlings, it's good to be back from my top secret mission to Singapore. I can't divulge too many details, but lets just say next year the boys will crush every team that gets in their way. If not then I rode a komodo dragon through the mountains for no good reason, and he was a crabby little dragon too! Anyway, I have to root for the A's, a little piece of my heart still belongs to Bobby Kielty, and with my old highschool chum Danny Johnson playing 1B, it's a no brainer for me. As much as I still love The Big "O", that love is not enough to sway me.

Go Twins/A's
-HooliganKat

Voted for the A's for some of the same reasons others have... small market, lousy stadium, anti-establishment... tho i've never been a big Kielty fan.

The local minor leage affiliate here is an Angels farm so there are certainly some guys with that team I enjoy seeing do well. But the whole "LA Angels of Anaheim" thing is stupid.

The Tribe, I dunno, just can't get excited about pulling for them in the long haul, but I'd LOVE to see them win the division over the BitchSox.

The Red Sox I'm totally neutral about. I simply don't care.

Any of the above teams would be my preference to win the Series over any NL team.

That leaves the Yankees and BitchSox who can all rot in hell and never win another game for all I care.

What's with all the Cleveland love? Sure, I can respect how they've rebuilt that squad and even like some of their players, but they are still division rivals. There is no cheering for division rivals, never, never, never! Do we ever say, "Well, if the Vikings don't win the Super Bowl I sure hope those Packers represent." NO! Or, "So the Wild missed the playoffs...go Avalanche!" Of course not. Do we secretly root for the Royals to escape their AAAA-level tendancies? Are you serious?! We want those 12 wins in the bank every year. If you can't handle rooting for Boston, LAAAAA, or another non-AL Central team then look to the NL. There's a feel-good story with every NL team. Even the Braves are almost worth supporting with Jeff Francoeur and the rest of their rookie lineup (but they're still the Braves). The Houston/Phila./Miami wild card race is worth watching too. *lobs off-topic grenade* Besides, there's no DH in the NL.

Obviously I'm a Cardinals fan first (Hi, Wonder Woman and Katharriet!) But back in the third grade, my teacher had a second cousin named Eric Plunk, who was a reliever for the A's. Being a contrary sort of child (gray was my favorite color mostly because all the other girls in my class picked pink), Eric Plunk was my favorite baseball player for about three years. So I kind of have a soft spot for the A's.

I kind of liked the Angels, too, but the Cards have all of my favorite players from Anaheim now.

hey redbird=)
I think I remember that name - I understand your reasoning totally!

here's areally stupid question for ya - is Puljos merch easily accessable to ya?? I tried getting a shirt for my sis from MLB.com - but all they had were really big sizes and she's tiny! The Cards don't have some kind of team catalogue do they??
I know I aksed you this before but I cannot remember old age!!
sorry about getting off topic batgirl!!

Redbird -if you have time you can email me -
THANK YOU EVER SO MUCH!!!

GO REDBIRDS!!!

Much Love
Wonder Woman

Much Love
Wonder Woman

WW, check out www.pujolsfan.com

Might find something there to fit your needs.
JC

gotta say the A's... as far as AL teams go, but I'll be rooting for the Astros all the way.

It would be kinda cool to see two teams that were 15 games below .500 meet up in the World Series. Plus it's about time Bagwell and Biggio (not to mention the Astros as an organization!) won a championship!

I've just never been able to generate support within myself for any team from "that other" League. Too many Cubs and Cardinals fans around this area perhaps. There are occasionally specific players I like to see do well but not much rooting interest for specific teams. Though, without a doubt, the team I would root AGAINST in any contest against any other ML team would be the Cubs. Even the Yanks or BitchSox (spit) would be preferred in a Series against the Cubs. Fortunately, that occasion will never happen.

Have to root for Cleveland. They're totally poised to steal the division away from the Sox, and wouldn't that just be hilarious?

Besides, we've had a *LOT* of good games against the Tribe this year (1-run games, extra-innings) so I think that if there's any one team that the Twins can vicariously reach the playoffs through, it's gotta be the Indians.

I am rooting for Cleveland. My husband's from Cleveland and a big Indians fan and anyone who's a fan of a team that lost the World Series because Jose Mesa blew a save deserves a little compassion, don't you think?

And if they catch the Sox, I will giggle like a schoolgirl. I already have been, what with watching them drop 2 to the Royals.

Dearest mrcrikket -

Thanks!!

Dearest Cathy -
My sister and I felt that pain - we felt horrible for Charlie Nagy - who would not have needed to come in if -like you said -for Jose Mesa - that was a bad - bad game 7

Much Love
Wonder Woman

I'm a huge Vlad fan, so I voted LAAoA

As for Boston, I hope they don't even get out of the first round (or to it even). Everyone complains about the Yankees buying championships, well Boston did that too, but they were given a free pass because they were trying to end the excuse.

Guess, what, you have no excuses anymore.

Plus like all the boson fans I know are asses about their teams (not saying all of you are, but the ones I know are, and really that's all that matters in my decisions) so seeing them lose is cool.

I'll probably be rooting for a NL team in any case.

I usually have no opinion about the NL, unless it's the Cubbies [heart] or the Braves [hate]. But I've developed some affection for the Padres 'cause their minor league team plays across the street from my apartment. So this may end up being one of the rare years I root NL.

Gotta go with Cleveland. We stumbled on to the Bitch Sox "private" party last night at The Local. Watched them all file past...and asked them if they enjoyed their stay in KC.
AJ was in fine form. Not sure if that's his Adam's Apple or his chin

RedSox fan here, so you can guess.

Here's the great imponderable question, though.

ALDS, New York Yankees @ Chicago White Sox. Who do you root for?

Me, as a Red Sox fan, it's easy - the Bitch Sox. But for a Twins fan?

Richard-
The NL.

I don't know what the White Sox could have done to have yourselves worked into such a tizzy, (c'mon, like rooting for terrorists?) but I suggest you all need to get lives really quickly.

"Rooting for the White Sox is like rooting for a terrorist."

Had to chuckle at that one, though the one I've heard more often, and agree with, is this one:

Rooting for the Yankees is like rooting for Microsoft.