The best thing about being a Detroit Tigers fan (yes, there are some good things) is that once the playoffs roll around I am able to root for a different team pretty much every year, based on which storyline I find the most compelling.
With the remarkable parity in the league there are new teams and new stories every season that I just can’t get enough of.
This post season has definitely not disappointed.
The Chicago White Sox, a team that just a month ago looked like it was going to suffer through a historic collapse and not make the playoffs.
They also haven’t reached the World Series since 1959 and haven’t won it since 1917.
Then of course there are the two national league contenders – the Cardinals and the Astros.
The Cardinals are playing their final year in Busch Stadium, and it would be nice to see the place go out in style.
They also feature a player that has a reasonable chance to go down as one of the best players ever to put on a uniform in first baseman Albert Pujols.
He is complimented by players like Reggie Sanders and David Eckstein who might not have superstar talent but never let up throughout any season.
However, I can’t but help but root for the Houston Astros.
They are the best baseball story of 2005.
You have a team that was at one time 15 games under .500 this season and left for dead after a mass exodus of offensive firepower in Carlos Beltran and Jeff Kent.
Both players left for greener pastures (read more money and no playoff appearance) for the Mets and Dodgers respectively.
Now thanks to the contributions of players like Wily Tavaras and Morgan Ensburg the Astros are one win away from a World Series birth.
And how about the pitching staff?
I am in awe of what Roger Clemens has been able to due all season and I would love for him to walk away from the game after this season as a champion.
Not to mention the contribution of his close friend – and oft injured teammate – Andy Petttite.
When Roy Oswalt can reasonably be called your third best starter then you obviously have one formidable rotation.
And then of course you have one of the premiere closers in the game in Brad Lidge, despite the gopher ball he served up to Pujols on Monday night.
There are also the killer Bs – Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio – who deserve to walk away, like Clemens, with a championship.
Of course, Biggio has already signed a one year contract extension, but it would be an absolute shame for him to walk away from this game without a ring.
It is amazing that this aging team has been able to stay healthy and productive enough to be on the doorstep of a championship.
It is now or never for these guys.
I am hoping that it is now.
